Sunday 29 June 2014

got my breath back

I am still over the moon with my quilt but as I have some other things that need doing the yo yo baskets and binding are waiting patiently.
It has been a busy few days...
Last Friday I went to meet up with Elyte and Susan (thimblestitch) at Tranquility for some retail therapy and lunch together as Susan was visiting Melbourne for a few days.
We had such a lovely afternoon and of course, it passed too quickly.
Susan and Elyte had arranged a mini swap and I could have quite happily kidnapped both of them! (the quilts not Susan and Elyte)
Susan also made me a gorgeous little pincushion to add to my collection. We share a love of hexagons.
A super mini hexie flower and blue and cream fabrics-Perfect! All the little cross stitches around the top and bottom are a beautiful touch too. I love it.

 Yesterday I managed a trip to GJ's for their sale and found these lovely linens and fabrics.
They are all going to be used together with my vintage hexies. I also bumped into a few familiar faces....the other members of the city girls.


Just wanted to share these new treasures...
Nearly 30 years ago we went to Tasmania for our honeymoon and hub just had to buy some raw Huon Pine from a Saw mill we visited. One day..... he would turn them into something.
Well that one day has arrived, thanks to a friend who has wood turning equipment. So together they made a pepper mill and a beautiful wooden bowl.
The wooden bowl shows the beautiful silky sheen of the pine. These are going to be heirlooms in my eyes.
Who knows how old the wood was before we bought it, so amazing.


Still loving looking at my Swan Lake quilt.... thankyou for all the lovely comments and for all your support along the way. There were times when I didn't know if I would get there but the encouragement and shared enthusiasm helped a lot so thanks to all of you. x
There has been a request from one friend that they be considered for a bequest of the quilt should anything happen to me. It has been noted. What are friends for.
cheers for now
Marina




Saturday 28 June 2014

breathtaking moment

Please indulge me 

“For some moments in life, there are no words.”






just the binding and the little dollies' baskets to stitch on.

Pattern Swan Lake by Patchwork on Stoneleigh
Fabric-French General, Petite Ecole plus some extras from other ranges
Quilting by Leanne Kaufmann



I'll be back soon to share some more snippets of loveliness.
Happiness level has reached 100%


Marina

Sunday 22 June 2014

when in doubt...

....start something new that you want to make..
Now there is some quilting that desperately wants my attention but I have managed to ignore it as the urge to start something new overcame all other voices in my head..
I haven't been ignoring all the other projects as I did manage to finish the last two small blocks of Live laugh love which means I can start on the big centre block. I have decided not to add the two stitched/applique borders and will finish it off with just the main stitchery blocks.
Just had to lay it out to see how it would look all together. It's good to see where you are heading.

 then I felt I should reward myself with the something new.
that lovely Charm pack that was sent to me by Susan has been sparingly cut into a little pile of  clamshells.
Now some intelligent person thought it would be good to start off on a small scale and buy 1 1/2" clamshell papers. Little fiddly but I am getting the gist of them.
Here they are laid out so I could get an idea of arranging the colours. They are so pretty.
Late last night I managed to sew one row but today that will be reverse sewn as I didn't make the row wide enough. I quite like making these the only thing is the glueing part but  by the tenth one I wasn't doing too badly with them. I watched a Sue Daly video on You Tube to see how it is done.

Will share a pic once it is resewn.
Sun is shining and it would be so wonderful to sit in the sun streaming through the window and sew but there are chores to be done first (maybe).
Have a great day
Marina

Wednesday 18 June 2014

lots to share...

On Sunday I spent a wonderful day with some city and country friends at the Sunbury quilt show. It was a really lovely show and there were some amazing quilts.
A day out with these girls is like a tonic, it picks you up just like a big hug and there were quite a few of those meted out during the day lol
I didn't take a camera but thankfully some star photographer/bloggers did.
I am borrowing this pic from Sue's blog  she has taken some gorgeous pics of the day and also of most of the quilts.
When the waitress said 'now for a silly photo' because we are all such good girls, who were we to not comply!
from left to right-Sue, Tracee, me, Jo, Tania, Robyn, Elyte, Marg and Annie
Thanks girls for a fantastic day out!!

