A bit of this, a bit of that...

Mixed weather this week, from balmy 18C with lots of blue sky and sunshine, to cold, wet and blustery. Thought I'd make the most of a sunny day and drove to Emu Bottom, an old homestead just out of Sunbury. Got some nice shots, both in colour and b&w. It's a lovely property, and brought back memories from the 1980s, when we spent many a Sunday here, having spit roast lunch in the barn, and dancing to bushband music. Fun days with my airline colleagues and friends.
As I mentioned in the last blog,  my friends Marie and Ron gave me this beautiful cymbidium orchid. I finally got a shot of it, with all the flowers open. Just gorgeous. I hope the flowers keep going for a while, they brighten up the place.
And YAY! - it's a red-letter day, or better a redwork day, since I finally completed all 14 blocks of my Scandinavian Rose quilt. It only took about 5 1/2 years....  Now comes the serious business of cutting the sashings and borders. Feeling rather daunted by that. Still, it means I can now start working on my new Kim McLean quilt on Fridays (see below). That should keep me going for another 5 years. Mind you, I won't be doing the border as shown, will simplify things a little.

Thursday moose-ings

Felt inspired this week, and spent some time in the Owlery, makng cards, crocheting, and quilting.In between, I tend to read a lot. Just finished "The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George. It's about a whopper of a mid-life crisis, but beautifully written. I've started "Galileo's Daughter", but it's a little harder to get into. I shall persevere for a while.
Made some more cards, the 'fairy' one is for my little cousin, who turns eight later this month. I found a mag with all the stamps, and couldn't resist them. I used Gelatos for the background, they blended so well. I highlighted some things with my

Wink of Stella pen, but it's difficult to see on the photo. I really like this stamp set.
My friend Gabbi is a professional photographer, taking photos of newborns. She did me a favour recently, so I thought she might like these two crocheted baby crowns. They're tiny, for newborns' heads, and were easy to make.
The peacock card is for a quilter friend, it's her birthday next week. I hope she's not one of those people who think peacocks are bad luck...
And the pink one is for another quilter friend, whose birthday is on the same day...and she hates peacocks! It's just a bird. I used my new peacock

 die, with alcohol ink on yupo paper, which was left over after a fun day with Chris.
Finally, I started working on a new quilt top, which I'll probably turn into a large cushion. It's for a friend who has recently finished her degree, and the colours (black, red, apple green) are her graduation gown colours. The script fabric is a nod to her new librarian status. I thought I'd make a large cushion out of four blocks, so that she can "rest on her laurels".
In the meantime, I'm waiting for my KitKat quilt to come back, so I can do the binding. Kerry's picked a gorgeous quilt pattern, so stay tuned.

Awesome Autumn!

 Yay! It's my favourite time of the year, and already I feel a little nip in the air in the mornings. At the moment, it's more of a late summer, with the grass drying out and large flocks of corellas in the yard. Well, here's hoping for a bit more rain.

A few things happening on the quilting front. My friend Kathryn gave me this wonderful fabric - and it's got owls on it! I have a project in mind for it, must dig out the pattern.
My friend Gabbie gave me these bright fabrics and last week I found the perfect use for them - a needlecase, to replace the one that was stolen. The old one was given to

 me by a friend, so I didn't have the pattern. I drew a pattern, and it's not as nice as my first one. It's a bit wonky, but will do what it's supposed to. Now I just need to fill it with needles again.
I also took the Kitkat quilt to be quilted, and look forward to finishing it off. Now all I need to do is decide what to quilt next. It's a toss up between a fox quilt, a Kaffe Fasset quilt, an American quilt, or a modern quilt for a friend. Hmm....
Also made some cards, one (sadly) a sympathy card for a friend, and a 70th birthday card for another friend.
Finally, I was thrilled to get the large Swallowtail stamp in the mail today. I've been hankering for this forever! Can't wait to get a few cards done with this. It's a retired stamp, and I

 was lucky to get it (at a fantastic price, too). I think the seller might have had second thoughts about selling it, so I count myself lucky.

Facebook magic

Some years ago, I noticed that people were posting their quilts on quilt group pages, complete with kitty! I thought that was a neat idea, and thought other might also like to look at quilts and kittehs. And so, "Quilting Cats" was founded. I thought we'd maybe have a couple of dozen members at most, but the page took off and yesterday we hit the 500 members mark! Not only have we gained so many new, interesting cat lovers and quilt addicts, but most of them have actually stayed with us over the years! As these things do, interest has waxed and waned, but currently the group is really going strong and bringing lots of people lots of fun.We've seen fantastic quilts, met interesting people, magnificent cats (and the occasional d-o-g), laughed out loud at some of these felines' antics, and cried when they went over the Rainbow Bridge. The group is always the first thing I look at every morning, to see if anybody has posted anything. I love looking at all the photos on Sunday mornings and choosing the banner kitteh of the week. We keep the group closed, friendly, safe (we have young members), and free of advertising (although the posting of gorgeous cat fabrics is ok). I often curse Facebook for one thing or another, but I wouldn't want to lose this group, it's brought me so much joy and contact with nice people. We make everybody welcome, if you have an interest in kittehs and quilts and are happy to share stories and photos. Now looking forward to 1000 members - as one member said "Think big!". Indeed!

