Stephanie Newman- A Quiltmaker's Quarters

Domestic Goddess

2012-01-22T20:13:00.001+11:00

Here's a fun little palette cleanser by Amy Butler, the Domestic Goddess apron. I made the Pleated Bodice version. I had a lot of fun squeezing the pattern pieces out of some beautiful but not too plentiful yardage in my stash, both Jane Sassaman fabrics from my quilting stash.
The body of the apron is from the "Garden Diva" range with accent fabric for ties in a pink and blue "Shadows" range. They are not the same year or collection but work well together.
Its so gorgeous a print that the apron was a great project for it because otherwise, I don't think I could have bought myself to cut it up! There are fabric out there now and then that I cannot bring myself to cut into and this print is one of those. I just adore Jane Sassaman's wild fabrics.

Made it largely on my 820. I say largely, because I started out making pockets on a vintage Bernina near where my children were playing,as its holidays, and since the 820 is so heavy it is not a machine you pick up and move around the house if you can help it and lives at the other end of the house to where the children play, there are times I use another machine in the living space. Once school resumes I will be living in my studio!! This weekend I've had some quality Phebe time.

It is a good thing there is this much LED lighting on the machine, because my studio is so dark.
One thing I cannot believe is the amount of clearance under the foot! Now, I would not ever sew with my finger where you see it here, of course..Don't do this at home readers....

The point is my finger is a decent size, my hands are large, I wear almost man sized rings, and its nice to have so much space to wiggle a project around under the foot.

The apron I made is the pleated bodice apron, and when Amy named that style, it was aptly chosen.
The apron has lots of pleats which when sewn either stack or butt against each other across the top of the bodice. The bodice is lined so you form lots of pleats at the top and two at the bottom, on each piece. They are sewn together, then top stitched along through the seam allowances, not only of the two pieces but of all the pleats incorporated into the top edge. Phebe just steamed through the lot without hesitation as I expected.

I do like the way Amy has designed the pockets to sit out from the apron, not flat, so that there is room for your hands or other stuff... and the pockets are lined as well as interfaced, so they should be durable.
I used the blindhem foot number 5 and moved my needle across to edge stitch and then I remembered I can also use the #10 from my stash of feet, even though it doesn't have the clever sensor on it.
This apron has pleats on the top bodice, which is lined. And there are pleats in the lining as well. And pleats in the skirt in the centre front. If you want to learn to sew pleats, sew this pattern!!. They add a lot of shaping which is nice. The neck straps and waists and ties are also lined and the waist is interfaced with sew in interfacing. Whilst the apron isn't a half hour job to sew, it has a lovely shape and was fun to sew.
The edges are very cleanly finished by being either stitched and turned inside out or folded edges aligned and edge stitched. I like edge stitching to keep the edges where they should be after being turned and pressed.

Its not at all difficult to sew so close to the edge, if you have an edge stitch foot or a blind hem foot you can move your needle whatever distance from the blade or ledge that you like or need, and then just keep the edge of the fabric level with the blade. Watch the edge of the fabric, and not the needle. Here I am pivoting around the bottom of a pocket...you get a good view of the blade along which I run the edge that I want to edge stitch. It is so easy to do, its almost like sewing for dummies 101. I do remember in decades past, the dark ages before I had an edge stitch foot, and how frustratingly difficult it was to get a nice finish properly close to the edge.

And here is a candidate for the most uninspiring studio view award, right from my studio! Next door neighbours wall.... at least there are some nice tropical looking plants and grasses. And no chance I can get distracted from my sewing, even if I wanted to be! At least one bonus is that the house is not ours, we are renting for a while, but I think I would have to think hard about buying a place with such a lack of view. I would definitely think twice about buying a house with a shade cloth over my light source with a house next door so close!
But one thing I do like about the house we found is that there is enough room to set up my ~~toys~~ working equipment or machines I use for fun garment sewing. Photos of studio to come later once I am properly settled in.
The cabinet is up but I still have tubs of fabric and general chaos from the move to sort out before anyone sees it!

Stephanie

Gardens, anyone?

2012-01-19T21:30:00.000+11:00

Last weekend we were out enjoying the Botanical Gardens of Canberra. Nestled on Black Mountain the gardens have a really varied array of plants from Tropical to Rare and Endangered to Native and some exotics as well.

Many were obligingly in full flower displaying glorious colour.

Peeping between the branches of a Gum tree, there was even a view to Parliament House.

We took a fun short 400m children's walk though with flaps the kids could flip up on signage that explained plants they could see and gave them things to look for, guaranteed to be seen at any time of day.

Naturally this was a hit with our children who find insects and other bugs fascinating. All made of metal and painted.
Some very striking plants on show:
Don't you love the cool hair do and attitude of the Xanthorrhoea glauca? These grow inland on the East Coast of Australia.
And the Banksia.

I love the colour of these Kangaroo Paws. They are native to Western Australia. And there were also apple green ones too, if full on colour is not your style.

But then, the extravagance of the Blandfordia Grandiflora is hard to beat, even its name is grandiose! They were in pots near the entrance and were absolutely stunning, each bell several inches long.
Gum trees are very Australian and the Inland Scribbly Gum is groovy with the scribbles created by insects eating their way through the bark in wild scribbly patterns. The colours of the bark are lovely.

Near the entrance/ exit there is a water fall created through a series of small ponds that are set into the hillside and end in a little wetland pond at the bottom, complete with pretty flowers.

I also loved the almost ugly but dramatic prickly paper bark tree (Melaleuca styphelioides) sporting its thick flaky bark, with the most fantastic texture.

Plenty of eye candy for those who enjoy plants on display, even if you haven't long to wander.

At home, work this week has been all about finishing off writing and proofing articles or project instructions for a handful of deadlines. Not much fondling of fabric or sewing time at all. Thinking about it during breaks from computer sessions though, and a little cutting going on.

As my carrot to myself, a reward for extended computer sessions if you like, I have cut out an Apron from the Domestic Goddess Apron by Amy Butler.
Apron Here

I'm using truly beautiful Jane Sassaman fabric, and chose the Pleated Bodice version from Amy's pattern in the just below knee length.
What is a quilter doing making aprons? Well boxes of stuff mysteriously disappeared en route during our relocation, and annoyingly, the box containing the aprons was one such missing box. I can be quite messy in the kitchen and prone to spilling stuff all over myself when baking, so I figured since I needed an apron, it may as well be a pretty one that would last for years. I will never find one in the stores I like as much as the style of Amy's and in such pretty fabric. Don't you just love being able to sew and make things that others without sewing skills cannot? Imagine for a second having to buy all your textiles for your home from stores. All your clothes. All your kitchen textiles. All your bedroom quilts and linens. How boring would that be?

At first I thought I would be really short on yardage that I have of the print at the top of the photo, but with some repositioning of pieces and sacrificing matching the design of the pockets to the bodice, I discovered there was just enough fabric to cut the bodice section with the same fabric as for the skirt. So, my original plan, which was a compromise, of the green leafy print with little yellow dragonflies on black for the upper section of the apron won't be needed. It is part of the same Garden Divas range as the top fabric, so later, with the remnants perhaps I will make a hot mat to stuff with rice and cloves, or perhaps trim a hot mitt with matching and co-ordinating fabric. Both the black background prints come from the Garden Divas range from Jane Sassaman, found at Frangipani Fabrics in Hobart.
Here is a link to a better look at the beautiful fabric design:
For my apron
I just adore this fabric. Infact I adore that entire range and wish I had at least a bolt of every design from the Garden Diva range! For that matter a bolt from every design Jane has ever created would not be too much! I really love Jane's sense of fun with her botanically based designs and the drama she creates with her art.
Just before dinner, I made a start sewing both lined and interfaced pockets as a little treat for all my concentrated computer time lately. I will get to the rest after I clear another deadline tomorrow.
More of that to come shortly..

Happy Stitching,
Stephanie

Playing

2012-01-13T18:51:00.004+11:00

A few days ago I enjoyed my first freemotion quilting session on my 820 and was just so excited at the strength and speed of the machine, a lot of power to tap into with a beautiful smooth sound and feel.
I decided to call her Phebe since the name means Radiant One and is also a character from Shakespeare's As You Like It play . And of course, my 820 is exactly as I like it! The stitch quality is absolutely gorgeous with only the smallest tweak of the top tension. I used the needle that was supplied in the machine- think it is universal size 80, and some Aurifil 50 weight 2 ply Egyptian long staple cotton I use often for piecing. It was already in the machine, I had only a short amount of play time available and swooped in on moments of stitching bliss to stitch some patterns out. No stitch regulation, just me and Phebe playing together.
Front:

Back:
I love stitching tight curves and points as it is a good test of a machine and the settings. Not a single eyelash or ugly stitch!! I stitched these in a very dark room at the end of a day when I was tired so imagine when I am fresh with better lighting the machine will be even nicer to use! I stitched until I emptied that very large bobbin!
The fabric is middle of the road homespun and the batting is a cotton poly blend, a remnant of one brand or another. Possible Mathildas Own but I am not sure.
I thought you may be interested to see the beauty of the stitching on this machine. Now I am extra excited (if that is even possible) about when I start to quilt my first proper quilt with the machine. I am still in getting to know you, early dating phase with the machine and am working my way through different functions and playing.

I have been a bit under the weather with some sort of virusy thing for a few days and just not myself in the head- so slowed down and pottered finishing the Vogue 853 the day I started it to relax and some patchwork in small snippets of time. I declare a wadder! No, you don't get to see unflattering photos of a top that appears suspiciously like a maternity top, but with silly little sleeves and enough fabric to sail the Pacific with in the bodice!
The vogue 8534 top has several problems with the pattern with notches not matching where they should, and sleeve with a contoured shaped hem not having enough fabric allowed for turning back onto itself. I ended up cutting the sleeve to the usual length and disliked the way they suggested finishing the neckline, with all that fabric hanging off there the suggestion was a single line of straight stitching. The weight of the fabric pulled on the stitches and stretched during handling so I reinforced the back neckline with some cotton twill tape, but think the front could do with it as well. If you are still game to try this pattern be aware of that. The sleeves are also incredibly small even when I graded up one whole size to allow for my quilting muscles and fluff in the upper arm. The body is ridiculously big and resembles more a maternity top than a stylish pleated t-shirt. As one of my PR buddies suggested, I have been charity sewing, as I don't plan on wearing the top at all, I dislike it so much! Still the odd failure in a style or poorly drafted pattern is useful to make you appreciate the successes- which outweigh the failures in garments for me.

Yesterday I cut 700 two inch half inch triangles that finish to 1 1/2 inches when sewn to a previous step. Stacking piles of fabric strips and with Clear Grip on my Easy Angle ruler to prevent slippage, I was still wishing I owned the size die I needed from Accuquilt to die cut this many pieces. I like the Easy Angle ruler but I dislike rotary cutting so many pieces- shoulder really feels it even after so long.

I sewed some of these happily at the Guild's quilting day, whilst the children were happily occupied by a bag of books, toys and activities we packed and took with us. Nice to get out of the house and socialise with local quilters.

We have a new friend in our garden. I looked down when opening the back sliding door to see this little face peeping out. By at first it was just the head and no legs visible.
Raised on an island known for its population of oversized and venomous snakes with a good supply of other reptiles, I watched it carefully as it moved under the edge of the door frame, heading for my pot plants. Relieved to see some little legs, and grabbing my camera, snapped a couple of nice photos through the door or window. Blue Tongue Lizard. Isn't its skin beautiful? He would be a good 12 inches long. They can give you a nasty bite if you stress them out, can hiss, and earn their name due to a deep blue tongue that they use to attempt to frighten predators with. Some people pick them up and they aren't bothered by humans, you can walk up quite close and have a good look at them.

Two days later we found him again sunning himself, in a sunny corner of the garden, keeping an eye on the progress of our tomato plant, or possibly dozing after eating garden pests. Goggling Blue Tongues I discovered we have 6 varieties in Australia with different markings, colours and sizes.
We are not that far from a small bush reserve so there is every chance that since we have Lizards we may also get snakes. The children are quite excited to have their very own Blue Tongue Lizard to watch.

Tomorrow I hope to feel a bit less muddle headed and finish fusing some bits to start the applique arrangement of a small project. I can't wait to start stitching! There is another knit fabric calling to me as well so once the fabric is washed I'll make a start on it too.

Cheers,
Stephanie

Seeking Cover

2012-01-11T11:00:00.000+11:00

Around the corner from our home we found a french style patisserie that sells yummy things like this double vanilla slice. Isn't the icing pretty? I have barely had time to sit and eat much of anything, our home is a hive of activity with children on holidays, am trying to get some work done and back into quilting and sewing, husband assembling a cabinet to house my 820, sewing room organisation coming along well. Bits and pieces of cabinet waiting to be assembled litter the floor, husband left space for met to squeeze into my chair at the 820 though- what a man!! He has assembled the main section with a small glitch putting the back section of the main cabinet together wrong way around, as instructions were not easy to notice which way up was which- but luckily there is no damage visible to the right side and he could unscrew and flipped it over. Working at night, he missed the single letter on the diagram that indicated which way up the top should have been, an is going to suggest to the company they make this clearer in their "destructions". Photos to come when I can get them to load into blogger, with two failed attempts I will try later. Obstinate computers!
.The cabinet looks really nice so far.

And, have cut out my first garment for the year, Vogue 8534.
I am going to make View A with short sleeves but lengthen them a touch.
.

Bit of fiddling to remark shoulder notches for View A, as they did not match front to back, I thought to check if one side was meant to be eased into the other but this is marked neither on the pattern nor the instructions.
Fabric is soft to the hand cotton lycra blend with moderate amount of stretch as pattern recommended. Pretty, isn't it?

I have been writing magazine articles, and also had a few personal emails about overlockers lately- what features are good and what I like. There are plenty of quilters out there who also sew clothes or bags and if you are one of those people, then you probably have an overlocker, are like some writing to me looking to replace it, or are looking for the first time at your options.

I have a Bernina 800DL which is a 2-3-4 thread overlocker. Her name is Tilly, after the hardworking and fiercely loyal character from The House of Eliott. She has fast easy lower looper threading and is colour coded on the thread guides to make threading by hand really easy.
I like it because it has considerable grunt but is only a compact sized machines. Some of the beasts are huge with deep and wide footprints and eat up your workspace. I would rather have that space for my project.
Stitch quality and ease of threading varies across brands as well, and I love how consistent and fuss free my overlocker is. The stitches are very neat, particularly for rolled hemming. There is adjustable presser foot pressure on this machine. The markings on the front are clear to measure with. The only glitch I have had with it was with really thick fleece last winter. that put my baby in the mechanic's workroom for adjustment, turned out to be partially fabric caused and partially user error, not a problem with the machine.
It is totally manually adjusted and is easy with sliding tension controls and dials on the side for stitch length and differential feed. Knife cutting width / stitch width is controlled by moving the cover on the left hand side to access the dials.It has included 2 thread conversion tool for 2 thread overlocking. The rolled hemming is simple to set up, no extra plate to install, just flick a lever and set the machine up according to the manual instructions. Its very fast to do. I find the lighting on overlockers is often not great and the lighting on the 800DL is good. It is easy to thread because it is colour coded for each thread path and has the fast lower looper threader mechanism fitted. Not all machines offer an auto threader for the lower looper and I don't think I would want to work on one without it.

I use my overlocker all the time for construction and for finishing edges as well. It has differential feed like most modern machines do, and that lets me handle knits without stretching them out or getting ripples. I wouldn't be without it. They are not scary to learn to use, just be sure you have the store show you how to thread it correctly and do it in store yourself in front of the staff so you learn properly by reproducing what they show you. Do it a few times if necessary. Take some lessons and read some good books on overlocking.
I will blog next entry about the overlocking of the Vogue T-shirt and you can see its threading and stitching then. I have to make and baste neckline pleats in place before I can get to overlocking.

Another lady via email asked me about coverstitch options.
I switched a while back from an old beast that was a 5 thread overlocker, that failed to coverstitch correctly, to a simpler great overlocker and later added a seperate coverstitch machine that does cover and chain stitch. It was a good decision and easy to make, when I discovered that worldwide others were having exactly the same problems I had encountered with the combo model I had. I found a dedicated machine works far better as it is designed to do cover and chain as a natural thing, rather than labour at stitching with the chain looper, as most combo machines appear to do.. Now I also have eliminated the tedious and awkward conversion of a combo overlocker to and for each time when switching stitches is required and have radically improved coverstitch quality and can finish things faster because of the time that is saved. Many of my sewing friends irl and online have gone the same way for the same reasons as well and have different models depending on preference and budget.

We moved house...and a lot of stuff was damaged. My coverstitch machine thread antennae was badly bent and damaged, and the machine now won't sew correctly. I don't know if this is because of the thread stand alone or the machine as well being damaged. Stitches don't form. The motor runs but it doesn't sew properly, and is very sad. We are waiting, and waiting...and will continue to wait for insurance company to begin to process our claim. I had been pondering my replacement options as my otherwise pristine coverstitch machine was the only choice where I lived, within a 4 hour drive. The other choice costs more than many sewing machines and computers do, and wasn't an option for both those reasons. The model I really wanted to try- Bernina 009DCC- was not to be had in the state anywhere. Its an older style model and the stores are all pushing the very latest toys with modern styling. Now I am on the mainland, there are all the choices available.

Yesterday whilst foraging for sewing supplies, I had another look at a coverstitch machine I noticed sitting on a shelf at the time we picked up my 820- the Bernina 009DCC.
It had been ordered in for someone who then reneged on the sale and so was well reduced in price. Reviews online had been very favourable because it has a compensating foot that moves to handle uneven heights in garment seams such as seam intersections, and this means no skipped stitches. I've noticed when Bernina have something working really well they don't mess with it, and that's a good thing. This machine has been produced for a very long time and it works very well! Hubby suggested if I test drove it and it didn't skip stitches when sewing, and I liked it, that we should snap it up as it will be months until the claim on the broken machine is sorted out by which point it is unlikely this little gem would be still available at that price. Lots of prices have already gone up on machines. If I am reimbursed on my damaged machine great, but if they repair the it, then I can sell it second hand. And in the meantime I can continue to sew and hem my knits. Right place, right time?

I prepped some fabric samples made of very stretchy lycra fabric used to bind necklines in active wear (seen in photos below), some cotton lycra with 30% crosswise sretch, some pure cotton double knit in medium to heavy weight, and some super thick polarfleece, and some woven cotton medium weight. I hastily sewed a seam and then basted up a hem, with the seam at the fold line snipped close to the stitching, flipped and nestled as I do (thanks to Gigi, no more twisted seams inside hemlines!) on each fabric. so as to replicate the sort of tasks the machine would have to sew over when I am constructing a garment. She flew through all fabrics beautifully and followed me home!

The machine is a little rocket, easy to thread the needles, but a little more complex to thread the looper than my previous machine, but its not hard because the manual is good. The fabric feeding is fantastic and the compensating foot is totally worth the glowing praise it has received from others. The finish inside and out is very smooth and well polished.
I saw the little plates in both sides adjust and move to transport fabric and keep the foot level over bumpy seams for stitching, and deliver even at speed fantastically even stitching. It runs at a cranking 1500 stitch per minute at top speed.
One great difference is it can sew happily with good quality overlocker thread and the previous coverstitch machine I owned would not, it demanded 50 weight construction thread or it would go into spasms.
This is QA overlocker thread. The chain looper threads from the far right and runs behind the two needle threads,in through the back and along the side of the machine.

She does a twin needle coverstitch at industry standard 5mm wide, and a chain stitch, which is really all I need and used with my other machine. I never did use the triple needle option on the other machine...so I know I won't miss it. I really like how clear the markings are on the bed of the coverstitch to measure hem depth. My other machine had no markings at all and I ended up sticking a stack of post it notes to my machine (which often came unstuck mid project) so I could measure a constant distance to the needle. Permanent non sticky marks are much better!!

I have some great reading to catch up on, apart from the manual for the coverstitch machine, this arrived yesterday as well:
Some very interesting reading about fashion forecasts for the coming season and beyond and information on narrowing shoulder width article that looks very good. Mum if you are reading this you might want to pick up a copy of this for that article alone!

Anyway I hope this post answers some questions people have about overlockers and if not ask away by leaving a comment, the link to do that is at the bottom of each post on this blogger template in small writing or flick me an email.

Stephanie

Seeing Red

2012-01-02T17:54:00.000+11:00

Happy New Year! Are you ready for a New Year? I am!
I have not been as near to my machine as I would like with days of dealing with fall out from house move, as well as finding places for things and doing endless loads of mundane laundry. Yesterday the closest I got was to reach under the 820's cover for a little pat!! Have been sorting out/ finding homes for things in the new place. And how does our house look, you may ask?
Imagine stuff all over the place, with slowly emerging tidy nook or crannies, and you can imagine our home right now!!
Still we are making progress...that little mess above is a temporary, happy sort of sewing mess, to be encouraged on a regular basis.

I have finally begun sorting out the sewing studio space which is swelteringly hot during the day with the blinds shut and putrid if they are opened even a crack. Faces east and captures full sun in the morning. Its dark in there too with the blinds closed- unworkably dark. Warmth makes Bella sleepy, and she can make herself comfortable anywhere, but prefers the bed!We are insulated, and west windows have external shutters as well as curtains, so things could totally be much worse. In the sewing studio, which lacks external shutters, another lamp or two and a portable air con. unit will be the only way to make the space remotely comfortable for work. And all work and no play... I desperately needed some play time today.
Just for fun, I am participating in Bonnies' online mystery. It has been revealed for New Years but I am working on it more slowly than others. A colour most appropriate for today's roasting weather, today was all about red!
I set myself up temporarily in the kitchen where we have nice air conditioned cool air and good light until we can deal with the oven aka studio.
Bonnie's step 4 is foundation piecing strips of various sizes onto squares which are later cut against into triangles, after the piecing is completed. I had some fun raiding my stash of precut remnants and bits as well as slicing some red from the fabric stash, and used a paper trimmer to quickly cut the paper needed. A friend Melodie, in the U.S. suggested this on her blog In the desert quilting earlier and its a great idea, very fast when stacking pieces together. Last time I used kitchen baking paper and a old rotary blade and ruler to cut papers to size, because I was sewing in the hotel apartment, and had only those things to hand, but this time I am recycling some unprinted newspaper. It tears easily and is virtually perforated with stitching, so should be super easy to remove. Others use old phone books but I have always wondered if the inks from the printed pages transfer muck and stain the bed of the sewing machine when sewing, or the fabric itself when ironed.

This totally hit the spot- there are 64 to make in total for Step 4, before trimming. My small but appreciated sewing session resulted in the piecing of 5 units completely with another handful partially started. Nothing like brainless sewing sometimes, is there? Good to pick up and put down again when needed..

We had a cracking great thunderstorm yesterday and another is building up now, sky darkening by the second. Three afternoons of thunder in a row.

With roasting hot days, the garden plants are less than content. Its a nice relief to have cool rain for the garden rather than have to dodge the mozzies whilst hand watering the plants. We have been trying to keep them happy whilst the zucchinis and tomato and potato plants grow with wild abandon, producing new evidence of fruit and vegies to come, showing off their new little flowers and the start of zucchini flowers.

I remember Stephanie Alexander mentioning you could stuff the flowers and deep fry them, and they were gorgeous. I would be tempted to do this just for fun, maybe in a wok, since we don't go in for deep frying.

Once I have carved out more work space and found my bag of butterfly pattern bits and pieces, and fabrics, there will be more progress on Meadow Argus Feasting, the second in my Meadow Argus series. Now where ever did I put that roll of Vliesofix?

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie.

Chaos and Christmas

2011-12-27T19:05:00.002+11:00

Did you all have a Merry Christmas or a restful holiday ifyou don’t celebrate? We like to remember it is the Big Guy's birthday in our family. Our celebrations were unusual in that we this year were forced to carve out spacesbetween piles of boxes, to cook and eat and enjoy time together, managing to cook some turkey and yummy roast vegies,and reheating a plum pudding. But we had fun anyway! On Christmas day we celebrated with our children, but on Christmas Evefor breakfast we had John’s brother and his wife with us, camping on ourlougeroom floor, on their way to spend Christmas with more family in Sydney. We started a new tradition of going out for breakfast with which ever family member or friend is passing through. Its easy when as there is an excellent patisserie nearby.

Christmas was extra special for me this year because I was deemed worthy of being particularly spoiltby husband and children this year. Something that has brought a huge smile to my face...after a very stressful house move involving loss, damage and destruction of our household contents. I can recommend the contents as being the perfect distraction from moving unpleasantries. Whatcould possibly be in a box so big it wouldn't fit under the tree?

A shiny brand new Bernina 820!!! The stuff of dreams. I have lusted for this machine ever since it wasreleased a few years ago.

How best to describe the machine? Sublime. Unbelievable. Sleek. Beautifully engineered. Fully Loaded. Extraordinary. Unique. Lusted for. Total Bliss. Impressive. Yes, its that good!

The husband and children added some wonderful accessorieslike the circular sewing attachment, a straight stitch plate, some feet thatwill be very useful. Spoilt beyond measure I am! I think I was so spoilt due to a really great Christmas sale price on the machine and 20% off accessories making the gift much more easily obtainable.

With flat out unpacking for most of each day except Christmas, then annoyingly timed thunderstorms, I haven't had all that much time on it yet. I have been piecing somepatchwork, sewed some much needed cotton tape to tea towels so we can hang themin the kitchen off door knobs, and have nearly finished the binding on a table coaster I had pieced from French Provincial fabric remnants earlier last year, but notfinished at the time. Nothing exciting but as I am learning I just grabbed some projects that needed finishing off with easy sewing so I can concentrate on learning the machine.

The machine sews a beautifullyperfect stitch and is very quiet for such a big girl. For a fun comparison I unboxed my 215 which is the most compact Bernina I own and sat her side by side with the big girl!

It came with somegreat dual feed feet mean I can engage the dual feed function with quite a fewfeet in the range and have their unique technique fabric handling properties along with dualfeed simultaneously. Fantastic!

I have had fun watching the on screen tutorials forthreading the top and bobbin and had a driving lesson when the machine wascollected. It is a wonder to see themachine thread itself after the needle thread guide, a robotic arm comes aroundand threads the needle- at the push of a button! Magic. Once you do it a couple of times, it becomes easy, because it really is totallydifferent to any other threading system on a sewing machine. If you go and buy one of these, make sure you get your threading up and cleaning the machine lesson and you should have no problems.

And when you open the bobbin door, the bobbin magicallycomes down and forwards from inside the machine, waiting for you to change thebobbin. The bobbin is also huge!! 40-60% bigger than the previous bobbin dependingon what thread you load onto it. I canchoose to partially fill the bobbin by different amounts if I don’t want tofully load it with thread.

I can by percentage select the speed of winding, wonderful for fine or delicatethreads to slow it right down and prevent stretching of tricky fibres. At fullspeed, the winding is very fast and firm. Themachine at full speed is also faster than my Aurora, which I believe runs at900 stitches per minute. I have manytimes wished for a little more speed and now I have it, with 1100stitches per minute.

And the space in the harp that I will love making large quilts as I am want to do.

There are a lot of really wonderful features I am familiarisingmyself with- fantastic things include being able to adjust the lighting leveland screen contrast for different times of the day in my studio space, whichhas lighting that varies wildly from early morning bright in one corner, todull, to rather too dim as the day wears on. And being able to adjust the space I want between the beads ofbuttonholes depending on what fabric I want to sew-from 0.6mm to 2mm, becausebesides being a quilter, you know I like to sew clothes for fun.

She is so clever, I almost expect her to climb down off the table and start vacuuming the floor and cooking dinner- but I think shewould consider these mundane activities totally beneath her!

My husband has a few days off work before returning on the 3rd January so we are making the most of it, running errands for things we need for storage in the new house, unpacking as fast as we can and will hopefully have time to do some fun things with our children, before he goes back to his new job. I have a bunch of quilting that is lining up to be done so of course my idea of fun is also time with my ~~toys ,~~ oops I mean my work equipment, to let rip with some new quilting and free motion embroidery patterns that are brewing. Which I can do once I get a corner of my studio to bare bones functional capability. Now, where are those scissors and threads....

Happy Quilting and Happy New Year shortly!

Stephanie

Done!

2011-12-12T15:52:00.001+11:00

Finishes are good, aren’t they? Especially whenthings go well. Tropical Lilies II is complete. I bound the edge of thequilt with a narrow bright red binding in the same fabric as was used for thelittle red flowers.

I have freemotion outlined the applique and then added threeshades of blue thread for my uneven pebbles, and my spontaneous “lets stitch and see whatdevelops” fill pattern. I love lettingrip with freemotion quilting and find it very relaxing to add texture to pieceswith this style of machine quilting. Ihave blended the thread into the background as the star of the show is theLilies, and whilst I love quilting, this workshop is all about applique and thread painting.

I loved shading the stamen and leaves..and with the quilting, for this sort of work I like some background texture going on, but not screamingloudly to compete with the applique.

Anyone reading my blog who is tryingto keep the mystery part of Bonnie’s Orca Bay mystery quilt happening- here is your SPOILERalert! Skip the next paragraph andphotos if so inclined!

In my own time I've been working on Bonnie's mystery quilt, dabbling with some string piecing. Think these blues are very yummy! My hourglass units are finished and bagged upwaiting to see what happens to those later on. Wonder what they will become? This is the fun of mystery quilts.
I have sewn about half of the string pieced units of the 75 required for thatparticular step of Bonnie’s Mystery-not all photographed. Itsfun to fondle fabric and see how the colours play together and develop in eachblock. This is my personal time fabric therapy….althoughI didn’t get far yesterday afternoon with a nice thunderstorm rumbling around.

Instead, I sewed some buttons onto a shirt that neededreplacing, after losing a few to the rigours of hotel washing machines, andfinished the binding of Tropical Lillies.

I caved in to the call of the dressmaking fabric at Addictedto Fabric. I am glad, as they have a highturnover of wonderful fabrics. It reallyis a case for me of deliriously happy near overload, after years of starvation in the desolatelandscape that is dressmaking fabric in southern Tas. I am told they don’t consider their rangelarge, but it is larger than any Tas dressmaking outlet I have seen, and thequality is superb. With warm weatherbeginning I feel very much like DRESS making.

With this beautiful cotton sateen weave in abstract print. It appears taupe but is I think, more asubtle cool gold colour but without any hint of metallic shimmer or shine. Its handle is smooth and it is lusterous but not shiny to the point of being unflattering over any errr…. Bumps orlumps! Bought some white cotton batisteto line it with. Planning to make a slightly longer version of view C, Simplicity 2262

. The longer cardi ViewA of the same pattern Ialso have plans for later when my container of stuff is delivered.

Succumbed also to some poly spandex knit fabric destined tobe a cardi or top. Although it too may become a dress for between seasons or if theevenings are cool. I love the print andthe photo doesn’t show its true colours. The blues are much more intense and deep. The pattern is easy to sew for both items andI discovered to my surprise there was no zipper listed on the notions requirement. The dress is a pull over version, nozipper. This appeals to my somewhat lazydressmaking attitude. I will go to alllengths for a quilt quit happily, but not often for garments. Maybe I would if I were not a quilter.

Oooh, I had some forwarded mail eventually turn up at my hotel. A quilt! This Scrappy Sunset was a project in Issue 149 of Down Under Quilts magazine It was begun a couple of summers ago now to use up a bunch of tiny scraps that were hanging around and to make a beginner friendly project. Finally I got around to machine quilting it earlier in the year. Great to put on our hotel bed such a fun and bright quilt to make the place feel more like home. And on stuffy nights the cotton/ wool batting and thinner weight of the quilt is much nicer than being wrapped in the polyester doona furnished by the apartment.

What's going on right now? Writing and editing before submission to my Editors a handful of articles. And working on the next sample in my production line. Planning also to move into our rental place on the 19th - we have key access from the 16th but no furniture before the 19th - earliest date the removalist co could deliver our stored stuff. Before that I plan on finishing one more sample as well as squeezing in some Christmas shopping. Kids last day of school is next Wednesday so it feels like I am racing the clock to do everything before then! Why is it things cannot be nicely spaced apart but rather congregate together over just a few days of each month? LOL. I hope the rest of you are having a more relaxed approach to this Christmas and can fill your time with delicious baking, Christmas sewing and seeing your friends and family.
Since I cannot sew for Christmas this year, I would love to know what you are all making?

Happy Quilting,

Stephanie

Tropical Lillies II

2011-12-06T18:01:00.001+11:00

I am about to start quilting a new workshop sample that has been the focus of last week, between school run and sorting house related stuff. Finding extended uninterrupted time is difficult right now, so I have been making the most of what small units of time I can. It is amazing how much freemotion embroidery or applique you can do in a short amount of time. Repeated units of time = completed project, before you know it.
I had a whole lot of fun adding beautiful texture and shading with a range of fibre types including rayon, viscose, cotton, poly in a range of weights in order to bring the Lilies to life. I never make two quilts exactly the same and there are differences between this Tropical Lilies II and the first version, in design of applique but also subtle differences in leaves, colours and details. I have actually simplified it from the original for student ease of construction.

Perhaps my least favourite part of this applique process is in the removal of the tear-away stabiliser. Yes there are other options but I dont' fancy burning off stabiliser with an iron and dont' want this piece wet yet. The stabiliser I use is one I sourced in a sewing machine dealership in Hobart. It tears away easily but I have multiple layers tucked in here for a nice flat finish, and each layer needs to be removed. Definition of boredom?

On the weekend the family went up Mt. Stromlo to an open day at the Observatory. There is beautiful scenery on the way there and from the top, with panoramic views of the Brindabellas and other smaller mountains and hills. Quite a lot of people were there with I suspect the undergraduate Astrophysics students wrangled in for crowd control, directing parking. There were loads of great displays to see on all sorts of things, telescopes to view and look through, tours to be had, early time pieces from the 1700's on display....

There are lovely views of Canberra and further afield rural NSW from the top of the mountain to enjoy. I say mountain as that is what it is technically called but it does feel more like a large hill.

It was quite cool and really windy up there but the various buildings were interesting to explore. Some had been burnt out completely and were ruins after a massive bushfire in 2003 that melted some of the equipment including telescopes and wrecked buildings.. We were able to see the tracking of space debris caused by space launches of satellites and other equipment with a virtual representation of earth- and all the litter surrounding it like a spotted halo. Laser technology is used to bounce off the debris and determine the distance and position of each bit of junk from earth- and from other bits and pieces up there, highly useful for commercial and scientific applications.
That happens in the small telescope at the back of the building. The larger one in front is a 1.8m telescope and we were able to go up inside the dome whilst it was being moved around. They have engineered it so that when the top section moves, workers can adjust and continue to work on the telescope as the whole thing shifts. When you look down to the lower level inside, all you see is the lower level apparently moving, although it is the top shifting, its hard for the brain to make sense of it because the platform feels like it is stationery.

We saw a very cool part of a meteor that hit earth over 5000 years ago that is magnetic, made of iron and nickel. And a demonstration on what makes up a comet, what happens to planets like the moon during a meteor impact- experiment involved a tray of flour and cocoa and getting kids to throw different sized balls into the tray. Some amazing patterns appear around the craters that replicates closely what happens on the surface of the moon.

Much of the equipment is locally manufactured from materials sourced in Australia, we also saw their workshop where parts are made with computer guided robotic cutting equipment. Talk about boys with big expensive toys! The ACT Fire Brigade hosted a sausage sizzle for a fundraiser so we scoffed quite a few of those between us for lunch and topped up with fund raising chocolate cupcakes. Mmmmmm.
It made for a fun day out with plenty of bracing fresh air!

On the way back I realised that one of my favourite stores, Addicted to Fabric, was open- so I popped in and added some more blues to my stash. Grab bags filled with scrap pieces of useful sizes and some Fat 1/8ths and some 30cm cuts across the bolt that are precut, ready to go. They have the most amazing range of patchwork fabrics that make a quilter's mouth water arranged in "rooms" between storage shelves.
These are perfect for the string pieced block I am working on for an online mystery quilt, at night after work. I needed more variety than those I packed from my stash. Hard to know how much of which shades to bring and what could fit in the car! Again at Addicted to Fabric, the wonderful linens and silks, Liberty Lawn, rayons and voiles from Anna Maria Horner and Amy Butler designed for garments not quilts, cotton voiles, and scrummy knits there were winking at me. I might cave in the New Year, and add some to my dressmaking stash- if I can wait that long! There are some very nice bolts in store for making cool summery clothes.
At the apartment, I prewashed my fabrics and draped them on racks in the lounge room to dry. I dont' think the room service staff are used to seeing quilters at work in their hotels- they seem puzzled and confused to see fabric hanging up where clothes should be, and sewing equipment where the office equipment would go. But why not, is it not a quilter's duty to spread awareness of our craft wherever we go?

Happy Quilting!
Stephanie

Airing of the Quilts

2011-12-03T09:09:00.001+11:00

Now I know what gypsies feel like, shifting camp every fewdays and moving from place to place!

Last Saturday was a big day out with two new friends fromCanberra Quilters.
Picked up by theGuild President Melinda, Jacqui and I enjoyed a road trip, taking in twoquilt shows in one day in country NSW. Why see one when you can see two?
The Airing ofthe Quilts at Braidwood was spoilt only by the threat ofrain with looming grey clouds, meaning the usual number of quilts in thestreets were not hung. But there was a hall filled with quilts on display. At least some braved the ominous clouds to air their quilts early, encouraging sunny weather all day. Or perhaps the fine day was due to the collective optimism and determination of those who drove from all over to see the displays. Isnt' this a sweet little building that belongs to the Country Women's Association. True bargains to be had here on fabric, I acquired for the tiny sum of $2 quite a few interesting Civil War repro pieces for my Dear Jane quilt, that languishes in a tub waiting for more attention at some stage.
Traditionally allthe hotels and stores allow the hanging of the quilts off their balconies. I don't have a decent photo but imagine old buildings stretching up and down both sides of a hill, many with balconies or verandahs. In the past years almost every building has been dressed with quilts.
There are loads of old buildings and a lovelychurch dated in the late 1800's with a community coverlet hanging in the foyer andbeautiful stained glass windows.
Thestreet is transformed into craft and quilt related stuff but also filled withlocal farmer’s market type stuff. Freshpeaches with juicy slivers cut by the farmer to sample, and preserves andchutneys to make your mouth water, fresh vegies, handmade candles, beaded items and the usual finds of a country market.

We wandered the streets and popped into thequilt shops, most of which were a total ZOO, with ladies clamouring for thespecials or latest bolts or packs of yummy fabrics, squeezing between dangerously tottering stacks of fabric bolts, lining up and snaking their way around the store whilst they waited for their yardage to be cut. No way you could reach under near the bottom of the pile and pull out a bolt!

We enjoyed viewing the quilt show, meetingSCQuilters and Canberra Quilters along the way. And had forlunch the most gorgeous chicken satay wood fired pizza with fresh tomato, freshpeanut satay and slices of capsicum over a delicious crispy base. Mmmmm, next time I pass through Braidwood I knowwhere I’ll be eating!

And I found in a antique store window that was closed a beautiful 1930's antique hand worked quilt. I loved the variety of quirky prints that are in the quilt and the soft colours of what would probably once have been bright and vibrant. An interesting border treatment with triangles with their tips nipped off. Could have stayed and looked at this for years.

Shame they had put metal objects on the quilt, in a window with sunshine daily, will not be good for the lifespan of the quilt- but at least for the weekend quilt lovers were able to enjoy and see this treasure.

Driving next to Bungendore we found a smaller but very goodexhibition of local quilter’s work not far from the above pictured Arts and Crafts Gallery with more quilts on display. The exhibition was held in a town hall with the most stunning old painted pressed tinceiling that had been meticulously painted.
I think this very old design would be fun to be inspired by and make into an appliqued ortrapuntoed quilt one day. Love thepressed tin ceilings that are seen often in old buildings, along with thepatchwork designs of some of the tiled entrances we saw at Braidwood. There was a great quilt store buzzing withactivity, as well as a good icecream and pizza parlour with excellenthomemade English Toffee icecream.

Naturally all three of us liberally supported thequiltmaking industry, as is the duty of all dedicated quiltmakers. And how could we resist?
We found beautiful Batiks, fabrics of manyother sorts from a variety of traders in the exhibition halls, in local quilt stores, and from street vendors with temporary market tables. We indulged also in patterns, books and other quilty items…comparing finds andpaper bags along the way.

I took theopportunity to start Christmas shopping well away from the watchful eye of my children,adding a small gift or two from some of the gift shops to my bag. On the way back we drove past a golf course atGold Creek that was covered by aHUGE mob of Kangaroos, many with youngbabies. They were eating the greenmanicured grass or lounging on the humps of turf around bunkers. What a life!! Can imagine the green keepers don’t like themmuch! Apparently they know when they are ontoa good thing and have taken up residence there.

Well satisfied with eye candy and a great day out, we returned home around 8 hoursafter setting out for “ a quick four hours or so” that Melindaearlier suggested, having enjoyed two quilt stores and some beautiful rural countryside. Life is good..

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie.

Moving along...

2011-11-21T20:26:00.001+11:00

Doesn't this look like a sweet little seaside town you might see in Scandinavia? Or Europe? This is the River between East Devonport and Devonport- and is where my parents grew up. Its also the port from which a ferry called the Spirit of Tasmania leaves to connect cars to the mainland.

I've been quiet for a while with good reason! Incase you're tuning in, we are moving states to the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra is our nation's Capital as well as the Capital of the ACT. It is the seat of politics and government of Australia. A massive public service workforce and support services offer employment to many and probably is the main reason people move to the ACT. Although it is certainly a beautiful city lined with mountains of the Great Dividing Range and some man made lakes
Our family is now in Canberra settling into hotel after hotel as we are moved around every few days. The most we have had in one place is just under a week due to an impossibility of booking consecutive weeks in one place- US President's visit and other events has placed a major squeeze on availability.
We have not been idle.
We drove after last minute evening cleaning of our house after packing to Westbury, stayed overnight, then drove the next afternoon to Devonport. Cars line up waiting to get onto ferry- we were treated to a rap-mobile DJ who was mixing it up as we waited. Loudly!
He let Hamish and Thomas up into his mobile to scratch some vinyl, it was very funny!
Ferry ride was nice until we hit the ocean and then it became rough. Big waves, white cap rough. It was a beautiful moonlit night and since I couldn't sleep the waves were lovely to watch and the wake was impressive with swirling patterns of foam. Neither hubby nor I slept all night until we hit Port Philip Bay in Melbourne when it became calmer and we dozed for half an hour.

Kids of course had a great sleep on mattresses we pulled off the bunk onto the floor thanks to my sister's suggestion, so that they did not roll out of bed. Not much of a safety rail. Great adventure!
Early breakfast in the car in Port Phillip,

Then we drove for about 4 1/2 hours to Albury, NSW.
Nice botanical gardens and great kid's parks for playing and BBQs or picnics. It was roasting hot so we had dinner at a kids park nearby.

More hours of driving the next day through country NSW to Canberra early in the morning in time to catch
a few open homes, none of which yielded a result.
We drove from Hobart to Canberra totalling 1014 km of road travel excluding distance by ferry across Bass Strait. There was beautiful scenery in places along the way but we did not stop for photos. We stopped for rest breaks and food along the way in country towns, some with antique stores that I wished we had been able to stop and explore. I imagined what treasured lay within...
We arrived on Saturday, and on Monday Hubby has started a new job. Its with a good employer and his work colleagues are friendly and helpful. Our arrival to Canberra was marred only by the process of finding a rental place. We have been looking at properties constantly and applying for rental properties when we found one that was actually clean and spacious enough to fit our lives into- but tiny compared to our previous home. Some areas prove undesirable for a range of reasons and we discovered that you never can tell about a property photographed online or by descriptions. Nor by price. Expensive rent can if you are unlucky enough to come across it, yield horrible accommodation fit barely for animals. Other houses are lovely but refuse pets or dislike families. We had forgotten how much we hate the process of securing rental properties after owning our own homes for 12 years. The terms "spacious and airy" are vastly over exploited. Very occasionally you find a nice house that is almost affordable in a good area, but there are often 50 applicants for the property. Understandably we have had a frustrating time finding something to suit our family that would also take well behaved cats. We have been looking for a home for several weeks before we arrived.

Finally today we got VERY lucky for a house in Woden Valley. We are over the moon happy as the suburb within that general area feeds into an excellent primary school. It has nearby awesome services and shopping within 5 minutes of driving or less. There is a direct bus route for DH to get to work leaving me with the car to drive the kids to and from school unless we find we are close enough to walk. We can move in on the 14 December so look forward to having Christmas in our new home and growing some new roots.

Happily our new home is not far to a wonderful quilt shop called Addicted to Fabric that has gorgeous patchwork fabrics as well as delicious dressmaking fabrics in loads of natural fibres. And stunning knits as well. Oh my!!! MOST lust worthy. If you come to Canberra, be sure to go there. They are in Dundas Court in Philip.
I have also had fun at Hobbysew in Belconnen and discovered just how much Lincraft has changed from the days when it used to be in Tasmania supplying quality dressmaking fabrics and equipment, with a change of management and store content. I think my kids like the store for its general craft content, and it is useful for basic items like interfacings or patterns etc...I found a nice roll of black and white precut strips in good quality that exceeded the handle by far of what I felt on bolts in their patchwork section. There are more quilt shops to explore further afield.
I've also discovered some dealerships for sewing supplies and service along the way as my 2nd hand Bernina 1000+has proven by design limitations of the hook system, to problems consistently on different fabrics on some stitches ruling out applique and freemotion quilting. It didn't show up on test sewing or on the servicing test sewing. I believe it was an experimental model of rotary hook system that was improved not long after it was launched when they switched to the CB oscillating hook system, which I adore. It is going to a new home and has been replaced with a stop-gap measure store demo machine on a healthy Christmas sale discount. I have a bunch of work to remake and finish soon as a result of packers (there are words to describe them, few are polite) refusing to follow instructions and packing things into the container that they should not have. You have to love that when it rains, it pours.

We are happy to be in our new city though. Especially when it turns out one serviced apartment looks like this! Our hotels vary from modern and tiny to this latest serviced apartment with traditional country style furniture and more space lending a more home like appearance. Its nice sitting outside when no-one is around to fill the air with smoke in what is supposed to be a non smoking complex, to enjoy the view and peacefulness of the garden.
I loved the iron work wall decorations and the rockery garden is lovely. There is a pool we will investigate and our master room has a spa bath. I have plans for that soon!!

I am home schooling right now, until we secured a rental place and could enrol the kids into school here. Which means we can do that very shortly. My creative juices have been somewhat cramped. I found a solution of sorts though, set up the machine near the kids, or cut out a garment, or fuse a wall hanging class sample when they do not need my active guidance, as they work on their tasks. I don't get much done usually but its good to try, at least it is good for my soul to touch fabric and snatch moments of sewing.
Cut out on an apartment kitchen counter, I casually whipped up a quick test sew of a top from Simplicity 2660 that worked well enough to make worth finishing- in the fabric I sourced in Devonport a few months ago. It has pretty pleats in the upper and lower front bodice and cut on sleeves with a zipper in the back. I did fit the tissue pattern first before I cut! I plant to make this up again in a cotton lined with voile for a summer dress as this fabric being cotton blend is more suited to low 20's than the 30 plus degrees we had last week. And the new machine can at least produce a perfect zig zag without skipping a series of stitches every few inches. I have areas to get back into on this top and repair areas that have little stitching which is frustrating to have to do.

I have met a bunch of lovely ladies with the Guild in Canberra, which now has permanent home in Cook. Phoned and picked up a day after we landed by the Guild's President, it was great to meet people here. The Guild's facilities are amazing- a fantastic library, huge design board, multiple work benches, overhead electricity supply, kitchen, storage areas for stuff...in an old school that was sold to the community when closed. I have been able to get to a couple of sewing sessions and one Christmas morning tea meeting as well. They have a very full calendar.

Our initial impressions of living in Canberra is that its very leafy and with some lovely established suburbs there are some really attractive streets and gardens, public spaces are beautified with baskets of flowers, the shopping is really excellent, and things are convenient when you know where to find them. Sat Nav is totally invaluable. I am sure we are going to love living here with a balance of the beauty of nature mixed with some well designed buildings, both modern and older, loads of exhibitions and festivals, displays and markets of all sorts. Good schools. Great fabric shops. The people seem friendly and helpful- what more could you want?

And the house we are selling? There is a contract being exchanged and signed with settlement to follow within short order. We are thrilled after the amount of work that has gone into the preparation for sale of the house and the work in the garden also. It actually has had offers for some weeks thrown at us but they were far too low. Now someone is in the ballpark worth accepting, given it is a depressed real estate market in Tasmania, we are pleased there is a result within 4 weeks to market.

Stephanie.

Rotary Hoffman Challenge

2011-11-06T10:25:00.000+11:00

Friday was a fun day with a very early morning road trip up to Deloraine, essentially a 4 hour trip from Hobart by the time one stops for rest breaks and tea with friends!
The Tasmanian Craft Fair is the largest craft fair in the Southern Hemisphere with all sorts of crafts and art on display. Included in the main Rotary Pavilion area were the quilts from the Rotary Hoffman Challenge from Australia and also the 2011 entries from the New Zealand equivalent. Some great pieces on display.
I was pleased to still be in the state to attend not only to see the quilts, but to be there for the presentation of awards, as my quilt Meadow Argus that I blogged about earlier,. was awarded overall Second prize in the Rotary Hoffman Challenge, and it also won its category Mixed Technique (Anything Goes!).It was quite a dimly lit area so the photo isn't wonderful unfortunately.
It was generously sponsored by Bernina Australia, Sew Knit in Launceston, Mathilda's own and Rotary who run the Tasmanian Craft Fair. I thank each of the sponsors for their contribution to making the exhibition possible and making available cash prizes as well as the machine.
Here is the Curator Diane Brittlebank and the representative of Rotary at the presentation...
and below, Robyn Miller from Sew Knit in Launceston presenting the booty- certificate and a Bernina 330 sewing machine valued at RRP $1499.

.
I am blessed that my work is recognised with awards and enjoyed by so many people. You can see a bunch crowded in front of a small work on the wall in the right of the photo studying Meadow Argus. Next to it is the overall winner Diana Eaton's Drift Nets. Out of respect to all quilters I am not posting close up images, whilst there was unusually photography allowed, I always have felt its good to have people's permission before splashing them around on the internet their work.
Other friends from Hobart, Kate Berry and Helen Ducker won Highly commended with their entries. Its is lovely to see friends do well with their work and in this instance all the winners in the adult section were from Hobart.
What was great fun was seeing the responses to the fabric that we had to work with for the challenge. It was small scale multi coloured, blotchy fabric. This year's print is a Hoffman Bali in apricot/ orange with hints of lime green. Once I get settled I may well participate again and I would encourage everyone to have a go- its great fun working with challenge fabrics!

I have decided to give the prize of the 330 to my Mother who currently sews on a classic Bernina 1010 mechanical and who has lusted for auto buttonhole and improved lighting for quite some time. It was her birthday very recently and so the machine will be her combined birthday and Christmas present. She is VERY excited!

Meadow Argus has been busy making a guest appearance on the cover of the Tasmanian Quilting Guild's Newsletter with some info on its making inside for TQG members to access.

And I was tickled to see it again in the Program Guide for the TAS Craft Fair .

There was fantastically beautiful displays of fine furniture, jewellery, a great glass blowing demonstration (that looks challenging and fun, something to do later perhaps!), metal working, photography and all sorts of needle crafts, natural body products etc. Multiple venues connected with a great shuttle bus service between them. Well worth the trip to Deloraine to see.

Today we are taking our fur babies up to their cattery again in the northern area of Tasmania for their little holiday whilst we pack and move states. Here is Bella who loves curling up in enviro bags if she gets the chance. She has always enjoyed snuggling into small round spaces! If you wonder why there are few photos of Chaucer, he is a little camera shy and good at hiding. I wonder what they will make of their temporary home? I know the breeder will spoil them rotten.

So I wish you all a restful Sunday and a great week to come!
Happy Quilting, Stephanie.

Thready tails

2011-10-31T22:53:00.002+11:00

An interesting day-spending some hours machine quilting a commission quilt with my sweet little 3 Series. It is good to get my hands back onto fabric, adding texture and dimension to a quilt after the madness of pre-moving life.
It is work for me- but lately it has also been soul quenchingly wonderful to spend some hours working at the needle, moving towards finishing work that needs to be completed soon.

I came across something very curious today. This is not my normal thread for machine quilting. I bought it because the colour was particularly suited to the project and I didn't have time to place an order for thread with my usual suppliers who's products constantly delight me with their consistency in quality and colour ranges.
It is machine quilting 100% cotton thread. I have used it in the past on occasion but not by choice- when a customer requested it specifically in their own quilt in a different colourway.
First was what appeared to be a much thicker area of thread coming off the spool, catching my attention out of the corner of my eye.

Closer examination revealed it could perhaps be a hand tied knot with twists in the tails. It is not something you want to pass through a sewing machine. So, I cut the thread, removed the above from the machine and inspected the spool. Hmmmm.....seemed ok.
Maybe a one off? I started again, re threaded the machine, overlapped my stitches, melding one into the next, and continued for about a minute of quilting before discovering this...

This wasn't caught out of the corner of my eye, it dangled down onto the top of the machine as it was attached to the thread working its way rapidly towards the tension disks from the spool. Noooooo!! If you ever have this happen with any thread, stop. You really don't want it entering the thread path.
I have certainly never seen something quite like it in over 35 years of sewing and sat quite intrigued, studying it, for a few moments.

Again, this was irritating in that it slowed me down, required cutting thread to remove the area involved, re-threading the machine and starting over again- and disturbing the line of stitching.
I thought you may like to see it. I still find it astonishing. If this had this entered the sewing machine, any sewing machine, the result would not be pretty.

After I am done with the quilting and binding of this quilt I have some new class samples to make for upcoming interstate workshops- some fusing and machine applique to do. And, just for fun and because I currently own zero casual dresses, I'd like to make a simple cool dress ready for summer. It may be I will cut it if I have time and sew it when I arrive in Canberra once the kids are in school. I have some vintage inspired cotton I am itching to make up and wear with cute sandals on hot days.

On to House News, the first offer is in on our home already, but since there are multiple interested parties it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Before we prepare to be packed, I am this week squeezing in both lunch and time sewing with a friend Lesley, who is working her way through Harriet Hargraves' Quilting Academy series of books on her blog BLOCK HEAD and fitting in a dash up and back to Deloraine for the Tasmanian Craft Fair. Its an event that once showcased exclusively Tasmanian hand crafted items of many sorts with working displays of artists at their craft- as well as fabulous food and much to see. I haven't been able to attend for a few years- last time was when I was pregnant with our twins- but this time it will be with quilting friends, leaving early in the morning, enjoying as much as we can fit in to the day before returning South again. There is a display of the Hoffman Rotary International Quilt Challenge finalists which will be well worth the trip to enjoy, along with many other displays. Quilters sharing company, food and driving along the way. What fun, with plenty of fodder for blogging guaranteed!

Happy Quilting,

Stephanie

Mainland explorations

2011-10-30T18:30:00.002+11:00

We have been away in Canberra sans children, exploring different areas to consider living in. We hired a car and drove all over exploring our options for housing and schools.
What a beautiful city- I didn't take any photos in the built up areas at all, because my nose was firmly glued to the pages of the hire car's maps navigating DH's route. We combed the city and surrounding suburbs for available rental properties that may suit our needs and looked at all manner of things- from cramped and overpriced "accommodation" that despite descriptions from agents turned out to be total dives not fit to accommodate an animal, replete with all manner of foul odours, stains and mould for astronomical rental prices, yet lacking basics like heating of any kind, in a Sub Alpine climate. Unbelievably disgusting places that really should be condemned. On the other hand we found horribly expensive down to almost affordable, clean family homes a variety of distances from both our work in lovely established areas with a great range of services to hand. Rental prices are shockingly high driven by heavy demand and real shortage of available properties, and purchasing prices are even worse in nice areas reasonably close to where DH will work. Landlords can and do charge what they like and there is always someone prepared to pay what they ask. We have narrowed down a few areas we would like to live and have applied for one place, as it was the only place suited to our needs currently available. We found loads of quite nice apartments or villa units with tiny rooms not suitable for families with cats or families with more than one child, or nice houses that were simply too far out. I had been warned by a friend who lives in Canberra, about the accommodation nightmare, finding her descriptions to be completely accurate.

On the last day on our way to another suburb, we drove up Black Mountain with its communications tower, covered in satellite dishes. There is a viewing deck we will come back to enjoy with the children when we have more time, along with some nice nature walking trails from the look of it. There are native orchids in the area to watch for at certain times of the year.
Something I really liked is that to and from some suburbs there are really pretty spots with stunning views of the Brindabellas that form part of the Great Dividing Range, as well as some lovely lakes and pasture lands.
Most lakes seem to have BBQ areas for picnics.. One turns out to be nearby my husband's work- Lake Ginninderra.We had lunch here one day en route to another region.
Romantic lake side lunches accompanied by native hens and ducks, sounds great doesn't it, but somewhat marred by the hum of major high ways. Another is on the way to and from DH's work and our ideal location for living...if we get very lucky.

Its nice so far inland to have large bodies of water so easily accessible. Perhaps it is as a result of growing up on a small island, but I have noticed I get twitchy if I cannot access water with reasonable ease or am denied it.

In our prowling we were sure to also checked out available services in each area and in one area, I came across a nice little newsagent that went straight onto my A list for stocking this!
Just a shame it is a bit further out from work that we would like ideally to be, but potentially worth the drive to score a Burda Style if the issue has patterns of interest to me. The things we will do in pursuit of creating... this is the August 2011 issue. I am sure other places would also stock it or order it in though. It made for nice late evening airplane reading on the way home.
I haven't been able to quilt or sew much lately with everything going on, but just before I left for Canberra, I did cut and sew up a Barcelona Skirt from Amy Butler.
The pattern is simple to sew and well explained in her pattern. But, being between sizes, along with losing some weight with frantic renovations, plus being in a big hurry, and with a degree of frazzled exhaustion not thinking straight, I cut the skirt too big and then had to do some major reduction in the waist area so it would hang properly and not fall off. This was after I pin fitted and I concluded it was partially to do with the way the fabric appeared to stretch due to the weave. It is not an even weave fabric and is like nothing I've seen before. So, next time its a size smaller for me and adjust the waist out if needed. But, for the first trial attempt I have a cotton skirt lined with cotton homespun of an exceptionally high quality, exterior fabric sourced from Tricia's Discount Warehouse from a trip to Adelaide in 2009, with the homespun sourced from my beloved Frangipani Fabrics. The lining doesn't show, but it is hot pink, just for fun! I would have preferred to use a nice dark red but there wasn't enough left on the bolt. Ironically the weather turned out not to be really quite warm enough to wear it, but I enjoyed a little indulgent sewing anway! Forgive the green top in the photo, it is not what I would normally wear with the skirt, but was on when I finished the garment, and had DH snap an image for my records. I have big plans for this skirt with a white linen blouse.

The skirt is a nice shape though, and easy to sew. I stitched it with the recently found 1000+ machine, now cleaned of grime from around the dials and body of the machine, really to test how it handled a variety of stages of construction. I think this girl was built for garment sewers particularly in mind, it hammers through bulkier areas no problems with nice even stitching. And it has over 1000 stitches per minute, a little faster than my modern Berninas even. Nice when finishing edges... Bella thinks it is a good find, since it almost matches her fur!

And where did we stay on our trip? We were accommodated by hubby's organisation in a really nice self contained apartment - Clifton on Northbourne Ave in Braddon. Friendly, helpful staff. When we checked in we were super lucky and were offered, wait for it..... THE PENTHOUSE!! Nice! This is the sort of thing that happens to other people we know but rarely ever to us.

It was spacious, with two large bedrooms with King beds, two bathrooms, with a laundry area, and a functional modern kitchen with a stock of basic cookware. Leather seating. Balcony complete with pigeons. Hubby in the kitchen pouring over one of many maps.

We came home to discover there is an offer in the pipeline on our home and perhaps a second imminent as well, less than three weeks since listing the property- so things are moving on fast! Moving days are set and we know when we arrive in Canberra we are going to love living there- so much to offer in many different aspects, all the conveniences of a planned and well developed city but easy access to nature- just how we like it! We just need to find a home to move into from temporary accommodation.
Now all I have to do is finish the quilting on a commission for an interstate company, and apply the binding, and drive the cats to their ~~luxury holiday resort~~ boarding cattery before the removalists come....

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

To Market, to market..

2011-10-13T20:36:00.000+11:00

I've been quite for a while but with good reason- as of yesterday, our house is officially on the market! Just a few short weeks after finding out DH has landed a permanent full time job interstate.

The house is looking really great inside and out- our first open homes are this Sat and Sunday. I especially enjoyed seeing the transformation of the garden with dramatic improvements and the freshly washed and painted house looks cleaner, tidier and shiner than it has ever been. These pretty pansies sit at our front door make me smile!

Inside our rooms are pruned of their clutter, new paint in parts, drapes in some rooms, new soft furnishings where required, and pretty quilts on beds. Household jobs have been attended to. We have been scrubbing, washing walls, windows, and surfaces all over the house, so basically all the big house cleaning jobs are is DONE when it comes to moving out, it will be a matter of a quick clean of bathroom, kitchen and vacuuming. How great is that? Thanks to both sets of parents mucking in, and all of us slaving, plus the hired help of a gardener to supply hard manual labour and dump the pine bark,we have transformed our house.
And thanks to skippy we had somewhere to toss the damaged or dead items that weren't suitable for donation. A big truck arrived with groovy equipment to grab onto the skip and lift it onto the truck. to my children's entertainment.

In the middle of this I had Retreat. Booked months ago before I knew we could be leaving. Yes, a quilting retreat with my old friends. We take over a B and B near a lovely beach and river, filling the country style kitchen with our own foods and working a shift in the kitchen to cook or serve up anything from an elaborate meal of many dishes and desert to soup and sandwiches with a fruit platter for lunch.
Meals are prepared by others according to a roster, and additional things such as slicing, chopping, washing up and setting tables happens as well at times by the kitchen crew. But once the assigned shift is over, retreat is just as fun as ever, although for me a little sadder because it may be my last if I cannot get back for next years. I want to boomerang back if I can and feel in a way I am not really truly leaving the group as my heart will always be there- friends have met together for nearly 12 years now most fortnights, even if not all of us can or do attend each meeting. I will miss them all and hope to find an equally fun and nice group of ladies through Canberra Quilters to make new friends with.
On Saturday night we always have a dress-up themed dinner night and this time was a PJ party. Suffice to say it was VERY funny and no photographs will be published anywhere by me (so as to retain my friends!!) Oh how we howled laughing at the antics. I know that those of you who have been to quilt retreats can probably imagine some of the fun and mischief that goes on- not to be explored here!Very silly!!
I did have a good time, but I also worked the whole weekend on a piece that is underway I needed to make a dent into.Quite a lot of quilting out of the way.

I found the sea air restful and refreshing, look at the view we enjoyed from the outside covered decking!

There was a little bird intent on nesting - after all, it is spring. It had discovered someone's quilt left on a table outside. It cheekily came back for beak full after beak full of batting!
Some ladies had set up a hired quilt basting frame on the outside decking, under cover, to the bird's delight, as they left pieces of batting scraps that disappeared over a few hours one afternoon. Bet those babies will be the most pampered, warm little birds in their batting lined nest!
Of Of course, the girls pack and drag out half their sewing rooms- the amount of STUFF we seem to need as quilters is probably quite shocking to the average person. My friend Judi lugs hers long in this baby!:
Now isn't that a great idea? She can sit on it too, its a big toolbox with removable sections, on wheels. Mine usually gets tossed in a plastic box on wheels or a suitcase.
There are machines at intervals, cutting gear, bit of fabric, loads of gadgets, people erecting design boards and basting frames, spreading half their sewing library of magazines and books on the coffee table for others to enjoy reading..or in my case spreading out baskets of scraps to find new homes with others in the aim of decluttering my sewing room. It sooooooo worked!!
Some quilters were working on the friendship blocks we are making for each other this year. The group's parting gift to me was early to receive my blocks for the friendship quilt we are working on. I chose Jacob's Ladder from a selection of allowable blocks and wanted to mix berry shades with the light milky chocolate bamboo print that I supplied. I don't know how I will set them yet, maybe like this. Maybe not!
They are all beautiful!
I have 15 blocks with another 7 to come in that are still to be made. The others swap in December and I will be leaving my finished blocks with the group's organiser so I dont' have to worry about sending them back. Just have some embroidery of names to go on some of the blocks.
I plan to do this after the weekend's open homes and get some sewing time in before the following weekend.
The group also gifted me a beautiful card hand made by my friend Rebecca, who also loves scrapbooking. It is a clever card with room for lots of photos with flip out pages and areas for signing as well. What a treasure.
Along with an exquisite Huon Pine box with an inlay of Musk Burl in the lid. Rarer than Huon Pine, it grows to 15 feets and was made by Darryl Freestone of TAS. The box is lined with felt and closes with a three part intricate and pretty latch.

What a lovely way to carry my blocks until they are made into a quilt top in, and the card from my friends. I feel very lucky indeed to have been given such a unique gift.

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

I have had some really good news as well which should only be a few days away until a big reveal. Keep ears to the ground, more to come shortly!

