Progress

There has been stitching. Lots of small bits in between the activities of the season.

All the hexies since the October ones. This is the grap and go project.

These Christmas scrappy hearts turned up in the Christmas tree decorations box. I added the crazy quilting stitchery and buttons.

The branches in the tea pot have hearts as well as other home made decorations.

These Wild  and Goosey  blocks are a journey into paper piecing. Up dates as these pretties grow in number.


Over cast and grey day ________ a good day to play ______ in my scraps.

Enjoy whatever the week brings your way !
Terry

CHristmas Tree 2017

The Christmas tree always brings happy memories .

Happy memories of childhood making candles covered in whipped wax and smothered  with glitter. My brothers and I loved the time with Dad.

I look at my tree and remember DH making Santas from blown out egg shells for heads with his girls over 40 years ago. Those  Santas are still on the tree.

Other memories of my Mother baking and carrying on the traditions with my own children and grandchildren .

Happy Grama

A Quilt Hanging

Today I had a Eureka  moment.  DH was hanging up outdoor Christmas lights and I thought now's the time.

Yep!! time to find a place to hang a quilt. We've lived in this house for over 5 years and in that time no quilts have adorned the walls.

I fossicked around and found nice brass curtain hangers from two houses ago. Got out the stud finder and my lovely man about the house joined in.

DH bought this quilt in a street market in China  23 years ago .  He just told me " on the road to the Entombed Warriors ".  He has always been supportive .

The quilt is paper pieced. I know this because it crunches also while it was having an airing the sun shining through a pale yellow triangle revealed Chinese writing.

The blocks were made by different stitchers and then assembled. The shapes of the animals vary and the needle skills of the maker.  No matter it is nice to have it hanging in the entrance hall.

More important it is a wonderful  gift from my Best Friend.

Terry

October Hexagons

The down time of our week away gave me time for slow stitching .  Riding in the car and chilling out  by the river offered me the opportunity to sew.   31 Hexies 1 for each day of October.

The weather is warm and the gardens are doing well. Life is rapidly moving toward summer.

Roll on Summer.

Terry 

Gone Fishing

Wayne and I took a week off and drove North. A nice get away before the end of year/holiday season.

5 hours driving gets us to Stuarts Point a sleepy little town population 700.  The. Caravan Park is on an inlet. Of the McClay River.  Nothing strenuous just fish and chill.

The bridge spans the channel which is tidal. It leads to a path through the mangroves to the ocean.  Wayne spent a lot of time feeding the bream. Well he called it fishing.

I took lots of pictures but everything was so far away that when I tried to resize  pictures of large flocks of black cokatos they just looked like specks of dust.  There were pelicans and ducks to name a few of the birds.

One of ths the semi permanent campers has a hillside garden with these georgeous lilies.

It was nice to have some quiet time. Yesterday was recoup and today was 5 loads of wash. Honestly it was raining so a good time to chill.

We babysat last night for Archer while his parents went out to dinner for my DD#2's birthday.

This bargelo table runner was finished yesterday afternoon in time to box up with some new dishes for her Birthday.    These are her colors and I enjoyed a new techniqe and hey! Even though it's smaller than a quilt it is another finish.

Time to get the rest of the wash in before it gets cold or I run out of go. 

Enjoy your up coming week and take time to stitch some.

Terry 

Lots and lots

I've been working at completing UFO's.

Border attached, labeled, and gifted. This quilt was for a dear friend of my daughter Amanda.  The little girl's Mom was really happy to recieve such an unexpected gift.
Comment was  "Oh I really wanted a quilt. I've been looking on ebay but they are so expensive. " Both parents were happy and loved the fact the quilt was labeled and signed "Terry Patterson  Archie's  Grama". I figure my Grandson will be around much longer than me.

 

I really really wanted my Grandmother's  mangle.  !!! Oh how I wanted it.

I remember sitting in her basement as she used an iron that looked as though it belonged in a dry cleaners.  What I wouldn't have  given for  that as I  pieced this monster backing all from the stash.

The backing is for this one and the borders are on and it is booked  in with the long arm quilter.  I also have the binding ready to go when it gets back.

Lots of treadling during the Rugby League finals.

Two long sides of the piano key borders attached to my version of Bonnie Hunter's  Rick Rack Nine's quilt.

The blocks are constructed from rows of swaped strips made of  6  2" squares stitched in a row.
I worked on the block assembly during my hip/broken pelvis recovery . That was the winter of 2015 here in Australia. Figured it was time to finish and move on.

Just finished my second cup of coffee and have a quilt in the wash ready to peg out so enjoy your weekend and good bye for now.

Terry

Silver Lining

I have a cold that has been hanging on way too long.
                                                                                 BUT

The tray beside my chair shows what's been happening between snneezles and snuffles.

It all started with Pintrest. Lots of guilt free hours resting. The temptation to try some OTT  (over the top) Embroidery. The new revival of crazy quilting style stitching sent me in search of embroidery floss.

A zip lock bag of unknown origin held proximity 40 skeins of stranded cotton.  Purples and pinks suggest it was not from my Mom.

Two skeins of Peri-Lusta from a British company which closed in 1934 reinforced my suspicions.

1. 

Coats and Clark's priced at 5 cents

J. P.  Coats.........no price

J.P. Coats  deluxe  15 cents

Lots of D.M.C.      The multiples of colours suggest these skiens were bought for a project. I hope the stitcher completed her embroidery and enjoyed it.


While I'm not happy about the cold I am enjoying the time to explore something new.

Enjoy whatever your up to.   Terry

Quilting in the Wild West

During a recent visit with my brother Matt and SinL Debbie  I was treated to trips to the two local quilt shops.  More later.

First let me tell you they live in the real west  cowboy country.  Wyoming has the lowest population  per size of any state in the U.S. A lot of Wyoming's land mass is national parks which includes The Grand Teton range and Yellowstone.

They live 3 hrs from Yellowstone but the view from their family room is amazing.

The light and time of day provided an evey changing view of the Rockies.  The view and tranquility were wonderful . A great place to chill with much loved family.

Back to the quilt shops. The valley my brother liv=s in is Thayne  the small village has a grocery store ,post office ( boxes only no delivery)  , they currently have a pharmacy and a New Version of a General Store.

I didn't get a shot of the outside but here is the inside.

There quilting section is to the left in the photo and just as you enter the large "Gereral Store".  The rocking chair and BBQ were a small sample of the diversity of merchandice on offer ...... including tools and gardening supplies.

From a quilters point of view great stop for everyone including husbands! I wonder who'd finish shopping first?

The town of Afton also near by boasts the largest elk horn arch. Yes it is made of real elk horns. The bucks shed them in the spring each year and have become a local icon.

View of the Quilt shop window this time I forgot to take a shot of the inside. The Quilt Shop was as expected ......UNTIL. you got to the last 10 feet.  Can you guess? No ? It was also the local Party Store spots, stripes and baloons. .

No shop space was wasted in the "Wild West "

After all this was Radiator Springs.

If it had wheels and a motor Courtesy Ford  sells it.     Radiator Springs is the town featured in Disney's movie Cars. Check with all boys under12.


There was fabric shopping

The neutral with the pine trees and the text that says love you are both from the WILD WEST.

The rest of the fabrics were from the vist with my youngest brother Dan .


On the sewing front onlt 15 hexies for June and July

Dinner Bell just rang so until next time.
Terry

Better Late

Better late than never.  An old adage which I think is a way of excusing one self for not being on time.
That's me with this post

    

The hexies for May

I did finish them all of them in May but wasn't good at posting them on time.

I have a good reason really truly I do. I'm not sure you believe me  so here is photographic evidence..

Some quilt class homework.

My sewing buddy. A 1928 22k Lotus all set up in the livingroom so I can stitch while watching  football.  Rugby League, Rugby Union,  and AFL (Aussie Rules).

Yes we have 3 different codes.

The cabinet is beautiful and all the detail is complete. I cleaned it up and polished the table. DH taught me how to use the wire brush fitting on the power drill to make cleaning up the irons easier. He then painted them for me. A full service and the only part that needed replacing was the spring that lifts the bobbin case and a new belt.

Working on strips to re learn how to treadle. 

Sunday footie is on and dinner is in the oven so I'm going to get some treadeling in.

Queen's Birthday so a 3 day weekend.  Plan on extra stitching time.

Enjoy whatever you do this week.  

Terry

Granddaughter Knows Best

A stop at the stationary shop with my teenage Granddaughter included this bag for me.  She insisted I needed it and plunked it on the counter.

The sales clerk gave her a quizzical look then glanced at me. I shrugged ever so slightly and nodded. Who was I to say no to a small purchase that included me in her adventure.





Little did I know how right she was.

My little hexie project has become a close companion recently. Primarily as a traveling companion in the Random Crap bag. Sometimes as a busy bag with a small easy project to work on while riding the train to town. It takes about 45min. To get to Sydney.

More often it has kept both hands and mind settled in numerous waiting rooms. Just catching up on missed routine check ups. Last year's hip incidents complicated life.
I am almost caught up just mamagram and it'booked!!!

Meanwhile this "little "project has grown into a wonderful journey. Easy stitching both by hand and machine. But more importantly the thoughts that accompany the process .

I see so many possibilities for these little blocks. There is no deadline for decisions so for the time being I enjoying the journey.

Enjoy whaterver your working on.
Terry

Next Generation

Ouilting is steeped in traditions.  The name of blocks, patterns for quilting and stories of the makers. All this and more is gifted to the following generations of quilters.

As a quilter I am immersed in the handing down of stories and hand made treasures.

Grampa Dolly next generation.

My father made sock dolls. He made one for each of his 8 grandchildren.  I in turn have made a sock doll for each of my grand children. Perched on the high chair my Grampa Dolly is a gift for my 3rd  Grandchild who is now 1year old. The Grampa Dolly I made will share life with the one my Dad made for  Archer's Mom ; my daughter  Mandy .

Quilting has continued on the neutral string blocks with hexies. One a day for April.

The creams are monoplising the string blocks so when I made a "Just checking it out " stop at Spotlight.   The five fat quarters for $10 was a chance to add some not so cream and larger scale prints to the mix.  The deal was for groups of 5 which meant I needed one more fq and the poison green was more interesting than a brown paper bag one.

Don't know where this project is going but it is ......... humm better than one off hexies in a box.

It is a Blustery day here so off to hang out the 10 fq's to dry.

Enjoy whatever project you are working on. Terry

Necessary Shopping

The building of a stash is serious business.  I have been working on mine since the late 60's. The leftovers from dressmaking were saved for a quilt some day.

The large floral and the solid watermelon in the 4 patch were skirt and shirt offcuts.

The stash has grown the making of quilts from purpose bought fabrics, offcuts from 2 daughters' homemade clothing and fabric I just couldn't live without.

A quick snap of the sewing room this morning.  I have been using scraps and gifted bits and bobs for both these projects. Fun to remember where they came from .

Then there is the shopping

10 fat quarters for $10.00. Could you resist? Yes I really truly needed more neutrals. The string blocks are fun and soothing to work on.

The tumbler quilts layout is a more controlled lay out. It is a baby quilt in progress.

Weekend forcast is rain . Good sewing weather.
Enjoy your weekend
Terry

More Memories

The stories quilts tell are often obscure.   The small string block includes directions for a pre-printed panel.  It was supposed to be a pillow but by the time I got the scraps came to me no one was going to make a pillow with the bits.

I used the text as a neutral and as I stitched I saw the word pheasant. Happy memories of autumn and the flurry surrounding the 2 weeks of pheasant hunting season.
My Dad enjoying the company of friends . The dogs anxious to be out and running.
Sometimes the hunting was successful and pheasant was Sunday lunch treat.

There is also unexpected humor.

Grabbedd a green hexie at random to work on during a 40 minute train trip to town.
A pair of legs and I was on my way to have my legs measured for compression stockings.
I don't know where the scrap came from but it made me smile all day.

Gotta love what we do.

Have a great week.
Terry

Blanket Stitch

One simple embroidery stitch triggers so many memories. I've said before that my Father taught me to sew. He was an engineer who interpreted the blue prints/patterns which he used the with a small fly wheel (sewing machine) to assemble clothes for my Mother and I.

My Mother taught me the intricacies of using stranded cotton and various stitches to decorate pillow cases and dresser scarfs. We would sit after dinner and stitch. Her stitches were so consistent and I remember her often doing close button hole stitches as a fill in on leaves.

Working on these individual pieces is a gift from them both.

The growing number of blocks reminds me of Dad teaching me to lace leather coin purses.
Another time an image of him sitting at the kichen table making mocossins for his first granddaughter. My daughter Heather.
My Mom changing the bed linen and smoothing out a pillow case she had stitched with love. The setting of the dinner table at Thanksgiving always started with spreading out her hand embroidered table cloth.

Parents who took the time to teach and share their skills. They have enriched my life beyond expectation.

" To the Moon and Back"

EnjoY your weekend  . Terry

Working my way back

It has been a patch of life where the hats of Wife and Mother took precedence.
BUT I'm  back.

String blocks on phone book pages.

Ready to be squared up.

Cut into 4 3 1/2" squares

A little tin suitcase/lunch box

Lots of random hexies

TA DA !!!


The string blocks are an easy project to take to quilting. Stitch, press, stop and chat . I like how something evolves and surprises my creativity. The addition of the hexies gives me simple stitching in a portable size. Each hexagon is different some just random some of the fabrics have stories.

I have always been more intrigued by the journey than the destination.

I was hap hap happy to find lots of new posts on my blohis morning. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed sharing with others and yeah. I acknowledge that I have been remiss in posting so

I promise to do/ strive to stop by more frequently. Maybe it will just be a hexie or two but it's a journey your welcome to share.

Enjoy Easter whatever your plans. Terry