OMG and Table Scraps

At the beginning of the month my nominated OMG for January was to convert slabs of sewn together red scraps  - which is the RSC colour of the month - into bibs as well as making a set or two of red placemats.      Those slabs now look like this.   

                                                  

Over at the Joyful Quilter there is a linky party at the end of each month which is run in conjuntion with the RSC as well as having a nominated theme.   Snowmen were chosen as the theme this month.   I am pleased to say that  snowmen are there and can be seen more clearly in the close up below.   

While bibs are not used for the table they are used at the table.   I think this qualifies.  

And two sets of red placemats were added to the giftie box.  

Wishing all Aussies a happy Australia Day.     I will be doing an Australia Day Zoom session with Chookyblue and many others around lunchtime today.   

   Update on Zoom session.    As always it is a fun time sewing and chatting with the other Zoomers.     Even though the start time was later than usual many US and Canadadians were able to join in.   Fortunately for me I was able to get my Ipad up and running on Zoom this time so I could be just as productive as the others.

Linking with OMG

                      Joyful Quilter

                      Patchwork & Quilts

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all   

A Stay at Home holiday and other happenings

Miss M stayed with hubs and I for 4 days last week and due to the rapid spread of COVID and the fact that she could not be vaccinated until this week it was very much in our minds that whatever activities we did with her had to be very local and more or less isolated.    The aim was to have as much outdoor activity as possible and fortunately the weather was kind  which allowed a visit to the beach early each day

Doing laps in our complex pool 

Spending some quiet time in the sewing room making a sleep bag for one of her dolls.  A decorative stitch along with a contrasting thread gave it the finishing touch that she was after.  

About to do the taste test of a chocolate cake that we made together.  

Miss M does the measuring and stirring and grandma does the hot bit of putting in and taking out of the oven.

Miss M has since returned home and all the extra washing has been done and put away along with the box of toys that was brought up from the garage for her to play with. 

I have joined in with another couple of blog hops again.   I have fallen down the Pinterest rabbit hole for many an hour and surfaced with quite a few ideas.     The first hop involves pink so these scraps have been pulled and my final decision as to how they end up needs to be made soon.   

I finished reading this book last night and really enjoyed it.  

It is set in the 1830s in the Rocks area of Sydney which is one of my favourite parts of the city and was referring to many of the streets and surrounding areas which I could visualise.        

Next book in the pile to read

Two more beanies finished.   My knitting has slowed down as it is a bit warm at present to be handling the yarn for any length of time.   

During the week my quilting pupil and I met via the screen for a coffee and to go through the next step which is cutting and attaching the borders.    This step has been completed and the quilt  is now with a longarmer waiting to be quilted.    

 And all 31 snowflakes have been made.  

Hubs and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary on Thursday.   Normally we go out for lunch to our favourite restaurant but we gave that a miss this year opting to stay home instead and enjoy some nibbles and a bottle of bubbles.

I joined in with Wendy and many others last night and finished off another set of red placemats for the giftie box.    

I think that there is enough red items in the giftie box so the red scrap basket has been put back in the cupboard for the moment and I look forward to seeing what the RSC for February is.  

That about wraps up what has been happening around here but don't forget to check out what happened in the craft room of those who joined in FNSI 

Linking with Finished or not Friday

                      Put Your Foot Down

                      So Scrappy

                      Patchwork & Quilts

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Progress report and design change

My quilting pupil is progressing well with her blocks.   Well on the way to getting them sewn together.   

Originally she was tatting flowers for the middle of each large white square but has since changed her mind to tatting snowflakes instead.   There are still 15 more to make.  

I am still playing around in the red scrap pile and made this pot holder for the giftie box.  

It is back to hunting and gathering again in the supermarkets as many of the shelves are empty or heading that way with limits being put on a lot of items such a meat, chicken, toilet paper, tissues, paper towels and paracetamol.    There does not appear to be any  RAT kits available looking at the signs in pharmacy windows.    

   

I am going to have a quick lunch then head off and collect Miss M who is going to say with us for a few days.    Hopefully the weather stays fine so we can enjoy the beach, swimming in the pool and scooting around the lake.    

Linking with So Scrappy

                      Patchwork & Quilting

Back soon and in the meantime stay safe and

Happy sewing all 

FNwF

While rummaging through my red scraps and other bits and pieces during the week  I noticed that these unruly chickens were in need of a hen house.   

And the perfect piece was found to pen them in.

