Bloggers Quilt Festival 2010

http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2010/05/bloggers-quilt-festival-spring-2010.html

(sorry, don't know how to link the button!!)

I am thrilled to be a part of Amy's Bloggers Quilt Festival this year.  I am not a very experienced quilter and I marvel at all the amazing quilts that are being showed in the festival.  Inspiring and amazing.

Even though I haven't made many quilts ~ well, I made them but haven't finished them ~ I have finished one and the quilt I am going to submit has been a big learning curve for me.

Meet my Matryoshka Quilt....

I chose this beautiful Rosalie Quinlan designed quilt as a way to beat the blues.  It was bright, fun and girly!! 

Unfortunately I sewed the blocks on three different machines and for some reason they were all different sizes.  I could have cried.  So I had to cut down the blocks, to make them all match, with some up to 1/2 an inch.  

It still looked okay though, luckily!

With the applique, I started doing it by hand but realised it would take me forever to get it done and I had a bit of a deadline because my local quilting shop asked if they could hang it in their shop for a while.  I had just bought myself a new machine so I could do machine applique (one of the three I sewed this on!) so I thought I would bite the bullet and do the other Babushkas on the machine.

I loved it!  I found the machine applique alot quicker but also I had taught myself a new skill.

So, after finishing I sent it off to the quilters - Val at Blue Gum Quilts in Murray Bridge.  I let her chose what to do and I certainly wasn't disappointed!  Absolutely beautiful.

It is still hanging in the shop - Kirkbride Quilting at Strathalbyn.  I have received many many comments about the quilt and I think it will be one that will stay with me close to my heart.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my quilt!  Please check out all the other quilts that are on show.  Truly special.  There is also a group in Flickr that is showing them all.  Just click and check them out.

cheers   :o)

Small....

I am slowly comin to terms with who I am and how I work!

This post is all about 'small'. 

Weird, I hear you say.

Well, it has occurred to me that I like 'small' in my life.  I tend to feel overwhelmed with 'big' and that is starting to become apparent in my quilting and art.

Look at where I live...

I live on 17 acres BUT I feel overwhelmed by the size of our property and don't venture out to the four corners of the place.  I do love the open spaces and would never, ever live in the city again but BIG just isn't for me either.  I know I don't have to constantly go from corner to corner of our property to appreciate it and I usually only keep to the back yard, my vegie patch and the chook shed.  These are only a smidgen of the area we have.  When we were wanting to landscape, it totally freaked me out and I literally ran indoors and hid!!  Yep, scared and overwhelmed by it all.  So, it never really got done.
I adore the Open Gardens that people have and show off but I never really understood how I felt about large gardens until I had to do one!!

Take photography for instance...

I adore macro!  If I can take a photo of something tiny, intricate and SMALL then I am one happy chappy.  I don't do vistas nor huge landscapes.  I want to get down and take the photo of the leaf, ant or the pattern in the mud!

Now, take my quilting....

I am really enjoying doing the blocks for my swaps.  I am having a bit of trouble finishing any LARGE quilt that I need to get done.  Does it intimidate me?? I don't know.  Should I just concentrate on mini quilts, or lap quilts (getting a bit too large I think) or wall hangings??  Art Quilts come to mind.

This got me thinking about all the 'SMALL' in my life.....

I have just embarked on a new creative journey...

Silver Jewellery!

I did a workshop on the weekend and ended up making a pendant and cuff bracelet.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with the small pieces.  The cutting, filing, polishing! 

I would love to incorporate the silver work (or metal work, as it can be copper etc) with art quilts and I think I can do it. 

So, the question still remains.....am I afraid of big??

Afraid? NO

Intimidated? MAYBE

Is it a problem?  NOT AT ALL

The whole process of finding out about who I am and where I am heading is part of being creative.

What do you think?? 

Did you have a turning point in your creative journey? 

A lightbulb moment?

Till the next time (and I am hoping it won't be too far away!)

Something old....

Snappy Friends has a weekly challenge and this one is 'Something Old'.

There are many things I could photograph to show this ~ our house (built in 1880), our barn, our cars, my husband ~ LOL!!!

No, I chose this photo.  It is one of my favourites. I wonder how long it was leaning on the wooden bench to get this look?....

AWOL

I feel the need to apologise.....

I went AWOL....

I abandoned my Snappy Friends, my Quilting friends and anyone else who came across my little blog and stayed for a while.

I have been doing a bit of this

GARDENING

and a bit of this

BODYTRIM

and a bit of this

ENJOYING THE GORGEOUS AUTUMN WEATHER.

So, I am now back and hoping to get my little blog back up and running again.