Ten Ten Ten

Today is the 10th of the 10th in the 10th year of 2000,and it is my birthday. It seems to have some significance as many people are choosing to get married but I was born on this day more years now than I care to remember. One of the presents I have received is this amazing book that my Brother and Sister in Law organised for me. It is a record of my blog.

All of the headings of each blog post

each post along with the photos is captured

as are all the comments. It is so wonderful to have a hard copy and look back over each post, something for the coffee table.

Thanks G and V it is such a fab idea and I am thrilled with it.

Well what have I been up to, it has been such a long time since I posted. I know I have had many emails enquiring as to my well being, thank you.

There has been so much going on , not too much on the stitching front unfortunately.

As I have previously mentioned, I love to start new things and I haven't let myself down , I decided whilst I am finishing off my Clamshell quilt, I should begin my version of the wonderful basket quilt that Corliss from Threadbare has made into a pattern.







My version is going to be a 2010 style using much brighter and clearer colours, mixing reproduction fabric with some shabby chic, 30's and retro.

Making the stars and hexagons is great for dragging out some fav fabrics from the stash

some quirky combinations are very necessary

mixing old and new

I just cut shapes from my favourite pieces and when I get an abundance I lay them out on the table and have a play at combinations.
.

Its such fun to pull out and combine fabrics that you wouldn't normally think would go together.

just like hexagons these stars also become obsessive.

There are no set rules at combinations, you can have 3 and 3 or in this case I had such a small piece left of this linen and I want it to feature in this quilt I decided to use every last drop and share it over two stars.

mixing old and new, there are no rules.

Can't wait to make a start on the baskets.

Its great to be back , hopefully it won't be so long till next time.

Happy Stitching

j

Chair Rescue

We needed a chair for our holiday shack. It didn't need to be large or imposing, just comfortable.

I had just the corner for it and it would complete the conversation square.
I mentioned this to Mr L & R and suggested he should perhaps keep his eye out during council clean up.
I put my order in for what it should look like.
I got a phone call from Mr L & R saying he had seen something that resembled my order along the street on his way to work.
It had been raining so I could only imagine that it probably wouldn't be worth rescuing, however we decided to give it a go and if it was no good we could then dump it.
Home it came and after it had time to dry out we sat on it , it was really comfortable so off to the Humpy it went to see if it belonged in the afore mentioned corner. Just perfect, so off to find some upholstery weight fabric.
First stop Material Obsession and the first bolt we picked we loved or should I say I loved, Mr L & R was a little dubious about the cabbages. He however took some photos of different fabrics on his beloved i phone , over the next week or so he was flicking back across some photos and he said that this particular fabric was really growing on him, whoo hoo the cabbage fabric it was going to be.
That purchased next it was off to the upholsterer Jan. Jan is on the Central Coast just north of Sydney and does the most amazing job. We have had her make slip covers, curtains ,chairs etc. so if you are in this area and need a good upholsterer this is the lady . (just click on the link) so this is the rescued chair, what do you think ?
I think I might claim this seat in the house as it is a perfect spot for sewing, beside a window with wonderful light.

you'll notice the detail of the piping around the seat cushion , so I think a small cushion in the same fabric with finish off the look perfectly.

Until next time

Happy chair hunting

j

Figs, Fabric and Fun

Yesterday I got to play at the gorgeous Broderie's place.
It was a day filled with lots of laughter and fun . As usual on these days there is loads of chatter, sew and tell , sharing and eating. Really what more could a girl want. you'll notice that everything that was consumed had a taste of fabric included.

even desert was accompanied with fabric.

We played masterchef judges on Liz's invention test. The decision was unanimous , Liz and her Salmon and Crab Quiche was the outright winner.

The ambiance of Liz's home is utter gorgeousness. Full of inspiration.

Those of you that read Liz's blog will have followed the journey on her HST. It looks really lovely in real life. There are still a few more rounds to be added but when you get to play with all your favourite bits of fabric who cares how long the journey takes.

The crowns are now together , just waiting to be hand quilted.

catching up with past acquaintances

and meeting new ones. Each with lovely stories.

Yesterday morning I had a quick walk to find an ATM. I came across this amazing queue outside the ANZ bank. It was Saturday, banks are not open on Saturday, I could only imagine they must have been giving money away, why else would you join a queue this long on a Saturday morning. I needed to get to Liz's I didn't have time for that queue.

This is just a snap shot of winter in Melbourne.

I so love Melbourne at any time of the year.

I thought you might be interested in a new blog I have listed on my sidebar. Osh Kosh Potatoes.

