Magik Quilter

At last I have something to show my loyal readers who may have forgotten this started as a craft blog. Blushing started life as part of a bag of scraps gifted to me by a friend who had quite a lot of bits and pieces. She has been making bags and scarves with her pieces and I was unsure for a few weeks what I would do with the strips as most of them were quite narrow…around 10 to 15cm with a few 25cm wide. I like the idea of table runners come bed runners come wall hangings so decided that it would be a challenge to work within the limits of the colours in the bag. I divided up the scraps into one large pile of medium to heavy weight linen mixes in taupe with charcoal and blush and another pile of beige though copper to peach rusty orange. There are also a few scrap strips which I have put aside for use in my strippy throws.

I sewed various strips of the taupe pile together after arranging them in some semblance of order, then pressed it and took a photo of it hanging from a cupboard so that I could get an idea of if anything needed to be taken out. Sure enough once I loaded it onto the computer I could see that one strip was standing out too much so I took that out and rearranged that area a bit and then it was time to hunt for the second hand yet as new curtain for the backing that I just knew I had somewhere in my garage! After about thirty minutes I found it and was delighted to see that it was even better quality than I remembered.

Then it was simply a matter of sewing the back to the front by machine and then I did some top stitching with perle thread to finish it off. All in all a simple project made challenging by the limited colour scheme and size of the pieces. We have however found that it is probably one of the most attractive things I have made, probably due to the quality of the fabric. It also goes incredibly well with our dark red curtains and has made the room have a more contemporary feel.

Yesterday I caught the train north to visit some friends. Until the previous evening I was also going to be visiting my parents who live about two and a half to three hours depending on traffic north of Sydney and as I don’t drive it is quite difficult for me to see them as often as I would like, however last time I was there I showed them photos of my friends and they said that they would love to meet them. I asked if it would be allright if I brought them up to visit next time I came up as they only live thirty minutes apart. They said fine and when I checked two weeks ago to see if this weekend was okay they again said it was. When Saturday night came and I had not heard from them I phoned and my father said that my mother did not want my friends to come because she was worried the house might be dirty. When I phoned my father back later he said he would meet me about 30 minutes from his house and he said that though my mother did not want my friends coming he would come and pick me up at the railway station where I usually get off the train and take me back to his house.

I said that as my friends were driving me there I would rather wait in the shopping mall next to the station with them and treat them to a coffee while I waited for him. So I went to bed and phoned my father at 7.30 am to say that I was about to get the bus to Central Station to get the train and he did not talk for some time so I asked him if something was wrong and he said that mum was not up to coming anywhere today. Well I was a little rattled and said he was the one coming to get me so it did not matter. All quiet again so I repeated again that he said that he would come and get me so what was the problem? He then asked if I would come up again to see them another time. I was pretty rattled as I was literally on my way out of the door and said I had to go as my bus was due.

I slept most of the way up north which was great and was met by my friends whom I had to tell yet again that the plans had changed. We had a wonderful day together, my friend had made some quilts in the style that I showed her several years ago. As she stays in Sydney during the week I had never seen the quilts as she made them when she was home at the weekends. They are so beautiful and also colourful in the way of her culture…she is Phillipino and very exotic and quite beautiful in spirit as well as face. She is taking some photos of these glorious quilts as the battery in my camera died. I was totally spoiled and we were able to really enjoy our time together and I also was able to get to know her husband….whom I had wanted to meet my parents as he is originally from the north of England, like my mother. After lunch us girls went for a walk and even my friend was amazed that there were deciduous trees …..Japanese Maples shedding their leaves and we walked through them talking, laughing and kicking the leaves like children. What was interesting to me was that here was my friend of around two years, whom I have only become close to since standing up to a friend who spoke to me abusively a few months ago, treating me as if I were family. I felt spoiled and valued, something that I needed after the phone calls with my father.

Some years ago I asked them to meet me three quarters of the way there at a shopping centre so that we could eat and shop etc and my father said on the day that mum was not up to it. When my husband and I became Australian citizens about four years ago I thought it was something that they might like to share with our son who was born an Australian citizen. My father said yes they would come weeks ahead and then on the night of the ceremony he phoned to say that mum wasn’t well enough to come. I asked why he didn’t come and he said he couldn’t come without her. That night our son sat alone for about an hour amongst the huge crowd of people supporting the new Australian citizens until the eleven year old son of my best friend and his nineteen year old sister came to sit with him. They then joined us for family photos and it is something that I will never forget ..that my friend’s children came when my own family would not. I was heartbroken for my son…he has an aunt in England and a grandmother who you would have had to kill to stop them going to the ceremony if it had been in their country.

