Lavender Luggage

Isn't it gorgeous? This is going to be my carry on bag for when I come over to the US (only 23 sleeps to go). It doesn't show here but it is quite a little fattie. I am planning to fit in a change of clothes, my camera (large), toilettries and my journal stuff (incl pens, pencils, stamps etc) and a few other bits and pieces. Ken thought I should have bought the black set (there are three of them in all but I only wanted the large one here) but I thought how boring when everything else will be basic black - I wanted purple and this was close enough.


Queens Birthday weekend coming up and our quilt group are having their exhibition. I am having a stall selling off my stash of dyed fabric - hopefully will make a little more spending money for my trip. And of course I have a good excuse to dye lots more fabric when I get home. I will post some piccies from the exhibition after the weekend. 

Christine's quilt

I like the collage of photos of this quilt. I have spent the past two years making it - on and off during that time - I didn't want to hurry the process. It is a quilt for my best friend's birthday in June. And now I'm hurrying to finish sewing the binding and make a label for the back.

The colours are my favourites and in fact this was my collection of special fabrics that I found hard to cut into, that is until I decided I wanted to make a quilt for Christine. These are her favourite colours too - the wonderful paua shell colours.

So at the moment everything else takes a bit of a back seat to getting this finished. The cats are helping by sitting on it whenever they can and softie that I am I can't disturb them - that's what is making it a slow process at the moment.

 

Found them

My glasses have turned up - phew. I was out getting in firewood for tonight (it is late Autumn down here don't forget) and there under some wood were my glasses, safe and sound. I am so relieved as I really didn't want to be buying them quite now.

I attribute my luck to a personal charm I created after reading about them in Keri Smith's Wish Jar Journal. I had a Japanese coin that we found under the seats in our car, I wished upon it and make it into a bracelet with some fabric. IT WORKED FOR ME!

Where are my glasses?

I know I had them on yesterday but I had them on and off during the day as I was doing various tasks. I was sure I had them on when I went outside to do some photographs of some fenceposts that look interesting but the photos were not quite what I was wanting. I was sure that I had them on when I went out and got firewood as the sun was bright and my glasses are anti-glare. I know I didn't have them on when I went to check the crock pot for tea as they would have steamed up and I wouldn't have seen a thing. So WHERE ARE MY GLASSES?? I am usually very good and never, never misplace them but they are missing in action. I know I can cope without them - I just have to make sure I have sunglasses on hand for outdoors and I have my reading glasses and computer glasses for those more close up jobs. But WHERE ARE MY GLASSES?

Something old

I did these pieces early in the year. They are small and I was just having a bit of a play. It was my way of trying to do something creative when I didn't know what else to do. I was actually in the middle of doing a lot of quilting and sewing but had the need to create something.

I love the simplicity of the palm tree - my first play with a fancy blade in my cutter too.


The lady was based on a picture I had seen and had admired. I would love to do a series of myself and my friends like this - of course there would be lots of artistic license to create the portraits (translated means that no one will actually be recognisable by the time I have finished with them).


Oh well, back to the housework I promised myself I would do today and then give myself a couple of days at the sewing machine. 

Quiet Time

Well the blog has been quiet but that is all. There has been a lot going on that hasn't been at all creative or that I want to write about or share.

I am keen to get back into some printing and also have an idea for a quilt that I want to make. It involves making a lot of blocks and then cutting them up and sewing back together, nothing I haven't done before. It is the sort of thing that once you start it is hard to stop as it is so much fun.

I have my trip to the USA coming up soon and I have been doing a lot of planning for that and looking up lots of sites on the Web. I am travelling by myself and leaving my husband at home (he had his big trip earlier). I usually read a lot of books at night and in the mornings. This time I am planning to do a lot of writing/journalling as it is very portable and hopefully will be lots of fun. I am not a fan of a lot of hand sewing but have considered doing some crochet and knitting as well but I am not very proficient.

In fact I want to start writing more in those quiet moments while I might be waiting or sitting relaxing. I can't say that what I write will be riveting reading but it will be soothing for me.

I did catch up with some friends recently in Christchurch and it was wonderful to see them again, it makes me appreciate how valuable good friends are.

So, my promise to myself is to do something creative this weekend apart from a quilt that I have to bind for a friend's birthday.