My 50th Post and a Spring Giveaway

I have to say that Spring is one of my favourite seasons, one of the reasons being, I just adore the Jacaranda trees. I just love the confetti of petals that form a lilac carpet.

This driveway caught my eye this morning and thought it very worthy of a photo.

The abundance of roses this year is also a joy to behold, we have had some fantastic rain after many many years of drought.

I only hope the intense heat we can have here in Sydney remains at bay for a few more weeks so we can enjoy the fruits of spring, Gardenia's are so delicate with an intense perfume that fills the evening air but can quickly turn brown with such intense heat.

This past week I had a class at Material Obsession and couldn't resist this piece of fabric, imagine the possibilities for fussy cutting, it also came in a terracotta colourway. I think some of the girls imagined making a piece of clothing (not for me I don't do clothing :-))


This is what I have been up to this past weekend, remember it is only 7 weeks until Christmas.

You maybe wondering what it is , stay tuned and I will reveal in a couple of weeks.

I think I have mentioned in previous posts that I have a passion for stitching samplers, I have many that have remained unframed and when I read on Alma's blog that she photocopied a sampler to line a fabric covered box , I rummaged through some of my unframed samplers for some inspiration to use as a box liner.

What better way to celebrate 50 posts than to make a fabric covered box and copy a sampler I have stitched in the past to line the box .

I am giving this box away as well as some cards to use a trim winders, along with some photocopies of my stitched samplers .

I have been inspired by so many blogger's during my first year of joining the blogging community, so many of you are so generous and sharing of spirit.

Leave me a comment and tell me who or what inspires you. I will draw a name via the google random number generator on the 14th November.

Until next time happy creating

j

A Quick Show and Tell

I am a real fan of Blackbird Designs and follow Alma's blog with some regularity.
Alma recently posted a tutorial on using fabric to cover paper mache boxes.
I couldn't help myself I had to whip one up, I thought I would share with you the outcome.

It took no time at all , in case you are wondering, no ,I didn't cut up one of my samplers, I simply photocopied it as per Alma's instruction
Go check out Alma's blog and see for yourself, the instructions are easy to follow. I am sure there will be a few made for your stitching friends.

see you soon

in the meantime

happy fabric box making

j

Sometimes !

Yes that is right, just sometimes life gets in the way of our normal day to day activities.

I guess that is my excuse for being away for so long.

Firstly I must say thank you to those of you that emailed to check if I was O.K., it really meant so much . I must say that the blogging community is such a caring one. I did reply to all of the emails, however I have also been made aware that some of my emails didn't find their way to everyone, so if you emailed me, and didn't get a reply please accept my apologies. I have no idea how I can rectify that problem, who does one get in touch with?, is there anyone behind a phone at Gmail !! I doubt it.

Do you remember, I began making a version of the Sundial Quilt ?, I put it down for quite sometime, well I have picked it up again and here are a couple of the 4 inch blocks that I need to complete the centre.


I must say it is quite a challenge making these blocks, sewing really small pieces, especially after handling bigger pieces on my Orange peel quilt.Something else I have started , making some coathangers for gifts for Christmas. (Do you realise it is only about 8 weeks to go) I need to make quite a few. The pattern I am using is from Marg Low designs. When I contacted Marg to purchase the pattern I explained to her I need to make approx 20 and did she think it was achievable , she laughed and said I probably would need to revise the quantity. However I am up for the challenge and have really enjoyed making them so far.

I have started a production line of sorts , cutting out the bodies, the strips for the frill, the collars etc etc. so far I have needle turned the collars and some have the ric rac on the collars. Needle turning the collars on, keep me company on my journey to work at the traffic lights. I pop in a couple of stitches whilst I am waiting for the lights to change colour, some mornings, I can get a whole collar appliqued. Those that know me, know I like my stitching to keep me company on my journey to work, which take me through approx 17 sets of traffic lights and at some lights I have quite a wait.
anyway these photo's are really for Marg to show her I have made a start. I will keep you posted on the progress .
I just love playing with the fabric combo's and love this basic grey range.
Since I last posted another year in my life clicked over. One of my Birthday presents was an invitation to a literary luncheon held at Star City here in Sydney. The guest speaker was Stephanie Alexander.

Stephanie is an amazing cook and has produced many cookbooks over the years . One of her many very famous books is the 'Cooks Companion'. She has now written a companion to that book .
known as the 'kitchen Garden Companion' a really lovely book all about growing one's own produce and cooking it. The book has a really lovely cover, it is cloth , almost like a teatowel. The contents are a feast for the eye , so many beautiful recipes to be made from lovely fresh produce.

