"Aint no stopping me now ..."

I feel like the quilting fairy has bitten me on the bum as I just can't stop making things! I LOVE IT ... everything about it and today has been even more wonderful because one of my followers - ahem, yes I know I only have 9 but ... anyway, one of my followers, my new quilting blogger friend (NQBF?) nay my 'quilt twin' Tonya from Crazy Mimi Quilts contacted me with a 'proposal' ... and I immediately said YES (I'm such an old tart!) I won't spoil it so you'll just have to keep an eye on her blog over the next week to see what it's all about! How cool ... I am such a blogging novice - this is all 'first time stuff' for me ... :)

So, what have I been up to? Well, last night a Pants Bag for a boy (well, my friend Lisa's fiance so, definitely an 'older boy'! After her baby's 1st birthday Pants Bag prezzie, I quickly made this for Lisa's Mum (she's Swedish) as a thank you for a lovely meal:

And dear fiance jokingly? said he'd like one too - out of what fabric, I asked Lisa? Batman/Spiderman/Bananaman ... funnily enough - not fabric already in my stash cupboard! Good old eBay delivered said fat quarters within a couple of days and I turned them into this:

Posted today and it will be a nice surprise for him (I hope!) ... friends and family soon learn - you only have to be thinking of something and if I can sew it for you ... I will!

And in the last couple of hours, I made my Aunty Monika a Knitting Bag - I even had some wool to put in it for her. She's coming to stay with Mutter (who arrives tomorrow to look after Nell while we're off to Amsterdam ...yay!) so she'll get this loveliness on Sunday:

I quilted the centre panels to give the bag a bit of substance and, as you can see from my superior (not) photography, I sewed a long pocket on one side for knitting needles and a diddy pocket on the other side for pins and things:

And speaking of the Nell, I know I've said it before but she really does not have any respect for my work:

I shooed her away (she wasn't impressed and huffed off) ... something made me think, take that quilt off the table and hang it up and I'm soooooo glad I did cos 10 minutes later she returned with her muddy wet paws (on purpose??) I turned around to see this:

Gotta love her, though, poor little rescued Nell who's now cuddled up with me in bed. Nite nite to all you wonderful quilting people x

Great weekend and more new projects!

We travelled to Yorkshire at the weekend to stay with dear friends - it was Penny who introduced me to patchwork & quilting in 2010. I am so thankful to her :)

In the absence of good weather (well it is only June!), Penny and I drove about an hour from hers to this great, and I mean GREAT, quilting shop in Cheadle Hulme - http://www.patchfinders.co.uk/

Two floors of gorgeousness and some great 1/2 price fabric too! I bought a lot (we were there for 90 minutes!) and I could have bought SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooo much more :) here's a few new items for my stash:

Back at Penny's, she showed me how to make a quilted knitting bag and a simple tote bag. The totes will be great for the Church raffles and quick little gifts for girlies (I'll post a little tutorial soon). I made this while I was there:

and this for Mutter when I got home (from some scraps from her Xmas Quilt):

with lots of pockets for all her knitting paraphernalia:

Then, dear niece Hannah comes to visit and this afternoon chooses fabric for the 4 cushions she'd like me to make for her new sofa ... yes, F O U R!!!

So, my updated list of UFOs, WIPs and newbies includes:

1) Completing 'USA #5
2) Completing River's playmat
3) Making 4 cushions for Hannah
4) Making Tote Bags for lots of mates
5) Making a knitting bag for Aunty Monika
6) Making a lapquilt for cousin Marisa
7) Making a lapquilt for USA friend, Ginger

Just a few things to keep me busy :)