Happy mail and Pay it forward...

It's always a bit exciting when you get one of those Australia Post cards to tell you there's a parcel at the post office - and even more exciting when you're not expecting it - the anticipation is delicious and made even more unbearable when the card says you have to wait until after 2pm.....so off I go to the post office, arriving at 2pm ON THE DOT....now, except for one time when it was a registered letter from my doctor telling me there's "some areas of concern" (which turned out to be no concern at all....bastards!!) I've always loved whatever the 'mystery' parcel brings....and I have to say, this was no exception....

It came all the way from Scotland, home of my birth, and incorporated linen, hand stitching, Liberty, a postcard which had a 'hieland coo' and Edinburgh Rock....such bliss in a package!

So why did I receive this bounty??  Many moons ago I answered a 'Pay it forward' from the very talented Catherine at Knotted Cotton - and I promptly forgot about it - but here it is.  Catherine sent me the most gorgeous pouch - and as mentioned above, with all the things I love.

Thank you so much Catherine - it's perfect -  I love the blogging community, so generous, and of course, I get to pass the baton on..

So, without further ado, the first 3 to leave a comment on this post will receive something hand-made by me within the next 12 months.  The only rule is that if you are one of the first 3, then you agree to pay it forward to 3 others when your turn comes.

So, if you're willing....good luck to you....

Quilt show bounty

Like many, many others, I joined the throngs at AQC in the beautiful Royal Exhibition Buildings to view quilts and NOT buy anything.

I actually drove a bus full of the wonderful ladies who come to my classes and we had a fabulous day - of course I forgot to get a photo of us all but I remembered the camera to take photos of the quilts...I especially enjoyed the twelveby12 exhibition - the artistry and work(wo)manship of the miniatures is very inspiring - I think I'd be breaching their copyright if I added photos of their quilts so I've linked to their website instead.  If you get a chance to view these beauties 'in the flesh', you should - photos really don't do them justice - especially not the way I take photos anyway :)

Another exhibition was from Korea - I had hoped to see a piece or 2 in the traditional pojagi style but unfortunately there wasn't one - but it didn't take away from the pieces on display.  I was particularly drawn to this next one...

It appears to be influenced by pojagi and the use of colour and the method of assembly is just brilliant - love it.

Given it's shaky beginning, AQC continues to get bigger and better and I really am glad I went - there was more quilts and they weren't limited to the 'traditional' - lots of 'art' quilts and different techniques displayed - something for everyone....here's a little montage of others that caught my eye...

I did take photos of the makers of these so if anyone wants info, please let me know :)

...and of course, best laid plans and all that......I bought stuff, including fabric (of which I have thousands of metres already....)

I bought fabric paint, gorgeous shot cotton applique pieces from Reece Scanell, English paper piecing templates, stamping foam, printable silk sheets, silk sari strips (to make cords from), aluminium for mixed media and some fat quarters: including Pure, Comma, Zen Chic, Urban Mod, a little Flea Market Fancy and a fabulous stencil of old London town.  I told myself that most of what I bought is for an upcoming exhibition piece, so I shouldn't feel so guilty.....

.....and now I have to go and get some work done - I've client quilts to quilt, some screen printing to do for my work-book as well as a portfolio cover to make, then after that some items for 2 upcoming markets........good job I like being busy :)

On the Friday night I attended a lecture by Judy Coates Perez, a mixed media artist from America who shared her inspirations and her works with us - lots of inspiration there - she also had a booth within the show so we could watch her work - and she is the reason I bought the aluminium sheets....

ps - Box Hill TAFE are advertising another Diploma of Textile Arts course to start mid-year - if you're interested, have a look at their website for more information.

Sunshine and finishes and following your bliss

After my breast cancer last year I made the decision not to work in the City nor in financial services ever again but to follow my bliss instead.

I've stepped onto my new road and progressed a little way - I'm teaching patchwork and general sewing (with 2 new classes starting next term in our local community house), I've hung out my shingle for long-arm quilting services, I'm starting a Diploma in Textiles next year on a part time basis and I'm still planning what items I want to make and sell on Etsy, or the markets, or wherever.

Today, as I sat outside, in the sunshine, and pinned and sewed, I thought to myself - this is SO right.  I'm smiling right now - and truly hoping you get to follow your bliss too.

I have been very industrious in the glorious Melbourne sunshine today - I have TWO finishes:

Do.Good Stitches 'Cherish' quilt:



The Hills Hoist shot!

Eight other members of the Cherish Circle made 2 blocks each, in pinks and greys, and sent them to me for finishing.  Yesterday, I bought an Op Shop quilt cover which has a real retro feel about it and put it in the Napisan for a really good clean.  Once it was dry, unpicked and ironed, it became the backing for the Cherish quilt and I quilted it on the long-arm using an edge-to-edge pantograph called 'Deb's Swirls'.  I was going to use a grey and white stripe for the binding (a bit safe), but the backing, plus quite a few of the blocks on the front, suggested green - so out came a piece of my green mottled hand-dyed fabric and I made the binding out of that.
Today I completed the binding (all machine stitched) and made and attached the label.  I've spoken with the director of the Charity it's to go to, to arrange delivery and can't help smiling about how beautifully it's all come together - thanks so much to the wonderful ladies of the Cherish Circle - an inaugural quilt to be proud of and one which should bring comfort to the recipient.

Goo Goo Socks Quilt:

I have lots of gorgeous nieces - and one of them is having her first baby soon.  She's also having a baby shower on Saturday and my sister, another niece and I are travelling up to country Victoria to attend - we'll probably stay the night so we can all properly catch up - so a baby quilt was definately in order for the mum-to-be.

I wasn't really sure what I wanted to make - until I went to amitie back in June and found some gorgeous fabric called 'Goo goo socks' by Alexander Henry.  I played around with the layout in my journal but once I started putting it together, I realised my original ideas wouldn't work 'in the flesh' so to speak.  So I faffed around a bit more, added some more prints, discarded a solid or 2 and came up with a layout I liked.  I pieced the backing and yesterday I quilted it on the long-arm - again using 'Deb's Swirls' (it's fast becoming a favourite).  I also did some hand-quilting on selected blocks, in different colours, using Perle no. 12 thread.  Today, I put the binding together (one of the original discarded solids) and machine stitched it all on (loving this - it's soooo much quicker than hand stitching the binding down as well as more robust).  Then the label and ..............voila

Another Hills Hoist shot - it was beautifully sunny when I took the photo and the Hoist just shines on through!

Here's where I 'worked' today.....

aaaaah, Bliss indeed..............

Afternoon bliss

What else to do on a saturday afternoon, other than to join forces with 3 wonderful women and help one create a quilt for a friend....

Nicole wants to surprise a friend with a quilt, so some time ago, we created a very simple pattern on EQ6.  Nicole then bought a gorgeous layer cake of the Bliss range by Bonnie and Camille for Moda, so we rejigged the measurements of the blocks to ensure a more economical use of the fabric. 

It took a couple of hours to decide on the prints to use in both the pieced and plain blocks and where they were to be used - and another couple of hours to decide on the layout!!  During this time we also decided it was too busy if we used all the prints everywhere, so we introduced a vanilla solid to rest the eyes.  Once we were all happy, (and having 2 of us with very random styles and 2 with a greater love for symmetry, no wonder it took so long!!) ) it was cut, sew, iron, cut, sew, iron and by the end of our session, we had completed all the pieced blocks - Nicole just had to go home and stitch them together.

sew, sew


We did a fabulous job ladies!!

the completed layout

 To top the day off, a couple of us joined another friend to help celebrate her birthday - happy birthday Sharon - we had a great night.