Storm at Sea

The seas and heavens have been stormy these past days, and made me think of this particular quilt block, called "Storm at sea". It is a slightly complex pattern that results in a wavy, secondary pattern in a quilt, even though there is no curved piecing (yay!). I plan to make one of these later in the year and have been collecting teal and cream fabrics for it.
As with many quilt blocks, there is some history attached to its provenance. "Storm at sea" is a biblical block, one of several used first by quilters in America. There are Old Testament blocks, e.g. Rose of Sharon, Jacob's Ladder, Joseph's Coat, and New Testament blocks, such as Crown of Thorns, Star of Bethlehem, Road to Damascus. "Storm at Sea" is a New Testament block, and is related to a verse in the bible:
"..and there arose a great storm of wind and the waves beat into the ship so that it was full." When Jesus awoke, he rebuked the wind, but he also rebuked the men for lacking faith. Why are we fearful? Mark 4: 36-41
Other interesting quilt blocks and their history can be seen on the website "Free Quilt Patterns from History" (http://www.patternsfromhistory.com/).
I for one, wouldn't mind being wrapped in a "Storm at Sea" quilt if I had to wait out a storm.
My thoughts are with the people in Queensland recovering from floods and cyclone Yasi.

Confusion reigns!

It's October - a month I usually look forward to here in Australia. Daylight saving starts, the days are getting longer, occasionally they're even getting warmer. Spring has sprung, the trees are putting on fresh green finery, fruit trees blossom, the birds look frisky, little rabbits appear in the paddock, and DH is out mowing grass. The passing of the seasons is reassuring and familiar.
This year, I'm feeling my northern roots a little more, probably because I just spent nearly a month in the northern hemisphere. I saw squirrels busy foraging for their winter stores, bears gorging themselves on salmon to bulk up for hibernation, elk fighting for their right to rule their harem for another year. The trees were starting too show their autumn finery, gentle rain nourished the rain forest and the air was crisp.
I tend to change my surroundings with the seasons; with scented candles and warm throw rugs in winter, and flowers from the garden in summer. At the same time, my quilts and soft furnishings change. The Christmas quilt and decorations give way to my summer quilt, and in October I would bring out a spring quilt, depicting pretty florals and cats in pastel colours. But this year, I'm in a muddle! I want to go all out celebrating the northern autumn, All Hallows Night, and Thanksgiving, with quilts in rich earth tones, orange, and Jack-O'lanterns! I want to see my orny turkey and pumpkin teapot on the dresser, and hang my little Halloween quilt. And I'd really like to make a turkey feast and celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving!
So I'll have to find a compromise between the southern and northern seasons. Why should that be a problem, since we do the same for Christmas in Oz every year?! I'm quite used to Santa at the beach in December, and Christmas Day in 40C heat...
Do you find your cultures sometimes warring inside you? I'm sure a peaceful solution will eventually emerge!

The old fashioned scrap quilt

"I have found nothing so desirable for summer covers as the old-fashioned scrap quilt of which our mothers were so proud. Every girl should piece one at least to carry away to her husband's home. And if her lot happens to be cast among strangers, the quilt when she unfolds it will seem like the face of a familiar friend, bringing up a host of memories .... too sacred to intrude upon."
Annie Curd, Good Housekeeping, 1888 (from Voices of the Past, Kaye England)

Well my lot has cast me among strangers, but without a quilt! The closest thing to a 'comfort' quilt I brought to Australia those many years ago was my mum's last dressing gown - and I still have it and use it! No quilts in my heritage I'm afraid - I failed needlework in school (along with maths & physics), mum could just about sew on a button, and I ran screaming from a dress-making class after the first session! And my grandfather a tailor! Still, genes will out - after standing gobsmacked in front of a quilted masterpiece at my first art & craft show, I just had to try it. And never looked back....My name is Donna and I've been addicted to quilting since 1999....

The Sunshine Quilters

Today my quilt group is coming for a sit-and-sew. We've quilted together for more than 10 years now. Originally, all the members worked at Sunshine Hospital/Western Health at one time or another, but now, some local ladies have also joined the group. We meet every first Saturday in the month, and have fun stitching, chatting, and drinking champagne. Champagne makes the stitches look straight! We've had fun times and sad times, gained and lost members, and learned from each other over the years. By now, we have some group traditions, such as annual challenges and the great unveilings at the end of the year, road trips to discover new quilt shops, and watching the new Harry Potter movies in Gold Class. Every member likes to make very different quilts, some like brights, others more traditional colours and patterns, and some like to experiment more. Our "show-and-tells" are always interesting and we always find more than enough to talk about, even after 10 years!