Introducing my completed “Kate’s Kate”!

January 28, 2015 / manicmumdays / 4 Comments

This baby has been a LONG time coming! I think because she is going to live on my bed I haven’t stressed about rushing to get her done. {After the initial rush to get her top finished – HERE} This is my use of the gorgeous Aussie Kate Spain Charm Swap by the lovely Ms Midge! In case I’ve never mentioned, I adore Kate Spain!

She is queen sized, and more beautiful than ever 🙂

I was half way thru working on the back when I put her away last year to finish some other projects. And there she languished … until I saw an offer to good to refuse to have her quilted by the fantabulous Kelly from The Quilt Machine!

I had originally intended to make this a true double-sided quilt with a differently pieced back. I had pieced some window-style panels, but I knew there would be no chance I’d finish in time to send to Kel … after all, those freaking panels were why it’s been a UFO for a few months lol
So instead I whipped up the quickest backing I have ever done. {Have you noticed that despite the fact I am taking it “slow” with it, EVERYTHING to do with this quilt has been rushed??} I am happy with the backing tho, it features some of my favourite Kate Spain fabrics with some from Terrain, Cuzco, and Honey Honey. I adore how Kate Spain fabrics look so beautiful together – even from different lines.

Can you guess what my favourite colours are?
I find myself surrounded at home by testosterone with my boys and ~~the man-child~~ Mr Manic … Even the freaking dog is a male! haha. So I think that may have factored a little in my choices. This is MY quilt and I wanted it to be really girly for a change. Either way, I adore it!!

Once I got her home I changed my mind on the binding. I was going to go with a scrappy binding, but went with white instead and I think it works beautifully!

Anyhow … I have a few projects on the boil now, so I’m off! Will share again soon 🙂
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Bonnie & Camille Charm-Along!

October 27, 2014 / manicmumdays / 4 Comments

I am participating right now in the 3rd Aussie Charm-Along hosted by the always brilliant Ms Midge!

First off we did Kate Spain {The quilt top from that swap is my header!}
I am still working on the back of that one so it hasn’t been quilted yet – Boooo!

Then came Bonnie & Camille. It’s quilted and I’m just finishing the binding on it so I don’t have a completed pic of it to share … But here is a pic of the quilt top :

I really love this quilt! ~~I think it might be~~ It’s going to be my new couch quilt 🙂
It’s the perfect size too!

And the 3rd we are in the midst of is Amy Butler!
I am so very excited for them to arrive!!!

❤

Did anyone catch “The Code” on ABC the last couple of months? It wrapped up last night – What a ripper little Aussie drama it was!
Next 2 weeks in its place there will be a 2 part movie on Ian Flemming – Author of the 007 novels … that should be interesting.
Do you think I am showing my age since I am watching ‘Aunty’ more n more these days? haha

❤

Anyhow, I need to go get cracking on finishing my binding. Hope y’all have a great week!
{tho, hopefully I’ll post again before the weeks out! haha}

Unfinished …

August 6, 2014February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / 15 Comments

I had a shocker 24 hours yesterday!
It started when I had the battery replace on my car Monday and didn’t stop til I got home at 6pm last night! *phew!*

Interestingly, I just made a typo on the title – put “Unfunished”
That wouldn’t have been untrue either! haha

As I have mentioned before, I joined in the Australian Kate Spain Charm Swap hosted by the fabulous Ms Midge …

Melissa {Ms Midge} arranged a fantabulous bunch of prizes and a “Charm-Along” to show off our gorgeous bundles.
I had been {slowly} working towards the cut off date. But alas … the afore-mentioned shocker 24 hours has been my undoing! I intended to get the top completed Monday night and get some pics taken in the morning. Blog. Link-up. Easy … Right?
Yeahhh … not so much! When I didn’t get quite completed I was going to finish and take pics in the morning.
Nope, no go then either.

So. I am out.
And what makes it even sadder is the fact that I have found my MOJO!! haha

~*~

…………………………………………….. Or So I thought!!!!
I was just now reading my emails {mainly blog posts I am addicted to 😉 } while I worked on this post, and I followed a link from Molli Sparkle’s Kate Spain beauty to Ms Midge’s Linky Party for the Charm Along.

