Slow days, painting and sewing...

Mr E is still working away on our old Jeep. It seems every time he pulls out one part to fix he finds two more waiting to stand in line.

It's frustrating and his back, neck and arms sure do ache right now, but he looks at the big picture...when all the work is done we'll have a car that will last, one that he knows inside and out. I'm so very proud of his diligence to any task. 

I also appreciate my husband for asking each morning, "What can I do for you today, lovely wife?" and being honestly prepared to put aside his own plans to accommodate mine if I have a need.

Last weekend we decided to have a break from his Jeep repairs and my housework and see what was on offer at local garage sales. At first it was slim pickin's (as my Pop would say) but then we found a few goodies. 

These beautiful kitchen towels are huge and soft as soft can be. They're quite old, the original waffle weave variety. Four have a nice machine satin stitched zig zag trim in pink and green...

...whilst two others have hand embroidered little flowers in single strand chain stitch. Made my heart go pitter pat.

Mr E doesn't quite understand why treasures like this make me so happy, but he's happy for me. 

I paid just $10 for all six.

Another wonderful find was a quilt stand, though I do wonder if it's really a free standing towel rail? 

Never to mind, it was very cheap and in dreadful condition but I could envision it draped with a few quilts once Mr E transformed it with cream paint. 

And so he did...

While he was painting I remembered a little green metal photo stand hiding away in the linen cupboard and ran downstairs to ask if he'd transform it as well.

This little tea set also came home with us and after a jolly good scrub it was ready for Cully May to play with the next night when she, Blossom and Ross came to dinner. 

In the kitchen my baking days have produced Chocolate Brownies, Italian Lemon Cream Cake and fresh loaves of bread...

On the savoury side of life I've been cooking up corned beef and mustard sauce, lasagne, home-made beef and vegetable pies, and the odd chicken stir fry or curry.  The family are all wearing contented smiles this past week and patting their tummies.

Food, the sharing of it, really is good for the soul.

I kept meaning to make a few new aprons (as I'm going through them at a rate of knots) but my time in the sewing room has been producing other things.

I'm currently working on a new design featuring the next Tilda range to be released on August 1st, "Harvest". 

For the longest time I've had a hankering to make some flying geese blocks for a mini quilt project that keeps popping up in my head...

I've made 32 blocks and think that's enough but you know I may change my mind and use them differently to my first pattern draft.

That's why I'm blogging today. Because I needed to put my mind elsewhere for a few hours and then return to the sewing room with fresh inspiration and a clear direction on how I'll complete the mini quilt...

...and you know, I think it's working. 

A slight variation on the original idea is being drawn in my mind's eye as we speak.

But before I return to those pretty blocks there's a fresh baked loaf of bread cooling on the bench ready to slice and I can hear Mr E coming up the back stairs, so I must away and prepare us a stack of corned beef and pickle sandwiches for lunch. 

With a pot of tea.

And chocolate brownies.

I'll miss these slower days when he returns to work next week.

I do hope your days are bringing simple pleasures and delights too.

hugs

A verdict and other doings...

Gosh it was nice to read all your comments about my trial with the Sulky Solvi, both from those who had used it and those who have been wondering about it. 

My heart was overjoyed for those of you who love this product and have found it to be exactly what you need.

But for me, it was a completely different experience. Oh, dear. I hate it.    

Honestly, I've taken a couple of days to write this post because I needed to ponder 'why' my experience with this product isn't what some of you described in glowing praise?

First though, let me show you my completed cardie. 

I'm smiling ear to ear, heart bursting with vintage happiness....

Honestly, I can't wait to pop this on and stroll along the Strand by moonlight with my true love tonight. 

But...back to the soluble embroidery stabiliser.

It gummed up more than I though possible, my needles needed to be cleaned every few stitches.

My backstitch is tiny and I think that made the process worse because I had to push through gummy stabiliser and fabric with barely space between each entry and exit point of the needle which distorts the stabiliser and pushes gum into ridges.

