japanese goodness

i fleeting visit to the city on saturday let me fly into my favourite fabric store in Perth... iwent in to purchase another skein of wool, but to my delight i discoverd they had recently unpacked a large selcetion of japanese fabrics...
and they are to die for...i could not resist...
of course i justified it by telling myself i couldnt go to the upmarket that was being held today, so this was my treat...
i nursed them in my lap all the way home, creating in my mind...

New Admiration...

Where have the days gone....
Full time work has occupied my time over the past few months, a very busy past few months..
50 minutes to and from work, has meant long days, leaving for work in the dark and arriving home in the dark..it left me wiped out..
i don't know how mothers with little children survive having to work full time, and keep a house in some sort of order.... i have new admiration for them..the juggling act must be horrific....whilst i now have some difficult work decisions ahead, i look forward to the immediate return of part-time existence....breathe.....

How fortunate we all are to be crafters, grabbing 5 or 10 mins here and there during a busy day with something familiar and friendly in my hands was therapeutic...I was unable to start any major projects knowing they would never be finished, i promised myself to use the time to complete the projects in the "please finish me off box"..and at night i would trawl through my favourite craft blogs, dining out on the inspiration of others, and loving to see the fruits of their labour..what clever friends exist across blog land..if only we could all meet..
and so here is what i have achieved..

the socks...started last year!!!

I am definitely off to the yarn store when next in the city to make another pair...i wonder what pattern I should try...any suggestions?

the cardigan...started in 2008!!!

has been long and laborious but oh so worth it...

the scarf..started 2010..

it was for a gift, but the birthday was so long ago i can now keep this as my own..its warm and squishy and twirly, and the cashmere extravagance was oh so worth it...

and then the quilt...

made for a god daughter for her 18th birthday...started in 2008!!and i was so excited about getting this finished, quilted and posted, i forgot to photograph it!!!scraps is all i have to show...i have requested a photo, so hopefully i can post about this later...

and now I have the pleasure of a nearly empty basket, and the joy of deciding what should I make next...I think sewing is on the agenda...

online quilt festival...

here is my contribution to the bloggers quilt festival being held over at Park City Girl.
you should see the fabulous work on display....

my favourite piece of patchwork...how can one decide that... so many pieces have been given away over the years... not photographed, pre blogging days...
this is one of my favourite pieces...
the moroccon footstool...
it was made during a class....i never go to classes and had the usual inhibitions about my ability...8 women none of us knowing each other in the class...and me from the country to boot!!..i sat next to the talented Nicole...at the end of the class i wanted to be able to see the finished articles of the talented women i was amongst, we swapped email addresses with the promise to send photos... nicole gave me her blog address....i had never even heard of a blog...and so it is through her encouragement and valuable IT lessons via email that StitchingAtStoneCottage has evolved, along with some crafting friendships and inspiration from all over the world...

done and dusted

the process of machine quilting for the first time was fun...i would like to have another go at it, but i am in need of a few lesson first...everything has tricks to make things easier and i am sure machine quilting is no different...
finally this quilt is out of the box and into a post bag, on and its way as a christmas surprise for a god daughter....
and now for bigger and better things. maybe after the silly season, there seems to be no time left in the day for any fun in the stitching room.....

oh i wish i was a punk rocker ....

i really want to start the quilt for my bed, but just can't...this project is like a stone in my shoe, hanging around in my thoughts, preventing me from moving onto another quilting project....

this is 15 years old and has been living in a cardboard box with all its little pieces cut, waiting to be developed...i have ripped it apart too many times to count....the squares don't meet properly, the diamonds don't all gather to a point, i have lost interest..when i see the quilt top i only see the imperfections....but i can't move on...so last week i took the bull by the horns and just blazed away, chopped corners and all, and finished the top and quickly made a back....the lady at the quilt shop when i went to get notions, loved it, and said no one will see the mistakes when it is all quilted up (sweet, but i know its not true)...
originally this was for baby number three who is now big and no longer sleeps in a pale yellow nursery, so i am giving it to a god-child who turns 18 and sleeps in a pale blue bedroom...out of the house it goes, so i don't have to look at it.. and she is not a sewer so hopefully wont notice the mistakes...wish me luck with the machine quilting i have never tried it before, usually i hand quilt...are there any tricks i should know???? shame she's not a punk rocker and could live with the safety pins....