Saturday ramblings - bit of a biggy

Got to love your big sister.  My dear sister sent me a little present for my recent birthday.  Love it.  There are some very sweet softies in here and I look forward to having a little play.  I'll keep you posted on the shenanigans there.

 I cant decide which one I like the best, either the little dollie or the giraffe. Lets see which one I get done first.

The cushions I found mysteriously tucked away in a cupboard from my travels overseas.  I came across them over the Christmas period when I was tidying up in my craft room *(not that you would know it)   I think I picked them up in Belgium.  I loved them then & still do.  The daisy got me, my favorite flower.  It is the simplicity of the daisy that grabs me.  It reminds me of bright and happy summer days at my Nan's house with her old fashioned daisies in the back garden.  Playing with my brothers, sister and cousins.

It also reminds me of folk art days gone by where I spent many weekends painting daisy's on a variety of projects.   That have now all been scattered all over the eastern seaboard to family and friends.  This little one just seemed to go with the larger one. So of course I had to get both.  :)  I figured there was no use leaving them stuffed in the cupboard, best I grab some inserts and throw them on the couch.

We have been having the most amazing summer storms and rain on this side of the planet. Forget summer this year. We've only had a couple of really warm days. This afternoon there was a storm brewing up and I noticed these pelicans soaring on the air currents up high before another storm hit.  After pelting down for an hour the skies cleared and out came the sun.  Feast or famine in Aus, we are either in drought or in driving rain with floods.  There is an old Australian poem we learn as school children with a similar line in it. 

An exert, My Country, By Dorothea Mackellar

I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,	10
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror—	15
The wide brown land for me!

    We have been tidying up our hideously over grown garden over the past couple of weekends.  The palm trees were given a severe hair cut.  They are already regenerating.    The cut of the branch and it healing itself in its circular path.  Something to hopefully inspire me back into the sewing space. 

There hasn't been a lot of sewing going on around here lately.  The craft room has had a bomb go off in it and I'm too scared to go back in there......  Not to mention uni has kicked off with a big bang and needs more time this semester to get my head around some accounting concepts of all things.  

So to those of you who are crafters happy sewing and to all else happy days, even if it is front of the TV watching DVD's while the storms continue on..

.

Kath x 

We have a winner..... Woo hoo

I'm a bit chuffed at winning this period DVD series from samelias mum.  A very big thank you Anorina I'm looking forward to the marathon movie night.  :) 

I generally grab my mum cookbooks for Christmas, Mothers Day, and her birthday's.  She has a fabulous selection of cookbooks from Jamie Oliver and Stephanie Alexander all of the Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks.  Just to inspire her in the kitchen.  But you know this year, she mentioned she was a bit bored with the usual fare from Mr Oliver and that she might like someone different to try. 

I'm sure I caught a big wink there..... 

So this year I stepped up, I managed to find one of Janelle Blooms cookbooks for her, Janelle is ex Ready Steady Cook here in Aust.  She cooks everyday food that is good, wholesome, fresh and in season.   This recipe is care of Janelle her stuffed Mediterranean cabbage leaves.  Oh they were so delicious.  The lamb mince, pine nuts, ricotta, pancetta, feta rolled in cabbage leaves and cooked in chicken stock.   I must say, mum has been cooking up feasts with the different adventures that Janelle takes her on.  I have been hearing all about it....  So I thought I would give one of her recipes a go.   You can too, just check out her range of cookbooks if you are interested  janelle bloom - family food & weekend feasts  .

When you cut into the roll the inside merges with the chicken broth and goes all cheesy and basilly.  Oh lovely.  Just what I needed to sooth me today.

So next time I see a copy of this book on my travels I think I will pick it up for myself. ;)

There hasn't been a lot of sewing going on around here lately...  I have been off on other tangents with life as we know it.

I have managed to part with a few quilts of late, friends and other avenues.  You know there are only so many quilts I can keep.

Happy crafting all.

K x

whats happening in crafty barter land?

Well I'm still on my summer holidays.   Woo hoo.....  So I'm getting in heaps of swimming, relaxing, getting my studies organised for the coming semester, and resting.  Oh and of course I have heaps of time to be in my sewing room.  Can I tell you it looks like a bomb has gone off in there.  I have been sewing like a mad woman, I just wanted to have a little play around.  I didn't want to have a huge list of things that I HAD to get done, even thou there are heaps of things to finish off.  I wanted to relax into it and see where the breeze took me. 

I had signed up for a daily email from the modern quilt guild and they had a tutorial on HRT's (Half Rectangle Triangle) just in case you struggle like me with acronyms, the other day.  Love the design and just threw this one together, simple, easy and effective.  

Elizabeth over on her blog, has a Mod Mosaic Tutorial. 

