Thursday 19 May 2016

Fractured Pillow and Winter colour


I'd like to say it's spring here and that summer is booming around the corner, but sadly we are just about to head into the cooler winter months. Walking the hill face last weekend felt like a spring day, even the butterflies were flitting about as if to agree with me. Lovely spring colours from the eucalyptus trees also set about to fool me.Our seasons always feel so mixed up here in Australia. Often we will get unseasonalably hot weather in spring and new plantings will suffer in the heat, wilting in duress to the torturous beating of the suns rays. I often wonder and admire in amazement at how my green thumbed friends can maintain their gardens....but we all know that their success is often due to mulching and regular watering (both of which I am not predisposed to doing) So I fail miserably in the garden. If it cant stand on its own legs with minimal support, then it is just going to die in my garden.
My splashes of colour come from sewing . I may not sew seeds but I can certainly string piece bits of material to produce cushions by the dozens (or as many as my back will allow me to sit at my sewing machine)
My latest effort is entirely from my off cut bag, left overs from a quilt. Just enough for two cushions  in similar colourways but opposing directions.


 A here are the beautiful eucalyptus in all their finery. Such a dazzling display.
Check out the ants filling up on nectar in the flowers
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  I love the burnt orange colours as the flowers  begin to dry and wilt






Chasing butterflies!






 And a well camouflaged native
 That is my weekend past in a nut shell....1 more day of work and then I get to play all over again.Cant wait.

Tuesday 17 May 2016

My Crafty Lot

 Looking back over my spartan offerings of the last few months I realize that I haven't included any real coverage of all my crafty activities . I have entered a few swaps in this time and they have generated spin  off projects.
Cushions abound in my makings. The swap process is a great stimulus to create new projects and to be inspired by other peoples work
I had always admired the pattern for the feathered star but hadn't had the impetus to actually try it. Now having completed one I am keen to complete a few more of these cushions in other colourways. This cushion took a while to complete as I decided to hand stitch the quilting.

                                               




Another project that I have always considered doing is English paper piecing EPP. This one is made almost entirely from my scrap bag. Hand stitched entirely whilst I was home for 2 weeks with a back injury it filled in the moments when I was able to sit up. The cushion was influenced by all the colourful activities of my fellow swappers on IG in the #PCSWAPAS where a myriad of colour and shapes  formed beautiful cushions which are highly covetable.



 A second pillow that I sent in the swap  is the radiant beauty/. It is an angel cushion to someone who's cushion went AWOL in the post.



 Another project for a Amy Bulter low volume swap is also based on EPP. I love how the pattern evolves as the next layer is added and my thought process is altered with each layer. It is certainly a lot different to how I originally envisaged


















 This is the cushion I sent to my swap partner for the #PCSWAPAS . It was difficult to part with. The embroidery took just as long to add as to make the  cushion.









A  new lino print honoring our Australian eucalyptus




A selfie of me with a crochet cowl. Cant wait for the cooler weather so I can really rug up in this. Im making a second one in blue.


 A lastly a series of stitcheries - angels I am gradually making for a quilt of my own design











that's enough I think. Sorry if you've seen this all  before on IG  but I thought I should get back into the habit of having a chat here again. Although IG is instantaneous it lacks the flow of conversation and thought but it does make an easy method of cataloging activities with little effort.

Thanks for stopping by and hoping your days are truly inspired.