Aquachoc Quilt Ta-dah!

It's done - another FINISHED quilt!  Yay.  I love it. 

Here it is on the King Size bed.

The backing and the thin chocolate brown binding.

A close up a panel and the machine quilting.

A Quilter's Brain

I found this on Pinterest today and thought I'd share....although me being me, it's probably been seen by many for a very long time.....

This could be knitter's brain or crochet brain or anything I obsess - I mean love - to do.  What?  Who said that...I heard you....I am not obsessive compulsive.....am I?  well maybe a little, but only about really important things like fabric, quilts, pattern, colour, yarn, crochet, wooden knitting needles, books to inspire......certainly not housework. So .....no... I'm not OCD.....am I?

Dreams

Dreams are so important aren't they?  I have many.  No different to the next person.  They keep me going.  I get excited at the prospect of them becoming a reality. At different times they take over my mind.  Want to hear what currently occupies my mind?  I keep conjuring up pictures in my mind of me living my dream.  I'm in situ constantly... floating off to sleep, daydreaming on the job, googling images and pinning away.  One day it will happen, or it may not, if by then I have a new dream.  But this one has long been with me and it comes and goes in its vividness. Right now it is all consuming, and I'm working out the fine details in my mind.  I can smell it and taste it.  I can feel the water, cool and refreshing.  I can feel the sun touching my skin. I can see the colours around me.  I can hear the distant natter of voices in a foreign language. I can taste the crisp cold wine I sip whilst watching the sunset.  I can see the supper of fresh fish and salad.  I can see the fishing boats resting in the harbour, that caught the fish i've cooked that very day! I hear a bell - around the neck of a donkey or goat clattering as they move.

My days are spent painting, reading, writing, walking the hills around me, crafting and swimming. Soft white curtains billow at the open doors. Days of coffee and friendly locals. Afternoon siestas whenever I need them.  I imagine feeling so strong and healthy, not a care in the world, blissfully happy and relaxed.  Finally feeding the creative me that yearns to be.

Welcoming visitors to share my slice of heaven.  Seeing them relax and recharge whilst there.  Lots of laughter and times shared. Crafty groups coming for week long stays and working on quilts and grannies.  My quilts adorning the beds and walls - alongwith artwork. Spending several months of year - my European summer home. 

I'm loving my dream right now, watching it grow and blossom in my mind.  Heaven.

Our Darling Matilda

Just dropping by quickly to share a photo of my beautiful Matilda - our darling blind lab. She puts herself in the most unusual situations.  She loves squeezing into corners and other tight spaces.  I'm sure it's reassurance for her.  She likes to be as close as possible to you, ie on your lap.  She has the uncanny knack of putting herself right between one's legs and then sitting down, and waiting expectanly to be patted. It always gets a laugh from visitors. She's quite a local attraction!

As a family we talk to her constantly when she's around as sound is very comforting to her too.  She is a truly amazing girl and we love her to bits.

My daughter spotted her outside the back door and did the call out - "Come and look at Tilly" as we so often do.  She looks so dejected with a "Where is everyone?" look on her face, having managed to sit under the bike. Bless!

 
She has learnt the command "Reverse" which we use when the only way out of where she has got herself is to ''reverse", so we call it out and out she backs, tail wagging.  When we say "good girl'' she knows she can turn and safely be on her way.

Quite a bit of sewing happening on the mezzanine.  My Cowgirl quilt is coming along nicely. Pictures coming soon.  x

Russian Doll Quilt

I purchased the sashing fabric for my Russian Doll Quilt a week ago and had a quick play with it.  All the blocks are a different size as they have grown organically, so their "placement" will be random, not uniform, with different widths of sashing fabric between the blocks.  I'm inspired by all the modern quilts such as those in Block Party of which I am the proud owner of!

The fabric is linen blend which I thinks complements the organicness of the blocks.  The spots marry nicely with the doll's cheek (y) dots.  

Another one of my years-in-the-making quilts is a tiny step closer to being finished. 

I picked up three quilts from the machine quilter - I mentioned that already but here's a pic of my pile :)  I will reveal more as time goes by.  They are my black and white, kaffe fasset's floral parade and my flea market fancy quilts.

Aqua and Chocolate quilt progress

My weekend wasn't spent as creatively as I'd hoped.  Funny how things just crop up, don't they.  I did sew the binding on my aqua and chocolate quilt and I'm loving it.  Now for the hand sewing.

Some progress pics

 

And I started a new quilt top - I think this one is going to be called "Yee Ha'' ..... here's a sneak peak of a few of the fabrics.  "Such fun" in the words of my favourite comedienne...Miranda Hart!

