Lots of colour!

I stuck to life on the ground today- no adventures. Fortunately my body is repairing itself rapidly, although there are still some groans when I go from sitting to standing, and I've discovered that there are unhappy muscles in my upper back and neck as well as my backside. Johnny has stopped sniggering, so that is good. I'm determined to mount up again tomorrow, so am really hoping the weather will co-operate.

We planned to visit Mrs CT today, so I had to get her bag finished. Not a very good photo, but here it is posing as a knitting bag, with my favourite magazine peeping out of the top. I'm imagining it will make a great companion for expeditions into the garden, filled with activities and tasty treats. Not that Mrs CT is heading down the stairs into her pretty garden at the moment, with a recently replaced knee. We got a couple of her favourite Curly Wurly bars to put inside, and judging by the enthusiastic munching, I'm thinking they have some magical joint repair qualities. They seem to be caramel covered in milk chocolate, although I was reluctant to get too close in case Mrs CT accidentally ate me as well. Damn hard being stuck at home recovering from a major surgical procedure with no access to chocolate. Anyway, the bag is made from two patched then machine quilted panels, lined with a matching cotton print, and has a rather large pocket inside.

I had a prowl around the garden today, and as usual, was thrilled with all of the gorgeous colours. The first soldier poppies are out.

And the first miniature irises.

I love these divine bluey purple ones.

The tulips are looking their best at the moment.

There is a sea of pansies under all of the plants. They come in masses of different colours and sizes.

Bluebells are just appearing too. These are the Spanish bluebells that were present in big clumps in my old garden. I bought some with me to add to my new garden.

Our beautiful flowering cherry is out too. It is later than the ones along the road, and is eagerly anticipated each year. The buds are like pretty pink rosebuds, and they open to pink tinged white tutus, hanging in huge clusters. It gives me the best of both worlds- white and pink!

There are still plenty of daffodils around the garden. Little narcissi- these are so sweet.

Also some big ones. This one is one of Mum's seedlings. I love the rings of colour in the cup, which are more beautiful in real life.

What are you up to, Miss Dog? Hmm- caught eating dirt. Yuck.

Ahh, a lovely sunny spot.

It is now 5.38pm and I'm not sure what we are having for tea. Maybe FYO- Find Your Own. Mr Ginger Jasper is peeping around the door hoping for some movement towards the kitchen. He knows what he is having for tea! Wish me luck for getting back in the saddle tomorrow. XXX

Oops!

I had a little accident yesterday. I was zipping out to chuck a dead ranuncula flower out in the compost before we had six friends around for a barbeque, when I rolled my ankle and fell over. At the time there was some severe groveling and ouching, a bit of amused sympathy from Johnny, but as the visitors were about to arrive I had to get up and carry on. Nothing much hurt while I was doing stuff. But by bedtime I couldn't put any weight on my foot and had to crawl to the toilet. It hurt so much the bedcovers made it ache. This morning I still couldn't walk on it, so I had to stay at home. It looks a bit fat but doesn't actually hurt until I try to stand on it. So much for dancing on the lawn, but at least I've had some time to dedicate to crafty projects (once my nose stopped bleeding, but that's another issue altogether - although possibly related to hitting the deck hard).

I decided to get onto finishing the border for the runner. I really wanted to do mitred corners. Auntie B. gave me a lesson last year, and after intense scrutiny of instructions in one of my books, I had a go. I must admit, there was some unpicking due to idiotic actions made by the injured party, but my mitres are all lying beautifully flat, and I'd be happy to have a go on my next quilt. The advantage of learning how is that you have to make four corners, so have plenty of practise.

The runner still needs a back, but I want red and don't have any.

Look at that lovely corner. I'm so proud.

Here is the runner sitting where it will eventually live. I still haven't chosen paint for this piece of furniture.

This was inspired by Jane Brocket's Tulip Fields quilt. It uses mainly Kaffe Fassett fabrics, although the border fabric is not one of his. It has that lavish over-the-top floral feel about it though. I am very pleased indeed.

I'm not so sure about this foot. I couldn't get a doctor's appointment today (everyone is desperate for medical help after the long weekend apparently). The problem is that I am moving so slowly it would take ages to get from the office to my classroom, and should all Hell break loose, I can't get out of the way. What I need is some crutches, so I can both walk, and defend myself with them. I've got an appointment for tomorrow morning. I'll probably be a lot better by then. Not quite ready for a dance on the lawn, but maybe to sort of walk, rather than gingerly hobble, from one end of the house to the other.

Walking and walking with the walking foot

Progress has been made on the pink and green quilt today. We visited our old neighbours and had a lovely catch-up and lunch, then popped into Fabric Vision to grab quilting supplies. The shop is in winter sale mode and was crawling with all kinds of women hunting for sewing supplies and trolling through the pattern books. The lady who served me looked like she had sucked a lemon and didn't crack a smile throughout our transaction. I felt like ripping the very cool button necklace she was wearing from her throat because she didn't deserve to be wearing it. Anyway, I was very fortunate to find the perfect quilt backing fabric, and some extremely puffy batting to use on the green and pink quilt. When I got home I pinned it all together and did battle with the voluminous layers with the walking foot on my sewing machine. The result is pretty fantastic, and I have a bit of work to do to finish it off and then I will be very, very pleased indeed.

The delightful Hugh is on now with River Cottage Winter, so bye for now.

Ps We went to The Flying Burrito Brothers for tea. You should be very jealous.

Serious crafting

Now that my workroom is looking so good I decided to spend lots of time in there today and see if I could get some WIPs on the way to completion. I started these two quilts over two years ago (although it seems like yesterday). I had pieced the central panels of squares, but was putting off the borders because the lady at the quilt shop got the fabric organised and wrote instructions for me, and I had no idea how to follow them. So I panicked and added them to my collections of projects to complete. Today I decided that no matter what I did, it couldn't be worse than having the panels folded in the cupboard. I figured out my own way of measuring and cutting the fabric and got to work with my rotary cutter, iron and sewing machine.

This one is a big brighter in real life. I'll take a better photo when it is complete. I had a single fabric for the outer border but it didn't look right, so I pieced together a whole lot of matching fabric snippets and I think it looks fabulous. It is about the size of a cot quilt and will go on the back of the couch in the living room.

I guess you can peek, Meg. This one is a birthday present (I hope). It is a little bigger than the other one. It is so pretty with the green and pink border. The green has a fine white spot. I am thrilled with it (even all scrumpled).

Today Johnny persuaded me to venture out briefly to choose some pinboard from Mitre 10 so that I can make an inspiration board for my workroom. I am feeling a bit better today. We have been invited out for lunch tomorrow to our old neighbour's house, so will get Johnny to escort me to Fabric Vision to get some batting and backing for the quilts.

A big Happy Birthday to my lovely brother-in-law Ryan! You are an amazing, talented, creative, generally awesome friend and brother. We are so looking forward to Singapore. Yay!!!

Button me up!

Thank you for the lovely comments on my last post. Feeling a bit better today. Not nearly so tired, and I had a non-contact day (no teaching, just paperwork), so that took the pressure off a bit. I am looking forward to Project Runway later, so I hope I can stay awake that long. I love watching designers at work, even if it is in a reality TV competition. I get inspired, and I get a few tips on how to get the best out of my dressform and Muse, Ruby. Plus I love the drama, the tantrums and the disasters. And the beautiful creations (if there are any).

So on to some creative stuff. These are the first pieces from the Poppy Black "Button me up!" range. They may, in fact, be the only pieces, since I am far too busy to go into production. Plus I made them out of recycled pants and two recycled skirts (total cost $6 with spare material for other small projects). I machine embroidered the stems and leaves (Grandma's old cotton) and used vintage buttons from my stash. I sincerely hope I didn't unconsciously copy anyone elses work, and request that no-one copies these (I think they are awesome enough to be copied).

"Button me up!" cushion. Recycled linen front and angora-wool blend blue reverse. Left side looks wonky because I haven't sewn it shut in my haste to show you. I've stuffed it with some dacron offcuts. A nice pillow inner would be much smoother, but not free or recycled!

"Button me up!" scarf. Materials as above. You can see the blue angora-wool reverse. The light is making it look rather wrinkly, which it is not in person.

