Flannel panel quilt

The new school year has commenced with a bang. With the first of our three children heading into her HSC year, there is an imminent sense of a whopping great mountain ahead to be conquered, mostly for her, but for us all as a family! 

During the parent orientation for my youngest girl, starting Year 6, the following clip was shown:

Man, if I wasn't feeling the pressure of parenting teenagers before seeing this, I am now! I mused that it would be interesting to gauge the state of mental health of Generation X parents; the ones like me who are floundering to keep up with the extraordinary pace of change. I only hope the medical authorities are making ample provision for us all when we finally crack under the pressure ... or perhaps it's just me :)

I think I'll just go crawl into a corner and quilt for a few years! It seems the only sensible alternative, surely :) To this end, I have finished the flannel version of my 'Spin to Play' quilt.

It is made with a 3 x 3 panel of 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger for Robert Kaufman which is cheerfully heavy on birds, blooms and hearts.

These fabrics were kindly given to me by Marally Craft, who will also have a limited number of kits available.

Fabric details: (left to right, top to bottom):

1. Brown on Tea Dye Stripe from Alpine Fabrics;
2. Green circles from 'Love Birds' by My Minds Eye for Riley Blake Designs;
3. Red and white spot from 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger from Robert Kaufman Fabric Company;
4. Aqua paisley fabric from 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger from Robert Kaufman Fabric Company;
5. Orange fabric from 'Mumbo Jumbo' flannels by Laura Berringer for Marcus Fabrics;
6. Dark brown fabric from 'Shaded Oaks' flannels by Holly Taylor for Moda;
7. Yellow and white spot from 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger from Robert Kaufman Fabric Company;
8. Red circles from 'Love Birds' by My Minds Eye for Riley Blake Designs;
9. Pink paisley fabric from 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger from Robert Kaufman Fabric Company.

The backing is a bright and happy check from 'Della' flannels by Valori Wells for Free Spirit.

Quilting details:

Machine quilting was once again beautifully done by Belinda of Eucalypt Ridge Quilting.

The quilting design is 'Song Birds' by Anne Bright, which conveniently repeats the bird, blooms and heart motifs. 

This little quilt is cuddly, comforting and and just the ticket for one overwhelmed, Generation X-er to crawl into the corner with! 

Waste some time with me and my boy ... OK GO!

If you don't have the privilege of living with a thirteen year old boy who can educate you about OK GO and Goldberg machines, then allow me to do you a favour! Courtesy of my boy, sit back and enjoy ...

Definition: A Goldberg machine is a deliberately over-engineered machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction.

This next clip makes me laugh! These guys are so imaginative and clever, but obviously have far too much time on their hands!



And the last one is especially for our dear dog-loving friend Peg @ Happy in Quilting. Watch out for the goat!



OK GO do something productive Bloom instead of laughing at these guys!

Paper Kites and rain ... so much rain

My find for this week is a gorgeous song called 'Bloom' (!) by The Paper Kites, an up-and-coming Indie band out of Melbourne.





If you enjoyed that one, then try 'Featherstone' - sweet film clip; watch it to the end!





And if you love them as much as I do, both songs are able to be downloaded free from this page @ Triple J Unearthed.


This music is soothing my mood today. Easy, sweet, comforting and a tad melancholy. The rain clouds are building again outside, casting a grey impending gloom. We have had SO MUCH rain. The crops are a disaster. Trying not to think about it. 

My roses have been blown to the ground in the wind and rain, so I have been collecting them up, trimming the spent blooms and coercing the buds to open. These are the lovely David Austin, 'Strawberry Hill'. 

 

I am pattern writing today and hope to be back later today with photos of my 'Strawberry Fields' quilt and a shop update. 
Bloom x

A murmuration

Perhaps you'll know about my thing for birds. This lovely film only intensifies it!

A brief distraction

I have a thousand things to do, but have been briefly distracted by this clever little clip - a fantastic journey in 90 seconds of fashion, music and dance in the last 100 years.


So at the risk of distracting you too, I thought I'd share it :)


I could also distract you with this ...

... but that would be bordering on irresponsible. Have a great day!

Daybook entry #10

On my mind ... Headache, headache, go away ... I really have too much to do today.

In my hoop ... some monogram action!

In my garden ... hardy arctotis waiting patiently for their springtime friends to pop their heads up and blossom.

I am inspired by ... Sam Stosur's win in the US Open. Inspired not only by her powerful forehand, but also by her poise, grace and understated manner. 

I am miffed ... by my apparent inability to stitch a straight line today. I am blaming it on a useless 1/4" marking on my walking foot! More reverse sewing for me.

