Home Again.
Posted on September 2, 2015 | 12 Comments
For the month of August we have been away enjoying the sunshine and hospitality of South Carolina. Or Charleston, to be more precise. What an amazing city! We loved our time with our family exploring this new city and learning a lot of its history. And it was a great way to get away from the cold of August in Melbourne.
We flew into NYC and loved the view from our hotel on Long Island..
We joined our family in Pennsylvania and then took the long drive to South Carolina. Our base for the first week was the historic area of Charleston.
We had a wonderful time exploring the streets and lane ways and seeing all the historic buildings.
We learned about having good north side manners as well as how these southern homes were built to cope with the heat.
Loved seeing all the Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Makes me think of all the movies based in the southern states.
We took a ferry ride to Fort Sumter and then flew over in a helicopter to see it again. We now have a lot more knowledge about the civil war and this city’s part in the growth of the US.
I think we explored every street in the downtown area and went through many historic homes and museums. We then extended our exploration to some wonderful plantations.
Once the removalists arrived we helped set up the house and had to deal with other daily events. School started here in mid August.
Aussie school kids would be in for a shock. Elementary school starts at 7:15 and our grandies had to be on the bus at 6:30. And yes, it was dark at 6:30!
All through the estates in their area were signs like this one.
I don’t know why people visiting Australia worry about our snakes and spiders when they have concerns like this.
We even managed to fit in a zoo visit in Columbia, the state capital. I am a big kid and loved feeding the giraffes.
Unfortunately our time flew by very quickly and we had to head back home.
A quick stop back in NYC and then onto the long flight home. We arrived back in Melbourne on one of the wettest days for the whole of Winter. What a way to be welcomed back.
But I must say that today is a different story with beautiful sunshine and blossom on the trees. Spring is definitely trying to have its turn.
I did manage to visit a couple of quilt stores in between all the unpacking and will put that info in my next post.
I am looking forward to catching up on all my blog reading over the next few weeks.
Cheers, Karen.
Searching For Sunshine.
Posted on July 22, 2015 | 14 Comments
Not a lot of sunshine here, so it’s a bit tricky finding the right place and time to take photos.
I managed to finish my froggy quilt and get the binding done.
I kept to simple quilting over the whole quilt.
But used some lovely variegated thread to add interest.
I have also been using up a lot of leftover bits and pieces in these star blocks.
The pattern is a block from Bonnie Hunter called Boxy Stars. There are a dozen blocks completed and at least another eight on the way.
I had a play with some different crochet stitches with this square. Hope to see it grow as the weeks go by.
I plan to take a break from posting for the next few weeks as I really am heading off to find some sunshine. The northern hemisphere is definitely calling. I will enjoy reading posts but know that I will have limited time to post or comment until I return.
Have a wonderful August.
Cheers, Karen
Happy Halloween!
Posted on July 14, 2015 | 10 Comments
Too early? Just being prepared.
This is a panel by Deb Strain called Moonlight Manor. I was going to cut it up and rearrange the pieces into a larger quilt, but I just couldn’t do it. I loved it the way it was, so the easiest solution was to turn it into a wall hanging. I did some simple quilting and found a stripe for binding.
I think this will work fine as a Halloween Banner.
Here are some of the pictures on the banner/panel.
As well as the banner, I have also finished the Halloween bunting. Looks like the decorating is all ready to go when Halloween comes around.
All these Halloween items will find a new home in the northern hemisphere.
I have also continued to play in my art journaling classes. I really enjoyed this one.
We are working hard at keeping warm here. Going outside now involves coats, gloves, scarf and hat. No snow – it just feels like it.
Stay warm.
Cheers, Karen
Animals Everywhere.
Posted on July 6, 2015 | 12 Comments
Some more finishes.
The first one is a flimsy I have shown before, but now that it is quilted and bound, it counts a a finish.
It is lap size. Love these cute owls.
The next one is made using up left over pieces from the jungle quilt I made earlier in the year.
The little pictures were too cute to toss in the scrap box, so this was the end result.
I had a little play with the quilting.
The best part is that all fabric came from my stash.
Both these quilts will go into a donation pile. I have one more that needs binding before joining them.
I do enjoy finishes, especially when I work from my stash.
Cheers, Karen
Happy New Half Year.
Posted on July 1, 2015 | 18 Comments
July already and half a year gone. How about that!
Along with finishing off some UFOs, I have also been pulling out some kits that have waited patiently for several years.
This is only a little finish but it has been a delightful project to work on.
