Leigh's Quilting Blog

My travels - the advantages of quilting

2009-07-12T14:51:00.000+02:00

This morning I went to the Midlands Meander, had breakfast with a friend and stopped off at Piggly Wiggly (see earlier post) for a cup of their famous cappuccino with chocolate mousse on top. I actually went to borrow a dog cart from a friend and took my baby Schnauzer with for some socialisation. One thing I am noticing is that I am more aware of shapes of "stuff" ie hills, mountains, trees etc as I drive. Learning about Design and Design techniques is teaching me to become more aware of my surroundings. It is awesome - wonderful to see all the Aloes next to the road, the shapes of the mountains, trees and the rivers, dams and waterfalls as I drive. As an aside, the reason for going to Piggly Wiggly was to socialise the baby Schnauzer. :LOL - she did get to look at lots of children playing and making a notice etc and I had a wonderful drink.

Concerning family matters, My son at the choir school was nominated as Chorister and Smiler of the week. I am so proud of him.

My own Fabric Postcards

2009-06-21T09:29:00.000+02:00

Today I am making my fabric postcards and am hoping to post them off tomorrow morning. I can't post any photos yet but as soon as my friends have received them, I will post a photo of them. The first 6 are very similar........so the production line is running. I have discovered that I LOVE making landscapes big or small.

My FIrst Landscape

2009-06-19T15:16:00.000+02:00

I am in the process of making a framed landscape. It is about the size of an A4 page and is a gift for a friend (for her birthday) who loves Africa as much as I do. The African tribal dog in the landscape is a photo of her beloved dog that died from liver complications when she was 2 years old. I took a photo of the dog, printed it on fabric and cut it out. The mountains in the background are the beloved Drakensberg mountains. It's the view from my son Ben's school in the mountains. This mountain is called the Rolls Royce because it looks like a car. I added the Aloe in (again a photo printed onto fabric and cut the aloe out) just for the winter effect. The aloes are in full bloom at the moment. The photo below is the fabric put together - I still have to fuse and stitch the pieces together and then frame it.

Sleeveless Pullovers

2009-06-16T15:46:00.000+02:00

I seem to be posting about everything except quilts these days..... not sure if it is a good thing but anyway..... I finished 2 sleeveless pullovers this week - they were both started last winter but I ran out of time to finish them. Now my whole family wants a sleeveless pullover - they are ideal for keeping chests warm in our climate. It does not really get cold enough to wear jerseys but is too cold to just wear t-shirts. So... it's 2 down, 3 to go. I am almost finished the back of the 3rd sleeveless pullover.

This is David's sleeveless sweater.

My Sleeveless pullover:

Bronchial Pneumonia - Advantages

2009-06-13T08:15:00.000+02:00

An old Sage once said that you should find the good in all circumstances. Well..... below is a photo of the advantages of having to lie in bed for days (it took a long time to see this advantage :LOL) - sorry sometimes my sense of humour pops out......

Fabric Postcards

2009-06-12T08:02:00.000+02:00

The 2nd fabric postcard came in the post yesterday. I am like a child in a toyshop with an unlimited budget. Have a look at the photos - it is so awesome. The butterflies are beautiful. I LOVE it.

Thanks to everyone who is taking the trouble to send postcards to then southern tip of Africa. Yippee......

BTW - a head's up to everyone who is expecting postcards from the Southern Tip of Africa, they are in the process of being made - watch your postboxes. I hope the Post Office does not send them overland by ox cart though :LOL

Aloes and more Aloes

2009-06-11T19:11:00.000+02:00

It's winter here in South Africa and the Aloes are flowering. They must be my favourite plants. They come in all shapes and sizes....... I think I should print them on fabric and cut them out to stick on a landscape......now, just to gather some energy to try... maybe tomorrow morning

Completed UFO's

2009-06-01T07:18:00.000+02:00

I have 2 completed UFO's, Yippee, well almost..... The top of the memory quilt is together - just have to pin, quilt and bind it.

The Needlepoint called Morning Glow is finally completed and framed. This has been the most intricate needlepoint canvas I have ever worked on.

My First Fabric Postcard

2009-05-31T08:10:00.000+02:00

On Friday afternoon, my first fabric postcard ever arrived in the post. Yippee. It's beautiful. I LOVE it. It is of the Canola fields new Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. See photo below.... It's a real postcard made out of fabric and sent to me with a postage stamp on through the normal post. Things don't happen like this in Africa. It's amazing.....

UFO Day again

2009-05-23T18:52:00.000+02:00

The monthly UFO day has come around again - my time does fly. I have almost finished all my strips for the memory quilt - am just short 4 photos. This morning I cut the fabric, soaked it in the Inkjet Set Solution, hung it up to dry, am ironing the freezer paper to it and will be printing soon, Yay..... I am also busy with a brightly coloured sampler of a few photos of my kids. I LOVE working with bright fabrics. I will be printing all the photos onto the fabrics this evening.

