Block of the Month Quilt - Block 8

Being a keen gardener I had heaps of fun sewing the last block for my new Block of the Month Quilt design.

The nursery rhyme Mary Mary Quite Contrary was always of interest to me as a small child. I remember pouring over the illustrations seeking out the flowers that had been depicted. It amused me that cockle shells were in Mary's garden because I was a country girl who lived far from the sea. I wasn't familiar with shells and the thought of having them in the garden seemed strange. Now living in Tasmania, a small island surrounded by the sea, the idea of using cockle shells as a garden edge doesn't seem nearly so strange.
Although I chose not to include shells in my design I wanted to include Mary and of course a watering can.
I came across some wonderful photos of old watering cans and thought I would share them with you.












Aren't they amazing!
I have an old watering can that I use for my garden which is the one I used for inspiration for my block design.





















And of course there are some flowers with little Yo Yo centres.





















And some embroidered Fox Gloves
















Now it's time to work on the border .
Until next time.
Warmly Lenna

Block of the Month Pattern Hickety Pickety

When I was a little girl my grandparents had a few chooks to keep them in eggs. They started with three but as the years went by only one remained. She was a homely little black chook that went by the name of "Murtle".


Unfortunately I do not have a photo of Murtle, but this is what she looked like although I think she was a little plumper.

I have very fond memories of Murtle. When visiting, my Grandmother would invite me to check for eggs. This was always an exciting job because we did not have any chickens at home. Discovering a warm egg in the nest was a thrill!

But the best part was that Murtle was always happy to see me. She was not the kind of chook that chased you around the chicken coop, and she was not the kind to sit on her eggs all day long. This pleased me immensely because reaching underneath a chook to gather eggs was far too much of a mystery for a small child. Who knows what I would find or accidentally grab.

Murtle seemed only too happy for me to collect her egg when I visited. And what made the exercise even more memorable was the little hand woven basket my grandmother had made for the purpose. It was barely large enough to hold 3 small eggs, and made of thick twine so that the eggs were cushioned from the clumsy nature of small hands.

Murtle lived for many years and was a comfort to my Grandmother while she lived on her own. Then one day Murtle died.

A few years later when my Grandmother passed away we returned to her home. While sorting through her things I was delighted to find the little basket, a little swashed but still in good condition.



Its uncovering was perfect because I now had small children of my own and some pet chooks, one for each of them. They were exactly like the ones shown in the photo here. Their names were Fluffy, Scruffy and Peck.

So the little basket came home with me that day and into the hands of the next generation of egg gatherers.

But each time I see it I think of my Grandmother and her black chook Murtle.

In light of this story you will understand why I had to include Hickety Pickety in my new Nursery Rhyme Quilt design.
Hope you like her.


































Until next time.
Warmly Lenna

Block of the Month Quilting Pattern - Twinkle Twinkle

I've just finished another Block for my new block of the month quilting pattern. This week it's all about Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Truth is I was not happy with my fist idea for this block so went back to the drawing board and came up with a new design.

Stars are such wonderful things aren't they? Its no wonder that they inspire so many craft people.
Here are a few photos for you to enjoy.

Star in wool, is he knitted or crocheted?



Timber button stars, wish these were amongst my button collection!



Knitted stars ready for felting



Hand pieced stars in lovely fabrics



Which brings me to my star inspired block.
With a few hand pieced stars of my own...













and a small village on the hill.




































Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has always been one of the favourite nursery rhymes. I have very find memories of my children when they were younger beaming with delight as they performed the actions as I sang along. I can still see their chubby little fingers being twinkling stars.

Have you ever incorporated stars into one of your sewing projects?
Feel free to leave a comment and share your project ideas with others.

Until next time!
Warmly Lenna
www.stitchingcow.com

Kids Sewing Ideas from Little Green Cottage

This month Creating Country Threads Magazine has a kids sewing theme which I am very proud to be apart of.




I strongly believe that teaching kids how to sew is very important. It's a skill that they could benefit from for the rest of their lives.

From a very early age each of my three children showed an interest in learning how to sew. This probably had something to do with the fact that their mum was often sewing and hence they wanted to be a part of the action.

At first they were happy just to play with the contents of my ribbon box and then soon progressed to threading buttons onto string and then to sewing around a design that was drawn onto cardboard. Before long they were sewing with felt and then fabric.

