That's a wrap on 2016

A very happy 2017 to you! I am personally glad to see the end of 2016. It was HUGE and I'm only now drawing breath. I suggested at this time 12 months ago that I had all sorts of grand plans for 2016. Little did I know what the year had in store; that my 'grand plans' would go out the window, replaced by other events.

In April, we sold our beloved farm and garden of 20 years. I've poured out my soul about this previously, so I won't put you through that again! We moved our 20 years worth of accumulated stuff and squeezed it into our house in town.

We determined that we would rest for a while, recover from the wrench it was to sell the farm, take our time to find a new place, and get our middle child through his HSC. Hmmmm ... what do they say  about best laid plans?!

So it is that 'the best laid plans of mice and men (and Bloom!) often go awry'. Having thought that we would spend a year or two searching for a block of land to build again, we quite unexpectedly stumbled upon a house out of town. While it's not the house we'd have chosen to build, the truth is that we were exhausted from 10 years of living between two properties, and the prospect of starting again from scratch seemed overwhelming. And so, by September, we'd bought a new home and moved two houses worth of accumulated stuff, the week before our boy finished school.

Next on the to-do list was to sell our house and garden in town. Unlike the farm, I didn't have much of an emotional attachment to the town house, but I did have to leave another garden!

In amongst all of the packing and moving and packing and moving, my only creative activities were to complete two projects for Australian Homespun magazine. For the June 2016 issue, I submitted these three little embroidered luggage tags.

And in the December issue, these travel sewing books. I will blog about these projects in more detail soon.

I feel like I'm being a bit of a princess complaining about what a big year it has been. I am really thankful that despite the craziness of 2016, we all remained in relatively good health. We've not been seriously sick; we haven't suffered any major deaths or catastrophes. January 2017 sees us with all our children and all our goods and chattels in the one place at the one time for the first time in 10 years. We are blessed, no matter how I look at it!

And now I have another garden to plan! We currently have very little garden to speak of, and what there is needs some loving care.

But there is enormous potential, and we have views ...

... and water ways ...

... and eucalypts and sloping ground.

Let the fun begin! 

I hope 2017 brings you much creativity and contentment. Bloom x

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'The Novel Approach' fabric bookends

Thank you for your interest in my blog. This post has moved and is available in its entirety at this link. Best wishes, Bloom 

'Baled Up' knitting set

Do you remember this teaser from a few posts ago? This was a clue to my most recent project in last April's issue of Australian Homespun magazine.

This project was borne of my childhood memories of woolsheds and stencilling wool bales at shearing time. It ended up as a three-piece knitting set called 'Baled Up'. Homespun did a really lovely job of the styling; very country meets city!

Initially, this idea took form when I was brain-storming about gifts I could make for my brothers. I had intended to make cushions for them and I wanted to stencil the names of our childhood properties on linen, in a similarly rustic way as we stencilled on our wool bales.

When Homespun asked me to submit a project for their magazine, I decided to broaden this initial concept. And so, from a vague germ of an idea, spawned not only a stencilled cushion, but a wool caddy and a knitting needle roll.

And so Madam Knitter, you may sit at your 'knitting chair', with your personalised cushion warming your back. The caddy is designed to sit by your chair and hold your wool. It is fashioned to look a little like a wool bale. It is fully lined and has inner pockets to hold scissors, a tape measure, or in my case, my glasses :)

The needle roll unfolds to reveal various sized individual pockets for all your needles, crochet hooks, gauges etc.

This project was published in Australian Homespun No. 131 in April 2014. The magazine is available as a digital download through Zinio. And no, my brothers still haven't got their cushions!

A kind of hush

I've been very privileged to have some of my projects published in Australian Homespun magazine over the last few years. My latest quilt design is in the March issue (No. 130). It is a soft and pretty number, called 'A Kind of Hush'.

It is made from a layer cake of Figtree Quilt's 'California Girl', plus some yardage. I get serious satisfaction from working out how to make a pre-cut go a long way. If, like me, you have a layer cake stash in the cupboard, then this quilt could be for you!

You can purchase Homespun magazine in Australian newsagents or download an electronic copy from Zinio. There's even a blurb about me in this month's issue which I think I can share with you without breaching copyright. 

And if it doesn't rain it pours - I have a second project coming up in the April issue of Homespun. You'll never guess what it is! A mad idea that I've had rattling about in my head for ages came to be. Here is a clue, just to tease:

Have a good week. Bloom x

  

Come Fly With Me

While 2012 was a little lean in terms of stitching productivity, I did manage to put these photo album covers together. They have just been published in the January Holiday edition of Australian Homespun.

As always, the challenge for this project was to come up with a concept that is just a little different to every other pattern that has ever been published :) Not an easy task! In the end, I was pretty happy with my long-booted, stripe-y legged girl, packed and ready to travel the world. I've used some felt applique and embroidery, including the dreaded satin stitch!

I had fun searching for & purchasing just the right fabrics. The red cloud fabric is 'Free as a Bird' of the Cut Out and Keep range, a beautiful organic cotton from Cloud 9. The text fabric is called 'Town Square' from Sweetwater's Hometown range. The red and blue wavy bits remind me of geological profile diagrams! They are fussy cut from a piece of Anna Maria Horner's 'Innocent Crush' range.

The January edition of Homespun is available in Australian newsagencies now. Or a digital copy can be purchased at Zinio who are having a great special on Homespun subscriptions. Be quick though, the offer expires this weekend.