My parents never saw where my son went to school in Sydney and they have not seen where we live in over ten years. I have been the one to visit even though the trip to and from their house takes up to six hours in a day and as I have severe nerve pain it takes up to a week to recover from it. Anyway this is getting way too negative, it is just so interesting to me that my memories of the happy times of my life are full of memories of my immediate family and friends and the absence of my parents, sister and brother. And how so much of my happiness these days is found in the simple things…the leaves, the quilts and showing people who you care about that they are valued, that you care so much about them that you want to see where they live and want to spend time with them there.

Shopping has taken a back seat to crafting this week as I have been getting caught up on all my various works in progress, WIP’s to crafters, some call them UFO’s…unfinished objects…but a science fiction lover like myself needs an alternate expression! Speaking of that last week we went up to Westfield where my son and I bought some books at Borders and then in a little Asian shop in the pedestrian mall I found a stunning poncho wrap that has large paisley swirls allover it in red with slashes of purple throughout. Last year at David Jones I bought a merino wool wrap in similar shades of red and purple but this is slightly different as it is a poncho style and though acrylic it is a much thicker and also at a third of the price of the merino I can wear it more often without wondering if I am going to catch it or worse…forget it when I am in a coffee shop somewhere.

While in Bondi Junction we trudged through driving rain to the charity shop to look around and for CJ to donate several of his shirts, he is getting into the more vibrant colours now which I love. While we were in Myer he was about to go into the changing room and I was making myself comfortable in one of their squishy leather armchairs when I felt someone staring and looked up and saw Mike Whitney who used to play Australian cricket and is now a television presenter. CJ then went off to try on his clothes and wandered in and out while I unobtrusively observed the various guys at the counter making their purchases. Mike stayed for some time, saying its like Pretty Woman …he had two gorgeous stylists with him… CJ later said he thought it would have been to select his television wardrobe for the show…smart casual as it is a show about whats on in sydney each weekend.

So once he had gone laughing about being a kept man again I saw an Italian looking gentleman in cargo pants and t shirt and clogs who had bought some gear return…he seemed to be having some trouble wandering back and forth and going behind the counter looking in the staff’s bins etc so I asked if he had lost anything as I remembered seeing a Myer docket on the floor somewhere in the men’s department. I pointed to where I could see a piece of paper on the floor…he went to get it, laughed and said “this is what she calls a docket” to the various staff. I said again that I had seen a docket somewhere but could not remember where. He asked the cashier to go upstairs to the “office” with him to explain it all to the management and just as she started to get ready to go with him I saw the Sportscraft rep sauntering up with a smile on his face and he waved the docket at me, smiled and said to the gentleman “the lady said she saw it so thought it was worth taking a look to see if it was still there. The Italian gentleman thanked him and went on his way while totally ignoring me. So there you have two different men of similar age with hugely differing public personas…one jovial, nothing too much trouble, smiling and acknowledging the public while the other seemed to expect preferential treatment. Mike Whitney is really well known in Australia and could be forgiven for being a primadonna yet was absolutely delightful in his normalacy while the other man was totally obnoxious and soured everyone’s day a little. When Mike left the store everyone smiled and chatted about how truly lovely his personal shoppers were and also a little about cricket matches etc. When the other chap left it was totally different…there was relief certainly and many thanks were expressed to me by the staff, we all chatted about CJ’s purchases and on the way out we thanked the reps from various companies for their help and advice. What I love about Australia is that there is no working class…anyone who works is as valued as the famous who are famous because of their work. This chap seemed to have a servant mentality and more power to the staff for treating everyone with the same courtesy.

So we also saw a few actors from various television shows as we went about our shopping and coffee drinking. We cannot do this unobtrusively as people really stare at us…whether it is the mother and son thing being cute or CJ being 6′2″….. at times it has been difficult as people really stare at him. The beard and his height and his unfortunate good looks all contribute to this but we choose to think that people think he is a rock star or someone they have seen somewhere.

That day I found several things at the charity shop ….an offcut of fabric, a pair of turquoise prescription sunglasses and three brand new glass bead necklaces. The fabric was $1.80, the sunglasses $8 and the three necklaces $12 Total $21.80.

