Skipping Along The Quilting Lines♡

Hello lovely lovelies♡ I woke up this morning......and you were on my mind ♪♩ ♫♫♪♪......because.....'tis Sunday♡ And....we all know what that means??!! It means 'tis the day of flower overload....and a little slow hand stitching; from my happy little place♡

How has your week  been?? Mine flew by....again. I am supposing yours flew by, too. Actually, some days I didn't know what day it was, such is the cadence of late, of the days, the weeks. Thank goodness for calendars and phones; and the like, to keep me on track. February has arrived. I am reminded that it is the last month of summer (not that I need reminding) and I had better make the most of my balmy, February days.

The garden has gone bonkers! 'Tis wild! 'Tis overrun! Both the flowers; and those dastardly, pesky weeds! But I will pretend I don't see the sky-reaching weeds and just focus on all the pretty flowers. We will get to those nasty garden interlopers eventually and dig them up, sending them to the great abyss. Oh my goodness; the flowers! The armloads of beautiful bouquets picked to fill pretty vases! Our home is overflowing with vases of hydrangeas, dahlias, roses, gladdies, sweet peas.....cosmos. There is a potpourri of delicious scents wafting throughout the rooms.....intoxicating! Also, from every window there is a vignette of flowers nodding and swaying in the breeze. 'Tis rather heavenly♡

In the garden the hydrangeas are still blooming beautifully, but I have noticed  ever so slightly, the petals beginning to nudge me that the time when hydrangeas begin to  change into those soft, pastel hues of autumn, is not far away. Not a lot.......but the seasonal cycle  of the hydrangeas are a-changing...just a wee bit. I suppose over the coming weeks and months the softly-hued pastels of the hydrangeas will be become more apparent.

In the sewing room, the fernery....and wherever else I placed my gluteus maximus I have been hand quilting my Hydrangeas Cobblestones quilt.  Gosh, it was a pain in the royal proverbial to sandwich all the layers together. Now I know why I very rarely piece the backing of a quilt. You have to try to place the front aligned with the backing design, seams etc etc. Such a pain!! I don't know how you ladies who always seem to have a pieced backing do this; perhaps you could enlighten me. Even now, I don't really know if it is perfectly lined up, but you know, at this point I don't really care. I know, shocking!! But, this queen size quilt took such a long time to prepare for quilting that I am soooooo over it. Me thinks I will look at the back of this quilt wearing my rose-coloured glasses. I will perhaps turn a blind eye to the misalignment; if indeed there is any. Yep....wilful blindness, will be my defence.

As for the design for the quilting; simple, simple and even more simple! I am quilting diagonally in both directions through the  octagons with the quilting stitches kissing the corners of the squares as they skip by. Super easy, and I think will be super quick. Well...it should be...shouldn't it???? For the border, with the hydrangea flowers do-si-do-ing around on the butterfly fabric, I will quilt randomly around the outline of some of the butterflies with meandering quilting every which way giving a sense of the butterflies fluttering here, there and everywhere. But the border will be quilted lastly, so I need not worry about that just yet. For now I am just concentrating on the central panel of octagons and squares. I love skipping along the quilting lines, the needle burrowing down and up again....in, out, in, out; in a meditative fashion.

Cheerio from my happy, little, flowery place♡ Hopefully, I have beamed some flowery deliciousness into your little part of the world. For some of you the spring bulbs will soon be popping up their pretty heads, and for us downunder, the trees will soon begin to change into the gorgeous autumnal frocks. But not just yet. There is still day after day of summery loveliness for me to soak up; to immerse myself in. This coming week I hope to enjoy skipping along the quilting lines of my Hydrangea Cobblestones. Sending you all a little summery love♡ Have a fabulous week♡ Don't forget to see the miracle in the everyday♡

Until the next time............

  

 

Linking up with Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching, Judy's Design Wall Monday and Frederique's Quilting, Patchwork & Applique

The Funnest of Weeks♡

Hello lovely lovelies♡ 'Tis Sunday again♡ Did you enjoy a pleasant week?? I did. My week flew by in a whirl of birthday celebrations and surprises; and the piecing of the backing of my Hydrangea Cobblestones quilt. Birthdays♡ They are a big deal in my family. Birthdays are always a special event. All stops are pulled out to see that the birthday person celebrates in the way they desire. When my girls were younger they never went to school  on their birthdays. They were treated like princesses for the day. My two girls and I (Pete always went to work......how sad) always celebrated their birthdays however which way they pleased......(well, within reason....=D ). I always said to their teachers that life was too short to have to go to school on your birthday. The girls have fabulous memories of 'wagging' school and enjoying their special day to the hilt. It always involved going somewhere fabulous and enjoying delicious food, worthy of such a momentous celebration. My birthday this year seemed to carry over a few days; morning teas, afternoon teas, lunches, gorgeous gifts, flowers......feel totally spoilt♡ So blessed♡

Between much too many cups of tea in pretty teacups and much too many pieces of several birthday cakes, I actually enjoyed some sewing, too. I stitched the backing of my quilt. I used fabrics from my stash, and also the extra fabrics from the same line of the hydrangea fabric; at the time of purchase. The fabrics are the Cottage Bleu Collection designed by Robyn Pickens; so they all dance beautifully together. At the time of purchasing these fabrics, I had no idea what I was going to do with them, so I purchased 1/2 metre lengths of some of the co-ordinating fabrics. When my eyes first espied the hydrangea fabrics, I just had to have them with not a clue what I would make. Thankfully all fabrics have been utilised, so all's well that ends well.

I stitched together large patches of fabric together in a fairly haphazard fashion. When the stitching of the backing was finished, I then hand stitched hydrangea octagons along some of the seams to add a bit of visual interest. I am that gal who never really over-thinks the backing of a quilt, as to be honest, no-one ever really looks at the back.......do they?? Of course, I suppose those with judgmental, imperious and exacting eyes, who pick up a quilt and inspect the quilting stitches on the back do, but truly, no-one who has walked along the path of life with me ever has. =) They are always bedazzled by the front (at this point my tongue is fixed firmly in my cheek). =D In saying this though, I do try to back a quilt with a complementary fabric, but I have been known to use the odd old sheet or two.

Oh dear, I did get a little carried away with the happy snaps didn't I??!! But, put a camera or in this case, a phone, into my hands and I get lost in a gazillion scenarios of capturing that one perfect short....or two...or three...or...!! But you kinda expect that from me; right???? Who knows, by the time the next birthday swings around again, my enthusiasm for capturing happy snaps will have been curtailed.

Who says that flowers are the prettiest when in a vase?? Certainly not I. Me thinks beautiful gift bags, boxes and the like, are the perfect receptacles for a flower or two♡

Thank you for your beautiful visit and taking the time to have a bo peep at what I have been up to this week. Perhaps this week there will be less cake and a little less tea......but then perhaps I will just keep on partying....as there is still a lot of cake. Wish oh wish I could share a piece or two with you. But I cannot, so it just means me and My Pete will just have to see that it is not wasted. Goodbye waistline.....not that I have one! =) Have a beautiful week. May you bloom a little, each day♡

Until the next time.......

Linking this week to Kathy's, Slow Sunday Stitching, Judy's Design Wall Monday and Frédérique's, Quilting, Patchwork and Applique.

Blue and Green Should Always Be Seen

Hello lovely lovelies♡ Welcome to my little place♡ 'Tis Sunday again, which meant a lazy kinda day. A very early, morning stroll through the garden was enjoyed, picking a flower here and there until my basket burgeoned with blooms. My pickings today were mock orange blossoms (oh....the fragrance ♡), ixias, hebes, love-in-the-mist, rhododendrons and roses; all plonked artfully arranged into vases. Truly, the fragrances wafting from room to room in my humble abode is divine♡

I spent a good part of my day in my sewing room. As I sat looking outside the windows, the thought occurred to me that the end of spring is nigh and summer will soon be floating in; in a rather relaxed fashion. I always think spring is an explosion of vivid and audacious colours; intoxicating all the senses. Spring always makes me giddy with the continual parade of heady colour and fragrances. I am always a little sad when spring begins to think about making its journey to the northern hemisphere, but the thought of summer waltzing in gently always perks me up. Just the thought that there will soon be a sea of blue hydrangeas everywhere causes me to smile. Throughout the garden the hydrangea leaves are flourishing and little flowers are beginning to peek from behind the leaves. Why, just outside  my sewing window, the hydrangea bushes have grown like topsy. They will be a spectacular sight when all those gorgeous blue mop heads appear. I cannot wait. It will make happy stitching days in my sewing room even happier♡

And....speaking of hydrangeas, let's talk about my little Hydrangea Cobblestones quilt, shall we?? A border was needed, but I was in two minds about two fabrics. A difficult decision as I rather love both. The first choice was a pretty Kona blue which looks lovely, but then I have a pretty green fabric with butterflies flittering allover. Being a gal who rather loves busy, busy, busy swirling everywhere in a quilt, I decided upon the butterfly fabric. It is actually a fabric in the Cottage Bleu line, as is the hydrangea fabric, so of course they would play together beautifully. I am in love with the blue of all the hydrangea cobblestones bordered by the green fabric♡

Do you remember the phrase "blue and green should never be seen without a colour in between?? It is a phrase I have heard all my life, but have never really taken any notice, because throughout all my days of playing on this sweet earth blues and greens have always hit it off fabulously. Together, they dance in rhythmic cadence and have always been soothing to my eyes. Why, here at my little place there is blue and green everywhere. Blue, blue sky and green, green trees. Happy, blue love-in-the-mist, with wispy green leaves.....blue granny bonnets and dainty green leaves.......forget-me-nots smothered in bright green leaves.....and then the queens of the garden, the hydrangeas surrounded by green, green leaves.  But, enough of the nonsensical notion that blue and green together are an aversion; let us have a bo-peep of the progress of  Hydrangea Cobblestones.

Stitching a thin green border around the blue cobblestones, I then stitched the green butterfly fabric to the quilt. To add a little unexpected interest to the border I thought octagon flowers flourishing around the border would look rather spiffy. So, today I have been making stems, leaves and octagon hydrangeas in readiness of appliqueing them to the border. How fun♡

Hopefully when next you visit the hydrangea flowers skipping around the border, will be finished. Love, love, love the blue hydrangea fabric dancing alongside the green with blue butterflies fabric♡ I had the best day today, whipping up a creative storm in my little sewing room. It was one of those perfect,  blue sky, kinda days, where sunbeams brightened the room all day. Thank you for stopping by my little place♡ 'Tis always a delight when you visit♡  May you, this week, look for the beauty in the little moments of the everyday♡ Sending you all a little love♡

Until the next time.............

Linking this week to Kathy's Slow Sunday Stitching

Judy's Design Wall Monday