Avonlea Vignettes

Really Funny Video

2010-08-15T19:26:00.005+10:00

On my travels through YouTube I found this really great video that most of us can most likely relate to..

It came from this channel called Quilt in a Day which has some interesting tutorials and things about quilting with Eleanor Burns.

http://www.youtube.com/user/quiltinaday

Enjoy

Birthday

2010-08-13T12:43:00.005+10:00

It was my birthday the other day (9 August 2010). As every other birthday this one was no different except for a few things. I spent the morning working on an applique project and planning what things I would work on after I finish this particular project. My husband bought me a new camera as a gift so between Monday and today I have been taking photos and video recording different things and learning how to use this new gadget.

My best quilting buddy and best bud in general Leanne of Lizzie's Page blog which can be found in the right hand side column here, surprised me with a couple of gifts which was really kind of her to do. These are pictured here. A beautiful set of fat quarters, a gorgeous quilt pattern, a pair of small scissors and a set of templates for the shapes in the pattern. THANK YOU LEANNE ♥

I thought the possum card was sooo cute.

The days following was spent baking a cake and enjoying things. To end it I recieved many greetings and wishes from friends and family which all made getting older a lot less painful.

Signing off

Marina

Evandale Gathering

2010-07-16T18:16:00.005+10:00

A day of friendship and fun with fabric at Evandale on the 3 July.

I have been slack with my posts eheheh so there are probably other pictures of the gathering around the internet..

So many projects to choose from so I did this little stitchery by Libby Richardson.. Two little bears under and apple tree..

Some of the fabric purchases I made from Calico Crossroads that had a stall set up..

Nice........

2010-06-26T10:45:00.004+10:00

Yesterday on a trip to town I saw this jumper in a local shop. Went home and thought about it all day and night LOL..

Anyway I went back and bought it today..It is just lovely.. I love the design, the pattern and the colours which don't quite show truthfully here in these photos..

The wool is Merino and comes from a range called Heritage Merino Magic.. They are sort of dirty muted colours.

Very short post today.. I have been busy with embroidering Down in The Garden by Leanne Beasley.. On to block 3 today..

Best wishes for the approach of Spring as days get longer and longer..

Tonight 26 June is meant to be a full moon..

Signing off for now

Marina

Time Flies..

2010-06-18T09:58:00.004+10:00

It has been some time since my last post (I know I say that all the time LOL).

Now that winter is in full swing, it is a great time for getting my projects progressing. I have been working on my knitting projects. Pink jumper is more than half way done and am now on to the second sleeve leaving only the front to do.

I thought I would put in pictures of Pip and Toffee in this post sunning themselves on the front veranda in the cold weather.

On a trip to town a couple of weeks ago I found these fat quarters. I don't know what I will do with them. They will most likely end up in the cupboard with all the other fabric that I don't have projects for.

I have been working on Leanne Beasley's Down in the Garden Block Of The Month program. It has been really fun doing this. Pictured in block one. I am about to put together block 3. Block 2 is currently ongoing and am still stitching this one..

Signing off for now

Marina

Mothers Day

2010-05-09T09:54:00.000+10:00

MOTHER

A Mothers love, is sure to find

A way to comfort, ease your mind

She knows just how, to build you up

When youre so down, and cant look up

You love the way, she makes you feel

Like youre so special, her ideal

Her thought must start, with God above

To bring such caring, with such love

And as it flows, like gentle rain

It surely helps, when troubles pain

The love from mine, is oh so clear

I only wish, she was still here

Her warming glow, is missed each day

Even though, I seldom say

But she did leave, her gift behind

To help me through, when I may pine

And thats the feel, known deep inside

Her faith and love, I still confide

by Roger J. Robicheau

What have I been doing?

2010-05-01T08:54:00.005+10:00

The rainy days here have been really great for progressing my many many projects.

I have bought some new fabrics which are shown here. I thought to myself "You can never have too many bags" so I made myself a new bag last night hehhhehe.

The colours of the trees are beautiful at this time of the year. Inspiration for new quilts I suppose.

Its about time that I got myself a design wall, so here it is. I put it up yesterday and stuck some random things on it to take the photo.

A new BOM project was started. It is called "In Pop's Garden" by Threadbare (Hobart). I have finished block one and have almost finished block 2. The photo below is block 1.

The fabric below is from Windham fabrics and is two ranges. Elegant and Sophisticated Sophia. This has been put aside for a quilt that I have been designing. It will feature a centre stitchery and borders. I am still working out the rest of it. There will be flying Geese blocks as an outer border as well. I can't wait to start that one.

The Martinique range from Moda is so lovely. I found some fat quarters and could feel a bag coming on so I turned them into another bag.

Until next time

Happy Stitching etc

and enjoy Autumn

Marina

Sneak Peak!

2010-04-09T09:20:00.010+10:00

It was such a nice day here yesterday. Beautiful, sunny and not too hot and so still. Perfect day for stitching.

