Veg About: Spring Cleaning

We've had a few bright spring days this week, just the weather to give the vegie patch an overhaul.

I originally planted the wormwood (Artemesia absinthium) to act as a windbreak, but it ended up covering the face of the sun, so out it came. That puts Mister Bell's plans for an absinthe distillery on hold.

Most of the broccoli has been eaten by the possums again, but I popped an old birdcage over one plant, like an airy pagoda. The Bug was very excited to discover "Our broccoli plant has a broccoli on it!". It's his favorite food, and it's the first time we've got one to eating stage in the garden since he was born.

I weeded the raised beds, and weeded out some coriander accidently- Thai chicken curry for dinner! The last time I made this dish I went into labour, but that didn't happen this time (as I'm not pregnant).

If you love growing vegies, please join me in the Veg About! Just stick up the button, list what you're growing on your sidebar and tell Mister Linky that you're in.

Archimedes and Me

Recently the Bug said to me "You're a Girl Archimedes". I think it was because when I hop in the bath the water spills over the side. But perhaps he was referring to my way with geometry. Here's my dodecahedron, with twelve pentagonal faces made from vintage sheets from Ange's swap. Actually it's really a sphere, as the faces flattened out with the stuffing to make a ball for my owl bowling set.
 
Brighton Breezy is making some more Archimedean solids. Head over to Pins and Thimbles to check out Brighton Breezy's icosahedron!

A Present A Week {Till Christmas}: Couch Potato Quilting Caddy

My present stash is building up and I'm rubbing my hands like a gleeful elf, thanks to  Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas} at Works in Progress.  My fabric stash is also growing, as I've just received three half yards of fabric from Deb, who gives away one every week to the participants. The loveliness that arrived in my letterbox is pictured at the bottom of the post!


It's week twelve of the challenge, and I've made a couch potato quilting caddy for a friend who's about to start quilting her first quilt. I used Oh, Frannson!'s free tutorial on Sew Mama Sew.

When it came to finishing, I sat on the couch with the one I made for myself to do the hand-sewing! Here they are pictured side by side.

And here, as promised, is the scrumptious parcel that Deb sent me this week. Thanks Deb!

My Creative Space: Trying Another New Shape

Notice anything unusual about these hexagons? That's right, they're actually pentagons, with five sides instead of six. You won't often see them in quilts because when pieced together they form a dome shape rather than being flat.

That's perfect for my purposes because I'm making a ball for my owl bowling set. I had planned to make a soccer ball, which uses a combination of hexagons and pentagons, until I saw this tutorial by ihanna. I downloaded the pentagon templates here. The ball is made from twelve pentagons, which I've cut from the same vintage sheets as the owls. The fat quarters I received in Ange's swap are an ongoing source of inspiration.

Thanks for your votes on the triangle quilt designs last week, I can see that half-square triangles are popular in many arrangements! I've made a short list, and when I've finished a few more triangles I'll post some more pics.

For more creative spaces visit host Kirsty here!

Surprise Visitor with Gift!

I've just had a whirlwind visit from my friend Jo of Sparkly Green Knickers. I couldn't tempt Jo to stay for a cup of Bovril, she just dropped in with this lovely gift of fabrics!

The seahorse and mermaid fabrics from Heather Ross's  Mendocino collection are for the forthcoming Circling Fish quilt. I'm looking forward to starting it but I'm going to be nervous cutting these beautiful fabrics! And the vintage sheets are for my work-in-progress, the Spring Garden quilt. If you saw this post you'll know I was a little short on orange and green- but not any more!

Thank you very much Jo, I'm a very lucky Bellgirl!

Tiny Elephants and Giant Tortoises

We went to the zoo last week to visit their new arrival. He's very cute and surprisingly furry- click on the image for a closer look. He stood under his mum most of the time. He is as yet unnamed, but the Bug says he is called Pop Pop. He weighed 142.kg at birth.

The Bug saw a picture of the Giant Tortoises and wanted to see them, so we headed in their direction. We were there on a good day because we saw one of them move! Giant Tortoises can grow up to 300kg, but the ones at Melbourne Zoo were smaller than that, probably a little smaller than the baby elephant.

I made the Bug this Giant Tortoise applique t-shirt with some vintage sheet fabric. There wasn't much contrast between shirt and fabric, so I blanket-stitched around in purple. Mister Bell said, "It's a bit girly, isn't it?". Mind you, the same Mister Bell used to dress the Bug up in red and pink floral velour trousers. But it'll all be death metal t-shirts soon enough so I'm keeping up the animals and flowers for as long as I can get away with it!

UPDATE: Too late! I asked if he wanted to wear the shirt today and he said he doesn't like flowers. Perhaps it is a delayed reaction to the red and pink floral velour trousers?