And ….. saw this :

“All you have to do is link up your project at the bottom of this post before 5pm WEDNESDAY THE 6TH OF AUGUST, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA TIME, and the winners will be chosen and announced Wednesday night here on the blog.”

eeeeekkkkkk!!! I am still in this! haha

~*~

Back now!
Off I went to buzz the rest together and I am happy to announce I am DONE!
I finished!
And you are reading the blog post to prove it! 😉

Stitch the HST’s together 🙂

Sew pretty!!

Trimming, trimming, trimming!

Pretty chains!

Here it is!!! Sorry I am cutting it so fine Melissa! haha

{Geez I hope my tired brain can work out the Linky part! – this is popping my Link Party Cherry 😉 }

EDIT : I should add, she’s a Queen Size 🙂

Some Days Are Diamond

July 30, 2014July 30, 2014 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

… some days are stone. Some times the hard times won’t leave me alone.
Some times the cold winds blow a chill in my bones.
Some days are diamonds, some days are stone.
Gotta love John Denver for ‘Where-I’m-at-today-lyrics’ haha

I don’t know if it’s because it’s Winter, {Winter gets a bad rap from me cos I don’t like the cold 😉 }
Or if I just lost my MOJO …
But I am reallllllly struggling to put a nice block together the last week or two!

Whatever it is, it always seems to happen when I am on a deadline!

As I have mentioned before, I participated in the first Aussie Kate Spain Charm Swap run by the lovely Ms Midge this last month or two.

Sew … Ms Midge has a fab competition happening that we have to enter our projects made with the Kate Spain charms! I spent a big chunk of my weekend and a few nights of last week cutting, stitching, cutting again and then trimming 448 Half Square Triangles {HST’s} for my project.
Simple, right? WRONG … I have been struggling to match points and am really regretting my whole idea now 😦

I laid out the block I am aiming for here :

Sew far, sew good.
Start sewing them and fall in a heap! Gah!!

I also made my July Bee block over the weekend. It was HST’s too and I tell ya! It took so many goes to get it right!!
I was afraid I was going to fray the seams from too much unpicking!!

Pretty block, hey? Our July Queen asked for bright happy colours. I liked the combo enough to cut one for myself in the same fabrics – Did I mention I was going to make a quilt with replica blocks from this Bee? Anyhow, it was lucky I cut mine, cos I did fray the corner of one when Betsy decided to have a hissy fit! {She is due for a service but I am pushing her so I can finish the KS project 🙂 }

A lady I know thru my other hobby – timber work/furniture make overs – is moving back to the US next month and I am hoping to buy her Janome to keep as a spare. I’ve always thought I’d love a second machine, especially when I am sewing with 2 different colours and it’s a pain to change the thread haha. Perhaps I should find a second overlocker too! 😀

Anyhow … here’s hoping a good sleep will return my MOJO and I get this quilt top done by the weekend!

Linking back to Ms Midge where you can find details on the Kate Spain Charm Along and Swap 🙂

Exciting Project and School Holidays Are Over!

July 14, 2014February 7, 2016 / manicmumdays / Leave a comment

I know my monsters have already had a pretty eventful school holidays, but I took them to see RIO2 at the movies the other day. The kids liked RIO but fell in love with it all over again on the ship … where they watched it ~~heaps!~~ a couple of times. We went with our friends up the road, also a mum and 2 boys.

It was pretty good. I give it 3.5/5. I have to say, some of my favourite movies of all time are cartoons!
Finding Nemo would be in my top 5. Forrest Gump and Dirty Dancing would also make my top 5. But I would have to be super selective in choosing the other 2 😉
What are your favourite movies?

Actually, Saturday night I stayed up til nearly 3am watching an old favourite – Up Close and Personal.
Michelle Pfeiffer. Robert Redford. *sigh*

While I was watching ~~Robert Redford~~ the movie I was cutting white charm squares to use with my
Aussie Kate Spain Charm Swap!
I played a double hand in the stash so ended up with 224 charms 😀
Since the quilt I have planned uses HST I had to then cut 224 white charms.
And then rule all of them in half and match it with the others.
Which means I’ll end up with 448 HST eeek! 😀

….. hmmm hope I have enough haha!!

