Bloom-a-day: Hellebores

Hellebores are surely the most demure of blooms. 

They hold their elegant heads discreetly downwards, with only the ants privileged enough to delight in their inner beauty ... or perhaps a photographer flat on her belly!

They are not so far removed from the ranunculus of my previous post. Hellebores are from the same family, Ranunculaceae. While hellebores are also known as 'lenten' or 'winter' roses, they share no heritage with roses.

I have always loved botanical illustration, and I found this wonderful hellebore image on the net. It was published in Germany in 1885. So beautiful!

I couldn't get this post over at Leanne's House out of my head. As a consequence, I have added to my hellebore collection this winter, courtesy of Post Office Farm Nursery in Victoria. So there will be more of these shy little blooms next year.

You can find two of these photos to use as your desktop image if you click on the 'Wallpapers' tab at the top of my blog. 

Bloom-a-day: Ranunculus

The landscape here in Australia is bursting forth with the fresh and hopeful signs of a new Spring. The country, in general, has had an especially wet Winter, so that much of the parched inland is now a lush green, and waterways that have not flowed in years are gushing with new life.

For each day of this week, I thought I would post images of some of my Spring blooms. And as a small gift, from my garden to you, I will load some in a large enough format for you to use as wallpaper on your computer if you so desire!


So let's start with a show-stopper for today's bloom - the brilliant cherry red of ranunculus.

I love to grow these flowers. I love that something so stunning and cheerful can emerge from such a weird and apparently barren little brown claw of a beginning:

I have posted instructions for using these images as desktop wallpaper on a new page on my blog. Just click on the 'Wallpapers' tab at the top of this post. Hopefully, it will work!

I will be back tomorrow with a another glimpse of Spring on this side of the world. 

And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

~Percy Bysshe Shelley, "The Sensitive Plant"

Tutorial - Fitting appliquéd text to a quilt block

I am working on a small quilt at the moment that I am hoping to be able to show you very soon. Occasionally, I have the need to appliqué text on a quilt or other project. I have put together a tutorial, as much for my own reference as anybody's, but perhaps you will find it useful. I am using Microsoft Word on a Mac, but the commands should be much the same for PC.

Open Microsoft Word. Go to File ... Page Setup. Change Orientation from portrait to landscape. Click OK.

Go to Table ... Insert ... Table. Set 'Number of columns' to '1' and 'Number of rows' to '1'. Click OK.

Go to Table ... Table Properties. 

Click on the 'Row' tab. Choose 'Specify height' and set to your desired block height. In my case, I set this to 5". Also make sure 'Row height is' set to 'Exactly'.

Click on the 'Cell' tab. Set the 'Preferred width' to your desired block width. In my case, I set this to 7". Also set 'Vertical Alignment' to 'Center'. Click OK.

Type your desired text in the table. I typed 'Olivia'. Select your text and go to Format ... Font. Select the 'Outline' box.

Preview fonts until you find one that you like. Remember that if you intend to appliqué the text, it is best to choose a simple font with not too many corners to negotiate! I chose Optima Extrablack.

Increase the font size. Mine is 165pt. Click OK.

Note: You will need to repeat this step to fiddle with the font size until it fits your desired block size nicely.

Hopefully, on your Microsoft Word document, you will now have text that perfectly fits your block size. Print the document. 

This template can now be used for tracing letters for appliqué. Place the template face down on a light box or window pane, and trace onto fusible web. The letters will be reversed. Cut out fusible web letters roughly, approximately 1/8" beyond the traced lines.

Fuse letters to the back of your desired appliqué fabric. Cut letters out exactly on the traced line with a short, sharp pair of scissors.

Use the template to position the letters on your quilt block. Press in place. I have appliquéd my text using a machine blanket stitch.

You can now add whatever text you like to your latest creation! 

Everything is coming up roses!

I spent today planting new roses into the sticky muck that is an excuse for soil in our town garden. Never have I required a crowbar to plant roses - until today! There is big rain due in the next few days so hopefully the roses will be happy. If they survive the soil conditions, they should resemble these:

Most of these are David Austin's (my favourites). From top to bottom, left to right: 'Lichfield Angel', 'The Endeavour', 'Jude the Obscure', 'Triple Treat', 'Summer Song', 'Strawberry Hill', 'Darcey Bussell', 'Jane McGrath Rose', 'Heidesommer'.


I still need to choose a couple of climbing roses, so if you have a favourite, please suggest it to me.

'Friends & Flowers' quilt by Princess Martha

We were home at the farm last weekend to check on our lupin crop. It is the first time we have grown lupins, which is nitrogen-fixing legume crop. In as much as I know anything about them, they seem to be looking really good.

Being back in our farm garden always gives me a chance to take nice quilt photos! This quilt was won by my brother in a local charity raffle and was made by my lovely friend, Princess Martha.

Such a fresh and happy quilt. My brother likes to pretend he wasn't too excited about winning a 'girly' quilt, but let me tell you, he was on the phone immediately to boast about his win!

The fabrics The Princess has used are Mary Engelbreit 'Friends & Flowers' for Moda. She very artistically pieced the back. The artistry was lost on my brother, but I love it! And it is beautifully stippled all over.

Gorgeous quilt, Princess - you were very generous to give this one up!

Hey baby, my name's Bloom ... how am I doing so far?

Life has been so busy lately that I don't know if I'm coming or going. My mum would say, "I don't know if I'm Arthur or Martha"! But at last, today I have reacquainted myself with my sewing machine. It has been a while, and she barely knew who I was either!

When I am 'time=poor', the stitching has to be simple & quick. I am working on a very simple quilt using 'Verna' fabrics by Kate Spain for Moda. I have used Kona 'Snow' for the sashing.

