Rural Jardin Lap Quilt and a Very Small Tote

Well - it's done! My mum's lap quilt is finished and ready to be delivered. I just love this fabric line and it's a pity that it's getting hard to find. The colours are so rich but soft at the same time, and the pale duck egg-ish green is absolutely lovely.

I used a charm pack bought online, one metre of pale green to complete the top, and half a metre of rose pink for the binding, both from The Needlewoman in Hobart. The backing is a plain off white cotton. So overall, this is a very economical quilt to make. I have some pale green and pink leftovers and will treasure those for a special project sometime in the future.

The finished size is 1.05 square metres.

I quilted it on my Husqvarna - an eighth of an inch each side of the seams using my walking foot to stop any puckering. I spent the afternoon hand finishing the binding while watching 'The Dam Busters'. I loved that film as a kid, and it certainly holds up over time! - except for the dog's name - I cringed every time someone said it...

Here is the quilting in progress in my little craft space. My flat is quite small, and I've converted the dining table into a dedicated craft space. I loved making this little quilt and can see more 'charm pack' quilts being made in the future - maybe as Christmas presents for family this year.

I bought a Hope Valley scrap pack on Etsy a few weeks ago and this is my first project - a very small tote. It holds two small water bottles and a snack bag for work.

The lining is a black hanky linen, and the main fabric is a pure linen in an oatmeal colour.

I love Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line - a little goes a long way in terms of impact, and I'm already getting a lot of pleasure carrying this little bag to work each day! The bag sits on my desk and it makes me happy to glance up from my computer and see something pretty.

The renovations are plodding along slowly. My new cooker was delivered a couple of weeks ago, and will get wired in once I choose tiles and book a tiler. The electrician needs to do some major drilling into my concrete kitchen wall to accommodate wiring to fit a switch that conforms to new safety standards, and then the tiles will cover the drilling. It's a bigger job than I thought!

I also bought a new toilet, vanity unit, sink and taps. They will be delivered in about three weeks time and in the meantime I'll sand and strip the window frame, sill and pelmet, paint the woodwork white and make a little curtain. I shall post before and after photos when it's all done!