Love Entwined, the journey continues....

The center with the lollipop flowers.

Preparing everything takes time.

 The diamond borders, will all be done at the same time.  Currently cutting out lots of diamonds.

The binding is all prepared, the borders stitched, ready for them when the quilt needs them. 

The stems for the center is stitched in place.  

Then  a hiccup happened.  Not enough fabric for my diamond borders, I needed 18 more diamonds.
I could sweat over this little detail, or I could find a substitute.  On friday afternoon, a trip to The Hobby Horse , solved my hiccup.

I found my replacement fabric along this shelf.

 A little snippet of the shop inside.

The roses along the fence here has the most heavenly scent. 

Nemesis.

Sometimes a pattern come along, it is one of those you know you want to make.  Then you do all the right things.  Make the templates, buy the fabric, cut it out and sew it together.  Now you should have a quilt top?  What if it has a bubble?  You unpick it, try another method, except you end up with the same result.  What if you go through this process seven times, yet nothing works.  Cannot contact the pattern maker, she made her quilt in 1860.  The magazine that published the pattern, do not test the patterns, before publication.  Only one do, that I know off.  This pattern was not published by them!

By now I should have gived up and just tossed this in the bin and notch it up to "school fees" ? Why?  Someone long ago got it right, without the tools we have today.  So I am handpiecing this quilt.  It is a Kaleidoscope quilt.  The reward, outway all the pain and frustration to create this quilt, if one get it right!

I have only ever seen one of these completed, the original featured in the magazine years ago.  One of the things I have done is to starch the blue stars, they are in a yellow circle, with melons, very similar to a double wedding ring quilt.  Instead of having a square, it has a triangle in between the melons.  Once I have sewn them up, I will post an update.  This is currently a WIP.

 This weekend it rained a lot, the creek is overflowing its banks with all the water. 

We walk along the bank every day.

Adventure's, while exploring beautiful places. Part 2.

A day in the life.....

When going on holiday, some of us will just embrace exploring and fill each day with a quest to discover everything we can.  Not the average tourist stuff, but the off the beaten path too.

 

The wild child:  Believe me, the guys young and old wanted to go on this adventure.  Plan on getting dirty, dusty in dry times and mud splattered in the rainy season, all part of the fun.

Getting to the best views, one might have to travel a path in an unexpected way.  Sacrificing a little bit of home comfort for the best views in the world. Looking down,  it was very high up.

Seeing parts, one would never see, on the tourist route.

The fun of reaching the best look out spots, following a creative form of transportation to reach those spots.

Local food, fresh, best potato wedges we ever tasted.  As for milkshakes, all of them come with alcohol.  One has to ask for ones without any.  The "Sweets" Hot sauce is very good, we gave it a try, turned out to be very tasty. 

 

Local shop, selling handmade crochet clothing.

At the end of the day, we all went for a swim, to wash the dirt off.  In the sea.  We all felt like little big kids, it is good to get all dirty, once in a while.  It was never on my bucket list, somehow it arrived there.  I was not going to say, no!

PS: I took my stitching with on holiday, did some on the plane and one morning, sat outside on a lounger for three hours, the light was perfect.  Rain started while we arrived, they've had a drought for two years.  The thing is the rain always follow me....

Exploring Beautiful Shores. Part 1.

Sometimes we need to have a holiday and explore places further afield.

To swim in the Ocean, walk on the beach, enjoy the simple things in life. Allowing us to catch up with Grace, just to be, for a moment in time.

Taking in nature.  This baby crab was tiny, with spots.

On an early morning walk, this little green lizard was rock hopping.

A stingray having fun in the water, he was playing games with the fish.

The flowers, saw lots of hummingbirds, even on the beach in the trees.

The shells on the beach, it was fun finding ones that was new, in all shapes and colours.

 

Antigua

How many piece's in a quilt?

On a recent trip to The Sewing Cafe  once again I discovered how much enjoyment new home sewing can bring to the table.   World wide people want to have clothes that make them feel good and fit them, not some number,  to suit the masses.  Which is good for everyone, this will hopefully inspire more of us to make our own clothes, rather than just nip out and buy something.

Bold, with stripes, unique, was a dress one lady had finished.  French seams, a dress that fits the owner, the power,  knowing it was hand made and is one of a kind.  Another customer walked in, do you do sewing lessons?  The question was asked, while I waited to pay for my purchase.

Anna, who work in the shop had made this quilt.  Eldon,  by Edytha Sirdar.

Each block was different.  Attention to detail, the background tie all the colours together, making them the stars.

The quilting was done by  long arm quilter,  Cheryl Westlake.    Love the backing, such an intense colour.
All those piece was once just, bits of fabric, together, they create a strong bond and a beautiful quilt,  a heirloom, to keep a loved one, warm and surrounded with comfort.