A Little Quiltie for Mandy

I participate in a small Aussie art group that has an "Art of the Month" exchange and, for July, I was to make sweet Mandy something. I met Mandy at the Artistic Journey Retreat in Melbourne in 2007 and she really is the sweetest person, so I had a lot of fun creating a little quilt celebrating the theme of "home' for her. From reading her blog (just love her blog name!) I think she is having a bit of a rough time at the moment so hopefully this will be a little bit of a "cheer-up".

Incidentally I can also tell you that it was in the making of this quilt that I managed to damage my finger (in an automated car window no less - the mind boggles, I know...) but needless to say, that has nothing to do with Mandy and everything to do with my focus!! I know, be here in the now ... (just in case my wonderful sister Marrijane reads this!)

The little girl image is a freebie download printed on fabric from the wonderful Gaby. The quilt actually has a frayed edge and a hanger but those bits didn't fit on my scanner! And I don't think it is crooked in real life (although I am starting to wonder, having said that two posts in a row!)

PS I am in love with velvet ric rac (or is it rick rack?) and what's more, I can buy it in Kalgoorlie from the wonderful Renaye at Keepsake Krafts! This is an expansion on my ongoing leaf trim love (which I have to buy on the net)!

PS (+) Prepare yourself for some more inchie madness as Annie and I are hosting another fabric inchie swap with the Aust_NZArtQuilters group - this time the colour is way out of my comfort zone - it is RED!

April Take It Further Challenge - Change

As mentioned back here, the April theme for Sharon's Take it Further Challenge is change and we were challenged to represent how we think about change in creating our piece, whatever the media.

I am using my little tree quilt as the whole time I was making it I was thinking about how it mirrored my thoughts on the subject! I've made some little changes to the quilt from when it was first posted - partly to try and fix problem areas (!) and also to make a stronger connection with the TIF challenge.

The tree represents nature and in nature change is inevitable. We really shouldn't have so much trouble accepting what is effectively inevitable. But I was also thinking about how there are times when we are better off initiating the change rather than waiting for it! This can mean leaving a safe and secure place (or comfort zone), going it alone (just like the fallen apple!), trying something different.

On my quilt I have used a twill tape that has been printed like a measuring tape and I thought that was quite appropriate - firstly because it reflects measurement (how much change) but also because it also has associations with growth and to my mind, change and growth are very much associated. The tape is used as a border though to also represent the boundaries that we create and the limitations we place on ourselves.The little file label has the word "journey" in it as our lives are a journey, a journey of growth and change!

For me this was the first time I have painted, stamped and stitched on a canvas panel as part of a quilt so it hopefully reflects my urge to try new things and to expand my mixed media experiments.

And now to get back to some "home" fabric postcards I am making for an exchange (one of my favourite themes but they are bringing out the country in me!! Seems to be happening a lot lately...)

And to finish - here is a shot of a small patch of dry earth somewhere between Meekatharra and Wiluna in the Western Australian outback. I took my camera with me on a "pit stop" on my recent work trip as the texture of dried out ground fascinates me. Just had to share (and yes this shot was taken on the way back to the car!!)

Sunday Morning Reflections

Last night I finally finished my Australian Autumn Quilt for the NSW Cancer Council fundraiser that Cecile at Unique Stitching is running. For some reason I can't upload photos from my camera this morning so this is just a scan which means the colours are accurate but it is missing the side edges! I am learning so much as a result of doing so many small art quilts at the same time. One big thing - I need to plan a bit more rather than just jump in and start - paper arts are a lot more forgiving than fabric in this regard and it is a lot easier (and cheaper) to throw away a cardstock experiment than a fabric one!! I completely under-estimated how long it would take me to do the random hand stitching/quilting (are they called seed stitches?) all around the leaves but it was quite a peaceful activity and allowed me time to ponder the details of other projects I need to start. So this quilt needs to get itself into an Express Post Bag tomorrow to get over to Cecile by Friday.