The gum is so thick that my hands ached from the resistance war between stabiliser, fabric, needle, thread and Jenny's fingers. In fact, I ended up doing the satin stitch in single strand thread to see if that helped (less thread to pull through) and it did, but only slightly. I think if you have arthritis in your hands this would really aggravate it. 

This design when I originally stitched it on linen with my favoured Weaveline permanent stabiliser fused behind  the fabric took 3 hours to stitch.

On the cardie it took 8 hours and my fingers are still throbbing. 

It's also difficult to get perfect entry and exit for my needle as I am not looking at the fabric, but the Solvy. Not having clean sight on my actual fabric also meant I wasn't able to swap and change thread colours (I do that a lot during the design process as I view my threads working or not working together), and when I needed to unpick a few threads it wasn't easy.

Another issue is that when the Sulky dissolves away after washing the fabric the stitches are loose because that extra 'padding' between stitch and fabric has disappeared. 

For those who missed the last blog post and what the Solvy on fabric looks like before you stitch, I'll show you again...

There's a lot of gum residue on the fabric after you complete the stitching because as you stitch your fingers are pressing the Solvy to the fabric over and over. It did wash away though.

Obviously linen and this thin acrylic cardigan are two very different fabrics, but there was no escaping how thick the gum is on the Sulky Solvi. I shall not be using it again.

Washing out the Solvi after I'd completed the embroidery was fairly easy, although it did take three attempts. I needed to have the water very warm for the Sulky Solvi to break away from the cardie and disperse into 'flakes' through the water. Unfortnately the flakes then settled on other areas of the cardie and stuck, so that's why the extra rinses. I also had to rub the embroidery to remove the Solvi from behind the stitches.

Once I had it all removed I rolled the cardie in a towel and squeezed away the water before laying out to dry.

Honest, I am thrilled with my 'new' $7 cardie now that the embellishment is complete, but it was definitely a labour of love to keep going and not throw the whole thing aside after the first backstitch/blanket stitch leaf.

Sad to say I won't repeat the experience of Sulky Solvi again. 

Some girls asked on Instagram if I fused another stabiliser behind the stitchery and the answer is no. (My heart is beating harder just imagining what a nightmare for my fingers that would have been - very glad I chose not to).

Here's what the back looks like. 

    

   So away with the Solvy, but I still have the Legacy brand to try. They both feel the same weight, but the Legacy soluble stabiliser 'feels' like it has less gum. 

I'll try that one on cotton fabric, but not for a while as my hands are in need of normal 'Jenny-style' stitching without all the fuss, wear and tear.

You know, I find it SO much easier to trace a design myself, fuse Weaveline behind the design and just stitch. When it's done, give it a press and you're finished. 

A number of girls have told me they find tracing a design tedious and that's why they like using printable soluble sheets like Sulky Solvi. Fair enough, if that's your bug bear and it puts a smile on your face to take that route, bless you! Sewing, in any style, should include a big glass of happiness and contentment, so choose the techniques YOU find work best.

For me, I love tracing a design. I get to examine every little section in all it's prettiness, acquainting myself with the ebb and flow of lines and curves before I stitch them, then when I thread my needle and prepare to make that very first dab of colour I say to myself, "I remember you, little bird, let's bring you to life".

Most important to remember isn't it? 

ENJOY the process, breathe, sigh, smile, create - your way.

My other doings this week?

The breadmaker cover is made and it's brightened my kitchen/dining area.

Now I need to sew a curtain to cover the appliances underneath. 

I'm thinking something like this (from Dottie Angel's blog ) using some of my vintage doilies...

When I thought about Dottie Angel's wonderful use of the humble doily I remembered her book (co-written with Ted & Agnes) which dwells in my bookcase...

...so a good hour was spent inside the pages yesterday while a certain little angel I was babysitting slept by my side...

