Friday, September 2, 2016

To stitch or not to stitch.......what a silly question!

It is a silly question, when the sunniest of sewing rooms beckons me each morning to enter it's realms and enjoy a little stitching. I have had the most pleasant of weeks. This past week has been filled with many moments stitching my pretty quilt, with whispers of embroidered linens here and there, in my sun-kissed sewing room. Every time I enter my sewing room it embraces me with a warm hug. It is a happy place. It is a place which permeates my being, where my delightful imaginings are free to noodle around in my rather muddly brainpan.





Though the mornings have been a wee bit chilly, with ice sheathed paddocks as far as the eye can see, this past week the days have been blessed with azure blue, sunny skies with a hint of the warmth of the Spring days to come. Miss Maisie doesn't seem to mind sitting on the  ice-covered grass but then I suppose her fur coat keeps her warm. She will do anything to appear in a photo shoot. =)


Though there are very faint hints that Spring is just around the bend in our country road, it seems here down under, Ole Man Winter has decided to hang around a little while longer. He hasn't completely packed his frigid bag of tricks away and headed for the long journey northwards. He is still toying with the gentle Spring Sun, occasionally covering the radiant beams of warm sunshine with His dark storm clouds, outbursts of howls of wind blasts and intermittent lashes of lightning and the outpouring of icicles, here, there and everywhere. I really don't know why He persists. His presence is not appreciated at all. Everybody in this far rural outpost considers he has outstayed His welcome. But, that is okay, we will wait a little longer and then banish Him to the other side of the world. It is always a delight to see the back of Ole Man Winter.



I love spider webs. I can sit for ages, trance-like, amazed, whilst a spider's spinnerets weave it's delicate, gossamer-like, silky threads. I captured this spider's creative genius one frosty morning. Our pond is a little bereft of floralicious delight at the moment, but in a month or so everything will be singing in colourful, rainbow-like harmony.


Hallelujah!! Spring is slowly awakening! William Wordsworth's lyrical poem comes to mind...."A host of golden daffodils.....fluttering and dancing in the breeze."




The biggest problem I faced this week was whether or not each fabric would play nicely with the one I placed next to it. Only a little thought went in to ensuring there were no fabrics throwing little tantrums and being louder than the others. Just a little conscious thought was given to ensure an overall harmonious blend of colour and pattern; an all-embracing acceptance of the placement of each fabric. So......more pretty, patterned fabrics were stitched together with the addition of embroidered pretties sprinkled here and there.

More pretty ladies.













More pretty flowers.





More baskets of flowers.


And.....a couple of sweethearts.





And.....another pretty butterfly.





With each day I stitched a little more and before I knew it, my quilt top was singing a most harmonious song. This quilt top is one of the most relaxing projects I have done for a while.


I have decided to hand quilt this pretty.


I am backing this quilt with a pretty Wyndham fabric called Presents. It is a lovely blue with a smattering of sweet 1930's flowers.


I like the thought of sitting in a sunny spot, or on those chillier nights in front of a cosy fire enjoying some slow hand stitching.  As I stitch I want to just enjoy the slow deliberate stitches thinking upon who might have embroidered each pretty.....wonder who they were, why they chose this pattern, these colours and wonder with amazement at each perfect, embroidered stitch. The last few quilts I have machine quilted were fraught with hassles and botheration. This time I just want to take it slow and steady and with each stitch, drink in the pretty fabrics and just enjoy the process.





I am looking forward to hand quilting this quilt, though it is going to take a while. It has been an age since I hand quilted a quilt. As a matter of fact I might just sit in my favourite chair this weekend and take delight in a little slow stitching.

Wishing you all the most wonderful day. Until the next time...........



51 comments:

  1. It is a real pleasure reading how welcoming, warm and fulfilling your sewing room is. Although winter is still lingering in your part of the world, I am sure spring will soon be there to make everything beautiful and fresh again!
    As for your quilt - every single piece is amazing making it a jaw-dropping, gorgeous composition!
    Wishing you a great weekend ahead and in expectation of your new post!

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  2. Beautiful Quilt. Perfect for welcoming in Spring. I am sure it will be such a joy to visually see all the beauty as you place each stitch by hand into this lovely.

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  3. I love your choice of fabrics! hand quilting is a wonderful way to revise them all over again as you stitch :)

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  4. Hi Kim! What a gorgeous post! Your quilt is so lovely, soft, happy, and scrumptious. You make me want to piece and hand quilt. I love the slow and old fashioned way because the sharp bold aspects of modern quilting don't appeal to me. I wish you could be my quilt mentor.
    You are a fine writer. I love your blog. Maisie is adorable. I love fuzzy spaniels.
    Have a lovely day, good girl. My hubby is headed to your land tomorrow. He'll be in NZ and Oz.
    Again, GORGEOUS photos, friend!

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  5. Kim,
    I just love this quilt you are working on. It's exquisite! The fabrics are so pretty and the bits of vintage embroidery adds such charm to your quilt. I wish I had the patience to create such a beautiful work of art. No doubt, I would have them in every single room! Such amazing work Kim! I'm a huge fan!!
    Xo
    Linda

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  6. Your quilt is a pretty as your gardens. Have a wonderful weekend of lovely stitching. :)

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  7. Beautiful embroidery, and your flower photos are wonderful. Send that cooler weather up here to us, I am so ready for summer to be gone!

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  8. Be still my heart... you offer your readers and friends such loveliness! From your delightful creations to your sweet spring photos. Oh friend, how my heart sings with joy when I visit your blog :)

    Happy weekend, dear one. Much love to you!

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  9. Oh Kim! Thank you for this visual gift! I so enjoyed seeing each part of your quilt come together! It must indeed be such bliss to be embraced in such a beautiful sewing room!
    And be sure and pat Miss Maisie on the head for me and thank her for being part of this post!

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  10. It's always a pleasure to visit your blog !!!
    Your creations are lovely and the pictures beautiful !!!
    Have a exquisite weekend !
    Anna

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  11. I love how you talk about your sewing room. Because of you I have been decorating mine more instead of just using it as a room to sew in. The quilt you are making is so pretty and I love the quilt blocks with the embroider girls on them.

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  12. I always get excited to find a new post and see all the pretties you are working on! What a talent you have!! Daffodils are my favorite spring flower. I wish they grew in Florida - at least in my area. You are getting ready for spring while I'm wanting fall! LOL

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  13. Just so much loveliness in this post Kim. We are experiencing early signs of spring here too ... tho' September can be deceptive I have found. I adore your quilt & the doilies you have scattered throughout. What could be lovelier than sitting in your doiley chair drinking tea beside that gorgeous dresser ... hand stitching that beautiful quilt. You must think you are in heaven x x x

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  14. Kim, I love visiting your blog. I always have a warm beautiful feeling reading your words and savoring your beautiful works of art. Thank you.

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  15. I am sitting with my hoop beside me and a cup of light brown coffee on the table by my left knee. As I scroll through your pictures, I see so many reminders of days gone by ... vintage style prints ... and even the daffodils that are one of our first spring flowers in my Tokyo neighbourhood. Enjoy!

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    1. Hello Julie, how lovely to have you visit my place. I love the 1930's prints in this happy quilt. I did smile when you said you were enjoying a cup of coffee with a quilt in a hoop resting beside you. It's wonderful to be hand quilting again, I am enjoying the slow stitching immensely. Wishing you the most wonderful weekend. Kim Xx

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  16. I too love spider webs each one is unick... Just as your quilts are my dearest. It's funny how in you world your waiting Spring as we are putting summer to bed and awaiting Fall.. Such a strange thing to me. For I haven'r traveled far in my life. And now I can travel in far places over the internet waves...and through blogs such as yours. And see parts of the world I have never seen.. It looks just lovely at your place.. Love your new quilt.. You tug my inspiration buds everytime I visit.. I love, love your work and thoughts.. Thanks for your dear visit my dearest. Glad things are well. Have a enchanting weekend with love Janice

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    1. It is a treat travelling far places and visiting others' lovely places via the internet without even having to leave our comfy chairs, isn't it. When I visit your lovely blog, Janice, I always think how wonderful it would be to sit with you and enjoy a cup of tea from one of your pretty tea cups. Wishing you a lovely week, lovely Janice. Kim Xx

