Counting Your Blessings: 2025

December 2025

Well folks, the Poinsettias are bloomin' so it must be Christmas! 

Things never go to plan, least of all when you really expect them to!  So here I am anticipating the countdown to another new year, with enough time to complete at least one, if not two more quilts, before we head off back to our sailing life in May.  I’ve done an early review of my UFO List; the number seems to hover around 13 -15 annually.  They are generally the same ones though, only one or two new ones are added each year!!  

In the last few days, I’ve managed to prep up backings for Beausejour (Beautiful Journey) and Horta Calling Cards but whether I get them pinned and tacked ready to quilt before we go away for Christmas, is another story.  My St Lucia’s Snowflakes are now on my design wall and I’ve decided to add sashing to contain all that scrappy high energy & colour.  

Beausejour. Top completed. YEAH!!! (Pattern by Beth Shibley)

My blue hourglass variation will be next in line for wall space and sashings but only if I can get my Dutch Coverlet fully quilted.  A few more days under the machine should do it, as long as I can pick up the rhythm of machine quilting, having been away from Bertie Bernina for so long.  And he’s still not made it to the mechanic for a service yet.

A sample of my St Lucia Snowflake blocks

My effort to pack a little pack of “something to stitch” while we were away 2024-2025 worked out quite well.  EPP and plenty of scraps made hand-stitching a pleasure and I even set up some boro work foundations to make a few bags.  My little machine from Walmart did me proud, so I am now deciding what to take with me next year.  I was given the papers from a Margaret Sampson George EPP pattern, Mrs Peach.  It’s amazing stripes and loads of fussy cutting of fabric styles I don’t usually buy.  I’m not even sure I have the templates.  So, what could possibly go wrong?   

Boro stitched scraps to now make into something useful

That’s just what I love about the creative life; you just never know what you’re going to end up with!

Nanny Cool

 March 2025

We are finally home and trying to settle back into land life after our 12-month stint on a sailboat.  Living an itinerant life or just living onboard for such an extended period certainly is possible, but not for me.  I miss home, family and my “creative” outlets too much.  However, in that time I did discover that some types of handwork are practical in calm weather ;) so I will now prep up a workbox for next year.  I did wonder whether his Captainship might ever like to take to a quilting cruise with me?

Right now I’m working on my annual UFO audit.  Fifteen and counting…  And my machine needs a service too, so that’s added to my list of chores.  We are sliding into winter though, and that means it will be a good time to do some machine quilting, so it shouldn’t be long before I have a few finishes to report.  Famous last words.

All is not lost (in theory) however, as Miss P has shown an interest in sewing.  She & I spent a few days on my little Janome, sewing up a cross-shoulder bag for her library books.  She chose her fabrics and colours from my stash.  We had some fun, with an Australian theme for the exterior and strap, and then a flock of friendly chickens on the inside (lining).  After a quick demo, she was off and sewing, with enthusiasm, on the Janome.  It’s fun being a Nanny!

The pattern for her very cute Messenger Bag can be found at Zaaberry's Blogspot.

(Best-laid plans!  It's now the December rush, just before Christmas.  Yet another year has slid by and with it my intention to finish off some UFO's before they are pensionable age!  Also, photos of the bag to follow hopefully... finger's crossed.)      

All Those Damn Stars

Detail of the print is thankfully not obliterated by my intense quilting

I purchased a Moda Debbie Maddy Shibori print “Shimo” layer cake in Hornsby when Hobbysew had a store there.  (Sadly, both the Hornsby and Erina stores have now closed.)  That Layer Cake sat waiting on my inspired thoughts for ages...

I had a specific friend in mind though(for her love of blue and whites of all persuasions), and as this fabric set reminded me of stars in a dark night sky, I recalled a challenge given to me many years ago.  My challenge was to make an artwork based on the Andre Breton’s 1939 poem, The House of Yves Tanguy.  Both Breton, a writer and artist, and Tanguy, an artist, belonged to the Surrealist movement at the time.  Inspired by lines such as “And the printed cloth of the sky” and “With the damned host of stars” I set about looking for a star pattern that would create a feeling of swirling night skies, just bursting with stars.   

Slowly Toward the North. Tanguy 1942.  Seen at MoMA
in 2011, although there were no stars to see in this painting!!

