ATC's

I'm a fairly recent convert to ATC's. I just love making them, they fit in with my tight time schedule and I can make many of them by hand.
I'm rather taken with the idea of giving them away as what is known in ATC circles as a random act of kindness (RAK) rather than an organised trade. If I receive any in return that will be the icing on the cake.
The one at the top is a painted nappy liner embellished with tyvek and beads. Embellishment is rapidly becoming an obsession. Some of the others were made from orphan blocks or interesting bits of fabric left over from my arty experimentation.

Updated my website today

I've have completed an update of my website and my husband John uploaded it for me today. I'm so grateful that he is far from I.T. challenged. I'm also grateful that blogging is so much easier than dabbling with websites.

Found the wedding dress

My daughter has finally made a decision on her wedding dress and she looks just stunning. Can't wait for THE DAY.
I'm starting to go off the idea of Burgundy paint - perhaps a deep turquoise / blue.

Burgundy paint for the bedroom

I've finally decided on a colour for the feature wall in my bedroom. It will be a deep burgundy. After it's painted I'll start on a new quilt for the bed. Something more contemporary than the rather boring 15 year old quilt we currently use.
I'm not a great painter and I think my husband is a little worried about the whole process as my attitude to painting is - why put on two or three coats if one really thick one will suffice. I can't really use a roller as it is a bagwashed wall and the roller would probably cause paint to spray everywhere. I've found that if you hold the paint tin really close to the wall it's possible to load heaps of paint onto your brush with minimal mess and work it in to all the knobbly bits on the bagwashed wall . . . I will use a drop cloth ... Hmmm. I don't know how I'll manage the bit of wall behind the water bed - perhaps just leave it. Photos of before and after to follow.

Our favourite visitor

We haven't any pets. Our old cat went to where the old cats go a few months ago. He was a Siamese with heaps of personality. We didn't live in a bushy area when we got him, so he did live a rather restricted life after we moved here. We value Aussie wildlife too much to let him out and destroy it.
We now have far more natural animal visitors than before. The photo is of a lizard who has set up home very close to the house and tolerates us humans rather well. He often sits in the bird bath or just hangs around in the shade at the back of the house, blending in very well with the bushrock. The photo is of him sitting next to the birdbath that John has dug out of a rock ledge just opposite our front patio. He's quite comfortable with us walking around very close to him.
I'd love to create a quilt using him as the focal point. I'm just waiting for the right inspiration and of course the time to do it properly. I have to focus on my new years resolution (to work less hours this year and have more time for me).

100 days of rain

This is my current favourite.
I made it for DUQ Quilt Indulgence PFAFF challenge and it won 1st prize.
It now lives permanently in my hallway.
The challenge was to create a quilt with the theme 100. I made it with raw edge applique and used Fibonacci number sequencing for most of the proportions. It's called - 100 Days of Rain.
I'm really obsessed about our lack of rain lately.
My wish is for 100 days of rain during 2007. It is so dry at our place, even the rabbits have deserted us.

Colour My World

I finally discovered that the photo was too big, so I continued on my steep I.T. learning curve and learnt how to resize photos. Thanks go to my long suffering husband John.

This quilt is named - Colour in my world.
I made it for 2005 Bunbury challenge and it received 2nd place. The theme was - Colour my world. We were supplied with 3 small pieces of fabric which had to be used, these fabrics were almost completely black and white, though one of them had a little soft green on it. It is raw edge appliqued - machine pieced, appliqued and quilted, with 3D leaves. I also used Fibonacci number sequencing for some of the proportion.

Wedding dress shopping

I spent today helping my youngest daughter to choose a wedding dress. We had a wonderful, if exhausting day. We didn't actually buy a dress but now have a short list and plans to do it all again next week. I really don't know how helpful I was. Every time Rebecca tried on a dress I was convinced that she should buy it. She looked absolutely fantastic in everything. The last one we tried actually brought me close to tears. The wedding is just a few short months away so a decision will need to be made soon.

I've been working hard on my next challenge quilt and getting everything ready for the start of my patchwork classes in February. I'm still also trying to find time to paint my bedroom. I'd like a really strong colour as a feature wall. I don't usually have trouble choosing fabric for a quilt but paint for a wall ... that's another story.

I've tried to post a photo of one of my favorite quilts, so that you can start to see some of my work but I think I'm doing something wrong. I'll try again tomorrow.

Found a new template

Sorted out the photo thingy, then I spent some time finding a better blog template. I like this one. I'm comfortable with warm neutrals. That's not to say I don't like other colours. I spent the morning sorting out my sewing room and it's full of every imaginable colour.
I love January, I get to do all the stuff I don't have time to do any other time during the year.
My new years resolution this year - To reduce the amount of hours I work (at the day job, not the patchwork teaching). I need to leave a little time for me, to be able to just potter now and then.

Learning to add photos

Learning to add photos today.

First posting

I'm just so I.T. challenged, I can't believe I've actually been able to start a blog. I'm still unsure about where to go from here.