For years I enjoyed teaching groups of kids how to sew during school holidays. My classes were always full to over flowing and I enjoyed seeing the delight on their little faces when they creating something special. This lead me to designing some simple kids sewing patterns which can be found on the Stitching Cow website.

When Creating Country Threads contacted to ask if I would like to contribute to their kids sewing special naturally I was thrilled. I designed a simple project suitable for a little girl's bedroom. It incorporates fusible webbing and simple appliqué. My kids always loved sewing on buttons so I decided to add this element into the design as well.




































I also designed a cute angel ideal for hanging on a door knob.





















So if you have a little person in your life who would like to learn how to sew, then you must grab your own copy of Creating Country Threads this month.



















There are some fabulous kids sewing ideas for you to discover.


















Feel free to leave a comment about the types of projects you have enjoyed whilst sewing with kids.

And don't forget to check out the other kids sewing pattern ideas in the kids section of the Stitching Cow website.

Until next time happy stitching!
Warmly Lenna
www.stitchingcow.com

Project for Australian Country Threads Magazine

I must tell you a story about a recent project that I was commissioned to design for Australian Country Threads magazine. It's more of a confession really and you must promise not to tell anyone in my family, especially hubby.

In fact after hearing what I did feel free to add your own story to this blog post just to make me feel better.

When the lovely Danielle rang me from Australian Country Threads magazine to design a project for an upcoming stitchery special, I was thrilled. We decided on a doll pattern which also thrilled my Miss 9 who seemed eager to claim another doll for her bedroom!
The task gave me an opportunity to have a break from my new quilt project and after acquiring the perfect bundle of fabrics I set to work.

















As my new doll design took shape it came time to paint her boots.
I decided to paint them jet black and to finish them with a coat of varnish. After applying a thick coat of paint I had to decide on the best method to dry them. Glancing out the window I was determined not to venture out in the cold and instead decided to hang them on a small clothes line I had in the lounge room.
I made this hasty decision despite two facts that were glaring me in the face. Number one, the small clothes line was crammed full with a load of white washing, and number two it was positioned very close to the window and my lounge room curtains.

BUT with wet boots in hand and few options available to me (I hadn't really thought this step through) I headed to the indoor clothes line...reached for some pegs and carefully positioned the legs with the wet, glistening boots so that they dangled in a small gap between the wet white washing. So far so good, or so I thought!

As I went to walk away I bumped the clothes line so that the boots swung in the air and brushed up against my beautiful blue Laura Ashley curtains. For a moment I could not believe what I had done. I froze in time as I glared at the big black blob of paint that was now on my curtains. My only comfort was that I was on my own and none of the kids or hubby had witnessed my moment of shame. Or heard the gasp of horror escape my lips (which was really a mouth full of bad language) The next 10 minutes was spent scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing again until my bad deed had been hidden. And I am very relieved to report that the paint mark did come off although after a difficult fight!

Here are the little black boots at the heart of my crime.

















As you can see my doll design has a hand embroidered apron and petticoat.

















And here is a photo of Lizzie





















Seemingly unaware of the stressful moment her boots caused me.

So now you know my secret. My little moment of madness. Any sensible person would have known that wet black paint, white washing and blue curtains were never going to be a good combination, but not me.
Please make me feel better by sharing any moments of madness related to sewing projects that you have experienced. I promise not to tell anyone!!!

And don't forget to look out for Lizzie in an upcoming Stitchery special of Australian Country Threads magazine coming soon. Or feel free to check out some of my other softie and doll patterns listed on the Stitching Cow website

Warmly Lenna

New Block of the Month Pattern - Month 5

No prizes for guessing that the next block in my block of the month quilt is Ba Ba Black sheep.
Here are a few peeks at the block.
















A few black sheep grazing on the hill top amongst the daisies.

















And one black sheep jumping the fence.

Stay tuned for Month 6 coming soon.
Warmly Lenna

Nursery Rhyme Quilt Progress

Guess which quilt block I am currently working on at the moment?






Truth is I'm a bit behind because this week my email crashed grrrrrr! and I had a publishing deadline from Australian Country Threads. Hope to have the finished block to share with you soon.

Warmly Lenna