Last day of my Extended Easter :((

Well I am so glad I took an extra day's leave so that I would have a 5 day Easter! I needed every minute of the extra day - I managed to do the housecleaning, which I had put off each successive day, albeit the basic version (meaning one that arty crafty types the world over will understand!) but I also managed to have a bit of a play day art-wise.

(In progress - April Calendar Girls postcard)

I decided last night to start my April Calendar Girls postcard for Susan ahead of time as I was inspired by an article in Quilting Arts (where you trap silk flowers under chiffon on a batik background using free machine embroidery), I finished a fabric ATC (which I have scanned before I finished off the flower centre!), I cut a tree stencil and tried it out with some Moon Shadow sprays using both positive and negative spaces (my first goes are a bit rough but I like the look and they will only be the background!), I coloured some muslin and cheesecloth (my random method which requires a plastic ice-cream container, some water, a range of Adirondack Color Washes and some sunshine), played with my new Oxfords Impressions Stamps and also some new Fancy Pants ones (nothing much finished on either count yet but soon...) and I also finally settled on a direction for my Aus_NZ Quilter's Journal Quilt for March.


We have some choices in this journal quilt exercise and although I was originally going to make an abstract quilt based on a photograph, I just couldn't get excited about it. While I was blog surfing though I came across this site and just loved the look of that home page quilt background (I would love to see this woman's work in the flesh!). So, I am using that work as my inspiration for the theme "Memories" - I have such great memories of my maternal Nanna sewing all through my childhood (I still have some pieces of fabric that she gave me as a pre-teenager for doll's clothes I was making for the cheap Aussie version of the Barbie doll!) and then of my own Mum making our clothes and then teaching me. This quilt is about those memories and I am going to bind it using a button border as another really strong memory for me is my love and continuing fascination with buttons. I just can't walk past a tin or jar of buttons!

This is just the start of the A4 size quilt - a random and haphazard collection of scraps of cream and white fabrics, mostly torn, laid on muslin and felt and covered with dotted netting. I have just started the hand quilting which is going to be "rustic" in style (see lower right side). Not sure about the heart - I have some beautiful fabric that my mother used for her bedroom curtains when I was a child and I am thinking about using that as my centre-piece...


I still love the country cottage look so this little canvas board is now hanging in my kitchen - it is based on a napkin but incorporates several of the new Oxford Impressions Country Girl images.