I am reading ... 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks', on Lily's excellent recommendation. It is a warm but poignant account of Henrietta, who died of cancer in the 1950s. Cells were taken from her cancer tumour without her knowledge or permission, a common occurrence at the time. These cells have since been cultured to create an immortal cell line for medical research. These so-called HeLa cells have generated billions of dollars for the medical industry; they have helped uncover secrets of cancers, viruses, fertilisation, cloning, and gene mapping and yet compensation or acknowledgement for her surviving family were minimal. A thought provoking true story of medical ethics versus scientific progress and at what human cost?

In contrast, I am listening to ... four-hand boogie wooogie on Youtube - part of a music assignment for my littlest bloss. Cool!

Making me laugh today ...

... my Sweetness walked past and asked, "Who gets to pick the two"?!!

Gratitude & a passion

We were back at the farm on the weekend, home for the 50th birthday of a dear friend who has been diagnosed with leukaemia this year. She is now in remission thanks to a successful transplant of bone marrow donated by one of her four brothers. It was a great party. There were tears, but an overwhelming sense of gratitude that she is still with us and able to celebrate a momentous birthday.

As is often my habit when life is confronting, I took some time out to wander in the garden and be thankful.

The Manchurian pears were flowering gloriously ...

... and were just at that magical point where the petals were dropping gently and silently like snow in the breeze, leaving a beautiful white carpet on the paths. I'm thankful that I stopped to notice - it was breathtakingly lovely!

The arum lilies were their usual elegant and serene selves, their peace disturbed only by the furious buzzing of a million busy bees!

There were happy daffodils popping their heads up everywhere ...

... and peach blossoms just ready to burst as the weather warms.


You don't need to read my blog for long before you'll realise the passion I have for my garden. If you missed my farm garden tour a little while ago, you can find it in instalments here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4.


One of my very favourite songs is 'Fourth Floor' by The Waifs. While I am blessed with a large garden these days, my gardening started in pots on a balcony in a tiny flat in the middle of Sydney. This song perfectly describes the passion for me, whether your garden is big or small!

Fourth Floor

On the fourth floor of the building

In a shallow window box

She’s digging in the soil with a silver spoon

Her hands inside rubber gloves

Planting seeds pulling out weeds

The cycle of life is complete

Who would’ve thought it in a city of stone

Four floors above the street

I cannot tell what kind of flowers they are

I’m too far below on the street

But the colour they add to the building so drab

Brings a warm splash of welcome relief

Something worthwhile for the sun to shine on

A reason to radiate heat

Well that small window box puts a skip in my feet

Four floors below on the street

For every good seed she plants in the soil

There’s a dozen bad waiting to grow

To strangle the goodness she’s trying to nurture

And kill all the seed that she’s sown

Every time you water the garden you also water the weeds

A profound illustration of sin and temptation

Four floors above the street

Some people don’t understand why she does it

Some people look for a reason

Maybe she just likes the feel of the soil

Or keeping in tune with the seasons

Maybe she has so much pride in herself

Got to keep it all visually pleasing

A small paradise in a world of concrete

Four floors above the street

A small paradise in a world of concrete

A small paradise in a world of concrete

A small paradise in a world of concrete

Four floors above the street

Are you awake yet?

A little sensory overload to kickstart your Thursday! Get creative today!

Thank you for the kind advice offered from my last post. The pain my boy was suffering on Monday has passed. We returned to the doctor who is convinced there is no post-operative concern. No fevers, tenderness or risk of infection. We have a follow-up visit with the surgeon on Friday. So his pain is a bit of a mystery at this point. I am wondering if there is some secondary digestive oondition happening. Perhaps a food intolerance.

Wishing you a creative Thursday, Bloom x

Dishy!

I am at my computer today, supposedly doing farm accounts. I have 'North & South' playing on YouTube while I sort through the receipts and do the mundane cross-checking with bank statements. As I was loading episodes of 'North & South', I came across this:

 

I am a long-time fan of Richard Armitage, initially from 'North & South' and then 'Spooks' and 'Robin Hood'. This has just made my day. Funny! And oh so hard to watch!! Must do accounts ... must do accounts ...

Happy, happy Easter

To everyone, I wish you a very happy and blessed Easter. Christ is risen!

I am conscious of and very thankful for the fact that blogging connects me with likeminded women from all parts of the globe. I hope your Easter... wherever you are in the world ... has been a wonderful one. This clip is making me happy to be part of a wondrously diverse world. You can dance if you want to!

Another cute little film ...

Shows the potential for beauty from the discarded. And that blooms are possible in almost any context!

   

If only my garbage bin would magically transform itself overnight like this - it would make getting out of bed in the morning much more enticing!

Mesmerising ,,,

I found this link on How About Orange, and couldn't resist sharing it here too. An enchanting little film by Keith Loutit & a sweet window on my beautiful country, Australia.