The Rapid Passage of Time

How is is the last day of February today?? I saw a meme on Instagram yesterday that spoke of the 31years of January, and then the 29 hours of February. It’s so true. January stretches out before us endlessly… the weeks of post holiday stupor and summer or winter excuses for eating treats and reading books. Especially here in Australia, where January is so often about long days at the beach, muggy days and summer torpor. And then February everyone is back at school, and at work, and suddenly its gone in the blink of an eye and the summer is done. I know that overseas lots of you will be thrilled to the thought of Spring springing, the snow melting and warmer days approaching. Here I’m thrilling to the end of one of the most humid summers I an remember, and looking forward to the idea that I might not sweat all day and that the cupboards might stop growing mushrooms. 

Unfortunately though, February was supposed to mean I had finished a lot of the things on the pesky three page to-do list I mentioned last week. Whilst I can report the satisfying tick off of a few bits and pieces, the majority of the list remains stubbornly un-done. I have a real lack of mojo about it that will very soon start causing the kind of panicky midnight sewing that I dread around Market. Note that there are no Market deadlines to blame here, just lack of motivation and procrastination. I’ve done plenty of sewing mind you. It’s just that none of it was for work.

With that in mind, here is the latest progress on my Tawny. Is this a work project? Well….. as I plan to enter it in shows, maybe? OK thats stretching the friendship with work somewhat. I have used the excuse that I needed to keep you guys up to date with his progress, so I gave myself an hour or two to play with the first bit of piecing. 

I’m using freezer paper to make the templates. For something this complex, the piecing needs to be accurate to a point… I say to a point because some of this I plan to applique. I am going to hand stitch everything though, partly for accuracy and partly for convenience and partly for satisfaction. 

Having made the full sized owl I showed you last week, I’m now using it to make the template sections from freezer paper. Each small section will be transferred, reversed, to freezer paper, then  cut apart, fused to fabric, cut out with a seam allowance and stitched back together. It might sound laborious, but I made this section of owl in around two hours. And he isn’t that large. 

Unlike my friend here…. A real live Tawny! Damian and I were playing cards on the balcony with a glass of wine on Sunday afternoon when Damo spotted him, sitting in the trees below (we are on a very steep hillside), munching on half a bush turkey for his supper. He is a HUGE bird, he’s obviously very healthy and well fed. It was lovely to see him there, when his fabric companion was sitting on the table inside, just on the other side of the window. 

Happy Stitching peeps, I hope your Wednesday is grand

Sarah xx