Ribbit, Ribbit.
Posted on September 11, 2014 | 12 Comments
I wanted an easy project to play with just to give me a little bit of sewing time.
I really like the quick strippie quilts made by Mary of Making Scrap Quilts From Stash, but the focus fabric I had was not WOF. It was only a fat quarter.
So, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. I still decided to use Mary’s strip sizes, but made mine into a centre panel with an added border.
This is just what I needed to blow out the cobwebs. I can get this quilted and bound and I will have a gift or donation quilt ready.
I am pleased to say my Mother is now in her new home and settled in. There are still a lot of boxes to unpack and sort, but the major part of the work is out of the way.
Hubby is home and doing extremely well after full shoulder replacement surgery. He needs six weeks before being allowed to drive again, and maybe a little longer before any heavy lifting.
A lot of time waiting at the hospital gave me the chance to finish my ripple blanket.
It is knee rug size. I have learned a lot about my tension when doing this project and hopefully have improved my skills along the way.
It is lovely to be back doing some crafty projects again.
The weekend is sneaking up on us. have a good one.
Cheers, Karen
August.
Posted on August 31, 2014 | 16 Comments
I had a very lovely lady notice that I hadn’t been posting anything on my blog for quite a while, and she was checking to see if everything was alright. What a sweetie.
So here I am, just scraping in for an August post. Sewing time has been extremely limited as most days have been spent cleaning and packing for my 86yo mother so she can move to a retirement village. And then there’s the paperwork.
I am starting to see cardboard boxes in my sleep and I think I have eaten enough dust to make me feel like a vacuum cleaner.
The big moving day is Thursday, then the unpacking starts. Here’s hoping that moves much more quickly.
And just to keep me on my toes, hubby is going into hospital on the same day for major surgery. I almost think I would like to swap places with him ……. no, not really.
Well, in amongst all of this I have managed to do a couple of things. First up I was able to attend Urban Stitches which was held in St Kilda at the Novatel. This was with Rosalie Quinlan, Melly from Melly And Me, and Jodi from Ric Rac. It was a much needed and thoroughly enjoy break.
Rosalie had two lovely projects stitched using beautiful Cascade House crewel wool. The wools were lovely to use for embroidery.
This is Rosalie’s little bag.
And the front and back of the needle case.
This is how much I completed on the day.
Jodi had this very cute felt fox.
And Melly made these great pendants. Sorry for the poor photo.
I have completed a flimsy for a quilt for our 2yo grandson. Hopefully I can get it off to the quilter this week .. maybe. It is made from a pattern from the book, Precut Quilts by Janie Lou. The fabrics are Jungle Creatures (Robert Kaufman).
Love all these gorgeous animals!
I have also been trying to make a few of these delightful Christmas decorations from Marg Low called Make Merry – Snowman.
Not a lot for a whole month, but at least it is something. Not sure that September will be any more productive. But the positives are that it is warming up with Spring on the way and the garden is looking good with loads of colour.
Christmas Letters.
Posted on July 30, 2014 | 19 Comments
Steady progress is being made on the blocks for a Christmas quilt. It is from a pattern by Viv Robinson.
These are my blocks so far – not all the hand stitching is complete on them.
All the applique is raw edge machine stitching. And a lot of the decorative lines are also machine stitched.
So, four more blocks to go.
Last weekend on the Sunday I attended a lovely stitching day at Monbulk with Lisa Cantlay, (FigNBerry ), Marg, (Marg Low Designs) and Karen Martin, (Mrs Martins).
The projects were great, the food delicious and the company was wonderful.
We were so lucky with the weather. We had beautiful sunshine streaming in the large windows.
Here are Marg’s projects.
There were also a couple of bookmarks in this set, but not in the photo.
And these are Lisa”s projects.
They are all gorgeous.
Thank you Lisa and Marg for such a wonderful selection of projects. And thanks to Karen Martin for all the supplies and patterns.
This is the one I worked on for the day.
I am also working on the circle ornaments and the felt birds.
There is also lots of sewing happening for a couple of American Girl dolls.
Hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
A Little Sunshine Is very Welcome.
Posted on July 25, 2014 | 11 Comments
It was a delight to wake this morning to see the sun shining and some blue sky. We have had several weeks of overcast and rainy days. And a lot of fog.
It is still chilly and there is some wind, but seeing the sun makes a big difference.
I made the most of it by taking some photos of a little finish.
This is a small quilt, probably wall hanging size. I did it as a mystery quilt workshop earlier this year.
I would have liked to make it larger but I could not track down sufficient fabric. It is from Leesa Chandler’s line, Passage to India.
I had trouble keeping the quilt still for a photo so it is waving about.
(But at least there is sunshine and blue sky.)
And the backing has nothing to so with the front! It was simply the right size.
The quilting was very simple – straight lines following the zig-zags.
Progress on all other projects is extremely limited at the moment as I have been helping my mother prepare her house for sale. We have had weeks of cleaning , sorting and de – cluttering. She is 85 and would like to move into a retirement village. The work has been worth it as we listed the property on Thursday, had an open house on Saturday, then received a wonderful offer on Monday. So, pending all the checks and balances we will be moving my mother in about 6 weeks.
I am hoping to fit in a little sewing in between packing boxes. I do have this weekend to myself and am attending a stitching group on Saturday and then a workshop with Lisa Cantlay, (FigNBerry) and Marg, (Marg Low Designs) on Sunday at Monbulk.
I hope you have a lovely weekend planned, too.
Cheers, Karen
Busy Fingers.
Posted on July 16, 2014 | 17 Comments
I have had a busy couple of weeks which have kept me out of my sewing room, but I have managed to keep some handwork with me for those spare moments.
