Just made it!!!!!.........

The stitch-a-long deadline is very close, like a night away!!!!......so I have been sewing helter skelter and finally have a completed quilt top to share....whew....(wiping brow!!!)

Sadly work and play have interrupted the finishing schedule so sandwiching, quilting and binding will be on hold for now.

.......so......drum roll please...........here 'tis........my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt top.....

I have enjoyed all the applique, although needleturning is so very time consuming, but I am pleased with the result.......

My friend and stitch-a-long 'supervisor' (whip cracker!!!!) will be very pleased to hear of this quilt top finish as many who started with the SAL in the beginning are a long way from the finish line......

I have been up to Brisbane for the Craft Fair since I last posted....and.....um......well......there was some damage, of the $$$$ kind if you get my drift!!!!!........oh well......I am sure they were all necessary purchases.....I'm quite sure!!!!!!!.......more of that to follow........

Some "Wonderful" Progress.....

Oh Gee, if you've been following the Stitch-a-long quilts in progress, you'll know that Chooky, our 'supervisor' has been cracking her whip!!!!.........and I have felt the blows as I was way behind........so I have been working flat-out, but it's hard to speed up needleturn!!!!........lol...........

So here it is all layed out, my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt in progress, by Anni Downs.........

Not all the appliques are complete.........

...............notice the tree!!!......boy those flowers are fiddly to needleturn, so I seem to have left them for now and moved onto something speedier!!!!........lol........

I have a purse for shopping instead of chocolates, and wine bottle and glass instead of a chair, oh and shells for the beach in the foreground instead of a cat!!!!.....just a few altered blocks to make it more personal...........I'll take some close-ups soon, but need to move them to a better light for that.........

Visitors this weekend so must move it all shortly.......

Too many to choose from........lol.......

Does anyone else have too many projects on-the-go that makes deciding on which to work on a problem?

......I have been busy working on a large variety of sewing projects this week whilst on holidays.......

My Lancaster quilt of Sue Daley's..........check out those long clamshell borders....I've done 2 rows out of 6 on all 4 borders so far....a looong way to go.........

 trying to get my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt happening again......really enjoying this at the moment....

 ......oh and a Ruby jelly roll turned into a Pie style quilt with a dresden plate template set....

too easy.......just need to add borders.......I used my great curved presser foot for the piecing....terrific....bought it at the Fair some time ago........

.....and now to some exciting news.....a while back I won a book from Sharon at Lilabelle Lane as a blog anniversary give-away and it's here, and it's absolutely delightful!!!!!!!

 .............look at all the projects inside................another decision to be made....which one first?????.....those are by far the best decisions we ever need to make I reckon.........

Thankyou so much Sharon, I am loving reading Joanna's story, she writes in such a relaxed fashion it's lovely..........

I hope you are busy in your workspace.....I know of one friend who is busy sorting out the best kind of 'stuff' and that has spurred me on to sort some of my 'stuff' out too............so I'll get to it right now.......

There's been a lot of talk about thread..........

As all the Stitch-Along ladies begin their needleturn blocks for the latest quilt, Some Kind of Wonderful, there's beeen a bit of debate over the thread to use and why..........

I have enjoyed doing needleturn applique for some time now, and was always an avid Guterman cotton only woman, mainly because of the old argument that the thread type (cotton) should match the fabric type for similar wear and tear qualities. I did find though that cotton thread is not as strong as I would have liked and I did learn of an alternative, which I reluctantly tried (I say reluctantly because it is a polyester thread and it didn't match my cotton theory!!!)  But one try and I was in love with it..........I justify allowing a polyester thread on my needleturn quilts this way.. 

 1..... a needleturn quilt of mine won't hit the washing machine on a weekly basis, so I'm not so worried about the fabrics wearing at varying rates                                                   

2......the stitches are completely invisible, and my work in turn looks more professional                                    3..... the thread is strong and does not fray to nothing as I work with it 

4......it is cheaper as the thread is sold as bobbins so I can have many smaller amounts of lots of colours for variety, which is really essential for applique

........so you may ask what is it called??????.......

It is from the Superior Threads range, more particularly their Bottomline Polyester thread......a 60weight thread (fine), and you can buy it like this..........

 ....it's called a Superbobs Donut....how cool is that???????.........

......every colour to suit.................................

Just ask me in the comments and I can let you know where I got mine and how much I payed.......as the saying goes....."I think it's the best thing since sliced bread!!!!!!".

Oh and I have made a start on my first block, the patty cakes.....here's the proof.........

Anyway, I hope this may be of help to some of you as you gather everyone's ideas in order to make your own decision on the issue of thread............

I hope you are all keeping your hands busy with fabric........