In My Little Corner of the World!

It seems like a little while since I've been here - quite a lot of Reading and Inspiration - very little Commenting and Replying (Sorry!). I have been trying to sew - flopped - aargh! Oh, I've been extra wicked, too -I have missed two Fat Quarter Birthday Swaps also - 'hey - that's enough, Girl - move on, no matter what!'

. One gorgeous folk art platter from Intercourse, Pennsylvania to Perth, Western Australia - love those leaves on the tree.

. Below it, a jug from Ikea - local, but simple and lovely.

. Back right - have any of you received a pressie too precious to use - just too gorgeous and made for me by Chookyblue. Ah, ha, I do use it and quite a lot, too - for little sewing tools, the odd business card I know I will use, a tiny fabric swatch I know I will need to match!

It is so lovely to get away from the real world for a little while - this is the most beautiful milk jug cover I have ever seen - see how the tiny beads are slipped on the thread and crocheted to form the star design - there could be no background design more suitable than Liberty of London!

A late lunch again, some birthday present posting (I'm so sad and sorry, Barbara, Christine and of course you too, Maree - I feel I will be blacklisted in Blogland,and here I am telling all the world about it!). Please forgive me for all my wicked ways!

Nancy Nine Patch!

I love antique quilts - back left, here is an original that has inspired me - pop over to True Blue Quilting Nana to see Nancy's wonderful treasure - perhaps around 70 years old - thank you Nancy for allowing me to keep this little beauty alive!


I've had a few hours of fun this yesterday afternoon and feel sure I will achieve the look I want. I have chosen Retro-Thirtyish, now is there such a thing? Fresh, bright and pretty - and really there is quite a challenge in this not so simple 9-patch - perhaps not the best way to get into the swing of things, we'll see - maybe a simple 9-Patch would have been enough, this will be quite different with all those little individual squares to make the secondary 9-patches that join the blocks together!

I have chosen 2" cuts (finish 1.5") and I will be trying my best to spend a little time each day to try to pull this quilt together. She will be called Nancy 9-Patch - there we go, now that is a commitment. She will be a scrappy of course - I'm popping to the machine now to try to get a little more done - let's see if she is suitable for a Quiltalong - no two quilts would look alike!

Ta-ta for now!

You Are Going To Love This!

I have one very Lucky Girlfriend! And aren't we so lucky to share this at our Sewing Day last Tuesday! Gwen's Best Friend bought her this fabulous pic for her - read on and enjoy!

Here is a some work of the Earth from Above by Yann Arthus-Bertrand! - spectacular! The above I took at Gwen's place with my new camera - no flash required, so how great is that! These are wonderful cotton fabrics drying in the sun, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India!
See those tiny figures and their shadows in the lower left-hand corner!

This one I have snuck from the Internet! To see more of Yann's wonderful work, Google Images for Yann Arthus-Bertrand. I have spent literally hours browsing - great pain-killer on this very chilly day! There is so much written and pictorial interest surrounding this wonderful artist, so please have a little look if you are that way inclined.

This week has slipped by with no production - again! - lots of inspiration there though! I have a big black cloud hanging over my head in the way of medical bills - it is enough putting up with the inconvenience of being unwell, but worse still trying to sort out the red tape, lol! Maybe I will bite the bullet now and have a little think in the Sewing Studio tomorrow! Happy weekend everyone!

PS - oh, I am going for careful, gentle little drives in the car - I feel like a bird set free - I promise I will be extra careful!

Here's Hoping!

Have I turned a corner - maybe! - less pain, more enthusiasm!
Another start at another lot of Granny Squares - must apply myself and keep on moving! Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino is just so gorgeous and soft - as I have mentioned before, my squares have been inspired by Attic24 (I do have some old tricks I find hard to change!) - I'm about to try her method of joining the squares together!

Look what I have - I'm not feeling at all enthusiastic about installing it - seems all a little too much for my learning curve at the moment! I would love any encouragement I can get from you Girls - I'm a total Newbie and wonder if I have bought a monster!

This doesn't go down really well with Nanny - my little Heidi-Ho has joined AusKick with Byron. She does do ballet, too, so maybe not so much of a tomboy - all of my girls have been Girlie-girls!
She has informed me she was telling Byron that is not the right way to hold a football - 'I wasn't going to kick it, Heidi - I was just carrying it!' - poor Byron - I have told him to tell her to get back to her ballet,lol! Have fun!

Whew!

I don't think I should talk about the past week too much - let's stay on a happy note! My shoulders? - let's just say I had some fairly decent sleep last night - was sadly mistaken and don't see my surgeon until next Wednesday and I am choosing not to speculate about the outcome! I have a computer up and running, now let's cross fingers - I have an exchange camera Olympus E-PLI with inbuilt flash - seems beautiful, but again, I am too frightened to be too optimistic! Down to business - I had some applique pieces prepared for GT&SB - here they are and two fat-quarters I bought at the show - along with a donkey pattern that was it!

