Friday, 30 April 2021

Kismet Kiss - A New EPP Project

 

Kismet Kiss quilt - image from here





A couple of weeks ago, Jodi from Tales of Cloth posted a new epp kit on her instagram page.  Out of curiosity flicked through to the pattern designer and came across this quilt. I don't know what appealed to me about it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it, so over Easter I ordered the template and epp papers kit.

The original pattern called for the blocks to be hand pieced, which I would never have done.  I like how epp means the pieces line up nicely, and stay rigid until you are ready to remove the paper pieces.

I kept thinking that my Densyse Schmidt fabrics would work perfectly for this giving it a slightly vintage yet modern feel, but I haven't has much luck working out a colour palette solely with her fabrics.  So while there will be a lot of her fabrics being used, there will still be a lot of other fabrics from Anna Maria Horner and Liberty, which will give it the scrappy yet hopefully cohesive look I love.   

They are not the quickest blocks to make, so I am anticipating at least another 3-4 years till this project is finished.




Monday, 5 April 2021

Things Here Lately











I'm currently enjoying the last night of a peaceful Easter Weekend home alone.  I've done some housework, pottered in the garden,  caught up with a couple of friends and generally made the most of having no schedule to keep or anyone else to look after.  
  • Autumn is definitely making her presence felt, my dahlias are pretty much finished, though my zinnias and cosmos are still flowering well.  I decided to make a big beautiful bouquet to brighten up my house this weekend, featuring the last of my dahlias, lime green iresine leaves, cosmos and zinnia.  After a few years of trial and error in my garden, it's nice to have plants that can survive a hot summer, little watering thus enabling me to finally have a picking garden.
  • Another Autumn blessing is that my feijoa trees finally start dropping their fruit.  I love eating them raw or mixed with apple in a fruit crumble.  However I recently saved a recipe for Topsy Turvy Feijoa Cake, and made it today. Perfectly delicious.
  • I had a sewing day last weekend with friends. I started making a new shirt which I finished off slowly over the following week.  It is the Seychelles Top from Itch to Stitch.  I made the long sleeve version, size 4B in a lovely rayon from Spotlight.  I'm really pleased with how it has turned out, especially as it was my first time doing a V neckline.  So pleased in fact, I started another one today.  Miss B,my usual photographer was away, so I had fun using the self timer function on my phone for these photos.
  • I came across a new word the other day.  Tsundoku - a Japanese word for the acquisition of books and keeping them  in a pile while never reading them, it can also refer to a pile of books.  Now I know I am guilty of having piles of books in my house,  (that's an occupational hazard when one works in a library), but generally they are all read. These four books have kept me entertained and educated over the past month.  All are historical fiction, except for Banks which is a biography on Joseph Banks the renowned botanist.  I have enjoyed them all and recommend any of them if you are looking for an interesting read.
Wishing you all wonderful week ahead.