Grow Your Blog Party.....and a giveaway

A lovely hello to all of you whom are having a li'l bo-peep at my blog for the very first time. 'Tis a pleasure to be a part of Vicki's '2 Bags Full' Grow your Blog party.

And....for those of you lovelies who follow my drivel of a blog, you are most welcome as well......though I fear as we are already acquainted, you have  been enlightened as to the ins and outs of li'l ole me.....just pretend that we have never had the pleasure of meeting and 'enjoy' the ride!

My name is Kim and I live with my husband, in a rural idyll in Tasmania which is a tiny island way, way down at the bottom of the world. Our humble li'l ole abode is surrounded by vignettes of  lush green paddocks which change daily with a roving kaleidoscope of black and white bovine, a country winding road, aged gum trees perfectly placed as if nature had the view from my picture windows in mind when planting each seed; and majestic purple, opalescent mountains, ascending to kiss glorious, Monet-esque sunsets off into the distance......oh..... and  a pretty as a picture garden of floralicious delight lovingly tended by my li'l garden gnome husband. Yes indeedy, everywhere I look there is a richly, patterned tapestry of  God's glorious handiwork of joyous inspiration, stirring me to create.

My ever faithful, walking companion, Miss Maisie, drinking in the fragrance of the beautiful lavender. She is always a willing participant for a model shoot!

Yes indeedy, this li'l corner of the world in which I live ain't half bad............ain't half bad at all!!

I'm a gal who delights in all things creative. I love to design, I love to create and I love to write. So for me, the designing, the stitching, the making; and then the writing of a blog is a perfect fit for me. I cannot imagine a day without some form of creativity being enjoyed; whether it is putting fingers to keyboard and penning a written piece, or stitching, or knitting some lovely. Creating for me really is play. Most every day (and some evenings) I pirouette along my botanical inspired hallway and enter my happy sewing room in readiness for a li'l dreaming, a li'l designing, a li'l creating and fun, fun, fun!

My sewing room is my own li'l creative hub. It is a place where I express my own unique style and create. It is a space to just be. My design process always starts with a whisper of an idea, then the dreaming, then the plotting, then the creating. I am always amazed how a smidgen of an idea, a teeny, tiny thought develops into a finished creation.

Yes indeedy, me thinks that by both day and night, my bright and happy sewing room is a wonderful place in which those teeny, tiny ideations, that seem to collide all too frequently around in my brain pan at a fervid pace, translate into a pretty of some kind! I could do a lot worse.....don't you think??

I adore quilts. I love to stitch quilts. Indeed, she who has the most quilts (fabric, ribbons, laces, buttons etc etc).....wins....well she does, doesn't she??

The two 'quilts' on the top, the cathedral window and the postage stamp, are two works in progress. I am a gal that seems to fashion oodles of pretties at once. 'Tis very naughty of me, but I have a sneaky suspicion I am not the only one.

I have a penchant for hexagon quilts. Oh all right, I'll come clean, I confess, I am addicted to them! Yes indeedy, when I spy with my beady li'l eye a hexagon quilt, I have been known to go in to a state of apoplectic shock, when only an oxygen tank can revive me! I adore hexies.

I happened upon a wonderful method for sewing hexagon quilts quite a few years ago. Individual hexagons are sewn with the top fabric, the batting and the backing fabric all at once and then a little of the backing fabric is brought to the front to form a narrow border or a frame if you like. Then the finished hexagons are whipped stitched together at the back to form the quilt.

My first 'hexie' that I ever fashioned is this pastel pretty. Stitched from hundreds of pretty fabric scraps, it is an oft-used and faded quilt and is one of my favourites.

My joyous, purple coloured, hexagon quilt tickles my bohemian spirit! This 'pretty' is embellished with oodles and oodles of french laces, vintage jewellery, antique buttons, beads and gorgeous flowers fashioned from a smattering of pretty ribbons. Oops an overload of colour I fear....but then I am an "over-the-top" kinda gal! This hexie is  a quilt where I twirled and twirled sumptuous fabrics, laces, ribbons; a li'l bit of this and a li'l bit of that, round and round in a merry dance.

My pastel hexie.....softer in hue but nevertheless oozing with embellishment and prettiness!

AND.....then there is "Little Miss Rhapsody in Blue". I fashioned this quilt for a dear friend's 50th birthday and I am afraid that I went a li'l overboard with the embellishment......just a tad!

This pretty hexie sits ever so prettily on my bed, in my boudoir.

Now of course, in order for me to embellish the quilts and cushions and other pretties that I fashion, I need an embroidered pretty or two....oh alright...... I need oodles of embroidered pretties......my dowry of cloth; which more often than not overflows from many, many receptacles.

