Spent most of the weekend getting my workroom which is the repository for everything that can't fit somewhere else in our tiny 2 bedroom home, tidy, moving old chairs, settees etc etc out to the sleepout so that I could have a ORGANISED space to do my study. I find that if things are a mess I continue to add to that mess and get thoroughly disorganised and disgruntled in the process.
So I now have a space which is relatively clutter free and harmonious to work in.
Once I had finished there I spent an hour or so catching up on what everyone has done for Tast. I must say I had a wonderful time and was especially taken with all the freeform stitching. Wanting to do some but not knowing where to start. A lot of you seem to use a felt that you appear to have made yourself and as I don't have any of that I got a little piece of tvyek fabric out and painted it randomly heated it up to get a nice shape. I thought I would just practice my stitching on it. I really love the landscapes that some of you are working but have no idea where to start, so I thought I would just go for it with what I have on hand. Looking forward to seeing what the stitch is tomorrow.
To my great surprise when tidying up I found that I didn't have as many ufo's as I thought!!!

Tast/ cretan, I love the way you can play with this stitch so I decided to get out a wisp come sampler and play a little. Did the flower/sunburst on the right with varigated yellow thread and beads, also the heart top left with a yellow rayon thread and circled with beads. The some freeform on the pink card and also with golf thread on the green fabric.

Cretan Stitch/Tast.
This is a stitch that I really like as it is so versatile and there is so much you can do with it.
Sharon has provided some lovely examples on her blog, it will be interesting to catch up with everyone today to see what they have done. You can just keep adding to this stitch, whipping wraping, adding beads etc.
Sharon has mentioned her classes, I tried to log in to her site to post a comment but I am doing something wrong. The classes are exceptional, so full of information you couldn't get better anywhere. She starts at the beginning with design, colour theory, so much. These Tasts are that, a tast of, and an extension of the classes. Believe me they are well worth taking and so cheap as the content is great and a resource that you will go back to time and time again.

WISP in slow progress
Believe it or not this is the 2nd CQ block that I made, which would have been 3 years ago. Needless to say it was stuck away mouldering with all the other ufo's. Hopefully I will get it finished soonish. Christmas cottons, I love Christmas fabrics and have a few tucked away. It is a fan shape, not too sure what thefinished article will be. Too big for an ornament, maybe a small cushion.

I made this cake yesterday for the children in the summer reading program at work. We had the finale party for them yesterday. This cake comes from the Australian womens weekly birthday cake book. All of us on this side of the world are very familiar with these ccoking books, I have heaps of them. This one is falling apart as I made heaps of cakes from it for my children.
The kids weren't interested in the cake, prefering chrisps, sausage rolls and sweets, ah well!!!!!

MY BOYS
My SIL took these great black and white photoes 3 years ago of my pride and joy. The photoes were a gift for my 50th. The framed ones are on my window in my kitchen where I see them all the time. The boys were 18, 17 and 14 and a half. They haven't changed to me over the last three years.
This is a wallhanging for my MIL for Christmas, I know I am incredibly earlier, nah, very late!!!! But we didn't see each other at Christmas time which gave me time to get it finished and we are off to visit this morning

Wisp and tast, this is a little fun thing I started when I did a Susan Sorrell class over at Joggles, needless to say I never finished it. So I decided to pull it out to play with. The two blanket stitch hearts on on here and I fell in love with the little motif that Sharon shared on Tast/lazy daisy. So I just had to do one. She used waste sequin stuff, I have done the same but it is hard to see, it is on the orange heart.

Blanket stitch.
You can see what I mean here about not seeing and being able to judge where the correct holes are.

Tast Blanket stitch.
I have decided I don't like working on counted thread, it took me a while and quite a few frustrating attempts to realise this. I think it is mainly the fact that I can't see the holes, need my magnifing glasses to see the holes and I find it very hard to judge if my needle is hitting the right spot.
Continuing on with hearts, here is my little attempt with blanket stitch, not my fav stitch but I absolutely love the free landscaping that Sharon and Allie have done with this stitch.

An other coffee cuff, this time I used some of the cloth paper I made, also via Quilting Arts magazine. An article by Beryl Taylor, its a mix of paper glued onto muslin/calico with a result that you can stitch into your favourite papers. I have a lots of handmade papers which I absolutely love and have wanted to use them somehow.
I do like the result.

Hospital Block.

My naked block ready for embellishing, the colours are not true to form, they are actually purples not blues. It is to have a heart theme.
Allie Aller has been blogging the blocks for wvweyone to see.

Coffee cuff - Have just recieved the latest issue of Quilting Arts with this pattern for takeaway coffee cup holder. I am a big fan of coffee, big big fan, so I wanted to run up a few of these for friends. This one is hand dyed silk with machine stitching. Needs a little tweeking.

The sun is finally shining in New Zealand and we have timed our holiday right. We are just leaving for a few day on the shores of Lake Taupo.
I will miss the Saturday roundup of Tast, but will look forward to seeing the progress when I get back.
Oh!!!! thank you all for the lovely comments, its such a thrill to get comments.
Gerry< I tried to post a comment on your blog about your beautiful new look, but just couldn't get it right.

Heart mark 2.

Another heart done in herringbone stitch. I also whipped this version and added beads. I really like the way it has stitched up. Didn't quite get it right at the top middle, but may be able to cover it over with something.

Tast: week 1 herringbone.
Sample 2, I am thinking hearts at the moment for a project I am working on so wondered what herringbone would be like worked into a heart.
I really like it, couldn't quite get the start and finish, so I had to improvise a bit.

Take a stitch Tuesday,
has begun, this week it is herringone, I love the layer upon layer. This is my first practice, looking forward to doing more. I love he curve shape that Sharon created, think I will have a play with that next. Pop on over and have a look at Sharon's site.

UFO/WISP.
It is the start of a New Year, new beginings, new hope. In that vane here is the first of my Ufo's. Two little blocks that started life as tissue holders, but didn't quite make it. So I decided to make them plus an other one into a little wall hanging.