Simple, fresh and most importantly, DONE!

This baby is off to the quilter. Hope you have a great weekend and find some quality time to spend with your machine. Best wishes, Bloom x

I have this naughty friend Nellie ...

... she works in a fabric shop and is always on the look out for fabric treasures, which she duly purchases, stashes away and posts to me, out of the goodness of her heart. Her parcels arrive, unexpectedly, and often at a time when I really need cheering up! She is such a lovely friend to me, and we've not yet met 'for real'. Her poor husband has his 'axe-murderer-internet-friend' suspicions!

Anyhoo ... why naughty? I nicknamed her 'Naughty Nellie' because she keeps sending me beautiful fabric when she really shouldn't! She spoils me way too much! I came up with a brilliant plan to, in some small way, thank Janelle for her generosity.

The conversation went like this:

Me: "Nellie, thank you so much for sending me beautiful fabric AGAIN! Please allow me the pleasure of making you a Frilly Dilly bag to thank you. The deal is, you send me five x 25cm fabrics of your choosing, and I will do the rest". (See this post for context!)

Nellie: "No deal, unless you allow me to send you one of my rosy bags".

Doesn't she drive a tough bargain! Resistance was futile. This arrived in the post last week:

Janelle is making these GORGEOUS bags and has just opened her very first online shop to sell them. They are really beautifully made, wonderfully textural and oh so glam! She has some of her PVC totes available for sale too, all made with 'to die for' fabrics. You can find her shop, Janelly Belly Bags and Things, right here. Please pop over for a browse, and tell her how wonderfully talented and lovely she is. Bloom said so!

And these are the amazing fabrics she has sent for me to transform into a Frilly Dilly. I'm very excited about these. So vibrant and happy, just like Nellie I'm sure. Can't wait to see how they come together. I'm thinking they will make for one very cute Frilly Dilly.

Love to you Nellie. You are an absolute treasure!

Daybook entry #5

Outside my window ... it is dark and very cold. The kids went off to school today excited by the forecast of 'snow showers' and it didn't disappoint:

I am hearing ... my daughter doggedly practising scales for a fast approaching piano exam (AMEB 6th grade for those of you who know about these things).

I am reading ... Jane Eyre ... again! I was introduced to the world of the Bronte sisters by my aunt when I was about twelve, with my first copy of Jane Eyre. I still love it. From the sublime to the ridiculous (!), I have just finished reading this:

From time to time, I like to read the books my children are reading. This one belongs to my 11-year-old son and is about a young boy who has lie-detecting nipples!! Every time he is exposed to a lie, his nipples go all 'feather duster' and itch - you can only imagine the adventures that might lead to!

I am wondering ... which of my birthday purchases I might start first! It was my birthday last Friday and in what is fast becoming a tradition, I visited Hatched & Patched with my Mum, and returned with appropriate birthday booty.

Should I start this? A sweet felt needlecase, scissor fob & pincushion set called 'Bluebirds in the Hedgerow' by Diane Leftwich:

Or this? A new release quilt pattern from the always divine Joanna Figueroa of Figtree Quilts:

Or perhaps this? 'Petite Sewing Kit' by Hatched & Patched:

I am spoilt for choice! If I don't get off this computer, I won't make a start on anything. A perfect night for sitting in the toasty warm & doing some stitching.

Flowers for my blossie

So nice to be back at my sewing machine this afternoon. I finished my version of Janelle Wind's 'Flowers for Daisie Mae'.

I have been saving up a luscious jelly roll of 'Sweet' fabrics by Urban Chiks for this project.

I made some minor changes to Janelle's pattern, mainly to finish it more quickly. I appliqued a single flower rather than two. I machine appliqued rather than using needleturn. I modified the handles to a single adjustable shoulder strap, using a very groovy slide adjuster from Nicole Mallalieu.

I used Heat 'n' Bond for the scallop applique at the top of the bag, which made it a little stiff. The lining consequently wanted to protrude from the bag by 1/4", so I just went along with it. I quite like how it gives a 'bound' look to the top of the bag.

It was excitedly received by my blossie after school this afternoon!

Thank you to Janelle for another excellent pattern. Janelle has a listing of stockists of her patterns on her blog.

A topsy-turvy day

Wonderful news from my doctor today that there was no sign of any tumour on my MRI. Praise God! Whatever is causing my neck pain should now be safely treatable with physio. Thank you to so many of you who have left sincere, thoughtful and supportive messages in the last couple of days. You are all very lovely and I am blessed to count you as my friends!

That news was the 'top' for my day. The 'turvy' came this evening with a harrowing phone call from the wife of a old friend from Uni days. She bravely called to tell me that my friend has died at 46 from pancreatic cancer. Her distress was heartbreaking. She has four children, the youngest just two. Her phone call put my recent concerns in perspective. Her husband & I studied Soil Science together and spent many an hour at the Grandstand at Sydney Uni philosophising, arguing about religion & solving the world's problems, but mostly drinking beer! I am so sad for her and her children.

So, at 11 o'clock in the evening, I am an exhausted mess of emotions. So thankful for my own good news, but devastated by the bad news of my friend. When life gets too tough, I walk in my garden and talk with God, wondering with Him what on earth it is all about. And in my garden, even in the winter, I find solace & peace ...

Delicate creaminess of Erlicheeer jonquils, the first of the bulbs.

Bright & happy buttercups jump up out of nowhere, announcing cheerfully, 'Look at me"!

Drifts of violets, nodding heads in the breeze.

The first fluffiness of the winter's wattles.

The promise and hope of blossom buds, preparing for a riotous spring.