First Post in 2018

Happy New Year all. I know that Holidays are done and dusted, but my holiday is finally about to start! Hope everyone had a relaxing and safe Holiday. Last year was the busiest year for me. Work, family and home life took most of my time. I did quite a bit on the creative front too. I only made few handmade gifts this year. I made up a few heart ornaments and one for myself to use as a brooch (see photos). 

Late in November I signed up for a textile art course online workshop with Sue Stone. I'm slowly working away on each module and loving it.

Then I finished Indigo Moon quilt and sent it away to get it machine quilted. I am looking forward to getting it back. I also finished another quilt top using blocks I made for a border of Indigo Moon quilt. I have enough blocks to make a throw sized quilt. I'm thrilled that I can use leftovers from one quilt to make another quilt. Does anyone do that? Then to wrap up 2017 leftover project, I finished piecing the heart blocks I did throughout the year, but it needed something to finish it off with. I used whatever fabric I had to piece the border for it. So, is this what they cal improv quilting? I am very pleased with myself and how it turned out.

Below are the photos of what I've mentioned above. 

Hand stitching Christmas tree as part
of my online workshop

Hearts using vintage quilt and blanket

I kelp this to use as brooch

Stitch samplers from module #1 online workshop

Sample from module #2.1

Sample for module 2.2

Playing with blocks from Indigo Moon quilt. I've also made up a few bunnies to applique around Indigo Moon quilt. I only made 4 bunnies. I don't want to waste them so I just randomly placed them in the quilt. I think I'm happy with that!

Leftover blocks

Quilt top with bunnies

Basting ready for hand quilting

Hand quilting has begun

The Love and Kisses quilt top

The most exciting project is my journal cover that I started sometime during the year. It's for our trip this January to Hong Kong and Japan. In Japan I will visit Toji Flea Market in Kyoto and the Tokyo International Quilt Festival. I have managed to combine the trip to visit both events. We will have a few extra days in Hiroshima as well. 

The travel journal front cover

Travel journal black cover

I will be posting on Instagram and Facebook. If you are my friends on Facebook please come along for a ride virtually! Some of my regular blog readers are not happy that I've been neglecting my blog lately. Living life in the fast lane can only fit so much in a day. IG and FB are must easier and faster to update than a blog format. Blogging is a journal for what I'm making. I like to print them out each year, but this year will be a very thin book!

Until next time

Nat

October or November?

When I loaded up the photos for this post it was October, but life is getting away from me lately. So by the time I got back to it again it was almost halfway through November. A lot has happening since my last blog post. One thing for sure is that I'm looking forward to the Christmas break! I get 12 days off work starting from Dec. 22nd through 2nd of Jan. 2018 - woo hoo! 

In January we taking our holiday to Japan, stopping in Hong Kong for a few days on our way. I've planed to get to Toji flea market in Kyoto on the 21st and also to the Tokyo International Quilt Festival at long last! I'm really looking forward to this trip. Apart from that, our son and his family will be joining us there too. Extra excitement to have the grandchildren coming on holiday with us!

On the creative front! A lot is happening on the creative side actually. I have finished piecing the Indigo Moon quilt top. I have enough moon blocks for a queen quilt which I'm very happy with. Next thing is to find a backing big enough for it. Guest what? I walked into my local op-shop and found exactly the fabric I need. I always feel because you love fabric, in return fabric loves you right back too. In this instance I found this gorgeous designer label blue fabric, 'R.M. Williams' just right for the backing of my indigo moon quilt. A perfect marriage between Japan and Australia. How can you beat that? 

More on the creative side. I finally finished Sashiko stitching on my denim jacket. I get lots of compliments every time I wear it. I am also working on some bits and pieces as time allows. See the captions for details. 

Indigo Moon Queen Quilt Top, done and dusted!

R.M. Williams fabric is a lucky
find for quilt backing!

Sashiko stitches on denim jacket

Cutting up old rug to re-purpose into coasters

Some coasters ready to go

The complete commissioned scarf
I did for Martha in Austria. 

The big news from me has to be about my daughter Kitiya Palaskas. I'm so proud to say Kitiya's published her first book! Pinata Party is the ultimate DIY craft book for those wanting to create their own version of this party accessory. The book has now launched in Australia. It will be launched in the US in Feb. 2018. Below are some photos of Kitiya's book launch in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago. A great gift for Christmas to those creative hands...

Bruswick Bound bookstore were
onsite at the launch.

Kitiya started the lunch
with the bank/bottle!

Lots of friends came to give support

Fun night were have by all and Pinatas!

Lovely dudes came to give helping hands

One of the pages from the book. 

Lucky find:

I haven't been shopping or looking at anything to buy lately, but last weekend I took my gym buddy to my local op-shop and I just stumbled into these two adorable stools. I sat on each one of them and I fell in love with them so, got to take them home with me!

This post ends with the update on my 12 Weeks Challenge I started almost 12 weeks ago now. This is our last week in the Challenge. Unbelievable how fast the 12 weeks have flown by. Next Friday is the presentation evening. We all get to dress-up and receive our awards or the badges of attendance. I will make sure to get a good photo of us to share with you. 

I think my next post will be a Christmas post. It's going to be a low key Christmas for us. A busy time in my family this year. Will keep you updated once it is all over.

Until next time

Nat

March 2017!

2017 comes with wings! I can't believe how fast it flew by this year. After I got over Christmas and New Year holidays I went back in my treehouse studio to pick-up and work on some of my UFOs. I got the Yellow Crumb quilt top finished which was a relief. At the same time I was hand stitching the Indigo moons block for the Quilty 365 challenge which I started in 2016. I didn't get to 365 blocks, but with a clever setting, I might get enough to make a queen size quilt. 

We have had a sad event in our family. My beloved Mother-in-law passed away in late Feb. My family and I made a short trip to the funeral in Auckland, NZ. My MIL was a lovely and supporting lady for all of us. I know we will all miss her. 

My colleagues and friends at work gave me a lovely bouquet of flowers on my return, so I decided to use them in the dye bundles in memory of my MIL. I also did more dyeing using my usual eucalyptus leaves. There lot of photos here so please enjoy...

Desert Cactus flower from my garden

Sympathy flowers into bundle 

Eucalyptus leave dyed. 

More Eucalyptus dyed

First piece from the bouquet 

Second piece of the bouquet

I read somewhere in social media about the Asia Gallery Warehouse in Auckland. On my last day there I thought I would look it up and what I found was WOW! It was an amazing hidden gem of a warehouse. I got talking to one of the ladies there and found that her husband worked most of his life in Japan. Although retired, he keeps going back there and brings all the gorgeous textiles and vintage artefacts back to Auckland. It happened that he married a lovely Thai lady so he is now importing vintage textiles from northern Thailand as well. I spent a few good hours there enjoying all the displays. I imagined I was back in Japan and Thailand! Naturally, I bought some gorgeous fabric from there! 

BORO indigo Yukatas

Silk for dyeing and indigo fabric

The stash I brought home

The two lovely ladies I met there.

The Japanese wooden doll (Kokeshi doll)
to add to my collection.

Some quilts I'm working on recently: The Indigo Moon is the Quilty 365 block challenge in 2016. It started off very well. I kept it going for most of 2016.

I completed the Yellow Crumb quilt I started with my friend Myra when she visited in October. I got really motivated and got it done over the Christmas holidays. I have just sent it off to the machine quilter and I can't wait to get it back! Out of the blue I started another quilt in January. It's a quilt from the Cultural Fusion Quilts book by Sujata. My favourite thing about starting all these quilts is, I have all the fabric I need for all of them! I'm a true quilter in the sense that I thrive on reusing and re-purposing what I have. I even go as far as getting new clothes with fabric that can be use for quilting in the future!  

Setting I've chosen for Indigo Moon Quilt

Original setting, but it will need more blocks!

Yellow Crumb Quilt

Some blocks from the Cultural Fusion Quilts book

Lucky Find: I haven't posted lucky find for awhile because everything I find these days is a lucky find! But today I'd like to share with you my lucky, lucky find. A vintage Ralph Lauren, RL Polo bag. I found it at a cool vintage store in Bangkok. It's a perfect little bag to carry a wallet and a phone around. I love love using it!

Hope everyone in North America is coping well with the cold weather you have been getting lately. You are supposed to be getting into Spring aren't you? Please keep safe and warm. 

I don't have any overseas travel planned this year, but I'm planning a big trip to the Tokyo International Quilt Festival in Jan. 2018 so I am saving everything for that. You can't just go to Japan without seeing more of the country so we will fit in Kyoto and maybe the south which we have not ventured into. For 2017 we will make mini trips to the outback or a trip to Sydney later on in the year.

My lovely friend Janet Wright is complaining that I don't update my blog enough! Sorry Janet, but I really haven't done much to blog about! I can assure you that I have been physically active exercising most days. 

Until next time

Nat 

Dyeing and Quilting

As usual March is creeping up on us without any warning! Even though February has 29 days it didn't help much. Life is getting back to normality again for me. Apart from a slight dizziness when I get up in the morning and lie down in the evening, I feel much much better. I've returned to the gym after work, but I'm particularly careful not to fall. To my surprise I'm feeling okay, thanks goodness!

Even though I haven't spent much time in the Treehouse studio lately, I did get back into dyeing a bit. The Eucalyptus trees are now in full swing with the flower buds. I feel that the Eucalyptus is its best during the flowering season. The flower buds give beautiful impressions on fabric when dyeing. I love that intricate clutter of buds on silk fabric! 

I have some great images below to share with you. Don't forget to read the captions of each image.   

Beautiful Pink Flowering Gum

Bundles resting before unwrapping

My dyeing station is always inviting

Dye bundles after steaming

Imprint of flower seed buds

Something is going right here! 

Lino-cutting from a fun Sunday!

Apart from dyeing and lino-cutting I did fit in a bit of traditional quilting in the last couple of weeks. I started heart stitching since Valentines Day in Feb. I love the simplicity of the heart shape! I always added a heart shape in all my stitching projects. I continue to work on Indigo moons as part of Quilt 365 challenge I started earlier this year. I'm happy to say that I've caught up with the block to date! 

2016 Valentines Hearts

Indigo Moons up to date!

I'm looking forward to another textile trip at Easter. This time I'm going with my friend Mary Burgess who is a weaver. We are going to Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Chiang Mai, and while I'm in that part of the world I will stop to visit my family in Bangkok for the last few days. I'm looking forward to returning to Chiang Mai as well. The last time I was there I must have been in my 20s. 

So I will be off blogging until I return in the middle of April. Then you can read all about my textile trip adventures. You can always check out my daily photos on Instagram. 

Until next time

Nat