June 21, 2009

Country Fruit Table Runner

The latest issue of Country Threads magazine is out and my Country Fruit Table Runner is in there! I really enjoyed designing this project. It has plenty of my favourite fusible web applique embellished with stitchery details. The end panels in burgundy and green with hens on them were the inspiration for the runner. It was one of those projects that came together exactly as I had planned the first time (doesn't always happen!) and I was really pleased with the end result.
I haven't had much time for stitching this week with plenty of planning and packing for our trip to Lake Eyre being at the top of the priority list. Top of my thinking has been what I can take to stitch while we're on holidays. No, the sewing machine isn't going with me in our little campervan, so I've decided to work on someone else's design for a change. More about that next blog.
Happy stitching.
Val

June 14, 2009

The scrappy jumper

The knitting machine has been packed away. I can't say I really enjoy the process of making a jumper but the machine saw daylight through necessity and it sure is a fast way of getting some knitting done. As with my fabric stash, there are plenty of bits and pieces of wool left over from various projects, so I put this scrappy jumper together to use up quite a bit. It is so lovely and warm with the Fair Isle Pattern, versatile in that it has lots of colours to blend in with my wardrobe, and I've had quite a few nice comments on the couple of times I have worn it. In short, I am very pleased with it.


Poor husband in the end didn't get a look in as I'm afraid the machine doesn't have quite the same pull on the heart strings as the sewing machine, so I soon got sick of knitting and had to get back to needle and thread FAST!

I've been finalising instructions for sending off the project below to Country Threads this week. It is full of my favourite fusible web applique with enough embroidery to keep me happy.
Then there was the e-mail in the Inbox from the publisher of Patchwork and Stitching Magazine sending the instructions for the project below for final checking. This is one of my favourite projects - a design for children which is interactive and educational and which I had so much fun making. It's another in my "Cupboard series". You can see some of the others here.
Happy stitching!
Val

June 7, 2009

Block 2 - Free Pattern

Hi from the Fleurieu Peninsula on a cold wintry day! This is just the weather for curling up under a quilt and doing some stitching, so I have uploaded Block 2 of the Free Block of the Month Pattern which is available from here. I do hope you are enjoying stitching these little blocks.


My husband and I are getting quite excited as we are making plans for our winter holiday. My idea of winter holidays is to ESCAPE the winter and head for the warm sunny north! This year we hope to go via Lake Eyre which has a lot of water in it at the moment. It was nine years ago in 2000 that it last had water flowing into it, so this for us is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity as it probably won't happen again for another decade or so. We are planning on taking a scenic flight when we get there as the Lake is huge (9300 square kilometres) and most of it is fairly inaccessible. We are avid birdwatchers so we are looking forward to seeeing some of the thousands of birds that somehow sensed there was water there and have flown in from all over Australia.

Meanwhile I'm looking forward to seeing photos of your completed blocks.

Val