Halloween fabric postcards, ATCs...

We have been busy at the Stitchin Fingers website, swapping ATCs and FPCs with a Halloween Theme. Here is what I have received so far: Cute fabric postcard from Leslie in the U.K.
And a cute ATC from Maria in Spain - The FPCs and ATC I made for these swaps are here. I am expecting another FPC from Liz in Kansas - that is for our Yahoo postcard group. Ahhh..the joys of simple stitching!

A variety of linen goodies.

On Tuesday, I visited our Guild in Malvern, taking my friend J. along with me. J. has no real interest in embroidery, but does appreciate the arts in general, so she was keen to see the Guild and whatever was on display. This month's display had an unusual theme - 'The Nursery', and Guild members were asked to contribute items from their own collection of family things. I took five little girls aprons, Ken's first bib and a tray cloth with Donald Duck stitched on it. They were all up on show, and I was spitting chips that I'd forgotten to take my camera!
As well as viewing the display, I had to collect a package that one of the Guild members had left for me in the office. She'd phoned me to say she had some old unfinished linens, and asked if I'd like to have them. Of course I said yes! The EGV members are getting to know me and my love of old stuff, and quite often hand me items they have come across in their travels - how kind people are. This is what B. brought in: A simple unfinished doiley, which I shall probably send to one of my overseas blog friends who delight in finishing these! This is a very old teacosy, finished on one side, with the same pattern on the other side, but not quite finished. I'll finish this one myself if I can match the colours. Fortunately there isn't much more to stitch, so if the colours are not an exact match, it shouldn't show up. Then I just have to find someone to crochet the edge! It needs to be soaked and pressed, as you can see, but what a little treasure.
Before we left, J. and I bought some hand made cards from the Guild gift shop cabinet. One of the EGV Groups meet monthly, and make small items such as cards, pincushions, needlecases, etc. for sale to people who visit the Gallery. J. bought two (one of which I suspect will be mine at Christmas!) and I bought this one:
I have more eye candy, but it is elsewhere. I finished a Peacock bookmark this week, which you can see here if you are interested.
As well as that, I found some beaut bargains in Savers in Greensborough today! A singlebed patchwork quilt, just perfect for the spare room, and two tablecloths. You can see these on the OpShop blog here.

Needlework Tapestry Guild of Vic. Exhibition

Around this time last year, Sharon took me to the Tapestry Guild Exhibition, and I was hugely impressed by their display. Sharon told me this year's exhibition opened today, but she couldn't attend, so I went with another friend. We were both simply blown away by the standard of work, and I took photos again like I did last year. The theme of the exhibition was "Black And White" and the members had taken full advantage of this, using blackwork for many projects. The members of this Guild are not as touchy as other Guilds about people photographing their work - and I did say I'd be posting photos on my blog. I think they were flattered to think their work would be seen on the Net! These are only a few - I would have taken more, but my camera batteries were going flat, and there would have been far too many to post here anyway. Christmas cross stitch.
This tapestry picture had won a place in the Royal Melbourne Show, as had many of the other pieces here.
Rooster in blackwork - stunning!
A bright cross stitched rooster, looking very similar to the blackwork version above...could this clever stitcher have turned a cross stitch design into blackwork, or vice versa? I should have asked.
Unfortunately, I didn't focus the camera properly for this shot. This is cross stitch on 16ct (I think) Aida, all in black and greys - absolutely fantastic. Looks like a photo at first glance.
Peacock tapestry on footstool.
Another peacock design, this time in blackwork.
I fell in love with this and the next - OWLS!!! This one in cross stitch..
And a beautiful blackwork Owl.
Does anybody here remember the Milly Molly Mandy books from their childhood? She was one of my favourites, and as soon as I saw this, those books came alive in my memory! I'd love to know where the stitcher got this pattern - if it was a kit, or something she has designed herself. Again, I should have asked!
A gorgeous example of cross stitch in colour combined with blackwork.
This is work in progress of a a very well known design of cats asleep on a bookshelf among the books. Something I would have loved to attempt, but the thought of doing all that stitching on black Aida puts me off!
Another beautiful blackwork piece.
Having just completed my patchwork Dresden Plate, you can imagine how impressed I was with this Dresden plate in blackwork!
I'm such a one-eyed Aussie, I just love anything like this!

It was a productive weekend!

Yesterday's Craft Expo got me all fired up, although I paid the price today for being on my feet for so long. Aching lower back, and my left knee felt like it was tied in a knot! I was supposed to visit two friends today, but cancelled both because I just couldn't walk very far. Anyway, I got busy last night and today, and am very pleased with my accomplishments! My fifth patchwork block finished - 'Dresden Plate'. I love this design, but it is very fiddly to get right, and I don't know how people have the patience to make up a whole quilt in these!
I hope my friend Val is reading this. We started this project as an SAL but she finished way before me, and even worked on mine to help me get a move on. So I got stuck into it, and here it is - done!
These Xmas trees were part of a block on a bunch of patterns a friend lent me, and I made a template of just the trees, thinking of the variations one could make with them. Today I felt in the mood to do some applique, and couldn't resist playing with the templates and some scraps of fabric. When finished, this will be a fabric postcard for a future swap with either of my Stitchin Fingers or Yahoo groups.
Still feeling the urge to applique, I pulled out the templates for a pair of cupcake and teacup napkins I made earlier this year. Several friends said they wanted one, after they'd seen the original, so I decided to make a start today. Some months ago, I bought six plain pink and four plain yellow napkins at Savers for a few dollars, for the purpose of appliqueing things on them. I've put the cupcake in one corner and the teacup in the other, for this napkin. Now I have to embellish each to finish off. I think L. will like this!

Melbourne Craft Expo 2009

I love attending craft events with Sharon - it is so much fun spending money with someone who shares your enthusiasm! This Craft Expo is the first time it has been held in Melbourne; we think it replaces the Stitches & Craft Fair, run by the same Event managers. After reading the advertising, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as the previous Fairs, but I was completely wrong. It was one of the best craft events I've been to in recent years. I don't know if my opinion was influenced by the ambience of the venue - Melbourne's beautiful Exhibition Buildings, which are over 100 years old and set in stunning gardens, alongside the Melbourne Museum.
We arrived early, bought our tickets and waited in the sunshine with other keen crafters for the event to open at 10 am. While we were waiting, Expo staff walked around distributing free tote bags and craft magazines to everyone - nice touch!
Once inside, we strolled around getting our bearings to see where the workshops and seminars would be held, and booked into one on embroidery. Stopping only once for coffee and a bit later for lunch, we enjoyed ourselves immensely - the stands were mostly patchwork and stitching, with paper and other crafts well represented. Here is my stash: Hexagon patchwork kit, with cardboard papers for piecing, template, fabrics, and dear little cutter and cutting board!
This little stitchery was a freebie, thrown in with the Chooks stitchery and pattern book that I bought at one stall.
Fat quarters - cupcakes and teacups - what else would you expect from me? (No new chook fabrics in stock).
Cute buttons to use on stitcheries and patchwork projects.
This photo isn't very clear, but this is the cutest stitchery - "Family Picnic" with a line of Chooks going out for the day! Can't wait to start on this!
This is the kit we received when we did the Embroidery stitches workshop. The tutor showed us how to do three or four stitches that are sometimes a bit tricky to do, and I learnt something from each example, as although I know how to do many embroidery stitches, I am most certainly no expert, and some of my work is not as neat as it should be.
I've been doing cross stitch for so long now, that I'd almost abandoned other forms of embroidery until I started crazy patchwork embellishing, and renewed my love of traditional embroidery. Sharon has been doing these stitchery type projects for a while and I could see why she enjoys them so much as a break from cross stitch. This book contains small easy designs, which I am planning to make into gifts, with some of those cute buttons to embellish each project.
I've got several needle threaders, but had been looking for a really fine one to assist me in threading beading needles. This might do the trick. If it doesn't, it still looks like a good needle threader!
These last two photos show the main reason I attended the Craft Expo. I have been wanting to put my newly created patchwork blocks into some kind of album, and thought I would have to have something purpose-made, but when I saw these at the Expo for $15, I pounced! They are 99.9% perfect - my blocks are about half an inch too wide, but that can be easily rectified by folding one side over and pressing it, so it will fit. I am so pleased with this!!

Free patterns and tutorials.

My stats counter for this blog ran out ages ago, so I'm never really sure how many people read it, but for those that do, I'm wondering if any of you have ever visited the Freebies For Crafters blog on my sidebar? Khris spends a lot of time surfing the net for free patterns and tutes, to post on her blog so other people can benefit from her searches. I know I do; I've copied a lot of items on to my computer, as well as printing them for future reference. Khris knows from her stats counter and followers that she has a lot of readers, but rarely receives comments or feedback. She wonders in turn if the people who use the patterns from her blog ever acknowledge the designers? The internet provides so much in the way of resources from designers who are happy to share their original ideas with the world. It would be nice if they were thanked! Here is what Khris says on her blog:
Are you ever looking for just the right pattern or tutorial and spend forever sifting through the many, many sites in hope of finding it? I do!! And crikies there are that many out there not worth looking at, you waste the whole day looking and don't find anything worth making. There are wonderful people out there who are generous enough to share their free patterns and tutorials with us. Please leave them a comment if you do use their pattern or tutorial. It is nice to let them know we appreciate their generosity. Grab a cuppa and get comfy. This blog is put together because I am always trying to keep a track of worthy free online patterns, tutorials or ideas that I hope to use but am forever searching for. This blog will hopefully save all of us some time with free patterns and tutorials that are worth making. Be sure to follow the blog regularly as I will try and update often with freebies.

