Pincushions!!!

For some time now ive seen these cute little pincushions on different blogs and just needed to try them:

But really, how many pincushions does one girl need??............and seriously, its quite common to find me walking around the studio with pins in my mouth!!!

But i had an idea!!!!.........if anyone has cared for an elderly relative they would know what we r dealing with at the moment with my MIL. We respect her right to live in her own home but it is exhausting and at times, if we didnt receive the help we do, it wouldnt be possible. She is doing so much better, but sadly she lost her sister (aged 80) .....so this week hasnt been great!!!

Mum has so many wonderful people helping us care for her...........helping out with the household chores, showering her, shopping for her, helping me take her to Doctors appointments and they have become part of her life and ours, so with Xmas coming up she would be embarrassed if she didnt have a gift to give them to show her appreciation...............so my plan is, to fill up a basket, over the next few days, with these little gems, ill get some cute Xmas labels and she can give the out to all who "help her"...........i told her of my plan on the phone tonite and she was stoked!!!

From our point of view, we could never repay the people who help out..........i have watched my father and how taking care of his parents affected him and our family..........i watch my Mum, now taking care of her parents, and i worry for her, and now Les and I care for his Mum, and at times it is really hard, so for someone to take the time out and go and buy a loaf of bread or get a carton of milk, or to hang the washing out before i get there each morning, or to offer to sit with her for the day..............i could never repay u, please accept my pincushion as a heartfelt gift!!!

Row G

My "me time sewing" went from the one day to the last 3 lol (thats ok, my time has been limited and i needed it!!).......Row G of my SBS is complete:

Love in the Mist, Oklahoma Dogwood, Bears Paw, Chimneys and Cornerstones, and my Mariners Compass!!!!

Friendship, Sarah's Favorite,Crown of Thorns, Modern Tulip, Arizona

This would have to be my "paper piecing" row.........i had never tried it before but after attempting the Mariners Compass (u just couldnt piece it any other way), i used it for the Oklahoma Dogwood and the Modern Tulip!!!

Keeping with my plan, i sashed them and added them to my quilt:

Its growing and I love it more and more!!!! Row H is thankfully, a lot easier and I have already completed 6 of these blocks tonite!!!

I also finished a Winter Quilt Block, i need to chose a sashing for these (fun!!!) but they r looking great together, all warm and cosy!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Sampler Complete

My Sampler is finally complete, after hours of pattern writing!!! It will be available early next month. Sally is going to run it as a pattern, a kit and as a class quilt, where 2 blocks will be taught ever week.

Im really happy with it, it was actually hard to give it up!!! The stippling took the longest time but i love the effect (and my shoulders and arms r happy that its over!!) Its gives me a lot more confidence in free motion quilting and ive found a few ideas that I'd like to try later on.

I still have 2 more designs waiting for the patterns to be written (some of u may remember the House Medallion) and ive also got a cute Xmas cushion, that had been on my design wall for so long it left an imprint lol I had planned to start writing them up today but ive decided to take a day off and sew something for me (maybe a Winter Block!!!)

My Sampler still doesnt have a name.......Anne Ida and I have been throwing around a few ideas and Sally has her "Friendship Day" at the shop today so she is going to ask the ladies for some suggestions!!!!

Hope your having a great week!!!

Fun Mail

Dont u love the postman??? Today he delivered two amazing packages and after a busy day pattern writing for my next 3 designs it was a welcome distraction.
Firstly my Four Seasons swap Quilt:

This gorgeous quilt is from Dannielle.....her first one went missing in the post (and i felt dreadful that she made another).........Dannielle i love it and will treasure it twice as much!!! Heres a close up of the stitchery:

I love ragdolls and her stitching is incredible........Thank u sooooo much Dannielle!!!!. She also sent me these:

A Mc Calls quilting magazine (which i have devoured) and two adorable patterns (one for bunnies and one for a doll)...........thank u thank u thank u!!!!

Kim at Honeysuckle Cottage was featuring a fabric pack the other day, so of course i had to go shopping!!!! This is the complete range of Madeira from MODA:

I have plans for this fabric (stay tuned!!!) and they even included a delicious smelling soap (mmmmmm makes the studio smell delicious)............well back to pattern writing (they dont write themselves, i wish!!!)

