January 10, 2016

Don't get my tail wet!

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I LOVE umbrellas! My dream as a child was to possess my very own pretty umbrella, and I have never lost my joy in having one in my hand. I've even been known to walk down to the shop in the bright sunshine and heat, with no rain about, parading my pretty parasol. 

You won't be surprised then, that umbrellas feature in quite a number of my designs. Here's another one - "Don't get my tail wet" coin purses:


Once again, I asked my clever grandson to draw the designs for me:


I just love this cute kitty with his umbrella:


I couldn't help smiling as I stitched him:


You can find the pattern for both purses in Patchwork & Stitching Magazine Vol 17 No 3.


I'm happy to say that the new
free Block of the Month quilt for 2016
is finished and this week I plan to write up the instructions ready to launch it next Sunday.


I have just hung the quilt on the wall of my sewing room and it has added a sweet, fresh look to the area. 

At the end of last year, I decided not to take a lot of commissions for a couple of months so that I could have time to prepare the free BOM, catch up on some personal sewing, tidy up my fabric drawers and generally start the new year in a more relaxed atmosphere. It was a good decision and I feel as though I have had time to be refreshed, even if the drawers are still calling out to be put in order!

The highlight of my relaxed days last week was that my husband and I went to see the new Australian production of Les Miserables, It was absolutely stunning and amazing - brilliant music, realistic scenes and very emotionally moving.  I spent a couple of hours preserving peaches yesterday and relived the moments by playing the CD of the music. It made a tiresome job go much faster!

Don't forget to come back next week for Block 1 of the free Wall Quilt.

Val

4 comments:

Connie said...

So cute and I think it is wonderful that your grandson helps. I've always wanted to make a coin purse, but they look really hard.

Anonymous said...

I love the music, and I'm so glad you two got to go see it live. How fabulous to can peaches to that music! Your grandson is a great little artist, and these two designs prove that once again. They are so adorable and choosing one would be so hard!

Ondrea said...

How cute are those stitcheries! I am looking forward to your BOM this year. I still haven't sandwiched and quilted last year's though.

Nanna Chel said...

Val, I am so pleased you took some time to relax. Love the work your clever grandson did.