Friday, August 30, 2013

Bag, Bag, Cushion

It is so nice to achieve some finishes, especially when there is a bit of a deadline to meet.  Especially nice too when the projects turn out as you want them to.  The second two are for my birthday love stash even though they wont stay there long - only until next week.

Firstly I finished my little sewing case for the Stitch-a-long.  This was from the Some Kind of Wonderful book by Anni Downs.  It did provide a couple of challenges, but I have worked out more successful ways of making parts of it.  That being said, it is a beautiful little case.

I found a suitable piece of fabric in my stash to use for the lining.  

  

Last Christmas one of my sisters gave me a DownUnder Quilts magazine, and said she would like me to make this bag which was in it, for her birthday.  I have been collecting ribbons, trims etc for it for a while, and finally made up the bag this week.  Her birthday was last week but I will be seeing her in a few days time.
  I am very pleased with how this bag turned out.  I used a different pattern so as to have a little bigger bag - the one in the pattern is quite small.  It has a similar shape but has a gusset.


 I used some black denim, though it is a wonder it isnt white after the amount of dye that came out.  Thank goodness I remembered to prewash it.  I so enjoyed working on this and love the effect so maybe I will make another.  I think I have enough trims to use for another 10 bags, and still there would be some left over.  It was the kind of project that you needed to have plenty to try out to find the best combination.

My third finish is my dresden plate for the 52 week scrap challenge organised by Samelias Mum.  I am a bit behind with it as this was last week's project.  I found some charm squares of Pure,and some fat quarters that toned in well. An invisible zipper in the bac, and some piping around the edge, and it has turned into a beautiful cushion.    This is for my other sister whose birthday is tomorrow.
  



Tomorrow some friends and I are heading off on a short road trip to Nambour (about 1 hour) to visit the Sunshine Linus Quilt Show and Open day.

Dawn at As Sweet As Cinnamon has a beautiful quilt which she is offering the pattern for, 1 section each week.  The first pattern has only a few days to run before it will no longer be available for free.  The second installment is now available as well.  Go and visit her to take a look - it is such a beautiful fresh range of fabrics, and has a lovely story of where her quilt is going to "Go Home" to.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

THAT time is fast approaching

Can it already by that time of another month?

My July project, which I was not able to blog about at the time is my little Christmas Tree wall hanging

In August I quilted and finished this table runner.  It was a good project to practice some FMQ, and I was pleased with the result - though I do need lots more practice for sure.

Go and visit Pins and Whiskers to see what other people have made for their 1 Christmas Item this month.  Narelle compiles our finishes into a lovely page full of inspiration.  It is well worth taking a look. Thank you Chief Elf Narelle for keeping us working towards a more organised Christmas.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

FNSI and some repurposing

Now what did I get up to for FNSI last night?  Which of those many projects listed in my last post did I work on?

Well, the binding on the table runner won out in the end.  I had worked on the quilting through the day, so by night I thought a bit of hand sewing would be good.  (full photo will come later).


I was working along just fine, then suddenly felt the needle dig into my leg.  I had dozed off with the needle down and must have moved my hand. That was a quick wake up.  

Today I needed a bit of light stitching.  This week I finally got around to joining in with the 52 weeks Scrap Challenge over here at Samelia's Mum, or the Facebook group here.  We are up to week 3, so there are still lots of projects to come, why not come and join in.  

The first week's project was a heart pincushion or ornament.  It can be made from leftovers of your favourite fabrics - those little bits you dont want to throw out but are really too small to do much with.  Or it can be leftovers from charm packs or whatever you like.  

I have a bundle of batik scraps that I dont want to throw out so I have used some of them for my heart.



I used gold thread and some of the embroidery stitches on my sewing machine for embellishing.

Week 3 project was for fabric covered jars or bottles.  I decided for this one to do it a bit differently. Last year on the quilt trail we were shown how to make a jar into a "fancy" pen holder. 

Find your thin strips of wadding - those useless little pieces about 1 to 1 `1/2 inches wide.  Wind them around the bottle, building up the middle section to achieve a shape like mine in the photo.  I will say though that I cheated a bit at that stage as I used a Roses Marmalade  jar which already has that shape, and added a bit more.  I wound the wadding tightly and glued down the ends only.  I also glued 2 pieces of wadding to the base of the jar.

