A trip to the Craft Fair.

Last weekend we travelled to Hobart to see family and, as luck would have it, the Craft Fair was on :-)

After an hour or two of wandering the stalls and looking at the beautiful quilt display, I walked away with only a small parcel of purchases

There were a huge range of good quality fat quarters for only $3.50, so I bought some Christmas ones that I want to make some decorations with. There were also loads of strands of beads at reduced prices. I've lost count of the times I've rummaged through my jewellery box looking for a pink necklace, but that will soon be solved thanks to these purchases. My final purchase was a sewline fabric pencil. I have heard nothing but good things about these pens, so I decided to treat myself. Unfortunately I didn't have time to do any of the classes, but it was still a nice way to spend a morning.

On the reading front, I have managed to knock a couple of more books over.

25 Come Rain or Shine. Susan Sallis *** (June 09)

26 Overheard in a Dream. Torey Hayden **** (june 09)

As the half way mark of the year ticks over, I've managed to pass the 25 book mark. "Come Rain or Shine", was another drama/saga, so nothing special to write about.

My latest read "Overheard in a Dream" was something a bit different for me though. It is the story of a child psychiatrist and his journey to help a child who has wrongly been labelled autistic. It was a compelling story, with a final line that I was still thinking about quite a while later. I'm keen to read more by this author.

Round Robin Quilt Fabric

Our online quilting group decided to have a Round Robin for the last 6 months of this year. I decided to use Amy Butler Pink Dahlia fabric. I took it into SL to pick out some coordinating homespun for the background and was quite pleased to find a green that toned in really well with those in my main fabrics. I came home, washed it, cut it into fat quarters, then went to put it with the patterns only to find it doesn't match!!!! There is no green toning at all in it, and I really can't believe that it is the same fabric. I'm not sure if it's the washing (It lost a lot of colour during washing if the water was anything to go by) or just the artificial lighting in the store. Either way I'm not really happy with the match, but there is very little I can do at this point. I've laid it out with my patterns and have decided I can live with it, even if it's not perfect. Sometimes, you just have to let go....

(Now I look at the photo and can see definate green tones in it and it looks like what I thought I bought, yet they're here on the table and it looks like a totally different fabric. It must be the lighting. That really doesn't help...)

Stupid mistakes.

They seem to be haunting me. The last two projects have been riddled with stupid mistakes. The end products are okay, and I know my friends will appreciate them and not be as critical as me - but seriously-how dumb can I get!!!!!

The first project was another casserole pot tote the same as this one for another friend who admired the original one. They really are a simple project, but this one was cursed. My walking foot played up, I couldn't buy wide enough binding, and then the big stupid mistake...I forgot to put the handles on and didn't realise until I was testing it and wondering how to pick it up! It was a complete PITA to get them on, but it's done now and works well.

The next "easy"project was a nappy for a pregnant friend who wants to use MCN. When I was pregnant with DS1 (a whole 7 years ago), MCN's were relatively new to Australia. I bought a lot of mine off a WAHM in QLD, and bought the rest from the UK. Once DS started to grow out of them I decided to try and make my own, and managed okay. They caught his poops perfectly well! Since then the MCN market has grown and nappy designs and materials have become more sophisticated. It's amazing the change in such a short time.

I thought I'd have some fun making one of my "old fashioned" nappies for my friend - I think I need to revisit my definition of fun lol! I made some really stupid mistakes and realised my nappy making skills are more than a little rusty. It will do what it should, and will be a good spare for rainy days when the "real nappies" aren't dry yet :-) But now, I'm officially back in nappy making retirement!

Has he got any taste?

Last week my husband came into the sewing room, saw Olive Rose and exclaimed "Oh My Goodness!". That would have been fine, if it had been followed by "that is the most amazing thing I've ever seen", but instead he just stared. When I foolishly asked "what's wrong?" he as good as told me it was terribly gaudy.

Of course, I know I didn't marry him for his extreme style, but he planted the seed of doubt, and suddenly I had no wind in my sails to continue with this quilt.

So, it's time for honesty, fellow crafters. Should I continue on and quilt and bind it? Or just cast it in the pile of projects I didn't quite manage to pull off?

books, books, books

20 The quilters apprentice. Jennifer Chiaverini **** (May 09)
21 Round Robin. Jennifer Chiaverini **** (May 09)

22 My Enemy's cradle. Sara Young **** (may 09)

23 The Runaway Quilt. Jennifer Chiaverni *** (may 09)

24 Paradise Park. Iris Gower. *** (June 09)

As I fast approach the half way point of this challenge, I find myself right on target.

The last two additions to my reading list are the usual. 24 really starts to venture into the mindless trashy novel genre, which is almost embarrassing.

However, My Enemy's cradle (#22) is one book I want to mention as it was a story that actually had some meat to it (unlike my usual selections lol!). The story revolves around the Nazi Lebensborn homes set up in Germany to house women who were pregnant with illegitimate babies of german soldiers. Providing that they passed the tests that would ensure that their The women were cared for well through the pregnancy, and then provided their babies as future soldiers who would continue the aryan race. This particular story becomes complicated, as the main character is part jewish, and is forced to assume her dead cousins identity to stay safe.

I'm currently book-less, which is not great news. Waiting on library holds is taking forever. Do they not know that I have a deadline to meet??????? :-)

Quilt #5 complete

This is the final update about my vintage sheet quilt. It is 100% finished now. I threw myself into free motion quilting and the end result is okay. It is far from great, there is a lot of irregularity in the stitch size, but for a first effort I'm happy (especially considering it is a large quilt so there was lots of bulk)

I look forward to this quilt spending many nights snuggled in the lounge room with me.

And, the best part about finishing a quilt...I now get to start a new one :-)

So, how clean is it now?

I've had a few people ask me this regarding my sewing room. So, here it is...

Not too bad I say :-) It's not helped by the large binding project sitting on the sewing machine, but that shows I'm working hard. The overlocker is out and has new been cleaned and got new blades. I'm hoping I can master this frustrating piece of equipment one day soon.

The trick to it staying so tidy is simple; everything has a home, that is easy to get to. So, I just put things away. That's easy :-)

It's also time for a reading list update.

15 Twilight. Stephanie Meyer. **....* (Apr 09)

16 Mixed Blessings. Deborah Lee ** (Apr 09)
17 The Laceys of Liverpool. Maureen Lee *** (Apr 09)
18 Sisters Choice. Emilie Richards *** (apr 09)

19 The Household guide to Dying. Debra Adelaide *** (May 09)

20 The quilters apprentice. Jennifer Chiaverini **** (May 09)

21 Round Robin. Jennifer Chiaverini **** (May 09)

My quilty friends suggested I read the Elm Creek Novels by Jennifer Chiaverini, and I haven't been disappointed. If you haven't read them, check out this awesome give away on Car's blog.

Book 19, The household Guide to Dying, came with high praise, but it failed to really deliver for me. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. After a long line of books that people said I must read, I'm now stearing clear of them all and have picked something different and fresh off the library shelves.

And last but not least, another Alicia dress finished. They are such a sweet dress, I can't help myself