Only Little.....

See this little tag. it is part of a bigger picture. I finished the bigger picture for Christmas, but this little tiny simple tag didn't get done. It has been nagging me from my incomplete basket. Whispering not always quietly....... Well it is done. I had completed the stitchery about two years ago, all I had to do was blanket stitch it to the felt and add the ribbon and bells. 

 This is the bigger picture it belongs too. 

A Teddlywinks design.

I know it is only another small one, I have had kids and then husband home on holidays so I have not had the house too myself since the 1st of December 2011. I have now finally got rid of them all and the juices to sew are starting to flow. I have some big ones to finish so here's to March.....

Does it Count?

It has been hot and humid, not a standard Perth summer. Usually it is just plain hot. My sewing is progressing mostly in the cool of the air conditioner which means hand sewing. I have a finish, I hope it counts for "Sew it's Finished " - it has been sitting in the bottom of my basket for quite awhile, at least six months and all they needed was press studs. Why do we leave the smallest, simplest things so long. Seriously a press stud. Anyway complete are two camera bags..........

I have also had a big win on the hexagon front, I am now down to needing only 23 more flowers to then start putting them together for the Vignette Hexagon Quilt. My hexagon quilt is being made from fabrics used in other quilting projects, my problem now is I have used all the fabric I have so I am now needing to finish projects to create fabrics for this quilt, so it may sit still awhile.

A Few.

And then some more.

I am now back to an applique wall hanging, the last of my hand stitching - I may have to change that. I like to have projects to swap between. It depends on what mood or how tired I am as to what I sit and stitch sooooo......... What to do. I am very heavy on machine projects and need some machine time. First tidy up creative genius........... Kids back at school......... It may come soon.................... 

My Sewing Birdie.....

My youngest has watched me sew "all" her life. She thinks it's normal that at 4 years of age she draws a picture to be transferred to fabric ( by her Mum ) to then sit and sew after kinder. A stitchery she completed a few years ago surfaced from her craft box needing borders and a binding. During the school year she doesn't have the inclination to sew - homework and other commitments keep her busy however Christmas holidays gives her time and patience to tackle her sewing projects.

A couple of years ago Father Christmas bought her a Brother sewing machine ( I think he knew her Mum is not good at sharing her pride and joy ). She has done a heap of practice over this time to sew straight 1/4 inch seams, and just generally learning her machine.

So it was my great pleasure to show her how to sew borders and a binding on the little long lost stitchery. We used up some left over jelly roll strips and to give her a little challenge we put corner stones in the border. Plus it added the extra bit of colour she wanted.
This holidays has seen me enlarge and trace out six new stitcheries for her. I am a very smiling Mum.

Getting Serious

While avoiding the issue, I was blog hopping, I came across a post mentioning a group the blogger had joined (Was so excited - forgot to take down original bloggers info to give her credit). The blog is "Sew It's Finished 2012". The button is on the left side of my page. Exactly what the Dr ordered. I need to finish some of my to do list before adding new projects. I have got honest with myself and have listed ( I think ) all I have outstanding. Looking over the list *** sigh*** there is a lot of what I call long timers.... This means they require many, many hours of hand stitching and of course only sew many hours in a day. I also have quite a few long termers....... those that have been on my list of half completed a very long time. It will be nice to have the support of the group to see some of these through.
The thought of joining this group has spurred me on to complete a wall hanging quilt that has been in the making nearly six years. My Accuquilt has also been a big help. I received a cutter that does 9 - 2 1/2 squares in one cut , and as this quilt is from scrap sized fabric pieces - this reduced the cutting time by about 3 hours. It took me 10 mins. Oh the bliss. Usually by the time I have finished cutting - my time in my craft space is over and family duties step up, I then have to wait until "next time".

As you can see they are sample sized pieces of fabric, all different sizes. The Accuquilt cuts six layers at a time and doesn't care if they are all odd sizes, I lined them up to get the best I could from the fabric.

This is progress, I am much further on now than when this photo was taken ( 3 days ago ) I have hit a little snag - so am working through it. Plus back to school shopping has to be done.......

New Arrivals

A box came today, a really big box at 8am......... Addressed to my husband...... I made a phone call. He said "oh good it came in time for your birthday" An early January birthday can have pro's and con's. After much debate I was allowed to open it - More Accuquilt cutting dies and a bag to keep it in - WOOHOO. As if I wasn't still recovering from the shock of my Christmas present.

