Friday, November 28, 2008

Procrastination in Pink


Maybe this is what I should call this quilt? I should be constructing 2 backings for quilts to go to the quilter over the holidays.

I cut it out Monday and finished the top today (Friday). I actually did the blocks in about 2 hours, the applique and borders waited a bit due to the Brisbane family's arrival on Wednesday. This is a very old Chook Shed pattern I made in country colours many years ago and have just completed and has been displayed in The Quilt Patch. Some patterns deserve a second chance, this being one. It's now a Country Cupboard design (The Chook Shed girls having gone their separate ways). A very simple design suitable for any beginner. I am not a pale pink, green and yellow person at all, but many, many customers are and samples are sometimes the only way that many can get inspiration for a new quilt, therefore the sample is made not in my colours!


Sunday, November 16, 2008

This weekend

Saturday to the Airing of the Quilts at Exeter then onto lunch at Beauty Point.


Sunday, out to historic Entally House for a Garden Festival.
I bought seed potatoes, chives, parsley and thyme - that's a potato salad!





More of my quilts




The Chook quilt is called "Fowl Play" and was made a few (well quite a few) years ago. I'd started making the chooks and sunflowers using enlaraged Chook Shed and Meme patterns in the yummy black, white, gold and reds. Then I went to Perth, WA for a SCQuilter's retreat and did a class with Jan Mullen, so I used the same fabrics. Pure laziness on my part as they were at the top of the heap and easy to grab.



This is a pizza, another challenge entry from a few years ago. I think the topic was "food". This is called "Super-supreme and Sundae" as the top is meant to be a pizza and the backing fabric has icecream sundaes on it.
I played with a Kaliedoscope ruler as I wanted it to have a "round feel" about it. Lots of tomato, onion, capsicum, mushroom, olive and pizza fabrics were used and then some precious chunky buttons from the button box.





Further to yesterday's post with the bright batiks - I have completed 30 more, now have 60. I either don't use 1 (7x7), make 4 more (8x8) or 40 more (10x10) - big decision! I think I have enough fabric to make 30 more, so maybe it will be 81 blocks (9x9).

PPS - I've just found I have 30 more squares cut - it's meant to be at least 90!

I really did want to get onto the Tasmanian Devil quilt, sigh!!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Because I was a quilter once.....


before I became a gardener, I thought I'd better post a few pics of what I am doing.

Last year sometime new Tonga Batik fabrics arrived and I "needed to use it" so I made a small sample.

The book "Stack a New Deck" by Karla Alexander (That Patchwork Place) had recently arrived and "Cottage Quarters" appealed. I'm not using the sashing.

The sample languished on display at the shop until I needed a project for retreat a few months ago. More blocks were cut out then and nothing sewn until today. I'm not sure how big it will end up, but I don't "do" small quilts now unless they're for a child, so I will plod on until the fabric runs out or it gets to a size I like.



The quilt top on the bed is another almost finshed one. Many of the blocks came from a 9 Patch swap on SCQuilters, my Internet group.
Set with plain pansy fabric blocks it has ended up quite large - 2.1m square, backing done and waiting for quilting.


This one is an "Ami & Michelle" Oz-Dye Arts pattern from years and years ago. I hung it above the spare bed where Nic and Nancy sleep so Miss Maggie and Banjo can enjoy it while they visit in 2 weeks!
The crooked certificate is one Nic won in grade 6 for Mathematics. He took the PhD certificate to his home, wonder why he didn't take this to hang up?




The Vegie Garden


Oh Boy! Is this garden growing!!!

I know it was new soil, I know it's in a sunny warm spot against the wall, I know it has a generous half bag of good Tassie Sheep Poo on it (1.5 metres square in area!)



But I planted the plants - doesn't that count for anything?




"Inspirational" was Rob's description. I bet he wishes he was here instead of travelling around India on his pilgrimage! :-)


Inspired by the success of the first plot and the fact that I still had 3 tomatoes to put "somewhere" my helper prepared me another plot against the fence which doesn't get nearly as much sun, so we'll see. This bit has 3 tomatoes, a punnet of beans, spinach and Pak Choy and I have carrots to go in soon.




I have plans for an expanded garden next year, LOL
By the way, one of my neighbours has told me my tomatoes are too close together, sigghhh!!!!




Thursday, November 6, 2008

Scatterdays - "How you see yourself"


I am into this right away - unlike previous months where I have been a slacker!

The subject "How you see yourself" made me have a think, who am I?

Lots of things - they can all wait, but the most important way I see myself over the last few years is a grandmother or Nana as I am called. I love the name and when heard from the mouth of a 2 year old, sends tingles down my spine! I have a few more months before the Divine Miss. M calls me Nana, but with lots of visits she will remeber me.

Of course, I don't see myself as you see me in the picture - to me I am still 28 and slim!