The Creation of SangSang!

Not a lot of eye-candy today! Still all pretty exciting!

As you can see, I have been doing Redwork - Rosalie Quinlan's Little Patchwork Village! I'm just loving it - haven't embroidered in years and this is done using backstitch which seems to be very much in vogue these days! Stitch length and tension is not perfect, but oh, the whole thing is so relaxing. I'm using DMC 107, a variegated thread, and a Birch Straw 10 needle - strange?, yes it is, but this needle is sort of my utility needle, very fine tip with little bit of extra length. On the back of a nice muslin? (out of the stash) I have used Staflex Fusible Interlining - apparently Rosalie recommends that these days! Now, I am not a variegated fan, but this thread is oh, so pretty, red and pink!
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I'm off to make a start on SangSang - another gorgeous softy by Melly & me - 'me' is Rosalie, too - you can see I'm a big fan! DD, Danielle is coming over this arv to make a SangSang, too - never sewn a stitch in her life, so is she ever going to be on a steep learning curve! She has chosen fabrics, the pinkies Chooky sent me for my birthday and as I am making a start this morning, I have had to promise Danielle not to use her selection. Hhh,hmm - don't know how the day will turn out - could be interesting!
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Happy weekend!

Rainbow Quilt Swap 2009!

These gorgeous blocks arrived yesterday - I am so thrilled! Thank you Jane for organizing the Swap and thank you to all the block makers in my group - they are all so nicely made with just wonderful fabrics - no cut off points in this lot - everyone must have read their instructions carefully! My block is the red pinwheel, bottom row!

In the same parcel - on the right, lovely little gifts from Jane, 4 little happy, bright coasters - wow, Jane have you slept lately? - there has been so many in this swap! And, on the left, gorgeous cherry fabric I asked Jane to get for me - I just love pink and red and the little white spots make it such a cute fabric! See Jane's button on my Sidebar - click on it to see her fabrics on eBay - I like whimsy cute fabrics and there's lots of those and Jane is just so charming to deal with, it is worth ordering from her in the USA for a nice little change!
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Another weekend is nearly here - a long weekend for Western Australia - maybe lots of sewing will get done - let's hope so!

My Studio!

Just joking! The Aussie girls seem to be showing their workplaces, so here's mine! Actually it is the formal lounge room of our home, just inside the front door with views to lovely neighbourhood homes and lawns and my rose garden! It was hard to make the move into it, but now I appreciate the lovely light, bright room so much - aka My Studio!

Nothing too formal here - lots and lots of fabrics hidden in every nook and cranny! I have been talking to Janet of Quiltalott and have been discussing some sort of film to go on the windows to protect all my goodies from the bright light!

WIP Corner - see the 9-patches, little baskets, linen fabrics and the box has current 'wanna do' patterns!

Another junky spot - two large boxes of repros, a pair of Mums pyjama pants to have new elastic inserted (I tell her I'm a quilter, not a mender!).

Imagine the bright sunshine in the backgound with the drapes just ajar! Tuesday I met up with Girlfriends at Woolly Latte - the yarn shop with coffee shop attached, just a delight! We had a great day, three of the girls sat there knitting while sipping coffee, wish I'd taken my camera! I took Missy Perkins for her first outing - quite the star she is! Then I popped next door to Hot Possum and bought the couple of pieces of limey green Kaffe to make the pincushion for the swap. Had to stop by Materialise on the way home to check it out for linens and wow! the 4 on the left were on sale for $12 a metre!

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If anyone is still with me - yawn! - who is very experienced in shaggy quilts - tell me, do you think one layer of linen, backed with flanelette, will make a suitably cosy quilt? Or should I go another way? Christine, you should be able to help, thanks - I would appreciate opinions from anyone, thanks!

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Off to my local sewing group - I haven't been for ages, so hope I am not ex-communicated! Happy day!

Mrs. Perkins!

From here on in she's Missy Perkins! Certainly not old enough to be a Mrs! Oh, what fun I had making her (except for those tiny wee horns!) - what a lovely way to spend a day!

Here she is doing her exercises - not quite as supple as Janet's Mrs. Perkins, but then she has been made by an ex-dollmaker and is pretty heavily stuffed!

Here she is with another softie from Melly & me designs, Birdie! The family are so impressed - I will be making lots more!

PS - Janet, I managed to make our self-set deadline, whew! C'mon, Joy!

Guardian Angels!

'If you sleep under a quilt, you sleep under love' - so the saying goes!

