Grocery Bag Holder and a GIVEAWAY

Hello to all! Today we have a little show n' tell, a reminder, a question and finally, a giveaway.

Show 'n Tell

I've been getting into the low volume scraps again and used Jeni's tutorial at In Color Order to make a Grocery Bag Holder.

I made the larger size and that sucker can hold some bags, it's great.

Projects like these (which don't take a lot of wear and tear) are ideal opportunities to use up some batting scraps, so I pieced together a few offcuts.

Initially I was going to use a zigzag stitch to join the pieces (which I have done before), but went for using fusible interfacing instead. It was very quick and very easy. (I also find zigzag can give you a bit of a wavy finish, which isn't so great.)

I just squared up my batting offcuts after giving them a light press:

Then I butted the edges together and used some 3 inch wide strips of interfacing to join them together.

*Bonus - as well as using up batting offcuts, you can also use up interfacing offcuts.

I actually used two different types of cotton batting (because they fit the project better) but I wouldn't recommend this generally - I'd only piece the same types of batting offcuts together.

Once it was all ironed down I basted my quilt sandwich as normal, but I faced the fusible toward the quilt back so it wouldn't show through the lighter coloured patchwork.  Quilt as normal, no problemo.

Some pretty 3/4 inch twill tape to hang it up with

A Reminder

It's do or die time. Google Reader dies on 1 July, so all the doing is in your camp! Don't forget to continue your subscription either via email (see upper right) or through another feed aggregator such as Bloglovin' (see buttons right/below) or Feedly (put www.bonjourquilts.com in the add content box).

A Question

I'd like to try some Foundation Paper Piecing but don't know where to start. Do any of you have any good recommendations for learning this technique?

A Giveaway. Yay!

I've just turned in a project for the Australian quilting magazine Down Under Quilts. Thanks to them, I have a copy of the latest issue to give away. Open to everyone, everywhere, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and I'll pull a name out of the hat at the end of the week.

And yes, if you leave me a Foundation Paper Piecing tip you will absolutely get a second entry.
If you let me know you've subscribed, you'll get a third (just leave each as a separate comment).
I reward helpfulness!

Hope you're all having a great week so far, if not - make it one!

Saturated colour and texty prints

I've been playing around with the little Japanese collection I picked up at the Stitches and Craft Show back in March.

Having cut the majority of the low volume triangles for my queen sized quilt, I had a pile of scraps staring at me. So instead of doing the sensible thing and finishing the quilt top, I decided to start some cushion covers. Of course.

I think the black and bone prints pair beautifully with saturated colour, especially red:

This one. Don't ask me what's going on here because it looks crazy but I still like it.

I think it would've looked very different with a solid instead of the blue floral. Might have to try that next time.

Hope you all have a great week!

This and that.

It's the middle of a long weekend* here and the plague has come to our house. Why is it always on long weekends? We have all succumbed, one by one, except for the baby - although there's always tomorrow.

Before we all caught bugs and started throwing up everywhere, I was having a lot of fun.

We spent another weekend in Noosa where I was lucky enough to visit the Noosa Food and Wine Festival with a friend (while our hubbies took the kids to the beach, what dolls).

Lots of lovely wines to buy, not to mention tasty tidbits:

There was a huge samples tent where you could wander around and try all sorts of delicious Australian fare, from hand-milked trout caviar (yes, I had to ask her how they hand-milked them) to quail legs to oysters on the shell.

I discovered something new: spreadable chorizo. It's like the sausage, but in a tube instead of its casing, so you can spread it on panini or pizza or straight onto your tongue. Mmmm.

Also wonderful - the cheese.

These huge rounds were placed on tables and you could dig out your own sample. Sooo good.

Speaking of wine, I have a nice collection of French wine corks from our last three years. I won't tell you how many I have lest you think less of me, but let's just say there's a few.

I wasn't sure what to do with them until I found a large picture frame with its glass broken - so now I'm going to glue them in and make myself a large cork board. Once I find the glue gun.

I've also done a little stash building. I used my Pink Chalk voucher (won in the Handmade with Love Tutorial Contest) and also took advantage of the Sew, Mama, Sew closing down sale to purchase some pretties:

I have a great range of low volume fabrics now and after much aheming have decided on a design. It involves triangles:

I'll be sure to let you know how it works out!

* It's the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Her Maj is 87 years old - what a machine!

Hong Kong with Kids: Science Museum, Disneyland and Ocean Park

What to do in Hong Kong if you have the littles along with you? There's plenty to choose from, including Hong Kong's Science Museum.

There is plenty of stuff to keep kids of all ages entertained.

It's also very interactive and hands-on, just the way kids like it.

And I learned a lot about...um...ah, what was I learning again?

The mirrors room was tons of fun.

Monkey skeletons are scary:

I managed to get ahead of the kids for a bit in the biology area - I came back and steered them away from these ones:

4pm in a museum was not where I wanted to answer those questions, if you know what I mean.

Adults and kids alike will really enjoy this museum, and it's a handy option if the weather's not so great.

Next up is that timeless treasure: chez Disney.

Just like the slogan promises, it was magical. From the metro carriages that take you into the park:

To all the other typically Disney sights, with a touch of Asia.

The first time I've ever seen Beaker's knees.

Winter is a fantastic time to visit - we arrived an hour after opening and there were three people in front of us at the entrance ticket stands. Does that ever happen in the US?

The longest ride wait was 20 mins - and only for one of the rides we encountered (most were only a 5-10 min wait). No need to elbow in to get a place at the afternoon parade, either. It was very civilised:

Our blond kids had the locals fascinated:

At least a dozen Chinese families asked if they could take their photo with our children (adults not invited). There were plenty who didn't bother asking, like these two guys:

It was amusing, annoying and kinda weird in equal amounts.

Come 8pm it was time for the fireworks and a twilight stroll down Main Street:

Hong Kong Disneyland is smaller than the US parks (we never made it to EuroDisney so I can't comment there) which makes it perfect for a single day out. No need for 3 day tickets.

I would say the rides are more on the quiet side - which was great for us, having younger kids. If you have adrenalin-junkie teenagers, you'd be better heading to...

Ocean Park.

A much bigger amusement park - a blend of rides, animal shows/displays and deep fried seafood vendors.

Again, we all had a ball here, even though our kids weren't big enough for over half the rides. The penguins made up for it. And the seals:

Macaws:

Pandas:

Really weird goldfish:

Teddy shoes:

One of the roller coasters we could all go on (except the baby) - how good is that view?

At the end of the day there is a hologram/laser type show around the large central fountain, complete with music, pyrotechnics and the odd dragon. Needless to say, the kids (and us, actually) were impressed.

So, a few more options to consider if you find yourself lucky enough to travel to Hong Kong.

If you're looking for more you'll find previous posts here and here.

A bientôt!