Again simple & yet effective.  This hydrangea fabric has been hanging around in my stash for years.  But this is now nearly the end of it.  LOL in this colour way anyway...  :)

Funny how some things you just love.  Well hydrangea's are one of my favourite flowers and I have used every scrap of this fabric.  

Well enough chitter chatter it will not get these to the next stages.

K x  

Cleaning out the craft room - Make Ebay your friend

Can you imagine, actually not be able to walk into a room due to the amount of stuff that one has.....  hmmmm 

Well today I have started listing some stuff on Ebay.  If you are interested in anything here then scoot on over there for a look see.   The link is for the   3-D-Explosion-Simpy-Fabulous-Art-Quilt-Illusions  book you can find all the other listing there.

K x

2011

Best to practice new techie skills when learnt.....

K x

Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle

Happy New Year everyone....  online Shananigans have started already in the crafting community.  So I'm playing along and challenging myself with technology....

Quokka Quilts have set a challenge. Visit the Fat Quarter Shop and choose fabrics to make up what you would choose to be your “Blogger’s Choice Fat Quarter Bundle”.   As if you were some famous quilter from hell that the Fat Quarter Shop has personally invited to grace their pages......... of your personal selection.

Your selection is to have 12 (prints) + 3 (Solids) out of the huge range of fabrics available from the Fat Quarter Shoppe.....

So, many to choose from. With such little time.

This is the most difficult thing I have done week. (LOL it actually took me a couple of days to figure it out the technology side of things.....) Picking the fabric was easyish.
Here is my selection. I'm having a thing on grey at the moment and loving Terrain by Kate Spain & Ruby by Bonnie & Camille.

So all you crafty types out there.  Jump on board and have a crack.

Not only is it fun selecting all the fabrics you would pick it is handy to know how to create a mosiac online. 

Have fun all.

Kath

x

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone

Merry Christmas all. 


Kath
x

Is there such a thing as being too young to start a bucket list?

I found some wonderful hints over here:  The ultimate bucket list
I think some things, you heart just wants at anytime.  ;)









Dream the biggest and wildest, and see where I end up.

K x

Who said you needed to go to NY to try beautiful bagels??

I have wanted to have a go making bagels for ages.  So I did a little research as you do, the Internet is an amazing place.

Easy as.  NY Bagel Recipe  that I used.  I had most of the ingredients in the cupboard which was great.

They taste amazing.  I'm looking forward to popping them in the freezer and having one whenever I feel like it and maybe trying some different flavours..

Shares, I love this picture.  The wings get me.......  :)

Have a great weekend all.
Good sewing weather.
Kath x

What are you grateful for?

The Gratitude Project, is on facebook.  Whats it all about..??  Go and check it out...   As extracted from FB.....  "Personalised cards created to cultivate the habit of saying thank you."  And you know it is as simple as that. 

Thank You.......................

For as much as we text and type, do we really ever take that personal touch anymore?  Well you can with these cards which are available from the Gratitude Project.

I've had a wonderful day today.  I was out and about for the day pottering around the Southern Highlands, NSW.  We went to a craft market in Bowral, the Highlands Design Collective, "A Christmas Fair".  Ran by these 2 lovely ladies highlands handmade blog.  It was a sensational market, with truly inspiring crafter's and makers from body lotions & creams with essential oils, cupcakes to die for, softies, bunting, beautiful rustic bread, Pate', clothes, canvasses, olives and soy candles and on the list goes.  It was good not too big, not too small a wonderful collection of bibs and bobs in an intimate environment..  Nice.  Not to mention the lovely devonshire tea.
 
We then hit the shopping strip in Bowral.  We found the cheese shop, oh yum, with locally produced cheeses, olive oils and vinegars to lust after for all those summer salads.  Not to mention all of the other shops on the strip in Bowral.

What has been happening in all of our strip shopping areas?  closures left right and centre.  It was noticeable in Bowral, as it has been in my own local shopping area.  Our shopping patterns are changing, as is the way we collectively meet, share and shop for life's essentials. I must say a day out shopping and touching and feeling fabrics, patterns and being surrounded by inspiration and inspirational people, talking and laughing over their passion.  The Internet just cant replace some personal preferences..  But it is too late, the machine has taken over and changed the way we live, communicate or live in our own little worlds. 

There is heaps happening over the next couple of weeks in the Highlands on the South Coast. 
The Southern Highlands Arts Studio Trail is on at the moment, we just happened to pop in here on the way home.  Celeste Coucke @ Cloud Farm Studio.  It was fogged in when we were there, but Celeste assures us the view is spectacular.  So when I get a chance, I'm going to pop back up there and check out the view, as it looks clean out over the Illawarra.

Well that's all folks, there hasn't been much crafting from me this weekend.  But it was wonderful to see what others are creating and inspiring.

Till next time.
Kath x.

PS:  I stole the picture from the Gratitude Project on Facebook.  Cause Goosie Lucy here forgot to take any photos of the day....  Oh and cause I love it.  :)