Creative Dabbling

My quilt at Houston

2012-02-01T19:36:00.002+11:00

Remember I had a quilt in the Textured Treasures exhibition at Houston last year? Here's Bonnie McCaffery with her video interview of Lisa Walton, who curated the exhibition. Don't blink, or you might miss my quilt! (Do enjoy seeing all the quilts and have a bonus beading lesson!)

Across and down

2012-01-29T11:28:00.001+11:00

Exciting! The instructions for my Across and Down quilt are published in the current issue (151) of Down Under Quilts magazine.

I like working with simple blocks that, when stitched together, make secondary patterns. In this quilt, I combined a variety of black-and-white printed fabrics with solids to create a pattern reminiscent of the squares in crossword puzzles. I hope you enjoy making your version of Across and Down.

On Australia Day

2012-01-26T08:34:00.000+11:00

My sense of country is embedded in me. I feel it deeply, this love of my place. Quietly, intensely - it is an intrinsic part of who I am and how I live.

So, on Australia Day 2012, let's celebrate what's good and strong about our country. I am grateful for every day I live in this place. I am Australian.

Add paint

2012-01-25T10:53:00.000+11:00

Remember I printed these a couple of days ago? This morning I tinted them with Setacolor transparent fabric paints.

The black printing is weak in some parts of the prints - that's an operator problem! - but it won't matter because I plan to cut these up and can easily work around those sections. I'm happy with the added dimension the colour provides.

Goccoing along

2012-01-23T17:07:00.000+11:00

I created five Gocco screens today and played around with some prints from them.

The circles are from my drawing,

as are the lozenges.

The three plant images are from a copyright-free collection of medieval plant drawings. These will probably be cut and added to my current project.

All printed on my hand-dyed fabric with black Derivan screen ink.

I can't begin to describe how much fun this was!

Start with stitch

2012-01-22T15:39:00.000+11:00

and we'll see where it takes me.

My hand-dyed cotton scrim, layered with hand-dyed flannel and backed with hand-dyed cotton fabric. Layers of softness and colour.

Aquilegia play

2012-01-21T11:28:00.000+11:00

I adore aquilegias. Their delicate shapes and curly petals fascinate me. These ones are from my garden.

I've been wondering how to use the shapes in my designs, so I've played with the photo to produce this image.

Perhaps, if I simplify the lines, a useable pattern for a screen print may evolve. Or maybe a monoprint. Hmm...

Second Skin

2012-01-16T15:10:00.000+11:00

I have waited for months to get my hands on a copy of this book, Second skin: choosing and caring for textiles and clothing by India Flint. It is such a substantial publication; hefty in size and weight but also in content.

I haven't made my own clothes for years. Instead, I have succumbed to the ease of buying new pieces off the rack and I have many perfectly good clothes that I rarely wear. I suspect I am not alone in this.

From the frontispiece of Second Skin:

"Almost from the moment of our birth, clothing acts as our second skin - yet we rarely consider where our clothes have come from and the effects they might have on the environment and ourselves. This heartfelt, practical and topical book is about easily achievable ways in which we can care for our planet by living simpler lives and using fewer of the Earth's non-renewable resources, specifically those to do with cloth and clothing."

As well as having fascinating and important content, the book is gorgeous. India's cloth is stunning and the photography and design of the book create the perfect complement to the text. I found it thoughtful and thought-provoking. One to treasure.

Bedford Mystery Quilt 2012

2012-01-11T10:25:00.000+11:00

The mystery is back! In 2010, I purchased a Bedford Mystery Quilt Challenge kit to help raise funds for people with disability or disadvantage across South Australia (as well as having a bit of mystery sewing fun along the way!). I've just been advised that the 2012 kits will be available late February, so you may like to get involved.

What is the mystery quilt challenge?
In 2008, two quilters, Lessa Siegele and Faye Packham, decided to make a difference to the lives of people with disability or disadvantage. The inaugural Mystery Quilt Challenge saw over 300 people from all over Australia attend workshops or buy DIY kits where they followed instructions to produce a beautiful quilt with no idea what it would look like until the last stitch was sewn.

The event was a huge success raising over $16,000 and was held again in 2010 with numbers doubling to over 600 people participating in the challenge. To date, over $56,000 has been raised to change the lives of people with disability or disadvantage.

If you'd like to order a kit, the order form is here. Kits will be posted out by the organisers (who also have a blog) late February. I wonder what the quilt design will be this time?

National year of reading

2012-01-08T12:54:00.000+11:00

Reading is like breathing to me. I can't live without it. This is why I'd like to invite you to celebrate 2012 as the National Year of Reading. There are fabulous resources here to help you spread the word.

Of course, there wouldn't be any readers in the world if there weren't any writers. Ryde Library has launched an ambitious project - the 366 day short story challenge - to encourage the love of reading and writing.

You can submit a short story and see it published on the challenge's blog and, while you are there, read the stories by other writers. I even have a story there!

So, read to yourself, read to a child, read out loud - just read in 2012!

Subtlety

2012-01-04T08:36:00.000+11:00

The joy of creating colour. Six skeins of perle thread,

hand-dyed to create unique combinations of subtlety.

Grids

2012-01-03T09:58:00.000+11:00

When I dyed several metres of fabric a few days ago, I suddenly realised that I have been exploring grids in my work. It started with this and moved on to this. The base fabric for my (as yet, unstarted) current project has a grid. Even all the work I have done with fabric weaving is based on a grid.

So here are two of this week's pieces that I like best. I am sure that whatever I make with them, it will involve hand stitching.

Happy new year

2012-01-01T08:03:00.000+11:00

Welcome to a sparkly new year. If you weren't in Sydney last night, this is what you missed. (Stay right to the end!)

Onwards!

2011-12-30T17:32:00.000+11:00

You won't get one of those blog posts about what I've achieved (or not achieved) in 2011 from me. I prefer to look forward rather than back and listing what happened in the past year is of no use to my way of living.

Instead, I'd rather continue to enjoy life and savour the simple things. I'm easily pleased - by friends and family, by cheerful things (such as this shiny new set of drawers for my sewing room), by stories that take me into other people's lives, by pottering in my garden, by sewing by hand and by going to see the Swans.

If there's one thing that I'm trying to apply more, it's to be gentle on myself. (For someone who likes to control events as much as I do, that's a challenge!) At least I can try. Onwards!

Big spender

2011-12-28T12:21:00.000+11:00

While I don't get excited about the post-Christmas sales that all the shops around here seem to have, I do love a good bargain. This morning's purchase is this cute box, perfect for transporting my current hand sewing project.

The cost? $2 - bargain!

Playing with stencils

2011-12-20T15:36:00.000+11:00

I don't want you to think I'm just lounging around, not doing anything - although if you look to this blog regularly you may think that very thing! I find that I hang out more frequently on Facebook now and I'd love it if you would join me over there as well. Just click on the Facebook link on the left of this page and you'll be spirited over there.

