Stitchers' Angel Project 2009

With the enormous success of the Stitchers' Angel project last year, Helen Stubbings of Hugs 'n' Kisses is very generously organising this wonderful stitching collaboration again. She has arranged for seven stitchery designers to release a free pattern each week for seven weeks, all with a 'roses' theme. You can find the details of designers involved here.

Helen released the first pattern, a sweet waffle weave bag with a rose stitchery which you can download here.

Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches provided the pattern for this week, the delightful 'Sweet & Spotty Needle Wallet' which you can download here.

Please be sure to say a big thank you to Helen & Natalie, especially if you use their free patterns. The generosity of these women is heart-warming. And keep on eye out next week for another great pattern to keep you busy.

A new pincushion

A quick visit to Hatched & Patched last Friday yielded a kit for this little pincushion, called 'Maisy's Flowers'.

I couldn't resist putting it together over the weekend. A great project - quick & satisfying! It is my first project using wool felt, & I really enjoyed the rustic texture of the wool. It is a very forgiving medium!

The pincushion is filled with silica sand & lined with a contrasting cotton fabric on the back.

I can definitely see myself stitching more of these. Another addiction in the making!

Spring is on its way

Our Taiwan flowering cherry (Prunus campanulata) in the garden at the farm is in full bloom right now.

It is the very first of our spring blossoms to burst into the cold late winter air. It is always so special when it comes into flower after the bareness of winter. A really bold statement, & so beautiful against a bright blue sky.

I caught a noisy miner helping himself to the nectar.

These birds are very common in eastern Australia and a bit annoying. They are true to their name, very noisy & bully other birds. You can hear what they sound like here.

Baskets of blooms

I am spending every spare moment I have sewing, and it's killing me, but I can't show any of it to you just yet! Be assured that the very moment I can share it I will. Ooooh, secrets! So I thought I would show you a WIP of my Mum's.

It is a small quilt 60cm x 60cm, embroidered with four naive baskets of flowers and an outer vine border.

The pattern is called 'Basket Quilt & Pillows #57' by Bareroots.

Cute baskets laden with hearts & hollyhocks ...

... sweet daisies ...

... stars & swirls ...

... some tiny bees ...

... and even some wheat!

What have I ever done to deserve friends like this?

My gorgeous blogging friend Janelle has done it again! She works in a fabric store, & has access to some to-die-for fabrics, so I put in a little order every so often. She sent news that some Sandi Henderson 'Farmers Market' was in store, so I asked her to send me this:

Being, it would seem, as seriously addicted to fabric as I am, she can't help but put a FEW EXTRAS in the package for me!

Too naughty! And too generous! Unbeknown to Janelle, it was my birthday last week, so how special did it feel to get such a delightful parcel?! Great fabrics, none of which I can purchase locally. She is the best!

Alexander Henry 'Kissable Color'

Miss 13 has her I eye on this one for cosmetic bags for her & all her friends.

'Joyful Damask' by Michael Miller - the cutest Christmas fabric ever

`Confections' by Robert Kaufman.

Little Miss 8 has claimed this one.

And even one for my boy! 'Bot Camp' by Michael Miller.

And so the list went on! Thank you Janelle. You are too sweet for words. NAUGHTY ... but sweet nonetheless!

Let's get together & feel alright!

Found something to make your Friday feel good! This link will explain:

Watch out for the boys from the Congo on their city balcony - too cool!

And this one just makes me want to dance (yep, around the kitchen, all by myself!):

More links here. Have a very happy Friday. Peace sisters!!

Welcome my friend

A little project, finished at last.

This is a needle case designed by Rosalie Quinlan called 'Welcome Friend'. The pattern is available here. There is also a very cute project caddy included in the pattern.

I used a little of my precious Amy Butler 'Midwest Modern' fabric to make this up.

After weeks of no stitching, it is nice to have something finished!

What is that Mother of mine up to now?

I am back to my computer after weeks of travelling around. Spent some nice time catching up with Mum & her quilting. She has been working on this cute little cot quilt for one of my nieces.

It is made from Anna Griffin's 'Mackenzie' fabrics. We pinned it ready for quilting late last night.

We struck some trouble when we realised we hadn't purchased enough backing fabric. But with a little creative improvisation (& a whole lot of inspiration from here and here) we cut up every tiny scrap of left over fabric from the quilt top & pieced the back!

I really love it! And there is something very satisfying about using every last smidgeon of fabric in a project. I will post some better photos when Mum finishes the quilting. No pressure Mum!

So, I'm back to my poor neglected little blog. Now to get back to my sewing machine! Love to you and yours, Bloom x

Clickety-clack

I dusted off some beautiful old bamboo knitting needles recently to make myself a soft, winter white scarf.

The pattern is called 'Lacy Waves Scarf' and is free from The Running Yarn. You can find it here. It is a very simple but pretty design. I knitted mine with a cotton bamboo blend yarn, so it is nice & soft and not at all 'scratchy'. It seems somehow appropriate to be blogging about knitting today. Sadly, my Grandma passed away last week at the grand old age of 89. She was an avid knitter. She taught my Mum, who in turn taught me. Perhaps my perfectionist tendencies started way back with her - she was forever unpulling her knitting as it was 'never quite right', too tight, too loose, too wavy! I'm sure for every stitch she knitted she must have unpulled ten. So I will think of her now whenever I wrap this scarf snugly around my neck. And yes, I did unpull it at one point!!

Another WIP whipped!

With the end of the financial year approaching, there has been much figuring & calculating for me, but at last, the worst of it is over, & I can get back to more 'important' things!

This little project has been on my 'to do' list for a while, & is a (now overdue) birthday gift for a friend.

It is supposed to be a SMALL dilly bag for her to keep her teacup in when she goes out quilting for the day. It is somewhat larger than I expected however, so she'll quite possibly be able to fit the kettle in it too!

The pattern is called 'Time for a Cuppa' by Sue Brennan of Weigela Design. I have posted about her beautiful shop before. Unfortunately, she doesn't have a website. I did alter the stitchery design a little to incorporate Catherine Baynes' tea cup!

A very happy birthday to Gail! Sorry it's late my friend, but I know you will understand - you're used to it!!