No name post - just more stash show and tell

No name post but stuff to show:
During a very unusual Mummy day (kids out-of-town with friends for 2 nights!) of training into the city, browsing DFO shops (Direct Factory Outlet) which by the way, are not very Outlety (ie not much of a bargain to be found and heaps of normal stuff found in the retail stores!) This lot are in the new and wonderfully big (and noisy) Southern Cross Station (formerly Spencer St station). Then onto Clegs (big fabric store in Elizabeth St) and though not needing anything but finding a treasure - some stunning fabric with Aboriginal designs - fell in love instantly. The colours are very subtle which is unusual for traditional designs but will work very well in a quilt. The following design in called 'Spirit Place'

The next piccie is of 'Bush Plums' designed by Polly Naparulla Wheeler for M&S Textiles Australia (top) and 'Bush Tucker Dreaming' (bottom) designed by Audrey Martin Napanangka for M&S Textiles. The quality of the fabric is excellent. I have been thinking about sending my Doll Quilt 2 swappie something from Australia and I hope she likes them! Such a nice change from the garish cliche of the kangaroo/koala/vegemite fabrics, which is normally on display.
Next series of show and tell: my latest craze for chenille! Fluffy, funny, vintagey, pretty, cuddly - some from ebay (large piece of soft butter yellow (maybe more yo-yo biscuit yellow?) which is actually a bedspread in fantastic condition! for $20)
A collection of great vintage chenille from ebay through a lovely lady named Jodie who sells through her store called Polka Dot Chenille (Ric Rac is her blog - check it out - love the vintage material frilled bags!) 'Sewing without a Safety Net' is her banner motto - Yes!!! I Agree!!! Rich eggy gold with a Hoffman Daisy design and also a beautiful soft green piece (little extras were a lovely surprise! Thanks Jodie

Picking up my girls in Ballarat on Saturday enabled me to just drop by Ballarat Patchwork (he he planned it all along! Hubbie said 'Please don't make me go in!' in such a way, that my heart bled for him (NOT), but he was happy to sit in the car and read the paper. Have lurked at their website for a while now, but the shop is so much better (as is all quilting shops!) What a scrumdiliuptious shop! I bought some fat quarters and fat eighths for my Kaffe quilt for my Mum - decided on a Disappearing 9-block pattern - nice and easy! Can you see the purple Roman Glass - this is Mum's pick for the border material (which is what I shall be working the quilt around (purples and greens) and then I chose the not so subtle green Shirt Stripes for a smaller feature border

Below is an in-yer-face view of the little beauties I got from Ballarat Patchwork - favs would have to be top right purple cabbages and the bottom right green Roman Glass - what a designer!



Must finished DQS2 today! Posting will happen, I promise!!!

The Bounty

My friend dropped by last night with boxes and boxes of deliciousness! She rang the doorbell and said "I went to the warehouse today and these are for you" Warehouse, what warehouse? Ohhhh - Hoad's (fabric manufacturer) warehouse (she's the PA to the GM). Metres and metres of fabulous linen blends, lots and lots of ticking in chocolate, burnt orange, slate blue, olive. The feel of them is DIVINE! Plus, metres and metres of heavy cotton with birds, fruit, roses, in strawberry, slate, earthy colours.
Here's a picture of a sheet of yummy:


Wait, there's more...


Oodles and oodles of taffeta style pieces in golds, burgandy, wine


Wait, still more....
So much I didn't even open it out: softest blue blue stripe on softest cotton. The blue wouldn't photograph well, so I have put these little lovelies in instead.


More chocolate.....lots of coordinates in a heavy cotton

I've been playing and sorting, sorting and playing for the last hour, just looking and sighing.

These are technically all for the school craft stall, in some form or fashion. How can we do it all justice? How can we turn this fab fabric into a beautiful yet practical thing (or many things as the case may be!) Can people give me some ideas - easy to make, beautiful to hold, practical to use, inexpensive to buy - that's the craft stall's mantra.

Of course, I told my friend that she was not allowed to leave this job of hers - I was serious!

Swapparooni! Cake

I'm jiggling in my seat as I type - I'm in THE Doll Quilt Swap! OMG do I know what I've done? Yes it will be Okay! What to do? Where to sew? When to start and when to stop? These are my big questions - I'm so looking forward to my parcel - I hope my swap person is too! A little snippet of something I have done already from Summer in City series - so much yummyness - I could eat the strawberry colour! I bought a Moda Tin Series from Fat Quarter Shop (on sale) thought I would give it a go! Oohh - it has a set-in-seam! Tricksters! But I knuckled down and did it! Little boo-boo right in the bloody middle! I think a well-positioned yo-yo will fix. The tin series has charm squares, pattern for hey! wouldn'tyouknowit - a dollquilt size quilt, plus cd with large quilt pattern. The doll quilt uses choccie brown squares - but I think they are much too prominent - overbearing - I scrounged stack for complementary colour and I like what I found! Much more summery! I really can't bear to sew with brown or black - why are so many quilts in all various shades of brown? One of my local quilt shops is like that - sweet as it is - I can't find much inspiration. What I have left over from my tin box are the chocolate pieces and coordinates - I DO like it when they are mixed with brighter highlights - aqua, pink, orange, grass green. I am going to attempt another with the 'leftovers' (sounds so sad), and create a masterpiece!

This photo above is of a great piece of fabric from op-shop that I would love to turn into a wrap-around skirt. It is actually a queen-sized doona cover so there is HEAPS of material there to play with. Never done a skirt before EEK. I did make one in Home Ec (girly sewing/cooking etc) which at the time, I though was completely useless - Oh, have I grown up!! My Mum chose the material for me for the class project of said skirt, which I absolutely HATED. I remember it was blue with splashes of colours all over it - yuk and no way was I going to wear it. Skirts were no in my wardrobe no way jose. I did make it but lost points for not turning the waistband seam over - who cares I said! Nobody sees it! I probably got a B for effort, certainly not for attitude.

I shall leave you with these Awful picture of my attempts at cooking oranges for a friend's dinnerparty. I do love to do desserts so I was recommended to try this very easy orange almond cake. THREE trys later, with 2 very black bottomed saucepans, this is what I end up with! aah yummy!
If you dare - recipe is on the back of the 'LUCKY' almond meal packet, from supermarket. I will post it if anyone cares! P. S. Dinnerparty went very well - everyone loved it. I made a syrup from citrus and ginger marmalade, poured over top, with lashings of cream. My hips grow even as I remember!

Finished stuff and unfinished stuff

Firstly, my finished scarf! Photographing myself was really tricky - I know there are those out there who are experienced in this kind of stuff - but I found it really tricky! Just to repeat myself. I like the EYE. My scarf's twirls are not quite even - is this because of difference in tension?

Next, my frames within frames I am quite happy with: Hubbie wants to hang them where everyone can see them - does that include the milkman? Yes we have a milkman 'Aussiefarmers' have a great service of delivering great milk and bread and eggs and other goodies to your doorstep each week. Our only job is that We have to remember to put out the esky! Next is an unfinished project - My lovely daughter's horse quilt - I love the way the colours blend beautifully with her stunning hair. It will get done - up to the basting bit, which I dislike immensely! I really adore the Alexander Henry's abstractly coloured horses and also the way Laurel Birch's Mythical Horses range blended really well with the centre piece. I bought the A.H. piece of materials years ago and waited for the right fabric to appear and they did! My girl chose the Mythical horses fabric from the internet and was (and still is, although excitement level waning the longer it takes Mummy to complete!) really pleased. Think I can get it done by her birthday in November??

Smallpeople and smallframes

Whooped-de-dooed when my 'smallpeople' postcards arrived in mail from Marianne at applehead - I am really impressed with her ideas and paper/photo collages and her little quips are priceless! Love the rusty red and slatey blues - great combo!

I have decided to frame them like here - found some delicious William Morris materials to frame within a frame - piccies soon, promise!

Birds to 'coo' over

(Picture courtesy of crochetroo - see link below)
I was just remarking to my hubbie about the plethera of birds in design de jour - when I happen to come across a blog called For The Love of Birds! The steel cut peacocks are gorgeous! I want them! They are from UK site MirrorMirror - also search for the Russian Doll Tea Towels while you are there!- wow, that is a whole nother theme Matroyshka dolls! Remind me to show you some great material I have (my sister has a set of Russian Presidents stacking dolls!) I've got to get a photo of them!

And also the copper earings with a flock of birds below - made by FinandFeather. (Would they be heavy?)

Hubbie is a great lover of birds and has been ever since a child - once breeding hundreds of budgies (Australian native parakeet). He can spot a particular type of bird from a far distance and recognise its markings as it is flying through the air! My eyesight is pretty bad at the best of times so I just sit back and marvel! like I know what I'm talking about! Little things like that continue to impress and amaze me about my hubbie.

Talking of budgies, I bought a crochet pattern to make budgies, from etsy crochetroo- they are soooo cute - see above picture. I couldn't resist. Not sure if this project is beyond me yet, wait and see.