Unexpected surprises

2011-10-02T21:46:00.002+11:00

Work on the house is progressing well with the bathroom final coat applied, and kid's room beginning.
We chose a really nice soft rich creamy latte with a wonderful thick formula. It looks peachy here but it isn't. The ceiling is done. With the walls, with 2 layers and we should be good to go over a very cold, harsh shade of blue due to the paint formula.
I love blue as a colour, but not so much this blue, and not in a south west facing room- in the southern hemisphere this is the coolest and darkest orientation a room can have.
DH has been beavering away in the land of Paint whilst I've been decluttering and rearranging some stuff, and packing down into original boxes some of my sewing gear to make way for the computer to move into the 3rd bedroom. Cleaning out stuff in general. Its irritatingly time consuming but has to be done. Skippy is proving very helpful.

DH's employers are keen for him to start at the end of the month to early Nov so our plans have stepped up a few gears and we are looking at getting the house to presentation standards, seeing the first and maybe second open homes and then move as a family into temporary accommodation- self contained or serviced accommodation of some sort in Canberra whilst the old sells. Arranging for the care of our furbabies in a cosy cattery whilst we are unable to have them with us. We hope things progress promptly and that we can find something to buy or rent with a short waiting time. DH will start his new job, the kids will start their new school -and I will write and work on some exhibition pieces, as well as sew clothes for summer I desperately need. And explore all the fabric stores and some of the treasures that appeal less to men and kids that Canberra offers. Weekends will be really great as we can explore the other aspects of Canberra together.

Given we will be in a place like a serviced apartment or self contained unit that others have a key and easy access to, I am not taking a nice tempting and shiny new Bernina- just incase it should grow legs and walk. The Nova 900 that I have had for a few years and love would have been ideal, but a few days before we found out the approximate start date for DH, I was on a decluttering frenzy, and sold it to a good friend who's need was greater than mine. Or so I thought, lol! She has a quilting frame but no second machine for it, and doesn't want to take her own Bernina Virtuosa on and off the frame to do other sewing. She'd hunted for ages to find something affordable second hand in good condition, hoping for a Bernina to turn up, in vain. I sold it to her quite happily, knowing I am well catered for otherwise and thinking we had much more time to arrange this move..that I could probably finish stuff before we have to leave.

I had not anticipated being uprooted quite so rapidly nor being in limbo land for potentially some time without our house contents, during which I will have work that I need to progress with, but also clothes to sew and quite probably for DH a whole bunch of new work clothes that may need alterations- loads of trouser hemming predicted.
The only problem with my lovely little herd of work tools is that they are all of significant sentimental or other real value. Nothing I could bear the thought of losing should the worst happen...either by accident,damage or theft. Until recently I did have, but that was the Nova. I figured something of decent quality but inexpensive in the used category is always a great option. In the past I have found machines at the local sm dealership or ebay. This time I found one on Gumtree, and it was a cracker! ( For overseas readers in need of lingo interpretation, Gumtree is an Aussie trading/ buying/ selling online site, and a cracker means something really, really good when used as an adjective, not a biscuit you eat with cheese)
This lovely Bernina is a 1000 +, a rotary hook mechanical workhorse. What's better still is that it was advertised for less than I sold my Nova to my friend to (which was again less than I paid in kindness to a good friend), I was sure it would have been snapped up when I called last night...but no..Now if you believe in the idea that what you send out into the lives of others comes back to you, its not hard to believe this machine was waiting for me.
I went this afternoon to test it and it eagerly jumped into my arms. In essence, its an upgrade on the Nova- more stitches including stretch and decorative options, along with a larger table, and an accessory box fully stocked with feet.
A machine from the 1000 series has long been on my "one day" list since my Mum sews on a 1010 and I learned to sew on it. In most ways it feels the same, although the bobbin system is different and it sounds a little quieter.
Its in exceptionally good condition . No original bobbins (there is one non original plastic one I am going to replace tomorrow) but it came with extension table, original manual, extra book of machine embroidery notes the original owner had taken at the sm dealership. It had been bought by a dressmaker who sewed quite often but passed away in middle age, and her husband then sold it to the lady I purchased it from. I'd say she only ever used the #0 and the zipper foot as they show some signs of wear, but the others are pristine. She used it to learn patchwork briefly before storing it after acquiring a modern machine with additional features she wanted. The timing was perfect and it beautifully fills the gap the Nova has left in my herd.

It is sewing well after a good clean out of the fuzz monsters within, but since its last service was in 2008 I am going to get it serviced before we leave, so its well cleaned and lubricated inside. Here is a casual stitch out with Gutermann 50 weight cotton top and bottom onto plain homespun.

So now all I need to do is set aside the work and supplies I need to complete in future weeks and know that if all else fails there are great quilting stores in Canberra, so that when the removalists come they don't get accidentally whipped up into a box. We are planning to drive to Devonport, float our car over to Melbourne on the Spirit of Tasmania, which we have never had the pleasure of doing, and drive from Melbourne to Canberra. Bit of an adventure, after installing sat. nav!! The bonus is we can pack the car with essentials we will need whilst we make camp temporarily and whilst our stuff is transported and put into storage.

I have two extra sets of hands arriving tomorrow to help out prepping the house for sale, and people coming for dinner. I expect a state of total chaos will ensue, but that could be fun as well. We are attempting to keep calm and carry on!

Cheers,
Stephanie

Stephanie

Extreme Makeovers

2011-09-29T09:24:00.001+10:00

Much painting and gardening going on, wall and house washing and window cleaning as we prep our house for sale.
This side garden has for some time been beyond us with deeply rooted weeds and only a few plants we like- so we hired a gardener to come and totally rip it up with a hoe taking the topsoil with it and putting in nice clean soil for new plantings. We have re homed the daffodils that have finished flowering now.

We have bought 6 lovely grasses and a few lavender plants and have splashes of colour from pansies as well to add. the colour plan is purple, cream and yellows as that works with what we have already. The red tulip you see in one photo is in one of my pots and was this year my only tulip to flower from last year's lot. I'm going to plant a big pot plant of colour for the front door. Mum and Dad are giving us some shrubby ground cover and small plants to fill in any empty spaces we may have after the new garden is planted. Everything will be low maintenance and attractive in shape or colour. Probably mulched with pine bark which we will put also onto the other front garden bed over the older pebbles. There are some lovely azaleas and rhodo's that do well in their location there.

We have been painting parts of the house as well, making a big difference inside and out. See on the right how the window sill has changed colour? All windowsills in the entire house are now white rather than brown. Worn areas are touched up. Bathroom is freshly painted in white. Children's room is next- from a cold blue into a milky latte colour. Will be lovely to see that transformation. Our plan was always to paint their room once they reached an age of being less messy-but then that time came and we were busier than ever...so now we'll enjoy it for a few weeks before we sell.
Hubby has been washing the house exterior climbing ladders in places to do so, with an extendable cleaning do-dad. Its raining now so I can't get a good photo but the house has never looked whiter! We have more doors to paint inside and out. And we must do some dramatic decluttering.

Meet Skippy.
Into which the garden waste will go along with household junk. One skip hire vs many trips to the tip was not a difficult decision. We have all sorts of stuff hanging around that is destined for Skippy. I just hope its big enough, lol!

We're finding homes for couches and dressers and things we will probably not have room for with our move- and I have to rearrange the computer into my sewing room. Our third bedroom is used for a small sewing space/ study area-but we have had the computer in the dining area so that when our children use it we can monitor them closely. Quite a bit of our office furniture came as flat packed stuff so I am packing down some equipment to make room for the computer on my sewing table- we'll dismantle the computer desk and some of our book cases and another table as well. Have to love flat packed furniture when you move house! Its good to weed household stuff down.
Since the house is quite large, there are a whole lot of surfaces that need washing and cleaning-upstairs and down. Curtains to vacuum....and on it goes.. My parents are coming to visit for a few days next week to help us do some additional cleaning/ painting.

The race is on to get our house to presentation levels within a week to fortnight- so it'll be interesting to see how fast things move when we have two extra adults on the job as well. I have my quilting retreat starting in a week on Thursday (could the timing be any worse??) but plan to go and finish off some work and personal things that will help make packing easier and hopefully find some new homes for a few bits and pieces with quilting friends.
It will be nice to chill for a couple of days before diving back in to the house all over again.

I hope you are all out there sewing madly or perhaps some of you are preparing to sell your house as well?
Cheers,
Stephanie

Big Changes Afoot

2011-09-20T13:49:00.000+10:00

We've been away for a mini holiday -all of us- at the end of school holidays between terms.
It was great to have a few more days for visiting places and people than we usually do simply because our trips are often constrained by school days.

We left for Westbury on Thursday morning, had time with my sister and her family. We had planned on lunch to allow our children to play together at Mum and Dad's, which then turned into an impromptu birthday party for my Dad who has a big birthday coming soon.
The evening was topped off by an email arriving for my husband, who has been unemployed for 9 months- he has finally been offered a full time, permanent job!! WOOT! WOOT!

It is in Canberra, Australia's national capital. DH may be able to start work in his new job from our current location in some capacity, whilst we sell our house and make the move over in the next few weeks/ months.   Starting date to be confirmed. This is just fantastic as its been a long time coming, and the job is an interesting one in a government department- but the best part for us is the stability it will have compared to a scientist's job based on funding that is at the whim of funding bodies and politics. Jobs in some areas are really hard to find and Tasmania's economy is basically moving backwards whilst the rest of the nation is emerging from recession- so whilst I will really miss my home state with its beautiful scenery, great food, friendly people and clean environment much of that will be had in Canberra- and friends can visit. I am tremendously proud of DH to not only land a job of any sort in this economic climate but to have changed industries at the same time- a party is in order.

We also enjoyed a trip to Devonport for a celebratory lunch the next day- the boys in the household enjoyed a ferry ride across the Don River

whilst Mum and I prowled a couple of stores that sell dressmaking fabric- Frank's in Devonport (serious lust worthy fabric, I have swatches for myself and a friend!) and Stewart's Sewing Centre (who have more everyday fabrics in limited quantity, mostly knits)
I found some very reasonably priced cotton/poly print I planned for Simplicity 2660's pull over top, and some cotton knit for a knit top of undetermined pattern.

There was a great Guild Meeting with a wonderful show and tell featuring embroidery in quilts as well as a range of quilts members had finished in time, plus the usual fun of seeing many friends, and the business end of the guild with meetings.

There has been cricket, kids playing around Mum and Dad's garden- and spontaneous fishing trip squeezed into our remaining time.

The fishing trip was in Deviot- a very pretty little spot on the Tamar River where a variety of fish can be found if you are lucky. We drove over Batman Bridge which is a suspension bridge- in quite a pretty spot.

Deviot has a beachy sandy part on one side of the little pontoon and the other is a tiny little rocky beach. Views in both directions are pretty.

Dropping in the lines, our first catch was a rusted fishing rod complete with barnacles...

then a medium sized crab (who was clinging to the sinker and who we released), a piece of kelp caught by Hamish,

a small crab caught by Thomas (it was busy eating the bait, not attached to the hook, whilst we removed the bait from the line and tossed the crab back again!). Both DH and I had really big nibbles, and stolen bait- probably from Leather jackets- big ugly fish that are not good eating!
People nearby caught a Cocky Salmon and another found some sort of cod within seconds of dropping their line. Others had been there all day and found nothing! We left fish-less but satisfied with the fun of fishing (the first time our kids have had that opportunity) and the outdoors. Pelican came in very close any time bait was tossed to it, or when a fish was caught-and those eyes became very beady! It was quite clear you wouldn't want to linger over hauling a fish out of the water if you were lucky to catch one.

Such a beautiful bird, it happily cleaned up our bait and was quite content and friendly- others obviously have fed it fish or bait and it knows when its onto a good thing!
It was really fun for my Dad to be able to show his grand kids how to fish and see them learning to do it independently. It may be the first and last chance they get to do this in Tasmania.

And now we are home, the rapid declutter/ clean/ garden/ painting a couple of rooms and prep for sale begins. And the finding of a school and house at the other end begins.
I have a quilt to complete shortly and DH if he begins to work soon, will probably work part time- a good thing to help with the house stuff that needs to be done. What will be interesting is how the juggling of houses and timing will work out and the chaos that comes with moving house- and states!

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Blue Cowl

2011-09-12T17:34:00.000+10:00

With spring coming there's sewing action underway- aside from quilts of course-a girl needs clothes, right?
A recent wardrobe purge brought home the scary realisation I have few very tops for spring and summer. You may have noticed I' ve been testing patterns and sewing tops for a while now- primarily because I need those most. I have a few pairs of trousers and skirts, but no dresses (yet) and a big gap in the comfortable and stylish top category. I think I've found one top I'll be making again and again though.

After hunting for a sleek cowl neck top for a while, I bought the Kwik Sew 3740 pattern that has had rave reviews at PR and added My review at PR

This is a nice fast little top to whip up, I made mine from relatively inexpensive "seaspray' knit from a certain chainstore that has infiltrated most major cities and towns, squeezing out small independent dressmaking suppliers. I would prefer to shop elsewhere locally if there was a choice. The knit is 90% cotton, 10% spandex and I know it keeps it shape with laundering, although it doesn't keep its colour overly well in the long term. Perfect for a knit toile though.

And unlike the Simplicity cowl neck top in lovely cotton knit print that I made last year, with far more work involved,
this one shouldn't prompt ladies of the older generation who just don't get modern clothing design trends to ask excitedly when is the baby due! Response? "Noooooo, I'm just round thanks to having had twins". I don't think it occurs to them that their comment could be interpreted as being rude.

It sewed together beautifully. I love the cowl neck that has a smaller less wide under cowl, that pulls the larger top piece seam edge under, so there are no seams in sight. It sits just right, not too low, not too high-is easily arranged, and the side seams have a nice bit of shaping.
I shortened the pattern sleeves by 1 inch and lengthened the bodice by 1 inch, and added as insurance 1/4 to each underarm and tapered back to the original about 3 inches from the underarm sleeve. Other than that, no other alterations. It has a very RTW look in all the right ways.

I used my overlocker for construction except for using the sewing machine with a walking foot to topstitch the neckline seam to the garment body - to stop it from twisting up into view- using a stitch length of 3.5 and width of 0.5, Coverstitched the hems after finger pressing in place with water soluble Wonder Tape. Its good stuff for taming hems for a very stable finish for coverstitching. Finally I found an Aussie business who sells it and mail ordered some- thanks Punch with Judy!

My only minor niggle with this pattern is that like other Kwik Sew patterns I've tried recently, the shoulder seam sits a tad wider than I'd ideally like, but hey- for a toile this worked well enough to wear and collect compliments from my quilting buddies, DH and kiddies. More fiddling with this, there is a singlet version and I've got plans to shorten the sleeve and do a different neckline, raised or even a V neck to make it into a different top, possibly shorten it a little...get some real mileage out of it.

Last week I fiddled with a McCalls OOP (out of print) bias cut skirt pattern designed by Nancy Zieman, see it here to alter for my waist and thought it was about right- cut from ramie fabric from an op shop find to test sew. Well, I like the skirt but determined that my alteration was too much and I needed barely any extension of the side seams to fit well. Its a really nice pattern with a slimmer hip fit and gentle flare that isn't too wide, very flattering. But, be quick if you like it as its no longer being printed so once they sell out, its goodbye nice pattern unless you pick it up on ebay or whenever someone sells their copy.
The down side to my skirt adventure was when fusing some interfacing to the quite narrow hip yoke I found a stain on the fabric. A nasty blueish-black, almost transparently greasy stain. I checked the other side- and it had gone right through. Clearly the reason it had been ditched to the op shop- and I'm annoyed at myself for not seeing it in the dim store lighting- because I really, really liked the fabric!
Oh well, it was a very inexpensive way to test a bias cut skirt! Hopeful but in vain, I checked the body of the skirt front and back and they were worse! Some things weren't meant to be.
Silver lining- it allowed me to refine and check my alteration, and once that happened it was into the bin, bye-bye to bad fabric, no guilt!
Ihad originally planned to make this skirt from a soft red blended with white linen I picked up on clearance which is a little prickly- so a cotton lining is in order so its comfortable. I will probably launder it a few more times and see if it softens any or it too may be ear tagged for toile tests. I'm a bit of the princess and the pea, if the fabric isn't smooth then I will line it well or ditch to avoid chaffing.

Hanging on my laundry rack ready for pressing is some pale pink cotton drill for a Kwik Sew jacket toile...can't wait to see what it turns out like.

Happy Sewing and Quilting,
Stephanie

A Purple Palette Cleanser

2011-09-09T15:53:00.000+10:00

After the sewing room clean up I felt the need for a little sewing palette cleanser- a quick remake of Simplicity 2599 sans ruffles. I made the first version last summer from a red voile with peach polka dots and View D version ruffled front.

It turned out be be lovely on hot days- and since I had leftover purple voile after making the ruffled Kwik Sew blouse recently, it was just enough for another S2599 top. Enough for the top but no decorative trim.

Still, its good to have some plain tops to wear under jackets and cardis for warmer days One of the things I love as a lazy sewer is the multi bust cup size and the wearing ease in the pattern. I chose my size by the high bust measurement for the overall size and didn't need to alter for tummy or hips because of design ease built in despite cutting a smaller size for this pattern than I do with some other brands. I chose the appropriate bust cup front piece for my requirements. The pattern goes from B to D cup size options.

The whole thing is really easy to sew, the only alteration I needed to make this time was to carve out a little from the lower front armhole, about 1/8 inch where the previous version crinkled up with wearing, probably because of the forward arm movements that my work requires. The wrinkles you see on the right shoulder should clear up after I rebuild some muscles in my shoulder that has dropped a little after rotator cuff injury months back, so I am not going to mess with the pattern to eliminate what I plan on being a temporary thing.

The insides are lovely and neat with french seams on the shoulder and side seams, back seam has folded raw edge stitched close to the fold (so vintage!!) to finish in a non bulky way. Its a lovely flat finish that doesn't show through the quite sheer fabric.
The inside armholes have a bias strips of the fabric folded in half, sewn to the raw edge, trimmed and the folded edge topstitched to the inside of the opening. Its very smooth and sleek, and soft to wear. Overlocking raw edges was ruled out because I don't have fine enough thread- the usual stuff is far too beefy when combined with 3 or 4 strands of it in a seam- plus I lacked the right colour.
There is a neck facing with a three step zig zag to finish the raw edge. I've used the most gorgeous fusible interfacing that was sourced from The Pattern Sewing Workshop's Linda Lee last year, she sells the interfacing that is obtained from one of her industry contacts. Its not available in regular retail stores and is one of those products that the fashion industry can access but craft retailers cannot. This is how sheer the interfacing is, with a beautiful drape: I have never seen anything like it before.
And at $18 a metre its well worth every cent. I am not sure if she still has it but I hope so!! Kicking myself that I didn't order more when I bought it. Its wonderful on sheer voiles, would be great on silks or linens when you don't want to stiffen the hand of the fabric. The Project Sewing Workshop is an independent clothing company with some chic and different clothing patterns. I have the Lotus and 8th Avenue Skirt pattern in my collection to make up.

The back neckline I don't finish quite the way the pattern suggested, which was actually no finish of any sort except to turn the raw edge under. Not a good thing. I knew my fabric was prone to ravelling and detest unfinished edges in garments, and to prevent the button loop from pulling through delicate fabric I sewed it to the back facing before sewing it to the neckline, rather than to the edge of the slit as suggested through a single layer. I finished the edges of the slit in the same way and at the same time as finishing the edges of the centre back seam, turning the edge under and stitching close to the fold.
I positioned the loop just under the 15mm seam allowance so when the facing turned to the back the loop was correctly positioned at the top of the folded edge. Then tucked the ends under out of sight and finished with a hand sewn slip stitch. You could also sew it in place by machine as I did on the first version of the top.

Work wise I've been out teaching a new round of Machine Quilting at Frangipani Fabrics It is located in the heart of Sandy Bay, where teaching and learning is always a delight. I've had the Activa 215 out for classes and she's causing quite a stir- a lot of lust as well!! The best part is that the students if they wish can buy a 215 from the local Bernina dealership- Easy Sew and skin their own in whatever design they like- or keep it naked if they wish. Its proving fantastic for classes because of the reduced size and weight- but I don't feel I'm missing out on quality or functions that are needed for quilting or patchwork. At Frangipani, we have a great classroom space with the bay window flooding the area in natural light during the day and at night we have adequate lighting, and a lovely warm heat pump to keep us warm in climate controlled comfort. Our own little cafe in the classroom with delicious nibbles and a wide choice of tea and coffee, and the latest is a library in store for customers to borrow quilting books. Its my hope that if they like them they would choose to order through the store and support local businesses, rather than hunt the cheapest price down on an internet site to save a few dollars. During tea break time in classes, students can of course fondle fabric and find patterns, books, threads or other treasures they need for their sewing adventures and get fantastic service in store from Ann and Briony who make everyone welcome and part of the quilting family at Frangipani Fabric. I think its fantastic, because this sort of service you won't ever find in general craft chain stores. The bonus is for day classes there are a range of great cafes and take aways within very short distance- literally across the road or around the corner- so students don't even need to pack a lunch when attending a day class.

At home, my clean up of the sewing room is nearly complete. I have decided one good way to clean up is to finish things off or move them to the next stage toward completion. I am about to take charge of my scrap basket again, after a cutting session a while back for a kid's quilt. Somehow no matter how many quilts we make as quilters, the scraps continue to breed! I need some more colours and patches for the quilt and I want to get my remnants into useful shapes and strips for my storage system, rather than overflowing into the basket. I'd like to remove the basket from the room entirely if I possibly can, because it collects dust and takes up floorspace in a very tiny room. Maybe I'll put a hook on the wall and hang a fabric bag up there to collect scraps if I can't deal with them at the time they're cut. I am waging war on mess, and my sewing room is not the only room. The kids room is next- and I think a major culling of toys and sorting for donation/ resale is in order. Amazing how much mess they can make especially when home on holidays!

Cheers,
Stephanie

Getting a grip

2011-09-04T11:15:00.000+10:00

After Meadow Argus was shipped off I decided to take control of the mess that was my sewing room. Partly because I needed to rearrange the table to give me access to both sides for using overlockers and machines and partly as the room needed a good vacuum.. DH helped move things for me- and I later whipped up his Father's Day present in my overlocker and sewing machine- these wild PJ's in cotton flannel. He loves them.