I would have been further along except we took the Mad Mutt to the beach for his first visit. {I’ve made a bit more progress since I took this pic tho …} He absolutely loved it!!! Here’s the big goofball overgrown puppy smile :

It was also his first trip in a ute {Hubby’s new work truck} and he’s such a clutzy non-dog! – he dragged his chin on the road as he was jumping out. Small graze. Big bleed. I wore some of it on my shirt. Ugh!

School is back this week – ~~yaaayy~~ Gee I’ll miss them 😉 I have a couple of full days so I am looking forward to ‘alone’ errands.
Hope to be back in a couple of days with some progress pics from my big project!
Have a great week 🙂

Home again, home again lickity split …

July 10, 2014July 10, 2014 / manicmumdays / 2 Comments

Well.

We’re home – yaaay! {what I really mean is “Thank f*ck!”}

We had quite an eventful holiday.
It looked for a day or two like we wouldn’t even make the cruise ship!
My poor little man developed a chest infection which they thought might be pneumonia! It wasn’t thankfully and a course of antibiotics set him on the straight and narrow once again 🙂 *Phew! I can’t stand it when one of my babies is sick!

Sadly it meant we had a shortened trip to Seaworld and the other 2 boys went off to Movieworld without us 😦 We spent the day warm and sleepy in the hotel room {I was sick too, but not as bad as Ryan} And it was far too cold to go to the water parks! There was, however, an awesome water park at the resort and Mark n Harry had a couple of plays in it … Crazy buggers!

Above, starting from bottom left : At the airport – We’re on our way!; Q1 from below; North from the top of Q1; South from the top of Q1; That’s the Qld/NSW border – we crossed over into cockroach country!; Coolangatta Beach.

Above are some bits and pieces from our fractured Gold Coast visit.

We had to be at the port to board Pacific Jewel between 10.30-11am and man! There are some lines you have to wait in to get on those ships!! We finally boarded and were supposed to set off by 3 or 4. We ended up having dinner still in port and after some safety talks, we were at last on our way by around 7pm ish!

Above is a pretty picture heading out on the Brisbane River; Us checking out our cabin and donning our safety vests while learning what to do if the worst was to happen 🙂

We were at sea for 2 days and got into port in Noumea late afternoon. Which sadly left us only a couple of hours daylight to explore 😦 Oh well … We made our own fun in the city and visited a gorgeous old Cathedral, had a quick snack of twisties and coke in the park.

Clockwise from top left : Ryan’s favourite place to watch the ocean {they claim to have seen flying fish one morning and a shark one afternoon haha}; Park fountain, Noumea; Archie, our fantabulous steward made towel animals for the kids a couple of times 🙂 ; Me on Mare; The boys sitting in the window again; Ahoy Captain Ryan!; ~~Some~~ ALOT of DS was played; Ahoy Captain Harry!; And a cute little tug boat I couldn’t leave out 🙂

Leaving Vanuatu at dusk; All of us at a lookout on Vanuatu; We parked next to a kindy and these little ones jumped up to the fence and started yelling “Take my picture! Take my picture!” lol; Harry with a gorgeous Iguana on his hat; We got our picture with the village chief; Coming into Mare; The boys holding a Green Turtle; The warriors were very scary! 😉 ; And the boys on Mare with Jewel in the background.

I, for one have decided I am NOT a cruiser. I didn’t much like it. I was bored and on the last 2 days seasick {despite taking seasick tablets} It was exceptionally AWESOME to not have to cook or clean tho! 😉
And I really enjoyed checking out the islands. The kids loved the kids clubs and the food was lovely.

Walking to the plane we glimpsed our ship heading off on her next adventure! Little dudes look deceptively happy to be on the plane heading home … I say deceptively because on that short flight they both {at different times} had sooking fits of “I miss Pacific Jewel” and “I miss my new friends” haha funny little dudes!

Now we are home, things are getting back to normal. Husband is back at work, kids are still on school holidays for another couple of days and I am getting back into my sewing 🙂
It reeeeaaalllllly helps that I came home to a gorgeous bundle of Kate Spain charms from the swap organised by Ms Midge! 😀 I have chosen the quilt I will make with them and am keen as mustard to get elbow deep in it!
Sew, hopefully I will have a few pics of some blocks for it in my next post … Stay tuned 😉