Wonder Woman!

Well, today I received a little parcel in the mail from my sister. I wonder what it could be?? Totally intrigued I opened the little package with great anticipation and was not disappointed! Wonder Woman undies! Of course! Why didn't I know that BEFORE I opened the envelope??

Don't you love the fact that sisters know all those little things about you that no one else could (even if they 'might' occasionally use it against you)? I had a huge smile on face reading her note reminiscing about the wonder woman costume I attempted to sew in the 70's. The pants I made out of an old light blue petticoat (of course!)... see through...mmmmm, that was rather baggy, and I even 'hobby-tex'd' gold stars on them. You can just picture it can't you? Fortunately Mum had some sort of gold braid in her sewing stash, so I even had a lasso. What fun, it made do, but .... no matter how hard I wished and concentrated when I spun in a circle, I never did turn into Wonder Woman!

So, this weekend I intend to be my own version of Wonder Woman (aren't we all?) And to prove that I am striving to be a real superhero, I might even wear my underpants on the outside!!!

I have some serious sewing to do this weekend, so I hopefully I can blog some results of such early in the week.

Have a great weekend everyone,
Michelle xx

Op Shop find......

Finally!! I get to post of such a find, I am no longer an op shopper blogger virgin! About 50m from the shop is a vinnies, and just as I was approaching 'work' (always feel guilty calling it work when I have so much fun).... out the corner of my little eye I spied my 'little treasure' being placed out the front of vinnies. It may as well have had a red flashing light because my internal sewing senses knew it was there (I'm sure there is such a thing, isn't there?).
So I now have a dilemma... I'm opening the shop by myself, its 9 o'clock... what do I do??? Every second its sitting there, its at risk of falling into the wrong hands.... I start to sweat.... think Michelle THINK!!!! Could I close the shop for 2 minutes to run down?? No, not a good look, and ladies will be arriving for a class soon. Maybe I could ring a friend and get them to pick it up for me? No, too desperate and I don't want to put anyone else out like that (but maybe they might be driving past??? NO Michelle! That's crazy)....mmmmm... Eileen will be arriving shortly to take the Sylvias class, surely she won't mind holding the fort for 2 minutes while I run down, ok... that's the plan. So, in walks the unsuspecting Eileen, the poor lady, she doesn't have time to breathe before I pounce, and try to explain in mono-syllables (can't waste time explaining) what I NEED to do (because in my mind, it is now a life and death situation we are dealing with....).
So out the door I run, crash tackling anyone who dares to get in my way (ok, I am exaggerating, but the story is building momentum now and I don't want to disappoint with a non-eventful ending), I snatch my item from the front of the shop, breathlessly slam it on the counter and expectantly look at the lady waiting for her to say "oh I'm sorry crazy lady, that is mine and was never meant to go out", but instead she says "I knew that wouldn't last long, that'll be $8 please". $8????? I couldn't get my money out quick enough!
So, with treasure firmly in hand (made sure I held on extra tight because I am now a treasure snatching target...everyone will want it!!) I skip all the way back to The Quilters Corner, wishing I had worn red sequined slippers, because I definitely felt the need to do some heel tapping.
Feeling very content I know showed off my treasure to all the ladies who walked in the door. And how lucky am I to be in a place where my find is completely appreciated?
I love my 'job'.

here endeth my tale, (and this was going to be a quick post..)
hope you all have a great weekend,

Michelle xx

Fabulous weekend at Circle Retreat

What a wonderful weekend! I again had the pleasure of going up to the circle retreat at Buderim and was not in the slightest bit disappointed! It was so relaxing, just being able to chip away at a couple of UFO's while enjoying a laid back atmosphere with everything at your beck and call. We even got to Eumundi markets on Saturday morning which was a real treat. I haven't been in a few years and therefore very excited to see some lovely new things. A couple of stalls did manage to relieve me of some money, but a girl can never have too many skirts right? ..... or necklaces.... or fabric brooches.....

A girls weekend away can not be complete without a stop at a Quilt Shop, and The Patchwork Angel filled that brief very well. Again, it had been a few years since I had visited the shop and I loved having a look around ... and I may have bought some fabric..... or even signed on for a Block of the Month..... BUT IT WASN'T MY FAULT!!! I'm genetically designed and created to buy fabric so blame my Mum ok? Another bonus was that I got to meet Penni, the owner of the Patchwork Angel who was so lovely and welcoming.

I thought I took more photos, but obviously not... sorry Stacey. I did take one of Eileen's magnificent version of 'Sylvias Bridal sampler' from the Elm Creek Quilts. She has one more row to go I think, but it looks absolutely amazing as you can see.

squeezes,
Michelle xx

Lastminite-itis....again....

Nope! I didn't learn.. I backed up one serious outbreak with another. 6 days later to be exact... What can I say? It might actually be incurable. Thanks for all your lovely comments, I just LOVE reading them! Tania, I think you are definitely on to something, active procrastination is a waste of time, best I accept my genetic affliction, and be happy with THE VERY LAST MINUTE.... perfectly said!
So, I was teaching a workshop out at The Samford Quilters on needleturn applique. I needed a project, (which of course included a sample), notes and a few other little bits and pieces. I worked all the day before putting together my handouts on technique, tips and hints, and started my project after dinner ... as you do. I had two different designs to choose from and they could be put together into a little journal (which I wrote a little pattern for).
My sewing came together quickly, (little happy dance), I printed everything out and put together little packages for each lady (another little happy dance) and went to bed knowing that I had done all that I could.

