Happy 35th Anniversary

Happy 35th Anniversary

to Tony & Me

Then and Now.

 

Forever

Cushion for Mum

Warning:  Large photo files....may take a while for pictures to load 

(I haven't got access to my photo editing program to shrink the size)

I can't believe I am actually in England right now.

This cushion that I have been stitching for a few months is finally in the hands of my mum.

It is bright. It is colourful. It is highly textured.

Mum has extremely poor eyesight, so this cushion is for her to feel, and imagine, as a flower garden in full bloom.

We've just had a family party for mums 90th Birthday.

A great time was had by all.

She loves the cushion and wouldn't put it down.

 

 

 The fabric was dyed by my arty son George as experiments for a larger project.

I am pleased to put these pieces to good use. 

My Stitching Week

Here is the latest stuff to come off my needle.

This is the WIP on the butterfly in the middle of my current Crazy Quilt block.

And one bit of a seam treatment that is missing the second part at the moment.

And the Block so far.

More to come next time.

Happy Stitching

My Car Blew Up

My car blew up ...... well, it was just the engine really. 

But scary at the time.

Smoke pouring out of the exhaust, and steam and smoke billowing out from under the bonnet.

I got some pretty funny looks from people in the supermarket carpark as I chugged like a steam train into the nearest available double parking spot.

As I got out and walked ran a discrete distance from the car, I could hear loud rumblings, hissings and screechings coming from under the bonnet. And yes, before you ask, I had turned the ignition off already.

Once the noise had subsided a bit, I tentatively went to lift the bonnet. 

With a smug look on my face I was thinking .....Oh yeah, I can screw the radiator cap back on all by myself, it's not too difficult to do that, is it..... 

But how do you open this xxxxxxxx bonnet?

It's something I've never had to do before. Yes, I know there's a lever inside the car, that bit's easy enough.

But somewhere just under the front edge of the bonnet is a catch that I cannot find. 

Ouch....that was hot    

 "%#$$X*&" .... was what I really said.

I've seen Tony lift the bonnet many times. It looks easy enough. 

I eventually push on the 'right' thing, and up goes the lid. 

Phew!!! see, I CAN do it, oh ye of little faith.

Now to find the radiator cap. Oh, why is all this steam still here, and I'm sure the engine bits were not that colour when I last saw Tony working on it.

(the closest that I usually get to an engine is when I hand Tony a cuppa coffee while he's working on one)

Actually I don't think the problem is the radiator cap at all.

I'll just go and do my shopping and when I get back all will be cooled and good to go again.

Hah!!!

One and three-quarter hours later I'm on the phone to him who knows 'my darling' to ask him how to start an engine when it doesn't want to be started.

Twenty minutes later he is at my side, or rather, at the cars side.

Two hours later we are both home having a well-needed cuppa tea.

We are ok, but my car is dead in the paddock by our barn.

A phone call consultation to our local car repair company confirms that to make my car work again we will need to part with around $3,000.

Gulp.

Now, Tony is a handy man to know. 

He can fix umpteen broken things all at the same time, and get them working better than they were before they broke.

He decides that he will change the camshaft, head-gasket, head-cylinder, brandylever, counterlever, radiator, belts, pants, pulleys, squiggley-do's, valves, pistols  crankshaft, middleshaft, hosiery, chain-mail, tutus, bridgets, bradgets, and everything else that needs replacing.

~ You have probably gathered that I have no idea what I am talking about here, so just insert whatever technical terms you know for all the stuff under the bonnet of a car ~

So now my car has all THAT stuff in various containers scattered around the floor of the barn and around the vacant space where the engine of my dead car used to be.

I have a weird feeling that I may be without my car for some time yet.

My Latest Beading Projects

These two beaded projects I made simply because I wanted to. 

What better excuse than that, lol.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project - block 9 update

My September block (block number 9) is still not completed yet, but the end is in sight now though.

The blue braid treatment.
 I love the intense stitching and concentration needed to get this braided stitch to go around 'the bend' like this. It took an absolute age to stitch.
 I added the brighter blue chain stitch edges to a braid stitch from Mary Corbet's website.

Bead embellishing done on a previous weeks TAST stitch

A little triangular decoration for an area that didn't need much embellishing.

This is the crochet scallops edging I 'invented' and created for this block.

TAST Hebedo stitch with ribbon and beads. 

Photo is a bit dull, sorry it doesn't show the stitching too well.

That's all I had time to stitch on my CQJP, but I have a few other projects that have progressed this week instead. 

Watch this space. 

I'll add new posts on those projects during the week.

