"His" favourite "corner" :)

This would have to be Meg's favourite "possie"!! He has quite a number of them but he does love to curl up on Kirsten's bed and have a snooze. He's now our puss since she moved to Melbourne and I must admit he's well and truly crept into our hearts. Even Ross, who was so adamant that she couldn't have a cat, looks for him as soon as he gets home from work. Needless to say, Ross is the only person whose lap Megs will sit on but I'm the one he curls ups with when it's winter and it's bedtime! Cats are such curious animals...I've always been more of a dog person than a cat but wouldn't trade Megs for the world! His proper name in Ginger Megs after the old cartoon but in a typically Australian way we shortened it to just Megs or Puss he's often called too.

My Favourite Corners

I thought I'd show you some pics of my favourite corners in the house. Here are two, I'll take more pics one day. The one on the left is in my sewing studio. Well, I call it my sewing studio but really it's more a storage area as I mostly handsew and do that in the loungeroom and my sewing machine is on the front verandah.

Some of my cloth doll collection made by myself and my friends. Other special things on the wall also a mixture of my designs and gifts from friends. The three black/silver boxes contain lots of lovely braids, ribbons and other lovely things. The special memorabilia cushion at the back was a gift from Joyce...a very, very special lady.

The other pic is one of the corners in the lounge room. My "shabby chic" area! :) The cute "Weeds" basket was a gift from a good friend. I have all these different little areas in our home as I just love everything! Country, shabby chic, African inspired things etc etc. I sometimes try to "minimalise" but it never works!!!!

Still Friday 26/9

The pic on the right is the detail on the Ruby Tuesday bag - just LOVE the fabrics! The other bag I called "Cairns Central" - not sure why, just seemed a good name! Was fun to do and it has the option of the handle in the top section which was bit tricky but think it worked well OR the shoulder strap which is attached with parrot clips and brass rings. Great bag for shopping I think!

We're having unseasonable weather for spring at the moment and today is really blustery, overcast and quite cool - well, cool for Far North Queensland! :) I'm going to go have a shower so I can warm up and then I'll come back with some more pics and chat.

Jan

Friday, 26th September

This is going to be a BIG catch-up! Been sooo busy lately I haven't had a chance to "have a chat". I've promised myself to set Friday mornings aside to keep the blog up to date so hope I follow through!

I've been busy making bags! This one is not quite finished yet - the girls at R&C are getting some lovely BIG buttons in colours to match the rings on the handles for me. They will be stitched on the straps just above the rings. You can "just" see the pins holding the straps in place at the moment! :) Called "Candy Spots".

The next pic is another bag just completed the other day. I've had a few Kaffe Fasset fabrics for a while now with the bags designed etc but only had the chance lately to get some done. Still got about 5 more designed TO DO yet!!!! This one I called "Ruby Tuesday" - the fabric will tell you why. Blow! The pics aren't where I thought they would be!!! Pretty obvious which is which though I think?

Jan

Mossman Bag Workshops

Had a great drive up to Mossman last Wednesday. The weather was magical but camera was in the back of the car and was too lazy, plus pushed for time, to stop and take pics. The view from the lookout at the top of the range was awesome BUT will get pics next time. Had a great time and the ladies in the workshops enjoyed La Fine della Strada (translates to "the end of the road" in Italian) and I actually managed to take some pics of some of the finished bags! It's great fun changing the applique on each person's bag to match their fabrics. Makes everything more individual. I have a lovely 11 year old in the class who is so keen and LOVES pink! LOL Her Mum comes with her but really, Gillian does most of the work and Mum just is their to guide and also is a help to me as often have beginners in the workshop so they need more guidance. I find them exhausting as the Wednesday night one doesn't generally finish until close to midnight and the Thursday "morning" one never ends until at least 3!!! I know, I know....but like the women to be happy and to feel they've achieved so happy to stay. Must admit that the drive home late in the afternoon is tiring and I generally don't seem to do much on the Friday. My age is showing! Maree, the lady in the white shirt comes to the workshop from Cow Bay which requires a fair drive plus a car ferry across the Daintree. She's a hoot and great fun. Young Gillian is a great kid too and converses with adults really well. She's showing her bag from the first workshop too - you can really see she loves pink! Cathy is one of the owners of the shop and her bag done with the coffee fabrics was a lot of fun. She says it's for her to take when she goes for coffee but you can imagine that owning a shop she very seldome gets to play ladies and go for a coffee. :) Until next time, Happy Stitching!

Jan

Monday, 12th May

Morning! :) It's been a really strange day today - one minute cold and cloudy and then the sun comes out. A real Autumn day! I've been catching up on paperwork today and not sewing which makes Jan a sad girl! LOL Has to be done though and as it's more patterns for the girls at the shop for the BOM I really shouldn't complain. As I'm talking about the girls from the shop, thought I'd add a pic from the launch of the quilt. Cathy is standing behind me and Romona is on the far right of the pic. Jenny is the lovely blonde and she was the one who planted the seed in my mind as well as Cathy and Romona's to do the quilt. She's another wonderful person who lives on the edge of the famous Daintree rainforest and has also designed some projects for Handmade magazine. She and her husband moved up from Jervis Bay (near Sydney) a little while back and have fitted into the north Queensland lifestyle really well! :) Jeff loves to fish and Jenny loves to sew, sooooo they manage quite well.

Remembered I'd said I'd add a close-up!

Jan

Saturday, 10th May

I know, I know! :) It's been a while but been busy plus had my cataract op which went really well. I can't believe how well I can see now!



Thought I'd tell you about the BOM quilt I designed for a shop in Mossman called R&C Fabrics and Linen. Run by two of the loveliest women you could ever meet. Cathy and Romona...good Italian sisters who are married to two brothers! They have such a lovely way with customers and it's a real pleasure to be in their shop. They're excited about the quilt too and have been wonderful to work with. It's called M'ladys Passion and is sort of a bit retro and features shoes and handbags.

I'm having a bit of trouble working my way around the site and not sure yet how to post pics....boy I'm hopeless!!!

I worked it out! I really wonder about my sanity sometimes! In the next few days I'll add some close-ups of some of the blocks. I loved the fabric range we used as it was a little bit "away" from what I usually work in. I AM finding my colour choices are changing which is probably a good thing.

Jan