In the meantime, click here to see what Lisa and I got up to yesterday. Such fun trying out new stencils!

Reflections on: technology

2011-12-10T10:44:00.000+11:00

You may consider that volcanoes and communications technology have nothing in common, but events last year made me think otherwise. The control we have over our world is so tenuous and so fragile that it is only hanging on by a thread.

When the volcano in Iceland spewed out lava and ash last year, it was initially regarded as a wonder of nature. Vulcanologists and tourists were enthralled to see the power that forced so much molten matter from the centre of the earth to the surface. The results were admired and examined and many heads were shaken in amazement at the natural forces that we rarely see.

Soon, with the help of another natural occurrence - the wind - huge plumes of ash began to drift across Europe. Plane flights were cancelled for days and thousands of people were inconvenienced and disappointed. After a few days of this, people started to get frustrated and even angry that nature had interfered with the way they planned to live their lives.

Infrastructure that we take for granted is so fragile. My experience of this occurred when I upgraded my home internet access plan. As soon as the changeover happened, my internet connection no longer worked. After four phone calls and one visit from a technician, it was restored four days later. The problem? One tiny frayed wire at the telephone exchange.

During those four days without cyberspace communication, I felt as if my connection to the outside world had been lost. I craved my internet links and drove to libraries just to get my fix by using their free wifi. It was quite a ridiculous reaction, really, but was a classic withdrawal symptom from an addict.

After the third day, what I noticed most was that I had so much extra time to do the things I over which I did have power. Without so much trivia from blogs and mailing lists cluttering up my mind, I had time to think. I thought about future projects and jotted down some ideas. I sewed madly for long hours, loving the fact that I had total control over the stitches I made. This was the thread that kept me in touch with the real world – my stitch making.

We all share the illusion that the world’s perfectly assembled infrastructure is solid and reliable. It’s not. If a frayed wire can dislocate the rhythm of my life and a natural event like a volcano can disrupt so many other people, what other vulnerabilities are there? I’ve realised that the thread that holds my life together is my stitching. Even if I could never buy another piece of fabric, I would still sew and create. Somehow, that’s extremely reassuring to me in this uncertain world.

Saturday sewing at the pub

2011-12-04T12:25:00.000+11:00

Simple pleasures: friends, food and silly antics. Check out what we got up to at our Scquilters day at the pub yesterday.Thanks for maintaining our blog, Pennie!

Starting at the beginning

2011-11-27T16:58:00.000+11:00

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my summer project. Today I dyed fabric for the base layers of my Travellers' Blanket.

I will be working through some ideas about growth and, in particular, growth in my garden. I wanted my middle layer - the flannelette layer that acts as a soft, drapey batting - to be a yellow-green shade to represent the colour of leaves. This is it, straight from drying and not yet ironed. It took the dye beautifully.

For my top layer, I chose cotton scrim because I wanted the green to show through. I dyed the top layer of scrim and the cotton backing turquoise, to represent the blue of the sky. This is the top (also not yet ironed), overlaying the middle layer.

In each of the squarish shapes I'll applique, stitch and embellish. It will take a summer full of stitches, or perhaps even a few seasons to grow.

Luckily...

2011-11-23T10:46:00.000+11:00

I took this photo in my garden a couple of days ago, because it has been raining solidly for the past 24 hours. This plant doesn't bloom very often but it's worth the wait!

Worth the wait

2011-11-21T19:26:00.000+11:00

Quiet contemplation of this glorious book by my quilting idol is in progress here. My copy was handed to me today and I was immediately excited. Opened the cover and discovered it is signed by the author. Oh my.

Summer

2011-11-13T17:02:00.001+11:00

For me, it will be a summer of staying cool indoors and hand stitching. I've enrolled in this fantastic online course - Travellers' Blanket with Dijanne Cevaal. It will a slow journey, using soft fabrics in glorious colours, all joined and embellished with hand stitching. Can't think of a better way to create a meaningful piece of textile art.

It starts next week (19 November) if you want to play, too.

It's all about the garden

2011-11-11T12:50:00.000+11:00

Lately, it's all been about gardening for me. It's spring and that means it's a pleasant time to be outside and all my plants are sending out new growth. Soon it will be too hot (we've already had two 35 degree plus days in the past week) and high temperatures take a toll, not only on the plants but on the gardener as well!

There are also fabulous new books being published at this time of year. Indira Naidoo's is my current favourite.

I'm lucky to have my own little patch of earth, but Indira lives in a Sydney apartment that is 13 stories up. Yet, she still has a productive balcony garden! I enjoyed her stories about getting the garden established and how she overcame problems along the way. There are yummy recipes, too.

These small peat pots were on my laundry window sill recently, as I sprouted cucumber and basil seeds in them. My own little nursery! I've since planted out a couple, only to find that snails devoured my babies overnight. They had a brief life, but they were well loved. I was shattered (as are the snails, I must say. Squashed by me.) Oh well, I'll just have to sprout some more seeds and start the miracle of life again.

Spring quilt

2011-11-06T10:19:00.000+11:00

See the pretty quilt that's on the cover of the current issue of Down Under Quilts? It is the perfect spring project to start now.

No, it's not my quilt, but it was made by my friend Deborah. I've watched her assemble it by hand piecing over the past few years (she machine pieced the Nine Patch blocks). It's been a slow and rewarding process!

As I look closely at the photographs, I can spot various pieces of purple fabric I contributed from my stash. I love making scrap quilts and it was great to liberate some fabrics from my collection of purple prints. I love to think that they have a place in a friend's quilt.

I think this may be another design I want to make. I'll add it to my very long list! If you want to make it, too, the pattern is in issue 150. The layout of the magazine has been changed to celebrate the 150th issue - what a great milestone for our first Australian patchwork and quilting magazine!

Fiddlesticks

2011-11-03T09:22:00.000+11:00

This glorious sculpture by Col Henry is called Fiddlesticks, and is installed at Eden Gardens, North Ryde. I love the way the coloured stems reach out to the sky, as if they are growing towards the sun. They look so cheerful and energetic.

From a different angle, though, they appear menacing - a little triffid-like - as if they are reaching to take over the world.

Critters

2011-11-01T12:06:00.000+11:00

After lunch with friends at Eden Gardens yesterday, we encountered these friendly animals hiding amongst the plants. They are made from recycled pieces of metal (including bottle tops). A few would be welcome in my garden, but they were way too expensive for my budget!

They make me smile every time I see their funny faces.

Apple Core dilemma

2011-10-31T10:15:00.000+11:00

There are many different types of quilt on my to-do list, and Apple Core is one of them. I love to use perspex templates for cutting fabric, but my dilemma has always been: what size block to make? Problem solved. I now have this set of templates, so I can make four different sizes!

More colour palettes from the garden

2011-10-29T12:59:00.000+11:00

I took these photos in my garden this morning and I've been having more fun generating colour palettes from their colours. It's really interesting to see the shades that are selected from my photos.

Blueberry flowers

Epiphyllum

Duranta and star jasmine

To make these palettes, I've been using Color Palette FX. Very addictive. Have you tried it? I'd love to see your colour palettes!

Well, that was fun

2011-10-22T17:01:00.000+11:00

It was the first meeting of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild today, held at the pub where one of my other quilt groups meet. This was great for me because I was familiar with the space and only had to worry about talking to strangers. (I'm not good with that - shyness overcomes me!)

So it was lucky that I went along with a friend and we were greeted by a friendly face - Claire, who cheerfully organised all of us for the next few hours. It was lovely to meet new people - after the initial awkwardness, we had a chatfest.

Show and tell was fun and many photos were taken. I'm guessing they may appear on the blog at some stage. I took my sewing along, but not a stitch was taken! Ah well.

I love it when

2011-10-19T10:10:00.000+11:00

the postie delivers a new book. Speedy delivery from The Book Depository, as usual!

It may be some time until I can read this properly (too much work to do!) but, after a quick flick through, I can say I'm eager to dive in.

Today in the garden

2011-10-18T15:08:00.002+11:00

It's lovely here in Sydney today - sunny, spring weather. So, of course, the garden called to me! I planted three tomato plants, two capsicums, one chili and scattered many, many seeds.

I also took some time to photograph two plants that are in glorious flower. Once I saw the colours through the eye of my camera, I wanted colour palettes straight away. Imagine quilts in these two colour combinations!

I love blue, so this is my favourite combination.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow (Brunfelsia)

Or perhaps you prefer pink?

Spring cactus (Rhipsalidopsis)

Which is your favourite?

What do you do

2011-10-17T15:30:00.000+11:00

when you already have four projects waiting to be finished? Make Log Cabin blocks for a new quilt, of course!

It's good to be busy

2011-10-10T16:28:00.000+11:00

but I know that some of my friends get concerned if posts don't appear here fairly often. I'm pleased about that because it means they check I haven't dropped off this earth. We all need someone to ask us if we are ok.

So a week or so has passed since I last posted and that's because my days are filled with working, gardening, sewing, working, looking after three blogs and two facebook pages, reading, talking, working and sleeping! (Notice there's nothing in there about housework. Hmm, better do something about that soon.)

It's no wonder, then, that the days have flown past. As your reward for reading this post (about nothing, really), I have a photo of one of my salvia plants to show. These plants have formed a large clump in my garden and the flowers have started to open. Gorgeous.

On my fantasy itinerary

2011-09-30T21:45:00.000+10:00

I've been fascinated by Welsh quilts for many years, but have just discovered the website for the Jen Jones Welsh Quilt Centre in Lampeter, Wales. This is definitely on my fantasy itinerary (a list of places in Britain that I long to visit). I love the intricate quilting patterns on Welsh quilts and the striking use of colour and design.

I'm also a keen follower of Mary Jenkins' blog, Little Welsh Quilts and Other Traditions. Mary has written several books on Welsh quilts and if you look at the first photo on her blog, you will see what inspires me. Gorgeous.

Perhaps you will want to join me on my imaginary travels?

Oh, the inspiration!

2011-09-29T08:19:00.000+10:00

During the past couple of weeks, I have been gorging myself with Design Matters TV, the online videos by Linda and Laura Kemshall. If you don't know about these, do yourself a favour and go here. There are some tasters that you can view for free and they are sure to seduce you, as they did me!

Sewing, sewing

2011-09-22T08:41:00.000+10:00

Cutting and sewing with very special fabric. Fun!

Exciting news

2011-09-20T08:38:00.000+10:00

I'm going to be busier than usual as I have taken on a new role as Editor of Down Under Textiles magazine (DUT). Very exciting!

Do you know this magazine? It's an Australian publication that is published by the same company as Down Under Quilts, where I was previously Editor for four years. DUT was started by my friend Deborah Segaert a couple of years ago. The cover shown here is issue 5, which is currently on sale (you can buy it here).

I have started a facebook page for Down Under Textiles and I'd love if you could join us there. Oh, we are going to have fun!

Five...

2011-09-19T14:59:00.001+10:00

My friend Janine is one of the artists displaying her work at this exhibition. It should include an intriguing variety of works.

Making colour

2011-09-13T12:49:00.000+10:00

Last Saturday, Sarah and I joined three other students at the home of our friend, Lisa Walton to hand-dye sewing threads. It turned out that we had a metre of beautiful cotton sateen each as well. Bonus fun! From the threads Lisa provided, I chose cotton perle thread, 40 weight cotton thread, sashiko thread and an interesting rayon thread (the shiny one). As you can see, some were white, while the others were an unbleached colour.

We tore our fabric into fat quarters and scrunched them into containers, divided the threads and added soda ash solution.

Then the fun began - squirting lucsious colours!

My four containers looked very appealing.

Here are the results - how gorgeous are they?

The next time Lisa will be teaching this class is at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, USA, so here's your chance. Class information and enrolment details are here. You could have as much fun as we did!

You know it's spring when

2011-09-12T13:48:00.000+10:00

the azalea is in full bloom....

the dendrobium shows its delicate flowers...

the crop of snow peas multiplies overnight...

and the flowering nasturtiums and thyme intermingle happily.

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild - update

2011-09-11T19:18:00.000+10:00

Remember that I posted about the formation of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild? Well, now Suzanne and Claire have set up a survey to gauge interest for the first face-to-face meeting of the guild.

Here's some more information from an email I received this week:

"We just wanted to send out a quick email to you all to let you know what a great response we’ve had so far: 45 people have filled out our call for interest form which is fantastic! Suzanne and I had talked about what we would think a “successful” call for interest would be, and I think we concluded that if 20 people filled out the form, and 10 people could make it to the first meeting, then we would be off to a good start! Well, we’ve certainly hit that target!

Up next we are going to organise a first meeting. It’s at this point that we really want to get all of you involved in everything, we would like to talk about things like: how often should the group meet? What kind of formats should those meetings take? Where should the group meet? Will there be group dues (and if so, how much)?

We’d also like to get a couple of other people on board to help us with the “setting up process” too, at the moment it’s just Suzanne and I, but if the group is going to be large-ish, then it would be great to have an extra couple of people to help, and that way we can divide the work up a bit more.

