Monday Progress Report...

Monday craft group today, always a great start to the week...started the morning popping hexie papers...as soon as I got home I ironed and starched the hexie medallion and pinned it to the background...

Ready now to be appliqued down...

And a finish...the mini ponchette bag's bias stitched down...

an addition to the August OPAM list, yay!...

And I still had time left to do a little stitching on the "Ruby Cottage" stitchery.

I'm pretty impressed with myself as I've worked on most of this week's design wall projects already...and given that all I have to do to get a tick is make some progress..wahoo!...

Happy Stitching...

Wall Wrap...

So how did rebuilding the wall fare this week...quite well actually... it seems the mortar held and the bricks didn't come tumbling down, yet...progress of some kind was made on each wall project....

 *click pic to make bigger

Not a bad week's work if I do say so myself...excep Sherbet Pips all are now transportable hand stitching into the stitchy ballet case for adventures at Monday craft group tomorrow...
And on the wall this week?...along with those that have graduated to the stitchy ballet case...two machine projects for "at home"...

Sherbet Pips makes a return appearance...and for something completely different I've dug out an old project, a blue & white 9 block sampler.
Hope your week is productive and stitchy...
Happy Stitching...

Bumb'le Happy Dancing...

There is a little happy dancing happening in my sewing room right about now...the central medallion for Bumb'le Bee is...

all stitched together! (for the purposes of photo pinned to actual background fabric) Cue wild applause and general merry making...what? a bit of an overkill? probably, but I'm just a wee bit happy to finally have it together (what you can do when you obsess for a week on one thing)...now I can actually unpin it from the design board...wahoo!!!! Next step is hexie papers to be popped out and ironing/starching to take place so it can be appliqued to shown background but that can happen another day...

Oh and the TAFE assignment was duly delivered yesterday...so that is two ticks this week for "just get it done will you" tasks...cue more happy dancing... :)

Happy Stitching...

Rebuilding the Wall...

Remember a few months ago when I was using my design wall each week to keep me focused on certain projects for the week...yeah, that fell into disfavour rather quickly didn't it...well, it's time to rebuild the wall...so I've pinned up what I'd like to make some progress on this week in the hope that I'll stop fluffing about...

So right to left and top to bottom...

*Bumb'le Bee - yes it is still there and yes up until today it hadn't progressed any except to unpick the misaligned hexies.  I have started to stitch on outer sashing hexies today so that is a tick to start with :)...

* a mini pochette made over the weekend inbetween working on my TAFE assignment - what can I say, I needed a distraction to reset my brain and I'd started the cutting out so I figure it wasn't really a new project - requires binding...

* the 119 hexies I cut out Friday night ready for basting...

* Sherbet Pips quilt top...pieced border, the pieces of which are sitting on the cutting table ready to be assembled into the next stage of units...

* Gail Pan project from Inspired Stitches...OK so this was started last night...the makings have been sitting on the cutting table yelling at me since returning from Inspired Stitches and I didn't have a stitchery/embroidery on the go and sometimes that is just what a girl needs...

Let's see how far I get this week...I don't hold out high hopes really...and I have to finish that TAFE assignment...

Hope your week is productive...

Happy Stitching...

A Quiet Friday Night Sew-In

So last night was Friday Night Sew-In...boy did that come around fast this month...August has completely taken me by surprise!...anyway, it was a quiet little Friday Night Sew-In in my sewing room this month...

resulting in...

119 x 3/4" hexies ready to be basted...so that is also Monday's craft group take-along project sorted!


Hope your Friday Night Sew-In was productive...


Happy Stitching...

Sunday's Stitching...

Yesterday afternoon was spent in the sewing room *bliss*...perfect Sunday afternoon work conditions if you ask me...

First up a foundation pieced heart for Tonya's charity quilt...actually this is the second one, the first attempt was so beyond woeful that, well, just let's not go there shall we!...

That done I looked around and decided on finishing up the kit that the purple flower stitchery from yesterday's post belonged to...

"Out with the Girls" by Melly & Me...one of the projects from this year's Daylesford Craft Experience...it seems my brain cells had finally decided to come to the party and this went together nicely...

Time was well spent at Monday sewing group today and the pinwheel runner now has binding...wahoo!...not finished yet as there is still a little decorative stitching to finish but way closer...

Hope your Monday is crafty...and warmer than the ice drops rain that has moved in here...drizzly, useless & freezing cold...so I think a cuppa and sewing room hibernation may just be the order for the rest of the day...

Happy Stitching...

Catching Up...

I found this post languishing in drafts...I started it three weeks ago!  Oops!  So deleting what is now irrelevant and moving on...

First up the subject of said started post from three weeks ago was...borders are on 'Tis the Season and it is now a finished top!!...

the Stitch-A-Long timetable for blocks together, borders on, quilted and bound is September...in an event that will probably never be repeated I'm I was two months ahead of schedule...mind you the quilted and bound thing still has to happen!...and right back on my schedule it hasn't...but in a move sure to shock, the quilting thread has been purchased...a King Tut variegated green...no action will take place on the quilting front though until the Even Feed (Walking) Foot on order for Accidental Lay-by arrives (that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!!)...

