Mexican Stand Off ?

My sister tells me I'm having a Mexican stand off with my blog. Or maybe I told her I was having a Mexican stand off with my blog. Anyway, she wants my blogging to return pronto! Here is my pronto.

Here is a beautiful felted bag that I recently bought from a very talented customer. It is made from Noro Kureyon yarn and lined in a gorgeous lilac Liberty. It has a fabulous purple vintage button and I love it, a whole lot! I will attempt to take a photo that does it a whole lot more justice - it really is gorgeous.

Ages ago I mentioned the Oliver + S dress that I made for the shop . I made it in Liberty - Betsy in fact. This gorgeous fabric teamed with this really sweet, sweet pattern makes a real cute dress. If you do make any of these patterns be sure to check out their errata page before you start anything

So, there, stand off over. Now to bed. Boys all went to Sydney today, baby in bed with tonsillitis. Poor baby.

Hexagons, Parties, Anything....

This boy is holding up only 5 fingers, but he actually turned 8 this week. Yo, yo, bling, bling!

This is the little visitor we had this past week. I think they are butterfly watching. Cute.

This is what's up on my design wall at the moment. Big hexagons with lots of Garden Party by Anna Maria Horner and some Kaffe and a fair bit of Kei red honeycomb.

My latest love. I spotted something similar on a gorgeous Japanese girl in the shop a few months back. I couldn't stop looking at the beautiful creation that her mother in Japan - who owns a quilt shop - had made for her. She had her Mum make me one too. I love it. All vintage feedsack fabrics. Can you see the fabric that Denise Schmidt must have got her inspiration from?

Little Bo Peep

Through all the busyness of being a Mum, I managed to make this little bag yesterday whilst the babe was a sleeping. It was a nice experiment and I will try some more blocks soon and they too might become bags. Today it's been big hexagons, I'll show them soon. Happy weekend.

Fabricaholic

Ok. If you seriously love Liberty so much, perhaps you could pop into Scanlan & Theodore and pick up these little darlings. Or, you could just go to the newsagent and pick up this week's Grazia magazine and just dream about a new installment of gorgeousness.

And, can you believe this fabric is still going strong? I had a dress made by my grandmother in this very same print about, oooooo, 32 years ago. Then in my twenties I had a very dainty little puff sleeved blouse in the purple colourway. For some reason it reminds me of rice bubbles. Not sure why? Must have eaten rice bubbles in my dress as a wee one!

Crochet and Liberty Love

Where have I been? Crocheting up a storm, falling madly in love with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino (that's yarn for those not in the know), sewing a bit here and there, looking after the sick baby girl and nursing a very sore ear myself. How about you?

I finished the blankie above a couple of weeks ago - very Alicia Paulson? It's the pattern on her website and I just loved doing it. But, it is small. Cradle sized, 'cause this gal gets bored with repetition, yummy purple/magenta yarn and a whole lot of dc-ing and a bit more.

I'll show some more crocheting this week and also some of the sewing I've done - another Oliver + S pattern - the Bubble dress, super, super sweet. Hope your week is a Hot Diggety Dog!

Favourite Things

Things. These are some of my treasures that were accidentally placed together, away from little mischievous hands. Funnily enough, I like them all together. Perle cottons and coral, chandelier drops and little red car, matryoshka doll from when I was little - split and only one half of a piece inside and a wee wonderful postcard. A little bit of whimsy, carefree placements that make me happy.

And then, just when you least expect it ........a new fabric to add to my "most favourite fabric of all time"collection. This is one of Kaffe's Big Bloom fabrics - I used the soft pink to make up the squares in my last quilt. This one my friends, is the pièce de résistance, the fabric to rival all fabric, this fabric is the bomb! I have 1 metre, but I'm beginning to think that this could be one versatile baby and maybe more is best. Yes, no, anyone? Being greedy? It comes in a couple of other colours too, check them out here.

Girly Spiderswebs

Today I managed to finish my spiderweb quilt. After a few tense moments I decided it wasn't the end of the world if my triangles and squares in the centres of the blocks were not going to be perfect. So, I got over it, moved forward and finished the top.

I used one of Kaffe's newer fabrics - Big Blooms -as the centre fabric. Big decision that one, I tried to audition a non pink variety, but, alas, this quilt just asked to be pink.

