Hearts for Christchurch...

Doh! I typed this up yesterday morning and didn't manage to hit the publish button and there it was lanquishing in draft...there are times I amaze myself with the lack of basic functionality that I manage to achieve!

A Squilter who is also a Kiwiquilter posted this to the group for the lady who is co-ordinating...can you help?...

I am involved in a Heart project for Christchurch. I do not want to detract from the Healing Hearts so generously made by quilters. This is just a different Heart request.

I am gathering hearts for Christchurch. Not heart blocks in the quilting sense but `hanging' hearts. 

Two heart shapes sewn together, stuffed or not, embellished, embroidered, CQ'd, quilted, plain or fancy, felt or fabric or anything goes. Add a loop at the top.

However many inches high that you care to make. For ease of postage, envelope size is a good measurement.

Also for ease of postage you can send them flat, leave an opening and add a note "Please stuff me" I have a couple of non sewers on stuffing.

You can choose to sign them on the back and add a message. It would be nice to have at least the area they come from. 

This is just a small measure of something nice to give in this terrible time.

A heart is a symbol of caring and I know we all feel an overpowering desire to do something.

If you aren't in a position to donate a heart or two send a little bit of fabric. I have heart makers at the ready.

Or simply pass this on message with my address (please do that anyway).

Thank you.

Kind Regards

Evie Harris

523 Main North Road

Bay View

Napier 4104

New Zealand

This seems like such a nice way to help and so simple...

Happy Stitching...

Renovation Rescue...

Why have I suddenly emerged from under a rock and achieved some sewing because...

From this...

Beyond chaotic...unusable...can't find anything without an archaelogical dig...

To this...

Ah...a useable space again...where basic supplies like table tops and sewing machines can be found without said archaelogical dig...

And all it took was three days of concentrated attention...figuring out how to take cargo barrier out of Larry and put seats down (first challenge) in order to transport flat packs, a trip to Melbourne to IKEA (a challenge for Mistea as I lost all ability to function in Melbourne that day...who forgets how to operate the car park pay machine for goodness sake!), managing to get flat packs from Larry into house (second challenge), moving furniture, washing walls, shampooing carpet, building furniture contained in IKEA flat packs...and then as that worked out so well...doing it all again for other side of the room...including second trip to Melbourne to IKEA stupidly undertaken on a Sunday afternoon, not my best idea that one...followed by remainder of week sorting and fine tuning details...not finished yet, there are a few things to go back up on the walls, some sorting and cleaning out still to be done, but it is a whole lot better than it was and I'm loving having a space that is fun to be in again...


Happy Stitching...

New Beginnings...

Not first out of the gate by any stretch of the imagination but hopefully not last past the post with my offering for the Among the Gum Trees' New Beginnings project...

It has taken me a couple of weeks to get my act together and make up a drawstring bag to hold the items...the needlebook is one I made ages back (actually did the stitchery while on the Big Trip Over the Water) and had put aside so that provided a starting point and a decision on fabric style......hope the recipient likes what I've included and finds it useful to start them back on their stitching journey...


Happy Stitching...

GJ Progress...

Done!  Well, all the blocks that is...the last four blocks constructed over the 24 hours since lunchtime yesterday...yay!...happy dancing!!!!

Now this afternoon I need to wash the border fabrics, which should dry quickly enough today to be ironed and dealt with tonight...

Happy Stitching

Aussie Spirit...

While I haven't achieved much in the way of stitching in the sewing room of late I did manage to finish up the Aussie Spirit block for Helen Stubbings' flood quilts project and it has gone into the mailbox to make it's way to the quilt assembly area...

The fabric it is sitting on went into the envelope...Helen asked that if possible a piece of red fabric be sent with the stitched block to assist with assembly of the quilt tops...The bathing boxes are stitched with the Cottage Garden Threads "Hugs 'n' Kisses" supplied by Helen and the foreground items are stitched with an Anchor variegated that I had in the floss box that matched well enough...I don't mind the combination of the two different threads, adds a bit of shade interest...

Happy Stitching...

Bunny Hop...

The post people have done their job and delivered this little candlemat over to Shell at The Raspberry Rabbits...

Made using a Bareroots pattern which when I saw it screamed "Shell" to me so I had to...

