2013 - The Year That Was....

In one word - exhausting.

If I were to look back at 2013, I would tell you that I got through it.  I landed on my feet - opposed to curling up in a ball.  So I guess I would call it a success?

On the creative side of life, it couldn't have been a better year!  I finished my 20th quilt for the year last weekend, and happily handed it over to my husband's cousin, for the new little man in her life - baby Archie.  And I have to say - the satisfaction that I receive when I've finished a quilt and am able to gift it to someone is unbelievably wonderful!  It adds to the enjoyment of the making.

I somehow managed to make the ever popular Swoon quilt too..... Which to my utter astonishment has had over 7500 view on Flickr after being picked up by Explore!  It seems people like a random photo with a cat!

I took my paper-piecing addiction to an all new high, by making this fairytales wall hanging....

I've made a gazillion cushions this year.  Plenty for gifts and plenty for a consignment that headed over to a homewares shop in Bali.  Happy to say they all sold!

There's been Bee Blocks.....

And assorted other projects....

And amongst all of the quilty things I've made for myself and others - I've made plenty of little people's clothing for customers (and my kids!).....

I think it's fair to say I spent a fair bit of my year behind my Bernina.

And on a personal note..... I think I've achieved a hell of a lot....

I've watched those four kiddos of mine grow like weeds.  Apparently I now have a man for a son.  My bestest friend moved back to Australia after 15 years in London, and I've been blessed to be a part of her two little girl's lives.  I've won fabric!  I bought a big kick-ass camera and am loving taking photos.  I've made cakes.  Lots of them.  I've spent countless days and nights with close friends.  I've learnt to quilt - properly!  I learnt to paper-piece, and became addicted.  I've bought a shit load of fabric.  I participated in my first ever crafty swap/secret santa.  I participated in my first ever quilt-along.  I went overseas with my husband for the first time.  I hosted my first ever blog hop.  And I survived Christmas!

I've had some pretty shitty times this year also.  I've watched my sister kick an almost 30 year habit and have been by her side to deal with the ramifications.  I've learnt more about mental illness, but feel like I will never, ever understand.  I've watched my teenage son become a man, and helped him through what could have turned out to be an absolute disastrous situation.  I've gotten along with his father - mostly.  I've seen families torn through in-fighting and poor decisions.  And I've been sadly reminded that life is too short for some, and to never, ever take the ones I love for granted.

2014 is shaping up to be a fabulous year.  Today is my tenth wedding anniversary!  In a few week's time, my youngest will be heading off to school, and for the first time in 15 years, I will have no children at home.  I am planning on working less weekends, and working more weekdays.  I am planning on diving in the deep end and pushing forward with some business dreams I have held for far too long.  But most of all - I am planning on continuing to see the great things in life and not focusing on the crappy ones!

So after that long, drawn out recap of this year - I wish you all a wonderful and happy new year!  May it be fun, filled with love and laughter.  I thank you all for coming to visit me here in my happy place, and look forward to sharing my trials and tribulations with you all again in 2014.  And a very special shout out to the wonderful group of friends I have made through quilting.  You have all become such an integral part of my daily life, and I love you dearly.

Love,

Midge

xxx

A Tale of Two Dresses

Every day, I receive a gazillion emails in my inbox.  They vary from the all important special sales online to recent blog posts from my faves.  Every now and then, there will also be an actual typed email from someone I know!  But, a few weeks ago I got an email telling me about a new pattern........and I kept that email because I loved the look of the dress, but had SO lost my passion for dressmaking that I didn't know if I would buy it, let alone make it.  

Fast forward to earlier last week.  I had some free time.  That does not happen very often.  I wandered in to Lincraft in the morning to get some denim for a new bag - only to find out that ALL of their fabric was half price!  BINGO!  So not only did I get denim, but I also found a couple of gorgeous lightweight cotton prints that would be nice for dresses.  It was right about then that my plans for bag making flew out the window.....

At around 2.30 in the afternoon, I started two dresses for my girls.  Not only are my daughters five and a half (the half matters you know) years apart in age - they are also poles apart in dress sense.  Miss almost five year old Chloe is a princess/barbie loving girly girl.  And Miss I'M TEN! Chelsea is trying to decide whether she is a high fashion supermodel or a beanie wearing goth....... Soooooo, here is the tale of the two dresses......in photos.......