New additions to my Blog Friends List.

I keep seeing new blogs that I want to add to my list on the sidebar, but there are so many, that I just add a few there, and keep the rest on my IE Favorites list. One of the new blogs that I added tonight is Quilting In The Valleys - not just because she is a wonderful quilter, but she is another Gina!

Three small items finished this weekend.

I'm really on a roll with my new work space, but my arthritic hands are feeling the effects, and my stitching on these fabric postcards and ATC leaves a lot to be desired. But I wanted to finish them so they would be in the mail in plenty of time to get to their destination by Halloween. ATC for Stitchin Fingers Halloween swap. Two fabric postcards for October exchanges - one for a Yahoo Group, and the other for Stitchin Fingers. These look the same size as the ATC above, but it is just the way I scanned them. They both measure the standard 6" x 4".
I made up two lists for myself, to establish a working order of the projects I want to finish by the end of this year. Those with a deadline:
October -Halloween ATC - done
October -Halloween FPC x 2 - both done
November - ATC (Stitchin Fingers)
November - FPC x 2 (Stitchin Fingers and Yahoo)
November - Round Robin ornament (Stitchin Fingers)
December - ATC (Stitchin Fingers)
December - FPC x 2 (Stitchin Fingers and Yahoo)
December - Round Robin ornament (Stitchin Fingers)

WIPs to finish:
Assisi Lyrebird (nearly there)
Peacock Bookmark (also nearly there)
Peacock CQ block
Tea Cup CQ block
Teapot Table runner (completed RR, just needs a border)
Black Cat Patchwork wall hanging (also needs border)
Chooks Cross stitch (needs a border)

Other work in slow progress - patchwork blocks at my weekly class. Do I have enough to do? Will I finish everything by December 31? Only time will tell.

A few small things achieved today.

Last week, I decided to bring a folding table in from outdoors where it has been gathering dust. I cleaned it, and set it up in my study/den/mess room. This room was originally designed to be a smaller bedroom, and has a floor to ceiling window and a built in wardrobe. I've had shelves installed in the wardrobe to put fabrics etc in, and there is also a desk, filing cabinet and three sets of bookshelves, as well as stuff piled up on the floor. So, because there was nowhere else, this extra table had to go across the window, which is where I wanted it anyway, as it faces south-west and the light is pretty constant all day - not too dark in winter or too bright in summer.
Why am I writing about all this? Well, because I am so pleased with myself to finally have a space where I can spread my craft projects out and leave them, instead of having to remove everything from either the kitchen or dining room table, where I used to work on large projects that needed space to spread stuff out. It has motivated me to get out projects and set them out where I can see them and decide to work on one right now, instead of thinking about digging it out and looking for threads, needles, patterns, etc. before I start.
I finished a paper craft project today (that's on the other blog) and then did these small bits of stitching for Halloween theme postcards and ATCs: Tiny little witch on 14ct aida. I tried to stitch this on 32 ct, but gave up! Pumpkin and ghost to use on ATC.
Then I did some more on the Assisi Lyebird that I started as an SAL with my friend Val. It was her very first cross stitch project, and she finished hers in record time for a first timer, putting me to shame! Then she offered to finish mine, and I gave it to her, but took it back after she'd done quite a lot, because I felt guilty about letting someone else work on something that is going to be a gift for a friend!

Good and not so good day.

I spent most of today at the Embroiderers Guild exhibition, selling raffle tickets and chatting with other Guild members. I was wondering if any of my blog readers would turn up and say hi, and guess what - Tannia did. It is such fun to meet my cyberspace friends - thanks, Tannia! Unfortunately the Guild doesn't allow anyone to take photos of their exhibitions, so I don't have any to put on my blog to show you. But I can show you what I bought from the Gift Shop. This is a plain old Spirex ruled notepad, made special with a calico cover appliqued with a cupcake! Couldn't leave this behind - what a great notebook to write recipes in.
As you might remember, I have a growing collection of pincushions of all shapes and sizes, and the Guild always have heaps of them for sale in their Gift Shop. I allowed myself just one today - this square shape is new to me. And I adore that elephant design.
Tonight I received an email from Cheryl, who alerted me to an item on the Needlework News website. They had discovered my Peacocks blog and given it a nice write up. Thanks Lakshmi, for telling them about me!
The bad news is that I smashed my car up on the way home from the Guild, so I'm grounded for a few weeks at the least, I guess. The upside is that because I'm forced to stay home, I'll have lots of time to stitch - lol!

How do you know what to do next??

