A tapestry cushion, a knitted scarf - and the Peacock Party

Well, I finally feel like I'm making some progress here.  I've finished the stitching on my tapestry, and am just choosing the fabric for the back of the cushion.

Fortunately I had a few Kaffe Fassett half yards in my stash! And I think this "Enchanted" is just perfect because it brings out the blues and the oranges.

This tapestry design is by Kim McLean Designs and is available exclusively through The Crewel Gobelin shop in Sydney, Australia.

I stitch my tapestry without a frame because it makes it more portable, and it would need stretching even I did use a frame.  The nature of tent stitch means that the canvas is all pulled in one direction.

I don't know if this cushion will end up sitting next to my Peacock at Sunset cushion of not, but it might work.

In more good news I've finished my Kaffe Fassett scarf. 

This scarf is very long (2.3 metres), but it's all worth it now that it's finished.  We're experiencing the cold, damp days of winter now, so I will get lots of wear from it.

Last weekend I gave a little talk to a local quilting guild - Coastal Quilters.  They wanted to hear about how I got in to quilting, so I took along some of my earlier quilts.  Here the are hanging on the racks after my talk had finished.  Everyone came up onto the stage for a good look during the tea break.

Each one of these quilts has a story behind it and it was interesting to revisit each one and give it some individual attention.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  What's everyone else been up to this week? Feel free to link up a recent blog post and let us know what you've been doing.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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Mum's Lucy Boston and the Peacock Party

We're back! Our son's graduation went well, and we all enjoyed some family time together in Auckland. 

I got to study mum's Lucy Boston quilt, and talk about border options with her.  The body of the quilt is all complete now, but she was waiting to hear what I thought about her border choice.  I liked the piece of fabric she had chosen, but suggested she use a different part of the fabric and keep it lighter rather than darker and heavier looking. 

This is what we agreed on.

Of course she will have to buy more fabric now to mitre the corners, but isn't that always the way!

Mum helped me out by darning in the ends on my scarf.  It's not finished yet, but it was a huge help to get those ends darned in because it's a very long scarf.  The weather has certainly turned colder and I'd like to be wearing it now. 

 I went to All Things Bernina at Westgate and bought a few bright Anna Maria Horner prints there.  I do love that lime green colour. 

 

Mum's garden in winter.  It's rains a lot in Auckland in winter.

The view from the Krispy Kreme Donut shop

Graduation Pikachu 

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.  Feel free to share a link to a recent blog post below.  Thank you to everyone who continues to link up.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Peacock Party and a touch of Kaffe

It feels like it's been a very short week here.

We had public holidays for Good Friday 19 April and Easter Monday 22 April.  And then on Thursday 25 April it was another public holiday for ANZAC Day, where we honour the Australians and New Zealanders who have fought for our countries.

So there's only been 3 work days this week, and it's also school and university holidays, so my university student has been back home this week.  Fortunately the good weather has returned and it feels like one final reminder of summer today, before we get ready for winter.

I'm still plodding away on my Kaffe Fassett scarf in Rowan wool.  I've found I can't do it at nights, because the arms on my arm chair are too close to accommodate my knitting style! Therefore I'm trying to add a few rows each day while I sit on the sofa. 

On the quilting front I'm adding a few green blocks to my Shuttles quilts from Quilts in Morocco by Kaffe Fassett.

Now it's time for the Peacock Party.

I've started playing a little game with myself where I try to guess from the link photo who wrote the post.  Sometimes I get it right, but sometimes I'm surprised,  I'm trying to visit at least 5 of the links every week. I do appreciate everyone who links up, but I just don't have time to visit every link and also answer comments on my blog.  I hope you understand.

So what's everyone been up to?  Feel free to link up below and share what you've been up to:

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Peacock Party and a new scarf

Well, another week has flown by and it's time for the Peacock Party again.

The temperatures are starting to get cooler now, so I've started knitting a scarf.  I love the scarf on the cover of this Rowan pattern book, so I'm making one for myself.  Of course the fact that Kaffe Fassett designed these colour ways probably explains why I like it!

As you read this I'm currently in Napier on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.  If you've sailed around New Zealand on a boat cruise you might have stopped at Napier.  There's a lot of vineyards in Hawkes Bay, and we're going to be visiting at least 3 of them.  I'll report back next week!

So, onto the Peacock Party.  Feel free to link up a post showing what you've been up to recently.

Inlinkz Link Party