Amberwood Cottage

GIRL'S DAY OUT

2011-05-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

Did you think I had disappeared? Well I have been here all this time but have just had a little hiatus from blogging but now I am back and have lots of new pictures to show you over the next little bit of time.

It is autumn in the highlands and the trees are so beautiful. It has been FREEZING over the last week or so but today is gorgeous and quite warm, even the bulbs are starting to show their little green shoots.

Today I have had the most wonderful day with my friend Jean (Linen and Raspberry) we went to visit Balmain and the wonderful new shop Calico and Ivy - what a delight - I was so excited and it is so lovely with lots of things to get the creative juices flowing.

Of course now i have got back into it and had a couple more lessons on editing my very amateur photos and getting things where they should be my computer has had a little hissy fit so I have had to leave this post without lots of photos that I really wanted to share. I am actually trying to complete this post on my girl's Apple Mac Book Pro that she has very kindly let me use as long as I am super careful and tender with her baby! So that's it short and sweet and without everything I wanted to include but at least it is a start. Wish me luck with the computer because I am sure I am going to need it.

Hopefully be back soon, wow it really is a journey! V xx

JUST ARRIVED

2010-11-04T03:15:00.000-07:00

How exciting it was to go the post office box today and find my copy of Homespun magazine. Inside is the redwork bag I sent off way back in May. As always they have done a wonderful job with the photography and styling.

So until it hits the patchwork shop and newsagent here a couple of pictures for you. This is the 10th Anniversary issue of Homespun - can you believe it has been ten years - i can't. There are other great projects in there as well - a gorgeous quilt from Cottage Quiltworks it's great to be in the same magazine as such good friends.

My next foray into the magazine world will be in March with a framed stitchery then a couple months later with special pincushions with a "blue" theme.

Until next time remember "Any day spent sewing is a good day" V

HELLO AT LAST

2010-10-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well here I am, not lost altogether but almost! This time I am going to post as often as I can even if it is just a very short one - I have decided I must make the time to stay in contact if I want you to keep following.

It is now the middle of spring - I can't believe it - I wait all year for the Crabapple to flower and once again it is almost finished, in fact, it is snowing pale pink petals. How time comes and goes so fast. School holidays come to an end today for Abby and that means work experience tomorrow at the local paper. Then preparations for the School Certificate. It seems like yesterday when she was starting Kindergarten just across the road. Last term was very busy for her with lots of assessments and big projects for Food Technology. Following are a couple photos of the cakes she made, firstly the wedding cake with hand made roses, very tasteful I think.

Secondly, her novelty cake - a cricket pitch of course with added flowers around the perimeter!

Now in between everything else going on I went off to Bathurst to a Sue Spargo workshop - it was great - lots of fun and two days to stitch. I decided to make the needle roll because I thought I would at least get that finished - well not quite but well on the way. Of course the only colour to work in is RED! Hatched and Patched hosted the weekend and Annie's shop is GORGEOUS. Her husband Pete is now dyeing wool and it is really nice to work with and the colours are lovely too - I used the red for my background.

I have also been working on pincushions - a collection of them actually. Here are the first batch, more to come of course.

Well as you can see after several days of frustration I have finally loaded the photos and here they are thank you for your patience and remember from my last post "Life is about the journey, not the destination".

Until next time

TROUBLE WITH PHOTOS

2010-10-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hello at last - I finally decided to get my act together and get on with it. Still looking for the "mojo" but making a start anyway. Having said that I had my post all ready and have been trying for three days and nights to put the photos in place. They refuse to upload (so much jargon)! I have tried everything I know, deleting, reloading from card, resizing the resizing, renaming, in one file and then into another, nothing will work.

So I am just letting you know that as soon as I can get it to work I will post with photos, until then remember "Life is the journey, not the destination" but sometimes I would just like to get there without all the hick ups in between.

Enjoy V

Early daffodils and antique inspiration

2010-08-01T22:00:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I would like to thank you for visiting me at the cottage. Life is just so busy that I am always a little longer than I planned getting back to you. As I have mentioned before, blogging has opened up a whole new world to me. So inspirational, shame I just can't seem to stitch faster!

It is windy and cold here today but I was pleasantly surprised when this morning I found the first daffodils out in my poor neglected garden. Who would believe that something so beautiful could grow out of a bulb that looks like an onion!

Tucked in under the daffodils are a few little winter roses (hellebore) the aren't flowering quite as well as in previous years but they are very lovely. They are sometimes called "shy ladies" as they tend to hide their beautiful faces.

I have been at Cottage Quiltworks this weekend teaching my usual once a month classes I always enjoy going there it is such a lovely shop with great fabric and friendly ladies both in class and in the shop. A new range arrived while I was there - a whole 39 yummy bolts!

I was also there a couple of weeks ago for their Winter Escape we were lucky to have a visit from a lovely lady who showed us some gorgeous antique quilt tops and also had goodies for sale. The quilts she has made from "orphan" blocks were lovely so a couple of those "orphans" just had to come home with me for a future project. I am thinking of incorporating some stitched butterflies and some new blocks from 30's style fabric - here is a sneak peek calling it "Antique Inspiration" at this stage.

Hope you like, it stitching will be in red of course - what other colour is there! Not sure when this is going to happen as things are busy on the stitching front at the moment and there is only one of me. Sadly I haven't been able to find that super-charged needle yet.

Until next time remember "Stitch your stress away" V

Sewing Bits

2010-07-13T05:32:00.000-07:00

Well here I am at last. I had this post all but finished two hours ago and then lost everything. Just as well blogging can be rewarding because I am finding it rather frustrating at the moment. Anyway, I have been informed by my good friend and fellow blogger extraordinaire Jean (Linen and Raspberry) that I must update at least once a fortnight so I will do my best. That is of course if I ever get this post out.

The weather has been very cold most mornings are very white with frost. So much so that it has looked like snow on a couple of occasions. The snowdrops are just starting to flower but they aren't very tall yet. I hope to share my bulbs with you over the next little bit of time. At the moment everything is just waiting although the Hellebores (winter roses) are starting to bud. About the only thing to pick is lavender and a few sprigs of whatever green you can find, I have picked sage and put it in this little vase the grey/green of the leaves really look lovely with the lavender and when it is all in a little jug they look even better.

I am sure you all realise that I love all things sewing. Pincushions, needle cases, little bags, reels, spindles all are very welcome in my very eclectic home. I am always making one of the above in one form or another. A little while ago I made the following sewing pocket and pincushion from Amy Butler fabric it was really new then and I thought it was very retro. It reminded me of the fabric in the dresses I used to wear, enough of that or I will date myself! The fabric has scalloped shape flowers on it so I echoed this shape in the embroidery and then appliqued the embroidered hearts in various shapes and sizes to the front, back and inside of the pocket.

Above is the front and following are a couple of inside shots. I have also used my favourite old mother of pearl buttons for some of the trimming. The pincushion has an embroidered, covered button in the centre. The set is then edged with a twisted cord made from the embroidery threads.

Of course I had to have one photo on its side I have reloaded this photo so many times and it still won't co-operate and my computer assistant - Abby is currently having a lovely couple of days with her Nanna and Pop so cannot call her to rescue me. Sorry just have turn yourself a bit on the side to look at this one. Oh well nothing in this world is ever perfect!

I must close now as I am preparing to go and teach my lovely ladies at Jukejema in Nowra tomorrow and on Thursday morning I am off to Cottage Quiltworks for two days teaching at their Quilt Escape. Glad to say that my projects are looking OK. You had a sneak peak at the fabric a couple of posts ago so I will share the photos of these projects on my return along with other goodies I am sure to see while up there.

Stay safe and here is another little saying for you "From a woman's soul, Through a woman's eyes, By a woman's hands" Till next time happy sewing V

Bits, pieces and gadgets

2010-05-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have finally managed to get a picture into my blog, not of the autumn leaves that I mentioned last time because with all the rain we have been having they are almost all gone off the trees, winter is now just days away. Under my trees there are still many leaves but now they are very mushy. Never mind they will still make lovely compost.

Winter may just be days away but when I went out for a quick stroll around the garden this morning there are green shoots coming up and for a change they aren't weeds, they are snowdrops, so hopefully I will have these to share with you when they bloom.

Now, bits, pieces and gadgets. I am not really into gadgets but I have tried the Clover Yo Yo makers because I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a different type of heart and flower shape. They actually work quite well but personally after using the TINY round one I find the regular yo yos much easier to make the old way! Well below are a few things I have made with these gadgets and I might just invest in the new oval one just to have a try who knows it just might have potential.

As it is rather wet and a little windy outside I will leave you with a little saying - "Buttons and patches the cold wind blowing. The days pass quickly when I am sewing"

V

Sneak Peek

2010-04-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

This is my first "solo" post, well not quite solo, Abby is helping me. I am finding this quite stressful but I must keep going.

Here is a sneak peek at a new project, well at least a project in the planning - applique and then embellish, embellish, embellish

These gorgeous fabrics are going to be cut into flower shapes and then appliqued and embellished with embroidered stems.

I did mention that this was a "sneak peek" so that is all for now more to come as I start cutting and stitching. The leaves are turning so winter is coming will try and share some of this glorious colour with you next time, till then happy stitching.

My Inspiration

2010-04-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

I felt it high time that I did a post. Please understand that I am still getting aquainted with this blogging thing, it will take a little time but I will get there.

I thought I would share with you a little corner of my cottage and where I gain some of my inspiration.I fell in love with the scallop on this cabinet.

I like to draw , some days in my garden I see toadstools and daisies , this can inspire some of my illustrations.

I love Vintage , these old knitting needles provoke many wonderful thoughts of the garments made in the past, what were they and who wore them hmm

Oops , this photo has landed sideways, never mind you'll get the idea if you turn your head on its side. I also inspired by the colour red and find it easy to whip up a few sewing implements.

yes you guessed it another place to store all your sewing goodies and in my favourite colour.

I hope this Easter you manage to find some inspiration from your surroundings.

Happy Easter

V

Another Update

2010-03-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am still getting used to my blog - phew how exhausting. My friend Jean is helping me and I am sure I am not a good student. This bag was made last year to demonstrate paper piecing. The fabric for the hexagons was fantastic - all the hexagons on this bag came from the same fabric of course I now have very holey fabric but who cares I bought the fabric for fussy cutting. The edges are all bound with a stripe cut on the diagonal.

Must get more things out for even more photos, until next time

Venture into the World of Blogging

2010-03-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

I am setting up my blog, this is what I hope is the first of many posts .
As I mentioned in my profile I love to sew and I am a collector of all things sewing. Probably it would be safe to say my most favourite colour is red. I also love to collect meaningful quotes and use them in my embroidery.
Let me leave you with this lovely quote until I can get back to you.
"An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place of circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but will never break"

Until next time

Joys in your creations

V