Don't look now!

Calories from afar, some glorious sunshine, a hot cuppa and a good magazine ... or four!

Lisa’s 21^st went off beautifully on Sunday night and as always she just looked gorgeous!

On Tuesday we got a lovely surprise package in the mail from a lovely friend that I have had the very good fortune to have gotten to know through this amazing blog community. Dear Lisa sent us some delicious chocolates,

a very cute little bunny, which Megan has adopted (last night when I went to check on them she was all curled up, thumb in mouth and the bunny was firmly clenched in her hand)

and a lovely magazine which I totally mauled to death with a beautiful hot cuppa in the delicious sun shine earlier this week. Yes the sun found us this week ... thank God! ... if only for a few short days!

Thank you so much Lisa for treating us! You are so very sweet!

When I took the picture of the chocolates with the kids, poor Josh put on such a brave face but he was still feeling quite unwell ... this is how he was really feeling!

Not long after this he promptly vomited all over the other three kids. You know these moments 1/4 to 9 on a school day and disaster strikes ... to spite 4 children needing full clothing changes we made it to school in time J.

Our Michael had his graduation ceremony from University yesterday ... no pictures for this yet. Congratulations Mike! You make us so very proud! Only a few more years of study to go!

I made a couple of Liberty tissue cozies ...

   

I just love this fabric! It is just far too beautiful to cut up so it will more than likely find it's way on to a quilt backing some time soon.

I finished the magazine tote. I made this mainly to try out the look of these applique shapes as I have been planning a quilt with a similar design. A little more contrast would look better I think.

Oh and what is this that I can see in the bag? .....

Oh hooray! My favorite magazines!!!!!

 

Man look at this quilt isn’t it truly fantastic!

And this one ... I would love to have a go at this technique. Maybe I should be doing the Summer Four Seasons Swap?

And how about these quilting designs ... do you do this one Tracey?

Oh and I love these leaves!

I’m going to go put the kettle on ... I need to lose myself in these magazines for a while!

Have a restful weekend!

Kellie

PS I can't believe I forgot to link to Lisa's page when I originally wrote this post ... I am so sorry Lisa!

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope that you are all having a wonderful Mother's Day!

I had better go the kids are fighting, the ironing needs doing, the house is a mess & Joshua is so sick he has been crying all day ... :) ... well thats what being a mum is all about!

Kellie

Everything but quilting...

I don’t know about you but the minute I’m told (or in this case I tell myself) something has to be done by a certain date this is the time I find a million other things to do! So this is what I have been sewing and the miscellaneous things that have been happening in our house this week...

I finished the Tissue Cozies for the Mothers day stall ... and forgot to take a picture of the completed lot ... never mind ... but ended up raising $120 from the sale of these alone. I ended up making 30 and if I do say myself there are going to be some Mummy’s with some pretty stylish tissues on Sunday morning! I’m really pleased that they sold as I don’t really get the chance to help out with many of the ‘attendance required’ voluntary activities at the school. Of course I do specific things with my own kids and their classes like reading, helping out with swimming and things like this but no general voluntary ‘stuff’. So it was nice to find an activity where I can contribute in my own time ... ie. once everyone is in bed!

I've made some pillows which I love. Do you recognise the Monster design? He will make it onto a quilt eventually but for now he resides here!

I made a pin cushion ... and you know it was funny because I had this plan in my head for its design and not realising that its size would be so ridiculously large. I spent a whole afternoon drawing, cutting, and sewing only to come up with something that was too small for a pillow but way too big for a pincushion. It is a pity that I hadn’t visited Fiona a day earlier who had just made a pincushion that she refers to as a pin ottoman!! J

After all that I readjusted my design and came up with something more like the right size...

I made a little library bag for a little person...

I have plans for modified versions of these bags for the kids birthdays. I also have better pictures of these but I will share them later.

And right now under my machine there are the makings of a magazine tote...

 

Benjamin lost his second tooth last night. He wandered down stairs long after he was meant to be asleep and of course I grumbled at him. Then that delightfully innocent little boy said to me ... “but Mummy I have some good news for you”.... what a meanie I am! Anyway the good news turned out to be the loss of his second tooth and I felt entirely crap for grumping!

