Scrappy Blocks all finished.

Ken wasn't feeling too good today, so he slept most of the day away, which gave me time to finish my blocks for New Zealand quilts. There was just enough dark blue fabric for me to finish them all, and I'm tickled pink with the result! Here they are all laid out on the floor. I haven't joined them up - I'll leave that to the experts! But I've asked Jean, the lady co-ordinating the quilts effort, if she will send me a photo when they are made up into something.

Quilt blocks for Christchurch.

I laid all my baby blocks out on the floor again last week, to see how they would look if they were joined up. I finally decided they would look better if each block was surrounded by sashing in a neutral colour. When I found a heap of dark blue cotton in my stash (that I'd pulled from the remnants bin at the Guild), I figured it would look well with the brightly colour blocks. I've made up two so far. As this is my first attempt at making blocks out of scraps in this way, they probably aren't perfectly lined up, but I'm hoping the ladies over the Tasman will be able to put them to good use. I'll have eight blocks in total when I've finished. What do you think? Be honest - I want to improve my skills here!
I promised myself I would finish this round robin this year, although I don't think it is on my UFO list, because all it needed was a border around it. Took me six years to get around to doing that border, and I'm happy with it!

Not doing much, but here it is.

Since Ken's heart surgery, I haven't been able to concentrate on much in the way of stitching, but messing around with fabrics is a sure way to relax, I've found! Cruising craft sites on the net is a great way to find freebies and tutorials, and I've printed off stacks of tutorials giving ways to use up small scraps of fabric. This one on "My Current Obsession" goes back to 2007, but is a great way to make up blocks using small bits of material. It is a mindless way to spend time with fabrics, just what I needed over the last few weeks, and I've produced 25 little blocks which I will join to make larger blocks. These will go to a crafter in New Zealand who is making up quilts from donated blocks, to go to victims of the Christchurch earthquake. Here are my baby blocks laid out on the floor. They won't necessarily be joined up in this order.
I've also done a bit more stitching on my NSW Waratah for another group making quilts for Queensland flood/cyclone victims.

Mug Rug.

The things people come up with! I saw a Mug Rug mentioned on somebody's blog, so I followed the links until I found the tutorial. It is quick and easy, a great way to use up small bits of fabric, and is just too darn cute to resist making one immediately! I used scraps of fabric that had teacups and cakes to make my Dresden wedges. Gingham and pink cotton borders, and a plain brown back.