I have to start somewhere!

This post is really for me!  I need to "put a bomb" under myself and get started.

My peripheral neuropathy is bounding along at a great pace.  The feet are about the same but my right hand is becoming very painful.  I used to love to draw and sketch, but I see the day coming when I will loose a lot of the function of my hands.  I need to practice drawing with my sewing machine and I really should start right now.

I came upon a page on Instagram by Saskia Wassing Embroidery Artist.   Some lovely work and I think I might be able to handle this.

I just have to stop procrastinating!

I love this site.  This is what I would love to be able to do.

Not just yet, but in the future.

WIPW

Still working on the embroidery of the "Envelope Bag".

The knitting progresses very slowly,

And I am back to my "botanical embroidery",  I found the missing thread in my sewing bag!

That tutorial for the Bag

I have had several requests for classes and now my Patchwork group wants to make this the Mother's Day gift.  So I thought I would put together a tutorial on how to make the "envelope bag".

So here is Download Envelope Bag you can print off if your are interested.

(There are only 2 pages that imp in my computer says there are 4.)

Yet another book!

I have just loved reading this little book.

It is a series of short stories, all about how cats have been part of different families.  It  is the kind of book you can take with you to the coffee shop and read a story while you are there.  I am going to have to look out for other English translations of books by this author.

I had a love/ hate relationship for over 20 years with our cat "Fluffy" and I wouldn't get another cat to live here because it is a bird sanctuary, but, Oh how I can relate to those cats.

 

Now for something diferent

These are serious classical musicians who have re-imagined the classics. I find their work enjoyable.

 

 

WIPW

A lot of different projects under construction.

I have returned to my "Tea Cosie" knitting now that I have a new knitting bag.  Progress is slow but it is an enjoyable process.

Experiments with different sized envelope bags progresses. This one includes fabric that I dyed and printed with gold paint, so, I'm using lurex threads for the stitching.  I make sure that it is coated with bee's wax to stop the shredding of the thread.

Very slow progress on my plant bag. I misplaced the thread I was using, found it in my equipment bag, so I can get back to this.

 

And I have finished my quilt block for International Women's Day.  The ladies are Tilda fabric, the stripe is some of my own dyeing and the lace is a scrap given to me by a friend.

Tilda Jubilee Tour - Brisbane

I bought tickets for this event before I became ill, and luckily, have recovered enough that I was able to attend.  But, the day did not start well.  I left my ticket behind! Barge to the mainland, ferry back, back again on the barge and then a rush to get to the train station.  I was late and missed a good part of the lecture.  But, all my friends turned up, so that was more wonderful than any lecture.  I have missed them all during this time.

I do admire Tone's work.  One of the most successful fabric designers and she comes from Norway.  All her patterns are free at her website.

There were lots of ladies of "a certain age" and some had some really creative clothing made from these fabrics.

This quilt didn't look like a rose until I took a photo of it.

And I am going to have to investigate the solid colour fabrics.

And there is such scope for applique. (The Chair.)

In the lecture she said she is working on a Xmas range for 2025.  Got my order in already.

New Books (sort of) and future projects

When I say "sort of new books" they are not actually mine.  I am the librarian for my local quilting group and it is my job to source new books and maintain our collection.  This has been difficult due to the changes in how books are published and the demise of many publishing houses.  To overcome this for the past year all the new additions have been donations that I have sourced from members and friends and this has worked well.  The big problem has been the costs of buying and transporting books from the other side of the world where all the publishers are.  This sees the  landed cost at least double the original price.

Then I got an email from Quiltmania saying they were having a 10 day sale.  So many beautiful books and such limited funds!  Most meeting days a good percentage of members are stitching Sashiko so I decided that I would purchase Japanese quilting books. (Two books took my whole small budget.)

Of course I had to read them first and have selected a number of projects from which I will choose.

This is paper pieced and the patterns are for a quilt and a cushion.  I am going to do the cushion.

I would like to experiment with a small quilt like this.

And my daughter and her husband are going to build a Japanese inspired house on their new cattle station.  (This station is partly on the plains but the house will be on elevated land in the forest.)  I expect the quilt to take a year to construct and these are the two front runners.

The quilts in the books are mostly made from re-purposed fabrics,  I don't think I can source those.  But I have found a Futon manufacturer who imports fabrics from Japan and will sell me the off cuts.

Both books have English and French texts and are just brimming with inspiration.

A beautiful and controlled voice

Technique isn't everything in singing but I love to hear a voice that is well trained coupled with the artistic skills of the singer.

 

 

Those birds

I have managed to catch a virus that is lingering.  The noise outside my bedroom is deafening! Not machines, not people but birds.

The tree outside is in bloom and birds of every kind have come to feast.  But those lorikeets must be the noisiest birds on earth!