I stumbled onto RubyCrowned Kinglette also - lovely piccies - I can't stop staring at the dogkiss - funny but yuk!


Check out Ann Wood's sweet tweets! I just had to post her pictures here - I really like the wedding toppers (what's with the eye patch?) I could buy a bride and groom right now for my two daughter's wedding cakes (I know, I shouldn't be planning their weddings already, they are only 9 and 7!)

Miss Tilly (above) and a custom order bridal pair (below)
I could stop there, but I won't. Bluebird makes her nest is another charming blog: I love reading her little poem everytime I view her site - no matter what I am thinking, it makes me sit still and remember my two little chicks. I like her title blurb -'general flutterings' is a great description - one I can relate to!

Then there is Simplesparrow, and, who could forget Angry Chicken - love that title! though the chicken never looked angry and now she has gone to the roost ie disappeared! Maybe the sky really did fall?

Tsk Tsk have some simply gorgeous paintings, prints and cards; many with a bird theme. Search her etsy shop! I really like these, to start with:
I must stop there - grocery shopping to do - NO MILK! - I was promptly informed this morning! Matroyska dolls theme post to come!


More added: Joel Dewberry - new designer with 'Aviary' - very cute birds - check out buzzville's photo:

More finished quilts - aaaahh so good!

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Copied from a picture of Mish Mash quilt pattern (sorry quilt pattern owner!) I used lots of Amy Butler yummies from her Charm range - lots of milk chocolate, minty greens, warm apricot jams, bits of sky blue etc. Pressie for my little sister (she cried when I presented it to her!) best response I've ever had! Now that's what I'm talking about! No really - I love to make things for people and if they like/love it, it really makes me feel good about life, love, relationships, keeping connected.
I love the quilting pattern 'Pop Corn' done in a gorgeous apple green, subtle but fun - thanks Laureen! I made this one bigger than my others to drape across a queen-sized bed, with a wide binding to frame the busy patterns- she had fun trying to pack into her already bulging suitcase when leaving for London - new suitcase needed! I hope she thinks of the warmth and sunshine of a Melbourne autumn, when snuggling underneath. First time I have used a wool blend batting (cotton usually) and the lightness of the quilt was surprising. Enjoyed it immensely!

One more piccie - not finished as such - Pippi's face says it all - Are you still going on this? Yes, I am! Realised that my first art quilt has fundamental flaws in it - no reflection of sunset on the water! Yes, I have refuted physics and the world will stop forever. So, to compensate for this disaster, I shall endeavour to sew freestyle stiches in bright sunset thread radiating out from the sun onto the appropriate water dimensions. Yikes. it may never get done. scary as hell. might stuff it up. already stuffed up. shall sit on its ledge a bit longer.

Crochet your movies

I'm on a roll - 3rd post for the day! Feeling guilty for leaving Whippet for too long.
I'm a constant lurker on Whipup and found this link - made me laugh! Crochet VHS tape bag! by Recycled Bag.com
Loving the resourcefulness and the recycling! Anyone else got lots of videos which are not getting played any longer?

Baby gifts

A baby's bib and burb cloth - terry towelling cut from a roll (at Spotlight) then 'Chloe's Closet' materials left over from my first quilt - very cute fabrics- to patchwork onto the bib and cloth. Not as easy as I had assumed! Then, the binding! Mum helped with choosing a bias binding and how to sew it- but I'm not so sure it worked - kind of wonky and 'pulley' -also stuffed up the hem on the cloth. It is a (very late) pressie for my cousin's first baby 'Ruben'. I hope they like it. Don't think I'll make another.

WIP - my first woolie hookie thing!

I found my most local wool shop to be a plethora of feeley touchy things - colours and textures and patterns galore - but I just want something simple! and I found it - gorgeous wool - soft soft soft - and very pretty colours - if I bought two balls I got a FREE pattern for an easy corkscrew scarf YES Please! Gee it was hard to choose colours though - firstly, a soft pink, not too icky or too babyish, but then I saw the slate colour - love that softish greyish blue - then I saw the charcoal - like that too - oh the possibilities! But I came home with this mixture of purples/blues/gold - it will look great with grey marle hoodie and jeans! I am Hooked! (yes the pun was on purpose!)

The above picutre is how my second ball of wool is looking when I tried to find the end - I couldn't find it and even after hubbie had a go - we ended up growling at the wool as if it did it on purpose! What a mess and all knotty! Does this happen to anyone else? Surely knitters/crocheters around the world don't put up with this mess every time they start a new ball - what am I doing wrong?

Anyway - through the tears! ha ha! here are my progress photos !