She is a sweet Snow-lady from the Winter Banners pattern by Lily Anna Stitches.
The banner is all made in lovely wools.
I have really enjoyed working with the wool applique and have more planned.
Hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
Framed.
Posted on June 24, 2015 | 14 Comments
I was delighted to be able to pick up my framed embroidery. Very happy with the framing.
It’s a bit tricky to photograph an embroidery behind glass, but this gives you the general idea.
I have managed to finish 2 of the 5 sets of bunting. The other 3 are all stitched and trimmed up, ready to be strung together.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in a Gloria Loughman workshop. We did a lot of colour theory and then worked on a landscape quilt.
She is a wonderful teacher and I do recommend her classes if you have the chance.
This is my work in progress.
I used a combination of hand dyed fabrics and batiks. I will do some more work on it before I sandwich and quilt it. It is about A3 size.
I am off to finish the bunting and play with the landscape.
I hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
A Good Weekend.
Posted on June 8, 2015 | 19 Comments
We have a long weekend courtesy of the Queen, so Monday is a holiday.
I have spent my long weekend rediscovering more projects that had been put aside.
Nearly two years ago I had started the Fernhill BOM from Lynette Anderson. I made good progress with the stitcheries, but then stumbled when the mini quilt had to be constructed before the final four blocks could be completed.
That has now been rectified. The blocks have been pieced and added to the stitcheries.
The next four blocks have been added so that the applique work can now begin.
All the applique pieces are cut and ready to go.
The next project to be revived was the Disappearing Pinwheels quilt. I had made 16 blocks for a small quilt, but then decided it needed to be larger. So I set to work making more blocks. But it still wasn’t quite what I wanted until I decided to set it ‘en pointe’.
Now I am happy with the way it is going.
A simple pillow case was next on the list. I had a few pieces left from the dog quilt. I had to do a few calculations and some juggling, but the end result was a matching pillow case.
Yes, lots of shadows, but if I had gone outside for the photo, I would have been blown away.
Here it is with the matching quilt.
I seem to be collecting a lot of panels and really need to start using them. But I also noticed that a lot of them were for bunting. How can the children use them if I have not stitched them up? So I started on those, too.
One lot stitched, just needing tape across the top.
And more to come.
There is also holiday bunting and another RW&B to go.
This has been a very satisfying way to spend the extra day at home.
Cheers, Karen
Red Robin.
Posted on June 2, 2015 | 12 Comments
Another UFO becomes a quilt! I am pleased to say that I have managed to keep working on my UFO pile. But I have also started a few new projects as well.
This was a small lap quilt, already sandwiched, so not too much needed to get it done. Just quilting and binding.
I know it is not a full picture but I was having problems with the wind and then the rain. I had shown the finished top a while back but then it disappeared for quite a while into the UFO black hole.
This quilt really was just an exercise in how I could use a couple of fat quarters in the cute robin fabric. It will work well on a table or the back of a chair at Christmas time.
Spots on the backing and stripes in the border. It had to be reds.
So there it is – a little lap quilt that has finally been completed.
Cheers, Karen
A Sheep Or Three.
Posted on May 28, 2015 | 16 Comments
This is the last bit of show and tell from the baby collection.
As well as a quilt, I make each grand baby an embroidered woollen blanket.
This time I made one based on the nursery rhyme, Baa Baa Black Sheep.
The design comes from an early copy of Inspirations magazine.
The sheep are made using hundreds of french knots using a combination of 8 ply wool and embroidery floss.
And then all the little flowers are added using wool embroidery threads.
The fabric backing turns over to the front to form the border.
This one should be very warm and snugly.
Cheers, Karen
Perfect Weather For Snowmen.
Posted on May 25, 2015 | 17 Comments
It is so chilly here at the moment that I think these snowmen would feel very much at home.
This is a felt mat that is about 60 cm wide. (24 ins)
I made a few changes along the way. It is supposed to have tongues around the outside. That would make it too wide for the place I plan to use it, so I added ric-rac instead.
And one stage I had cut my finger and had it wrapped in a bandaid, but a spot of blood ended up on the felt. To cover that up I put snowflake buttons in several spots.
My next hiccup came when I had a lovely bunch of lillies in the house. A spot of pollen must have been on the bench when I put the mat down. This bright orange pollen will not come out at all. So, lots of star buttons were added next.
I attached the ric-rac with french knots.
So that’s another Christmas item done and dusted.
I am still catching up on UFOs and that is a great way to spend this week.
I hope you have great plans, too.
Cheers, Karen
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