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

Fairy fun.....

Oh my Gosh!! I survived! But I have to admit, I kind of underestimated what 18 little 5 to 6 year old fairies looked like all in the one place! It was crazy, chaotic but lots and lots of fun and they all had a ball. Arranging a special fairy friend to come and organise the girls was a very wise decision, and the hours and metres of fabric that went into THAT bunting was well worth it. I was so pleased with the effect, and we even now have something special to put up in Elsie's room to remind her of her special day.





She loved every minute, and "party-zilla" didn't once come to visit, not even when it was all over. I had lots of wonderful help from my big girls and my lovely mother in law, which reduced my stress levels immensely.



Am I allowed to admit that I'm so relieved it is all over though? ... now back to my 'other sewing'

Michelle xx

Creativity explosion....

Well, it sounds good! but what it means is that my mind is going a million miles an hour and my fingers can't keep up! I always keep pen and paper on me for when such inspiration takes hold, but my fingers can't always translate the images my brain is creating. And its not always paper that I feel I need, its fabric! And most of the time I don't have the luxury of time to run to my sewing machine whenever the creation hits.

Yesterday I had a particularly erratic day and counted that I worked on 6 different projects! I'm sure that's one of the definitions of madness!

1. my "Birds in the air" creation, nearly finished, just borders to go



2. my needle turn applique project...



3. a 'new' project (started a week ago), very excited about this one, its been out and about lately, but I have added my own touch (hope to show more soon)..



4. another 'new' project which I'm SUPER excited about, I did NOT need a new project, but my base fabric finally arrived in the shop, so I HAD to give it go and see how it turned out (another sneak peek)..



5. MORE bunting for the party..

6. and lastly, toadstool covers for the fairies to still on (photos to come).

There are also a couple of bag patterns floating around in my head, but I shoo them away when they come to visit, no time for them.

How on earth am I supposed to find time today to make cupcakes for Elsie to take to school tomorrow, and an information evening at school tonight? Lets not mention the appt in town at 12.30pm or the numerous school pick ups!

Squeezes, Michelle xx

party preparations begin....

... and not a moment too soon really, especially since the "big fairy party" for a very special soon to be 6 year old is THIS Sunday!! Unfortunately my brain doesn't go into action until the last minute. My super organised (/controlling...shhh.... I didn't say that!)17 year old has been on my back for awhile now, so today it was time to start the bunting. I decided I was going to make this instead of using paper streamers, as it is something that can be used again, will look super cool and I can use some of it in Elsie's bedroom afterwards.

So..... picture me standing in front of my 'stash'... can I bear to use that one?? or that one?? I was in pain trying to decide, until I slapped myself smartly and realised that THIS is what 'stash's' are for.. aren't they? Yes, yes of course they are. What's the point of it otherwise? So, very pretty bunting coming up (worked out I need 36 metres of it, which equals 360 pieces! Ok, job #1 started..., 100 to go, (this is one of those times when then super organised/controlling daughter comes in very handy - especially when she's still on uni holidays, yay!)

have a good week,
Michelle xx

*ok, ok, I confess.... I couldn't bear to use the 'Swell', my almost favourite range from Urban Chiks!

A New Pattern...yay!

It's very exciting sliding that new pattern, freshly printed and folded, into a crisp plastic sleeve! It gives me a great deal of satisfaction as it is the last peice to a long process of designing, making and writing the pattern for a project.

This is my new pattern to hit the shelves at The Quilters Corner. The quilt has been hanging for a couple of weeks so you may have already seen it if you have popped into the shop lately. It is made from the gorgeous French General range (from Moda) called 'Pom Pom de Paris'. Hence the inspiration for the name, and the fact that is made from a layer cake and 'gateaux' being french for such yummy things (the edible ones!). PLEASE excuse my very dodgy photo... at midnight it seems like a perfectly sensible idea to prop a pattern up against my sewing chair and it would be artistically brilliant! ..... oops!

I'm very excited as hopefully, very soon, I will have enough patterns written up to launch my website properly...(mmm... note I said "written", the quilts are actually made they just need a certain person to stop getting distracted by certain gorgeous fabric that walks in the door of the shop non-stop! What's a girl to do? Stop and drool and play with new fabric or write the pattern for the quilt you've already drooled over? surely you can see my dilemma?

have a great weekend,
Michelle xx

Thankyou all....

Thankyou to all for the wonderful support and comments you placed. It was so encouraging. I would have posted sooner but it has taken me this long shuffle/limp/stagger to the computer. Those legs, which I DO appreciate, took a little hammering, and due to my very non-athletic style and grace, I have managed to grind my hips to a near halt. ouchies!

Nethertheless! I completed my 10kms, in 62 minutes which in the end, was a pretty respectable time considering. And I have learned a couple of things along the way... and a couple of things I was reminded of.....

1. Stretching is not over rated..
2. running when injured makes the injury worse (who would have thought??)
3. be very specific when ordering coffee in the McDonalds drive-thru at 5am, they are a little sleepy and don't listen very well..
4. your mind is more powerful than you think...
5. there is ALWAYS something left in the 'tank', you may just have to dig to find it..
6. be grateful for what you have (I'm talking those legs again), there is always someone that would swap in a heartbeat....
7. these events are NOT just for athletes, they are for anyone willing to have a go. The atmosphere is amazing, everyone there for the same positive reason!
8. rest and be kind to your body, it is just as important as the hard work...

My husband has likened me to a racehorse and says I now need to go out for a spell.. (at least he didn't suggest I be made into glue!). So now that I'm on an enforced rest, I have even more reason to sit and create!


(my wonderful friend Kath(left) and I BEFORE the race..)


Michelle xx