week 38: for my husband

my husband is very supportive in all my crafty endeavours, crusades and conquests. he has been dragged around numerous shops, craft markets, exhibitions here and abroad and is begged to look for yarn, fabric, magazines on his business trips to spain, germany and england. poor man, i will never forget the first time i decided to take my sewing machine over to his place. he merrily went off to gym with his mate,  masses of testosterone in attendance, and knowing they would be gone for three hours, i spread myself across his dining room table. actually had i laid MYSELF across his table, he may well have been pleased but as it was it was my sewing machine, pins, cottons, fabrics and patterns spread out. he didn't recognise his bachelor pad and for a couple of hours I was nervous about where our relationship was heading. but clearly, he got over that, and 14 years on, he kinda expects my stuff to be everywhere.

so, when i saw the union jack block in my new, drooled over, delicious modern quilt blocks book, i showed him. and yes, its the first time he truly "ordered" a quilt. So dahling, this ones for you...week 38: just jack from modern blocks compiled by susanne woods -

and you will never guess what i found for the backing?! its a curtaining, but was told it is 100% cotton, but even if its not, i had to have it, i heart it, and this will be the back of my englishman's quilt....

also this week, I am busy with another of these wonderful modern blocks - this one is called pinball machine in the book...i am currently hand quilting it, and having tremendous fun, so TA DAHHHHH week 38: pinball block nearly done.

I have also added to my scrappy quilt, am pleased with the colours so far...

(and my peeka cat tried to slot himself into a compartment of my sorted scraps box...)

AND to top it all off, I finally completed my boy's dinosaur quilt....handstitched the binding last night, then covered him up as he lay sleeping....so thats this months UFO completed.

Signing off,

a very SMUG me.

xoxoxox

A Mother's Tribute to a Mother

Glennis May Lyle: 24 May 1938 - 10 October 1993

I don't know whether I am as obssessed with crafts and sewing as I am due to my family background, and in particular due to my mothers influence, or whether thats just the way my brain works. I can remember my mom always busy with her hands, sewing, embroidering, knitting, painting, screen-printing, wood-carving, beading...she was a jack of all trades and never with idle hands.

When I was 5, she taught me to embroider, I remember a pencil drawn house on a piece of calico, which she encouraged me to outline with back stitch. When I was 6 I was knitting coat hanger covers. When I was 11, I was making my own clothes, and she taught me to crochet. When I was 13, I taught her to cross-stitch. In high school I made knickers for my friends, and beaded necklaces.

We had a large studio room on the ground floor of our house, accessible by stairs outside. She used to teach morning classes - everything and anything ito hand stitching- ribbon embroidery, embroidery, candle-wicking, and painting - as well as printing. She also had two evening classes a week. I used to love seeing what everyone was doing, and I was immensely proud of my clever mother. She kept our family afloat with the income from the classes, but more than that it fed her need for creativity, which I understand only too well. She was generous of spirit, and loved passing on her ideas, and talent.

My friends always got a handmade gift - painted T-shirts, dolls clothes, pictures....

When I was 7, she was diagnosed with cancer. And given less than a year to live. My younger brother was 5, my older brothers 17 and 15. She was 43 years old. Refusing to give in, she got a second opinion and was given a slightly longer time estimate, I can't remember how long. But for 10 years she bravely fought leukemia, on a drug trial of tablets rather than the more aggressive radioactive therapy. She was determined to see her younger two children finish school.

In her final year, my first year studying, she had several blood transfusions, but I think she knew that her body was shutting down. I so admire her strength, she never ever complained or said Why Me? She accepted and lived to her fullest. A week before she died, she was admitted, and refused the wheelchair offered. She was going to walk in. The last thing she told me was had she known what drugs they were going to drip into her, and how awful she would feel, she would have jumped into the harbour. That was the first time I heard her admit defeat.

On her final night, she had already lapsed into a coma, but I know she could hear me pleading for her not to leave us. I was selfish. A selfish teenager who couldn't imagine life without this beautiful mother of mine. A tear rolled down her face.

True to her generous self, she waited for me to leave the room before taking her last breathe and passing over to another place. She is not lost to us. She is always with us, clearing the way of boulders.

If I am even half the person she was, then I am satisfied.

To my angel, I love you forever, I think of you always, and everything I create is a tribute to you.

xoxoxoxoox

week 37: inspiration strikes

after a few weeks of wondering if i really REALLY needed to put myself through this challenge, inspiration has struck. In the form of two books. The first is my mothers day gift, Sunday Morning Quilts. The second is the book Modern Quilt Blocks. These two precious books, are going to keep me going through some tough times!

Sunday Morning Quilts is all about using those scraps...brilliant! No need to spend money on more fabric. Have a look at how my pure scrap quilt is shaping up...

my good friend received her birthday gifts this weekend. so they have made their way to their rightful owner...problem is I never thought for a minute she was a reader of my blog, so having happily posted her gifts up online, I thought my suprise was safe....nope, she mentioned to me she loves my blog, and oh dear...confirmed when i gave her the gifts that she had seen them online! Lesson learned: if you have a blog, your friends may actually read it!

i had promised to show you my bunting, but oh oh, have been side tracked by these books....look here....

i devoured these books, read them from cover to cover, and kept sneaking away to gaze at the pages full of inspiration.... so expect a few modern blocks over the next few weeks.

