PLENTY OF PINNIES

Yesterday afternoon I found my mojo to make those personalised pincushions. I still need to find some crushed walnut shells to fill them but at least they are almost complete now. I feel the urge to make some more. Only 3 letters left to collect from Jenny's blog. Hmm, I wonder whose names start with X, Y and Z.

                                 Hope you have had a happy stitching weekend.

                                                             Angel Blessings

BOOK, CAL AND STITCHING

I have finished reading my first book for the year. I always loved this author's books but haven't kept up with any new ones of hers for several years so I was delighted to discover one I hadn't read when I was shopping in the city with my daughter a few months back. I was not disappointed.

                        I am on the 2nd round of the CAL and I am loving the colours.

I have finally made a start on some pincushions which I have been collecting from Jenny's www.elefantz.com blog. Jenny has the latest free pincushion design on her blog today.

I really need to get a move on with my stitching before I fall even further behind than I already am. I have my eye on another project so I really must be more disciplined.

                                   May your days be filled with creative abundance.

                                                               Angel Blessings

CROCHET AND SEWING

I have been thinking about my crafty life, when it began and who taught me. I can remember knitting on small needles as a child but can't recall if it was mum or my grandmother who taught me.  I used to knit things for my Barbie doll like handbags and scarves. I didn't attempt knitting a jumper for myself until I was about 17 or 18. My paternal grandmother was a wonderful cook and she taught me how to crochet although I didn't continue with it as a square soon turned into a a cylindrical shape! I must have forgotten how to do corners properly. It wasn't until I was in my late 50's that I decided to try crocheting again as it seemed to grow more quickly than knitting and it was also easier to rectify mistakes. I bought a crochet magazine which had a photographed section of each stitch and I also had a lovely blogger friend who assisted me via email. Then I found Attic 24 and I never looked back. I did a couple of CALs while following Lucy's pictorial instructions which I printed up and I have a lot of Lucy's patterns with guiding photos that I refer to a lot. Thus the latest Sweet Pea CAL. I have just started the colour repeat.

When I was 16 years old my boyfriend's mother had some beautiful tapestries on her walls which she had done. That's when I first decided to use needle and thread. I bought my first tapestry which I think was The Pink Lady. Then I got a little more adventurous and did a Petite Pointe of an elegant lady reading a book. I still have it stashed away unframed. So when did I start doing patchwork and quilting? Hand sewing appealed to me but I had been traumatised by a sewing teacher in 5th form ( leaving certificate, equivalent to year 11 these days ). You see, I had one subject left to choose for that year and the teachers told me I should do sewing. The problem was that I had only done sewing in Form 1 ( year 7) and everyone else had been doing it all the way through. We had to make a dress with interfacing on a treddle machine. Well, I didn 't have a clue where to even begin once I had selected and bought a pattern. The teacher never instructed or assisted me despite knowing my situation, My girlfriend guided me step by step at home and I proudly presented my first ever major sewing project to the teacher. My pride soon turned to utter humility and embarrassment when the teacher held it up in front of the entire class and completely denegrated me saying how awfully it was made. Needless to say, my confidence with sewing was completely destroyed.I did make some overalls for my daughter when she was a toddler due to the help of another friend who showed me some practical shortcuts.

My maternal grandmother did a little EPP applique on cushions from fabric scraps but it never really  grabbed me.  Then, in my late 40's I read The Quilter's Apprentice  and was totally smitten with the descriptions of hand piecing a quilt while enjoying the company of others. After seeking out a local patchwork teacher I embarked on my first hand pieced quilt while all the other ladies worked on their sewing machines. Most of my quilts are handpieced and hand quilted but the larger ones have beem professionally quilted. Now I find myself whipping up table toppers and other small projects on the sewing machine. Hand piecing and hand quilting are still my preferred pass time.  

This is the latest table topper I am currently binding for my coffee table.

I like to make matching coasters with every table topper so I shall be hand stitching them soon.

I hope this post has not been too lengthy but it is the link up to Jenny's Tuesday book study.  See my side bar, top right.

Thankyou for visiting my blog.

Angel Blessings

THE GENTLE ART OF DOMESTICITY

I am joining in Jenny's weekly " The Gentle Art of Domesticity" linky  which is on my side bar, top right.  Unfortunately, the book that inspired this is very hard to find but I rather like the description and exerpts that Jenny has put on her blog. I have met so many beautiful people in blog land over the years, especially fellow crafters and I hope that I meet many more this year.

