Out with the winter blues.......hello SPRING..........

The second half of winter has been one full of illness for myself and family, so bring on this lovely spring season, I say!!!!

Getting to the computer has obviously fallen by the wayside, so I hope to catch up with all the blogging news very soon. 

I have been busy working on a project I started ages ago........I had wanted to master applique on the sewing machine and didn't get off to a good start so it ended up in a drawer........well I have had a go......not sure if you could say that I've mastered the machining but I'm pretty happy with the results.

 The design is a William Morris inspired applique wallhanging from one of Michelle Hill's amazing books.

 .....a closer look at the blocks.........

 ........I have hand worked the flowers to add depth, and a touch of metallic if you look closely.......

..............I love the Morris designs, and have wanted to try one of these projects since meeting and watching Michelle in Sydney last year.......

............I intend to cross hatch the quilting in a metallic thread on the machine, fingers crossed!!!!!.........

Oh and along with lots of other bloggy friends I have just joined Chookyblues Secret Santa Swap for Christmas.....my second year.......I am so excited, I have been given a blogging lady from an overseas country to create a gift for, and somewhere out there in bloggy space, someone will have been given my name to make for me!!!!............hmm, now to visit the blog of my recipient to find out as much about them as possible so I can make something they will like.............see ya..........I'm off to 'lurk'....hehe.........

Funky Scissors and a Finish from the sewing room.....

While I was at the Sydney Craft Fair, I was treated with the joy of meeting Michelle Hill, the very talented lady who designs quilts based on her passion of all things related to William Morris.........

 .....Michelle is as beautiful on the inside as she looks on the outside......

Here is a closer look at the delightful quilt she has designed on the wall behind us.....

The 'P' in no way means that Michelle is only newly licensed!!! ....haha....that is the p for Pfaff, which is the stand hosting Michelle's visit at the fair....believe me, Michelle Hill is very well experienced at driving those Pfaff machines, and I came away tempted to upgrade!!!!....of course!!!!....lol...This is what she was sewing on at the fair to demonstrate.........

I am keen to have a go at some of these lovely projects, and you may remember a few posts back I assembled a couple of blocks ready for stitching.........well after all the tiny intricate cutting of the little pieces I had 2 numb fingers on the right hand for 2 weeks!!!!!!.....Michelle put me onto these scissors as a solution....BIG handles, weeny points..........

Aren't they weird looking?....but they are fantastic for fiddly cutting.....no more cutting RSI for me...thanks Michelle.......they are Fiskars brand...I got mine at Spotlight......

I have been busy in my absence from blogland.....busy in the sewing room....and sewing at the beach this last weekend.......ta da ......My Garden is finished.....

All machine quilted in the ditch so as not to detract from the little stitcheries.......

Now I think I might move on to a project in Anni's new book, Some Kind of Wonderful........

I hope you are enjoying some sewing time in your corner of the world........