Saffrons Blog

It has taken me a while to blog about the funds raised for the Queensland floods, for which the crafting community standing under the "pink umbrella" raised a whopping $99,089. How cool is that.

Elizabeth generously donated $500.00 for the Owl Nesting Quilt I auctioned for the cause, thanks Elizabeth! This is a picture of her store where it will soon live. I have been waiting for her to email me with her address and just learned she, being the lovely person that she is, had to help her daughter out and only arrived back at her shop a day or so ago. It's underway now!

We also raised $220.00 through our face book page with selling scrap packs on the shop now tab. So in total I managed to steer $720 towards the Flood Relief. Big thanks to everyone who contributed.


Ah yes, the magical gift.
Toni Coward from Make it Perfect and her sister Carli did a fab job getting this happening and asking people to join in to raise money for the flood auctions. All that book work, spread sheets and the 500 plus emails - jeez louise.

Amelia thought they deserved a special gift so she emailed me asking for Toni's favorite fabrics and in the too-ing and fro-ing my Magical Lands arrived. Yay, perfect. We both thought Toni might like them so I posted her the very first pieces for her and her sister Kate Conklin to play with; and play they did. 

So as a thank-you gift for Toni and Carli they made these two absolutely wonderful cushions from the new Magical Lands fabric. How nice is that?




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Today I am starting the day with a cup of Earl Grey tea. I want to shout yippie I got time, I can breathe. I covered my 2011 planner with my new Magic Trees fabric—more on that later this week—and added my first to do list. Mmmhmm I know it is already February. I am going to crack on with it.

This is what my desk top holds this morning:
A pin cushion from the wonderful Sewing on the Edge where you can get them from.
Magical Lands post card which I pop into all the new orders (if you want one gotta order some fabric ;).
A envelope full of sparkles, beads and sequins for my two year old nephew Okie who's into treasures.
Threads.
iMac.



What is on your desktop right now?


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While I was tiding up my dresser today I remembered these. My friend Sam bought a book full of these as a gift for my daughter from The Tate Modern gift shop in London. It brought back memories of us wandering around in dark rooms full of Rothko's, bright bold Henri Matisse's, eating in Italian restaurants with Sam and made me long to go shoe shopping.

My husband cut out each cardboard shape, methodically gluing them together last winter in front of the heater. I have searched everywhere for more but none are quite as charming as these.




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Summer was so amazing for us, we visited Margaret River in WA and the South Coast of NSW. We swam, went bush walking, just going with the flow each day. Sigh...just lovely.

My little one started school this week. I had to come to terms with her growing up and no longer being around me twentyfourseven. I must admit it has made me sad all week. No matter which way I look at it we both have to adjust to the change. You know, letting go, still not the easiest thing for me to do.

The first day of school, what a momentous occasion in a mother's life. My little one chose the clothes for me to wear on the big day. She even chose my knickers. Then she said "Mum you can choose mine now!" I held up her dress and silently we looked at each other then at the dress, the uniform she will be wearing every day. That made me sad too. Tried not to show it. Not much creativity there, but I know it is practical. I met some of the 135 mums who have Kindergarten children and felt... tried not to show it. Quite a few of us wore big dark sunglasses to hide those feelings.

On the upside I have lots more time now and my list of things to do is long. So there is the plus of having my brain all to myself. However, I will have to step back and watch my little one, see how she changes with the pressures of school. Be positive, start enjoying it I say to myself. This new stage is to be embraced.



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Thanks to all of you who took the time to support me.



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The Fairy Tree quilt was inspired by a childhood of fairy tales—especially Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree—and was designed for my daughter. To my great excitement the quilt is featured in the current Australian Quilters Companion, Volume 10 Number 1, page102. This edition also has a few great giveaways, amongst them two of my fabric bundles. And if that's not enough it also features a lovely quilt by the talented Bec from Chasing Cottons. So, a few very good reasons to buy the magazine I think.

And big thanks to the editor Claire Mooney for all her support, it's a lovely feature and I'm very grateful that my work is shown in such a great publication.

It all started when I wanted to have a small paper piecing project that I could make in front of TV at night. It slowly grew into this single bed sized quilt for my daughter, who really loves it as there's lots to look at and I get to enjoy it as I walk past her room, which is pretty much every time I go anywhere in the house!

As I'm writing this though it is the roof of a cubby house taking up the entire lounge room, full of toy cars and my snoring husband. Cute.

Perhaps you remember I blogged about the process of making the Fairy Tree quilt a few months back. It was a real challenge to design it as it kept on growing and getting harder and harder, but I wouldn't change anything now. Knowing when to stop isn't always easy and like any artwork it can easily be overworked.




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It is most important that we all give to the Queensland Flood relief. Toni of Make it Perfect has devised a fun way to participate. She has complied a master list of givers who will be selling hand made goodness or raffling goodies and then gifting the proceeds to The Queensland Government. By clicking on the link you can donate right now.

Last night we raised $200.00 through our Facebook page, so thanks to locals in Brisbane and one American lady for generously giving.

As a teenager I lived through three floods watching our pigs swim down the river. Evacuating the horses was awful and losing all my artwork too. While what I lived through is minor compared to the tragedy of Queensland as our floods peaked with the tides, I still have an understanding of the destruction of water and it is a lot worse than you can imagine.

So, I am going to auction off this quilt I made. It is dear to my heart as it has been one of my best selling fabric ranges, which is now out of print. This quilt has been remade by more than 50 people mostly for small children. I thought I should keep it as an archive but seeing so many people loose all their possessions and so quickly I think it is appropriate that I auction a quilt that means a lot to me.

My small contribution is this Owl Nesting Quilt. All fabric is designed by me. The quilt is mainly hand-stitched and I think it has over 20 hours of hand stitching in it.

This is how the auction works:

• Bidding starts at $50.00.
• Please leave a comment with the amount of money you would like to bid.
• Leave your email address when you comment so I can find you.
• Please use whole dollar amounts.
• Highest bidder will own the quilt.
• I will send you postage and payment details after the auction finishes on Sunday the 23rd of January.
• Payment must be made within 12 hours.

Thanks in advance for your support.







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