Travel Style...

So I wandered into the sewing room this yesterday afternoon with the clear intention to make a particular thing…I even found a pattern packet and photocopied and prepared the paper pattern pieces for that particular thing…then somehow, while shopping in the stash for fabric, ended up on a totally different path and made a travel bag for a cup instead, as you do...

The pretty cup received from DF Andrea. It had been asking for a square travel bag (well as it turned out not really square, more rectangular) as it is keen to leave the house and play crafty events with me...

so I made one up and now it's all ready to go on holiday in a couple of weeks…

And a finish for the final OPAM month of 2013…

Happy Stitching...

SSCS 2013 - Main Present Received...

The second big reveal of this year's SSCS…excitingly…what I received from Kerstin…

 A lovely bag….with pretty sewing themed fabrics...

It is a really nice shape and will be going to Summer School with me in January…great size and will be perfect for attending class each day…

And then…but wait there's more...

How cute is this owl pouch…just adorable…and some new threads for the embroidery floss box…

Thank you Kerstin, I love my gifts.  And thanks to Chookyblue for once again setting the swap up for us all to play along…

Happy Stitching

SSCS 2013 - Main Present Sent...

Finally opening of the SSCS presents was allowed and so the big reveals can be…well..revealed…first up what I sent...

Stalking of May Kristin's blog was fun and provided heaps of inspiration.  For the main present I wanted something that was "year round" rather than just for Christmas so I chose to make a bag.  After considering a few options I ended up going with a Rosalie Quinlan stitchery incorporated into the True Friends Tote Bag from Natalie Bird's book Red Home...

 

 

In the spirit of me being pathologically unable to completely stick to a pattern, of course there was a further modification aside from using a totally unrelated stitchery...

Plastic "window" pockets - one for her mobile phone (I hope, I used my phone as a gauge) and one that I thought would be good for a diary or the like and that proved the case when it fitted a mini calendar perfectly.  I love the bag I made myself from this pattern, it's such a great size and I hope May Kristin finds it useful.

Happy stitching...

SSCS 2013 - Landed in Norway...

The Australian and Norwegian postal people did their thing and delivered my SSCS parcel to May Kristin...the little parcel she was able to open containing the hanging ornament was a...

...felt Father Christmas (a Ric Rac design by Jodie Carleton for Daylesford Craft Experience a couple of years back - teeny tiny beads for eyes kindly donated to the cause by said Jodie Carleton while cavorting at Crafty Hijinks, thank you Jodie for both the design and the "eyes"). May Kristin decorates with red and cream for Christmas, so the jolly red costumed one seemed appropriate even though he is mostly red and only a little bit of cream.

I've had a lovely email from May Kristin and she tells me the Santa will hang on their kitchen Christmas Tree - so glad you like him May Kristin.

Now to wait until Christmas Day for the big reveal of the main present...

Happy Stitching...

More Giftees...Spoilt or What!...

How gorgeous is this fabric…a gift bought back from the fabulous building that is Liberty…

A friend went to Britain/Ireland and bought me back this lovely pack of fabric from her visit to Liberty (she is not a stitcher which makes it all the more thoughtful - her cousin who was travelling with her helped her choose and I don't know her at all so I am touched by her taking the time to input into the decision making)...it is soooooo absolutely pattable...what to make from it I don't yet know but definitely not just to be chucked in the stash...

We've had our final 6-12 in Castlemaine for the year so of course it was our Christmas meet...spoilt or what!..."just a card" actually had a teeny quilt block charm inside - mine is a half dresdan - thank you J!...mints and handcream - thank you M...a pretty cup and German chocolate (the German part of the chocolate is significant in this context) - thank you A...a pretty box which held a handmade Angel decoration, she has the teeniest french knots for hair! - thank you R...fat eighths, chocolates and a wooden Christmas decoration and the fabrics just happen to be in the perfect colour to go in my Summer School quilt fabrics for January - thank you C...a hand made rotary cutter/scissor keep which held a personalised thimble pincushion, the pincushion is attached to beads which spell out our name so we won't get them mixed up, clever girl - thank you S...very pretty smelling soap and a keyring retractable tape measure, always handy - thank you B...and a pretty monogram embroidery pincushion made by our friend's sister who she commissions to make us the prettiest embroidered presents, too pretty to stick pins in! - thank you W. (One of our number couldn't make it at the last minute and now I've seen she has her presents I can reveal, wouldn't have been fair to show her what was in her Christmas present sack and spoil the surprise - yes, she reads the blog).

