Summer School Workshop 1...

Setting off from Yass Tuesday morning a few hours of meandering through the mountains from Goulburn to Crookwell to Oberon across to the Great Western Highway bought Jindi and I to Katoomba, the destination until Tuesday next week for five days of play at Summer School 2014.

Yesterday concluded the first two day workshop.  Split into two x two day workshops and one sit & sew day I have chosen to just do one quilt this year - May Baskets, a lovely English style medallion quilt.  Wednesday I prepared the centre square background fabric and made templates and chose a couple of the fabrics for the appliqué. For me, that was actually a whole lot of achievement in class.  Day 2's task was to start the tessellated first border and work on a corner...I actually sewed! In class!! Miraculous *LOL*

There was one…

 Then two…

  Then three…

Ready to be joined together and create the first corner…

A few lovelies have found their way into the fabric pile...

The little bundle tied up with string is from Karen's Sewing Room (the tutor made up some bundles from her own fabrics) and the others from a very successful trip down the mountain with Summer School buddy "S" to Glenbrook and the awesome treasure trove that is Post Office Patchwork, which as can clearly be seen did not disappoint - especially with a 50% off most fabrics sale! The paisley (paisley? really? me? so not a paisley lover but this one just wouldn't take no for an answer) is to form part of the outer border of May Flowers and the stripe had just the right amount left on the bolt for the backing.  The selection of 30cm strips (which I've washed but not ironed hence the raggedy look going on there) are to fill out the fabric selections for the various components of the quilt top.

Sit & sew day today with Workshop 2 over the weekend….three more days of fun, fabric, food, laughter, sitting and general happy…and maybe even a little more progress on May Baskets!

Happy stitching...

Jindi Climbs A Mountain...

The human had been making "we are going on a summer holiday noises" for a few days and finally on Saturday, after much pfaffing about with getting flat tyres fixed and what not, we get in the car and we go for a loooonnnnngggg drive all the way up the road to New South Wales and stay at a place called Yass, then the next day she puts me back in the car (I loooove going for rides in the car) and we go to the ACT to see our friends E, R & I.

E thought it would be fun to go for a walk so we climbed a mountain (only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun? well these two humans are mad and I'm just the dog who gets hauled along for the ride!).

 Here's me at the start...

 Going up a bit of a hill...

 A maggie being sensible and taking a rest in the shade...

 We are up high but not quite there yet...

 At the top!…855 metres - UP!

Whew! Time for a rest…there is a kind "water boy" who keeps bowls and water jugs at the top for canine climbers, I had drinks on the way up but it was good to have a big slurp…

And then we climbed back down, much easier and faster downhill!!

Now we are in the Blue Mountains while the human plays sewing with her friends at Summer School.

Woofs and licks…

Jindi...

First Project for 2014...

I raced into Spotlight a couple of days before Christmas to buy a zip and came across a display of portable light boxes with a 30% off sign…I've looked at these so often but the $99.00 price tag meant look but don't touch…30% off, now that was something I could work with…so, Merry Christmas to Me!!!!…

The light box itself is quite thin and takes up very little space but the cardboard box it came in, not so much…a solution was required...

Some old old fabric found in the stash boxes and ta dah!...a quilted pouch…with a pocket added for the electric cord...

Less space to store and easy to pop into the crafty basket to take to quilty happenings…

First finish for 2014 and only five days in...this was what I went into the sewing room to make when I got distracted and made a cup bag instead...

Oh and the zip? Safe and sound in the same state I bought it home in…but hey, at least I have it now for when that project yells loud enough...

Happy Stitching...

Happy New Year 2014!!!

How can it be January again already, there haven't been enough months in between...I think we are being tricked and Christmas was in October but anyway...Happy New Year!!! (in November. What? Not November? January? Really? Oh OK)...

So to everyone in blogland...
Happy New Year...Godt Nyttår...Gott Nytt År...Bonne année...
Onnellista uutta vuotta...Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh... Tau Hou Ka hari... 
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda...Gelukkig Nieuwjaar...Glückliches neues Jahr...
 
Happy Stitching in 2014...2014, can't be, wandering off shaking head now...2014, ridiculous, it was 2000 just a year or two back...2014, mad I tell you, mad!...

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...