Odds and Ends

Is what I found when cleaning up my sewing room yesterday.    With  a New Year only two days away it was time to do a clean up and tidy of my sewing room.     I hate to admit it but the floor was not visible in some areas because of the piles of fabric, books etc that have somehow not been put back in their rightful place after using them.   While doing my tidy up I found a few UFO's that have gathered - my pet hate as I do not like to start something and then not finish it - but my excuse was that I had to stop and start something else of importance.     These include what started out as a quilt many years ago and never  progressed past the second row so it was time to call it a tabletopper and get it sandwiched and pinned ready for quilting.

Some Christmas towels that just need to have the top part sewn on and a button for hanging.  They can then go into my "giftie" box for next Christmas.

I also started what was intended to be a bedrunner quite a few years ago and it was buried under a pile of fabric.   The time has come to turn that into a tablerunner but before that I need to take off the paper.    Something to do in front of tv of a night.

Then there is the matter of many dozens of hexagons which have been made up into larger flowers but never progressed past that point.     I do have a plan for them but need to give that a bit more thought before finally deciding on their fate.

A Christmas panel which I found while putting fabric away.    I also sandwiched and pinned it ready for quilting.

 
I have to be very strict with myself and get all of the above done fairly quickly as the "project co-ordinator" at my quilt group  has lined up an exciting year of projects and challenges and I want to take part  knowing that I do not  have a string of unfinished items.

On a positive note I did start and finish a few burp clothes for a friend's soon to be born grandson.  I will make a few more but have run out of flannette which I like to use as a backing on them.   That problem was sorted out this morning with a trip to the fabric shop.    I have pre-washed it and it is on the line drying.  

And I  had a secret sewing item that I was not able to show before Christmas.   I made this cushion for hubby for his special chair.   He has a love of steam trains and when I saw this fabric I thought it would be perfect for him.

So it looks like I have a couple of busy days ahead finishing off the above.   I hope to be back soon with some piccies of what I have finished and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

A trifling matter......

As I mentioned in my last post I was celebrating Christmas early this year.    Saturday was a busy day cooking the turkey and vegetables and I was aware that it was going to be a rather warm day so as well as serving the traditional plum pudding with custard for dessert   - and a cheesecake for the non pudding eaters - I decided to make something cool and refreshing.   I have to admit that I have never made trifle before so with the help of "google" a recipe was found.    It called for cream however being the cook that I am and never sticking to a recipe I substituted Greek yogurt topped with blue berries, strawberries and mango and it was absolutely delicious.

Anyway before all the eating took place on Sunday Santa had been to  our house to deliver all the presents early for a certain little lady.   Bub had spoken to him earlier in the week and told him that she would like an Octopod  and he came through with her request.    There was also a cradle for her dolly as well as a farm set and a pink tiara amongst other goodies in her stocking.   Needless to say there was one very happy little girl.

I did show a sneak peek of some fabric that I was using to make a gift which I can now show in full.    My son and daughter in law are very big Star War fans so when I saw this fabric a couple of months ago I knew  it would make up into a great cushion cover for my son.      I have since had a request for a pair of shorts for my daughter in law in the same fabric.

Santa was also very good me and and one of the items that he left was a bobbin side winder which I have been playing with this morning.   I find it very frustrating when sewing having to stop in the middle of something to wind a bobbin now I can just lean over the push a button to do the job without having to re-thread the machine.    What a great invention.

The rain is falling down here so I am heading back to my sewing room to make a few burp clothes for a friend's grandchild due next month.   Back soon with some photos and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

FNSI

This is the last FNSI for 2015 and I am afraid that I did not get too much done in the way of sewing due to a number of other happenings.     I have been busy preparing an early  Christmas as bub and her mummy and daddy will be out of Sydney on the "real" Christmas Day visiting other family members so we decided to have our "family Christmas Day" this weekend.  Also  Grandpa and I had our little visitor for a couple of days so that her parents could attend the midnight screening of the new "Star Wars" movie.

Grandpa and bub watching a very cute reindeer email

The next day all the storms that were rolling around the area cleared so we headed off to the beach with our bucket and spade

After a play in the sand it was into the pool for a few kicks and a cool off

I am very pleased to say that the fairy houses and fairy playmat had lost none of their magic from last week and many hours over the three days were spent playing with them as well as having the odd ice block to cool off in between

So after all this activity I had a little time to have a  play around with some scraps and found native Australian flowers, gum leaves, red, white and blue fabric and the Aussie flag which I thought would be appropriate to use in  January's Sun Bonnet Sue  and call it "Aussie Sue" seeing that we celebrate Australia Day in January.

Thank you Wendy for being such a lovely hostess and inviting all us bloggers along each month to take part in a fun night of sewing and crafting.    To see what others have achieved during the night please hop over to Sugarlane Designs.   I look forward to joining everyone again in 2016 and I wish you  all a very happy Christmas and lots of lovely sewing and crafting in the New Year.

Back soon and in the meantime

 Happy sewing all

Road testing....

At last the playmat was finished and I had a little play with it first before handing it over to bub to make sure that there is plenty of room for houses, carriages and fairies.    One of the fairy houses is in the woods and the others are at the end of the roads.    There is also a pool for the fairies to swim in.

Bub was staying the night at grandma and grandpa's house so it was time to put it to the real test and see if it is up to standard.   I am very happy to say that bub and I spent two days playing fairies.  

 

Bub is staying with us again next week for two nights so I hope that the fairies and the playmat still hold their magic.

The days between now and Christmas are busy with preparation, shopping and meeting up with friends for a couple of pre-Christmas lunches so I have to say that not much has been happening in the sewing department.       I hope to remedy that soon.

Happy sewing all

Advent calendar

A few months ago I made an Advent calendar for bub and the time has come to fill it and pass it over to her parents so they can supervise the  taking of a small gift each morning from the appropriate pocket.    I decided that not all would be chocolate so I mixed it up with small hair slides,  fairy stamps and stickers.   Wrapping some of the goodies

Adding them into the pockets as I go

Even though bub is too young at the moment to comprehend the countdown to Christmas Day I hope that she will enjoy getting a small gift each morning and it will become a tradition for many years to come.

I have  made 3 sets of reversible hot pads which I have put into my "giftie" box for future small gifts when needed.   I decided that they could be mix or match.   This way to match    

On the flipside

My "road building" efforts are coming along nicely on the playmat.     I hope to be back during the week to show  my progress and in the meantime

   Happy sewing all

FNSI

Or in my case this month FDSI as I was able to make an early start on some Christmas and secret sewing.    Well it has just been declared official that today in Sydney was the hottest November day on record with the temperature reaching 41 degrees celsius or for those familiar with fahrenheit just over 105 degrees so in order to "think cool" I finished off December's Sunbonnet Sue standing at the North Pole.

I was given a gorgeous panel last Christmas and it was time to pull it out and make a tabletopper for our Christmas table this year.     I had the red and silver fabric which I used as border fabric and it fits in perfectly with the panel.  I quilted just inside each of the blocks with grey thread and then quilted in between the rows with white.    I felt that it did not need anymore quilting.

Next up was some secret sewing.    I cannot reveal anymore as the recipient has been known to read my blog from time to time so I do not want to give anything away.

I had mentioned in the past that I have some novel fabric which has been lurking in my stash for a while and I had hoped to do something with it since my last post but  that has not happened.     This is the fabric

And with the addition of  grey for roads, green for a forest and  blue for a pond I think that it should make a good playmat for bub's fairy houses and carriages when she comes to grandma and
grandpa's house for a visit.

It is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow so perhaps I can think about "building" roads etc then and be back soon with some photos.

Thank you once again Wendy for hosting another fun night - or in my case day.   If you would like to come on a blog hopping journey with me to see what others created overnight then step this way over to Sugarlane Designs.

Happy sewing all

Barrington Tops

Is where hubs and I took off to for a few days break.    It is an  area that neither of us have been to before and we were amazed at how green and scenic the countryside is.   We based ourselves at Gloucester which is about 40 minutes drive to Barrington  Tops.   Our "home" for the time that we were away and the view of the Bucketts Mountains that we enjoyed.

You know that you are in the country when you see signs such as the  Country Women's Association and the sign in the shop window below.   Obviously we had the wrong day as the shop  was firmly  shut.   The next photo shows an early morning walk on the golf course next to our accommodation.   All that exercise works up an appetite and we found a cafe that served up a " man sized country" omelette for breakfast.

A walk along the rivers edge where platypuses live we found a "rock ring".....not sure if  it was  made by human hands or clever platypuses.    Time for a cool off in the pool.

The area of Gloucester and it's surrounds is well worth a visit.   It was lovely to "recharge the batteries" for a few days and have a complete break from all the mundane domestics that need to be done.    Sadly I did not find one fabric shop during our travels.   I did however do some "googling" whilst relaxing over a coffee and have come up with ideas.   Back soon with my progress on those and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

FNSI

Now that the weather is warming up it is time to head back to the beach for my early morning walk and it was during this time one day last week that I had an inspiration for November's "Sun Bonnet Sue".   On arriving home and going through the many scrap boxes that have accumulated in my sewing room I found fabrics with beach balls, large and small shells and water ripples on them which when put altogether made up "Seaside Sue".

I also found some fabrics suitable for December's "Sue" whilst I was digging around in the scrap boxes which I have put aside for next month's FNSI.     Once I have decided on the fabrics to use it takes me about 3 hours to iron  the interfacing onto the fabric, cut out the shapes, iron them into place, then do a zig zag stitch around each piece before adding the next piece, do the quilting, then the binding.    One of these can be done quite easily over the course of a late afternoon/evening sewing time.

Thanks again Wendy for hosting another fun FNSI and it is time to  head over to Sugarlane Designs to see what others got up to last night.

I have a few other  ideas that I am working on at present and will be back with some photos soon and in the meantime

Linked with

Bits n Bobs

Happy sewing all

 

The Wiggles....

