Early Sunday Stash

For Christmas, Kira gave me (or I bought, gave to hubby to wrap)a bunch of Prints Charming fabrics. Added to a couple I already had, and I've got a nice little collection.



They really are very pretty.

What have I done with my life!!

I've seen this floating around a few blogs, but I stole this one from here.

Things you've already done: bold

Things you want to do: italicize

Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band
4. visited hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower (does Smallville Count???)
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to disneyland/world
8. climbed a mountain
9. held a praying mantis
10. sang a solo
11. bungee jumped
12. visited paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the statue of liberty
18. grown your own vegetables
19. seen the mona lisa in france
20. slept on an overnight train
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset
31. hit a home run
32. been on a cruise
33. seen niagara falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an amish community
36. taught yourself a new language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing (gotta love taking kids on outdoor adventure camps!)
40. seen michelangelo's david in person
41. sung karaoke
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the sistene chapel in person
50. been to the top of the eiffel tower in paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkelling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theatre
55. been in a movie
56. visited the great wall of china
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies.
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a cheque
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the lincoln memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt
73. stood in times square
74. toured the everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in london
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle
79. seen the grand canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible
86. visited the white house
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the alamo in person.
96. swum in the great salt lake.

97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Stitchery Success

Luke's poor teacher has yet to receive her Christmas gift! Yes, school finished a week ago, but she will be at the school again next year, so I have promised her she will have it on the first day back.

I've known for awhile what I wanted to do for her, but motivation plus a little bit of fear, held me back. You see, what I chose has not only applique, but also stitchery - two things I have not ventured very far with. So I took a deep breath and did the stitchery part. And you know what, it wasn't that scary!!! I'm even kinda pleased with the result.Please excuse the poor photography, it is so windy here today that every time I tried to take a photo outside I found myself chasing it across the deck!

I'm now off to sit on the couch, watch the Amazing Race and attempt the applique bit. Wish me luck!

Stash Sunday - triple treat!

So, I've missed a few Sunday's. My 2 regular readers will not be surprised by this at all! However, to make up, you get three looks at my stash this week.

First off is a bunch of florals. I have a loose idea in mind for these. Something for my mum, but if they get used for other stuff in the meantime, it's no biggy.

Second is a bunch of space fabrics. I have no idea what I will do with them, I just like them! From memory they were bought as envelope stuffers once when I bought some fabric online and needed to make up the postage.

Thirdly, in the spirit of the season, is my very measly collection of Christmas fabric. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas fabric, and most of this is from a swap I entered last year. Personal favourite is most probably the gold stars and swirls.

A New BOM

I've been a bit slack of late - I plead the silly season defence! Anyway, thanks to my wonderful MIL who is currently staying with us, I got some sewing time today! So I cut and sewed my sixth BOM.
This lovely block is called Sunrise Star and as designed by Margot Languedoc. It was definitely the most challenging block so far, but I had great fun doing it and even more impressive, I didn't have to unpick anything!
One of the things I am really enjoying with this block of the month thing is the opportunity to discover a whole bunch of new designers and websites. The variety out there is amazing! I'm not sure my husband is so thrilled with my new found discoveries.
Promise I'll try and get back on Sunday for a stash post.

Fizzler Friday

A fizzler because we were going to go camping, but with high winds and rain forecast, we decided to stay home instead.

I have no photos today. I am working on some ideas for the local Coochie markets, but nothing I am willing to show off just yet. I did however make progress today and that is all I will say!

What I have done though is have a look for some ideas on what else I can make to sell at the markets and have come across these sites.

yo yo headbands
button boxes
Pencil rolls
Hats
Tote-able towels
Tissue holders
Touchy worm

What do you think??

Stash Sunday

This week I thought I would show off some Australiana fabric that I have been collecting. Not sure what I will do with it in the end, but I am sure I'll come up with something.
I think it all started with this group of fabrics.Then these. We love lizards in this house and there was no way I could resist those end three. And what is Australia without a few Cockies, gum leaves and native flowers?
As for these, I just love the deep rich colour of them.
This is my favourite. Not sure if you can see them, but it has gold flecks through it.

