Phew....

Just recovering from non stop quilting! I like to take a few days off not really doing anything after I've been sitting away at my machine non stop for a week.


I've been enjoying some garden time before it gets too hot to stay outside for very long. My favourite time in the garden is mid morning and twilight.
Nature really expresses some great colours at these times, really vivid and fresh....or changing and glowing in the sunset.


These specific and beatiful hues are the reason I started hand dying my own fabric ranges... when I couldnt find the exact tone for a quilt I had in mind....I took it to task to create it! Of course, I learnt that the bright glossy colour in the jar doesnt stay that way after washing, rinsing and ironing, so I have pallettes of beautiful, suprising and sometimes unexpected tones.

Just recently I read about a textile artist who, after getting too old to work with fabric, started painting. She said that the best thing about painting was the colour gratification - that the colour she mixed and blended more or less stayed true to that first initial colour thrill. That idea really excites me, I dont think I'm too old to quilt just yet....but when I get there, I think I will take up painting too!

Happy Birthday Grace!

Happy Birthday Grace !

What a beautiful day

celebrating the birthday of someone we all love so much

Today the Applique Angels celebrated Grace's birthday, and yes, the sun was shining and we had a special suprise.......

Mary's Ginger Fluff Cake

Now, yes, we did promise to provide this famouse cake and *nothing else*, but Grace, we were already well under way making your quilt when we promised.... what were we supposed to do? Give it to someone else??

I love a suprise when its REALLY a suprise! and I think this was an unexpected gift (the best type I think).

So that made the suprise even more rewarding.

Here's Grace inspecting my quilting to see if it's up to scratch!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE !

Secret quilting business...continues

and now I've got the flowers, so its time to deliver this quilt!

Secret quilting business.....finished

So

I finished quilting the SUPRISE Birthday Quilt this morning

And now I'm going....where? to the florist!

I only quilted this beautiful quilt, it was made by Applique Angels, knowing that Grace loves Birds of a Feather

Secret Quilting Business

It's been quiet lately, because I've been up to....secret quilting business..... this is the only snap shot I can provide (or else I'll be in a lot of trouble!). Being the last hand on the list, I was waiting to receive the item, and now I'm quilting against time to get it finished.

You know, it doesnt matter what I plan, or what I say, last minute quilting is becoming my specialty!

After a little clean up and sorting out on my weekend , I'm back to the stitch!

Will keep you posted with more info AFTER the event.....

Basking in the Sun

Basking in the sun.....today I started emptying out my bear drawers, and came across some little bears that I made a few years ago just before I started quilting. It's a shame to keep them boxed up so my daughter took them out in the garden for a photo shoot in order to find them new homes.

I remember when I first started making bears - a friend told me that bear makers always end up making bears that look like themselves, their spouses or their pets! I remember looking at some bears of people I knew and seeing a resemblance....and then staring at my own ...and not being able to see anything....but a bear. Until today that is. This little bear, ginger fluff, has a strong resemblance to my over indulged and over dramatic cat, who was no doubt looking at me forlornly whilst I was trying to make ginger fluff's face.

I ended up boxing my bears away because my cat took a liking to biting my bears faces and trying to chew off their stitched noses.

Spring! Spring! Spring!

the first Sugar Snap Pea is on its way

The lemon balm is blooming

and I'm loving Spring Green....I can feel a design coming on.....

Esther's Occassional Quote for the Day

"Say it with flowers" I created this wall hanging a while back in Pam Holland's workshop. I feel in love with the technique and promised myself that I would use it to make a whole series of flowers (on the to do list!).

I started with a Mop Hydrangea because they are so beautiful and in Melbourne when they bloom in my garden, they die very quickly because of the heat that comes quite suddenly (as well as the current water issues)....so I never get to enjoy them for as long as I would like.

Looking over my quilting history, I'm always drawn to nature, mostly birds and flowers and interpretations and sketches of them..... at the moment I am looking for the perfect Peony picture to create another image. It is an elusive flower.

Esther's Occassional Quote for the Day

WORKSHOP !

Going to the AQC in Feb next year?

http://www.aqc.com.au/melbourne09.php

The Website is now up and running....and I'm one of the tutors!

Visit the site and check it out !

Much ado about nothing !

Well, because I didnt have anything to do, I was seeking inspiration and came across a marvellous idea / challenge to make a quilt (that gets listed) in an HOUR. I cant hardly wait to challenge myself in this, as I like to meander through several quilts at once.

Otherwise, I've been preparing some new workshop material....you know, just the boring basics like instructions, etc that seem to take so long to get done on the computer.

At the moment I'm spending most of my quilting time 'journalling' as I have plenty of ideas and motivations......just not the stamina to actually do them yet....so its been a little quiet.

Staring at the design wall from my comfy chair is my favourite past time!

This week I sold my Papa Polar Bear on Etsy....and I have to admit that whilst I was packing him in his travel box....I nearly couldnt do it! I know I know, I havent even given him a thought since I made him, but sending him to his new home made me want to keep him!

I'm a bit like that with quilts too....how can come people give away their hand work so easily? I envy their ability to de-tatch. Even when I 'only' quilt a raffle quilt I end up falling in love with at least on aspect of the design that warrants me keeping it....it's ok though, I never do!

Yes, I'm taking things easy and just enjoying the year so far and indulging in a few new things like colour mixing and paper cutting.

So far this year I have managed to make 11 quilts...and I'm nowhere near getting through my stack of ideas....sometimes I wonder if I will get to make everything I've planned.....maybe I should start making smaller quilts?!

Tomorrow I am starting on a very special project.... I am quilting a quilt that is very dear to me and the quilting will be very personalised....I will chart my quilting progress here as it emerges.....It will be for a very dear friend ( I better not name names!)

Really Loving Red

Today's effort.....I've noticed (like all quilters I guess) that I go through colour 'phases' where I fall in love with a hue and use it as much as possible. Well at the moment, I'm loving Red....which is really exciting becasuse in quilting, Red offers so many possibilities. There's prairie red (beautifully faded), turkey red, the harvest hues, the bright apple red shades, deep cherries, the list goes on....

Even sitting in a cafe waiting for my coffee .....and my mind wanders round to red ideas...here's a little jotting I got up to whilst waiting to be served...with a little work I might just work that into something.....maybe even more reason to dine out!

SEPT 1st

Well, where is the year going? I can barely believe its Sept. already! Today I posted Nightshade to Houston, I'm really delighted that its finally on its way there.

I've been very slack with my blog as I've been so busy sketching and trying out a few new ideas....and experimenting....with paints and pencils....and have nothing to report back yet. I had to stop just to make some order in my area...so that I could keep on going...Predictably, I am back at the challenge where I have decided to use my fabric stash...but keep coming up with quilts that need new fabric, and the stash just keeps increasing as usual.

My BOM sketches which I've been turning into a pattern, 'Red Delicious' have come together really well, and I'm considering doing both a stencil and applique piece....the only problem is, all my reds are the 'wrong' reds and so I really dont think I'm going to be clearing out the red drawer of prints at all !

I found a stash of christmassy prints.....so I'm considering whether I need any new things for the table / wall / sofa / bed this season....I probably do..... after all, can a quilter have too many Christmas Stockings on the ledge????