Over on the website we’ve set up a little mini survey to try and find the best dates for the first meeting, we’re avoiding all first Saturdays of the Month (as that is when the Sydney Scquilters group meets) and also 15^th October this is the date that the NSW Guild has a meeting listed. We’re also looking for suggestions about WHERE this first meeting might be able to take place – once we have an idea about the numbers that might be able to attend then we should be able to narrow it down a bit! So please hop on over and let us know your preferences for meeting dates. Probably the best way to go about it is to select all the possible dates that you can attend and let us know whether you'd prefer the morning or afternoon. Just to gauge the interest, we'll include the Sundays as well as the Saturdays and we'll see what gets the most attention. We will go with the date that the most people can attend. We will leave the survey open until Friday 16 September, so please jump over and fill it out before then.

To get everyone inspired we’re also going to start an “Inspiration of the week” post over on the blog featuring a modern quilt that has caught our attention over recent times so make sure you check in each week and if you see something fantastic that you think should be featured, let us know!

Finally, in other exciting news, we’ve been contacted by the Central Coast Modern Quilt Guild who have suggested that once we get up and running we might be able to have a quilt challenge with them! So, that’s really good inspiration for us to try and get up and running soon."

So, here's your chance to get involved with a new group, Sydney quilters!

At last!

2011-09-05T17:37:00.000+10:00

Whew! Here's my completed quilt, Back to the Beginning, (48 inches x 44 inches). It is machine pieced from cotton fabric I have hand printed, screen printed and stencilled.

I have hand quilted it all over with cotton threads of various weights. Here's a couple of close-up pics, so you can understand why it took me so long to complete!

I am thrilled that Back to the Beginning will be on display at the International Quilt Festival in Houston, USA in November, as part of Lisa Walton's Textured Treasures exhibition. How exciting!

In which much stitching is done

2011-08-30T14:49:00.002+10:00

I have lost track of the weeks I have spent hand stitching this quilt. It's a difficult one to photograph because the metallic paint reflects the camera's flash, but no matter. I really need to show this as evidence that the stitching is FINISHED. This is part of the centre section of my quilt, Back to the Beginning.

Next is binding, a label and a sleeve. Will this quilt never be finished?

Let's visit Twitter

2011-08-28T07:33:00.001+10:00

I have finally succumbed to the lure of Twitter. If you'd like to inhabit another part of the online universe with me, go here. Who knows what we will discover there?

Thread dyeing

2011-08-24T11:53:00.000+10:00

The promise of spring is in the air here in Sydney. I know the season hasn't changed yet, but the plants in my garden are showing signs of growth and colour. I thought I need this too - to grow my skills and add more colour to my life!

So along comes Lisa Walton's Threads to Dye For workshop - perfect! It's on 10 September at Lisa's home studio and if I can walk away with threads like these, I'll be a happy person. If you'd like to come too, you can book here. I don't want to keep all the fun to myself!

Reflections on: finding the spark

2011-08-21T09:42:00.000+10:00

Creativity is hard to pin down. It can be an elusive spark but when it flares, small embers of ideas scatter widely and can ignite later, quite unexpectedly. Just as well, because when I’m bereft of ideas, I count on external inspiration to get me going.

Sometimes I endure periods when nothing goes right with my sewing. On a single day last year, I was trying to join pieces of a mystery quilt and nothing was going right. It was a really hot day with high humidity and my sweaty hands were not gripping the fabric easily. I stitched 36 squares along the wrong diagonal line and then stabbed my finger with the unpicker while trying to remove the thread from those squares. While stitching along the correct diagonal line, the sewing machine needle broke. After replacing the needle, the bobbin ran out of thread. I spilled water on the instructions and, to top it off, I dropped the scissors on my foot.

That was enough for me. The quilting gods had sent me a message and I needed to take notice. I turned off the machine, left the fabric pieces exactly where they landed and then spent the rest of the afternoon watching movies. Some days, it is much safer to stop trying to sew!

The next day, I found I had lost interest in doing anything creative. I mooched around the house, picking up various projects and putting them down again without making a stitch. I flicked through the channels on the television and then switched it off without watching anything. I wandered around the garden, tugging out a weed here and there, but not really enjoying it. I had totally lost my creative spark.

Usually, the more I struggle to get going again, the more difficult it is. So I decided to ignore all the projects waiting to be finished and pulled out a pile of quilting magazines and books. Yes, I’d read them all before, but this time I just grazed – browsing and reading about anything that grabbed my attention.

I have never doubted that creativity can be contagious. We see it in every workshop and at every quilt group meeting. Works in progress are shown, techniques are demonstrated and new ideas are shared. We pore over the newest fabrics and look for tools that will make our quilt making more fun. We spark off each other and go home enthused.

My afternoon of absorbing inspiration from magazines and books reinvigorated me. Suddenly, the urge to sew had returned. I sat at the sewing machine and started feeding the fabric pieces through. All my seams were straight, there was need to use the unpicker – even the temperature had dropped. All was well in my sewing world as I continued to stitch for hours. An ember of creativity had flared to life and I was content.

Thimble love

2011-08-17T15:28:00.000+10:00

I've been a hand stitcher for at least 25 years, but I've never found a comfortable and functional thimble that works for me. Thimbles either get in my way or fall off. I've lost track of the number of thimbles I've hurled across the room!

Consequently, I have a hole in my finger. It comes and goes, depending on how long I stitch before it hurts too much and I, reluctantly, give my skin time to heal.

That was before I was given a Clover adjustable thimble to try. It was love at first stitch. Having hand quilted for more than a dozen hours since Monday, I can happily say that my new thimble is now my constant companion. Thanks to my friend Sarah, the hole in my finger will be no more!

Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

2011-08-16T12:26:00.002+10:00

Since I first heard of Modern Quilt Guilds in different parts of the world, I have grappled with the concept. What's 'modern' about them? How are they different to other quilt guilds? Is it a style of quilting or are they groups that target younger quilters? I still don't have it clear in my mind.

One of my quilting friends, Claire, is very clear about what it means to her. Along with Suzanne, she has started a Sydney chapter of the Modern Quilt Guild. They know exactly what they hope to achieve - you can read all about it here.

I encourage Sydney quilters to hop over to their blog. Read what they've written and, if you are intrigued, fill out their 'call for interest' form (I already have!). I like that their emphasis is on inclusion - just because you may belong to other quilt groups, it doesn't mean you won't be welcome! Good luck with the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild, Claire and Suzanne!

It's still winter

2011-08-13T12:58:00.002+10:00

but in today's sunshine, you can nearly believe spring is just around the corner.

Snowpeas climbing, iris thriving, rosemary blooming, blueberries unfurling.

Pretty primula in flower.

This is taking forever

2011-08-10T15:16:00.000+10:00

Here's a taste of my current project; a quilt I have to finish this month. I've spent HOURS hand stitching this quilt yet there are many more days to go before the quilting is complete.

Going to work tomorrow will be a welcome distraction.

Try Down Under Textiles online

2011-08-07T11:09:00.000+10:00

Down Under Textiles magazine was launched in March 2009 and I've been pleased to contribute several articles to the magazine since then. Issue 5 is on sale now.