After tidying my craft room, circling my go cutter too many times to count, finishing my ironing board cover,

Doing a few loads of washing and generally taking the long road, I finally bit the bullet - found some scrap fabric and did my first cut. Like a knife through butter. After all the You Tube tutorials I have watched (thinking - gee they make it look easy) It is that easy. A quick point though -  I will chew through the cutting mats. On a big project, no matter how many times I rotate them I can see the mats needing to be replaced. they are not too expensive as a disposable item and I now understand why they (Accuquilt) say you need a couple of each size on hand.

2 1/2 inch strip - handy for bindings and fall medley. The fall medley die will be used to finish a quilt that has been going for about 6 years - I got stuck with the design plus I have a 2 1/2 inch square multi die to also use in this quilt. All very cool.
I also had a little win at spotlight, Christmas fabrics at $3 a metre. So what is a girl to do? By a metre of each of course. I have no idea what to do with it. I also bought some buttons and gingerbread men appliques  75% off the marked price.

I have also bought some sheet sets to make into doona covers for my boys - it is very hard to get good quality plain covers for teenage boys. A single sheet set sheet is the correct size for a double doona. Boring old straight sewing is needed for this. We have also put up roller blinds on our vast expanse of windows and they are begging for a pelmet box - so this is also on my soon to do list.
Lots of sewing for these holidays...........

Spoilt by Father Christmas

My Christmas day was a fun and busy one. We had a family get together at our house, everyone brings a plate or two, bathers and a towel, esky with drinks and a few present goodies. It is so much fun trading, eating and chatting. This year saw the temperature at about 32 degrees celsius with a 2pm sea breeze. I did not have the heart to put the air conditioner on especially with the pool not far away. We all found our cool and comfy spot and there we relaxed.
However before the visitors arrived we had our own present unwrapping and for a week I have been staring at a rather large box from my husband under the tree. My very naughty girlfriend did lift it and told me it was heavy, I was not game to touch it in case I got caught. At last the day came. Now as I have two Part Time working boys - who have had a ball shopping with their own money buying gifts for us all and my youngest using my gift budget, this large box had to wait until last. My kids put a lot of thought into their gifts and they were practical and well suited to each of us. It was so nice to see their faces when they handed over the bundles and how much we loved the contents.
Hubby already had and knew what his gift was, I have no idea about diving gear and as that was what he wanted I left the choosing up to him. It has been sitting however, under the tree the past three weeks - now he can use it....
The large box to my great surprise was this :-

and this :-

and this :-

OMG right. I thought I had a long list of projects lined up, now it has just gone to infinity and beyond. I did think about canceling the family coming over so I could get started but I was and still am so overwhelmed that it was safer to wait a few days before I get started. I had no idea - a complete surprise. My darling husband  ordered it of the internet and intercepted the courier at the depot, so I didn't see the box. I am almost ready to brave my craft room where it is set up and have a little fiddle, I am an instructions reader and as there isn't a very big instruction book I have been scouring the internet every spare moment to learn any tips and tricks. Deep breath. Here goes........

How's it Hanging?

Don't you just love Christmas? It is my favourite time of year. On the 1st of November all of my year round pictures and hangings come down and all of my Christmas things go up. On the 1st of December the tree and the rest of the decorations go up. I love the change the house undergoes in this period. I have had a couple of Christmas finishes this year so we had to find new places to hang them. So here is a run down of what is hanging in my house.

 My husband made me this quilt rail and shelf. I love it and have put in a request for number 2....

A Teddlywinks design

 These 2 are Nancy Halvorsen panels. I really enjoy hand quilting these very simply and just adding borders. I do other more complex projects so these are nice and easy. Non sewers seem to like to start on these. Then they get hooked.

 

The Reindeer Pause and You Better Not Pout are also Nancy Halvorsen designs from her books. I also used her fabric range. These were my first attempts at blanket stitch in about 20 years. So this was a big step at the time. Sad to say it took me along time to finish however my excuse at the time was that I was juggling work, kids, husband and sewing

 I found this one in a magazine years ago, and back then I didn't keep a record of where when how and why, it is a cutey though

 Yet another Nancy Halvorsen. I love her stuff. I have 2 more panels ready to be hand quilted, they could be awhile off. And of course Tis the Season by Anni Downs has been placed on the to be completed for 2012 list.
The table runner you have seen in a previous post.
Of course I am sure that more projects will present themselves for future Xmas's. I believe as Christmas comes every year, I can't go wrong with " The more the merrier " attitude.