Friday, February 25, 2022

RSC Bibs and Table scraps

The RSC for February is aqua/teal and the Tablescraps challenge is Improv which means  "to do something without practice".   I guess  putting my hand into the basket of aqua scraps, pulling out whichever one is next and sewing them together in no particular order would come under the classification of Improv.     Below you can see the result



Now it is time to head on over here to see more Improv aqua projects.

The aqua/teal scrap basket is now back in the cupboard and I look forward to seeing what March brings in the way of colour and table scrap challenge.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

February OMG Finish and one or two other happenings

 My February OMG was to turn these fabrics into a set of two placemats.

And the result is


These placemats were originally destined for my giftie box along with the other two sets of placemats previously made however they will end up on my open day market stall.  That now gives me 3 sets of placemats - the aim is for 6 sets.   

Thanks Patty for organising OMG. 

During the week a cut-a-thon was happening with baby bibs.     These will also be for the market stall.  The plan is to have 12 of these as they are very popular at the hospital auxiliary stall  and hopefully will sell as well on the day for me.  


Six wine bottle gift bags were also completed and ticked off the "to do list".   I have not made these before.   This of course led me to you-tube to see how to make them and as usual there are many ways so after watching quite a few methods a bit was taken from this and added to that along with a tweak or two of my own and here is the result.


A new book was also started


Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Starting a list and a plan

During the week I was approached by the Sales Manager of our complex and asked if I would be interested in taking a craft stall at an open day being held  in conjunction with Seniors' Week.   My first question to her was when was this happening and secondly when did I need to let her know if I was interested.    

The open day is at the end of March and she needed to know by the middle of March.   My first thoughts were - my giftie box is pretty much depleted after the Market Day stall in December last year and only has a couple of sets of placemats in it as well as a pot holder or two.    So it was time to make a list of possible items needed and if they could achieved within the timeframe of 5 weeks.   

Once the list was completed it was time to check out my stash to see if there was enough suitable fabrics for the items. 

The aim is to use what was already in the cupboard rather than go and buy more but I did weaken when this fabric was spotted the other day.   And it was on special.....no second thoughts about grabbing the bolt and heading to the cutting counter.

How could  it be left behind on the shelf considering that one of the items on the list is a drawstring bag with a ballet theme.   My original idea was to applique some pink ballet shoes onto the outside of a plain bag but this fabric is just  perfect and will save me a lot of work and time.  

To be realistic 2 hours five days of the week can be set aside in the sewing room.   Some days I may be able to squeeze in a bit more time and others less or not at all depending on commitments and social activities.    This is not going to be turned into a job - it is a hobby with no expectation of making any monetry gain from it.   I do however feel rather chuffed that others think that my work is of a standard to be invited to take a stall again.   To make this plan happen I will work on one item at a time - there will of course be multiples - so cutting out the required number of whatevers then sewing them up before moving onto the cutting out of the next item on the list.   The production line method.

A start had been made during the week on children's aprons and they were finished off last night when joining in  FNSI.     These sell very quickly at the hospital auxiliary stall and I am hoping they sell as well here on the day.   

Next item on the list is wine bottle  gift bags.  Hopefully these fabrics will be ideal to use for the bags.  The calico will be the lining.   

Thank you Wendy for having us around again. 

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Monday, February 14, 2022

Tickled Pink

Welcome to my blog and today it is my turn to share with you my interpretation of Tickled Pink.   My first thought when reading the title of this hop was of a feather - let's face it there is nothing more ticklish than a feather.  Now to work out what was the best way to go about this led me to Pinterest of course.    Feathers of all shapes and sizes confronted me but one kept leaping out and that was to go with paper piecing.     I love the accuracy of this method but for some reason my brain does not do backwards and upside too well but I perserved with a bit lot of unpicking and for anyone who has had to unpick all those teeny tiny stitches knows just how time consuming, frustrating and annoying it is.   

Those teeny tiny stitches are needed in order to rip the paper off at the end without unpulling the stitching.   This is also a drawback of this method.  


Mission accomplished and here is my Tickled Pink Feather


Now it is time to head on over to the blogs listed below to see some more Tickled Pink items.   

Friday, February 11, 2022

Following Doctor's orders

After having my booster shot yesterday I was given the instruction by the doctor to drink plenty of water and take it very easy for the next day or two.  Being the good patient that I am I am following his orders to the letter.   Plenty of water has been consumed and my idea of taking it easy is to sit at the sewing machine and move a few items that I have committed to closer to the finish line.   First up the binding has been cut for the set of placemats that are currently sitting on the sewing table,  fabrics chosen for dusting off an old book blog hop and making a start on cutting out those aqua/teal slabs of fabrics that were ironed last week. 

The slabs now look like this.   The next step is to get them sewn up and turned right way out before the end of the coming week.


Reading also falls into the take it easy category .  A new book has been started.


Another not too taxing activity was the sewing up and making a pom pom for the teal beanie that was on the knitting needles.


As well as casting on the stitches for the next beanie.


Eating plenty of fresh fruit was not mentioned but who does not like a plate of strawberries to help keep up one's strength.   


As you can see doctor's orders are being followed and quite a lot is being achieved in the sewing room at the same time.    

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Saturday, February 5, 2022

FNwF

Being the first Friday night of the month means sewing virtually with a group of likeminded people.    I have to say that not one stitch did happen last night as it was all about getting slabs of aqua/teal fabrics that were stitched together during the week

Onto the ironing board and pressed ready to be cut up for the next round of  RSC bibs.   


After that it was time to do some research for another blog hop that I have joined which involves finding a  book that has been around for sometime, dusting it off and making an item from it. 


After flipping through several books a few times each I kept going back to one project that I am leaning towards.  A final decision is yet to be made but seeing that February is a short month that decision needs to be made very soon - just in case I am not happy with my choice and need to go to option 2, 3 or 4.   

I also did some work on my Tickled Pink item.  It is almost to the finish line.  

During the week I met up with some friends at one of our favourite outdoor cafes.  


It has cover should it be raining or extreme heat with plenty of fresh air so we figured it was a good place to meet up.   There are lots of lovely walking paths around the cafe which lead down to the water and of course good coffee.


Thank you Cheryl for organising another fun Friday night again.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

February OMG as well as a bit of this and a bit of that which

Has been happening around here this week.   Firstly taking advantage of the lovely weather and going for a swim early each day.  Most days when in the pool it is just me and my reflection.


The other day I did have an onlooker sitting on the side.    It did bring some snacks along to munch while watching what I was up to.   Each of us was hoping that the other one would not come any closer.   I certainly did not want a swimming companion.  


A batch of freshly baked scones just out of the oven is always a nice treat for morning tea.


This is definitely not the job for me.   I have a horror of heights.  I felt dizzy just standing at ground level and looking up at the painters above.  


The first month of the year has already been and gone and we are now into February.     For those in the southern hemisphere  February is the last month of summer.   Valentine's Day is also celebrated during this month and Chinese New Year officially begins on 1st February.   This year  it is the Year of the Tiger.   It is also time to pull out those aqua/teal scraps which is the RSC for February and using them with the theme of  "Improv" . 


My nominated OMG for this month is to turn the fabrics below into a set of two placemats for my giftie box.      


I need to finish off my Tickle me Pink  blog hop item and think about the next blog hop in March.    Those few challenges should keep my busy for a while.  

The beanie I am currently knitting is teal.  I did not have insider information when putting my hand into the wool basket as the what RSC was going to be.   It just happened to be on top.  


Time to head into the sewing room and make a start on some of the above.    Back soon and in the meantime

Linking with OMG

Happy sewing all