Who doesn't love surprises?

Yesterday I went to the letter box without any expectation of there being anything special inside.

However, I was in for a surprise.  A nice brown paper parcel marked to my attention.

Back to the house to share the contents of this mystery parcel with my sister - 11 fat quarters of yummy fabric, some with a definite cupcake theme.

Somebody must have been reading my recent blog entries, I think.

It wasn't until after I opened the parcel that I noticed the Christmas stickers.  Maybe it was an early Christmas present?????

Thank you to Paula, for your kindness in sending me these lovely fabrics and for giving me such a wonderful surprise.

Now my challenge is to work out something very creative to do with them...............

Nearly there..........

I think I am nearly done with cupcakes and polka dots.

I made another reversible apron using most of what was left of these fabrics, but I have to admit there is still a remainder lurking in my stash.  I think I will have to find a scrappy quilt project to add it too.

I am also done with making aprons for the moment.  It has been fun, but time to move on to other things.

I am just as happy with the result of this one and like the different look I was able to give this to my previous effort.

This is the reverse side.  I was able to include shallow pockets across the bottom of the skirt and was quite pleased with how they turned out.

I must give credit to Rob Merrett of The Perfect Apron for the inspiration for this creation.

Thanks for popping by to take a look.

More about cupcakes and polka dots

After completing my cupcake and polka dot quilt what was I to do with what was left.

An apron project had been suggested so here it is.

Because I was making the apron with pieced fabric I needed a lining to cover the raw edges of the seams.

In the process of creating a lining it occurred to me that maybe I could make the apron reversible - like two for the price of one.

So this was the result.

The fabric for the reverse is quilters muslin and is more creamy in appearance than the photo shows.

The polka dot fabric is nearly finished but there is more to come with the cupcake fabric.  The story will continue.......

Secret Project

A secret project has been happening at our place.

Today I stitched the last row in place and thought I would take a picture or two (without giving the game away) to put on my blog.

No sooner had I laid the quilt out on my bed than Kaiser was there in want of a fuss.  It is uncanny that the cats in our house always seem to know that there is a new quilt in the house that needs to be christened by them.

In the end I was able to take a picture of just a very small part of the quilt.

I have enjoyed piecing the blocks and rows together and it was a relief when they finally fitted together just like the pattern said they would.

While I was piecing the secret project together I sewed together pre-cut pieces of cupcake and polka dot fabric at the beginning and end of each block and row and at the end I had accumulated quite a number of new blocks for the next project.

I am not quite finished with cupcakes and polka dots, yet!

Better than yesterday

The winds have not abated so going outdoors for more pictures was not an option.

Fortunately we have a makeshift design board that was big enough for me to pin the quilt top too and photos have been taken.

Linda has said she will quilt it for me so I am expecting it to look rather special when she has finished working on it.

These cup cake blocks which go down the centre of the quilt look a bit lost at the moment but I feel sure Linda has a secret way to make them pop and give them the prominence they should have.