Last month I posted the beginnings of this bag.
It's taken me ages, but I'm finally finished.
I love this bag every bit as much as the boomerang bag. Best of all I don't have to fight anyone for it.
I've had a love affair with redwork for a very long time because of this friendship quilt.
The redwork was given to me by Jess.
Op Shopped: French silk ribbon, zip, belts & red & white valance used for lining.
Pip's hosting a week of special stuff.
I am trying to be less about the "stuff". Only about half our current haul of stuff is going to move with us when the new house is ready. This absolutely makes the cut. It's a Redwork friendship quilt made for my great grandmother by Canadian hands.
Made all the more special by of all the women who contributed their stitches and time. I love to run my fingers over those stitches and imagine the women who sat and stitched these blocks. So different from my own life and yet so very much the same.
Did you know that stitches are like signatures? Historians can tell which of the stitches were stitched by Hilda and Joan and Merle!
is buried under 5m x 3m of redwork & so am I!
I may or may not be able to dig myself out to get around to say g'day this week I hope that when you see the quilt either live or via photos on the blog you'll forgive me.
Those of you who were interested in last week's space & my music boxes in progress might want to take a look here.
You can visit my favourite space from last week right here.
Don't forget to pop in & add your link if you're playing along this week.
today is:
apple fabric from Brooke & redwork from Jess. Just because presents are the very best kind - thank you lovely, lovely girls.
my Jessie Jamieson photo album. I'm ready for Found Photos this Friday & the kittens which haven't yet morphed into their new state.
Inspired by Claire's craft explosion I swivelled for this shot.
No explanation required!
I'm absolutely all about the redwork. Things could be a bit boring around here until it's done but I promise to mix things up a bit.
Colouring in with French Knots is so satisfying (if a little on the slow side). It's touchability is high which is pretty important to me.
I'm a bit worried that my piece will be a bit on the grubby side by the time it all comes together.
Check our quilt project progress here.
Teeny tiny port glass with offerings from the walk home from school.
I had a lovely evening last night at The Aviary catching up with old school mates & laughing until tears were streaming down my face. Absolutely nobody can make me laugh like those girls can. It's really good to laugh until your cheeks hurt!
I'm completely on a roll with the redwork, filling every spare moment with a few more chain or stem stitches and getting a huge amount of pleasure from the small repetative stitches.
Hoping your weekend has been a cracker too!
Plenty of distrACTION in the space this week.
This week
action:
managed to piece last week's redwork
found the knitted squares which have been haunting me for 2 weeks
found my glasses (in the bag with the squares)
distraction:
clover needle felting equipment
teeny tiny etchasketch
more pincushions
last night's capiroska
departure:
After seeing Jane's Gees Bend results & subsequently Meg's stunning free form block I used the leftover apholstery scraps from the pincushion exercise to make this square. It's been ages since I did any kind of block piecing & this was most enjoyable. My favourite bit is the little patch to repair the hole from the sample book.
The link list seems to be working well. Don't forget to add your link everytime you play - I have the current post linked from the sidebar each week.
period.
Of course, I'm no Picasso but I figure I'm entitled to a little red influence.
I've been obsessed with all things red for quite some time.
This friendship quilt is what really began my love affair with red.
It was made as a parting gift for my Great Grandmother when she left Canada in the 1920's. It was my Grandfather's bedspread as a child & I am now the custodian of it! It is my most treasured item. When I was growing up it lived in a trunk at the end of my Mum's bed. I used to get it out & run my fingertips over the stitches. So much history & so much love.
I'm determined to have a crack at some redwork in the next couple of months. I just love it.
Welcome to my Red Phase (not being called a period for obvious reasons). I'll be sharing lots of red goodness over the next few days.
My beginnings from last week haven't actually begun. I've completely lost the knitted squares that were supposed to go with that little knitted cardigan & then I got totally sidetracked with folding & making more pincushions.
In the space this week:
blanks (more on this later)
redwork from Jess
cherries & checks
a gift
Hoping that everything goes OK with the links. It was smooth sailing last week - hooray.
Just a reminder - please double check your URL before you add your link. There are a couple that I've had to fix up every week.