What's a quilt show without some purchases...I thought I should have a little spend especially in case I didn't win a raffle. (very prophetic too as I didn't win a scrap).
I bought some gorgeous vintage fabric hexies. Have had my eye on these for awhile was just waiting to encounter this stall somewhere along the way.
 I couldn't wait to get them all basted and ready. I even fished out some 'vintage' fabrics of my own to add to the pile. The idea on how to use these is still swirling around my head. thinking, thinking, thinking......I do have something in mind just to get it from brain to fingers.
A tower of hexies...

 Three more live laugh love blocks have been completed, they were just waiting for their berries.

The postie has been very good to me lately as yesterday a gorgeous parcel arrived from Fiona . If I hadn't been so excited to open it I might have taken a pic of how pretty the wrapping was.
When I opened the parcel it revealed this loveliness....
I have wanted to make one of these bags from the first time I saw the pattern but it got added to the pile of to do's. Now I don't have to make one at all.
Love, love, love this Fiona-thankyou.
Fiona has some pics on her blog too, taken in the sunshine, makes it look even more gorgeous!



Before you are overwhelmed by all the visual... I have one more pic to share.
A little while ago Susan from Thimblestitch blogged about pincushions and had a giveaway for a gorgeous hexie pincushion. Commenters mentioned how many pincushions they have. I thought it was time to take an updated pic of my pincushions as there have been a few additions.
I do love them all but the ones that get used are the Scruffy haired pincushion on the far right and my little one with all the pins at the front. Poor things they do all the work while the others just get to look pretty.
A lot of them were gifts from wonderful bloggy friends which makes them even more special.
Received a picture from Leanne who is quilting my Swan Lake. I was so excited, she has made a start and it is amazing. I can't wait!!!
Hope everyone has a great week

marina

Friday 13 June 2014

postal goodies and a little more christmas...

a few weeks ago I received a gorgeous parcel of goodies in the mail all the way from the Netherlands.
Lovely Els sent me a box which contained these lovelies..
 
the most adorable cross stitching..
The only crafting has been the progress on my swap goodies..
I managed to think of something for the third item. A holly decorated little cushion.. The stitchery design was a freebie, the link for which was put on Cheryll's christmas in July blog. It's such a pretty pattern.
 I thought some gold metallic thread would spruce the lettering a little bit. Not the easiest thread to work with though and so hard to get even.
the candle mat/ topper is all in one piece, basted ready for quilting.

I am waiting for some things in the mail that will allow me to start a new project which will involve trying something new. This gorgeous charm pack has been waiting for the right project, it was sent to me by the lovely Susan from Thimblestitch.

but you will just have to wait and see how it eventuates.....
Hope you all have a great weekend..
I am looking forward to a meeting with friends on Sunday
Happy stitching!
Marina

Friday 6 June 2014

wintery weather....

looks like the shorter days and cooler weather has settled in, throw in some rain and it is well and truly winter.
Crafting has been pretty slow here and my main focus has been on my Christmas in july Swap goodies.
Thinking, thinking, some cutting and putting together has produced the start of two of the gifts.
I have cut into my stash of my 3 sisters collection to make this...
this will be a little table topper/come candle mat. Just a bit more stitching to go...
....a Christmas tree, I just love making these. I need to find a little jewel to put on top of the tree then it's done.
 Still toying with what the third item will be but I have  narrowed it down to two options. I could just make them both and stash the spare one? good idea..
Our pear tree has been enjoying dropping it's leaves...and I have been picking them up lol
I took this photo a few weeks ago, it has since dropped all of it's leaves adding to the wintry feel of the garden.

the plum tree dropped it's leaves too and revealed that we had some tennants during the warmer months...
The birds are finally getting smarter and making their nest in a more practical and safer place.

Long weekend here to commemorate the queen's birthday holiday on Monday.
Always happy to welcome a long weekend
Hope you get time to have some crafting time this weekend too

Marina

Time is flying....

 Seems like my blog has become a little neglected again, this doesn't mean a lack of crafting though. Progress has been achieved on most...