a conversation...

todd-lo: "the fairies spoke to me"
me: "really, what did they say?"
todd-lo: "they said you should bring me some treats"

she not only knows the system, she rorts it.

5 weeks after the fact...

and I have some delicious stash to show for it. SD gave me, amoung other things, a voucher for Tessuti. that man really does know the way to my heart.

I bought 4m of Liberty Tana lawns (I'll link, rather than be naughty and borrow the pictures - trust me, it's worth clicking to see them!):

Willow Tree Grey
Isla Rose Charcoal
Daisy Pop Grey
Crysanthemum Black/Silver

(there's a theme in there, isn't there?)

I have no especial plans for them, though am contemplating starting a stash of grey lawns/voiles to make a summer weight quilt for our bed. yes: contemplating the second one, prior to completing the planned linen blend one that I've got on the cards. (the fabrics for which I proudly showed off at MQG last month).

more making

See - I do sew and craft. Sometimes.

this is a tried and true pattern - the 2 + 2 blouse from oliver + s

I simply adore these patterns: really easy to follow, so adaptable, and every time I do another one I learn a new technique. Time to whip out some of the others in my stash to extend my skills, I think.

the main fabric I bought from spotlight approximately forever ago - I love it because it reminds me of a Hundertwasser print. the purple trim I'd bought as a dodgy FQ from spotlight for $2.50. I'm not sure it's the best match, but really just wanted to whip it up from fabric I had to hand.

when

when you've struggled to find balance, and you finally do
when you've worried you might never find yourself again, and then you appear
when you've feared that what was the most magical thing in your life has been buried, and it hasn't
when you've found your feet as a mother, lover, friend and daughter:

could you contemplate risking it all again?

WIP for baby-Lo's new room

Here's an overdue shot of a WIP for baby-Lo's room.

when I bought the kit from Amitie at a quilt show last year I intended to whip it up, and have it machine quilted, having never made one before. after practising on the "shirt quilt", I considered quilting by hand.

so I embarked on the couch-quilt to pratice with perle 8s, as I'd not done any handquilting before.

having finished that, I'm now fairly much back in the "professional machine quilting" camp AGAIN! I just want this done - tomorrow. so hopefully I'll be packing it and baby-Lo in the car and trekking to Amitie to book it in. (my local joint and the one machine quilter I spoke to are both taking bookings for end of July, and I just want it DONE!). Enough vacillating...

In the washup

I'm sure there are thorough run downs of SIT 2010 around the traps, so let me just say: I LOVED IT!

This snap shows all the bootie in the "showbag"

Clockwise from left: Thea and Sami wire coat hanger cover kit, Sew it Together manual and stash-bag, bamboo needles from Craft Junk, Lark green journal, customised Moleskin from Cass, Ricrac fabric teaset pattern (swapped for robots with Leah), fabric sampler pack from Oz Material Girls, Retromummy handpieced hexagon sampler (front), and finally a covered button sampler pack from Jackobindi!

Phew - and if that wasn't enough, I also scored this wicked door prize from the ladies at Craft Junk. Any beady eyed readers will notice an additional 2 bamboo crochet hooks, plus a circular bamboo needle. That's because the super friendly ladies at Craft Junk realised that I'm keen to learn how to crochet, so slipped some extras in! Talk about lucky lucky me...

I can't wait to try the hand-dyed wool. It's a Bendigo knitting mills, and I believe was hand-dyed specifically to co-ordinate with the colours of SIT 2010. How cool is that?

Here's another snap of the now finished couch-quilt, and the cushion I whipped up to match (backed in the same organic Tessuti denim as the others).

and the fabric request? I *think* it's a Michael Miller - I'll try to find out and update!

ETA: it's NOT Michael Miller - it's Alexander Henry Veronique fabric

feathering our nest

I've finally, finally, made the cushions I planned at last year's Stitches and Craft show. They are all backed in a beautiful Organic denim from Tessuti. It wasn't the plan to be so extravagent, but I'd bought 5m of it almost a year ago for something "special". and I decided that the beautiful Australian printed linen was definitely "special" enough!

This is winter nest by Kristen Doran - I think I bought this from Kelani at the S&C show last year. Others by Kristen available here.

This I bought from Kelani fabrics, and it's birch by Lara Cameron, also available here. I've also go this in the charcoal on black colour way, which I'm stashing to make a quilt for our bedroom.

This is the quilt I've made to go with them on the couch - not matchy, just co-ordinating which is just the way I like it (unfinished binding hiding in this shot)

And here's the group - you can see the denim which backs them all. the other two cushions are rectangular. One features a strip of birch overlaid on plain linen (which backs the quilt), the other you can glimps I quilted to work in with the border on the quilt.

I'm really pleased with how they look, and how the work in with the couch-quilt (that is nearly finished too - unfinished binding hiding in the photo).

And in other exciting (for me) news - I'm delighted to have won a competition on Able Mae! 'ray!

My stacked coins quilt for our nephew

So I claim to be a sometimes crafter, but you'd never tell!

Here are some pics of my 2nd quilt project, washed and dryed and ready to post to our newborn nephew. Super crinkly - but I quite like that.

This shows it folded, ready to send. Admire the clever herringbone machine quilting pattern: it's puckering because I pulled the backing fabric too tight before basting. We live and learn. I alternated the direction of the stitching, so it does kind of look like it was on purpose (or "a dolphin" as we say at home).

This shows the backing - I loved the chocolate polkadots, and thought they worked nicely to balance all the green and duckegg blue.

And here you can see most of the front. I wanted a casual modern look, and I think the narrow quilted "stripes" achieve that well.

The patterned fabric came from Busy Thimbles - Cherish Nature charm pack. I fell for the egg and butterfly motif, and I'm really happy that the colours are classic with a modern twist.

The charm squares made it a really straight forward project, and removed the risk I felt in having to cut accurately.

Backing and plain fabric from my local patchwork shop. Batting is 100% cotton, so it's not too hot for a littley living in WA.

My SIL says she loves it, which is lovely and I was delighted to find that the duckegg blue was a colour she'd picked for the baby's nursery! Smiles all round.

Woops ahoy

So in other hilarities (posting blank updates included) I've just this minute discovered via http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/2010/04/call-me-elastic-woman.html that Stitches and Craft is in Caulfield this year. Was it last year? I thought it was the showgrounds in Flemington, and so had happily volunteered to work 3 of the 4 days.

I thought it was an easy 7 minute drive from home. Not so. Au contraire: it's more like a 50 minute drive. Bother, said Pooh.

Getting back in the saddle