More Quilting

Hi Everyone,

It's been a couple of weeks again since I last posted ... I've been busy, I guess, but not so much, really, I spose (that doesn't even make sense !!!).

I have been busy with my quilting and crocheting, along with the usual housework, laundry, shopping, socialising.

I have been working on a Snake's Trail Quilt, which we are being taught in a workshop / class that I attend.  Here is a photo of how it is looking so far ... I just finished sewing on the borders, so now all I have to do is put on the batting, backing and quilt it ... a lengthy process, but it will be well worth it in the end.

I have also gotten back into a Kaleidescope Quilt that I began working on last year (incidentally, this quilt was taught in a class by the same guest teacher as the Snake's Trail Quilt).  So far I have completed 12 blocks ... I want to make 16.  I have another 2 cut out, am sewing them together now, then need to cut out another two.  Here is a photo of the blocks I have completed so far, laid out on the fabric I will be using for the sashing.  It should look amazing when it's finished.  I hope to use it on my own bed !!

The weather has been a bit ordinary during the past few weeks, good weather for inside activities, but not much else.  Very cold standing at my school crossings ... I've had a few soggy wet days, not pleasant at all !!  I managed to pick up a nasty cold, which fortunately hasn't lasted very long.

I went out to dinner the other night with some girls I went to school with 30 years ago.  It was lovely catching up, to see how much people have (or haven't) changed.  The food was a bit ordinary, won't go there again.  But we hope to repeat our catch up on a regular basis, I think.

Baron and I also went out to dinner with some other friends the following night.  This was a lovely evening, the venue was great, the food was lovely, the company was such fun.

Baron, Elisabeth and I went for a drive last Monday (it was a public holiday here), and ended up in Walhalla.  They were celebrating the Queen's Jubilee, and the town was chockers with people ... it was a shame, as we couldn't explore properly.  Must go back again another time, as it is a very interesting town.

I went and had a CT Scan on my back on Thursday.  I have an appointment with my Doctor on Monday, so hopefully we can come up with a plan to ease the sciatica pain I have been having at night / in the mornings.  It is improving, but it would be nice if it were gone (wishful thinking, I reckon, but we'll see !!) ... it would be nice to get a decent night's sleep again.

Anyway, not much else to write about at the moment, so I might leave it there.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone, and stay safe.

Take care,

Crafting ... Love it !!!

Howdy, dear Blog Friends !!

Just thought I'd talk about crafts with you !! 

Now, you all must know that I love to sew, am obsessed with patchwork and quilting.  Up until recently, I also did alot of scrapbooking (which seems to have taken a bit of a backburner, with the quilting taking over ... but I will get back into it, I am always thinking of special pages to create !!).  And for the past couple of months, I have also become somewhat obsessed with crocheting !!  In the past, I have also done cross stitch (in fact, I still have a couple of projects on the go), folk art / decorative painting (still have all my paints, plan on doing some aboriginal dot style painting sometime soon !!), along with various other things.

I was taught to knit (although I never really mastered knitting !!) and crochet, initially, by my grandmother.  Also, my initial foray into sewing was thanks to my grandmother, whose wonderful old sewing machine I still have (I originally did a course through Knitwit ... all stretch sewing ... it was great fun, and I used to make heaps of clothing for both myself, and my daughter when she was little).  I know back in the "good old days", many of these crafts were a means to an end ... you had to sew, or you had no clothes !!  Likewise with knitting and crochet !!  These days, I guess, for most of us, these are just hobbies / crafts that we do because we enjoy them, because we want to do them, just because !!

Many of the patterns around these days are very hip and modern, although I guess they all stem back to the original stuff they did "back in the day".  I imagine most of the stitches used in knitting and crochet were invented long, long ago.  I love to look around for older patterns, particularly the hippy style ... not because I want to wear them myself (although I do plan on making a poncho !!), but just because they are fun, and have a history.

Watching old TV programs (like Little House on the Prairie, and Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, for example), and old movies, you often see woman sitting around in groups, doing their sewing together, in a quilting circle, or whatever.  Well, guess what, we still do stuff like that !!  We get together in groups, workshops, classes ... and sit and sew (or crochet, or knit, or scrapbook, or whatever !) together ... hey, things haven't changed so much, really, have they !!!

What I was wondering was, do you think all these crafts, which seem to be making a resurgence, have taken on a new face, have changed, or are they basically just the same as when our grandparents, and their parents and grandparents, learnt and taught them ? Do you think things need to change, to modernise more, to encourage the younger generation to partake in these crafts, so they don't die out ??  I'd love to hear what you think.

I don't intend to ever be "craft-less".  As we get older, we need to keep our minds active (and our bodies, too, of course) ... doing a form of craft helps with this !!  It's a way of having "me time" too. There's not much better on a rainy day, than to be sitting in front of my sewing machine, which is in front of a window, with the heater on, knowing I'm scrumptiously warm and happy, whilst it's yucky outside.

Anyway, enough prattle from me for now ... back to my sewing machine !!!

Take care,