I can see the finish line

You know how, at the end of a big race, there is always that last crazy burst at the end? People who have been running for days at a slow plod suddenly find that last burst of energy to sprint to the finish.....

I am totally like that, except for the energy bit, and the sprinting bit and the running bit. I do however see the finish line and that is a good feeling. I am not sure whether the end of the list will be reached but I do know that nobody but me will know so it doesn't really matter.

Today was my last day at school before I leave and I have a lot of small things to finish off and a house to clean so the house/pet sitters don't run screaming from the door. Actually some doors will just be closed, thereby negating the need to clean behind them ( and if the housesitters are snoops .... they can suffer in their jocks ).

I am looking forward to catching up with friends at market - total understatement! I have made THE BEST friends doing this crazy fabric gig and I love that I get to go and visit different parts of Amercia ( except Houston, sorry Houston you smelt like poo). Mr Ric Rac is coming along this time to make sure I don't get carried away with the designer gig and disappear up my own arse.

There will be long days and sore feet and I will inevitably look like I have been dragged through a hedge backwards about halfway through the first morning. There will be new exotic foods to try (peanut butter with everything) and there will be dinners and events and meetings and Very Important People.

There will not be screaming babies on planes or hymn singing nervous flyer women. There will not be explosive tummy bugs and nor will there be pooey smells or steamy weather or hurricanes.

I have exhumed all the technologies that connect cameras to ipads to dropboxes to birth records or whatever and will do my best to blog a bit while I am there.

Tell me something you know about Utah. I know that it is illegal to fish from horseback and also illegal to have sex in the back of an ambulance on the way to an emergency....but I decided to go ahead with my travel plans anyway.

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A Spoonful of Sugar

 When Lisa of A Spoonful of Sugar invited me to join her blog tour for her new book I was excited. I have blog-known Lisa for about a hundred blog years and i am a great admirer of her blog - it is stunning ! Things being what they are i was also a little bit concerned about the timing as I knew I would be preparing for market. Lisa assured me she would give me a spot early in the tour - and she did !

I welcome you to the  Spoonful of Sugar Book book tour blog hop.

I am sure you all know Lisa and Sarah, the dynamic mother/daughter team behind The Spoonful of Sugar Blog... well Lisa has just released her first book and it is stunning! 
Of course if you know Lisa's blog you would expect nothing less. Her style is so recognisable ! This book is as beautiful and considered as her blog. 

There are projects to suit everyone in this book. From cute little felt beetles to the most stunning Cathedral Windows pincushion (which I look forward to trying after market.).

I made the sweet coasters and they came together far quicker than I imagined. I used some Ella Blue basic for the text and the little tonal is from my new range. The instructions and diagrams are comprehensive and super easy to follow. Anything that can be embellished with Ric Rac is a winner.

There is a great mix of projects in the book, some raw edge applique, Sashiko and English Paper Piecing as well as patchwork and crochet -truly something for everyone.

This book is going to become my go-to for hand made gifts.

I want to include a hundred pictures in the post and show you all the gorgeous projects but instead you can follow along the Blog Hop below and see as each person makes a project from the book.
 The tour is going to include giveaways and there will be a fun sew-along on Instagram.
The Sew-along starts on June 1st to August 9 and will consist of five rounds of two weeks. There are going to be prizes for each round and a grand prize winner generously sponsored by Alisha from Ministry of Fabric

April 27 – Minki Kim from Minki’s Work Table

April 28 – Melissa LeRay from Oh How Sweet

April 29 – Jemima Flendt from Tied With a Ribbon

April 30 – Beverley McCullough from Flamingo Toes

May 2 – Sedef Imer from Down Grapevine Lane

May 3 – Nadra Ridgeway from Ellis and Higgs

May 4 – Amy Morinaka from Chick Chick Sewing

May 5 – Caroline Critchfield from Sew Can She

May 6 – Kristyne Czepuryk from Pretty By Hand

May 7 – Bronwyn Hayes from Red Brolly

May 9 –  Anorina Morris from Samelia’s Mum

May 10 – Peta Peace from She Quilts A Lot

May 11 – Faith Essenburg from Sarana Ave

May 12 – Angie Wilson from Gnome Angel

May 13 – Sharon Burgess from Lilabelle Lane Creations

May 14 – Stacy Olson from Stacy Olson

May 16 – Ayda Algin from Cafenohut

May 17 – Jennie Pickett from Clover and Violet

May 18 – Wynn Tan from Zakka Art

May 19 – Lisa Cox from A Spoonful of Sugar

As Lisa said - not everyone can win a prize so she has generously added this sweet little hexie pincushion tutorial to her blog to say thanks for everyone's support and encouragement . She is an egg of outstanding quality.

