Tidying up the scraps - and a poor magpie

After finishing my quilt yesterday it was time to do a bit of tidying up in my sewing area. I had these little triangles left over from a previous quilt that have been sitting beside the sewing machine waiting to be turned into half square triangles.

Once sewn together they had to be trimmed to a uniform size - 1.5"  While I was doing this there was a huge hullabaloo outside. Some bird was making an incessant call that I took to be a young bird trying to get attention.  That last part was quite true but to my horror, upon investigation, I saw 4 magpies beating up on 1 young magpie. I do understand that magpies have a very strict order to their lives, and young ones must always be obedient to the parent, even in adulthood (why doesn't that work for humans??), but these birds were trying to kill the poor thing and no matter how hard he called, his mother nearby could do nothing but coo out to him. Even when he tried to fly away they chased him. They ended up in the backyard 2 doors away, and his screeching became muffled as they sat on his throat. My daughter went and split them up and eventually he found his way to a tree in our back yard where he licked his wounds - and he was quite beaten up. But he could fly.

After ensuring the young magpie was okay (for now at least) I returned to my half square triangles. There were 44 in total, now added to my stash of little squares to turn into an art quilt one day.

Laura Ashley windmill side 2

Hot off the sewing machine. This is the windmill side of my Laura Ashley quilt, completed a few minutes ago. Not all my windmills travel the same way - have you noticed? I like to put the unexpected into my quilts. Unfortunately I'll have to wait for my machine quilter to return from holiday and then fit my Laura Ashley quilt into her schedule, which means I won't have it truly completed for a while yet. But I'll show you when I do :)

The Dreaded 'Unsewing'

The plan was to show you the completed second side of my Laura Ashley quilt. Unfortunately the best made plans do go awry, as you can see. I ended up displeased with my work and felt compelled to do some 'unsewing' to fix it. Hopefully tomorrow you will see the finished work. But now I have to go to my 'paid' job.

More of Bendigo

I forgot to post yesterday because my daughter was ill. She's not well today either but hopefully on the mend. Meanwhile, enjoy this photo of Sacred Heart Cathedral juxtaposed behind the old post box. I love the contrast. Interestingly, the post box may very well be older than the cathedral, which was not completed until the 1970s.
I'll post something crafty later today.

Church Architecture

St Johns Presbyterian Church, Bendigo

My husband and I love church architecture. It is so interesting. Steeples point to heaven and I find they are a clever design element in church architecture as they never fail to make me lift my chin to the sky and admire their loftiness.

Beautiful Bendigo

This weekend past we went to Bendigo specifically to see the White Wedding Dress exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery. The exhibition covers the past 200 years of white wedding gowns from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. If you get the chance to see this before it finishes on 6 November then DO. It is remarkable how well all the textiles have survived, some for nearly 2 centuries. The workmanship, by hand on most, is inspiring.
While walking about town I wanted to begin my newest hobby - photography. All I had with me was a little Kodak 'aim and shoot' digital. Nothing fancy about that. So I aimed well, and accepted what I shot. I was very pleased with all my photos, and will share more over the coming days. This photo above was taken outside what was the General Post Office but is now the Information Centre. These half horse half dragon bases to the lamps were fascinating and whilst it wasn't my intention to take a silhouette, I'm very glad it turned out that way. I love it.
I need to P.S. my post on the 4 bags I made recently. I should have mentioned another blogger who has posted the instructions for these, making them accessible for everyone. See www.quiltsalott.blogspot.com and look for the origami pouch in her tutorials. I also guarantee that you will be hooked by her blog - what a quilter!!

Laura Ashley side one

What a difference 2 days makes. Whilst I probably should be attending to my writing, I chose to spend my time with this Laura Ashley quilt. From earlier posts you may recall that a friend gave me a double stack of genuine 1970s Laura Ashley charm squares. I decided, after a couple of false starts, that I would make a double sided quilt. This is the square in a square side now completed. I am very happy with the floating effect.

Sashing for my Laura Ashey quilt

I managed to grab an hour this afternoon to cut some sashing for my Laura Ashley quilt and sew on the cornerstones. The rest of the day was spent phoning all the patchwork shops in Adelaide to chat with them about my impending visit to that City of Churches. Everyone was so nice. I am really looking forward to my break. Seeing Adelaide will be one of my goals marked off my bucket list.

Christmas Presents made

Four little bags were finished by the end of the weekend in readiness for Christmas. I had so much fun going through my stash looking for fabrics that were appropriate for each of the intended recipients and extra fun going through all my button jars searching for the perfect finishing touch. I have my own button jars, Mum's buttons and my Nanna's buttons in the original jar and tin. They are so much fun. Unfortunately my daughter was horrified at the thought of inheriting them all. Hopefully she'll change her mind one day.

 This was the first bag. The tiny spots of yellow in the fabric led to the addition of the yellow teapot. A yellow heart adorns the other side.

 This was the last one I made and I chose touchy-feely black velvet buttons that add a nice element of texture.

 The paisley actually has metallic gold in it which has not shown up in the photo. The buttons were wooden ones, in the raw!

I wasn't sure how this one would turn out because the pattern repeats on the fabric were a large distance apart but the result was very pleasing with most of the pattern on this side and all blue background on the other, giving the bag a front and a back.