Vintage Treasure

Full of feedsack delights, one of my vintage treasures. This little quilt top is hand pieced 1 1/2 " squares. A little tatty around the edges, but that's all part and parcel of a vintage piece that has so many never to be answered questions I have for the unknown stitcher of this gem. Like, what was your life like? Were you loved warmly, tenderly, honestly? Did you provide warm hugs for your Grandchildren and wipe your hands on your apron when you placed that homemade cake into the oven? Did you chop the wood for your fire and pick the roses from your garden? Did you stitch at night with your loved ones beside you? I hope, dear stitcher, that you had a good, full life, as happy as this quilt sitting on my lap today.

Tiger, Tiger

Tiger, tiger is a really cool coffee bar in Perth. Really cool and eclectic and serves really good coffee, not that I drink coffee, but my husband is into seriously good coffee, so he knows! So when in the city check out Tiger, Tiger.

Onto tigers closer to home, Oliver drew this a year or so ago (sister added the scribble recently) and I liked it so much that I turned it into..............

this! Not quite finished - unusual I know - but nearly. How cool are those sharp, sharp claws on his tiger, tiger.

Frida!

photos: Cees Van Gelderen. Taken from Marie Claire Idees No69 - Juin 2008

photo : me. Taken today - poor lighting and all! Just wrote that to see if you read this.

photos: Grant Cornett, styling: Olivia Pintos-Lopez, flower design: Nicolette Owen. http://www.smallmagazine.net/

The online mag Small Magazinehas done the most gorgeous photo shoot, all Frida Kahlo - esque. I don't quite know that Phoebe is up for one of those upstyles just yet.........but I am! Now Jenny from Allsorts has already blogged about it, but I just couldn't let it go without doing my own, especially given the latest issue of Marie Claire Idees has a gorgeous Mexicano extravaganza happening on their pages too. And I am so loving that smock top up the top of the page and wishing that my hands could/would work a whole lot faster on the gazillion projects I have going, so I could embark on this little beauty. Alternatively, I dream of being able to just dream up projects, start them and then pass them onto some fabulously quick handed person for finishing. Maybe I could teach my hubby to sew. Marathons/sewing? Marathons/sewing? Mmmm....maybe he might to embark on a marathon of sewing with me. Note: He did a marvellous effort in a marathon on Sunday! Nothing to do with sewing.

The middle top is a gift from Pete's parents - all the way from Switzerland. It is super sweet and I can't wait for Phoebe to love it. And she will!

Thanks to my sister and her hilarious post about my foray into boot scooting in the name of being famous one day. Kidding.

Garden Party

These are two fabrics from Anna Maria Horner's new range of fabrics, "Garden Party". It is such a beautiful range.

I was busy over the weekend sewing up an Oliver+S pattern for the latest window at Calico and Ivy. It's the Puppet Show Tunic up the top with the little shorts. Tres cute! The shop front of Calico and Ivy is so beautiful and just perfect for dressing up. Here is the last window, filled with Amy Butler wholesomeness. A little too reflective, so I'll try and get a snap of the latest window in the evening. If in Perth, come and check it out. Debbie has done a gorgeous new quilt to inspire.

Hello Again, Hello

....I know I've been absent. But I'm back, with a little post.

I'm loving this vintage dress pattern! I'm thinking it's going to become a favourite dress of the future. I'm sure the possibilities of which fabric to use are endless.

Happy Birthday Sister!

It's my little sister's birthday today. Happy Birthday! I love birthdays. Special days to make special people feel special all day.

I like to make things for people, so when she kept joking with me and asking me whether I was making her a large pleated bag of posts gone by - I had great pleasure in saying no. But little did she know that I was making the above bag. In my favourite fabric of the moment - some of Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party. I am absolutely loving this range of fabric - every singe bit of it! So Happy Birthday again little sister - hope you had a great day. xx

Rather looks a little like a fig, doesn't it!

Thrifted Find

Last Friday, I went op shopping. I picked up a few sewing treasures but this was the find of the week. It's a recipe file and it's extra special because my Mum has one just like. Mum's is well used, but this is in pristine condition. It cracks me up really - it's quite, well, uglyish, sort of. I mean, was there a food stylist involved? I don't think so! After all there is a fruit loaf, fruit on a silver platter, a lone lemon, an egg and eggcup, a boat ??, and a small ornamental boat in the photo. Very interesting. We've come a long way in Australia - think of the beautiful styling in a Donna Hay magazine.

You may notice my colour change. I'm going pink for a week. I was so saddened by the news of Jane McGrath yesterday. Being a Mummy of three children, my heart goes out to her children who will be without their Mummy and of course to her husband who has lost his best friend. And sadness for her, 42 is such a young age. You can donate to her worthy cause here. The foundation raises money to provide breast care nurses in the homes of women in rural and regional Australia, when diagnosed with breast cancer.

