We've moved!

I think I might’ve mentioned the complicated work situation hubby and I have found ourselves in. We had a temporary reprieve with my maternity leave and the opportunity to work at home over the summer, but now we’re back to the reality of long commutes and the length of Ireland between us. (To put it in perspective: any given point in Ireland is no more than a day’s travel from any other point, so we’re talking a fairly manageable if still less than ideal distance!) Instead of having Belfast as our base, though, we’re now primarily located in Limerick, and the past week has involved much packing, cleaning, and unpacking, as well as all of the associated emotional turmoil of leaving friends and familiarity for ‘foreign’ climes. Amidst it all, though, the decision to hang this quilt prominently in the stairwell of our new place almost instantaneously transformed a house into a home! I see it every time I open the front door or climb up and down the stairs, and it reminds me of the love and support of good friends.

To keep myself busy while hubby's away, I’m focusing on an invitation I recently received – to be part of the Modern Irish Quilters' scrappy pin cushion swap! I can’t tell you how excited I was to be asked to participate, and I’ve already had loads of fun creating an inspiration board on Flickr, marveling at the incredible variety of pin cushion styles out there, and snooping around to discover my partner’s likes and dislikes. It’s a secret swap, you see, so it’s all very hush-hush! I’m not supposed to give away who my partner is or exactly what I’m making, but I can reveal that I’m very heavily leaning towards a fun, colourful cushion made from several of these (from an earlier swap you might remember!)

There may be some fussy cutting and quite possibly a bit of EPP and hand embroidery. I’m letting the fabrics guide me here and am almost as excited to see what I come up with as I am to receive my own little parcel!

xx Tina