Sunday, June 24, 2012

Liberty fabric hospital stay at RMH




Term 2 has been a long one.

A week to go before the school holidays. I have plenty of sewing to do and tidying to do. Also a week in Canberra to watch Big Niece play in the Kanga Cup. Little Niece and my sister might also turn up at the end of the week.

I will take my sewing machine, so we can spend some time sewing together at night.

In the middle of the term, I spent a week in Royal Melbourne Hospital and spent most of the week sewing my Liberty Stars fabric quilt. Normally I might finish one block in a week.
14 finished in under a week.

I had better get on and finish the quilt now.
Although I have been an Out Patient since 1995, I have never been
an In patient and I am planning not to be admitted ever again.

Lesson learnt. Pack lots of sewing, night gowns and coffee in a plastic jar.
Paper piecing easier to do with an AV drip than knitting or crochet.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Liberty fabric Rose Star block party


Liberty of London Fabric - Rose Star Block Party

Yes, I should be getting ready to go back to school next week. Normally, after Australia Day on the 26th January, state school teachers in Australia are back at their desks getting ready for classes after our summer holidays (pupil free time).

In my down time I have been spending a bit too much time 'surfing' for Liberty Fabric projects. 

The little pile of fabric has grown. Yes, I had a short vacation in Sydney and a longer 'staycation' at home in Melbourne.  


Then I came across Selfsewn's Rose Star block tutorial. from the Sumerfete blog.
Could I attempt this block and join in. 

After drafting and cutting out my set of paper pieces for English piecing,  I settled on  a 2 inch hexagon as my template and then I, set about choosing fabrics from Liberty of London. I love pink and red at the moment. 

We are quite lucky in Melbourne to have several retailers who sell Liberty Fabrics. I think I have visited them all, including Calico and Ivy in Sydney.


I changed the final design from this colour combination. 


This piece was finished in a couple of days and will eventually become a cushion.


Still not sure what colour background I should use?

I found this project super fast because I have used Sewline paper glue sticks from Sue Daley and Busy Fingers Patchwork. Other retailers also sell the glue sticks and refills.

Sewline Fabric Glue Pen



More Liberty fabric experiments in the school holidays. Destined to become a quilt.


Most of my English piecing projects are created this way. You can buy directly from Busy fingers patchwork  or Amitie in Gardenvale. Amitie also have a super range of Liberty Fabrics. 

I also highly recommend these Milliners Needles in Size 10. 


Milliners Needles




Sunday, January 22, 2012

Liberty hexagons - Sunday snippets

Liberty Fabric Hexagons - Framed. 

Close up - paper piecing 1/2 inch size. Finished and hung in place.



WIP - Deborah's winter quilt. Top Paper piecing - started 6 years ago and recently completed.
Flanel backing, spotty binding and cotton/wool wadding. Ready to quilt.


WIP - One of 6 Liberty Fabric Stars, I have completed. I have purchased more fabric to go with it. 
I usually work on this project on Thursday night at Perle 8's or Brown Owl's  Southside. 


Sunflowers in the garden.


Yet another finger infection. On the mend but it slows me down big time. 

Now cleaning for the Lunar New Year. Well, my father was born in Shanghai. He celebrated three New Years - Western, Chinese and Jewish. 

Families all over the world are cleaning up in preparation for a fresh start for the New Year. 





Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Happy New Year, Birthday and Anniversary

Today, Sally and I have been a team for 10 years. 
Beautiful Dahlias.

the garden is looking just lovely and coping well in the sweltering heat.