It's been a colourful year!

It's been a colourful year!
Originally uploaded by mandalin18

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Wishing you all a Christmas that is full to the brim with love and laughter.

Stay safe,
x Mandy

I started early!

Yeah, I know, it's only a little finish. But it is a start..... I'm really happy with the way I quilted it. If I ever get around to making a bed sized one, I will quilt it the same way. It's been gifted now, Jamie really enjoyed giving it to this Lady, he thinks she's fabulous and insisted on giving it to her himself.

I've received a few swaps, and will post about them in a few days, promise!
x Mandy

We have a Winner!

My Mum is visiting us from England for Christmas, so I asked her to pick the winning number. It belonged to...........

LethargicLass


Yay!!!! Send me an email so I can make a start on your Huggle.

Thank you to everyone who entered, it was fun to read all the comments. My number of visitors here has, as of this moment, reached 1646 from 60 countries. I'll have to try and work out those new three countries!!

Can't have a post without a photo, or two. So here's the Christmas Tree Ornaments I sent in a swap,

and the three I received.


Cheerio fro now,
x Mandy

1500 visitors giveaway!

Visitors from an amazing 57 countries as well! I'm just astounded by that, as I wouldn't call myself a very regular blogger, and I really only offer up to the world what I make for myself and others, bee's and swaps. So, it really does deserve a giveaway, and well, tis the season!

Here's what you can win:



A gift for you, your children, or another special friend this Christmas?

It's my own softie pattern which I named, Huggle. I designed them with the youngest of children in mind, nothing sharp and nothing small that with come off! They are made to be hugged hard and dragged around. You'll be able to chose for a girl or boy or opt for my choice if your unsure, and I will make it especially for you. I'll also include a 5" charm pack made from my stash, plus some other little gifts I'll choose to tie in with the Huggle I'm sending. This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

Okay, to win, easy peasy! Leave me a comment about who you'd give the Huggle to...... yep that's it! If you'd like an extra entry, become a follower! The giveaway will close next Sunday midnight Australian eastern time.

Thank you for visiting!
Cheerio for now,
x Mandy

my list of WIP quilt shame....

I do not have a quilt in my home that I have finished!! There, it's out!

True, my ORBC big pinwheels quilt just requires binding, and I will finish that before my Mum arrives, so it can go on her bed while she's here. But the rest on the list over on the right, are ALL uncompleted!!

So, this is what I've decided to do to remedy it. The 1st 6 months of next year I am going to concentrate on getting them finished. I WILL not be starting a new top until from Jan 1 throught to July 1 2011, oh, except for Dee's ORBC quilt-along, I can't miss a quilt-along by a flickr mate. Plus, it was originally going to start this year. BUT, that's the only one. I cannot truly call myself a quilter, until I have done more quilting!! I want to quilt them, I want quilts I have made scattered throughout my home...

Join me if you'd like, I know I'm not the only one with quilt tops hanging around, I'm just the one with the most!!!

Some photo's of the quilts in waiting....











Cheerio for now,
x Mandy

What! More fabric!!!

Parcel #1:

My first Kona Cotton Solid fabric purchases, that arn't Grey! I narrowed my choices by matching some of the colours to Denyse Schmidt's elusive oop Flea Market Fancy. Wow, that's a mouthful!
I decided I wanted a quilt, even if it's a small one, using the scraps I have of this line. I haven't quite decided on the block, but I think it'll have to be somewhat wonky due to the odd sizes of fabric I have. I'm looking forward to the puzzle piecing.

Parcel #2:

Browsing on Etsy, as you do, I had a visual light bulb moment! How fantastic does Nicey Jane and Dolce look together! Mr Mandalin just happened to be walking by during this moment and the rest is history, as they say! I'm toying with the idea of a Bento Box quilt. I've always wanted to do one and if I throw a Kona Grey and Aqua in the mix.......

Parcel #3

I'm not a big Heather Ross fan, but I do very much love this Sleeping Beauty and Roses print on Linen, from Far, Far Away II. They are destined to be zipped purses and notebook covers for 'The Nook'. More on that next post.


Parcel #4:

Hasn't arrived yet, lol!! It's a couple of Tula Pink charm packs. A Neptune and Plume. Sooooo excited about the Neptune one!

Cheerio for now,
x Mandy

Retail Therapy

much needed Retail Therapy
Originally uploaded by mandalin18

ahhhhhh......what it is to stand in a quilt/patchwork/fabric shop........









I like buying online, the whole not getting out of the chair and buying at any time of the day/night thing, really appeals to me! But, there are times, when you just have to go touch and absorb!!

These beauties all came from the 'The Vintage Patch' in Springwood. There's always something in there that grabs my attention. I was so thrilled to find Wee Woodland, the dots just screamed Christmas tree ornaments to me. Very hard to pass up on Heather Bailey bargains, one more to add to my French General collection, plus another which I hope might blend in well too.

I've just put in a small order at 'Hawthorne Threads' for some Far, Far, Away 2. Sleeping Beauty in natural and dusk, plus Roses in the same two colours. Can't wait for them to arrive. Plus I've been given the go ahead to buy a decent stash of Kona Cotton Solids, woo hoo!!

Cheerio for now,
x Mandy

Lovin' my Daisies

Lovin' my Daisies
Originally uploaded by mandalin18

You can take the girl out of England, but you can't take out her Englishness!!

Scrappy Mug Rug Swap

Mug Rug
Originally uploaded by mandalin18

My first Mug Rug! Trial or the one to send? Not sure yet.
Such a great way to use those oddments of wadding.

Swap catch-up #1

Mini QT Swap on Flickr

This really gorgeous quilt came from Amy, of AFriend2 on Flickr.

These swaps are not secret, we are paired up by the swap mama, and it is up to us to contact each other and discuss our hopes for the quilt coming to us. The theme was beach/underwater, and I'm sure you can quess which way Amy and I decided to go! There are many aspects to Amy's quilt that I adore. I really think she has managed to give that underwater, gentle current sway feeling to her quilt.

The quilting on the clam is stunningly accurate.

The disappearing mermaids tail adds just the right amount of whimsy.

French knots and squealy fab quilting on the outside of the tentacles.

More french knots on a completely darling starfish!
Plus button seashells. *sigh*

The label! Too, too cute!

Amy also sent me an, oh to die for, pincushion! Which she printed herself! And we are doing another one-on-one swap. I get to have more of Amy's adorable prints, and I will send her a 'My Hugul', plus something else.....not to be revealed here....yet!

Darn, thought I'd taken photo's!

Be back in a couple of days with Swap catch-up #2 post, 'The Doll Quilt Swap', your in for another treat people. I have been so very fortunate lately, very, very fortunate!! Of course you can always nip over to Flickr and check out my photostream there!?!

Cheerio for now
x Mandy

Where'd August go?

Latest Bee Crazy blocks

These Anna Maria Horner voile fabrics are sooo beautiful, slippy as hell, but lovely and soft. I thought these colours from Kathryn were divine.

I love using these Kona solids as well. And they went with the Amy Butler Wallflower print beautifully. Add some aqua Freshcut and DeliHi, and you really can't go wrong!

This is the block I'll be asking the Bee Crazy ladies to make for me in October. I have them all cut and bagged ready to go. A little ahead of schedule, which feels good, but slightly weird!

And these are the first blocks I've made for a new Bee I've joined, the Fresh Modern Bee. I just could not resist joining this one. I was on Flickr at the right time to see Lily's Quilts post about a vacant spot on the Bee. I jumped in before I'd thought really, absolutely no regrets, I mean, just look at those fun fabrics from Jolene.

I have received my DQS quilt's!!! And I will post pics early next week, I should be finishing off my DQS tonight, but I want to quilt it in daylight. The DQS quilt's I received will blow your socks off!!!! Plus my fabulous partner sent me a Kona Colour Chart, and a lovely little zipped purse, and some Kokeshi doll stickers. She did a real number on me, I feel very lucky. In fact I feel very lucky with all the quilts I have received. Oh.....I can show you the Mini QT from Amy!!!!

The one I made for Amy ~ The one she made for me.

Isn't it gorgeous, can't you just feel the sway of the under current. Amy also sent me an adorable pincushion, pic to come...

Here's another photo of the one I made for Amy, I desperately need to take some new photo's tomorrow, hopefully there will be an abatement of the Spring winds we've been having lately, we even had sleet on Friday!?!

cheerio for a few days,
x Mandy

Spiderweb Blocks ~ done!

Gosh, how I loved making these! They are now sewn together and on their way to Sara for the Spiderweb Block Swap. Mostly from my scrap bags, but I did add in some from my charm stack. I really think you can't go wrong with spiderwebs. I'd like to make a quilt to showing all my fave fabric lines, ie have a spiderweb of Wonderland, Freshcut, Kaffe, etc etc. You'd need to keep track on paper of which triangles went where, totally doable. It could be a memento quilt of all the quilts you've made. Mmmm, I really like this idea, it would be a long term project in my case......lol

cheerio for now
x Mandy

Lots on the go!

I seem to have a lot of fingers in a lot of pies at present. It's not really bothering me, but I wonder if it should? I kinda like having several (okay, 6) projects in progress. No, their not on the wip shelf, they are actually ALL being worked on at once! Well, no, not literally!

Pork Chop Swap Hexagons
Made from the 5" charms, received from the gals in the Flickr ORBC group.

Ah! My DQS9 inspiration mosaic for my partner.
I've an idea on paper, and fabrics pulled for the one I'm making for my partner.
But no sneak peeks, just yet.

Bee Crazy Block for Curtinqueen.
I'm working on an adaption of this, no sneak peeks for this just yet either.

This is my first Asterisk block. This one is only 3.5", I'm hoping we'll be doing a swap of these on the Itty Bitty Block Swap Flickr group. Can you imagine receiving 12 or 15 of these little beauties from all over the world? I get excited when I think about it.

But, for now I'm making bigger Asterisks for a Quilt along. I'm starting with 7" squares, all tone on tone, in mauve's~purples~amber's~oranges~greens~blues. The strips are 5 different shades of cool grey. I've only done 2 so far, so will post pictures when I've done at least 9.

Off to watch 'Little Dorrit' on the ABC now. Love a good period drama me, especially one I'm not familiar with.

Cheerio for now, be back soon!
x Mandy

Playing with Solids

Robert Kaufman, Kona Cotton Solids, to be precise. I LOVE a good quality solid! The Kona solids are, in my experience, beautiful to work with. Never again, will I buy homespun for my quilts. There are a number of online spots to buy Kona, including a very new one called 'Simply Solids'. If you live in the UK, take advantage of the free delivery, you only have to spend over 15 pounds, and quite honestly, that's easy to do!! Go on, take a peak!

Also check out the 'Simply Solids' blog too, it's written by 'Made with Love by Mandy', so you know it's going to be good!!! lol, not me, wish it was!



And why? Am I telling you this.......well Lily's Quilts is having a giveaway, and I want to win it!!! The prize is a stunning package of 22 Kona Solid fat quarters! No, I don't mind if you enter too, of course not. I'm a firm believer in the 'more the merrier' attitude. The second best thing to winning the prize, would be to *know* someone who did. So, be sure to come back and let me know if you win, I'll be so thrilled for you!

Cheerio for now
x Mandy

Such a happy swap!

As well as participating in the Doll Quilt Swaps on Flickr, I also enjoy belonging to the Mini QT Swap. The mini quilts swapped, are usually are between 6 and 12 inches.

The theme for May was black & while + one other colour, not square or rectangle. I had promised myself to do no more swaps until DQS9, but...........I Just. Could. Not. Resist that theme!

I was partnered with Kimberly of bahamadawn, a very talented and creative lady, living in, yup, you guessed, The Bahamas! What a thrill! We exchanged addresses and colour preferences for the quilt we would be receiving. I asked for an Ocean colour, and I decided on using Fuchsia, from Kimberly's correspondence. Shape! eek! But this is why I love swaps, they challenge me to create outside my own preferences. Pink! 10 million raspberries! Pink, just doesn't do it for me, Pink, oh me, oh my!

I got over it of course, and this is what I sent to Kimberly......



I'm really pleased how it turned out. Thank you Jane for the loan of your wedge template, ooops I think I still have it! This is what I happened in the middle, it started out as such a small thought. What would it look like if I back stitched along the printed lines on the flower. I liked it, and, just kept going. So now I am experimenting with beads in my quilts. But just a few, I don't want it to detract from the fabric.

I enjoyed all the hand quilting, and the ric rac was fun to use too!





So......I hear you say, what did I receive?

One little birdie,

two little birdies,

three little birdies,

in a darling birdcage!

Isn't it divine! Kimberly also made a copper wire hook, and attached it to the top of the cage, for me to hang it up. Such a fab little piece, I sooooo adore it. Thanks again Kimberly!



I'll have to show you more from this group. Because we also swap 3.5" little blocks, in groups from 9 - 16!!! I've participated in two of these. One with a "Spring Fling" theme and another with the b & w + 1 colour theme. We were all given a specific colour, mine was Amber. The last block arrived yesterday. I'll get the camera out soon and take the necessary photo's.

Okay, that's enough from me for the moment.
Cheerio for now!
x Mandy

Catch up!

