My other Passion

For those who don't know

My other passion is horses. From a little girl, I loved being in a farming environment and loved being with animals. 

My love of horses started from when I was put on my first horse as a toddler by a member of my family who had race horses. I spend my teenage years riding other peoples horses, helping out at gymkhana's and other horse events.  About 7 years ago I decided to ask the universe for a horse who needed to be loved. Along came Monty and a few years later Zeus. My childhood dream come true. 

Over the time I have taught myself to work with energy meridians and massage. The impact this therapy has on horses, dogs and humans (I do all 3) is amazing. This has led to my intrigue in Equine Acupuncture and energy work. I will be shortly starting a Diploma in Equine & 

Canine Acupuncture. Never to old to learn as they say!!!! I am so excited!!!

Hopefully in time, I will be working in this industry .Out in the sunshine with the most amazing animals. I'm looking forward to learning and gaining more experience... 

Sadly my human clients (aka my kids and partners) are not too keen for me to practice sticking needles in them!!! Any volunteers?????

Here are my two best buddies (with my daughter on Zeus) - Monty an Australian Riding Pony with a huge attitude and Zeus (Mandates) our retired Thoroughbred. Both give me so much joy along side my sewing.... oh and my daughter and two sons :) 

 

Twister Quilt - June 2022

 

Twister Quilt 

June 2022. 
80.5 inches square

This quilt was started at the Scrub Stitching Retreat in Baradine NSW. 

I had a lot of help from Jo and Chooky to get this going. Thanks to them, I got the top finished beside the borders. 

Now the borders are on.. but only 3 sides...need more fabric

#quiltingrookiemistake

Now to cut it up! 

UPDATE

Nope…. Couldn’t match the dye lot as they got a new bolt in!!! Damn… Unpick…unpick…unpick.. 

recut..recut..recut… Resew…
Stay tuned for the cutting… #whysolong 

The First Cut

Ready to re sew

Completed with a border. The effect I was chasing for this quilt was more contrasting rather than busy. However I'm proud to finish it, learnt a new technique and I also understand a little more about colour combining.

Now onto the next one..... Churn Dash SAL I think.... 

Satin 'N' Love Baby Quilt

 

Satin N Love Baby Quilt

This quilt is for a very special little girl. I love the blend of White satin and lace. A very close friend gifted my first born with a White satin and lace quilt, so I thought I would continue on with the tradition for her from her Nanny P. 

I played around with my stitches on my new machine to quilt this. I backed it with flannelette so it would be cosy for her. 

Nearly 5 meters of frill and lots of sewing and it is nearly finished. 

And here it is.........finally!!!!

44 x 45 inches of cuddle, snuggle ready for it's new home. 

I hope it gets snuggled with, dragged around, is cuddled when falling asleep and 

comforts her in times of big emotions. 

Most of all I hope it reminds her of how much she is loved. 

Finished May 2022  (Pia Lock-Barrett)

"Reach for the stars beautiful"

Pretty as a Picture

Wow! Mud...mud... and more mud

I think we will not be offending anyone when we say.. enough rain!!!!

Our horses are wet and muddy. They have sore feet and are fed up... 

Sunshine please come out again.... 🌞🌻

This is Monty and Zeus is in the background. They are my beautiful muddy boys. 

The Things We Learn... sometimes again and again!

Recently I have been attempting to finish off a couple of projects. 

This quilting journey never disappoints.. there are always learning moments for me.

Firstly a wrong calculation or shrinking fabric or uneven cutting or all of the above, led to me being 1 inch short in width on one border strip. This led to me not having enough fabric to cut my template. A trip to the store for more fabric, however there was a new bolt of the fabric and the colour base was different. Too different to put together.. 

So Lesson 1-  measure before you buy and buy a little extra, measure again before and after washing fabric and before cutting. 

I now have enough of a new fabric and am ready to go again. 

REgain, REgather and REstore!!!!

Lesson 2 - 

When gathering a frill of nearly 5 meters of White satin fabric, make sure you use a dark colour as a gathering stitch.  I used white and it is a nightmare to see where the stitches are showing. 

RElearn, REgather, REgain and REstore!!!

What I love the best is that I have wonderful friends who encourage me to keep going no matter the challenges. Who help me to laugh and who share the love of creating... 

 Jo ,  Chooky and Diane and others have inspired, taught and encouraged me. Thanks so much for your patience and your generous time and wisdom. 

Will my next post be a finished quilt????  We will see.... until then.... Keep creating!!!!!

First Post

 Hi everyone, thank you for reading my post. This is my first test post.