Another block finished - without too much difficulty I might add - perhaps I will become a quilter again!

I had seen this gorgeous book around in Blogland so ordered it - I am thrilled - now to decide which blocks to use for a small rug. I have a lovely range of DK wool!

♥

I am going to lunch today with a few Girlfriends! - really looking forward to that as I am not quite the socialite I would like to be these days. Oh, when will I get to drive that car again? Again, enjoy your weekend, maybe a little stitching and crocheting for me. Off to have a little browse at your Posts - hope everyone is fine and happy!

Happy Weekend!

Not for me sadly - just a little learning curve going on here, it won't beat me!

Now I don't have a computer - oh, I'm so sad! I'm using David's laptop to say a little hello to everyone. I just hope I have all the data on mine still - a techo will be out Tuesday morning, if I don't decide to chuck a Charlie in the meantime and run around the streets begging for help!

Happy Weekend everyone - do some more stitching for me please!

Popping in to Say Hello!

It is a week since I last posted and really I don't know what to say! Friday last week I visited the podiatrist in the afternoon, rolled on my left shoulder (the original bad one!) to get off the bed, toppled over and dislocated my right shoulder. I have lots and lots of severe pain and don't know where I will go from here - I came out of hospital Sunday afternoon and I'm waiting to hear from my orthopaedic surgeon now!

Meanwhile, best wishes to you all - I really have very little interest in anything, so you will all have to puddle along and make up for my lost time. lol!

Playing With the Baby!

I had a Girlfriend drop in this morning and am expecting another Girlfriend to drop in this afternoon and here I am playing! Should be tidying and folding clothes - how boring! Was to have gone to a Cancer Morning Tea today and am really belting myself up - often I find things 'too hard to do' these days - oh, when is it going to get better! Lots of clicking going on with my new camera - I do love it! I have made a few little Klosjes - I am not enjoying making them, but keep at it Girl!

I sent to Fresh Squeezed Fabrics for pinky off-cuts - here's the bundle - I'm really happy with them - thought maybe this year I would a softie for Holloween from this pattern, so ordered it, too! Great service, so I'm happy!

Another great little find - 6" squares of Liberty Paisley - associated with Kaffe Fasset! I just adore the range - fabulous colour - oh, I could put them to so many uses!

A stroll outside with my baby and I still have beautiful red roses smiling at me - a little neglected and probably the last bloom just before winter - rain is supposed to start this afternoon!

I told you I was buying bubbly for Mother's Day - the Girls and I enjoyed this little splurge - a fine Australian sparkling wine with hibiscus flowers? added - I think they are really rosellas!

Last but not least - my big boy, Ronan! He was an orphaned Siamese Fighter brought home to me by DD - he's the friendliest fish I have ever had and as you can see has a very healthy appetite - I so enjoy him!

I can hear you all saying 'thank God!' if you have managed to stay with me - maybe tomorrow I will start playing with my sewing machine again - hope so! Happy day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to Mothers whoever and wherever you are - I hope you are all being spoiled! This is for my Mum! Ed and I have enjoyed a lovely couple of days away visiting the town of New Norcia, 190k away from where we live in Perth. It is the only monastic town in Australia filled with history, heritage and serenity. It was first established by Don Rosendo Salvado in 1847, beautifully maintained and preserved.

A beautiful Abbey Church - one can really feel the European influence in the architecture!

Paintings by local indigenous people - very inspiring and meaningful!

Long verandahs - part of the 2-hour walking tour! It was quite a warm day and lots of walking, so I was very thirsty and nursing one very sore arm last night!

More beautiful paintings!

We stayed the two nights at the Avalon Homestead - beautifully spoiled by Delveen and Peter and then drove home this morning!

Bushfires ravaged the area of Toodyay there a little while back - so sad to see the devastation of the houses and land, most of it cleared away by this stage.

My girls and their families have phoned to suggest they come over to cook dinner this evening - wonderful! - I will pop over to get some sparkling wine to celebrate, this day only happens once a year!

♥

Enjoy your week ahead!

My Very Own Dollies!

Life is so much easier without arm restrictions and look - at last - I have simplified Dancing Dollies © - it has been on my agenda for many years and I played around when I couldn't stitch, with ruler and templates slipping and sliding. Now I have made a block substitute for GT&SB! Next on my agenda - a cot quilt! For all you kind girls who have asked for a pattern, hopefully it is within the foreseeable future now!

No Quit Police around here - I use good quality polyester thread for my applique stitching, I've tried them all and just like the result the best - though I must try Aurafil! I often use freezer-paper shiny side up, pin it to the background then blind stitch it. That's where the little forceps above come in handy - I make a little opening on the back to pull the freezer paper out.

Keep the little advertising cards from your quilting magazines - a lovely weight in cardboard to make little circles to draw up for the heads of the dollies! Happy day!