Let's take a scrappy trip, shall we?

 

 Hello peeps,

My Grandmother's quilt should not have been my first.  I had actually started another quilt before I made hers - this one I am going to show you now.  Back in late December of last year, I noticed on Instagram that a quilt-along was happening, called the Scrappy Trip Along. The blocks for the quilt looked so interesting, I was fascinated how they were made and I so desperately wanted to make a quilt of my own. I knew that I would soon be trying one of these blocks.  Of course, I loved making my first blocks, but I was not happy with using random fabrics.  Maybe the control freak in me did not like the randomness. I wanted more control.  I chose to have each block as a colour theme.  Six different fabrics of the same colour together in each block, kind of like a rainbow.  I do like rainbows!

By the end of January, I had 24 finished blocks.  All fabrics used had come from my stash. I was in love.  To be honest though, I had no idea where I was heading with this quilt.  I laid out all my blocks together, seen in the photo below, and I knew it needed to be bigger, a few more yellow and orange blocks too.

I took a break from my Rainbow quilt to make Grandma's.  I was itching to add more blocks, but I had the deadline of Grandmas 90th birthday party.  I had to finish that quilt before her party.

Finally by the end of May, I had 30 completed blocks.  As I was laying them out with much excitement, I believed I had finished all my blocks.  Once they were all together though, I knew immediately I had to make 5 more.  If this quilt was to be the one we snuggled under on our couch, it had to be longer.

So 5 more blocks were made.  I have yet to take a photo of all completed 35 blocks, it is getting more and more difficult to photograph as this quilt is so large and our living area very small.

If you want to make your own scrappy trip quilt, all the instructions are here.  It really is easy to do, the blocks come together quickly once you have all your fabric strips cut.  I used this photo as a reference guide how to iron my blocks before cutting (the photo in the instructions is not clear to me)

I have created a board on Pinterest with all this info together, you can see that here.  There is also a Flickr group with so many photos of gorgeous scrappy trip along blocks and completed quilts. Go check it out of you want some inspiration.

I am so eager to finish this quilt, but a secret project has been taking up my time, I'll share that as soon as I can.

Do you want to make a scrappy trip along quilt, or have you already made one?

Happy Creative Space day to you.

Cat xox

All stitched up with love.

Hello peeps,

I recently commissioned Sonia from Dandelyne to make our family portrait.  This is how we look, all stitched up.

It warms my heart looking at it, our little family frozen in time, made out of fabric and thread and stitched up with love by Sonia.

I supplied the fabric for our outfits, some of it sentimental.  The purple paisley fabric used in Abbey's dress is vintage.  I bought a remnant of this fabric at an opshop (charity shop) almost 20 years ago.  As a teenager, I made a mini skirt out of it.  Unfortunately, the skirt no longer fits, but I have kept it to re-purpose one day.  I love this fabric.  The fabric used in my dress is Liberty, I adore Liberty.  Enough said.

How cute are Zoe's pony tails?  Love them!  And the head band in Abbey's hair, perfect.

Sonia really captured us perfectly.  I have never met her, we do not know her.  She managed to make us perfect by looking at photos of us, how clever is that?

You can find the Dandelyn shop here and her facebook page here.  Do pop in and be amazed at what she can stitch up.

Thank you so much Sonia, you are one clever lady!

Happy day to you.

Cat xox

Sewing as therapy

Hi peeps,

A few months ago, we saw our beautiful, usually happy,  then 6 year old daughter very upset.  She is a sensitive soul and can be so very, very sweet (not all the time!)  She has always made, and kept,  friends easily.

It is very difficult as a parent, to be watching as other children treat her feelings with little thought or go against their word.  They are only 6 and 7 year olds and so often completely unaware of how their words or actions can hurt another.  Our girl was hurting.  She was so upset one day, she would not get on the school bus.

I found this situation very confronting.  Part of me was angry yet part of me understands that they are only 6 and 7 year old children, emotionally very young.  Part of me is so, so sad that this happens to anyone, let alone our sweet girl.  Abbey has had very little exposure to this type of behaviour before.  We talk about feelings and behaviour with our children all the time.  I feel Abbey is a very thoughtful child.

So we are now learning how to cope with it. Learning how to make her stronger, more resilient.  This is not an easy task, for her or us.

How have I been dealing with this?  By sewing, of course.

Here are some pretty photos of some lovely flannelette fabric I have been sewing with, making newborn baby gifts.  This flannelette is the softest I have ever sewn with, it is so lush.  Not to mention, the colours make my heart swell with happiness.  I needed this happiness in my heart when it was aching for our big girl.

Have a happy day.

Cat xox

NB: this post was written many months ago.  It has been edited, almost deleted and almost published so many times.  I can report all is well in Abbey's world now. 

The Pink Hexie Quilt, an update.

Hello peeps,

It is about time I had an update on my Pink Hexie Quilt.

In early April I laid out all my completed hexie flowers, I had 61 completed.  This is how they looked all together:

I honestly have no idea how many more I will make.  This is my "take away" craft.  I take it with me everywhere. It is small and portable.

I feel it is now time to be thinking about the edge of this quilt.  I want the edge to be straight, that is all I know.

I still can't decide if I will put a border on it or not.  Any suggestions?

I'll just keep hand sewing my hexie flowers for a little longer, and see where I end up. Who knows where, or when, that will be.

Have a great week.

Cat xox

Do you want to wear a rainbow?

Hello peeps,

Do you want to wear a rainbow?  If so, now you can.  New in my shop are RAINBOW necklaces.

There are two different types at the moment (the yellow bead is a different shape in each one).

I have a funny feeling I will be making many more of these.  Mine has been worn almost every day since I fist made it.  I love my rainbow necklace, I love wearing a rainbow.

Also in the shop are other beaded necklaces, these are some of them:

I have a special offer for all my friends and family.  Use the code "FRIENDS" at check out and receive 10% off your order (does not include shipping)

Happy Monday to you.

Cat xox

More reasons why I love Hong Kong

 

 Hello peeps,

I need to write more about Hong Kong.  I love it here, there are many reasons why I love it so much.  The most obvious reason, for me, is of course Sham Shui Po.

I had to take my sewing machine in for a service and possible repair, she has not been quite right for a few weeks, and now the bobbin case won't sit in place properly. So yesterday my sewing machine and I caught a taxi to my beloved Sham Shui Po.  I love the taxi's here, they are almost always punctual - I ordered a taxi, and it arrived within minutes.  I always forget that the driver has a button to open and close the rear doors.  It is a great idea in my opinion.

Yesterday I was greeted by a happy "Hello Missy".  I passed my driver the address of where I needed to go, and he said "Yes, Missy.  OK Missy".  It makes me giggle being called Missy.  It happens often in Hong Kong.  It makes me feel like a teenager again, in a good way.

When riding in the taxi, with no children chattering to me, out of the apartment, I had uninterrupted thoughts, so rare it seems nowadays.  I was thinking how much Hong Kong has stolen my heart, made me love her.  She is a beautiful city.  I love all the high rises, a mixture of old and new architecture. Such an urban jungle, so many people, so much diversity.  I always hear so many different accents and languages being spoken. There are people from all over the world here, calling Hong Kong home.  And it hit me - this is my home, and I am so grateful we took a crazy chance, a HUGE leap of faith, and made the move to Hong Kong.

We have been here for almost two years now.  In some ways, it only feels like 1 year, in other ways, I feel like I have been here much longer.  But only last week, I was thinking of returning to Australia.  We had a challenging week on so many levels, I was naturally thinking of my my old home Melbourne and all the special, gorgeous people still there who we miss dearly. I was craving some clean air, some fresh salad (not wilted) and a sherbet cone (or 4).  Then I had this urge, I wanted to take my girls camping - in Australia. I want them to grow up having experienced camping, to see a wombat in the wild at Wilson's Promontory and to go swimming at one of the many, many amazing beaches in Australia.  Then I felt a pang of sadness, I would miss Hong Kong so much if we left.  There is still so much here I want to see.

I feel so torn, questioning where I belong. I still feel in limbo, like Hong Kong won't be our home forever.  I am impatient to know where (and when) we will end up next. I also crave and cringe, both at the same time, to be in Melbourne again.  How do you ever settle in one place after you have become an "ex-pat"?  Is it possible? I must be thinking too much.  Hurry up and fix my sewing machine please, and keep me busy again.

Amongst all my crazy thoughts, I noticed my taxi driver.  I was reminded again why I love this city so much - here was a fully grown man, not afraid to wear purple shorts or bracelets.  I loved the jingle the bracelets made when he moved his arm. No one would bat an eye lid here at his ensemble.  Can I tell you again, I love this city and the people in it.

When, or if,  we move, part of my heart will be broken.  Hong Kong, I love you.

Have a great week.  Cat xox

I made my very first quilt (photographic evidence I did it)

Hey peeps,

I made a quilt!  From start to finish, I made it.  My mum helped a little too with piecing the top.  It was gifted to my Grandma on her recent 90th birthday.

I first talked about it here.  Here are the photos documenting the making of this quilt.

The backing, stuck to the floor with tape.  We had to move our couch to have enough room, we do live in a very cosy tiny apartment. 

   

 Pin basting, making a quilt sandwich with the backing, batting and quilt top.  

All pinned together, ready to quilt.  

Oh my gosh, I am quilting this!

 

 Quilting complete, removing the pins.  

 The backing, quilted.

   

 Beautiful binding, ready to attach.  

 Quilt top all trimmed and squared up, ready for binding.  

 Hand sewing on the binding.

   

 Finished. The front.

   

 My mum holding up the quilt.

   

The back.

   

 Oh my gosh, I really made this!  

 The label. 

 

I can honestly say the internet help make this quilt.  There are so many great tutorials and so much information on the web now about quilting.  So thank you, interwebs.

The good news is my Grandma loves her new quilt.  It makes her nursing home room so much brighter.  I feel better, knowing she has a hand made, with love, quilt to keep her warm and remind her she is so dear to us, even if we live in another country now. 

I faced my fears, and I finished this quilt on time.  I can honestly say I loved making this quilt.  I want to make more.  I now have 2 more quilts on the go and fabric collections to make another two.  I want to sleep under my own hand made quilt one day (soon).  I want my girls to sleep under a mumma made quilt.  You could say I am a "wanna be" quilter now.  That is fine with me.

Have you made a quilt?  Did you enjoy it?

Happy day to you.  Cat xox