And to make matters worse Jessica had a bad dream in the early hours of this morning. She then went around and put every single light on up stairs ... and I mean every single light including the heating in the bathroom. This of course this isn’t the tragedy ... however, the result of Jessie’s little ritual was that the Tooth Fairy was ‘frightened off’ and was unable to collect Ben’s tooth or leave a financial reward ..... mmmmmm Mummy is very pleased that she can think quickly on her feet and that sweet Jessie is such a scaredy cat J. Oh and look what I found beside his bed this morning ... please Tooth Fairy, you slack woman, put Ben on your list tonight!!!!!!

We also celebrated our Lisa’s 21^st Birthday last night. What an intellegent and beautiful young woman you have become Lisa! We all love being around you! ...And I am sure that your Dad’s speech on Sunday night won’t be too embarrassing!

So now I almost have all of that procrastination out of my system I am going to go back to my quilting... soon!

I actually started writting this post on Friday but unfortunately I never finished until after midnight so please read it as though it was posted on Friday ... I don't have the energy to rewrite it now!

Have a great weekend!

Kellie

PS. Has anyone seen the sun? If you have please tell it that I am missing it very much!

 

A schlep to Sydney, 'Spring in May' & an afternoon with my girls ...

I had a fabulous day yesterday in Sydney. I feel like I achieved much more than I did in the last class where most of the session was spent confirming colours and design. Yesterday was spent arranging and learning how to fix the clam shells to the background.

It was also nice to meet both Sarah and Kathy who had both been out last month. I also very much enjoyed the company of the other women in the class who have welcomed me so nicely and who are producing some pretty fantastic creations as well. Kathy has put up some pictures that she took of their projects yesterday so make sure you go and take a look.

I should also clarify that the pictures of the completed quilt in my last post was Sue Cody’s original quilt not mine ... I wish it was mine!

My plan for the next month is to finish attaching the clam shells mound from which the tree grows, complete the hand quilting on the background and to have finished the pattern for my tree. My quilt will be quite a bit larger than the original and I have decided to go ahead with my own tree form so that the area can be filled nicely and to basically placate my own whims. Please excuse my ruff sketches ...

In addition to this I have another project that I am very excited about that I need to complete by the end of the month. The quilt for this is completed, I just need to draft a pattern, so I hope that this process won’t take too long. I will be able to tell you more about this later on down the track.

As I mentioned on Thursday, Jodie received my swap quilt which I have called Spring in May ...?, and is happy with it for which I am very pleased.

The original inspiration for this quilt came from American Quilter March 2008, a black and white wall quilt called Tree of Life by Betty Alderman. Unfortunately, I am unable to find my copy of the magazine, which I intended to take a picture of and post so you would be able to compare ... once it turns up I will post it.

In my version I added the borders, added the hearts, and altered the birds and various other subtle changes. Oh and of course I added colour and a few beads and sequins.

I also added in Jodie’s package a sample of the things that I have dabbled with of late; a monogrammed pillow for her little princess, a butterfly appliquéd shirt, a tissue cozy, a pointer finger pincushion from this tutorial and another one I found in a magazine.

The girls and I had a sewing afternoon today. Megan has made some progress with her project.

 

Jessica began painting her fabric.

Right now though

I had better get back to my clam shells ...

Although after browsing through my pictures for this post I am wondering why I have not yet finished Jo Jo's Circus ........

Have a great weekend!

Kellie

What are you doing tomorrow ... episode 3

Well I’ll be getting up at 3.30am and heading off to the airport yet again to zoom off to Sydney for my second class with Sue Cody here to make my tree of life quilt ... which Sue actually calls 'Olive Tree'.

I am a tad disappointed that I don’t have all of the things I had planned to have done by now ... but they were unrealistic anyway ... well that’s what I’m telling myself!

I have 27 rows of quilting done and only about 50 to go .... my fingers are sore just thinking of this. I have done about 200 of the clam shells .. only 200 or there abouts to go.

 

Of course I would have done a bit more this morning but instead I went and bought a bag to carry everything in ... last month I carried about a dozen little bags and my neck was sore for a week afterwords ... this way my neck will still be sore for a week but the bag is quite nice to look at!

Jodie received her quilt on Wednesday and by all accounts she is quite pleased with it ... (huge sigh of relief!!) ... but I won’t post a picture until she has a chance to do so.

