A Couple of Treats

This post is so long overdue that both Christmas and New Year celebrations have come and gone so belated greetings on both counts. (In the middle of the renovations life had to make a necessary deviation  from the projected course which has required ongoing medical treatment and changed the order of things for a while longer.....)

So, even though I have been throughly spoilt with a wonderful new living space and kitchen, I felt a few more treats were in order to complete the renovation on the one hand and to bolster the soul a little on the other........

Since I wasn't able to shop in person I turned to online shopping - a potentially dangerous occupation when still in bed.

We have talked about pink bags before in an earlier post, so imagine how thrilled I was to discover that my order from my favourite kitchen supplier came in a pink box instead......it seemed entirely appropriate.

One overly large, pink box......

Fortunately the packaging material is fully biodegradeable and can be hosed away on the garden or in the compost.......

Inside, some new champagne glasses and tumblers to toast the future, some commercial quality cooking pans for the cakes I intend to bake and a silicone mat to drain said glasses and more to use as heat pads........

And to feed the mind, a couple of treats from my other favourite online shopping destination.........

A couple of sample pages......

A very interesting take on Art Quilt making - also involving the use of Haiku poetry and will hopefully lead to a piece  of work someday.......

And another idea to fill the gaps when a little new inspiration or a restful interlude is needed.......and the scraps around the house are threatening to overtake every nook and cranny.........

Making fabric from scraps.........

Another decision needing to be made - what to do when a faithful friend, after 39 years of hard labour, packs it it when mixing the dough for this walnut foccacia?

Back to the 'shops' to seek another bargain - and what a beauty. With a model runout the bonuses kept coming and seemed way too good to pass up - even though spending should have long ceased by this point.........

And just to round off this post so it doesn't drag out to the next New Year, meet Roxie, adopted a month ago and settling in nicely. More about her soon.

If there is still anyone out there reading this, thanks, hopefully not so long til next time,
Sue xxxx

When More is Less and Less is More

When is more, less and less, more? Let me explain the latest changes and the 'how' and 'why'......

There is LESS stuff in my sewing room after our trip to Melbourne. We managed to cram our car full of daughter's stuff and redeploy it at her new abode. Gone is 'Samantha' (the dressmaker's dummy) and a large box or two from under my sewing table. Gone are some boxes from the wardrobe which has freed up MORE storage space for me to pack away my machine bags and covers.......

I found a small bookcase in our storage area (I'm not exactly sure who it belonged to but since no-one has been looking for it - for years - I figured it was mine - until someone claims it....)

I have my quilting books right next to my machine now and the good news is there is plenty of room for MORE books - should they happen to turn up in the mail someday......

And with a bit LESS clutter I can see MORE of my design wall as well.

I can once again sit on the couch which was drowning in books, projects and fabric that had nowhere to live.

 All my technique and reference books can now be accommodated on the original bookshelf with spaces to squeeze a few MORE in here and there........should that become necessary........

All in all a good day's work!

Back on the design wall that I can now see so much MORE of (including all the stray threads) is a small experimental and improvisational piece practising using complementary colours (ie those opposite each other on the colour wheel). It was also an excuse to use the 12 step colour gradation I dyed earlier in the year. The idea was to see the effect of using pairs of complementary colours in reverse proportions and study the effect.

(Very) Rough sketch with Inktense pencils

 So now we come to layout - and this has been the stumbling block.

This was the original idea based on the reasoning for the project.

                                                                       OR???

Any comment / opinions gratefully received - though probably I should just dive in and stitch it up in the spirit of the original intention......... 

AND, I dusted, too! (Earlier pics here).

Sue xxxx

(I've also finally worked out how to link back to previous posts. You might like to test it out for me.)



MIA

I feel like I have been missing in action. Certainly there hasn't been much sewing action but summer usually brings a whole other set of activities that historically (as in my history) tend to take precedence.......

There's the tennis for a start, so the TV is on for many more hours than is usual. It's also a time for catching up with family and friends and usually a short trip away to the Snowy Mountains. (This time with lots of photos of eucalyptus trees and leaves for one of my upcoming projects.....

For me this trip signals Christmas is over and I can put my feet up with a good book or two.....(see 'Happy New Year' post), notably these.....and start to plan new projects.

.......very different but I enjoyed both.    

There have been some houseguests, with more due soon..........

......and two batches of crabapple jelly, the second one twice cooked as it didn't properly set the first time - which has intensified both the glorious colour and the flavour.

We have been to three very different but highly rated movies - 'The Book Thief', The Railway Man' and 'Saving Mr Banks'............

.........and another batch of greyscale fabric dyeing (which needs its own post).

Add to that a couple of swims and a few walks and it has been a busy but pleasureable time - just not much blogging......

I am making a concerted effort to get back on track before my head bursts - it is so full of ideas - and it's time for some action instead of thinking and reading.

Hopefully back soon,

Sue xxxx

The Silk Road and other bits......

Finally, they're here......

Tickets in the mail - departure rapidly approaching. (Our full itinerary for anyone interested can be found on the 'Blue Dot Travel' website under this link to 'The Stans' . (There should be updates posted on their Facebook, Internet access permitting.)

In addition - some 'research' material.....(yes ABB X 2).

A quick question - do you suppose it might be impolitic to suggest that a larger bookcase would be a useful thing? (Or might that draw too much attention to what is already there?)

In other bits.....

                           Some prairie points.......

          ....and some FMQ which hopefully looks like woodgrained fence palings...

(I should have watched Angela Walter's Craftsy class again but being a bit pressed for time I made do with just referring to her book.) But I can't show you how these are coming together because it's my entry into the 'Quilts in May' quilt challenge....

And I finally found a use for some of the fabric paper I'd made following instructions in Beryl Taylor's book - 'Mixed Media Explorations'.....still a joy to browse through.

I'd better get back to work on my quilt.

Til next time,
Sue xxxx