Getting Back on Track......

It has been a very long time since I last posted. As you will have read in an earlier post, I have been laid up with my back. It has taken a lot longer to ease up than I would have hoped and I must say my patience is wearing extremely thin. The first couple of weeks I learnt how to sew hexagons whilst flat on my back. It is amazing what you can do when pushed. The hexagons delayed the insanity.............I am taking a little break from them now. The itch will come again soon to pick up needle and thread. I have also been trying to catch up on house duties, The Hubby and Kids have done a great job but I have my ways and need to get things back on track.

That makes 43 to my total now. I also tried to do some stitchery, however that is much harder while lying down so that was not as successful.
Once I started sitting up, it was nice to have a change and managed to complete a couple of blocks for my Tis The Season wall hanging. I decided to omit the mittens block from the quilt and use the wreath for another little project.

They are side ways as they are hanging on my design wall...........

Auditioning the buttons, need to choose the borders.

 I enlarged the wreath out of the TTS and will border it and add some Nikki Tervo buttons to the centres. I used to belong to Nikki's button club, I am really pleased to be able to use the buttons. Nikki supplies a pattern with each set of buttons she sends you however I wanted something a little different for these.
I started a bag and mobile case for my bestie before my back went , and have just managed to finish them for her birthday. She wanted a simple bag for when they went away, and loved a Janelle Wind design that I had. It was nice to get back to my machine.

Pattern for Janelle Winds "Pieces of Me" book ( just have to add self covered button)

Mobile and camera cases form Janelles book.........

The camera case ended up to big for my camera, I made it to the pattern - the camera size given in the book is the same as mine and I followed the pattern to the letter ( not like me ), It will now end up a glasses case - I will make another camera case a little smaller  - all good.
Some of the sewing for these are very fiddly and I am sure my fingers get fatter when I try to sew fiddlies........
I stumbled across a little cheap trick awhile ago and it is now well used in my sewing room. I was reading about stillettos and their use and thought yay, I will get one however they were over $20 and nothing special. I continued using a crochet hook. One day when tidying my sewing room I came across a pack of cuticle sticks - if you saw my nails you would wonder why I had them. I put them in the little bin next to my sewing machine thinking that I would never use them.

The next day fiddlies came up........ My crochet hook was nowhere insight and out of the bin came the cuticle sticks. As the are wood when your needle hits them it doesn't do a lot of damage, it is still best to change your needle but it doesn't ten to break it.
They are also good when ironing small bits, you can hold the item with the stick rather than burning your fingers and being wood they don't heat up.
I am looking forward to a trip to Melbourne later this month and a visit to a craft show............A short trip but a goodie heheheh