Wednesday 26th January

It's Australia Day and here in Bairnsdale it's raining a light, misty rain. What a pity! I'll have to stay inside and watch the cricket. I have a cardigan I'm knitting Michael, which I said would be done by the end of the holidays. With less than a week to go, this is the perfect time to get it done!

On Monday I finished this twisty scarf. It only takes 3 balls of yarn. In this case I used a variegated wool/acrylic mix. It looks really complicated, but, in fact, I learnt the pattern from my mum in about 10 seconds! Mum actually gave me one for Christmas, made with beautiful Japanese wool called 'Noro'. This one was just to make sure I understood how to make it! After the cardigan is finished, I have an aqua/purple one on the go.
We're not doing anything for Australia Day, except to count our blessings and watch the cricket. My calendar saying today is,"All the great blessings of my life are in my thoughts today." Pretty apt, really. Have a good one.

Sunday 23rd January

Yesterday was a beautiful day---too good to be inside, so no arty stuff. Just lots of gardening. Today is even warmer, as well as being a one day cricket day. The perfect excuse to do some sewing! I've just finished this sample, which contains two flimsies sandwiched with some orange-red scrim, while watching Australia field. I hand sewed the running stitch with variegated ribbon. This piece reminds me of an Aboriginal map painting. With only one week to go until school begins, I doubt I'll have time to play for a while!

Friday 21st January

It's been humid and stormy today. Hopefully the weather will break this afternoon. Michael and I drove to Lakes Entrance for lunch yesterday. It's so wonderful to have the luxury of time. School is only a little over a week away and I still haven't done any preparation. There's too much to play with in my studio to interrupt that with schoolwork! On the way home we stopped at a local craft shop to top up my supply of yarn. These two samples are made with Corriedale wool. It doesn't mix as well as Merino, but the colours are beautiful.

Thursday 20th January

Here is my first flimsy---great alliteration: "Fibrefriend's first flimsy"!---made this morning. It's a beautiful summer's day, too nice to be inside, so I took my materials outside and sat in the sun to work. No wind to interfere with fibres. It's amazing how therapeutic hand stitching can be, especially on such a soft background. More later, I hope.

Wednesday, 19th January

Hot Needles, Cool Stitches began yesterday, so I've been busy. Because I always work in 'boxes' (finish what's in one box before going on to the next one---it drives my husband mad!) this meant I needed to finish some of the Ratty Tatty Papers things first. I had been meaning to make a journal of all my samples, so I finished off a journal cover and collected all my work together.

The cover is Evalon Ultra, with some silk paper and printed lettering. The edging has been done with stamped Xpandaprint, though it's not very clear. The other piece I finished was also Evalon Ultra---a wonderful product to experiment with. I printed a photo from Turkey straight onto the Evalon, then distressed it using walnut ink and painted Zap cloth. I'm not sure what next to do, but it will probably involve some hand stitching. This course has certainly given me lots of new options to play with! Now onto the next program!

Saturday 15th January 2011, Session 2

The home paddock is mown (don't worry, I have a ride-on mower!) the garden is weeded and now back to blogging!

To continue my study, I enrolled in Embellish, Stitch, Enrich, as I had recently purchased a felting machine and needed some inspiration. Dale certainly provided that! The first sample is the cover of my course journal; the second is a felted version of a painting I had done in oils.

The final course for 2010 was Ratty Tatty Papers, which was so much fun and quite different for me. It was fascinating what can be produced from different types of paper. I'm still working on the final 2 lessons. The following sample is of tissue paper moulded with water onto a stencil. When dry, it was painted with Starburst Sprays. One of the beauties of this course is that now I have lots of samples to incorporate into other projects. Stay tuned for more!

Saturday 15th January 2011

I decided today I would post some of my more recent work to show you. It will give you some idea of what I have been experimenting with in the last 12 months. The first image is Alice Springs Dreaming. We lived in The Alice for 8 years, which is where I began quilting. When we moved to Victoria, I was extremely homesick for Central Australia, so I made this quilt to remind me of our time there. It's one of the last more traditional quilts I have made.

In 2010, I discovered Dale's offerings of online courses from The Thread Studio. Living more than 3 hours from Melbourne, the opportunities to undertake experimental work is pretty nonexistent, so I began by enrolling in The Holey Moley Club. My favourite lesson was definitely "Layers", which are the next photo samples. Basically, I created layers of fabric on a woollen base, covered it with chiffon, freemotion quilted over the top, then burnt back the chiffon with a soldering iron. What fun!

I'll continue this little history later, as there is, unfortunately, farm work to be done. No rain today!

Friday 14th January

Still coughing and spluttering! I think it should be compulsory for people to be notified that they need a Whooping Cough booster when they turn 50. This is not fun at all! Michael and I have decided that we may as well be sick down the farm as sick in Bairnsdale, so we came down here on Wednesday. This photo is the view from the farm's lounge room, looking over the Ninety Mile Beach at Woodside in South Gippsland, Victoria. It makes me feel better, already! I didn't bring any 'arty' stuff with me, but have a traditional quilt ready to finish when I feel the urge. Right now I'm happy to read and knit. Michael has a new Mac Air to play with, so he's also happy. Not much farm work getting done, but it has rained non-stop since we got here. We have been very dismayed by the happenings in Queensland and our sympathies go out to all the flood victims. At least down here we are used to the rain; the farm gets an annual rainfall total of at least 60". I'm looking forward to Hot Needles Cool Stitches beginning on Monday. Can't wait!

Monday 10th January 2011

After years of nagging by my husband, I have finally set up my own blog. Of course, it helps that I am on holidays and suffering with Whooping Cough, so time is not an issue. The photo is what I am looking at from my back room. At least from here I can't see the weeds and feel frustrated that I can't get out there without going into paroxysms of coughing. At least I can still work in my studio without too much choking and spluttering!