Well, this is a nice surprise :-)

Earlier in the year, spurred on by my friend Jo, I made this little quilt to enter The 9 by 12 Transformation Challenge on Leah Day's Free Motion Quilting Project blog. I was thrilled today to find I am one of the finalists of the competition and my little quilt (more pictures of the construction here) will be winging its way all the way to NC in USA.
 

I noticed that there are at least 2 other finalists from New Zealand (unfortunately, not all the links on The Transformation page are working) Congratulations to Rona Keith (from Auckland, I think) and Erilyn from the Manawatu and to all the other finalists, where ever you are.

Update: Congratulations also go to Catherine Parkinson from Auckland. Wow, Catherine has an awesome blog.

Treasures From Afar

I have a new homestay student, recently arrived from Germany. His mother sent me a wonderful gift parcel and look what is in it:

10 sweet pieces of fabric sourced in Germany, a retractable measuring tape key ring, a very dinky pincushion with attached scissors (I love it - the point of the scissors slides into the flap on the pincushion) and a card with a photo of some beautiful windows - great quilt inspiration. I also got a lovely book with photos of Hamburg. The fabrics are tied with the cutest ribbons. Thank you, Amke.