Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Another finish

But firstly please excuse the mess while i try to restyle my blog!!! (any tips?)

 This quilt i absolutely fell in love with.
 A collaboration of the girls in my group over at Cherish @ do. Good Stitches.
It came together so simply and beautifully....imo
I really enjoyed the whole process of contributing and finishing this quilt.
I guess more so as i have a love of boats lighthouses and bridges, although there are no bridges in this one.
(i had thought that might be a future quilt)

I free hand drew some wild tall waves and loose softer waves and hand quilted these.
I think if you click  on the picture you will see this in  more detail.
I also stitched in the ditch on all four sides of each block for more stability.
It is the first time i have used my walking foot and i can tell you it will not be the last.
Man, where have i been.

one member of the group made an extra block which i had intended to piece into the back but somehow went into auto pilot and forgot...hence this became a little solo one and the receptionist at 
will put to great use i am sure.
This quilt spent a day on the line in the sun as you can see from the pics and felt and smelt divine.
I imagine a small child feeling very loved wrapped in the love which went into the making of this very special quilt.
I chose Paradise kids as it is local to me and the quilt was made with children in mind.
Paradise Kids is on the east coast of Queensland, Australia and situated not far from the actual beach and marinas hence i decided on a seaside theme.
Thank you to all the girls in my group for this opportunity to make and give. x

  
I wonder what some others are up to of late.
Thank you for stopping by x


Friday, November 2, 2012

Sew much going on

It has been such a busy month or two. Those of you who know me are aware i
resigned from and took up a new position. I had about 7 weeks off...wow that sounds like 
a looooong time...i can tell you it went by with such speed.
I made this cake to say cheerio, also to acknowledge my colleague's birthday.

Not a very good pic, sorry for that, however, this was THE most delicious cake.
It is from Elanas Pantry. Love her recipes. All gluten free and so so healthy.
The frosting is simple and super yum. I am a bit of a nigella with sneaking to the kitchen for a nibble when all is quiet with the rest of the crew...although there was not much of this left to bring home.

There has been lots of sewing..mostly in the early mornings as my days are full with so many other chores.
Firstly for the Cherish Circle at DO. Good Stitches 
it was my month in October to host. I requested lighthouses and sailboats.
I accidentally used interfacing instead of freezer paper...oops.
Still trying to remove this and anticipate having this finished by the end of this month!
I will be donating my quilt to Paradise Kids here on the Gold Coast.
I think this is a wonderful charity and local to me.
this little beauty was made for the Pincushion swap over on Flickr
I had a lot of fun putting this little guy together, i hope my partner loves him as much as i do.
  
I could not let this couch go to waste...hence recovered it to suit the room, brighten it up.
It was still in good condition, just a little dated. I made a slip cover, as i know with these colours it will get a little dirty.

 
I found this wonderful strong Indian cotton at Spotlight.
It really brightens up the room.
I cannot say i loved doing this and i dont look forward to doing another one, so dont ask..lol

I have also committed to the Pillow Talk Swap over on Flickr
my partner asked for something specific. I have wanted to try this 
I have loved making this, and for the past two or three nights have been dreaming up different borders to add to create my pillow. I think i am going to do a simple solid frame immediately around the star and then a small border of simple small stars....your thoughts?

 

Also a little thrifting. Found this gorgeous little number to send to my gorgeous girl now living in Melbourne.
It is fully lined, so soft and drapey and long.... I cannot wait to see it on her.


Its a long one i know....i feel like i have achieved...with sew little time.
Thank you if you got this far and if you didn't. 
and....check out some more
Sweet day x


Saturday, August 25, 2012

Bowls with Borders


Do not take on crafty projects, then decide to paint the house.
It just does not work.
5 weeks down and i thought i would be simply dusting up the last remains of any presence of a painter.
Each week i think they just may make it and i will have my life back in order.
Trouble is i do not and this is what i have to show for my bowl.
Disappointed? You bet....


However, there is bound to be much loveliness at the other girls blogs, so please hop on over and check them out.


Thank you  Carol for organising the hop and your patience with me. I will complete my bowls and you will see!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Creatively Chaotic


Why oh why can i not stay tidy...sigh
If you knew me i am a rather obssessive tidier of things in general.
Things in each room of my home have thier place.
Those things in each room  get put away as they are used and finished with.
Not so it seems in this room.


And i have left out a picture of the floor which is where i am currently
 trying to sort some of my stash which is piled high in a rather large basket,
which i simply cannot lift.
If you look through the window  you can see a glimpse of the cloud we are sitting
heavily in these past few days here in the mountains.
A lot of people around me hate this weather. Personally i love it, and one of the reasons i would
dearly miss living here. It does not continue for long at all.

A little paper piecing project blog hop i am happy to be a part of.
My turn comes up in early August.
This one is a lot of fun

and a challenge for me.
I decided in the new year that i was going to work on building my skills.
Just a little glimpse of whats going on.

