Loving all the color..

One of my very favourite things about being a designer, is watching what other people do with my design.. Their interpretation of something I made.
I think that's the greatest part about handmade things is that no two can ever be the same!
Last weekend I was at the 'Henzel Street Quilters' quilt show in Redcliffe.. We took the shop up and had a great time with all the girls


And whilst I was sitting, chatting, eating and stitching (as you do while at a quilt show :-), I was asked if I had seen Fay's quilt? Answer was no, but I soon found it..


Fay had done her rendition of my 'Quilting Mouse' pattern. Using more vibrant colors than I had in her fabrics, Fay had also meticulously coloured in each little part of the stitchery.
WOW..
So I just have to show you as it was just gorgeous!


Miss mouse goes shopping..


Then home for cake and a cuppa..


Does all the appliqué..


Then pieces by machine..


Quilts whilst in bed..


And then finishes with Show and Tell..
The quilt is made up using 2" squares and in amongst it I drew all the things that I loved about stitching with my own Grandmother, as a child..


My Gran always had jars of buttons for me to play with, an old tape measure is a must, and as a kid I used to play on an old treadle sewing machine.


Grandma carried all her sewing in a cane basket back then and only ever drank tea from a teapot and fine china cup (no tea bags were ever allowed :-)


I always stitched, sitting on the floor at night, under the big frilly lamp and loved to poke flowers into the tops of Grans cotton reels.


The scissors gran used were big red handled ones but here Fay made her own choice.. Whilst Gran and I never quilted together, I am sure she would have preferred hand quilting.


And finally, the one thing that always stuck in my mind as a kid, Gran was always so tidy but her reels of thread were always just tossed loose into a drawer..

So as you can see Fay certainly has done a wonderful job.. Sadly I couldn't get back far enough to take a photo of the whole quilt. (You can go onto my website to see my version if you like www.handcraftedbuttons.com )

I asked Fay about her technique for colouring to give us all some tips..
Fay used watercolor pencils and built the color up gradually.
She said 'the hotter the weather, the darker the pencil seems to come out. I'm not sure if the hot weather makes them softer.'
If any lines appeared in the coloring, Fay's comment was 'its just like drawing on paper. You have to be careful which way your strokes go and if you get too many lines in the drawing then, wet the tip of a paintbrush, remove the excess water on a paper towel and then carefully swirl the brush over the pencil to remove the lines.'
Then I asked the dreaded question about 'washing the quilt'. Fay assured me that she uses a color fixative over the top and it is colorfast. (Sadly I didn't ask brand etc of fixative paint) She did however say that it can make the fabric a bit stiff at first but it softens up over use of the quilt.

So there's a few tips on colouring quilts from someone who assures me she is no expert but seems to look like one to me!

If you are interested in doing this quilt it is a 6 month pattern set available either month by month or as a whole bundle on our web site.
Quilting Mouse
www.handcraftedbuttons.com

I have some photos hiding somewhere of other versions that people have made and hope to show them soon in another blog post.
This quilt is also available through different shops around Australia as a Block of the Month programme.
Hope you are having a happy stitching day
Nikki

A little nifty pin cushion

Recently I have seen some cute little pincushions so thought I would have a go at making one. Then it all seemed to go a bit further...
I was originally given one that had a 'timber turned' base but there was no point in showing that, because how could you make one?
So whilst wasting a bit of time making some little things here's how my little projects were made...


Starting with a little pack of 21/2" squares that I had, I picked out four and sewed them together...


These are only 2 1/2" squares so 4 1/2" square finished.


Then using a 4 1/2" circle, trace the circle on the back.


Then cut circle out..


Gather up the circle like a suffolk puff by using a running stitch 1/4" in from the edge of the seam.
Then stuff hard with toy fill and end off but keep your needle and thread attached..


Then place a tiny button on the top centre


and stitch it onto the little stuffed cushion. Pulling it tight. I passed the needle back and forth through the button and the whole cushion.


Then you need to make a couple of decisions..
Do you want a ring to wear on your finger or do u want it to be on your sewing machine?


To make a ring, you need a plastic bottle top from a bottle of soft drink, a small length of hat elastic and a drill with a small drill bit.
Drill two holes in the lid that are big enough to thread the hat elastic through and tie the ends together inside the lid. Then use some good strong glue and glue your cushion to the lid.
(The flat part of the lid sits on your finger so you need to put the glue on the rim of the lid to stick it to your cushion)


I used a small amount of ric rac to decorate my lid and Voila it was finished.


Your pins can be quite long as they go into the lid and don't stick your finger.

Then the second option is to make a cushion that you sit on your sewing machine. (some of us are lucky enough to have a second holder on our sewing machines to hold our thread and this is ideal for that)
Instead of gluing the little cushion to a lid, glue it to a cotton reel..


I cheated and used a cute little wooden reel but any cotton reel will do.
If you don't have a second thread holder on your machine, just sit your little cushion next to your machine.


Perfectly cute and perfect fun.
Ideal for gifts or any little sewing stall.
I hope you are having a happy day
Nikki

Hats, glorious hats

For the last 20 years or so I haven't been able to wear a hat.
But as the fear of skin cancer increases with age, a sun hat seems to be a necessary item.
So for the past few years I have been trying all sorts of different hats. Leather acubras- the good old Aussie hat, peak caps, sun visor caps, slouch hats, cricket hats, quilted hats, and the list goes on and on..

2014 has finally drawn me some results. YIPEE I now own some hats.

Only thing is I feel a hat is not a hat, unless I love it so much and it makes me feel happy, then it's a hat.
This particular girl has requirements...
If I bend over, it can't fall off.
If its windy, it can't blow off.
It has to match a variety of outfits.
It can't get too hot to wear.
It must be washable if possible.
It must cover my ears from the sun.
It must fit my head, as I have a huge one.
It must be able to have my hair tucked into it and still stay on..
And lastly, preferably, I have to either think it looks fashionable (and not much does on me LOL) or it must make me smile which ultimately makes my family cringe. 😃
Wrap all this up and I will wear this hat!

