• About
  • Projects
  • Articles
  • Contact

julielivingstone

~ It isn't always about getting what you want. Sometimes it's about wanting what you've got.

julielivingstone

Monthly Archives: February 2013

Next projects

21 Thursday Feb 2013

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Australian Cotton Fibre Expo, project, quilt, sewing

OK, so I sent my entry in for the Australian Cotton Fibre Expo. Actually, I sent in photos and paperwork, which is all that’s required at this stage, and I have to admit that the piece isn’t actually finished. It’s finished enough that I was able to take photos of it though, and it doesn’t have to be sent in until April, so I have a little time yet. I’m pleased with the way it’s gone so far, and pretty confident that it will turn out looking the way I want it to, so fingers crossed!

I need to be strict with myself and finish it before I go on with anything else, or at least start anything else. I’ve already got one project on the go, but that’s a long term thing. It’s a quilt, done in the English method using papers, of hexagons which I think are about 2 inches across, or about 5 cms. I haven’t yet stopped to calculate how many I will need to make for a double bed sized quilt, but I think it will be well over a thousand. I’ll be stitching this all by hand, so you can understand why it’s a long term project! It will be all made from either old clothes, or left over bits from making clothes or other things, so I’m digging through my stash. I’ve been sewing for over 40 years, and mostly when I’ve made something I don’t throw away the scraps, so I think I will have plenty of fabric. I want to go back to the origins of patchwork, when it was a way of using up scraps of old fabric and the good bits of old clothes. Whilst I also love lots of the quilt fabrics which are available today, and have succumbed to some of them for other projects, I have a slight problem with going out to buy yards of new fabric, bringing it home to cut up and stitch back together again. It doesn’t sit too well with the whole ‘use less’ philosophy which I try to live by.

Another inspiration for the quilt is that my Mum made one back in the 1970s. Hers is the same, made of bits of my old dresses, and hers, and she and my Dad still have it on their bed. Her hexagons are smaller though, which makes it even more laudable. I talked to her about it recently, and she told me that one of the patches was from my Dad’s ‘demob’ shirt, in other words the shirt from the suit of clothes he was given when he was demobilised from his National Service in the UK, about 1948 I should think. That patch is wearing thin now, but after about 65 years that’s not surprising! Now I come to think of it, some of the fabric I am going to use will be about 30 years old already, so it only has 35 years to go.

My next short term project might be a quilt for my daughter’s engagement, and for that I shall succumb to browsing the internet for fabric. I want some with themes to cover their interests, so that means hours spent on the net looking for just the right thing. I can’t wait!

 

 

Advertisement

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Excuses for lack of posts

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by julielivingstone in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

competition, garden, sewing

How lax I have been! Nearly three weeks since my last post. In my defence, I haven’t been doing nothing. I put an entry into the Australian Cotton Expo in the craft section, and have been beavering away at it. It really needs to be finished by this weekend so that I can take a photo and send it in before the entries close, but I don’t think it will be. I’m now frantically trying to figure out how much I need to finish in order to be able to take photos which will look as if it’s finished, if that makes sense. The entry conditions say that you have to send a sketch or photo of your entry, so it doesn’t have to be finished, a sketch could be of something which wasn’t even started yet. No hints on here as to what my entry is, that will have to wait until the contest is done, in about April I think.

On the topic of competing, I also entered my wall hanging, Fremantle Limestone, in the Sydney Royal Show, just for a lark. At least that is already finished, I just have to find a way of packing it so that it can be posted, shouldn’t be too hard. Then I have an idea for another competition I saw mentioned recently . . . I can see this competing business is going to get a grip on me!

So, the sewing has been taking priority lately, partly also because it’s mostly too hot to do much outside. Cooler weather forecast for this Sunday though, so I hope to catch up on a few jobs. Trouble is, my ‘to do’ list never gets any shorter. Anybody got any ideas?

 

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Blogroll

  • Learn WordPress.com
  • Live to Write – Write to Live

Back Pages

  • July 2018 (1)
  • November 2017 (1)
  • August 2017 (1)
  • June 2017 (2)
  • March 2017 (1)
  • October 2016 (1)
  • September 2016 (1)
  • August 2016 (2)
  • March 2016 (2)
  • February 2016 (2)
  • January 2016 (3)
  • August 2015 (1)
  • March 2015 (2)
  • February 2015 (1)
  • January 2015 (3)
  • December 2014 (2)
  • November 2014 (4)
  • April 2014 (2)
  • November 2013 (2)
  • October 2013 (1)
  • July 2013 (1)
  • June 2013 (2)
  • March 2013 (1)
  • February 2013 (2)
  • January 2013 (2)
  • December 2012 (3)
  • November 2012 (3)
  • October 2012 (4)
  • September 2012 (4)
  • August 2012 (1)
  • July 2012 (1)
  • May 2012 (1)
  • April 2012 (4)
  • March 2012 (2)
  • February 2012 (3)
  • January 2012 (3)
  • December 2011 (3)
  • November 2011 (5)
  • October 2011 (4)
  • September 2011 (2)

My Tags

Anthony Trollope Art Deco article ASG asymmetrical ATASDA Australian Sewing Guild blog blogging book books challenge Christmas clothes clouds colour commonplace book competition content craft creativity design dogs drawing electric embroidery fabric fashion illustration fence freelance Fremantle garden horses ideas inspiration in every issue Jeeves Koos van den Akker labrador language learning machine embroidery magazine Margaret Preston Mozilla novels op-shop origin of phrases pattern PG Wodehouse photography phrases project property quilting reading reconstructed recycled Roald Dahl sayings ScribeFire seo sewing skirt Threads magazine transfer dyes Tris Hussey TS14Plus upcycled water weather Wooster Wordpress words workshop writing

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • julielivingstone
    • Join 36 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • julielivingstone
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: