Brown....

Is not my favourite colour and when I saw that brown with pink accents is the colour for February for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge I was stopped in my tracks for a few minutes as I do not have many browns - so I thought.  I took out my ice cream containers and found to my surprise quite a few fabrics that fell into that category.    A bit more digging around in a scrap drawer revealed even more fabrics.   Across to the ironing board then onto the cutting board and within a short space of time I had quite a few 2 1/2" squares ready to go.

I managed to get  6 nine patch blue blocks sewn together and squared up to 6 1/2"  as well.

I have not yet sewn on the outer triangles as I am waiting to see just how many blocks of each colour that I will need and whether I will use black and white or white and black fabric - depending on the placement of the blocks.     I know this will leave quite a job at the end but it may also save lots of reverse sewing should I be unhappy with the distribution.

I am filing any leftover squares away into another scrap bin ready for another project - not sure what but I am sure one will surface soon.     I seem to be making more scraps from scraps.    Just how small can you go!!!

Looking forward to getting my brown/pinkish squares sewn up and seeing what colour is revealed for March.   In the meantime

Happy sewing all

    

Rainbow Scrap Challenge 16

I know that I am signing up at the last minute for RSC16 but I only just "stumbled" across this blog the other day when doing some blog hopping as one does from time to time.   So I have a bit of catching up to do.   Fortunately I do have most of my little scraps fairly well organised into old ice cream containers so it was not too much of a challenge to go digging around to find the colour for January which is blue with purple accents.

Some of the fabrics have a bit of purple in them others do not but I think that they will look OK when all put together.  I have decided to go with a suggested design which is called Square Root of  9.  

Today was a good day to make a start as I was advised that our broadband service is being upgraded in our area and we will be without any phone, tv connection and only very spasmodic internet for up to 6 hours so out with the ironing board and iron to iron the fabrics to be cut into 2 1/2" squares.

All cut and ready for sewing

The project  that I have been working on for the last year which was to make a wall/door hanger for my granddaughter's room to represent each month of the year will come to an end next month and I have been looking for a new challenge so when I saw the  Rainbow Scrap Challenge 16 I knew that this just what I was looking for.

Heading off to my sewing room to make a start on sewing my 9 patches together so that I do not get too far behind as the next colour will be revealed very soon.    Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

FNSI

I was able to make an early start on my FNSI today and not feel guilty that I had planned to do some gardening because that plan was washed out due to storm cells and heavy rain so off to my dry sewing room it was.   I had time earlier during the week to rummage around in my  scrap baskets and collect  fabrics for February's Sun Bonnet Sue.

It was easy to pick the theme as Valentine's Day is celebrated in February so I have called Sue "Be My Valentine".

I even surprised myself and was able to FMQ a couple of hearts.   The photo below shows one of them.

I also finished off the pleating on the cushion cover and added on the outside border.  I need to take a progress photo of that one.

Thank you Wendy for hosting the first FNSI for 2016 and I look forward to being productive for the remaining 11.    I do have a list that I want to work through.      So it is time to go and do some blog hopping to see what everyone else is doing to start off the New Year.

Linking with One Monthly Goal 

  Happy sewing all

What's cooking

I finished off the little apron for Miss M -  I decided it is time to elevate my granddaughter's blog name from "bub" to "Miss M" seeing that she is now a big two year old - and  both Miss M and her mummy were thrilled with the result.   Miss M because of the cupcake fabric and her mummy because of the ease of putting the apron over the head and having a big strip going around the waist and secured with a piece of velcro rather than having to tie fiddly apron strings.   Quick to get a two year old in and out of in a hurry - as they always are.

So here is a picture of the front showing the velcro.   The pattern did not have a pocket but I think that every apron needs a pocket so added one in

And here is the back of the apron showing the strap going around the body

Now  I need to  get a photo of the "budding chef" with her apron on while cooking in "her kitchen".

Today I was lucky enough to pick these lovely little tomatoes off the vines in my garden

And put some of them on the pizza for my dinner along with Spanish onion, olives, grated cheese, mushrooms and roquette.   I will have the rest for my lunch tomorrow.

I also made a good start on the cushion cover that I am making for a friend.    So far I have cut out the strips that make up the pleats and have started to sew them onto the stabiliser.

 I also had a rummage around in my scrap basket for suitable fabrics to make February's Sun Bonnet Sue.    I have decided that she should have a Valentines Day theme.    That will be my FNSI project.  Back soon with progress photos on the cushion cover and "Sue" and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

The Blue Mountains

Is where you go from 35 degrees to 6.5 degrees in less than a day.

Trying to stay on the shady side of the street while walking around and having a swim the pool to cool down to then having to reach for the winter clothes and jacket.

To being able to see forever over the Mountain ranges - but not today due to the heaviest  fog settling overnight.  So hubs and I stood in the photo to fill in the gap of what should have been the Great Dividing Range behind us.

Hubs was a very happy man when our visit coincided with the "Lady Luck Festival" being held at the Carrington Hotel.   It was celebrating all things 1950/60 and Rock and Roll.   His favourite era for  music and  cars.

We certainly enjoyed our short break at the Mountains to celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary and one thing that we have learnt from visiting the Mountains over many years is to always pack the winter clothes as well as the summer ones and take an umbrella  - that way you are prepared for all seasons that the Mountains seem to dish up within a very few hours.