Quilting is definitely limiting how much I am getting done but here are a couple of other little in-between activities and experiments I have been working on this week- some experiments below with Lumiere painted and text stamped "Shrink Paper" (which I bought several years ago from Krafty Lady at a stamping downunder convention and which I now assume to be lightweight tyvek), some tissue covered felt that has been coloured, sealed and stitched ready to be made into tiny fairy slippers for Joanna (I posted a photo of hers to me a little while back) and also a little fabric ATC trade (above) for Anne L in France. This last one was an experiment in that I have used gel pens to accentuate the pattern on the fabric and I thrilled that they worked on fabric. I wasn't sure that they would especially as gel pens are notoriously temperamental.


Hoping to finish my copper mesh and fabric postcards this afternoon... Working on tearing up brown paper bags to make brown paper "fabric" for my February TIF challenge...Pondering ideas for my February Calendar Girl Postcard...Needing, as of this morning, to make a fibre ATC and postcard to trade with the wonderful Susan Lenz over at Cyber Fyber (what a huge thing she is creating over there and what a fabulous idea - if you haven't checked it out and you are into fibre arts, you really should!)...So I better go get on with it...(spell check won't work this morning so apologies if I have missed any misspellings!)

Take it Further Quilt Finished! (at last)

Last night I finished my TIF quilt. I messed up a bit on the binding (it should have been a bit wider and I should have done proper mitred corners) and I learnt that blanket stitch takes longer than you think, especially when you are stitching through so many layers!! But I am ready for the next TIF challenge on Feb 1. The photo is not as accurate with the colours as the scanner but the quilt is too wide for my scanner.

Yesterday I also finished my Seasons Journal Quilt. I really learnt a lot doing this one (or re-learnt information I had forgotten in my years away from fabric and quilting!) and there are some pretty significant "technical" faults in it but overall I am happy with it. I did a fold-forward style backing and border on this one and like it better. I am sure there is a proper term for this but I don't know it! This quilt is 8.5 x 11 inches so it fits on my scanner - the colours in the picture are extremely accurate, only the shiny bits and beads don't show up very well.

No progress to report on the Australian Autumn quilt so I guess that will be what I am working on this week (and as that is the one that actually has to be posted somewhere and has an early Feb deadline, of course it is the one I have left to last!).

And to reassure my paper arts friends that I haven't completely moved over to the fabric side, here are some paper fabric postcards/ATCs that I am making. So far all I have done to the paper fabric (which was painted as part of the initial process back here) is cut it to size, back it with felt and stamp it with text and flourish images. Not sure what next - awaiting inspiration (or even just an idea or two!)...

Extremely hot here again today - forecast of 44 degrees (or 111F) - good day to stay inside and maybe take a dip in the pool when it gets dark!

I've Been Missing in Action...

Sorry about the unannounced gap in blogging but I have lost a week somehow...

Meanwhile I have been working (mostly) on three small art quilts - my Australian Autumn quilt for the Cancer Council (big learning curve!), my Seasons Journal quilt for Australian-NZ Quilters (even bigger learning curve) and my "Balance" quilt for the "Take it Further" challenge (needless to say this was a big learning curve too!). The Take it Further challenge is definitely working for me as I am trying to rapidly increase my very limited art quilt experience! There are so many aspects to this work that I hope I remember next month if I decide to go down the fabric path again. Maybe it is time for a paper arts response to the challenge...

So to recount progress - I have made progress on all three but none of them are finished! I'll post some pictures tomorrow night of my progress. They all will be finished though by the time I go to bed on Monday 28 January! I am going to insist on personal closure so I can happily move into February! Joseph has donated a day of his holidays this week to a very thorough house-cleaning day this week so I have restricted (!!) household responsibilities on this long Australia Day weekend...such bliss! I might have to do some baking to reassure the three cake-muffin-biscuit eating males that live here that I do have some domestic skills...I have heard mention that a Pavlova would be a suitable Australia Day dessert....

