Toys and Quilts

As per my list of things to do this year making donation quilts and toys are high on my list.  I was a toy maker in my youth and had  a small business making softies before there were softies.  I still have all my patterns but have given away or sold all my toys.

I wanted something easy to make to be included with my donation quilts and chanced up on the website of "The Red Boot Quilt Company". This would be perfect and the pattern is free, although I wouldn't need a pattern to make these.

Have a look at the website and her Etsy shop.

Some really interesting quilt patterns and toys for kids.

January's Sonnets - 1

Happy New Year!

I didn't think that I would find a lot of inspiration in these pieces on first reading but I was wrong.  I have to admit there are one or two of the sonnets I have selected for this month that I just can't think of any type of anything, but there was lots of inspiration in most of the first 12 sonnets.

Some brought up very personal ideas inspired by family and friends, some a bit too personal to share here.  But I don't think that I will restrict myself to just one piece for the month.  What a surprise?

So the first design for January is the Lavender Heart.  I have included a pattern. Download Heart Pattern

Not very original but many of the pieces are written from the heart or about the heart.  These hearts are also my "Emotional Support" project for 2025.  What is "Emotional Support"?  Well I read about this concept on White Arbor Quilting where Bethanne uses the concept for quilting.  I have now decided to use it for my sewing this year, so look forward to lots of hearts.  I will add them to coat hangers and donate them to charity.

Thinking about my challenge for 2025

The Sonnets

Next year I want to take another direction.  I was thinking back to my school years and about how I loved Shakespear's plays. Poetry however, his and a lot of other authors, was not my thing.  Time and experience has made me reconsider this and I will take part of next year to study his sonnets.  There is so much information on the internet that I can access, including performances, in depth discussion and analysis of his work.

(source National Portrait Gallery UK)

I would like to use each sonnet to inspire a piece of embroidery or other textile related piece, that's over 150 designs!  I have a sketch book set aside to put my ideas in.  From these designs I will select 12 to stitch out, one for each month. His writting has inspired many embroiderers over the years and I intend to write about some of these people as well.  Now, this is a strange thing for me to even think about but I'm kind of looking forward to this project.  Oh I just remembered I will have to get my head around that old English language!

Review of 2024 and Plans for 2025

I didn't really set myself any goals for this year other than to recover from the cancer, and, I seem to have done that.  My last review said I was all clear.  But, I have decided, after reflecting on this year, that I will refuse all treatment in the future.  I intend to just live for each day.

I also thought that I had retired from involvement in social issue but somehow or other ended up on a committee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of International Women's Day.  I stepped back into my old shoes, dealing with government bodies etc, and found that is no longer me.  I will complete this assignment but will then permanently step away from involvement in this kind of thing again.

Added to that, I had retired from all kinds of teaching but was persuaded to take on a couple of classes.  Maybe I will teach a few classes next year but if I am not asked I will not mind turning my back on that also.

I belong to three fabric related groups.

The Embroiderers' Guild of Queensland.  - I will try to attend a meeting every second week.  It is a long journey to and from the city but I have a great group of friends.

Star Seas Quilters -  This is only for a few hours on a Monday and close to home.  Here I am involved in charity work, which I love, and I am the librarian for the group.  This one stays.

Mayberly Quilters Cottage Group -  This may be my last year.  They meet twice a month, which is do-able, but it is a long way to travel and the traffic on the highway is very heavy.  I will take this year to consider this one.

So, to projects for 2025

1.  Continue with the charity quilts I am making and designing.
   
2.  Continue designing and making toys for charity.
3.  Complete the gift for friend Marion.
4.  Complete the booklet on the Pagoda Project
5.  Commence the Shakespeare Sonnet project.*
6.  Commence King Sized quilt for my Daughter.
7.  Commence memory books for my Grand daughters.

(* More on this one in a future post.)

I thought I was winding back, but I'm not, am I?

(Those hearts should be on the list for next Xmas.)

 

Merry Xmas

Here we are at Christmas once again.  I didn't think I would see this one and I almost missed due to health issues. But after all the disruptions I find myself at Xmas Eve.  I got the shopping done, the presents bought, wrapped and under the tree waiting to welcome the celebrations.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Christmas for 2024.

