My New Eye!

Yep, being silly, again! However, I feel I really do have a new eye as yesterday I had much needed laser surgery on a growth behind my right eye and everything is bigger and brighter to me - no blurriness at all - watch out when I get behind that wheel, now - I will give those boys in blue something to do!

Oh, this is all out of order - never mind! I have done it again - joined another swap - the Pincushion Summer Swap '09 - looks great - check out Quilt at Home with Sandra!

For all you repro fabric lovers - check out these beautiful fabrics I received from dear Kathie of Inspired by Vintage Quilts. Just beautiful, thanks so much Kathie - we like to do little swapsies
and I have my Tumbling Steps started and may even join Kathie and Janet of Quiltsalott are making the little basket quilt from When The Cold Wind Blows that I have on order.

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See on my sidebar, Janet and I have a little sew-along going with Mrs. Perkins - I know others are going to join in - please email Janet or I if you intend to and I will add your name. This is not a formal thing, just a bit of fun and I am thinking we will have our own little zoo of giraffes!

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Must dash - things to do - have a lovely day!

A Cute New House!

As you all know, I love dollies and little houses - how about this cutie? Designed by Girlfriend Robin and just 6" square! I could have made six Happy Houses, yesterday, but no, I decided to play with this little one. It is foundation pieced and quite tiny and fiddly - at this stage, fate unknown!

Does anyone know this fabric, please? It was sent to me for my birthday, I think! I really love it - looks sort-of Kaffe to me, but I don't think it is. I have been using little bits here and there of the fat-quarter - would love to buy some more, so hopefully someone will recognize it!

Not a lot of stitching was done yesterday - again, so many interruptions! My little man, Byron, spent the day with me and slept over - he is such a joy to have about, and I did get quite a lot of quilting done on my Angel Quilt last night, and big cheers, that is nearly finished! Byron is now eating Nutri-Grain (naughty Nanny! - sugar loaded) and watching Ben 10 while I sit beside him doing this Post.

Another little gem - I have a few pieces in my fairly newly established succulent garden, but couldn't resist buying this one to sit in my sewing room. We have been calling it Baby's Toes, but it's botanical name is Crassula Ovata Gollum, named after JRR Tolkein's character of the same name, so this particular one will be Gollum to me! Grows indoors in low light, so the blurb says - I will still give it a little gentle sunshine, though!

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I am going to spend some time now writing some Replies - apologies to all for my slackness - I really appreciate and enjoy your Comments - unfortunately I love Browsing and Commenting, too - no excuse, I know, but it is true!

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I'll close on this wise quote I read this morning. 'Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass - it's about learning how to dance in the rain!' Oh, if only we could!

Back to Quilting!

The festivities of Anzac Day have begun, so it is back to quilting chatter!

Who's the Lucky Girl, again? This is the delightful Dolly Quilt I have received from Marilyn in Kansas City, USA - thank you, Marilyn, I just love it - the workmanship is just perfect in every detail - the colours, perfect for my home and it will be hung for all to see and admire!

Look at this gorgeous Postcard, message in an envelope and little 'business' card - a true professional and a very generous girl!

A little sewing happened this morning - these blocks are the start of my antique repro quilt - I must find a name for it even though it is still only a twinkle in my eye! Maybe Tumbling Steps as it will consist of courthouse step blocks and tumber blocks! I love the bright, rich repros - the bottom pink and mauve are from the Regency Dandy range, c. 1810!

There was more in the mail yesterday - a quilt magazine, from Marilyn, also! And, my much awaited package from Quilt Fabric Delights with Rosalie Quinlan's Redwork Houses!I can't wait to get started, but must get my act into gear first!

Is anyone else this lucky? Dear Adrian, our next-door neighbour, keeps our lawn mowed beautifully with his reel mower! Adrian is a tee-totaller, so we can't even buy him a stubby, but he knows how much we appreciate this wonderful gesture and we do try to make up for it at Christmas!

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It's a long weekend here, so hopefully more sewing will get done! Early tomorrow morning, my little man will come with me to take Poppa to the airport, then maybe it will be a Happy Houses afternoon - hope so! I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend!

Anzac Day April 25, 2009 - Lest We Forget!

The most memorable day of the year for Australia and New Zealand, a day to honour and to remember our fallen heroes - if you don't know the significance and if you fancy please do a little research !

These pics are of Anzac Square in Brisbane, Queensland, a very beautiful and charming city!

As a little girl, I walked through this square many times with my parents (I was always amazed at the way the Eternal Flame kept burning!). As a teenager and young woman, I did that walk almost daily, as Central Station is located behind the Memorial and I worked in the National Bank in Queen Street. The history and memories were instilled in me from a very early age and for a country as young as Australia, that is a wonderful heritage!
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I won't be awake for the Dawn Service at 5 am tomorrow, but I know at least two of our boys will be!

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To all who have served Australia, God bless you - Lest We Forget!

Happy weekend - hugs - Lurline♥

Off On Another Genre!

I am taking Quilters' Licence and using the term 'genre' rather loosely - generally applied to music and art, but what is quilting? Anyhow, we are lucky to have the above book, by Annette Gero and Kim Mclean in our WAQA library, so it is nice to have a little browse for a month!

You have seen the lovely little Courthouse Steps blocks I have recently been doing on my Dolly Quilt Swap - isn't the above so similar and I have lots and lots of repro fabrics!

The blurb on this quilt hasn't come out clearly - never mind - it was made by Jeannette Dick, c. 1867, Victoria!

A gorgeous Log Cabin with Tumbler Borders, made by Nicholes Wallace, c. 1895, Victoria!

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I have really enjoyed doing the Courthouse Steps and a Tumbler Quilt has always been on my agenda, so I can feel another Lurline Quilt coming on - will be fun to puddle along and fondle those beautiful repros again!

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I'm still madly trying to put finishing touches to two QuiltWest quilts - I think, I hope, I will make the deadline, so can't get too sidetracked at the moment. Dear friend Robin has given me a little foundation pieced house to try - only 6" square, so must have a little play there! Also, lots of Happy House blocks have been coming in and I still have quite a few of mine to do!

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The weekend is nearly here again, so hopefully lots of time to play - DH flies out for a 10 day Bowls Carnival in Adelaide on Sunday for about 10 days - whoopee! Mum and I will live on Vegemite on toast, less washing to do and I can read until 3am if I so desire - oh, yes, and I will miss him terribly, too (lol)!

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It is Anzac Day here tomorrow - a day dedicated to honour our brave who have fought in wars in which Australia has participated - from the bottom of my heart thank you and yours - there is so much to say! I must offer my thoughts, hopes and prayers for the brave service men and women and their loved ones the world over, who are serving our countries right at this moment - how right John Lennon was when he wrote the words 'All we are saying, is give peace a chance' - will we ever?

What a Day!

At least the Dolly Quilt for the Swap is finished - binding stitched down while I wore a pair of a friend's prescription specs - you see, silly me, I left my bag at home! It was all pretty difficult, not a cent in money, no cards, but I got by with a little help from my friends!

It was our monthly meeting at our WAQA guild - just lovely to catch up with friends, especially those we don't see regularly!

Candy, a school-teacher friend, who can get along only during school holidays, was there with her great quilt-as-you-go project. Candy has a wonderful flair with colour - looks kind of Japanese to me!

I did manage (with borrowed money!) to be able to get some more of this cute fabric that I used on the potholder I made recently! I hoped I would be lucky as I want to send it to some special friends!

I have chatted at length about making my little ferny grove and planting baby's tears. See the lush green ground cover bottom right hand/middle of the pic - that's it! This is a little spot in Carole's garden and it is all so lovely!

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Carole gave me several pots of it yesterday and on the trip home, most fell over, so I have mess in the boot and then I had to plant most of it straight away. Guess what! We've a little rain here this morning so I can almost hear it laughing from here. Let's hope it takes off - maybe one day I will be cursing it, because it is highly invasive!

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Oh, I hope the rest of the week is productive for me, there's so much I want to do and so much I have to do! Anyone else feeling the same?

A Busy Weekend!

As usual - a busy weekend here and not a lot of sewing done! Never mind, the little ones stayed with us and had a lot of fun, son-in-law helped me in the garden (poor boy, he worked so hard!) and DS arrived home yesterday (just for the night!).

I did manage to put wings on the Messenger Birdie (pattern, Melly & me, tail modified) and finish her off.

And ... the Potholder (Pinwheel included!) quilted and bound! Also, the dolly quilt is quilted, just binding to be stitched down!

Another pattern for a softie - I have seen this cute lady in real life and can't wait to make her! I have had the pattern for ages and haven't done anything about it, now Janet from quiltsalott, has the pattern, too, and we have made a pact to make Mrs. Perkins between 11 - 28 May so ... if anyone who has the pattern would like to join in, just let us know - will be fun to have company! Janet's blog is absolutely delightful and she is one of the most accomplished appliquers (is that a word?) I have ever met!