Chameleon

2009-05-16T14:09:00.000+02:00

I saw a chameleon the other day......what a wonderful experience. They are like "hen's teeth" due to the destruction of their natural habitat. The local people are also very superstitious and believe that seeing a chameleon will bring bad luck so they kill them if they can.

Landscape Quilting workshop

2009-05-13T07:15:00.000+02:00

I have been at a Valerie Hearder landscaping workshop for the last 2 days. It was awesome, so stimulating, yet relaxing. I learnt so much - new ways of matching fabrics and looking at fabrics through new eyes to produce the most amazing landscapes. The photos below are of the 2 completed landscapes - one is still in progress

Easter Saturday Travels

2009-04-11T16:26:00.007+02:00

This morning we went up to the Midlands Meander - about 100kms from where we stay......It was a good break - went to the Groundcover Leather Company to collect a pair of shoes that were resoled and I bought a medium leather body bag. Have finally decided I am old enough to have a handbag :LOL

The scenery is absolutely stunning as you meander through the area - mostly sand roads so one you can't drive fast anyway. I saw the most stunning small waterfall underneath a low bridge.....South Africa has the most wonderful scenery.

After all the shopping and driving..... we stopped off for lunch at the Piggly Wiggly Farm Stall. They make the best Cappuchino in the whole of South Africa if not the whole world. It has real chocolate mousse on top. No wonder they won the best Cappuchino in South Africa award a couple of years ago. Scrumptous....

New Beginnings - New Opportunities

2009-04-08T07:19:00.000+02:00

My contract with a corporate company came to an end at the end of March and due to personal circumstances, I decided not to renew the contract. The last couple of days were very stressful but today...... I am feeling as free as a bird, ready for new challenges and new opportunities....time to quilt... Watch this space - I have been saying that for a long time. While change is often very difficult and painful, it is sometimes necessary to move on with one's life....

Block for Friendship quilt

2009-03-30T11:46:00.002+02:00

I finally quilted again yesterday - yay - something simple. A friend of my sister's asked her to make a block for her friendship quilt so I did a string pieced block. I LOVE string piecing... See photo below..

Pink is out

2009-03-24T13:31:00.002+02:00

Pink is out... it is too garish. Normal is back... Yippee. I have not blogged for ages or quilted for that matter. Been busy with kids and kids' issues...and job changes......The rest is better left unsaid. However, my fingers are itching to quilt.... am hoping to get back into quilting soon. This weekend is another UFO day. What a wonderful opportunity to get quilting again.

The new camera is AWESOME. Iam really looking forward to taking some photos of landscapes and posting them here.

Camera and Pink Blogs

2009-02-12T07:12:00.004+02:00

My new baby Nikon SLR camera arrived home yesterday afternoon. I am so excited. Hopefully I'll get a chance before the weekend to take some photos. We had to charge the battery for a long time last night - the first charge :-). If I have to be honest, I don't have a clue how to use a SLR camera but will go for lessons..... I am so excited about being able to take some really cool pictures. Yes, I know you can take cool pictures with a compact digital camera but still.......

Now I just need to build a design wall and then I'll be able to take awesome photos of my quilts - quilts you say, at the moment, more like quilt pieces......Am hoping to rectify that next weekend :D

I don't know why I changed the colour scheme of my blog to pink yesterday - maybe I was in a pink mood :LOL. It won't last long - will change it to something else soon.

Time flies when you are having fun

2009-02-11T11:23:00.003+02:00

Wow, it's 10 Feb already. Life is rushing by at a very fast pace. The feeling of "Slow down World. I want to catch up" comes to mind :LOL. Isn't there a popular song with this theme?

Life is passing by in a blur of computer programming, guitar lessons, Orthodontist appointments, training dogs in the rain, kids etc. Hey, Quilting was not mentioned in the above blur...... Sad - I will really have to do something about the lack of quilting......It is soul destroying. I am, however, progressing on my Needlepoint work. Sitting in the Orthodontist's rooms waiting provides the perfect opportunity to do handwork.

The wonderful news is that I am considering a new camera - a Nikon D60 SLR camera. I have never had my own camera in my life so am very excited.. so look forward to some fantastic photos on the blog. I just have to remember to take it with me everywhere I go :LOL

Oh yes....my other Burmese is due to give birth to her kittens from about 22 Feb. That's in less than 2 weeks time. She is starting to get quite fat and move slowly. She can no longer jump onto the kitchen counter to get to her food.

