Sewing is my therapy.

Last week I posted a little parcel of handmade goodies to Deb.   You could call it a random act of kindness.  I wanted to make her something, to say thank you for being herself.  To me, she is so inspiring.  I love reading her blog and following her on Instagram.  She makes beautiful quilts.  She works hard at studying at University and raising her kids.  I really love her honesty on her blog and on Instagram.  She is not afraid to talk about difficult things like her feelings. I wish I could be so honest.

I included a letter with the handmade goodies.  I only meant to say a few words, to thank her for being so inspiring and honest. In the end, it was a few pages long, confessing how 2014 had been the worst year of my life and the reasons why.  I talked here about my grief at losing both my Nana and then my Grandma last year.  There were other things that made 2014 an awful year.  I am not ready to talk about them here.  Maybe one day I will be ready.

Once I had posted the parcel to Deb, I worried that I'd dumped all my pain on her. She has experienced her own share of pain and grief, she is open and honest about it on her blog and on Instagram. I felt relief to have shared all this in my letter but part of me felt guilty for burdening Deb.

I did not and could not know how she would receive my letter. It was a complete surprise to me that my letter did not burden her but uplifted her.  (She wrote about it here on her blog). I could then see clearly, by sharing my pain and grief with her, I was acknowledging her own pain and grief.  We all feel better when we talk about these things, it is part of the healing process.  It is not healthy to anyone to bottle up their emotions.

Deb has helped to heal me. I feel stronger. I feel supported.  Deb is my friend (even if we have never met).  I loved making all these goodies for her.

Sewing is my therapy. What is yours?

A purple quilt for my big girl.

Hello peeps,

Way back in August of 2013, I began planning (on paper) a quilt for my big girl.  At the time she was 7 years old.  I had been collecting different red fabrics for her, as she loved red back then, but she decided her new favourite colour was purple.

She chose the snowball (octagon) quilt block and I was very lucky to find a few metres of the turquoise dotty fabric in my stash, it matched the purples I began collecting beautifully.

Over many months I cut fabrics and slowly sewed the blocks.

I finally sewed the blocks together in May of this year (2015).  My big girl was thrilled.  I was relieved it was finally (almost) finished.  There are no long arm quilters here in Hong Kong, I arranged for this to be quilted in Melbourne on our next trip (in July/August of 2015).  It was quilted by Anita of Hillside Quilting.  My big girl chose the quilting pattern and the binding too.

I wish I could say why it took so long to finish.  I will admit I get easily distracted and start other projects.

It is finally finished.  That is all that matters to my big girl.

The backing fabric my big girl chose, it is called Unicorn Fable in Balsamtree.  It is from Art Gallery Fabric, designed by Sara Lawson.  The range is called Fantasia.

Her new quilt is on her bed, she can snuggle up to her very own quilt, made with love, just for her.

Have a lovely week.

Cat xox.

A quilt for Poppy

Hello peeps,

It is about time I share with you two quilts I made last year.  Both were presents for dear friends having babies.  I didn't share many photos on social media when I was making them, I did not want the recipients to know what I was up to.

The first quilt was finished in August for baby Poppy. I wanted to make a quilt that their baby would grow into, that their child would be able cherish for years to come.

 

It had to fit in their modern, bright, inner city apartment.  The gender of the baby was not known before birth.  These friends have their own wonderful style and flair. I wanted to add to this, not clash with it.  

I thought hard and long and believed triangles would suit them and that the Carolyn Friedlander fabric range "Botanics" would be perfect. I added a few coordinating solids also.

This is the 6th quilt I've made. It was my first time sewing triangles.  I quilted it myself in very wonky lines, outlining all the triangles.  I love how the back of the quilt looks.

I learnt so much making this quilt.  I learnt to embrace "wonky" even more.  I loved making this quilt. It was made with love for our friends, their friendship means so much to our family.

 

I love the orange binding, I feel it makes the quilt pop.

   

It is quite big for a baby quilt, Poppy will grow into it. I can't wait for the adventures that Poppy and my girls will have together, in the future.

   

Here is a silly photo with me in it. Hi {waves}

I'll share the other quilt soon. 

Have a great week.  Cat xox