Telly Project #1 - Coussin Epingle

Here it is, my very first telly project for you. Coussin Epingle is French and it means "Pin Cushion". Please don't yawn, pin cushion yadda yadda but I wanted to actually use my Rouenneries Charm square pack instead of just gazing and gazing in awe at it. French General and Moda have created something so unbelievable yummy, so more-ish .. well, it's almost supernatural. So, I have fqs in the printed fabric coming, FQs in the wovens coming, a layer cake and I have 2 packs of the charm sqaures. I am beginning to believe I made need a jelly cake and I have a couple of prints that need to come home in yardage form. I have a problem. I have already pre-ordered the same in Rural Jardin. I do have a problem.... where was I? Yes, that's right the telly project.

This is a simple little pin cushion to make but it will take you a couple of nights. Still, its a great project to do in front of the telly.

Here are the things you need to make the Coussin Epingle with. Two charms squares, one quilted by hand (yes, you read right) with the pattern and some vintage ribbon. I also filled my coussin with wheat. Makes it feel nice and has a great weight to it. I really believe that if we go to great lengths to use the best natural fibre fabric we can, it would be nice to fill it with something organic too. Although with kids toys it sometimes helps to have something able to be chucked in the washing machine and you just can't do that organically without giving your husband a massive stroke.

This project is a freebie. Nix, nil, nada, zip is what you have to pay for this one. I am having technological issues with my scanner at the mo. It isn't working ... at all. So my wonderful friend is going to scan it for me and I'l pop it up here but if you would like me to send you the project (it's in PDF format), please comment and let me know you want one. I'll get it to you as soon as it's ready.

Keep an eye out ...

This is going on the side bar. What is "Telly Projects" I hear you say? I am so glad you asked. "Telly Projects" is a project that can be done in front of the telly (TV) that will take one night or a couple of nights to complete. I am working on the first one now and it should be ready to motor in the next couple of days. I'll post the details and patterns under the logo for you guys to use and make yourself. For yourself, 'cause you are all groovy and understand that I'm putting this up here for nix to enjoy and not abuse? I know its all cool. So keep an eye out, first telly project coming up!

It's Sciting time .....

"Sciting" ... it's a word my Nana used to use. It means having a crow or a brag about something etc. I have some stuff I want to scite about. I was going to tell my husband, but other than the fact that his eyes would glaze over and he'd go to his happy place. He would also start to look at the stuff and start adding up in his brain even though he doesn't really know how much it all costs. I'm saving his health by just not sharing with him my addict..er.. hobby with him. So I get to share it with you!!!!! Can't help it, just need to.

The lovely girls out at the Cottage Quiltworks have just moved. They used to be up behind my Parents in Law, and there were a few afternoons when the football was on the telly, Grammy was playing with Pickles and me, I was staring at the wall. So off I would go and just poke about in their shop until I bought way too much. They have moved to a bigger place about 10 minutes away from my in-laws now and they are having a 30% off sale on most of their stock until the end of October. So yesterday, My girlfriend and her daughter, myself and Pickles all went down for a bit of a look. Look hahahahahaha, yeah right. The little girls were amazing, they sat and coloured for ages and had a chat. We were there for two hours, and I bought these (scite warning) ...

Bar the last four on the bottom right hand side, are all for a new quilt design to come hard on the heels of Hard Candy but I'll tell you about that later. Lovely muted palette this time, and a little bit vintagey-shabbyish- whatever. I also found this, drum roll please :

Flea Market Fancy my friends, yes that's right and still on the bolt and it's mine all mine ... well, that's not quite true. I shared it with my girlfriend but I reckon it has to the last bolt in existence and now it's gone and here at my house and my girlfriend's. And just for the sake of it, here is my precious Flea Market Fancy stash:

I have decided to use some, I have too. Now because I felt like a guilty wife today, I went out to Country Pickins to see the lovely girls there and to let them know I hadn't fallen from the face of the earth and to pick up these:

Another couple of Matilda's Own Quilting templates. I have about 6 sets or more now and they are wonderful. I using one of the sets for Hard Candy and have ordered another set for the new project. The dresden plate is being used for the block carrier. When I am finished it, I'll post the details here so if you want to tackle it you can. And finally, this isn't a scite it's an apology. I should always be bothered to make sure the pictures you look at you can see. So sorry about being flip about my embroidery pattern. I am going to take some proper pictures so you can see her in all her glory. Check back in the next day or so, and this pics will be up!

Its been a couple of days since I posted. Its been a busy week. Cai is back at all her stuff so that means we spent the week going from playdates to ballet to preschool to language classes to the zoo and on and on and on and now ... it's Sunday. So B is painting a cardboard Dinosaur with Cai in the kitchen and me ... I'm making China Blossom dolls for the special little girls we know and I have until the 21st of November to get them finished. So, I'm making dolls and listening to an audio book on my lap top. I thought I would show you a couple of pics of the block holder I am going to make. I figured I needed a block carrier for my Hard Candy quilt. And I muddled about for a couple of days deciding what I would do but now I have decided!

I thought I would do a wee bit of embroidery to put with a wee spot of something else to put on the front of my block carrier. So here is a picture I thought I would use as the embroidery:

Yes, its dark but I really couldn't be bothered getting out my canon, taking the picture, loading it in the puter blah blah blah. So sorry, here it is and its dark. And here she is on the hoop ready to boogie when I watch Bones tonight and I am going to cheat. I am going to use a combination of punch needle embroidery and standard embroidery. I'll keep you posted. I have a spot of crowing about a find for my stash, more on that later!

I had a bunch of stuff to do ...

But instead I brewed up the rest of the new quilt, not to be confused with the quilt along but my new project campers. I spent a while getting the images ready to boogie tomorrow after the new ink cartridge arrives home. I pay for the Katie Jump Rope tomorrow, so it will be sent and as soon as it comes then it's cutting templates like a fury.

I have decided that I'll pop up a pattern for a block carrier using the same design I am using on the quilt. And the quilt has a name, and because I had a whole heap of stuff to do I decided to pfaff about and make a wee button for it ... because I could. And now I look at the button I am worried that it makes me look a little bit ... well less than the straight girl I am ... aw bugger it, I don't care. The image made me laugh, a cow and a woman in a bra ... what the???? But wait til you see the whole thing, I think it's going to have a wee bit of zing to it...

Eventually this button will sit on the side bar and have pics of the design process and the finished quilt. I'll do this for all the stuff I make and pop in here. Watch out for China Blossies, that will be up soon and I will put up a pattern for a Wee Blos and I think I might hold a swap. Anyway, here is the button. Hoody hoo!

Squueeeeeeee! It's here, woohooo!!!!!

Look what came in the post today ...

I did my happy dance in the Post Office today ... internally. I almost leant over the counter and planted a big ol kiss on the fella behind the counter ... internally of course. But he did get a grin from me as I handed him my license (the book came registered post). To be hard honest, I thought that it was great he was checking my id, I bet there are a couple of girls around here who would have sold kidneys for this one.

I luurv Cath Kidston. And like a squillion others, I mourn the idea that we don't have a store here in Sydney 'cause we need one. Badly.

Anyhoo ... oh and I remembered a very important tip today. Yup, I remembered after everything was finished and I had been wondering what I did wrong. Jo's Wonder Tip for today ... when getting images ready for transferring onto fabric that you spent bloody ages dipping in Bubblejet Set, cutting out the Freezer paper while wrestling with a four year old for use of the really big scissors then trying to keep the same child from wanting to swim in the mix out back. Always make sure that your images are set on high contrast so when you go to rinse out the images you spent ages getting ready and then nearly using up all of cartridge printing out ... because if you don't, you loose half your colour and your totally fab images look like they need to eat a good steak. Learnt that today, just thought I'd share.

So, tonight I watch "Flash Forward" and read this totally gorgeous book and drool over the pics and hopefully get some work done on my new fabric range.

A big thanks to the lovely folk at Lark in Daylesford, I got their last copy and they were bonza good sports.

Make sure you check them out ... they rock.

It's 2.30 in the morning fer crying out loud ...

Aaaaaaannnnnnnddddddddd ..... I can't sleep. SO, here I am at my blog. HAd some cacke too, just to make the no sleeping thing a bit more real. In my own defense I have to say that I have never done this before, eaten cake and blogged at 2.30 in the morning. But sometimes in life, you just have to go with it. That's what I am doing now. Going with it .. and raving a wee bit as well.

I am so very, very, very, very excited. I am going to do a Quilt-a-long. Hoody Frickin' hoo, been wanting to do that for a while now, and managed to locate almost every single one one the web only to find out that had been going for eons and I had come late to the party. Not now chickadees .. kellie at Don't look Now is having a corker of a quilt along and I am down to play. And for my fabric, I think ... hmmm (she says looking like an over weight Vivian Leigh at the BBQ in Gone with the Wind) ... Moda's stunning new range Rouenneries is going to be the go. Yes, I could attack my stash, I really could, and I could use the umpteen different scraps I have left over from little Bow or from the Satchel Bag or whatever but I really love this collection. Its yummy to die for and so I have deemed it to be, Rouenneries it will be for this. It will look seven kinds of gorgeous, and have a really different feel to it. A wee bit olde worlde.

In case you have been living on the moon for the past six months, here is the range I am yapping about ..

Here is the link

THere is just something so .. so ... yummy about the range and then at the other end of the spectrum, I would sell my husband's left kidney for a whole bunch of Tula Pink's new range "Plume", let me see if I can find it for you now where did I see it ... here it is at Hancocks of Paducah in Kentucky. Went to High School there, don't you know (said in pretendy posh voice).

I am loving The tula Pinks, Heather Bailey's, The Amazing Denyse Schmidts of this world as well. Too much gorgeous fabric, nnow it's 3 am and that's me for the night. Now I am tired and my brain is feeling sleepy. Sent my China blossoms off to the good folks at Moda to peruse, I figured ..what the hey, why not? Why not indeed ... now I am raving. Off to bed I go.