My friend Angela has been quilting her old embroideries and the latest one is quite stunning. It was a cross stitched embroidery stitched by her late mother-in-law, so it held special memories. She turned it, from an embroidered table runner
To a stunning work of art by mounting it on a background and then quilting it.
This is then an heirloom for future generations. What a wonderful way of transforming a piece of embroidery.
I'm glad last week is over. It was full on with a trip to Toowoomba to see the quilt show and then a couple of judging jobs later in the week. But, having said that, I wouldn't change any of it, even if it wore me out.
The Toowoomba Quilting group always has a good quilt show which they exhibit at the same time as the Carnival of Flowers and the flower gardens were just spectacular.
For some members of the group who have moved here from interstate this was their first flower and quilt shows and it was a pleasure to see their reactions.
The quilt show always has a couple of pieces from Robin Ginn, and again, her work didn't disappoint. Friend Margaret and she recognised each other from their early days of quilting.
There were a lot of beautifully made quilts but only a few that were original designs.
Robin sustained a serious back injury in her 20's which has left here unable to sit at a sewing machine so all of her quilts are completely hand stitched.
This one was inspired by a piece of furnishing fabric in which she could see the eyes of birds.
This quilt is for her grandson who was born in Japan and he suggested the Kohi fish. (Robin has a beautiful garden with many water features.)
Then there were the quilts of friends that I have seen coming together during my visits.
I bought the pattern for this one but am not sure I will make it.
to be continued.
I went to see the hand specialist and this was the result,my hand is in a splint.
So I as going to have restricted hand movement for the next month. So it looks as though I will be only using the sewing machine. No knitting crochet and only limited hand stitching. What a bummer.
I have come back from a weekend at Toowoomba with my quilting friends. I always enjoy these weekends, they are special. I love the school where we do out stitching, the old houses, the parks, just everything.
I have finished all the strip quilting for the blocks.
Everything has to be cleaned up and the corners added, so good progress. I have no idea just what I will do with this quilt. I think it will be a gift for my niece.
I also received another quilt that needs to be finished. I had a good look at it and I think the problem is that the stitcher didn't get the designs orientated correctly, threw up her hands in horror, and then donated all the fabric and pieces to the quilt group.
I will finish the applique and embroidery that is needed to finish the main blocks and then take it back up there again in August and we will discuss what should be done next. This quilt will be for a major raffle. I'm sure it can be rescued.
Then I get an email alerting me to Constantine Quilts in S.A. who have just finished quilting this exact same quilt. Now I know now how it could look. A bit different from the original pattern so we will see what can be done. (There is one block missing completely from my bundle.)
I also brought back some new books,
and some old embroidery that I want to do something with,
plus a pile of other odds and ends. So, I have added to my list of things to do.
It was a great weekend.
Nice to know my daughter can use my knitting.
I'm off to a hand specialist, when I can get an appointment, so this may be the last knitting for a while. I'm thinking of the worst so that anything less then that will be a bonus.
I had a lovely morning with my family. We breakfasted in the park and my daughter and daughter-in-law did all the cooking and arrange everything. I was given a whole swag of loot.
The book I wanted,
and a teddy from Monique with "Best grandmother ever" on it's T shirt and a lovely scarf from Jasmine. My husband gave me a gift voucher, which I will put aside until the sales at the end of the season, and I also was given some flowers.
The other gift was to see my grand daughter Jasmine crocheting like a true craft person. She is making covers for water bottles and just churning them out.
What a lovely day. I am blessed.
One forgets that dogs have lives that are a lot shorter than us and this week we said goodbye to 'Cheesecake'.
He was my friend Hayley's dog and everyone knew him. (Hayley owns the small farm a few doors from my home.) Cheesecake had been abandoned on the island by his owners. They brought him to the island and left him. He was heartbroken. He used to sit and wait for the barges or ferries for their return, but they never came. Hayley took and cared for him and named him Cheesecake.
Hayley's little farm is a refuge for abandoned animals. There is Lollypop the donkey, who turns 21 this year, plus sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and guinea pigs, cats and a parrot. Cheesecake used to keep them all in line. But it was the sick or injured animals he cared for. He would sit outside their enclosure and keep guard, whether it be a duck or cat. His death wasn't unexpected. He has been having trouble walking for a while and had to be pushed in a stroller when the animals went for their walk. For such a small dog he had a big personality.
R.I.P. my little friend.
I know that sounds counter-intuative but some times I just do things and I have to get my mind to catch up with my actions!
My week started with car troubles and that just threw all my plans into disarray. Because I had an appointment at a set time and the car battery was flat I just hopped on a bus to get to my appointment, which was at the Genius Bar at Apple. (You have to make an appointment a week in advance they are so busy.)
The problem was with my watch, which I had lost some time ago and then found a week later in the garden. Turns out that someone had found it, tried to get access to my information, failed, and then dropped the watch in the garden for me to find. (Must have been someone local.) I ended up having to buy a new watch.
