Happy Australia Day
Posted on January 26, 2016 | 11 Comments
Beautiful weather here for Australia Day. It makes it very easy to get out and enjoy the day.
In fact, the whole weekend has been pleasant. We have spent much of it in Geelong as that city hosted the Festival of Sails. I am not the sailor in the family so I did lots of watching and driving to and from.
And this was a nice surprise for Australia Day – petrol under a dollar. I wonder how long it will last?
To keep the Aussie theme going, I attended a high tea with a group of friends at Coombe Farm.
There is a restaurant built in the grounds of the home of Dame Nellie Melba.
It looks beautiful inside. The afternoon tea was delicious, of course. There is a tour of the gardens available and I am hoping to make a return visit especially for that.
No stitching to show, but there is binding going on another quilt.
I am off to be the taxi one more time as the sailing festival ends today.
Happy Australia Day.
Cheers, Karen
UFO Progress.
Posted on January 18, 2016 | 17 Comments
It always seems to be a regular start of the year event – attacking the UFOs. For me it is probably because quilts get put aside in the lead up to Christmas as there are other priorities for the festive season. January is very relaxed and there are no sewing commitments so the UFOs get first priority.
First finish is a small quilt as you go. I had planned to add a border but found there was not enough of the fabrics left to do that, so a change of plans left it as a smaller quilt.
I tried to take a photo is the sun but no luck with the colours.
I had better results on the fence in the shade.
Much better idea of the colours.
Here are some of the fabrics.
And still playing with colours – here it is inside.
I think this last one is the closest to the true colours. I am not a big fan of QAYG so that is why this one was easy to put aside and also why I was happy to go without a border. Let’s hope I remember that for the future.
I finished a panel quilt as a gift for the Christmas before last and still had another to go. I made sure that was another finish for this month.
The quilting for this one was a gentle meander.
It continues to be hot here but the good part about that is the Flowering Gums are starting to bloom and are looking gorgeous. And the Australian Open is on so there is plenty of tennis to watch.
That’s a pretty note to finish on.
Cheers, Karen
Welcome To 2016.
Posted on January 9, 2016 | 12 Comments
Welcome to another New Year. I hope it has started on the right foot for everyone.
I have decided to do a Spring Clean in Summer. I must be crazy, but it all started when I was ready to put away the Christmas decorations. I thought it was time to be ruthless and discard all the broken and tatty ones. That was fine but I think I was bitten by the bug and started to clean out every room and cupboard. Needless to say the house looked like a bomb site but I have weeded out so many things we do not need to keep. The hardest room of course was my sewing room. But it was worth it. The shelves are tidy and I can see what I have. It is a great reminder of what is in my stash.
Most of the house is back to some kind of normal with only a small amount of sorting left to do. That is a good thing because I am ready to do some sewing.
I have been a little creative but in a totally different direction. I have been enjoying some art journal and book making workshops and was able to make a slip cover for some folders.
The process involves covering some calico with gesso then decorating with paints, pens, stamps – anything you like to use. This is the front.
The back.
Fabric is also coated then used to line the inside like this, then it is all stitched together.
We all decided we needed to do this again so met up last week to make another one. This time I wanted a cover for my Christmas lists. This is how it is progressing. Front.
Back.
And this will be the fabric for the lining.
It is still quite warm but the garden is managing to survive. The corn may not be as high as an elephant’s eye, but it is growing well and almost ready to pick.
And the hot house tomatoes and peppers and thriving.
Our country seems to dish out some difficult conditions at this time of year and my thoughts are with all the families who have lost homes in the last few days in the fires in Western Australia, and also those who have had all the flood damage in the eastern states. Two very opposite conditions. Best wishes to all.
Unfortunately we are still only part way through our Summer. Let’s hope the weather is kind for the next few months.
Cheers, Karen
A Delightful Variation On Stitching.
Posted on December 31, 2015 | 12 Comments
I have ended the year with some lovely time spent with friends sharing similar interests.
We went to see the film The Dressmaker on Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I then downloaded the book to my Kindle and read it. Then yesterday we drove over to the other side of Melbourne to Barwon Park Mansion to see the costume display from the movie.
It was a very hot day and you can see how dry the grounds are. But the home itself is constructed from blue-stone and is very cool inside.
When you enter the front doors you are met with this costume which Tilly wore to the football match.
The wedding party.
Loved this costume.
The building had beautiful features and I would like to go back to see it set up with original furniture when the display has finished.
Here are just a few more costumes.
The display was wonderful and I am impressed with the beautiful workmanship in all these 50s designs.
It was interesting to see how different the colours were in the real costumes compared to their appearance on screen. We were quite surprised at how the lighting for the filming totally changed their colours.
It is another day of extreme heat and fire danger here, so I hope everyone can stay safe and cool.
Very best wishes to everyone for a safe and Happy New Year.
Cheers, Karen.
A Bittersweet Christmas.
Posted on December 28, 2015 | 11 Comments
I have had a few personal emails and have answered most questions but sometimes it is easier to do a post and explain. As many will know I had been quite concerned about the fires in our state.
Yes, we had a lovely Christmas with our family. But at the same time we had news about the fires along the Great Ocean Road. The good part was that our relatives – niece, her partner and their 18 month old son – were well away from the area on the day. The bad news is that their home was one of those that was completely destroyed at Separation Creek. Theirs was one of 116 homes to be destroyed in that area.
The amazing news is that in this dreadful fire there has been no loss of life. That is a huge credit to the CFA and all emergency workers.
Our niece and family and now staying with her parents and are coming to terms with what comes next.
We are all grateful that they are safe and well.
Merry Christmas Wishes.
Posted on December 24, 2015 | 11 Comments
The big day is tomorrow! I think everything is ready. I plan to stay well away from any shops today.
I made very simple cards for this year. Soft colours and a little embossing seems to have worked quite well.
Changed the papers for the trees for a bit of variety. And the tag decoration.
Lots needed to be made.
I also could not resist the lovely Christmas ribbons that were available this year, so of course I had to play with them. I made quite a few little cushions in a variety of sizes and decorations.
I do hope everyone enjoys their Christmas, whatever their plans.
To all in the southern states here in Australia, take care with the fire warnings that we have for Christmas Day. Stay safe.
Merry Christmas.
Cheers, Karen
A Sleigh Of Santas.
Posted on December 19, 2015 | 16 Comments
For most of this year I have been working on making dozens of these Santas for Christmas Gifts. I belong to lot of groups and there are quite a few gift exchanges at this time of year. I also wanted some for family, too. This photo probably shows half of the ones I made.
They are made from a pattern by Roxy Creations and are available in download format.
I have made them in several different colourways.
And have tried to decorate each one individually.
I have had a good laugh when they are packaged for posting as you can hear the bells tinkling inside the parcel. I am sure the postie gets used to that at this time of year.
Nearly all have them are gone. I only have a couple left in the house and I do have 2 more to make.
For all those in Victoria and South Australia I wish you all the best for today. We are all having 40 degree temps and nasty winds. Unfortunately perfect bushfire weather.
Stay cool.
Cheers, Karen
Ready For A Christmas Quilt.
Posted on December 9, 2015 | 13 Comments
This quilt has been in the works for quite a while, so it is great to see it finally finished and ready to hang for the festive season.
This is a Viv’s Creations pattern by Viv Robinson.
It is made using raw edge applique. I also chose to do a lot of the embroidery with free motion quilting.
I can show closer pics of each row.
Most of the fabrics are by Lynette Anderson with a few extras added in.
Last row.
And one of the presents.
I changed the sides from the original pattern to reindeer and holly instead of words.
I kept the quilting to simple meandering and used many of the fabrics from the range in the backing and binding.
The quilting was a cream thread but the applique was done using a variegated thread.
Hooray for another finish.
This week seems to be the start of many Christmas get togethers. I have already had two Christmas break up functions and have two more on Thursday and Friday. And then another three next week.
I will certainly be in the Christmas spirit when the big day arrives.
I do hope you are enjoying all the fun catch ups that occur at this time of year.
Cheers, Karen
Workshop And Finishes.
Posted on December 2, 2015 | 17 Comments
December has raced up very quickly and I am sure it will speed up even more as we get closer to Christmas. Good luck with all your Christmas shopping and sewing.
I had the good fortune to attend a wonderful workshop with Keryn of Christmas Creations. A group of four of us worked hard in the morning and ended up each with our own Nodder.
I thought this one was a bit lonely so made sure some friends came home, too.
As well as being a great teacher, Keryn is also a great cook and served up a scrumptious morning tea. Thank you, Keryn, for a wonderful workshop. I am looking forward to doing this again!
I have made a finish on another of my quilts. The binding is stitched down and it is ready to go.
I would like to play with this pattern again using different colours. I enjoyed the way this design came together.
It certainly used up a load of scraps, many of them very old.
The backing fabric is a field of dandelions.
Okay, time to get more shopping done. Good luck with all your finishes leading up to Christmas.
Cheers, Karen.
Tricky Colours.
Posted on November 11, 2015 | 15 Comments
Sometimes the camera and the colours just do not want to work together. So the colours in these pictures look very washed out. Time to use your imagination.
This quilt is from a pattern by Lisa Cantley of Fig’N’Berry Creations and is called The Snowmen are Gathering.
I have shown the individual stitcheries in previous posts.
The stitching is done with Cottage Garden Thread called Cobblestones.
Simple meandering in the quilting.
And the leftover fabrics as the backing to finish it off.
A small lap quilt now added to the completed list. Hooray.
Cheers, Karen
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