Eeeekk! Look at this adorable quilt I just received!

The post man was my best friend today when he brought me a parcel containing the quilt I really wanted in the FLQS. This absolute beauty from Lucinda (LucyEllen06).

When I saw this in the group pool I totally fell in love with it, and it seemed to be so perfect for me (owls, buttons, spiky points) that I completely set my heart on it. And I am so pleased that I wasn't disappointed!

This is the Fab Little Quilt Swap on Flickr, which has been so much fun. Look at all the beautiful hand quilting Lucinda did on this quilt!

This is a little owl dressed up as a gnome! Or is it a gnome with an owl face? I just love it!

And look at all these extras she sent me too! A button tin full of goodies - thread, needles, stickers, alphabet stamps, vintage buttons, a cute little ladybird stapler, shisha mirrors, a Japanese pattern book...

 AND that cute little owl pincushion!! Thank you SO much Lucinda!

How sweet is this little label on the back?

I am so in love with my little quilt, I just can't stop looking at it and stroking it. I think I will hang it in my bedroom so I can keep it close. Thank you Lucinda for being such an amazing, perfect partner!

Science Project finished!

Apologies for being a bit quiet at the moment. I have become a victim of my own success - my craft classes are going so well that I am totally wearing myself out teaching them! And it is leaving me with very little time to make pretty things and, more importantly, look at all the pretty things you lot are making!

So I went right up to the wire with my quilt for the Fab Little Quilt Swap. Just finished in time for the international posting deadline on Monday. This is the Solid Science quilt that I wrote about a few weeks back.
By now you all know how much I love to hand quilt, and I couldn't resist picking out the circles in tight concentric bands, very hypnotic and soothing to stitch. I finished it with a very thin binding of Kona Charcoal.

Here is the back. I used some left over curves to make a new block and appliqued it to this piece of Robert Kaufman tea cup fabric. The quilt is exactly 24 inches square.

I am really struggling with sending this quilt away. I really love this one! Usually I am happy to set them free and move on to the next project, but I just don't want to part with it. If I had had more time I might have made another for my partner and kept this one for myself.

 I guess I can always make myself one some day, maybe a full sized quilt!

Ok, I think that's enough adoring photos of the quilt. Let's move on to one other thing I actually managed to make. If you remember, I sewed up all the little trimmings from this project into 3 different mini panels and asked for your suggestions as to what I should make with them.

Well a needlebook seemed to be the most popular (and easiest!) idea, so that's what I've made. I framed the panel in left over charcoal binding. I think it looks kind of woven.

Now all I need to do is pack these up and get them mailed on Monday *sob*. And then turn my attention to the next thing on my very long list!

Scrappy Colour Squares

Remember I showed you the centre of Jo's quilt for our Around the Bend and Across the Pond Round Robin a few weeks back? Well I've finished the first round.

After all the time I spent with solids working on my FLQS top, I just didn't want to stop, and as Jo had asked for 'bright colours mixed with white' I thought I could get away with a few more solids here.

So I got out my scrap bag and made these little 'double scrap' 2" squares, then bordered each with a bright solid. After adding an aqua border to the original centre, I sashed all the little blocks in white, and somehow it all worked out and fitted together! Usually my maths or my seam allowances are all off, so I was very pleasantly surprised that this all worked.
Now to send it off to Pam and wait and see what she will do next. Meanwhile I have received Dee's but have another Month before I need to get that finished and sent on (phew!).

I love using up scraps and often start straight away with left over bits and pieces after finishing a project. As I had made my curved blocks for the FLQS top a bit bigger so I could trim to size, I had lots of strips left. I sorted these into 3 lengths and sewed them together. I thought I could make at least one of them into a little extra for my partner.
I was thinking needlebook, but have already had a suggestion of a mug rug (I hardly dare admit that I have never actually made a mug rug - I guess there is a first time for everything!).
Any more ideas from my dear readers?

And as we are covering colourful squares today, I thought you might like to see the progress I am making on my Psychedelic Granny Circles.

That's 20 done with 80 more to go before the end of April!

Solid Science

I'm finally up to my 4th and last swap in this little series of current swap/bee catch-ups.

This last swap is the one that I will be finished with first. It is a new flickr swap called Fab Little Quilt Swap (or FLQS from now on). This is an invitation only group and I was very honoured to be invited to join, and then, of course, I couldn't help myself from signing up to their first swap!

We are swapping doll sized quilts with secret partners. My partner seems very easy going and likes all sorts of things, so I though I would experiment with the Kona Solid charms I had left over from the Colour Picker Quilt I made for Felix last year.

Here's my (slightly rubbish) original sketch.
The idea for this design came from quite an unusual place. I was watching the Royal Institute Christmas Lectures on the TV a few months back, and a scientist was explaining all sorts of things to an audience of mainly children (I can't even remember what he was explaining now, only one thing has stuck in my head and only because it became quilt related!).
He was talking about circles and squares and said, "how can you make a square out of a circle?".
He then drew 4 circles on a white board and then rubbed a quarter out of each circle and, all of a sudden, a square appeared. And I thought "hmmm, that would make a great quilt..."

I've wanted to get down to some serious curved piecing (or Drunkard's Path as I still like to call it) practice for a while now, so after a positive reaction to the idea from the FLQS group, I got to work on the initial blocks.

I finished this first quarter a few weeks back and then got stuck in to other projects. But time is marching on, and I would like to have time to hand quilt this, so I finished the top yesterday.

And I totally love it! I also love the way inspiration can strike you at any old time from any old thing!