Megan went on her first overnight camp with the school this week ... I am sure she is having a great time, she has been so very excited about it for a very long time now. They have gone to Phillip Island .... I feel cold just saying that. It has been so very cold here this week. My flight doesn’t leave Sydney until 11.30pm (yuck!!!!!) so Meg’s will be collected by the Chrissie (our very good nanny come housekeeper). Thanks Chris and sorry Meggsie I will wake you up with at least a million kisses and cuddles when I get home ... we are all missing you!

So I had better go and try and do some more quilting ... should be ironing but I wont tell if you don’t! 

Have a great weekend!

Kellie

How good is Australia Post ...?

Well this afternoon after I collected the kids from school what do you think we found on our door step?

A little something from our very own Jodie! And what should be inside but the sweetest little Spring quilt!

She has done a lovely job! The hand quilting and embroidery is terrific! Well done Jodie!

I also love the backing ... can’t go wrong with a pieced back!

Megan has claimed it as her own and has planned a spot for it on a vacant wall in her room. Oh and you must see this card isn't it great! Wouldn't that make a fabulous quilt?! 

Thank you so much Jodie we really love it!

Megan must have hit the jackpot today because under parcel number one we discovered yet another package with her name on it and the excitement became fever pitched ... laced with the flurry of annoying but compulsory comments such as; “why does Megan get everything” and “why is it for her” and “why didn’t I get one” ...

So what was in the parcel I hear you ask ... well a little while ago I won a lovely package of goodness from the daughter half of the delightful duo Spoonfullofsugargirls (my word processor all but had a coronary over that word J)!

How cool are these fabulous oven mitts especially made for little hands! They were designed by Sarah and she won a pretty fabulous young inventors award for them. How proud would you be I ask?

Megan also recieved some lovely scrap booking goodies and a page weight! Thank you so much Sarah the mitts are great and the extras will be well used!

 

 

I’ll be back later in the week with my part of the swap and the next installment in my Sydney adventure!

Hope your week is turning out as nicely as mine!

Kellie

Spring in May ...?

We had a lovely night away on Friday. We stayed in Lorne at the Grand Pacific Hotel ... can't quite figure out the name though considering it overlooks the Indian Ocean.

And even better ... my darling husband agreed to the 'short cut' home ... which actually takes 2.5 hours longer than the regular route ;) ... and spent some quality time at Ballarat Patchwork. I collected a few bits and pieces that I have started using to make some Mother's Day gifts for the school stall.

 

Today I finally waved goodbye to the little quilt that I have been working on for the past few weeks. Those of you who have been with me from the start may remember that I missed the draw for the Four Seasons Swap and when I posted about this Jodie suggested that we do the swap together, which we did. We followed the same rules as the swap the only differences being that we weren't officially in the swap and we knew who we were making out quilts for. I must say now that Jodie noted on Friday that she thinks that it is better to know who you are making for and who will make for you ... and this may well be the case ... I hope she still thinks this when she still thinks this when she gets my parcel :)

Of course I added a little bit of Don't Look Now love (say nothing Tracey!)

It has been a harrowing experience for me to make for someone who I know is very skilled. Of course I have made for people before ... but they were all crafting & quilting illiterate, so to speak. I have agonized over colour and design, I have added and taken away and I have machine quilted that poor little quilt until it was within an inch of it's life ... but I always do that! Last night I finally said "enough is enough", I wrapped it up and this morning I sent it on it's way!

Unfortunately, I am not able to fully reveal my 'spring' quilt because I want Jodie to have a little surprise. So you guys will have to wait until I get the nod that she has received her parcel.

I also read somewhere this weekend that there is apparently no more boring a post than one that proclaims how busy the author is or has been. Unfortunately, I am guilty of this on more than one occasion :( ... sorry ... I have made a mental note to never do this again. :)

Anyway must go I have a million things to do .... :) only kidding! But I do ... this week I need to get back to that hand quilting and all of those clam shells,

... but first I need to finish these!

 

Have a terrific week!

Kellie

PS. Thanks you again to all who helped with the kids over the weekend! It was much appreciated!!!!

Escapism ...

This week has been one of those where you begin with a relatively long list of things to do and as the week progresses it becomes painfully obvious that it doesn’t matter what you do the list will not be completed ... in fact it ends up longer than it was on Sunday night!

