I am so Virtuous

When I had bronchitis in February I was very, very slack and didn't really even do a class list for Term 2.  But TA DA, Term 3 Class List is done and will be on the website by the weekend.

We are even having some new classes including one for a quilt called Illusions and another called Australian Beauty. 

I am also teaching some hand quilting classes.  I just love to hand quilt.  It is the closest I have ever come to meditation as I can just zone out into my own little universe when I am  quilting by hand. When I am sewing quilts for the shop I just don't have time to hand quilt but when I am making them for myself it is a different story because I am not on a time limit.  I like the way they drape and feel so soft.

Happy stitching from Therese

Yo-yo Retro

Somewhere in my travels I aquired a bag of yo-yos. They are made out of dressmaking fabrics and whatever was to hand.  They look like they are 1950's to 1960's vintage.  I had planned to make a yo-yo quilt one day and had sewn some together to see how they looked but then the bag was put away in a cupboard.

I have been having a major clean out in my sewing room and when I unearthed the bag I decided to sort it out and actually use some of the bits.  So I now have four new cushions to use as shop displays and then to sell at our upcoming Craft Market on 5th June. 

 I am so happy with how they look, I have also written the pattern, so my customers can make their own Yo-yo Retro cushions.

Happy stitching from Therese

Oops

What do you do when you decide to make a quilt a little bit bigger and then -OOPS- the backing isn't quite wide enough.

This is what I did -----sewed the leftover bits into a strip and added them to one side of the  backing

It gets rid of fabric that would otherwise go in the scrap drawer and adds a bit of interest to the back.

Happy stitching

Therese

Where do the days disappear to?

It is over a month since we have done a post.  We are naughty bloggers.

But we have been sewing up a storm.  We have committed to have a stand at a new local craft market.  It is at Karingal Place and should be a lot of fun.  We have been making cushions, table runners, small quilts, pincushions, aprons, potholders, needlebooks, journal covers and cat softies.  We will also be doing a demo of hand piecing, applique and quilting so it will be a great way to promote our business and classes. As it will be our first time there, we have no idea what to expect so it is exhilerating and scary all at the same time.

Masterchef has a lot to answer for!!!!  We don't actually watch it but a couple of weeks ago in their promotion they talked about scones.  Now my husband adores homemade scones so he has been nagging me since to make some.  I don't have time to make scones and said so in one of my classes.  One of the girls said,  "I will bring some next week and they are the easiest scones you will ever mke."  She bought them today with the jam and cream to go on top and they were delicious and then she told us the secret.  "Buy a box of CWA scone mix and add water."  She always has one in the pantry for unexpected guests. Well guess what is on my shopping list.  Do you have a favourite stand by for "just passing, thought we'd drop ins".  My mother's was Sao biscuits with tomato and cheese. 

Tasha here: At my house you have to bring your own milk if you want a coffee - we are a soy milk family! 

Till next time,

Therese

Lurgies & Creativity Renewed

I have had a bronchial lurgie since mid February but finally seem to have gotten rid of it. Hooray. The worst part of feeling ill is that the creative ideas seem to disappear, which is even more depressing. One of my strategies to get past that feeling is to do some sorting and cleaning in my sewing room and NO, I AM NOT SHOWING A PHOTO BECAUSE IT IS SO BAD I AM TOO EMBARRASSED. ARE YOU LISTENING TASHA. The upside of cleaning up is finding lots of half done or discarded projects. Rather than just toss them either in the bin or the op-shop bag I challenged myself to come up with a new purpose for them.





 

One project is some lozenge shapes  that I had hand pieced a quilt from and then started a cushion cover with the leftovers. I have now unpicked and resewed some of the pieces to make a long skinny piece for a tablerunner. 
(The lozenge shape is from a book by Christine Book called Stitched For Us Folk.)

I also found some pretty strips of fabric left over from these pretty pin cushions so my grandaughter and I foundation pieced some more pin cushions. She is a brilliant stuffer.

Leftover country fabrics strips are going to be a couple of needlebooks for Kris Kringle gifts and then I found a reject block from a quilt I made five years ago and as I looked at it, I thought "what if I add a vine and some tendrils. It could be a cushion or a wallhanging or even added to the quilt I am designing now.

So I  have a pile of things that I am inspired to work on again even though it wasn't what they were originally going to be and those creative ideas are flowing again.  There are never enough hours in the day to achieve all that I want to do.

Till next time,

Therese

Haven't we been here before?

Hello, long time no post!

I have been moaning about the lack of projects that I would like to make in the magazines, so I decided to do something about it.  I put the thought out there that we would love to do a project and what happens?  Two different magazines want projects! 

Jenine and I said that we could assist one magazine that needed a specific project in a hurry.  So off we went, cutting, sewing, more cutting, more sewing.  We loved the project.  So much so, that we didn't want to give it away!  So, back to the drawing board.

Jenine and I are still working on the original quilt, but another design needed to be done and quickly - we only had a week to go before it was to be finished.  Could we do it?  Yes, we could. 

Over a weekend, Therese and I sat and sewed our little hearts out - my fingers were sore from all the blanket stitching we did.  Therese put the top together and quilted it over a couple of days, I did the binding and it was done.  Did we like it?  At the start, no!  But by the end we were very happywith it.  The magazine love it and will be using it as a project later this year.  Keep an eye out for more details (I promise to keep up with the blog!).

Sneak preview of applique blocks!

What do you think?  Cute, hey?

Till next time,

Tasha

Lucky Country

I know that we live in the "lucky" country but sometimes it can be a harsh country too.  We all watched in horror as the water swept away houses, cars and people in Queensland then the hurricane winds further north and then the creeping spreading floods in Victoria.  I sat in my comfortable home or in my well stocked sewing room and tried to imagine what it would feel like if it was all just gone in the blink of an eye.

I started sewing.  I made needlebooks every night and then with a dedicated team of helpers at work we have spent the last four Saturdays making up sewing kits for the ladies in those devastated areas who have lost all their supplies.  They will be posted in the next couple of days to a collection point in Queensland to be distributed in the coming weeks.  I want to give a big THANK YOU to Jill, Judy, Sue, Simone and Maxine.  We made caddy's to go on the arm of a couch, needlebooks and pin cushions to go in drawstring bags with some scissors, pins, embroidery threads and needles.  It isn't much but if the sewing kits give some comfort it is worth every minute we spent sewing.  We just wanted to let them know we care.

Till Next Time,

Therese and Tasha