Was the theme chosen for bub's 2nd birthday party.   All guests were asked to dress in one of the Wiggles colours, decorations as well as  some of the food also had the Wiggles  theme - hot potatoes, fruit salad, Wiggles coloured birthday cake along with Wiggles music which kept us entertained throughout the party.

Grandma doing swing duty whilst waiting for all the guests to arrive.

  

 Blowing out the birthday candles

And of course the all important task of opening the presents.

A good day was had by all especially bub.    After the party the rest of the  day was spent going through and having a play with all her new toys.

 

Chalkboard Fabric.....

Is something that I knew nothing about until I visited a quilt show a few weeks ago.    After making some inquiries about how to sew with the fabric I did some "googling" and found out where I could purchase some to make a "chalkboard" placemat for bub.

This was today's project and I decided that it needed to be completely washable with a damp cloth so after a rummage around in the "left overs" pile I was able to find some of the washable vinyl,  that I used to make a changemat sometime ago, which I used  for the borders and backing on the placemat.

I will wipe off my art work before passing it on tomorrow.

I also managed to finish off the red and white rabbit dress.    This is the front

And this is the back

I also put the binding on my mystery train ride runner.     I decided that black was the best option for the binding as it  "framed" the runner whereas the grey looked like it needed something else to finish it off.

I am currently planning a playmat using some fabric that I bought sometime ago and thought "I could use that" and up until now it has sat patiently in my stash.     So now is the time to bring it out and put my plan into action.    More on that later and in the meantime

    Happy sewing all

End of the line....

For the mystery train ride.     The final clue for the tablerunner came in over last weekend and I am thrilled with the reveal.  I learnt that I have to be more adventurous when choosing colours and fabrics.    Some of the combinations that others were using I would never have picked yet when made up they look fabulous.   Anyway here is my runner - I still need to quilt and bind it which I hope to get to during next week.

 I am undecided as to whether I should use the grey or black fabric for my binding.   I have the runner spread out on a table with grey on one side and black on the other but still cannot decide as I like both.    Sometimes I feel the black is too heavy and others I feel that the grey is a bit too "wishy washy".   All suggestions gratefully received.

I also had time to make up the in-between season pj's for bub as well as the summer nightie.  

I am about half way with the little red and blue bunny dress and hopefully I can make tonight an "unofficial" FNSI for me and get it finished off.    In the meantime

Happy sewing all

FNSI

I was able to make an early start on my FNSI this month.    I whizzed through the dusting this morning, drove to the fruit market and had a lot of other bits and pieces done well before lunch so that I could make a start as I had a few projects that needed to be either started or  finished off and I am very pleased with what I achieved.  I am posting my efforts early due to a busy weekend coming up.

Firstly it was out with the patterns and fabric to cut out a dress for bub - I fell in love with the pretty rabbit fabric when I saw it.    Next item to be cut out was a pretty summer nightie and some in-between season pj's for bub as well.  I hope to find sometime to sew them up during the week.

      
Then I needed to put the finishing touch to next months Sunbonnet Sue which I have named "Celebration Sue" seeing that bub's birthday is in October.    I thought the theme would be all things birthday - cupcakes, balloons, streamers and coloured sprinkles.

Next finish was a fun sun hat for bub.

Thanks again Wendy for hosting another fun night or in my case fun day.    If you would like to see what everyone else who took part in FNSI got up just pop over here and feast your eyes.

Just before I go I would like to share my lovely azalea bushes with you all.   Spring time is my favourite time in the garden.

I am waiting very patiently for the third clue of the mystery train ride to be revealed this weekend.   I think that this is the last one and I am looking forward to seeing how my runner ends up and the in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Clue Number Two

Was revealed over the weekend.    Take Fabric B - which in my case is the grey - and Fabric C - the black - and make another 12 HST's.   Here they are all sewn, ironed and trimmed to 4 1/2".

I had a little spare time so I thought that I would have a  play with my 24 HSTs to see what I could come up with.   Could it be this way or that way or something completely different.

 Next clue will be revealed over the weekend so in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Mystery Quilt Train Ride

I am a member of an  on-line quilting forum and decided to join the other quilters on a mystery quilt train ride.   This "journey" has only just really begun and each week we are given a set of clues to work with.   The first week was deciding on three fabrics.      I found this quite a stressful process especially as I do not know what the end result will be.     We have the choice of making a tabletopper,  table runner - which is what I am making - or a quilt.    The clues will be the same for all three items just the amount of fabric will be different.  

I spent quite a few hours  auditioning several fabrics and finally narrowed  my choice down to the three fabrics below.

The second clue was make 12 HST's using fabric A & B.   Here are my HST's sewn, ironed and trimmed to 4 1/2" square.

Now all that I have to do is wait until Saturday - or in my case Sunday seeing that I am in the Land of Oz and the Board is in the USA - for the next clue.  Putting together what I have made so far is well short of a 45" runner so there appears to be a lot more blocks to be made.

Back soon with the next part of the mystery and in the meantime

Happy sewing all