A Delightful Day....

Stitchers Dream Day Out hosted by Marion and Steph at The Quilters Angel is a favourite annual treat of mine, and I always love it.  

Meeting different people, getting to know different designers and somehow there is always a different mood in the place... this year seemed very relaxed and happy...  The theme was love and there was certainly lots of love around.  Quite a few people come every year so it's great to catch up with them too.

It is also a treat for me to go on the Friday to help prepare... I love the excitement and feel I am learning little décor ideas...

There were bows to tie....

 Tables to set....

Flowers to arrange....

The shop to set up.....

Fabric to pat.....

On Saturday I just played around there getting in the way and making a general nuisance of myself..... but on Sunday there was a bag with my name on!

This years designers included Leanne from Petals and Patches

Kate....

… and Lesley from Faeries in my Garden....

This is the table where I sat..... Robyn, next to me taking the picture came for the first time with her friends Sue, the others I sew with regularly on Friday nights... there was another table of Friday night girls where Kris sat... as you will guess that was the naughty table!!

In our bags we get all the patterns for the projects that are prepared - and we can take as many photographs as we want to help us ….. 

I always forget but I did take some...

This first one is a little box with a gorgeous top.. there was also a pin holder and scissor fob to go with it - so pretty

We were helped with learning the blanket stitch Kate used making this

This is a journal holder (or whatever one wants to make it into)… again so pretty and bullion roses was demonstrated by Lesley...

This pretty needlebook was there too.... 

and this lovely cushion... Leanne demonstrated her special way of needleturn using that 'disolvable' paper used by many in EPP... (it doesn't dissolve but softens) 

this one is by Leanne and was a nail pamper kit but will easily be changed into a thread holder kit for me

and it was the project I got in my bag.... Leanne demonstrated using water colour pencils to add shading

I learnt a lot this time and managed to spend a good amount of time learning at each of the demonstrations…. don't hold your breath on the bullion roses though! 

Next years theme is Vintage Market Garden, and Faeries in my Garden will be there again as well as people from Cottage Garden Threads....  I'm already excited!!

Righto, Gotto Go..... things to sort and a rose to stitch!

Angels are done....

Best Friends …..

and Becky the Bookworm

have been stitched...

So now all the angels are done... they need to be trimmed to size and then sorting out colours to make up the blocks and get them all together... may take a little time...... 

… meanwhile I have started sewing hedgehog eyes and mouths....

Spring is springing in the garden….

Acer tree

Wisteria

Grevillea

Eremophila

Clivia

Clivia

Amazing what still grows and flowers with so little or no water....  

Since painting the house we are slowly putting up some of our pictures and doing some framing

This set we had the frames in the cupboard (took them out their big clumsy ones)

They are actually from Uganda and painted on bark.  They are over 20 years old and there has been no fading.  I love the simplicity and shapes and colours.

The photo is not very good... each picture is just postcard size.  Clever I think.

Righto, Gotto Go..... job job...… and a visit to a park

Country Towns...

At the end of last week I caught up with a friend of many years and we went on a road trip to a small country town called Laidley….. it's just over an hours drive away from here so we had plenty of chat time....

They had their annual Spring Quilt and Craft Fair which I have never been to before....

for a country town they had a great selection 

It is in a lovely church building.... here you can see a bit of it...

outside they had a collection of old tractors...

and old cars....

.. and old pumps... can't beat the smell of the fuel and the futt futt noise of the pumps....

They had lots of little markets - hand made goodies and plants... I couldn't resist this little decoration.  All that work for $5 - and of course I regret not getting some others.... so much detail and I just love her expression

we stopped off an another country town Forest Hill for lunch... this was my 'light' caramelised onion and feta bruschetta.....  delicious and plentiful.

A new patchwork shop has opened in the town and I had wanted to visit.... but we were quite weary by this stage so left that one out....

A few health issues have slowed me down lately but I did finish stitching this little Sewing Angel last night...

I think you will see why I can relate to her... we even have matching halo's.....

Outside in the garden I was pleased to see some flowers on my Wisteria, this was the first plant we put in when we came here and it just hasn't grown at all.... and suddenly it is flowering so maybe it has cheered up

Righto, Gotto Go... a new week calls.... and so does the coffee pot...

My Works in Progress.....

The hedgehogs take much longer than I thought as they are small pieces and changing colours.  Quite a few of them got sewn and I am spending some time at night pulling the loose threads to the back and tying them off.  Also I will need to sew their little eyes and mouths.

Definitely a Work in Progress.....

Another Work in Progress is Angel Story and this is my latest block....  Angela the Animal Lover....

I had last weeks Blockhead to catch up and this week they surprised me with two blocks ….. yet another Work in Progress.... 

We have this weird looking succulent in a basket outside (above the BBQ which is why those metal lizards hold cooking tools!)  There are long spikes that grow up and bushy bunches that grow down....

So fun to see them covered in flowers … I've never seen it do that before...  The flowers are quite similar in shape to the zygocactus but much smaller....

I want to take a bunch of cuttings after they have flowered... for my new shade house.....

Righto, Gotto Go.... catching up with a friend I haven't seen for many years.... might be a bit of chatting!

I hope your week has gone well

We have shade.....

The weekend saw me helping Hubz with putting up the shade-cloth over the mighty construction...  Saturday was dusty and windy so not so much fun …. 

But by Sunday afternoon it was all done and trimmed back....

 Really happy with it and looking forward to planting it up to look pretty - not in too much of a hurry - at least the shade is there....

That first window you see is where I do my ironing.... and today that is where I worked on making up some hedgehogs to go in the centre of the daisies.

I thought I would show you how I build my applique before adding it to the fabric.  I have shown it before but in case anyone is new to applique this is how I find it easiest.

All the pieces are already prepared as per applique instructions in the pattern with some sort of double sided bonding material on the backs of them.  There are different ones.

Here I am using a silocone baking sheet but baking paper works just as well...

The pattern is under the baking sheet so I can see where to place the feet - whichever pieces that go on under the other pieces.... in some patterns they are marked with numbers... the feet are ironed on so whatever bonding you are using melts to it.

I like this way so I can build up the picture and if the silicone moves it is easy to see where it is going to go back....  

Then add the next layer, in this case the head and iron that on in place ... 

I chose to draw in the mouth and eyes at this stage with permanent marker... they will be stitched by hand once sewn down....

… then I ironed on the main body....

… and finally the nose....  so you can see I have built it up as per pattern instructions but on the silicone sheet instead of the fabric.....

Once it has cooled the whole hedgehog could be lifted.  The main reason I do this is so that I can then place my hedgehog as an entire hog right in the centre of my daisy....

We have a little line of them going.... I have done one hedgehog going a different way to everyhog else...

This week I will applique them down in their daisies with blanket stitch by machine...

I was tired in the evenings to focus too much on sewing so I knitted with this ultra chunky polyester yarn....  those are size 12 needles and quite clumsy to work with....

Didn't go far and out of my big ball I got these two squares.... now youngest daughter and I each have a new dusting cloth....   they work magnificently and last for ages - quite happy with lots of washes.  But another time I would use thinner yarn... you don't need 1" thick cloths but they were ultra quick to knit....

Righto, Gotto Go....