Pin Cushions

 In my previous post I made mention of some cross stitch kits that I was thinking of making into pin cushions. The kits came with a magazine subscription "Cross Stitch Magic" and "Needlecraft Magic". Each magazine came with a little sampler, some where to be made up as cards, others as magnets, needle books etc. Each month I would pull out the kit, stitch in the gridlines, sometimes I would start stitching....... at the time I had two very full on boys, newborn and a toddler so inevitably they would end up back in their packets and stored away.

More kits than I can poke a stick at.....

I love pin cushions, I just don't like using them. I had a couple packed away for years and recently pulled them out and hung them in my sewing room. They are only little and looked lonely and the idea came to me they might like some company and it all just fell into place with what I could do with the little kits.
At the moment I have some long winded projects on the go and will not see a Monthly finish for the Sew it's Finished Blog - and as I made a commitment to this blog I needed something that was achievable and the double whammy, a UFO would be removed from my massive list.

The two little cross stitches are my first finish. I have added the ribbon for hanging purposes, they will never be used as their name implies.
 The miniature quilt also pictured is the tiny leftovers from a quilt I made for my Mother and Father in Law about 7 years ago. The squares are 3/4" finished. It is a replica of the bigger picture, so to speak. It will be used as a coaster.

Present for the In Laws

These are cross stitches I finished years ago that I will also make into Pin Cushions.

And finally, a couple more hexagons on the go for my Vignette Hexagon Quilt, only 5 more flowers to go.

My next pin cushion on the go.......

 I almost feel like I need to start a pin cushion addict group for support with this little fetish I have that is very quickly busting out of control. What do you think?

Here is the Beehive......

Finally a post. I have been meaning to get on and write a post since my last, but my head just couldn't get it together. I have been checking out other blogs and seeing some amazing stuff, being inspired and then just dropping the ball.
I have a little finish of a UFO that has only been going since December 2011. I made mug rugs for Christmas presents that year and had a couple leftover. Yay I was going to get them. So often I make goodies for others, love them to pieces and with good intentions plan on making it for myself, and then never get around to it. Alas I did not buy enough backing fabric, so they have been taunting me ever since. Leftovers from another project to the rescue and they are finished.

I will pack these away until next Christmas now. They match my table runner so I am super chuffed to have them ready. 

A couple of years ago I found a plant at the nursery called a Beehive Ginger - it was planted in my fernery. This year for the first time it has flowered.......

And what is so cute is the little flowers that poke out the beehive. They are spotty and only last a day. You can see one full bloom and the dead ones off to the side. Each day I go and check on them as each "little bee" pokes his head out and then is gone tomorrow.

All this in 40 degree heat. You can see the hive with it's own water reserve, we have a bore at our house so we are allowed to water one extra day a week. Because of water restrictions, we are only allowed to water off towns water 2 days a week, we feel very spoiled to have the extra day and we don't abuse it....

6:30pm and well over 30 degrees, where else would you be but watching the sunset on the beach while having a swim. I saved you all from me being in my bathers in the picture. Not a breath of air and just stunning in the water. The beaches near us never get very busy so we are very spoilt.

And finally back to sewing, I have a heap of little cross stitch kits from over the years that are supposed to be made into cards and things and I have decided I am going to stitch them all up and make them into pincushions, by the end of it lots and lots of pincushions. These are counted as UFO's as I have stitched the centre gridlines on almost all of them but never actually started the stitching. One a month would be a great start, we shall see......

Another nearly forty degree day three parts over and dinner to prepare - sigh........

2013 - Balance

The second half of 2012 had so much going on that it flew by and I can't believe my last post was back in July. My biggest news is that I have become a consultant for The Chefs Toolbox (http://kayeroberts.thechefstoolbox.net). I bought some of their pans nearly 10 years ago and am still using them so I thought I might have enough experience and definitely enough love for them to be able to demonstrate. My sewing did take a back seat to business setup.

I am determined to balance home, business and sewing - blog this year.

Wendy and Dawn from Sew it's Finished have allowed me to be a posting member again this year and they will keep me on track. I really want the stitcheries from the 2012 incentive quilt they designed..... Due to my lack of blogging August onwards I missed a few........ This quilt has now been added to my UFO list.
I have made some changes to my lists on my side bar - I think I added as many UFO's to my half done list as I added completed to the completed 2012 list. I think we all paddle that boat.

Just getting my head around blogging again and will add the button for Sew it's Finished and some new blogs etc.

I have spent the last two weeks with laryngitis and a wracking cough so sewing has been out of the question, I stabbed my self one too many times.........

Looking at the date I am really going to have too motor to get a UFO finished by the end of January - Focus
This will be a photo free blog, I suppose this is a little like a new years resolution or mission statement. If I put it in writing it will hold me accountable.

So my key word for this year is Balance..............