The Surprising Side Effects of Craft Swaps on Husbands

I've turned into some sort of swap addict over the year. Ive had a lot of fun and learnt so much but I'm wondering if there has been another effect that I didn't realise and that is how it has impacted on my my husband. Oooh this is getting personal you might think, do I really want to read this I hear you say. It's not bad news at all so please read on. What are these effects or benefits I hear you say?

1. Hubby suddenly notices I've not been sitting and watching TV as much as I use to. I discovered that my need to keep my hands and brain busy meant that my TV watching had reduced and after a few weeks of retreating into the sewing room I got asked, "Hun you should see this!" I was concerned for a while that he really was starting to miss our TV time together. I was usually called back to the lounge room to see something funny or slightly amusing. Now he records it for me to watch it later. Win for the quilter!

2. I've been asked by my dear heart what I will be doing over the weekends, will you be doing any sewing, do I have deadlines, how much needs to be finished etc. During the past year hubby has begun working on his own project and we have had to juggle these (imagine if we had children in the mix!) because I "really need to help him with the jobs he's been doing". Since I asked him to also help me with my quilting projects, Hubby is now making plans for the weekend and scheduling time in for my sewing so that he can tinker away on his creations (what quilter wants to restore a trailer)! Another win for the quilter!

This is my Unicorn Wonky Star quilt for the Star Block Quilt Swap hosted by @shoppershaz.

3. Finally, quilting is very thirsty work. My darling has been working hard to either support me or lure me out of my sewing room and has begun making me cups of coffee and tea. Considering he doesn't actually drink either this has been a real win for the quilter in the family! 

So all in all I really wish I had started doing swaps a little earlier. It seems that craft swaps have helped me focus so much but also helped hubby to become more organised, take up his own projects and become an Aldi Coffee Pod machine barista! So many positives! Why give up on swaps and who knows what other amazing things will happen in 2017! Viva la Swaps!

Samoyed Quilt Success!

After a big Friday evening and Saturday of sewing I finally finished the Samoyed Quilt for Auctions. I have called it Never Too Many Samoyeds.  It uses the friendship star (sourced from a book called 500 rotary cut blocks- and what a gem that book is) and the Samoyed foundation pieced block by silver linings designs. I used fabric by Joel Dewberry, Amy Butler and Cotton and Steel with a few pieces from my stash as well. It turned out so beautifully with quilting done by Kyeen Marie Quilts a friend from my quilting group. Kyeen appropriately quilted Snow flake and flurry motifs over the entire quilt. It looked truly beautiful! A big thank you to Kyeen!

Never Too Many Samoyeds By Kyria Chapman quilting by Kyeen Marie Quilts

The Samoyed Club National Dinner was on Saturday 3rd of September and my little quilt went above and beyond it's reserve and achieved a total of $600! I was really happy that it was able to raise so much for Samoyed Rescue- a charity I am happy to support. Tucker also won big and got a new bed from the auction- but now I need to 'redecorate' - he needs a new quilt for it of course!! I may also get a few orders for quilts and cushion covers- wouldn't that be nice! 

I hope you enjoy this photo of Never too many Samoyeds.. Next up I will be giving you all an update on some swap items I'm working on.

Have a great weekend and keep on sewing! 

The New Blog is Here!

Hello everyone! I've just revamped the old blog and created this one for your reading pleasure. I recently found my 2012 blog with three posts on it. I am hoping to be able to combine my pictures from my Instagram account and go into things a little deeper on the blog. 

So where am I up to at the moment. Late last year I joined my first Instagram based craft swap- thanks to the talented Fiona @bendigolioness who basically caught my curiosity. I have found that participating in craft swaps has increased my 'sewjo'- I have been quilting for about 15 years now but I was in a rutt, not feeling inspired to create and feeling a little worse for ware. As a creative person I found it so hard not to have an outlet. Craft swaps have enabled me to improve my technical ability, finish what I start to a deadline and enjoy the creative process once again. I've also had the joy of meeting and making some wonderful new friends. The quilting community on Instagram is very supportive!

Some of my craft swap items can be found on my Instagram account @thequiltopians. I will post a few of my favourite swap items here for you to see as well. Using Instagram,  I like to document the process involved in making my projects both for my own memories and others. One thing I love about craft swaps is seeing the progress shots of those participating too. 

Another quilt that I have recently finished was a charity quilt for the Samoyed Club of NSW. This was made using a foundation paper pieced pattern from Silver Linings Originals. It was also quilted by the very talented Kyeen McPherson from Kyeen Marie Quilts. This lap sized quilt uses the samoyed block and the friendship star. 

As you can see these foundation patterns have a lot of small tricky pieces in them but the end result is well worth the extra care!

If you'd like to see more take a look at my Instagram feed @thequiltopians or if you are on face book check the the group The Quiltopians where a few of my friends also post their latest quilting projects. So until next time have fun making and doing!