Not so special just hanging around!

I finished both dresses around 8pm that night!  Hence the dodgy iPhone pics of the girls!

I guess I wanted to show you how different a dress can not only look on the hanger, compared to wearing, but also in the use of different prints and fabrics!  The little version (actually, it is TOO little - the sizing on this pattern was a tad small, so I've bought more of the bloom fabric to make her a bigger size - dress anyone??) is a poplin bordered print.  Perfect for this style of dress!  The bigger version (which falls beautifully below the hips - perfect sizing) is a lovely soft voile.  It's the first time I have sewn with voile, and it was great to work with!

Needless to say, both girls loved their dresses!  Now we just need the weather to switch over to Spring and they will be able to contemplate wearing them!

If you like this pattern, you can purchase it HERE.  It was pretty damn easy to follow, and the finish is neat and tidy.  There are also some beautiful options to change the look of the dresses.  I will certainly be making many more of them.

Have you tried any new patterns lately?  Sharing is caring!

xxx

PS - Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet?

Fiji - A Review of Sorts!

A little over a week ago, I was sitting in a hammock, reading a great book and listening to the sound of gentle waves lapping at the shore.  The only thing that could remotely annoy me were the ever present "mozzies", but even they were easily tamed with some local insect repellant.  My husband and I had seven whole days of peace and tranquility.  We had relaxation overload.  We met new friends and learnt a lot about different cultures.  It was an experience that I shall never forget, and one that I would most eagerly repeat, time and time again.  Our "honeymoon" we had waited almost ten years for, was amazing.  So here is my "sharing is caring" post - and a review of sorts - if only to get you all to visit this little peace of heaven!  Enjoy....

Leaving Melbourne at 2am was never going to be ideal, and try as I may, I could not get a wink of sleep!  So we landed in Nadi a bit worse for wear.  Greeted by a lovely driver, we jumped in his car and took a delightful slightly hair raising two and a half hour drive up the coast.  From there, it was a 30 minute boat ride, across the seas to a little island called Beqa.  And on that island was our destination - Lalati Resort & Spa.  Thankfully, we had these beautiful coconut drinks and a foot massage to greet us!  Oh, and singing and smiles from the local staff. 

This was the view from our room.  Literally steps away from the beach.  The sound at night, of the gentle high tide waves, was beautiful.

Looking out to the jetty from the social hub of the resort.  When I say social, I mean it's here that you can sit around with any or all of the other 16 guests.  Yep, the most guests at this resort at any one time is 18.  And I think that's what makes it so. damn. special.  Oh, and the fact there's no children - which was perfect for all the honeymooners and late honeymooners like ourselves!  You can slip in to the water from the jetty and snorkle to your heart's content.  We saw so many beautiful fish there and amazing big blue starfish!

My husband - just hanging around.

Some of the wonderful staff - Ollie, Josiah and Chantal.  They all live in surrounding villages on the island.  And they were all gorgeous souls!  Josiah was most impressed that I could upload a photo for him to Facebook - so he now has a profile pic!

On our fifth day, Josiah took us on a visit to his village - Lalati village.  It's only a five minute walk from the resort, but it was like stepping back a bit in time.  EVERYONE wore a smile.  And the kids were just divine!  We all had a hoot taking photos, singing and dancing.  Unforgettable.

And on this visit, we took a look inside their church.  Fijians are quite a religious bunch, with churches in each village.  This gorgeous little piece of handwork was inside, so I had to get a photo!

This is me with Captain Josiah after I'd been snorkelling.  We took a boat trip out to the middle of the ocean and were dropped on to the reefs.  To say I was shitting myself would be an understatement, but I sucked it up and relaxed.  It paid off.  We saw reef sharks and amazing fish.  The coral was beautiful.

And this is us with a local firewalker.  Yep, these fellas are known for their ability to walk on hot rocks that have been burning for seven hours.  Not even a flinch!

Excuse the grainy photo from my iphone, but this little cherub kept me company during a Kava drinking and dancing ceremony in the village! We had lots of fun taking photos!

There was no escaping patchwork for me!  This darling skirt was offered to me to wear when we went on a hike up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall.  We had to walk through another village to get there, and the local women do not wear pants, only skirts, so to show our respect, we had to wear skirts over our pants whilst walking through.  Certainly doesn't go with my runners!

And this my friends?  This is a photo of two extremely relaxed and re-juvinated human beings!  I took it just before we departed the island and headed back to the mainland.

I left Lalati with more than I came with.  Not in terms of possessions, but my heart was full.  The people I met and the places we visited just re-itereated to me how bloody lucky I am.  And how much "stuff" we have.  We left some of our stuff over there.  Basically because they needed it more than we do.  I wish I could have had the foresight to have taken lots more with us.

So there you have it.  A destination that I would strongly suggest you all get to one day!  

Have you been on a holiday lately?  Where would you suggest we dream of going to next?

Kate Spain Blog Hop - Stopping Here Today!

Last week, I wrote about my love for Kate Spain in THIS POST, today I'm showing you my latest project using a gorgeous little FQ bundle of Cuzco!  I finished this a couple of weeks ago, so it has been very difficult for me to keep it to myself, waiting for my turn on the Kate Spain Blog Hop!  I hope you've been keeping up with the hop over at Blossom Heart Quilts?  You can find all the dates HERE.

So - what did I make?  Well, I bought myself a whizz bang new camera a few weeks ago, and at the same time, bought a generic black camera bag from the same store.  And kept the tags on.  Because I really didn't like it.  And I really didn't want to pay a million dollars $150 for the only store bought camera bag I saw and thought was ok.  So then began a Pinterest search to rival no other!  I was determined to make my own goddamn camera bag!

Many days of searching and second guessing myself later, I found the Sew Sweetness Paparazzi camera bag pattern.  And it was $8 well spent!  I made a trip to my local Clark Rubber store and bought some foam for the padding and then took to my beloved Cuzco with gusto!

And this my friends, is the end result........

I love, love, love it!  I mixed the Cuzco with some lightweight denim I had in my shelves, and added some quilting to the handles and trim, as well as the side/bottom panel.

I found a gorgeous blue zipper to pop in the back and surprised myself with a new way of inserting a zip!

The side panels of the bag have one inch foam padding, and then there are removable foam padding inserts in the base of the bag and also to put between your camera and accessories.  The pattern calls for rows of velcro to be sewn on the inside of the bag, and also on the edges of the padding.  However - after sewing one row on, I decided against the velcro.  I'm still trying to work out how to make the padding work for me!

The pattern also gives you directions for using hidden magnetic closures, but I chose to use my good old handy snap machine with some co-ordinating blue snaps.  

And just to make sure it was a great functional bag - this beauty has just travelled all the way to Fiji and back!  Not only did it carry my camera and accessories - it also served as my handbag/travel bag!  So I think I can safely say it's great!

What I love most about this bag is the bright and bold colours.  I loved that each time I opened it up to get something out, I was greeted with those vibrant oranges and pinks.  Needless to say, the generic black camera bag was returned for a refund, and no million dollars spent.  Instead I have this one of a kind, unique bag which cost me around $35 to make!  Winner!

Thanks again to Alyce over at Blossom Heart Quilts for running this amazing Blog Hop!  I'm loving visiting all the blogs involved and drooling over all the fabulous Kate Spain inspired projects!  Be sure to link up any new projects you have made this month using Kate Spain fabric lines on the 28th of June.  I know I will be!

Australasian Quilt Convention - Done. And a little old T.G.I.F.F.

 A couple of months ago, I googled "quilt shows".  Mr Google led me to a fabulous website HERE which gave me all the dates for craft and quilt shows in Australia this year.  I then added all the Melbourne dates to my calendar, in the hope that I would be able to get to them all!

The first cab off the rank was the Australasian Quilt Convention.  Of course, nothing goes completely to plan for me, so when Chloe decided that Tuesday night would be the perfect timing to get sick, I started panicking that I would not be able to go yesterday.  Thankfully, both my sister and husband came to the party and played tag team, so I could jump on a train in the morning and make my way to the city.  The train ride was entertaining as always - I felt like I had been transported back to 1992 with a variety of homeboys and ganstas (wannabes) riding my carriage (that sounds wrong).  We even had an impromptu dj performance - as you do.

So here are some pretty pictures from my day.....

 A wet and cold walk through Carlton Gardens to get to the Exhibition Building.  A beautiful part of Melbourne.

The line to get tickets.  Lucky I bought online the night before!

The beautiful Exhibition Buildings!

There was a beautiful display of "Quilts from Korea".  This was my favourite of the bunch.  It is called "The Beautiful" by Eun-Ryoung Choi.  She says "I intended to express many Korean traditional beautiful patterns and beauties in this quilt".  I think she succeeded!

A close up of amazing stitching.  I'm pretty sure there's hand stitching there?

Another display was the AQC Challenge: Free.  I love this one!  It's called "Free Beach" by Elaine Surmfels.  It is hand dyed background with various threads, silk and beads.  She has used thread painting, free motion raw edge appliqué, free motion quilting and beading.  "My quilt was aimed at stimulating those emotions within us.  To make people smile, feelings of being liberated, uninhibited and carefree".

The detail in this quilt is amazing.  The texture brings it to life.

The third display were all quilts by teachers.  This one is "Last Night's Left Overs" by Deborah Louie.  The colours and the fractured dresdens struck me!

Isn't it just beautiful?

This quilted portrait of quilter Margaret Rolfe drew me in.  It is quite large in size, and the colours are mesmerising.  It is called "The Quiltmaker" by Jenny Bowker.  She used traditional machine piecing, raw edged applique, free motion quilting, hand dyeing, paint applied on a quilted surface!  Amazing.

The best part about all of these quilts was when you got up close and personal with them.  The detail is very impressive.

And my favourite from the day - "Maynard" by David M Taylor.  One of the most gorgeous, unusual quilts I've seen.  It looks like a painting from afar.

And up close.  The first picture I took was inadvertently of the dog's bum!  I thought it a little inappropriate, so took another.  Millions of stitches making up for texture and shading.  Again, amazing.

This gorgeous quilt grabbed me as I rounded a corner!  It is from the "Best of the Best" display - all the quilts from around Australia, which have been awarded at quilts shows.  This particular quilt is called "In Love with Dahlia" by Sandra Aston.  It is machine pieced and quilted on a domestic machine.  This gives me much hope for the future!

Just look at those feathers!

A great part of the day was finding quilts that were made by some ladies I "know".  Well, I know of them through the Quilt Club Australia Facebook group!  This beauty is by Jill Radcliffe.  "Wheels to the West".  Hand appliqued and machine pieced.  I especially love the little triangles around the borders - they remind me of bunting!

This close up shows you just how beautifully pieced it is.  In awe.

And another of the ladies from QCA - Sheila Oaten - is the creator of this piece of magic!  "Kaffe and Kim and Me" is a beautiful version of Kim McLean's Flower Garden.  All hand needle turn applique.  Amaze-balls!

Big, beautiful Kaffe flowers!

I also sat and listened to a seminar about thread.  And needles.  I learnt quite a bit!

AND I met another lovely lady from QCA!  Norma!  Hope your hand heels quickly!

All in all, I spent around five hours there.  Five hours!  I wandered around aimlessly for about one of those hours, spent half an hour in line to get some lunch and the rest of the time pawed beautiful fabric, bought some quilting tools and generally just lapped it all up!  This lovely photo is of the most daunting escalator in Melbourne.  Parliament station gives me the heeby-jeebies!  So long and steep!

And when I got home, I unpacked my bags and found all this lovely loot!  I will show it all to you properly in my Sunday Stash post.  I'm quite pleased with my purchases.

And in breaking news - I started AND finished something today!  I told you last week that I had been invited to take part in a paper piecing bee - well, here's my first block!  Gemma is the Queen this month and her theme is Party.  You can find her inspiration board HERE.

Birthday candles for Gemma!  I used Kristy's pattern, which you can find HERE.  She is quite the clever gal!

Phew!  What a post!  I'm linking up with T.G.I.F.F. being hosted by Sew At Home Mummy!