And what did I give my friends - um, my company? I actually managed to go after missing the last two due to work but now I don't have to accommodate work on the weekends on a weekly basis I was able to shout yes I'll be there and happy dance...I did think of what to make a couple of weeks leading in to the meet and then remembered that again at 7:00 am on the morning of, that gave me 30 seconds of free time in the day to do something about it so I failed miserably.  I'm thinking if I start now I might be ready for next Christmas *sigh*...

Happy Stitching...

SSCS Sleigh Flew By…

...and dropped off a box all the way from….Germany!!  How excitement…

Opening the lid revealed Kerstin had mailed me…a crochet flower garden!...

So pretty…so happy :)

The lovely handmade Christmas card told me that the two small presents were "open now"! So, of course, I happily obliged…

The first unwrapping revealed the wee zippered pouch and while admiring the perfection of the creating of the wee zippered pouch, oh what's this? squishiness??...now a wee zippered pouch of itself is not squishy did it hold a surprise? It did, it did hold a surprise…the wee doggie cushion decoration…so cute…

The second unwrapping revealed that "open now" parcel was housing...the owl clippy hanging cushiony decoration…more creating perfection…so cute…

I'm hiding the Christmas Eve/Day parcel from myself in the posting box because the pokey proddy slight squeeze that I allowed myself was a little too tempting…but I will be good and I will resist…

Thank you Kerstin…I am looking forward to being able to find out just what is hiding in that big present…

I think the sleigh has taken my SSCS offering sight seeing, no word yet that it has finished its journey...

Happy Stitching….

An Incomplete Tale…

Another tale that started long ago kiddies…

Back in the mists of time, three friends went for a lovely weekend to Beechworth* and a great time was had by all…out and about during the weekend, while one friend wandered the antique shops, two popped into the then local patchwork/quilting shop for a quick look…and emerged hours later…one of the friends clutching amongst her purchases a small plastic box containing a square of cream fabric with small squares of 1930's reproduction fabrics and a dog shape template (well with a combination of dog and '30's fabrics what hope did she have really).  Back home and the little dog shapes were blanket stitch appliquéd to the background square…and...

small - about 15" square

...all ideas of what to do next escaped the maker (except the quilting involving bone shapes but the bit in between was a mystery)...so it languished…forgotten and waiting…until one day it was found once again and the idea came to frame the square with apple core shapes…and so the square was pinned to the design wall, shapes were cut, arranged around the square, carefully stitched together in rows…and...oh bugger, two shapes short for the square…so it sat, or rather hung, on the wall…and was there so long, becoming such a part of the wall, acceptance was that it should be there (sad really)…until finally the maker stopped being so darn lazy, cutting and stitching the final two shapes to finish the square of shapes…

...which of course didn't fit the background square without encroaching over the dog shapes *sigh*…so it hung some more…and some more...waiting for inspiration…until finally came the knowing of what to do but not being able to settle on a fabric to do it with (the maker going all seriously Libran with the decision making on this one!)…then with a whoosh came the spark of light to see which fabric to use (and after all that, the maker used another cream fabric - how hard was it really!) and the motivation (and time/headspace) to do it…

still small - 23" square now

…a strip added around the square to provide a background on which to appliqué the apple core frame…and tah dah! finally out of the mists of time comes a finished top…

Which leads the maker to the next obstacle to overcome in her quest…which perle thread to use for the quilting bit...

strutting their stuff...

…potentials have been selected…auditions have taken place…

nervous line up…silent prayers of pick me...

And now they wait for the maker's nod…don't they look pretty all lined up…which one will get the part, oh the tension that is the in air…

Oh that and finding a bit of fabric for the backing…because when the maker went to get out the piece in mind it couldn't be found…because it was used it on something else and there is none left…so typically, the maker moved on to something else…

And there the tale rests for now…the ending still being written…

Happy stitching...

* Beechworth - historical gold rush town in the north east of Victoria, Australia