So.......tell me......were there.........

.........really 604,800 seconds......10,080 minutes........168 hours that passed into oblivion this past week?? Surely not. It just seems that my week was short-changed....just a tad!

I mean, it only seems like yesterday that I celebrated Mother's Day with my husband and daughter; blissfully unaware of the ticking clock, strolling around Evandale Markets on a lovely, sun-filled Autumnal day, acquiring a few 'must have' treasures and coffeeing my way through the day.

 

 And what treasures they are.......well at least they are to me. I added to my 'dowry of cloth' (I am always in need of an embroidered pretty or two or three.......). I found an old sewing basket which is a little worse for wear, but not to worry, with a little fixer-uppering by li'l olde me it will be as good as new. I also added to my coloured knitting needle collection......I have been making fabric flowers of late and they make beautiful flower stems, besides they look ever so colourful bunched en masse in a glass receptacle. And....of course....I couldn't let the day pass by without buying a book. The book in question is called 'Home' and if I ever get a free moment, I might just sit in front of the fire, and take an armchair voyeuristic journey into the homes of the 50 famous people's interiors.

 

Then........I happened upon three beautiful mirrors. I have a penchant for collecting mirrors. Indeed, there are mirrors everywhere in our li'l ole abode. I think at last count there are 25 or so. No, I am not some Greek mythological, narcissistic being, always tempted to look at my reflection....quite the contrary.....the less I look at my reflection in these reflective looking glasses the better! I love how mirrors reflect wonderful light, giving an optical illusion of making a room visually appear so much more spacious and lighter. 

 

 

I particularly love the quirky wooden mirror that I unearthed. I lurve the detail at the top of the mirror and the lovely flowing curvaceous side. Of course this needs a bit of repair but with a little fixing, a good sanding and a coat of Antique White USA paint.........shhhhh.......sorry...... I have to whisper the fact that I am painting wood, because around these parts the very mention of applying a coat of paint to any wood surface is akin to heresy and one's safety could be in danger!! Indeed one must be vigilant as there are eyes and ears everywhere! Tasmanians LOVE their wood!! Their homes have  stained wood floors, wood-lined walls, wood ceilings and everything in between pays homage to the 'wood god'! Don't get me wrong, I love wood, indeed for a time I was surrounded by various hues of stained wood but these days I prefer a lighter and brighter ambience for our home.

 

 

So that was Sunday.....which was a wonderfully relaxed day......the calm before the storm!

 

The rest of the week was filled with a creative whirlwind which included preparations for kids' craft in readiness for the school bus, which each school afternoon braked to a screeching halt, ejected the excited little earthlings at my front gate, who then got lost in a plethora of fabric, zippers, buttons, embroidery thread and all manner of stitching.

 

I happened upon this fabulous fabric in IKEA a couple of months ago whilst visiting my daughter in Adelaide.. Now Tassie is a bit light on in the modish and funky fabric department, so when I spotted this fun fabric, I am afraid that I went into a hypo-ventilated state and I snapped it up. I could visualise the kids making a cushion with a word or two in a speech bubble.....in the Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein 'Pop Art' vein.

 

 

These are just a few of the cushions that were stitched by my child prodigies this week. I think they are so cool and funky!

 

 

And then there were some who made some Scotty dogs from an old woollen blanket.

 

 

Other kids' projects included house cushions, Babushka Doll cushions, a life-like stuffed guitar (yes really) and one or two magoozalums (don't ask)!!

 

Also, this coming week is Chaplaincy Week' here in Tassie, so 'My Pete' (my  husband) who is a chaplain at our local district high school wanted to say thank you to all the staff for their support. Now what better way to say thank you than with a beautiful bunch of flowers. Right? Well............there is just one problem with this well intentioned sentiment.......our beautiful garden has been obliterated by early morning frosts. All the flowers have dived deep down into the earth to flee Jack Frost's icy, wintry grasp and have refused to show their pretty faces until next Spring! What to do? What to do?

 

So, of course, li'l ole me suggested that perhaps I could fashion a flower or two from some pretty fabric (what was I thinking)!!!

 

So li'l ole me cut out, folded, stitched, hot glued (both fabric and fingers) 180 or so circles and after many, many seconds, minutes, hours.......

 

 

fashioned oodles of  bright and breezy and cheerful fabric flowers........

 

 

and artfully arranged them (this took an age) in pretty 'vases' (yep all from op shops)........

 

 

and......VOILA......here they all are.......sitting ever so perky in joyful abundance in front of one or two or three of my mirrors, with individual cards each expressing a thankyou sentiment.......ready to be delivered to each teacher and staff member; hopefully putting a smile on their faces and a spring in their step as they walk through the hallowed halls of learning!!

 

So this is just a little peek into my 'week that was'!!

 

NOW............this week...... I must, must, MUST begin my friend's birthday hexagon quilt!! Let's just hope that no-one knocks on my pink front door (yes really....we have a bright pink front door.....doesn't everyone??) with some urgent stitching that needs to be attended to and ask "are you the lady who sews?"

 

 

 Perhaps Father Time will be kind to me this week and grant me a few extra seconds, minutes, hours.....perhaps.....perhaps??

 

Once upon a time.............

.........in a little country town, lived a lady and two very clever little girls. Every week the two little girls visited the lady's cottage,  where the lady taught them the art of stitching. They all had such fun playing with fabric, lace, buttons and whatever bits and bobs their creative fingers could find.
 

One day the little girls decided that they each wanted to make a beautiful quilt. So the lady recycled a bundle of cast off jeans and cut them up into big squares. 

 

 

 

The little girls whirred happily away on their sewing machines and joined each patched piece of denim into two magical quilts.
 

 

 

 

But, the little girls decided that they wanted to embellish their quilts with colourful scraps of fabric. So they designed and appliqued  smiling butterflies to their quilts and hand stitched long strips of pretty fabric, magically fashioning these strips into beautiful flowers, to sit cheerfully atop their quilts. 

 

 

Day after day the little girls stitched happily away until, with the very last stitch, sat two enchanting quilts where flowers flourished, weaving their way in and out of jean pockets, with butterflies merrily looking on.
 

The two little girls were so delighted with their beautiful quilts. They couldn't wait to climb into their oh so comfy beds that night, snuggle cosily under their warm and cheery quilts, and excitedly slip into the land of counterpane where magical dreams weave in and out of children's slumber.

 

The tale continues............

 

In the same little country town lived yet another very clever little girl, whose fingers magically fashioned a quilt from old jeans.

 

But, hers was not a quilt of flowers, butterflies or other such whimsical creatures. Hers was a quilt of an equestrian theme, of her beautiful Arab filly, Courage. She sewed and sewed until one day before her very eyes sat a quilt of which she was very proud.

 

 

 

The little girl could not believe that her fingers had stitched such an amazing quilt.

 

 

 

So each night snuggled under her oh so cosy quilt, she drifted off into the Land of Nod, where astride her beautifully elegant Courage, galloped as free as the wind to discover and explore faraway mythical lands.

 

THE END

 

 

PS Yes....I am the lady who lives in the cottage where children visit after school to play with fabric, have oodles of fun and learn some stitching! I might add that the three little girls in the story are only 8 years old!! Amazing really.....I am always blown away by the brilliant ideas their sprightly little imaginations conjure up!! Yes indeedy.......it is a blessed life I lead, skipping along the yellow brick road of creativity with these clever children!