We have been busy building Grace, what an epic drama, I am sure the pictures will say it all!

This is how she came very neatly packed into a couple of boxes - can't be too difficult to put together, right? Even a sweet little (almost old) lady does it in the instruction DVD, all I can say is don't be fooled, its not that easy!

Here's the legs and other bits that somehow fitted into a neat little box!

and then there was all these parts - it was like opening Pandora's box, stuff just kept coming out, nuts, bolts, wheels, cogs, locks, tracks, table tops and more - I take my hat off to who ever packed these boxes - I'd like to pay you to pack for my next holiday ;-)

This where the skills of my fabulous partner come into play, (I think I can put him on the books as my labourer) he has done a fantastic job of putting all those bits together in the right places! This is the table top almost done.

The legs, amongst other things sitting patiently on the soon to be outdoor lounge, waiting their turn to be attached.

My miracle worker, still going into the night!

So many more pieces to be assembled and attached - oh well there's always tomorrow :)

Look tomorrow does come - Grace is born - here she is with the first of my practice runs, I have tried, pantographs, marked design on the top and free hand stippling on this very (really - very) rough quilt - the family loves the stippling :)

Up close and personal pic of the stippling - it uses a lot of thread but does look really good so I'll do a whole-cloth stippled quilt using a variegated thread next  - lookout for it, it will be for sale on this site soon!

Remember that outdoor lounge room I have been going on about - well here it is finally complete - its a fantastic space - very usable all year round!

An Outage

Had a power outage today … so many things that could have been done without power in that time but did not get done! I sat on the hill as Wayne painted the gazebo floor with its last coat of sealer before the café blinds arrive to turn it into a neat little outdoor room, for our neat little cane lounge to live, while my neat little – well actually rather large quilting frame - lives where the cane lounge used to. I had a glass of champagne in hand having just finished talking to a friend on the phone saying that I would have to stop drinking if I am to ever shed the heart attack waiting happen around my girth! I read the latest Harper Bizarre wondering where does fashion and philosophy meet and more importantly how can I ever reconcile the yearning fashions I have in my heart and will my dreams of running my own business ever come to fruition?

I lay back on the lawn after absorbing the French provincial inspired photo shoots included in this month’s Harper and stare dreamily up through the budding shoots of the Jacaranda that will later in the summer completely the shade the suburban pool dominating my backyard! I found myself questioning how long will it take, will I really be able to pull it off, can I really create my own business while I am working fulltime and unknowingly sacrificing my personal preferences in life for family unity? How can one combine city chic with classic country while living in suburbia? Can it really be done, how do ‘other’ people do it – they are so much more ‘arty’ than me, or is it than my partner – he’s not ‘arty’ at all, he does not suffer fools and makes choices based on rational notions never pure aesthetics, I wonder why he suffers me? Am I just looking to use others as my reason for not being where I dream of? Should dreams be only dreams?

The more books I read on starting my own business the further away I seem to find myself. They say jump in, just do it, once you have begun everything else will fall into place … will it? How will it? How do I really plan for it, if no one really takes you seriously, if I don’t actually have time or is it space? How do ‘other’ people seem to work 20hours a day without concern? I can’t function without 8 hours sleep, how will I get this to come together? Can I concentrate long enough on one topic to get this off the ground? Do I really have the talent or am I just kidding myself?

The Frame

Well we have finally begun work on constructing the frame - a bigger job than first thought! It is now half done and will hopefully be finished tomorrow, I can then start some quilting. As luck would have it a new quilt shop has opened up just across the road from home (or maybe not so lucky for my bank account :| not sure about that now that I come think about it!) anyhoo I will pop in their tomorrow on my way home from work and pick up some practice supplies.

Will be uploading pics of the build tomorrow, I don't know where the times goes, we have been catching up with old friends, family, cleaning up ready for summer, working and before I knew October is almost over!

Well even if I haven't been able to blog everyday Blogtoberfest has definitely encouraged me to continue and so next year I will aim for an increase in my days of blogging until one year I manage everyday of Blogtober :)

Sooz

Not much to report

Well not much to report on today ... I still haven't taken my inventory of Grace pieces yet but I will do by the weekend, I will hopefully have some pics to upload then as well.

I am quite busy at work with several projects on the go and reports will soon be due so I can see the next few months flying by :) I was pleasantly suprised by one of my very young students today who brought her own personal project in to school to work on in my sewing class - it was a nine patch quilt top she is making for a single bed - very impressive and heartening to have such talented youngsters to work with!

The quilt top looks alittle like this

Ho Hum ...

Well blogging everyday is proving near impossible for me, between working fulltime, research and starting a business part time and occassionally cooking a meal or doing some washing, I'm exhausted! And when I do finally get five minutes to blog, everyone else (4 other people) in the house are all on the on the internet and complaining about how slow it has become (because I'm uploading pictures to the blog)!

So I think I'll leave uploading pictures until one day mid-week when no one else is home :) I do have some of the clean up to upload, mmm I should have taken pictures of the chuck-out pile!

I have made some headway with my research and am actually making a written business plan, my mind boggles at all the things you actually have to do to set up your own business - I take my hat off to those that have gone before me! I am now starting to think about and draft the layout of my website and research how best to set up an online store, do I go etsy, eBay, madeIt or accept only direct bank transfers & money orders???? More research, more fun.

I managed to break through the wrapping on the Grace today after I cleaned out all my fabric stocks and reorganised some space around the house so I can set the frame up. I found the instructions in the packaging and a DVD so I diligently watched it and then put it away until next weekend because I know there is just no way that during the week I will be able to get it done.

Well here's hoping I can get at least two blog entries a week for the rest of Blogtoberfest :) until next time ...

Sooz

Danger times ahead!

I am in danger of seriously piking on my commitment to the blogtoberfest so am vainly trying to post something (trite as it is) so as not to lose anymore days to nonblogging.

It is an interesting and hectic time at work for me and I have slacked off on the blog. I haven't as yet put Grace together so there is nothing to report and no pics - unless someone wants to see Grace all boxed up :)

I am sure over the next week or so I will have something more to say and this awful hayfever will subside leaving me with more energy and enthusiasism for whatever life throws my way.

Sooz

Day 12

Wow what a day - I had to go back to work today, that was a bit of a shock to the system!

Have started to think about what I will teach this term, I thought this little quilt will be nice and easy for some of my students - the idea is they make them and donate them to a local children hospital for use in the humidicribs. This one is made from flanelette.

I also spent sometime this afternoon reading and planning the business, there is a lot to be done, I can't see myself being bored for quite sometime.

Well I better get back to the grindstone!

Sooz

Missed a day :(

I missed yesterday - sorry blogtoberfesters! My excuse for not making an entry is my son - we had a surprise visit, he is in the Navy and living in Melbourne, soon to be moving to NSW so my time has been otherwise consumed this weekend!

I will try to write something more constructive tomorrow.

Sooz

A Plan ...

Well I am still wating for the Grace and have been assured by the courier company it will be here today! I hope its soon because I am betrothed to a coffee date on the foreshore and it is a beautiful day!

I guess the next stage of this venture is to create a full blown business plan. So I will be doing some research over the next few weeks into that and getting it all together - watch this space if you are considering starting your own business, I'll post interesting snippets of information on the subject as they come to hand!

I used to love academic research now I just want to sink my teeth soley into the creative side of things but alas these things have to be done if this venture is going to be a success.

If anyone out their in blog-land has advice on setting up a cyber business please leave me a comment or email, I appreciate all the help I can get :)

Sooz

The Waiting Continues

Well it has been a long day of waiting for the Grace frame to arrive and it didn't. I am just a little disappointed, more because I had lunch with a very old friend planned and had to cancel.

Oh well tomorrow is a new day and not all was lost I watched the whole of series one of Sex and the City - I love that show!

Sooz

Memory quilt one

Well with the arrival of my Grace pending I thought it best to get the first of my memory quilts (the top anyway) finished. (Painting by good friend & artist Karl Cording)

This will be design number one and is intended for those who wish to have a quilt made from special fabric, old sheets/rugs or clothing (they are happy to have cut up). It is a simple design that can work with a variety of  fabric types and/or textures and can be made in any size. In this case it measures 228 X 238cm.

This quilt holds the memory of special friends as the koi fish fabric was bought for me by very good friends while in Japan visiting family. They took time out specially to find some fabric for me and for that I am very grateful.

The theme of this quilt is both a meeting of cultures, Australian & Asian and water. My partner and I are both born under water signs, I feel a very deep connection to the water and love the fact that I will soon be wrapping myself in it every night - without the wet and cold (in the winter time anyway). Australia is a part of Asia and so by creating this quilt I feel I am also celebrating Australia's future whilst reminding myself of my past.

Sooz

The Frame is coming - tomorrow OMG

Just had to express my excitement - can't believe it, I just had a call from the courier agency, my Grace is arriving tomorrow!!!!

I better get sewing, yikes, I'm not quite ready for it, oh well when thrown in the deep end you just have to swim, right?

