Now, where did I put my...

...motivation?

Oh dear. I've mislaid it again.

Every so often I just crash and burn - totally go off the rails and stop working on my projects. That's happened to me just recently. It's a temporary condition, of course, but every so often it just happens.

Little twinges of guilt here and there - but, gee, I just can't seem to pick things up and keep going.

Went down to Wantirna today and had a cuppa with Pauline, my quilting guru. I took my Christmas quilt (yes... it's still unfinished...) and sat at her dining room table and worked on it a bit while we chatted. I think that may have done the trick for me - Pauline is a good motivator.

She's off  of quilting at the moment, too, poor thing - but for a totally different reason: she's hurt her thumb and is on doctor's orders to "rest" it. So no quilting for her for a bit yet.

Anyway... I came home feeling a little more ambitious - maybe I'll work on something tonight while we're watching TV.

Hopefully this "dry spell" is over now....

(Thanks, Pauline!)

Jen's Quilt Kit

My good friend Jen has been quilting again. She's been experimenting with machine quilting and back earlier in the year bought a quilt kit to make a nice-sized throw. She said it took some experimentation and work to get down the process of machine quilting, but she did well enough to decide to do it on this quilt. Here's a photo of the top after she finished piecing it:

It's lovely - a simple design, but I know from experience that choosing how to arrange the various blocks is anything but easy, so I'm very impressed with the great job she did. And here's the finished quilt:

STUNNING! I can't wait to see what she does next!

Just Couldn't Resist

It could've been a lot worse, a lot. My rotary cutter needed a new blade and I had a $10 gift voucher from Spotlight (customers who are part of their "loyalty program" get one in the mail just before their birthday - and my birthday is coming up). I also needed a couple of other small items, so headed off for a quick stop.

Of course, the rotary cutter blades are in the fabric department - and Spotlight has devilishly arranged their store so you have to walk by the fat quarter table on your way to "notions". There it was - the fat quarter table... like a spider web just waiting.

As I walked by, I noticed that they've got some new prints in there - and curiosity was pulling at me. But I held myself together and scooted on by - got my rotary blade and started to leave. That's when I saw the sign:

"Buy One, Get One Free" 

Oh dear... it was going to be hard walking by that table and not stopping. But hubby Stephen was waiting for me in the car park and I'd PROMISED I'd be quick.

I was fine until I looked down and saw a gorgeous green print laying there - beckoning me. I picked it up and knew I had to have it. But it's "buy one, get one free..." so, yeah... I had to find another one. Fortunately, I found the leafy one within about 20 seconds - or I'd have had to dig deep for the ultimate self-control (which of course you know I don't have... ...not in a fabric department) and leave without any fabric.

And let's face it - if I actually went into Spotlight's fabric dept. and didn't buy something, the store walls would probably collapse from shock.

So I grabbed 'em both and made a dash for the checkout line (remembering Stephen waiting for me in the car). Bizarrely, I'd only been in Spotlight for 5 minutes! Wow! A new landspeed record has been set today!

It's Not What You Spent, It's What You Saved

Back in November 2012, I posted about the closing of a local quilt shop. Foothills Fabric and Threads is gone now, but fondly remembered. The last few days before they closed, they had big sale - 30% off of just about everything in the shop.

Well... Pauline (my quilting guru), Beck (like me, one of Pauline's disciples), and I couldn't resist. No... we were caught in the tractor beam. Just moths to the flame. You get the picture. Yeah... "feeding frenzy".

 It would take more space than this blog has to show you everything... but here's some of the loot:

The photo above is a small part of Pauline's fabric. I just love her sense of colour. When I look at these prints laying there together, I think: "Of course!" - but could I have assembled that collection - not on your life. Pauline's got a real talent for pairing up things. Just brilliant.

Now - this one below is Beck's - or I think it is:

A fresh "catch" - still in the bag. And here are those prints set out so you can see the collection. Simply gorgeous!

I think this one is Beck's too... or maybe it's Pauline's? Hm... can't recall. It's been too long ago.

This is Pauline's "esky" - but what's inside? NOT FOOD!

NO! It's chock-full of quarters, jelly rolls, bits and pieces!

And here we are - clutching our very-full shopping bags (from left to right - me, Pauline, Beck).

"Hey, Honey! Look how much I SAVED!!!!!!!"