Amelia’s quilt – 2 years in the making

I’ve finally finished Amelia’s quilt! I’ve been working on it for about 2 years… coming to a grinding halt at some stage when it got to the hand quilting. As with all these things, when I actually sat down and got to it, things seemed to get done quicker than I had imagined in the lead up. The hand quilting was not so arduous when done chatting to my friends or the girls. The binding was a debacle, as usual for me, but it came together when I firmly told myself that if it wasn’t perfect it really didn’t matter. I started off following the Purl Bee instructions and Heather Bailey’s pdf instructions, but then decided to wing it, which was a big mistake. So it’s a little lumpy in parts but it’s done. Of course, I was seized by the desire to sew on the binding when access to my machine was at its most tricky – all the books and dvds from the rest of the house are currently piled all around and under my table while we are painting – so even pushing down on the foot pedal meant my whole body was at an awkward angle. But did I stop to rearrange? Clear my desk of extra bits? Of course not! I just cursed and swore and shouted at people who dared interupt until it was done (20 minutes! Not weeks on end as I might have imagined somewhere along the line).

And tonight Amelia is snuggled under the new quilt and loves it.  While the full-on nature of the design is kind of “Me 2 years ago”, and I would probably come up with a different kind of scheme or combination now (a little more subtlety perhaps?), it’s done! I can cross that one off my “Big List”.

*** Most of the fabrics are Denyse Schmidt beauties – mostly Flea Market Fancy. There are a couple of Kaffe Fassett solids in there too.  All were a pleasure to work with ***

Doodling

We are slowing moving into my favourite time of year – Autumn that is. I am still yet to catch my breath after the start of the school term and, as we are doing home renovations, there is chaos all around us, but I can see the golden autumn light shining up ahead with the promise of less heat-waves and more polished floorboards.

So, now what to do?
What to do?
Where are my children? Far from home! (well. not really. Quite close by at educational institutions actually.)

But suddenly I am all at sea. After 7 years where motherhood has been my primary focus I am wondering how to scramble back.

“Let the nothingness wash over you” is what my dad would say, he in the midst of the first days of retirement. “Write a blog post!” My mum would chime in, always checking and often being disappointed these days. “Make some more of those bloody bunnies and make yourself some cash!” is what some of my friends would say, still rolling their eyes at the ludicrous yet profitable nature of that pass-time. “Get your illustration folio together and get some freelance work” some of the others would suggest. “Finish that flaming second draft, you lazy nong,” Is what another bunch entirely would shout at me, as their waggle their chopsticks over Beef in Mandarin sauce at our favourite cafe. “Make me a chocolate cake!” Is what Amelia would shout as she waves goodbye at the school gate. “Don’t forget to pick me up and then can we watch tv?” Is what Lily would say.

But I don’t know. I just don’t know. This term is so short. Before I know it I will have settled into a routine only to find that we are on the eve of the Easter Holidays. Can I put off real life until term two perhaps?

In the meantime I am going to drink a cup of tea, read Keri Smith’s How To Feel Miserable as An Artist and write and enormous list.

Old Noey & New Noey

Noey 2005

2005 Noey and 2010 Noey Redux

New Noey in old (washed and pressed) dress

I have just finished working on a special project.

The top photo is Old Noey, first made and sold in February 2005. She was one of my very first batch of kitten softies. After Noey travelled across the sea, she was given to a little girl and was much loved and cuddled – for almost five fabulous years. But after all that cuddling she started to wear  thin. Stuffing started to come out and her head had become distorted. There was a little breakfast cereal on her stockings and my hand stitching had started to unravel — so much so there was a fair chance that her head would come off altogether. So Old Noey came back here again for some R & R, special stuffing based chicken soup, and Australian sunshine. She’s had a good holiday and now has roses in her cheeks and a fresh spring in her step. She’s packed her new spare sundress and her journal and she’s heading back to Georgia, USA to little Tess who has been waiting patiently for her return.

Touching base

Only four days into term and our mornings, like every other family’s, have become alarmingly busy. We have lists to streamline the mobilisation of our family unit to get out the door and off to our various activities and mostly we manage to all pile into the car and be backing out of the driveway on time but occasionally things go under the radar – like making sure shoes go on the right feet. Fortunately we spotted this little oversight before she stumbled into her very first kinder session. Perhaps if we had missed it, and I had also been sporting a wild hairdo with a pencil or a twig sticking out of it, and an inside out cardigan while forgetting my name and which child I was enrolling we would have looked on the outside exactly how I am feeling on the inside. I am guessing I will find the natural rhythm of all of this soon enough, but for now watch out for the wild woman with the fist full of hastily scribbled lists.