So I pulled out and dusted off my banana chair and sat out in the garden and stitched all day.

I worked on Songbirds by Bronwyn Hayes and have progressed quite a bit. The pictures shown are just some small snippets of some of the blocks.

Other projects have been put on hold until this quilt is finished although there are others in the planning.

The Easter break is nearly over so it will be back to work again. Now that winter is coming, one can look forward to plenty of evenings to sit and sew.

Falling Leaves

Little leaves fall softly down

Red and yellow, orange and brown

Whirling, twirling round and round

Falling softly to the ground

Little leaves fall softly down

To make a carpet on the ground.

Then, swish, the wind comes whistling by

And sends them dancing to the sky.

Another Mural from Sheffield

2010-04-05T09:56:00.002+10:00

BAKER'S OVEN

About 1905, George Hope commenced a basic bakery business behind his father George's flour mill at the Western end of Sheffield. This proved to be very sucessful and in 1909 he moved it up the hill into the heart of Sheffield into a modern bakery shop and residence opposite the main hotel. After changing hands several times since then, the shop was converted into a milk bar and take away in 1972.

Some Simple Things.

2010-04-05T09:23:00.006+10:00

I have managed to do some simple things over a couple of days.

Preparation for the "Life Is Beautiful" quilt by Helen Stubbings has begun. I am cutting fabric to start this project after I finish Bronwyn Hayes "songbirds". I have pieced all the blocks for Songbirds together and have to embroider about 5 blocks before finishing it completely.

The fabric I am using is a mix of Sachet Pot Puri and Mrs March's flower patch. In shades of pink, blue, Ivory, black, greens. Darks and Lights.

Stars Around the Garden BOM from the USA is coming along as well. I am in the process of completing the pieced blocks. Only 6 to go there. The appliquéd medallion in the centre of the quilt is also ongoing. The picture below is of the 2 newest blocks completed.

While in Sheffield, we paid a visit to the Emporium antique shop where I found a collection of Vintage Sheet Music for Piano and voice. I was really excited so I bought 2 books of songs belonging to 2 different Edwardian ladies. Dates for the music ranges between 1898 and 1921. I now will spend my evenings playing these songs with great enthusiasm.

Hopefully by the time I am ready for my next post there might be pictures of a finished Songbirds by Bronwyn Hayes to show you.

Bye Bye for now ♥

Easter Sunday..

2010-04-05T08:39:00.012+10:00

We spent our Easter Sunday on a day outing to Sheffield Mural Fest which was held in Sheffield, Tasmania.

It was a really lovely calm sunny day. We went on a steam train ride and walked around looking at the murals and shops in the town.

After that pancakes at Tasmazia (large maze complex and miniature village of Lower Crackpot) before going home.

The image below is of a part of a larger mural. It depicts mechanical harvesting methods employed in the Kentish area at the turn of the century.

There are more pictures which I will post sporadically throughout other posts. Autumn here is a nice time of the year with warm still days and changing colours. Always an inspiration to any kind of artwork.

EASTER IS ON ITS WAY!

2010-03-30T10:08:00.011+11:00

It has been a very nice few weeks since my last post. I have managed some progress with a large BOM quilt from the USA that I have been working on for a while.. It is not quite ready to be photographed yet..

We have been picking apples which are just ripe now. The possums have been very active so saving fruit is a priority now in the garden as is keeping things watered even though it rained a lot the other night.

The sunset was really intense over the trees to the west so I took a picture of it

My sister and parents posted us a really beautiful gift for Easter.. It was so cute that I had to put up pictures here. It is a really cute tin with a surprise inside.

Below is the top of the tin. The pictures also run around the side of the tin as well.

Then with lid open, lots of coloured straw..

Then the surprise underneath the straw.. A pair of baby chickens in a nest with lots of chocolate eggs..

I have also finished block one of a new BOM called In Pops Garden. Photo of that will be next post.

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE..♥

After a long blog absence

2010-03-12T11:56:00.005+11:00

Well see how easily time flies. It has been forever since I updated this blog and yes I am ashamed.

Since my last post I have been entertaining visiting relatives and children on school holidays. I have not had much time for quilting but have managed to slowly get back to it.

I have started making videos and have made one about Tasmania. Here it is..

I will update more quilting related things later. I have started a new BOM and will finish my block and put it up here as well..

Happy News

2009-12-16T20:13:00.007+11:00

Todays post is just a short one to let you all know that the wayward wonderer's have returned home after being lost for 4 days..

It was a real surprise to find them both collapsed at the back door after we had spent time, energy and nerves looking for them. They were weak, skinny, hungry, dirty and covered in ticks but otherwise uninjured.

It seems that they could have been tempted by an animal and decided to get to it and chase it so therefore becoming lost in the bush in the area.

They have been sleeping and resting..They will hopefully recover and be back to their old selves again..

This video was uploaded to Youtube on the day they returned..I started filming them as soon as I saw them there on the back veranda.

