I haven't been that very busy with my work but a few 'major events' have kept me occupied, enough to prevent me from spending time to update my blog.!! Nonetheless, I have managed to finish a few small projects. They keep me grounded and contented. Those events have now passed, and I hope to be able to regularly write more about my handwork to share with everyone who is interested. Here are some photos and brief descriptions of the finished projects.
These are the latest items that I have made. They are needle cases for my dear friends. Those ones I previously sent to them got lost in the mail, sadly.
This is a teapot stand I have made for my son's 'Aunties Carlette and Colly' after we visited them at their new home. The pieces sewn were from when I was trying out the cutting technique that I read in a quilting magazine.
St Patrick rose is my favourite. The colour is, of course, yellow. I have got the actual plant in a pot at the front of my house. Fourteen of the roses (from a local florist) greeted me at the front door last week. My dear husband did remember our anniversary. :-) I have got the embroidery pattern, designed by Jennifer Reynolds, from a Handmade magazine borrowed from Hornsby Shire Council library. I changed the colours to my favourite shades of yellow and modified how it's finished.
I thought to myself that I have to make these Hawaiian leaf cushion covers, designed by Lisa Cox of A Spoonful of Sugar, when I saw the pattern in a Handmade magazine that I borrowed from the local library. It looks different and exotic to me (Mind you, my husband thought it was an alien hand !!). Again, I didn't follow all the instructions.!! I changed the colours to my favourite blue and modified the finish.
Noelene, one of the lovely ladies in my local sewing group, has given the patterned fabric to me after I told her that I really like its purple flowers with the green leaves and blue background. I cut it up to make a double Irish chain quilt (not yet finished) and used the scraps to make this table runner while trying out the Wiggly wheels pattern (again).
After talking to Heidi, another lovely lady in the local sewing group, about Dresden Plates, I thought, perhaps, I could sew up just a few plates and make a wall hanging, and how could I not make another Sunflower one. :-)
My neighbour, Ruth, once remarked to me 'Em, you 'seem' to like Sunflower'. I asked her (with a smile) 'how could you guess?'.
I'm fond of Tulips and all Dutch things for no particular reason, and my beloved friend is a lovely Dutch lady named 'Marijke'. I bought the fabric while visiting Amsterdam in July this year with Marijke but didn't buy enough for a quilt. Hence, another table runner was made, teamed with scraps in shades of blue, of course. :-)
This is the back of the table runner. I have decided to keep the Dutch theme and used up all the Dutch Houses fabric, designed by my (another) Dutch friend, Linda Robertus, that I have got left and the Tulip fat quarter given to me by Marijke.
We have got only one coffee table in the house. But here is another table runner made from scraps I recently bought from Craft Depot. If I appear to be 'mad' about making table runners...I like to try out techniques that I have read in craft magazines and quilting books. Working on a small project like table runner to try out the techniques is achievable within a reasonable timeframe (together with everything else I do). Also, it does keep me happy with using my two hands to do something I love and enjoy (very much).
With all the intention to keep up with tatting, my tatting 'purse' travelled with me to places. But, for reasons, at the end of the day, doing some tatting was the last thing on my mind, apart from the fact that I could hardly keep my eyes open by the time I went to bed.!! Having been to the Tatters' Guild of Australia, NSW Branch, monthly meeting and Christmas party last Saturday 17th December, and have become the Guild newsletter editor reminded me that I hadn't done any tatting since April....I have planned to 'play' with the long arm quilting machine during the end of the year break. Unfortunately, I injured my right knee at the start of the holiday. Not being able to move around much or (machine) sew up a quilt top for quilting, I have picked my tatting shuttles again and finished this tatted edge doily (and of course, it's in shades of blue). I made a similar doily once before, in different colours, for my dear friend, Marijke. The variegated cotton thread and hemmed cotton doily were from Handy Hands Tatting.... I live in a relatively big house but I can't seem to easily find a spot to place my handwork, where I can, now and then, look at and admire it. Putting one doily on top of the other gives a different perspective to the pieces. Until I can find 'good' places for both of them, they are staying together for now.!!