Hubs and I along with most other family and friends have put ourselves back into a mini self-imposed lockdown and only going out for essential purposes now that the daily number of COVID cases are increasing at an alarming rate - 38,625 reported cases today.      I was in one shop last week for a total of 10 minutes and received a "ping" from Service NSW alerting me  that a positive case was in the shop at the same time.   I have since had two other "pings" and again only in the shops for less than 15 mins each time.     

It was decided that rather than go out this morning some domestic duties would be tackled then an early start was made in the sewing room and those chickens are now rounded up yet free to peck safely.    

They will reside in my giftie box until they are sent off to a new home.

More red scraps pulled out to make another set of placemats also destined for the giftie box on completion.     These are leftovers from the HST challenge quilt which was completed last year. 

Time to head on over here to check out what the others who signed up to join in FNwF achieved while I go and organise some dinner for us.  

Linking with Put Your Foot Down

                      So Scrappy

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all 

Impossible Pie

While looking for some recipes for quick and easy lunches I stumbled across a few recipes for impossible pies.   Why is it called impossible pie I wondered.....because according to Google it is impossible to make a mistake.    Sounds just like my kind of recipe.     Well I am not so sure that it is not possible to make a mistake.   What did I learn with my first effort .......do not mix all the ingredients together as the pasta that was near the top really dried out during the cooking process and was very rubbery to eat.    Also do not put the pie dish onto a tray as directed as it did not set well.

Take number two was much better as it was decided to layer the pasta first, then top with the veggies and lastly pour over the wet ingredients and not place on a tray while baking.     A much better attempt but it was still not what I call a pie consistency.

Last week's attempt - I was not going to be beaten by this recipe.  I used all of my new found knowledge above and let it sit in the fridge for 24 hours before serving.   

Third time lucky.      This is a great way to use up all those extra veggies that we tend to cook and put in the freezer.    The veggies in this one included sweet potato, broccoli, cauliflower and onion however it one of those recipes that anything goes and would still be good.   

I did have plans to sew  will chatting along on Zoom yesterday but for some reason I could not log on using my Ipad so it was over to my PC to join in.    I was not able to stay for long but it is always a fun time.  Most of the northern hemisphere girls had gone off to bed but there were a couple still up.  As you can see everyone is  being very industrious except me.  

Over to the sewing table after logging off saw as many red scraps as possible  sewn together into pieces big enough to subsequently cut up into bibs.   This will be my OMG for January as well as making a set or two of placemats - in red of course - for my very depleted giftie box.  

As you can see some pieces are much bigger than others and my aim was to move the fabrics around so that any directional prints are going the right way up.   

 

Next book on the pile to read

Summer has finally arrived here and I have resumed my swimming.   It is a lovey way to start the day.  

I need to make a trip to the shops today as I am down to my last sewing machine needle - not sure how that happened - and red thread as well as a couple of other items are on the list.  

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Happy New Year

Hubs and I held our VIP New Year's Eve Party again this year.....him and me with a bottle of bubbles and some yummy nibbles to share. 

While doing a Zoom session with Chookyblue and other Zoomers on Monday I did ask the question of everyone on the screen if they had any plans in the sewing room for the coming year.  

Some had specific goals to finish off long standing UFO's, others are looking forward to starting new projects and there were a few like me that did not have any plans - just whatever happens.      

I have since given my sewing plans some thought and decided that I will join in the RSC again this year.  So hand into the red scrap basket to do some slab sewing - pieces that are bigger than crumbs.  Some were strips, squares, triangles and others just odd shaped left overs.    

Once sewn together they will then become bibs for a charity that I sew for.     By the end of the year there  should will be a rainbow of bibs around the creche where they are sent to.    The aim is to make 2 or 3 of every colour each month so hopefully that will reduce the scrap piles considerably.  

At the beginning of last year I joined in the Table scraps challenge  run by The Joyful Quilter which involved making any item for your table from a mug rug to a table runner  using the RSC colour of the month.   This fell by the wayside due to our move but I am going to join in again this year and the range of items to sew has been expanded.     Another great way to use up those scraps.   

The plan is to join in with blog hops again as well as various linky partys.    These are a great way to keep motivated and inspired by many of the lovely creations that keep coming out of these link ups.   

 Another book started...a very quick and easy light read.  

And another beanie on the needles.  I now have two on the go at the sametime.   I like to cast on and do the ribbing with longer needles and then switch to shorter ones while doing the bulk of the knitting.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and safe 2022 as we navigate our way through this pandemic and learn to live with it.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all