This table used to be under the window, but I could only access one side and not all the way along it easily.
Since this was taken "stuff" has been removed and its a small but workable area for garments or quilt block/ small project construction. There is just room on either side of the table for a chair, its a very small room! If I want more room on the table, machines go onto the floor temporarily.
You know how it goes, piles of stuff for the unmentionable mending soon mounts up, some fabric was awaiting pressing and storing, dealing with dressmaking scraps leftovers ( I didn't realise how much of that there were until I bagged up the useless pieces to donate to my kids's school and then folded the larger useful remnants which will soon extend some of the kid's PJ's in length..and leftovers then donated. The polarfleece remnants from my garment earlier are enough to make some kid's hats or mittens for next winter. I think there is way more waste in dressmaking than patchwork and I don't like wastage into landfill. Its use it up or donate it all!
Oh dear.... I guess this just indicates I've been productive over past months but also is a shameful admission with regard to my dislike of tidying up! I have a firm belief that tidying up mid project is quite destructive to the creative process because the time it takes interrupts creative juices flowing, so normally I avoid doing it as long as possible and will only do a major clean after a project or in this case since life's been a bit crazy, after a few projects. There is more ironing to do, and a couple of garments to refashion/ alter in that pile.

I've set up a portable table in one corner of my sewing room to hold my cutting dies and rulers- the Go sits under this table out of reach of feet to kick it as they walk by. My design board is right behind the table and mostly available. And if I 'm having a day when I doubt something I'm making or feel unmotivated, I go look at my ribbon board- there to remind myself that hard work can have its rewards. There are also some stitch outs of sewing machine decorative stitches for reference pinned up there.

One real reward for my virtuous tidying up was finding a small bag that contained my Nana's old tailor's ham- I think it is super sized for men's tailoring perhaps, but its fun to have nonetheless.
Included were drafting supplies as she was a keen dressmaker and took Adult Education classes on tailoring.
There were also a few vintage samples sewn that she had used her Elna SU to practice finishes you find on garments, perhaps on a club day or for fun or reference at home and to try things out. Below is one is a half of a doll's jacket by the look of it. with couching in the hemline, elastic waist and ribbing inserted into the sleeves. A honeycomb stitch holds the neckline hem in place.
Mum gave them to me when she was cleaning out and its nice to have them, made by Nana's hands. There are some interesting fabrics here which aren't around today- some of the synthetic stuff that is 1960's and 1970's stuff.

Now, if I would get rewards like this more often for cleaning up I would be more likely to do it more often!

My week has been filled with some writing for Patchwork and Stitching this time with a deadline I had to meet -and also I went to my sewing machine dealership to have one of my machines serviced (an older one that embroiders). Whilst I was there I asked them to show me how to do flatlocking on my overlocker.
It was something we hadn't covered at the time I purchased it, and my dealership is great in that it offers free lessons on new machines purchased from them at no extra cost to learn to use their features. This sample is one we made using a three thread flatlock using a spool of decorative thread in the upper looper- its a thread that is not longer made and was a sort of pearl cotton. I'm going to have some fun practising this with some of the yummy decorative metallic threads I have like Superior Halo and some of the pretty variegated threads and furry threads like Aurifil's Lana Wool. We loosened the needle off and tightened the lower looper from memory- but you will have to fiddle with different settings and different threads/ fabrics for good results with your overlocker as you stitch along a fold catching just enough, but not too much fabric. Moving the blade to the side or disengaging it is a good idea too.

School holidays have started so I have children at home for a fortnight. We're hatching plans for everyone's fun and sanity and both plan to work on their next quilt.

Cheers,
Stephanie

Meadow Argus Finale

2011-08-28T18:07:00.000+10:00

I wanted to show you how the quilting and facing has completed Meadow Argus.

There is exactly the right amount of dimension happening on the body and wings of the butterfly.Hard to photograph though.

The whole piece is still pliable but more art for the wall like in feel, Not because it is over quilted or over embroidered, but because of the double batting. This piece is going to hang very nicely.
The only down side to this is pulling off a facing- because the edge is turned back on itself with a seam allowance and fabric strips to finish the edges. its tough and hard requiring a good grip to roll the edge back.
Fingers are sore, because of working with the bulk, but those edges are turned under cleanly with help from the iron, steam and my dressmaker's clapper. Judicious pinning and hand stitching adds a lovely clean finish to the back. There are times when a binding isn't appropriate and I do love the way the finished piece looks without a visible binding.

But, its done, and tonight I will hand stitch the hanging sleeve required for exhibition and the label in place. And write the artist statement.
So, less than a week since I created the line drawing pattern , Meadow Argus is complete. Art in an instant, almost!

Cheers,
Stephanie

Just Can't Stop!

2011-08-27T18:47:00.001+10:00

Having so much fun with Meadow Argus, I just can't stop.
Well, I couldn't until my eyes went furry!

Today's production has been all about adding shading, light, sparkle and beginning to quilt.
Threads make my quilt art beautiful. The right thread gets everyone very excited and the wrong thread well.... lets just say I don't allow them into my quilts. You know the sort, the 3 for $5 bargain bagged, bulk buy, fuzzy sort of junk, or worse - thread for 50 cents from an antiques market. Anything furry sheds lint, is weak, and doesn't make it through the front door! If it doesn't feel good in my fingers and look good to my eye, there is no way I'm going to sew it into my clothes or into my quilts.
When you want some shine, its hard to go past trilobal polyester or rayon embroidery threads. Mmmmmm, they look good enough to eat, and I confess when peeling off a cellophane wrapper, I enjoy the same delicious anticipation of how a thread will stitch out as when I unwrap a nice piece of Lindt chocolate! How will it look? Like tasting a new flavour, I like to sew samples with leftover bits and pieces. Truly it saves me time. I don't need to put many stitches in to see how a thread will behave. Do I have to adjust tension? If I sew a sample, I know this right away and can adjust the machine to make lovely stitches before I sew on my work.
Take for example Ricky Tim's Art Studio Colours thread- by Superior - it doesn't look under its wrapper, but this is wonderfully shiny stuff and has a real 40 weight size rather than some other brands that tout this level of coverage, but fail to deliver. You wouldn't know this unless you actually stitch it out. It takes less time to cover an area when the thread is thicker. I love how little effort it was to add the frilly impact of magenta. You probably have figured out I really enjoy saturated colours, and finding thread to keep up with my appetite for rich colours is as important to me as finding fabric in the right level of intensity.

I had some fun adding a matt poly to the petals where the light in my photo was washing out the colour. I have a lovely pale lilac So Fine thread that I zig zagged into the edge finishing in the area where light hit the edge of the petals. I added more in free motion embroidery after chalking some markings in chalk to keep me in the right place. Doesn't it make a difference to the life of the petal? And then I went and added some bling. Just enough to sparkle.

Can you see my Halo? I tried to get a good photo of it once embroidered but failed. My camera doesn't like shine one little bit. Its the lilac metallic that is incredibly thick, so thick you don't put it through the top of the machine, but in the bobbin. Which means you are working upside down. You can see just how much stitching is in this at that stage- more has been added since. There are two layers of tear away embroidery stabiliser, as one layer is not enough to prevent distortion with this much stitching. I'm not going to bother trying to remove every last bit of this from my piece, just the larger areas that easily come away. Some small trimming to do there...

After that it was back right side up once more, adding more rayon, in a 40 weight embroidery thread. Slightly darker shade of lilac so that the petals have even more life. Now I"m happy with the petals!

And so, mid afternoon I layered up my quilt sandwich. The batting requirement for the challenge is any Mathilda's Own batting. I like their wool poly for loft and because it travels well, but I didn't want this work to be too thin. So I have layered some wool poly with a piece of pure cotton batting from Mathilda's.
Yes, its pretty thick, and if your sewing machine has hissy fits where there is a suggestion of bulk, you just may have to go out and buy a nice shiny new sewing machine with some real power if you want to be able to double layer your batting! Blissfully, my Bernina's can all handle bulk very happily. When the quilt is added it won't be too thick but will have exactly the amount of loft I'm wanting behind my butterfly and petals. And it won't crinkle badly because one of the battings has a high wool content. The piece will also display well on a wall because its not limp.

I began stitching close along side the applique, freemotion quilting, matching my threads a shade darker for my lilac petals and the same colour of cream as my butterfly.
There is already a tonne of stitching in this piece and it gets to a point where the needle can catch ..so I am thinking less is more in this instance, enough to look good but I don't need to add a whole heap since so much visual texture is already there from the embroidery.

Tomorrow will be remainder of the quilting, a facing, hanging sleeve, label, paperwork for the entry-and it'll be in Monday's post after I take it along for a little show and tell with my quilting friends. I may be still hand sewing bits and pieces on. We meet in each other's homes once a fortnight. I don't get along to every meeting but go when I can, and its fun.

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Meadow Argus WIP

2011-08-26T17:46:00.001+10:00

Things are moving on nicely with Meadow Argus. I've been stitching away on my Activa 215 with the Number 29 foot foot for freemotion quilting.
Its great because I can see really well what's going on, even better than with the #9 which has forever been my favourite foot. The #29 comes into its own on puffy batting as well offering a bit more compression around the needle area than the number 9, which helps squish the quilt down nice and flat for when the stitch is forming and the batting doesn't wiggle around as much on the needle. I love it!!
So far, I have the whole butterfly embroidered and edge finished, the outline zig zagging of the blue petals done, which doesn't sound like much, but is the majority of the work done. Quite a few hours of stitching here and the Activa has an attitude going on, like "bring it on honey!" which I find really great in a smaller sized machine. No complaints even through the heaviest of fused layers from multiple layers of tight weave fabric like batiks.
There is shading to add on the petals as well as the other finishing of steams and buds/ leaves to do. Some I will do at the same time as quilting.
For a quick fun little piece, I am really rather happy with how the butterfly wings have shaped up with careful freemotion machine embroidery for the little details on the frilly edge of the wings and the veins adding lifelike quality to the butterfly.

I am also onto my 5th needle from a packet of Topstitch needles- because of sewing through Vliesofix. Even with cutting out where possible excess Vliesofix before fusing so that only the edges were fused, there are layers upon layers and onto a batik base...hard even on titanium coated needles.
I've used s size 80 topstitch with a mix of threads for the top, mostly Madeira 40 weight rayons, some Superior So Fine polyester construction thread, Gutermann 50 weight poly...the wonderful thing about the eye of a topstitch is the size to allow the thread room to pass freely through the needle, and with the 80 keeping every needle hole smaller is important when working on Vliesofix. In the bobbin there is Superior The Bottom Line- fantastic for less thread build up on the back of the work- I've used a taupe and a pale silvery grey to blend. I have heavier threads I want to add when quilting, which will not run through a size 80 Topstitch but since the majority of the stitching for this piece is on the top layer not throughout the whole quilt, this doesn't worry me so much. I think if I'd hammered in this much stitching with a size 90 Topstitch I'd have a perforated butterfly, literally held together only with stitching! I plan also on adding some highlights and sparkle with Superior Halo (working with it in the bobbin) and quilting with some yummy King Tut and Aurifil threads.
Tomorrow I plan on finishing the rest of the raw edges, add the shading to the petals, and begin to quilt.

I found these interesting titles above and plan on a nice reading fest once Meadow Argus is finished, and of the evenings..
I've had a few rather tasty parcels arrive via post- one containing Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing 1 and 2- with a fantastic DVD in each. I'm very impressed with these books. Well worth having if you like modern approaches to garment sewing.

Unfortunately during transit in bad weather, the box got quite soggy and the corner of the first volume got a real soaking.
Water founds its way inside the back cover, through the little hole that the elastic is attached in, or from the corner perhaps, inside the laminated hard back cover. You can see the slightly lighter part on the left hand top edge. Its slowly spreading and swelling inside and unable to be dried out through the laminated glossy cover. I tried for some days with no avail. So, I've peeled back the back cover lining to reveal the cardboard, in the hopes that allowing air onto the soggy cardboard may help it dry out.

The pages are unaffected but I really don't want a mouldy back cover over time if I can help it. Hope it works!
I like to support local bookshops when they stock what I want, and find them great for gift giving as well. Today I prowled a local bookshop in search of birthday pressies for our children's school mates, during which time I added this beauty to my collection- which I should add is actually quite small.
A book I've lusted for since I first saw it on another store's bookshelves. Its beautifully organised and photographed, satisfyingly thick and heavy, and I love the way the articles from the magazines included have been organised into logical topics and its going to be great to have it to refer to by the machine. Don't you love a book you can really sink your teeth into? The more I sew, the more I realise for some brands at least, how truly bad their instructions are- and that there are alternative ways of doing many things- some of which are more efficient and produce nicer results than pattern instructions do. Knowledge is power and choice.

Have a great weekend stitching everyone!
Stephanie

Meadow Argus

2011-08-23T16:24:00.001+10:00

Here's a little art quilt I'm working on called Meadow Argus for a fabric challenge and was something I meant to make much earlier but have been tied up with other things that have prevented that this year. Maybe I'd have made this much bigger- and I still might one day in another variation.
Recently I had my arm twisted in a friendly way by the curator of the challenge, about ensuring I got an entry in, so I thought why not, just as bit of fun?

Its my original, copyrighted design- as are all my quilts (I add that since some people lately I've been coming across think if something is posted on the internet then that makes it free and for any sort of public use- which is simply incorrect)
Right now this is totally fused applique and will be extensively freemotion embroidered and quilted over the next few days. Especially the wings and the daisy. The beauty of making the odd small quilt is that you can try out ideas in a relatively short amount of time and with little real investment of materials. I think the most expensive part will be the threads and the entry fee to the exhibtion. And the challenge fabric. I have loads of it left and it may make an appearance in other places yet. We'll see...
Meadow Argus is an A3 sized art quilt started from a photo that I took in my Mum's garden one hot March day, when a huge number of butterflies were feeding on a daisy bush. They were preoccupied with their feeding frenzy and were thick on the bush, virtually every few inches was a butterfly. And plenty of bees. I loved the brows of the butterfly on the lilac blues of the daisy, both common occurances in Australian gardens but so lovely a combination of colour together. I noticed that the centre of the butterfly eye almost exactly matched the blue of the daisy.

I focused on just one lovely specimen with a tight crop who obligingly had spread its wings, as they do in the heat, to show its pattern not fully, but almost so. With my nature based art quilts I do like to keep things accurate and true to life when it comes to the way insects or animals position themselves on plants or in water, even if it makes for less the "picture perfect" pose. Sometimes picture perfect stuff is too contrived to my mind and can actually detract. I think Mother Nature knows what she's doing its nice to represent that in quilts.

I developed my drawing from the photograph and chose my fabric and got to fusing..
Oh dear ...lots of fall out in the Drop Zone as I call it- the area typically within 3/4 of a metre of me, where things miss the bin and also where fabric is literally dropped on top of other fabric as I work, digging through it when I need more fabric or whatever. I've already cleaned the floor around the bin once already before this photo or it would have been MUCH worse, lol!

I know....I know.....it looks like a tip (dump) but I spend my time making art quilts and not fussily tidying up my sewing room any chance I have to get in there!! Call it creative chaos. At some stage I will refold it and put it back in my wire drawers in my cupboard out of the sunlight. Generally once I've finished a piece. Because I may decide to do something different to what I've planned right up till the last minute or after quilting even, so I can more easily find more of the same fabric than if I tuck it all back into the rather full fabric drawers.

I often fused fiddly bits of applique into sub units that makes the final putting together much easier.

Here was my test- fuse from fabrics I wanted to see how they would truly work. I figured if they worked well, that then I had one wing fused. The fabric around the eyes of the buterfly is the challenge fabric for the Hoffman Rotary International challenge. I used it also for some stems at the top of the piece, as it is multi coloured. Here I've worked the rest of the butterfly up.

These took considerable time to not only select the right fabric but to cut and then position for fusing. I have tricks up my sleeve for this that I teach in my Art Quilts from Nature workshop and my machine applique workshops. If you're interested in those, book me for your group- dates available are currently the last two weekends before Christmas or next year- nothing is available earlier.

Tomorrow, whilst I am out sewing with my friends with my lovely shiny skinned 215 Activa from Bernina. I'm loving having this machine and it created quite a bit of excitement with students on the weekend. You can read about how this machine came to be, back on 11 August in my older posts. Simply scroll down for previous posts.

I will start free motion embroidering Meadow Argus and also then soon after, the free motion quilting. There is a good deal of texture, veins, detail on flowers to add. So I think of the fabric you can see as the base layer of colour to which other textures are added, very much like what I did on Tropical Lillies. I love to spend time and use lovely threads to create shading detail and dimension to a piece when I applique. I am planning a nice faced finish, no binding. Nice on art quilts.

Back at home there is more patchwork under way. DS1 age 8 is busy working on his entry for the Junior Textile competition. He is sporting his new haircut courtesy his Grandma. Its fun to watch him raid my scrap strips and pieces boxes as he knows in no uncertain terms what works by auditioning fabric. He's sitting at his Bernina Nova 900, with a number 57 quarter inch foot with guide on the machine, one hand guiding the fabric alongside of the presser foot, industrial style. I can just see him in future years making clothes, holding onto longer pieces with his other hands and working no pins. Train 'em young!
Its funny watching him select coloures, he'll do what he's seen me do many times, start with a collection of fabrics or a fabric to use, in this case his stash of Anthropologie Fat quarters he won in the last exhibition when he was Highly Commended, and then hold a fabric near the others whilst he makes a gut decision to retain or retire the fabric. Sometimes it just gets a cursory waft past the pile, it doesn't even have a chance to hit the table if its clear its is never going to work! Sometimes you have to see fabrics nearby eachother to see what does and does not work with everything else going on. Its just so hystericfally funny watching a Mini Me at work!!! You should hear him talking about colour value, he's got a whole lot of colour IQ happening at a early age. Just wait till you see what he's working on- no reveals until the show next year.

What about you? Are you encouraging kids to learn to quilt and to sew? Maybe you know someone in your family, friends, church, school or other group that would like to learn but has been unfortunately born to parents who simply have no idea when it comes to sewing?
September is National Sewing Month in Australia, so my challenge to all the Aussies reading this is to find even just one youngster who would like to sew, and help them get started! Maybe sew some simple squares together or decorate some fabric with built in stitches in the sewing machine to get them used to driving a machine, maybe to turn into a cushion or library bag or sports gear bag? Whatever they'd like to make, because if they're interested in the project and can realise an idea they'll also realise how much fun sewing can be. There are so many great resources out there, so let's get sewing!!

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Electrify your lining!

2011-08-19T20:52:00.000+10:00

This week's patchwork work isn't something I can blog (its going well though!) but here's something cool I discovered quite by accident with cutting slippery garment lining fabric.
I've been "renovating" a favourite RTW skirt made of a lovely wool blend herringbone picked up years ago at Sportgirl.. Its fitted through the hips and has a gentle flare without being too wide, and I really like it.'s classic lines that don't seem to ever date. Its by far the warmest skirt I've ever owned, but the zipper died and I never did like its horrible lining. I replaced the invisible zipper with a centred zipper and removed the lining in prep. for a new one.. This is the fashion fabric- so warm and classic it was worth saving. 60% wool and virtually coating weight.
I like Sun Silky poly that behaves a lot like silk, is more breathable and nicer to wear than nasty cheap acetate lining .Good riddance, old lining!
Because it was cool today I cleared the dining room table off, rather than use my cutting table in a colder part of the house. The dining table has a protective vinyl table cloth since we have kids (the clear stuff) and spread out my lining fabric. Smoothed out, it magically stuck by low level static electricity to the vinyl! Woo Hooo, one of my pet peeves with lining is how it slides all over the place, and is difficult to handle when you lay things out to cut. I think I've discovered a great way to tame linings in future!
Not only that, but the carefully cut apart old lining that I was using as a pattern for the replacement, since this is a RTW skirt and not one for which I have a pattern, dutifully followed suite and stuck on top of the Sun Silky beautifully. I pinned for insurance and then added back the seam allowance I had cut away when cutting along the seamlines, using my dressmaker's curve gifted to me by the girls at Frangipani Fabrics, and my Nana's old trusty tailor's chalk.
I added a tiny bit extra whilst I was marking the width, as the last lining was too small for the skirt, and not as comfy as it should have been.
When I cut the whole thing out, it was so well behaved, I could barely believe my eyes!
Overlocked the lining...

Whizzed around the hem, pressed up an inch and stitched in place by sewing machine before attaching the lining to the skirt top with straight stitch, and zig zag as both fabrics are prone to ravelling.
The new skirt slipped into place, side seams matched perfectly, hem was in the right place- now all that remains is a new waistband in some cotton drill. I'll make the band possibly a little narrower than usual, with more wearing ease than the original ribbon finished waist had.

I'm going to replace the old scratchy ribbon skirt hangers, that are sewn into the side seams at the waistband, maybe even just use black twill tape. Whatever is softest. I do feel somewhat virtuous about saving a perfectly good skirt, and being able to enjoy wearing it for longer in its rejuvenated state. Photo once the waistband is complete.
So this brings to a close my winter skirt reno's and soon it will be time to look at the spring and summer weight ones to remake and refashion. And sew from scratch.

This week some drill and pretty pink buttons and thread made it into the house, for a test sew of a Kwik Sew jacket for my ASG workshop. Along with a couple of very good books, thanks to an evil but necessary local chain store having a 30% off sale. I added this small but seemingly jam packed book to my collection. It has different approaches to tailoring depending on fabric and time available as well as level of commitment, it is making interesting reading to see what I'm in for with my jacket! My plan is to make the jacket from inexpensive drill as a summer unlined version as the pattern presents, and then if its good I have some nice linen and also some winter wool that could both tailor very nicely. I've never tailored before so this book should be very reassuring to have to hand between ASG meetings.

Continuing with today's impromptu book tour, recently I ordered two overlocking books from The Book Depository, since I couldn't find a decent book in the local stores nor library- and I am VERY impressed by the one that has turned up so far.

