Coffee Gelato and Vanilla Cream Swirl

No, it's not a recipe for a luscious dessert, it's fabric. But just looking at these 'white' fabrics from our friend Lynne is making my mouth water! I'm making my Single Girl Quilt in a range of whites, and Lynne very kindly offered me the use of this pile from her stash.

The addition of creams and caramels has added some much-needed definition to the stack of whites, and now I've chosen my 31 delicious gelato flavours- crema, zabaglione, caramelle, torrone. Yum!

Here's a closer look. Thank you Lynne!

Virginal Whites for a Single Girl

I've been itching to join the Single Girl Support Group on Flickr and make a king-sized version of Denyse Schmidt's pattern for my bed. And yet...I love the tranquil effect of my plain off-white waffle blanket. What a conundrum for a quilter! However, Jo has showed me the way with her  'textures' quilt concept for this month's Beehive quilting bee, with a quilt made in a soothing single colour. So I've decided to make my Single Girl in sleepy whites! 

I'm just doing one row of rings, one space up from the foot of the bed, a bit like Joelle Hoverson's "Little Bits" quilt in Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. That way, when I feel like a burst of colour, I can put a another folded quilt over the rings. I'm thinking of Essex linen for the rest of the quilt, but I want to see the colours (well, whites) in person before I choose, and I haven't found them locally yet. Does anyone know where to find them in Melbourne?

This fabulous fan of fabrics arrived in the post today from Amy of The Calico Cat.  There's some texture, some shimmer and quite a few kitties!  The arc on top is the first quarter of my rings- I couldn't resist getting started.

Thank you very much, Amy!

Concertina Fan Block for the Beehive and the Block Party

It's my second month in the Beehive virtual quilting bee, and Jo has set us the challenge of a block with texture. Jo sent us all half a metre of fabric in a neutral colour and left the rest to us. This challenge is exactly what I was looking for in joining a quilting bee, and I'm very excited to present my first original block design!

While watching my Bug make fans by folding copy paper into a concertina shape, I had a lightbulb moment and rushed off to start my block. It's a combination of piecing and applique, and Jo will do her own trimming to make it 12.5 inches, as pictured here.

The fabric Jo has chosen is wonderfully crisp, and the colour is soft and serene. The completed quilt will have beautiful highlights and shadows in the changing light through the bedroom window.

My block needs a bit of an iron, but I couldn't get a better photo because I've been tidying up and, well...anyway, wherever it is, it's very tidy. And as Jo said, I've got until the end of the month to find it ;)

I'm a big fan of Heather and Megan's Quiltstory site, so I'm entering my Concertina Fan block in the "Creative" category of Quiltstory's Block Party. Thanks for the inspiration, Jo, and wish me luck, folks!

Living on the Riverbank

I love E.H. Shepherd's illustrations of Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows.

A stormwater drain runs under our garden beside the house from the street behind. Last night, heavy rain flooded the street behind and, when the stormwater drain filled up, it bypassed the drain and flowed through our garden and into our street. The entire back yard was about 30cm deep in water. There were even little spouts of water bubbling up from the drain below. I wish I'd got a photo of Miss Brown swimming around in the back garden like a little otter!

When the Bug woke up this morning, he looked out the front door, and said in a quiet voice touched with awe, "We've got a river".

This is heaven for a little boy who saw the Australian Shakespeare Production's delightful production of 'Wind in the Willows' at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens last week. We've been Riverbankers ever since, sleeping in our burrows, reading a page of the book each night and singing along to the soundtrack.

At first, the Bug took the role of Otter, and I was named after Otter's child, Portly. Don't say it.

Then we read more about the friendship of Ratty and Mole, when Mole says "I'll always stick to you, Rat", and when he gives the homesick Rat's hand a squeeze. So now the Bug has assigned us new roles. He calls himself Ratty.

And yes, he calls me Mole.

But nobody else had better try it, right?

Is anyone else in Melbourne flooded?

Maisy Brown is swimming around our backyard!