I know two women who swear by the soothing effects of having a piece of hand sewing on the go.

If ever my life is a little overwhelming that is the first thing they will ask me.

At the moment I am working on a wall quilt which is a picture of an Indian elephant dressed for a festival.

Most of quilt is machine appliqued with some fine detail done by hand. It is just magic to see my little wobbly stitches add some extra dimension to the piece.

I’m not really very good at fiddly things. My friends two daughters, Isobel and Bridie spent a whole day of their holidays helping me iron the pieces down.

For me the joy of this quilt is in the colour of the ceremonial coat designed by Susan Filer at patternplace.com.au. I didn’t think I would ever do another applique quilt or even a wall hanging. The quilt colors just won me over.

So as I stitch away on my elephant - I hope you have some hand sewing or something equally soothing to lighten your day.

The first time I walked into the old Calico House quilt fabric shop I fell under the spell cast by the owner Joanna Brazier. Her shop was full of romance, theatre and fabulous fabric from all over the world.

For many years that shop was where I went for inspiration and comfort. It was the place to take friends and visitors - quilters and non quilters alike.

I did several courses and I made many quilts. One sad day the shop moved. Now it had a new name and new staff. I still saw Joanna there sometimes but the shop was really changing. Sadly for me the magic faded and I stopped visiting.

Yesterday I dropped by the shop to buy something. As I entered I braced myself for the usual feelings of loss and disappointment. What a surprise I was in for.

The second I stepped through the door I experienced a thrill I haven’t had since the heady days of the old Calico House. Fresh colours, new layout and an energy that was just so exciting.

Debbie Ogilby has taken over the shop which is now called Calico and Ivy. I can’t describe how thrilled I am to see passion and zing back in the place.

Check out the Calico and Ivy website or visit them at 1 Glyde Street, Mosman Park.

Have you every seen something that seems to vibrate when you look at it?

This is because your eye does not know where to look first. We have all seen those quilts that make you feel hectic and tired just looking at them.

Working with quilts, picture walls or scrap books all involve arranging things. Here is how I have learnt to tackle it.

Start by arranging the images from lightest to darkest with darkest at the bottom. Blurring your eyes will cut out the detail and just let you see the overall lightest or darkness of each block or picture.

This tells your eye start at the top and move to the bottom.

Next arrange horizontals so that like images are separated. Try to create contrast. A busy block or image next to a simple one, bright next to dull etc.

This part is about trying to avoid visual holes that look particularly flat or busy.

Now go over the vertical line of images or blocks looking at the same contrast issues.

Finally choose a colour - yellow is great one but it can be other colours too. I try to create a zigzag line of images or blocks that contain that colour. Ideally that line should be from the top left to the bottom right.

Your eye will pick up on even the most subtle of path and follow it through the overall quilt or whatever you are arranging.

That process is sometimes enough to resolve the overall effect into a stillness. It’s more likely that you’ll have to keep moving a few pieces around.

One quilter I know will always devote at least two hours to this process of block arranging.

I’ve seen people take digital photos in case they get it right and then lose it again. I’ve seen others stand on stairs and look down - just to get an overall effect.

There is definately a magic moment when the quilt or set of images suddenly look very still. It is worth the time to get there.

Maybe you have some arranging tricks you would like to share. I’d love to hear from you.

We all have one special piece of clothing that we just can’t part with no matter how worn it becomes. We keep wearing it as it slowly falls apart.

My friend Anne lives in her old green t-shirt. It was the first thing she thought of when I mentioned that my new Bernina 440 has some incredible mending options.

It has a BSR stipple quilting feature that turns a patch into art.

I backed each hole in Anne’s shirt with a contrasting fabric. In thread the same colour as the shirt I stitched a swirly design. This creates a really interesting reverse applique effect.

Anne loves her repaired shirt. It is still just as comfortable and soft to wear - it is also a little piece of art as well.

I suddenly realised the potential of fixing up my friends and families most loved clothing.

I was actually so excited I felt like door knocking my street. Bring out your tired loved clothing and I will fix it for you!

I just finished repairing Jenny’s shorts that she has had for seventeen years! She has a bikers bottom!

It is so much fun watching the joy people feel when their repaired clothing is returned to them with a new bounce in its step.

Perhaps this might be a great Christmas present for family members - a mending of something special.

As awareness of global warming increases, we need to put the brakes on our consuming ways.

Instead of throwing out what we love - maybe we can consider giving them a whole new life by mending them.

This is a great way we can help save the planet and keep what we love for longer.

I’d like to introduce you to Anne. She and her daughter Jess have a sewing story about their trip to fairyland.

Anne: I once made a little fabric house for my daughter Jess. The house was made in shades of pink and purple. On the outside it had little windows and doors. The house opened out and on inside were little pieces of fabric furniture. A family of fabric rabbits lived in the house.