These are some stitcheries from Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse.
It is from a little booklet called All Creatures Great and Small.
I am not sure yet if I will make these into a quilt or a wall hanging. There is plenty of time to make up my mind as I stitch 10 more.
I am also stitching away on these little snowmen blocks.
This a quilt pattern from Fig’N’Berry Creations called The Snowmen Are Gathering.
I am testing my limited crochet skills by making a ripple blanket. I decided the only way to improve my skills was to work on projects that pushed me a bit. I must admit that it has been lovely to have this blanket sitting on my lap in this cold weather.
I am also sewing down the binding on a lap quilt. Hopefully I can post that one soon.
Hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
Making The Most Of The Day.
Posted on July 4, 2014 | 17 Comments
Trying to take an outside photo of a quilt is very tricky at this time of the year. It can be windy, cloudy, wet or any combination of all three.
Today was very cloudy and windy, but I took advantage of the wind easing off to snap a few pics because I knew there was rain forecast for the afternoon, and then for a few more days.
You can see from the clouds in the sky that the rain is coming.
This is the contrast to taking a photo inside on the same cloudy day. Not quite up to the mark.
But at least you get to see it. This quilt is from a pattern by Elizabeth Hartman in her book A Practical Guide To Patchwork. This is the same book I used for the Kitchen Window quilt.
The hardest part with a cloudy day was getting the true colours of the fabrics. Some of the block close ups show it better.
The fabric is from an early range by Rosalie Quinlan called Sweet Broderie. I figured it was time to use it rather than keep looking at it. Very pretty fabric and so different to my normal choices.
Binding was done in the darker of the pink fabrics.
The backing was pieced from all the left over fabrics. Hardly a scrap left now.
And the quilting was done by my lovely Long Arm Quilter, Pam.
As always, it is very pleasing to have another finish. And I am also pleased to be back inside where it is much warmer!
Enjoy the weekend.
Happy July 4th to my US family and friends. Enjoy your celebrations.
Cheers, Karen
Bits And Pieces.
Posted on June 30, 2014 | 14 Comments
When I saw these little slippers I couldn’t resist buying them. They only came in baby and toddler sizes. I would have loved to buy them for older children, too.
I have been completing a few little stitcheries.
The bird is from Teddlywinks, the tree is from Marg Low Designs and the star has completely gone from my memory. I am sure it will come to me later.
I have finally been able to return to my Jacobean embroidery and have made some progress.
Still lots to go, but I will get there.
In keeping with our cold weather I have been crocheting hats. Not for me – they are doll size. I will make a couple of scarves to go with them.
In amongst all of this I was the lucky recipient of a fabric panel and jelly roll from Deb Strain from her new Halloween fabric range.
I am looking forward to playing with this gorgeous fabric.
I have several sewing days planned with friends this week. I think that it’s the best way to spend these cold Winter days that we are having.
Cheers, Karen
Australia Post And Tilda.
Posted on June 27, 2014 | 15 Comments
I posted my Tilda swap yesterday afternoon and was very surprised to receive an email from Christine this morning to say that it had arrived. Well done Australia Post!
Christine, of MacDonald’s Patch, is my swap partner for this round. Christine’s camera doesn’t want to work so I will post my photos for the swap.
I have enjoyed Tilda books for many years, so I had a lot of fun choosing my projects.
From the book, Crafting Christmas Gifts, I made the snowman and penguin.
They are rugged up for our Winter and will wait patiently for Christmas.
I couldn’t resist playing with ribbons, so this heart was a perfect choice.
The heart came from the book, Tilda’s Summer Ideas. The ribbons are stitched onto a gorgeous green Tilda fabric.
The next item is a notebook and cover.
This is actually a Marg Low design but it is made with Tilda fabrics.
Inside there is one of Marg’s little notebooks.
I have enjoyed making these items for Christine and am thinking I may have to make a few more for me to play with as well.
Enjoy your Tilda items, Christine, and stay cozy and warm this weekend.
Cheers, Karen
A Tilda Delight.
Posted on June 21, 2014 | 15 Comments
We are up to the second swap in our FHFS group.
Fiona is extremely organised and has already sent me her gorgeous parcel. I have been watching her give little peeks on her blog but never thought it would be coming to me.
Look at how Fiona has used pretty doilies to decorate the parcel and make a tag.
And look at what I found peeking out at me when I undid the wrapping! Isn’t she sweet?
You need to see all of her to appreciate how delightful this little rabbit is.
She has the most gorgeous pinafore and hat. And her body is made with a tone on tone print that is really effective.
I am going to let her guard the chocolate for me for a little while.
Fiona’s work on this little darling is beautiful.
Of course you need to see the item that was around around her and keeping her warm on the long distance journey.
Fiona has made a gorgeous wall hanging in beautiful colours. This will brighten up my sewing room!
I have admired for a long time the work Fiona does when quilting her feathers, and I am thrilled to now have an item she has personally quilted.
Thank you Fiona for your kindness and generosity with these gifts. Your work is beautiful and I feel so very lucky.
Cheers, Karen.
For A New Arrival.
Posted on June 13, 2014 | 17 Comments
This is the quilt I have been working to finish this week.
It is a baby quilt ready to head to a new baby who arrived last week. Lots of HSTs turned into this.
I took it outside for a photo on the grass in the sunshine. but the grass was uneven and I realised it made the border look wobbly. I can assure you it isn’t.
So I gave up and came back inside.
I have done all the quilting on the white parts of the quilt. Lots of straight lines around the edges.
And plenty of bubbles between the lines and in the centre of the squares.
I chose to leave the coloured sections of the quilt without quilting. It gave a soft and puffy effect.
It should be in the post on Monday winging its way to Canada.
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