My brother and his mate are off to Osh Kosh in the US this week and have decided to log their journey.

He is my younger brother so I loads of memories of his younger days and that being as long as I can remember he wanted to fly planes.

Not only has he achieved that but he also built this amazing plane, a Falco , which took him on a ten year journey to completion. (never complain about how long it takes to complete a quilt lol)

I know he has wanted to take this trip to Osh Kosh for many years so this is the year. I am sure their record of this trip will have some amusing content, so pop by and say gidday and tell him I sent you.

I still have loads more but I will save that for next time.

Happy times

j

Sometimes Travel for Work

has its advantages.
This week has found me in Melbourne on a work assignment. Imagine my delight when I discovered the Quilt fair was on and only a 5 min walk from my office.
I planned my workshops to have a longer than usual break around lunchtime on Friday. I was scheming a quick whip around of the show.
I scanned the site map and discovered Threadbare had a stand as did Theodore Cleave.

I was standing at the threadbare stand when I heard a voice say Jean. Very quickly in my head I thought who would know me here, but looked around to hear a voice saying "Sue-Anne and this is Jan who works at Patchwork on Stonleigh"
I think we all had a little squeal and giggle, this was amazing , Jan had recognised me, well you can imagine ,chatter was going ninety to the dozen trying to get a zillion things said , however when things calmed down I did manage to get my camera out a catch a snap.
Wow, I think I am still pinching myself to be at the same stand at the same time, I can only say that it was meant to be.
I have long admired Sue-Anne's work and we have very similar tastes and ideas. Many an email has passed between us.
It was really lovely to meet Jan as well, Jan does not have a blog , maybe we might be able to convince her though.
Jan works at Patchwork on Stonleigh , a shop that I have long been a member of their fabric club and a shop that is on my radar to visit in the not to distant future. It is lovely to be able to put a face to the voice at the other end of the phone.
Sue-Anne, moi and Jan

I have to say this was the purpose for my visit to Threadbare, Corliss has began her version of this wonderful quilt that has been doing the rounds of the net in the past few months. Corliss's quilt still has to have the outer borders added, but what I have seen so far is truly wonderful.

I also had the pleasure of re igniting a past friendship, Barb Smith , Barb is the very talented designer behind Theodora Cleave. I knew Barb many years ago from Canberra before she moved interstate. Marg Low from Marg Low designs was helping out on Barb's stand ,it was lovely to meet Marg also, you may remember I made many coat hangers from one of her patterns as gifts last Christmas.Marg is also a very talented designer and does the most beautiful work.

As I have been travelling so much recently my sewing has had to take a back seat, I find it is much easier to pack a little cross stitch, hence I have dragged out this Beatrix Potter Sampler from sometime back.

Today I am off to have a days play at the lovely Liz's home. It is sewing day with the girls and I am getting to join in woho. See travel can have its advantages.

I fly home tonight at 8.30 pm into Newcastle and get to have a day or so at the 'Humpy'

I have loads to catch up on so maybe another post tomorrow.

Until then

Happy times

j

Introducing

I said I would let you know as soon as Brigitte had her website up and running.
Today she has launched http://www.brigittegiblin.com.au/ . I don't think that will be her permanent address , this is a start and I am sure Brigitte will put a redirection on as soon as it is available.
I have had a look at her website and the pattern for this purse is available to purchase and download for a very reasonable price.
Please drop by and say hello, tell her where you found out about her new website, she has an email link on her site.

Happy hexagon making
j

All the Fun of the Fair

This past week has seen the return of the annual Sydney Quilt show.
This year there were fewer quilts on display than previous years, however there were still some lovely quilts to see.
This quilt was made by my friend Paddy during some classes we took together.

it was hand pieced and machine quilted.

this quilt was based on a English medallion style, the centre being a favourite piece of fabric Paddy picked up on her travels.

Cathy from Material Obsession had a stall there, here she is sporting her beautiful scarf from Francis Ergen Designs

as usual her stand was a feast for the eyes

loads of inspiration

and supplies for the stash a plenty

another stand that was a must stop by

Here's the very talented Anni Downs owner and designer of Hatched and Patched. This wonderful pincushion was a pattern in a recent edition of Homespun in collaboration with Sue Spargo. It really was quite lovely in real life.

I have always been a fan on needle cases and pincushions so a little kit was a must purchase

Anni has also released a new book on making bags, along with a few other little notebook covers, phone cases key covers.

of course the mandatory stash builders

It was lovely to meet up with again with Janet and
Robyn for the first time.

and Christine and her friend.

I hope you enjoy this little snippet of the fair.

See you soon

Happy sewing

j