Little Apples

I’ve fallen in love with this fabric…

For a paper doll lover like me, this is absolute perfection.

It’s from a range called Little Apples designed  by the very talented Aneela Hoey.

On her blog you can see a lots of beautiful items made from this range and have a sneaky preview of her next range.

Of course my fabric no longer looks like this. I’ve already cut it up and started stitching it together. I have kept the selvedges though…

those lovely little turtles marching along the edge of the fabric deserve to be kept.

Twenty-one Years

That’s how long we’ve known and loved Ashleigh.

Today is her twenty-first birthday. On the weekend we celebrated with  a Hollywood themed party. While Ashleigh elegantly filled her role as Audrey Hepburn, my Pete, Pippy and I stepped straight off the Starship Enterprise to join the party.

Happy birthday beautiful Ashleigh. May you live long and prosper and may your every day be filled with love and happiness.

Home Office

When I went to Brisbane I was working for a corporation writing materials to support teachers. I had taken an eleven week secondment, but after four weeks I was asked to consider extending the time and staying in Brisbane for longer. This was an offer that pulled at my heart. On the one hand I was LOVING the work I was doing, taking advantage of and really enjoying the city life and I was liking who I was while I was working so hard professionally and keeping home by myself. On the other hand… were my Pete, Ashy and Harry and Pip.

I did take some time to think about it. In an ideal world I would have leapt at the opportunity, but I knew that I needed to come home to my family.

I made that decision, knowing it was right, but still with a small tug of longing to continue a job I was loving and doing well.

Sometimes fortune favours the brave, good things come to those who wait and everything works out for the best because before I left Brisbane I was offered an opportunity to continue my job, working remotely from right here at home.

So, now every morning I head out to my home office and spend my day researching and writing.

I think I really like being a writer. Some days I get a huge rush of steam and write 2000 words that flow straight from my fingers. Other days I agonise over 500 words, then delete 400 of them before I’m finished.

Luckily, no matter whether I’m writing well or struggling to find my voice, I do it all in an ergonomically sound chair…

Since last we spoke…

• Pip went on a skiing trip with his school. He survived a blizzard and, despite our best guesses, broke not one single bone.
• Pip turned 17 on his ski trip and bought himself a pocket watch, as any gentleman would.
• I had a birthday and turned considerably older than 17. I bought myself nothing because I need nothing.
• I returned home from my extended working trip considerably wiser, stronger, happier and luckier than I’ve ever been. (This information should be shared in a post of its own.)
• I worked a production line of my own creation and made lots of Millie Molly Dolly bags. Please click here to let Imogen remind of you of what they are in case you have forgotten.
• My touch typing improved immensely. I have no actual evidence of this, but you should see my fingers fly. Words appear on the screen already typed before I’ve even thought them.

I tell you, life is good!

Nearly Home

A quick post to let you know that all is well. This afternoon my Pete will arrive here and stay for one week, then at the end of that week we will drive back to Townsville together.

The past eleven weeks of living alone in Brisbane have been more than just worthwhile. So many fabulous opportunities have been afforded to me as a result of the work that I have been doing. I have enjoyed some aspects of living alone, but I know that life is best when I spend it with my Pete. I doubt that he’d be quite so willing to spend this much time apart again.

Very soon I’ll return with photos and stitching and interesting moments. I look forward to seeing you there too.

Walking at Work

Last week at work I had to visit  a conference centre in the city. It was a fifteen minute taxi ride to get there in the morning traffic.

The morning was just beautiful with cool air and bright sunshine so I decided to walk the thirty minutes back to my office rather than wait for a taxi.

As I  headed down the hill to my left I saw the blue sky peeping through the buildings.

To my right I found a quiet oasis in ANZAC park.

I couldn’t help but sit for a short while and ring my Pete.

It seemed just the right place for a chat.

Traditions

A new tradition is easy to begin. If you have lived by yourself for three weeks and done the same thing each Saturday afternoon, then a new tradition has begun.

Each Saturday I take a long walk to the city and back. I generally have a contrived purpose for the walk and it fills three hours of my day.

On the way home I feel so virtuous and well exercised that I stop at the local French themed cafe and buy myself two pistachio macarons.

One should never mess with tradition.

Sweetness

My sister-in-law cameto visit me recently. She was here from Townsville on a work trip. It was so good to see someone from home and she always comes with lots of stories to tell.

She also came with gifts of sweetness.

Before you judge, the coconut ones were absolutely delicious. The pretzel ones were not so much.

She also brought me sweetly perfumed hyacinths.

These beauties survived for the longest time. Each afternooon when I came home from work and opened the door to my unit I was greeted by their lovely scent. Their colour faded as they got older, but not their perfume. It was such a luxury to have them in my kitchen.

These flower photos are dedicated to the memory of Sarah, whose every photo and every word shared joy with her blog readers.

It’s a Hoot

Have you seen the special edition of the Quilter Companion magazine?

If you’re a quilter I bet you have some precuts in your stash. Charm squares, jelly rolls, layer cakes – this magazine has projects using them all – including…

It’s a Hoot designed and made by ME!

As always the magazine has a beautiful layout to go with my pattern.

It makes me very proud to see it.

Keep Me Warm

Once I knew that I was coming to live for a time in Brisbane I made it a priority to make myself some new quilts. This is perfectly logical. Some might worry about whether they had packed enough undergarments to be away for eleven weeks, I worry that I’ll have new quilts.

I needed one that was cosy and girly. One that was just the right size to cover my legs while I sit on the couch alone.

You could easily make this one too.

You’ll need a jelly roll of Sherbet Pips fabric. I took out all of the grey and red strips to leave myself with these beautiful girly fabrics.

Lay out the strips in an arrangement that you like – be very careful of the directional prints. You don’t want puppies running upside down on your quilt.

Once you’ve stitched all of the fabric strips together trim about two inches from each side. This gets rid of the selvedges and neatens up each side.

Prepare your quilt top for quilting, then quilt across it with long lazy stipples.

Cut 5 two inch strips from a binding fabric. I used pink to bind mine. Stitch them together with diagonal seams to make one long binding strip.

Attach the binding to the front of the quilt with a quarter inch seam.

Fold the binding to the back and hand stitch into place.

Now…

you have a beautiful snuggly quilt. Perfect to warm you on a cool evening when your family is a long way away.