I've been away from my Blog so long, I can't remember if I have shared some of these photo's! I don't think I have, but my apologies if I repeated myself.


This is the DQS8 quilt that I sent to my partner, The Sometimes Crafter. I really enjoyed using the grey to highlight some of my fave big floral prints. And the variegated grey DMC thread was perfect for some simple running stitches. I wanted to try and emphasize the weave effect of the floral fabrics. I was pretty pleased with the outcome!


This one also has some running stitches! More along the Sashiko line though. The Sashiko panels are also my own work. The cushion size panel comes from Japan, it has pre-printed lines to follow. I found the hand sewing to be very relaxing. But decided to cut up the panel to make this Wall Hanging. The indigo fabrics are from my first Jelly Roll purchase. I just couldn't resist all those different Indigo 2 1/2' strips. I really enjoyed making this one, I gave it to a good friend for her Birthday.


This is a tiny Coin quilt! I sent this along as part of a fabric swap. Ack! I can't remember which one!


Ahhhh, this one is quite recent. I called it 'Amy Butler Sorbet', I am sure all these colours could be found at a Gelato bar. It went to Melanie, and was a DQS Angel quilt. Poor Melanie waited a long time to get her quilt. I hope this made up for it. Me and my monochromatic prints, I do so love them!


Look!!! I've finally pieced another big quilt, I've even quilted it, just trying to decide if I've quilted it enough though. Each pinwheel is about 18", yes huge! It is a ORBC quilt-along quilt. I'm really quite pleased I've started to use some of my yardage. I've definitely got over my 'cutting fabric' hesitation! 'The Old Red Barn Co.' Flickr group is like a second home to me, along with the 'Doll Quilt Swap' group and the 'Mini QT Swap' group.

I've found I have more conversations with people in these three groups. It feels so good to talk to like minded quilting/fabric peeps. I don't really get to chat to people, about my obsession, in my daily life.


I've got more to share, more Bee blocks, a Mini QT Swap quilt (sent and received). Plus some adorable 3 1/2 " blocks from 2 swaps. Oh and DQS9 sign ups are happening again. I love swaps!


Cheerio for now
x Mandy

ORBC Hexagon quilt along

ORBC Hexagon quilt along
Originally uploaded by mandalin18

Cut these out tonight, and I'm smitten! It's for the Old Red Barn Co. Hexagon quilt along. Come check it out. Most people are using jelly rolls, with wonderful effect. But I decided to go a different route.

Thanks for stopping by
x Mandy

oh blimey, was it that long ago!!

I wish I could say I've been on a long cruise! But I haven't, shame! I'm afraid I've been living on the Flickr site. Watching the progress of the DQS8 quilts, and trawling through my other favourite groups, even starting one of my own!! Have I been sewing? Not as much as I'd like to have been, but here's a January photo monolouge....

January Bee Crazy Block, 16 1/2"

These two blocks went to Dana at The Old Red Co. She is now in the process of making them into quilts, which will then be auctioned by "Team Tiara", the proceeds will go to Breast Cancer Research. They are 12 1/2" in the photo.


And this is the Swap Till You Drop (S.T.U.D.) quilt I made for my partner. I'm very proud of it, and very much loved making it, and very pleased to have given it to Julie.


My first wonky star! Each star triangle points to it's colour 9-patch, and that is my favourite grey Kona solid, must get more!! It really seems to sit beautifully with any other colour.

This is the beauty Julie sent me in return. She was very generous with her parcel, and also sent me some fabric! The multi-coloued stripe on black in the quilt, and the binding fabric. Which has small squares of colour on black. I had never seen this fabric before, and I probably wouldn't have bought it myself. BUT.....I can see an application in a quilt for it, which I'm very excited about. No more on that yet, it's not even at the planning stage.



This also happened at the end of January, my baby boy started big school. We had a few troubling moments because. 1, he refused to go to pre-school last year (with the little kids!!), so it was spent at home with me, and of course we had our own timetable, which differed from the school's. 2, we live very close to school (literally 5 mins walk) and we have been walking to and from school with his big brother for the last two years. He knows the way Very Well. So, umm yes, we had a few teething problems with staying at school! But I can now say, because he just told me, he really likes school now! I need to acknowledge the effort his Teacher has made. IT has made ALL the difference. She is brilliant! She'll be getting a little handmade gift from me at the end of the term, I'm not waiting for the end of the year!!!

okay, that's me done for the night, I'll be back with February's finishes when I finish my DQS quilt, it's not far off. Here's a sneaky peek.



Cheerio for now then
X Mandy