Reap What You Sew seed wallet

I am back home after 11 days at Westmead Children's Hospital with my daughter. We have returned with new medications to try, and a diagnosis of Chronic Daily Headache. The bottom line is that we have long term chronic pain to contend with, and that there are no quick fixes. We are worn out with it all, but determined for recovery, however long it takes.

The last few months have seen very little stitching from me. However, the companion project to my garden apron has just been published in Australian Homespun magazine.

I made a fold-up wallet for storing seed packets. It can be hung in the garden shed for easy access, or stored folded.

There are four sets of pockets, one set for each season. My idea is to store seeds according to the season they should be sown. When that season rolls around, I can quickly find the appropriate seeds and get them into the garden. That's the theory anyway :)

 

Below the pockets, there are 5 small elasticised keepers for storing pens and pencils, and a larger keeper for a garden notebook.

The weather is slowly warming here in Australia, and with it, the incentive to get out in the garden is building.  

The stress of caring for my daughter has taken its toll on my enthusiasm for stitching, gardening and even blogging over the past few months. But the concern and warm support expressed to us through this blog have sustained me, and I'm sure my mojo will return soon! Love to you, Bloom x

P.S. 'The Pink Issue' of Australian Homespun (No. 112) is available in Australian newsagents now, and a digital version can be purchased from Zinio.

Reap What You Sew garden apron

Perhaps you remember this little teaser way back in February?

Six months later, I can show you the finished product. Published in this month's Garden issue of Australian Homespun, I have put together what I hope is a very practical tool for the gardening Miss: an apron!

When I was asked to submit a project with a gardening theme, my mind flew straight to the recently purchased Loulouthi range by Anna Maria Horner. It is perhaps my favourite of Anna's lines, and since Loulouthi translates to 'flower' from Greek, it seemed perfect for my purpose. 

I chose two of the darkest prints from the range, 'Clippings' in the Passion colourway, resplendent with vibrant blooms and butterflies ... 

... and 'Hugs & Kisses' in wine to coordinate. 

 

While the reward of a garden is beauty and peace, the underlying process is a lot of hard work. I opted to make my apron from dark fabrics as testament to the toil that a garden entails. If a gardening apron is to be used, it should be practical, not too precious and able to wear some dirt!

I tried to think about all the things I would use in a gardening apron, and so there are pockets for secateurs, marking pens, a mobile phone and a clear vinyl zippered pocket for various other gardening paraphernalia.

I was really pleased with how this project turned out, and quite frankly, I can't wait for it to return to me so that I can give it a workout!

When I design a project, I tend to gather inspiration from a myriad of sources. I was inspired for this project by two favourite quotes which are very realistic and uncompromising descriptions of the gardening process:


If you wish to make anything grow, you must understand it, and understand it in a very real sense. 'Green fingers' are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart. 
― Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,

If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;

And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,

You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.

― Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Glory of the Garden’

There is an accompanying seed storing wallet in next month's issue. But, apart from this peek, I will keep you in suspense!

Australian Homespun Issue No. 111 is available in Australian newsagents right now, and digital versions can be purchased from Zinio.

Coquetterie

I have something a bit special to show you today. Months ago, I made this cosmetic wallet for Australian Homespun's 'Girls' Club' issue. I was especially happy with how this project turned out, as it incorporates some of my favourite things: linen, embroidery, 3 Sisters fabric, a vintage buckle and 'un peu de la France'!

I very much had some blogging friends in France in mind when I designed this project. I have long been inspired by Shannon @ Petits Détails and her ethereal photography of antique French fabrics and found objects. I was keen to emulate vintage monogrammed French linen with this project. 

Moda's fabric line 'Etchings' by 3 Sisters was released at the perfect time for me. The range had just the right mix of subdued blues, greys and touches of deep red. There are botanical motifs, wonderful French architectural drawings and prints reminiscent of antique parchments. Just perfect for what I had in mind! Serendipity ... or even divine intervention :)

The wallet unfolds and hangs up for convenience. Below are the external and internal views:

Inside, there are lots of different pockets and compartments for storing cosmetics. There are zippered clear vinyl pockets (below) ...

... elasticised pockets for storing compacts ...

 

... narrow individaul pockets for cosmetic brushes, with a protective felt overlay ...

 

... and an elasticised lipstick keep.

There are many elements to this project, but none are difficult. The wallet closes with a tab and a vintage red buckle that I found in my travels.

When I named this project, I decided to call it 'Coquetterie' for this 1911 painting of the same name by Félix Vallotton (source) which shows a woman dressing and readying herself for the day before her mirror.

The other blogging friend I had in mind when I designed this project was Kirsty @ You Had Me at Bonjour. Kirsty is a fellow Aussie, living in Provence. I am constantly inspired by her beautiful photography of French countryside, and laughing at her quick-witted posts.

While I studied French at school, I am by no means fluent these days, and I have a nagging doubt that my 'Coquetterie' name for this project might have an offensive French connotation. Kirsty, please tell me if it does! I would be mortified to offend!

The tone and meaning I was hoping to convey with 'Coquetterie' was variously: ‘vanity; concern for one’s appearance; a knack for fashion; flirty; playful behaviour'.

This project is in the current issue of Australian Homespun #107, available in Australian newsagents or for worldwide digital purchase at Zinio. The pattern will also be available in a month or two as a PDF download in my shop.