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  17. It's always a joy to visite your blog. Love your gorgeous stitches and quilt photo's. Can get enough of it.
    Hugs and happy weekend.
    Loes

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    1. And....it is always a delight to have you visit my place, Loes. Thank you so much for your sweet, sweet comments. Hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend. Kim Xx

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  18. Your quilt is delightful, all the pretty fabrics blend in so well together and the embroidery is beautiful. Your sewing room sounds like a perfect place to be. Enjoy your spring and the warmer weather to come but I do hope ole man winter will stay away from our shores a little while longer. Have a great weekend. :) x

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    1. You have lovely Autumn to enjoy, Linda, before Ole Man Winter invades your shores. =) Thank you for visiting my place and leaving such a lovely comment. Wishing you the loveliest of weeks. Kim Xx

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  19. Hello Kim,

    Happy Spring.

    I always think our seasons are about two weeks out from the official date. We have had the coldest Winter ever, our temps have been lower than Melbourne and Hobart at times. Love the idea of taking your time to hand quilt your fancy ladies and gents, butterflies, fairies quilt. What sort of thread will you use?

    Happy days.
    Bev.

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  20. your quilts are amazing, like books, they tell a story. a beautiful story!!! you nature images are gorgeous as well today, i really enjoyed them!!

    have a happy weekend!!

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  21. What a beautiful quilt!Enjoy spring!Here winter will be coming!AriadnefromGreece!

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  22. Winter is hanging on there ... Summer is hanging on here (but no complaints!).
    Gorgeous quilt, and how wonderful your cupboards must be to pull out all these beautiful, tranquil fabrics one after the other. All those little details are amazing. You will love hand quilting this one, and sitting in that comfy chair with a cuppa beside you ... bliss ;)
    Wendy
    ps hugs to your sweet Maisie! She looks straight out of an old master's painting!

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  23. I must say that I wish Old Man Winter would just park himself over the ocean and forget about us. I'd dread it more every year. Looking at your quilt is definitely a breath of spring.

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  24. I love the quilt - so many lovely little touches and surprises. I could look at it all day. The colors are precious - so sweet and the prints go so well with the embroidery. I like the process of hand quilting - lots of things to ponder while stitching. Our Autumn is fast approaching - we get a bit of a hint of it - then some sunshine - then more rain until finally we are all indoors with the rains coming down faster and faster. I have a couple hand quilting projects I might pull out and we can quilt together - you waiting for the warmth of spring - me with the autumn winds blowing and buffeting - two seasons for being cozy. Happy quilting my friend.

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  25. I just love scrolling down through your blog to see all the pretty pictures of your beautiful handiwork and to read your fun commentary. We are heading into winter in my part of the world and I can't wait!! It has been such a hot summer that the frost on your grass looks great to me. Your quilt is so gorgeous and your patience must be immense to hand quilt it all. I am in awe of your handwork!

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  26. Kim the quilt you made is truly a work of art and is such a fantastic way to preserve all those hand embroidered doyley's. Loved the beautiful field of Spring daffodils.

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    1. There are daffodils popping up everywhere here; it truly is magical. Thank you for your sweet comments. Hope you are enjoying a fabulous week. Kim Xx

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  27. Such a beautiful post. The quilt top is lovely. You, of course, know that I love the touches of butterflies sprinkled throughout! Miss Maisie is gorgeous. Oh I imagine she looks forward to being out in the spring sunshine. I wish you both a very enjoyable day.

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  28. Your creativity knows no limits and always fills my heart wih joy, I heartily thank you so much for this, Darling Kim, and your countryside, talking about the coming Spring, one of the most beautiful times of the whole year, makes of this post of yours such a heartwarming reading !

    With utmost gratitude and admiration I'm wishing you a wonderful new week, sweetie, sending my dearest love to you

    Xx Dany

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  29. Beautiful photos of your late Winter/early Spring with the gorgeous Maisie and all those daffodils :) And your quilt is looking wonderful. I hope you've had a lovely weekend of stitching it and I wish you a happy week to come :)

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  30. Dear Kim,

    I love EVERYTHING about this post! Such a magnificent quilt you are stitching - someone is going to be extremely blessed to be its owner. I would LOVE to have a quilt like this! I love your style of adding doilies here and there and all those delightfully darling embroidery scenes.