Sooz

Day 6 of Blogtober :)

Well I've had a busy and productive few days.  I made a new ironing board cover ('cause we all know how much ironing a quilter does!) the old one wore through to the metal.

I quilted the fabric for the top and then made some binding from an old tablecloth - waste not, want not :)

I also spent a relaxing few hours on the foreshore drinking coffee and watching the world go by. Today I went into the city and spent some time searching through the bookstores, checking out the spring fashions and looking through some of the new stores that have opened up since the last time I was there.

I am pretty exhausted to be honest but am committed to the daily blog and so downloaded a few pics to upload (haha) and write this miniscule entry!

Tomorrow I start the second of my memory quilts - will record the stages in pictorial form for you to see and will take some pics of the evolving first memory quilt (intentional memory quilts that is).

'til tomorrow

Sooz :)

Another step in the right direction!

As I was saying in previous post I have been busy getting myself set up to start my quilting venture.

One of the projects that I have been busily working on has been the recovering of my beautiful cane lounge. I decided to recover it to give it a new lease on life as it is going to be moved to the gazebo by the pool (I need the space where it now lives for my Grace).

We are having blinds installed to help weatherproof the gazebo area and my partner is recyling an old dining table we have had sitting in the shed for years into a coffee table to go in our new outdoor room. (Will post some pics of that when its done - it should be awesome, it will be another memory piece to add to our growing collection. He is using the glass from the table top and the old sleepers from the children's sand pit for the base).

The lounge is on its third recovering (same cushions - they don't make 'em like they used to) and I am starting to gain quite a collection of lounge buttons - will have to come up with some ideas for there use in the future. I'm sure a a quick scan of my fellow crafty bloggers will help to generate ideas!

The new fabric is called Henna, my daughter says its very seventies, which makes me love it even more! It was relatively easy to sew the new covers and gets easier each time. I spent $140 or so on fabrics, buttons and zips and I think its look brand new again. My son can't wait to laze away the summer days on the couch beside the pool and so for just that occassion I added a new feature to this edition of the covers - ties for the back cushions which enables one to literally flip the cushion over the back of the lounge and have a day bed or flip it back and have a comfortable lounge to share with friends :)

Sooz

The need (or is it want) to learn more about blogging!

I have visited quite a few fantastic blogs now and would like to learn how to create columns on the side of my blog for listing the blogs I follow, interesting webistes I have visited and ebay, etsy or madeit stores and the like.

If you visit my blog and you know how to do this, I would appreciate you leaving some simple instructions in my comments to get me started.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share :)

Sooz

No. 3

Lots of things to say but ran out of time today ... will post some pics -n- stuff tomorrow ;-)

Sooz

My first Memory Quilt

I have been working solidly on a little project all day (will post it tomorrow) but managed to take some time out to take a few pics of a quilt I made quite a few years ago (can't remember how long ago I made this quilt which must mean I've at it a loooong time now!).

This quilt is made almost entirely from fabrics from mine and my partners grandparents. the top has been pieced with batiks collected in Indonesia (I think) by my partner's Nana. She passed away (ovarian cancer) before I met him so it was very special to make a quilt for him and our children that connected them her and to my Grandpa who had also passed on by the time we met. I used Gramps' wool rug, left to me as the wadding.

This quilt is well loved by my family and keeps us all warm as toast on winter's nights in front of the telly :)

I used a combination of machine and hand quilting, at the time I just wanted to try every aspect of quilting I could possibly fit in - this was the product. For a quilt that cost almost no money it is one of the most prescious things in our home and holds many memories not just of those who have passed but the good and warm times it has spent with us!

DAY2 - MY FRAME

I just had share my excitement at the thought of my frame starting its journey to our home. I just recieved notifiction that my Grace is on her way. For those of you who don't know what one looks looks like I have added a picture for you courtesy of The Grace Company website.

In the beginning

Ok this is the beginning of a new blog dedicated to quilting and the beginning of my new venture 'Quilt-a-Memory'.



I plan on blogging the venture from the ground up. At the moment it is an idea that is slowly but surely coming to fruition. I am in the process of setting up my home so that I can offer a quilting service to anyone who needs a top quilted. I am also planning on creating some wonderful quilts that I will blog the creation of :-)



The reason for my haste in setting up this blog is that I thought I would join the blogtoberfest, which will encourage the continuation of the blog because I will have committed to blogging everyday!



so wish me luck ... tomorrow I will post some quilts I made earlier ;-) ... might even show you what I've been doing to set up my home for the impending frame (its on order from the US)! On second thoughts I'll leave that for another day, don't want to run out of ideas for blogs to early!



Stippling

Sooz