February Workshop

I have finally finished the third of my stitchery blocks for the tablerunner:


Im going to be teaching this at a workshop in February called "Summer Garden with Creative Women"......of course there r going to be 3 amazing designers there, Gail Pan, Rosalie Quinlan and Natalie Lymer (and me!!) all of whom i cant wait to meet!!! Its very exciting and Im sure it is going to be a fantastic weekend..............to make it even more special, a very good friend of mine (who i wont name cause ill let her share this news)......is flying a very, very long way to be here for the workshop (have u guessed who yet???).........She is going to be here for 11 odd days and ive been "happy dancing" since we first discussed it!!!!! Ill be able to show her around Tassie and its quite possible that in June next year, she will be able to show me her wonderful country ( and one very close to it lol)

My MIL is home from the hospital and i would like to thank everyone for their lovely comments and to all those who sent such heartfelt emails during the last week. Things havent gone smoothly since she was discharged......her days r quite up and down and last nite we experienced a very bad "down" moment (which was really quite scary) but today she was looking and feeling so much better. She is trying (or fighting is probably a better word) to hold onto her independence and we respect that, but i dont think she realises that she really isnt doing anything for herself anymore.

Ive had limited time (or energy) to sew this last week due to helping out with Mum and getting orders ready (thank u New Zealand for being so accepting of "Family Values") so i just have to do what i can, when i can!!!

Cohen Creates!!!!

Every time i go down to the studio, either one or both of the kids follow. Maddi loves to lie on the couch and chat away about her friends, the boys (Jason in particular lol) and life. Or she will read or write one of her fabulous stories. Cohen likes to create!!! The studio is a "fun" place full of fabrics, buttons, ribbons, paper, wool etc etc etc.........Tonite he got out my "scrap box" and he layed out this fabric house:

Now he had really thought this out, so how could i deny him sewing this masterpiece together!!! He actually loves to sew and helps me out often (he has to stand to reach the pedal and help guide thru the fabric) When he (we) were finished I added the doggie button just as a special touch and he turned to me and said, "Mum u should blog this!!"........so sweetheart, mum blogged it!!!!

It was a lesson learned to me tonite..........create and enjoy it!!! Too many times i worry that im not good enough or that this is not right or that isnt right.........but creating is about having fun, making something from nothing and being proud to show the world!!!

Great job Cohen!!!

A Little Bit More....

Its been a 4 day weekend here and of course things didnt go to plan, but thats life!!! (My studio???....can someone please give me directions to it lol!) My MIL (who is 83 and I love dearly) has been very ill with a chest infection, so we moved her into our home, with us. Now the elderly can, at times, be more demanding than children, so i tried to get a bit of stitching in, while she dozed on and off:

But unfortunately she got worse and had to be taken to hospital late Saturday night. Her infection turned to pneumonia and she had an enlarged thyroid which is causing problems. In the hours it took, from the ambulance arriving, to her finally being admitted (and Im talking a lot of hours...about 10) i finished the second block of my tablerunner:

The third one, i drafted and began stitching today. My MIL is improving rapidly, due to IV antibiotics and will be home from hospital very soon. It was a very scary and worrying time for us and this was not eased by the attitude of the ambulance drivers or the current "nursing strike" that has hit our local hospitals. I understand their reasons but this should not come at the cost of public health!!!

The hand of friendship reached out this week to myself and to Maddi. Anne Ida sent us a "fun mail" package from Norway:

She sent Maddi some "Hello Kitty" fabric to make a makeup purse (including the pattern which was in Norwegian and she had translated the important bits to English.....thats because my Norwegian is dodgey lol), a 3 Part story from Jennifer for me to read (and i loved it sweetie!!), some licorice (my favorite and this is devine) and some Norwegian Chocolate........now im not a chocolate addict but this would have to be the best chocolate i have ever tasted (how can i ship this to Tasmania??? lol).....Thank u soooooo much Anne Ida, with all the worry with Mum ur parcel made us smile and feel sooooo special!!!

With a small window of time to myself, i wandered around the garden, looking for those Spring changes and found that where once was bloosom, now they r apples in the making:

The trees r loaded with them this year. Its time to get out the recipe books and search for some new and inventive ways to serve up the crop this year. I just love the smell of cooked apple throughout the house, toss in some cinnamon and im in heaven.

Hope u all had a wonderful weekend!!!

A Little Progress

Time in the studio has been limited these last couple of weeks. Ive been busy packaging patterns, delivering orders and trying to design this new project. It would help if i didnt keep changing my mind, so progress is slow on this tablerunner :

One stitchery is finished and today i played around with some possible layouts. There will be 3 stitcheries divided by pieced blocks. Heres a close up:

The fabrics r so soft and pretty, so i tried to incorporate that into the stitchery. I trialled using just one strand for the scroll work and i like it, much finer and delicate!!!

The second stitchery is underway:

If I have time (im teaching this project in Feb as part of a workshop, with some other very "special" designers YAH!!), I think ill whip up some placemats to compliment it!!

A commitment free day for me tomorrow, so i plan on spending the whole day in the studio working on my "ever growing" pile of projects. Unless the phone rings...............