So that was three weeks ago...this week was the week from hell as far as things going pear shaped was concerned and amongst the stress and resultant exhaustion of dealing with recalcitrant technology on the work front there wasn't much crafting going on...I did manage a couple of small finishes...a quilt-as-you-go hexie thread bin/catcher...

One of the fellow crafters at Monday sewing was making these and I liked the idea so I came home and whipped out the hexie templates and Lynette Anderson Summertime Friends fabric...so easy to put together and no machining necessary...gotta love that...

So after finishing that up yesterday (also known as sewing the three little decorative buttons on), I moved on to a journal cover...

The fabric flower was part of Janelle Wind's offerings at Inspired Stitches and I've used one of those self-cover buttons for the centre...if you go here you'll see Janelle's original version...I actually made the flower band weeks ago and it has been sitting on the sewing table with the rest of the fabric and the notebook just waiting for me to get my act together and make the cover...not my finest hour or six I can tell you...anyone else can make a journal cover in no time, just whip them up, they are easy peasy...well, then there is me...it seems that journal covers are my Archillies Heel...no matter how carefully I measure and measure and cut and calculate and no matter how many fittings the notebook has there is always a problem at the final fitting....grrrr...out with the quick unpick *sigh*...they look so easy...for everyone else!  Using what is pretty much the last useable pieces of Laurel Birch Mythical Horses fabric in my stash box, what is left now is pretty much scraps...I just love this fabric, the colours, the movement, the mythical horses...so sad that there will be no more...

After battling along with that project for most of the day I couldn't be bothered with anything else that required brain cells so I reached for and finished this stitchery from one of the Daylesford Craft Experience projects by Melly & Me...it is a bag which I bought the kit for on the day...

Right, moving on with Sunday...time to hit the sewing room I think...finishing work stuff and clothes washing achieved I think it is time for some fun!

Hope your Sunday is a crafty one...

Happy Stitching...

Kilmore Quilters Group Raffle Quilt...

I've been asked how to get a ticket for the Kilmore Quilters award winning Group Quilt?

Well, I can help with that.

I have the Paypal to collect the money and then I can either scan the ticket and send you a pic or for the addition of the cost of a stamp mail tickets out.  So here's how it would work.

Tickets are $2.00 each.  If you would like to buy tickets leave me a comment on this post and I will email you to sort out the details...how many tickets you want, your info for the ticket stub/s, my paypal email...once the deposit is received I will organise your tickets and forward to you.  If you can't leave a comment send me an email at jindiscottage(at)gmail(dot)com.

So, if you would like the chance to have your name called as the lucky recipient of an Award Winning Blue Ribbon quilt comment away...

Oh, by the way, it is drawn at our quilt show which is in October...

Journeying Around Jeff's Shed 3...

*pictures edited into Smilebox slideshows...
Still at the Stitches & Craft Show Quilts...grap a cuppa for a look around the small quilts...Art and pictorial...and miniatures...

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There were lots of hexie quilts so they deserve their own section in my tour de quilt show as the hexagon has always been my favourite shape, long before the current hexie resurgence, so lucky me I am enjoying the current proliferation of hexies...

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Finally it was into the display of challenge quilts based on the quilts featured in Annette Gero's book The Fabric of Society...prepare to be awed and inspired big time...

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Whew! There was a lot to ooh and aahh over this year...well done to all the quilt makers, you are awesome, thanks for the opportunity to admire and be inspired by your work...

Happy Stitching...

Journeying Around Jeff's Shed 2...

*pictures edited into Smilebox slideshows...
There were just so many great quilts...enjoy the picture show...

Some favourite large quilts...I didn't take photos of the labels (which was remiss as I usually do) so I can't credit the makers, oops!...

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Back later with some more eye candy...

Happy Stitching...

Journeying Around Jeff's Shed...

I wasn't going to Jeff's Shed this year...when I was asked which day I was going I said I wasn't...until Saturday...when all resolve to resist temptation flew out the window and I made arrangements to meet GF Rosie (no blog) Sunday morning...*sigh*...

We didn't get there too early - I didn't arrive until 11:00 - so we did a tour of all the aisles having a bit of a cursory look at the stalls leading up to stopping for lunch.  Rosie had been on Thursday as well so she had already taken care of her retail therapy and I had made a list - a very short list - that if it wasn't filled it didn't matter.  After lunch we revisited the aisles and it was much nicer...far less people and easier to see what was on offer...then it was in to the quilts...I wasn't expecting too much as last year I was considerably underwhelmed but our local group had two members who both won multiple prizes and the group's raffle quilt for our quilt show this year won the group section and I was keen to see those quilts hanging...but I was so not disappointed generally...this year there was considerable "wow" factor...I took 90 photos!!!!

First of all the local winners...*pictures edited to Smilebox slideshows

Slideshow made with Smilebox

Want a chance to own the award winning quilt?  Well you can...this is our raffle quilt for our quilt show at the beginning of October...before I left for the show I found the book of tickets to sell that I was given oh, about 5 weeks ago and then promptly couldn't find - oops!...now the next part of my challenge...remember to sell the darn things!!!! *LOL*

State winners 2010...

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Back later with more from the display.

Happy Stitching...