Venus

Ohhhhhhh.. Botticelli's the birth of venus on fabric.... could it get any better?

YES! I have done detailed freehand machine quilting all over to add dimension, texture and interest.... and I just love her.

When I was stitching the red mantle, I found.... a RED MANTLE! *wink wink*

And so this has become a coveted piece by a feminist woman, who is going to stitch it onto the back of her denim jacket as a mark of her feminist nature.

Such a lot of work in this one, and it is so beautiful. I am very happy.

Finished the chairs!

Well the chairs turned out to be SO BEAUTIFUL!

These pretty chairs really change the feel of them.

And no top coat of paint necessary!

I just pressure hosed the original cushions, covered them with new fabric and plastic.

LOVE IT!!!

The discovery of Fusion paints

And in other exciting news, I have come across a mineral paint I love called "Fusion".

I did a mini course in transfer techniques and now I am hooked.

Why not practise on these old chairs? The beloved said it wasn't worth putting the paint on them, but I understand the value of practising on pieces that don't really matter in the end whether it works or not.

The chair was cleaned with a high pressure hose and that is all it needs.

Next chocolate paint applied. Then some wax on the sports where I don't want the paint to stick as well, so it looks worn.

And here are my "distressed chair frames".

So I took my hands (which had the paint on them) into the fabric shop to find the right shade to cover the seats.

Next update to follow.

(Miss 8 LOVES the chairs, and so do I!)

Kids apron

Even though I don't make his clothes, I did make the apron 3 year old boy is wearing, from a tea towel.



And what a starring snap it is, first time on his bike. Time to work out how to push the pedals.

Digital print fabric

The new era of digital print fabrics are here, and they are everything they should be and more.




For a long time digital prints were very hit and miss.  If the shop ordered them without seeing a sample, they were often a very poor quality, and then they couldn't sell the bolt, let alone a range.

But things have changed and these are absolutely beautiful.

I bought a panel for my daughter's next quilt.  She is 8, and is using a quilt I made to suit her 3 year old interests of horses.

These days she still likes fantasy, and her favourite colour is aqua followed by purple, so I know this will be the right choice. 

 I can take my time collecting additional fabrics, but this is a great start!

Catboy

You never know with kids, what they will play with next, or for how long...so I am happy to say that finally this Catboy costume from Santa last Christmas is being worn.

Mind you, it is our cool weather and the right time to wear it.

But it's another reason why I don't make all those special toys for him to play with... er... break, in my case....

Bright and Australian

I wanted to use this glamorous tie dyed tea towel for something more special than wiping dishes, so I used it to make a padded, quilted and lined tea cosy.

Making it a generic shape it should fit over most teapots trapping in the warmth, with a loop on the top to safely remove it without burning oneself.

And most teapots I have used dribble tea down, so if you have a cosy directly fitted to the teapot, there is always a slurping of a stain, and this fabric is too pretty to be stained.

I loved making the dimensional gum leaves so much, and I have a whack of Australian wooden buttons I picked up on sale somewhere.

This one has been snapped up, but I do have more of these hand dyed tea towels... Hmm... what to make with the next one?