Oh Mammy!

Uh-oh! Not only has my list of 29 UFOS remained static (I keep finding more UFOs hidden away!)... I scrummaged through the box where I was keeping one of these UFOs -free flower of the month stitchery patterns (see some finished blocks below), and found some Mammy doll stitcheries I had printed off.

I want to make the Mammy doll dresses brightly coloured in variegated stitching with almost all other stitching in plain black (I think they will need red lips).

They are traced off and ready to go. I will post pictures as I progress.

The Mammy stitcheries were originally on the same site as the flowers of the month, but they are no longer on it.

Is the term "Mammy" politically correct? These girls are gorgeous and they will brighten up my kitchen. I think that's where I will put a little wallhanging I plan to make. I have some lovely 40s inspired prints that I think will work well with them.

Sorry no time for photos! Stay tuned!

More and more old-fashioned

Last night I worked late. Everyone I saw reminded me I am ageing. Young people were turning into young men and women. I looked into the faces of people only 5 or 10 years older than me, and I was imagining how they looked as 20 year olds.

Is 20 the age we always imagine ourselves? I have heard that's why a lot of farmers die at around age 50 of accidents on their farms. They forgot they are no longer the strapping man of 25, and try to do the physical feats that were easy in their youth.

Last night one young man looked at my name tag and saw I was married. I first met him 5 1/2 years ago when he was about 12. He looked nervous around me, but in a kind of "I hope you still respect me" way. Sometimes he is so confident. I guess it's a compliment. Was he comparing me with his parents?

Maybe I am just feeling older... and more old-fashioned.

What a lot of melancholic reflection! I am definitely ready for a holiday from work. Soon....soon...

In the meantime, here are some old-fashioneds I am happy with:

They have photographed slightly different colour backgrounds, but I have used the same fabric for all of them.

Old-fashioned flower of the month stitcheries

Last night I got my jobs done and I wanted to sit for an hour or so and watch a crime show I had taped. It's called "Underbelly" - the story of Melbourne gangsters, enlightening, not too grim, not too nice either. I am quite enjoying it.

So, I was looking at my list of four which currently includes Noddy, The French Collection and Christmas Mice.. and has an opening for something else! Well, they were all at the "nutting out" stage, and I really wanted something mindless to stitch while I watch.

My eyes travelled over my blog list of UFOs (I knew they would come in handy for something!) and I saw the Flower Of The Month stitchery blocks. They are all traced off and ready to be finished.

I finished this block last night.

I love that the pictures look old-fashioned. Just like those teacups with the months and flowers on them. So pretty! This morning I decided when I put them together they will go with my opp shop d'oyley collection. I bought about 20 at a garage sale once for $1 each. All embroidered. If any have holes or stains, they will be cut in half or whatever so I can use the good bits.

I have d'oyleys I embroidered myself, but I won't be cutting them up.

This is where I found the free patterns. I printed them off in May 2006, but they are still there.

These are a few of the blocks I have done so far. I will post more tomorrow.

I would suggest you use an unbleached muslin or osnaberg or pastel backgrounds to ensure the white flowers show up on all the pictures.

Floral inspiration

Last weekend Rosie and I went to a small town local Spring fair. The town has a primary school - I think there are about 3 classrooms, and one very old schoolhouse (not sure, maybe used for assemblies now?)

The fair consisted of car boot and market stalls, decorated cupcakes in aide of the school, footy showbags. I had a hamburger with coleslaw for lunch, and Rosie ate spit roast pork with apple sauce and coleslaw. Then, we ate devonshire tea! Yum!

We saw the cutest little displays in the old schoolroom. Competitions for best bunch of silverbeet, painted drawing (in age groups), PET creatures, miniature gardens in a box, 6 brushed eggs, sponge, biscuits, jam... This year the craft featured was quilts - cot size or smaller. A friend of mine always asks around for display items for the fair, so I put in 5 small quilts (I didn't realise I had so many small ones, I must make a list!) just to bulk out the look of the thing. There were 8 entries in total. LOL!!

