I am seeing Red

Carol over at Just Let me Quilt is organising a blog hop from 17th to 21st February using the colour  red.     I have had an idea in my head for a while now so this is the opportunity to turn it into reality.

While I am formulating and calculating for this challenge a start has been made on quilting my item for the Winter blue blog hop.

No clues to be seen here as to what it is.

Not much will be done in the sewing room today as I am going to brave the annual Boxing Day sales in the City.    I have a bit of a list and in particular one shop is offering 40% off thread so a good time to stock up.    

Linking with Finished or Not Friday.

                      Peacock Party

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Happy sewing all

What are you doing today?

If you are anything like me it will be spent in the kitchen and it won't be stitchin'!!!   First up I am going to cook two turkey breasts.   My family and I like a traditional Christmas lunch with all the trimmings - turkey, roast potatoes and pumpkin, peas, gravy and cranberry sauce followed by plum pudding with custard and for those who do not eat pudding there is cheesecake with ice cream.

I decided to do my last minute food shopping yesterday and glad that I did as the fruit market and supermarket were manic.   Just trying to get a space in the carpark was a challenge even before hitting the shops.

I always cook the turkey breasts the day before Christmas and do the veggies fresh on the day.   It saves time and less heat in the kitchen.    Fortunately the forecast for tomorrow is a very comfortable 26 c  which is a huge improvement on the temperatures that we have been having.

I did over the last week pop in  and out of the sewing room and managed to finish sewing up those 10 aprons that were started a while ago.  I ran out of the original fabric so the last three ended up with navy blue ties for the neck and waist.

I could sit here a type some more but to the kitchen I  must go however before I do I would like to wish you and your families a happy and safe Christmas and enjoy however you spend the season.

We must of course give a huge shout out and thanks to all the firies and the volunteers who been fighting those out of control fires that have been part of our lives for the last couple of months.   They have done an amazing job battling against some of the worst conditions ever seen in our State.  I hope that they get time off to enjoy Christmas lunch and time with family and friends.   It is certainly well deserved.   Our thoughts go out to those who have suffered loss during these catastrophic fires.

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Happy sewing all

Stocking Stuffers

At the beginning of the month my nominated goal for December was to make some stocking stuffer gifts.   Here they are

A total of 18 purse sized tissue covers and two snap top bags were made.

Over the past few days hubs and I have met up with friends for "Christmas get together lunches" and all of the  the tissue covers have been given out with many positive comments.    I am glad that the recipients are finding them useful.

The last two snap bags are still sitting in my "giftie box" for  ??????

Linking with Finished or not Finished Friday 
                      Put your foot down
                      Peacock Party
                      OMG

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Happy sewing all

2019 in Review and a Planning Party

As 2019 draws to a close it is time to look back and see what was achieved and what was not in the sewing room.    Last year at the same time I did say that 2019 was going to be "go with the flow year" and see where my sewing takes me as I did not have any unfinished UFO's or WIP's to work on.

Looking back at the list that is on my sidebar most of my sewing has been for either the local hospital auxiliary stalls which included making childrens' aprons, bibs and potholders etc.  Some of which can be seen below.

Or making library bags,  babies bibs and dresses for 6 year old girls in Sri Lanka through the Network Heaven project as well as aprons for the workers in the orphanages.    Some of those items can be seen below.

The one quilt that I did start and finish during the year for myself was the rainbow log cabin quilt.  Each month a colour was nominated and a block was made corresponding to that colour.    It was a fun project to work on and I love the end result.  

Other items made included a tote bag, snap top bags and a table topper using the International Sisters block

A 3D tutu cushion cover as well as an assortment of other smaller items.  

The knitting needles were also dusted off and some beanies were made.

One item on my to do list was to learn how to make a collage quilt but that did not happen.    My quilting group is having a discussion about getting a tutor in over a weekend in the early part of 2020 so hopefully that will take place and it can be crossed off the list at the end of next year.

So what will 2020 bring in the sewing room.    I see more charity sewing happening and of course I am very tempted to join in with the rainbow scrap challenge again.     This is a good opportunity to use up all those ever increasing scraps that seem to just keep multiplying before my eyes.

I am taking part in the Winter Blues Blog Hop in January and my project is taking shape - slowly but surely - and is on track to be ready by the 22nd January.     Then there is always something to tempt me to take part in as I do some blog hopping and of course Pinterest is like going down a rabbit hole with all sorts of interesting ideas to have a go at.   It will be interesting to look back at the end of year to see what caught my attention which is what the International Sisters block did with the 4 generations tabletopper being the result.    

What are your plans sewing wise for the coming year?   You can head on over here to link up and see what others hope to achieve.

Linking with Meadow Mist Designs

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Happy sewing all

This Week in the Sewing Room

I have been working on a variety of projects during the past week.   First up a decision was made on what to make for the Winter Blue Blog Hop.  Sometime ago  I was give this lovely fabric

Which has been sitting in my cupboard waiting for the right project to come along and seeing that blue is the dominate colour it is perfect for the challenge.    Out of the 20 pieces in the pack these were chosen as they all had a shade of blue in them with the exception of the very first light piece which is quite neutral and blends in well with the rest.  

