Hello, October.
Posted on October 8, 2022 | 6 Comments
Like everyone, I am a little shocked at how quickly the months are disappearing. Here it is October and I still feel like I am playing catch up. However, I do feel like I am getting back on track with some of my stitching.
I have completed the embroidery from a design by Kasia Jocquot and have turned it into a zipper pouch.
It has been a lovely project and I am tempted to do more of them.
There are no other finishes but I have been distracted by a few other projects.
These are blocks using the hidden wells design, but I am playing with the layout.
I am using up the last of my Leesa chandler fabric in green.
And here are a few of the other distractions I have found along the way.
And this one.
Of course the garden has kept us busy, too, but sometimes the wind can create a pleasant surprise.
The ornamental pears are full of blossom.
And the result of the wind blowing is a carpet that looks like confetti.
Unfortunately the wind and rain have damaged the azaleas. They were looking so pretty a week ago, but there is nothing I can do. Enjoy the blossom instead.
I hope you are having a lovely weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Catching Up On Spring.
Posted on September 10, 2022 | 6 Comments
With house guests for nearly two months I have not had a lot of opportunity to sew or blog. I looked back and realised posts were at least a month apart. Just shows how busy it gets. No complaints, just an observation.
Little has been done as far as quilts go, but hopefully I can get back to that now. I have, however, been able to keep the knitting going. Two projects completed for one grandie.
I had made this pattern once before as a three colour combination. Then Raewyn reminded me of how good it looked as one colour, too. So this is the result.
I also managed to finish this hoodie type jacket in a multi-coloured yarn.
It was in use straight away.
I had been given a kit for a small pouch with embroidery on the side. It is a design by Kasia Jacquot..
Most of the stitching is done with 6 strands of thread. Sometimes all one colour, other times a mix of colours. It gives an interesting result. But it definitely moves quickly.
We are finally starting to get a few warmer days. As a result the garden is taking off and it is always lovely to see the first blossoms on the fruit trees.
Time to get back to some stitching. Have a wonderful weekend.
Cheers, Karen
A Bit More Red.
Posted on August 6, 2022 | 12 Comments
Over a month between posts!! It has been a very busy time with family finally able to travel here safely. We kept busy and on the go for the whole time. We had a few days off and then readied ourselves for another overseas visitor for three weeks. Thankfully this time is a little less hectic and is allowing for some time at home and some sewing.
As a result I have been able to complete a small quilt.
This started a while back after I had seen Linda playing with her Crossroads Quilt. I liked the shape of the blocks and had a play, then went in a totally different direction, using only red, black and white.
I also decided to find as many fun fabrics as possible hiding in my stash that fit those colours. I did get a surprise at how many there were. Hmmmmm.
I kept it to a small or lap sized quilt. And added red binding, of course.
As you can see, I also had fun with the fabric for the backing.
Some fabrics do just hide in a stash until the right quilt comes along.
You can see with a sneaky peek that all the citrus trees are producing a lot of fruit this year. We are busy picking oranges, mandarins, grapefruit and lemons. Plenty being eaten and lots turned into fresh juice as well.
I hope you are having a lovely weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Zebras And Pandas.
Posted on July 2, 2022 | 12 Comments
My run of finishes is coming to an end with this quilt. I had started working on the blocks back in April, then had to wait to get a few plain fabric matches. Once done, it was off to the quilter.
The sunlight was shining on the back of the quilt so the colour looks patchy.
Each of the panda blocks has a matching colour in the top triangle, just for fun.
I found a blue to match the colours in some of the zebras that worked well in the sashing.
I used lots of batiks for a good colour mix.
I asked to have some quilting that resembled the black line swishes in the zebra blocks. I think this came close.
And of course the binding had to be black and white stripes.
Once I reached the end I also realised that I may as well keep the theme going and used another Tula Pink fabric for the backing. After all, there are more pandas and zebras in that one, too.
I am very happy to have another finish. Good timing as our o/s family has arrived and sewing will take a back seat for a little while.