In the morning, after a double dose of deodorant (knowing that I would be the victim of nervous sweatiness, yuk...)I was on my way. 22 ladies turned up (delete little happy dance... add nervous shuffle) and we were away. I had a plan of attack and it all went without a hitch. Big happy dance on the way back to car!

The ladies were just lovely and the biggest compliment has been many of them coming into the shop and telling me they had finished their journals. Apparently last weeks show and tell at Samford featured many of the journals, which thrills me.

I have many little things to blog about this week...so stick around...

Have a great week,
Michelle xx

"Lastminute-itis"

Its a serious disease, and I have it! I believe it is quite possibly genetic, passed down from my mother, but I have managed to mutate the disease to a whole new level, and I fear I will never be cured!

I always knew it lurked within me, I tried to ignore it, but last week I did have a breakthrough, and discovered WHY it has such a firm hold. When there is time to spare (more that a day...), my brain will just not sit still. It wanders, shamelessly I might add, and CANNOT focus! I drive myself crazy with this, I know I SHOULD be doing something in particular, but find myself doing something else, usually the exact opposite. It is not until something absolutely positively has to be done with no time to spare, that I can focus like a genius. I always manage to pull it out of the hat, but get so frustrated with myself for making so much more stressful than it needed to be. But it was a bit of a lightbulb moment, realising that this is why I do it. That because with limited time, it is the only time my brain will not wander.

The story was that I was teaching a paper piecing hexagon class last Thursday night. It was only a technique class, but I still wanted to have a little sample made up of something they could make, and had promised a pattern to go with it. So, about 9pm Wednesday I started stitching some hexies together (after going through fabric... preparing hexies..). I stayed up until approx midnight joining about 25 together. Thursday was student free, so amongst other things, I finished joining hexies about 4pm. Starting making project about 4.30pm, finished about 5.15pm. Then after making dinner and picking hubby from the train station had pattern finished around 6.35pm (class STARTS at 7pm). mmmmmm, no time for printing at home, so email to the shop, run to shop, (drive actually) open, print, greet, teach! See? easy, almost had time to spare too!

So this week, out come the lists again! The strategy being to write very small achievable things on my list. Instead of "write pattern for .... quilt" (which is no small task), I wrote "write requirement list for ..... quilt". A lot more achievable, so hopefully this will head me on the right direction.

Incidentally, this is the project I made. I wanted something a little more contemporary as I could easily show photos of the more widely used way of using hexies. Daughter #1 wanted to know if I had run out of hexies! The cheek! It WAS meant to be this way!



Have a great week,
Michelle x

What makes me smile...

Many things make me smile, but in particular this morning, I am referring to yet another of my little 'Elsie finds'. She plays in imaginary land so beautifully, and as a result I am often treated to these little 'scenes' set up all over (literally!) the house. I try very hard not to think about the day when I will no longer find these as it is just too sad, but in the meantime I will revel in them, photograph them, and occasionally share one here..



This one particularly played into my handmade vintage loving heart. The little doll quilt here, was mine, and was made for me by my beautiful Grandma. She made one for my two older sisters and I, and we each had a different coloured surround. Mine was pink, and I think Jane and Suzanne's were lavender and lemon. The also came with a little matching pillow.

It is so special to me to know that Elsie is playing with something made by her great Grandmother, someone who would have loved her to bits! It keeps that link alive. It is precious, and I could put it up in a cupboard to keep it safe, but then it wouldn't be nearly as special. It was made to use, and love and keep dolls warm, and I couldn't be happier that this gift from Grandma is still living on.

enjoy your week,
Michelle xx

Free Motion Quilting

I have discovered the love of free motion quilting over the last couple of years. And once I got the hang of it I have found it fun, additive and amazingly therapeutic! But I do liken it to going from learning print writing to cursive, and you will not be neat, or consistent without practice! practice! practice! One of the best bits of advise I can give is to doodle! .....What?... yep..doodle! It is a very close relative to free motion quilting, and once you can get your mind into that way of thinking, I think you can relax a little. Like doodling, it will wander from one place to the next, with the odd mistake along the way.

When starting a new project I always 'doodle' on paper first to get the feel for what I want to achieve. If your not sure what pattern or design to quilt, look at the fabric for inspiration. For my "birds in the air" quilt, I wasn't sure what to do, (the last 3 quilts have been my standard 'swirly' design, so I looked at the backing fabric which featured butterflies with loops, so basically went with that.



I doodled a similar idea, and once confident with this, it can be translated to fabric.



Use a practice piece first if your still learning, but the main thing is to relax, and not be tough on yourself. Remember you are looking at your quilting in close up detail and you will be by far your hardest critic. Remember to stand back every now and then and ask yourself "if my friend showed me that, what would I say?". I bet the answer is far kinder than what you say to yourself when you look close up!



So far, this is what my quilt is looking like, and I'm pretty happy with it. I am by no means an award winning free motion quilter, and never will be, but what I do is simple and fun, and I enjoy it. AND! it beats trying to 'ditch stitch' around all those half square triangles any day!

Not too much longer I hope!

squeezes,
Michelle xx