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posted on September 30, 2012, at 3:44 pm So, back in March, do you remember I got all pumped about the Parson Gray Curious Nature fabrics?
 quilt pattern pieces downloaded & cut out And that I bought heaps of it for all kinds of sewing projects including skirts, shirts, scarves, etc, including the quilt pattern featured on Parson Gray’s website?
 two pieces of the quilt “pie” done Well, I did finish the quilt top in time to give it to Moshe for his birthday on 25th March, but then it’s sat in an ever-upwardly-growing pile.
 finished quilt top So, yesterday, I checked my calendar, and yep, Sunday was all clear! Apart from cleaning out the fridge (which I’ve been postponing for a bit too long for comfort), and one load of laundry (easy peasy), oh, yes, and watching the last three episodes of the final season of Weeds, my whole day was free! Yippee!
I got Moshe to help me rearrange the lounge room furniture, and drap out the two long trestle tables from the laundry, and I sewed up the back for the quilt, pressed it nicely, laid it out over the two trestle tables, got the batting Moshe had just raced out to buy from yippee-they’re-open-on-Sundays Patchwork on Central Park, and Moshe’s quilt is now - finally! - pinned and ready for me to hand-quilt it.
 all pinned Let the quilting begin!
 is it just me, or do quilting pins look so pretty when the light catches them like this? Now to decide whether to change thread colour as I’m quilting in concentric circles through the fabric changes. What do you think, yay, or nay?
posted on April 14, 2012, at 1:04 am But I think you’ll agree with me. It all happened when I pulled out the pattern to read up on what other bits and pieces I needed, ie. apart from fabric. And there it was, in plain black and white:
YOU WILL NEED
80cm x 115cm medium weight, woven fabric
You see what I mean? The Parson Gray fabric I’d settled on yesterday for my new bag, while gorgeous, wasn’t medium weight, was it. And so, the search started all over again. I began to rethink my decision about my beautiful Ink & Spindle fabrics, and the other, yes – medium weight fabrics I’d bought. They’re divine. I love them. I really shouldn’t shy away from using them, even for this project. Even though my bag will be travelling hard some of the time. I’ll just have to be really careful while I’m overseas, and make sure to keep my new bag safe.
So, there I am, pulling out my gorgeous organic medium weight fabrics, and …I found it! The perfect, I mean perfect combination! Check it out…
 My new bag has a name now, too... Winter Nest Satchel. Like it? It’s Ink & Spindle‘s gorgeous, discontinued Lace Fans in Dark Red on Tamarillo, with Kristen Doran’s Winter Nest Panel for the flap. How divine! Agree?
Now I can’t wait to get started! Must pop into Nikki Mallalieu’s to pick up some hardware.
posted on April 2, 2012, at 6:56 pm Well, he gave me an iPad for my birthday! Moshe was more excited about giving it to me than I was to receive it. And I was very excited to receive it! He got me one with the lot – 64gb, 4G ready, all juiced up, as he said. And see the little speakers and a neat attachment thingy that’s for getting my photos off my camera and onto my iPad? They’re from Gita. I was so spoilt this year.
 Gee, look who's on the screen! Yay! It's Austin! Took me all of 4.32 secs to load him up! The very next morning, we went out and bought one of those brilliant Apple concertina covers. After much deliberation and many trips up and down the escalators at Chadstone, I picked the red leather version. A portion of the proceeds from every red cover purchase goes to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. So, done. It’s perfect. Slim, multi-functional (also serves to clean the screen beautifully), and well… it’s red.
However, it doesn’t cover the back, only the front screen. Hmmm. A problem. But no, not really, right? Here’s how I handled that issue…
 The front - it's that gorgeous piece of Ink & Spindle fabric I bought last year |
 Recognize the lining? That's right, it's from my Japanese Fans quilt! I love it! |
 And there's my iPad peeking out! It fits nicely even with the red Apple cover on, although I tend to leave it off when I pack it away |
 I was so annoyed that I didn't have a nice thickish roll of round elastic in my drawer, until I remembered that set of hair elastics I didn't like much! bingo! |
 And here's the back. How gorgeous is that fabric! You should feel it, so soft to the touch. Perfect! |
I padded it all out with beautiful bamboo batting, which gave it a really nice loftiness, without being too thick or bubbly. If you want to see more of the outer fabric, here’s a link. It’s Lara Cameron’s stunning Leuca in Red Orange & Stone. |
 I love the slimline design, fits easily and unobtrusively into my handbag. You wouldn't know it was there! Now, what did I give Moshe for his birthday? I’m glad you asked. You know we share our birthday, yes? Both on the same day, three years apart? Well, I managed to finish the top of the quilt I’m making for him. He liked it. I think. I think he was way more into how excited I was about my new iPad than he was into his quilt. I don’t have any good photos yet to show you of Moshe’s quilt, but I will soon.
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posted on March 14, 2012, at 4:02 pm No, it’s not a typo. It’s what my dressmaking life is about. I just keep collecting fabric, and finding patterns for them, or vice versa, but how many actual garments have I made in the last year? That would be a resounding… two. You thought I was going to say “none” didn’t you! But remember my little Liberty blouse? And then I made a pair of pants? I even made a basic block back in November last year. And since then??? Nothing. Nada. Rien. Gornisht. Nothing!
Wondered why at all? Well, possibly not. I’m sure you have other things going on in your life than thinking about why I’m not making clothes for myself. So that was a silly question of course.