I hope you have some great plans for the month of July.
Cheers, Karen
Colourful Trees.
Posted on June 22, 2022 | 13 Comments
These trees are quite different to the ones I have been watching outside as the leaves change to Autumn colours. In fact they remind me more of lollipops or raindrops.
This pattern is called The Avenue and is by Louise Papas. I bought mine through Amitie in Torquay.
I bought the set of templates available with the pattern and it made the process of cutting the curved pieces a lot easier than making a pattern.
I enjoyed selecting the tree colours and then using a huge range of black and white background fabrics. In fact, I think I became a little obsessed with finding as many as I could.
I used a lot of different batiks for the tree sections, too.
I decided to get this one professionally quilted and love the rolling circles going through the entire quilt.
I was able to finish off with a pale green batik inner border, a black and white spot outer border and then another darker green batik for the binding. I also found a lovely text wideback for the backing.
I have one more quilt waiting for binding but not a lot was done this week. I ended up doing some damage to my lower back and was spending most of my time lying down and feeling sorry for myself. Thankfully I have a good physio and once I had my session I was up and about again. Maybe a little slowly, but at least upright and mobile.
So now I have some catching up to do. No blogs have been read and no comments made. Time to fix that!!
Cheers, Karen
A Finished Blanket.
Posted on June 15, 2022 | 11 Comments
This is another of my projects that was so close to a finish and was then put away due to distractions of my own making. I had made the large mandalas and had pieced them together, but knew I had to make smaller sections to fill the gaps.
It took me a while to play with the small pieces as I worked out which colour combo worked best. Once that was done I was able to complete the crochet and sew them together. I think it is about 40 inches square.
It has been made from 8 ply cotton from Bendigo Woollen Mills.
I would like to use it as a bed topper with a simple white spread under it.
The needles have also been busy making a couple more of these. They are gifts for more babies. Lots of friends are having grandies arrive.
I was also able to spend some time with friends getting a few cards made. Something I haven’t been doing lately. It was good to get motivated and get back into it.
It is still very cold but there was some sunshine today, so that is a bonus.
Happy to stay inside and warm.
Cheers, Karen
Trellis Work.
Posted on June 11, 2022 | 12 Comments
Time to catch up again. As always, lots in the works, but not a lot of finishes. But there are several projects ready for completion in the next few days. That seems to be the way it works for me. Everything all at once.
This is a quilt called Trellis by Jillily Studio. I started it a long time ago – years – and finally rediscovered it and made a finish.
It comes in at around 40 X 40 ins.
I had finished the piecing quite quickly and then it sat for a long time. I wasn’t confident about working with the needle-turn applique. I finally bit the bullet and did the vines but then decided to change the flowers, berries and leaves to wool instead of fabric.
That done, I was able to quilt and bind. A finish at last.
It is very cold here but my trees have only now decided to let the leaves change colour. They are looking great.
But of course there is a lot of work that goes with this.
Like everyone, we are working out how to manage with all the products that are unavailable and the price rises that come with it. A lot more car pooling is happening and I refuse to pay $10 for a lettuce. I am glad we have grown some of our own produce for freezing. Time to be patient.
Enjoy your weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Yarning Away.
Posted on May 21, 2022 | 12 Comments
Lots of little yarn projects have been worked on and some have even been completed.
This little doll is a pattern from Mary Jane’s Tearoom and is called simply a Little Yarn Doll.
A lovely pattern to follow and lots of variations included.
I have kept to the basics for the first one, giving her a removable hat and skirt. I may get a little more adventurous when I knit another one.
The yarn theme continues with these two beanies. They are crocheted from a You Tube pattern called Easy Breezy Beanies. There are 5 different patterns for different yarn thicknesses. I had a Caron cake and was able to make two beanies with a small amount of yarn left over. Mine was about a 10 ply thickness.