Stacks

The stack of basted quilts grew today. It's been a long time coming, but the house was empty for a few hours and I just had to get this quilt basted. It will be sent to Sydney this week for the Mummy of the owner to lovingly quilt it. There's still a few more to baste though. I quite like just looking at the stack.....one day they will be hand quilted.

Strawberries

Ripe, Ripe Strawberries

easy mornings, when the sunshine's just feeling its way into the sky. early morning smiles, open eyes wide and welcome the day. ah sweet sunshine, on my back as i learn to sew, warming my face as i hang out the washing - a candy coloured array, sunshine. like john denver sang - it makes me happy. as do ripe strawberries that burst with flavour, oozing, staining your best top - but who cares when life tastes like this?

©Alexandra Kentmann 2008


I love the use of words, a little bit of poetry each week. It puts the spring into my step - a little bit of quirk in my day. My sister wrote the above piece, she's clever. She writes for a living. Most weeks she posts on her blog Random Poetics. Little pieces of her life that she puts into words. This week was her 100th post so she's having a give away on her other blog - check it out - she has cool stuff ! Oh, yeah, you need to leave a comment - easy!

Speaking of strawberries, these are my favourite strawberry fabrics, some old, some new. I love them all.

A Few Of My Favourire Things

A small bark cloth tablecloth with big blowsy red roses and a big aqua coloured border. Treasured.

Granny Catherine's (Pete's Granny) old glass butter dish filled with many different vintage buttons. I love old buttons - glass ones, Bakelite one and even plain old plastic ones.





Some vintage belt buckles collected over the years. Just collecting for that one day that I have a special project in mind.




These David Austen roses are for my special friend Lindy (and Mark, her hubby). Today is the anniversary of the loss of their precious baby girl - Isabella Jane - who died 13 weeks after being born full term, 4 years ago today.

Hearts

Some vintage hearts from a cutter quilt. They came from Sheena. They are fresh and happy. And small reminders of good things. I love them.

Book

The Quiltmaker's Gift is a book that was given to my son Oliver a couple of years ago by Kate, his aunty. He loves it. It's a story of a greedy king with many belongings, who learns, with the help of a generous and kind hearted quilter, to give away his belonging and find true happiness in the gift of giving. The story and it's prequel "The Quiltmaker's Journey" are written by Jeff Brumbeau and superbly illustrated by Gail de Marcken.


Oliver loves the connections between these books and what I do, what I create. He loves nothing more than poring over the elaborate illustrations discussing the quilts he would love me to make him. I love that he loves these books and that he takes such an interest in what I do - everything is quilting in his tender 7 year old eyes - crocheting, sewing, embroidery - he wraps it all under the one tag. Sweet.

For Comfortable Days

On my last visit to Sydney, I fell in love with this book that my sister had. I kept dreaming of two of the bags in it. Dreaming so much of these bags, I just had to have a rummage through my stash and make one. Shock horror - yes, I used my stash! I ditched trying to make out the pattern and made up my own based on the photos in the book. I quite like my first attempt. I will do my best to fill it up (it's quite big) with all my stuffs and love it tenderly. I've used a blue linen fabric for the outer - I've either got this from a Designer's Guild sale or my brother in laws factory (he's an upholsterer). The interior is a couple of years old - Fruit Cocktail by Chloe's Closet for Moda.

Flitting

Always flitting from one thing to another - that's what us crafters do! Here is a new crocheting project that I started last night. It's for my Mum. I love the feel of the Mille Colori yarn and seeing all the colours as the balls unravel is something else. They are great colours. I love the gentle rhythm of crocheting. This is repetition I can cope with - especially to see those colours keep coming.

Stripped Spiderswebs

Last year I was chatting to a lady at the Kaffe Fassett lecture in Perth. She was a knitter and I was a quilter and we were chatting back and forth about our respective passions. She mentioned that she once had thought she would one day like to do some patchwork, but on looking at the fabric decided against it as the fabric was beautiful as it was and she really couldn't understand why you would cut up something and sew it together again. I sort of understand her thinking - especially when you think of the process of knitting. But I love to cut the fabric up, the more the better I think. So I'll stick to patchwork I think. I've had so much fun creating these octagons. Here are my strips cut with the Marti Michell Kaleidoscope ruler and sewn together again.





This is my favourite one.

A bit of Liberty of London thrown. All you die hard Liberty fans will know which one it is - anyone who's not sure, it's the white one with knitting needles and yarn on it.

Below, is a gorgeous gift of Liberty for my birthday from a gorgeous gal - Danielle. Thanks so much, I just love it.