Stephanie has been heavily involved with encouraging children to grow their own produce and cook it, she has set up a not for profit organisation within schools here in Australia known as the Kitchen Garden Foundation. It was certainly a very interesting and informative talk.

My sister addressed the event and introduced MC, Joanna Savill , The director of the Sydney Food Festival who in turn introduced Stephanie to the room. There were alot of people in attendance , mainly women , having said that , a Gent was present at out table and there were a few accompanying their ladies.
The menu was chosen from Stephanie's book and cooked by the chef's at Star City Ballroom.
I was lucky enough to sit at the same table as the guest of honour , and took the opportunity to ask many questions.
The first course got woofed down so quickly that it slipped my mind to photograph it, however I couldn't let the desert go by without a photo and yes it was very yummy. I certainly needed the brisk walk back to the light rail , then the walk up the hill to my car.
There have been a series of these books arrive on the book shelves lately, this one particularly took my eye , I love this cover , I thought it looked very inviting.
I have been a fan of cross stitch samplers for more years than I care to remember
There is also a section on patchwork
I am so drawn on anything to do with old samplers
and I just love these old quilts, the naive shapes shown on this wedding coverlet will feature sometime in the future I am sure on one of my quilts.
This crib quilt is just adorable and was made after the maker (Nancy Horsfall) made her Wedding Coverlet. There are a few instructions on how to make some of the shapes but no actual patterns. A lovely book for the collection however.
It is spring here in the Southern Hemisphere and very welcome I might add. I am a lover of roses and this year I didn't get to prune our roses (Iceberg) until quite late, so they are only about to bloom, the bushes are absolutely loaded with buds , I am anticipating quite a show.
We have had so much lovely rain this year that the garden has really grown.
Working full time doesn't always allow the amount of time I would love to spend in the garden, having said that rewards are great for a small investment in time spent.

and lastly I thought I would share this photo of a very well clipped hedge that has been created by Mr L & R . It hides an ugly timber wall.
It has been lovely to return after such an absence , hopefully I will return sooner next time.

Thank you again and until next time happy sewing.

j

Note To Self

Don't you just love that saying !
Yesterday I discovered a shop in Epping named just that. It is a lovely home wares store, filled with a myriad of home wares to suit all tastes.

There are 3 partners and I discovered they all have a love of sewing, so they will have some handmade items available for sale.

They are extremely enthused about their venture and there was plenty of excitement in their voices as they spoke of their future plans and products.

Everything is displayed beautifully and I am sure there would be something to suit all tastes.

Next Thursday October 1st , they are celebrating SPRING , so if you are in the area be sure to call by, I am sure it will a treat for the eye, I know they will have some special treats in store along with some nibblies and cordial.

I especially love to decorate with White and Natural type colours and textures , and this was a real feast for the eyes.

I even managed a little splurge. Are you wondering what is in the package?

I just couldn't resist these candlesticks, they are like battered concrete .

Once they have been outside for a while and get weathered look I am sure they will fit right in amongst the plants.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of 'Note To Self'. They are located at 50 Rawson Street, Epping , NSW, ph 9868 5033

See you soon

j

A Quick Magazine Update

Whilst I was scouring the library(newsagent) last week I noticed this magazine.
I must admit I didn't think the cover was particularly enticing, however I did flick through it and it had a couple of patterns that I didn't mind.
Remember this gorgeous soft pouch that was made for me by the very talented Janet.
The pattern is in this magazine.
This pouch is one of the best pouches I have been lucky enough to receive. It sits just perfectly and you can see everything inside at a glance and its very roomy also.

I also loved these little bags ( One can never have too many pouches and bags ) They make great presents and don't take too much fabric or time to construct.

If you need anymore information or have trouble finding this magazine drop me a mail and I'll see if I can help.

Happy scouring

j

Back on Terra Firma

Thankfully my vertigo has finally taken a hike. Three weeks of constant dizziness was just too much to cope with.
My heartfelt thank you to the many of you that sent lovely messages and even ideas of how to help it to pass. I really really appreciate your kindness and concern.
I have been travelling again, which I did with a little trepidation as I felt perhaps it was caused by flying , but no ill effects after this past trip.
Most of my sewing has been on my orange peels and hexagons as they are very portable. I have been busily sewing on red circles , which really finish off the orange peels, imho anyway.

I have been a bit obsessed with fussy cutting, it really changes the way you look at a piece of fabric, even 'ugly' fabrics have a place.

I guess I really should start thinking about my centres, I just keep pulling out fabrics , some that haven't seen the light of day for years.