At last this is getting back to being a craft blog…or this is the crafty side of it. As you may know I get a bit bored with purely one dimensional blogs. Luckily this week I was not only able to find my sewing machine under piles of fabric and clothing repairs but I also found the Designer’s Guild fabric for Ollie the little boy who lives opposite…..it had been stored by ’someone’ behind the Xmas trees when they were put away. When I was looking for our duvet/doona and our heater to ease the colder nights I found a large laundry basket full of fabrics I was obviously going to work on after Christmas!!!

So I am asking your patience today as there have been a few unforeseen problems caused by my uploading so many photos…remember when I taught myself to upload them? Well apparently I have not been resizing them so the ten that I uploaded to flickr this evening took up a gigantic 10 megabytes my son said. Yowser!!! So if you don’t mind just for today click on Wild Blue Yonder and you will see what I have been up to lately! This is going to be a series of quilts of throw size with a very pale to soft inner centre of at least a square metre going gradually darker to the last few rows of blocks which will be really dark with the odd splashes of lilac to purple in one and pink to red in the other. Each block is 15cm in size so it will end up having 100 blocks….for some reason 100 blocks appeals to me.

I had no sooner put them up to our group on flickr when I started getting comments and questions…must remember to do that after I have cooked dinner…not during! Speaking of flickr I have found the most amazing talent, both globally and locally and I am hoping to start bringing you design reports or updates on what these wonderful artists designers are doing and more importantly, where to find their work. Not only are they incredibly talented with an astounding amount of work behind them but I have also found some new designers, so look out for them……get in now while they are not as well known and save yourselves a lot of money while getting a piece of a new designer’s history. It is very exciting and it is a privilege for me to be sharing resources and knowledge with these very talented designers and artisans.

I have almost finished Blushing Mokum, the luscious table runner come bed runner come wall hanging which is made from purely recycled reclaimed fabric offcuts from a really great textile company here in Sydney, Mokum Textiles. They distribute Osbourne and Little, GP and J Baker, Liberty Furnishings, Nina Campbell and all the really good quality textile houses worldwide. This reduced my pile of boxes of fabric by one in our bedroom and finishing the WBY will also help reduce the amount of boxes that are messing up our room. Also putting the finishing touches to Wan and Pale…the most subtle quilt I have ever made…shades of grey through to black, interspersed with the softest shade of pink. All that and cranes and dragonflies too! It is backed with lovely pure cotton in soft grey with pink on white, originally a pair of Laura Ashley reclaimed curtains…how lucky was I to find that in our garage/ storage area, never mind the original charity shop?

Thanks Sulz for this meme, sounds like fun, fluffy things usually are! Here we go:

Five things found in your bag

1] Sunglasses…..Have photophobia and am blinded without them.

2] Wallet with credit card as well as money just in case I see that one special thrift item that I have to have!

3] Tissues as I have sensitivities to cigarette smoke and perfumes, anything really and it gets the old sinuses going

4] Notepad and pen for writing down quilt and design ideas and to write down websites that I see in design and art magazines while I am at the coffee shop.

5]Unscented wet wipes as I often find they come in handy, if not for myself then for others.

Five favourite things in your room

1]My vintage sewing table, it is quite like a shaker design.

2]My tablerunner on my sewing table, it is a gorgeous colour.

3]My three Chinese ginger jars, hand painted and they are lovely colours.

4]My turquoise artwork made from a photo frame and four gorgeous cards that CJ and his father and I have bought over the years.

5]My duvet cover I bought from Target on sale for $69 instead of $169, it is chinese faux silk patchwork.

Five things you have always wanted to do

1]Go to a Kaffe Fassett workshop.

2]See The Gilmore Girls from start to finish.

3]See some of the churches and buildings housing some of the works Tiffany and William Morris, especially the tapestries and the stained glass.

4]Visit America.

5] Tidy my work/storage area.

Five things you are currently into

1]Our flickr group about Laura Ashley, William Morris and Liberty.

2]Our flickr group fabric, patchwork and quilting.

3]Our flickr group fabric, patchwork and quilting reclaimed.

4]Our flickr group fabric, patchwork and quilting in the home.

5]Blogging, and guess what I no longer check my stats religiously!

Five people you want to tag

1] Bombshell.…give the bastards more fodder Ivy

2]Jacquie….take your time and no offense if you hate these things and do not want to do it, know you are busy at present, think these things are open ended.

3]Stina …although she too is MIA

4]Janey....although she already owes me one so she can take her time…also she has three kids and two dogs and a sick cat!

5]Ginger ..like she hasn’t already got enough to do!

This was fun and as for being fluff it actually exercised a few brain cells!