Christmas Greetings

 

 

 

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Are we having fun yet?

No Christmas Tree this year, the kids are all with the O.P's* but we get to spend some time with our eldest son and his wife and family. Later in the afternoon we will go to the beach, get some pippis for bait and perhaps have a picnic tea. I will miss seeing our Grandson, but I know he will have a fun day.

December has always been a frantic time of year for us, both on the farm and in our business. Depending on the weather and the contractors, there is hay to be made, and people want their stoves and lights in order for Christmas.

I have a few handmade Christmas decorations I like to put out and love twinkling lights at any time of the year.

Christmas can be a very stressful time and evoke all kinds of emotions, good and bad. It is, after all, only one day and the world won't end on the 26th, (although some people behave as if it will!) All is very low key here, but next year will be different because we will all be together at home.

*The Other Parents. ( I can share, I love the O.P's as well.)

 

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Le Grande Finale, December Finish.

 

I have put together the blue and white log cabin blocks for my daughter, in the sunshine and shadow pattern. It came together a lot better than I expected, (but don't look too closely) and I hope it can be quilted successfully. That completes my daughter's 2013 challenge to finish a project a month this year. It certainly hasn't reduced my supplies in any way but I have really improved my patchwork skills. Perhaps my challenge for next year should be NOT to buy any more fabric? I will definitely need a support group for that!

 

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A Quilt Made to be Used.

I have just finished this Pinwheels Quilt for my sister's first Grandchild due very soon. It is all cotton, robustly quilted and been through the washing machine and the dryer. The design is simple and the fabrics are sweet, just right for a baby boy. I hope it is used a lot, as it should be.

 

 

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November Finish

I have made this quilt for my Niece in Law, a lady I admire very much. She had given me two pieces of the fabric, the birds nests and the bird houses, some time ago and I had been looking for something to coordinate with them. The full range of fat quarters was for sale on the internet so I was able to make a decent sized cosy quilt for her. It is backed with flannel, very warm and put together in a quilt as you go method.

 

 

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Christmas Bibs.

I have made a couple of bibs for our Grandson's Christmas meals this year. One is a traditional design and the other is cute and colourful. Fun bibs for a happy day.

 

 

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Another Dancing Pattern Lady.

Is that Glenn Close in the background? Also from here.

 

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A Dancing Pattern Lady!

There are some clever people in the internet world! This is from here. Groovy!

 

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A Bad Day on the Farm

This evening while we were enjoying dinner with our eldest son and his wife, a fox was dining out on our chooks. Only the roosters are left. We have lost our old chook , Zorina (daughter of Zorro, a black Andulsian Rooster we had for many years) a bantam and two golden crossbreed chickens who were proving to be quite good, if illusive, layers. That's it, I have had enough and we are not getting anymore. Store bought eggs will do now for cooking and I might be lucky to get a few fresh ones from our other daughter in laws hens. It has been a bad day.

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Art Deco Op Shop Find.

After a visit to a large shopping centre last week I came away with some coffee for my little machine and a headache. On my way home I called in to the" Friends of Hillside" OpShop and bought myself this Amber glass Art Deco dessert set as well as some fabric strips, an embroidered cloth and a roll of knitting cotton. That is my kind of shopping. Bliss!

 

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October Finish, preparing for a Grande Finale.

These log cabin quilt blocks needed a lot of pressing and thread trimming and are now ready to be put together. I am hoping it will be the Grande Finale of my finish a month challenge for the year. It will be rather tedious to put together because the blocks were made in the days before I cut, sewed, pressed and trimmed meticulously and that is probably why it hasn't been finished sooner. I only have to get the top finished and then hand it over to my daughter to be completed by a professional. It has been made at her request and we had a lot of fun choosing the fabric together, looking for blues that had a touch of indigo. The centres and the backing fabric is a lovely dark red with a small floral print.

 

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September Finish, Quick Strips.

We used to have a local fabric store called The Mill Shop. It had a great range, including Australian made sheeting remnants that were pure cotton and very good quality. The store has been closed for quite a few years now, but I still have supplies purchased there. This quilt has been planned for quite a while and was completed very quickly using the bagging out method.

 

 

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Fruit and Veg bibs.

I have been making bibs for a market using some of the fabrics from my fruit and vegetable collection. They are very colourful and so much more fun than the supermarket bibs. Do you like my big hammer for fixing the press studs? Bit of overkill, but they are secure!

 

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Vintage Thrift Shop Finds

Some pretty floral side plates, vintage Pyrex and a cute cocktail frankfurt serving dish. The Pyrex is stamped Nestlé and was produced in 1959 for a condensed milk promotion.

 

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Obsessed.

My first sheep fabric purchase was in New Zealand in 2001. It was a fat-quarter of rainbow sheep with black and white border collies. I made it into a hot water bottle cover and still have a strip to use on a bib. (Fabric doesn't go off.) My next sheep fabric purchase was enough flannel to make pyjamas, a small quilt and another hot water bottle cover. Those pyjamas have lasted well and I am still using them after numerous washes. They kept me warm on another trip to New Zealand traveling around in a camper van.

Of course selling wool and lambs is part of our livelihood and there are lambs everywhere on the farm at the moment. This year I have bought about 5 new sheep fabrics and can't stop searching for them. I have made a quilt, bibs and have other projects planned.

I also have fabric collections of daisys, fruits and vegetables, 1930's reproduction, fairy tales and other coordinating designer series. Then there are all the other florals in charm squares and tiny prints for English Paper Piecing. So far this year I have kept up with my daughters challenge to complete a project a month, but I still keep starting more! Me? Obsessed? YES!

 

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August Finish

I bought these fabric panels some time ago and finally have made them into place mats. My collection of fruit and veg fabrics is extensive and I have plans for a picnic quilt. They also make nice bibs.

 

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Flying Geese Block

I have wanted to accomplish the Flying Geese Block for some time and add it to my repertoire of bird blocks. (Hovering Hawks, Birds in the Air.) Using this tutorial and bloc loc rulers I have been able to make accurate Flying Geese. I now have a quilt planned for my Sister's first Grandchild expected in December.

 

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Wraps for PNG Babies

Trawling blogs a few weeks ago I came across this initiative ; Quilts for PNG babies I have made 10 simple wraps and will deliver them next week to the organisers.

 

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12th August

 

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"Life is too short to stuff a mushroom"

Whoever wrote that should try these:

Ingredients:

4 to 5 Portobello Mushrooms, peeled and the stems trimmed.

1/4 cup each of chopped bacon, spring onions, red capsicum.

2 tbls chopped fresh herbs, I used parsley, garlic chives and thyme.

2 cups fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs.

1 beaten egg.

Olive oil

Sauté the bacon, spring onions and capsicum, add herbs and cool. Mix in breadcrumbs and beaten egg and fill the mushrooms. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for about 15 to 20 mins in a moderate oven.

If you left out the bacon and used cheese or cooked lentils this would make a great main course for a vegetarian

 

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Rockstar Moment on a Big Day Out.

 

We have just had our annual trip to the Craft and Quilt Fair in Melbourne. We made a few purchases and had a great day. I avoided all the fabric stalls because I have enough to keep me busy for several lifetimes, but I did buy a new die for my cutting machine, some Bloc Loc rulers and a great little portable LED light.

We saw Loani Prior's whimsical, wonderful Tea Cosies. My daughter has her book, but it is always better to see such creations in real life. A highlight for me was meeting Jodie of Vintage RicRac Blog. It was great to see her work "for real" and have a quick chat with her.

It was a big day, and we were all rather weary that evening. I did enjoy the Craft Fair but I'm not sure that I am interested in going again because I am not looking for anything new to take up and have plenty of supplies. We live in a rural area and Internet shopping means I can have what I need very quickly. Reading Blogs gives me lots of inspiration and the writers are very generous about sharing ideas and providing tutorials. I suppose that is a part of how the Internet is changing the world in so many ways.

 

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July Finish

 

This quilt was started some time ago with the purchase of a fat quarter at a Craft Fair. It took me quite a while to find something to go with it and I was trying to match the blue, but finally used a wine colour. Nothing more was done until I found the same fabric at the Craft Depot in Sydney.

I was thinking of abandoning this project but I really liked the fabric design even though it looks quite dated. Now that it is finished it looks very nice in our spare room.

 

 

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