Wow where have I been

Around the world blog hop!

Well awhile ago I was nominated byA Few of My. Favourite Things and had previously been asked to blog for the hop from my friend Kathi at Design Originals by KC

What am I working on?

The start of the Trifle Dish Quilt

Some inspiration from my garden, Papa Gontier Rose

Love calms the sea progress

I have also put fabrics aside to do Bonnie Hunters Grand Illusion mystery quilt, plus I have a few others in the think tank which will be done next year.

Why do I create?

I create to stay sane, I love making things and have been around creative people all my life.  My parents, grandparents and Aunts and Uncles also made things not only out of necessity but for a way of life.  I feel privileged to have been raised in such a way to learn many things.  My father taught me how to make wire chain, he made all of his own dog chains and boy was that necessary when we had so many.   My mum made our clothes etc, I learnt to knit and crochet before I went to school.  I used to sew on the treadle machine at home and one of the best things as a child was making paper stamps from magazines, it was a great way to practice to sew straight lines without wasting thread.

Nowadays I mainly quilt and I love to create my own patterns and I am trying to push my boundaries and create all different styles from modern and old techniques.  I really love to hand quilt but am exploring the new but old technique of big stitch or utility quilting.

How do I differ from others?

My style of quilting is always changing, one way I differ from my friends is that i just love my hand quilting and that I love exploring different colour combinations.  I also like mathematical problems so this helps me cover that aspect and expand my mind.

Where and how do you create?

I find inspiration everywhere, I love my garden which is full of birds and other wild life.  I will often find colours emerging from new leaves and the sunsets or sunrises very inspirational.  Other times it will be a floor when we are shopping or a wrought iron gate.  Fellow quilters and hand crafters also help me find new ideas and ways of creating things that I never thought would be possible and to those people for giving me encouragement and the energy to continue I thank you.

Once again I would like to thank Carla for passing the Baton to me to do this blog, it has been a little bit since I blogged as my life had become very hectic.  but I am back!  My Storm at Sea Quilt is now off the frame and the final quilting stitches are currently happening.  I look forward to showing you the full quilt fully quilted.

I would like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and I look forward to you following my blog in the new year.  I will leave you with a tiny bit of my newest quilt for you as a sneak peek! 

Start of my latest quilt as a sneak peek!

Until next post have a wonderful time!

Wendy

Gelato for the Spring Bloggers Festival

quilt measures 21.5"

This is Gelato my most recent quilt finished.  I really enjoyed creating this quilt and thought I would share it here in the Quilt Bloggers Spring Festival.

This is the back of the quilt.
I think it is just as fun as the front!

 This is my first ever Bloggers quilt festival entry.  I have been quilting for about 16 years and have fallen in love with hand quilting.  I try and do some each day.  I live on the outskirts of a small country town in South Gippsland, Victoria, Australia.  I belong to a wonderful group on Facebook called Celebrate Hand Quilting, it is worthwhile joining if you are interested in hand quilting

This is the start of the making of Gelato

The Centre of this Quilt was inspired by an unusual flower which i came across in my newsfeed on my Facebook page

This is the basting and the initial quilt design being drawn

Here is the flower

Aurifil Thread auditioning

I love to get my Aurifil Thread in Australia from Always Quilting

A feather template I made for the border

I have a very detailed blog on how i make my templates from freezer paper and if you would like to read more about it you can here.

just a fun shot of the texture i achieve with the quilt

I had so much fun using the Emma Louise Fabric with the Hobbs Tuscany Wool Wadding, it became a dream to quilt such a fun design onto. Such a fun quilt with the name of Gelato needs a fun label and with these beautiful colours i couldn't help myself. So I decided to make a label in the shape of a Gelato in a cone.

so here is the finished cone

I initially was thinking of making an Amish Bar Quilt so it seemed fitting to do a backing in this style

Thank You for viewing and voting for my quilt

I would like to thank Amy for hosting this on her blog.

Thank you for taking time to read over my post.  Until next time I trust you will enjoy the festival,

Wendy

Inspiration is everywhere

Don't you love it when little things can spark and bring on big ideas?

For me I only have to look to my garden to get inspiration for colour and shapes

I just love these Callistemons.

Not only do they give a wonderful shape and texture the little birds feed on the nectar in the flowers.

I am often intrigued watching a little bird hanging on the flower eating the nectar as the small branch bends.

Then there is the colours of the new leaf tips on these wonderful plants and ther shape as they just wisp there way out of the plant.

Then you can't go past a wonderful sunrise with the gorgeous colours emerging within the sky.

So what inspires you to create? Leave a comment I would love to know.

Until next time, keep creating,

Wendy