Happy days and good fortune

The past week has been very busy, with extra time spent in the garden as well as the usual weekly activities.  
However, a highlight of the week was a day out with my friend Anne (Juliet Cherry) who is currently visiting her son and his family.  Anne lives in the UK and her son and daughter in law and two dear grandsons live quite near me.  Whenever Anne visits we manage to spend a day or two together.  We share an interest in needlework so there is always plenty to talk about.  This time I was not sure how much time I could spend having been laid low with bronchitis for some time now and not wanting to spread any illness.  As it turned out we managed to catch up for a few hours on Thursday.  I picked Anne up and we went for morning coffee/chocolate at a cafe suggested by my neighbour.  The cafe is at the end of the road in Mornington with views of the bay.  It was a glorious day and we could have just sat and chatted but we had places to go.  Anne usually buys a few needlework magazines from op shops while she is here and donates them back before going home, so we decided to visit some of my favourite spots.  There is a Vinnies (St.Vincent de Paul) Salvos (Salvation Army) and recycling shop all in one area so we had a ball looking around and finding bargains.

I picked up the partly made quilt pictured:  it is all pieced and has the batting and backing fabric (the backing is especially beautiful).  This was marked $4.99.  Can you believe it.  I am not a quilter but it was such a good buy.

After the excitement of our shopping expedition we rang my husband and he joined us for lunch at a nearby pub.  And so we had a wonderful day and look forward to another one in the coming week.

colours of the reef

Last year I made several pieces of felt and they are just taking up space in my workroom so I have decided to make of bag out of this 

piece.  I had some matching fabric which was ideal for the lining so I have added some thin pellon and machine quilted it.  It is to be a simple bag with a fold-over flap so I hope to finish it tomorrow.  Unless of course I decide it needs a little bling to brighten it up.  The felt it made of merino wool and silk and the depth of the colour reminds me of the water in the great barrier reef.

santa - the continuing story

Santa is coming along really well.  I  finished quilting the underskirt while sitting in the waiting room at the doctor.  Almost all of the lace is attached around the edge: each piece is secured with a crystal.  
I am so pleased with how this is coming along.  The grandchildren have given it the big tick of approval which is most important.

Beautiful books

Yesterday I stopped at a charity shop I had not been to before: I will be back.  They have a huge range of books on all sorts of topics at bargain prices.  I find that the books on needlework are always in good condition: I think needlewomen treasure their books and look after them well.


The books I purchased are ones I have not seen before, although they are not particularly new.
The first one is Needlemade Laces by Pat Earnshaw,  an absolute delight. Apart from instructions there are just so many beautiful laces pictured.
The second one is Creative Canvaqs Embroidery, by Effie Mitrofanis.  I have never been interested in needlepoint but Effie brings her usual exuberant style to it and now I think I am going to have to investigate further.  Book number three is The Essential Quilter by Barbara Chainey. Again, not something I do, but the instructions look so basic I think I could give it a try.

I would be interested to know what books are absolutely necessary - if you had to dispose of all  of your books, keeping just 5, what would you choose?

water colours & stitches

I have been trying out colouring fabric with water colour pencils.  This is part of a challenge on the 3 creative studios forum.  I have used calico for this challenge as I have heaps of it and it doesn't matter if I mess up.

First I drew a design, just working free hand with the pencils.

After colouring it in I sprayed it liberally with water and silver sheen, dried it over the heating vent and then ironed it.
The design remained intact although it was somewhat softened by the water. 

As usual I am making this up as I go along: I thought some quilting would be good.  Using pellon as batting backed the piece with another piece of calico.  So far I have just hand stitched around the flowers and leaves with coordinating  single threads.  So far it is working out really well.

This will be another needlebook for my monthly challenge.