However… Let me show you what my sewing table looks like today:
 a bit ridiculous, right? Hmmm. Can you see how many of the piles having clothing patterns on top of them? That would be… seven. And if you count the piles that have more than one garment planned for that pattern, there are in total ten projects piled up there. I’ll go through them for you…
First up, there are the two dresses I’m going to make for my upcoming trip to Israel. I figure they’ll be cool, and light, and will provide coverage when I’ll need it.
 the Navy and Pink Dress and the Rakuen Dress Next, there are the two tunics I want to make.
 the Loulouthi Tunic and the Plumbego (picked up this fabric for free) Tunic Now, there’s the Tamotsu Mitsi Blouse I’m going to make in this divine Liberty print:
 spectacular colour, isn't it? Next, there’s the beautiful things I want to make with the Parson Gray Curious Nature fabrics I bought from Hawthorne Threads:
 the Darkwater Skirt  a pretty Ocean Scarf, and a tunic from the Starcomb fabric, but not the one in this picture Then, there are the gorgeous Ink & Spindle fabrics for these garments…
 Ginkgo Skirt  and the Sencha Wrens Blouse Quite a few things. So what’s holding me up? What am I waiting, waiting, waiting for??? I’m waiting for my weight to drop before I even think of cutting into any of these magnificent fabrics!
 O. M. G. Am I crazy? I don’t know. Maybe. I just think about all the work that goes into making something, and I think about the fabrics that have won my heart, and when I consider thinking about how it all will look on me, I just can’t confront it, and I decide to wait so more, and I go hard at my diet that day, and possibly into the next day as well. And then, by the third day, it’s all over, and I’m back in the doldrums.
so, so, SO frustrating! And I know, it’s completely self-inflicted. It’s not that I’m uninformed, not knowledgeable, ignorant. I know what to do. I just don’t do it. And I blame things like being too tired, or too hot, or the 2-3 glasses of wine I had with dinner that made me throw all caution to the wind and order that dessert, or I blame my peri-menopausal hormones. I’m doing a fine job of maintaining my weight, so that’s good to know for later on. But I’m determined to get on top of this ridiculous, unhealthy, and frankly, embarrassing problem. Thought if I went public, it might help. So I’m cutting out the sugar, cutting out the wheat, keeping to the smaller meals. You know, a palm-sized helping of protein, 2 of salads and/or veggies, only 1/2 palm of rice or muesli, etc etc etc. And I’ll stick to the 1200 calories that My Fitness Pal (iPhone app) tells me I can eat. I’ll do the things I know to do, in order to get the results I want to get. I really do want to wear those lovelies!
Think I’ll go cut the fabric for the quilt I’m making for Moshe. The fabric arrived last week, and it’s absolutely delightful. It has such a soft hand, and it’s masculine without being boring. I think it’ll be a really beautiful quilt. Hope he’ll like it.
 divine, aren't they? well done, David Butler!!
posted on February 20, 2012, at 10:40 am I’ve been up since 4am. Couldn’t sleep. Not that I wasn’t tired. Just couldn’t get my head to chill out, and my brain to stop thinking about, among other things, these amazing fabrics, and what I’m going to make with them.
 Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Mineral The first time I laid eyes on these – when was that, last August? – I fell hard in love. I knew it would be the answer to all my what-fabric-can-I-use-to-make-a-quilt-for-Moshe conundrum. And now that they’re in the shops, I can finally get me some!
 Parson Gray | Curious Nature - Ocean It’ll also be the perfect solution to the problem of finding the right fabric for a couple of shirts I want to make for my darling. And it’s absolutely PERFECT for a couple of other amazing projects that are now inhabiting my workroom table project list.
These beautiful fabrics are the brainchild of David Butler – yeah, you know. He’s Amy’s husband. And now, he’s a major source of inspiration for me. If you haven’t seen the range yet, you JUST HAVE TO take a look at it. Curious Nature by Parson Gray is David’s magnificent, male-perfect fabric line. Ha! But not just for the guys! I’m making a few things for myself, too! I have to say though, I feel just a teensy bit guilty that I just want to copy everything on the Facebook site exactly, know what I mean? Do you think it is a little … er, what would you call that, … maybe uncool on my part? But hey, don’t they say that imitation the greatest form of flattery? Well, that’s fine by me. I just can’t get these designs out of my head.
So, with the gracious permission of David Butler himself to use his images, here are the things I just can’t wait to make…
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Here’s Amy Butler’s pattern that I’ve wanted to make now for a couple of years. It looks amazing in David Butler’s Curious Nature fabrics, doesn’t it!
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I don’t currently have a pattern for a tunic like this. however, I reckon I have a couple of patterns I could adapt.As for the scarf, it’s gorgeous. I’ll make that from 2 yards of fabric. I don’t know. I just can’t stop looking at these pictures! I’m really besotted with the fabrics! |
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| This is such a great bag! It’ll fit Moshe’s laptop when he’s travelling, as well as his reading glasses, his sunglasses, his iPhone, his keys, and any kind of other paraphernalia that normally ends up residing in my handbag. |
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| And last but certainly not least, here’s David’s amazing quilt pattern which you can download if you like, for free, from the Free Spirit Fabric website. Perfect for Moshe, no? The right colours, the right tones, and drop-dead gorgeous fabric! |
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Welcome! I'm so thrilled you're here! I'm Helene, and this blog is about my sewing, dressmaking, quilting, knitting, and sometimes other craft exploits.
