On the cross stitch front...

My friends, Marita and Marijke, are keen cross-stitchers (although Marijke has recently converted to become a keen hand quilter!!).  They have made beautiful pieces that I always admire. Last December (2010), I went shopping in Valkenburg (The Netherlands) with Marijke and bought two cross stitch kits of my favourtie flowers; Sunflower and Tulips. I determined to finish them for my birthday this year (May 2011), and stitching them in between my other sewing projects, I did. I was pleased with myself. :-) ... During my stay in France, I have decided to work on and finish off some cross stitch kits that I started a few years ago but didn't quite get around to finish them. I'm now a proud owner of a 'special' car keyring. Fuchsia always reminds me of my wonderful trip to the south of Ireland. Also, together with a tatted letter H, I have made a wall hanging for my son, Harrison, from two of the finished cross stitch pieces. I still have more cross stitch kits to work on, enough to last me my life time, I think.!! I find the stitiching relaxing and, now and then, it's a nice break from the sewing machine to be sitting quietly in my rocking chair in the morning sun while I work on a kit.

More on the 'bags'...

Although I haven't updated my blog for quite some time, I have been keeping very busy working on my craft projects while I was in France, and back here in my sewing room at home (in Sydney, Australia). Lately, I seem to enjoy making bags.!! I find that it's a good way of making use of different kinds of fabircs, including the left over fabrics from when I made dresses for myself and friends (I no longer make clothes, just mending them these days), and tea towels that I collected from places that I have been when travelling.  Here are some of the bags that I have made... They are for my own use and for friends who appreciate the craftwork.

At the Show...

I was spending most of my time in France from the end of May. This week is the fourth week since I got back home (in Sydney, Australia). I, therefore, missed the entire Sydney Quilt Show when my quilt was on display. Trish, one of the ladies at my local sewing group, kindly took a couple of photos of the quilt and sent them to me, and here they are...

Em's Green and Gold Bargello Quilt

I did get the quilt finished.!! But it has taken me a while to find the time to take a few photos on a nice sunny day and upload them. I have entered it to the Sydney Quilt Show and am waiting to hear whether or not it will be accepted... I took a class with Michel Higgins at Sydney Sewing Centre, Hornsby NSW, in February last year (2010) to learn how to make a bargello quilt. Sunflower yellow is my favourite colour. So, I chose the fabric with little bright yellow flowers and green leaves print for the middle row first, then, other colours of fabrics to 'mix and match' for the rest of the quilt top and the backing. The strips sizes and cutting were Michel's measurement. I designed the border, the size and the finish (of the quilt). I quilted the quilt using my beloved Bernina 440QE. It wasn't that easy to try to manoeuvre the quilt through the small space but it did come out the other end and I got the whole quilt quilted nicely (to me, anyway).!! It certainly has been a very good learning process for me and, more importantly, keeping me grounded during this very busy time at work. I will see how it goes with the competition or if it ever will....AND....yes, the quilt has been accepted. The news has just arrived this afternoon (30/04/2011), just in time as my birthday present tomorrow....AND yes, I'm a 'May' flower.... :-)

Em's nifty 'sewing' bag

The day before I left for Seattle, WA, I kept thinking that I wasn't ready to go to GHME 2011 Conference because then, I was still waiting for the results from DISMOD analysis before I could put together slides for the meeting after the conference. And waiting for DISMOD to process the data, sometimes, it seemed to take forever... Staying cool while waiting, I decided to retreat to my sewing room and made this nifty sewing bag from scraps (left over fabrics from quilt backing) with my own little touch by adding the orange star shape buttons to it. I have got the pattern from Handmade Vol 28 No 11. I finished the project the night before I left (for Seattle). It ended up being a multipurpose bag. It was my toiletry bag for the trip, my tatting tools bag for last Sunday, 3rd April, at the Castle Hill Show, and for now, I'm using it to keep bits and pieces of my English paper piecing project. It is, indeed, a very 'nifty bag' and I love it. :-) [I did finish the slide presentation of DISMOD results at 2am the morning I had the meeting...just in time...].

Doily for Marijke

I'm practicing 'being practical'.!!... Last Sunday, 3rd April, I volunteered to be a demonstrator for tatting at the Castle Hill Show. I thought to myself '...Right, I will get the doily that I have promised to make for a vase on Marijke's dinning table finished'. While working on the piece, I was also using it as an example to demonstrate tatting. To be sitting down tatting all day long, I couldn't not finish it.!! So, here is the finished doily for my dear friend, Marijke's vase. it's now packed away with other things that I will take with me on the trip to Europe next month.

...Here is the outcome...and I'm smiling...

Life seems to be rushing me along....Trying to get away on time, remembering to take tablets for the persistive headache and all the tatting tools I needed, and of course,  forgetting about the daylight saving, I made it to the Castle Hill Show an hour early last Sunday, 3rd April. It took me a while to work out the fact after thinking about when I left home (9am) and got to the Show (8.50am), and I was glad to realise that I wasn't mad.!! I was at the Show as a tatting demonstrator for the day and was quite busy all day. During the day, I was asked to help with taking photos of the tatted pieces for the NSW Tatters' Guild newsletter... There was a rush of mixed feelings when I saw my name next to the pieces with the prizes. I couldn't say that I wasn't pleased with the outcome. :-)