TWO finishes.....

.....amazing what a deadline or 2 does to productivity in my house.....

I've been so focused on things to do with school and the CFA raffle quilts that another deadline snuck up on me when I wasn't looking.  Tomorrow is Crib Point Community House open day (between 10am and 2pm for those on the Peninsula tomorrow - 7 Park Road, opposite the HMAS Cerberus entrance) and given I am a tutor there, I have the opportunity to talk to interested folks to come and join my class.

The idea is to have a static display of projects completed this past year as well as some items that a potential student could make if they wished.

I'm going to include a display of some of my quilts (and maybe someone will buy one!) and I had 2 tops that I particularly wanted to show - one of which I intend to bundle up as a kit - so they had to be finished.

The following photos are rotten - it's late and I didn't get any taken in the daytime - I'm going to try and remedy that tomorrow.

The first is Ice Age...

Drunkards path, using the Tokyo Roccoco range with added solids

The back - again using fabrics from the range

The quilting is wavy, overlapping lines, representative of the fissures in glaciers and mirroring (in a fashion) the pattern in the border and on the back.

The next one, binding sewn down in the wee small hours of this morning, is mostly made with Kate Spain's Terrain (the bundle I won at the Bloggers Quilt Festival last year).  I added some white and some matching Kona solids and a stripey binding (Kumari Garden range) that I've had in my stash for a while...

the backing - pieces of left over Terrain and small flower print in grey and white

Quilting for this one is an edge-to-edge pattern called 'Stars and loops' - it's one of my favourites.

So now I just have to write up a flyer that I can hand out, as well as find something I can use as a business card (for quilting services) to promote everything I need to promote....

I'll try to get a good photo of the display tomorrow

catching up.....

It has been a little while since I posted last - there's been quite a bit going on this last couple of weeks, not least of which was a wonderful visit by one of my nephews and his gorgeous wife - Ian and Mads usually live in Manchester UK and they took time out to travel very south after a wedding in FNQ (Far North Queensland, Oz), to catch up with family - which was just brilliant - I hadn't seen Ian since he was 15 and now here he was, with a beautiful wife too - we spent a fabulous couple of days and then dropped them off to spend their last night in Melbourne before their flight home - thanks to them both for coming south, putting up with the rotten winter weather and joining in so marvellously with us lot here - it was fantastic sitting around the dinner table on saturday night and getting on with the 'craic' - they also took 'The General' home with them as it is destined for one of my sisters, who just happens to be Ian's mum (Finona, if you're reading this, make sure to remind Ian about it!!)

one of a few photos with various members of the family - I don't think I have one with us all!

I've been knitting - I've pulled it back 4 times but now it looks like this one sock will be finished soon....then onto the next (and the next pair..)

My bestie and I bought a knitting machine - and can't wait to get some time to have a decent play...

it came with wool for practice and all sorts of clever bits and pieces

I bought a new book and it's awesome..

We have some new babies (who were really cheesed off when I stuck my camera with the flash under their cover) - they're too young to go outside overnight as it's still too cold - so they're making a hell of a mess inside!

we have 5 chooks here - 2 black ones and 3 creamy yellow one - I think there's 2 roosters among them (damn - they may be destined for the pot!) - and they're at the very ugly, reptilian dinosaur stage....

...and last, but not least, some fabric I ordered in March arrived - it's called 'Garden go round' and it's really pretty - here's 3 of the bolts - there's about 9 bolts all up - and I have to get off my butt and organise selling it...

and now I have to go to bed - I spent the last couple of days quilting a quilt top for a client on the longarm - I used Aurifil thread for the first time and it broke too many times to mention - drove me absolutely insane and I spent a lot of time unpicking and or sewing ends in......don't think I'll be using it again......good job my bestie was helping me otherwise I think I would have done a Basil Fawlty and wallopped the Gammil!

rushing in.....

Catching up on stuff - and trying to be more disciplined with my time - there is so much I want to do and seemingly so little time to do it in - surely, I could apply all I learned in the corporate world to organising myself at home? - but then, if what I love doing becomes a 'job', it'd be devastating and surely counter-productive in terms of creativity? Oh, what a dilemma!

Anyway - stuff I have done.....

I made a thank you gift for a lady who gave me metres (yes, metres!!) of beautiful silk that she'd had forever and had decided to de-stash...

pink penguin's bento box bag

I finished 3 quilts for clients (no photos, forgot to get permission, again!)

Caught up with friends we hadn't see for ages - dinner and a show (Hairspray, put on by PLOS - excellent!)

I went to the Quilt Show at Jeff's shed with my bestie - no photos of quilts as there were signs everywhere saying that while we could take photos, they were not to be reproduced in any way without the express permission of the maker.....so in love with the beautiful wools, yarns and fibres available now - I bought a couple of fabulous books....

The pieces in this book are made up in all sorts of beautiful Japanese fibres - including linen - that looks and feels like raffia, and a stainless steel type that allows you to create a shape in your garment that will be 'memorised' - brilliant!!  Check out Dairing's website here - definately making the trek to Richmond....

This next one has lots of fabulous gifts to make with time frames - so given my propensity to leave things to the last minute, it's good for me to have a source book with ideas in one spot (because a 'quick' look on line for a gift idea usually ends up with blog reading for 3 or more hours..)

Bought just a little fabric - literally, a little - most unusual for me but I'm trying to use what I have in my stash before buying anything else - got this gorgeous piece from Kelani Fabrics

I could have bought the shop!!!

In between time, I went with my dil-to-be to pick up her wedding dress (gorgeous - so happy to be able to share in the motb duties because her mum lives 4 hours away) and she finagled me into making her a pair of socks - I almost had one made but so completely buggered it up I pulled it back and started again...

and now I'm going off to do the ironing before we have to start wearing our pj's out.....oh, wait a minute, I do that anyway....well not out....I just have a few pj days at home while I'm 'working'......

Oop north

Can you guess how far oop North??

How about now?

In February this year, Jetstar had a big sale which meant I was able to snaffle return tickets to Sydney for not very much....and this meant my friend and I attended Quilt Market in Sydney to check out the latest ranges available in Oz, meet some of the distributors and pick up some very good bargains at excellent prices..........................

Terrible photo (it's as wet here in Melbourne as it was in Sydney all weekend)....but, there's Layer Cakes of 'Mama said Sew' by Sweetwater and 'Simply Color' by V and Co, jelly rolls of 'Summersville' (very excited about this one), oreo rolls (!) of Bella solids, a couple of 4m lengths by Umbrella Prints and Saffron Craig and assorted fat quarters from a number of designers.  We did very well - walked our socks off in the rain and generally had a fabulous weekend.

The Market re-invigorated my dream of selling on-line - whether it's completed items, kits or basics, or a combo of all three, and plans have been made, very basic at this stage, with actual deadlines so I can make sure I fulfill the dream (plans without deadlines and actions are simply dreams and life is too short)........June is absolutely screwed given I have school commitments as well as some consultancy work from my old life, so looking to July to really cementing my plans in place and launching wholeheartedly into this wonderfully, creative life....................

Til next time (I know it's a long time between drinks these days, but I am endeavouring to post a little more frequently than I have just lately!)