The Lions roar

Well, at least I got my wish.  The score wasn't close.  Not within coo-eee.  No need for paramedics to get my heart started again, unlike the two earlier games in the series.

It was the Rugby final of the Wallabies V. British and Irish Lions and my brother treated me a ticket to the sell-out game, where we were joined by over 83,000 enthusiastic fans.  This series only happens every twelve years and the Lions had been waiting since 1997 to win back the title.

As the pre-game entertainment cranked up, my brother smiled, remembering a time when he was at the start of his teaching career and one of his pupils told him that he was leaving school and was going to be a rock star.  Right.  His name was Daryl Braithwaite and true to his word, there he was centre stage entertaining a receptive crowd.

I don't know how this fan passed through security; maybe they were concentrating on the humans and lions weren't considered a threat. Obviously grannies were their target of choice, because my bag was given a thorough going over.  At least they found my tin of mints which I thought had been lost forever.  The atmosphere was electric and the British fans were in such good spirits and such numbers that you were caught up with their euphoria.   Thirty thousand of them attended the game and the cry of "Lions, Lions" accompanied by Nazi-like salutes was hard to ignore.

Ah well.  Back to the drawing board. At least the powers that be have twelve years to work out a winning strategy. The Brits are on a roll now that Andy Murray has broken the Wimbledon drought.  Good luck to them.

The first Saturday of each month is the time for the Sydney Southern Cross Quilters (SCQuilters) to gather at a local watering hole to quilt, talk, eat and generally have a good time, and this month was no exception.  So all in all it was quite a day.  Quilting and Rugby - the perfect combination.

Mail

What do I love about Tuesday?  It's the day I run off to play with my quilting friends.  

Add to the mix a perfect late winter's day with the sun gently warming the bones, and then to arrive home and find a parcel waiting for you; that makes it a perfect day.

I felt a little like Howard Carter discovering Tutankhamun's sarcophagus as one envelope opened to reveal another.  Peeling back the inner layer with a little more haste than perhaps Mr Carter would have preferred, the inner treasures were revealed.

Fabric.  Lovely fabric.

This little dress has proved to be a big seller, both on line and by word of mouth locally.  As a consequence I very quickly ran out of the sailing boat fabric, so I was desperate to replenish my stock.

 

While I was putting in my order, I noticed these two fabrics which I knew would make such a pretty dress.  Well, there was room in the envelope, so how could I resist?

To complete the theme, I opened my MadeIt shop this afternoon and discovered that I had sold this heart garland to a young bride-to-be.  It is to be used as a backdrop for her wedding photos in December.  

Ah Tuesdays.  Feeling in the pink.

Baby it's cold outside

The whole eastern coast of Australia is in the clutches of a cold snap, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to divulge the Hot Fudge Sure Fire Method of Keeping Warm.  It's really very simple.  Keep moving.

My local quilt shop is having a sale this month so I practised what I preached and moved rather rapidly down the highway to the store.

That sure got the heart racing, and we even managed to reach home before the violent storm hit our part of the city.

Now that the blood was pumping, I felt the need to cut out and pin the final feather of the first block in my appliqué quilt.

This is a long-term project, but one I am thoroughly enjoying.  And so long as I don't look out the window, the colours fool me into thinking that it is really warm outside.

Things that make me smile

I came across this image which I took in Paris a couple of years ago.  It brought an immediate smile to my face as I remembered how bemused we Fudges were when we came across this creative piece of parking.

How on earth, we wondered, did the driver manage to manoeuvre the car into such a tight space?  Of course being such a tiny vehicle, it was probably simply a matter of picking the thing up and plonking it down between the other two cars.  The owner of the car to the left must have been thrilled to bits when she returned to her vehicle.  I say she because this is the textile area of Paris, every dressmaker's idea of Paradise.  That day my excess baggage increased alarmingly in a very short space of time.  Sigh.

Another smile inducing activity is attending my local quilting group, which happens every Tuesday.  Today Rae (r) showed us her recently completed quilt top which is just beautiful.

My smile is radiant every time I look at this image of the latest Kaffe Fassett fabrics which arrived last week to join the earlier Kaffe stash.  I now have enough fabric to complete The Plan.  The Long Term Plan.

I have every reason to smile.

The Plan 1

There was a large cardboard envelope waiting at our post office box this morning.

It was the first of the two fabric parcels I have been anxiously waiting to arrive.  Aren't they stunning?  Fourteen delicious Kaffe Fassett fabrics all lined up and waiting for the main fabric so that I can get started on The Plan.  With any luck the other parcel will arrive tomorrow.

My only problem now is that I don't know how I can bear to cut into such beautiful pieces of fabric.  At least for the moment I can sip my coffee and take in the rich colours and designs.  Bliss.

The Plan

At my age, making New Year's Resolutions is probably pushing my luck.  Besides, they are never easy to keep and I always end up guilt wracked at not achieving my goals.  However, I have a plan.  It's an open-ended plan, so no pressure to complete by a certain deadline.

I visited my local fabric store on Saturday to help formulate my plan.  I always feel so much better when I walk out of a quilt shop with a bag containing some fabric, no matter how modest. These three fabrics are the beginnings of what will eventually be this:

It looks like a wall hanging, doesn't it?  

Wrong.  It's a king size quilt.  Yes, I like a challenge.

