Well, this week has been special.  Went on a weekend away with some GFs to Ballarat.  I usually take my machine and sew away all weekend to get a project finished.  This time, I took all handwork bits and pieces to do.  So I stitched a little on my Dear Jane, sewed together the next lot of blocks for my Josephs Coat  quilt from Don't Look Now, and stitched some stems down for a border of my Princess Feather quilt.

This was a job to be done in good company with lots of talking and tea drinking, otherwise it all gets a bit tedious sewing on miles of stems.  I've finished one block but I wanted to have a go at one of the borders rather than start another block.  I think it looks like a very skinny lizard with lots of legs and feet.  And now I can see where the missing bit of stem belongs. 

My birthday presents to me.  I found some lovely fabrics which needed to come home with me.  The two books also wanted to come.  I love buying new books.  The Omiyage book by Kumiko Sudo has some lovely little bits and pieces to make with scraps of silk or fine cotton.  DD2 has already put in her order for time together to make some.

This lovely huge box was waiting for me.  A week ago I ordered a pattern and fabric from Glorious Applique.  I'd been looking at them for quite a while and was waiting for the Aussie dollar to rise in value.

This is another pattern by Kim McLean.  I've been resisting thinking about it for so very long, but I finally weakened last week.  I purchased  the pattern, 28 yards of fabric and 10 yards of background!  It only just fit in the large box.  Thank goodness.

Isn't the background wonderful?  I haven't spread out the fabric individually yet, but I have unwrapped it and fondled each piece.  The  fabric ribbon around the bundle is the stem fabric- should look fantastic in the blocks.