The magazine shows you the latest techniques, tools and products; easy-to-follow instructions to make projects and samples; colour, design and composition theory and galleries showcasing fantastic textile art. From next year, it will be available quarterly (four issues per year).

Down Under Textiles is only available from specialist retailers or by subscription, so you might not have come across a copy yet. As a special treat, the publisher has arranged for the first issue to be available online so you can see enjoy the content on your own computer - for FREE. Click here to open issue 1.

You can subscribe to either the online or print versions (or both!) here. I hope you enjoy browsing.

extraTexture exhibition

2011-07-28T15:58:00.001+10:00

My friend Pamela is part of the extraTexture group of textile artists. The group is having an exhibition of their work this coming weekend so, if you are in Sydney, don't miss out!

Going away

2011-07-27T12:12:00.000+10:00

There's a lot to be said for going away from home. I've just spent two days in the company of my friend Deborah, while we travelled to Canberra. Our objective was to see The Rajah Quilt, which is on display at the National Museum of Australia as part of the Not Just Ned exhibition. (The exhibition finishes at the end of this month, so hurry if you want to visit.)

It was a treat to spend so many hours chatting, visiting the Museum and shopping at three patchwork shops. What I think was best, though, was opening ourselves up to new sights and different thought patterns. I'll be pondering this thought for a while yet and may write about it later.

In the meantime, look at these fantastic shapes from the National Museum of Australia buildings.

These first two photos were taken near the entrance to the building. The next three were taken in the Garden of Dreams section of the Museum. Yes, that's me looking happy!

My kitchen

2011-07-16T09:17:00.000+10:00

It's finally done. I've finished the floor and this morning my new stove was installed. Before you look at these pics, just refresh your memory of how the kitchen looked before. Yuck.

Now it looks like this:

Much better!

Sometimes I wonder

2011-07-13T10:30:00.000+10:00

why I decide to hand stitch my quilts. It takes so long!

Then I look at the texture I can create and I know the answer. There's a lot of stitching needed on this quilt before it's finished, so I'd better get back to it...

Pinning

2011-07-10T14:14:00.000+10:00

I love the look of all these pins, standing up on my quilt while they hold it together. Let the stitching begin.

Sunshine on Roses class

2011-07-05T07:57:00.000+10:00

If are in Sydney on Sunday 24 July, you may like to join my class at Hobbysew Top Ryde City. You'll make blocks to put together your own version of my Sunshine on Roses quilt. Choose your favourite colours to make this fun quilt.

The blocks are easy to cut and piece by machine, so you can whip up a lot in a day! Details of the class are here and enrolments are now open. I'd love to see you there.

etzcetera magazine

2011-07-03T11:43:00.000+10:00

Here's a lovely new Australian online craft magazine! The first issue is free to read - what a great way to check out the content.

Read it here.

Rainbows

2011-06-30T09:02:00.000+10:00

Great fun, cutting small sample pieces of all the Kona solid fabrics in my stash.

Handy to take along with me when shopping for more!

Call for entries

2011-06-27T16:40:00.000+10:00

Every year

2011-06-26T14:45:00.000+10:00

I buy more spools of Spagetti 12 weight thread from the WonderFil stand at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Fair. This year's choices SP33 (green), SP05 (blue), SP32 (yellow) and SP01 (red).

I was organised this year. By taking a list of the colours I already owned, there were no double ups.

Thanks to everyone who stopped to talk with me at the show. It is so lovely to feel that we are all part of this wonderful quilt-making world!

Sydney Quilt Show winners

2011-06-22T19:43:00.000+10:00

OMG. There are some AMAZING quilts on display at the Sydney Quilt Show!

You can see photos of the winning quilts here. Enjoy!

Midwinter

2011-06-21T09:17:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is the winter solstice here in Sydney - hooray! That means that the days will gradually become longer than the nights and that's a good thing. Lots of chilly weather still to come, though.

This time of the year also means the Sydney Quilt Show is on. It starts tomorrow, as part of the Craft and Quilt Fair at Darling Harbour. I'll be helping on Cecile's stand, Unique Stitching (stand A24), so if you are passing by, stop and say hi!

Hand piecing again

2011-06-18T14:41:00.000+10:00

Heads up! If you live in Sydney and want to learn how to hand piece (the technique that is closest to my heart), you may like to join the next batch of classes I'll be teaching. They will be on Saturday mornings at Hobbysew Top Ryde, starting in July.

I'll post details of the classes soon. I can't wait to spread the joy of hand piecing again!

On the floor

2011-06-13T12:29:00.001+10:00

Today's job is laying my kitchen floor tiles and this is the progress so far. Crawling around on the floor is not my idea of fun and I don't know what is worse - doing this task or basting a quilt!

Reflections on: imperfection

2011-06-11T14:40:00.000+10:00

Striving to be perfect is overrated. There, I’ve said it and you know what? The sky didn’t fall, the earth didn’t stop spinning and the world didn’t come to an end. Certainly, though, I feel a huge sense of relief and maybe you do too.

I had a conversation with a woman at my workplace recently. She had misplaced an item and was working herself into a state of anxiety, mixed with anger and disbelief. Over and over, she kept muttering, quite seriously, “I can’t have lost it. I don’t let myself make mistakes. I am perfect and I have a faultless life. I don’t make mistakes.” I was horrified and took a step back from her in case she self-combusted from all the internal friction.

Since then, my recollection of that woman’s reaction to what I thought was a trivial matter has stayed with me. What had happened in her life to result in that behaviour? Why did she feel that being perfect was the only way to live? What a heavy burden she is carrying through her life. I think it is a sad way to live.

It seems an impossible quest, to be perfect and without flaws. This isn’t to say we should not endeavour for continuous self-improvement – that’s different. Developing our skills and opening our minds are ongoing processes that will often enhance our lives, but there is a huge difference between striving for improvement and forcing ourselves to be unfeasibly perfect.

The same applies with our quilt making. There really are no such things as perfect stitches or flawless quilts. Even those showstoppers and prize-winning quilts have tiny imperfections, often only seen by the makers. Our enjoyment and appreciation of these quilts is not diminished, though, as we focus on the skill of the maker and the beauty of the design and are in awe of the results.

As we stitch our pieces of fabric together, as we rearrange sections to form patterns more pleasing to our eyes, we try to improve our techniques and our design skills. Attempting to become better at what is important to us is a human desire, but sometimes I wonder if we are too hard on ourselves, demanding too much.

Being overly critical of our own quilts and taking to heart what other people think of our creations will not help us develop our own style and our own way of self-expression. What it will do, though, is make us fearful and mistrusting of our own judgements. Advice is useful, harsh censure is not.