 Kim McLean is an Australian quilter and designer and I have long admired her creations.  After discovering this blog I was inspired to dip my toe in the water and get back to what I really love, quilting.  I am waiting on a shipment of Kaffe Fassett Fabrics to arrive, including 7.2 metres of background fabric, and then my plan will be put into action.

I am writing this with the full knowledge that my sewing room contains unfinished quilt tops in the dark reaches of my fabric cupboard.  I have at least one from each decade.  

Who can forget the mad frenzy whipped up with the resurgence of Baltimore Quilts of the early 1990s?  My five completed blocks are too precious to see daylight and/or I am waiting for one of my daughters to take up the challenge.  Not going to happen.  

In the meantime, I am having a lovely time filling in orders for heart garlands on my Etsy and MadeIt shops in time for Valentine's Day.  Or weddings.  And at least they are finished products.

It can't be 2012 - I'm not ready yet

 I pulled back the curtains on New Years Day and this glorious view was there waiting to be discovered.  We are back in Brisbane for three weeks, house sitting for friends while they are on an overseas holiday.  Can you feel the early morning subtropical warmth coming through?  We are in the most charming suburb, within easy walking distance of more restaurants than you could dine at in a year, wonderful parks and gardens, and a five minute bus trip to the city.  Bliss.

The only fly in the ointment was Bella, the resident cat who had gone AWOL on Christmas Day, thankfully not on our watch; we were not due to arrive until a couple of days later.  However, we were advised not to worry, as she quite often went walkabout and would probably return in a day or so.  On New Years Eve I texted my friend advising that there had not been any sightings of Puss and we were a wee bit concerned that she may have checked out.

The next morning, after swooning with delight at the view from our guest bedroom window, I came downstairs to see a flash of a cat tail whiz by the dining room window.  I rushed to the back door and there she was.

Well, I sure hope it's her and not some random moggy literally landing on her feet.

Because she's taken over the house.

She even chooses the TV programmes.

And sleeps at the foot of our bed, much to Mr Fudge's distress - not a cat lover, I'm afraid.

My friend is a quilter and the guest bedroom is also her studio.

I've died and gone to Heaven.

I can't show you the other cupboard with all the fabric, because I cry every time I open the doors.  I am hatching a plot to leave our dirty laundry behind, so that there's just enough room in the boot to cram in her Kaffe Fassett fabrics.

The combination of the new year and a relaxed holiday back in Brisbane have fostered a new enthusiasm for quilting.  I had been quite jaded after our move back to Sydney; a major interstate move is not something you would want to do in a hurry.  With the added stress of keeping up with sales on my Etsy and MadeIt shops in the lead-up to Christmas, I was afraid that I had lost the will to create new quilts.  Thank goodness it has returned in abundance and my resolution is to start on two major projects in the coming weeks, one long-term hand applique and the other an art quilt.  The ideas are starting to gel and I am once more excited at the prospect of creating new quilts.

I do hope your Christmas and New Year have been as happy as ours.  We are truly blessed to have wonderful friends and family and we are looking forward to the year ahead.

The Threads that bind us together

THERE ARE EIGHT OF US, good friends going back over a period of sixteen years. We are The Loose Threads, a group of quilters who hang out together twice a month. We do a little hand sewing, eat lots of cake and drink probably far more coffee than we should ...

... apart from a couple of healthy ones who indulge in herbal teas.

We come in all shapes, sizes and ages and our beliefs and political persuasions vary widely, so what has kept us together all these years? If I knew the answer I could solve the world's problems. All I can say is we are comfortable in each other's company. We have been there to hold hands with those among us who have suffered great pain, and to give joyous hugs during the happier times.

Our gatherings take place every first and third Tuesday of the month, and after all these years we still await those Tuesdays with great anticipation.

Every year we indulge ourselves with a marvellous Christmas Lunch at a chosen restaurant. In years past we would draw a name from a hat and make a special gift for that person. Two years ago, we decided to take a different tack and make fibre art postcards for the nominated person. It's been a good exercise, forcing us to think beyond the square to come up with something appropriate for the recipient.

Yesterday was our special Christmas Lunch day. The restaurant was blissfully cool, protected from the soaring heat of a Brisbane summer, and the food was superb. The company, of course, was brilliant, though sadly we were down to seven, with one thread escaping to Sydney for a few days. We were warned to keep room for dessert, and I always obey orders.

It was one of those "I'll have what she's having" moments, only better.

The afternoon was drawing on, so it was time to open our postcards. I was absolutely delighted to receive my card from Loani, who has regular art exhibitions. Now I have my own piece of her original artwork and I love it.

Muffin makes the most superb heirloom hexagon quilts using Liberty fabrics, so she received a postcard which echoed her beautiful work.

On our recent trip to Paris, we came across this restaurant and as one of our members is Margot and it was my turn to give her a postcard, it was the obvious choice. I worked on it in Photoshop, blending two images, and then printed it out on fabric.

I am kicking myself for not taking photos of the other cards, because they were wonderful - including a classic women's pushbike (and there's a tale behind that one!), a brilliant interpretation of work by the artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and many more. Blame it on the heat and the sugar rush. However, here are a couple from earlier times.

Time for coffee (or healthy green tea) and some shortbread before hitting the heat waiting for us outside.

So what keeps us together? Loose Threads.