 

I am hopping on over to others today to see their creative chaos.
Thanks for popping by x
Enjoy your sew happy times.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Another finish

Modern Sampler Bee finish photos and an explanation 
why there are two different blocks here.
In eager anticipation i started my blocks with a type of off centre square
which i had been wanting to try for some time
only to discover half way through that i thought this block was a little lame
and that i should do something a little more creative that my recipients would enjoy.
(Lesson learned)
So...i embarked  on the ever famous Granny squares.
This did not go how i wanted it to go either.
You see the grannys, once cut to size can very much distort as they are cut on the bias
I got to about number 8, as Cat was looking for someone to do both groups,
when i decided to rethink the off centre squares, which i might add are not 
really off centre squares at all....but more just a shabby or scrappy block


 (this really was making me feel a little sick by now as i had dreams of making my own 
granny quilt one day)
It wasnt until a couple of days ago and some serious searching i discovered this 
tutorial  over at traceyjay quilts which explains the process of setting the corners.
(for those of you who have not attempted but have thought of sewing a granny quilt)
so....back to the off centre/shabby blocks ....


This second photo of blocks are all in the envelopes to be mailed today.
I am thinking amongst others made they will go nicely.
 I hope all my partners like them and appreciate my anguish.
At first i was concerned as to what i was going to do with all these orphan blocks.
It did not take me long to realise i could easily throw them into a small quilt for a charity.
Our local respite centre has kindly offered to raffle this.

This granny is for another charity 
This lovely granny had to be unpicked as i totally forgot a row before the pink border.
Is my mind really on the job here....or on the job....i think i left my brain at the office 
this past few days. Ever unpicked a row from a granny ....then tried to add another ...its fun
let me tell you!


and simply because i love these beautiful birds
another recent shot o f them snuggling in my rafters on the deck.
They are here most days now. I do hope they have babies again this spring.
They are so trusting with us, and allow us to get very close to them.
Thank you for your patience girls.
I do hope your blocks meet nicely with  your others.
I will post about all of the ones i have received once they are all here.
Thank you for stopping by and have a sew good week...x

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A first for me




I joined this quilt along  in May and now i am excited to be  finished. 
I made a conscious decision to finish on time and i think there is still one week to go.

 i love the outcome
a lot of cutting, but well worth it

made mostly from my stash 
i had to buy the backing and the fabric for the binding
i sandwhiched this quilt with a new flannel sheet
really happy with the outcome
and of course loved every bit of the hand quilting


i went for a drive to visit a friend in an area i lived some years ago

 
here i was hoping to get more of the stunning ranges in the background
i just love this area
with moving from one mountain to the next it is not too far to 
travel to visit old friends and enjoy
yet another gorgeous mountain range

 
i loved this etchings fabric at first glance
one happy girl here. Love my new quilt
and its a keeper...
thank you Anna Maria and Janome for the inspiration

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A little glimpse



of things going on around here
never a dull moment
always trying to squeeze so much in
this is a sewing machine cover for my partner over at Modern She Made Swap
i hope she likes it as i certainly enjoyed making it for her

 next is something for me as it seems that everything  i make goes somewhere and i needed a little nurturing too! :)
its the Prism quilt and i am doing this with the qal over here
a quilt along with Anna Maria Horner and Janome
and i am loving the process
let the sewing begin



these photos are not the best, although i wanted to show a little glimpse into the work 
thats beginning to pay off around here.
Its of the no sewing variety, although much sowing has taken place.
Thats a terrible shady patch there. Its only like that for a short minute of the day. I took these photos 
a little too late in the day.
This vegetable garden is easily 15 X 15 metres (i will check on that).
Its surprising how hard it has been to fill with time shared in many different parts of the garden, the  house, work away from home and the rest....(you know what)...we no sooner finish with a season or a product
and there are spaces to renew. I had planned on some things self sowing more. We seem to get lots of Coriander, Dill and Lettuce self sow, but thats it for now.
To the bottom left there we have our Broccoli coming on. The sugar snap peas slightly above that on the trellis are abundant as are the purple runner beans lined up beside them.
Zucchini are a must for this time of year...so much food from them.They are hiding there in the bit of shade.
No worries though as i said before that shade is only a few minutes then gone again.


To the right of this top pick is the  lovely mandarin tree.
Last year she was surrounded with other crops. This year i thought i would give her a little more room 
to spread her wings. This is a typical small variety, not sure of the name but consistently 
sweet and very juicy. What i particularly like about this one is that it is not just sweet and juicy but rich with flavour.
You know how some mandarins just taste like something wet in your mouth, not much more!
anyhow we do need to do some work in there, lemon grass needs mowing. I have too much tumeric and 
Galangal, needs thinning and a wonderful old rosemary which i have recently pruned, but obviously not enough, so this will get a further chop either today or tomorrow

  

In this photo we are looking west
you can see a little of the paddock next to us where there are 6 horses agisting
although they are all behind me when i took this
I should get a photo of Charlie, she is big, and jumped to come visit with us last week.
What  a shock my daughter got when she arrived home from work to find Charlie almost knocking on our front door.
She is a beautiful girl and was relieved when i found the owner and we returned her to her paddock.

  
this 
 is such a favourite place of mine
i am not sure if its because it is under the olive tree...
these chairs have lovely padded cushions i bring out and my knitting comes along too
as well as a thermos of my home made chai
which i need to drink less of..so yummy

this i would like  to make...in fact i would like to make several and have them as little safe houses throughout my garden...different colours of course.

To read other not so lengthy posts and to see other busy peoples  creations visit here

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