Raw-edge layer cake quilt tutorial

Thank you for your interest in my raw-edge layer cake quilt tutorial. The tutorial has moved and is available in its entirety at this link. Best wishes, Bloom.

A quilt for me!

We spend a lot of time travelling between our farm and our house in town, a distance of a couple of hours. My Sweetness usually drives and likes to have the air-conditioning in the car set on 'fridge' temperature to keep him awake. Inevitably, I sit shivering in the passenger's seat. I made this cuddly quilt to travel with me!

It is a quick raw-edge quilt made from a layer cake of Bonnie & Camille's very happy and fresh new range 'Bliss' for Moda.

I thought I might put together a tutorial for this quilt. It is a quick and fun way to use those layer cakes that are accumulating in the cupboard!

And it is a perfect size for the car. No more freezing car trips for me!

A 'hoot' of a birthday

It was my firstborn's 15th (!) birthday yesterday. When she was born 15 years ago, my husband who teaches high school maths exclaimed, "Oh my, we're going to have a teenage daughter"! Thankfully, we've had 15 years to warm up to the idea!

 

Celebrations were understated as she is in the midst of a very busy time at school. But I quickly whipped up this very cute owl bunting. I used printables from mini-eco, a fantastic 'handmade for kids' site. The owl printables can be found here.

The birthday menu requested was homemade gnocchi, followed by white chocolate, raspberry & almond ice-cream cake. Happy birthday sweet girl!

Speaking of bunting, I found this brilliant mini version this morning at You had me at bonjour. What a great idea - don't know if I have the patience for it though.

A happy weekend to you. Bloom x

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

Felt better ...

First day back at school and my boy lasted 3 hours. It seems recovery from appendictis is a slow process. He had his appendix removed three weeks ago, and is still occasionally doubled over in pain. The pain lasts for a half hour or so, and then subsides, after a dose of Panadol or Nurofen. Any advice?

Between times, I am sneaking in just a little bit of feltwork. This is a needlecase, purchased recently, and designed by Diane Leftwich. It is called 'Bluebirds in the Hedgerow'. The bluebirds are yet to make an appearance!

Our school holidays, in 10 photos or less

In a blink of my eye, the two weeks of school holidays have passed. But in the eye of my camera, much was accomplished.

There was time for long and relaxed strolls
 in our farm garden ... 

... the irises resplendent.

There was time to smell the first of these:

Beautiful weather for plenty of this:

And blow me down, even a little time for some of this:

And what would spring be without a wedding:

I have but two cousins, and the elder of them married his bride in a beautiful country garden in the Riverina.

The guests were transported 75km by bus, to a station homestead for the wedding. 

 Thankfully, the weather was perfect. An inclement day could have been disastrous, since the access road becomes impassible with rain! 

 And if that didn't make for a perfectly romantic day, there was even a piper. Awww, how I love a piper!

For the Aussie mums, I hope you have enjoyed a great holiday from school with your kids. Now surely fourth term will be quiet and uneventful ... won't it?!

At the bazaar

Yes, the bracelets from the last post made the deadline and the show went off without a hitch.

 

Well almost. My boy was supposed to perform, but his appendectomy put an end to that! An understudy was hastily sought, and lines quickly memorised. All was right on the night.

I have been helping to make costumes during Term 3, and it is always so special to sit back on the night and enjoy the spectacle.

This year's musical was a Moroccan-inspired extravaganza.

How is it that 11 and 12-year-olds seem to have so much more talent these days than they ever used to?! I'm sure we were never so clever at their age.

Late night stitching

Thirty two (!) glitzy bracelets for the dancers in our school's Moroccan-inspired musical ...

... By when? TOMORROW!

Bloom-a-day: Acacia floribunda

What would an Australian garden be without a wattle or two? 

This is Acacia floribunda (also known as the 'Gossamer wattle' or the 'Sally wattle') in full bloom.

Its branches gracefully droop to the ground, and are laden with pale yellow finger-like flower spikes. An extra bonus is its beautiful fruity scent that pervades the garden. 

An Austrian work colleague told be that the smallest slip of acacia costs a fortune in Europe. How we take them for granted here! Since roughly 1000 of the world's 1350 species of wattle are native to Australia, it is hardly surprising we consider them just part of the landscape.

However, we are immensely proud of our stunning national flora. This dress perhaps epitomises our pride!

Jan Taylor, Australia's representative at the Miss International beauty pageant in California, 1964, wore this dress as her 'national costume'. It was designed by Beryl Jents, a leading Sydney designer of the 1940s-60s, to promote Australia and Australian fashion to overseas audiences. The dress is embroidered with state floral emblems and wildflowers, including wattle. (Source: National Museum of Australia).

Today's wallpaper of Acacia floribunda can be found here.