Playing..............

Just a quick post....my Dad is visiting from South Australia for a couple of weeks! I haven't seen him for a couple of years and it is his first visit to our little farm!

This was so much fun to make with some bits and pieces which were lying around my sewing table! I was too lazy to change the thread on the sewing machine but I needed a break from stitching Hubble's quilt blocks!

Coloured foil and silk on denim

I've stitched down the heart and wings on my latest piece... and love the way the wings are rippling and looking feathery

Heart with Wings- downward thrust!

Heart with Wings-

Feathery wing detail!

I found the cutest cookie cutter at the kitchen shop the other day and just couldn't resist! Jon had some fun at work today with these in his lunch box and the kids (who go back to school tomorrow after a 2 week term break) are looking forward to taking some of these ginger cookies in their lunchboxes too!

Dog Biccies!

...of Pennants, Parcels and the colour Blue!

I’ve received a fantastic parcel of fabric from Quilts for London… to be used for the Olympic Pennants. So… If you’re in Australia and are interested in making a pennant for the 2012 Olympic Games athletes email me and I’ll send you out a fat quarter to use in your pennant! You can register online at Quilts for London or contact me. While you're on the website check out the ever growing gallery of completed pennants! There are some instructions and guidelines on how to make them although as long as they are A3 size, subject matter and technique is really up to you! All that is asked is that ‘gold’, ‘silver’ & ‘bronze’ are not used or the Olympic symbol…. The aim is to present each athlete with a pennant at the end of the games.

Quilts 4 London

Fabric for Olympic Pennants

I’m still beavering away at the Hubble’s 50th Birthday Quilt! I have 75 blocks done and only 35 remaining! Go Sandi…! I was going to work a full day on it today but the garden and washing beckoned!

75 finished blocks for The Hubble's Quilt!

 

Look what I found on ebay- a little vintage weaving loom- well a set of three, really! The tied or woven squares can be crocheted or tied together… the mind boggles! And to use a Spirit Cloth term if I may (they are words that are now firmly stuck in my head… What if….? Not much time to play now, but I intend to try a few ideas after the quilt is done!

A little experiment with my new vintage weaving loom set...

Not much progress on the Hearts with Wings piece simply because I can’t decide on the orientation of the wings! Straight is a little like soaring or gliding (no effort required), down seems like some effort has been expelled in getting up there and that I'm reaching higher still. Wings up seems to me like the effort is yet to be made; that strong thrust that will push me up… I know some effort is required to fly… so I’m thinking wings down (Hubble thinks otherwise and he laughs when I ask his opinion -and then continue on doing what I'm doing anyway!)

Speaking of flying; here’s a little sketch in my sketchbook…. that I’m turning into stitch… a motley hand dyed linen background and some DMC floss. Truly I’m not a blue girl but it seems everything I’m working on at the moment involves blue!

Cross-Stitch on Hand Dyed Linen

Lastly, an image of the pattern on a set of plates I bought for my brother and SIL. Aren't the colours and design just gorgeous? We managed to find a few antique shops open on our Easter weekend travels...... They bought me a lovely set too; which I'll photograph later..........

Vintage Plate Design

of Pages, Prizes and Lucky Finds!

Firstly I have received my April/May copy of Quilting Arts and am so happy to see my Sui Generis (and other finalists work too) have been published at full page size! (Seems I had 1 issue left on my subscription!) I’m so excited as I imagined that if I was lucky enough to be included that perhaps they would be smaller images! Many, many moons ago I had some Interior Design work published (in conjunction with the Architectural firm I worked for at the time) but I never actually got to see it... I moved countries just before it came out, and this was way before the internet and email become so commonly used! So, I am truly over the moon about seeing this piece in print! (Can you tell?)

April/May cover

Quilting Arts magazine

Sui Generis

Inner Animal Challenge

Secondly, a huge thank you and hug for Catherine at Emergence for the gorgeous tulip bag that I won on her blog giveaway! It is truly divine… [and after a quick iron - which I only did as Catherine suggested it may be required! ;) ] I moved straight in and took it off to town with me yesterday! It has ample room for the kitchen sink that many of us girls like to carry around on our shoulder and is my favourite ‘colour’ black.

Catherine's Tulip Bell Bag

Blog Giveaway that I was lucky enough to win!

The workmanship (workwomanship) is just perfect and I will get much joy from using it. Thank you Catherine…!  I love it!

 

The fabric in the background of the photos above is a vintage piece I recently purchased on ebay. I had intended to cut it up.... but I've hung it across the doorway into the studio... and there it will stay! I may add a backing and a rod pocket or similar at the top but I adore it in our vaguely castle/medieval themed living area! I was drawn to the design and colours which remind me of crewel embroidery.What a lucky find!

 

I've more to show- be back later!

Sui Generis

My Inner Animal Reader Challenge finalist piece is aparently published in the current edition of Quilting Arts magazine (May/June 2010) ........ and also on the magazine's website here!

My Inner Animal

Sui Generis (Unique; One of a Kind)

My poem description is on the QA website!

I'll have to wait until the mags turn up in newsagents here as I think my subscription  has just ended... probably only a few weeks to wait but......... I really am so excited!! All the entries can be viewed here Click on the Photo Galleries tab at the top and then the Inner Animal Challenge on the drop down menu. There are some really amazing entries! Wow!

Dancing to the beat of my own drum...

Her name is Sui Generis and she see’s the world through different coloured eyes;

one blue and one green; like me!

Just a little wild!

Raw edge appliqué onto vintage scarf; hand dyed silks and found fabrics including sari fabrics. Hand quilted and embroidered. Binding consists of hand stitched vintage Bark cloth; Sari fabric, Hand dyed commercially printed cotton and silk. (Some purchased from yarnahoy on etsy ) ,Novelty yarns

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break with family and friends! My visitors left this morning- we had a lovely week and the kids [cousins] all got to know each other a little better : )   We had beautiful weather and great food ( I even managed a little hand stitching and got a few blocks done for Jonny's quilt too!) So, happy days all round!

Will catch up with my blog reading soon!