Sick kids, bungled reports, schlepping all over Melbourne correcting some morons’ mistake, dress up days at school, information sessions for school camp at ridiculous times that no human mother could possibly attend, paper work for our business that I just couldn’t postpone any longer, self imposed sewing deadlines and the list goes on.... what do you think didn’t get done? ... mmmmmm

I had a baby sitter for Joshua during one of my sprints to achieve the removal of one of the items from my list this week. It was the first time for ages that I have left him and he was mildly anxious about the separation before I left. When I finally got home (after only 2 hours mind you) he ran outside to greet me and told me about how he had missed me so very much. As he stood up on the deck peering down at me through the railings he asked suspiciously, “Mummy has you still got yellow hair?”. I am not quite sure what colour he thought it would have changed to in his absence. I should say at this point that yellow is his term for blond ... the kids have all called my hair yellow at some point in their early years. I am not sure if this is a complement or something I should be addressing with my hairdresser.

Although I seemed to spend a lot of time in my sewing room in the evenings this week, I didn’t get a lot done, however, I do have a package that I have to send off on Monday ...

 

I will post more on Monday but for now I should run, my husband and I are off this morning for an overnight child free escape down the Great Ocean Road. Thank you to the fabulous tag team of babysitters that will be eaten alive by my kiddos over the next day & a half!

Before I go I have to show you some pictures of my little Witch and Wizard  ... it was “W” week at school this week J. The costumes are from Megan’s 7^th birthday party which was, of course, a Harry Potter Party. I made the 12 these costumes, with some help from Meg’s nanna (I can’t knit!). There were quite a few of the preps dressed the same as my two yesterday ... courtesy of their older brother or sister who attended Meg’s party. This year we are planning a Mad Scientist Party ... I need more room on my list!

A day for remembering, Anzac Day ... Lest we forget!

Have a great long weekend! Oh and to those celebrating Easter this weekend ... Happy Easter!

Kellie

It's all about the food & the kids ...

Last night we celebrated the 'other' festival that we celebrate in our home at this time of year! I enjoy the Seder and the kids get so very excited about all of the yummy food & the family gathering together ... plus they get to stay up late!

Megan has read the Haggadah along with the adults for the last two years. It never ceases to amaze me what a proficient little lady she is becoming ... I think it is that first child syndrome. Either way she makes me so very proud.

The kids spent the afternoon making portraits of our guests to act as place cards. This is a great distraction on days when I am flat out cooking and have no time for them. It is also a great source of entertainment for the subject! Ben's were great this year ...

On the front of my outfit he wanted to write the number of people that I look after but he couldn't settle on one so he gave me three. First he wrote 5 - because I look after 4 kids & Daddy. Then he wrote 8 - to include me & my husbands two kids as well. Then he wrote 3 - this version included only the 3 littlest kids and not Megan, Mike or Lisa because "they are all too big now"!   

Daddy got stars & love hearts!

And Granny got extra special red love hearts!

Josh ended up with two Ben's version and his own 'Jackson Pollock' styled self portrait!

I got some beautiful flowers for the table from Camberwell Market and I could resist taking some photos...

including some with my secret project ... matching colours and all, you know how it is! 

I have had little time for crafting this past couple of days but I have managed to do some binding ...

that is when Tiger will let me!

Now I am going to go and make a start on the label ...

Good yom tov!

Kellie

A little appliqué & a tag ...

Anyone who knows me will know that appliqué is my ‘thing’. I prefer it to any sort of piecing as my accuracy is not fabulous and I always seem to spending my time ‘making’ things work! There is a fabulous quote from a book by Piece-o-Cake designs I just love which goes something along these lines ... it will all quilt out in the end! This is my motto ... I wish it wasn't’t as I would love to be Ms Accuracy but I never will be ... so I make another plan.

Anyway, I was talking about appliqué. The lovely Lisa, who has just become an Stay at home Mum for a bit longer than she had first thought (yay for her!), recently asked me some questions about appliqué & tagged me at around about the same time so I thought I would combine the two, so here goes ...

Originally when I first started appliqué I used needle turn. I love this technique and would always use it if I had the time. It leaves such a perfect finish and you don’t need to muck around with fuseable web. I taught myself this technique using The New Appliqué Sampler by Piece-o- Cake Designs. Their technique is great and the diagrams & explanations are second to none. They also provide explanations and tips for left handed people which I have found invaluable.