I measured from the top of one side down to the bottom, across and up the other side back to the rim, and added  about 4 inches. Mine was 12 inches + the  4 inches.  I cut a circle 17 inches just in case I needed more - (didnt trust my own measurements).  I ran a gathering stitch about 1- 1/2 inch in from the edge, put the jar in the centre and pulled the gathering thread up.  A row of clear craft glue around the inside of the jar secured the fabric.  I put a rubberband tightly around the jar and covered it with the ribbon bow.  (The rubberband will perish in time so it really should be thin elastic I guess.)


And there it is, all finished and ready to hold pens or whatever I wish.

For some time now I have been wanting to find a better way to store my spools of ribbon.  I have seen various boxes and containers with the spools on a "dowel" etc.  Eventually I had the brainwave that I could use a little shelf unit I had.  This was a bathroom cupboard which had been a wedding gift - one of those with sliding mirrored doors .  In my folkart days when everything that couldnt run and hide got painted and decorated, I had painted cheeky little mice on it and it was used as a little display shelf.  Carla used it for some years as well, but eventually it came home again.  

I didnt expect to fill it with my supply of ribbons and trims but I did.  On top is a matching toilet roll holder that I painted at that same time, and it now holds the last 2 spools which wouldnt fit in the main one.


Got to love re-purposing when it works out so well.

Now to go and see what everyone else has been up to for FNSI.  You can too by going to our wonderful hostess/organiser, Wendy and see who has linked up.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Which project.......?

YAY !!!  It's THAT Friday night.  Time for
Head over to Wendy's blog here to sign up and then join the fun of stitching with friends.  While there you can check out the yummy recipe.  It looks quick and easy to make, and would be just perfect to give you lots of sugary energy for your Friday night.

What of the many things under way should I work on tonight?

It could be this quilt which I have been working on this week,

 or this table runner which is under the machine and being quilted today,

 or this collage bag.  I have all I need apart from the handles which are still in transit,

or it could be my Stitch A Long project for August.  Embroideries are done, so it is now assembly time.

Then again, I may trace off the latest stitchery from Bronwyn Hayes GOSC, or the next Butterfly Garden block or .... or ..... or .............  The list could go on.

Which ever I decide on, I am looking forward to sharing the stitching time with lots of gorgeous friends (and no chocolate aero mint slice because I dont have the ingredients).  


Monday, August 12, 2013

Accomplishments and nostalgia

Harry was stumped by how to climb this “ladder” on the first day we visited this park.

Day 2 saw him work it out and get to the top.

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He was very pleased with himself.

Besides cooking and generally running about during the muster, we had as our mission painting and furnishing the sleepout.  It was one of those places, a closed in side verandah, where “stuff” got dumped.  Anything that didnt have a home seemed to end up there.

I had a loooonnng shopping list before leaving home – things that were not able to be bought locally.  My car was so loaded that I did wonder if I would fit in any clothes at all.  Fortunately there was a little space on the front passenger seat.

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We moved the “dumped” stuff, cleaned walls, painted, swept a dozen times,  altered and hung curtains, brought in beds and made them up.  It now looks so different from when I went there.

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These photos above show the finished sleepout from each end, with the fresh looking curtains, and the old but beautiful quilts.  It is now such a different area, inviting visitors to come and stay.

I like the use of the old horseshoe to hold the curtain tieback.  This curtain was hanging over the doorway into the living room.

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On the trip each way I stayed a night with my Aunt in the town where I grew up.  I had a good look around the old town. 

One place I stopped at was the park where the War Memorial has been erected.  Back when that was first established (probably about 25 - 30 years ago)my Dad had planted native trees throughout the park.  He had to go and water them frequently until they were established, and when visiting him we would go and help.  It had to be done by bucket and watering can.  It was so good to see these trees have thrived and are now a mature height.

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In the same park is the remains of a tree used as a survey marker of the border between New South Wales and Queensland.

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I checked out what had been my Grandparents’ house.  We lived in the house next door, which is hidden by the tree. 

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I was a couple of weeks too early to see the wattle covering these hills.  It was just starting to flower.  Probably now that hill would be more yellow than green.

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

The young Musterer

Lunch with the Fellas is a highlight.

It is hard work - I need a rest

Ok - Had enough, I am bailing


The long trek home  

A cuddle from Mum makes it better

Now to help with the cooking
 

I wasn't eating it - Honest !!!

But I will help wash up.

Now a bit of time out with Vicki 

Saturday, August 10, 2013

The Muster

It was Muster time while I was visiting my Daughter and Son in Law.

Here comes one mob.   Heading for the yardsOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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They’re in.  Lots of lambs of various sizes. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

There’s always one who stands out in a crowd.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Drafted – and waiting

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Where’s my mother???

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