I do believe I said...

Did you hear me say there would be more time to stitch? Well, feast your eyes, I've had a busy few days.

I call this one Our Lady of Guadalope. I went to her shrine in Mexico and asked her to make me a mother. It worked. 13 months later, despite being in full menopause, I had met a man, become an instant mother and became pregnant. I have plans to create a large applique collage of Our Lady in bright colours. Not sure when yet.

This Sun piece is exceptional. I love it so much, it sold straight away and is used for rune casting.

Ah, Alice, the deeper we go down the rabbit hole, the deeper we go.

And this stunning wolf goddess. So sparkly in her finished state.

You can find my altar cloths for sale in my Etsy store.

 

Tea time

I was wandering around in a new (For me) local shop and I found this amazing fabric!

I hadn't seen anything like it since about the year 2000, and here it was, just what I needed.  Teacup fabric for the applique quilt I started 2 years ago. (Secret Garden by Esther Aliu, my Alice in Wonderland version).



I had halted at the teapot block, because it just wasn't going to turn out how I had first envisioned. Especially, as it was a mystery quilt, and I needed to work out how I was going to use these massive applique blocks and turn them into something I liked.

Check out this teacup! Yeah! I am back baby!!!

Let's see what we can make from maybe 4 completed applique blocks.

The journey that is 2019

Happy New Year to all!!

I've enjoyed a wonderful Christmas break, but also enjoyed some stitching as you can see... And look at this big pile of mail I have to post!

I've been making so many items to share, that my little business is keeping me busy!

I love these little bags for ipads, headphones, kindles or phones and charger cords.

 They keep everything together, and making them satisfies my need to quilt something. Hahahahahaha.

I've also made a few of these little Ruby Slipper bags. I designed these drawstring bags to be used for tarot or oracle cards, but they are also used for storing amulets, wands, moon cups, crystals, or other items precious to you.

I've always felt empowered by the feel that I have encapsulated in this bag.

"The Power was with you all along, you just had to discover it for yourself"... It is in the journey that we fear, we become brave, we face the fears, we conquer them and we are transformed into a triumphant new Self!

I love this scene, because you can see the road, and the rainbow at the end...

I painted the shoes with 5 coats of sparkly glitter to make them really sparkle. I really do love this. And so does everyone else! I made 4 of them!!

Welcome to the journey of 2019. May all be as it should be for us all.

Love Rainey

Me Time

It was my turn today for a few hours to myself at a local shop for social sewing group.

I took two things to work on, depending on my mood: maybe I will just want to stitch and relax enjoying working on the Diamond Hill block 3. Nope. (Although, I can report it is now about 20% stitched down from stitching in the evenings.)

I felt like trying out fabrics for Secret Garden block 3. I found some leaf fabric, tried it, and loved it.

Then I tried out the tiger face as the Cheshire cat's face. It needs a big cheesy cartoon-ish smile appliqued over the mouth. This is going to look good. The face is going to take the place of one of the flowers. There is no room for both.

Auditioning fabrics is fun!

Now that the cat face, leaf fabric, urn and stem fabrics are chosen, I can see a few changes need to be made.

The protea looking flower is far too pale and washed out. I bought a grunge hot pink to try for the outermost petals, and will audition other fabrics for the flower after that.

And, looking at the Queen head flower, I would like to change the lime green sepals into another colour. Maybe a warm apricot blush kind of colour. I will know when the protea flowers are made.

I love the way choosing fabrics and colours evolves as the block forms.

The new Diamond Hill block comes out on the 15th. It would be great to have all the Secret Garden fabrics chosen by then, ready to make DH4. After the fourth block, I suspect we will be piecing the centre of the quilt with the blocks we have made. I would like to have the first four blocks stitched for the release of the 5th month instructions so that I can move along with the next instructions straight away.

I only have enough background fabric for the first 4 applique blocks so far, so I'll have to buy more. Twist my arm!

My friend Sarah at 9658 Textiles has written a superb tutorial on dyeing wool fabric for rug hooking when you want just the right shade. Dyeing and rug hooking are definitely on my "to do"/"to drool" list.  I can only say go read the post and check out Sarah's work. Totally droolworthy.

Linking up with Esther's WIPs on Wednesdays.

Putting Alice together

I've made the Alice quilt top. Whoops! I have accidentally cut some off in the photo.... You will have to wait for next time!

Next, I plan to embellish with applique. After it is quilted I want to do more embellishing...

I'm pretty happy with the results of my day off...

Remembering Alice

I've been playing around with the Alice in Wonderland fabrics. The fabrics have a lot of depth and warmth with the borders around.This is what I have designed so far... I don't want to plan too much, too far ahead, I want to let it see where it takes me - in the style of Lewis Carroll himself.

I think it's going to be a nice size for the lap, or the wall or the couch (maybe even a cot quilt).

I don't think one chooses the Alice fabrics because they have a baby quilt in mind. I think they love the fabrics, and the story, and then they will turn them into a quilt for a gift or to keep themselves.

I hope I have enough leftover fabric to make a library bag.

It's a start.

All I have done so far is add borders around some of the pics in the Alice In Wonderland fabrics. I am rapt! What a great start to a new quilt.

The fabrics have richness and depth.

Just wait 'til I get more put together! Still, it's a start...