Eventually, I narrowed my pattern choice down to Misty Doan’s Woven Jacobs Ladder.  Yes, I know it’s not a star block but I could see endless stars in those amazing shibori prints!  The Jacobs Ladder design then became a supporting canopy of darkness for them.  This pattern is easy to cut and the blocks went together easily. Apart from a slight error in placing them on my part (nobody notices anyway), I quickly produced a top.

Outside photos using Miss WJ3 as a prop

I had fun putting the backing together, adding a strip of Jocelyn Proust’s Australian birds to the mix.  I finished off with a simple quilting design that I machined on my domestic Bernina.  I have to say that I just loved the modern vibe of the pattern and I’m sure it fits in with our sailing friends’ blue & white theme in their beautiful Urbanna, VA home, which sits in wooded grounds beside the picturesque Rappahannock River.

Under the machine in my Garden Shed

Just for the Record:

Quilt Finished Size: 153 x 182cm
Block Sizes: 12 inch finished
Cut in: 27 November 2023 (Made a trial block for the first time ever!!)
Pieced Top: 18 December 2023
Basted: 29 December 2023
Quilted: Machine 16-21 Jan 2024 over 6 days; 2 reels Gutermann Sulky 30wt 4023 (Natural Taupe) using 18 bobbins (Gutermann 50wt 618).
Quilt Type: Modern
Quilt Finished: 31 January 2024
Exhibited: No
Collection: Gifted Heather & Bill on 5th March 2025
Pattern Name: Woven Jacobs Ladder
Pattern Source: Missouri Star Tutorial (Misty’s Version) 2023
Fabrics Purchased: Hobbysew, Hornsby NSW
Fabric Design: Moda, Debbie Maddy, Shimo Layer Cake 
Fabric Style: Shibori Prints
Materials Type: Printed Cottons
Wadding Type: Cotton (Warm & White, needled cotton)
Backing: Pieced; 5 fabrics, including Australian birds by Jocelyn Proust

Shibori is a Japanese technique of resist dyeing, traditionally using a bath of indigo.  By finding different ways to manipulate cloth, various patterns are revealed after dyeing.  Handled by master dyers, spectacular patterns can be produced.  It is also a fun way to occupy children in the holidays although probably best to set up outdoors.  Rit or Procion dyes make colourful t-shirts or bags.  Just make sure dyes are set before you wash them in your ordinary laundry!!

Our neighbour came by to offer his opinion of my handiwork too!
He'd found free accommodation on the yacht next door

Warmest of Christmas Wishes

Graphics courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

St Martin, Caribbean

This has been a year of rather few “releases” from my UFO box.  I am certainly happy though, with some small achievements underway, especially on a floating, tiny home.  Just think, another new quilt started!  I also managed to give away at least 6 of my quilts to good homes, so that’s a bonus too.

Well, we won’t be back in time for me to do my annual new year’s UFO box audit, but the promise of travelling so long this year means that, fingers crossed, we will have a full year at home.  Yippee!!  I’m starting my let’s-get-busy list for my garden shed (my sewing room in the garden) even now.  

Wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year with family and friends.  Remember to take the time to do some quiet stitching or perhaps design just a few more quilts to make…

Missing Quiltmania

I actually finished the quilt project on this cover, Colour Game 
(2009, Issue 72) in 2013. I called mine Spice Market.

Sadly, this year on 24 April 2024, Quiltmania closed.  I loved the high quality, glossy mag and its projects were always a source of inspiration.  I never knew which project I wanted to do first.  The content was interesting too and included a world-wide coverage of people and places of interest and inspiration to quilters.  Each country seemed to have its own style, born no doubt from cultural heritage.

QM closed with minimal notice.  I didn’t realise until some months later when, in need of a good quilt fix, I tried to access my e-mags.  Although I generally paid for a “paper” subscription, sometimes I missed out on copies in between subscriptions or wanted to purchase some of the Simply Modern copies as well.  E-mags are also a bonus when living life afloat in a tiny floating home - they don't take up too much room!  Anyway, I also thought e-mags would be safer held on line rather than downloaded on my ageing hard drive.  Silly me!  

