Goodbye, Pecked by Ducks!

... and hello spiffy new website! This blog is moving to:

www.marinafinlayson.com/

where you can still catch up with the doings of the ducklings and what's going on in my booky/quilting/messy world.

My first post over there reveals the gorgeous cover of my soon-to-be-released book Twiceborn, so hop on over and have a look. While you're there, why not sign up to my mailing list to be first to hear about new books and special offers?

This feels a bit like moving house: I'm excited to be moving to a bigger and better home, but I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for my first internet home. I'll kind of miss Pecked by Ducks. I've lived here for quite a while! The ducklings were so little when I first started, and publishing a book was just a far-off dream.

We've all grown since then, and my very first book-baby is about to step out into the world. I hope to see you all over at the new website to join me on the next stage of this exciting journey. Don't forget to update your bookmarks!

Giving a hoot for charity

Some hospitals have programs where quilters donate quilts for children with cancer. When a new patient is admitted they get to choose a quilt to keep, to have something personal to brighten up their often long and arduous hospital stays.

My quilting group decided to make such a quilt, and gave me the job of designing it and choosing fabrics. Knowing my weakness for owls, they cunningly suggested an owl theme to make the job more appealing.

How could I resist? I turned, of course, to the internet, and good old Google did not disappoint. There are so many generous quilters out there offering patterns and tutorials for free. I found the cutest little owl applique here. Originally intended for a bib, it made a perfect quilt block once it was enlarged.

Look at this little guy! Isn’t he gorgeous?

 That’s the one I made. I found a great stripey fabric in bright bold colours to go between the owls. I gave everyone a plain background piece and asked them to make their owls in colours to go with the stripey fabric. Here are a few of the gorgeous little owls I got back:

Putting it all together was nice and simple. Baby Duck and I had a lovely time rearranging owls to get the most pleasing design. (Taking a picture was tricky, though. Apologies for the less-than-stellar photography here. One of the lovely ladies in the group is quilting it at the moment. Hopefully I can get a better photo when it’s finished.)

I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and I hope that it’ll brighten some sick kid’s day. It certainly made me smile. Those owls are so adorable!