(Above and below from Doreen)

(From Ebony!)

This week I have received some wonderful mail - a great card and special cord from Doreen, one of Doreen's grand-daughter Ebony's first ATCs (thanks Ebony!!), a lovely cross-stitch ATC from Anne Lugherini in France (no blog unfortunately) and perfectly gorgeous Fairy Slippers from Joanna Van R (her side of an "Out of Your Comfort Zone"one-on-one exchange on the Surface Design Group). I have included two pictures of the slippers taken in the same room with the same camera about a minute apart - no, they didn't change colour in front of my eyes but I obviously need some photography lessons!

(From Anne L)

(From Joanna)

The picture at the top of this post is my napkin leaf and Lutradur piece that is in the current Somerset Studio - seeing it as a photo made me realize I should have used three leaves rather than two! It just doesn't look right to me now with only two - one of those strange things that happen when you look at a picture or mirror image rather than the real thing! Something (else) for me to remember.

And to finish a beautiful stormy early evening summer sky and rainbow - a photo taken from my side door a few days back (and tonight we have another electrical sky show happening!).

Tuesday

I have just received a wonderful needlefelted ATC trade from Ev Watts - it is so luxuriant and vibrant and gorgeous - I love it Ev!! And thank you Ev for the bag of wonderful tiny sequins as well, I thought I had some tiny ones but these ones make mine look small rather than tiny. The way Ev has incorporated beads and sequins on the ATC is amazing!


I also received my challenge "material" for the Unique Stitching Art Quilt challenge that is raising money for the NSW Cancer Foundation. It is the first time I have ever participated in something like this and I am really looking forward to it. The challenge will be to incorporate the mystery material (visibly) in a square quilt (between 10 and 12 inches) made on the theme of "Australian Autumn". It is not due until early February so I have plenty of time. I am thinking this will be a good project while we are away over Christmas/New Year.

Despite my excitement about getting something included in the next Somerset Studio I decided not to do anything for the latest theme of "heroes" - for some reason the theme just didn't inspire me and the only idea I had was to do a piece about my Dad, but I just couldn't get motivated to actually DO IT! I am trying to go with the flow a bit more these days so when I really have to force myself to do something I am interpreting it as something I can skip. Hope that isn't just a sign of a weak character!

So to finish off tonight, here are a couple of pages from a colour based journal exchange I participated in some time ago - fabric, paper, fibres and beading.


PS Check out Lisa Vollrath's site for her Christmas countdown with free (linkware) printable images.

So where did this week go?

I know I only had two weeks and a bit of holidays but going back to work this week seems to have resulted in a very short week creatively speaking!

This week could appropriately be entitled major unplanned expenditure week - the new solar hot water system has finally been installed (it really does make sense to spend a lot upfront to effectively use your environment for the next X number of years but the initial $ are a bit of a hurdle to that thinking) and of course two palms and an ornamental tree in the front yard have been pink-ribboned by the electricity commission yesterday so major pruning is required (and the last time we had to take a tree out it was a major shock to the bank account!). Things come in threes, so of course my trusty Canon multi-function printer has died. But at least it wasn't the washing machine this time!

Anyway on the way home from work I decided to get the new printer (I had been planning a print-free zone for a while on the basis that the Canon still worked as a scanner) and decided to go with all the good press the Epson & Dura Brite Inks have been getting. The actual printer is so cheap it is ridiculous relative to the price of the inks but I guess that is the way of things these days. So to cut a longish story a bit short, I have just got the new printer/scanner/copier set-up but it is at the expense of my original plans for the evening!


So to get to creative stuff - last night at Annie's I started my little rust art quilt - I have decided to make myself a small art quilt that celebrates the organic results of rusting. It will be just fabric and hand-stitching (not necessarily quilting) and maybe some beading. I used my new "Snap" frame that I bought at the recent Craft Fair - and I am already wishing I had also bought the bigger size as it works brilliantly and is so much easier to use than the old embroidery hoop (even if so much more pragmatic).



