stitched by roma

 there was a great family gathering o's just recently
as noted in 'navigating' t'was in the poconos in pa

that meant Oscar had the chance to play with his international cousins

roma - the name my mum gave herself
to be called by her grandchildren!

well roma ... came to me a few months ago

"I would like to make flicka, huddy & ity
a quilt each ...

so they can be wrapped up in my cuddles when i am not with them

lovely idea isn't it

kind of stems from the Prayers & Squares aethetic

a patchwork quilt ministry that my mum is very invested in
so she planned each one to suit personality & age
 &
here they are
the moment they were given
special labels from a special roma

 let me show you each quilt ...

 

this babuska quilt is for flicka

she is now at school & 

is such a sparkly chirpy little mother-hen

great way to use this fabulous fabric hey!

its from suzy ultman's range little kukla byrobert kaufman

there'd be some machine & hand quilting stitching done on these quilts

... with some help from me
as you know i love the tactile nature of
little stitches

 these bright blue & greens triangles

are for huddy who is 4 ....

love this fabric range too
its bungle jungle by moda

by tim & beck 
roma used this quilt design

 equilateral triangles

not easy to piece perfectly but she's done it

here he is playing with his quilt like a cubby house

 we have a bit of a thing for bunnies in my family

roma gave each of her grandchildren a special bunny when they were born

Oscar's has been so well loved that we actually now have a few

as the first one needed severe surgery!
i had one a long time back too ...

 this 3rd quilt is for 'ity' who is 3

an extraordinary amount of work in this one

the quilt design is by the red boot quilt company

the bunnies are all machine appliqued

she decided to use lots of flowery fabrics in between
instead of appliqueing flowers as well
good solution i think

& their faces

take a close look

done on her fancy janome

love the quirky faces & those glasses!
cool huh?

love the response ity has in this pic
sweet to see her curled up with all that time care  & love
hasn't roma done an amazing job

round of appluase for you mum/roma!

o's creative talent

 umm..... there may have been some

favourite designer-y purchases made

whilst away .... an irish, english & american .... 3 women

 a few especially treasured orla kiely

pieces .... had a funny experience standing in a sunny

pedestrian lane way waiting..... for the big boy 

whilst watching the little boy scoot up & back

woman after woman walked past me

& all i could see were orla kiely bags!!!

i accosted an innocent lady .... excuse me but???? where?

there was a haze over my eyes &

i was off in the direction per her description

the melamine tray has already found pride of place

& it looks at home hey?

the little plate is to replace a treasure

& the bag.... 

well that was my month long saving on all those coffee stops!!

ooh the bag is yet to have its first outing but squeee!!

 the english lionheart .... well is none other than ms cath kidston

now i'm not a flower-y kinda girl

but she is the british queen of modern vintage

& that i do do in moderation

stay tuned as there might be a project or two sewn from her book

& spot those tea towels there's an idea assigned to them.... love a bird i do

yes - going to 'put a bird' on something!! he heeee ....

found a lovely little bricks n'motor

quilting store nearby where my brother & family 

live in the usa

stitchwell fabric

4007 skippack pike, skippack pa

you should go in there if you are even remotely local

& say hi to lindsay for me

we had a little chat & she looked up blog right there & then!

its such fun making crafty friends on the other side of the globe!

she had this quilt 'rosalie' designed by valori wells 

... made up & i was smitten

now its been mentioned this week that i quilt

but looking at my blog of late you'd not be so sure of that!?

i usually am not a follow-a-pattern quilting person

or at least i start out with a pattern & then i tweak it

but i just love these oversized hexagons

& i figure a great deal of maths is involved

& that i do need to 'get right' & follow the wise!

so follow a pattern i shall 

.... however i have a few others to complete first!

photo is from stitchwell fabric's web page

heART felt

 a little love from afar

 be it written on a brick

cooked up & served on a plate

secret messages shouted from the rooftop

hooked & yarn bombed
dusty love notes sum up those goodbye travel moments

or forged by fire a long time back

 love is all around

craig is always saying that i see the world a little differently

& that i notice the small things many don't

whilst away...

little heart-felt signs kept popping up

for me to spy ...

this last one of a sweetly crocheted heart in red

was one of many on the handles & door knockers 

all along the street

of a small historic town in the costwolds

someone's sweet message to their world

... & now that we are home: where the heART is ....

 here are a few famous heARTfelt words ...

"Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it." 

– Braveheart

"Don’t forget I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, 

asking him to love her." 

– Notting Hill

"My heart is, and always will be, yours." 

– Sense and Sensibility

“You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because 

reality is finally better than your dreams.” 

― Dr. Seuss  

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. 

You really have to love yourself to 

get anything done in this world." 

-- Lucille Ball 

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, 

while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” 

― Lao Tzu 

navigating

we're fresh faced from a trip around the globe

seriously .... kinda didn't mention it did i?

so been away for a month

did manage one post

t'was stashed in draft

so you maybe didn't realise i was mia?

we caught up with all my family in pennsylvania

only the 2nd time we've all been in the one place at the same time

all 12 of us - 3 generations

had a treat & stayed at a 'lake house' in the poconos

was little slice of summer in the woods

moustache a good time

camp fires and 'smores

then onto those green green hills

give me a pint of gat and a bottle of bulmers

seems us saxon-ish aussies are a whole lot more irish than i'd ever realised

donkey's years

wrecked

like hens teeth

in the boot

chips

wear a jumper for the fierce weather hey!

there's bug goin' round

doin' the washing

so yeah twas a great time we had beyont

do you get all that? and all?

aye its a fine day for young ducks

many hands make light work

castles were built a stone at a time

you are what you think

a watched kettle never boils

there's no fool like an old fool

making a start is one third of the work

"Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, 

just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul." 

Oscar Wilde

then onto the land of lion-heart
from the northern lakes to stone circles

london town & derwent pencils

big ben & lily whites
national railways museum

the thatch of the cotswolds

castles lanes valleys and fields

ancient baths and stories untold

 in case that was all goggly-goosh?

we were 4 weeks away ...

flew east across the pacific & away

to the usa, ireland & england

these images are all of a little 'travel quilt' i'm making for Oscar

it did travel with us as something to keep my hands busy

whipped up some border piecing the night before departure

backed pinned & bound 

took in hand perle thread & needle

fyi safety pins are just fine going through 'security' 

in some of the largest airports of our world!

moisturiser however in quantities greater than 100ml is not

not as much chunky stitching was done as intended

but the woven fabric badges

of the countries to where young Oscar (the lucky boy!)

has traveled in all his 5 years

well ..... they were collected!

the intention here is that on the back of the quilt

over time these badges will be sewn & most likely added to

he's a trouper of a traveler ....& got right into it

if i had to share just one travel hint for 

taking a 5 year old on such an adventure ...

i'd say pack a scooter 

..... didn't hear him say even once: i'm tired!

i hereby promise that there will be some

crafty historic or interesting stories to tell

with some real life 'pics' sometime soon

how do you choose from 1067 photos?

i'll work on that .... 

& another 'new studio' sum up post of on the now finished space

will come someday soon too

world map panel & coordinating fabrics are
love it

'What a World'

by P&B Textiles designed by Jill McDonald

 May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

sewing for me

back at sewjorn

there was some lovely encouragement
and invaluable advice

from friends & expert garment makers!

i'd purchased some awesome grey & black ponti knit

that very quickly became a 

Fay Skirt & a Laura Dress 

both designed by StyleARC

here i am in my laura dress...
they were simple to sew & their simple lines are very me

comfy to wear & they have been worn a lot!
....for other more quirky costume sewing:
look back at my previous post
about partying like a parrot!
joining in with
make it wear it