So it is back to reality tonight of having to cook dinner and hopefully back into my sewing room tomorrow.

Back soon with some photos of what I am playing with at present and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Proud as a peacock

I did make a start on a cushion cover a few weeks before Christmas and pinned it on my "wall" while I was getting around to buying the insert.  Having bought the insert it was time finish off the back of the cover and the cushion  is now sitting proudly on our bed.  I found the pattern here .    I did make a slight change and used gold coloured beads to create the comb instead of fabric as I wanted to add some bling to my peacock.  

I am making very slow progress with pulling the papers off the back of my spiderweb tablerunner.

But good progress with the apron which I will post some piccies of once completed and in the meantime

 Happy sewing all

One Monthly Goal

Is currently being started by Heidi at Red Letter Quilts and what a great way to be realistic about setting targets and keeping track on their progress.    So I have made a "medium list" which includes

1.   Making the last two Sun Bonnet Sue wall/door hangers which has a been project that I started earlier in the year.   Some of the scraps that I will using.

2.  A bed runner which was started a few years ago.  The cupcake fabric is going to be used to make an apron for bub.    She is now up to helping in the kitchen and her mummy thought it was time for an apron.  

3.  A cushion cover for a friend.    We are celebrating 40 years of friendship this year and I am going to make her a cushion cover using some ruby fabric to represent our 40th anniversary.    So far I have chosen what fabrics I am using as well as drawing out the lines where the pleats will go.

4.   We have a new challenge at our quilting group which will involve making a block each month for the next twelve months for each member.   So I have to be mindful of this commitment and not overload  then feel swamped especially once the year gets underway and life has to happen.  

5.  I have been giving quite a lot of thought to what block I want made for me and I am thinking that I would like a blue and white HST quilt.     I am going to supply the white so it is all the same and the members can put whatever blue with it.    So the white fabric will  need to be cut and then I will decide on which way I want the HST to go before putting it together.

6.   While strictly not a quilt or quilting item there is the pair of shorts that I am making  my daughter in law and I also "happened" across the cutest pattern for a winter hat - which does have a patchwork feature band around it- for bub.

7.   Take up where I left off on my hexie quilt.    I am thinking that I will make it a bed topper for our bed.

8.   And of course any other bits and pieces that I happen to see in books,  magazines or on the "net" whilst blog hopping.

So for my January goal I will commit  to making February's Sun Bonnet Sue with the theme of "Be my Valentine".    

Good luck to everyone else joining in this challenge and I look forward to doing much blog hopping at the end of the month to see if others reached their goals and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

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Happy New Year

How has it already become the 5th day of the New Year and I have not wished everyone a Happy New Year and all good things for 2016?    Was it because I was arranging the VPP - very private party - that hubs and I host each New Year's Eve  just for the two of us

As you can see such a lot of preparation has gone into "our party" where we have a few nibbles, along with some yummy cheeses, fruit, dips and of course a glass or two of bubbles to bring in the New Year while we channel surf and watch the midnight fireworks on TV.   It is then time to toddle off to bed without having to fight the massive crowds that gather to watch the fireworks in the City and get home via public transport.  

Or was because I did manage to complete 3 of the items on my UFO list.  The first being the kitchen towels that needed to have their tops and buttons sewn on.    These are now in my "giftie" box for next Christmas.

The second item crossed off the list was originally intended to be a quilt but sat around for far too long so I turned it into a tabletopper.    I did loose my "points" by not adding a third row before binding it but it would have been too big as a tabletopper with another row.

 And the third item finished was the Santa panel  that I found while tidying up my sewing room so that is now ready waiting to be hung when Christmas comes around again.  I just did simple outline quilting around Santa to make him stand out.

So I am very pleased to be making progress with my UFOs and I even had a chance to have a play with the hexies and have worked out my final plan for them.  I still need to make a few more which I will take with me to do on  Saturday at my quilting group.  I may not get too much done as we have a "new temporary home" for our group while our current premises are being upgraded and we will need to get ourselves organised and settled in before much sewing happens.

I have made a list of what I would like to achieve in 2016 in relation to sewing and at this stage it is under control but somehow I always find extras being added in as time goes by.

Best wishes to everyone for a happy, safe, healthy and creative 2016.    I look forward to doing much blog hopping as well as posting throughout the year and in the meantime
  

Happy sewing all

Best of 2015

While doing some blog hopping today I chanced across this challenge - Best of 2105 - and thought what a great way to quickly review  what I have sewn during the year. Linking with

Mostly it has been clothes and items for my granddaughter as I scroll back through the various posts made this year.

Chalkboard Fabric

Then there is the UFO quilt that just kept getting pushed back in the queue.

French Braid

The quickest quilt that I have ever made

A quick quilt

What started a year long project of making a wall/door hanger  for my granddaughter's room to represent each month of the year.   This was the first one that started off that idea.

FNSI

And lastly during a clean up of my sewing room  this week I uncovered a few UFO's that had somehow found their way to the bottom of drawers so being the end of one year and the start of a New Year it was time to finish them off - some have ended up having a design change from the original idea - but they are now well on the way to be being completed.

Odds and Ends

So that is the year of 2015 in relation to my sewing.    I look forward to 2016 being the year of making more quilts.    I do have several ideas running around in my head and hope to put those into action very soon.

Back soon with some piccies of the completed items and in the meantime

Happy sewing all