Your Creative January

So, have you had a creative January?
It doesn't need to be a lot every day, because just like a journey - it starts with a small step!
My creative colleague Lynette has a great piece about Finding Time. So read it here. What Lynette says about using time creatively is so true - it's like having your sewing machine threaded up. You can sew lots in 5 minutes (this is another of Lynette's gems, which I now abide by).
Here is my first piece to add to my S.I.X. challenge. The headlines are Mod Podged just like the postage stamps, onto the fabric.

I collected the words from headlines out of a week's worth of newspapers. I'm not sure yet how I will quilt it - either simply or symbolically - will probably add some paint too!

February - still the shortest month even though we have an extra day - starts tomorrow.
What have you got planned to be creative?

Final S.I.X. Challenge to Start

This is my block which I gave to the others - we all got the exact same.
Mine is a protest - about the situation in Palestine and about how the media manipulates the information (the media being politically driven).
So here it is:

The map is printed onto fabric, I pieced the flag and used puff paint to make the wall.

Fifth S.I.X Challenge Completed

Finally put the finishing touches to Barb's challenge block.

I still don't like the diamond block - I should have left out the quilting lines - but it's all about play and learning :)
I have written a poem around the pieces (well actually it's not my poem, but I have hand-written it - if you get what I mean). It is Quilt Teacher's Ten Commandments by Cindy Thury Smith, you will find it here, along with some other quilt related poems. Barb is a school teacher and also takes quilting classes with her own designs, so I figured it was appropriate to include it.
Yay! one more challenge to complete!

A Fantastic Plant Score!

Today Derrick and I went to the annual Pohangina/Ashhurst Lions Small holders Auction. There were fewer sheep than last year and I don't think the prices were as good as you can get at the regular weekly livestock auctions. Also, there were not as many chickens as usual, certainly not the diverse range.
But in the chattels, there were a few things we were interested in.
Derrick learnt about Massey-Ferguson tractors and a sheep-handling implement.
And I managed to score 3 great sized yukka plants:

for $1.00!
WooHoo! I reckon the big one would cost AT LEAST $60.00 at a nursery!
I'll buy some nice pots and they will look great at work!

The Fourth Bright Block

This one I have kept really simple! Used metallic threads for some of the stitching and it's simple-ness helps to balance the postage stamp blocks.

I need to sort some suitable fabric for the sashing, then I have an idea, just to make it all look a bit more finished than I think it is now - BUT, I have to work on a sample :( first! Hopefully that will be finished tomorrow.

How Not To Do It!

OK, so I made the decision not to stitch around the diamond shaped postage stamp fabric. I started stitching a couple of rows around the outside with glitter thread, then stitched across the shapes and 'quilted' it by linking points etc.
Nope - didn't like it :(
The problem is that the 'stamp fabric' shows up the holes if you unpick - a bit like sewing leather.
Ah well! It's not great, I don't like, but I'll just suck it up and perhaps when all the blocks are completed it won't look so bad (but I doubt it!).
Here it is - warts and all:

The third block has triangles of different shapes - you know those mathematical ones like isosceles and equilateral. But we are not going to to have a trigonometry lesson here and I have ignored Pythagorus' theory and hypotenuse didn't even come into it when I was cutting them out! (If you do want a lesson, here is a quick reference).

This time I appli-quilted the pieces with a small blanket stitch using a Madeira gold/black thread so the edges would stand out more. I have considered using the same blanket stitch in wavy lines as a quilting line, but it probably doesn't need it, and to be honest - I find that quite boring!

Hope your day was creative in some way!

Number Four Is Completed

I finished the edging late last night - it's just overlocked around the outside and it probably needs something else to finish it really nicely, but I have a blank as to what to do - and no, I don't want to do traditional binding!
Anyway the wool as the sashing has been handstitched down - it's so bumpy, this was the best option.
Here we have the leaves (Cheryl's) of the S.I.X. challenge:

Now back to Barb's work!