The pile is slowly growing, but part of the process is the enjoyment of fabric sorting and letting my imagination run wild. I tell you I can make quilts so fast in my head, just wish that speed could be converted to my hands and of course more hours in a day would be most welcome.

Raspberry and pink being amongst my favourite colours.

These two being from the same fabric , just cut from different parts of the pattern, giving very different effects.

My recent trip for work was to Brisbane, after my workshop had concluded I managed to borrow a car and hi tail it over to Quilters and Embroiders store in Salisbury.

What an amazing shop, thousands of bolts of fabric, but extremely well organised. Some shops out there have bolts and bolts of fabrics , but no organisation, I am afraid I am not a rummage shopper and I don't tend to connect with those shops.

Quilters and Embroiders have quite a few bolts of fabric that have been around for a while so if you ever need that bit of fabric to finish a project , that could be just the place to start.

I did manage to part with some hard earned money and yes I know you are probably thinking that my choice of fabrics have been around for a while , but remember I am thinking hexagons, fussy cut at that, and I think I could get some great effects from these.

Another of my loves is photography, and I love to experiment taking different subjects. Today I had a scout around and these next few pics are pieces lying around.

These corks are in a large dish at our holiday place. I have a love of natural colours and textures and decided I would start saving corks, more for a talking point, corks today are being replaced by screw tops so they will become collectible I am sure. The corks we collect have to be name stamped, any cork as long as it has some text on it.

I know what you are thinking, and yes we don't mind the odd glass of medicine and yes we do heaps of entertaining here but we have had a helping hand from a rellie who happens to work for a specialist wine merchant.

Another love is the garden although we don't have a huge amount of time these days, hopefully in retirement some more time will be readily available.

I think a garden needs the sound of water, it adds a sense of calmness , this fountain is in our garden and has been bought from previous homes, Mr L & R has told me this is the final resting place for this fountain, as it is very heavy . It took two burley guys to get in position . I love it and don't think I could leave it behind , will cross that bridge when the time comes.

Until next time
Enjoy yourselves in whatever you do
j

My Head is Spinning

Literally. I came back from my trip to the West and have had the most massive dose of vertigo.

It has been plaguing me for two weeks . I have suffered with this in the past but never has it lasted this long.

I did manage to get a few hexagons together into rosettes , it is always such fun to fussy cut and see what designs can be made from a piece of fabric. In the collage below , the picture in the second row left most , the two hexagon rosettes were cut from the same piece of fabric with very different results. I had a bit of photo fun here , placing my collection so far of fussy cut rosettes under a glass cloche. My intentions are to have a pile that will fill the cloche. I need to make 88 rosettes to go around a border, I will keep you posted on my progress and then reveal the quilt.

Here is a sprinkling without their centres. I have been asked when do I add my centre. I do it last as I tend to collect fabrics that will make great centres (snippets of examples featured in the collage) when the rosette is complete I then decide what to put in the centre.

This weekend we have come up to the Port Stephens region (approx 200 kms north of Sydney) where we have a small holiday cottage that we are renovating. (A project for Mr L & R).

It is a really lovely coastal water land and as we love the beach it is a perfect spot to relax.

Last evening after a hard days work we took ourselves out to the waters edge to watch the sun disappear over the horizon.

Had to take the mandatory glass of medicine. (NZ Sauv Blanc no less )

It was such a peaceful calm evening with loads of photographers out taking advantage of the wonderful sunset.

This morning we woke to another perfect day and decided to walk along the Bridle path into town to have coffee. This beach is part of that track and the water was so clear just begging to be swam in , however there was still a chill in the air, we didn't feel so inclined to accept the invitation at this stage but it won't be too far into the future before we do so.

In a previous post I mentioned to you that I receive a fabric club mailout once a quarter from Patchwork on Stonleigh in Wodonga on the NSW VIC border.

I have been a memeber of this fabric club for probably longer than I care to remember but it really is such great value and especially if you have a love of reproduction fabrics. Patchwork on Stoneligh specialise in Reproductions.

I received this pack last week., isn't the serpentine fabric fab.

It is such great value, I think about $15.oo quarter, you get 10 fabrics approx 10.5 x 10.5. A really newsy newsletter, a pattern and a colour printed sheet showing the new fabrics about to hit the shelves. Once you join you also get 10% discount on all purchases for the year that you join along with other privileges.

I have never met Christine or Susan but I can say I have spoken with Christine many times on the phone and it has always been a pleasant and helpful experience.

It is also a plus to have a package turn up in the mail.

Until next time

Happy sewing

j