Now what?

Good question!

I have had a lovely time constructing this panel using paper piecing. Now, what to do with it?!

Starstruck

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Sarah Fielke on the weekend. You might just want to read that first sentence again - SARAH FIELKE, I say!! Was I excited? Ha, just a little!

Sarah is a talented Australian quilter and designer, and the author of three books, the latest being 'Quilting, From Little Things'. She was in town for the day to teach a class at Patchwork Orange. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the class, but I popped in, ever so briefly, to say hello and to delight in her beautiful quilts.

For the quilting superstar that she is, Sarah was very humble and unassuming about her work. My gushing made up for any humility on her part! It was very special to see some of Sarah's quilts from her book 'in the flesh'.

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There was 'Flock Together', a stunning feathered star quilt with its tiny, tiny half-square triangles. Nothing Sarah does is half-hearted, and this quilt was intricate and HUGE!

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One of my favourite quilts from Sarah's book is 'Whirligig'. I love the Anna Maria Horner full-blown yellow roses on aqua. Seeing this quilt up close makes me even more inclined to make it. It was gorgeous.

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Sarah also had 'Hanging Lanterns' on display. I could have stood looking at this quilt all day, picking out fabrics that I have in my stash. One of the things I love about Sarah's designs is her ability to put together surprising combinations of fabrics that work together effortlessly, and give a real vibrancy to her quilts.

There is nothing ho-hum about Sarah's work. Her quilts are stimulating and energetic, and challenge me to break out of my 'matchy-matchy', safe little box. 

I would love to have chatted with this talented woman all day. It was all I could do to drag myself out the door. Family commitments took priority this time, but given another chance, I will be there in a heartbeat!

Rainy days and ... Sunday

A dull, rainy Sunday here, perfect for a spot of biscuit artistry by Miss Nine:

Perfect for exam study for the older offspring ...

... and a sewing room cleanup for me, motivated by this inspiring post by Lisa. 

A netball final and Swans playing in the AFL on tele. 

A nice quiet Sunday afternoon. Sweet!

Chalk and cheese

I am working on two very different bag projects at the moment. I have been bitten by the paper piecing bug, and am playing with some little shapes. I have an idea in my head for these pastel lovelies. Whether the idea translates to reality remains to be seen!

I am also in need of a new Frilly Dilly. My favourite one is sadly a little worse for wear, so I am working on a replacement, using some very muted, wintery fabrics. 

My favourite part of constructing these bags is when I gather up the frills. The gathering transforms the fabric into something entirely different, and it is always a surprise to me.

Winter has definitely arrived here. My brother snapped this shot at the farm this week - brrrrr!

I will be rugging up for the round of kids' sport tomorrow. Stay cozy warm and have a great weekend. Bloom x

Home baked

I love to cook. I especially love it when I have time to try something new and adventurous. I am loving Masterchef! And this series, I have a special interest as I know Kate - she is lovely and taught me to make handmade pasta! 

Often the reality of life sees me churning out the same old 'tried and tested' recipes, because they are the quicker and simpler option. One of these standby favourites is raspberry and coconut muffins. I try to keep something homemade in the kids' lunchboxes as much as possible, and these are always popular.

raspberry and coconut muffins

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1.5 cups self raising flour

1/2 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup frozen raspberries

1/4 cup dessicated coconut

In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and the egg. Add milk and vegetable oil and whisk. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Fold the raspberries through the mixture gently. Spoon the mixture into a 12-hole muffin tin, lined with paper pans. Sprinkle the top of the uncooked muffins with caster sugar and a little extra cinnamon. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 20-25 minutes.

And talking of baking, the Moda Bakeshop book, Fresh Fabric Treats is due for release any day now. Unfortunately, I don't have any 'inside' information for you, and there are still no sneak peeks of my contribution. But here is a little 'Google Preview' to whet your appetite! Bloom x

You know life’s been busy …

… when your Google Reader count hits 1000+ unread posts! Mercifully, I had a quiet Monday at home, catching up on some ‘around the house’ stuff.

On the stitching front, I added an occasional stitch to this little panel. It is from Leanne Beasley’s ‘Vignette in Stitches’ project. I intend to use it for a cover for my diary.

I have been fiddling with some ‘Hullabaloo’ Dresden plates. It is a sweet new range by ‘Urban Chiks’ for Moda.

And I pause every now and then to enjoy my Mother's Day flowers from my nine-year-old blossie!

I’ve not made much progress on the 1000+ unread posts. I confess, sometimes life means I have to ‘mark all as read’ and start afresh!

Action in fairyland

Here are some details about the delightful quilt made by my sister-in-law for her daughter.

The pattern is the single bed quilt from Natalie Bird's 'Fairyland' book.

It is a sweet collection of appliqued fairies, gainfully employed in many pursuits ...

... including a spot of gardening ...

... some Fairyland ballooning ...

... some cupcake juggling ...

... elephant chasing ...

... frog squeezing ...

... and some serious nighty action!

Natalie Bird is a wonderful Aussie designer. You can find Natalie's blog here, her website, The Birdhouse, here, and details about her 'Fairyland' book which contains nine different projects here.

My sister-in-law is relatively new to quilting, and I'm sure you'll agree, this is an impressive achievement. So much detail in this quilt.

She chose to have her quilt professionally quilted, and the quilting is amazing. See if you can spot the details: 

 Ladybirds

 Cupcakes, butterflies and baskets

 Bunnies

 Angels 

 Sunbonnet Sue

And teddies!

What a lucky daughter to be snuggled under this masterpiece!

Daybook entry #8

Outside my window ... man, who's got time to gaze out the window?! Just as well this week has been short, because it's been way too busy. When last I had time to look, I saw this:

I am thankful for ... my time across Easter with my husband's family. He is from a large family, and it is increasingly difficult for everyone to make it to family gatherings. They are easy, fun company.

I am thinking ... about my brother who is being ordained into the Presbyterian Church tomorrow. He is 5 hours away, and I am really sorry to be missing his ordination. 

I am impressed by ... this amazing quilt, stitched by my 'relatively-new-to-quilting' sister-in-law for her daughter. I took lots of photos of this quilt on the weekend, so I will be back soon with more details!

Tonight, I will be ... enjoying my Friday night champagne, and curling up to read this gorgeous tome, delivered late this afternoon. Sarah is visiting town in a couple of weeks, and I would give my eye teeth to be in her class. For one reason and another, I can't be - grrrrr!

From my picture journal ... two of many fun sunset shots I took of my kids over Easter. 

These were taken within a five-minute light window, with me awkwardly prostrate in the paddock. I have the green ant bites on my belly to prove it!

Enjoy your weekend. Bloom x

The calm before the storm

The cousins are coming ... the cousins are coming! My mother-in-law is turning 70 on Easter Sunday, and the family are coming to stay.

We are accommodating and catering for twenty-five across the weekend, including a small army of children, so the last week has been a flurry of activity. I sneaked a quiet walk around the farm garden before the family descended and the rowdy fun begins!

We will roll from one meal to the next, enjoying easy company. Tents will be set up in the garden, and the hammock slung between trees for some serious 'chilling out' time.

There will be lots of tennis, and paddock golf. Trees will be climbed, and the garden explored. Easter eggs will be hidden, and excitedly found and consumed!

There will be time to get to know a new baby cousin, and time to catch up on the family's news since Christmas.

And there will be time to reflect on the place of Jesus in history, and in the hearts of Christians the world over.

I hope you have a happy time with family and friends across the Easter break, and that you too will find a moment for some quiet contemplation of life, the world and everything! Bloom x

Sewing Accessories PDF pattern

The pattern for my sewing accessories set, the companion set for my sewing machine cover, is finally available at the shop! This pattern, 'Beyond Measure' Part II, was originally published in the January 2011 issue of Australian Homespun magazine.

The set consists of a sewing machine mat, thread catcher and pincushion, made from a linen/cotton blend fabric and the vibrant 'Hope Valley' by Denyse Schmidt 

The machine mat is designed to sit beneath your sewing machine. I have been surprised at how the mat has reduced vibration of my machine, and helps to prevent my sewing from slipping off onto the floor! The quilted mat has a pocket panel, which overhangs your workspace, providing lots of storage nooks for your sewing tools of trade. It has piping trim, and is embellished with a twill tape, printed with 'measuring tape' markings.  

The thread catcher attaches to the mat using magnetic clips. It is removable for emptying. It sits conveniently at my right hand, ready and waiting for my snipped threads. Of course, if you're left handed, you could simply switch it to the other side of the mat. It has simple running stitch embroidery and pearl button embellishment.  

The pincushion is a simple, rectangular design and has a handy scissor keep at one end. It is embellished with running stitch detail on the side panels.

Details of the exact sizes of these accessories can be found in the shop listing.


As for my machine cover, I made up a second set in a contrasting set of fabrics. I have maintained the same linen fabric, but have used Moda's Martinique line, for a different look:

The 'measuring tape' twill ribbon I used in these projects can be purchased at The Home Patch, who readily do mail orders. They sell the ribbon in metric and imperial markings.

And I changed the button detail to a 'bloom' alternative:

Both 'Beyond Measure' Part I and Part II are available in the shop as PDF downloadable patterns for AU$8.50 each. 

For a limited time, if you'd like to purchase both patterns, you can have them for AU$15! Just click on the 'Bloom' sale link in my shop if you'd like to take advantage of this offer.