When meeting with  the co-ordinator of Network Heaven last week I volunteered to make more adult aprons again this coming year.    I was handed a roll of curtain fabric (forgot to take a photo of the roll) and time allowed for the aprons to be cut during the week.    Ten aprons were cut from the fabric

Along with the matching neck and waist ties which are all pinned and ready to go under the needle.

Good progress is also being made with my stocking stuffers.   

Linking with Finished or not Finished Friday.

                      Put your Foot down

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Sample bag

During the week myself along with the two other sewists met with the co-ordinator of Network Heaven.   Anne wanted to discuss the possibility of trying to start up a "cottage industry" for middle aged teenage girls in various Sri Lankan villages.   Her idea was for the girls to learn to sew and make simple shopping bags which could be sold in their villages.   This would give the girls the opportunity to learn a skill which would be of benefit to them now and into the future as well as giving them some money to contribute to their families.

Our purpose was to come up with a simple design that the girls could make bearing in mind that they would be sewing on treadle sewing machines which only do straight sewing.    They do not have access to electric sewing machines which can do zig zag stitching or overlockers.

After much discussion it was decided that the best fabric would most probably be calico due to it being easy to access,  reasonably inexpensive and sturdy.     It was also decided that the girls would need to do French seams to neaten up the inside seams being unable to access an overlocker.  A pocket on the front was also suggested so that the bag could be folded up into itself.    Each of us now has a few weeks to make a sample bag which  Anne will take with her when she visits Sri Lanka next year.

I decided to have a play with the some fabric to see what I could do with the above requirements.   This is what I felt would be easy enough for them to draw up and sew.   I took a few design elements  from a couple of bags that I have and added them together to end up with this.

Here is the inside.  You can see the French seams on the inside.   I did cut the bottom of the bag on the fold in order to save sewing an extra seam.  

As you can see it is not fully lined in order to save fabric.  Only the handles were lined to give extra strength in that area and also topstitched around to give a nice finish.   The bottom corners were boxed but not cut off due to being raw edges.   Here it is all folded up into its outside pocket.

I have not yet seen what the others have come up with.   It will be interesting to see their versions when done.  

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all  

I am looking at you

I popped back into the City during last week to finish off the last of my Christmas shopping.   While standing on  the street corner waiting for the lights to change I happened to look up and saw

George Washington looking down on us.   Next time I am in the City I am going to try and find out who has their office behind the face.

The City is all decked out for Christmas.  The tree in Martin Place

The Stand Arcade

The stunning Christmas Tree in the Queen Victoria Building.    It is the largest indoor Christmas tree in Australia.    It stands 24 metres and  has over 100,000 sparkling crystal ornaments and 65,000 twinkling lights.  

I am pleased to say that my Christmas shopping is now complete and I can even brag that it is wrapped and waiting for the big day.   It is safely stashed away in the bottom of a cupboard as Miss M is coming to stay with us  for a couple of days just before Christmas and we all know that little fingers are very inquisitive when it comes to pretty packages under the tree.

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Happy sewing all

FNwF

Today the local hospital auxiliary held its annual Christmas street stall.  I along with a few other members spent the morning setting up.   We sell a variety of handmade items such as cakes, jams, gorgeous handknits for babies and toddlers, bibs, little girls pretty dresses, potholders, aprons both adults and kids sizes which prove to be very popular sellers and a variety of knitted toys as well as knitted and crocheted rugs.     One of the members was also selling raffle tickets for three lovely prizes.   I left at lunchtime and business  had been brisk up to that point.   We are a very well supported charity in the community.

After an early start today and having to be back at 8 am tomorrow morning at the local shopping centre for the last hospital auxiliary stall for the year I only got as far as cutting out my stocking stuffers late this afternoon.

These are now ready to go under the needle.

You can pop on over here to Cheryll's blog to see more creative happenings.

Just before I go the next photo is of the sunsets that we have been having over many weeks now due to the bushfires that have ringed Sydney and burning out of control.

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Happy sewing all

Winter Blues

While doing some blog hopping the other day I landed in at Carla's blog  and discovered that she is organising a  Winter Blues Blog Hop.   This entails making something with the colour blue - it can be anything as long as it contains blue in it somewhere.    Now Carla is in the northern hemisphere where January will be rather chilly so she is looking to make something to stay warm unlike me who lives Downunder where summer will be in full swing and I will be looking to stay cool.
If you would like to join in the Blog hop head  on over to Creatin' in the Sticks to find out more and sign up.

Even though the day to post my creation is not until 22nd January I need to get my thinking cap on and put my foot to the pedal.    Game on.

Don't forget that tomorrow night is the last FNwF  for 2019  so pop on over here to sign up and join in the fun.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Waiting to be dressed

Time to get out the Christmas tree.  It is looking very bare.

Nothing like some baubles, tinsel, twinkling lights and a star on top to bring it to life.

Once the main Christmas tree was up and decorated it was time to get the rest of the decorations out.  This is what I call my "plug and play" Christmas tree.    It just sits nicely on the coffee table in the loungeroom and twinkles away.    It is very pretty at night as it goes through its colour sequence. 

My favourite Christmas wallhanging.  It sits just above the dining table.

The dining room table looks like this at the moment.

And the reason for the season

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Happy sewing all

Secret Sewing Stocking Stuffers

Try saying that quickly!!!!!!!  I always like to give a small handmade stocking stuffer gift along with a purchased gift at Christmas time.     My aim is to turn some of this fabric into small gifts.

This will be my OMG for December.

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Happy sewing all

The Last Post ......For November (Day 30 Post)

Well today is the last day of blogging each day for the month of November.    When about half way through the challenge I did wonder if I would find enough to post about each day but here it is at the end and I still seem to have plenty to say.

I would like to thank those who have visited my blog for the past month and left their lovely comments.    It was encouraging to know that someone was reading my posts.

I have this very pretty and cute fabric in my stash and thought it would look good as a storage pod in Miss M's bedroom.   It will be added into her Santa sack.   You can find the free pattern here.  I did use a very stiff batting in order for it to stand upright on its own even though it does have a hanging loop on the back.

The lining is leftover from the 3D tutu cushion cover that I had made for her earlier on in the year.

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Happy sewing all

No more flimsy shower caps for me (Day 29 Post)

I am sick of having to replace my shower cap every few months due to the elastic stretching or coming away from the plastic cap.     This problem was finally solved yesterday with some pretty fabric.

And on the inside rip stop nylon was used to make it waterproof.   I used pre-made bias binding to form the casing and slotted some 1/4" elastic through.   This will be so much more sturdy than the very thin hat elastic used in the ones I have been buying.

It is a nice snug fit and I will "christen" it under the shower  today.

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Happy sewing all

Last step in the production Line (Day 28 Post)

At various times during the week the dresses have now moved through to the sewing machine and this is the last one of this batch to go under the needle.

10 little dresses completed

They have joined the other 12 that are hanging in the spare cupboard. 

This now makes a total of 22 dresses made in the last few weeks.  

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Happy sewing all

Whimsical fabric (Day 27 Post)

I have had this very cute and whimsical fabric in my stash for a while now and it has been sitting there patiently waiting its turn to go from yardage to item.

I teamed it up with some plain royal blue and red fabric and this is what it looks like now.  I forgot to take a photo of the inside lining which is a light colour.    I always use light  coloured fabric for the lining of bags as it makes it so much easier to find all those items which seem to fall to the bottom of the bag.  

I gifted the bag to my mother over the weekend.

I must have had a premonition when I posted about getting dinner ready early yesterday as more storms were forecast.    Gale force winds and lashing rain hit the Sydney metropolitan area at around 1 pm.   Large trees in close by suburbs were ripped from the ground  along with power poles snapped in half  and as a consequence power was lost  to over 50,000 homes with us being one of them.    Our power was restored 5 hours later.

Fortunately we had no damage but many others are still without power and have much damage to their homes and cars.  

Summer has not started yet and we have had such terrible natural disasters.

Back soon and in the meantime

Linking with Peacock Party

                     Finished or not Finished Friday.

Happy sewing all

Fresh from the oven (Day 26 Post)

Come and join us for some morning tea.   A batch of scones and plain buttercake are on offer.    There is nothing like the smell of fresh scones straight from the oven.   If you are thinking that these do not look like a traditional scone then you are quite right.    I do not roll out the scone dough and  use a cutter - I just make a square shaped dough and bake it like that then cut into 12 pieces when cooked through.    Just as delicious without the extra steps.

Yesterday was a day of firsts - I picked the first hibiscus flower of the season

Heard cicadas for the first time as well.

And we had our first decent rainfall in months.    Yeah. 

It did come in the form of 3 storms rolling over in succession and took our power out but it was much needed rain so we cannot grumble.    Power  back on and back to functioning as normal again.   It is forecast for more storms this afternoon.    Better organise dinner in advance.   

Back soon and in the meantime 

Happy sewing all

On the big yellow bus (Day 25 Post)

Yesterday morning I decided  to spend the day in at the Rocks - an historic part of Sydney - so onto the big yellow bus it was for just under an hour's journey.    We have only 5 mins left of the trip into the City.

The bus has arrived.   Most of the  Sydney buses at the moment are "wearing" a moustache to support "Movember".

So time to walk down to The Rocks where I passed by the overseas passenger terminal at Circular Quay.    The area was quite busy as one of the large cruise ships had not long docked and many passengers were disembarking and others waiting to board.  What a great spot for visitors to Sydney to arrive at.    You have the Harbour Bridge on one side and the Opera House on the other.

Every weekend in the Rocks they have an "upmarket market" where all sorts of interesting, unique and varied items can be found.   It is always a fascinating place to wander around and being close to Christmas it was  decked out in decorations.

There were even some snow flakes

Some of the stalls

Time to have a coffee break.   Here you can sit, knit and sip all at the sametime.

I just sat and sipped.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day wandering around the Rocks and the markets.   I was even able to cross off a name or three on my Christmas list.    Very happy about that.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all