I can't draw!

I thought in the interests of honesty, I'd share a sketch I'm working on for a possum applique to add to my next quilt. It's always been a source of frustration to me in my designing that I can't draw. So in actual fact, I'm rather pleased with myself for achieving this much! I started with the basic pose used quite a bit in Possum Magic, but drew from scratch. It still needs work, but it has come a long way (if you think this is bad; you should have seen my original!!!) and I'm hoping that with careful fabric selection and the addition of quilted details, it will pass muster!

I also want to mention my LQS today. I've been going to Riverlea Quilts (on Unley Rd, in Adelaide) for many years, and the owners and staff know James and Eleeanor as well as they do me! They have a system where for every $X you spend, you get a small bundle of FQs, but the owners seemed to figure out that I don't really need more FQs, so they suggested that when I have some quilts that need backing, I come and choose some free backings. It's been a while since I redeemed any, so this afternoon I popped in with James and Eleanor and got 2 free backings for a couple of large square quilt tops (both of which need quilting very soon) - perfect! While I was making my selections, Eleanor was making us cups of tea with their toy tea-set, and James had the fire engine and was frustrating her by pretending the tea-set was on fire! And naturally, while I was there I found more fabric I had to have - this time a fabulous stripe of colourful string on a black background.

I've had a productive day. As well as spending time playing with Eleanor, I've also finished quilting the tree quilt and machined the binding to the front ready to hand stitch down tomorrow, completed and emailed one set of quilt instructions and made a good start on another, and got one of the square quilts ready to sandwich.