It's Autumn

I love Autumn - it's my favourite season. The air starts to get crisp and I get all my winter clothes out from the trunk under my bed and start thinking about scarvess and gloves and hats. Yesterday afternoon I went fungi spotting along the Pipeline track up at Ferntree. So much fun. And so much joy in the cold air. I love to rug up and not overheat when I go walking.

The leaf photo above was taken today at the Botanical Gardens. Too many people around with the Environment festival, but the oak grove was practically deserted. Bliss.

This is a Noro catherine wheel scarf recently finished for my sister. I have one just the same for me, and I love it. It's such a joy to watch the colours unfold!

And another Noro scarf - this one for my father's partner. Again, a joy to watch the colours develop!

And finally a vest for me! This has been on the go for a couple of years now, and I finally got around to sewing the squares together! It's Rowan's Periwinkle vest and I've Ravelled it here.

I have a quite a few interesting knitting projects on the go at the moment and not enough time! I also have a few things queued.

One of my current projects is from an old Patons book from the Second World War. I can't reveal too much, as it's part of a suite of retro knits for a birthday present.

My queue includes this wonderful headband by Kate Davies and a striped vest knitted in a wonderful selection of Cascade 220 heathered blues and greens from the Stash Cupboard.

The knitting projects will never end. This is such a joy and a comfort - the certainty that I can always pick up the needles, the anticipation of a new project, the excitement of casting on, and the sense of satisfaction at a project completed. A blessing indeed.

One down, two to go!

First panel appliqued! It's a little wonky, but I'm sure the others will improve -  I'm quite looking forward to doing more!

The needlepoint purse is done! An interesting and fun exercise in colour shifts using my favourite colours. It's hard to photograph the colours accurately. There is no grey in the purse - what you should be seeing are subtle shades of the blue and green - but they've photographed as grey!

I lined it with bright magenta silk...

And backed it with soft navy leather.

This is my next needlepoint project. The design is from Kaffe Fassett's 'Pattern Library'. I've used this design in needlepoint before and it translates beautifully. I haven't quite finalised my colours yet. I'm wanting something softer and washed out - like the beach. I've been playing around with my skeins for well over and hour now! I can't wait to start colouring this in - I'm using a much softer pallet than usual and am itching to see how it turns out...

The converted baster

Hmmm. After my last post where I vowed I'd never baste, here is the evidence that I have recanted!

Things started off well enough with the yellow flower centres.

Then everything appeared to be ok with the green stems, but the pin actually pushes them out of alignment, and it was tricky to keep them nice and straight. This was when I started thinking that maybe people take the time to baste for good reason... And I could baste all pieces with one long thread and carry the basting from piece to piece to save fussing with a new thread for every piece.

It worked. And it wasn't too painful. And it made the actual appliqueing a whole lot of fun because I wasn't constantly dodging pins. I am a convert.

p.s. I made the sticky black rice pudding, and it was ok. Probably not as sweet as some people would like it, and I think thick coconut cream would be more luscious than milk next time.

No rice pudding...

I was going to make sticky black rice pudding with coconut milk for dessert tonight, but discovered that I should soak the rice overnight to make the cooking quicker... Sigh. It will have to wait until tomorrow. In the meantime I can turn on the tv and get some vicarious food thrills via The Supersizers. I love that show.

I've made some good progress on my Quilted Crow runner. The large squares are all pieced, my plastic templates are ready and I've started cutting out many, many little pieces of felted wool...

I was lucky to already have embroidery threads in colours to match the wool. Tomorrow I will lay out the pieces and maybe make a start on the applique. The pattern says to glue and staple the pieces to keep them in place. This scares me a little. I'll try pinning first and see if I can get away without doing any basting. I don't like basting... At all. I'm comfortable with a certain degree of imperfection! Or lazy - take your pick!

Getting there...

This is my Quilted Crow project in progress. I'm really liking the soft blues and neutrals. I think I'll keep the pallet as simple as possible and not use all the fabrics shown in my previous post.

Once the blocks are done, I'll be attempting some wool applique. I'm not looking forward to tracing and cutting out all the little pieces! Once that's done, though, I imagine the appliqueing will be quite therapeutic.

And now for something completely different! This is a needlepoint panel that will be made into a zippered pouch. I'll back it in soft navy leather and line it with bright silk. I've made quite a few similar little 'colour studies' in the past and felt a hankering to make some more. Unfortunately my camera doesn't quite capture the richness of the colours.

I've already prepared a selection of wools for the next project. I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this. My first idea was to blend shades of orange and purple. Then I wanted a selection of washed-out but intense colours inspired by shells and bits and pieces washed up on a beach. It's all so yummy I'll have a lovely time soaking up the colours while I make a decision!

At last....

Remember this quilt? Well the top is finally pieced! In the end it didn't take too long, but I find it difficult to make time for extended craft sessions when I'm working. Long Service Leave means that hopefully I'll get a lot done over the next few weeks!

The blocks and small border use French General's Rouenneries Deux fabric. The large border is from their new line La Belle Fleur - bought from The Needlewoman in Hobart. Have you been to their recently revamped store? It's beautiful - twice as big with lots of natural light and loads of gorgeous goods.

I'm still deciding what to do about the backing. I'll need around 4 1/2 metres of fabric - quite expensive if I go with more French General, more affordable if I do a homespun cotton in a dark beige.

I'm reasonably happy with my technical skills on this one. Some points are great...

Others are dismal! But with all the busy prints you don't really notice the imperfections, and I'm happy with the overall effect and balance.

I'm looking forward to getting this quilt finished. It's quite substantial at 1.8m X 2.0m, and covers my double bed nicely. Can't wait to choose the binding and sit down for some hand finishing.

My next project is a Quilted Crow cotton and wool applique runner using the fabrics above. This has been on my waiting list for a long time. Has everyone see their wonderful book 'Elegant Quilts, Country Charm'? It's absolutely divine. We should be so proud of our very talented local crow girls!