I realise these are most probably not to everyones taste, but I love them! Just wish I knew what to do with them!

WIP Weekend

I was lucky enough to have a quilty friend come and stay this weekend. While we did some beach sitting, wine drinking and friend catch up talking, we also managed some sewing!

I worked on something on the weekend that I'm not sure about yet, so will leave you hanging on details until I am more sure. Today though, I managed to do my fifth BOM and some 9 patches for the back of Luke's frog quilt.

This is the 5th block in my Block of the Month from the Fat Quarter Shop. This one is called Peppermint Star and is designed by Vicki Bellino. Once again, my points are not perfect, but I am getting better as I go.


More frogs! I've now done 25 nine patches. Half way there before I can start cutting them up again!

All in all a lovely weekend. We must do it again soon Kelly.

Stash Sunday

I thought this week I would show some new purchases. I went shopping during the week. Most of it is earmarked for planned projects, but some was just because I liked it!

Firstly, a little (or slightly bigger than little) package from Busy Thimbles. I lay the blame for this squarely at the feet of Ingrid. :) She made a lovely dolls quilt for the swap for Helen, using blackboard fabric. I though this was a fantastic idea, so went off to order some and then had to make up enough for the postage! So, first I got this Japanese fabric for a bag I am planning for Luke's teacher.

And to fill the envelope as much as possible, I got these two.


I'm also planning a quilt for Kira's day carer and need some bright. Which I got from one of my local shops.
However, they didn't have everything I needed so I went to another shop, where I found some possible alternatives for the stuff I already had.
So whatever doesn't get used, will become part of the general stash. And finally there were a few cute fat quarters.
Hmmmmmmmm, think I should stay away from the shops for awhile!

Hats sewn and sent!

I sewed some more caps for Caps to Cap-Haitien project the other night. I would love to sew a few blankets, but I just don't see me getting it done and posted to the US before the deadline. So along with the caps I first sewed I added this lot.
12 caps are now winging their way to Soulemama. Hope they are ok!

Just for AJ and Emma - answers to questions.

AJ and Emma both asked me about my Stash Sunday blues. AJ wanted to see a pic of quilt. Sorry about the quality, it's scanned from a magazine.
It came from a magazine called Beautiful Pieced Quilts Vol 1. Finished quilt is 72 x 82 inches.

Emma - I need 1/4 yard of 42 different blues. Some I have bought more of, simply because I can!

Doll Quilt Swap - my contribution

Having borrowed (stolen!) a photo from AJ's blog because stupid me forgot to take a photo before sending it, (I did the same thing with the Table Runner swap!) I can now reveal the doll's quilt I sent to AJ.
Apart from a couple of log cabin blocks I made for my first sampler quilt (which I've just realised I've never blogged!), this is the first log cabin I've ever made. Each block was 4.5inches wide, each strip 1/2 inch in size! I'd like to make a bigger one, if only because of the fun you can have with the organisation of it. Deciding on how to arrange the blocks was most probably one of the longest steps in the process!!

Sunday Stash

A few bloggers I read have been doing this for a couple of weeks and I thought I would join in, so here is my first Sunday stash!

This week's stash is a pile of blues that will eventually be made into a True Lover's Knot quilt. I need 42 different blues. Last count was 30.

These are most probably my 3 favourites.

More Friday Fun!

I'm not a good sewer, and anyone who says otherwise, bless them, are just trying to bolster my confidence. (mind you, I do respond well to praise:)) No, at best I am competent, mediocre, but when I saw this, I knew I had to give it a go. So today I made 6 caps.
Kira, now by the way, insists on her doll wearing one of these!
They were fun and easy to make and I know they are going to a good home.