Excitement

I feel a wonderfully creative weekend ahead of me.  I'm so excited. Tomorrow I pick up 3 quilts - yes 3!! from my machine quilter.  I don't know if I'll sleep tonight :))  It's like Christmas Eve in quiltland. I can't wait to see them. They transform so much at each stage of the process.

I'm in the middle of binding my aqua blue and chocolate quilt and it is finishing it off beautifully.  I am falling in love with the quilt all over again.

I'm also off to buy the sashing for my Russian Doll quilt.  After years in the making it is a step closer to becoming a real live quilt top!

Last night I bought my first copy of Mollie Makes - love it!  Treat yourself if you haven't already.  I'm not sure how readily available it is in local newsagents here is Aus, but I found a lone copy of issue 17 at my local newsagent (complete with free crochet hook on the cover), so snapped it up....  and DEVOURED it!

I'm thinking a subscription on my Christmas list......

Stay tuned for wonderful photos of my collected quilts over the weekend.  Hopefully my iPhone camera will do them justice xx

Slowest blogger in the world

 

So if there was a competition for the slowest,most erratic, inconsistent blogger in the blogosphere it would be me.  After years I have barely any followers or any comments - a very sincere and heartfelt thank you to those who do follow, stop by and leave the odd comment - I LOVE YOU! You make me feel a part of something  which is why I started my blog in the first place  ...to feel a part of a creative community and share and learn and inspire and be inspired.

 

I haven't had much time of late to blog.  My addiction to Pinterest has got in the way!  And some actual craft time which thrills me to bits.  I've become a bit disheartened with blogland too - I know I'm taking it too personally, but there are far more interesting blogs out there.

 

Anyhoo in typical me style this is a very random post.  I have a new phone - an iPhone which takes much better photos, so I've taken some of my liberty quilt - much better resolution - to record here for posterity.  I'm looking foward to hand quilting it - yes you read right - I am going to hand quilt my first quilt!  Check back in a year or 2 and see the results!  Just in case there is a reader of this blog out there :))

9 patch etc

quilting has been my craft of choice lately, taking over from the knitting and crochet.  I pieced my Liberty quilt together so it's another quilt top in the chest.  I picked up my blue and brown from the long arm quilter.  I'm really happy with it.  I like it more now.  It has the dubious title of my least favourite quilt to date.  but I'm wondering if by the tme I bind it I won't like it even more.  It certainly got a BIG help along by a visitor to the house this week.  An interior decorater came round and was in raptures over it.  I just thought 'how funny!'

it was so fun to have a decorator in the house.  It was something I've never thought I would do, but fate thought differently and bestowed upon me a voucher at a quiz night I went to recently.  "It" must have known that that is exactly what i needed to help me over my serious fed-up-ness with the house. Norinda is just the person to help me bring all the bits of the house together.  She's a wonderful resource.  She liked my ideas and I liked hers.  Also helped that she was very complimentary about my ability to work with colour.  It was lovely to get a pat on the back.  Very encouraging.  Often as mums we are the ones encouraging and nurturing and complimenting, but with teenagers - or just as we age and are the grown ups - you don't often hear that you're doing a good job.  And I guess you don't even really think about it, but when someone does say lots of positive things, it's very nice, isn't it.  Too funny.

Here's Gypsy enjoying the brown and blue quilt... which I've draped over a sofa for the time being.

Gypsy has a habit of seeking out quilts....

I've gone completely off track.  What's new?  I started with pictures of my latest quilt.  My first 9 patch.  I'm having my very own quilt-a-long, all by myself.  A patch or 2 a day.  I've wanted to do one for ages and found a couple on line...crazy mom quilts  did one a few years ago.  That boat's sailed so I'll just merrily bob along by myself!

My first Liberty quilt

errrr or rather a very bad picture of my first all-liberty-fabric-quilt.  I so need a design wall!  and it has changed since I took the photo.  It was a lovely couple of hours  to spend a sunday afternoon.

Major excitement.  I am collecting a quilt from the my quilting man on Thursday and delivering him 3 more!  I finally pulled my finger out and pieced together the backs for them.  One I plan to give away, one I plan to hang on a wall in the house and the other 2 I'm not sure.  Maybe they'll just become part of the household. 
I have been asked by a couple of visitors if I would make them quilts, but I simply can't be under the pressure of time frames etc.  But I did think that if I put together a few perhaps someone would like to buy them.  but I'm not always sure I could part with them.  Anyhoo for now I'll just keep playing and having all the fun of making them :))