Practising my Free Motion Quilting

A few of you would have heard of this project hosted by Leah Day http://www.daystyledesigns.com/ I have started practising - won't get 1 done each day but one day I hope to get through most of them.

"Practise makes perfect!"  hope that is true - bit of a wobbly beginning - each square is about 4"  & very achieveable & I actually do improve by the fourth square.

This is my "Swirling Flames" & I reckon it doesn't look too bad - from a distance!  Will keep at it & post my efforts from time to time.

FloodArt - another Dimension

Came across more photos that had been 'damaged' in the flood - photos of quilts - this one had been under a card & the writing copied on to the photo.  Embellished with flowers.

The mirror images appeared on the under side of the the photos resting on top - it was one of those "wow' moments - now what to do with them all. Am creating mail art & trying to be creative enough to display them well.

Stitch Sampler

Have also been in HerShed - making these stitch samplers. Not an original idea but one I got from the book, Threads The basics & beyond written by Debbie Bates & Liz Kettle.  Borrowed from Qld Quilters library & am going to work my way through it over Christmas (or so the dream is!). 

This took quite a few hours but I do feel it was worth it - now I know what every stitch on my machine actually looks like. Ther exercise also made me a bit more aware of tension, needles, feet etc.  Glad I persevered. It'll be a great reference once the book is returned to the library.

Sherwood Stitchers Annual Outing

 Each year, Sherwood Stitchers goes on a bus trip - this year our destination was Sew Creative http://www.sewcreativegatton.com.au/, in Gatton,  with a stop at Rose Patchwork http://www.rosepatchwork.com/ in Ipswich.  We spent up big & Gail & Jenny at Gatton put on lunch.

Some spent more than others!

Even the bus driver was looking for dog fabric.

Yard work continuing

Bromeliads - we love them & they seem to do so well with only a little care.

This delightful fellow graces the front yard - he was a gift from Pam.

MailArt from Greece

This piece came from Katerina - she is also doing Mail Art 365 - http://mailart365.blogspot.com/ - she has nearly accomplished the goal of 365 Mail Art pieces in 365 days.  Her postcard told me she had only 8 to go.   A few others are almost there too - me - I have over 200 to go.  I started late & had 3 months off - not much of an excuse, I know & I'm probably not as dedicated as others.  Congratulations to them all!

Working in the backyard

Our backyard is under constant development.  HofM & eldest son, working. The bush orchid is attached to the old macadamia tree that was termite eaten & chopped down. The orchid survived but the stump fell over with its weight - it's now upright & tied to the fence - a new macadamia tree has grown out of the old stump, has nuts on it but the bush rats love them & we don't get to eat any.

Mail Art going out

There are still a lot of flood damaged photos to be embellished - slowly making my way through them.  This was a photo of one of my sister's paintings (the top one) - from about 15 years ago.

Fused Christmas scraps & then free-motioned stitching over to hold it all in place.

Mailart Arrived

It is amazing just how creative people are - this one is from Helen of the West - corrugated cardboard can be beautiful too.

I now have a Rebecca original water colour & on one of my favourite subjects!

Mim,visit her at http://mim4art.blogspot.com/  - she does wonderful stuff - loving her latest & check out her Tiny Town.

Also from Mim - can't believe how lucky I am to be in touch with all these great artists.

Sylvia Pippen's Workshop

Spent an absolutely delightful weekend with several other ladies learning shashiko and an applique technique using Mylar.  The above design is one of Sylvia Pippen's Australian flower designs. 

Sylvia is on the chair surrounded by very happy women - the 3 quilts on the left are Sylvia's and the 3 on the right are pieces done by the ladies holding them.