2008 Quiltng Goals

I added a tally list in my side bar. My hope it will help me see were I need to make progress. Last year I really worked on getting my UFOs to flimsie stage. And I did totally finish 6 quilts not counting small projects.(I hand quilt it takes awhile). So this year I really want to get some of those flimsies finished. I think I'm going to explore machine quilting. I did play around with it on a doll quilt and want to try a larger quilt. My goal is to hopefully get 12 quilt tops totally finished. (I have some that are over half quilted). I also want to complete my 3 oldest UFOs to flimsie stage. I am proud that of the 10 quilts I'm still piecing only 3 are over a year old.

So with my sewing goals set I'm ready for the challenge.


I like to have pictures with my posts here are 2 quilts I enjoy and use every day. Top one is a lady of the lake and the second is a log cabin set in a windmill set

2008 Quiltng Goals

I added a tally list in my side bar. My hope it will help me see were I need to make progress. Last year I really worked on getting my UFOs to flimsie stage. And I did totally finish 6 quilts not counting small projects.(I hand quilt it takes awhile). So this year I really want to get some of those flimsies finished. I think I'm going to explore machine quilting. I did play around with it on a doll quilt and want to try a larger quilt. My goal is to hopefully get 12 quilt tops totally finished. (I have some that are over half quilted). I also want to complete my 3 oldest UFOs to flimsie stage. I am proud that of the 10 quilts I'm still piecing only 3 are over a year old.

So with my sewing goals set I'm ready for the challenge.


I like to have pictures with my posts here are 2 quilts I enjoy and use every day. Top one is a lady of the lake and the second is a log cabin set in a windmill set

Sewing, sewing and more sewing.......

I am getting quite stressed out about all the sewing I have to do - 5 quilts to finish and duvet covers, sheets and pillow cases etc to make as well as loads of uniforms to mark. My eldest son is off to boarding school next year - it is amazing how much gear he needs for school. Marking uniforms is not fun but it has to be done so I suppose I need to take a deep breath, relax and start at one end and slowly work my way through the pile of stuff that needs doing. I think I am also getting quite anxious about him leaving home and going away to school - he is only 10 years old. Before you ask, why he is going to boarding school so young, he has gained acceptance into one of the best boys' choir schools in the world..... what an awesome opportunity for him. We cannot deny him it but.....the reality is that he is leaving home at 10 years old. I am starting to feel quite sad about it......... About the deep breath etc......

Merry Christmas

Just to post a quick Merry Christmas to all in blogger land.



Don't you just love Christmas treats.

Merry Christmas

Just to post a quick Merry Christmas to all in blogger land.



Don't you just love Christmas treats.

Venda Mats Print

I went shopping for fabric on last saturday morning and, guess what I found....... some ethnic African fabric. The print is called Venda Mats and the pattern is taken from the traditional mats that the Venda people make in the north of South Africa. Awesome colours...... It is difficult to find traditional African fabric made by the local African people in South Africa. Most fabrics are made in China these days. But, if you hunt for long enough, you will find it....... In Durban, South Africa and probably many other major cities in South Africa, there are 2 worlds. The first world city with it's western style shopping malls and then traditional Africa with the small shops and street markets etc. It is in the traditional African part of Durban that I must go to find the real African fabrics. I plan to go between Christmas and New Year - am on leave. I cannot wait..... The other way to find traditional African fabrics is to travel and visit countries like Ghana, Northern Mozambique, Kenya etc. I have itchy feet......but, alas, am constrained by the reality of being mom to triplets and needing to feed, clothe and educate them :D

Paper Angels

Here are some pictures of some retro inspired angels that I made last year. (Sorry, they are not the best photos, but it has been dark and rainy in my neck of the woods for days now, and as far as natural light, I just had to go with what I had.) I originally made them to sell, but I quickly became attached to them, as they look nice sitting atop my hutch, and decided to hang on to them. (This is one of those things that I had a lot of fun making, but will probably never make again.)

The tops are vintage magazine pictures, enhanced with glitter, backed with cardboard, and more vintage paper. The skirts are made from old pattern tissue, which I coated in beeswax. A bit of tulle netting and some angelina fibers complete the outfit, along with a dash of glitter and a pipe cleaner belt. The wings are also made from angelina fibers. Each one can stand on their own as shown, or hang from the attached beaded hook.

The angel above is a pretty big gal, measuring 16 inches. The blue angel is 11 inches tall, and the red angel is 8 1/2 inches. I also lined the two bigger angel's skirts with colored tissue paper, coating it with melted beeswax as well. I like the way the color peeks through the pattern tissue, and also it gives the skirts more strength.

Saluki Puppy

The wonderful news is that my badly injured saluki puppy, Elef (see post, "Ode to a Dead daisy" for details) is well on her way to a full recovery. The vet changed the bandages last friday and was very happy with the way the wounds are healing. There is now very little chance of her losing her leg. What wonderful news........ Maybe I should now design and put together a quilt that celebrates her "return to life"...... :D

String Blocks

I have all the string blocks done for this one. Wasn't planing on this color scheme when I started but it just evolved there. I'd call it raspberry and dark chocolate , strawberry cream. LOL

String Blocks

I have all the string blocks done for this one. Wasn't planing on this color scheme when I started but it just evolved there. I'd call it raspberry and dark chocolate , strawberry cream. LOL

My New Christmas Finds

I stopped at the local Good Will this week and found a few Christmas items. I always enjoy looking at the wide variety of items they get in. And you never know what you'll find. I found these 2 snowman cups that look great on my kitchen sink window ledge. A candy cane heart that added just the right touch to my teddy bear basket. 3 more Santa mugs to add to my Santa mug collection. A great candle that was new and still in the gift box. I found a Santa ornament and a snowman one not pictured. I also found 2 ceramic Christmas trees to mix in with my green wear collection for Christmas.

My New Christmas Finds

I stopped at the local Good Will this week and found a few Christmas items. I always enjoy looking at the wide variety of items they get in. And you never know what you'll find. I found these 2 snowman cups that look great on my kitchen sink window ledge. A candy cane heart that added just the right touch to my teddy bear basket. 3 more Santa mugs to add to my Santa mug collection. A great candle that was new and still in the gift box. I found a Santa ornament and a snowman one not pictured. I also found 2 ceramic Christmas trees to mix in with my green wear collection for Christmas.

Ode to a Dead Daisy

I am having a rough time at the moment. Last week was very difficult and this morning my gorgeous Saluki puppy was hurt on the beach. Some sharp object slashed her leg open cutting on of the branches of the main artery that runs down her leg. The blood pumped out of her leg. By using a tournique we managed to stop most of the bleeding. My husband carried her to the point where we could drive the car. He ran and collected the car and we rushed her off to the emergency vet. He stitched her up but was worried that the pressure of the stitches on the main artery would reduce blood flow to her leg and she could lose her leg. So we collected her late this afternoon, all looked well and 1 hour later took her back to the vet. The leg was bleeding heavily again. The vet re-operated to tie of the artery. So now there is a greater chance of her losing her leg. And I am devastated. I feel awful - a bit like this photo below. I will convert this photo into a piece of art and post it ....... watch this space.




The photo below is the beginning of the applique interpretation of the above picture. It is an pretty accurate representation. What I really want to do is move in a more abstract direction but I have no idea how to get there. Does anyone have any ideas? My puppy is so much better. She is bandaged and sedated to keep her quiet but she is alive and home. The rest I can cope with.




The three upright green leaves symbolise hope. As for the tea cup instead of a flower pot...... well, maybe poking a bit of fun at life and my emotional state, who knows. The tea cup just happened (LOL).


This is a photo of my puppy Elef Neshikot with all her bandaged legs. Her name means 1000 Kisses in Hebrew and she certainly lives up to her name. She is such an affectionate puppy. She comes from the Negev Desert in Israel and her mother was gifted to the breeder by the Bediouns in the Negev Desert. If you'd like to view more photos of her and her parents and family etc go to the website www.ruahmidbar.co.il. She is part of the "E" litter.

Stash Reduction

I think I'll join in on the stash reduction. I feel like I'm confessing. (lol) I did a rough estimate I've figured I have about 500 yards of fabric. It fits in its designated space and is not stashed all over the place. It is very organized. I keep my scraps cut using Bonnie Hunters scrap saver system. I love my stash and I enjoy playing with it. But there are a few pieces that have been hording space and 500 is a lot of fabric. I have 2 types of fabric I would like to bust (reduce). First ugly pieces meaning pieces that are off colors I don't use or like and they are just ugly or not quilt worthy. Second pieces I have large amounts of 3, 5, 8 yards etc. I seem to save these and am afraid to use them. Thinking that when I do finally find the perfect quilt for that piece I'll be 5" short because I used it in another scrap quilt. So this week I targeted these 2 fabrics. The purple is a ugly one I have 2 yds of it
and the green is a large piece
I've had for about 3 years
there is 8 yds of it.
First the green. I cut borders for the split rail fence quilt. I thought it looked really good with the other colors on the quilt.
Then I used it in the backing along with some 17" squares left over from another project. I then cut some 72" strips for a strip quilt I'm planning on making.(More on it later) I also decided to make this


Scrappy Bargello




from Bonnie Hunters web site. I'm going to use the ugly purple for some of the squares along with some of the green. Then border the quilt with the purple and use the green for binding. Here are all the strips for the squares. I'm going to use them for starters and enders. So as a tally the 2 yards of purple is used up. And I have 2 yards of the green left. A nice amount I can sneak it in to a few scrap quilts. I guess I have a few weeks of sewing before I start cutting into more of my stash.

Stash Reduction

I think I'll join in on the stash reduction. I feel like I'm confessing. (lol) I did a rough estimate I've figured I have about 500 yards of fabric. It fits in its designated space and is not stashed all over the place. It is very organized. I keep my scraps cut using Bonnie Hunters scrap saver system. I love my stash and I enjoy playing with it. But there are a few pieces that have been hording space and 500 is a lot of fabric. I have 2 types of fabric I would like to bust (reduce). First ugly pieces meaning pieces that are off colors I don't use or like and they are just ugly or not quilt worthy. Second pieces I have large amounts of 3, 5, 8 yards etc. I seem to save these and am afraid to use them. Thinking that when I do finally find the perfect quilt for that piece I'll be 5" short because I used it in another scrap quilt. So this week I targeted these 2 fabrics. The purple is a ugly one I have 2 yds of it
and the green is a large piece
I've had for about 3 years
there is 8 yds of it.
First the green. I cut borders for the split rail fence quilt. I thought it looked really good with the other colors on the quilt.
Then I used it in the backing along with some 17" squares left over from another project. I then cut some 72" strips for a strip quilt I'm planning on making.(More on it later) I also decided to make this


Scrappy Bargello




from Bonnie Hunters web site. I'm going to use the ugly purple for some of the squares along with some of the green. Then border the quilt with the purple and use the green for binding. Here are all the strips for the squares. I'm going to use them for starters and enders. So as a tally the 2 yards of purple is used up. And I have 2 yards of the green left. A nice amount I can sneak it in to a few scrap quilts. I guess I have a few weeks of sewing before I start cutting into more of my stash.

Vintage Bling Brooches

This little piece of wearable fiber art is part of my "Vintage Bling Brooch" series. I added this one to my Etsy shop today and will be posting a few more this week. Each one is made from repurposed and recycled materials, such as bits of vintage fabrics and lace, old buttons, velvet flowers, guitar strings, and pieces of vintage jewelry. I think they look terrific this time of year worn on a coat or jacket!

Deconstructed /Reconstructed Doilys

I hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday! I spent my time enjoying family, great food, (none of which I was responsible for cooking... to which I am greatly thankful!) and participating in a wonderful, grass roots effort, the Community Arts Market in Lancaster's historic Eastern Market.

This week in my Etsy shop, I will be posting some of my Deconstructed/Reconstructed Doilies. Each one is made up of various bits and pieces of vintage textiles including lace, crochet, and embroidery work, along with snippets of fabric and ribbon. I have carefully cut, layered and machined stitched these random elements together to create a unified, organic looking piece of fiber art. Each one can be used on a table top, or hung and framed.

Jo's Purple Cats

Purple Cats you ask......well my 10 year old daughter, Jo seems to be as absorbed by quilting as I am. She also loves cats and the colours in the purple range so...... we have purple cats.

Split Rail Fence

I have the rail fence blocks sewn together. I strip pieced the units using 1 1/2" strips. It went together fast. The top right now is 45" square. I'm undecided about borders yet. I would like to make the quilt a lap quilt. So I'm trying to decide how to make the borders on the top and bottom wider then the sides to get away from a square and end up with a rectangle. I just didn't feel like sewing another row of blocks. I did have a few sets of strips that were not wide enough for blocks and would like to use them in the border. Instead of adding them to my orphan collection.

Split Rail Fence

I have the rail fence blocks sewn together. I strip pieced the units using 1 1/2" strips. It went together fast. The top right now is 45" square. I'm undecided about borders yet. I would like to make the quilt a lap quilt. So I'm trying to decide how to make the borders on the top and bottom wider then the sides to get away from a square and end up with a rectangle. I just didn't feel like sewing another row of blocks. I did have a few sets of strips that were not wide enough for blocks and would like to use them in the border. Instead of adding them to my orphan collection.