Here Kitty Kitty

In the hustle bustle of packing, trying to find a rental in a housing crisis, moving, cleaning two houses, we completely missed the arts and crafts deadline for the Townsville Show this year.

However, we did enter the cooking section for the first time! I won a couple of ribbons. Wow! (Especially because one lady seems to enter every single category and wins them).

And the 7yo kiddo won the Junior Cook Champion award, which was a sash, and he walked away with $69 in prize money! (Okay, I bought the ingredients and paid the entry fees, but that's a Mother's gift).

The confidence he earned from that will never be spent.

We've been organising the garden. It's a rental, so everything is in pots.

I've ordered some bare rooted trees. We will buy big pots/plastic rubbish bins and some good soil and mulch to kickstart our own produce trees. 

It's always been important to me, and with a 7yo, I feel  it's even more important to instill the feeling of growing your own.

Last update on these blocks for a while... I am starting art school next week, I don't know when I will get to pick these up again. It's going to be a busy time!

More blocks with Tabby Road and other Tula fabrics.

Made using patterns from Tula Pink's book "100 Moderen Quilt Blocks".

I so enjoy collaging colours and patterns.

I feel I will also love this in my art works.

I'm a little nervous, apart from designing some appliques, I haven't really drawn anything since year 9, 35 years ago.

 Bye by for a while, blocks.

This quilt WAS going to be a surprise for the kiddo, but it's not a surprise anymore!

Luckily he realises these things don't happen overnight.

Thinking out loud: it's his birthday in 3 months. Bit too close to have it completed and quilted by Mum (Deep Creek Quilting)....

Total of 23 blocks made. I think I will call the quilt "HereKittyKitty"

Sentinelles update

These Australian sentinelles were lino printed onto hand dyed fabric by artist Dijanne Cevaal.

I bought them years ago when I was still living in a caravan. Blush. That must be 10 years ago. Far too late to join the stitched creations by other stitchers which travelled around in an international exhibition. 

But, I have these out, and the stitchingis finally done.

Next, to think about fabric to go with them. I've had one picked out for years, and it inspired the thread choices. Its possible I will need 2 or 3 fabrics though. Wanting 2 or 3 posh fabrics can turn a relatively inexpensive project into a bit of a money bucket. 

But they are for me, I get to keep them, which is always always a bonus.

And I've enjoyed the stitching on these over 10 years! (eep)

I look forward to finishing them!

 

Cross cushion

I want to make a quick gift of a cushion for a special person, so I chose a pattern from Tula Pink's book "100 modern quilt blocks", and used mostly stunning patchwork fabric I bought at the opp shop.

Somebody else loved these no longer, but I, I will make and gift with them!

This is so unusual and different, it feele like it could be a UFO. I don't have enough of any fabric to go with it.

Sigh. I hope this gets completed.

 

Mumma Tiger

A change of scenery.... Mumma Tiger quilted altar cloth is on its way.

Videos don't seem to work really well on a blog. 

You can see reels and videos of stitching on my instagram:

@bizarrequilter

 

Almost end of term

School holidays is almost here, and that means I am super busy with the kiddo.

How many blocks can I squeeze in before we both go to school?

I need to get organised, apron, paintbrushes, drawing books and materials... Oh my!

I'd love to design my own fabric, really I would.

What a special gift to be able to enjoy tertiary arts study now, because it was discouraged when I was young. 

When I got to year 10 Mum said, "It's time to get serious now Lorraine, what maths and science are you going to do?"

And that was that.

 

The next blocks

I'm not sure how much longer I can be as prolific as I like with the quilt blocks.

I've been listening to podcasts and whatnot while I sew, and I won't have the time for this very soon.

I've found a fee-free Visual Arts course at TAFE, and enrolled!

I'm a little bit nervous, I haven't done drawing or painting since about year 9, 35 years ago!!

I feel like I'm going to be super, super busy! Eep!

Doesn't this boy look like a star? Literally!

And you too, kitty

More information to come!

A lovely collection created today.

 

Tabby Road begins

 

What a busy few days! 

Here we have the first blocks made with the Tabby Road and other Tula Pink fabrics I've pulled from the stash.

It's time for these fabrics to shine in their own right.

I'm creating blocks from the Tula Pink book "100 modern quilt blocks", which I feel every quilter could own and make a different version of the same blocks... in much the same way as quilting has been done for centuries of course, but it's so inviting to be different!

I am so Aquarius. I love to stand out and be different!

I really don't know quite what direction to take this in, I guess I had another think about bed quilt.

And once again, I've decided not to make it for the bed. So it can be smaller and maybe even hang in the gallery hallway if he doesn't need it in his bed.

These blocks aren't so big, but they make a big impact!