PatchworkDreams

It’s a blustery cold windy day so it is putting me of going down to the beach, it is more enticing to find a sunny spot in the garden & work on Esther’s Hearts Desire and make my last 12 HST!!!!!! We are lucky we don’t get many of these strong winds up here.

This week I have been busy trying to find things I have missed placed???? any one else suffer from this disorder???????? Best part is I keep finding things I

challenge waist coat

had forgotten I had made or have!!!!!! I found some photos taken 15 years ago while living in PNG at the back of a draw. Theses are some of them; a waist coat; it was a challenge where we had to use weaving as the patchwork????? I made the coat out of black felt & used braiding for the weaving. Then there was the horse challenges

Horse challenges

First was The wild west horse, then the Dream horse!!!!!!! Another was we had to choose a shape & not use the same fabric more than once except for the outer edges & it was called From the Rain forest to the Reef???? all the inner clam shells are made of cotton, outer circles silk & they are all mounted on black satin!!!!

From the Rainforest to the Reef

These photo’s are not so good as I have taken photo’s of the photo’s to upload as my scanner would not let me crop the photo for some reason. Final photo I will share is of a beautiful completely hand made quilt that my DDIL’s mum made in France and is filled with down feathers, it was as light as a feather too!!!!!  but just think about trying to quilt a feather stuffed quilt  by hand??? Each stitch was so tiny too..

Southern French All Handmade quilt filled with Down feathers. Made 1960's

I still have not found what I was looking for???????

I have made my HST except for 12 which with luck I will make today some time?????? they are made of silk & cotton in a deep blue red.I’m planning on using the silk ones in the first two borders as they glisten more than cotton; then use the cotton in the outer border as it has more character. I have all my words done only because a special friend Bunny in Canada made them for me on her machine, how very very lucky can you be. These have turned out stunning as you can see.

For Peaceful Pathways Red with a touch of green!!!!

It is amazing how quickly a week goes by when you have some thing happening the same day on each week!!!! Wednesdays seem to be here more than once a week to me????? I hope you are all enjoying your quilting what ever you are working on.  Cheers Glenda

WOW is Work On Wednesday for those who do not know, this is linked to Esther Aliu wonderful site. I would never remember to blog if I did not have this weekly reminder to let my quilting friends around the world know what & where I’m up to in the quilting world!!!!

This morning started early as Hubby had an extra early start for work, I watched the dawn break

it was very still & beautiful, there is some thing beautiful about watching a new day start; it always brings me contentment. Then an hour later the first rays of sun hit the trees

Sunrise hits the tree tops

Another early call was the rail car on it’s 3 night northern journey to the Gulf; it travels through the northern Savannah a wonderful safari trip.

Gulf Savannahlander railcar trip

This truly is Paradise lost!!!!!

Then another surprise awaited me out the front of the house, two Catbirds were sitting in the Frangipani tree which has no leaves at present and looks like a stick tree?????? You need to zoom to see them?????

Pair of Catbirds

This really is different as I have never seen them up so close so tame & a pair????? They are called the catbird as they make a high pitch Meow call & many people think the first time they hear it that it is a cat???? They mate for life & are roughly the same height as each other & same colouring.

Beautiful Catbird

This morning I’m hoping to make a wee bag from a Papua New Guinea Highland hat, these hats are made by hand only, no needles just fingers weaving thread backwards & forwards and it ends up looking like a knitting stitch, it takes them weeks to make them.

PNG Highland hat to become a wee bag!!!

They use to use just vanilla vine, cuscus fiber & feathers, now they use commercial synthetic yarns they re-spin on their thighs & ply again to make a very strong yarn.
Close up photo; the brown is cuscus fur. Now 11.24am wee hat is now a wee bag!!!!!

PNG hat to bag?????

I’m printing off my HST patterens at the moment using some very lightweight brown paper instead of A4 copy paper as I don’t have access  to quilting paper, but the light brown paper is working well,

HST Pattern on brown lightweight paper

I just have to cut it up in to A4 size then put it through the printer. Where there is a will there is a way??????

I’m also cleaning old brass using vinegar & salt, I’m soaking the old brass for several days then all the years of accumulated build up washes off like magic!!!!!! These pieces hubby’s Gran had 3 of them that she had on a upright rod besides the open fire in her wee lounge & she used to hang the kettle & a hot pot of soup or stew from them & she would be able to swing them over the fire at 3 different heights????? I found them again the other day & decide to clean them up plus a couple of old school brass hooks uses for your school bag & coat, they have not been polished yet just at the cleaning stage.

cleaning old brass

I cleaned these ones this morning you can see where they have not been soaked yet?????

Now 2pm I have been sitting watching The Black Swan oh so sad but a gripping movie, I was working on the blanket stitching around one edge of my Vienna quilt

Blanket stitching still!!!!click on photos to enlarge !!!

but kept forgetting to stitch as I was so engrossed with the story & dancing!!!!!! Another month may see one side of the quilts embroidery finished I’m hoping!!!!!! Cheers Glenda PS If you have the time please drop a note of where you are from.

Well NO beach today!!!!  My friend came up for coffee here instead

Coffee at home instead of the beach for a change on Wednesday?????

as she had friends from Japan staying & they wanted to visit the rainforest & take the wee tourist train back down the mountain,

The Train goes through the middle of the house!!!! remember that song?????

a very big attraction from here down the mountain, it takes about 2hrs in old open window carriages, & you can walk from carriage to carriage

Kuranda Tourist train, lots of fun to ride????

by going out side to the next carriage?????? Note the steps you have to climb up when getting in to the carriage at the stations?????? Lots of fun. There is no such thing as aircon though!!!!! They caught the 2pm train down & waved to me as they went past as the railway goes past the bottom of our garden as it winds its way beside the Barron River. Train only comes up twice in the morning & goes down twice in the after-noon so it does not worry us. It’s really a very quite line.

They took back the Tsunami Quilt

Binding added & now on its way.

so finally the last one has gone. Now I want to make some kiddies ones.

After they left I worked on some leaves

Pairing more leaves to make????

pairing them up to sew together after ironing on the freezer paper, it was like playing cards when I was little????  pairing them up?????? I have a friend I’m taking to hospital for day surgery on Friday guess what I will be sewing while I wait for 4 or more hrs, I will find a quite spot & curl up in a chair and sew to my hearts content?????? Now I’m getting my freezer paper templates ready to iron on to my pink fabrics,

Making pink flower petals still?????

some more flowers coming up for Flowers For Me!!!!! So if you are thinking of starting Esther’s beautiful quilt Hearts Desire you can see I’m still working on my centre blocks & you can catch up quickly if you use a machine to applique!!!!! Now it is time to feed the dogs & make our dinner, this evening I will cut out my pink petals for 3 small flowers!!!!! Cheers ALL Glenda

My Beach Looking South

My Beautiful Wednesday morning spot looking South now looking North

Trinity Beach looking North so beautiful

Please click on photo’s to enlarge.

Just back from coffee with my friend & a visit to the beach, the sea looked grey to day as it was windy & the waves were full of sand great for swimming but not so pretty to look at or for sewing by????? I even took the quilt I’m blanket stitching around at present so when it finally goes to Vienna my friend can prove it was made by the beach in OZ through the winter; yes it is winter here for us, around 27C this morning down there!!!!!

This is the start of my Peaceful Pathways quilt but don’t credit me for this beautiful work.

Words for Peaceful Pathways

(This is part of Esther’s free BOM at present; check it out at  http://www.estheraliu.com/

Are’nt we lucky to be able to join in on her personal journey of quilts.)

Bunny in Canada made these word blocks up for me how lucky can you be???, One of the blocks is “Love is Kind” that sums up Bunny.

I’m now hunting for my red fabrics & I can not believe I have depleted them to this extent?????

SO few reds in my stash where did the others go to??????

SO instead of making HST this after-noon I’m hunting for reds still. I have found several reds I like but they are silk jackets & I wanted to use cottons for this quilt?????

4 red Kimono silk jackets!!!!!

After 2hrs hunting I guess my HST are not going to be started after all, I will have to wait till I visit Cairns & buy some reds???????????????

Update??? Thursday here but still Wed in Europe??? We have not had rain for several weeks & my Tree Ferns are suffering, so I put the sprinklers on them this morning, straight away there were 3 Friar-birds

Friar-bird in Tree fern

washing them selves so they must be dusty too. You can only see one in this photo. I also saw a large yellow & green python snake

Beautiful Python snake

on the road this morning very very beautiful, I stopped the car & other traffic till it was off the road. Have been working on my Tsunami Quilt

For the Tsunami victims

this after-noon, now I just need to finish the hemming.

Some of you have asked me about my Blog heading photo???? Why did I choose it. Well to me all my quilts are a new journey, even blogging is a new journey for me, & this photo to me makes me think about setting off on a new journey to where??????? the road ends in a bend and you never know whats around the corner!!!!!! Quilting is one new adventure after another, & there is always some thing new to learn, it is a never ending adventure to me. Lots of friends made on the way & lots of lovely memories to Cherish .

Well that’s the end of another WOW for me, it’s back to my Vienna quilt & Hearts Desire till I visit the fabric shop next week. Cheers ALL Glenda

A Ulysses Butterfly on my doorsteps this morning??? It was Dead as bottom part of wings not formed; rather sad but beautiful, inside the frame is the shell of a local sea urchin found washed up on the beach.

Ulysses Butterfly

My family has flown away for another 2 years!!!!!!!! when they left they left me a fare well gift, a food-saver,

well it may not sound to exciting butttttttt my DDL thinks out of the square & was thinking about zapping my crafts!!!!!!!!!!!  I live in the Tropical rain forest & for 3 to 5months  we have a wet season in the summer which has around 90% plus humidity day & night with temps around 3oplusC?????? I have too many swap blocks in Red-work & applique

Who could ask for more????

to count; as for 9 years I ran an office 7 days a week & by belonging to an online swap group it kept me sane. Trying to keep these lovely blocks free of mould through the wet is a full time job, now I think I have the answer!!!!!!!! I will keep you updated on this.