You can see the colour change in each beanie. These were my keep my hands busy activity when we were away in the caravan in Beechworth last week. The weather was drizzly but we still found plenty to see and do. About 25 km from there is a small location of Stanley. We drove past all the chestnut orchards and of course we bought bags of chestnuts from roadside stalls.
We were searching a particular stand of trees. The area is surrounded by pine plantations but hidden away down some logging tracks is an area filled with Sequoias – Californian Redwoods. I had no idea we had them growing here. No sign posts, just lots of tracks and turns. We finally found the track and walked in. Definitely worth it.
I found the black trunks stunning against the green foliage and the forest floor looking rusty red.
This pic is just to give an idea of size.
Found a few of these looking pretty, too.
And the keep the colour theme going, this is how the trees in the caravan park are looking.
I have been distracted with the doll and the hats, but there have been a few rows added to the Attic 24 Harbour blanket.
The wool theme keeps going but in fabric form. I am receiving the Sue Spargo BOM called Tinsel. Because of delays with US Postage, mine arrived at the end of March. I decided to start on the March block first and manged to finish it.
April has arrived so I have started on that one next. I am sure the order of completion does not matter.
Several quilts have headed to my LAQ, another is being quilted by me, so there will be lots of binding to do.
We have the ABC on in the background and are listening to the election count. Looks like it is getting interesting. Not sure I will stay up late enough to see the results though. Happy to find out in the morning.
Have a good week.
Cheers, Karen
Easter, Yay!
Posted on April 16, 2022 | 13 Comments
We are having a gorgeous Easter long weekend with beautiful sunny days. Even the resident magpie family agree and have been out and about checking out the Autumn foliage.
Easter decorating has been happening and there are a couple of new additions.
A little crochet bunny.
And a new hoop embroidery.
This is a Kathy Schmitz design that I was lucky enough to receive from Marina. ( Thanks, again, Marina.)
I reduced the size so that it would fit a hoop.It is ready to hang on the wall.
I found this cute little paper tree that I was planning to use for Christmas decorations, but obviously plans changed when I saw the lovely little egg decorations. Couldn’t resist playing with them. And then I spotted an egg wreath to complete the table centre.
The old Singer machine was put to use to display lots of rabbits and eggs.
I managed to get a quick photo before one of the grandies had a lovely play and rearranged the display to her satisfaction. She had a lovely time.
Lots more on display. This year I kept it all in my sewing room.
It is surprising how many Easter items I have accumulated over the years. I don’t buy lots, but I do add one or two items each year.
Have a wonderful Easter in your home this weekend.
Cheers, Karen
Pandas And Zebras.
Posted on April 8, 2022 | 9 Comments
The blocks using the Tula Pink panda fabric grew very quickly. I liked how they looked together, but they were not going to get very far on their own. Too small.
I was able to find some of the zebra fabric as well, to make alternate blocks. I also managed to find a solid to match one of the colours in the zebra fabric.
The picture is a bit untidy and obviously the fabric needs a press.
So the end result with the fabric I had was a small quilt top.
It’s about 40 by 55 ins at this stage. I wasn’t sure about the fabric for a border, so visited a friend with a large supply of Tula Pink. Strangely enough, nothing worked. It all seemed too busy. So I have come back to the idea of adding the same fabric to the border that is in the sashing. That is the next task to finish.
I need to follow up on a previous post regarding some blocks I was trying out. This photo simply shows that although they are a similar design, there is a size difference in the two blocks.
The one on the left is cut from a ten inch square.
Left to right, the down strips are cut 2, 3 1/2 and 4 1/2. The bottom strip is 2 ins. I then mix and match with another colour and sew a centre piece between the 2 larger ones before I cut them also. The rest can be worked out from the block photo.
The red and white block uses rectangles cut 3 1/2 by 4 1/2. The strips are 1 1/2.
We have managed a few days away again in the caravan before it gets too cold. Back to Beechworth again where we found this friendly flock heading across the road.
School holidays are coming and so are the grandies for a few days. And of course Easter is just around the corner. Lots to look forward to.
Cheers, Karen
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