Round and round and round........

'Round' was the theme for our 12' x 9" challenge this time. It was quite hard to come up with an idea. I was inspired by a quilt in this year's Quilt National by Judy Kirpich, but I constructed mine in a completely different way. (Also her quilt was a lot larger!) I used 1/8 inch strips of fabric cut on the bias and applied to the background fabric using Vliesofix. I then stitched it down with a narrow zigzag. I was going round and round by the time I finished!  More 'Round' quilts here.

 

 And another little bird stitchery!  No bird, but a little nest with eggs and tiny french knots in the background.

Travellers Blanket

I have joined Dianne Cevaal's Travellers' Blanket online workshop. I have dyed my fabrics and made up the 'blanket'.  I am now choosing lots of different fabrics that relate to the beach and the environment where I live. These pieces will be appliqued onto the blanket and lots of embroidery stitches added. The whole piece is to tell a story of my travels (not necessarily long distance travel but my daily walks in this area). I think it will be a slow process and something to work on over the hot summer. Not a very interesting photo but this is the top fabric which we folded and then dyed to get the lines. Small pieces of fabric will be appliqued in the squares.

The weather has been cold and windy, the only person on the beach this morning was this horse rider braving a walk in the sea.

Lots of birds and a fish.....again!

The swans' nest is no longer in the middle of the the lagoon! The wetlands are drying out as we approach summer. I guess the babies are almost big enough to look after themselves. You can make out two or three young still sitting on the nest.

This salmon was on the beach this morning. Something, maybe a small shark, has taken a big chunk out of his side!  A bit gruesome!

Something far more cheerful - I have finished three little birds. These are all only 4" square and as I said before they are a mixture of hand stitching, embroidery and machine applique on onion skin dyed fabric. I have a couple more on the go.

Circles

Another feather for Jude. This one is made with a blue batik fabric appliqued onto some recycled shirt fabric and stitched in circles with variegated thread. I had fun finding lots of different objects around the house to make all the different size circles. I've now made some templates so I can repeat this again. The smallest one is a tiny button!

Two swans on the beach this morning, possibly two of the young ones that were hatched in the wetlands. They were quite happy for me to take lots of photos.

Lucky I had shoes on this morning because I nearly trod on this!  He was about 4 inches long!! They give a nasty bite.

Mice and hair rollers!!

I have been experimenting with some pincushion patterns (to make for gifts). There are a lot of patterns on the internet.  I have fallen in love with these little fellows!!  They were very easy to make. The ears, eyes and whiskers are a little bit fiddly, and I put a big metal washer in the bottom so they stand up!
The pattern is here. Click on tutorials.

This cheeky boy was watching me closely from the pine tree out the back today - a yellow-tailed black cockatoo. There are lots of them eating the new pine cones. You can hear them crunching!!

I am always amazed at what you find on the beach. Where did this hair roller come from?  Did the owner come to the beach in rollers and drop one? or was she on a boat out in the ocean?  Who wears rollers any more??  Sitting on the sand it actually looks quite beautiful!  It might make some sea creature a neat little home!