Out of step!

 When I saw the dear little footprints on Alex's wonderful blog I just knew I needed to put some on my Travellers Blanket.  So with Alex's permission I have put some on one of the squares that looks a bit like sand or the stones we have on our beach.  These were done with back stitch and colonial knots. I had trouble getting the big toes to look right!
I walk on our beach every day, in my walking shoes, but I do have the occasional bare foot paddle in the hot weather. However, I'm a big believer in the saying 'leave only footprints' in relation to how we treat this earth so these little footprints have lots of meaning. Thank you Alex!  (Mine are not quite as neat as yours, they look a bit out of step!  Lol!)

I have also added some running stitch around two of the squares to see what it looks like.

Challenge quilt

The theme for our 12 x 9 challenge quilt this time was 'Flora'. For ages I couldn't think of anything even though it is a very broad subject. Then I looked out of my sewing room window and realised the answer was right there in front of me! I went into the garden and picked a leaf off every tree/bush/plant I could see. I traced around them and using hand dyed green fabrics appliqued them to an aubergine coloured shot cotton. I used some variegated hand dyed thread to do some hand quilting around each leaf. (Leaves used were lemon scented gum, passion fruit, mint, banksias, pine needles, tomato, and various other gums.) See more Flora quilts here.

Beach weather

Even spiders need a day at the beach in this hot weather!!
It's been 39C for two days. More to come!
I like his shadow.

I have been working on one of the squares on my Travellers Blanket.  We always see plenty of shells here on our beach and when we are traveling.  I've worked this one with back stitch and french knots.  I may do some more stitching on the background. I've been using a hoop for this one as it is right in the middle of the quilt and hard to get to.

cats and dogs

I babysat one of the grand daughters today and we decided to do some stitching. She started this cat about a year ago and today we finished it. However she's decided she doesn't like cats anymore, so she wants to give this to her little sister and start a dog stitchery for herself!  I put the fabric in a hoop to make it easier for her to handle but I still freak out about the needle! (She managed it perfectly well.) I haven't mentioned to her about using the machine yet but no doubt that will be next. We also made a small stuffed dog from the Softies book. She chose the fabrics and the buttons, I stitched on the machine!

Crabs

I have finished stitching another square on my Travellers Blanket. The fabric is a hand printed piece I bought many years ago in New Zealand. I decided to stitch the crab blue to remind me of the many yummy Blue Swimmer Crab feasts we've had in one of our favourite holiday destinations - Port Vincent.

Other crabs I have watched are the sand crabs at Mission Beach in Queesland which roll up balls of sand as they search for food, so I stitched 'thread beads' (learnt from Jude Hill at Spiritcloth) to represent the little balls of sand.

Surprising how one little piece of fabric can take me to two different states of Australia and another country across the ocean!

Seed heads

The Christmas/New Year craziness is over, things have quietened down and all the leftovers are nearly eaten.  Back to stitching!

I have finished stitching all the squares to the background on my Travellers Blanket and I have embroidered my first one. The fabric on this one reminded me of the seed heads on the grasses that grow in the sand hills and in our front yard.

 

Years and years ago my mum and dad used to collect these, spray paint them white, sprinkle them with silver or gold sparkles and sell them as Christmas decorations in their interior decorating shop!
I put some in a vase on our dining table this Christmas along with some driftwood from Mission Beach.

It's been so hot here for the last three days (41C one day!) that I haven't walked on the beach, but it's been perfect for sitting in front of the air conditioner and stitching!