My Name is Annabella. I`m a Fabraholic.

At one time, I had very little fabric.  Now I seem to have quite a lot.  That`s the problem with ordering fabric from the States and having it sent to my mum`s home in England. You kind of forget.  Forget how much you have ordered.  Until it arrives.

Terrain in foliage by Kate Spain 

Central Park by Kate Spain charm pack and scrap packs from M is for Make

1001 Peeps by Lizzie House

Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner

Pick a Bunch by Nancy Mims

I`m coming out of denial. I think I may have a problem. If you find yourself looking at fabric stores online rather too often or in secret, stroking fabric, having thoughts about fabric just before you sleep and first thing in the morning and being unable to make that first cut, let`s sit in a circle and one by one stand up and make that declaration. 

I. AM.A FABRAHOLIC. 

That`s if you want to recover that is.  Do you?  

 

Free Motion Quilting Friday Week 1 - An Act of Kindness to Put a Smile on Your Face

Cindy has kindly agreed to host a Free Motion Quilting Practice every Friday.

Today is Week 1.

Yesterday I fixed my darning foot to my new machine.

I watched this tutorial as recommended by Cindy.

This morning I started practicing `the wave` which looks like this when Leah 

(who luckily has a very soothing voice) does it...

  

...and looks like this when I do it...it was clearly a very calm sea that day.

...and the back...

So what do I conclude from this exercise, apart from the fact that free motion quilting is tougher than it looks and I need a lot of practice? That it is fun. frustrating at times, uses a lot of cotton, is harder to pull than to push, that gloves would help a lot, that my curves are too angular and I need a lot of practice, and that I certainly coudn`t attempt anything bigger than a mug rug yet!

Linking up with Cindy and the other crazies having a go today...pop over for a giggle.  After all, it is World Smile Day and this is my random act of kindness for you, which hopefully put a smile on your face!

Zaki Gets Goodie Again

No I`m not talking about his behaviour..but the second and sadly last Goodie Swap 2011 parcel I received today from lovely Janine at Rainbow Hare.

Yes. Zaki received another goodie in the mail.  See the very cute Scottie dog mug rug there at the back - that`s his and he absolutely loves it. Initially he did comment, `Oh mummy - nice goats!  No, no they`re dogs mummy!`

Janine used pretty pink and green fabrics to create a gorgeous reversible mug rug for me. On the back of mine are gorgeous little square blocks. There`s also the cutest pincushion - my first, and a diary cleverly starting now, covered in yummy pink and green paisley fabric.  Now Janine had no idea how much I love diaries - so this is very smart of her and just a great goodie for me. Despite the package having been rifled through by custums, it all arrived beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and tied with ric rac.  I am very very happy and thank you so much Janine - I love my goodies and so does Zaki.

Other exciting mail included lots of good quality cotton thread from my lovely helpful mummy (who arrives Saturday and I think should do a guest post as she is very creative and is thinking about starting her own blog) and the quilting feet for my new machine.  So now I can join in with Cindy`s Free Motion Quilting Practicealong, which kicks off tomorrow.  I have attached the requisite foot to my machine.  Now I have to look at some youtube tutorials to try and get something passable to post. Who on earth pushed Cindy into hosting something like this? 

Edited to add In my haste to hit the`post` button, while being chivvied by my mad for dinosaurs 3 year old to get off the lap top so that he could watch Walking with Dinosaurs on youtube, I completely overlooked thanking the most important person. A huge huge thank you to Cindy who organised this swap and made it possible.    Thank you Cindy! You kept us all in order and organized the whole thing with military precision.  It has been a pleasure to find a new blog pal in you.

I`ve Got Lots of Charm(s)

So just after I posted yesterday, my husband walked in the door with a priority envelope...don`t you just love getting these in the post?  In it were my charms from The Color Wheel Charm Swap.  Just take a look at these.

They are not perfectly in order but you get the idea.  And here are just a few of the beautiful fabrics...

A huge thank you to Kati who generously allowed us international swappers to have fabric delivered directly to her for cutting into 5 inch charms.  I hope Kati decides to do a second round as it was a low stress high reward swap. I love my charms.  Now what to make?

For the 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee, I decided on mulberry, orange and grey for my colours.

Lastly, the lovely Rebecca over at Making Rebecca Lynne is having a fabulous giveaway to celebrate her first milestone in followers.  You have a great chance to win a lovely pouch and some de-stash.  What are you waiting for?

The Secret Life of Bees

As many of you know, I spend an awful lot of time waiting for things to turn up in the post.  It`s usually fabric but this time, it is much needed thread (no Aurifil to buy here, only 100 per cent polyester), feet for my new machine, my second goodie package from The Goodie Swap 2011 and my charms from The Color Wheel Charm Swap.

However, yesterday I received the last remaining fabric I had ordered.  When I held the giveaway a week or so ago, I had to order myself some of the Moroccan Mirage in the Marrakech colourway.  If you haven`t ordered from The Intrepid Thread before, then this is what you find inside your envelope and a handwritten card from Julie.

and here`s the Moroccan Mirage...