So, Mickey is back again but I need lessons on how to work this thing. (My phone calls keeps going to my watch!)
It was an hour each way on the bus and then another 2 hours waiting for the RACQ to come and tell me my battery was flat, then he tells me I have to drive around for another hour to charge it again. That was Monday.
Tuesday is my day at the Embroiderers Guild. This week there was no parking at the train station. Luckily there was a disability parking spot at the next station but again It got me rattled.
Wednesday I had a lecture at the State Art Gallery. I had a bad coughing attack in the middle of it. Ended up even more rattled, I enjoyed the lecture but the place was packed and I felt stupid.
Thursday I stopped. I was due to judge at a regional show but I knew I couldn't drive all that distance so I cancelled at the last minute. Something I have never done before but I knew I wasn't fit to drive.
Friday I went on that bus trip and chilled out. I will tell you about what happened later, but by the time I got home I just about had my head together.
Saturday I was back to normal so mowed the lawns and worked in the garden till I dropped.
Sunday I unpicked my knitting. What a mess. So I put that aside and did some 'silly stitching'.
Now for a new week. (I have to get that knitting sorted.)
There is so much I could say about the happenings on International Women's Day that I'm not sure where to start. I think the most important thing, besides saying it was a great day, with friendship and lots of stimulating ideas, was the recognition of women past and present and the sharing of ideas of how to proceed in the future. Sharing the experience with other women was somehow more significant because of it's "ordinariness"
Let me start with the function. As I said before, it was low key. No notable people giving speeches, just a group of women from the Bayside suburbs of Brisbane who support the local "Schoolhouse Gallery", gathering together to recognise the role of women in our society. Past, present and future.
There was a selection of works on display, from both men and women artists, but the work of women featured.
They had taken time to decorate all the bollards with knitted and crocheted covers. These looked colourful but certainly home made and that was part of their charm.
The morning tea was prepared by the women themselves and it's charm was that it looked "home-made", not professionally prepared by a caterer.
There was tea made in a teapot, china cups and saucers, plates and serviettes and a tray to put your used utensils so they could be taken to the kitchen and cleaned. (Not the usual disposable ones that get put in the garbage bin.)
We recognised the difficult times in which we live and how women are trying to survive in Ukrane, Turkey, Syria and other troubled places. That what was once a whole collection of women's organisations has seen them being "watered down" and that the move to "gender equity" has actually seen many women pushed to the margins.
When I watched the news that night there was a feature about the presentation of a new set of statues outside Federal Parliament.
These were the first female members elected. There were no toilets for them in the building and they had to drive to their homes to access one.
What troubled me was that there were no young women there. I know that many would have had home and work responsibilities but for all the gains that have been hard fought for I hope 'complacency' doesn't see them slide away.
Friend, Bev Perel, who used to own a Patchwork shop up at Maleny, has held a function to celebrate this day for years, from 2006 actually. They were always great events with inspirational speakers and rather grand affairs, this year was a lot smaller and "low key". Each year Bev asked if participants could donate a block, in the International colours of women, which she then made into a quilt. This was the first one.
This is one from 2014.
This is this year.
And the block that I donated acknowledging my grandmother and her membership of the suffragettes was part of it.
It gave me a great deal of pleasure to she her here and to know that I have said "out loud" how I admire her and how her example has influenced the course of my life, in a medium that we both love, textiles.
Today is my "day off." I was going to sit and stitch flat out, but, I have hit a wall. I was also going to mow the lawns and tidy the garden, but that wall is right in front of me. So, I look myself off to the coffee shop, with the dog, for a cup of tea. (I'm restricting all coffee to just special occasions.) Also, I heard of the death of a small child, the grand daughter of a friend, and my heart began to weep.
It was a good decision. I met a fellow quilter who lives on the island who is here from Canada, I spoke with the chef about how the kitchen is going and a light rain fell on me as I sat under a tree to drink my tea. I got to thinking that what we concentrate on, the way we spend our time, tells us what we really care about. Stitching is high up on my list. As is my family. Yesterday I dropped everything to take my grand daughter to get a new pair of shorts to wear to "scouts".
She has joined to local "troop" and is off to camp. It is the last thing I thought she would like but she loves it.
While I was sitting under my tree I read another of the essays from my book "Wheesht" by Kate Davies, again telling myself just how much I enjoy this book.
I think that I will buy this as a Christmas gift for a couple of my friends. Essays are a much underrated form of literature. The essay writting that I studied at school put me right off this genre but this book has rekindle my interest. (Every time I pick it up I think that.) Also, I love the way Kate writes, I learn something new each time I read something she has written. At the end of each essay she has a list of "Creative Assignments", all of which stretch you a bit. And at the chapter I have just read is a note to read the work of Adrienne Rich. A poet I hadn't heard of, but , I found this poem and now have an order in at the council library to read more.
Source: https://allpoetry.com/Adrienne-Rich
Now I think I can sew again.