The scans above are of my recent Adirondack Color Wash fabric experiments (perfect I am thinking for fibre ATCs and postcards) - some of the pieces were coloured just from mopping up over-sprays on other pieces and I think I like them just as much! And to finish, here are some scans of a couple of pages I have done in altered book round robins.



Bedtime reading tonight is the latest Cloth, Paper & Scissors which arrived today (thanks to the speedy and very efficient service The Thread Studio provides) plus I have started a Michael Connelly novel. Pity it isn't the weekend - we have had a real springtime feel here weather-wise (yesterday it was 28.5 C or 83.3F and today was just a touch cooler) - I would love a morning outside repotting my hanging baskets and then some afternoon reading in a sunny spot! At this time of year,however, the weather changes quite a bit, so we will have to see what the weekend will bring.

A Small Quilted Wall Hanging Finally Finished!

This is my piece for Fiona in response to a small group challenge to incorporate paint, metal and fabric in an item for an allocated partner. I am running late with mine but this is the link back to the beautiful piece Jo made for me.

My quilt is based on a stamped image from the Oxford Impressions Bird's Nest plate on beautiful smooth Fabriano printmaking paper. For some reason (no doubt the photographer!) the photo is a bit blurry. Anyway I coloured it with Adirondak Color Washes and then sprayed it with my favourite Gossamer Gold Moon Shadow Mist. This piece is stitched to three layers - a piece of Lutrador that I painted with green acrylics and Glazing Medium, a piece of music themed fabric and then a piece of felt.

The lutrador has been melted around the edges with a wood burning tool which I also used to make all the little holes to get a polka dot effect. Lots of little yellow seed beads were stitched on to anchor the frame part of the Lutrador and then the quilt was free motioned stitched with gold thread. It then was beaded with little brown seed beads.

The key and other metal piece were glued/stitched on. I bound the quilt with tarnished copper mesh tissue which was lovely and easy to sew through and the backing is the same music themed fabric as the front. The hanger is tarnished copper wire with a few sweet little rusted diamond shapes (that I have been saving for years for a special project!).

I'm quite happy with it although I would do a few things differently if I did it again - such as use a more rigid backing given the type of hanger I wanted to use. It wouldn't have mattered if it was hung on a rod/sleeve arrangement but I wanted to use the wire and I think small quilts look better with hangers a lot of the time.

Lessons Learnt re Paper Fabric Quilts

I just took this quick photo to share. The pot of Z..... (the name has completely escaped me!) sits on an old wooden table outside my kitchen window while it is in bloom. It is so bright and cheerful and reminds me of all the reasons I love hot pink and deep orange together. Time to do some bright art I think - maybe tomorrow, because this afternoon I have to finish my alphabet tags (all the fiddly bits that are left).

So these are the lessons I learnt in the course of making my first paper fabric quilt (following Beryl Taylor's method for making paper fabric) as outlined in the Premiere Issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and her book Mixed Media Explorations:

1. Make lots of pieces at the same time in different colourways (if you have the space as it would be good to have lots of choices for layering, applique pieces etc). It is probably better to make several 12 inch squares rather than a couple of big pieces.

2. The PVA can be quite heavily diluted and still work - too thick a glue impacts on the softness (or otherwise!) of the paper fabric. I think it also makes the surface a bit shiny which may or may not be a good look depending n what you want.

3. On some pieces, colour the back side (which will look like fabric with paper images peeking through the open weave) as you may like the result even more than the front.

4. Maximise colour variations when colouring the surface while it is still wet (my pieces didn't end up with enough variety really).

5. Make some pieces that are not "too busy" - this is determined by the paper pieces you are using (although you can tone them done by using paint etc).