Speaking of not being a good sewer, it took a lot for me to join the EB Doll Quilt Swap. I joined mainly because I wanted to join in getting quilty mail, but I quite enjoy the giving bit too! As mentioned in my previous post, AJ is the person I drew to send a quilt to. Apart from being one of the organisers, AJ is a beautiful quilter whose work I freqently admire. To be honest, I am terrified of AJ opening my effort and finding it lacking. I know she will say it's lovely, and I will even believe her, but if, by the smallest of chances she doesn't like it, I'll be happy to believe the lie and let her put it away in the cupboard and forget about it. In the end, I know (and I'm sure the people I make things for know) anything I make for other is made with love and care, and surely that counts for something.
In the meantime, I might make more caps!

Fantastic Friday!!

Today is the grand opening of the Doll Quilt parcels from the EB Doll Quilt Swap. I was very lucky, as my parcel only arrived yesterday so I didn't have it tempting me for very long.
I was extremely fortunate to have Joy as the person making my quilt and she has sent me this gorgeous little quilt for Kira.
Kira was immediately taken with it and announced it was for Baby's (her doll) big bed. She also said the sea turtle is her favourite.I personally love the embroideries, and the applique bucket, thongs and towel.

The colours are beautiful and bright and so much thought went into the label.

Kira insisted I take a photo of her with it. As I snapped the pic she said "Thank you Joy."Thank you so much Joy, it's just beautiful.

Now the nervous wait until AJ opens hers...

Not much sewing here...

There hasn't been a lot of sewing here recently. Lack of motivation, coupled with way too much else on my plate. However, yesterday I did manage to sit down for a couple of hours and start sewing 9 patches which will be made into a disappearing 9 patch for the back of Luke's frog quilt. I'm hoping to get some more done today, but wouldn't count on it. This is what I have so far.
I finished and posted off the Dolls Quilt, although I forgot to take photos so will have to ask the recipient for some. I've yet to receive mine, but since we are not allowed to open them until the 7th, I'm kinda hoping it doesn't arrive until the 6th!

In non quilty news, our block has been cleared! Building should start this week. Before and after photos.

Looks very bare without the trees, but we were thrilled to keep the mulberry down the back.

And finally, my baby girl is no longer a baby. The cot is gone to be replaced by thisShe loves it. Me, I'm still getting use to it!

Family Fun Fair Friday

Just to let you know there will be no sewing tomorrow due to the fact that it is the school fair and I am involved up to my eyeballs!! Can't wait for it be over. In the meantime, I'm off to make a macademia chocolate slice for the cake stall.

See you next week.

Friday...Finally!

I've been hanging out for this Friday! We got back from holidays Friday last week and this has been the first chance I've had to do any sewing. I did a little bit while away, but am aware of the looming deadline for the dolls quilt. So, what have I been doing?
Just before we left to go away, the fourth BOM from the Fat Quarter Shop (there's a link on the side if you are interested) arrived in my letter box. Given everything else had already been packed, I slipped it in my handbag. Once again, an hour of cutting and a little more than that sewing and BOM4 was finished!
This one is called Double Treats and is designed by Bunny Hill Designs. As I have mentioned before, I am really enjoying this and it's perfect for when I only have an hour or two and really want something to show for my time.

I also managed to get my dolls quilt top finished, sandwiched and quilted. I'm not 100% sure about it, but put the binding on this afternoon. I'll sew it down and do the label and then make a decision. Here's a sneak peek.
I know it doesn't show much, but every other photo gives too much away.

I took away the squares to do the back of Luke's frog quilt, but only managed to sew one nine patch. Desperate to get back to it, but need to finish the dolls quilt first.

Spring has Sprung!

It's definitely spring up here. The air is warm, bird are singing and flowers are blooming! This is what's happening in my garden at the moment.






These start white, turn purple and have the loveliest scent. They are at the front of the verandah and if you sit looking out onto the street, the smell wafts up to you.


The jasmine is out the back door, near the toilet. Leave the loo window open and you have natures deoderiser!



These next two are actually across the road, but they are absolutely gorgeous.

And look what the curlew nesting on our block hatched! Isn't she clever?