And 2nd prize goes to........

Me! I found out this morning that I have won second prize at the Blue & White Challenge with the quilt Cosmic (see below). I am really excited and doing a little happy dance! I am yet to see photos of the quilt which won, Congratulations to Karin for being the winner.

Cosmic - A Blue & White Challenge

I just love this quilt. It is simply one of the most enjoyable quilts I have ever made. I adore Blue and White, so when Kilmore Kwilters (in Victoria, Australia) set their challenge, I couldn't resist. The Blues are all from my stash and I only bought the whites in Fat 1/8 pieces. The requirements for the Challenge were very simple - Fabrics to be Blue and White, with the quilt finishing at 100cm square. The largest star is a Judy Mathieson design - Twilight Star and the rest I made up as I went along. I knew the look I wanted, I just had to make it work.

Today (18th Oct) was the day of judging of the Blue & White Quilts. I couldn't be there, so I need to e-mail one of the 'girls' what happened and how the day went. I think that they would have had a fantastic day.

However, while that was happening in Australia, my local group here in Germany held their quilt show. It was held in a cafe and attracted quite a lot of interest, which considering the venue was in a bizzare location (hidden from a major road, in a crop field and bordered by a freeway with no easy exit nearby) was really surprising. In any language, Quilters can talk to each other. Textile Art reaches out to people and you don't need to speak the same vocabulary because you understand each other very well. One of the ladies from the group that came today who belongs to the group is very special. She is a fantastic lady who has had the misfortune of being cursed by the cancer wand. Not only is she an extremely nice person, but she has a wonderful sense of humour. While she was there with her head wrapped in a scarf, she was entertaining my 4 yr old son with her clown quilts (esp the one titled Colonia Clownia) and then the adults with the Cologne Dom (Cathedral) in pictorial quilts from around the world. She has the Dom on Ayers Rock and the Sydney Opera House. The Dom has also visited the ocean, Canada, the USA and lots of other locations around the world.

All of the above has made for an interesting day. The missing my good friends in Australia at the Blue & White Challenge event, plus the Quilt Show (austellung) here in Cologne, a couple of special friends dropping by and some family time has made me feel quite nostaligic, maybe it's time to go and hug my kids....

Time for a Mystery........

"The game is afoot..." It is time to begin a Mystery Quilt (MQ). I have never, ever taken part in a Mystery Quilt project before, so I am nervous with anticipation. The fabric requirements have been sent out and I have chosen my fabrics - see pic. Yes, it will be a predominantly blue quilt, with the pink and red as the "pizazz" pieces.

I have chosen to do the lap size (117cm square) because I had fabric pieces the correct size and nothing large enough for the other sizes. When a piece of fabric in my chosen colour way is 107cm wide and the requirements call for a piece 105cm wide, then it has to be the right choice doesn't it? As someone wrote in an e-mail to the MQ group, one can always add borders to the quilt later on or make it the centre of a medallion if a bigger size is desired! I aim to get the quilt top pieced before I make that sort of choice.

This is a great Stashbuster as I have only "shopped" in my stash and don't even need to buy cotton, wadding, backing fabric or quilting thread! This is making me happy dance, hence the little brag. I will choose the binding once the quilt is finished and that may require a shop visit, but let's hope not!

I am really excited about this project as I have been wanting to start something totally brand new and not pick up another UFO or PIG!

Off to iron my fabrics now!

Ramblings.......

No, I haven't forgotten that I have a blog, but I have been very busy! I have written another short story, all about a faux pas at a dinner party, which my writing group now have in their e-mail boxes to critique.

I have printed out some very cute little Noahs Ark Stitcheries. Lynette has been very busy designing them and she is posting them on her blog in monthly installments. The pictures are so cute! But, you have to wait, I have only printed them out so far and not stitched them.

I have been working profusely on my Stained Glass Quilt. Yes, DH received an unfinished quilt for his b'day, but he didn't mind. I have taken back off him, to add on one border, so hopefully photos later today.

I delivered 6 quilts for an exhibition here in Germany. That took some time to ensure labels were all OK, no loose threads were left hanging, that sort of thing. The exhibition is being held by the local group LightCabinPatchwork. Click on the link and then austellung for the details. My 'seasonal change' quilt is one of them and here are pics of 2 of the smaller ones:
















And last, but not least - check out this brand new blog for my friend Wilma, who is a wonderful machine quilter - DeepCreekQuilting. I have a feeling that she is going to be showing us some really fun stuff in her blog!