Ho hum- beginning again

A scrappy catch-up post.....bits of my days and bits of fabric

So I'm back from my unintentional blogging break. It's been a few months of all sorts....busy fun, supporting friends who've been sick and/or hospitalised, dealing with some family 'stuff", which, while not mine, needed my attention from time to time, as well as the day to day tasks of home making - cooking, cleaning, taking care of my animals ...and repeat. After a while, it just got easier  to not blog, so I've made the effort today because it's ScrapHappy Day (maybe it still is the 15th somewhere?)  organised by Kate and Gun and it seemed like a good time to jump back in and post about my latest scrap projects.  Lest you think I've been tardy, however, here's a brief catch up of the last...umm.....however many  weeks it's been.

There were a number of distractions to start with....

Nimbin Mardi Grass  Nimbin's a small village about 30km south west of here, and although it's been a farming area for generations, and still is, in the 70s crowds of hippies piled into town for the first Age of Aqaurius Festival. Most of these stayed on in this quiet little hamlet of deep valleys and dense rainforest, planted their (illegal) crops of cannabis and spent their days quietly stoned...dropped out and tripping. Others developed a strong counter-culture, becoming activists and protestors, while at the same time, many mainstream businesses like yoga, healing and natural therapies grew out of the idealogies of the Aquarian festival, and people started growing organic food, setting up multiple occupancies (communes) permaculture farms and co-operatives. The Mardi Grass is an annual rally and celebration held to protest drug laws while celebrating the unique culture of Nimbin, and overall, having fun.  I love Nimbin, not just for it's counter-culture and history, or it's nude bicycle race but for the quaintness of the town, and the great sense of community, of artists, permaculturists and yes, even the activists.  I could write a whole blog post on Nimbin, but not today, so if you're interested you can read more here or ask Mr Google. I went to the mardi Grass this year to help a friend who had a market stall, so it was a busy time of fun and work.

Gunja fairies in the Festival Parade ! Yes, really.

Then along came MAT...Murwillumbah Art Trail......."A showcase of contemporary art at it's best, with exhibitions, free events, workshops, good food and music and all day and into the night"
You could just grab a map follow the numbers and walk the town, enjoying art and food and having fun. I did more work than play throughout this week, as a number of friends either had their own galleries open to the public, or were exhibiting in pop up galleries. As most of them have day jobs, I filled in to mind their spaces for them, meet and greet and sell their excellent art woks......10 days of work and fun.

Just follow the numbers on the map

Then there were the three big birthdays on the same weekend .....my friend Tash's daughter turned 18th, and I was roped in to help organise and set up.  Luckily I also had a 50th to attend, so was excused from the 18 year old's bash pretty early.  The next day I met up with Tash again to celebrate her baby's 1st birthday, which was a very tame affair after the other two.....strawberry sponge cake and apple juice....then dashed off to host another celebration for the 50 year old for friend's who couldn't be here for the night before.
Then there was gardening, because the weather has been just wonderful, and way too nice to be inside.

sowing 

growing 

and eating 

There was some house painting while the weather was sunny but cool. Outdoor chores are so much more enjoyabe with zero humidity. The outside of the house was brown and cream, it's all this nice blue-green now. I was sure I had some before photos, but they're being elusive.

 with grey railings and trim

On the few cold rainy days we did have have, I did some pink,

Blue 

and yellow sewing.

 ...........knitted a couple of beanies which went to Thursday Island for school boy footy teams.....State of Origin colours.

I did some hand sewing and beading and made a pretty bag for a friend's birthday.

and there was a soft toy or two that dashed out of here to bring some cheer to children in hospital.

So now I'm caught up, on to my ScrapHappy project......there's two actually. Firstly, a friend decided she wanted some pale blue in her life, and was considering buying a $300 quilt she'd seen in town......yikes!  So I suggested I make her one, on the understanding it wouldn't be a quick finish, and she happily accepted.

I'd seen a few bowtie quilts pop up on various blogs featuring their  Rainbow Scrap Challenge projects, then I saw that Sue of the Magpie's Nest was making them too, so I jumped on the bandwagon as well. Here they are pinned on the design wall, I think that darker blob in the middle is my shadow!?  I'm using light and medium blues, and as I don't have enough blue scraps there'll be some fabrics used twice, or more, and in a couple of blocks I've joined pieces to get the 4.5 inch size square I needed. I've made 15 so far, and try to sew a few every day, making sure I cut some ready when I've finished sewing, so I can just go straight to the machine the next day.

My second use of scraps is a bit different. I've tied the white trimmings and leftovers of projects onto a string across my garden beds of kale and chinese cabbage, to deter the cabbage moths from laying their eggs. Apparently they see the white fluttering in the breeze and thinking it's rival moths,  they move on.  It seems to be working, no holey greens since I did it.

Hop over to Kate's blog to see what others are doing with their scraps, or to get the details if you have scrappiness you'd like to share.

Till next time..........

December Scraphappy

........kindly hosted each month, on the 15th, by Kate and Gun 

I haven't done very much sewing this month, being mainly pre-occupied with painting.....not the artistic kind, but walls and furniture.   To prove it, I have multi-coloured splotches on my feet, my hands and up my arms......pretty green from my sewing room walls, lovely turquoise from sprucing up an old armoire-type cupboard, also for the sewing room and dollops of navy from transforming a stained timber tv cabinet from the op-shop into an eye-catching piece for my lounge room.

I did manage some scrappy stitching though.  I wanted to make a gift to send to the US as part of a Christmas swap, so I played with various size patches in shades of blue, and laid them out 'boro-style' to make the background for some bunting.

