Re-purposing and creating your own fabric.

Well, I guess we all see beauty and use in the things that interest us. My favourite quilt find is a very old quilt filled with raw cotton and made from bright orange fabric and feed sacks. I actually put a new border of vintage feed sacks on it to make it last just a little longer. I sit under it every day. Maybe I am blind, but I adore that old quilt.

We wish you a Merry Christmas, – things are changing.

It’s just 7.00 am and there are no small children’s voices at our house like there used to be. YET !

I wake on Christmas day and everything looks just a little nicer, the garden seems brighter, the house is lovely and there is the warm feeling of expectation that accompanies the name, ‘Christmas Day’. In one way it’s a celebration of all we have been given for the past year.

The irony of it all. – Quilters and weavers.

I’m about to leave for our local Guild meeting. The Quilters Guild of South Australia. There will probably be 200 people there.

We will meet, share ideas, quilts and other such wonderful things and marvel at our ingenuity and talent.

We sew on magical machines, we have the best plied thread, and we use computers, and work in fancy studios.

Christmas Carols, Color and crafts.

I’ve been home just a week and I make no bones about the fact that its been a bit of a struggle. Physically mainly, but almost 70 days of being responsible for a large number of people. Using my brain to the max and doing the very best I can takes its toll.

Now, we have a wedding in the garden in just two days and the preparations have been under way all week. Now I can enjoy the ambience, prepare for Christmas and summer.

Keeping a Journal Helps Harness Your Creativity

I’m not influential, I’m just an ordinary person, and since the 1980’s I’ve kept a journal in one way or another. I have a bookshelf of journals, some illustrative, some just short notes. I kept shopping dockets from the 80’s. My eldest sons first pay packet. School results, and even my working day life as a fashion designer.

The creative benefits of keeping a journal are also well documented. You’ve likely heard that the best way to get better at writing is to just keep doing it. That’s true, but the benefits go deeper than just crafting better sentences.

Returning home. – where do I go from here?

Coming back home after a long time away is full of excitement, happiness, sheer exhaustion, dealing with problems we have no power over and this time some indecision.

70 days on the road.

So here it is, finally the end of my tour. It seems such a long time since I left home with Keith late September. He has been home almost 3 weeks now and I will finally be able to sleep in  my own bed in 24 hours. What a privilege it has been to travel and share…

Faces of Guatemala

Walking down those cobblestone streets is a feat of dexterity. My problem is that I’m taking in all that I see and I forget to watch the road. I’ve had a couple of whoopsies so far. I just adore the faces of the people I’ve met. There is a humility and friendliness that I rarely…