I did like making things for my children. As the children were small I could only work on the little house every now and then. It took maybe a couple of months at least. The house was cute, fairy land and I loved the way it opened up. Jess found it intriguing. She enjoyed carrying it around with its little carry handle. Making this is one of my best sewing memories because it helped me play in a little cute world of make believe.

Jess: Mum made the little house for me. Let me tell you what I remember. It was a surprise present, I think for my birthday. I remember it had a rabbit and a little bed and little pictures on the wall. The house was special because it was so personalised for me. It had everything I liked in it. Particularly the pictures on the walls were things I was interested in. There was one of a black labrador and another of a brown horse. It had flap that was sealed with velcro so that it could open and shut. The little house was soft to touch and it had cardboard in it that made it stand up. It had two material (like the fabric at the side of zips) handles that turned it into a carry bag. Eventually when we stopped playing with it Mum gave it to a little girl we know. I was OK with that, I loved it but I was happy to give it to someone else to play with.

If you are interested in finding old patterns like this one, try Lanetz Living Sewing Patterns. This online shop is run by Janet, a grandmother from Kansas. She sells all sorts of interesting retro patterns. Have fun.

I just finished reading Cormac McCarthy’s book The Road. Let me tell you this is not a stroll across an open field. This is a look at a post civilisation world. You might be surprised when I tell you that I found the story more helpful than depressing. Let me tell you why.

If I strip away the mountain of false information it becomes clear that I need very little. Survival depends on water, food, a place to sleep out of the rain and someone to love and keep striving for. That is it. Water, food, shelter, someone to live for. I look around at what I have. I consider how complicated and unhappy life can become managing what I have and what I want.

I want a renovation and some more room. Some days my desire for it can feel desperate. If you have teenagers you will understand. If it were not the renovation it might be a new computer or a new car. The eternal longing for more, bigger, better can be so strong. I can convince myself that everything will be OK when I get the next thing. Familiar?

McCormack’s story helped me to remember that real happiness is not in the getting. Happiness is in the appreciation of what is and in connection with my people. On this blog action day I would offer a prayer that I may live more with less. That is what really offers more comfort and security for me and my planet.

Imagine you come upon the most amazing market place. Colourful stalls are overflowing with wild fabrics, rare books, unusual buttons, software and patterns. The place is abuzz with the chattter of people passionate about sewing. You feel inspired and excited by all these wonderul ideas. You are moved by the generousity of people wanting to help you.

You stroll around taking in the incredible diversity of offerings. Gradually you notice that this market seems to include things for all sorts of people. You see patterns for elderly folk, tiny prem babies and people who are disabled. You see things for celebrations, hobbies, problem solving and silly stuff just for fun. There is no shop on earth like this one. This is a true community market place and everyone is welcome here.

This is no fantasy - this is a real website. It has taken Lily Abello ten years to assemble this Sewing Resource Guide. It is the most amazing list of nearly 1000 very special sewing web sites. It is the first entry in The Sewing Circle directory and I think you’ll agree Lily’s is a remarkable achievement. So go and have a look - you are in for a real treat.

There was once a handsome young man who came to be called Fanta. He was a surveyor who had a job making maps for the military during the Second World War. On five occasions his plane was shot down in the jungles of New Guinea.

After the war he became a bit of a clown and a problem drinker. His war experiences were rarely discussed. What is known is that he once sat with a dead friend for a day before making his way out of the jungle.

One day I started stitching a series of aeroplane shapes on a background of different patterns of bright green fabric. It took ages and when the squares were finished I felt dissatisfied and put them away for a year. I then cut these squares into strips. I still wasn’t sure what I was making.

I cut up lots different green fabric strips and randomly sewed in the sliced up plane shapes. Out of the sheet of fabric I had created I cut a big plane shape and tacked it into a three-layered quilt. Over many months I hand quilted small plane shapes over the whole quilt.

The finished aeroplane quilt is big, (2.1m x 2.1m) took three years to make and hangs on my ceiling. It shows scattered pieces of plane in the jungle. All these pieces are contained in a bigger plane that just keeps flying.

I think the quilt is a story about Fanta who just kept going in life. Back in the jungle the plane wreckage rusted. He went back to his job in an office; he paid bills, went camping and argued with his wife.

This quilt is about the extraordinary way ordinary people keep going. What takes the greatest courage for our soldiers? Is it the dangers of war or the challenge of fitting back into an everyday life when it’s all over?

You crash, you survive. That is what the quilt means to me. It is not practical, or useful, or even traditionally beautiful. The strange thing is that whenever I look at this quilt it gives me strength. Maybe you have had a mystery sewing project that evolved over time? I’d love to hear from you.