I made this quilt for my Danielle, now 35 - she left home alone, travelled to the UK , Europe and the Caribbean when she was just 24. You can imagine with just a backpack, this quilt formed part of that luggage, sort of 'I've been everywhere'! This quilt travelled for 5 years, well worn, well loved and may more years left in its life.

Danielle married an Australian boy while in England, and she and Adrian came home to Australia to have their baby twins, Byron and Heidi, who I talk about frequently. She still cuddles up under this quilt on cold evenings - I stole it from her place yesterday, and she would have needed it last night - wet, chilly winter has set in!

Happy Sunday!

Happy Houses Finale!

Here they are - all together and trimmed ready to be sorted into groups and put in the post packs! Julia helped me with the trimming - thanks Julia! I have a quick doctor's appointment this morning (just for scripts!) then I'll get home, get them sorted and into the mail!

Oh, I have one orphan group of 12 - please tell me who owns it ? - maybe it will all come clear when the final grouping happens - oooh, I'm so sorry!

Do you remember how recently I sent some Australian fabrics to Gabi in Austria - her group was working on a project of fabrics from around the world so my Girlfriends helped out. Now Gabi is a very naughty girl - I/we expected nothing in return and yesterday this gorgeous pack arrived as a thank - they are fabrics used for their native dress, florals for the dress and stripes for the apron!

These fabrics are my 'Friday Fabrics' - ordered from Nanette of Freda's Hive - cute as apple pie!

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Surely this weekend will bring some organization into my life - so far I have no commitments to meet, so number one chore will be to tidy sewing room then a choice of ... starting Mrs. Perkins, starting Redwork, preparing more baskets for applique, sewing Tumbling Steps ... and so the list goes on!

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Have a fun weekend everyone!

Under Flynn's Wings!

I have more interesting quilts to show you from our recent QuiltWest Exhibition! We were fortunate enough to have on display a selection of quilts from The National Quilting Exhibition, depicting and celebrating 80 years of service in Australia of our Royal Flying Doctor Service!

The above is the winner of the prestigious award and was created by our very own Past President, Jocelyne Leath - congratulations, Jocelyne!

Another two wonderful creations from elsewhere in Australia! John Flynn was the Founder of this great service - that happened back in 1928 with the first flight from Cloncurry, Queensland - oh, how fortunate so many Australians have been with this wonderful service!

Below, as I have mentioned previously, I was asked to make a Third Prize quilt for our raffle, proceeds of which go to the RFDS. I very happily donated 'Charisma' - I'm so pleased to be able to contribute my little bit to such a wonderful cause!

Very little has happened in the sewing room lately, today is the day! Julia has trimmed some Happy Houses for me, so I'm going to do the rest and get them out to you lovely girls ... I promise ... I think!
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I'd like to make a start soon on some Redwork - I haven't embroidered for years and am entering into this lacking a bit of confidence - please tell me who does and who doesn't use a hoop for backstitch?
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Happy day!

Down Under Quilts Issue 132!

Oh dear, this could be boring for some - here we go! Yes, the latest Issue is on the newsagents' shelves now, featuring several Australian blogger and quilting identities! In all honesty, this is a nice magazine with some lovely quilt patterns and ideas!

For all you Followers of Robin of Daisy Quilts here is her gorgeous quilt! It is to Robyn that bloggers worldwide have to thank Robyn for The Great Hexagon Quilt-Along - so much time and effort she has put into such great blog!

A blurry pic, sorry - this is really a gorgeous quilt - a must try one day for me!

Dear friend, Pat Goodchild is our Meet a Quilter this month. Pat makes very unique quilts and one of her quilts was purchased by Kaffe Fassett, the only quilt he has purchased in Australia. He takes it with him on his travels around the world teaching and lecturing and has used it in his presentations.

Pat puts knitted edges on lots of her quilts and has been an inspiration to me to have a little play, too - thanks Pat - big hugs!

By this Little Black Duck - a simple but handy tote bag - as you know, I have made quite a few of these!

More trivia and then I'll close up shop for today! I Googled 'regency dandy fabrics' and this is what I came up with - Princess Feathers by Windham Fabrics and just gorgeous!
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Oh, I must tell you - Creative Living Media produces free digital magazines - Down Under Quilts, Issue 131 is now available, so have a little play at Google, sign up and you can see it all!

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DD, Danielle is nagging me to go to the Quilt and Craft Show with maybe a little bit of Harbour Town thrown in - oh, do I have to - I just want to get on with my sewing and trimming Happy Houses - I guess motherhood becomes a priority once again!

PS - pop over to Julia's Place, check out her Profile pic, and you will see what this gorgeous girl looks like - I'm wicked, arent I?

Regency Dandy Circa 1810 !

A Quick Post is a good one, so here I go!

I think I have just about caught up on Replies and I promise not to get behind again! There's lots more Browsing and Commenting I want to do.

Have lots to talk about later on the articles in the latest Down Under Quilts magazine, but will leave that until next time - thanks to all who have commented already!

Look at the above - with all the repro projects I want to do I ordered some metreage on sale from Sophie at Materialise - as you can see by the title 1810 - who would believe it - not everyone's cup of tea, but I certainly love the range - the package of fat-quarters on the right, must be a gift, thank you so much Sophie! It was a thrill to open the parcel late yesterday!

Happy Weekend!

Quilts and Creatures!

Here she is again - Saskia! She's growing more beautiful every day and just loves her family - she cries when the little ones are at school!

A pic of my sweet Alice - and sweet she is! She has such a lovely nature. I'm so smitten with Saskia I feel like a traitor of a Mum to my two little pups at times!

Oh, yes - a little bit of shopping at the show! These gorgeous linens to make a shaggy quilt, a few gorgeous novelty prints at the back and a new pattern. I must think about a start on Mrs. Perkins over the weekend, Janet and Joy ! - anyone else care to join in - see my Sidebar!

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While thinking about Blogland Girlfriends - you must pop over to see Robyn of Daisy Quilts - she has a gorgeous quilt published in the latest edition of Down Under Quilts - congratulations, Robyn! I believe there is a project of mine in that issue, too - must try to pick up a copy today!

This is a better pic of the Block of the Month project I have joined - Green Tea and Sweet Beans - certainly is colourful and interesting. It will be a challenge for me to keep up - we'll see how I go!

From the quilt show - Monet's Garden by well-known WA quilter, Jan Rowe! Wow, all those little hexagons - beautifully executed!

Created by our well-known Australian quilter, Jenny Bowker - will this creation be at Houston this year?

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Off to the doctor with Mum for scripts today, then maybe to Garden City to have a look about for some new shoes/boots - it is starting to get chilly here now! Some new clothes are in order to suit the extra kilos - not good in recession times, pity the body hasn't recessed, too!

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Happy weekend!

PS - for all you Happy House builders - Julia and I will start the trimming and sorting this weekend!

QuiltWest 2009!

Oh, this is a real mixed bag of pics - many more to come! What a great day - pop over to visit Julia to hear all her good news - it was certainly a big day for her!

Above, Best of Show, a very beautiful quilt created by our QuiltWest Convenor, Sheila Pye! Congratulations Sheila, so well deserved!


Yes, that's my style - can't go too far without telling you about the above - this is Jenny Kingwell of amitie and the Block of the Month she has created - name? Green Tea and Sweet Beans - I think! Now, BOM's are not my style, but oh, I just loved this one and can't wait for the first parcel!

Our Darling Baby Girlfriend! Shari of Mumsyblossom's World with her beautiful big smile, as usual! Shari has been QuiltWest Treasurer for oh, at least 4 years - such a busy little bee and she loves it all!

Best Art Quilt by Ruth de Vos! Ruth is a young mother of quite a family of very small children - amazing her work!

Above, works of our Guest Judge, Sharyn Hall. Many of you will know of Sharyn, a mixed media artist and contemporary quiltmaker who travels nationally and internationally to teach, study and exhibit!

One of the Best of Australia - I am not sure which state - a really lovely quilt! What a busy day with snapping pics, lot of socializing, shopping, oh, yes! Lots to show you in future Posts, just hope you enjoy it all!

A long day, train trip home, then out for a belated Mother's Day Dinner at our local tavern. Just look at DD and grandchildren - what a wonderful ending to a lovely day!

I am very happy!

Baskets and Nine-Patches!

PS - oh, this is all Topsy Turvy, I know - this is for Christine, who is running our 9-Patch Swap!

I have managed to get all twelve finished with no interruptions, whoopee! Also, thought I would mention about my gorgeous Satchmo roses - see the black edges forming around the petals - consequently the name!

Also, (yes, I do stop sometimes, I don't talk in my sleep!) - I had run out of 80/12 needles and wanted to use a new one, so used a 75/11 Schmetz Quilting Needle - beautiful stitch on my Pfaff - I had read this hint somewhere previously!

Now to the original Post below!

A quick Post today! I'm grabbing a little time to post now as I know I am going to be inundated later this afternoon ... I really love my Family, but!!!

I've started my 9-Patches for the Swap - yep, they are pretty for repros, a double pink and a shirting! Two repro baskets - fun to applique - I can feel an antique crib quilt coming on , knitted edge and all! It is so relaxing to kick back at night, watch a bit of tele and mindlessly knit!

Off to charge the camera battery for the Quilt Show tomorrow, and, with a bit of luck, maybe finish twelve 9-Patches!

Happy Day everyone!

Diamonds and Hexagons!

Oopsy, I'm on a bit of an angle here! Never mind, just trying to show you the pretty reproductions fabrics I so love! This quilt has been in the making almost as long as I have been quilting - English paper-pieced and it does have a regularity in the way the hexagons are pieced.I had seen a small pic of part of a similar antique quilt, so stitch away I did using my own design.

As I have mentioned, I have borrowed The Fabric of Society from the library and here is the original antique quilt - Frederica Josephson's Quilt of Diamonds and Hexagons, c. 1850. Mine has been basted and a little bit of hand-quilting done - will I ever finish it? I hope so!

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A new week and I am fairly organized, so let's hope it will be a productive one. There's a few things on the agenda - it would be nice to be productive in the sewing room, without interference from the outside world, that is running a household - so let's see what happens!

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Happy Sewing!

Tulips for Mothers Day!

To Mothers everywhere - Happy Mothers Day 2009! For all who nurture friends, pets, and for those who spread kindness and compassion - Happy Mothers Day to you, too!

Whoohoo! Dear son, David, bought a new you beaut tele for our entertainment room - now I'll be able to listen as I compute!

A tidy desk, once again - 'tidy desk, empty mind' is the saying - not true in this case! All those quilt designs buzzing around up there! Lots more tidying to do today - into the sewing room!

For those interested, this is part of Kim Mcleans 'Old Brights' inspired by Sarah Evan's Applique Quilt 1806, featured in The Fabric of Society! My 'True Friendship', done in conjuction with Christine, see previous Post, is inspired by Kim's quilt! These colours are not accurate - it is truly one of the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen !

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Check out my Sidebar and you will see Joy of Joypatch is joining in creating Mrs. Perkins! Anyone else like to join in? - no swap or anything like that, just a bit of funtime together!

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Well, feet up this evening, Mums - we are having beautiful fresh Prawn Rolls - simple, but what could be better!

Friendship Finished!

Oh, boy, I bet that title attracts a lot of attention - doesn't sound good does it? Well, I have just finished 'True Friendship', Christine's and my quilt, so it is all good!

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Now to block the knitted edge and put the label on - this quilt is so special to me, I really procrastinated about adding the edge. I thought I may detract from the quilt, but, I'm quite happy with it and it was such a pleasure to stitch the edge on - warm fuzzy thoughts and memories, lots of them! The reproduction fabrics alone brought back lots of memories and some blocks have up to five different fabrics - Christine knows what this quilt means to me - and to our great Australian designer, Kim McLean, thank you for the inspiration and incentive!

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A little bit of nonsense, as usual! See that little smear on the pavers to the right hand side of the little ornament - well, when I went to pick it up a spider ran off and fell to the ground - I looked down and it was a redback - now, I hate killing any kind of creatures and have no fear of spiders, but that is all that is left of it now - squished!

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Lots of apologies to lots of you folk - I need to Browse, Comment, Reply, Happy House, post Promises! It will all happen - please forgive and be assured how much I treasure my Blogland friendships! I am sure the dust will settle next week, though with my family one never knows - oh, I just remembered, I have a baby-sitting job this arv and dear son, David will be home soon with a new big tele and a nice new stand to set up, with the thought of enjoying the rugby league game Australia versus New Zealand tonight!

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Happy weekend everyone!

Fabric Twaddle!

I'm the Lucky Girl ... again! Look what arrived in the mail yesterday - Kaffe Fassett Kashmir fabrics- pink for a girl, blue for a boy - Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, I think so! Gorgeous Janet of Quiltsalott sent them to me, so next week I'll start making giraffes! Thanks, Janet!

Now, Happy Houses - lots have arrived and still waiting on quite a few, and a few more to finish! Hopefully by the end of next week, I will be able to get everything sorted out! Thanks to everyone who has posted already!

I've started thinking about fabrics for the 9-Patch Swap, see Post below - all very exciting and some girls have started stitching already! I will kick off with the pink and send some of the blue to Chookyblue - both Judie Rothermal fabrics. Christine has asked that we work with reproduction fabrics or similar - to me this type of reproduction refers to fabrics 1800 - 1900, not necessarily from the Civil War Era - there are so many bright, rich colours that I love so much and I'll be using them!

