Hand Stitching, New Projects, Drawing & Next Year's Quilting

I have succumbed to another hand piecing project ... this is Joseph's Coat  and if you click on the words you can go see other ones being done.    I think I will really like this.  I have chosen a black background and am using some delicious Kafe Fasset fabrics.

These are all my little packs ready to be sewn - I had to have  a mathematical formula for my design and once I worked it out, put all the pieces in little bags - hopefully the final quilt will look lovely.

 

This is another little project that I started (I know I said no more new projects - but how could I resist) ... I saw Helen Stubbings "Life Is Beautiful" posting of her new project ... I have never done stitcheries before other than one piece - a panel of ladies by Brenda Ryan, oh and a little button.    I decided to do this quilt in blue and white - instead of red.  I am not doing any applique - just stitching the panels (which are circles actually).  I am also only using one strand of thread as I like the clean crisp look that this gives.    I have finished 15 and a half - so I am half way through the stitcheries now...I will add some more pics as I go along.

This is my little box of bits ready to go.  I am enjoying this project.

A few of you may know that I draw quite a bit and have been doing "doodles" for a very long time.  These are Zentangles - using some beautiful deckled archival quality paper and ink ... My lovely husband framed 20 of my little pictures .... Don't they look great all together like that.     Last year I also made a journal cover with these drawings - it looks great too ... I will have to get a picture and post sometime.

And last but not least, our very small Christmas morning gathering - just the three of us .... there are 24 of us in our house .... three humans, three cats and 18 fish - I don't count the bugs, of which I'm sure there are many hiding in the wall cavities. We had a lovely Christmas - very lazy but wonderful.  I didn't cook - we had lovely ham and salad for Christmas lunch, a few snacks and believe it or not - no dessert!  We did all miss the beach as it is not often we are home for Christmas. 

My schedule is starting to fill up ... so call me if you want to book a quilt in. I have January and February but I am away for the whole of March 2010, and then back after Easter.

So life returns to normal now - back to quilting everyone - lol!

Happy Quilting and wishing you all a wonderful Happy New Year ... Jane

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a wonderful and safe Christmas Day....

Cheers
Jane
x

Back On Line

No pictures here today ... my new notebook computer (less than two months old) had a catestrophic hard drive failure ... so had to go back to the manufacturers to be replaced.  Luckily I do backups and the computer store was able to retrieve most things.   So.....I will upload some new photos soon and show you what I have been up to now that I am back on line properly.

In-laws visited us unexpectedly for a week and a half - nice to see them - but not much work got done. They mainly came down for our son's 17th birthday - not that they saw much of him (DS is a lad of few words and keeps to himself a lot).  My own sibilings (9 of them) attended my mother's 70th birthday - we hadn't been together for years and this is probably the last time it will happen.  It was nice to see them all ... but we have changed so much and it is quite amazing how some of them feel like strangers after all these years of little contact.   We all go our separate ways and grow apart I guess.  My husband says ... when we marry we become a little like our partners and are therefore different people to that when we were kids or young adults ... I think he may be right, I am more like him than I care to admit! lol!!

Christmas is only six days away ... I can't believe it, but I wrapped the presents today (none under the tree for me ...but that is normal and sometimes one turns up Christmas morning).

All my cats have visited the vet in the past week ... my little boys are now on a urinary diet - I didn't know that male cats were prone to crystals forming in the urine and that they have difficulty passing them - this can be life threatening - so special biscuits for them - actually works out cheaper than how I was feeding them before.   Our big girl Shadow, went a bit crazy one day after having a big fright outside ... she was really freaking out and panting and bouncing off the walls - terrified really.  After I calmed her down we went to the vet for a check up - she really is quite timid but it was good to have here checked out just in case there was something physically wrong.     So on the cat side of things ... all is well.  Jet is now weeing better and Antibiotics for Merlin as he had a scratch that got badly infected (hard to see such small scratches with all his fur)  fur dropped out, wound burst and is now good ... sigh...wallet is lighter but cats are well and happy again.

Shadow is five years old on Christmas day....will have to give her some chicken for her birthday lunch.

Anyway that's all for now .... happy quilting and I will post some pics in a day or so when I get this computer sorted out....Jane

I love my job

 

I Really do like my job - I love seeing all the beautiful quilts people make - I get to see quilts that are technically precise, applique that has invisible stitches, beautiful design and colour combinations and these are quilts that you don't see in the Quilt Shows because most of these quilters are not interested in showing their quilts.  So really I am quite lucky to be able to quilt these quilts ... some people don't even want me to put them on here so others can see.     So I am lucky that I have a skill that these women want ...so I can play with their quilts.    Here are a few snips .... including Jet who had to check out my new basket in progress.

Happy Quilting for now .... Jane x