The word "Domesticity" often makes the modern woman cringe as they somehow link it with female submission and subservience. In my younger years as a mother with 2 children I was proud to be a stay at home mum and detested those words many women described themselves with....JUST a stay at home mum. I would tell them to get rid of that word " just" as it completely demeaned the wonderful work women, and some men by then,  did raising children and maintaining a comfortable home.

For decades I have described myself as being a domestic goddess but I have not by any means been a 50s style housewife cooking and cleaning all day. Now, as a grandmother, mother, wife and carer I look back at those early years with a smile. Despite a huge life change back in the 90s which saw me moving to a regional area on my own with 2 young daughters after a marriage breakdown, the last 29 years have been quite fulfilling.

I find a lot of pleasure from simple things, especially my array of potted colour on our back verandah which is our main entrance that everyone uses into our home. I have planted in this old bathtub for many years as it was my dad's.

This plant stand was my grandmothers's.

This plant hanger was green but we painted it white. Unfortunately, living by the beach means that salt air quickly errodes metal things and my plant stand and hanger both need revamps.

I also love putting hand picked flowers on my bathroom vanity. 

Well, that is my introduction to The Gentle Art of Domesticity. May your days be blooming beautiful.

LATE AFTERNOON SEWING

 Several months ago I had planned to add a bit of oomph to some hand towels for the bathroom. I had made a couple for myself and wanted to make one for my youngest daughter whose decor is rather unique and she loves bats. This afternoon I finally made it.

Having 2 more hand towels washed and ready I made 2 more for myself.  I had used the Parisian fabric on another hand towel and decided to use it again.  I found the other light grey one in my stash too. 

I have made some progress with the CAL.

Woohoo! I think I have succeeded in blogging from my tablet and the date is hopefully correct too. Many thanks to Sue and Michelle for assisting this ludite.

Angel Blessings.

AN ARRAY OF GREY AND SOME CROCHET

On New Year's Eve day I ventured out amongst the tourists and headed to Spotlight to buy some fabrics. My new coffee table is somewhat larger than my 25+ year old pine trunk I have been using and my table toppers are now too small. So, it looks like I have quite a bit of sewing to do on the machine but I do love hand stitching matching hexie coasters to go with my toppers. Greys, charcoals and creams or whites now suit my décor, so I came home with these... 

 

 

I still like a splash of colour here and there so I have joined Lucy's CAL on her blog Attic24 which started on the 4th January. It is never too late to join in as Lucy is leaving everything on her blog indefinitely so there is no pressure. I love her idea of winding sample pieces of yarn onto wooden pegs and labelling them with the appropriate colour names. Some yarn colours are very similar to each other so this prevents picking up the wrong ball. I had great fun preparing these on Friday.

 

 

 

 

There are instructions for many blanket sizes and 3 variations of colour orders. I have chosen to do a throw blanket to keep snug on the sofa during the winter. I am doing the sampler version which means the colour selection is repeated rather than randomly placed . There is also a colourwash version which I may be tempted to do another time. So, the journey begins.

 

 

 

Some of you may remember that I had started another more complicated crochet blanket a while ago. I have put it aside as things were going a bit awry with some of the blocks but I am hoping this CAL will give me the confidence  to pick it up again soon.

 

Many Angel Blessings

 

 

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS GIFTS

The big days are over with New Year on the horizon which means the next few weeks are going  to be filled with random fireworks going off  every night in the early hours , parking almost impossible to find and our roads and shops filled with holiday makers short tempered and in a hurry. It always fascinates me how those on holiday are so stressed and in such a hurry to go nowhere. Ah well, I am sure I shall find some lovely crafty things to do so I don't need to venture out very often. This year I received some lovely crafty gifts. A Quilter's Companion Diary ( which I received last year and requested this year), a cute little pin cushion, a little owl kit and a DIY candle making kit.

 

I also received the DVD of the huge WWE Super Showdown event I went to at the MCG  a few months ago. Yeah, I know, how on earth does someone like me like WWE!  That is the thing that amuses many people who know me. My response? Ying and yang. I also love the reusable produce bags I was given.

 

 

 

 

I decided to make the little owl today. So cute! Hmm, me thinketh I could make some more with my stash of wool felt.

 

 

 

 

I finished a smaller mandala a few days ago but I still haven't decided what to hang them with. .

 

 

 

 

Now that I have some new furniture in our lounge room I need to make a couple of new table runners for the coffee table so that will be on my stitching agenda for 2019 along with a few finishing goals. I would love to know if you have any stitching lists for 2019.

 

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and are looking forward to a glorious new year with an abundance of all good things.

 

Angel Blessings.