Free quilt pattern - I blame the iron

Recently,  I was availing myself of the amenities at the shopping centre and took the time to read those interesting facts on the back of the door.

No, not the " for a good time  - call Kim" type notices - this one was about iron deficiency.

Apparently a lack of iron can lead to forgetfulness and silly mistakes. I am calling it. I am hereby drastically iron deficient.

That is my excuse for not posting this freebie pattern earlier.

 I made this quilt with the help of my friend Michelle (stitcher extraordinaire) and took it to Houston last October. I thought I might release it as a pattern - but you know, I have been feeling like every shade of shit lately so thought I should just share it for the fun of it. 

I promptly sent the link out with my newsletter and then forgot all about it (lack of iron obviously)

How cute are all those little quilty bubbles. Emma Jansen did the quilting for me in some sort of trade that I have now forgotten but I am sure I got the best end of the deal.

Anyway, the pattern is all organised and you can download it from here .

Free Pattern PDF download

There is a whole bunch of free stuff over there on the sidebar under Free Patterns  - help yourself !!

I am off to eat some spinach.

Big news and bigger news

 Here we are on Easter Sunday. What better day to tell you about my upcoming fabric range.

Due for release in May at Spring market, this is Bunny Trail.

I am super pumped about it and am keeping one eye on the calendar and one on the to-do list as things get closer to market time. The sooner the fabric gets here the better, but in truth, I am not expecting it for a few weeks. Then it will be saddle up and sew like the wind to get everything ready for market in mid-May. (I am going to Salt Lake City !!!! Can't wait )

The neck / back thing has improved , and now  the man with the magic hands is working on the shoulder. New drugs mean my stomach lining will return to something closer to normal in a few months and for this I will be eternally grateful. (Oh friends it was a new and awful place).

But the really big news ? Bigger than a trip to the USA  and bigger than new fabric range ???

I have a grandpuppy !

He is the cutest puppy ever (of course)

and as a total bonus - I am holidays for two glorious weeks so I have plenty of time for puppy antics.

I hope your Easter makes you as happy as a puppy with two tails.

(His name is quite possibly but not definitely going to be Mac)

I'd laugh if it didn't hurt so much

Dear friends, gather round and I shall share such tales with you. Tales that will make your toes curl, your hair stand on end and the milk curdle in your tea. You may weep and you may laugh.

Our weary traveller set off on a journey of discovery. She wished to know the meaning of the hideous neck pain that plagued her life. She visited the woman with healing hands and placed her faith in her. The healer did all she could and yet it was not enough. Pain plagued the traveller. The traveller prostrated herself before a doctor of high standing.

The doctor praised the travellers stoicism and prescribed some magical beans. She told the traveller tales of a man with magical hands. The man with the magic hands worked in a darkened room, he spread his unguents upon the traveller before bending and twisting her into shapes unknown to her body.

The traveller felt good. The traveller returned to the man with magic hands and was given instructions to wield a magic stick every morning and night... but something was wrong. something was brewing.

The traveller was unwell. The traveller felt a growing discomfort. The traveller hurt. The traveller  pressed on. The traveller was in agony. The magic beans had turned against her. The magic beans were fighting to get out of her body. The traveller was bereft and tried to visit the doctor of high standing. The doctor of high standing could not see her so spoke to her over the waves.

"I will give you new magic beans," said the doctor. You will feel well"

The weary traveller was losing faith, but she took the new magic beans and slept.

In the morning, the weary traveller's neck hurt like hell.

Gratuitous dolly clothes photo.

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While I was sleeping

A few weeks ago  ( four but who's counting?) I woke up with a buggered neck - like totally ratshit have-to-roll-out-of-bed-buggered.

It is a lot better than it was, but still .... kinda buggered.

In an effort to help un-bugger my neck/back/shoulder I have been trying really hard not to do too much. Sewing hurts and computering hurts - much less than it did originally but its all a bit crunchy and unfun.

I have made friends with physio appointments and I suffer in silence through the whole thing. (well silence at the physio, but there is a lot of whingeing and whining on the home front  - I am no stoic).

My friend Paddle has joined the troops and so have these super easy little fellows called Best in Show. Don't worry I sewed all these before the neck thing - they have just been waiting their turn in the toy queue.

I have seen the strike offs for my newest fabric range and am psyching myself up for that quilt market craziness again. The mind is willing and I have lists at the ready. I think that maybe things will be a bit less bonkers than last time but there is no scientific evidence to suggest that - just wishful thinking and a that feeling of competence that a list gives me.

I have even been practicing my flat sewing in preparation ! 

It is a sign

     

Last night my oven exploded.

Yep... EXPLODED you know with the the big exploding bang and the showers of glass ?

Given my history in the oven department I am taking it as a sign and removing myself from kitchen duties

On a positive note though, my pelvic floor is stronger than I suspected.