“Got your hat? Where’s your water bottle? Have you put sunscreen on?”…. Those are the questions of the day here….. 41C (105.8F) and UV index 13! Or perhaps where you are, a trip to the park requires a different sort of hat…. and a coat and scarf and boots….
If Paisley Park was a place, I reckon it would look like this…..
Depending on your perspective, Paisley Park may be either a cool relief from the summer heat or a bright spot in a cold day. Thankfully a trip to Paisley Park in Fabric Land is not weather dependent and the only thing you need to put on is your thinking hat!
What would you make from these pretty blue-greens and purples? That just might be the question you are asking yourself if you win some of this fabric from the Clever Chameleon. More about that in a moment!
I have a pesky quilt squirrel idea stuck in my head!
That’s probably not a big surprise to you, I know. But it is a persistent little vermin of an idea that keeps reoccurring like heartburn and I don’t have time right now to explore it. Instead, I keep allocating it a dodgy neuron in a bad neighbourhood of my brain in the hope that it will get forgotten. But to no avail.
Do you ever get creative ideas that just won’t go away?
Carla from Creatin’ in the Sticks has organised you yet another fantastic blog hop. This time around the theme is pumpkins…. big pumpkins, small pumpkins, friendly pumpkins, mean ones….. Ok, so she didn’t really give explicit permission to quilt nasty pumpkins, but she did say any quilt, any size – so long as it has a pumpkin on it somewhere.
I really like pumpkins for decorative purposes – so many colours, shapes and textures! Like many Northern Hemisphere seasonal traditions, this is not really a thing we do well in Australia. But I did develop a greater appreciation of the scope of pumpkins available when we lived in Europe a few autumns past. How to bring some of that art home without breaking any quarantine laws? Quilts, of course!
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Real life inspiration for quilts and crafts
This week has been a little hectic here, so there’s been very little sewing time for me. There was a fair bit of secret Christmas crafting, which I am excited to be able to share with you on Thursday, but no quilting. I’ve been creating for the Christmas Ornament Exchange and tutorial blog hop coming up this week…. Stay tuned, it’s going to be huge!
One of the main reasons why it’s been a slow week here is that I went on a two-day camp in the local hills with my young son. This past weekend was the South Australian Hoporee camp at Woodhouse. This camp is the state level Joey Scout adventure that happens only once every two years. A very action-packed weekend for nearly 1,000 people (children, parents and leaders), and one of the highlights of the Joey Scout calendar.
Here’s just a very small taste of what the Joeys (6&7 year olds) got up to with the support of their parents and Scout Leaders……
A taste of archery…..
A bit of rock climbing…..
Each Joey made paper poppies to add to this banner to commemorate Remembrance Day on Nov 11.
A big ball pit….
Treasure hunting in a pool of slime….
Reinventing the wheel….
Recording the things that matter.
All in the midst of the beautiful Adelaide Hills, in amongst the koalas, pobblebonk frogs and kookaburras.
Koalas have Joeys…. so I guess they are allowed on camp.
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: English Broom
As well as the ample wildlife (that seemed surprising unperturbed by the sudden influx of 1,000 people), there were also some notable spring flowers about. While we were on a rest break I spotted a medium-sized bush with stunning yellow and red pea flowers…… So I took pictures of that too, thinking it would make an fabulous colour board for Tuesday. Which I hope you will agree, it most certainly does.
But I have to admit that I was also highly disappointed when I did some research yesterday and found out that this plant is an invasive noxious weed in Australia (and according to Wikipedia, also parts of the US, and New Zealand, and India).
This naughty but beautiful plant is commonly known as English Broom, Scotch Broom or Common Broom. The scientific name is Cytisus scoparius. Most often the flowers are plain yellow…. which well describes the other bushes I saw at the campsite. But there are also several multi-coloured hybrids that have naturalised, and this particular bush was showing off big-time!
I am not sure what I will do with this vivid red, green and yellow colour scheme. I had thought a true-to-life pea flower appliqué would be nice, but the noxious invasive weed thing has taken the shine off that idea. At least for now. In reality, English Broom is not a bad plant – just not welcome here. Perhaps the best place for it is on a quilt or cushion after all! I’ll have to muse over this one for a while.
In the meantime…
Wishing you all a lovely week, and hope to see you back here on Thursday. I will have for you a tutorial on how to make the Christmas tree ornament I dreamed up for my 2017 Ornament Exchange partner. I am paired up with the very talented Evija of the award winning From Evija with Love blog. How lucky am I? Anyway, there will be links to 46 other ornament tutorials from around the world on this hop. All on Thursday! You’ll be sure to find something you will want to make!
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Colour Spring-Boards for your Quilt, Craft and Decor Ideas
Over the closed winter period, our local outdoor public pool has redecorated. Just a paint job mostly, but I like it. The colours chosen are fresh, fun and summery – like an outdoor pool should be. There are also a few extra shade sails and some new furniture. Not extravagant, but useful and happy. 🙂
I like the new colours. Specifically, I like them in this space. They work very well here and add nicely to the atmosphere. I wouldn’t like them in my home, with the possible exception of a child’s bedroom. I probably wouldn’t like them in a work office either. But they are appropriate for a recreational space like the pool.
Colour Inspiration Tuesday: Poolside Fun colour scheme
Wouldn’t these colours make a great picnic quilt? Something that makes you want to take it to the beach or the park or the pool. A quilt that reminds you that outings are fun (once you get there!! 🙂 ) and says “Let’s go!!”.
Here’s my quick diagram of an idea that came to mind:
Poolside Fun Icy-pole quilt idea
This wouldn’t be difficult to make. Just a bit time consuming on the icy-poles.
Do you have a picnic quilt? Did you make it yourself? Tell me, have you water-proofed it in anyway? I am wondering if there is something better for the underside of picnic quilts than quilting weight cotton? Or an internal layer that will make it more serviceable and less prone to collecting prickles and transferring dampness from the ground? Recycled denim perhaps? Or recycled rubber-backed curtains? If you have relevant experience to share, I’d love to know. 🙂
Do you have a picnic quilt? Did you make it yourself? Tell me, have you water-proofed it in anyway? I am wondering if there is something better for the underside of picnic quilts than quilting weight cotton? Or an internal layer that will make it more serviceable and less prone to collecting prickles and transferring dampness from the ground? Recycled denim perhaps? Or recycled rubber-backed curtains? If you have relevant experience to share, I’d love to know. 🙂
P.S. Warning: