A Title Would Go Here if I Could Think of One...

A couple of posts ago (yes the posts are so infrequent May wasn't that long ago on this blog - sad but true) while at Retreat in Maldon doing my bit for the local economy at The Village Patch, I picked up a pre-printed mini wholecloth "Ribbons and Lace" by The Stencil Company.  Made it into a mini quilt finished at 16 1/2" square, the binding was stitched down in company Friday night while enjoying the fun and friendship of our regular 6-Midnight stitchy hijinks...so, without further ado...presenting...Ta Dah!...

my first ever Wholecloth Quilt...

Hand quilted using Mölnlycke Sytrȧd Core Quilt Thread colour 6644...the lovely turquoise colour quilting thread thread just demanded to be purchased at the same time as the cloth and I couldn't resist. It was a good way to practise the hand quilting and test drive the wholequilt concept without committing to a new UFO large project. The only thing I'd not do again is use a colour thread that was so close to the colour of the printing - it would have been so much easier to see where there was wonky not so even stitching and some not so invisible stop/starts and I didn't catch them all but live and learn and I was treating it as a learning project so not going to beat myself up over that. 

I was a bit concerned about how the printed design would wash out as it was printed with quite thick blue lines (almost the same colour as the thread I used) but I followed the instructions of simply soaking in cold water (and it's so nippy outside the water out of the tap is icy) for 30-60 minutes (so I left it for the full hour just to be sure) and it was just gone, like magic, no trace left.

I've not pressed it after washing (I did dry it flat on a towel) as I like the "crinkled antique-y touch me" look rather than the "polished perfect do not touch" look of a finished quilt, I want quilts that look like they can be used not hung in an art gallery, but that is just me so please forgive the wrinkles...

And I realised when uploading the photo...that is OPAM ticked off for August as well, wahoo!!! One project, two ticks, gotta like that :)

Happy Stitching...

And Then There Were Three...

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a kit that I had carefully filed away...the kit was a swap gift a couple of years ago containing gorgeous blue Japanese type fabric along with instructions from Carol's of Midland (a WA shop) for an origami bag.  Once found it was way too tempting and I got too and made it up...I've made this type of bag before but it was years ago and who knows where the scribbled instructions ended up.  Anyway, earlier this week the Tupperware container leaked soup in my lunch carrier, which that day happened to contain my iPod in its little quilted drawstring bag. The bag was soaked - saving the iPod from the same fate - and as I had been thinking of replacing the bag  I tossed it rather than mucking about giving it a wash.  That meant...yes, the iPod needs new travel apparel.  Yesterday I had a brainwave...a smaller version of the origami bag, enabling the earbuds to be stored in the pocket and iPod in the main part of the bag...it took two attempts...and so...Then There Were Three...

Just like the Three Bears...a Big One, a Medium Sized One and a Little One...to give perspective the Little One is about 3" x 2 1/2"...too small for the iPod...so another go was required....the Medium Sized One works, the iPod fits perfectly put in sideways.  Of course I don't have the right sort of ribbon so tomorrow will require a stop at Bargain Box or Spotty after work, damn shame but I'll have to suck that up - he he he...

There has been a little bit more stitching going on but I can't be bothered with the photo taking thing...at least I've got some stitching mojo back, the photo taking/blogging mojo is starting to follow but baby steps, baby steps *LOL*...

A couple of tomes of inspiration have come to live at my house recently...

My gorgeous friend Andrea gave me a voucher for my birthday last year and as it was one of "those" birthdays I didn't want to spend it on "just anything" but was keen on a book.  Finally, Feathering the Nest with Vintage Inspired Quilts by Brigitte Giblin came into the shop, it was just what I'd been waiting for.  I've wanted The Fabric of Society by Dr Annette Gero since it was first published.  A couple of weeks ago I just decided to go for it...I'm calling it my "special birthday" present to me - just 3/4's of a year late...I can't even get presents to myself on time!...

Happy Stitching...

A Bag, A Book and a Pair of Shoes...

OK Rosie get a cuppa...

At Maldon on retreat (what seems like a million years ago) I started the second Rosalie Quinlan Dance of the Heart embroidery using Cosmo thread (8073) I bought at Urban Stitches.  I chose the thread colour when I bought it just because I liked it...a lot...not because I had any particular use in mind for the embroidery when it was finished...it took me a few weeks of occasionally putting in a stitch (well I did spend a lot of time on retreat scrabbling around on the floor picking up hexie papers that made a bid for freedom - why is it always a pack of 1,000 that is picked up upside down and open! - making cuppas, eating freddos, chatting, cuppas, freddos, wandering the room looking at what others were actually achieving, freddos, going down the street to the shops, cuppas, freddos, playing show and tell with Rosie's project and generally not actually putting needle to fabric) so it didn't get finished at retreat but eventually a couple of weeks ago it became a finished stitchery...

This time I used backstitch not chain stitch and it took just as long! You'd have thunk that :J...

The Bag...after making the tote bag from Natalie Bird's Red Home book for a present with the first Dance of the Heart embroidery (last post) I was quite keen to make one for myself and last week my overloaded brain cells emerged from their fog and found some stitchy space. I was absolutely wrapt to find that two pieces of green fabric I'd bought ages ago at Threadbear, because they yelled at me that I needed them to make a bag, matched perfectly with the 8073 Cosmo thread in the finished embroidery - serendipitous indeed. 

Just the right shades of green, cream and brown in the fabric and the thread. I'd bought a metre of each fabric at full price no less, I know - imagine! and the fabrics had become "precious" in that I just couldn't seem to find the pattern that spoke to me to use them and now they'd found their Perfect Match...wahoo!

I added the chocolate browns from the fabric boxes so it was a free project, no shopping required!!! and used bag batting again rather than pellon to give it structure...the lining is the non-floral green...I still love the two fabrics.

The colours in the photos are a bit dodgy...it's winter, the indoor lighting is not up to scratch for photo taking...the second photo is the only one that is true to the colours of the thread and fabrics...but you get the idea close enough.

I've given the bag a test drive and it passed with flying colours...

The Book...Cinderberry Stitches Elfin Delight Needlebook...

This was a project from Daylesford Craft Experience maybe last year, maybe the year before...the stitcheries (there are two of the same design, one on the inside and one on the outside) have been on the go for months and were finally finished.  Feeling rather over confident after finishing the bag in two nights after work I thought, oh it will only take 1/2 hour to put this little needlebook together...yeah, really should know when to pack up and go to bed...it took considerably longer than 1/2 hour and involved much reverse sewing on one seam...you'd think I'd never sewn before...it has "issues" but I was not reverse sewing that seam again, I'll just live with the dodgyness...

The buttons are self covered with motifs from Natalie Lymer fabric...way cute...

The Pair of Shoes...the shoe block for Some Kind of Wonderful...

It's not that big of an achievement as I only had the words "gorgeous shoes" to go to be able to tick this one off.  The SKOW box has re-appeared on the couch for an airing, need to do some back basting prep on the remaining blocks...

Whew...now I think it's time for me to go make a cuppa...

Happy Stitching...

Two Designers = One Bag...

It's been a while but there was some sewing in my weekend...yay!...(and three days later I realise I wrote a post, got distracted and didn't hit publish, sheesh!)...resulting in...

A bag that is almost the True Friends Tote Bag from the Red Home book by Natalie Bird...and the other designer? I used an embroidery by Rosalie Quinlan instead of the stitchery in the pattern....

 Front

Back - sitting wonky but it really isn't...

Seeing all the lovely bags the girls in this year's Stitch-A-Long were producing from this pattern I really liked the shape so I gave up resisting and bought the book. I started the embroidery the day Rosie & I went to Urban Stitches (it was a pattern/project from a previous year play day at Urban Stitches) and decided at that time to use it for the bag...I'm happy that the bag design did not disappoint, it has turned out much bigger than I thought it would be, a very useful size of not too big and not too small, fabulous. Sure I could have modified the pattern to put pockets on the inside but I remembered that after I had sewn the lining seams and didn't want to do the reverse sewing thing so just skipped that idea and moved on...

The fabrics all came out of the stash boxes. They looked fine cut out on the table, then when I started sewing them together I was a bit like, oh not going to like this combo, but then when I finished, oh yes, I do! Isn't it funny how fabric combos change as they are sewn.  I used bag batting instead of pellon which gives good structure which I prefer to the softy softy of pellon.  The quilting isn't much, just in the ditch along the seam lines to attach the outers to the batting, nothing special at all.  The buttons are purely decorative and not in the original design.  The bag is destined for a birthday present - it's only about four and a half months past the actual birthday.  I hope she likes it, she is in a profession that involves lots of toting of "stuff" back and forth between work and home so I hope it comes in useful.


I've been a bit absent from blogland recently, scanning posts in Bloglovin', not taking a whole lot of notice of my Blogger dashboard or Bloglovin' profile information but tonight I noticed that there has been an increase in followers - Hello! and welcome!! - not that there has been much to see recently...off for a retreat this weekend, you never know I might even manage a stitch or two in between socialising...so no Million Paws Walk for Madam Kafoops this year as although I'll be in Maldon which is half way between our preferred locations for the walk of Castlemaine or Bendigo I of course won't have Herself with me and no Geelong Quilt-In either...why are all the good things on the same weekend, sulk...


Happy Stitching!...

One Day...Two Finishes...

Yes you read that right...in one day two finishes...and both before lunch!...don't worry I've not suffering from some kind of malaise, it's been all downhill from there so normalacy has resumed...

First up...

Toy Tales Disappearing Nine Patch baby quilt... 

(quilt is sideways, it was a space to take the photo issue)

I was given the fortunate opportunity in March to attend Urban Stitches in Melbourne.  My darling friend J was unable to go and not wanting to waste her ticket kindly offered it to me...I was blown away by her generosity and gladly took up her offer...and I got to play with Rosie for the day too...such fun!  We had a lovely day, Rosie came across and I drove down to the venue in one of the Waverleys (I can never remember whether I'm in Mount Waverley or Glen Waverley), where we stitched, chatted, ate and shopped in multiple combinations of said activities, over-stayed our welcome by an extra hour chatting to a lovely lady, Jill, on our table who was making a whole weekend of it by staying at the hotel venue and going to both days, stopping at the pub in the next town before home for tea and chats with quilting friends, one who just happened to be there for tea and one who works there...a fabulous social stitchy day...thank you so much J...anyhow, friends have a boy version grandbubby due to make his debut next month and I had in mind blue and red for a quilt for him. Under the Mulberry Tree was, of course, the shop on the day and Melly's Toy Tales fabric was perfect...I picked out nine fat quarters, washed and ironed them the next day and the following weekend turned them into the quilt top.  I toyed with the idea of putting a scrappy border around but although it isn't huge, at about 37" x 48", it is big enough for the purpose intended - rolling about on the floor or in the pram/pusher. I knew I wanted the red clouds fabric for the backing and mail ordered the backing fabric from Under the Mulberry Tree once the top was made and I knew just how much I'd need...Great service, I put the order up on Monday afternoon and it arrived in my mail box Wednesday with very reasonable postage...simply echo quilted along the long seams with blue on the top and red underneath with a scrappy binding made from all the fabrics except red clouds...I hope the new mum (who I don't know, I only know the dad) likes it...

A couple of weeks ago I upgraded to a new phone...it's one of those smart phone flat screen jobs and I've lived in terror of the screen being damaged in my handbag ever since...I never took the sticky plastic filmy thing off the screen of my old phone so it didn't get all scratched up but this phone didn't have that...so...

pyjamas for the phone...

The ladies at Monday craft group have been making these using QAYG hexies for the iPads/tablets - I shamelessly stole their idea and downsized it...the bird fabric is a Tilda (I didn't realise that at the time) I picked up from one of the shops who visited Summer School and the aqua I found in the stash box, goes together nicely I think.  I also have the bird fabric in blue...I just love it...

Happy Stitching...

Art Ready...

A little while back Marilyn made her grandson an art folder designed by Thimbelina...it looked like the perfect thing for someone whose birthday was coming up...I think I had a month before the birthday...it's now a month after, don't rush me...so a couple of months later and ta dah!...

Ready to travel..

Inside...pockets for pencils, "stuff" and a sketch book...

 Sketch book fits perfectly...

**texta and biro for modelling purposes didn't want to open the

pens and pencils that are going with it in the present

I think it is the first time I've sewn with clear plastic (may have used it many moons ago and forgotten), easy enough to work with once I got over the challenge of being able to measure and cut a material that basically goes invisible when put on the table...got that sorted so next time that won't be part of the challenge...

Ready for art action...and another finish for April...

Happy Stitching...

A Finish...or Two...

There has been a little bit of craftiness going on...before I made the felt Santa I had stitched up a little quilt top, sandwiched it and hung it on the tapestry frame...then forgot it was there...anyway, while in Blackheath for Summer School there was a trip The Stitching Post in Katoomba, where I could not resist a mini charm pack of Chateau Rouge by French General for Moda...a sweet little pack of 2 1/2" squares...as soon as I saw the pack I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it...

I simply stitched the squares together and added a strip at each end to bring it up to the size I wanted as a mat/runner for the top of a particular display cabinet...

I've used three fabrics from the range for the added strips, backing and binding...French General fabrics just call my name, love 'em...I was going to machine quilt it but P-faff is being stroppy and temperamental so I ditched that plan and went with Plan B...big stitch perle thread quilting by hand...

So here it is only 5 days in April and I've a finish...well the sewing part was finished two days ago but there was the washing and drying part of the process to get through...the pressure's off for OPAM this month!...

A final finish in March was this little pouch from Kathleen Tracey's book The Civil War Sewing Circle...a letter pouch...

it looks a little fat because it perfectly fits...

a block of Lindt! *LOL*...

Happy Stitching...