We need to be gentle with ourselves and acknowledge that we are fallible. No one is perfect and nor do I think anyone should aim to be. So the next time you see wonky stitches in my quilts, please don’t think less of me. Just accept that I’m human.

Happy stories

2011-06-01T13:24:00.000+10:00

Happy story 1: four pretty new blue printed fabrics purchased today.

Happy story 2: with a discount of 20%!

DS Quilts Collection: "Picnics and Fairgrounds" by Denyse Schmidt. Exclusive to Spotlight in Australia.

Happy story 3: my snow pea seeds have withstood the heavy rain of the past few days and have sprouted. I love the miracle of seeds.

Not much progress on the kitchen

2011-05-23T17:57:00.001+10:00

Well, that's not totally true. Progress has been made, just not as much as I would have liked. The old stove has been removed - I don't know why I put up with it for so long. I've painted the walls and cleaned the floor. This is the old floor.

Before you say what a nice patchwork pattern it would make let me remind you that I hate brown and am not fond of orange. I have disliked these tiles ever since I moved here 11 years ago. I can't believe it is taking me so long to change them.

Anyway, I won't have an opportunity to replace the tiles until next week, so they are still there, in all their 'glory'. Yuck.

Thanks for all the comments on my previous post. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who is a plunger! It's always a treat to receive comments from blog readers. Thanks for taking the time to do so.

Planner or plunger

2011-05-20T13:42:00.002+10:00

Such a glorious day in Sydney today. After a foggy start, the sun is shining and and the temperatures are mild. All is well.

Except... I'm going to have a small rant. Just a short one, I promise.

According to the selection criteria for an upcoming contemporary quilt textiles exhibition, details of the design progression and colours, including sketches and drawings are required as part of the entry. When did it become taken for granted that sketches and drawings are an essential part of the quilt design process? Who decided this is the only way that creativity can come to fruition? What if I don't work that way - can't I enter my quilt?

I've been interested in Kathleen Loomis's thoughtful posts about planning and plunging (here, here and here), which started over a week ago. As a writer, I've always been a plunger and that is usually the same approach I take to my textile work. So when I received the entry form for this exhibition yesterday, that particular selection criteria stood out.

We really shouldn't assume that everyone works in the same way or that one approach is better than another.

I'm loving

2011-05-12T10:44:00.000+10:00

Gorgeous photography and fascinating stories of gardeners who have created flourishing and productive kitchen gardens bursting with produce. Just wonderful.

It's a dreary day

2011-05-11T14:23:00.000+10:00

here today. There's a cold wind coming from the south and very little sun. Yesterday's outing for lunch and sewing with a friend was cancelled due to sickness in the family and tonight's dinner with another friend is cancelled due to her Dad's hospitalisation.

I burned my lunch today - it was a spectacular sight to see the top part of my bread roll burst into flames under the grill. Not only did it fill the kitchen with smoke very quickly, but it resulted in a toasted sandwich without the top layer of bread. Challenging to eat.

Tomorrow the old stove will be disconnected and removed from my kitchen. This is something I have procrastinated about for years. Painting will be next and then new tiles on the floor (I've had them for a few months!). Only after I finish that work can I buy and organise installation of a new stove. Guess I'll be using the microwave in the meantime.

So while everything is in process on this dreary day, I snapped a photo of my Japanese maple tree in its autumnal glory to brighten the outlook. This is for you, Stephanie.

A life in frocks

2011-05-08T19:32:00.000+10:00

Kelly Doust of The Crafty Minx fame is visiting a nearby library to talk about her new book - A Life in Frocks.

The book is about the ‘divine obsession’ - a woman’s love for clothes. In particular, it is a personal exploration of the significance of clothes, filtered through one woman’s lifelong sartorial infatuation.

So, if you'd like to meet Kelly, the talk is on Monday 16 May at 10.30am at West Ryde library, 2 Graf Avenue. (That's in Sydney for those of you who are elsewhere.) Bookings are essential - phone 9952 8352. Oh, and it's free!

Oh yum!

2011-05-03T10:43:00.000+10:00

What an easily pleased person I am. My fat quarter bundles of Kona solids arrived today from Hancock's of Paducah and I am happily admiring the glorious colour combinations I have on my sewing table.

Lots of potential projects here....

The week in which I won a giveaway

2011-04-30T13:50:00.000+10:00

Busy, busy at work; come home and sleep; we lost our footy game (again); rain, rain and more rain - that sums up my week.

Until.... I won a giveaway from Malka's blog! Such excitement firstly because I don't normally win giveaways and secondly because I'm keen to try out this interesting product.

I shall try it out once my sample pack arrives and show my results.

ANZAC Day 2011

2011-04-25T03:00:00.003+10:00

For our families and those of our brothers and sisters from New Zealand.

Lest we forget.

I am lusting

2011-04-22T09:59:00.000+10:00

for these tulips. Oh to be able to grow such beauties! The climate where I live could never produce such wonders.

Go here to absorb the glory of Jane Brocket's spring tulips. And here, here, here. Oh, just go to the top of her blog here and scroll down. I defy you not to swoon with pleasure. Sigh.

Loving solids

2011-04-20T13:55:00.000+10:00

I've always liked solid colours to add contrast to printed fabrics in quilts. Imagine then how I excited I was to discover that a new local store has an extensive range of Kona solid colours for $6.95 a metre. No need to buy from overseas any more!

These are the five one-metre pieces I bought this morning from the new Hobbysew store at Top Ryde City shopping centre.

These will be added to the other Kona cottons in my stash. There are over 200 colours in the range, so I have a long way to go...

It takes time

2011-04-19T09:11:00.000+10:00

to hand stitch a quilt. I am quilting this quilt every night and am pleased with the progress so far.

Gocco girl

2011-04-13T13:29:00.000+10:00

I have a new (second-hand) tool to help me create pattern on fabric. With this nifty machine, I can make screens with my own drawings to print onto fabric.

You can see how much joy this machine can bring to people by the ecstatic looks on the faces of the models on the box cover. Nothing staged or artificial there!

I wanted to create patterns that weren't consistent and weren't precise. I don't like perfect. I had already stamped a piece of pink solid fabric with bubble wrap and Lumiere paint, but wanted a line of sorts across it. I made a screen from my drawings of stems and leaves and printed it with black acrylic paint.

Making the screen was very simple and I'm pleased I can make more of them whenever I want. I'll work out the feasibility of making screens for sale, too, so you can enjoy the process as much as I did!

I'm happy with the variety of lines - some dark and some slightly ghosted. The fabric will be cut up before sewing so the lines will add some interest.

Sarah's book launch

2011-04-10T10:22:00.000+10:00

So it's Friday night and the time is right for the launch of Sarah's third book, Quilting: from little things... The evening was mild and the venue was fabulous. If you haven't visited Flo's shop, Plume au Vent in Greenwich Road, Greenwich, treat yourself next time you visit Sydney. Lots of treasure there!