Keeping the Hands Busy

I haven't been an angel when it comes to keeping my resolution to stay away from computer games, but I have been trying to change my habits. Having a bit of crochet on hand has made it easy to pick up and occupy my hands when I might otherwise resort to playing a game. I have been working on quite a few things lately. Pics of finished items coming soon.
P.S. Sulking over - will probably self publish my children's novel within a year. Am tired of playing the mainstream game.

Manuscript rejection

Harper Collins just rejected my manuscript -
Prattle House 1415. 

I always feel a little bit beaten up when I get a rejection.
Will sulk overnight only.

Confession and Resolution

I need to confess that I am addicted to computer games. Last night I did a bit of a tally on how much time I spend playing computer games and I was horrified, then I was angry with myself. I won't share the figure, but I have to admit that I could achieve so much more with my life if I wasn't wasting a good chunk of it. Perhaps the reason for my addiction is fear - fear of success. It's a big hurdle because it means stepping out of my comfort zone. I feel sure there are many readers who will associate with this.
Now I will make a resolution (and how many resolutions do we all make and break, but I'll make it anyway) - to value my time and to use it well.
After all - life is way too short, isn't it?

Lemons into Lemonade - Coathangers

Recently I made an error in judgement when I bought a particular wool because I loved how soft it was. It was not suitable for the intended projects so I needed to think of something useful to do with it. Eventually I struck on the idea of covering the new coathangers we had bought at the supermarket which were covered in a slippery satin-like fabric. All the clothes were slipping off them. Now they are all covered in this beautiful soft wool. I have covered about two dozen in the last couple of weeks. And I have had fun rummaging through my ribbon tin looking for suitable pieces of leftover ribbon to add that finishing touch. It has been a nice little distraction from working on big quilt projects.

Laura Ashley charm squares

One of my patchwork friends had a number of stacks of Laura Ashley charm squares which she gave to each of us in our group. We received a stack about 6" high with 2 sets of charm squares containing 4 pieces of each print. These fabrics are genuine 1970s Laura Ashley. What a gift, considering today's retro craze.
Initially I wanted to make mock cathedral window blocks using black, thinking that would pop the bright colours out, but after making a couple I was not happy with my work or the effect and gave up on that idea. One of my friends was making hers a two sided quilt using the square in a square block and it turned out so well I copied her. Half way through I decided I wanted to do something different with the second set of charm squares after seeing the windmill block in a magazine. I have now decided that one side will be square in a square and the other side will be windmills and both will have white sashing. Now I need to get white fabric to go with the old Laura Ashley. Stay tuned.

Black Dahlia quilt

I have been withdrawn and self absorbed for many months and am not sure I'm ready to plunge back into the public eye but here goes. Recently I promised someone I would put up a photo of my Black Dahlia quilt (pattern by Michelle Yeo, see http://www.michelleyeoquiltdesigns.com/html/s01_home/home.asp) and somehow it is always easier to do something for someone else than it is to do it for yourself (does that sound familiar to you?). I hope you enjoy the quilt. I've made a blue one and a black one, and I have material for a red one, which is on this year's bucket list. Running out of time ...

Bucket List

I am really behind with my 52 week bucket list. I put up the list last October and there are only 21 weeks left in my 'year', but I still have 38 things left on my list. It has been interesting to note the types of things I have 'avoided' doing. The list of Experience Goals has been basically untouched but the household chores are being done (several of them are nearly finished - but just not quite sufficiently for me to mark them off as done). Why is it that I am prepared to do housework without rewarding myself with some fun, personal experiences? Is it that 'female' thing of putting others first and being the responsible one in the family. Nobody else notices if there is dirt in the bottom of the wardrobe. Why does that matter so much? Interesting.

Laurel Burch Christmas Cats quilt

Here is my completed Laurel Burch Christmas Cats quilt. It did not take long to put together, and because the fabrics made me happy, it was a lot of fun to make. I don't know when I will have it quilted, as there are a few other quilt tops still to catch up with.

New quilt started

I've been a naughty girl and started another quilt. I saw the pattern in a couple of magazines and knew it was perfect for the Laurel Burch fabrics I bought about 7 years ago. I was able to cut my 21" x 10" pieces without wasting anything at all and the pattern allows the fabric to do all the work. My red design wall (flannelette sheet) doesn't help much but at least I have a design wall. Now all I need is the time to put in the sashing. Maybe Thursday.

Marmalade Quilt

It was a dull day for taking photos but here it is nonetheless - my Marmalade Quilt that I finished binding a couple of nights ago. I love binding. It means the project is nearly complete. I still have to put a label on it, but am busy binding another quilt today in order to finish it and take it to Geelong to show my Mum tomorrow. She loves seeing my quilts finished and I have two for her to enjoy.
Bliss is the name of the fabric range by Moda, and I love it. It makes me feel very happy.

Guest Speaker at Latrobe Valley Quilters

On Saturday my family and I drove to Morwell where I was a guest speaker for Latrobe Valley Quilters. In appreciation they gave me these beautiful flowers. Everyone was very warm and welcoming and made me feel at ease. It was nice to share my story with them.
It  also made me happy to be with my family in the car for a few hours, where we could talk and catch up with each other. I was grateful for their company on the journey.