Boys and their Toys.

  Flying planes, racing cars and taking off to the moon.

 

Playing sports, fishing and generally playing rough and tumble.  Exploring nature, building forts and riding bikes.  Swimming in the summer, computer games and school forgotten, for the moment.
Taking home some critters from the stream, after spending hours with little nets in the shallow waters, turning rocks upside down to discover what might be hidden underneath.  Taking home priceless treasure, to go and share with the family.  These were all returned to the stream, a little while later.

 

If mother ever wanted to know where their socks went to, forgotten on the banks of the stream, in the process of discovering the bounty of nature.  Budding scientists in the making....

 

Little boys are boisterous,  full of energy.  Sharing adventures with their best friends, getting dirty and up to mischief.

Paying it forward.

 

It is wonderful to know nothing goes to waste, when we put our minds to it.  When natural disasters strike, we pitch in and help, not because we have to but we want to.  Japan did not ask for the earthquake to happen, but it did.  Today I received a gift from Glenda in Australia, the part that touched me the most, this clutch:

 

This clutch bag has been made from vintage silk fukuro Obi (sash) that was worn at ceremonial and celebratory events since 1970.  It is handmade with love and respect.  The fabrics has been sourced from Kyoto, Hiroshima and Tokyo, Japan.  None have been sourced from the Fukushima area.  Ten percent of all profits,  is donated to the Japan Disaster Relief Fund to help families to rebuilt their homes and lives after the devastating evenst of March 2011.

Fabrics from Japan, this is one time I looked at fabric and thought to myself, how can I use them without cutting them to much?  They have a blue back ground. 

 

Pincushions is one of my favourite flowers, it is one plant that hold a very special place in my heart.
They grow in Australia and in the Western Cape, in South Africa.  They look just like a round pincushion with pins on top.

This book, My Dream Quilts by Reiko Kato, is filled with little bags and lots of interesting knick-knacks to make, from small bits of fabric. (ISBN: 978-2-916182-37-7).  It has been with me for a number of years, the attention to detail is amazing.

Have you ever looked at something and decided it needed a new lease on life?  Then repurposed it and created something new?  Making our world a greener place to live in...paying it forward in a very unexpected way.

Love Entwined, Diamond border, the next step.

Step 1.  Join the strips at the corners to create one large square.

Step 2.  Pin the square in place.

 Step 3.  Sew the corner Anchors in place.

Step 4.  Next stitch down the waves, the diamond borders.  

These borders remind me of waves on the sea.

 

A while back I had these flowers on here, a friend wrote to me, they are Liatrus,  not  the invasive plant at all.

Finished three Healing Heart blocks.  These will be going to someone special this week.

Lots of interesting tidbits.

The little grey book that goes everywhere.  In it is snips of fabrics, lists of projects, notes.  When I am out and about, it comes in handy when I find myself somewhere on the spur of the moment, it gets opened if I find a potential treasure to add to what I already have, when working on projects. 

This is a design from Rabbits Haven.  A designer in British Columbia.

More of the Quilt

Perfect for little girls.

Colourful quilts is all in attendance, with summer in full swing.  The prairie points is not on the edge of the quilt.

 Another unusual twist, minky fabric, stitched as a sashing on the front of a quilt.

A close up of it.

The whole quilt done and quilted by Joanne,  Long Arm Quilter

If you love applique, then check out Sue Garman latest pattern, Simply Baltimore.  If you have scraps, then Omigosh is a good scrap buster.

Go for a walk and enjoy the sunshine.

Stitching gifts.

Summer bring stitching weather along.  Nothing to big, simple projects to work on when taking a break from the heat of the day.  Sewing knick-knacks from Home Sweet Home.

Traced designs on linen.

Orange's?

Flowers.

Forget-me-knots, daisies and a bee.

All from the book,  Home Sweet Home by Carolyn Pearce. (ISBN: 978-0980876703)

Inspiration can come from many unexpected sources, nature, books, but most of all people. Meet:

Temple Grandin.

Well worth the time to watch. 

Love Entwined Diamonds.

I love applique, as it is relaxing.  Looked at all the different ways everyone made their zigzag diamond borders, having cut out my diamonds already,  I decided to trace the diamonds onto Floriani fusible wash away stabilizer.

Then cut the strips out.  Ready to stitch my diamonds on to it.  Finger pressing the diamonds as I go along, leaving to fuse them until last.

 

Ready for stitching down on the center of LE.