Love the buttons!

The blue one in the middle really catches my eye. I always like vintage flower shaped ones too (on the left).

I can't wait to work on my next project. What will it be? I've got three skirt ideas mulling around, including the apron skirt. Plus I have decided that Miss Dog needs a couple of respectable blankets for lounging on under the heat-pump, or by the fire. Maybe polar fleece with a waterproof reverse and some embroidered/appliqued detail. She is a girly dog, after all. They must be easy wash and quick dry. Maybe she need some fleecy dog pyjamas (no, my dog has her dignity intact, and it will remain so).

For those of you who were wondering what "The Secret" is, it was originally (I think) a book by Rhonda Byrne. I was lent a copy of the DVD documentary kind of movie version by my boss, who swears by it, as do most of the other senior staff at school. It is new age, self-help kind of stuff, which I don't usually prescribe to, but is so positive and fun that it can't do any harm. After all, being grateful for what you have and working on feeling positive about everything that you do has to make for a happy day. It does, except when you are in a foul mood because of a cold that one of your students gave you because he didn't stay home when he was all sick and snotty. My students can't blow their own noses, and you don't want to imagine the results of a very grotty nose unmanaged by a teenager. UUUgh! Not much to be grateful for there. Maybe I should be glad it wasn't TB or the plague. No, actually I'm thankful for my vast supplies of rubber disposable gloves.

Enough whinging about that! I've got flooring samples on my living room floor. I have an idea about what sort of carpet I want. My kitchen is going to be fabulous and country looking, and will most likely have a granite bench and cream cupboard doors. Mr B bought the kitchen appliances. Mrs CT will have space in her storage lockup shed so I can start packing and declutter around here. Hopefully the weather will be good over the weekend as we want to do the long-awaited celebration picnic on our new land before our builder starts making a big, fabulous mess. Have a fantastic weekend everyone! XXX

THE HOUSE is started!

I can't believe it. Our builder started work today. He has been building the boxing for the foundation. The photo above makes the section of land look quite small, but it is almost 800m2. Mr B and I are going to visit on Saturday so he can show me the progress.

I should be mega happy, but I had a day off school today because I have a bit of a cold, and I am soooo tired. I slept all morning. Very hard to keep my positive frame of mind when I am feeling crappy. I managed to work on a cushion. I made it out of two horrible skirts, one linen and the other a wool-angora blend, that I got from the second hand clothes shop. Will post photos once I have stuffed it.

Friday tomorrow! Thank goodness. XXX

Rain, rain and more rain!

It has rained all day today. Never mind. It has been snug as a bug inside, and refreshing when I took Miss Dog for a run around the paddocks. There was much excitement from one of us when I found lots and lots of fabulous toadstools, and even a few field mushrooms. This weather is perfect for fungi growth. So I think I might need to start another blog about fungi, and other fascinating things. I wonder if I can handle three blogs. Currently I am not really taming the chocolate baby, due to Nanny being chief cook around here.

Today we had a visit from the gorgeous Miss M. and her daughter Missy R. We were all very pleased to see them as it has been about a year since I last saw them, and they are back in the family fold once again. Long and complicated story! Anyway, Miss M. loves pretty floral things, so guess what? I've got plans for another quilt! I've got three underway. Here is the latest project. Yes, that is Henry helping again.
Just after I took this photo he proceeded to undertake a long and complicated bathing routine, involving a variety of complex yoga moves. Needless to say, he showed no respect for my careful placement of patchwork squares. This quilt is for Meg. I'm going to get the sewing machine dancing along shortly. I want to do a pink border (preferably a matching floral) and then a blue spotty binding.

On the subject of pretty things, these are my new pillowcases from Wallace Cotton. They came with a fabulous quilt, which I have already pressed into use due to the inclement weather. Nanny gave me these for my birthday, which is not until August, but I like to spread the celebration out. I'm intending to put them in my spare room at the new house, but will probably end up wanting to be in there all the time just so that I can look at them. Don't think I'm strange, but I'm seriously thinking of painting my studio the pink of the background of the pillowcases. Remember, it might look yucky on your computer screen, but in real life is so sweet.



