busy month.

I can hardly believe how quickly January has gone by.

For example, this one started school.

I've heard surprise from a few people - as the Tiny Blonde One is only 4 in July it seems like "school" is the wrong word. It's pre-primary at a nearby Montessori school, and she goes 5 days a week, all morning. So this is it, for us. There's no "proper school" starting moment beyond this one. Her first day she wore a handmade dress and cried on the way home from school. She didn't want it to end. I am so glad this is where she's going! It is wonderful how much she loves it!

Meanwhile, the Little Fellow is a bit bereft at the loss of his only playmate. He's extra cuddly these days. Not that I'm complaining, but I utter the phrase "please give Mama some personal space please!" an awful lot. Daddy loves cuddles though!

And for some crazy reason (teaching!) I've committed to teaching a class on the Aviatrix Medallion. I needed a class sample, of course...so I started another one. (Heaven help me!) I'm up to Border 3.

School gives us a good routine, and I do my shopping on the same day each week...it feels like things are levelling out. I'm involving the Tiny Blonde One in more of the food preparation at home. She helped me stir the salt into the yoghurt and spoon it into the strainer to make labneh.

And she is a pro at making "chocolate cakes". She gets so excited to help stir! Maybe because I let her lick the spoon after. :)

I'm also keeping up with my book pledge this year. You can check out my Goodreads here. This is the series that has caught me the most. I kind of knew it would. Ugh, I just love it so much. Ronan is my bby.

I am still stitching away on my original Aviatrix Medallion. We have been watching The 100. I am up to episode 5 of season 2, and I love it. It reminds me of The Vampire Diaries but less about romance, more about the uncovering of the plot twists and the things people will do to survive.

I get a lot of quilting done while I'm watching TV!

And the back of this quilt is looking wonderful too. I love how soft this is.

Finally, I have been working on a La Passacaglia quilt. This is a lot of fun. I got my copy of the book from Busyfingers Patchwork and they sell starter packs as well (note: you'll need extra triangles!).

I think that's about it for January and early February!

Aviatrix Medallion - Fabric & Thread

Hi everyone!

Having finished the Aviatrix Medallion quilt top and rather hastily basted it, I was ready to quilt. I have had the vision for it for some time: I wanted to echo quilt most of it by hand, using perle cotton.

Now, for a quick refresher, in the Aviatrix Medallion pattern, there are 25 FQs (plus neutral and white bg yardage) required. Each of those, in my version and Elizabeth Hartman's original, is a different color or shade. (If you want to see something cool, you can check out her alternate colorway page. I am seriously considering that winter palette in print fabrics.)

Here are my colors. I stuck pretty close to her original palette.

Each of the fabrics is grouped according to a color family. I will list them all here, left to right. BE WARNED, I am not digging up all the proper names or item codes of these fabrics for this write up. If you're DESPERATE to know, I'll search it out for you, just let me know in the comments. :)

Violet Group

• Feather, Field Study, Anna Maria Horner, Westminster/Free Spirit (2564)
• Floral, Mustang, Melody Miller, Cotton + Steel (2515)
• Calico, Briar Rose, Heather Ross, Windham (2540)
• XOXO, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel (2535)
• Swimming Sisters, Mendocino, Heather Ross, Westminster/Free Spirit (4020)

Orange Group

• Mice, Catnap, Lizzy House, Andover (2205)
• Stars, 1001 Peeps, Lizzy House, Andover (2220)
• Feather, Field Study, Anna Maria Horner, Westminster/Free Spirit (2277)
• Dottie, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel (2277)
• Red Spot, Rainy Days & Mondays, Riley Blake Designs (1103)

Green Group

• XOXO, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel (2135)
• Cats, Catnap, Lizzy House, Andover (1147)
• Green Floral, Flea Market Fancy Reprint, Denyse Schmidt, Westminster/Free Spirit (5017)
• Pearl Bracelet Tone on Tone, Lizzy House, Andover (2870)
• Stars, 1001 Peeps, Lizzy House, Andover (2885)

Blue Group

• Blomster, Mormor, Lotta Jansdotter, Windham (2864)
• Diamonds, Lotus Pond, Made by Rae, Cloud 9 (2805)
• Stems, Simply Color, V & Co, Moda (5006)
• Circle Dot, Shape of Spring, Eloise Renouf, Cloud 9 (4182)
• Stars, Constellations, Lizzy House, Andover (2783)

Grey Group (4670)

• Kitestrings, Glimma, Lotta Jansdotter, Windham
• Woodgrain, Les Amis, Patty Sloniger, Michael Miller Fabrics
• XOXO, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel
• Kangaroos, Terra Australis, Emma Jean Jansen, Ella Blue Fabrics
• Catmint, Catnap, Lizzy House, Andover

White Background Fabrics (2024)

• RJR Supreme Solid in White
• XOXO, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel
• Dottie, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel
• Netorious, Basics, Rashida Coleman-Hale, Cotton + Steel

Grey background fabric (2615)

• Michael Miller Cotton Couture in Ozone, bought from Polka Dot Tea Fabrics

Now, lest you think I am super organized and really clever, here is what my shocking original fabric reference sheet looks like!!

Hahaha. It's been through the war.

I chose several coordinating threads and here they are in my little tin. If you are interested which Aurifil thread colors I chose, they are listed next to the fabric in parenthesis. For the grey family, rather than matching each color, I chose a nice variegated grey, and another, softer solid grey for the background grey. All of the white fabrics will be quilted with true white.

I do plan to quilt this quite close, so I am hoping this is a handy reference in case I need it in future. It's a bit of an outlay to invest in so much thread, but I know how much I love hand-quilting, so I'm certain that these colors will be in frequent rotation!

That's about it for fabric & thread - hit me in the comments if you have any questions! x