Cully May and I had special time alone together yesterday while Blossom ran errands and Mr E worked on the Jeep.

When she woke she immediately decided my Dottie Angel book was hers and spent a good 15 minutes turning pages on my lap squealing "Oooo!!" at every pretty thing.

More books...

...inspired baking.

Mr E was most delighted to find a big cookie jar filled with fresh baked Oatmeal, Raisin and Orange biscuits prepared 'just for him'.

Today I'm baking bread and perhaps another Strawberry Shortcake because Mr E requested it.

Is there anything lovelier than homemaking?

I think not. 

Sewing! 

I've continued playing with the sewing machine and decided to use two of the big granny square blocks I made last week as a runner for under the telly in our bedroom (we have no tv reception in the bedroom but we can still watch dvds on a lazy weekend afternoon)...

...and I've finally begun piecing my pink and green quilt using the stitcheries from last December's issue of The Stitchery Club.

And did you notice my new iron?

I was given a 40% off voucher at Spotlight by my sweet Blossom and decided this would be perfect as I couldn't afford it otherwise. 

This iron is amazing, truly. 

Even Blossom squealed when she 'played' with it yesterday.

Goodness, you must be parched for a cuppa after this long blog post!  Sorry if I've kept you, but I thought it best to do a big post today as I'm taking a little break for a bit while Mr E's on school holidays so I can continue to potter around the house and bake things for him, sew for our home, and generally amble through these relaxing days until school resumes on July 10th.

The July block of The Love of Home BOM will be shared as usual on the 1st, though.

One last thing.

"Be still and know that I am God." That Scripture came to mind as I was about to sign off so perhaps someone needed to hear it?

We probably all do.

How reassuring, thank you Lord.

hugs

Labels, and progress on my quilt...

I've never been very good at adding a label to my quilts when I gift them. Mostly I forget or run out of time before the big day. 

What about you?

For some reason I had this on my mind a few weeks back and rather than let the thought escape I decided to sit down and sketch a label which would suit any handmade gift.

I chain stitched the cotton reel outline before adding a line of running stitch along the inside edge.

You'll find running stitch on most of my stitcheries because that quick addition of dashed threads sitting inside or outside of a main section of design gives it more body, helping it to stand out more. 

I've used two strands of thread for the cotton reel, flowers and leaves, but just a single strand for the wording.

This is because the words look more like hand written script with a single strand, but you do need to keep your stitches small.

(check out my stitch tutorial here) 

As a label you could stitch the recipient's name as well. 

For example  - "To ????..." above the spool, and "From ????..." under the spool.

Write the names onto the pattern sheet and trace from that, or choose a nice font from your computer and print it up to trace.

Of course, it can be more than a label. What about a lovely cover for a needle book or embroidered on a pincushion?

This pattern will be inside the June issue of The Stitchery Club which is emailed to all subscribers on the 17th of the month.

There's still time to join this month (plus you'll receive the February 2016 issue as a bonus gift!).

Visit the Club webpage here. 

Last week you saw the two quilt patterns I intend making this year. 

Well, on Friday I made a start on the smaller quilt and by mid afternoon today (Monday) I'd pieced the entire quilt and finished the applique!

Friday afternoon I had all the fabrics chosen and cut. Most of them were Tilda scraps so that part was easy, but finding ten neutral low volume prints was not.

In fact, I searched my fabric shelves for a variety to choose from and could only find ten so had no choice but to use them and hope they worked. 

Fortunately they did.

Saturday afternoon was spent piecing four log cabin blocks before sewing them together as one larger block for the quilt background.

On Sunday afternoon I traced the applique shapes onto Vliesofix, chose fabrics for the various shapes, and then fused everything in position.

I ummed and aahed about whether to use a number of different threads to blend with the applique fabrics or one single colour to stitch around all the shapes.

Eventually, after a few cups of chamomile tea and some early dinner preparation, my decision was made and I chose a brown thread for the blanket stitch applique and red thread to backstitch the wording.