An enjoyable stitching week

It has finally stopped raining here long enough to be able to walk in the fields without getting the 'slurpy-slurp' of stuck-in-the-mud welly boots (gum-boots). 

The flowers in the garden are brightly bobbing their colourful heads at me, the plum trees in the orchard have that wonderful white blossom that looks amazing as I stand underneath and gaze dreamily skywards and catch the beautiful glimpse of blue sky as background to the white blossom.

I have to look for the tell-tale signs of newly scratched earth in the undergrowth to direct me to the nesting spots to collect the hidden chicken eggs.

Oh what a merry dance I perform on my daily rounds.

Spring has sprung.

And the stitching.................oh, the stitching.

First, here is the August Block final pic that I missed showing you last weekend ..........

And so onto the stitching done this week on the September block.

This drizzle stitched piece was actually stitched the previous week, but I attached it to the block this week and added all those lovely French Knots to 'embed' it in its new place.

Does it looks like a multi-layered cake or a flouncy ballerina's tutu to you?

Do you remember that 'string art' craze of your youth?

Or maybe you remember it as a required lesson in the math classroom.

It was created by hammering nails into a wooden board and then you had to wind string back and forth to create geometric patterns.

Or you started with a piece of card with perforated holes that you threaded string through.

Well.................

............. here is my free form stitched version. 

A happy accident that appeared while I was 'playing' on my block this week.  

And now for this weeks TAST stitch.

Week 39 

(at least I think it is week 39, I seem to have lost my memory track)

The Knotted Buttonhole Stitch

And I'm sure you know me well enough by now to know that this Knotted Buttonhole seam is going to get some extra 'Cy embellishing treatment'.

My crochet trim for this block has been created too, but just not added to the block yet, so pics of that one next week. Also, I have stitched most of the butterfly for the central patch, and a few more seams that are half-stitched so far.

This block is progressing nicely, but I'm not sure that I can complete it during this coming week as I have a couple of other project deadlines looming up fast. But at least it is mostly done now.

I'm happy.

Hope you all have a great week ahead.

Happy Stitching

Playing Catchup - TAST - CQJP

Playing Catchup with TAST & CQJP

This week we had Drizzle Stitch as the stitch of the week in TAST (Take-A-Stitch-Tuesday)

My piece has longer 'drizzles' in the centre, and ending with short 'drizzles' on the outside.

This gave a lovely domed effect to this item, which shall (eventually) be made into something like a Scissor Fob, a brooch, or a pendant. I'm not sure which yet, but I'll keep my options open for now.

Crazy Quilt Journal Project

CQJP August Block (yes I'm late with it)

I have (at last) finished my August block, but it looks like I forgot to take photos of the completed thing because I can't find them in my files (another of those senior moments).

I do have a few update photos of work I have done on this block through the week, so you will have to 'make do' with those, and just hope I remember to take  more photos before next weekend.

There seems to have been a strong Mandala Theme going on this week in my stitcheries, lol.'

CQJP September Block

Oh Yeah!!! 

Doing a happy dance that I actually managed to get my September Naked Block stitched before I run out of September days.

That does not mean that it will be completed in September, but at least it started was in September.

So that's me all stitched for this week's reveal of work.

I have been back at my art stuff too, but that's a whole 'nother story and a different blog.

Happy Stitching

August CQJP block progress

I think I am finally getting back to some sort of normality here. 

It has definitely been a busy couple of months. 

My projects for the Arts Festival made the deadline

 (see my Rock Pool in a Fish Bowl post here) 

I have caught up with the TAST stitches, but I have not yet completed my August CQJP, but progress on that block is coming along nicely. Just a few more beads to add, and one more seam needs embellishing.

So the end is in sight. Hopefully will have it finished by next weekend.

So here are the photos of my TAST catch-up stitches. All these are on the August CQJP block.

This one is Pistil Stitch around a Shisha mirror.

Pistil Stitch to couch a ribbon embellishment.

And here is the Sheaf Stitch.

The following pics are varying seam treatments on the August CQJP.

I'm looking forward to another stitching busy week ahead.

Happy Stitching

A Rock Pool in a Fish Bowl

Warning - photo intensive post

..A Rock Pool in a Fish Bowl..

The Rock Pool Colony consists of heavily encrusted embroidery, hyperbolic crochet, and plenty of bead-work, on a very textured surface.

The actual stitched work is almost 12 inches across. The fish bowl is 17 inches wide.

It took over 270 hours to complete.

Here are some photos from many different angles.

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Please leave a comment below as I would love to know what part, or parts, of my Rock Pool you enjoyed most.

Happy Stitching