The sudden closure caused a bit of on-line chit-chat, mostly about lost subscriptions and the cost of the magazine.  Anyway, at least I knew and,thanks to a Texasgal had a link to the last ever issue.  Here in Aus, quilting supplies are rather more expensive (and less expansive) than the US, and mail delivery fees are another killer.  Anyway, I felt the price was worthwhile for a quality product, especially a European focused one that opened our eyes to quilty delights from around the world.  My only concern after closure, was lack of access to our paid on-line magazine copies.  Nothing heard yet, or probably ever, at this stage.  

My heart goes out to Carol and the team at QM.  My quilting friend’s sister ran a fabric chain (KnitWit) that ultimately failed too.  She explained to us the risky personal and financial consequences of running any business.  I should add here that several quilt shops have closed doors over the last 2 years in the wider Sydney area.  It was not a great year either for my favourite UK on-line bookstore, Book Depository, a great source of hard-to-find quilting books, which also closed.  Quiltmania’s demise though, is indeed a very sad loss for our world-wide quilting community.

Graphic courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Scraps 'n Boro

Since making my Hourglass blocks, I’ve decided against trying to find a suitable fabric for sashings.  At least until I get home.  Unless we are hooked up to electricity at a marina dock, solar panels can only produce so much and our fridge & freezer must always come first.  Along with navigation instruments and trusty computers for weather reports.  So, my sewing machine has not seen light of day since we started heading north.  And whilst fabric is nice to have, it adds extra weight to my (one) travel suitcase. I like to travel light.  With all this in mind, it was back to Plan A, which was of course, making bags from leftover scraps.  

Two pieces fairly heavily stitched. Hardly exhibition quality
but it won't matter for an everyday bag or wallet

So now, I’m currently hand stitching scrap pieces – and attempting a bit more boro!  Basically, my process is an assemblage of bits of scraps on a cut-to-size piece of thin cotton batting and a light backing of flour sack cloth.  I think I purchased the flour sack cloths in a pack I found in the cleaning products area of Walmart a few years ago.  They look a bit like a more robust cheese cloth and the whole lot just needles through quite nicely.

The batting size is cut mostly 13 x 8 inches with the cloth backing slightly larger.  Once the scraps are down and held by pins or glue.  I use 1” masking tape as a guide for my stitching lines to keep them straight, then stitch the rest, mostly by eye.  I’m happy doing that (keeping it simple) rather than being too creative with other designs.  Its relaxing and achievable, even on a boat anchored out in the middle of nowhere… 

You can see how I pinned the pieces, then stitched
guiding lines 1" apart, making the final stitching easier

My thread of choice has been Perle #8 in two shades of pink.  A nice big-eyed sashiko needle helps make threading easy too.  

When the pieces are all stitched and any loose threads trimmed, then I’ll decide exactly how best to incorporate these pieces into a project of some sort.  Perhaps a dolls bed quilt for my larger piece?  That might make me rather popular!  Anyway, keeping an open mind for now...

And for the back.  Not sure I want that to be seen!

I'll post a photo of the final product when it is done... could be a while yet!!

Eating Humble Pie

St Lucia. Still. Leaving any day now... Oh, sure!

Dear Friends,

Specifically, those who have commented on our blogs and never been answered, we send to you our most humble apologies.  Having managed our blogs for some 17 years now, the Galley Slave/Blog Manager, has only just stumbled upon the Comments section.  Here lie many missives, that until now, have mostly sat forlorn and unnoticed.  Oh dear!  

Our Galley Slave has just finished revitalising the now ageing blogs.  A perfect job indeed when on hurricane watch sitting in a marina for a few months.  Low season maintenance tasks!  We have six blogs to manage, with only two connected to our regularly accessed, email accounts.  These are the busiest blogs, although I hasten to add that none of them are appearing in any top ten popularity lists (just yet!).  That’s fine with us; we’re not in it for glory, money or bow bunny pix.  We started our blogs as an easy way of keeping contact with family and friends as we moved about and to have journals to remind us, in our dotage, of “our wilful youth.”  They are also a way for us to participate in and share with our communities.  The Cap’n writes of his boat maintenance efforts and GS, her travel and textile finds.  Our Cap’n is also a big fan of the Cruiser net community.  Many a problem has been thus solved.  

Thank you all for your efforts to engage us.  We shall endeavour to be more attentive and prompt in the future.  Always learning!  And a big thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys our adventures.

A rare moment in front of the camera this year.
A good drop of champagne will do that for you!!