This is the corner of my garden that had a make-over, or maybe was denuded is a better way to put it, at the weekend! I love ferns, but especially maiden hair fern - so the jade has gone to heaven and so has the huge holly fern. I am attempting to make this into a little ferny grove with baby tears and more delicate ferns - it is a protected corner, so let's hope it survives the harsh winds and summer sun!

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The start of another week - let's hope it is a good one for everyone!

My Wicked, Wicked Ways!

I just can't help myself! When there is temptation about, I just have to let loose!

Yesterday, I met Girlfriends! for lunch at Woolly Latte, a yarn supply shop combined with a lovely coffee shop - lots of chatter and good company and it was lovely to be surprised and joined by Raelene!

Two doors up there just happens to be a lovely little patchwork shop, Hot Possum, and while waiting for the girls I decided I should pop in! The gorgeous Kaffe Fassett fabric, above left, said 'Pick me, pick me!' How could I not? Two metres and another 9 fat-quarters to compliment - I'll make a beautiful blue quilt one day!

Before I go onto other trivia, I have had requests for help with the knitted lace edge I am doing and also, the dollies in my Header - I have a memory like a sieve at times and always dashing from one thing to another, so if you have made these requests, please contact me again as I am quite happy to share if it is permissible within copyright rules and a lot of what I show and talk about are my own designs! I need reminders from time to time, so please don't hesitate to contact me should the need arise and it probably will!
I have been sort of good at times this week - the weather was cooler so out into the garden! I have promised myself to give more TLC to my roses - even planted a new one! That is Satchmo above, an oldie and a floribunda!

My only bloom on climber, Don Juan! That is because I pruned it back after winter last year and found out since, one shouldn't prune climbers? However, it has wonderful large shoots now, so should come on beautifully.
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I'm a quilter, not a horticulturist! So hopefully lots of finishes this weekend. I hope yours is a happy weekend, too!

Perfect Pinwheels!

I was going to start some applique yesterday - guess what? - Pages 17 - 30 in a new book were missing and they were the pages I needed. Bad luck - so I decided I will do a little demo for those who wanted to know, on how to make perfect pinwheels (as I've said before, is anything perfect?)!

The above will become an 8" potholder - a first for me! This is not a copy, but I will say, I have been inspired by Nanette of Freda's Hive in my selection of cutesy fabrics! I have quite a nice stash of them these days . Thanks, Nanette!

One needs 4 squares of chosen fabrics with a diagonal line, corner to corner, drawn on the lighter fabric. My finished pinwheel is going to be 4" (that is 4-1/2" with seam allowances), so each half needs to be 2", plus 1/2" seam allowance, plus 3/4", making the squares 3-1/4". These allowances can be applied to all sizes of pinwheels.

Oopsy, tilt you head! - stitch 1/4" each side of diagonal line.

Cut on the drawn line. Press seam allowance towards darker fabric.

Place you square ruler on the 45 degree angle line as shown above and with rotary cutter, trim to 2-1/2", first trimming the right side and the top side, then turn the square around and trim the other two sides.

Then you can see the neat squares we have achieved. Lay out as illustrated above.

Stitch left and right pairs together, starting at edge where there are no seam allowances.

Finger press seams towards darker fabric, so the seams lay in opposite directions.

Stitch both pairs together, making sure you interlock the seams.

There we have the perfect pinwheel! Look at those lovely points in the middle!

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I know this is a very simple method and some may tut-tut! at all the fuss - however in my early days of quilting, Christine of Once Upon a Quilt ... showed this method to me - I have tried many since and I can still say this is the way I like to do my pinwheels - my favourite, block and in many cases my signature block - thanks, Christine!
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I hope this little demo is helpful to some of you, please let me know!

A Lovely Surprise!

The postman knocks and the puppies bark! Now this is a lovely surprise! One of my dearest Blogland friends, Chookyblue, has sent this gorgeous gift to me!
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We are in a Birthday Fat-quarter Swap organized by Maree - now this Swap is supposed to be 2 fat-quarters - hmmm, looks a bit more than that to me, and isn't it all just gorgeous? Chooky, I love this all so much! The basket is all too sweet and dainty to use, maybe a nice decoration, perhaps, I could spray it with Scotchguard - thinking out loud, I will do that and then use it!! The little needlecase is divine - I know the girls at GDITC at Nundle started this project - cute Redwork is next on my agenda when the dust settles. And the fabrics are 'very Lurline' at the moment - Chooky, thank you so much!
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I think she will, and I do hope she will - that is, Maree, I would love you to organize this swap again next year!

Happy day everyone!