This quilt is the first project that I did using needle turn ... as you can see it is not finished. I baisted it and I rolled over the edges & it has been sitting on Megan bed like this for at least 2 years. Now that my machine quilting technique has improved I will finish it ... some day!

These are pillows that I made for the girls also using this technique.

 

The next method that I have been using a lot lately uses fusible web combined with finishing off the raw edge with either sketchy machine quilting or a machine blanket stitch. Fusible web is a pain to use. I have always used vilsaflex, not because it is fabulous, but because we don’t have many other choices in Australia, that I know of. The web tends to lift off the backing paper if it is folded or crushed or older, so I tend to only buy it in small lengths. You have to be careful not to get it on your iron as it makes an awful mess. I have a separate iron that I only use for my quilting. I have also tried keeping a piece of the backing paper after the web has been removed to use as a pressing sheet ... but it takes longer so I never end up persevering. I also find that the appliqué pieces tend to lift off the backing fabric if moved around too much before being secured. It also can make the shapes ‘hard’ but you can overcome this by cutting out the center of the fusible prior to adhering it to the applique leaving only a couple of cm's of web around the edges of the shape.

I have recently read about another product that i am going to have a go at later this week called Floriani. I will let you know how this product compares.

I used sketchy machine quilting to secure the appliqué on both Jessica’s Garden

& Rainbow Lollipops... 

I used machine blanket stitch on the kids PJ's

& the 'secret' project that I am currently working on.

I had a bit of trouble trying to find an example of hand embroidered blanket stitch, all I could find was the first quilt I ever made which was Joshua’s original cot quilt.

I don’t do well with this stitch due to my 'anal' personality ... the length & evenness of these stitches drives me mad!

And now to the Tag!

1.       Why did you start your blog?

I started the blog on a whim. We had not long discovered that my husband was sick and while he was hospitalised I found solace in the beauty and creativity of the crafty blog world. So, I started one .

2.       How did you come up with your blog name?

I don’t know ... I felt quite self conscious at the time thinking that I didn’t really want people to look at my things or more to the point that no one would really want to look at them ... and dontlooknow was the name that came to mind. It has been a source of huge embarrassment though as my step kids & husband have not stopped teasing me as I also used dontlooknow for my flickr account and they managed to tack on a couple of numbers to the end (my year of birth) which I took no notice of at the time ... so now my flickr account is dontlooknow69 ..... I’m blushing!

3.       Do your friends & family know about your blog & what do they think?

All of my family know about it. I know that my current mother-in-law & ex-mother-in-law check it weekly .... for the photos of the kids. I think they like it. I know my husband is happy that it is providing me with a distraction.

4.       How do you write posts?

Usually I will have thought about it in the time leading up to writing it, then I just sit and write. Not a lot of thought goes into it ... should I admit to that?

5.       Have you ever had a troll or had to delete unkind comments?

The other day I got a weird comment left on the post I made regarding the kids PJ's. It was all very strange and had a very strong new age religious push to it ... I skim read it, deleted it and bared the URL. I don’t need that crap in my life! As for trolls ... I don’t know what they are ... although Megan is reading a fantastic series of books called The Spiderwick Chronicles and there are trolls and stacks of other strange beasties in them.

6.       Do you check your stats or care how many people read your blog. If you care how do you increase traffic.

Yes, I do check my stats. And yes I do care ... only about the usual visitors though. Don’t get me wrong I am pleased that lurkers take a look. I love the comments and I am thrilled that you guys have relieved some of the pressure from poor Louise who was my first regular! The only way I can think of increasing traffic would be to make sure you have good things to look at that are updated regularly ...

That must be it, other than to tag a couple of others; firstly I’ll tag Lacey who is a gorgeous girl all the way around the other side of the world and my other two Lisa’s Upstatelisa who has just got herself a pretty nice new banner! & Spoonfullofsugargirls the prolific mother & daughter team. Play along girls, if you like, otherwise don’t feel obliged.

Enjoy the rest of your week ... I have got some serious cooking to do for Saturday night!

Kellie

PS I never did get back to the hand quilting on the weekend ... my machine was just tooo tempting!