My favourite part was the flower arrangements, and in particular the daffodils which are all in bloom at the moment. There were white and pink daffodils, white and white daffodils, varying sizes and shapes of trumpets.

How inspiring! Two whole walls of blooms in green glass bottles, catching the light.

Still plodding away at the Noddy quilt. Not much to show at the moment, although the characters are no longer floating in the air.

20 finished projects for 2008

I really can't believe I am up to 20 finished projects for 2008. What a finishing off year it has been! I can't pretend that most of it isn't due to Mum getting her longarm quilting machine last year. This year she has quilted 11 of my large quilt tops (Jane Austen quilt, 2007 Mystery Seasons quilt, Vintage Log Cabin quilt, Kaffe and Liberty United, Luxembourg, Libby's 30th birthday quilt, Toybox baby quilt, Love Is stitchery quilt, 2 one colour stitchery quilts, ). They were stacking up a little, so it is quite a relief.

Mum also has 4 other large tops that need to take their turn on the machine: Monsters applique, Joy Of Life applique, Eureka Chain and my vintage-look Dear Jane. I also have the red, white, yellow cherries quilt to pass on!!

Here is a finish for 2008 you haven't seen before. Flowers From My Garden designed by Lori Smith ( I loooove her patterns).

Whoops! There it goes!

I promise I don't have any other quilts I finished this year waiting for a sunny day on the clothesline.

Amongst working and having a life, it took about one week to applique each block. 16 blocks? That's 4 months of applique!!

Mum outlined each applique and quilted leaves along the sashing, a rose in the cornerstones and a lovely border treatment - lots of swirls. I am so spoilt!!

No-one else in the family quilts, so I am very lucky. Mum says I will get her Statler Gammill in the will! I reckon it will be worn out by that time!!! LOL!!!

The seasons are a mystery

Ta-dah! Sound the trumpets!! Seasons Mystery Quilt of 2007 designed by Cathy Stevenson - appropriately finished while the seasons have changed enough to hang another quilt out on the clothesline (and washing too!! but I won't show you my sheets and smalls).





Mum custom quilted it beautifully.... there are diagonal lines behind the applique , the borders have their own designs, even the diagonal blue stripes have a little design running along them, each light "goose" has a swirly quilt design in it... It really is lovely. You need a closer look.



Each of the centre pictures depict one season. We start with the mother sitting on the nest, then we see mother and baby bird, and so on. The corner blocks depict the father bird in each season.

The red border looks very striking. I purchased all the fabric before I started, so it was ALL a mystery then.

This is a massive quilt, it covers my king sized bed.

Right, I've got to look through some Noddy books and get some more inspiration!

The warmth of Spring

Yesterday it was a warm and cosy 25 degrees C. Spring was so welcoming. I had the opportunity to snap a quilt I finished recently. The sun was out, not a speck of rain in sight, and it wasn't TOO windy. This is my Jane Austen quilt.

Rosie, Sandra, Andrea and I have been going to quilt history lessons for a few years now. About 2 years ago I was browsing in a quilt shop (who doesn't?) and I spied the new Jane Austen fabric range. I made a few phone calls and left the shop with fabric for all of us.

Jane Austen's quilt is made from pieced diamonds with broderie perse on the centre diamond. I wanted to include diamonds, but not actually cut them out, so I designed this quilt and made it completely from triangles. I chose the easy way out with no applique, so I added the unusual border.

Andrea has made a lone star quilt (diamonds), but I think she wants to applique in the spaces around the star.

Sandra has appliqued in the centre of a stack of diamonds, I think she is up to putting it together.

Rosie made a whole lot of four-patches and plans to applique across the top.

I am the only one finished because I took the easy way out, but I am happy it is finished. They are ahead of me in our other challenges (1920s redwork and feedsacks - but more about them later).

Come on girls!!

Here are a few snaps from my garden yesterday: