Quiet days

 Now that the rush is over,

I have had a few quiet days.....

 stitching....

and paper piecing

And putting the last stitches in this quilt.

Posted with Blogsy

Thought I would share this.....

Twas the night before Christmas and all around me
Was unfinished knitting not under the tree.
The stockings weren’t hung by the chimney with care
’cause the heels and the toes had not a stitch there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
but I had not finished the caps for their heads.
Dad was asleep; he was no help at all,
And the sweater for him was six inches too small.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I put down my needles to see what was the matter.
Away to the window, I flew like a flash,
Tripped over my yarn and fell down with a crash.

The tangle of yarn that lay deep as the snow
Reminded me how much I still had to go.
Out on my lawn, I heard such a noise,
I thought it would wake both dad and the boys.

And though I was tired, my brain was a bit thick,
I knew in a moment, it must be Saint Nick.
But what I heard then left me perplexed-ed,
For not a name I heard was what I had expected
“move, Ashford; move, Lopi; move, Addie and Clover
Move, Reynolds; move, Starmore; move, Fraylic–move
over”
“Paton, don’t circle round; stand in line.

Come now, you sheep wool work just fine!
I know this is hard semi, it’s just your first year,
I’d hate to go back to eight tiny reindeer.”
I peered over the sill; what I saw was amazing,
Eight woolly sheep on my lawn all a’grazing.

And then,in a twinkle, I heard at the door
Santa’s feet coming across the porch floor.
I rose from my knees and got back on my feet,
And as I turned round, Saint Nick, I did meet.

He was dressed all in wool from his head to his toe
And his clothes were handknit from above to below.
A bright Fairisle sweater he wore on his back,
and his toys were all stuffed in an Aran knit sack.
His cap was a wonder of bobbles and lace,
A beautiful frame for his rosy red face.

The scarf round his neck could have stretched for a
mile,
And the socks peeking over his boots were Argyle.
The back of his mittens bore an intricate cable,
And suddenly on one I spied a small label.
SC was duplicate stitched on the cuff,
and I asked “Hey Nick, did you knit all this stuff?”

He proudly replied “Ho-ho-ho, yes I did,
I learned how to knit when I was a kid.”
He was chubby and plump, a quite well-dressed old man,
And I laughed to myself for I’d thought up a plan.

I flashed him a grin and jumped up in the air,
And the next thing he knew he was tied to a chair.
He spoke not a word, but looked in his lap
Where I’d laid my needles and yarn for a cap.

He quickly began knitting, first one cap then two;
For the first time I thought I’d really get through.
He put heels on the stockings and toes in some socks
While I sat back drinking Scotch on the rocks!!

So quickly like magic, his needles they flew,
That he was all finished by quarter to two.
He sprang for his sleigh when I let him go free,
And over his shoulder he looked back at me.
And I heard him exclaim as he sailed past the moon
“Next year start your knitting sometime around June.”

-Author Unknown

 

I know I have talked about this before but I hate waste.

I have regular little classes here

 and often small piles of scraps left behind every week.

 So with these I made a "housewife" for each of the girls I teach

..

....and for a few friends (who sew).

Christmas Presents

I have been hard at work these last couple of weeks

making some gifts.

 I kept them under wraps until I had given them to my friends

These little sewing wraps are based on a "housewife".

That  was a little sewing kit my father had during the War

 for his mending and running repairs while he was in the Airforce.

Mine measure 3 3/4" x 11" (approximately) and are made from the remants of my quilts.

if

"If you can keep your head when all about you 
are losing theirs...."

It is such a busy time of year...
I am trying to take time out to just stitch...

Just a few minutes to

Just a few minutes to post this.

I have been saving it.

I started it a long time ago but now I am in a hurry to finish it.

It is made of old kimono fabrics: mostly silk.

The quilt, at this stage, is very light.

BUT

which way up?

A couple more

Class day today and we were working on these trees

I wish I knew how to do a collage of them.

There's a new French patisserie in town.

A first, as the town is not very big.

So we taste tested it for afternoon tea. Yum.

Trash

It's a very popular thing around here to go to the "Trash and Treasure" market on a Sunday morning. 

"Where did you get that?" they say.

"Oh, up at Trash...."

There's fresh fruit and veges

fresh bread and lollies,

second hand books and records (yes vinyl!)

and bric-a-brac! 

Last Sunday was especially good.

Maybe  it was the lovely fine day or it's getting close to Christmas but

I got all this, above,  for $11!

I have been hunting for these sort of vases for ages.

And you know how I love a cup of tea.

It's ready....

Christmas is just around the corner!

Now for the quilting....

 Shouldn't take me long

to quilt this.

Getting started is the hard bit....

Do you like the touch of yellow?

I don't do pinterest but was thrilled to discover this and this.

So I will have to hurry up so I can show the finished quilt!

Roses

My roses are beautiful!

And

if I don't pick them someone else will!

A Change

After working on all those indigos for a while a felt like a bit of a change this week.

 So I made this tree.

It's from a pattern dated 1998

from Animas Quilts

which I have tweaked a bit because I didn't like the shape.

 It involves a lot of folded squares which makes it quite heavy

but I do like it.

And it's a great stash-buster!

And the roses are out here!

Do you like the placement of the mundane (washing the floor)

with the beautiful?

 

Maybe it's

 DARK MATTER

And now to baste.

I would like to use thread but I find my back is not up to all that leaning over the table.

So it's pins.

I like pins. I take them out as I go then I can see what I have done so far.

What's in a name?

 I am amazed how much the colours in this quilt change

depending on the light.

I am not sure which way is going to be up.

This way up?

Or this way up?

Shall I call it

"Into the Darkness"

or is it more like 

"The First Light of Dawn"?

Lay out

I have now made over a hundred of these blocks

but

how should I lay out the quilt?

Like this?

Or as in my previous post?

Posted with Blogsy

Can't stop now

How big should I go?

Each block, a set of four, measures 10 1/2".
Meanwhile

I need to do a bit more unpicking and washing.