The Glenvale Block

After about 5 years of languishing in the UFO box  and getting the occasional airing, the crazy blocks for my quilt "My Crazy Life - so far" are finished and ready to be put together.

This is block No 9 "The Glenvale Block".  This block represents where we are living at at the moment.

 The bottle brush which always puts on a lovely display each year and below that a representation of our little pink miniature roses.















The wattle which is in flower around the countryside right now, and our flowering peach tree which is in bud and will look magnificent in the coming weeks.


















Our dove cote which, in reality,  is looking a little worse for wear right now, but I have done a 'before' version here.  The fan is there because - well just because.  It actually breaks up a rather large piece of the white fabric. 














The heart of our home.  The edging of the heart is done in what Robyn Ginn calls the 'row of roses' stitch.  It starts with a cable stitch and the rest of it is too hard to explain here.  I think it is often referred to as 'oyster stitch'. 












On this part of the block, I have done my interpretation of the Toowoomba violet.  Satin stitch is not usually my favourite, but I was happy with how this turned out and won't be so scared to try it again now.  We have a lot of the white daisy in our garden and in spring and summer it is just like a white carpet.  Very pretty.

All the F's - Food, Family, Fun, Friends

 
FOOD
 DH and I seem to be constantly thinking of food lately.  He loves stir fries, so one night this week I pulled out the wok and made him beef and bok choy.   It was yummy - served with rice noodles.

FAMILY

 Oh no Lili, not the dog bed!!  Lili decided she wanted a little lie down.

 FRIENDS

My friend Marleen (no blog) made this for my birthday one year.  It always amazes me how many different things people can make from hexagons.  This little "handbag" is a needle case. 















FUN
Going for coffee with some girlfriends this morning to celebrate recent birthdays.  We have been trying to catch up for weeks now, but we all lead such busy lives.
The wrapping I have used here is old country-style magazines I 'source'.  Some of the photography in these glossy magazines is just divine and it makes very pretty wrapping paper.  Usually I like to add a handmade tag and some nice ribbon.

My Leaf Quilt

 
This is the quilt we currently have on our bed.  A bit different to the Kaffe Fassett eh?

This quilt was finished in September 2001 and is all hand quilted.  I have dedicated it to the memory of my Mum who passed in September 1997.  It has hundreds can't remember exactly how many, think over 400)  of hand appliqued leaves - no two are the same.  It was a joy to make and I have started another similar one.  It is a loooooong term project.  I seem to have a lot of them :-)


 
Close up of central panel
 
This faithful little daffodil and some of it's friends struggled through the weeds and dry old soil to brighten our wintry days.  It is a sign spring is coming  YIPEE.  

Treasures and Odds and Ends

My friend, Joan, (no blog) read about my found objects and gifted me some of hers.  She is a very sweet friend.  Don't you just love that art deco piece?  It is half of a buckle.  The gorgeous button is from one of her old scottish tartan garments and the little dogs are from one of her late father's whisky bottles.  Found objects with a story - cool.  Thanks Joan.

Joan also gave me these gorgeous glass buttons a couple of years back. That light blue one is one of my favourite buttons in my collection.  She presented them to me in this lovely box and I still keep them in there and look at them every so often.  I know she will want me to use them on a project one day, but at the moment they are just treasured.
 

Magazines in the bathroom?  They are in the bathroom waiting to go back into my sewing space after new carpet was laid.  Yes these are just a small fraction of magazines I have.  I know it is time for a big cull of them, but I flick through them, see something that, well, maybe I will make one day (ha, ha) and then I don't throw it!!  What a tragic.  All those coloured tags?  Yep, they are marking projects I will make one day.  Maybe I need one of those professional de-clutter consultants to come in and help me.

A Finish and a Show and Tell

IT'S FINISHED -  I have named it "Dotty about Kaffe" because I am totally mad for Kaffe Fassett's designs and fabrics etc. and also almost each small square is surrounded by a KF dot. 
Designed by Kaffe Fassett from his book "Quilts in the Sun".
  The hanging sleeve is sewn on and the quilt is ready to hang at the club's exhibition, after which it will hang on our bed  :-)  Big Smiles!!
 I am reasonable happy with it, but, I have found with every quilt there is always something you might do differently.  It sure brightens up the room.

 This magnificent quilt is the work of a fellow club member and friend, Judy.  Judy doesn't have a blog, but you can read about the quilt and see some more photos at Toowoomba Quilters Club blog.
Judy is one talented lady and she has passed the artistic genes on to her daughter, Nikki Tervo.  You can view Nikki's fabulous hand made buttons, patterns etc HERE.  Judy suffers terribly with crippling arthritis, but she still manages to churn out some marvellous quilts.  She is an inspiration.

Call me Crazy

Call me crazy - that's okay.  Most people who know me are already thinking it anyway!


These are what I call my found objects.  I started collecting them when I decided to try my hand at textile art. Well, not much has happened on the textile art front as yet, but on retirement I should have more than enough found objects.  In fact, like all my ventures in life, it seems to have become a bit of obsession and I cant throw these little blighters out.  OCC -  Obsessive Compulsive Collecting perhaps? 

I enjoy collecting buttons, especially glass ones, (another obsession) and when I get my hands on a bottle or tin of buttons I don't know what excites me more - the discovery of all the little 'found objects' or a sparkling glass button.  

 Lilian is helping Grandad dig some dirt in the garden.  Her favourite place to be.

Our Baby is 26

Our little girl is 26 years old today.  We spent the past weekend with her, and on Sunday took a drive to Wynnum.  Here she is with her very proud Dad.
 As you can see the tide was out, but it is truly a beautiful part of the world.

This is a tidal swimming pool, but at the present time is under maintenance and closed.  The children are just enjoying running and playing on the expanse of sand.

A walk along the pier, some fish and chips, some perfect winter weather imitating springtime - a very enjoyable day.