6. The paper fabric tears quite easily if you want rough edges but it is a bit unpredictable.

7. Paper fabric punches really well.

8. It is really easy to sew paper fabric, especially by machine but needle holes really show up if you unpick any stitching.

9. If you back your paper fabric with felt and then want to use wonder under or vliesofix to adhere it to another piece of fabric that is felt backed, it won't work as the sandwich is too thick! Ask me how I know...Solution had to be more stitching which messed things up a bit visually.

10. Adirondak Color Washes are a fantastic colouring agent while the paper fabric is still damp. I didn't use my Moon Shadow Mists but I will be next time as I think they would be gorgeous as a final light spray over the diluted inks and paints.


Seeing it was so long ago that I posted pictures of the two pieces of paper fabric that I originally made, I have included them again for reference. I have only used a section of the butterscotch/walnut ink one so far in making the first quilt. I am planning something completely different with the pink piece (which is VERY pink!).

Method I followed in making this quilt as pictured in my last post - tear out a piece of the paper fabric and zigzag stitch it to a piece of felt the same size, similar colour. Stamp desired images on kraft coloured tissue paper with permanent black ink. All of my images are from my favourite Oxford Impressions plate "The Art of Being Beautiful".

Use Mod Podge to glue the tissue images to the background, overlapping them where desired. I also cut out and glued a bit of manila folder to sit behind the woman's image so that her features would not be obscured by the images showing through the tissue.

Glue on some paper ephemera (the ticket and painted die cut dress form) and a scrap of tulle. Glue on twill and lace. Stitch around some parts of the tissue pieces and stitch in the gutter down the lengths of the twill and lace.

Ironed on wonder under to the back of the felt and attempted to iron it to a piece of black fabric that was backed with black felt (already stitched together). Failed. Stitched the two sandwiches together cursing my stupidity for not anticipating the wonder under dilemma.

Hand sew buttons and the scissor charm to the quilt and use small black pins to pin black twill to the quilt as a removable hanger.

Ciao for now

On my lunch break

I'm not sure what is going on with blogger lately but I am suddenly having lots of trouble loading photos - the functionality just disappears for hours on end. This was the case again last night so no post because it just doesn't feel right without photos!

Anyway, I am on my lunch break now and I have come home to find that the three poor little roses that were on my rose bushes yesterday (unseasonal but much appreciated blooms!) have been obliterated by the howling dusty winds that have been blowing all night and this morning. This photo was taken in January I think and is what our front fence looks like when the roses are blooming (and there is no awful wind). As an aside, the red house next door has been repainted by the new owners since this photo was taken, as has the deep purple fence which I edited out of the photo!

Last night I was lost in my new Cloth Paper Scissors (I just love this magazine) so didn't get anything much else done creatively. Zach is off on a school retreat for the rest of the week so no doubt the next three evenings will be more productive. My stars for today "said" that I should not worry so much about productivity - made me laugh out loud as I always worry about that!


These scans are of the front and back of another page I did in Ann's Metal Journal for the exchange a couple of years ago. The backgrounds are sponge painted with Lumieres - the olive green is a favourite colour and I think it goes beautifully with copper. I love windows and peep holes in journals and altered books and I am thinking it would be fun to do with art quilts as well. I love Jo's recent quiltie where she included gorgeous little metal doors. Have a look if you haven't already - it is really nice.

So now it is time to go back to work. One huge advantage of living and working in a small town is being able to come home for lunch!

Fabulous Fantasy Fish Quilt

This is the last of the six quilts I made for the 2006 Exchange. It was actually the first one I worked on after my own. It was for Karin and her theme had the great title of "Fabulous Fantasy Fish". I didn't really come up with anything terribly imaginative when it came to the fish (which were cut from patterned fabric and raw edged appliqued and quilted) but I did experiment a bit with the surface - I made silk fusion paper for the background, bought a darning foot for my very old but trusty Janome so I could free wheel with the background quilting, created texture using puff paint and gold embossing for the ocean floor, stitched into it, dyed muslin for seaweed and sewed on small beads for a bit of interest. All up it was a lot of fun (and I learnt a lot in the process, including a lot of "what not to do"!)