A start 

I added some green, cream and some of my sun-prints for contrast and interest, and after cutting the triangles, and backing them, settled to the task of kantha stitching  the layers together.  I find this easy rhythm of the in and out of the needle calming and peaceful, almost a meditation.

  After binding and joining, I added buttons.

Then deciding it needed a bit of sparkle, I stitched a bead trail in a snaky pattern the length of each piece.

Yes. that's better 

And here it is, all finished. For the binding I used a scrap of green I had left over from cutting up an op-shop (thrift store) cotton shirt I'd used for something else.

My swap partner was delighted with her gift, and has it hanging on her apartment balcony. She said it reminds her of Van Gogh's painting 'Starry Night' as it sways in the breeze.

As always, you can visit Kate or Gun to see who has joined them this month in the battle of the scraps.  We even have a yarny scrap post this time, with The Snail of Happiness showing her stripy granny squares.

The day has cooled, there's a good breeze blowing in from the east, so it's time to let the hound loose.

.....until next time

Stitching in the heat

Summer has arrived with a vengeance here, after a couple of months of mild spring weather,suddenly the days  are in the mid 30s (90s) with climbing humidity.  My sewing room has windows facing north and west and it gets very hot.  It's been the last room to have any attention in this house of renovations, so there's no blinds or curtains up yet, only an old sheet tacked up which falls down with annoying regularity, and doesn't really keep the space cool.

So my sewing machine and I have migrated to the dining table.  The sun is away from here by mid morning and there's usually a cooling breeze from the east.  And I can keep an eye on the building progress across the road, as another out-of-character -for -the -neighbourhood house goes up!

Today's the 15th of the month, and that means Kate and Gun are hosting ScrapHappy Day today.  I haven't been here since last month's SHD, but it's been one of those kinds of months!

I'm pleased to say I've accomplished a couple of projects to show you today.  This cot size quilt went off to Tasmania last month to an organisation that supports teen mums.  It had been finished for a while, just the binding needing sewing down, and for some reason I'd put it away and forgotten about it.  So a quick finish and away it went, I bet it already has a little some-one spitting up on it!

Next is a quilt top only at this stage, which is also destined for a Young Parent's Program in SE Queensland.  More scrappy log cabins

Sweet pastels this time

And remember the orange and blue number from here .... it's still being quilted.  I was just getting so bored quilting around those squares, so I put it away and started on the pastel blocks.  Much easier and way more satisfying!  It was a pain too, to have to keep taking the walking foot on and off to work on other projects.....i know, life's hard! I'm thinking I need another sewing machine, this one ready to quilt with all the time and another to do regular sewing on.  

There's no rush for this, if it's ready I'll send it off with the pastel one at the end of the month, if not, there'll be somewhere else to send it.

I'm joining with Kate and Gun who kindly host ScrapHappy Day every month.  They both have a list of Happy Scrappers who join in, so go check out what everyone's doing.  Or if you have your own scrappy project, you might like to join in.  Here's what Kate has to say about it.........

"

ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps – no new fabrics. It can be a random or formal quilt block, a pillow or pincushion, a bag or hat, a collage or rag rug. Anything made of scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? Either email me at the address shown on my Contact Me page, or leave a comment below. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. You don’t have to worry about a long term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link."

Eastern Water Dragon

Must go,  time to let the chooks out and walk Mirrhi while it's still relatively cool  out there.  I'll leave you with this fellow who spends his day surveying his world from atop Buddha's head.

Till next time...........

ScrapHappy Day in October

.......although I'm a little late!

Gun and Kate host Scraphappy Day and encourage us to use our scraps in some way, and then show off our creations on the 15th of every month.  It's the 16th here, but I'm sure it's still the 15th somewhere in the world.

This is a portable little project that I've been picking up and putting down over the last couple of weeks, taking it to appointments and making a stitch or two when I've needed a break from weeding,painting and mowing.

I'm making a journal cover, boro style.  This type of stitching is typically used for mending, but here I've layered large scraps onto a muslin backing, and then added smaller patches over them and used a running or kantha  stitch to hold it all together.  I might add some more patches on top as well, this will make the " fabric" that results nice and strong.

Close-up

I've used some of my hand-dyed fabrics, silk and indigo scraps from fabric bought in India and re-purposed scraps from op-shop buys, some over-dyed.  It's taken me a while to get used to stitching raw edges, but I'm enjoying it now and finding quite a sense of freedom and relaxation in it.

Next is a finished quilt that's not entirely scraps, but since a lot is, although larger scraps,  I'm including it as a scrappy project.  I bought the backing and that teal batik that's in the second border. 

I made this for my son's 40th birthday, which has been and gone, and we had planned I'd go to Sydney to give it to him, but his work commitments meant this kept getting put off.  This weekend he was free, so yesterday I hopped on the first flight out of Coolangatta to Sydney, and was able to present his quilt to him.  We spent the day eating good food, lots of chatting and catching up, and then mid afternoon he dropped me back at the airport.  I was home in time for tea.......pretty darn exhausted but feeling very satisfied!

Closeup  ...... color's not true here, it looks more navy then black

Oh and I sent it out to be quilted, Tina at the local quilt shop Moo Moo Stitches, did a lovely job, and saved me from hauling all that fabric through my machine and killing my back.

I'm linking up with Kate and Gun and other scrappy stitchers who're playing ScrapHappy Day this month.  Go and have a look and be inspired to delve into your scraps and make something wonderful.

I have other sewing projects to show, but will save them for another time....someone's waiting with admirable patience for her morning walk.  Hard to resist that face!

Till next time.....