LPQ Saturday Christmas Lunch

2009-12-12T16:50:00.011+11:00

Today was the LPQ Christmas lunch at Tamar Cove Restaurant, Beauty Point. It was a sunny but windy day and lots of quilters were there. The food was really nice, I had fish with salad and potato croquets with lemon butter sauce. Plum pudding for dessert.

I was lucky enough to win 2 raffle prizes which are pictured. Also a stop at Calico Crossroads quit shop at Exeter on the way there and on the way back proved very fruitful. I signed up for another BOM for next year called Pop's Garden by Threadbare and bought a couple of fat quarters.

The picture immediately below is of the lovely gift I received from my very good friend Leanne (Lizzie's Page).

While at Calico Crossroads I found this pattern..It is really beautiful. A nice winter project to do..

These are the raffle prizes I won at the lunch. 2 Magazines and some really gorgeous fabric.

Here is Calico Crossroad at Exeter....A must do place to visit..

Here we all are enjoying good food, drink, company and atmosphere all in the name of friendship and Quilting..

Who Let the Dogs Out??????????

2009-12-11T15:13:00.004+11:00

Yesterday, our two dogs decided to make a run for the hills and we have not seen them since..Today was spent making flyers and letterbox dropping all the houses in the area...

We found a very small area of bent wire in the fence where they have squeezed through...Well what can I say except that we cant do anything more than we have already...Now we just wait...Hopefully someone will find them and ring us...

This is a little video that I made of them and our letterbox drop today..

I was looking forward to a weekend of sewing, which I still may do but the mood has now changed...

Christmas Lights..

2009-12-08T10:57:00.009+11:00

As Christmas is approaching fast, people have started decorating their houses. This post shows a couple of the ones we have seen so far. Christmas light drives have become a tradition here so we spend many hours driving around until the wee hours of the morning looking for houses that have been decorated..

Christmas carols played on the piano sound from our house and we are looking forward to roast turkey and all the trimmings.

The house below is ours...This is our Christmas tree for this year. Out indoor one is too big and cumbersome so we are going to get a smaller one. So this year instead of taking out our bulky tree, we decided to have a Christmas apricot tree instead.

Christmas is a magical time to spend with lots of LOVE and good cheer...

Christmas is coming!!

2009-12-07T19:56:00.012+11:00

It has been some time since my last post. How the time flies. I did not realize how long it had been and I was also having trouble with blogger passwords and pictures.

I have been busy with many things like gardening and husband being home for over a month and being annoying.

Christmas lunches and BBQ's are going to be the regular activity over the next few weeks. I am looking forward to those and hopefully NOT putting on weight that I don't need.

A beautiful spring day was had visiting the Entally House annual Garden Festival in Northern Tasmania. Lots of nice things to see and do like walking in the historic gardens and having a look at the house. Listening to music and eating ice cream
Back to some hand piecing with one of my recent UFO's. Maybe I might have pictures of this project to show later on..

I have bought some lovely new fabric called Sweet Rose and it is pictured if I can get the picture thing to work properly. I also bought a really pretty pattern called Home Tweet Home which is an applique quilt featuring birdhouses.

Have a very happy and safe Christmas and new year. L.O.V.E to all of you..

Getting into the Spring of things!

2009-10-27T14:50:00.005+11:00

It is nice to see that everybody in blog land has been so busy with really beautiful projects. Now that the sun is finally out there will be more daylight hours for more quilting and stuff.

I have been finishing off other

things and now am ready to get back to my very neglected sewing projects and more blog posts. There are so many unfinished things I need to get onto and now I can.

The garden here is very colourful and even mo

re fragrant. Lilacs are blooming. The picture below is of a large lilac bush at the entry to our back patio where there are three large wisterias that have not opened with flowers yet.

Todays post will be short. We have friends coming over for dinner and there is supermarket shopping to do yet. I can't wait to post more quilt related things as I am about to start finishing off some very special projects. They are not far from being ready for photo.

A couple of weeks ago we had a little drama when our little dog (and her accomplice) decided to squeeze themselves under a fence and head for the hills. Toffee (the accomplice Labrador) was captured with a piece of roast chicke

n by a neighbor and returned home but Pip went MIA for about 40 hours until we eventually found her. The fear of God is now in them both and they refuse to go near any open gates or closed ones for that matter.

What has been happening with me!

2009-10-10T15:10:00.007+11:00

It has been some time since my last visit but I am back and will be posting regularly again. hopefully I will be progressing with more fun projects that I have been working on.

For the last few weeks I have been finishing off larger work projects and smaller ones are starting to ease.

Spring weather here has also brought a new reason to get back into the swing of things. After 3 months of virtually non stop rain here, it is just wonderful to have the sun shining.

Yesterday a bunch of blue wrens visited the garden and were singing past darkness, they are still very illusive and hard to take pictures of but here is one I prepared earlier in a different place and time.