Easter Monday & An Autumn Clean-out!

I know it is spring when you are supposed to be sufficiently motivated to give your house a very thorough clean out but I had the urge today. Obviously in one day I did not get everything done but it feels good to have made as much progress as I did. As a result I did not, however, get any time to be creative so I am hoping to find some time for that this evening.

The photo above is another of my art quilts from last year. This one was for Danielle. Her theme was "Elements" and while she didn't have many restrictions, the quilts were to be linked together accordion style within the most wonderful quilted book wrap that Danielle made. I wanted to represent the elements of fire, water, earth and air in my quilt and used half diamonds to emphasize their interconnectedness. I chose fabric and surface embellishment to fit with each element. Design-wise it is a very simple quilt. The surface embellishment ranged from silk paper, hot fix angelina fibres and foil (fire), burned back tulle and square sequins (water), washers and other metal bits (earth) and random tiny gold stitches (air).

Back to work tomorrow but at least it is only 4 days to the weekend!

Serenity Fabric Postcards & Another Little Art Quilt

Pictured above is one of my "Serenity" fabric postcards. I wish now that I had stamped some text on the background fabric to add a bit more depth, but other than that I am happy with them. The theme lent itself to a simple design I think. They don't show up very well in the scan but there are little clear beads sewn on the main vein on the leaves. Feeling quite pleased with myself as these were not due until the end of April.

Finishing these early will give me a bit more time for the 26 alphabet tags I have to make for a collaborative project I have been invited to join. I don't "know" anyone else that is participating other than my online friend Sue in the US who is the reason I am included! It is a truly international exchange with a lot of artists from European countries as well, so I am busy reading a whole pile of new blogs to get to know everyone.

I have the letter "U" and I am currently playing with various ideas. Whatever I decide on has to be do-able in terms of having enough supplies to make 26 plus extras (in case of stuff-ups!) and be something I can bear doing 26 plus times. I hate repetition and generally end up hating whatever stamps and/or papers I use on these sorts of numerically large projects. The end product of course makes it worthwhile!

I have also discovered this morning that despite having boxes of bulk tags, I don't actually have the required size so I won't be progressing beyond the planning stage until I get to a stationery shop on Tuesday.

The photo here is another of the quilts from the 2006 exchange. This one was for Stephanie. Her theme was "Inside" and as she is constructing a box, we each made a panel in the specified size. The panel had to include some sort of window or door or peephole. When the box is constructed the panels will connect at the top through eyelets.

My "Inner Desires" quilt was based on green and purple silk "paper" I made. I stamped on it (music and text images) and while it was machine quilted for strength, I also added lace as an edging and sewed beads on it. It was fiddly creating the window and getting a finished edge around it. I used large mesh screening and a photo on cardstock behind the window.

Ciao for now...

Easter Saturday Abundance & How Not to Organise an Art Space

As mentioned a few days ago, these are photos of my little Art Quilt flip-over "book" on display in my dining room (which is also temporarily doubling as a craft overflow room at the moment as seen in one of the photos below). I love the fact that I can change the quilt on show by just flipping it over to the next one.

Yesterday I had a very productive and relaxing day. I worked, on and off all day, on my "serenity" fabric postcards. These are for a small Australian exchange that is running on a bimonthly basis for 2007. The hardest part for me was settling on just one idea - I had so many for this theme and wanted to try so many techniques, but settled in the end for a simple leaf based design in soft greens and cream. I am finishing them off this afternoon and will post a scan tomorrow. I love the 4 inch by 6 inch format and I'm already looking forward to the next round.


I have included a photo today of the view from one of my kitchen windows to honour the sense of abundance I felt this morning as I made (another) cup of tea. The sunlight was streaming in, the pot plants all looked lovely and green and I felt blessed.

The photos below, however, are of a different sort of abundance...

This is the first small bedroom that became my art space - primarily for stamping and paper arts. It has ended up very cluttered! In the corner there really is a desk. Needless to say I work best with a lot of stuff around me. Neat and tidy saps my creativity as it usually means I can't see what I have available!!

When we moved to this house, all the bedrooms had built in robes so I adopted the cupboard and wardrobe for craft and art storage (supposedly stuff that only occasionally needs light and air). Under no circumstances will I be photographing the contents - I open those doors at considerable personal risk (regularly). Hanging the twill, thin ribbons and trims on the cupboard door right behind my desk was an inspired if tangled move. They get used so much more now that I don't have to get up and fight my way to them.


As with the cupboard and wardrobe, the built in robe is full of stuff! Important, meaningful, valuable stuff. Stuff that is very hard to get to. The doors however are very functional - they display ribbons and trims & trading pins etc from the first three Stamping Down Under Conventions I went to when I first started stamping. They are bright and cheerful and remind me daily of the wonderful people I have met through stamping.


This is my super-sophisticated storage system for large sheets of paper! Works great - very visual!


More storage - this time of stuff that I need accessible on a daily basis - eyelets, charms, beads, cardstock, beeswax, extra tapes, paints, special papers...


When Josh left to go to uni in Perth I "took over" his bedroom for my sewing stuff - as you can see I didn't even take down the posters and stickers. Needless to say there is a lot of fabric storage happening in this room but I will spare you the photos of the towers of white plastic tubs. I also store my decorator napkins in drawers in this room. Have I mentioned my love of napkin art???


And finally, the overflow arrangement. I have set up a trestle table in the dining room so that I can have some space for my Easter creating! On the dining table you can see the lovely but very cheap green "party bucket" I recently bought at Coles. I bought a hot pink one too in the smaller size. Not for parties but for when I want to scoop up a pile of supplies for a project. I love them!

Please don't give up on me...I am not a lost cause (quite).

Addendum - Joseph has just had a quick look over my shoulder and asked why I haven't taken a photo of his shed! Needless to say he has spent the day cleaning it out so it doesn't look anything like the "usual" shed we face when forced to look for secateurs or weed spray! If you thought my rooms looked cluttered, you would not have believed the "before" shots of the shed!

Easter Wishes

I don't know if it is just me but I seem to struggle with titles for posts!

But the title really is genuine - I am sending everyone lots of wishes for a peaceful, loving and happy Easter and for anyone that has creative urges, I hope you get the chance to indulge - sewing, painting, stamping, cooking, gardening, whatever is your bliss...

Last night I was so tired I went to bed early and read magazines - my new "Stamper's Sampler" and "Stamping & Papercraft" both arrived yesterday. Congratulations to fellow Aussie, Loretta D'Onofrio for her fantastic spread in the Stamper's Sampler. Great articles too in S & P by my friends down in Albany - Jhodi Bennett and Sue Smith. These guys are so clever and productive!

As a result of going to bed so early, I didn't have dinner (you know when you are just too tired for anything!) and woke up at midnight hungry, so spent an hour and a half reading newly discovered blogs while I had a cup of tea. It was actually great fun - the house was so dark and quiet, no crappy TV blaring in the background - I am the only one in this house that doesn't have a TV addiction. I had to make myself go back to bed to get the rest of the night's sleep quota so I would have energy for art today! Do you like the little index card at the bottom of this post? I made it via blyberg.net at 2am - I think they are so cute!


The quilt posted today is another from the Art Quilt exchange. This is one I made for Fiona Mortimore. Fiona's theme was Vintage Fairy Children and it was so much fun to do I did both sides. Fiona does stunning work with paper and fabric so if you haven't looked at her blog, you really should. I especially love her use of colur, finishing touches and attention to detail on her art quilts.