Soaked and Stoked

I have been lucky enough to have a very short working week so I turned my attention to my very neglected housework. You see, as many times as I joined FlyLady I have fallen off the wagon. However, for the last week or so I have been cleaning windows from the inside FlyLady style, on average one room / day, and now there's only my sewing room left! (apart from the garage but that's a different story) So yesterday I started on the outside with my big telescopic brush, hooked up to the hose... why does it have to be so hard??? Water squirting everywhere, I washed not only the windows but also the downpipes, gutter, soffit, fascia and walls (on purpose - but then I don't know how you couldn't with the weight of that brush wiggling all over the place)! No wonder I only do this once in a blue moon, I ended up drenched on an overcast day - and that was only a quarter of the way around! I'll have to do the FlyLady 'do a little bit at a time' method on this one, too!
I can feel my shoulders (old age...) but luckily it isn't too bad as Suz and I are off today to the big smoke completely childless (after we drop them off at school) to go to the Festival of Quilts and then Northart for the opening of the Big Quilts exhibition! The Festival of Quilts, formerly Calico Christmas, is the big Auckland Quilt Exhibition, on this weekend only. The Northart Exhibition runs 3-23 November.
I am absolutely stoked about the lovely comments I've been getting about my entry for the Blogger's Festival - voting is now open, so please go and have a look and vote for your favourites on
http://amyscreativeside.com/2012/10/26/bloggers-quilt-festival-fall-2012/
If you can't decide, 339 is mine :-)
I leave you with the first block of another secret project, working title 'firework' which (roughly) follows the carthwheel pattern from freshlypieced.
Happy Sewing!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Amy is hosting the Fall Blogger's Quilt Festival and lots of the blogs I read have entered - so I thought I will try, too :-)

This is one of my favourites I have completed over the last few months - the portarait of my middle DS who recently turned 10!

I vaguely followed a technique I saw in Quiltings Arts several years ago - turning a photograph into greyscale on the computer and then layering different shades of one colour, fusing them as you go. The fabric is silk chiffon I have hand painted. I used mystifuse to fuse the layers together, raw edge appliqued around the the different pieces and free-motion stitched clouds in the background. This is the third of three similar portraits I made, one for each of my sons, and it represents his character as he is a very cuddly, gentle child who likes to daydream :-) - and orange is his favourite colour! Size is 14"x11". I am entering it under Wall Hanging and Art Quilt.Here you can see my original post.

Apart from this, I have been busy on a secret project, it involves a pattern "There's a Square in There" by Kate Conklin and these fabrics:

Suz and I will come to the big smoke aka Auckland on Friday so I hope I will pick up more of a cream I have just not quite enough and fabrics for the back which is also pieced. I have been thinking about the quilting Kate recommends, tossing it up with Judi's Feather Swirls what do you think?

I had so many lovely comments to my last post and not gotten around to replying yet - apologies, I will do that very very soon - I really appreciate you visiting and commenting!

Happy sewing!