Michelle

midge & judy
butterflies

Michelle
Essendon, Victoria

About me...
I am a stay-at-home mother to two young children, aged eight and ten, and two adult children, aged twenty-seven and twenty-six. In my former life, I was a midwife and then a cafe owner.

My passions are family, home, food, tennis, snow skiing and making crafty stuff.
Mostly, I sew and embroider. I have been perfecting both skills for forty years—but I still have a lot to learn. I also like to knit, crochet and try my hand at any other sewing challenge that comes along.

About my square...
I loved my involvement in the quilt project. It took me a few weeks to settle on a subject, and I eventually came up with the idea of embroidered and appliquéd butterflies after a trip to the museum with my kids. I used some fine white cotton, originally a vintage bassinet sheet, along with some new red and white fabrics to embroider the butterflies. I then cut around the embroidery, backed the butterflies with calico, and secured them to the square with French knots. The embroidery stitches I used are stem stitch, running stitch, French knots, satin stitch and chain stitch. To finish, I embroidered the title in French, nuef pappilons rouges, or ‘nine red butterflies’.

Find me...
When I find the time, I blog at midge & judy.