Here is the first of my modern block phase, a union jack, a must make given my english husband, who on seeing the mini sample, now wants a full size quilt of just jacks...

i just cannot decide whether to use all my scraps, producting jacks of all colours, and tones, or to stick to red and blue jacks? Here is the traditional red and blue, and then a green and pink...

whoops - better get better at matching up the lines! The first jack now resides on my shopping bag..

the pink green one just pinned on for comparison.
So week 37: just jack paper pieced block done and dusted. Now for the larger version quilt, where the blocks will be 12 x 12 inches. these small blocks were about 6".
Oh, and some blocks added to my scrap quilt.
See you next week, prepare yourself for some more blocks...or maybe the bunting will win over next weeks Ta Dah.

couldn't resist this scrap..perfect for a new blanket for my little wooden cow......you will just wait and see where the creative juices head.....

xoxo over and out. Chantal.

week 36 and Mothers Day

On my mothers' day, I always request a little time for me to craft. Selfish, I know, but thats the only gift i ever want! Today was no exception! After a lazy start - croissants and tea AND chocolate in bed, emerged from under the duvet at 11am to head to a mothers day tea at sean's folks place. then a spot of shopping - for the kids! and an impromptu lunch. Back home now and got a little sewing done....here are those pretty scrap piles i promised you a glimpse of, as well as my design wall so far...

so, now to go and watch my mothers day show - the kids in their new hip hop trackies doing somersaults on the trampoline....happy mothers day all you lovely moms xoxoxox

more week 36

more week 36...am typing this stretching around my sewing machine..inspiration has struck, its friday afternoon, the light outside is gorgeous and i need to share my scrap quilt with you....
it never started well at all, i thought i would dive into my scraps, being on a tight budget and all, but things never quite got under way. so i started sorting my scraps into colour. still not working. last night I started sorting prints and solids per colour, as there was something not quite right with my scrappy quilt. yes i want a scrappy look, but i also want it to look great and funky.

here is how it started...

and here I have removed the offensive blocks with too much print...

and here it is with more solid colours, tone on tones and dotty spotty prints. doesn't it look better? more rounded and together, and strangely enough, has more depth? I think so too so will continue in this vein until i have seriously whittled down my scrap pile. Which is right now a very pretty, co-ordinated, ironed and folded, sorted into piles pile.

..now isn't that much better? so MUCH happier with it. but now i have quite a few little orphaned blocks that I will have to make a "printy" scrappy quilt with for the kids camping trips!

tomorrow, if i get a little time to me, I shall photograph my pretty scrap piles...

and oooohhh so excited, my books have been posted and i should hopefully scurry to the post office next week to collect. Can't wait...

march mosaic..working backwards, i know....

my attempt at an April mosaic

week 32: trip around the world. Yes, dragged this one out of the must finish crate. yep, its a crate. a huge big, ugly crate of half finished objects. how pretty is this? first trip i ever did was in black red and white japanese prints for my older brother. this one is more girly...

week 31: seriously lacking in inspiration, so trying a new kit i just got from creatively yours....was fun to just create without really thinking. should do that more often. kits highly recommended. you can get down to the job of creating, rather than trying to think what and how you should do something!

week 30: yes, i have started ANOTHER jersey..so much quicker than knitting for myself!

(note: its now close on week 36, and having knitted this up in a week, its been sitting...i hate sewing shoulder seams..must get it done before she turns nine!)

week 28 and 29: missing in action. as result, will add two weeks to the 52 week challenge to make it a 54 week challenge. for the purists. and for my anal self.

weeks 33-36 and MUMPS

Mumps. A swearword in our house. I couldn't believe it when the doctor told me it was what my son had. Off school for a week. When I got it, I believed it. Boy was it sore. Gives new meaning to lady lumps. Off work for a week. Now the other E has it. Off school for a week. We are heading into week four of Mumps. The Mumpheads we shall henceforth be known as.

In between Mumps, and Birthdays, and belated Birthdays due to Mumps and long weekend in the van, I have managed to be fairly productive...

Week 33: Having sorted said scraps, decided to try scrappy triangles....from Crazy Moms Quilting blog...am also eagerly awaiting her book, Sunday Morning Books...ordered from Loot. Can't wait to sneak off to the post box and retrieve my book. then spend many minutes and a cup of tea smooching over the beautiful quilts.

Start with a template, for paper piecing.

Randomly sew scraps to it. I found out pretty quickly that scraps and random, however jolly sounding, do not have a good relationship. Crazy Moms Quilting blogger has decidedly matching scraps, of the same tone, value and print style. My haphazzard piecing looks...haphazzard. So sorting scraps by colour alone is not good enough, one needs to sort by "style" of print. Little important note to self made.

Week 34: scrap basket made with....yes, you got it first time..scraps!

Week 35: Bodum Cover because the next best thing to bodum coffee is HOT, PRETTY Bodum coffee! this wool is called Spice, found in a little habby and wool shop in Ballito.

this is a special gift for a special friend, so shall be making another for us. this bodum is about 4 cups, and i cast on 60 stitches, knitted four rows rib (k2 p2) top and bottom. The loops are crocheted on.

Week 36: Wow I am ahead of myself, week 36 starts Sunday, so whooohoooo! This took me a day to make, on and off. Was such happy yummy colourful fun. Thanks to Attic 24 and Lucy. Pop along there for the tutorial, and leave her a wool stash donation

well, thats it for now folks! am working on some pretty knitted cotton bunting for the van. Will show you in week 37 xoxoxoxo