Time for Teal - Pattern Test - Coffee Pot

How is it that days can slip by and my sewing machine is not touched! It feels alien to me not to be sewing but with summer here for a couple of days, and my children needing more attention, I've been too exhausted to pack everything away and get my machine out in the evenings. Hopefully I will be able to muster the energy soon because my to make list is growing, and my mind is bursting at the seams with projects that need to be made! 

A couple of months ago I got an email from one of my first friends in the online quilting community Esther (who is a very talented lady when it comes to designing foundation paper pieced patterns) asking if I would be able to help in testing some blocks. These were not just any blocks though, these were blocks designed with a worthwhile cause for her dear friend Kate who has taken on the challenge of making a quilt a year for Ovarian Cancer Australia, you can read about this all came about here on Kate's blog. 

I loved the Coffee Pot block and dug through my scrap drawers to find the perfect fabrics. This is what my finished block looks like.

It comes together really well and is a pleasure to piece. If you would like to try your hand at one of Esther's patterns pop along to her Craftsy pattern store and take a look at the choice on offer.  There are a couple of free projects from the Time for Teal set along with several others to get your started.

If you would like to take part in Time for Teal please check out Kate's blog.

Pattern test - Mini Cooper Paper Pieced Pattern

I think I have an addiction to pattern testing. I love trying something new and trying to spot any little issues, so when Kristy Lea aka @quietplay on Instagram asked for pattern testers. I jumped at the chance! How cute is this mini cooper! At only 16" square it has lots of pieces but with Kristy's instructions it is definitely manageable if you have paper pieced before.

I found that marking the back and front of the pieces with the fabric colour to be used was very helpful especially when I used different colours to those in the picture.

This is my mini, I made the block up for the pattern test earlier in the month and finally got round to quilting it with matchstick quilting a couple of days ago. I really love the way this has been designed and found the pattern enjoyable to follow.

If you would like to have a go at making one yourself the pattern is available in Kristy's Craftsy shop along with lots of other fabulous patterns. 

New Beginnings

I've been working hard to try and update my logo to make it work for me! I love the original logo designed by my dear friend Rebecca from Rebecca Watson Design & Marketing. 

Rebecca and I swapped our skills and I got my logo in return for a quilted Christmas stocking made for her daughter. Don't you just love a skill swap? 

This is the updated logo.

My new logo has been put to work already on my new business card and needle minder card. What do you think?

I’ve be working slowly but steadily to update the blog, my Etsy shop, which is slowly growing in size. I'm currently adding new listings daily, my facebook page has been truely neglected so I plan to spend a little more time over there. Instagram is my social media home and can be found under @patchworkmummy. It’s such fun to have something fresh and new. Hopefully this is just the beginning!

Now, I’d love to know what kind of content you would like to see on this blog, it's a bit of a blank canvas at the moment, what interests you? I love taking part in swaps, do you want to know more? I’m attending my first quilting retreat in September, would you like to follow me there? Since you’re the reason I’m writing, I’d love to know what you want to read!