A Bag Or More.
Posted on May 7, 2014 | 15 Comments
Bags seem to be the theme this week.
One of our grandies loves construction equipment so of course I could not walk past this fabric when I saw it.
I only needed 30 cm to make these two little tote bags for him to carry around his toy trucks and tractors.
The other bag I have been working on is a Tammy bag. They were popping up everywhere last year on blogs.
Last Christmas I was given a Tammy bag, but also received a pattern and purse frame so I could make my own. Well, here it is.
I used the lime green in the trim and the lining.
They are amazing bags for storing sewing notions or projects.
Here is the lovely one I received as a gift. It is gorgeous.
Have a look at these two blogs to see some lovely Tammy bags.
Winter has decided to arrive here early and we are having some cold and wet days. I started digging out scarves, hats and gloves. And I definitely needed them when we went to the Lake Goldsmith Steam Rally on the weekend. It was very cold and the rain made it muddy as well. But it was worth it to see these amazing machines.
Have a great week.
Cheers, Karen
Sent And received.
Posted on May 2, 2014 | 15 Comments
I have received a delightful message from Barb to say she has been able to pick up the parcel waiting for her at the post office. ( I made it a little tricky for her as I wanted it tracked so it didn’t go astray.)
Barb was my partner for this first round of the FHFS, and the requirement was to make an item with a Dresden plate. This was my first swap and I must admit that I read over her profile many times to make sure I was on the right track.
Barb said she liked red and white, so that part was easy. I made a 12 inch mini with a Dresden plate embroidery. The thread is Cottage Garden – the red one made for Hugs “n Kisses – #1007.
Barb also has a liking for all things Bonnie and Camille. I had a little stockpile of those fabrics and was able to make a cushion.
She also mentioned liking things that were girly in colour. That had me thinking for a little while until I hit on the idea of a tiny pin cushion in pink and green.
That’s how my parcel came together. Barb, I do hope you enjoy your goodies.
And just because I can, here are a couple more photos. You know I can’t resist playing with those shadows.
Cheers, Karen
Some Easter Extras.
Posted on April 24, 2014 | 10 Comments
I had a couple of Easter items that were given as gifts.
This is a cute little Peter Rabbit knitted from a design by Little Cotton Rabbits.
And this is one of the smaller felt mats I made.
I also have a few more photos from the quilt show. These were all part of the Living Colour challenge.
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Wattle Dancing – Sue Dennis
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Ordinary Folk Are Amazing – Sue Duffy
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
AQC Bountiful – Phyllis Sullivan
I am still blown away by this amazing stitching!
Cheers.
Happy, Happy Easter.
Posted on April 19, 2014 | 14 Comments
The Easter break is a lovely time. A four day holiday. Here we get Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays. And for those who work it gets even better because the following Friday is the Anzac Day holiday, so that means it is only a 3 day working week. I think a lot of people have taken those three days as annual leave and are having a wonderful break. Perfect.
I have been playing with all my Easter decorations and have had a display up for a few days. Just a bit of fun!
This is the penny rug I finished earlier this year.
Love the colour in the mat.
And I couldn’t resist these very cute little white bunnies.
The chocolate eggs in the background are Bilbies. They are an endangered Australian marsupial. We have them here as an alternative to chocolate rabbits.
These little bunnies were made a couple of years back and still bring a smile to my face.
And of course there has to be Easter Eggs!!!!
I realised a special bunny was missing so had to rectify that.
That’s better.
I do hope you are having a lovely Easter.
Cheers.
AQC 2014.
Posted on April 14, 2014 | 10 Comments
I spent three days working at the Australian Quilt Convention this year in this wonderful World Heritage listed building.
Royal Exhibition Buildings, Carlton
It is a great venue for these exhibits.
There were many stunning quilts on display and if you want to see the finalists and the winner you can go the the official AQC site.
The winning quilt was amazing.
I took photos of a handful that I particularly liked. This Melbourne tram was a favourite.
Tram Route No 10, Sue de Vanny
Road To Lancefield, Beth and Trevor Reid
These next ones were part of the Living Colour challenge.
Leaf Life by Robyn Eves and Amaryllis by Sarah Ann Smith.
Leaf Life
Amaryllis
Big Red, Susan Matthews
Just a handful for now. Love the gorgeous colours and the amazing stitching.
Cheers, Karen
FHFS – It Sure Is!
Posted on April 6, 2014 | 14 Comments
For the first time ever I have participated in an on-line swap. The group is FHFS – Friends Having Fun Swap.
Our first challenge is an item with a Dresden plate.
My swap partner , Keryn of Christmas Creations, is very organised and my parcel has arrived!! When I opened it I was speechless – which is very odd for me.
Have a look at what I first saw when I opened it!
Can you see that gorgeous Easter Bunny in the middle?
Here’s a close up. Isn’t she wonderful!
But, hang on you say! That’s not a Dresden plate.
Next I opened the square parcel tied with a ribbon. Now I don’t know how the smile on my face could get any bigger, but it did when I saw this.
Look at those tiny little pieces in the Dresden!
Have a peek from the side, too.
Beautiful fabrics and beautifully made.
Keryn, this is the most delightful pin cushion I have seen.
How can I stick pins in it? And Keryn even supplied some pins for me.
Yes, there are many other goodies in the parcel.
Lots of lovely Easter treats and some sewing goodies as well. All greatly appreciated.
I can’t believe how lucky I have been to have Keryn as my partner in this first swap.
Thank you for your beautiful gifts and your kindness and generosity.
While I just sit here and look at all these treasures, I’ll give you another peek at my Easter Bunny.
A White Rabbit Day.
Posted on April 1, 2014 | 11 Comments
White rabbits for the first day of April. And Easter is sneaking up quickly, too.
I have completed my felt candle mat in time for the Easter Bunny.
Here’s the link again to the book.
I also saw a variation of this on Pinterest just using one bunny. So of course I had to try that,too.
Not quite finished, but you get the idea.
I also had a lovely time this morning attending a class with Rosalie Quinlan. At the end of the session I had completed 5 of these cute little peg/clothes pin angels.
They were fun to make. I love this idea where a butterfly decoration has been used for the angel wings.
You can never have too much fun in one day.
Have a wonderful week.
Cheers, Karen
A Kitchen Window Finish.
Posted on March 26, 2014 | 16 Comments
The binding is done and the quilt is ready. So good to have another finish!
Here it is blowing in the wind.
And while the sun was shining, here is the back, too.
I am very pleased with the decision to use the strong contrast of black and white with these bright colours.
It has been quilted with a strong straight line geometric pattern. (Somehow I couldn’t see swirls on this one.)
I selected a soft grey for the quilting cotton so it wasn’t too severe against either the black or white fabrics. And it worked well with the colours. Here’s a close up.
A simple black and white combo has been used for the backing and then the binding was black also.
Just to re-cap, this pattern is from Elizabeth Hartman’s book, The Practical Guide To Patchwork.
I am already making another pattern from this book and have a third planned.
I hope your week is going well.
Cheers, Karen
Spring Flowers in Autumn.
Posted on March 18, 2014 | 13 Comments
Not really. It’s just that the fabric in this quilt reminds me of Spring – lovely colours and fresh.
I really liked the floral fabric and wanted to make a simple quilt to show it off. I had trouble with a full quilt photo as the sun was bright and the wind was blowing, but here it is, shadows and all. It makes the borders look all wavy!
I used the main fabric in the large blocks and the border then used solids in the 9 patch blocks.
I felt it needed a little zing so the bright green was added as an accent. I placed it in 12 of the blocks, the border and the binding.
The placement of the blocks created diagonal lines corner to corner.
I decided to have this one quilted professionally with an all over pattern.
I wanted swirls and flowers and I think this one hit the mark.
This view along the border shows the quilting pattern more clearly.
I was more than happy to sit and sew the binding last night.
After looking at these photos I can see I need to do a little cleaning up with all the loose threads. I am sure the sticky roller will deal with that quickly. Should have done it before the pics!!
Have a lovely week and I hope you are enjoying some sunshine.
Knit, Purl etc.
Posted on March 9, 2014 | 12 Comments
Lots of little knitting has been happening here in the last week or two. Having to be in different places and doing a bit of waiting around lends itself to having an easy carry project like knitting.
I have made several of these monkeys before from a Twins Knitting pattern.
I have been playing with different sized needles to alter the size of the softie.
This next little pink rabbit is another Twins pattern.
And another – this time a little soft lamb, a free pattern from Barbara Prime.
Okay, that’s all the knitting done, but not the end of the softies.
I went to a class with Rosalie Quinlan and made a sweet little rabbit. The classes are at Patchwork with Gail B.
This is a Melly and Me pattern – Baby Bunnies.
And just to keep the Easter theme going, here is the felt penny rug I am working on for Easter.
This is from the same book as the Christmas one I made with Santa and trees.
The book is called Quick and Easy Penny Rugs.
I am still continuing to work on my crochet skills and made this little heart using a diagram rather than reading a pattern. So many new things to learn!
We have a long weekend holiday here for Labour Day and the weather has decided some warmth and sunshine are in order.
Lots of time to relax and enjoy.
I hope your weekend has been wonderful, too.
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