So with much excitement this year I discovered crocheted hats. I thought I would share what I have bought and where I found some amazing zany hats.

Before I continue, I also want you to know a couple of things that I have just learnt in 2014...
I have just learnt that bright colors touch all your 'chakras' thus if you wear rainbow colours it is impossible to feel low in happiness or energy.
I have always been a bit of a hippy naturalist at heart.
I love zany things.
I am sick of trying to please every one with what I wear..
And no I don't do crazy things to be the centre of attention, I do them because it makes me laugh and freaks out my kids LOL
So on with the hats...



Dreadful photo as i had to take it myself, but the hat is awesome. it is crocheted in cotton, that is obviously varigated, bright, matches my crazy beach cover up, inspires every 'chakra' i could possibly have, has a broad brim that covers my shoulders, i can swim in it too, and it has a wired brim, so i can shape it or squash it. Plus, it stretches over my hair and doesn't fall off. this one i bought in the 'hippy shop' in Malanda and is made somewhere overseas.. Awesome!

Then today I went to the local markets and look what I found..


Modelled by the artists friend, and all these hats are made by hand here in Brisbane..


The crochet work is Devine.. and this one wasn't bright enough to inspire my happy gland...


Lousy photo but awesome yet again.


I liked this one but it wouldn't fit and must say not too keen on yellow...


I thought i was going to break this trying to fit it on my head... so creative.


Brown was not my colour but in any other color this one would have been a keeper!


I had bought one already and then went back to get the blue (too small for my head) so I settled on the black and white for a more sophisticated look...


This was my first choice. Fabulous colors and every way you wear these hats they look different.


The photos are a bit crazy because I took them myself but check out the vents for air circulation.
Then here's a close up of the black and white hat


The reason why I thought I would share these hats on my blog is to give a 'well done gold star' to the creator.


With all her details


Because if u are interested in thread, crochet, soft sculpture of any sorts of craft, these hats might be a bit 'out there for you' but the workmanship is nothing short of Awesome. And I just needed to share them with you.

My sincere thanks to Jenny Racine, for the marvellous hats, your inspiring art work, the solutions to my hat head problems.. and your talent is nothing short of amazing!
Please go visit Jenny's website as this girl is going places...
I Hope you are having a happy hat day
Nikki

Back FINALLY

To all my lovely friends who follow my Blog, I am sorry I haven't been blogging for ages!!
For some crazy reason I thought anyone with a computer would be on Face Book.. So FB being so immediate with feedback I have been posting on there and not on here..
A close friend has just pointed out this is not necessarily true 😃 So I will start my 2014 resolution now and start blogging yet again..

Right now I am sitting in Whinnie with my feet on the dash, heading home after 2 weeks holiday..
What a wonderful Christmas and New Year we have had..
So many laughs, family, old friends, perfect oceans, beautiful creeks, picturesque rainforest and amazing bugs, plants and wildlife..
All totally inspiring for a big design year in 2014..
Here's some happy snaps and quick bits of our wonderful journey from Brisbane to Cairns and back...


John and Mike at Airly Beach.. note the sharing of shoes as the ground was so hot...


John living it up on Christmas Eve with our seafood lunch.. as you can see... he was excited.


The aftermath left John exhausted LOL


My neice and I taught each other how to make trifle for Christmas Day.. neither of us had ever made one before!


Taught my Sister in law how to make a '1300 jelly roll race quilt'. Hayley has never made a quilt top before..


We got excited as after 4 hours we were finished


Gotta love beautiful Bali Pops!


John went for a walk on the beach just north of Mission Beach


I spent an hour looking at the colors of 'Gods scraps' and sadly the photos of the pebbles don't do the colors justice


Of course I had to stop at as many quilt shops along the way..


Mike got to buy mega huge bananas for just $1.50 per kilo!


We stopped at an orchid nursery and found out that coconuts make marvellous mounts for orchids


Mike, John and I got lost in 'All Crafts on Main' at Atherton.


We stayed at Lake Eacham Tourist Park over the new year


I awoke on the first day of 2014 to sit amongst the roses and figured this was 'the' sign that 2014 was set to be an awesome year..


The caravan park had the most amazing gardens full of angels and beautiful gardens


Birds played in the waterfountain that shot water up into the branches of the bushes


I bought a FABULOUS felt hat in Malanda


I hate 'selfies' but bought a great crochet hat to match my 'hippie freak' shirt


We spent hours admiring gorgeous gardens with wonderful friends who I grew up with (in the hinterland of the Gold Coast who now live up on the Tablelands)


Sandy fed a huge fish that is completely blind


Mike wanted to stay forever


We dined with wonderful old and new friends outside with the many beetles and bugs but wonderful BBQs


Saw wonderful waterfalls


John sadly filled Whinnie with unleaded fuel instead of Diesel, as we arrived in Townsville as we are heading home now. Thankfully the local 'super hero' Paul, pumped it all out this morning and got us back on the road..


We are now heading home to join in with our son, Matt and his friends who are having a 'Ute Pool Party' at home whilst watching cricket..

So thats how I ended 2013 and started 2014. I hope your holidays have been as happy and as inspiring as mine has been!

I look forward to sharing more sewing and quilting, fun and adventures this year and if you wish to have a more regular update please friend me on Facebook. Obviously you can find me under 'Nikki Tervo' and I also have a business page on Facebook 'Brandy Gully' if you wish to join me there too.
I wish you all an awesome 2014
I hope you are having a happy day
Nikki