Pre Thinking Plans for 2025

I am still fighting this infection in my glandular system.  (I have Primary Lympodema, right throughout my body, I was born with it.)

The medication has stolen some of my brain I think.  So, I have to sit around quiet a lot at the moment and doing anything physical is a problem but it doesn't stop me thinking, in a fuzzy manner, and, I am thinking about what jobs I should be doing that I can't, not good, so have turned to projects I will undertake next year, 2025.  At the moment I am just brainstorming possibilities and some of these will be rejected.  Some are academic, some creative and me being me, all will have a possible link to embroidery or textiles.  Pages and pages of them in my journal.  There are so many I have no time to be ill and ending this life is not even a possibility! 

One skill I want to master and have been working at, is my machine quilting skills.  Earlier in the year I bought a set of rulers from Pauline's Quilter's world.

I have known Pauline and her late husband since the 1990's and can highly recommend any of her products.  They all come with free on-line tutorials, so doing these is a must do but I wanted to suppliment this some other classes.  I have now mastered quilting with my walking foot, Pauline's method uses templates and the one I find the most difficult is free motion quilting.  I have tried numerous methods and classes but mastery still eludes me but I keep trying.

My friend Angela recommended that I look at Bethanne Nemesh and I signed up for her Newsletter.  With the first one I received this free booklet.

And on visiting her web page found a treasure trove of learning tools, a lot of which are also free resources.  So I will limit myself to these two teachers for 2025 and mastering Machine Quilting is a keeper on that list.

An apology

I have to apologise for those comments that I have been unable to answer this year due to ill health and eagles.

Yes eagles.  There is a huge nest up in our communication tower and this disrupts the reception.  It is not uncommon for this to happen apparently, it happens all only the coast.  I was asking a friend who works of the Environmental Dept in the state government and he said they would remove them in urban areas but not out on the islands.  So there you go.  I do love to watch them hunting.

Lack of Knowledge

I am laid up with a nasty infection and have been prescribed some strong anti-biotics.  My mind is starting to return and I thought I might try some crotchet, but, I keep losing track of the stitches so I decided I needed to learn to use this laptop better, I've had it a year now.

Like many older people there are times that I struggle to keep up with the changes in technology.  My latest challenge has been up-dating my medical certificate for my drivers license.  This has to be done every year and last year, because I was in the middle of my cancer treatment, I asked my husband to post in my forms.  Now, I'm not sure if the forms got lost or if he lost the forms because when I looked at my diary reminding me to get the test done this year, no forms had arrived.  So, I downloaded them, got the medical done and then couldn't find an address to lodge them at.  Frustration set in.  Should I put them in on-line? What should i do?  I think I will have to put them in at the local office.

Fast forward few days and I was in the post office sending a parcel to a friend and this young man, he was 18 or 19, approached me with this look of bewilderment on his face.  He had an addressed envelope in one hand and a postage stamp in the other and he asked "how does this work?"  He had NEVER posted a letter before, everything was done on-line.  I burst out laughing and said "you lick it." He just didn't understand, that called for a demonstration of how to put a postage stamp on a letter.  I don't think I have ever laughed so hard.

(I actually found a lesson on how to do this but I still couldn't find how to lodge my form.)

But thinking about it, we were both at opposite ends of a continuum.   Me struggling to keep up with technology and him reaching back to understand how sending a letter works. 

We all have our little problems.

The diary cover is finished

I do a cover for my diary every year and have quite a collection.  This year I decided to just use scraps.  All those old 'tryouts' from my Kogin stitching are hanging around.  I was going to use these for covers for the diaries I bought for my friends but just wrapped up the diaries instead.

But I did make one for myself.

I left the year off this one in case I am unable to stitch much in 2025. ( I didn't get away from that cancer treatment scott free I'm afraid.  It has really effected my right wrist.). But, I did have fun going through those scraps.  I found lots of treasure there.

 

Second Thoughts

I am having second thoughts about the colour for 2025.  I found this use of it in one of the blogs I follow,

The use of the gold outline makes all the difference.  And highlighting the dark blue is a great effect.

This is the on-line journal I follow.  It is French and great for auditioning colours and designs.