Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap

I'm also in this  swap, swapping hexies that are an inch on each side.

I asked for icy and pastel colours for my quilt.  These are the ones I received from Jan in Georgia, USA and they are just perfect!

The photo really doesn't do them any justice - they are much brighter.  I need to really learn how to use photoshop.

I forgot to take a photo of the ones I sent to Edda in Iceland.  Damn!  Only this sneak preview one that I should have posted on the Inchy site:

Crazy Quilting Sampler with Button-Button

I'm also taking part in this swap over here.  I can't just do as I'm told so instead of making a square, I made a circle.....and covered both sides.  And, I sewed the pieces onto wadding instead of fabric.  I pieced it by the stitch and flip method explained on Julie's blog here.  I didn't sew up to the outside 1/2" and turned those to tidy the sides of each 'arm'.  I've no idea what happened on the right-hand side?!?  I just whip stitched the edges.

This will be the right side

This will be the wrong side

Then I whipped stitched the edges together to make a bowl.  I used the Christmas scraps that Michele gave me at the last Icknield Quilters evening.  

This is the bowl sewn together with some of the stitches that Julie showed here and here.  Julie uses a wall paper seam roller for pressing like I do!  You can't see the stars I embroidered up the joins on the front or the herringbone stitch joining the sides on the back or the button-hole stitch around the central circle.  Just as well, I think!!

Right way up!

Wrong way up!

I'm going to make more bowls as we had the most inspiring talk by Sheila Cetti who showed lots of her quilts and fabric and yarn bowls which she just tossed across the room to members!  You can see some images from that evening here.  I'm making a more traditional crazy quilted bowl at the moment, using the first photo on Julie's Pinterest board here and will use most of the stitches on Julies' pages.

I'm also taking part in Julie's Orange Peel Quiltalong here but just cannot decide on my fabric choices - oh make a decision! I really liked Brioni Greenberg's Petals, which was a workshop at FQR, so will likely use this colour combination.

Secret Sister package has arrived!!!!!

My Secret Sister package arrived from Celine.    OMG as the young people say.  It's just amazing.......She has a really good blog with lots of ideas and inspiration here which I can highly recommend.

This is what I found this afternoon, when I got home:

And, inside (sorry for the bad quality of the photo):

Look at the beautiful label!

A great modern quilt (and I just joined the London Modern Quilt group), a mug, a Yankee candle (I just love those), ahhhh Paris stickers, super-smooth lip butter, a sewing case and pincushion (ooohh hexies!), stitch ripper and ribbons including two really snazzy French ribbons, a notebook and 3 pretty pens and 2 bars of Green and Blacks chocolate - no, I don't know where the other bar went?   Finally, and best of all, good quality thin applique pins (I've been searching for fine applique pins for ages and these are just perfect to continue with my Green Tea workshop with Jen Kingwell at the Fat Quarterly Retreat a little while ago).  I just love the quilt and have put it on my sewing wall to remind me how important friends, especially quilty ones, are.

I've packed some hexies to piece in my new sewing kit to take out with me tomorrow for some guerrilla basting in Clinic!

Outside -  I should have left it tied up with the bow so you could see that properly

Inside - you can't quite see it but there are pockets on the right and a place for the pin cushion on the left

I'm just so thrilled with my Secret Sister swap - many, many thanks Celine - it's just perfect!

I hope my Secret Sister won't be disappointed with her small swap package.  I sent a notebook in a golfing cover 

And a cat that I adapted from my Body Farm Bears pattern.  I made the legs slightly longer and it actually stands up on it's own by pure accident design improvement.

 This swap was just amazing.  Can't wait for the next one!