A Present A Week {till Christmas}: Photo Finish

It's week eleven of Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas}, and this present has been in the works for a long time, so it's good to have it finished! This is for Mister Bell's mum, who loves blue, and has a beautiful native Australian bird-attracting garden. I've made this covered photo album with Australian native Suberb Blue Wrens on it. They're my mum's favorite bird, so I'm thinking of making one for her too.

The Blue Wrens fabric is by Tegan Rose from Ink and Spindle. I won it in a mixed bag, a door prize at Ink and Spindle's first birthday party last year. I've used another piece from the bag for my quilter's multitasker, and I've also used some of the wrens fabric on a different base cloth for Mister Bell's Inky Blocky quilt, which is basted at last thanks to Jo and Michelle.

Ink and Spindle had an open studio on Saturday, so Mister Bell and I took the Bug in to see a printing demonstration. We saw Miranda and her dad there too!

You can join in anytime with Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas}! There's a fabric giveaway from Deb every week!

Earthquake Relief Quilts: can you help Deb with some squares?

Deb from Works in Progress is putting together some quilts for families who lost homes in New Zealand's recent earthquake, and is asking for 12.5" squares in any design, in red or blue. Here's what she says on her blog today:

"I know a few families who have lost their homes in the recent earthquake and I really want to do something practical to help them. I thought I would make some quilts, but that is a big job, so I thought I'd see if anybody wants to help. If you could make a red or blue block 12.5 inches square in any design you like and post it to me, then I will make them up into quilts. What do you think? anybody interested??"

See Deb's post and contact her here. 
update: more details and the postal address here!

A Present A Week {Till Christmas}: Coasting In

I've just made it in time for Deb's A Present A Week: Week 10. This is another set of double-sided Christmas coasters. I'll be making a lot of these, it's my Present of the Year.

There  are lots of different patterns for these, but I've found a few particularly cunning tips in this one by Not So Fancy Nancy. I'm not saying who these ones are for in case the recipient is reading (No, it's not you!).

Isn't it about time you joined Deb's A Present A Week {Till Christmas}? Just join in when you can- even Deb took a week off for the earthquake in her neighborhood! There's a fabric giveaway from Deb every week.

My Creative Space: Square Dance with Triangles

Take your partner by the hand,
Listen to the music of the band
And clear an open space upon the floor

Shoo away the dog who sits in the middle,
Tap your foot to the sound of the fiddle
And show those half-square triangles what they're for!

Which is your favorite?

  For more Creative Spaces visit Kirsty's space here.

Spring Gardens and Half Square Triangles

I've been turning my vintage sheet FQs from Ange's swap into 24cm squares, turning them into half-square triangles with an off-white homespun, then trimming them down to 8 1/2" squares.

With all the florals I'm thinking of this as the Spring Garden quilt. I'll bind it in solid spring green, and I might sneak in some green squares or triangles. I'm reconsidering the layout: I had thought perhaps a Fat Geese quilt or a rainbow zigzag, but now I'm looking for something suggesting a knot garden or parterre.

I've been moving the squares about on my cutting mat into different formations. It reminds me of the opening credits of Dad's Army.

What's your favorite treatment for half-square triangles?

Circling Fish- new quilt plans

After two years of quilting squares and stripes, I'm finally breaking into other shapes. I've started cutting triangles for the zigzag quilt, and I've got a plan for some circles. Adele has kindly offered to lend me her Drunkard's Path template, and I've been inspired by this lovely pattern by Quilters Haven.

This quilt is for me and the Bug, for snuggling on the couch. I'm using a fat quarter of Heather Ross's 'Calypso'. This fabric first inspired my first sewing project for the Bug, just over three years ago- the bib he is wearing in this pic. Note the look of horror- "What- you threw the scraps away?".

After seeing my friend Elaine's beautiful Mendocino-ful quilts and this quilt by Nettie at A Quilt is Nice (and hot off the press, this new one!), I'm now hunting for snippets and scraps of Heather Ross seahorses, octopi and others in orange, turquoise and sandy colours. Do you have any you'd like to swap?

My Creative Space: New Angle on Old Sheets

I'm getting a lot of mileage from my vintage sheet FQs from Ange's swap. So far I've used them for the owls, the giraffe t-shirt and Gran's Pink and Gold quilt. Meanwhile I've been cutting the sheets into 24cm squares (four squares per metric FQ) for a quilt.

Until now my quilts have been squares and stripes- lots of right angles. For this quilt I've decided to challenge myself with a new angle- the triangle. I'm making the sheets into half-square triangles with a plain white, and I'm planning to put them together in a rainbow zigzag. I've got plenty of pink, blue and purple, not so many orange and green, so I might have to adapt the design a little. Are rainbows adaptable?

Visit Captain Kirsty and her Creative Space Cadets here!

Books for Sale: Sewing and Gardening

I'm trying to make some space in the study, so I've put some books on Ebay today.

The Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing is a classic reference book. If you are new to sewing it can help fill in the gaps. For example, I used it to fix my sewing machine, which was munching up fabric and skipping stitches. My mum was pretty impressed by this until I told her what I'd actually done-I changed the needle :) It's very comprehensive, with lots of diagrams and illustrations, in over 400 pages. Why am I selling? Because I have two copies! You can read Mary's review in Mixtape here.

• Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, 1978. Starting price AU $5, Buy It Now for AU $15.All the details here.

Also selling Jamie Durie's Patio (not his actual patio, the book). If you're a garden enthusiast you'll know Jamie Durie's award-winning designs from the Chelsea Flower Show. If you're not a gardening enthusiast, you may at least remember him from Manpower (no link here, it's a family-friendly blog)!

• Jamie Durie, Patio: Garden Design and Inspiration, 2002: Starting price AU $10, Buy It Now AU $20. All the details here.

Gran's Pink and Gold Quilt complete!

Gran's Pink and Gold quilt is all finished! This is the first quilt I have fully machine-quilted, and it came together very quickly. I finished it off last night with a solid pink binding and a dash of embroidery.

I love the way this quilt has come together. It's a disappearing nine patch mostly from my stash:

• approx. 1 FQ of beautiful Anna Maria Horner Little Folks fabric from Deb
• 3 vintage sheet FQs from Ange's swap
• 2 vintage sheet remnants from my contribution to Ange's swap
• 1 FQ of Heather Ross Munki Munki ice-cream vans
• leftover stripey fabric from my pjs
• more pink floral, originally intended for more pjs (enough for squares and backing)
• 2 FQs from stash
• 2 new FQs from Darn Cheap Fabrics

I got a photo in the sun this morning, with some help from Mister Bell. Lucky for me he has positive Ape Factor!

The weather was too woolly for a journey to Geelong today, so I popped the quilt in the post this afternoon. It's gone to brighten up the room during Gran's stint in rehab. I took Jo's advice and labelled it carefully, so the Lindsay Lohan-style rehab cronies don't get their hands on it.

A Present A Week {Till Christmas}: Pre-Schooler's Sewing Kit

For week 9 of Deb's challenge: A Present A Week {Till Christmas}, I've made a sewing kit for a little girl who will be five. It includes lots of her favorite colour purple, and contains:

• an embroidery hoop
• pieces of coloured hessian
• a felt needle case
• two wool needles (you can use bodkins)
• a little pair of scissors
• a selection of coloured yarns
• a drawstring bag

If you'd like to put together your own, take a look at my tutorial/ recipe here.

My Baby Bird

When the Bug was just born I called him my baby bird, because he made baby magpie squeaks while he was sleeping.

Later, when he wasn't sleeping, we took him for long walks in the pram. He seemed to prefer to sleep outside, so I found a CD of Australian bird calls to make his room sound like the outdoors. We fast-forwarded past track seven (the kookaburra) but usually forgot to turn off before track 18 (the bellbird), which would wake him up. Curses!

One of his favorite games is to build nests. We take turns being the baby magpie and the mother magpie. He likes to hatch out of his egg: "Creak, crack....pop! Hello mother magpie, I'm your baby magpie!". It's a good stalling tactic at bedtime.

At the breakfast table he pretends to be a baby vulture or baby pteradactyl sqawking for food. Still heartwarming, if only to a mother pteradactyl. Miss Brown is less convinced!

This sweet sparrow was made by our friend Lynne. It's a pincushion, although, as the Bug announced gravely, "we won't be putting pins in this one". We took it out in the garden yesterday afternoon to find some perches and nests. Thank you Lynne, as you can see we had a lovely time!

Lynne also gave me the sparrow pattern, and I've started making one using the scraps from Deb's Anna Maria Horner fabric. Perhaps for a pincushion. Think of it as bird acupuncture.

We're on Whip Up!

Woohoo! The Bug and I are on Whip Up this week, with our Drawstring Playmat Sack tutorial. Thanks Kathreen, it feels like coming of age as a blogger!

My Creative Space: Pink Hair and Gold Teeth

This week I've been working on the Pink and Gold quilt for my Rather Outrageous Gran. It's pink and gold to match her hair and teeth. At least I think there's a glint of gold in her teeth. But her hair is actually "Pearl Beige", according to the packet in the bathroom cabinet.

I love the way this quilt has come together. It's a disappearing nine patch mostly from my stash:

• approx. 1 FQ of beautiful Anna Maria Horner Little Folks fabric from Deb
• 3 vintage sheet FQs from Ange's swap
• 2 vintage sheet remnants from my contribution to Ange's swap
• 1 FQ of Heather Ross Munki Munki ice-cream vans
• leftover stripey fabric from my pjs
• more pink floral, originally intended for more pjs (enough for squares and backing)
• 2 FQs from stash
• 2 new FQs from Darn Cheap Fabrics

I also got some wool-poly batting, which I'm trying out for the first time. 


Visit Captain Kirsty and her Creative Space Cadets here!