Ducks on the pond

I was home at the farm on the weekend to see our canola crop come in. 

Harvest is always a frenetic time, with machinery and trucks thundering every which way, keen to get the grain in before any rain can gather.

I spend the time anxiously pacing, trying to distract myself in the garden, my heart in my mouth as I wait in anticipation for the first indication of yield to come in ...

... waiting for an indication of whether we've done our money, broken even or perhaps even cracked a profit!

I climbed up into the header cab and did a few runs with the contractor. This is always an education! The header driver divided his time between talking to me, with very careful politeness, about the subtleties and nuances of controlling a GPS driven harvester, and raucously yarning to his mates over the 2-way as they fly past in their trucks, laden with grain on the way to the silos in town.

At one point, he uttered nervously to his mate on the 2-way, "Ducks on the pond, mate, I gotta a duck on the pond"! Now most Aussie farm girls will know exactly what that means. This is code among country men that there is a woman present and that all foul language should be moderated immediately! It is a particularly common warning when women walk onto the board of a shearing shed. Funny! I'd love to know if this is a habit peculiar to Australia, or whether there are similar expressions in other rural communities around the world. I suspect it is unique to foul-mouthed Aussies!

The verdict on the crop? It yielded better than expected, but we won't be retiring to Noosa on it!

 

In other news, being at the farm allowed me to spread a new quilt out and take some photos.

I had serious fun making this up, and have a second one to put together using girly flannels from Marally Craft.

More details to come when it returns from 'she-who-works-quilting-miracles', Belinda :)

Hither and thither

hither and thither, adv. in various directions, esp. in a disorganized way. e.g. Bloom is running hither and thither, from one project to another, as her brain races ahead of her fingers.

I have been working with felt, lots of fiddly cutting with small scissors, but it will surely be worth it. 

The design is a table centre by Mandy Shaw of Dandelion Designs and is from Australian Homespun #109. It reminds me of scherenschnitte, a form of German paper cutting which I love.

Progress on the hexagons is slow but steady.

My 'local', Marally Craft, generously sent me home last week with fabric panels and coordinates to play with: 'Animal Party Too' by Amy Schimler for Robert Kaufman ...

... And 'Pretty Paisley' flannels by Lesley Grainger for Robert Kaufman. I am planning a new pattern that might make use of all those cute panels that I have stashed in the cupboard over the years! So I have plenty to keep me off the streets :) Hope you too can find some time for creative pursuits this week.

Adventures of a paper-piecing novice

My heartfelt thanks to everyone for your thoughtful and supportive messages on my last post. Olivia continues in pure, unbroken, glorious good health and happiness. I am touched that so many of you sensed and shared my palpable relief and wonder that she is again well. I am still breathing in the peace and relief ... in enormous, deep gulps!

And so, this week I picked up needle and thread again, to revisit my Little Hexagon Purse. This is my first serious attempt at paper piecing, and I thought I'd pass on some things I've learned.

The finished hexies have 1/2" sides - I know, what was I thinking?! For the majority of fabrics, I trace around an acrylic template with a pencil and cut out the hexagon with scissors.

For fabrics pleading to be fussy cut, I made a 'window' template from light cardboard, and use this for tracing the shape onto the fabric.

I am using Sue Daley's method to temporarily glue the fabric hexagons to purchased hexagon papers. When I'm feeling diligent, I use a Sewline glue pen specifically developed for fabric. When I can't find the Sewline, I just use an ordinary old glue stick. Both achieve the same end.

After experimenting with various threads, silk and cotton of different weights and colours, I have settled with using this Aurifil 50 weight in a neutral beige (#2314). The colour blends sufficiently across the fabrics I'm using, and the thread is fine enough to sink nicely into the seams.

After stitching the hexies together, the papers are supposed to 'pop' out quickly and easily from the back of the work. I have obviously been too heavy-handed with the glue as there's no way my papers are 'popping' anywhere! I solved this dilemma by moistening the seams (on the back of the panel) using a small, soft paintbrush dipped in water. This diluted/softened the glue enough that I could quickly remove the papers. 

This purse is for my eldest daughter. It was supposed to be finished for a School Ball a week ago. Knowing full well that I was not going to get all those teeny tiny hexies pieced in time, I offered to make up a quick, 'one fabric only' substitute. 

This offer was duly accepted by said 17-year-old on the proviso that the 'real' hexie purse be completed by Christmas :) Deal!

Reap What You Sew seed wallet

I am back home after 11 days at Westmead Children's Hospital with my daughter. We have returned with new medications to try, and a diagnosis of Chronic Daily Headache. The bottom line is that we have long term chronic pain to contend with, and that there are no quick fixes. We are worn out with it all, but determined for recovery, however long it takes.

The last few months have seen very little stitching from me. However, the companion project to my garden apron has just been published in Australian Homespun magazine.

I made a fold-up wallet for storing seed packets. It can be hung in the garden shed for easy access, or stored folded.

There are four sets of pockets, one set for each season. My idea is to store seeds according to the season they should be sown. When that season rolls around, I can quickly find the appropriate seeds and get them into the garden. That's the theory anyway :)

 

Below the pockets, there are 5 small elasticised keepers for storing pens and pencils, and a larger keeper for a garden notebook.

The weather is slowly warming here in Australia, and with it, the incentive to get out in the garden is building.  

The stress of caring for my daughter has taken its toll on my enthusiasm for stitching, gardening and even blogging over the past few months. But the concern and warm support expressed to us through this blog have sustained me, and I'm sure my mojo will return soon! Love to you, Bloom x

P.S. 'The Pink Issue' of Australian Homespun (No. 112) is available in Australian newsagents now, and a digital version can be purchased from Zinio.

A locomotive challenge

Grandchildren in our family are usually welcomed with what has become known as 'a farm quilt from Grandma'. 

 

She chooses a fabric panel, usually bedecked with tractors, cows and chooks, and surrounds the panel with a simple checkerboard of coordinating squares.

Her latest quilt was sufficiently delayed that the recipient was able to tell her exactly what his preference was for his quilt - "I want trains Grandma"!

And so the traditional tractors were set aside and the search was on for train fabric. She decided on a print from Just Train Crazy by Dan Morris for RJR fabrics.

We raided the stash for some 'not-too-girly' coordinates, and she got to work.

 

After an appearance in the local show this weekend, the quilt will finally be excitedly received by my locomotively obsessed nephew.

I coerced my sick blossie out to the adventure playground to take these photos. Usually there would be no coercing involved. She really is unwell!

We are off to Sydney to Westmead Children's Hospital next week to try to get to the bottom of her unrelenting headaches. An MRI has assured us that there is nothing especially sinister to worry about, but after 3 months of persistent pain, we are hoping for some answers and some relief for her. 

Thank you to everyone who has shown such kindness and concern for my daughter. Your many encouraging messages and personal stories have been very much appreciated.

Reap What You Sew garden apron

Perhaps you remember this little teaser way back in February?

Six months later, I can show you the finished product. Published in this month's Garden issue of Australian Homespun, I have put together what I hope is a very practical tool for the gardening Miss: an apron!

When I was asked to submit a project with a gardening theme, my mind flew straight to the recently purchased Loulouthi range by Anna Maria Horner. It is perhaps my favourite of Anna's lines, and since Loulouthi translates to 'flower' from Greek, it seemed perfect for my purpose. 

I chose two of the darkest prints from the range, 'Clippings' in the Passion colourway, resplendent with vibrant blooms and butterflies ... 

... and 'Hugs & Kisses' in wine to coordinate. 

 

While the reward of a garden is beauty and peace, the underlying process is a lot of hard work. I opted to make my apron from dark fabrics as testament to the toil that a garden entails. If a gardening apron is to be used, it should be practical, not too precious and able to wear some dirt!

I tried to think about all the things I would use in a gardening apron, and so there are pockets for secateurs, marking pens, a mobile phone and a clear vinyl zippered pocket for various other gardening paraphernalia.

I was really pleased with how this project turned out, and quite frankly, I can't wait for it to return to me so that I can give it a workout!

When I design a project, I tend to gather inspiration from a myriad of sources. I was inspired for this project by two favourite quotes which are very realistic and uncompromising descriptions of the gardening process:


If you wish to make anything grow, you must understand it, and understand it in a very real sense. 'Green fingers' are a fact, and a mystery only to the unpracticed. But green fingers are the extensions of a verdant heart. 
― Russell Page, The Education of a Gardener

Then seek your job with thankfulness and work till further orders,

If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;

And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,

You will find yourself a partner In the Glory of the Garden.

― Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Glory of the Garden’

There is an accompanying seed storing wallet in next month's issue. But, apart from this peek, I will keep you in suspense!

Australian Homespun Issue No. 111 is available in Australian newsagents right now, and digital versions can be purchased from Zinio.

Off to see the wizard

The school term for my kids is flying by in a blur of assignments, exams, athletics carnivals and musical productions. The musical for the senior school this year was 'The Wizard of Oz'. The main characters were immediately recognisable and were played brilliantly. 

I suspect poor Toto had very sore knees by the end! 

'Ooh - what a smell of sulfur!' 
The witch was VERY convincing which caused some issues at the matinee for the Kindergarten classes! 

Colour and fantasy abounded in the Land of Oz.

The director's interpretation of the Yellow Brick Road was inspired. Can you spot it?

There is something to be said for the positive self esteem of these beautiful young ladies clad in tightly fitting body suits!

The director is one of our Science teachers. She has an impressive knack of creating visually stunning scenes, working with simple props, monochromatic lighting and costumes.

The tornado was represented dramatically by dancers whirling about the stage in whites and greys.

Hues of green assembled en masse in The Emerald City.

And the wild scarlet Jitterbugs jitterbugged far too energetically for me to get a good photo!

Perhaps my favourite moment was when the field of poppies ...

... magically transformed into snowflakes with a flip of their capes. So clever!

A truly wonderful production. I have probably said it before, but it is so easy to forget that these kids are, well just that, KIDS! They have so much talent, enthusiasm and professionalism that they lull you into believing they are much more!