I love to stitch baskets of  blossomy delight either filling them with  li'l snippets of crochet doilies or fashioning oodles of flowers out of pretty ribbons. Fashioning flowers and leaves from pretty ribbons is the most joyous of ways to spend a li'l time.

One can never have too many cushions.......can one?? These cushions went with me to a market.....and surprisingly enough they all skedaddled off to lovely homes to perk up others' interiors!

I am a gal that LURVES to dabble in free hand machine sketching! To draw or in my case, doodle with machine and thread is the best fun. Free hand machine stitching is something that really tickles my fancy. This style of stitching satisfies my love to stitch by the seat of my pants. It satisfies my impetus to veer off that straight and narrow line of monotonous straight stitching and explore the wiggly and crooked lines.

Have a lookity look at some of the lovelies that I have sketched free hand with my trusty ole machine.  A length of fabric upon which I free hand machine stitched a tableau of cute children picking apples from gnarled apple trees, children chatting, children swinging on swings, children climbing trees, children riding bikes....children laughing, chatting and having oodles of fun. I then adhered the fabric panel to the lampshade.

Here is another example of a li'l free hand sketching. This time I stitched a panel approximately 2 metres in length. I stitched a street scape where quaint Victorian houses, wrought iron fences, happy children, very chic ladies, the odd beetle car or two abound. I decided to make this panel into a valance to hang on my kitchen window.

I am a gal who adores all things vintage. I love wandering around markets, always on the lookout for a treasure or two to bring home to live with me for a li'l while......a piece of vintage jewellery, an antique button or two, or a pretty trifling or two. I am always fossicking for embroidered doilies and tablecloths lovingly stitched by ladies in a bygone era, to tart up a jacket, to embellish a quilt, to recover a much loved old chair that has seen better days; to add to a curtain that I am fashioning for our home. Yes indeedy, as 'hinted' previously, I re-use the embroideries in all manner of projects that make my heart go pit-a-pat.

Curtains fashioned with embroidered pretties abound in my li'l ole abode! Why buy metre upon metre of curtaining fabric when one can rummage around in one's plethora of suitcases/hat boxes and the like, all spilling over with embroidered pretties and fabric remnants, and fashion a unique, one-of-a-kind window covering.

Just a couple of upcycled jackets that I tarted up with a doily or two, some upholstery fringing, some french lace and the odd vintage pretty or two!

These lampshades had seen better days so of course I tarted them up with pretties from my dowry of cloth.

Just a few Christmas stockings I stitched using a slew of lace, vintage fabrics and oodles of pretties. Ooh-la-la.......oh so Parisian!

Every now and then my fingers are found clickity clacketing feverishly away on a woolly garment of some kind or another.

Most school day mornings I can be found designing and preparing a stitching project for the school children who visit my humble abode each afternoon in readiness for a sewing lesson. Yes indeedy, each afternoon, the school bus hurtles along our winding country road, screeches to a stop, ejects excited li'l earthlings in readiness for a fun afternoon of stitching, chatter and laughter. Here are some of the stitching lovelies that one li'l girl has created whilst she has been attending "The Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence"....(my tongue is firmly fixed in my cheek!!). Of course all the children who attend The Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence are prodigiously talented!

AND........when I do find a li'l time, there is nothing I would rather do than spend an hour or two, with my head buried in a book. Yes indeedy, love, love, LURVE to read!

So there you have it. I'm just a gal who loves to spend oodles of her time playing with all things creative. Creativity for me is a window to my soul....it is who I am; it gives every day a measure of oomph! If you have stuck with me to the end and read this rather lengthy post to the very last word......congratulations.....AND a very big thank you.

Me thinks just for that herculean effort on your part, you deserve to be rewarded with a li'l pretty, fashioned by li'l ole me. Yes indeedy, if you would like to leave a comment, I will draw out not one, but two of your names and one of these lavender-filled heart sachets with just a li'l embellishment, will be winging their way to you over land and sea. Now......just in case the two lucky winners take a liking to the same heart sachet, please inform me of your second choice as well.

If you are a No-reply Blogger, please add your email address at the end of your comment. Entries for the giveaway close on the 15th February. If your name is one of the successful ones I will contact you on the 15th February. Vicky from 2 Bags Full has done a stellar job in organising this blog hop, so do pop over  here to see the full list of participants who are kicking up their heels and partying on!!

So it's toodles from me. I am off to discover some delightful new blogs and have a bo peep at what other lovely bloggers are up to. Yes indeedy, I am off to be inspired by others' lovely blogs and their uniquely, beautiful imaginations and creativity. Thank you ever so much for visiting; it is truly a delight to 'meet' you. Please do pop by again; it would make my li'l ole heart sing a happy song if you were to stopover, down here at the bottom of the world for another visit!

Hot diggity dog

I have been stitching some hot diggity dogs these last couple of days. Yes indeedy, hot diggity dogs of the Scottie kind; fashioned from blankets that I have been collecting for a li'l while.

When I was a wee girl, everyone seemed to snuggle under these 100% woollen, seductive and soft bed coverings at night. With doonas being the popular bed covers of choice these days, blankets have been relegated to the linen closet smothered under moth balls, or perhaps donated to the op shops.

Once upon a time one could acquire a blanket for a song but not so now. Is it just my imagination or is it true that op shops these days are  a li'l more expensive than they once were? Some of the prices are not that much cheaper than some of the chain stores. I have discovered an op shop which is run by a high school where a shopping bag can be filled with oodles of goodies for the princely sum of $5!! As I teach kiddos in all matters of fun stitching this op shop is a regular on my "to visit" list.

One has to be quicker than quick in acquiring these woolly bed coverings in an op shop, because as soon as they are put out on the shelves they are quickly swooped upon by the savvy public. I suppose everyone has cottoned on to the versatility of these blankets in all things stitching.

I have collected blankets for a good while now. At The Kim Sharman School of Stitching Excellence, when the kiddos make a quilt more often than not they use blankets as the backing. As I teach quite a few kiddos I am always in need of a blanket, or two, or three on hand, and of course as blankets are lovely and soft they make excellent softies for kids to snuggle up to. My kiddos have fashioned quite a few softies from blankets.

I also love to collect vintage chenille bedspreads, though they are as rare as hen's teeth in Australia. Those of you who live in the USofA are soooo lucky as it seems to me these gloriously coloured and patterned, tufted pretties abound in your flea markets. I always salivate at the lovely chenille designs that appear rather abundantly on Ebay in the USofA.

So......back to the Scottie dogs I have fashioned. They are super quick to stitch and depending on how one embellishes the neck they can be finished in an hour or two.

This Scottie was fashioned from a pretty pink and taupe chenille bedspread that I found at my favourite market. I decided to embellish this doggity dawg with a taupe wide ribbon around the neck, finished with a ruched ribbon flower and a pretty pink button.

Another Scottie made from a chenille bedspread. This time I embellished the collar with snippets from some crochet doilies. Oooh....'tis a bit sweet!

One of the mums of one of my stitching girls asked me if I could use this lovely, old, brightly coloured blanket. Mmmmm....now let me see.....will I or won't I......why of course I swiftly said "yes indeedy", before she could change her generous, benevolent mind. This li'l doggy was super quick to fashion as the only embellishment is a ribbon and a vintage buckle for it's collar.

Another Scottie embellished with ribbon, snippets of lace and crochet doilies.

Four hot diggity dogs all waiting either to be gifted to someone or to go off to market and wag their tails at the madding crowds.

Funnily enough, with all the blankets that I have happened upon over the years, I have never come across the same design or combination of colours. It seems to me there was a plethora of patterns and colours loomed at the Woollen Mills in days of old.

Anyway, with my hot diggity dogs safely ensconced in their kennels it's toodles from me. Hope you all have a lovely weekend filled with a li'l happy stitching.

Linking up with Janine's Wool on Sundays over at Rainbow Hare.

Oh Happy Days

'Tis the Summer holidays down here at the bottom of the world and "Oh Happy Days" it is. With the frenetic pace of Christmas and New Year celebrations all but a memory, life here has settled into a laggard pace. Summer holidays of course means no kiddos' lessons, no lessons to think about, no time constraints for orders for the folk that come aknocking on my bright pink door; and though I have a yo-yo quilt that has to be backed for a customer, days here have been filled with oodles of reading, oodles of relaxation (probably a li'l too much relaxation), enjoying the company of some very dear friends visiting from Sydney, and a li'l stitching.

After waving our very important guests goodbye, over the last couple of days I have been  having a wee bit of fun whirring away on my machine, stitching a li'l free hand machine sketching. I have stitched a few cute li'l stitcheries and framed them in embroidery hoops. They were soooooo easy and sooooooo quick to stitch. I had the best fun stitching these pretties.

Just a li'l birdy singing a happy song. The background for this pretty was an embroidered doily found in my doily stash.

This li'l stitchery is inspired by all things Summer holidays. I would love to hop into an old Kombi van, pulling a cute retro caravan and escape for a while........let's go.........!! Just channelling the hippy gal deep within me....care to join me??

Yes indeedy, the suitcases are packed in readiness to explore over hill and down dale!

Another stitchery on an old doily, oozing all things LOVE!

I found this lovely Kokka print; a remnant from a lampshade that I fashioned last year. I decided what fun it would be if I stitched a tree and a li'l girl on a swing over the print. I love how my sketching melds into the background.

  

Another free hand stitching I have been spending my days on is a laundry panel for a curtain, that I wanted to make for a doorway leading to the laundry. This panel  measures 63cms x 32cms.

Now, most people would have a door, but then.....I am not like most people. The doorway is a bit tricky to attach a door, so I decided to make a curtain instead. Soooooo much more prettier than a door.

I dived into one of my hat cases filled with embroidered pretties.........

.........and found this gorgeous panel of a basket of flowers to add to my curtain. It is from a 1930 American vintage coverlet that I acquired many a moon ago. Love it!! This panel measures 43cms x 50cms. Love, love, LURVE!

I also added other embroidered pretties to my curtain; together with fabrics from my stash.

Yes indeedy, a well signed 'laundry' entry way for my significant other; just in case he should lose his way enroute to the place where all things are made clean and wearable again!

And.....of course.....why have a boring wooden door when you can have a curtain, singing a song of prettiness!!

For now, that is the end of my free hand stitching but I am quite sure  there will be a li'l more doodling with my machine in the lazy, Summer days to come.

It's toodles from me....hope you are having a happy day filled with a li'l stitching!

'Tis Christmas

I do love Christmas. I love the way our humble abode transforms as if by magic, into a Christmas wonderland for a month. Each year I love to sprinkle a li'l Christmas alchemy, here and there, throughout our home.

Every year I think about changing our tree which I waxed lyrical about here last year; but I always seem to adorn our elegant tree in much the same way year after year. Boring I know, for those of you who love to have a new Christmas-scape every year, but it's just that I have fashioned so many of the ornaments over the years which hold a sentimental place in my heart. So, as long as I am able to clamber up and down the ladder, festooning frivolous fripperies upon the tree, I will continue the annual tradition. Besides the tree is such a handsome one, sitting rather elegantly in the corner of our parlour......why change it.

This year as I decorated the tree, I did so with mixed emotions. As I placed each name on the tree I was only too aware of those who are not 'here' this year. My daughter and her husband are living for a while in San Fransisco. San Fransisco seems such a long, long way away at Christmas time.

And then there is my sweet, sweet sister-in-law who passed away several months ago. As I placed her name on the tree so many thoughts of her and the lovely times we spent together came to mind. Then there is my mum. I wish I could sit on my front porch and enjoy a cuppa and a piece of Christmas cake, reminiscing about old times and have a giggle with her. My mum was the funniest person I have ever known. She had the best sense of humour, filled with fun, wickedness and drollness. Her jolly-ness was contagious; she had a peculiar way of  making the most serious person laugh. Oh I miss her. Does one ever really fill the empty void that only one's mum can fill.....I don't think so.

Our front porch with a pleasant outlook of our garden, is a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a cuppa in the sun. Of course Christmas has to have a li'l vintage charm added to the mix; don't you think.

A few birdies flew in to sit a while and hang about......it seems they love the ambience of our pretty porch and garden. They wanted to share the message of Christmas; the message that it is a season to reflect on the joy, love and peace that our Heavenly Father gifts to us every day.

Remember Dahlia?? She morphed from a simple dolly peg into the fairest fairy of them all. The tale of Dahlia's magical transformation was penned here. Dahlia decided not to spread her feathery, gossamer fairy wings and go to live with the little girls that stitch in the magic sewing room. Oh Dahlia did deliberate for an age, but she much preferred to stay in the purpley, bluey grey house with the bright pink door. After all there are soooooo many pretties to play with and keep her amused all day long.

Yes indeedy, our front porch is one very pretty and blissful place to sit and dream awhile!

And so........the Christmas magic weaves it's enchantment to li'l corners throughout the house.

This lovely wall quilt was gifted to me by my sweet friend with the magic stitching fingers, Miss Vicki of  'A Quilter's Mission" fame. Isn't it beautiful?? 'Tis perfect in every way.....from the gorgeous pretty pastels (I LURVE pretty pastels) to the lovely quote that says "Angels are always watching over me"......love, love, LURVE!! 'Tis a lucky gal that I am!

There has been many a vase of pretty flowers to welcome visitors who have entered the bright pink door, throughout the month of December.

And so….from my home to yours,

may you have a joyous Christmas

as you celebrate with your loved ones.

May it be a season for making beautiful
new memories!