Miss Dog sends her greetings. She has taken over Daisy's chair and the cats are now daring to use the cat door while she sits there. Maybe she is invisible in her black furry disguise.


Oooh, Henry just brought us a present, and deposited it on the mat by the fire with a satisfied "Yeeeowl." A dear little mousie, unfortunately (or fortunately- depending on how you look at it) deceased. He went straight for the food bowl and had a munch. Maybe he didn't want fur between his fangs. Considering the weather, and the level of catly activity around here, it was a remarkable achievement to bring home a snack.

Here is Oscar making the most of a warm fire and cozy blanket.



Siamese Twins? No, just Lily and Henry having a hug.


Yes Mum, I've got the towel ready for damp cats returning from a quick foray into the garden.

It is just Mr B, Nanny and I at home now. Ryan is off to Canberra for a conference. Jim has headed back to the Bay for work. Meg is working tomorrow. Have a lovely week everybody! XXX

What are you up to?

What are you all working on at the moment? I've got my finger in lots of different pies. Actually, speaking of pies, I tasted quince for the first time last night. My lovely friend is a superb cook, and she was given a big box of quinces. She baked some with honey and then made a tart with frangipane (is that what you call the almondy paste stuff?) on top of the meltingly soft quinces. To me they are like tangy, sour Turkish delight. Fragrant and delicious.

I got out my favourite crochet book to whip up a navy scarf. I am using cotton because I've made a couple in wool and can't wear them due to the itchy scritchy thing. I am really enjoying working with it because it is easier to get the hook through, and feels good on my hands. My skin gets annoyed very easily. I'm a crocheting novice and try not to get depressed when I read comments about how easy it is. My biggest problem is working out where to poke the hook in, and I hate counting. I've got a brain like a sieve when it comes to numbers. One of my Teacher Assistants called me a genius the other day. Sure, I'm a bright spark when it comes to lots of things, but I can barely remember my phone number. I kind of use the rhythm to recall how it sounds. How I managed to pass all of my school maths classes is a mystery to me.

Take a look at this artistic beauty.

This fabric was printed during art class by one of my students (with intellectual disabilities). It is going to be a drawstring bag. It is hard to come up with projects suitable for my students to do with any independence, as they are like teenage toddlers. I was away when these were made and I am sure they were done with a great deal of adult assistance. I prefer things to be a bit wild and free so I know the kids had a hand in it. Hard to expect that with fabric paint as it is awful stainy stuff. I've tried hard to steer the art teacher towards letting the reins free a bit so that activities and results are student centred rather than adult centred. She has really done well at coming around to my way of thinking. Plus she is taking belly dancing lessons and gives us a wee lesson when she comes in! Lots of fun.

I've got a piece of this fabulous fabric. I love it! It wants to be cushions, but also wants to head out into the world as a skirt. Decision pending.

I'm reading this great book. It features my aunt, Barbara McQuarrie, who is a professional quilt maker. She showed me how to use a rotary cutter and to cut efficiently. In the future I would love to go and stay with her for a quiltmaking workshop. She does art quilts with a focus on line, and dyes her own fabrics. She emphasised to me that rules are to be broken and to be free and experimental. That suits me cause I don't know the rules! This book has lots of amazing artist and their work. It makes me want to create!!!!!

On the house building front, we were out looking for taps today. I want everything to be vintage looking and Mr. B definately does not. He usually wins. So it will be a modern house with vintage decorating features. Hopefully I will have another post online tomorrow. Happy weekend! XXX

W.I.P. and a Busy Weekend

Take a look at my first ever quilt. Thank you to Barbara and Caroline for the assistance getting started, John for buying me my lovely sewing machine, andMrs So Tread Softly (making a link is a mystery- sorry Al) for inspiration. I sewed all of the 8 inch squares together today. It is going to be an along the back of the couch sized quilt. Easily managed for a beginner. I have had a social weekend too. Believe it or not we had 
visitors for tea last night. I 
pasta and made a salad. It was very special friends so not at all stressful. Today I had morning tea
with my friend Leah and Barbara came for afternoon coffee as usual. I am sad the weekend is over
because I want to create!!!!!!