We have hung up my gardeners journal quilt in out little sitting room and it looks at home here. There are still many quilts to hang and countless many to finish.

Two days ago we went to the Royal Launceston Show, I did not take many photos there but we had a good day looking at all the animals and things. We bought 2 chocolate show bags and ate chips and chicken burgers.

Cows are beautiful, these particular cows were very friendly and loved a kiss and a pat. There was also a lot of baby animals in the nursery.

Until next time.

Roll Up Roll Up! It's SHOWTIME......

2009-09-11T08:27:00.003+10:00

It does not happen that often but when it does its BIG!. That 's the Launceston Patchwork and Quilters Quilt Exhibition. There are hundreds of beautiful quilts to look at, A gorgeous raffle quilt that you could win and The Quilt Patch has set up shop as well.

Now that the sun has come out finally, why not spend today or tomorrow OR Today AND Tomorrow at the Exhibition? It is on for two more days Friday 11th from 10 - 5pm and Saturday 12th from 10 - 5pm. Entry is $5 at the Punchbowl Christian Centre, in Punchbowl, Launceston and well worth the visit.

Spring has sprung, what better time of the year to get inspired to make new projects. I am planning to finish some older UFO's and move on to other things like more traditional applique and pieced quilts. Then when the next exhibition comes around I'll have different quilts to put in.

time to get back to work now and dream of new projects and finishing old ones (perhaps finishing old ones may not be a dream!)

Holiday by the beach..

2009-08-26T19:45:00.006+10:00

I have returned to blog land after spending a week at my parents house in New South Wales. I spent the week looking through shops and driving around. I read books and listened to music on my ipod.I found a Hobbysew shop which was predominately quilting things. I bought a couple of little things including the new Piecemakers time and seasons calender for 2010. It is just beautiful.

It is nice to be back home. A week without the internet is too painful and sad.

The pictures shown here are of Wollongong harbour on a very busy and HOT day. During my stay there the temps were in the high 20's. It was a bit of a shock for me coming from a cold and rainy winter here in Tas.

I am looking forward to posting more interesting things on my blog since it has been a bit neglected due to my MJHD (www.michaeljacksondeathhoax.com) addiction, which I am still suffering from and is in no way abating.

One month of rain!

2009-08-10T18:18:00.007+10:00

Yes that is the news here, it will be raining for the whole month of August. Plenty of good reasons to catch up of sewing and knitting projects.

I have now returned to the land of blog after a very interesting absence. I have been struck by a very sad and odd addiction to the "michael Jackson hoax death" web site forums. Once you get hooked it is very hard to leave. I have also been working alot.

I have pictured a project which I made earlier and also a picture of the lovely birthday gift that was given to me by a dear friend (leanne)

Lizzie's page.

I have finished getting quilts ready for the LPQ exhibition which will be on the 10 - 12th September.

The first pictures (2) are of a knitting needle case that I made and the third one is of my birthday gift. Thank you very much Leanne, I love it.

Until next time, I will try to keep up with posts every now and then.

Bye Bye

I am still here!

2009-08-02T15:39:00.005+10:00

It has been a long time since my last entry. I have very busy with work things. My sewing and things have not progressed as quickly as I would have liked.

I have been working on finishing quilts for the LPQ Exhibition in Spetember. I have also been knitting a lot. The aim is to finish the Husband Jumper first and then start a new project.

Leanne (Lizzie's Page) came over for a sewing day which was nice. We looked at each others stuff and sat and stitched.

Apart from that there has not been any new developments apart from a knitting needle holder. I have photos of that for the next entry.

Bye for now

Marina

Mid Winter Wonder

2009-06-23T14:10:00.011+10:00

I am having a break from my work at the moment. It is very foggy outside even though it is mid afternoon or thereabouts.

I had a visit from my little friend who pops onto the window every lunch time or when I am sitting at the kitchen table. I have not named him or her yet, but he or she is very friendly.

Since my last post, I have been busy doing different things. On weekends I have started spending more time in the garden pruning and planting things. I have potted up a "Just Joey" standard rose, mini daffodills, grape hyacinths and lavender. I have also planted another interesting rose called "Red Pierre". This is a blood red version of Pierre De Ronsard. I can't wait for that one to flower.

Some new projects have commenced (I know, I have not finished old ones), these were meant to be for weekends and Thursday morning quilting. The main one is the songbird quilt by Bronwyn Hayes. I have quite a few blocks made up ready for stitching but the ones in the photo are finished.

I have also started knitting with the Italian wool that I bought for myself for mothers day. It is really interesting. The pattern is a basket weave design by Patons. This project is a night time project.

There is not a lot of knitting to show, so it is a bit difficult to see the pattern. I'll do some more for later.

Time to go and do some boring house cleaning before dinner preparation and picking up son from school.

Bye for now

Winter is on my mind, but Spring is in my heart!

2009-06-11T17:25:00.010+10:00

Yes it is freezing here in southern Australia at the moment. Apart from work there is not much to do but quilt, knit, stitich and embroider in anticipation of Spring in September. That is what I have been doing lately and have a couple of things to show in this post.

The garden is looking very bleak as things have lost their leaves and have gone into dormancy. Although, daffoldil and hyacinth bulbs are starting to emerge. I cant wait until Spring.

I have also been naughty and have started a new project to occupy myself on Thursday mornings and Sundays. This project is Bronwyn Hayes design "Songbird". I have used duller colours in the thread and fabric. It is starting to look nice.

I have been plodding along with husbands jumper which will probably be finished next winter after having to pull half of it apart.

Feeling a bit sentimental, I have pulled out an older project and have been working on that. It is called "Grandma's Country Album". There are only 5 blocks to make and then it can be sewn together and quilted which I will do by hand. All of the blocks are hand pieced and appliqued.

Some more crocheted squares have sprouted and are on the way to becoming a crocheted quilt. Still some more to do. This is Saturdays project as long as my hands can hold out. I crochet until extreme pain sets in then continue after it has settled.

DJ blocks are also growing, but at a much slower rate. Very slow in fact. I am not making them in order of the books placing chart, but rather is groups of colour as they appear in the original quilt. Where there is pink I am making those blocks blue etc. These are some blue ones.

Winter is also a time for cooking. Tomorrows dinner plan is potato and chicken pie in a cream sauce. Very comforting (Weight Watchers recipe). I have lost just about 6.5 Kilos in 6 weeks. Another 15 Kilos to go until the new me.

Happy Stitching until next time.

Marina

Progress Report

2009-05-27T14:26:00.009+10:00

A beautiful colourful Autumn is nearly over and Winter fast approaching. The other day I found crochet demonstrations on You Tube. I thought I would give it a try as I have never crocheted before. Here are the results, some colourful granny squares. They have been very quick and fun to make.

Our little dog Pip was desexed the other day and has returned to her normal self, although we have discovered that she is not the breeds we thought she was. She is a Ridgeback x Rotti (we think).

This week has seen the progression of my Truly Scrumptious quilt. Here is a sneak peak. I still have to put on the outer borders and three more little lady heads.

Husbands jumper front had to be undone about half way because I did not shape the arm holes (What a silly dill). It now has to be re knitted. Never mind.....

The weekend will see Dear Jane blocks emerging one by one. I have been collecting fabric until now so I am ready to get into it.

"Blessed are the Piecemakers", From www.aprairiehomequilts.com Quotes for Quilting.

Signing off for now

Marina

Easy Breezy Weekend.

2009-05-17T09:18:00.009+10:00

The sun is shining outside today, what a perfect day for some sewing, looking at blogs and piano playing.

I don't have any interesting news except that our son is going to camp this week for the whole week. This is the perfect time for me to get ahead with work stuff and sewing.

I have started the Dear Jane quilt with the corner blocks and one of the border triangles. These are shown in the photo. I have also made two little bags. One which I sent to my mother for mothers day and the other I kept for myself. It is such a handy size. I use it to carry my lunch to quilting every Thursday.

This is the one I sent to my mother for mothers day. I used the main fabric for the body rather than the pockets. It is still pretty.

This is the one I made for myself using the same fabric as the other one but in a different arragement.

The rosellas have started coming to the garden now and they are staying longer. They are funny to watch and each have different personalities.

The other day I spotted Toffee and Pip sleeping in Unison in the sun, so I took a photo.

Bye for now

Autumn Activities.

2009-05-05T10:00:00.008+10:00

It has been a very busy time for me since my last post. Apart from the regular work related activities, I have been progressing on my various projects and starting some new ones.

On the 2nd of May a friend (Leanne of Lizzie's Page) and I went to Campania for an Autumn Gathering hosted by "The Quilted Crow", a quilt shop in Hobart. Two designers were invited to tutor various techniques. They were Helen Stubbings and Natalie Ross. I have not put photos of this day on this post as I know that there have been quite a few others who have put pictures of the day on their blogs.

Helen tutored the technique called "Colourque" which she devised. This involves colouring in a design with pencils and sealing the colour with a medium and then stitching around as you do with a stitchery. The effect is a beautiful applique like effect. I have started a project which is pictured below, I just have to finish stitching the green areas and then have to applique on some hearts onto it.

When I got home I pulled out an old unfinished bag project which I was going to applique. This was perfect for this new technique so I started colouring the design.

As a pre mothers day present, I have just purchased some new yarn to knit a jumper. It is italian wool with different coloured fleck through it. I will start this after I have finished the other husband jumper I have been knitting.

I have also started making some Dear Jane blocks which are not ready for viewing yet. Perhaps in a later post.

Happy Stitching to everybody.

Marina

Autumn Exitement!

2009-04-17T10:05:00.009+10:00

I love Autumn! The colours of the trees are just so beautiful and inspiring. The days have been sunny and cool and nights have been cold. Alot of knitting has been going on here and so to some planning of future quilts.

The arrival of a parcel from America with the Dear Jane book I ordered was received with great excitiment as well as trepidation. The more I studied the patterns and quilt itself, led me to think "Its not so difficult". Then to my cupboard to pick out fabrics, what a delight. A quilt that lends itself to any type of fabric colours.

The fabrics that I have chosen are a mixture of reproduction fabrics and non reproductions that all seem to blend in well. I still need to find more golds and lighter golds. This project is a milestone if completed. I was a Dear Jane sceptic but and now seeing the attraction that so many have with it.

The garden is awash with colourful trees and foliage. Two dogs are having a wonderful time chasing leaves blowing in the wind. Toffee the Labrador and Little Pip posed willingly for the photos.

I have been knitting a husband jumper for some time now. It is 8 ply wool so it is very slow going. Its the second jumper I have ever made. Its good to do at night in front of the television.

This portion of jumper is half of the front. The back is finished and is done in the darker brown colour. The sleeves will be striped.

I am sooo looking forward to May 2 in Campania. It will be like a holiday which is way overdue.

I hope everybody had a nice Easter. We stayed at home and ate Easter eggs and I cooked a nice roast on Sunday.

Happy Stitching

Marina

I'm still here!

2009-04-06T09:49:00.009+10:00

It has been some time since my last post. I began to feel strange and anxious about what to put on this one. I am running out of photos so will have to take some more especially now that Autumn is here and the trees are starting to change colour.

I have been working of late and more projects are popping up some of them too good to turn down. So I

have been busy with that. Although last week I was home alone while our son went to camp with school and my husband when to work (He works abroard). I got a lot of things done workwise and some sewing progress was made.

There are only two truly scrumptious blocks to stitch before I can put the quilt together. The photo below is of the four little lady heads that will be going in the corners in the centre of the quilt. They are very cute even though they are not quite finished yet.

Last week we removed a very large radiata pine from our back yard. It had become a big pain in the neck dropping needles and creating thick darkness, so out it came and the sun came through like a whole new world.

The weekend was lazy so a pie was on order. I made a delicious creamy chicken pie, with bacon, onion and mustard and three different types of cheese.

I have also been curious about a "Dear Jane" quilt. I have ordered the book but as to whether I will make it is another story. Perhaps one day, like all the other projects waiting to be made.

Signing off for now

Marina

Avalon Airshow 2009

2009-03-18T13:19:00.010+11:00

Firstly, I would like to thank everybody who has made comments on this blog. As a relative newbie to blogland, it is very exciting to hear from other bloggers out there.

Secondly, the subject of this post is the Avalon Airshow in Melbourne, Aust. After meeting my husband at Melbourne airport we made our way to pick up a rental car and drove to our hotel for the night.

Upon arriving at the Airshow the next day at 8.30 in the morning, we encountered a multitude of people in wet weather gear carrying umbrellas as the cold front approached with avengance. We were unprepared for rain (how silly) but still made our way to the just arrived Qantas A380, which was absolutly HUGE. We sheltered under the wing of something old and historic as the rain poured down. A break in the rain appeared for a split second (few minutes in fact) as we ran to the shelter of the Lara Scout group tent where we stayed for nearly 2 hours with other soaked patrons.

Here come the rain clouds

Temporary shelter under wings.

After the rain cleared (or was reduced to spits every now and then) we were able to watch the flying of the A380 as it left to go to Sydney and the aerobatic stunt planes and jet fighters.

Apart from the wet weather, the day was worthwhile and interesting. We boarded a plane back to Tassie that evening and were back home by about 9pm. It was nice to be home. My Son and I are not very good travellers but rather a pair of homebodies.

I have pulled out heaps of patterns that I have accumulated over the years and have been debating what to make with my newly aquired sachet potpouri fabric. I have decided on a Rabbit Factory Pattern called "Blooms all Around". It is really pretty. I plan a weekend sewing marathon to get my BOM's up to date and perhaps start this new quilt.

So I will bid you all farewell, and send best wishes to everybody.

Bye Bye for now

Suprises Surprises!

2009-03-11T14:21:00.011+11:00

What a great couple of few days this week. I have just picked up two quilts from the quilter. One is A Gardeners Journal and the other is Teddy's Garden Treasures.

They both look excellent, the quilting is amazing. Now, to sew on the binding and have them ready for exhibition in September for LPQ (Launceston Patchwork and Quilters).

Two parcels arrived this morning. The first was the newest Homespun Mag and the other was fat quarters from the US.

The fabric range is called Sachet Potpouri from Marcus Brothers. The colours are so beautiful. I have just the perfect pattern in mind. I also received the last installment of the Truly Scrumptious BOM.

Will be attending Avalon Airshow with husband and son this weekend. That should be exciting, we have never been to an airshow this big before. Have not had a holiday for many years.

Apart from that I will be sewing all weekend as always.

Signing off for now, back to work I go.

Lovely Patterns!

2009-03-09T12:07:00.005+11:00

Hello everybody. It has been a very busy week or past few weeks I should say. My computer was in a thousand pieces on the kitchen table a couple of days ago while a technician changed parts and adjusted faults. We are now back in action. There has not been much production in terms of quilting, but I have bought some new patterns from The Rabbit Factory and a new book from Bronwyn Hayes.

I am still knitting a jumper for my husband. It is my second jumper and very slow going in 8 ply. A photo of the finished piece will appear in the future.

I have also been teaching myself how to use Photoshop through various tutorial magazines etc and it is a lot more difficult than I thought. I will persevere because it is amazing.

Autumn is apon us and some of the trees in our garden are starting to change colour and we are getting visited by parrots and other birds. It is a very beautiful time of year. signing off for now, Happy Stitching to all of you out there.

In the thick of things.......

2009-02-19T14:24:00.006+11:00

It has been some time since my last entry. I have been very busy with my day job, designing houses for people and drawing plans. Our son has gone back to school for the year and is enjoying himself there with new subjects and new sports. I thought I would have more time for quilting but alas, every spare moment is either drawing or something else.

The other day I received a parcel with two books that I ordered from America, they are Jennifer Chiaverini novels about quilters and quilting for those of you who are not familiar with her. I have started reading them during the night when the insomnia sets in.

Our local quilt group is getting together to make quilts for the bushfire victims in Victoria, we are all making blocks and will have a fund raising lunch for that as well. Its a good thing that we can all do something to help out.

The Truly Scrumptious BOM that I have been doing for some time has now gathered momentum. I received all of my remaining blocks at once (at my request). It is beautiful and I cant wait to see it done.

The Breast of Friends quilt in the Homespun magazine is also coming along with Blocks 3 and 4 in motion. Maybe some pictures of that next time.

After the heatwave

2009-02-03T12:33:00.008+11:00

Hello everybody out there in blog land. It has been a very unusual week with temperatures here in Tasmania higher than they probably have ever been. It has been very difficult to do anyhting except sit infront of the fan. All of you in Victoria and South Australia would know what I mean.

The other day (Sunday), I invited a couple of friends over and we had a very nice sewing day here at my house. Leanne (Lizzie's Page, in the blog list below), came over and showed all of her projects and Tina brought along her projects as well, we ate, sewed and looked at fabric. It was really fun.

I have had one of my older quilts returned from being machine quilted. It is shown below. The quilt top was made for our son in 2005, the design came from a book called "Take away Applique" . I have altered some of the animal designs and made them my own and also the block design is different.

My American block of the month arrived the other day and I have been slowly finishing them. They are also shown below.

There have been several other things that I have been working on including the Homespun Breast of friends quilt and some knitting. Winter is coming and knitting projects are in the pipeline as well. I will be knitting my husband a jumper.

Signing off for know

Happy Stitching

Marina

Tea for two

2009-01-27T16:28:00.001+11:00

The bumble bee just happened to fly into the shot as I was taking a photo of the foxglove, it was there for quite a while but was very quick.

The table I was painting for our veranda is now finished and looks very pretty and is ready for use. I spent the afternoon stitching out here since it is a warm day and very relaxing in the shade. It has been a 28 degree day here and I feel sorry for everybody in Melbourne. I wish for a cool change for them very soon.

I will be hosting many a morning and afternoon tea here and have now begun looking for little projects to make to use as table cloths. Todays post is a very short one due to the lateness of the day and dinner cooking time is virtually upon us. The bonsai in the middle is a fuschia called "Tom Thumb", it is about 4 years old.

Summer Days

2009-01-27T10:14:00.000+11:00

It has been a few days since my last blog entry and things are fine. I have been very busy with various things. I have started the new Mystery of the month quilt in the Australian Homespun Magazine and am nearly finished the first block and have pieces for the second block ready for stitching.

I made an out of town trip the other day and visited a quilt shop in a small town called Latrobe here in Tasmania. The shop

is called Picture Patchwork. I had a look around and bought a few fat quarters which are pictured below.

During the hot days here, the opportunity to paint some furniture had arisen. I have been revitalizing a small outdoor table and chairs by giving them a nice white finish. They were raw timber before. When they are done there will be a photo. This project has let to a complete veranda clean up so the table and chairs can be the main feature of this veranda. Four new hanging pots with fuschias have been hung and look very pretty. A new place to stitch and have friends over will be good.

Until next time

Happy Stitching

Marina

Back on Track

2009-01-21T17:27:00.001+11:00

Everything has returned back to normal. My parents went back home to New South Wales with lots of photos, memories and 9 kilos of Tasmanian cherries.

I have converted my sewing room from guest room to sewing room again. All my projects are lined up on the day bed in no particular order.

On the way back from the airport, I stopped to pick up a parcel from the post office. It contained a beautiful pack of fat quarters from The Buggy Barn which I am going to use for the monthly mystery quilt which will be appearing in the Australian Homespun magazine. The fabrics are more beautiful in reality than they are in the photos. I can't wait to get sewing but it may have to be on the weekend. I have work to do on my drawing project. The anguish of anticipation is going to be terrible.

Tomorrow is a friendship day of sewing and food which I will attend with a friend, I have made some Almond shortbread cookies for tea and coffee.

Until next time
Marina

UFO Quilting

2009-01-20T15:40:00.001+11:00

I have taken an old project our of the cupboard and have decided to quilt it on the machine myself. It is a small quilt with stitchery blocks on it that I made last year every Sunday while my husband flew his model aeroplane. My parents are going home tomorrow and I have begun working on a building design project. I work on that in the evenings when it not so hot.

I am looking forward to going back to our quilting group which starts on the 29th January.

Thank you to everybody who has made comments about various things on this blog. This new world of blogging is amazing but sometimes tricky to find interesting things to put on so today I will show you this small UFO Quilt.

The fabric used in this is Robert Kauffman Mary Rose Quilt Gate No 11 or 12. I cant remember exactly. Summer days have been hot and evenings pleasant, so many hours have been spent in the garden watering and weeding. There is not many flowers at the moment only the beginning of the second flush of David Austin roses.

Goodbye for now
Marina

Blessed Bags!

2009-01-16T13:45:00.000+11:00

After a couple of days of high temperatures here on this splendid island of ours, a cool change is upon us. This has been excellent for all kinds of quilted projects. During their visit with us, my parents have been relaxing in the garden, playing with the dogs and generally chilling out. My mother celebrated her 70th birthday on the 14th of Jan and we all went out to a Chinese restaurant which was very nice. There we all are in the photo below.

We made a bag together in the afternoon and now this bag has become a very frequent visitor to all manor of retail establishments and eateries. As for my American Primer Bag, it has become a camera and quilt project bag, both of which I cart all over the place just incase there is time for a bit of hand piecing or a photo opportunity. The little dog in the photo is our newest family member, her name is "Pip" and she is 4 months old.

The other day I recieved the next installement of my American block of the month called "Stars Around the Garden", I will be making it up shortly. I also received a pack of reproduction fabric swatches from the US. These will come in handy for the quilts I am designing for this year.

Here is the bag we made in the afternoon being displayed for the photo.

That is the installment for today, until next time, Happy Stitching

Marina

Summer Fun!

2009-01-13T21:11:00.000+11:00

Our first hot day of the year, 28 degrees C (both good and bad), nice for swimming and gardening but for me it was the day I went to the dentist. My teeth were not as bad as I thought they were so went home happy and in the mood for sewing. The days outcome was a bag made from "American Primer" fabrics with rik rak as trim. The photo will appear next post. In the meantime, I have been working on blocks from a new block of the month that I signed up for called "Stars Around the Garden" from the US. To my surprise, the first installment arrived in December rather than May as it said on the website. I have made up the first two blocks.

Another major achievement for the summer was finishing my "Angels Story" quilt. The design is by Annie Downs of Hatched and Patched. I needle turned the blocks and then embroidered around them, the rest is machine pieced and hand quilted.
You can see more of Annie's designs and things on her blog which is in the My Favorite Blog list on the left column.

Although Christmas is over, work is still being done on a Bronwyn Hayes designed quilt called "The Wish Quilt". It will be done for 2009 or maybe 2010, the fabrics used for this are "Peace on Earth".

Next post will feature the new bag and perhaps some non quilting things just to mix it up. My parents are still here visiting with us and it is my mothers birthday, we will celebrate that with cake and a night out to a restaurant.

Happy New Year 2009

2009-01-06T15:26:00.000+11:00

After starting this blog last week, I have been very excited about it and have been taking photos of everything around the garden and also some of my quilts. New Years Eve was spent in front of the television watching the fireworks from Sydney. They were really spectacular. I hope everybody had a nice Christmas and New Year. It is now time to start planning new projects and finishing off old ones (This may be wishful thinking for some including myself).

Over the past year I have worked on many quilting projects and have even more planned or in the process of planning. The best part of the planning is the fabric collection that is always necessary. The quilt below is called Leanne's House, it was made during 2007 and 2008. I had it over our piano but it is now on the lounge.

My parents have come to visit us and have been helping us in the garden, we might go for a drive somewhere soon.

Goodbye for now until next week and more photos.

In The Beginning

2008-12-31T19:12:00.000+11:00

As the new year has now begun, there are so many fun things to look forward to like the changing of seasons and celebrations that go with them, new quilting projects to plan and make, new fabric to buy and more importantly new friends to make and the beginning of this new blog. I would like to devote this blog to the great loves of my life that I would like to share with everybody out there throughout the world. These loves are Quilting mainly, Quilt shops, Quilting fabric, Gardening, The Seasons and general weekly happenings.

So until next weeks installment, I would like to wish everybody a very happy and safe new year 2009.