Yes - some pink again. I was planning to use it for the Duo QAL but I`m still thinking on that. It was fun reading your comments on my bright pink quilt a couple of days ago.  I had no idea I used so much pink.  I certainly don`t ever wear it. From your comments it seems our quilting styles depend on a variety of things - where we live, where we come from and our mood. In a recent swap questionnaire, I requested no Barbie pink.  Should the administrator stumble across this blog, they`ll wonder what planet I`m on. My mum arrives this weekend and she has her beady eye on that quilt, so it may be heading home with her.

I was super super excited to receive flikr mail today from the administrator of The 4 x 5 Modern Quilt Bee accepting the application I hurried off this morning to join the group. Yes - I am finally in a Bee! They are taking applications for the 4th quarter and I believe there are still spaces should you want to join. So I get to pick 3 colours and each quarter I will make 5 blocks in the other members` colours and receive 5 blocks in my colours.  By the end of the year, I will have 20 blocks to make a quilt.  I am in awe of the talent in the group and can`t wait to see who is in my hive.  First, I have to choose 3 colours for my blocks and I`m thinking of something different.  I have to be specific about colours.  I can`t just say blue or pink.  I have to say aqua or raspberry, for example.  So what would you choose?  I need ideas!

A Giveaway & What`s Your Style?

When I posted my Across the Sea quilt yesterday, a couple of lovelies commented that they liked the bold and dramatic colours and prints I used.  I hadn`t really thought about it before but this morning I got out this quilt top, which I hand pieced back in the spring (and had since been languishing in the cupboard) and basted it so now it`s ready for quilting when the right feet turn up in the post.

This quilt top is definitely colourful and in your face.  I love it but it`s not everyone`s cup of chai. It isn`t shy and retiring.  It`s saying, `Hey you, notice me!` As I sat on the floor amidst a couple of rioting 3 year olds, it got me thinking.  Does our quilting style (or painting or photography styles) reflect our personality or is it a way for us to express a different unseen side of us? What`s your quilting style?

While you ponder this, pop over to lovely Susan`s house - she`s having a great giveaway of 8 Punctuation FQs and it ends next Friday.

A Confession, A Lover`s Tiff & A Full Blown Affair!

Pinch punch - it`s October and the September Sewathon has drawn to a close.

It doesn`t look like much, but this month I started and completed - 

6 community blocks

3 mug rugs and 2 fabric baskets for Cindy`s Goodie Swap 2011

the first block for The Blogger`s BOM QAL

I also started a baby quilt using Kumari Garden

and ordered way too much fabric...

I held a giveaway sponsored by The Intrepid Thread and Hadley was the lucky winner

I participated in The Goodie Swap 2011 and joined 2 new swap
Susan`s The Modern Christmas Tablerunner Swap and Kat`s Scrappy Swap 2011

and I am super proud that I participated in and finished my Across the Seas lap quilt

Across the Seas lap quilt

  and joined 3 new quiltalongs (QALs)

The Duo QAL , The Blogger`s BOM QAL and the Drunkard`s Path QAL

I said goodbye to an old friend and said hello to a new one...

I have a confession to get off my chest. Towards the end of August, I signed up for the Across the Seas Quiltalong with Jennifer and Sarah.  I had been following Jennifer for a little while when in August she made her `big announcement`.  I was thrilled to see it was a quiltalong (QAL) but I didn`t really get the Greek cross on which her and Sarah`s design was based. I wasn`t sure whether I should join.  Then I read some of the comments on the announcement post and saw that a good bloggy pal had already put her hand up.  I knew that I had to trust Jennifer on this one, I joined too and  that was the beginning of a big love affair.

I love this block and the scrappy border - they have a vintage feel to me

I made my blocks for the quilt using my huge FQ of Parisville after Lynne at Lily`s Quilts gave a tip off that a stack of all the Parisville colourways was on sale at the Fat Quarter Shop for something ridiculous like thirty odd dollars.  I love this fabric so so much - it`s eclectic and a little bit quirky but has deep rich colours and gorgeous design detail.

As I started making my blocks, I fell deeper and deeper in love with Jennifer and Sarah`s design and my fabric.  This was going to be a great QAL - everything was coming together beautifully until it came to the  time for my creative input.  The quilting.  We had a lover`s tiff. I acted badly and like all romantic fall-outs, I blamed my own inadequacies on the other person quilt. Everyone said to calm down (get over myself - no, no they are too sweet to say that) and put the binding on, wash it and admire its lovely crinklyness.  All would be well.

The binding is Opal from Heirloom by Joel Dewberry

Well of course they were right.  It`s finished and I`ve broken a personal record.  It has previously taken me anything from between 4 months and a year and a half to complete my previous two quilts but this one took just 6 weeks.

I love the bordered blocks designed by Sarah for the back

I am totally in love with it and it is my all time favourite quilt so far.  Looking at comments made by others who have completed their quilts, I am not alone in feeling this. The icing on the cake would have been to stipple quilt it but that wasn`t to be.  No biggie.  A huge shout out to the fabulous Jennifer and Sarah who gave such amazing support and such beautifully clear directions, directed us to great tutorials, and to the QALongers who made the experience such fun. Here`s to the next one and the sooner the better.

I think quilts look almost better folded up.

To celebrate this finish, I`m delighted to be linking up for the first time in 6 months with Fresh Sewing Day over at Lily`s Quilts, and thanks again to Lynne for the great Parisville shout out.