It would have helped A Lot if I had remembered to take a proper photo of it Before putting it into the mail box to wing it's way across the oceans but no, all I have is this crappy not even ironed snapped with the mobile phone job...Shell has a much better photo on her blog...ironed mat, taken with a proper camera, all the niceties observed...

Enjoy your mat Shell, it made me happy to stitch it for you...

Happy Stitching...

Sunday Sitting and Sewing...

Today LQG had a sit and sew day as an unofficial start to the year...the first official gatherings for the year being this coming Wednesday night and the following Tuesday morning...and what a great start...22 members turned out (well 20 members and two future members) to the local Memorial Hall for a day of stitching and chatting...

And did I do anything other than talking and drinking coffee?  Well, yes I did...not great and wonderous but a little bit of this and a little bit of that...a bit here and there all adds up...

Caddy - binding handsewing done...pincushion - opening stitched closed...a bit of stitchery...and a pile of hexies towards Bumb'le Bee...and of course, I had to take a "tour" and check out what everyone else was doing and have a bit of a chat here and there...all in all a relaxing day with a few little ticks on projects...

In A Gardeners Journal Stitch-A-Long News...

Those ladies finally made it to the Flower Show...

And now the apples are ripening in the orchard....

very excited...once those apples are ripe I can build the blocks...

Hope your weekend has been stitchy and productive...back to the apples for me...

Happy Stitching...

Flower Show Ladies Still Travelling...

The Ladies are getting ready for their Annual Flower Show...it's been a long road but they are slower getting closer to their destination...

They are keeping company with a couple of secret projects...the pretty aqua fabric they are sitting on and the grey felt in the corner...secrets secrets...can't show yet...

So wanting those ladies to reach the end of their road...so that I can move on to the last GJ stitcheries and start putting the blocks together...P-faff's been on holiday way too long, about time she came back to play...

Hope your weekend is being productive...and for those of us in Aust...dry and without cyclones!!...*edit*...and for WA out of the path of bushfires!  Mother Nature give us a break will ya!

Happy stitching...

Happy New Year!....Huh?...That's Happened Already??...

So January has been and gone...who knew!  Whoosh...it's all a bit of a blur...boring real world stuff intruded on my sewing space...a space I definitely need to re-acquaint myself with...and I've tried to catch upon almost two months of blog reading - finally admitting failure and resorting to scanning of posts with proper reading and commenting to recommence shortly.

There hasn't been a lot of stitching going on but I managed to keep my date to attend Patchwork on Stonleigh's Summer School in Wodonga.  Love Summer School, this was my third year.  I had a grand time in four days of workshops, starting two quilts by lovely Karen Cunningham, who made her annual trek down from the Blue Mountains to play just over the border here in Victoria.  The sad thing was the announcement though that this was the final year of trekking to Wodonga for Summer School, Patchwork on Stonleigh is closing - waaaaahhhh!!!! - Susan and Christine are packing up their fabrics for the best of reasons but they and their wonderful shop will be sorely missed...

The workshop for the first two days was "Anna's Quilt"...nine large hexies surrounded by 3/4" hexies make up the centre medallion...I started one...

I'm using the beautiful Rural Jardine range by French General for Moda as my basis for this quilt - love love love this range of fabric.  I had it in mind to just use a single range...well, I gave it a try but nah, that isn't working for me...I found other yummy fabrics in the shop that just had to make their way into the Anna's Quilt project box...I did more than this in the two days as I spent the first day doing preparation on previous Summer School quilts that I would work on if I just had "here's some I prepared earlier" going on and this is was a great opportunity to use a chunk of time to do just that...

Here is Karen's version of Anna's Quilt...sorry it is sideways but you get the idea...lots of opportunity for fussy cutting in this one... 

The second workshop was "Lullaby"...Jindi showed it last post...here it is again...

That's not a white patch on the centre square, it's a hexie paper (I think).

Prepare to be amazed at what I am about to tell you...are you sitting down because it is truly shocking...  I. Did. All. This. Work. In. Class. ... I know! Told you it was amazing!!  There are some small circles to be prepped and then the whole center of the quilt is cut out.  All the pieces are pinned on ready to be appliqued down.

This is Karen's version...

Isn't the quilting gorgeous...it is more gorgeous in real life, photos don't do justice to the overall gorgeousness of Karen's quilts...

A Gardener's Journal has been severely neglected but I am plugging away...

Hope you are getting to spend more time in your sewing space that I've had lately...

Happy Stitching...