After 8 weeks I’m on my own again & just back from Coffee with my girlfriend,  fish & chips beside the beach plus sewing

Close up of Blanket stitching around Iron on fusing

some of my iron on fusing on a WIP (see below plus my wee companion) while listening to the waves!!!!!

Destination Vienna one day?????

, AGAIN I forgot my camera but look what I brought back with me???? Click on photo’s to enlarge?????

Takeko gave me two silk Obi’s

Close up of Obi made with silk.

to use in my patchwork & I picked the leaves up off the beach for you so you would believe I do go to the beach!!!!!!

On arriving home I found the birds had visited my Strawberry plant???

There were lots of strawberries this morning??????

it was covered with strawberries when I left this morning!!!!! Sorry the photo is on it’s side but if I try turning it I will be here till next week??????? Herb bowls are ex chief cooking bowls hanging from a steel pipe tripod, my idea????? Stops the wild turkeys from digging them up as they all swing like crazy when they try & land on them!!!!!

Last but not least DS sent me a photo, they had just arrived in Dubai.

It is only 3.50pm & all this has happened so far to day. I guess many of you have gone to sleep before getting this far????? those of you who kept on reading thanks!!!!!

Cheers & Happy stitching Glenda

Nature at it’s best.  One Of our blue orchids in the garden.

Click on photo’s to enlarge.

I really think I should not be doing this, so many things have gone on the blink today including my WOW blog I have written all ready today & then the computer froze up & I lost it all as the computer had to be switched off in the end & be rebooted!!!!!! My own fault as I had not been saving. SO this is my second attempt dropping a line before the links are closed!!!!!!

Our day started off beautifully sunny warm & very still with the only noise the birds dawn chores which goes from around 5am till 9.30am even a kookaburra visited us.

Sitting in my kitchen window tree

All 10 of us one by one ended up around the swimming pool at different times eating our breakfast it now looks very empty & lonely.

An empty spot till breakfast each morning

Then we had one of the toilets block & over flow thank goodness it was the one down stairs, so that was a delightful job to clean up.

Paola started to work on her last shirring dress & my trusty old Bernina 830 let me down, she went in to over drive at full speed & took off, I yanked out the treadle foot but she was still roaring away so yanked out the power supply. So it is off to the magic Bernina repair man when possible.

Well it looks like there will be no photo’s this week, my computer is refusing to upload any photo’s?????

One of our Canadian guests left this after-noon & I have already stripped the bed & remade it & now it is covered with Esther’s blocks!!!!!!!!!!!

Esther's quilt laying on a bed again???????

I did not even let the dust settle first???????

Our American girls left 30 mins ago heading further up North & are planning on sleeping beside a beach some where tonight. They are travelling in a wee wee mini van

Girls mini mini campervan????

& having so much fun seeing the far north.

Today I have been doing endless loads washing as the family is packing up tomorrow to be ready for a 4.20am start Saturday morning, the disadvantages of an early flight. The above is just a few things that happened today!!!!!!!

Well  good news, hubby has managed to fix my sewing machine, the light was shorting out & was causing the problem; so he has disconnected the light & I have my machine for tomorrow so maybe Paola will be able to finish her dress & my computer has woken up & has allowed me to down load some photo’s?????? What a good way to end a bad day. Oh yes & hubby was also able to fix the loo problem, airn’t hubby’s a great invention??????? On that note I will say goodnight

Dancing Orchids.

I’m glad Wednesday has 24hrs in it???????  I seem to be writing my WOW later & later in the day each Wednesday.  May be when the family leave I will be more organised but don’t count on it!!!!!!

I helped my DGD 13 complete her 2nd shirring dress today

Paola wearing her own hand made dress.

. All she wanted to do this visit was to make a shirring dress. We made a sample dress first from some fabric I had, this turned out so well she has lived in it over the last 2 weeks!!!!!

My son spoilt me & with DGS’s help swept the leaves off the stone gardens

Bromeliads in a stone garden

then racked the whole of our top yard; as we are in winter here the leaves are falling fast so this will save me 3 or 4 days work.  DDIL cleaned my light fittings & fans these are the things I find difficult to do now. DGD swept the patio while I watered the patio plants which are so pretty at present with lots of different colours

Colour on the Patio

.  It is lovely having the colour around the house as we cannot grow any bulbs or flowers in the yard as the wild life either eats them or digs them up!!!!

Even blue Orchids

My patchwork is on hold at present but is sitting beside my chair waiting till life slows down a little, I’m embroidering my drops in my hearts at present as you can see I have not finished my buds yet too!!!!!

Satin stitched embroider on to the hearts.

 I have 8 more hearts to do!!!!!!!

Just on dusk DGS Liam 9 plays his trumpet below the house looking across the river & rainforest for us;

Liam playing his trumpet across the river.

he plays each day around then; it is so lovely hearing it echo across the valley.

Well that’s a little of what I did today. If you click on the photo’s you can see enlargements. Cheers Glenda