July 29, 2018

Beauty in the Bush Wall Quilt and Reflections on Retirement

Retirement is an interesting experience in the chain of life. It's something to which people look forward for many years, but when retirement comes, the expectation and the reality are often miles apart.


Much as they love their spouse, having them around 24/7 can suddenly mean a lack of freedom, a sense of living in each other's pockets, a feeling of needing some space. Others I have met have been bored and unfulfilled. One retired friend moved into a new home for no other reason than to give him something to do - he told me he was bored to tears. (I felt like saying, "Haven't you seen all the needs for personnel that the local charities have?"!)


Thankfully, my husband and I have had an utterly fulfilling retirement. Both the homes we have lived in have been large enough to have our "own space". He has spent his days in research and writing, and supervising students as they go through the process of writing their theses... and I have been designing and stitching!


 But while it is important to have our own separate interests, we have discovered it is essential that we have a leisure activity that appeals to both of us.


We love being involved together in our local Church, but that is an essential part of who we are as Christians and not something we do as a hobby. 


We are ever thankful for the friend who introduced us to the delightful hobby of bird-watching and the Bird Club friends who taught us so much. We have learned together how to use binoculars, how to take in all at once, the size, shape, colour, flight pattern, bill length, tail size and call of that aerial creature that flies past our nose. 


Bird-watching is our connecting point - what we do together, what we talk about after our morning walk, what we do when we go on holidays.


Why am I reflecting on retirement? Because the quilt photos interspersed in this post are a result of the joy and fulfilment we have had in retirement in walking thousands of steps through the Australian bush, binoculars and camera in hand, with the eager anticipation of spotting another beautiful bird.


"Beauty in the Bush" quilt celebrates some of the wonderful treasures of the Australian bush where beautiful wildflowers and colourful birds abound.


I have used appliqué (lots of it!), embroidery stitches and pencils to display some of the beauty and intricacy of these treasures. 


"Beauty in the Bush" measures 105.5cm (41½in) square and the pattern is now available in my Craftsy Store here. The pattern includes more than 60 pages of very detailed instructions and photos. It's not a quilt to rush - it's a work on which to enjoy the journey, to savor every moment and to revel in the intricate beauty of our world.

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Val

July 8, 2018

The Tea Party Wall Quilt

I am excited to show you The Tea Party quilt. Are you like me and find that your 'favourite' quilt is the one you have just finished?


 Well, The Tea Party is definitely my favourite at the moment!


If you haven't guessed, this quilt features the wonderful Tilda Sunkiss range of fabric. I haven't used all the fabrics in the range, (the Ginger just didn't fit what I wanted to convey), but I am in love with the gorgeous colours that I chose.

 

Aren't those macarons just delectable! 
(Confession here: I don't actually like eating macarons but I LOVE how they look!)


and I love working the herringbone stitch to make the ruffled feet. 


These flowers are fussy cut from the fabric


There's some more fussy cutting for the jug so that the red motif showed up neatly, and more herringbone stitch for the handle.


Doesn't the quilting change the appearance of the Sawtooth Star block? Charmaine Ludlow is my fabulous quilter and she lives within walking distance!


  
You must have pretty cups and saucers if you are having a Tea Party!

 

and cakes ... 


decorated with flowers and chains of scallops ... 


 displayed on pretty cake stands!


The Tea Party is featured in Down Under Quilts Issue 184 (see it on the top left of the cover?).


The pattern will be spread over three issues of the magazine (which will be six months) as there's a lot of detail in the instructions. It's a great quilt to take your time and savor all the pleasure of putting it together.


Hmm, I'm feeling a bit hungry after drooling over all the delights of this quilt. Better see if there's anything like that in my pantry!

Val