I fused Whisperweft behind the quilt top before beginning the hand applique for two reasons. 

Firstly to add stability as I stitched, and secondly because it drapes like fabric and won't hinder the final feel of  the finished wall quilt. I like any quilt, even the small ones, to be soft and flowing.

On Sunday night after dinner I began the hand applique, finishing the tree, leaves and apples by bedtime. 

This morning I wasn't feeling very well and couldn't do much around home or in the office so decided to relax with a movie and finish the front of the quilt...

I rather like it.

It's been lovely to step away from my own designs and play with someone else's.

I've not decided yet whether I'll hand or machine quilt this project so I'll let it hang in the sewing room for a few days while I catch up on other things. Hopefully as I walk past ideas might spark in my head.

For those who wanted to know, this pattern is by Laurel Arestad of "Simply Put Plus" and was inside the Spring 2017 issue of Simply Vintage magazine.

The pattern is also HERE on Laural's website. 

I'm feeling much better tonight but Mr E insisted on getting dinner so I have bowed to his judgement and shall enjoy a relaxed evening with some knitting and the next episode of Masterchef Australia. 

Tomorrow's another day.

May your week be wonderful in every way!

hugs

Tea, quilts and winter...

Today I'm celebrating the first day of winter in my part of the world. 

Oh, how I long for this season when it's gone...but today my favourite season of the year has come to visit, to rest my mind and body, to bless me with cooler winds and breathing space.

Winter in the tropics is beautiful, not cold at all, but cool at night with warm spring like days. I wish I could pop some of my lovely winter in the mail and send it to you. As I write to you this morning I'm wearing a sleeveless tunic top with black leggings and considering whether I should go find my very old and worn black cardigan that feels like a hug when I wrap it around myself? 

Probably.

My newest morning routine before I step into the office is to brew a pot of chamomile tea and once settled at my desk to pour three hot cups, one after the other, of this golden liquid until I've drained the pot dry...

I buy Nerada organic chamomile tea because it's grown just a bit north of here and when we drive past their lush green tea fields I get excited about enjoying local tea, about supporting local agriculture, about feeling a closer connection to the region we call home. 

And it tastes wonderful too. 

Perhaps it's the welcome delight of winter's arrival, but today I'm not doing any work in the office. A day off every once in a while is good medicine for the soul, and my soul feels in need right now.

I've pulled out a magazine project that caught my eye a couple of months ago...

"Log Cabin Home"

Isn't the sentiment perfect?

- family makes this house a home -

I bought the Spring 2017 issue of Simply Vintage magazine specifically for this wall quilt pattern and today I will pull out fabrics and maybe even prepare some of the applique.

I'm two months ahead with Stitchery Club designs so I might gift myself a week to play in the sewing room...

Another project I intend making, though this will be a long term one over the next year, is "Vintage Heart" by Emma De Stefano of  Treehouse Textiles in Victoria. 

I saw this on her Instagram page and fell in love...

...but as I'm not familiar working with these colours or prints I decided to purchase the starter kit of 30 fat sixteenths as well. This way I can more easily shop for similar fabrics to complete the quilt.

Gosh, it's different to be planning projects that don't need hand embroidery (or very little of it) or require my mind to design.

Perhaps wanting to make a quilt is another winter inspired thing?

Whatever the answer I know these projects will be fun.

One more lovely addition to this first winter morn of 2017 is a vase of snapdragons...

I saw them at the supermarket yesterday for $3.50 a bunch and promptly bought two. The other bunch is on the dining table.

It's been months since I bought flowers, unusual for me, and they have been missed.  Floral displays in happy colours brighten our home and lift a tired heart.

Time to return to this joyous habit.

I wonder what you're planning for the first day of winter?

Or perhaps you're in the northern hemisphere and about to embrace summer?

May your day be blessed, and filled with wonderful ideas to enjoy in this new season!

hugs