Look what I discovered in our shed! My quilt rack, an antique ladder I bought at Mt Tamborine many years ago - I will have to find a spot in the house for it - I will load it with quilts and show you next time!

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I'm off to experiment putting a knitted edge on my Angel Quilt - wish me luck! Happy day!

Christine's Nine-Patch Swap!

An exciting new swap that you will enjoy! If you are an Aussie resident or you are owed a favour by an Aussie, love Reproduction Fabrics and love making Nine-Patches - pop over to visit Christine of Once Upon A Quilt ... ! You will looove the quilt on her header and this will be a great swap to be in time-wise and the results will be stunning!

I participated in the particular swap Christine's quilt came from and just haven't got around to making them into a quilt - I'm sure a lot of you know that feeling!

This quilt top above is from another cottage-group swap, in which Christine and I participated many, many years ago - I actually made it into a top many many years ago, too - so far, so good! I could never get too enthused about it and have recently dragged it out and put it into my WIP stack and am now very fond of it with all the happy memories!

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If you have never worked with reproduction fabrics, this will be a great opportunity to branch out and get involved and you will be delighted with the sparkle you can get with the right fabric selection and it should not take a lot of fabric and for those of you fortunate enough to have access to repro fabrics, just a little of two fabrics is all that is required!

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No, I am not Christine's Publicity Officer, just a very dear friend!

Prayers for a Son!

I am deeply touched by sad news from a Blogging Friend - if you have faith and compassion, please pop over to visit Linda at All Stitched Up - thoughts and prayers do help!

Life Is a Bed of Roses!

Another beautiful day, the weather is just delightful, and should remain this way for the rest of the week - aren't we lucky! I promised myself I would take some respite from this computer - oh, well - it doesn't really matter!

On the left above - I have been bitten by the reproduction fabric bug again - I have a few projects in mind after being inspired by our Australian book, the Fabric of Society! So I ordered a few new fat-eighths from Patchwork on Stoneleigh - just described to Christine what I would like and they arrived in the mail a couple of days later - wonderful folk at that shop!

On the right - a lace edge I am knitting for my True Friendship quilt - I would like to get it finished before the quilt show, but somehow don't feel I will make it! Never mind, True Friendship is very special to me as it is!

A nice little collection of Australiana fabrics that Girlfriends have contributed to send to Gaby in Austria - thanks so much, Girls. Gaby and her group are doing a project with fabrics from around the world - they are on the big bird on their way now! Hope Gaby and her group enjoy them!

My very new rose Alec's Rise - the first blooms and I'm so in love - a very large rose with gorgeous fragrance! I went out and bought another yesterday!

Above, my climber, Don Juan, that I thought I had killed with too harsh a pruning last year - I didn't know one shouldn't prune climbers! I bought another bare rooted climber also, Red Pierre de Ronsard - sounds very promising! I love all colour roses, but have chosen to stay with red and white in my garden, though I must say I prefer the reds!

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DH and Mum are behaving, sort of! Caring is very stressful, thank God for wonderful family and friends! Oh, and quilting (lol)!

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Happy day!

The Last Sneak Peek!

'Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!'

I think that will have to be my life's motto for the moment - two very precious people in my life, DH and Mum are being very naughty and keeping me from socializing and quilting! I am on a steep learning curve and coping, just! Oh, my new eye is behaving beautifully, thanks!

Above - about maybe 12" to go to finish the knitted edge for my quilt to go into the QuiltWest Exhibition - maybe I'll manage to finish today, if I am not rudely interrupted!

I visited purple and paisley , cute little boo is using sewing cards! I'm very surprised to see they are about in this day and age - a lovely Post, worth checking out. I have been asked about DUQ - that's the abbreviation for Down Under Quilts! In my Profile, featured in this magazine, I talked about remembering my first sewing experience - card sewing it was!

Without sounding too boring, I hope, I thought I would pass on that free Issue 131 2009 is online now, http://www.downunderquilts-digital.com/ - I hope this gets you there, so pop over to see it if you fancy it's just that I have had comments about it already, so some may be interested!

How cute is this? - I received an email this morning from dear ex-Canadian friend (she's an Aussie now, but still boasts about being Canadian, and back home, etc. - lol!) - Louise thinks it's Sisters and Girlfriends Day and this pic formed part of the email - dear wee things doing a Marilyn Monroe, dummy and all - I just love it!
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Hope you all have a nice weekend!