Over 500 photos of step by step overlocker taming and sewing a wide variety of threads into a massive array of techniques. It was helpful today dealing with my lining fabric to problem solve some bunching and twisting seams. There is a good problem solving section at the back. Another title is in transit- which I hope should be equally good- authored by Nancy Bednar and Aussie Anne Van Der Kley.. Creative Serging.

Its been a very long while since I had a book fest, and further confessions reveal I ordered some new books from Sandra Betzina which are not available locally. I've ordered from her direct and await her Power Sewing Toolbox 1 and 2 eagerly. There's a lot in those books and DVD's that explains things I've wanted to know better/ easier ways to do for some time. I like knowing I have good information to hand when I hit a technique I am not confident with, or haven't done in a good long while- since sewing patterns are generally fairly woeful when it comes to instructions. Improving my garment sewing skills in my down time is something I've been focusing on for about a year now, and plan to continue to do so, since it is paying dividends with faster sewing of garments with better results than I had years ago. My books have saved projects from imminent disaster more than a few times, and its more fun and less stressful to know if I get stuck at any hour help is to hand.

What about you? Have you read any good technique books lately? What are your favourite go-to books?
Do you go through extended book buying starvation periods and then enjoy a little feast now and then?

Cheers,
Stephanie

Lily and Ruffles

2011-08-11T14:36:00.000+10:00

I want to introduce you to a new little and rather colourful work mate, her name is Lily!
She is a Bernina Activa 215 and has been skinned with my own original art quilt design called Tropical Lilies- a one off, unique and beautiful skin. The lilies were drawn from my own photographs of Lilies that grow in my Mum's garden and some from my brother's partner's garden. The little red flowers are fantasy, tossed in for scale and colour options.

Bernina Australia had a challenge a few months ago for their textile artists to create a work of art to be photographed for skinning onto the Bernina Activa 215. A panel then selected 12 designs as finalists for skinning. I was quite surprised and delighted to have my design selected and think the skin looks absolutely HOT!! Its very smooth and shiny. The skin is a removeable thick high quality vinyl that can be applied to the Activa range and some of the Artistas- the 600 series I think. So later I could change my design if I ever wanted to, or peel back to naked white, standard machine. I love the colours I designed my art quilt from and hand drew each of the shapes you see on my skin.There are lots of different coloured threads used for texture and shading.
We were given a specific size of work to work within and I knew the finished skin would be smaller than the required size- but didn't know exactly where the design would be cropped. So I wanted the centre of the flowers to be the focal points and worked the design in such a way as to work around buttons and the display screen. I knew the edge of the leaves could be trimmed and not lose the essence of the design, so it was interesting to see how much was trimmed in the skinning process.
The piece was machine appliqued on my Bernina 440QE and machine embroidered as well- free hand- not computerised. And then freemotion machine quilted. I can even see my quilting stitches on the skin!!

Lily is also the first skinned Activa 215 in my city and probably the state!
There is a link on the company site and a skin designer on the Bernina USA site if you have one of these machines and want to make your own skin or choose from a design already there. But, you won't find my design or any of the other finalist designs available to buy there- they are one off works of art and not commercially available.
I love how well they ship their machines- everything is protected in Styrofoam, and not left to clatter around inside or scratch the machine. There is another big piece of Styrofoam that goes over the top of the machine as well.
If you come to my workshops you'll get to see her up close and personal as she's heading right out to work. She is an affordably price machine which will be great for those wanting a Bernina for workshops that is also a little lighter, because she's slightly reduced in size compared to the Aurora and weighs less. I also think she'd be great for crafters and garment sewers who don't need a tonne of decorative stitches- what you see on the buttons is what you get-12 stitches including a manual buttonhole. This photo isn't very good but it shoes that on the skin they transfer the pattern for the stitch number so you can refer to it easily.
One of the buttons has dual stitch functions programmed onto it- reinforced straight stitch and reinforced zig zag. In Australia it has removable soles that have a different system to the standard Bernina feet- more like other brands in that you push a button on the back of the ankle and the foot is removed, and then you switch to a different sole. I guess its one thing that make the machine nicely affordable as there is a whole lot of crafting and metal that goes into each standard Bernina one piece foot. There is a little zip bag for the accessories. There's also a matching cover for the machine. I also ordered the sew table that slides onto the freearm, which you need ot order separately if you want it. They are not costly. and have the Bernina hexagonal reinforcement design to the underside for strength.

Most of the week I've been working on a commission quilt at piecing stage which is coming along well- although I have one block to partially re-make after a friend's iron in use at a stitching group, where I was working for a day, apparently had gluey grunge on it- which could not be seen on her dark sole plate of the iron- which that then deposited itself straight onto the block when I began to press it. Noooo!!!! I will be cutting replacement patches for the damaged area to replace them. Luckily I have a small piece of the fabric involved left from cutting and so I can do this easily enough. The design is looking pretty and sewing together beautifully.

Speaking of garment sewing- on my equivalent of a weekend, I worked on my Kwik Sew blouse. Pure pleasure from front to back, although the ruffles are a little tricky to get a nice marriage of edge finishing techinque to fabric weight and retain the right drape.

The pattern has surprisingly beautiful curves with contoured darts and curved side seams. And its all about the ruffles! So feminine. All I did to this pattern to test sew was lengthen by 2 inches - one inch through the torso and one inch at the hem. I had a good feeling about the pattern because some flat pattern measuring of the sleeve suggested they'd fit nicely and the finished bust and hip measurements were printed on the pattern sheet. Maybe the back is a little large but I am slowly learning lots about how to adjust garments- I often don't know quite what alteration I need to do or how but am enjoying learning by attending ASG meetings and reading as much as I can, and trying out new patterns on low cost fabrics (often normal fabrics but on sale for little $) that don't really matter if I botch them! I am so much more skilled at quilt making than garments, but everyone has to learn these skills- they aren't born knowing these things. I am enjoying the journey even though by no means are my garments perfectly fitting.
The fabric is a lightweight and ravel prone slightly slubbed cotton voile and is quite sheer.

There are beautiful ruffles that I fiddled with a variety of methods to finish the edge on and went for a rolled hem in matching thread in the end, sewing the end of the chain back into the work with a tapestry needle to secure. It was fiddly and tricky to get the settings right so that the thread didn't pull away from the fabric edge but the fiddling was worthwhile. Hand rolling the hem to sew was slow and not perfectly even. Machine rolled hem with foot on an older sewing machine proved tricky and too heavy. Truly I would have been unhappy if not for an overlocker.
Sleeves virtually set themselves and have very little extra ease in the sleeve cap, very RTW really in that way. The shape is nice there, even though maybe that area is a tad big for me but it is comfortable, and allows plenty of movement. Its rare for me to have a blouse that is so comfortable.
The buttons I am not entirely happy with because there seems to be a want of buttons for sale in this city. None the right colour at all, many empty hooks in the stores or just the wrong colours-for what I needed, so they are a compromise. If I ever find some nicer ones I will buy the same size and switch them over!
But for my toile, its wearable and pretty and when the weather warms up, I'll be ready for spring and summer with it. By then I may have made another version without ruffles in a different fabric as well. There is some nice watermelon red linen in my stash that might be now tagged for this pattern!

Had a trip today to my sewing machine dealership to get to the bottom of a major glitch I'd had with my overlocker on thicker polarfleece. It turns out the machine is absolutely fine- so I am very happy about that- but that it has preferences which way bulky seams like to feed through the machine for the heavy thick fleece fabrics, and it also likes to have its blade moved slightly to the right to allow more room for the fabric to travel under the foot. I may have also had a defective needle. With overlockers I am less experienced than with sewing machines by far-so its been great to learn to move my blade- because the manual doesn't tell you to do this and its not something you would necessarily think to do yourself at home. My clicky finger ordered two overlocking books last week- one by Nancy Bednar and Aussie's own Anne Van Der Kley called Creative Serging, and another by Mary Griffin called Serger Secrets. I am really looking forward to these arriving and adding some new techniques and knowledge to my overlocking skill set.

Since this morning, I now have a cardi almost half done- its a hooded version of the Kwik Sew 3693- on a similar fleece and the same pattern that caused my glitch before. I have only the sleeves and side seams to do and then the hems. I like this pattern for around home or sewing sessions because its warm and comfy and is very easy to sew. I've discovered from making this jacket a few times that when dealing with the shoulders and neckline that are sewn in one line, that once the V on the front pieces is stay stitched then clipped into and the fabric pinned into place, its easier to sew it by sewing machine first to hold it precisely in place, before pulling it out straight and overlocking that area, or the corners pull away from their proper place and can twist or be missed entirely by the stitches. I will have my way with cosy polarfleece one way or another!!

And to quilting- I am piecing and then quilting to come- and then it will be working on my own quilts.

Cheers,
Stephanie

Fabric fun

2011-08-05T19:35:00.000+10:00

Monday's fundraiser run by my quilting group went really well-lots of ladies turned up from groups or individually, and it was a fun day out with a nice little show and tell, some fun and games with lucky door prizes donated by local businesses or quilters, and great homemade food supplied by members of our groups. A massive soup and sandwiches affair with cakes on the side. I was lucky and was found to my surprise to be sitting on one of the marked chairs that none of us knew about. I had a choice of parcels- picking lurid lime green wrapping, since it looked very much like squishy potential! So lucky as I rarely ever win these sorts of things and even luckier still to win some stunning Jane Sassaman fabric, a Fat Quarter and Fat eighth from her Floral Fantasy range! You can imagine how delighted I am to have this print in my stash. Big scale flowers in intense colours push all my buttons, all at once!

I also came home with our group's quilt that was made by members many years ago. Each member has had for a few months each in their home and its now my turn. Ready for some humour?
Its called Chicks on the Run and depicts women in all sorts of activities. Most ladies made self portraits of sorts. Here are some of my favourites: Love with the wild hair in bus driver uniform, with her little sunglasses hanging off her hip pocket,

Seriously, this looks JUST LIKE its maker!
I also love the Meals on Wheels with earrings, skating to deliver the food. Meals on Wheels is a charitable organisation that delivers meals to those who are unable to cook for themselves, for those who are overseas and unfamiliar with the charity. I remember helping deliver food by car with my Nana, often to people far younger than herself, when I would visit with her over summer. I remember how some of the small yapping dogs would also make a dart for your ankles if you were not careful. I still don't ever really trust small yappers, decades on!! Come to think on it quite a few scary and unpleasant dog related things happened in childhood that I think firmly planted me in the Cat Lovers camp- nearly all of them were small dogs with I suspect tiny brains, probably untrained, and all owned by other people. Even now if I find a dog I really like, chances are its a really big, smart one, with good manners. Which camp are you in? Big dogs or small yappers? Or Cats?

Many of the others had wonderful beads or bling stitched to their blocks.
This quilt won 2nd in the group category of our State Guild show several years ago. Its quilt as you go and the back has different coloured rectangles separated with finishing strips. Its mine to enjoy for a few months until it is returned to the member of the group who was chosen to keep it permanently. She loves to play lawn bowls.

I've been a exceptionally good Mum and for the last few nights have been involved in the intolerable act of mending: unpicking zippers from school uniforms that must have been a batch of faulty separating zippers, all incredibly difficult to unpick,. Nearly all of the kids uniform jackets or vests have broken off at the end and the zipper pull was of course lost, and it has all happened at the same time. Considerable bulk and thick layers to pin and baste before stitching. Not a single zipper in my city of the right sort and colour to be sourced- these have only to see the year out and blend with the rest of their uniform even though the originals were black.
This is the inside view with the facing that added so much bulk . Its not pretty but the zipper works! Reinforced for playground games.
Weighing my machine options, I decided since it was so very thick in places I'd best go with my most least expensive tough girl, the Bernina Nova who has impressed me earlier with her mending capabilities. We're talking thick, tough stuff with seams and facings, thick zipper tape, turned under edges...the sort of bulk that really an industrial machine is designed to handle. The sort of stuff that can damage a domestic. And that's the reason I chose my toughest, least expensive machine just incase the worst happened, crossing my fingers that it didn't as I sewed. One vest down and three jackets to go....

She did complain at the thickest parts and through the zipper tab at the bottom of almost impervious plastic so I hand turned the needle through those thicker areas to save some strain on her engine. What a champion though- sitting there looking all sweet, compact, and innocent - yet capable of great feats!

Ironically one jacket- the first unpicked- turns out after the zipper was removed and the hem unpicked to properly re-attach, to not to be our children's jackets but someone else's instead. Waaaah! Community service is now the order of the day - we are one jacket down at school and I am guessing their kid has our jacket. I think half the time all the kids grab the nearest jacket and stuff into their bag without checking the label. I am planning to use my Aurora to embroider larger letters onto a cloth label and sew into the back of the jacket so it can't be missed in future!
I have to re- do the jacket that is not our own, plus two of our own jackets on top. Not fun, with a distinct possibility of generating grumpy me.

Just as I was finishing my non-selfish sewing, DH drops onto the table my reward- freshly delivered, soggy wet from the rain, swollen envelope, containing these babies: I eagerly tweaked the wet, crushed corners back into shape and immediately fondled them all!

They are of course my little wardrobe building indulgence from a recent and most wonderful PR sale on Simplicity patterns, for very little per pattern, with some Kwik Sews I've been after for a while- all for the cost of buying maybe three patterns at my local chain store (which I'll add don't stock the full range of patterns nor sizes of most things I ever want to sew! Irritating beyond words). NAYY with PR, but I do love their sales because when you sew long enough, now and then you come across a stinker that simply is badly drafted, and thrown together with no consideration by the company, its much easier to let go of those patterns, when there is less invested in them. I also love the reviews at PR which have often saved my bacon. Often, but not always.

Since I worked essentially all weekend, I took part of Tuesday and all of Wednesday off. Finished the last pair of kiddy PJ's with cool guitar fabric. These are so fast to sew with an overlocker and then its just the casing and hem with sm, they really don't seem like sewing!!
Turning my attention to the underway jacket toile, after some further fine tuning of fit, I have come to the conclusion my Simplicity jacket is not worth spending another second on, after letting out and re-sewing seams and finding all sorts of peaky shapes at the hip develop with the same billowy back, drag lines, ridiculously too high armholes, funny shaped at that- with some pieces that did not like to sew together. Numbers don't add up well when it comes to the ease they stated the pattern has, and its simply unflattering and not pretty. Certainly won't waste good fabric on that!
So I'm starting afresh with a new design for my local ASG group's workshop, my next choice is View A of :
Kwik Sew 3529
I'm thinking is worth trying as I love the style for View A and have the pattern in my stash. May be able to stretch out some stashed linen for this jacket as well. Hopeful.
So far my experiences of Kwik Sew have been really good, so long as the fabric behaves itself after laundering, so it will be good to see how their instructions and pattern drafting of the jacket stack up. Can't be worse than the last one!!

I've also fully cut out from an inexpensive fabric Kwik Sew2927 View B, which has had really good reviews at Pattern Review. Its a very lightweight voile type of cotton with a subtle slub to the weave and should be deliciously cool in hot days to come. It was also very on clearance last year when I planned and bought enough for this blouse from the bolt. In my button box there are some beautiful mother of pearl shell buttons in cool mauvish pinkish grey undertones that I hope will work with this perfectly. I found them one trawling expedition in Melbourne at Button Mania. That woman has the BEST buttons- her entire shop is buttons!

The circular cuff ruffles are really pretty and look like good fun to hem and that's something others who have reviewed the pattern noticed was very difficult and challenging, because of the sharp curve involved. I think I'll be practicing to do a rolled hem or a picot edge, on the overlocker or a narrow hem by machine, or hand roll and stitch the edge by hand. We'll see how the practice goes and I'll pick whichever gives me the nicest results. One reason I don't ditch my off cuts until I'm finished...

In the sewing studio there is activity- along with tidying up, some shuffling of stuff, serious cutting finished for a new commission quilt from scratch, and changing tack in my mind to the next machine quilting project- finishing a piece I began quilting before my shoulder incident back in April. Its been on the back burner and I've quilted only those quilts that were paid commissions to allow my shoulder time to repair itself. Its also in a way been very beneficial to allow for extended thinking time for the rest of the direction the quilting will take. No photos yet as it is an exhibition standard quilt. You will see it later on once its out into the world. In a way it is an older quilt for me because I started it years ago, its entirely hand needle turn appliqued with some intricately tiny and skinny pieces of fruit stalks and lots of curves and points, authentic patterns from old Baltimore quilts. I am completely over this sort of work now and have no desire to applique another- but I enjoyed learning about the history of the blocks and the language of the flowers and fruits from that time. I will be pleased to finish it as it is a beautiful quilt, and I am glad to have made it, even though I wouldn't choose these days to start making one! Its destined for our bed.

Next week there should be some more and VERY exciting news to report, something you will WANT to see, so check back around Thursday or Friday unless I blog again sooner. I'll leave you all to wonder in the meantime what it could possibly be (you know I love to tease!)

Happy Quilting and Sewing,
Stephanie

William meets Michelle and Helen

2011-07-30T20:51:00.000+10:00

Drumroll please, the quilting of this beauty is finished and quilt is delivered!

A very beautiful and very big quilt, created by my friend Helen M. for her daughter, as an heirloom gift using a pattern from Michelle Hill in the style of William Morris ( from her book - not sure which but since it is two years of embroidery by Helen, I am guessing her first published). Instead of appliqueing it all, as a skilled embroiderer, Helen chose to hand embroider most of the work. There are birds and flowers in a rich red velvet fused in place and then heavily embroidered around the edges. There is a staggering array of stitches in the most beautiful threads I've ever seen, some plain, many variegated. Little crystals and beads embellish birds eyes or strawberries. Some of the embroidery is quite high and adds wonderful dimension but was challenging to quilt around. We plan to exhibit this together later assuming the daughter will relinquish it at the appropriate time!

Two year of hand embroidery later, and 103 x 109 inches top size, she asked for very simple quilting to not distract from her work. I've outlined all embroidery but not in any area stitched over it by their request, and selected a wiggly line with forget me knots and a wavy line with leaves as the back fill in different areas of the quilt in blending colours of Aurifil threads.
There is a little water soluble stabilising stitching which will wash away on the first wash, and then each of the designs was outline quilted on my Bernina Aurora 440. I was asked to stitch a binding with the remaining fabric from the borders- the binding is 3/8 inch wide which will be hand finished by Helen. The backing is a caramel homespun which the daughter wanted for backing as she loves a plain backing and loves the colour. A bit of a shame in a way to use lesser quality fabric on the back of such a beautiful quilt, but as Helen said, she knew in her mind what she wanted on her quilt.

Its such a big quilt that getting photos of the whole thing in my house is actually impossible! I popped it on our bed, and tried draping over the couch, and tables, none of which show all the work remotely well at one time. I think the new owner of this quilt has a much larger bed than our Queen size as it was folded up on the bottom and under at the top!
This has been an immensely time consuming quilt because of the size and because I've had to really limit my quilting session times as my shoulder is slowly recovering, but doesn't appreciate being pushed. This meant I had to have irritatingly shorter quilting sessions, and longer gaps between sessions, which was actually quite frustrating because I want to quilt. Its my hope that if I am careful and don't have more set backs with it that within a few months I should be back to normal. Helen picked up the quilt tonight and was thrilled to bits with it. As my last quilt top I intend to take for hire, it is wonderful to go out of custom quilting in style- I plan to take only select, occasional corporate commissions for complete quilts in future and concentrate on quilting my own work rather than quilting for hire. I have one on the go at present for a small Aussie company that distribute a specialised quilt making product, design approved, fabric purchased, underway.
More on that later.

Once Helen's quilt was finished I gave some brief attention to some rather easy and practical sewing- whizzing up another pair of kids PJs in my overlocker and vintage Bernina Nova 900. Such a simple little machine really but oozes charm and a perfect stitch!

Technically, the Nova is my children's machine now, but I'm fond of her, and if they are not using her for a while then I like to exercise her to keep her supple. The kids are loving their cosy flanelette cotton pj's with winter being so cold this year, they practically live in them given the chance.

I've been remodelling an old but nice skirt I made probably pre-children I think, made from good quality corduroy that was sourced from Lincraft in the good old days. I haven't been wearing it much in the last few years partly due to not having the right footwear, but partly because it wasn't that comfortable, plus its in dire need of a new lining since the old one had shredded in places. I stitched the embroidery design out on my ageing old Husqvarna Viking Designer 1 with one of the beautiful mega hoop designs produced for that format.

I have big plans for skirts this winter and into the warmer months. I was very lucky recently to walk past my favourite shoe shop, after despairing of finding boots in there earlier in the season- to find they had for 2 days only, $100 off each pair of boots in store. They had a pair of Zieras in a style and the last of my size, that I'm sure had not been available there earlier. 5 seasons of boot hunting rewarded not only with the perfect boot 3/4 of the way to my knee, ortho capable, comfy and chic for the cost of what I usually pay for shoes!
The addition of boots to the wardrobe appears to have instigated a fever of remodelling/ renovating of favourite winter skirts. Next in line is a now zipperless, lining-less wool blend herringbone A line skirt in black and white being "renovated" with a new waist, new zipper, new lining etc) and two summer weight ones lining up for their turn for modification/ harvesting of fabric to totally remake into a new style. Leggings have joined the boots for warmth- worn with socks that no-one can see but that keep me toasty warm!

Below: Printed cotton voile, pure linen in raspberry red, and a neutral stretch drill cotton fabric with 4% spandex.

Above: On clearance rates cotton light to medium weight retro inspired cotton, Tana Lawn melon floral print (sooo not on sale) at centre front and at right clearance table looser weave lightweight cotton (for pattern testing) Shirts, dresses, skirts, a pair of trousers are all on my list after/ between refashioning skirts. I have a very small garment stash really, so any chance of a decent fabric sale piques my interest. There was 40% off at a local shop for dressmaking fabrics and also interfacing- including dressmaking fabric already on clearance. I picked through the fabrics past some truly horrible junk to swoop in on natural fibres. I normally to buy only with a specific pattern and yardage requirement in line so have minimal if any wastage- recording which fabric I intend for which pattern in my collection so when I am ready to make it up, I don't forget what I had planned it for.

This week DH and I went to see Harry Potter- Part 2 of the Deathly Hallows. Since we are fans of the books and movies, we really enjoyed seeing it. All I'll say is that if you haven't already read the series or seen the other movies, its not one you can jump into and understand, you need to watch/ read the earlier installments because the story line develops over each of the books/ movies with hints/ puzzles and links to be made throughout. Some I didn't even pick up on the first time I saw the movie or read the book. We saw the last in the series in 3D (my first 3d movie!) and it was fabulous- some spectacular effects. We haven't been to the movies in ages, so it was good fun.

My beginner patchworking students are coming along well now after today's session, and another batch of students for my fantastic Feathers workshop are in for a treat tomorrow! No wonder I feel like weekends fly by and I search for a little down time during the week. Weekends are nearly always work in the quilting industry- but thankfully Sundays are not all that common.
On Monday my quilting group is holding a ticketed event - a Soup and Sandwich fundraiser lunch with a Quilt Show and Tell and stitching on the side. We are donating proceeds to the Fred Hollow's Foundation and have sold over 50 tickets to those outside our group, so we should have a decent donation to make. No idea what soup we'll serve, not my responsibility. Tomorrow night after my quilting workshop, I'll be up to my ears prepping fillings to make piles of sandwiches, very early the next morning - enough for a very large platter.

Happy Quilting
Stephanie.

New Beginnings

2011-07-23T22:09:00.000+10:00

This week let's see what's new...

New fabric addition to the sewing room but not for long- a commission for an interstate business. I have more to add to this stash but the colours were so fresh and lovely I had to show them to you. Very fruity looking so far. Sourced from Frangipani Fabrics.
If you are overseas you might like to know they stock wonderful fabrics and also a bunch of Australian indigenous Aboriginal designs that are actually designed by Aboriginals, not companies imitating their designs for a quick profit and are fierce about this. A good thing.
Frangipani Fabrics
They have a great mail order service for overseas customers. I was in store one day and they were packing up an online order for somewhere in the Middle East, I think it was Jordan.
You might want to check out the range of yummy fabrics and keep an eye out for sales that happen from time to time- there are fabrics 50% off right now!
And yes, I teach lots of classes there, and unashamedly want to plug them, because the service is great and they stocks some of what I am into for fabric.

New also are finally, some comfy shoes. Keens.

Not going to win any fashion design award, although the stitching detail is funky.
Much nicer than stark white sandshoes. And at least I have something to wear on my feet, when I do go hunting for shoes of a prettier sort.

Tomorrow its back to the machine for quilting- I am on to the borders of the very large quilt for a customer and it is looking exactly the way she requested- so I know she'll be pleased with the finished result. Its taken what feels like an age to reach this stage with required shorter quilting sessions, more time between sessions and really watching out for joint issues in my shoulder. Slows everything down several gears. Forces me to enjoy giving extra attention my boy, who's still maturing and growing slowly larger. Naturally he laps up every ear rub and scratch he can get but retains his baby face still.

Jacket update? Its sat on my table for nearly a fortnight. Early try-ons were not encouraging. I am going to meet with a friend this week in her spare moment before shipping off overseas to gad about Europe. There'll be a little toile assessment/ fitting session and see what she thinks I need to do to improve the fit of a pattern I have already discovered errors or serious shortfall of information with. She might say start over with another pattern, lol!! Others in the ASG group I hear are also having fitting issues with patterns the wrong shape, or too small, or whatever so at least I am not alone.

Happy Quilting and Sewing,
Stephanie

Day 2- Fantastic Feathers

2011-07-20T17:13:00.000+10:00

So...Day 2 takes us to Fantastic Feathers. This workshop developed out of my own style of feathers that dribble and undulate their way, at large scale, in bold colours, across my quilt Magellanic Magic. I also teach the rounded end continuous feathers stitched freeform as well, for those who's preferences are more traditional. Something to tempt everyone.

Let's just say after warming up that it wasn't long before the results were looking spectacular with even fairly new quilters surprised I think at what they could quilt when they understood how. And its great to extend the skills of those who have been working at intermediate level before. Both are a constant source of delight to me as a teacher.

Even the most timid at quilting, but determined lady conquered beautiful sharp points and swirly tips- she refused to give in when her hands initially had other ideas of where they wanted to go. Good on her!

During class we used a variety of threads and I was tickled to see a classy old vintage Bernina 830 stitch magnificently with metallic thread in freemotion mode where some other modern machines struggled and stamped their feet at embroidery threads.
The girls left class with not only the ability to design, plan and stitch my feather design over their quilt, but a good understanding of the ways in which coloured threads of different fibres can be used to work hard in leading the eye around the quilt.
I look forward to seeing their hard work and practice paying off when they finish their quilts using my undulating feathers, but in the meantime I think these smiles sum up their satisfaction and happiness levels nicely!

On the way home, first there was pretty coastline, then to spectacular snow covered mountain views of the Great Western Tiers and farmland. All photos are taken whilst moving from the bus- one bonus to bus travel is that you sit much higher off the road so the view is better. Some were taken from the far side of the bus between seats. Even on what wasn't the nicest of days, its still beautiful.

Farmland's lush pastures contrasted with the old fashioned buildings in townships along the way, and the rivers that wind their way through Turner's Beach, Devonport, and Deloraine.

In Deloraine at one stop a monument to a race horse called Malua stands outside the Folk Museum,

Snowy peaks in the background. And look at the clothing of the day in which Deloraine was settled.

How do you think they fit skirts like that through doorways like this??? Maybe the corseted waists help!

(last image zoomed)
I've blogged the trip from Westbury to Hobart before so only bothered with the leg from Ulverstone to around Deloraine. I think Tasmania is very chocolate boxey with picturesque scenery almost anywhere you point a camera- no wonder so many tourists visit.
And so I am home again, working at the machine after a very satisfying weekend. I so love my job!

Cheers,
Stephanie

Quilting in Ulverstone

2011-07-19T15:35:00.001+10:00

Home again after weekend teaching two machine quilting workshops arranged by Lynne from Cranberry Crafts in Ulverstone, north west Tasmania. There is much to share with many photos, so I will break it up over two blog post. First installment finds me travelling up to Ulverstone and Day 1- intermediate to advanced fills and trapunto workshop.

Cranberry Crafts is filled with fabric, books, wool, ribbons, embroidery supplies and lace making as well as the usual tools for crafting needleworks of many kinds. Its a rainbow of colour and was busy when I arrived with ladies trawling the store for fabric or supplies. Hot tea was immediately procured and fabric fondling began- nice!!! Scheduled were a fantastic two days of quiting some intermediate to advanced fills with my Trapunto technique on the side- a choice of my hand drawn dragonfly or floral design, and feathering in two styles- my undulating free form feathers that developed first in the quilting of Magellanic Dreaming and then were extended into Magellanic Magic as well as the more traditional curved ended continuous feathers.

Lynne had booked a local private school for the workshop-two double classrooms- bliss! We spread ourselves out in total climate controlled comfort, and made a little cafe corner fully stocked with proper rations of hot drinks and nibbles.

Lynne had me rolling on the floor laughing the night before class, when she started dismantling the machine and table of her long arm to take to class! She was seen casually carrying and stacking it onto the back of her ute- lifting some seriously heavy weight. Proof gym membership must have its benefits. What a champ!

Here she sits, smugly working away at her nice little portable sewing machine!!! A couple of students shared its use along with my machine when one turned up without the right attachment for her machine and the other suffered a foot pedal that fell apart into pieces in her hand!
Because I was using a bus service for this class, transporting a machine in public transport can be risky, even it its original box and styro packaging. I was kindly loaned one of the store's sewing machines- one of her two Bernina 440's- and a horn portable sewing table. Wonderful set up for class-and useful for student use as well, thanks Lynne!
Here are some of the girls concentrating hard at work:.

Pam pulled out one of her quilts made for a family member who is into unicorns. She had machine embroidered beautiful mane, tail and fetlocks and had some fun with bargello as well. More quilting may be added yet. Photo with Pam's permission of course. Notice how her hair matches her quilt?

The girls really extending their skills and now having many more patterns and fills to play with, and a nifty way to add terrific volume to their quilting motifs. Lots of enthusiasm to match!
Here are just a few of the patterns I freeform quilt into my own quilts and teach. Even though this class was aimed at intermediate to advanced quilters, there were a few eager beginners who had done little freemotion quilting but had enrolled in class. This actually made it harder for them than the class needed to be, because their skills were in their infancy, but they have lots of exciting designs to move into as their skills develop. They worked where they were comfortable with the easier designs and took their time. This is something I do see happen now and then, as it is sometimes hard for people to objectively categorise themselves by their skill level. Bear in mind some of this work was achieved by VERY new quilters and these are some of the intermediate level fills.
The trapunto component of class was great fun with many ah-ha moments.
Students had a great time as many are already good friends- look at these two, their smiles summarise the day nicely!

It was a super busy workshop and I realised at the end that I'd forgotten to take photos of all the students- with their samples. Lynne may have more soon to be seen on her blog. They worked on my dragonfly and a flower design sourced from my own drawings inspired by my garden and photos. Girls, this is the red flower your design came from with artistic license applied! An online friend tells me it is a Jacobean Lily- it pops up every autumn/ winter and is a bulb or tuber of some sort I think. I love the colour, don't you?

Actually getting to class at the other end of the state involved squeezing as much as possible into a large suitcase and back pack, then sitting squished up on a bus sardine fashion, for well over 5 hours each way, with a short break half way- next time I'll definitely have my own vechile and drive!! Suitcases limit the quilts I can pack along with supplies. Onboard entertainment? music, reading and some lovely crochet- began with two rows of a scarf made from alpaca, merino wool and acrlyic in the puff stitch that I learned the night before I set out, here at DROPS design. Its nearly finished now.

The travel was so worth it though, to meet and teach lovely keen ladies, as there are students who cannot or chose not to travel to other parts of the state for my workshops. With demand in the future months to come assuming I am still in Tas, there is a chance others could enjoy my workshops- talk to Lynne and express an interest if you missed out this time.
Naturally, I couldn't leave town without re-investing some funds into the local economy. My light neutrals are really low so I happily re-stocked some, added a couple of civil war prints, and one luscious purple/ blue print and an indigo print. A much needed Accucut Go die rack followed me home as well. I could easily have reinvested all my earnings in fabric (who needs bills, they do get in the way of more important gfun things, unfortunately!) as Lynne has a beautiful range of fabrics. There was even a half price sale on some FQ's!

Ulverstone itself is a coastal country town surrounded by lush pasture with rich red soil- dairy farming territory largely. There is an imposing war memorial with a clock- the top lights up at night to a glowing red. Around the corner from my host's business and home were a collection of yummy delis and the general shops you find in small towns. Lovely old architecture.
. I was tickled to see patchwork designs inlaid into the tiles with each store number added on a metal plaque.

Views from Lynne's home were straight over roofs to the sea, or to the opposite corner The Lighthouse restaurant- named because of its shape. I was treated to homemade food and nice wines all weekend- by her husband who is a keen cook. Highlights being 'roo burgers on a bed of sweet potatoe, feta and baby spinach mash. What other country eats their national emblem?! Overseas readers might be shocked- but before you send off comments of dismay, since they are generally known to be furry and cute, you should know that wallaby is absolutely delicious, inexpensive, low fat and healthy- and the varieties that are sold by supermarkets or butchers are not endangered species. Infact they can be in plague proportions in some areas and are able to be farmed. I'll add this was not the first time I've eaten wallaby and nor I hope will it be the last.We had home made pizzas with their home grown chillis for added heat, tandoori chicken, all washed down with good wines. I highly recommend Lynne and her husband as hosts!!
Enjoyed some beautiful sunset and sun rises with water views.

Check back in a day or two for the second installment on the feathers workshop- some very beautiful work to share!

Happy Quilting
Stephanie

Mock Turtle and pattern tricks

2011-07-08T20:37:00.001+10:00

Winter is definitely here with chilly days and nights- we even have a good amount of snow, rain, wind- even snow falling around the house the other day. Bella turns to the warmest places she can find- and at night her preference is for Daddy's lap. Never Mummy's at night, which she prefers only in the mornings and is also good for day time cuddling sessions. When she can drag me away from quilting at the machine with her winning ways.

Our winter mornings, on the plus side, sometimes brings beautiful fog that spreads its way up and down the river, stretching its foggy tendrils up into the valleys between hills. Early morning, its beautiful with the sun rising. Naturally I cannot resist snapping a photo, with scenery like this.
If the weather isn't disgusting, we've had a few lovely sunsets too, almost as a reward after a hard day's work. Such glorious colours.
Its been an industriously busy week with nose to the quilting- the very large quilt is coming along well and I'm in the home straight finally- some sashing and outer borders to do plus a binding job...its been a long job and is looking lovely.

On a day off last weekend I sewed a double knit cotton fabric in a beautiful Cerise pure cotton- about $15 a metre at the local chain store- the only shop in my city that sells dressmaking fabric giving me no choice unless I want to mail order. I was sucked in by its colour It had been flawed quite badly as well as stretched at a regular interval on the side of the bolt, so the store manager admitted its defective state and sold it to me, twice the yardage I needed at 50% off, so that I would have enough to cut the garment from the undamaged areas at no additional cost. This worked out well as I'd added a little extra for shrinkage and to lengthen the top from the previous version- I probably have about 60cm left back in the stash.

The pattern was a remake of Kwik Sew 2900, that I'd previously made Very unusually for me it was near to perfect fit really, for its style. Here was the first version:

This time, I opted for mock turtleneck version though, for warmth. I lengthened the front and back pieces by 2 1/4 inches so that it won't come untucked, even when crawling around under tables to plug in power boards, retrieve pins or hunt down escaping bobbins. I also lowered the sleeves by a quarter inch this time so that my sleeves aren't gobbled up by the winter woollies, never to be found again.

I plan to wear it mostly as a layer under warm wool jumpers for winter, but I also like tops with some length on them-so might be nice to have a summer version with length on it as well. I never get this sort of length in RTW because my torso is longer than average- coupled with the fact that every knit top I buy tends to shrink in length after the first wash- its one reason I love to sew knit tops. What I like least is how over sized the shoulders are in this to, in this fabric, but oh well....just goes to show I should probably check the stretch factor on the pattern gauge after washing in addition to doing it at the store.

I'm sure this has stretched in laundering and drying twice over, as the fit is actually a good deal looser than the first version I made a fortnight or so ago. I noticed it most across the shoulders which were on the loose fitting side the first time around and are now enormous! It'll be fine under a jacket or jumper for warmth but the fabric failed to impress in other ways. Although, it is pretty- more fuchsia than the melon tinge it presents here..

Next garment for fun? I am preparing to make a toile of Simplicity 2446- well I will, be when I've cut out the million pattern pieces required for the jacket. I have to do it soon too, because a friend is going to check the fit and help me learn to make any alterations it needs before she ships off overseas on a European tour. Gotta make the most of her whilst I can. I shall try to remember I am doing this for fun and to learn, when cutting out those tedious and numerous pieces.

Nice princess seaming should hopefully give me half a chance of getting a decent fit, with the help of my fitting friends!
Here we were then, having cut out all the pieces-under the watchful eyes of Chaucer as ever- why do those whiskers perk up at the slightest sign of dressmaking patterns? He finds the rustle irresistible and loves to try to help by inserting his claws into said pattern pieces, and sitting on them, in case they should accidentally fall off the bench. His whiskers are however quite magnificent, so he always seems very pleased with them!

There was for this pattern, a lucky escape involving some online friends, a PR review, a rubbish bin around meal time and some dumpster digging for an erroneously labelled pattern piece (by the pattern co)- and the realisation that its always a good idea to read the instructions, at least twice, before cutting anything. Paper included. The pattern co. mislabelled the pattern piece for A and C bust side front pieces, and then it turned out I needed the A that was in the bin (which was really the C piece) and then, that infact I needed the B not the C. Confused? I was! The pattern pieces aren't measured in the same way as lingerie-so its not just a matter of picking the same size pattern piece as you do for lingerie.
Aaah well, the joys of garment sewing. Always learning something...

Pinning the pattern together enough to try it on revealed how ridiculously short bodiced the pattern is, I added a whole extra 2 1/4 inches to the bodice length to get the waistline to sit more or less in the right place. Slash, spread, insert paper, tape up. This is fun, right???? (or not- since its a princess seamed jacket, there are two pieces each for front and back, plus front facing = many pieces to adjust. We are just beginning)
I hope to cut out the toile and start the toile sewing on Sunday after a full Saturday with friends- visiting from Sydney. Then the rest will go slowly as its part of an ASG series of jacket tailoring workshops month after month.

I don't expect I'll have the patience to work solely on the jacket in small bites between sessions of workshops, and since I have cotton flannel and a pattern, I cut out another pair of kid's PJ's with a second to cut and then overlock them both for my boys- growing like weeds as usual!
Then I think maybe it will be a pretty blouse for me, or another shirt. In voile or cotton. A little palette cleanser after a few wintery garments. Not that I'll be able to wear it with howling wind, heavy rain and snow on the mountain right now, but my plan- albeit well intended- is to try to get some summery clothes made ahead of when I need them. And in summer, maybe try to sew for the autumn and winter. Trying to be organised...Lets see how that works out in time, lol!! I enjoy the change of scale, technique and pace of sewing clothing from quilting.

Tomorrow brings soccer for the kids early on, making pizza from scratch with proper yeast baste and scrummy toppings, with good friends visiting for lunch who we see maybe once or twice a year, if we're lucky. And my Sunday plan of toiling away- a great weekend ahead in a rare, class free weekend.
The rest of the week will be frenetic with work cumulating with a long bus ride, a weekend of quilting workshops in Ulverstone, and another long bus ride home again. I look forward to sharing more of the weekend's activities when I get home and will try to take some photos if there's time.

Happy Quilting and sewing,
Stephanie

Quarter inching and Ulverstone workshop

2011-07-01T19:18:00.002+10:00

Quarter inching my way through the week- I am quilting a customer's quilt which is 103 x 109 inches in size with my Bernina Aurora 440. All the embroidery on the quilt needs quarter inch outlining when freemotion quilting, and inside the larger areas of the embroidered blocks as well. My # 9 foot is so great for this because from the centre needle position to the side is a quarter inch. FMQ around long, sweeping curves and curvy points on a large quilt isn't an easy thing, if you've ever tried it, and the foot makes things easier because I have to eyeball not the needle and ahead of the line of stitching, but just keep keep the edge of my little round footed friend on the embroidery! Because it is round every edge is a quarter inch from centre needle position, unlike the oval feet that is commonly found or the square sort. Even still, its tricky where you have work like above, with uneven edges and textured stitches? Where to quilt? I go for an overall smooth curve that isnt' too far from the boldest line, because there is a bid difference in the length of the stitches- deliberate by the embroider, but tricky for the quilter. No quilting over embroidery allowed.
My progress in the quilting has been good and the outlining is all done. Next week I move onto freeform fill patterns behind my outlining and in other areas of the quilt, which will not only be a good deal easier, it will be faster as well. There is still much ground to cover but the hardest part is done. Yay!
I am looking forward to letting my baby rip at higher speeds after the painstakingly slow outline work. Like a sports car, she likes to get out on the open road and stretch her legs when she can!

Now an announcement -for the quilters planning or thinking about attending my workshops in Ulverstone on the 16 and 17th July:

Girls, the workshops are RAPIDLY filling- if not already full by now. There were only a couple of spare places in both classes remaining a few days ago. There is a choice of intermediate to advanced fills with trapunto, and Fantastic Feathers. Call Lynne to book your place into these specialty quilting workshops asap, if there are any remaining! Both are suited to those who have already established some skill in FMQ- and are ready to extend their skills to a new level. These are not learn to quilt beginner classes. I am really looking forward to bringing my unique workshops to the North West and South West of the state and travelling up with a suitcase with eye candy quilts to inspire!

I know there are many from small quilting groups who have been keen to have a workshop with me previously but who were unable to manage to get me up there earlier, so don't miss these workshops- here's your chance to learn in what will be an action packed and fun weekend of quilting, arranged by Lynne from Cranberry Crafts.

(Designs Copyright Stephanie Newman- Do not copy or reproduce in any way).

To prepare, once you are enrolled, you should receive from Lynne a requirements list. Please read it thoroughly and don't forget it is very important that you completely clean out your sewing machine and oil if required- we will be stitching away all weekend and you don't want problems as a result of lack of maintenance ruining your quilty weekend! Be sure your machine is in great working order- if it isn't, there might still be time to twist your local mechanic's arm for a good service in time for its return before class or borrow a machine from someone and be sure you are familiar with it before you come to class.

Its a small thing, but if you are travelling any distance, please double check when packing for class, that you have all the machine accessories such as foot controls, feet, extension table etc you need for your machine- you don't want to find yourself way to class before you realise you forgot the foot control!

If you have a choice of machines, please bring your most reliable machine in good order with an extension table- or bring a stack of books the same height as your sm and some slippery plastic table cloth vinyl to rig up a substitute for an extension table if you do not own or cannot borrow one. You will definitely need some sort of support beyond the freearm or small accessory slide on box on the machine. Please when packing your gear, check you have the supplies needed. Bear in mind I will have a range of great goodies available for you to purchase if necessary- thread particularly including a great water soluble that is harder to source- lovely needles, and some other wonderful products specific to machine quilting. Its cash only, no credit card or eftpos facilities, sorry. I have a range of high quality products that in my experience are harder to source locally. It'll be first in, best dressed!

Please prepare ahead of schedule the quilt sandwiches as indicated on the req. list by basting with safety pins (or spray baste if you like it), but don't baste the small one required for trapunto. Just leave the sample's layers loose.

You may wish to label some items like your scissors with your name, to avoid confusion in class.

I am really looking forward to the weekend of quilting workshops- lets get quilting!

Now, back to some fun sewing at home...
This week I helped out making a block for the Snuggly Bug Rug project, that makes quilts at very short notice for very sick kids having treatment for a range of nasty conditions which are in some cases terminal.
Its co-ordinated by Helen Stubbings and you can register to help out by signing up on her site- an email request goes out and you can volunteer if you would like at any time to do a variety of jobs. You do not have to be involved every time because there are many involved to share the workload.
Snuggly Bug Rug

This block is for a little boy who likes Collingwood football club. I don't follow football, so I didn't know what to include in the block until a little research revealed the club mascot is a sleek Aussie Magpie.And of course you can't just rip off the club logo or mascot images due to copyright. Instead, I drew a cartoonised magpie to make him somewhat rounder, gave him a cheeky expression and of course magpie is wishing the recipient to get well soon. I started with a quick drawing about the right size to put on-point into the block...
and then transferred the main lines to the fabric by tracing through- using a Pigma pen to draw and add more detail and shading. He's quite cute!
The whole thing not including drawing time was less than 30 mins to cut, sew and seal in the envelope to send to the next person who assembles the top. A small thing to do- and easy- why not join the volunteers who try to do something to improve the quality of life of the sick kids?

I've also been quarter inching my way through more piecing of Ocean Sands in personal time- it really is nice to have something so simple now and then to piece. I decided after finding a few stray blocks and extra bits to add a whole extra row on both sides of the quilt and am considering border options. Here it is sans borders, on my bed.
Like?? DH certainly does and I've always been fond of the beach having grown up on a small island. I am sure I get twitchy if I can't see water or get to it relatively easily. Better yet I am happiest if I can smell the fresh salt air of sea or ocean, but a lake will do if I get desperate! Maybe this is something that all island born and raised people find? This quilt reminds me of all those things somehow.

The weekend holds promise of fun, work and textiles. I plan to cut Kwik Sew 2900 from a Cerise cotton interlock- more to come on that shortly...Maybe to make a start on overlocking it.
I also want to play with a nice little recent addition to my accessories, picked up for a mere $5, quite the discount from its original price.It came from someone who was selling off excess stock from a dealership they had closed a while ago interstate.
And yes, its authentic.
This foot is a 7 groove pintuck foot, incase you're wondering. I've had one on my wish list for a while as there is some lovely fine voile in my stash telling me it wants pintucks, so it'll be nice to be able to do so on my Bernina... and lovely that they are beautifully made still in Switzerland, in a time when other companies have sold out to the cheapests bidder.
Our weekend is as usual full one way or another-Sunday promises a party to attend, and a workshop on Machine Quilting to teach at Frangipani Fabrics. Squeeze in a game of soccer on Saturday for the kids and maybe some dressmaking for fun, and another busy weekend it is.

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Mixed bag

2011-06-26T21:01:00.000+10:00

Its a mixed bag this week- couple of great classes on machine quilting this week- one of my most favourite workshops to teach. One night class and a afternoon session with more to follow next week.
The night class makes me especially grateful for the lighting on my swanky sleek girl, the B380- 8 LED lights and lookie how bright the lighting is! It rocks.

Here I was at home a week or so ago, pottering one late afternoon when it was dark (as its winter in Australia), whipping some strips for a kids quilt through the machine. Our kitchen has lighting issues which require an electrician to come and sort out- actually we really need new lighting fixtures and some new wiring- and you guessed it- it'll be pricey. More than half the lights don't work as their transformers are totally blown-so good lighting on my machine is especially handy.

And what is the kids quilt I"m making? Well its a new vegetative sewing project since the last is nearly done, with additional blocks sewn, waiting to attach to the sides of Ocean Sands. Its what I do in my down time for fun and the result of an overly full shoe box of 1 1/2 in strips- quick, do something before they breed! I've been hard at work on a customer's quilt this week that is no-reveal atm- I need to get her permission to show online some of what I am up to but we are planning to exhibit the quilt together at a later date so it won't be a full reveal by any means.
In my own time I've been playing with my Go cutting unit and am in love with it. I have plans in the pipeline concerning the Go and they're all good! The patches it produces are so accurate its shocking. Everything fits so beautifully with no effort from me on the cutting front, no hand strain, no sore shoulder (even better since the shoulder was injured some months ago and still isn't right after re-irritating it by accident), and its fast! Those are the long, skinny, bias sided triangles - see how beautifully they fit together? LOVE it!

There are some plans to make a cute little quilt or two depending on how far these strips go... if each becomes the centre of a quilt then both my kids will score new bed quilts. Made from some really old scraps and some that are newer. I found one of the first fabrics I ever bought in that shoe box! The lights are nearly all used up from the shoebox and the mediums and darks are at least half gone or more. I've also been cleaning up the scrap basket and its at least half empty with pieces pressed ready for Go cutting, and more precut strips cut before the shoulder incident ready for action. I needed to do a little more cutting of strips into subunits, and it wasn't pretty even with the use of the Rule Steady- I regretted not having stopped after about 5 minutes of cutting last night and today...but at least a bunch of cutting is done and I can largely do the rest in the Go from my scrappy bits. With the shoulder that works.

Having good ergonomic set up at the machine has never been more important for me for piecing or for quilting. I can quilt now when I struggle with rotary cutting, probably because of my set-up and because I don't use the grip-of-death I've seen some quilters struggle with when quilting, that then complain their arms and shoulders are sore. I have a light grip on the quilt when quilting, so I am good!!

I thought you might like an insight into things we learned in class this week- not all sm are designed for quilting! Some are perfectly ok for light hobby sewing, such as occasional mending where they have only to sew through a couple of layers at a time and do not require much by way of different functions. Some have lightweight bodies that bounce across the table with their owners chasing after them! Inside there would be a super light weight and tiny motor driving the machine which would probably blow up with hours of repeated use day in, day out. Some don't have sufficient clearance under the freemotion quilting foot for a quilt. Some have problems forming a neat stitch in FMQ mode. Others jam up the moment you ask them to stitch in freemotion mode. Some can't adjust their stitch length or width beyond basic preset functions or are overly fussy with thread. Some have thread cutters that don't work properly and jam the machine up with each use. All of these things can be a problem for someone who wants to quilt. Once you understand that quilting free motion is a demanding thing for a machine to do because of the nature of the technique- far more so than say the demands of dressmaking, adding to that the layers most quilters tuck into their machines, the trickiest part in finding your perfect quilting partner is working out what functions you are best to have and more importantly perhaps, what to avoid.

Today one machine presented the most set up issues I've ever seen. The foot attached properly but was so tightly clamped onto the cover for the feed dogs there was no chance of getting a quilt under there and moving it around! I whipped the foot off and wrapped a rubber band in a key place onto the foot to effectively lift up the base of the foot to gain a few valuable millimetres.. It has worked in the past on some other breeds of machines with success. Not today. The problem was a little plastic feed dog cover that added considerable height over the top of the feed dogs. When the foot bounced it essentially didn't move off the plastic stitch plate cover! I thought, "lets remove the stitch plate completely, leave the feed dogs up and set the stitch length to zero. Then there's more room for the quilt and she should be able to at least quilt without the feed dogs moving around".
So, the stitch plate cover is off and there's enough clearance now, but wait....there is no zero stitch length option. What the????? What manufacturer would do that by design?
The machine does not come with fully adjustable stitch length and not at all for width! A little dial presents only with a choice of maybe four different stitch lengths for straight stitch- supposedly you choose from those to cover all situations. I think the shortest stitch length was about 2! The perfect example of a machine that was never designed to quilt and incredibly frustrating for its owner. She stitched away with the shortest stitch length with the darning foot on, determined to succeed- all the time planning how to find her way into a quilting capable machine in the following months! I think has her eye on the 3 Series but she'll do her homework and see which machine is right for her.

I've often been asked by students what features should someone look for in a serious quilting machine and here is my list of must haves:

Vertically positioned bobbin in separate bobbin case with perfect tension adjustments on a range of threads to deliver a perfect stitch in FMQ. Not top loader. An with a bobbin that is a decent capacity made of well engineered metal so it doesn't warp with time.
A perfect straight stitch and ability to accept a range of thicknesses and fibre types without throwing a hissy fit, skipping stitches, constantly setting off alert sensors and stopping the machine mid-quilting, jamming or other tantrum type behaviours. Great machines accept a wide range of thread fibres and weights.
Knee Lift for hands free pivoting, raising the foot on demand and positioning the quilt
Great lighting with no shadows
Feed dog drop function in preference to any machine with a separate stitch plate cover, the stitch plate should be at the same level as the freearm, not raised.
A nice beefy motor that can handle running at high speeds for hours on end without having a meltdown!
Good sized foot pedal that the foot can rest on whilst in use- not short little ones that force the foot to flex unnaturally to use. Rubber on the base so it doesn't slide around on the floor is nice, but it HAS to be responsive, capable of producing slow speeds and high with everything in between without hiccups, stalling or missing a few gears along the way.
Needle up/Down controlled by the foot pedal or that is preprogrammable, so the needle stops in the down position without reaching for a button each time this is required, or turning the hand wheel.
Fully Adjustable length and width settings for stitches including down to zero.
Separate bobbin winder without having to unthread the machine to refill a bobbin
Temporary altered or permanent memory is sweet to have.
A solid extension table that slides on or has separate height adjustable feet- for transporting to class or sewing when machine is outside of a cabinet or table
Brand specific feet that were designed to use with the machine model perfectly, with a choice of different shaped darning feet for different battings and techniques
Easy change over of feet and presser feet that never wobble in use
Vitally, a machine with a stitch plate that can be popped off with well placed pressure from the fingertip- no screwdrivers required and definitely no screws involved! You want and need fast and easy access for frequent clean-outs when quilting

Those are the biggies for me- there are other features that are nice to have, and some that you might be prepared to trade off on a lighter weight class or travel machine. but for my everyday workhorse, quilt all day type of machine, that's what I prefer. They're all on my Aurora 440 and all but a big beefy motor is in my 380 (hers is slightly smaller since the machine is a compact, smaller machine but is certainly beefy enough) . You'll see a large harp isn't on the list, because its not necessary to machine quilt well. You can quilt up to King Size on a domestic Bernina. The middle might not be much fun, and sure, more space might be nice and make it easier- but its not essential. A thread cutter to cut the threads underneath is just gravy- and in my experience many of the machines that offer that function over other brands can tend to jam or not cut the thread properly first time an can be more trouble than they're worth.

So, its more machine quilting for me in the following week. When I'm done eventually with the customer's work, it will be into my own.
Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Weekend trip

2011-06-19T19:33:00.000+10:00

On Thursday the choice between a large pile of washing and trialling a pattern was simple-its always more fun and often faster, to sew than do laundry! We were planning a weekend away, and I realised I needed a few days worth of clean clothes. Hmmm, I need to sack the house elf for neglecting laundry duties, the laundry mountain had grown out of all proportion and there wasn't time to get much dry. Not good. the worst of it is I knew it would be waiting for us on our return.
I was both in the mood for a nice quick garment and in dire need of clean clothes, so I test sewed Kwik Sew 2900 and had GREAT results for a commercial pattern. Shortened the sleeves by an inch and the shoulder seam is a little wider than it could be ideally, but hey, its more than wearable and doesn't pull across the bust as many tops do on me. Result!! Next time I'll make it a little longer though, and maybe the mock turtleneck version for winter.
I used the poly cotton double knit jersey I'd scored at a give away at my local ASG group last month.
Out of curiosity I wanted to try sewing it on m Bernina 380 to see how she handled a whole knit garment- except for the hems that I just love to coverstitch when I work on knits- or use a rolled hem on the overlocker. I'm never happy with other hemming choices in knits.
For the rest of the construction, I used the number 17 stitch and overlock Foot #2, to prevent the edge from curling around and rolling onto itself during stitching. Lovely flat seams and great results! Slower? Yes of course, compared to an overlocker - nothing compares to that- but the results were great. The top had its first outing at my Guild's quarterly meeting in Launceston on Saturday and is comfortable to wear.

Road trip time! We arrived at my parent's home a few hours before they returned from a meeting and settled ourselves in - I set up one of Mum's machines and finished piecing the no-brainer project I started at my quilting group's Retreat in October last year- a project from Quiltville called Blue Ridge Beauty- although I reversed the dark/ light layout.

It reminds me of the Ocean and Sand and so will be named Ocean Sands- because our Retreat location is near the mouth of a River and the Ocean. It reminds me of the lovely surroundings there, especially the colours of our surroundings. Quilt top is together, but I think I want to make it larger so will continue a little while longer in my spare sewing time. Its so nice to not have to think sometimes, and make something really easy!

The guild meeting was good fun, the show and tell with a marine/ nautical theme produced some nice items from panels incorporated into larger quilts, to fish, to Mariner's Compasses and Antarctic themed quilts of mine, and another lady's as well.. There were other general show and tell items, some finished pieces from AQC workshops earlier in the year, some of the Guild's donations to palliative care units across the state, quilts made for upcoming weddings...the usual mixed bag of interesting eye candy. I was there working my trade table and catching up with friends as they wandered by. Fun day!

in Westbury, Mum and Dad's garden is in rest mode, with little colour or activity. Their vegie patch is stripped out- with only really silverbeet to show for itself, a colourful little camellia in a sunny sheltered spot, and a few polyanthus.

The beginnings of daffodils and tulips are popping up in pots or in the ground, with some early Erlicheer making the best progress of any.
The garden was more about leafy textures at this time of year when its cold, but this didn't stop the kids from having a good game of back yard cricket in the paddock near the orchard! This little frog we found wisely sheltering under his own lily pad anticipating the rain that settled in that evening.
He had been one of my Nana's favourite garden ornaments and now lives in Mum's garden- he is quite sweet.
We drove home on Sunday stopping at Campbell Town for a quick rest stop and hot chocolate- I snapped this early 1800's Church is probably dated around 1821 if it was built at the beginning of the town's development as so often churches were.
I have yet to find out what this red building is but is newer, maybe by 100 years?

The house across the green is old as well and belonged to the Doctor of the town that came out from England to work in the hospital in the area but is now privately owned. I am not sure when it was built but is is elegant and very large- not all within shot.
The drive was unfortunately mostly rather soggy, through mist, fog, drizzle and rain that miraculously cleared immediately we hit Oatlands-by which point in time my camera battery was sluggishly unresponsive, in want of recharging. I think we were lucky, it was supposed to get much worse in the afternoon!
I've always liked this building, almost in the middle of no-where really. I can't help but imagine it would be lovely to take over and transform into a quilting retreat/store/ teaching space, if it were not so far from everything! I'd want to transplant it to another location completely for that!

The view is completely lost in the fog but it had an strangely eerie appeal with the stark trees melting into the fog- quite pretty in places.
This is a sweet little Gazebo near Kempton.
Earlier in the year this area was dripping with poppies grown for the pharmaceutical industry.
In case you think this all looks too European- much of Tasmania looks very English, and many of the plants here are European, here's abit of Aussie iconic imagery for you! There are plenty of these in other places, just not where I could get a good photo whilst whizzing by on the highway.

Tomorrow its my home based quilting group's meeting- one of our members is hosting, and its her birthday so there is sure to be extra good cake on hand. The children return to school and so it will be easier to get into some serious work during the day- I won't be with my quilting friends for long as there's more to do than I can poke a stick at-aah well.... I am quilting a customer's quilt that is very large,with some slow quilting to do- along with some more simple fills in other areas- and have another article due in a day or two that I am in photography mode for the article is mostly written and needs only a cut and polish. Lots of quilting to come in the following days.

Happy Quilting,
Stephanie

Quickie?

2011-06-15T19:08:00.000+10:00

After last week's frantic work week I'm thinking its time to squeeze in a nice quickie garment. But which? Whilst fabric is preshrinking in my tumble dryer, which is as old as I am, but hasn't had much use and was a gift from my parents. Its so old, I need to hand turn the barrel inside to loose things up between uses, and then after firing up she gets herself organised and begins to tumble and dry very well. The only down side is she's not very large- but I can do some yardage and its big enough for a few towels. She looks like a relic though, lol! All metal except for the trim and the door window, and filter- bet today's tumble driers don't last so long.
I'm drying fabric is that was snaffled at an ASG meeting giveaway from someone's estate. Some poly cotton in a graphic print in blues and greens on off white blogged about back here I wouldn't want to wear that fabric in summer- I am not big on poly content in clothes when its warm, but it will be fine for Autumn and winter.
Simplicity 2344 had been my intended pattern, until I remembered that the stretch guide needs a stretchier fabric than mine is to fit properly. I never mess with the stretch gauges!
I might use Kwik Sew 2900
Picture Here
as I've wanted to try it for a while, maybe the mock turtle neck as the weather is cold. I was out today and our car said it was 5 degrees- Celsius! But, there are a couple of other options too lurking in the stash of patterns. My overlocker is now back home, after having the needle plate near the lower looper adjusted, good as new!
I've really missed her and am happy to have her back home again.There will be some flannel cotton PJ's for the DH and kids to come soon too- just in case you thought I was a selfish sewer, lol!

Today I picked this up after much hunting in the stands, the very last copy- and am, so far, showing GREAT will power not to open it and read. Not even going to look at pictures as I want them all as fresh eye candy. Beautiful dress on the front cover, if you are a stick insect with a nice flat tummy- sooo not me, lol! Weekend holds a road trip for me, so I need some distraction- not driving so I can get my nose into something juicy, between enjoying the countryside. So great not to be driving myself and relax and enjoy the trip.
Its a bit of a treat for me to buy Threads magazine, as they're abit expensive at $15.95 out here, when I see they are only $6.99 in the US. Oh yes, you Americans have it soooo good with magazines, its rare to get anything worth reading for less than $9.95 and some magazine stretch to $27 a copy! And with fabric and notions its a very similar story.

Hatching some exciting stuff in new designs in my computer/ sewing room for quilty items, but not things I can share. But just in case you think you haven't seen a new quilt for a while, they're being made, just not revealed yet. Wait. Its bee a huge year for me with project publications and articles so far, and more are in the pipeline yet to come. We're not at the halfway point of the year yet and I am already writing stuff for January next year- such is the fun of the publishing world.
Not all have been quilt tops or projects I started and finished this year, some have been sitting finished for a while or awaiting quilting, so it feels good to get them aired and out there, as patterns for others to make and enjoy, too. I get quite a few emails dribbling in with someone excited to be starting making their own version of one of my designs and I can't wait until I start to get photos of finished items arriving in my inbox!

In the relaxation sewing front, I've been casually playing with an idea for the 1 1/2 inch finished square Go! die and making a few blocks casually from scraps. They sew up so easily not least because they're squares, but because they are exactly the same size. EXACTLY. So much faster to Go cut my scraps, than four cuts per scrap with a rotary blade and ruler! I've made so far enough to see my original plan needs tweaking and finding the answer of how best to do that- and add a surprising twist at the same time, bound to be a project later on.

I cannot say how clever this cutting equipment is, and how wonderful it makes cutting masses of the same shapes, with more dies being released at a regular intervals- I'm very pleased to have it in my studio!

By night, I am piecing a little by hand- I have over one long row of my Canyon Stars quilt pieced together. . Plenty more of that waiting for me! I am loving the rich warmth of the earth colours playing nicely with the apple greens and cool blues.

Now I need to go and dig out some marine themed quilts- Guild's Show and Tell on Saturday. Let's see what I can find...

Happy Sewing,
Stephanie

Birthday Fun

2011-06-12T18:11:00.000+10:00

Fun day with kid's party- beginning with pre-breakfast decorating of cake which DH obligingly made and has learned to wield the icing piping ball. I think he could easily be employed in the rocket engineering, cake department of Nasa! All his own conception and baking, this year I got to sit back (aka was working) and step in only at smarties placement time. I LOVE his rocket engines with their foiled heat shield!
Here they are about to blow out the candle, rocket boosters flaming! (off the end of the plastic covered table)

Look at those smiles!

After a hectic work week working all hours of the day and night, it was fun to hang at a park for a few hours and watch kids play together, chat to their parents, feed the masses and party, 8 year old style. .
We decided this year to buy a Pinata which we filled with sweets and novelty toys enough for handfuls each- it proved almost impossible to whack open with one of my garden stakes- solid cardboard with paper decoration.
We gave up the blindfolded traditional game rules...
after exceptionally tough outer casing proved impossible to crack, moving straight to taking turns yielding well placed whacks which caused great hilarity with a feeding frenzy when they cracked it finally! We got the kids to fill bags up and then I redistributed all fairly to give them goodies to take home after the party.

We'd hired a little hall at the park with a stove and basic facilities, so we could heat up some savory food we'd prepared or bought. DH had cooked some great homeade pizza, oatmeal/ choc chip cookies, savory nibbles, and family members contributed cake, and sandwiches, Lots we made yesterday but things like chopping up a fresh fruit platter, and cake icing we did this morning. One of the nicest things from parties is leftovers, a good thing since the party continues at home tomorrow for some family and close friends on our children's actual birthday. Why have one party when you can get two? It was too easy really, organise their friends to turn up, feed them all, and let them entertain themselves largely in the park with their favourite games. In glorious sunshine, despite the earlier torrential rain of the week.
I'm sure it was yesterday they were born 5 week premature, weighing less than a decent bag of sugar each! Thomas seen above, with the blindfold on, weighed in at only 1.86kg and Hamish was 2.41kg- together their birth weights made for a decent, plump baby, if there had been only one!

Our fun day ended with a beautiful pink sunset- apparently all air flights from my city are grounded due to a Chilean volcanic eruption- our MIL called to tell us of the sunset, which we had noticed as particularly beautiful, DH suggested certainly the volcanic particles that grounded aircraft would be seen as red in the air at sunset. One good thing about volcanoes?
I also wanted to share a link to a sewing online friend's Flickr site, she went to the Brisbane Textile Art Festival on the weekend and photographed my machine all skinned in its blue tropical lilies glory- the colours are not accurate though and she apologised for the cheap point and shoot image quality-but isn't it fun to see all these wonderful works with their respective skinned machines, for those of us who could not get to the event to see ourselves? What fun!
Textile Tattoo challenge
Tropical Lilies

You can see better images on the Bernina Australia website.
She said the TAF was great fun, I wish I could have been there. Some fantastic art to wear entries and the Circus Biserkus challenge looked very interesting with some unbelievable costumes.

Hope you're having a great weekend, whether or not you are stitching,
Stephanie