Teeth Extractions, Orange Challenges, UFO days etc

2009-01-29T07:34:00.003+02:00

Thankfully, the last parent evening at my kids' schools is over - 3 kids in 3 different schools makes for interesting times - now life can take on a resemblance of normalcy (:LOL - what's normal?) The next big challenge is to get my one son through his teeth extractions on Saturday - he needs 4 out - the baby molars and the adult teeth underneath them. He is having it done under General Anaesthetic. He will be off school for about 3 to 4 days. I'm told there is going to be a LOT of swelling afterwards.

Then..... it's time to get back to the quilting again. On Sunday there is special UFO sewing day. Yay - I can't wait. Being "forced" to quilt is such fun. I have also joined the Orange Project Challenge - need to photograph a pile of Orange fabrics and post them. I LOVE orange and all the values and hues around orange.

Added to all of the above fun, I am started to teach guitar lessons in the afternoons to kids. Life works in circles. It is amazing. I started my post school career as a music student, worked as a professional musician in a military band for a number of years, moved away from music, had kids, became a computer programmer both through necessity and interest in the subject. Now I seem to be moving back to music again. Need to prepare some guitar lessons for next week :LOL

UFO Day and Memory Quilts

2009-01-24T12:21:00.007+02:00

Today is the first UFO day and I am finishing the memory quilt for a friend who teaches David (my Aspergers lad) dog training. It started out as being a wall hanging but there are too many photos - I am just making up all the photos into blocks - log cabin blocks with a twist. and then the blocks into strips. Who knows how big it will end up :-) Having great fun and that's what counts.

The first 3 photos are the strips and blocks that I completed before today.

The next 2 photos are what I did today. It's slow but rewarding work. Because I am designing the quilt as I go, I need to make one block at a time and join it to the next block. Each strip has to be sewn, trimmed and ironed flat before I can move onto the next strip.

Note the cat on the last photo. This is my pregnant Lilac Burmese cat. She has taken to sleeping on our bed all the time. She might even choose to give birth to her kittens on our bed - could be interesting :LOL

I am having such fun I think I will sew some more :LOL

I REALLY need to build a design wall - taking photos flat on the bed standing on a chair does not make good photos......

Saluki Platform

2009-01-20T11:15:00.003+02:00

My DB Saluki loves standing on high furniture and sleeping on the back of the couch. My husband caught her on the table with all the computers on. :LOL It's not a brilliant photo - was taken with a cell phone camera.

UFO days, Start of School, Empty Nests and things....

2009-01-19T11:23:00.002+02:00

The first UFO day is this coming saturday. I am so looking forward to it. I wonder what I should work on.......where to start. Lots of photos are forthcoming - the blog will no longer look so plain :LOL. I miss the bright photos on my blog.

The eldest son was dropped off at his boarding school yesterday afternoon to start the school year today. The house is so quiet. I miss his singing and cheerful "noise". The other 2 kids start school tomorrow and wednesday respectively. They are in day school so need to be dropped off every morning and collected every afternoon. The daughter will be playing sport most afternoons of the week all afternoon so life will soon be back to it's usual hectic self. Life with triplets is certainly interesting. It is actually awesome watching each child grow and develop into the best he/she can be. I love watching it. Maybe there is a series of quilts in that :LOL

All the baby kittens are sold. The last 2 are being collected this weekend. The house will really be empty then, until the next litter of kittens is born - should be last week in Feb - can't wait.

Hectic, Hectic, Hectic

2009-01-16T06:13:00.002+02:00

The summer holidays are over and the new school year starts next week. Each child is in a different school so I have 3 starting dates..... Life is rather busy at the moment - buying school requirements, working etc. I haven't posted any photos of quilts for a long time........ sad but true. Oh well.....will get back to it as soon as kids have settled down in their new classes. This time of the year is particularly difficult for my Asperger's lad - new class, new teacher, new everything. The school has even changed the uniform :LOL

As an aside, I am finding Dena Crain's Ladders and Crystals course very challenging but very stimulating and rewarding. Maybe that's why there are no quilts to be photographed :LOL

Have a wonderful day

Crystals and Ladders

2009-01-09T21:22:00.000+02:00

I have started a design course through Quilt University with Dena Crain called Crystals and Ladders. Wow, it is really challenging me. I have to draw designs with a pencil and paper - Everytime I am called upon to draw, I have a panic attack and run away. This time I am determined to overcome this fear and master the challenge. It is really scary......

World Visitors

2009-01-06T07:03:00.003+02:00

I add the NeoCounter and am totally stunned and amazed by the visitors to my blog from around the world. This is one of the awesome things about blogging - you get visitors from all around the world. Just think - I live on the Southern tip of Africa (well, more South East coast) and I have friends from all over the world. Mind blowing........ I can't wait to visit my blog every morning to see how many new countries have been added to my blog.