Townmouse

Lots to do

We're off to the snow for the school holidays so I have lots to do in the next week to prepare.

Firstly I want to make new dressing gowns for each of the children.

The ones they are currently getting by in are far too small for them. Henri is the right size for the one Max still wears. I hope to whip up 4 of these sometime this week.  

This image is from the first Townmouse photoshoot.  The little girl pictured is now nearly 11 (and quite a fabulous tennis player).

I also have plans to do lots of cooking to take up the mountain.  Bolognese sauces, soups - food that hits the spot after a cold day on the slopes.

But right now I'm getting severely sidetracked by Farmer's Wife blocks.  My book still hasn't arrived so I'm sticking to the easier ones and getting by with the yahoo group resources.

I bought myself one of these last week.

It's a spinning cutting board; kind of like a "lazy Susan".  It's perfect for trimming down all the half square triangles in these blocks.  I'm having fun with it. (Picked up at my local Spotlight.)

I'd better go and prepare my shopping list for the market before Adelaide wakes up.

My creative space

The rotary cutter is getting a workout at the moment, as I whip up blocks for the Farmer's Wife Quilt-along.

More creative spaces over here.

Who can resist?

It seems that every quilt blogger is caught up in the Farmer's Wife Quiltalong that is sweeping the globe.  And I'm happy to say that I am no exception.

While I wait for my copy of the book to arrive from Amazon I've jumped right in and started with simple blocks that can be rotary cut and whipped up lickety-split.  

These blocks are all on a 4 x 4 grid (is that 16 patch?) so the little triangles and squares all share the same measurements.  

When my book arrives I'll tackle some of the trickier blocks.  

Without the book I've been getting along just fine by using some of the great resources on the Yahoo group for this quilt. If you are making this quilt and haven't joined you should.

You can see what other quilters have in progress over at Freshly Pieced. Maybe next week I'll be brave enough to post a full inventory of all those half completed projects.

You can also see the myriad of other blocks that have been made for the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt on Flickr.

Driza-Bone Giveaway

I've mentioned before that Will has an involvement in Driza-Bone - that great, iconic Aussie brand.  The current winter range has some fabulous, enduring pieces.  Not surprising given that Steve Bennett, founder of Country Road, is the creative director and designer at Driza-Bone.

Driza-Bone is currently having a little giveaway.  You get to choose anything from the online store - that's right - anything at all.  All you have to do is head to the Driza-Bone facebook page and "Like" Driza-Bone to be in the running.  But you have to be quick.  You only have a few hours left.

My pick would be the Weekender Bag.  Will uses his every weekend and it's the perfect size for all his gear.

Old fashioned and good

There is a shop in Melbourne called "Step Back In Time".  It sells relics from former decades in the way of furniture and simple household implements.  Everything from watering cans to beautiful old jars for the pantry can be found there, with lots of interesting ephemera in between.

I dropped in there on Saturday, on the hunt for something else, and came away with this simple wooden clothes airer.

This is so much nicer than those awful plastic coated metal ones of today.

There was also a rather large set of wooden pigeon holes there.  It would be perfect for storing and displaying a considerable fabric stash.  This is the shop where I bought my smallish set of pigeon holes a few years ago.

When you're there, say hello to Archie the corgi who spends his days in the shop.  65 Burwood Road Hawthorn.

Found at Spotlight

Today is more of an admin kind of day.  Not much creating going on here.

But I'm happy to have these fabrics piled up nearby.  A quick trip to Spotlight in Carnegie on Sunday (after a hot tip from Rita) led me to these Denyse Schmidt fabrics.

I have these blues in mind for a Jump Rope Dress from Oliver + S.  I'd like to use the darker blue for trim - pocket flaps, collar, placket, and maybe a band around the bottom of the skirt.

More creative spaces here.

Down Under Doll Quilt Swap

Imagine my extreme excitement when I opened a parcel on the weekend to find this:

I was the lucky recipient of this marvellous quilt in the Down Under Doll Quilt Swap.  I couldn't quite believe my good fortune.  I feel very lucky indeed to have my very own Red Pepper Quilt to admire and study up close.

I have often referred to Rita's informative posts on binding or basting, when I work on my own quilts. 

And you can see why she's such a good source on all matters relating to binding. Look at the perfection of that mitred corner!

Thank you so much Rita.  I love this little quilt and have spent considerable time already admiring all it's details.

For better photos of Rita's contribution to the Doll Quilt swap, see her photos here.  Mine just don't do it justice.