But back to the launch. About 50 people gathered to toast Sarah success. These two photos show some of her quilts from the book on display for the night at the launch. (Thanks to Damian for the pics.) Of course, you can see that all the yummy food had just been arranged - obviously before we descended on it!

And here's the cover of the book in question.

Such a clever way of teaching patchwork, applique and quilting skills - for each technique, you can make either a small quilt or a large one, or both! You will acquire different skills from each project.

I love the photography and Sarah's hand-drawn diagrams that illustrate each step along the way. This is a book to be treasured and well-used.

Reflections on: where I sew

2011-04-07T08:44:00.000+10:00

As I was hand quilting last night, it occurred to me how little sewing actually takes place in my sewing room. My thoughts started to roam as I considered all the other places in the house where I sew.

I have a well-organised and spacious sewing room. Over the past year, I have sorted and rearranged practically everything in it. My stash is there, as is my sewing machine and cutting table. All my quilting magazines and books are stored there and there is a flannelette design sheet on the end wall. So why don’t I spend more time creating in that room?

Well, it depends on what I am doing. Dreaming and sketching can be done any place, any time. I have a notebook in which I jot down ideas and draw wildly inaccurate layout diagrams for future designs. Quite often, these never result in quilts or articles but the act of recording them sometimes triggers other, more useful, thoughts later. It also allows me to clear things out of my head – a very handy technique that ensures I don’t forget too many matters.

Sometimes I prefer to draw up more precise layouts or to create templates by using software on my computer. It is fun shading designs on the screen so that I can audition colours easily without having to cut fabric. This means I have to sit where the computer is – and that is not the sewing room.

There are different parts of the house that aid particular stages of quilt construction. I prefer to stand when I am cutting fabric strips, so the bench in my sewing room is the perfect height for this. Cutting around templates usually gets done at the dining table. I have even been known to balance a cutting mat on my knees while I am sitting on the couch and rotary cut around templates that way. I switch on the television and, a few hours later, find that not only have I caught up with my favourite programs, but there is also a neat pile of fabric shapes ready for stitching.

I usually do hand sewing and quilting while sitting in my ‘sewing chair’ – a comfortable, high-backed cane chair that is near a window. Any stitching on the machine is usually completed in the sewing room although, since my machine is housed in a portable table, I sometimes move it to another room where I can watch movies or how-to DVDs on quilting topics while stitching.

Being adaptable is my sewing philosophy and I’m guessing many of you think the same way. I never understood why I should restrict myself to sewing in a single room when there is a complete house full of places to be used!

Hand sewing as therapy

2011-03-28T14:38:00.000+11:00

I am hand piecing a queen-sized quilt made with half-square triangles. Many of you may think me crazy, while others will understand the soothing qualities of sewing by hand. So far, I've made about a quarter of the quilt - this is it, all bundled up. I'm having a perfectly lovely time with it.

I need to have something calming to do after the tense afternoon yesterday, watching the Swans play their first game this season. They played in away in Melbourne, so it was a tv job for me - not the best way to watch AFL at any time, let alone when the result is tight. It was a draw - a DRAW! Good grief.

It's also handy having soothing sewing to do while I can hear men clambering around on the roof of my house. There is painting going on and that's a Good Thing (we've been waiting what seems like forever for it to start). They sound only marginally worse than the possums on the roof at night!

I've long thought hand sewing is great therapy and now I'm convinced. Just as well or I'd be a mad woman by now.

At last

2011-03-25T13:32:00.000+11:00

The new Aussie Rules season has started. I maybe slightly preoccupied for the next six months...

Go Swannies.

Scrap happy

2011-03-22T14:16:00.000+11:00

I love sewing with scraps. Knowing this, my friend Lisa tempted me with the woollen scraps left over from her quilted cushion. There were odd-sized pieces; offcuts from the shapes she cut for her project. From the pieces I scavenged, I made these two pincushions.

I've never stitched woollen fabrics before. These were divine. Simple to machine stitch and easy on the fingers for hand piecing. I enjoyed working with them so much.

If you'd like to start sewing wool with something small, you may like to try Lisa's Whimsical Woolys competition. All the details are here.

Rain at last

2011-03-20T08:42:00.000+11:00

Although there have been showers of rain over past weeks in other suburbs of Sydney, it hasn't rained at my place for at least six weeks. Combine that with some extremely hot days and the result is that my garden is parched. Until now.

We've experienced steady rain here all last night and the plants are thankful.

The leaves on my Japanese maple are turning into the shades of autumn, and dripping with the weight of the rain. See the brown areas in the background? That's my grassed area - totally burnt by the heat and lack of water.

The plants in these pots are also grateful for the rain and will start to thrive again now. It's not the same, watering them by hand. Rain washes the leaves and the surrounds, and also soaks deeply so the roots can penetrate further. It will take a lot more than 24 hours of rain to rejuvenate the ground, but every precious drop helps.

An excursion

2011-03-17T10:39:00.001+11:00

Erica and Brenda went on an excursion yesterday. They had a fun day and visited many shops full of gorgeous and useful things. Too much to detail here, except for this delicious store in Balmain.

They were delighted by the building (Erica especially loved the colour - look! it is blue) and the clever layout within. They were especially thrilled by the displays of colour.

This photo of gorgeous yarn was taken by Brenda. Yum.

There would have been other photos to show you, except that Erica apparently zoomed too close with her camera inside the store so all her other photos are out of focus. Silly Erica.

If she hadn't, there would have been photos of the gorgeous fabrics (Erica was especially taken with the aqua shades). Sarah and Amy kindly took precious crochet scarves out of the glass display cabinet so that Brenda and Erica could examine the tiny crochet stitches made with linen thread. To die for.

Erica suggests you all scoot along to this shop immediately (and take your money with you). Tell the lovely Sarah that Erica sent you and she might show you the linen crochet too!

Calico & Ivy is at 10 Birchgrove Road Balmain. Phone: 02 9555 9909.

So much to learn

2011-03-14T13:45:00.001+11:00

I've always been a believer of life-long learning. There are so many interesting things in the world to absorb me and here's my current interest - screen printing. I now have a second-hand Print Gocco B6 set with which to play. New screens and lamps arrived this morning, so I am poised to start making masters.

Probably, though, I'll hold off for a couple of weeks while I take part in Lyric Kinard's Freeform Screen Printing course through Quilt University. So much to learn...what fun!

Printing with bubble wrap

2011-03-09T06:00:00.000+11:00

I had a fun time yesterday printing with bubble wrap and paint.

These are two of the pieces I made, with more to come.

Can't wait to cut them up!

To us!

2011-03-08T11:11:00.000+11:00

It's International Women's Day today. Hooray for us!

(Detail from my Goddess Roseus quilt.)

