Right under their noses

We went to visit some friends in their holiday house recently.
They have 3 adult daughters who call the house "The Op Shop" ... and it is NOT meant as a compliment. What do they know?????

I walked around the house snapping away with my camera, totally in awe at some of the treasures they have hidden away ...

This sideboard has the most inspiring geometric details...

And check out these beauties. So much potential ...

Not to mention this little gem ...

I'm posting these images not only to share with you these fabulous retro treasures, but also so that my friend can show her daughters .... so please leave all your positive (but of course honest) comments for them to read.

Also, here are some fab images I have collected to show them (and you) via the wonder that is flickr.

• Retro furniture gallery
• Vintage sewing boxes

Hooray for vintage chic!

Andi xx

My Beehive month - solids fever!!

I definitely have 'Solids Fever'!!!

This month is my turn to send out fabric parcels to the lovely Beehive ladies. They will be making me quilt blocks that will coordinate with my Echino wall hanging above my bed:

I have asked for blocks like the ones in this gallery. But I've asked for BIG ones .... 20 inches square!!

With one block from each group member and five made by me, I should end up with a quilt 80 inches square .... perfect for my bed!!

And before I forget, here are the blocks I made for Julie in March.

Her quilt will be amazing when it's all done!!

I'm really loving this quilting bee thing but I'm glad I'm only doing 1. Enough is enough!!

Have a stitchin' week.

Andi xx

Seuss!!!!

A while back I told you about Ella's room make-over and how I still hadn't finished Jake's cosy comfy space.

Well ... now I have!
Here's what 7 uninterrupted hours of sewing time gets you.

Seuss curtains .... closed.



And open.



Seuss on the front



AND the back ...





A cosy little nook for reading and playing PEEK-A-BOO!!



Even hanging out with your sister!!



My work here is done.

Andi xx

My creative space

My niece turns 14 today.

And a girl needs a bag. Am I right?

I recently purchased a fat quarter pack of Kumari Garden by Deena Designs in the Gem colourway.
It's a gorgeous bright collection that is not too heavy on the floral. (My niece is not a fan of the floral).

With pockets inside and out and a nice long strap, I'm hoping this messenger style bag will get plenty of use.

Happy birthday Ruby!!

Love Andi xx

PS Heaps more creative folks can be found over here.

Voile -a

It's been a long time since I posted about this hand quilting project but I have finally put the last stitches into my Anna Maria Horner voile quilt ..... now happily residing on my bed.

Each square is quilted in a coordinating Perle 8 colour (single thread)

Once this was done, I wanted to add some more contrasting quilting so I used lots of different contrasting Perle 8 threads (doubled) to create a grid across the whole quilt

And these are all the pretty coloured threads I had to play with. (Purchased here)

This quilt is so amazingly soft. The combination of the voile (front and back) and the hand quilting makes for a deliciously soft and floaty quilt.

Now I need to get back to some other WIPs languishing in the cupboard.

I'm very pleased to have this one finished.
Hope you've had some pleasing finishes lately.

Andi xx

Following in our parents footsteps

Ella following Mummy

And Jake following Daddy

Of course we are all more complex individuals than that would suggest.
But I do detect a bit of a pattern.

Do you see these patterns in your family?

Andi xx

Lovely crafting with lovely people

One of my favourite ways to spend my time.

This week I had the chance to catch up with the lovely Cathy at my place for a day of fabric chat, eating and stitching. We made a bit of a mess ...

Played with quilts ...

And took a silly DIY photo ...

Cathy brought along a very old WIP that she is now madly trying to finish ...

And a newer one too ...

I am so in awe of this woman's talent. Very pleased to be able to call her a friend.

During our crafting session, I managed to finish up a WIP of my own. I'll save that for another post but here's a sneaky peak ...

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Andi xx

Playing along with the snoop

Kirsty suggested we share images of the shelves in our homes to give a bit of an insight into ourselves and our lives. (And so we can also have a bit of a snoop into each others homes too).

So I started wandering around the house snapping shots of shelves, collections, bits and bobs .... and realised I had a little theme emerging ...... my covered tissue boxes.

So here they are:

On the piano, next to our wedding photo from 2009. A quilt in the background. Lots of quilts around my house!

On the table in the living room. Next to our (rather dusty) photo box and the chess set. Dan has been teaching the kids to play. Another quilt used as a table covering.

Ella's bedside table. Surrounded by treasures and a vase of fresh flowers.
She picks new ones every couple of days.

So there you have it. What's hiding on your shelves?

More shelves to snoop at here!!

Andi x