    That is an amazing photo of the spider's web - such an beautiful countryside background, too.

    You certainly have a special sewing room. What a delight it must be to sit in the pretty chair and have tea or coffee while you stitch.

    Thank you for sharing your work and home.

    Happy sewing,
    ♥Hope

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  31. Your quilt is so beautiful! I specially love the lady with the daisy skirt. Wish there was one for real people that would not wilt after the first dance -as you have to dance in a dress like that right?! And your description of your sewing room is lovely. It is the same feeling I have for my room. Are we not lucky! Enjoy your week and your quilting! Anna x

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    1. We are soooo lucky to be able to create pretties in our sewing rooms, aren't we. They are places of immense inspiration. I agree about dancing in a pretty, daisy-filled skirt, it is a must! Thank you for visiting, Have a lovely day. Will you be embroidering some more lovely pretties?? Kim Xx

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  32. Oh wow wow wow. What a treasure that will be! Of course now you will have to go thrifting and find more pretty doilies to replenish your supply! Your pond is still very pretty. I am so looking forward to seeing your flowers again. Has it really been nearly a year?
    Happy Spring!

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  33. Love the colours of this pretty quilt Kim and the vintage embroideries. Also the signs of your Spring not too far off.

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  34. Kim, I absolutely adore this quilt! It truly is a work of art. Especially after you get through hand quilting it. Spring is my favorite season. I know how it is to anticipate it's arrival. We will be heading in to winter as you are waving good by. :)
    hugs,
    Jann

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    1. ....and I will be waving goodbye with great gusto!! I am having fun hand quilting this pretty, though it will be a long time in the finishing of it. Thank you for your sweet comments, lovely Jann. Kim Xx

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  35. I know what you mean about going into the craft room and just get taken away by it all and how calming and fun it can be :)
    We will soon be feeling old man winter heading this way I am sure, love the frost pictures though, love how you captured the spider web.
    The hand quilting is going to be very special for this lovely quilt you have created!

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  36. Hi Kim! Awesome quilt! It's a really beautiful work full of delicate details! I also love the golden daffodils and the great photos you took. Miss Maisie is so sweet!
    Have a lovely weekend!
    Hugs and love from Portugal!
    Ana (from Ana Love Craft)

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  37. Oh my goodness Kim, I don't know which is more beautiful...the quilt, which is a breathtaking work of art or your descriptive narrative about the sunny, frosty world in which you make your lovely creations! You are such an inspiration and your creativity just blows my mind! I can't wait to see the finished product. Enjoy what's left of the week...oh...and I love photographing spider webs too, just as long as the little hairy critter aren't getting in my hair!

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  38. Oh, how I do love that quilt you are making with the embroidery and lace! So feminine and special. Nancy

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  39. Hi Kim, what a beautiful quilt!
    Love how you used the vintage embroideries together with pretty fabrics and created a truly beautiful piece of art.
    I can relate how you feel about your sewing room, I feel the same about my craft room, it's my sanctuary, my happy place!!!
    Have a great weekend!
    Diana

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  40. O, such a beautiful quilt...a pure map of diversified beauty!
    I love the naturalized daffodils and I Miss Maisie's look of wonder.

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  41. A blog post packed full of loveliness!!!

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  42. Lovely photos of your garden, Miss Maisie, and the beautiful quilt of yours. You have created such a delightful happy place, Kim! Enjoy :)

    -Soma xx

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  43. I loved seeing your outdoor scenes interspersed between your magical quilt, Kim. Your creations are truly works of art and I love seeing them with all their bits of whimsical fabrics and embellishments. Hand quilting it must bring you such satisfaction and joy.

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  44. Hello Kim! I came here from Helen Philipps' blog where Pom Pom had left a comment and mentioned your blog. I've been looking through your posts and came across this one. I love this quilt. I do some quilting -- not as accomplished as you are -- and also have a collection of tattered vintage embroidered pieces which I have thought would be delightful integrated into a quilt. After seeing yours I definitely want to give it a go. Thank you for inspiring me! Following you via Bloglovin. xo

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