Kona blues

2011-03-05T08:48:00.000+11:00

My gorgeous Kona blue fabrics arrived this week - yay! From left: Carribean, Lagoon, Glacier, Turquoise and Cyan. Of course, these are for the quilt I abandoned earlier but I am sure I will find a use for these rich colours.

Into the washing machine they go before I handle them. Do you wash your fabrics before sewing with them? I have ALWAYS washed before use, not because I'm fearful of dye running but simply because I don't know where the fabric has been. I don't know what chemicals have been used in making the cloth; I don't know where it's been stored and I don't know what it has encountered in its travels. So there's NO WAY I will allow myself to cut and sew with it until it has a thorough wash (none of that wussy dipping and rinsing business) and dries outside in the sunshine. THEN I will start fondling it!

No pics

2011-03-02T11:25:00.000+11:00

There are no photos today because I don't believe in posting gratuitous pics that are irrelevant to the post. I also don't believe in you using your internet access just to see my irrelevant photos. If only I could block all photos of cats on blogs I would be a happy woman.

I'm annoyed, but also very relieved, that I have decided to abandon my current quilt project. There are too many things this quilt has to be (size, techniques and due date) and it is fighting me on all fronts. It wants to have simple lines and lots of plain areas. It wants to be smaller. It wants to be hand stitched. So, rather than continuing to battle, I will start again.

Just as you cannot change a person, I'm convinced you cannot change a quilt. It has to want to change itself and this one simply doesn't.

Onwards!

Twelve by Twelve

2011-02-23T13:55:00.000+11:00

All I need to say is this: purchase a copy of this book now!

Well, maybe I should say some more. I've had a copy of the book in my possession for a day now, so perhaps I can give you a taste of what you will find inside it.

photographs and descriptions of each the 144 quilts created by the twelve artists over a period of two years.
explorations of each of the twelve themes.
profiles of each of the twelve artists.
explanations of various techniques and processes used.
glimpses into the artists' studios.

If you are interested in art quilts and haven't been following the development of the Twelve by Twelve group, where have you been? Go directly to the group's website for all you need to know.

The book is brilliant and full of inspiration. Go and buy it NOW!

In progress

2011-02-19T13:10:00.000+11:00

I'm having fun painting this gorgeous shape. It is made of timber and the thing I love the most about it is that it is not symmetrical. Gazing at its flowing shapes is very calming. I can easily imagine this as an applique motif and that motivates me to keep working on the skills needed to stitch all those tiny curly sections. One day...

Colour

2011-02-14T17:35:00.000+11:00

I love buying colour sample pots of paint. Liquid colour is delicious and brightens my day.

Today's purchase: Aqua Belle from Taubmans. Yum.

Get inspired by quilting blogs

2011-02-12T10:41:00.000+11:00

Do you love reading quilting blogs? Here's the place to go:

You can add your own blog to the Red Pepper Quilts list, too! Since I added Creative Dabbling last night, the number of quilts on the list has nearly doubled! Hours of viewing pleasure....

Reflections on: procrastination

2011-02-10T09:59:00.002+11:00

Postponing activities is a favourite pastime of mine. It always leads me to discover new, creative ways of procrastination, the latest of which is rearranging all the quilts in my house. Along the way, I have uncovered some of my early quilts that had been half-forgotten.

Most of the tasks I postpone are things I actively want to do. I prefer to think of this as deferment of pleasure, instead of the negative implication of time wasting. Don’t you agree that anticipation is half the fun of any event? The planning, the thinking and the savouring of the enjoyment to come are all part of the complete activity. It makes sense, then, that the longer I can defer it, the more I will enjoy it.

My latest way of deferring writing involved taking all my quilts out of their hidey-holes, admiring and refolding them, and then finding different ways to display them in my home. For many years, I have envied people who have a large amoire in which to store their quilts. Imagine having all that glorious pattern, colour and texture constantly on display!

Inspired by this thought, I inspected my furniture to find a suitable piece. The closest I could find was a large, deep-shelved, timber bookcase. I love this bookcase. It has smooth, rounded corners and is made from glorious honey-coloured pine. I decided it was the perfect candidate for my quilts.

Of course, it was already full of books, so they had to be relocated. This necessitated a shopping excursion and the purchase of a couple of other bookshelves – not as aesthetically attractive as my timber one, but certainly capable of holding my collection. The new shelves had to be put together, so that took another chunk of time.

The couch had to be relocated so I could erect the new bookcases in its place. Then I arranged my books, taking pleasure in dipping into the occasional one, experiencing it as I sorted.

Folding and stroking my quilts provided great pleasure. It was satisfying to examine some of my first quilts; to see how my stitching has changed over the years. It was intriguing to see colour choices that I had made and how often the colour blue has been included in many of them. Each quilt took me back in time as I recalled what else had been going on in my life while I had been sewing it.

I also remembered the ghosts of quilts I had made and given away. The physical quilt may not be with me, but their memories certainly stayed. As I type these words now, I glance to the piles of colour on my shelves and I am thankful that I have taken the opportunity to enjoy my quilts every day. How could such a positive outcome have ever been considered a time-waster?

My country

2011-02-06T08:44:00.000+11:00

What a fabulous flash mob performance.

Australia - my country.

It's getting to me...

2011-02-05T11:57:00.000+11:00

the heat, that is. It's been pushing 40 degrees every day at my place since last weekend and I'm so over it. So I've been staying at home in front of the air conditioner whenever possible (I dread how expensive my next electricity bill will be) and stitching this quilt.

I machine pieced it and had it professionally quilted last year but put it aside while I worked on another project. Since that other project is on the design wall in my studio upstairs in the hot part of the house... well, let's just say that I'm staying downstairs!

I am hand stitching around the large flower motifs with WonderFil Spagetti 12wt thread. I love stitching with this thread and I love the colours! I plan to expand the colour range in my collection again this year. Deciding which shades to buy is always difficult, but I'll do my best. :-)

Waiting

2011-02-02T13:08:00.000+11:00

As everyone in Australia waits, Cyclone Yasi is heading straight towards the mainland in northern Queensland. A grade 5 cyclone, it is stronger than Tracy, which flattened Darwin in 1974.

Cairns and Townsville airports are now closed and Yasi is expected to hit land at midnight AEST. Updates here.

Colour variation

2011-02-02T07:38:00.000+11:00

Have you made a quilt from my Sunshine on Roses pattern? (It's free! - click here for the instructions).

Louisa has and here's a photo to prove it! I love the colours she has chosen (of course I do - beautiful turquoises and blues). It makes me want to stitch up another one for myself!

Louisa says:
Thanks so much for the lovely pattern - it didn't take long at all and I love it. So does my 12 year old, who claimed it as soon as I started laying the blocks out.

Mine reminded me of the changing colours of the beach near us - hence "Oceanic Moods".

I say: gorgeous!