August OPAM Sqeeze

Just sqeeeeezing in another finish for August. My eyes got too tired last night and by the feel of the wool there were only a few more rows to go so I quickly finished them off this morning before rushing out the door to work.


Above is the perfect model .... below is not so perfect but ever adorable.


One Flower Wednesday tomorrow and I have my 'gardening tools' ready.

Ups and Downs

Life presents us with 'Ups' and 'Downs' and my family has recently been going through a down time, hence my absence.

However I have been stitching away at a project and only yesterday got the sewing machine out and finished the sewing on this quilting bag. My large cutting mat will fit nicely inside with two pockets on the front for some rulers. I started it orginally in a workshop.


A close-up of the stitchery on the two pockets. The gorgeous fabric is a 'Vine Creek' Jelly Roll which I was lucky enough to win from the lovely Fiona of Mothers Cupboard back in September 09. I'm very pleased with my new bag.



In between stitching, I've been doing a little knitting with a ball of wool I purchased end July, early August?

Ta-da! The softest most cuddly scarf that I will be able to appreciate next winter now.

These two along with my round pincushion make three finishes for August OPAM.

Spring is just around the corner and although I pruned my roses too early, they've made it through the cold and have many buds almost ready to share. Perhaps my hexie garden will have more blooms soon also.

Happy Creating.

Pincushion Swap

Do you love pincushions?

The lovely Jeannet is hosting a pincushion swap and there is still time to join in the fun. Click on the icon below or on my sidebar to take you to Jeannet's blog for the how to.

I'll be back later today or tomorrow to share another two finishes for August and OPAM.

O.F.W.

Today was supposed to be the day I go to town and meet up with our patchwork group for some socializing and stitching ... but down came the rain.

I'm not complaining about the rain because we always need rain, but then our dirt roads get messy and it's just not fun ... so it's stitching at home instead.

On the bright side, it's One Flower Wednesday and I have 2 to share for today which brings my total to 25.

I've also been working on those log cabins. Every stitch is a stitch closer to a finish.

Wishing you a productive day.

O.F.W. ~ Mail Friday ~ SAHR Sunday

First off is my purple hexie for One Flower Wednesday for last week.


I've been playing with them all, trying different layouts and now I'm really not sure at all how I want this project to look.

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Then on Friday, the mailman left a parcel in my mailbox. Major excitement to discover which of the quilts from Another Little Quilt Swap 4 came to live at my house.

Ta-da! "Flutter of Time"
Fabric is Flutterby by Tula Pink for Moda and Grunge by Basic Grey for Moda. Block used is hourglass. This lovely little quilt now hangs proudly on my lounge wall. Big thankyous to Charlie for your lovely quilt and Kate for hosting a wonderful swap.

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Kate is also responsible for the idea of a SAH (Stay At Home) Robin, a round robin that stays with the maker at all times and doesn't leave home.

For our August block, we were required to make a 4" x 6" block to be added to the left side of block 1.

It's basically the same block for both, but then I decided to tweek it for the above block because the colours didn't look right when I set them as in the blue.

This month I had fun playing with my 1 1/2" strip scraps stash. Now I await September's block.

From Kit to Pincushion Under 24Hrs

I did it! I bought this little kit yesterday and less than 24 hours after arriving home, I have the finished pincushion to show off.


I made the hexies up last night and completed it today. The pincushion is about 5" in diameter and 2" high. Now I have a home for my yellow head pins. I'm not happy that they sometimes share with the white head pins. Does anyone else have these issues with their pins? And yes I also only use specific pegs for certain items of clothing when doing the washing. :-)

As today is also the first day of a new month, I can put this little sweetie down as my first finish for August OPAM.

Quilty Day Out

Yesterday I had a wonderful day out with some lovely ladies ... admired gorgeous quilts ... enjoyed some yummy food ... and perused enticing stalls.





Just a little spending was done as I kept thinking of all my projects, UFO's etc waiting at home.

First up 3 buttons just because I liked them. The cat to remind me of my girls; the letter 'N' is obvious; and a pretty cup for the coffee that keeps me going sometimes. Then I spotted a small pincushion kit and couldn't pass on the pink/red/black fabrics which included the precut hexies, templates and other bits which I will share later with a photo of the finished item. I made the hexies up last night. Also I've been on the lookout for a pencil for tracing stitcheries so I'm going to give this one a go.

Last but certainly not least, I spyed this wool in a patchwork shop and a good friend has a scarf made from it ... it's soooo lovely and soft. So I grabbed two balls because I couldn't decide on which colour, and shall endeavour to attempt to knit myself a scarf. The scarf only takes one ball and the instructions are on the wrapper.

Off to finish my pincushion.

One Flower Wednesday ... on Wednesday

Here I am and it's only Wednesday afternoon. Just finished stitching this little blossom and it has now joined the rest of my floral delights.


Six hexie flowers for the month of July, resting on some mulch hay which is waiting to be spread out on the garden.

We've been enjoying some light drizzly rain all day with more predicted for tomorrow.

Happy Gardening

The Week That Was

Monday and Tuesday ~ work.

Wednesday ~ I managed to squeeze in two flowers this week deciding to try the greens for a change.

This blue flower blossomed last Wednesday.



Thursday ~ off to work again.

Friday ~ was Friday Night Sew-In for July so I kept plodding along with joining my log cabin blocks.


Saturday ~ general run of the mill stuff like housework, washing, tidying etc.

Sunday ~ thought I'd whip up a batch of biscuits ... 11 dozen in all.

The recipe is quite simple and you can make a variety of biscuits. We decided on coffee choc melts, jam drops and coconut cherry but just add whatever your favourite is. Sultanas or choc chips are another of our favourites.

500grams butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 can of condensed milk, 4 1/2 cups Self Raising flour. You may need to add a little more flour depending on your choice of biscuit. Bake till golden and enjoy!

Productive Weekend

I have been very lucky indeed ... a peaceful and productive weekend!

Yesterday while doing some serious blog catching up, I came across a 'Stay at Home Robin' on Kate's blog. Today I get to share my July block ... not just one but two of them. I decided to try and make two blocks each month so that I can have two finished wall hangings at the end of the journey.

Considering I've managed to piece the two blocks only the day after deciding to take part, I'm hoping that's a good sign that I can manage this twin project.

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Remember this poor little log cabin block? Well actually there's 36 of them 14 1/2" x 14 1/2" and they recently came out of storage and are turning into .....

....... PAIRS! The front seems are machine sewn, the wadding whip stitched and the backing stitched by hand.

I have plenty of hand sewing to keep my hands busy at night.