Some stitchers have a rotation system, where they line up all their works in progress, and work on one for a set period (ie. one night) before going on to another. I've thought about this, but don't think it would work for me, because so many of my projects have time frames that mean I have to stay on one thing until it is finished. At the moment, I've caught up with my Stitchin Fingers exchanges (FPCs, ATCs and round robin), and am looking at my next patchwork block to be cut out. Our tutor isn't running classes in school holidays, so I haven't had anything to do this week or next week, although J. did give me the patterns for the next two blocks, so I could start making the templates and cutting out the fabrics.
But I have an Assisi project which was started early this year, and meant to be finished by May, for a friend's 60th birthday. She went overseas in the meantime, so I figured there was no rush for the Assisi job to be finished. I have two crazy patchwork blocks almost finished (Teacup and Peacock themes) which I had intended to finish in time to enter them in the Whittlesea Show. I also have the Black Cats on Brick Wall patchwork wall hanging to finish off with a border.
None of these will take a lot of time, but I think I'll finish off the Assisi work, as it is for someone else after all, and I'm not really fussed about entering stuff in the Show this year. There is always next year. Speaking of shows, I forgot to mention earlier the Embroidery Guild's annual exhibition, which started on 12th September and finishes this Sunday 27th! So if you are in Melbourne and want to do something other than watch the Grand Final on Saturday, do drop into the Guild at 170 Wattletree Road, Malvern, between 10 am and 6 pm. I will be there all day on Sunday, as a gallery hostess and manning the gift shop, so if you come in on Sunday, come over and say hi!

Two more Fabric Postcards.

Tonight I finished off these two FPCs. The one with the Dalmation among the red and white fabric is for one of the ladies in my Patchwork class. She used the red and white fabrics for her blocks and the completed quilt is lovely. She gave me some of the scraps of fabric that were left over, and when I told her I would use them to make postcards, she looked a bit sceptical, so I decided to make one up straight away so I can show her at the next class!
The other one with the gold butterfly is for a Stitchin Fingers exchange, and will be posted off to Mary Lou in the USA on Monday.

Magic Mushroom ATC

Remember the mushroom ATC that I posted a photo of here recently? Well, I received my partner's ATC today - isn't it beautiful! Many thanks, 'Michelle Mermaid'!

Op (thrift) shop treasures.

I am shocked by some of the embroidered items I find in opshops. Some things such as long stitch pictures are not such a rarity, as they are generally done from kits that were sold by the thousands. However, I could not leave these behind at Savers in Greensborough today. I'm sorry the photos are not as clear as they could be, but I'm sure you can see the potential. May Gibbs designs are usually found in books and charts, and I believe this one would be from a book as it is beautifully worked on 32ct fabric, and mounted carefully on acid free board - $4. But then it has been jammed into this cheap frame, with no backing and no glass. It was on the bottom shelf under a heap of other frames and I rescued it immediately I saw it! This exquisite piece of hardanger was one of four, similar designs, different colours, all framed the same way. They were $15 each, which is peanuts when you think about the work that went into them, but I just couldn't afford to spend $60 to take them all, so it was with great regret I left the others. At least they had glass in the frame to protect them from dust and dirt, and I hope that they will find a good home with someone else who will appreciate them. If you want to see what else I bought on my opshop spree today, go here.

Card Tricks

The fourth block in our patchwork class is a design I have seen many times at exhibitions and on blogs, and wondered how it was done. Now I know! Here is my completed block:
The MOTH had a close look at this and said "I can see mistakes. The material isn't lined up correctly". "Oh?" I replied, and waited for his explanation. "The dots on that material aren't matching properly. And the cup cakes are facing in different directions." "I know, dear. That's not actually a mistake, it is the way I've laid the templates on the fabrics to cut them out. The important thing is that the seams and corners are matching. If I do this design again, I'll use plain fabrics, or at least a fabric with a random non-directional design printed on it". He didn't understand of course, but he eventually admitted that it looked nice. Hmmph! When I showed his Mum today, she thought it was lovely!

Another fabric postcard for my collection.

At Stitchin Fingers we had a Textile postcard exchange this month. I still have one to make and send, but Judy in South Australia was much quicker, and sent hers to me within a week. I saw some of her FPCs on her blog, with cupcakes as the theme, and asked if she would make me one. She did - isn't it cute! Thanks Judy (and thanks also for your concern about my hubby - much appreciated).

Third patchwork block complete.

The third block design we had to do in my patchwork class is called Drunkards Path. I finished it last night, and am looking forward to showing J. tomorrow at the class. I'm quite proud of my work in matching up all the seams and corners nicely! The next design I'll be doing is called 'Card Tricks', which I've been dying to learn, ever since I saw a photo of a completed block on someone's blog a while ago. I made the templates and cut out my fabrics today, so J. can get me started straight away tomorrow. The following two weeks are school holidays, during which time J. will be taking a break, so she will be giving us two more block designs to work on, one of which is the 'Dresden Plate' - another patchwork design that I just love!