Final May Finishes

Rainy day plus sewing machine makes a perfect match ... not so great for taking photos indoors. I completed the stitching on the 'Seasons Of' block last night and this morning was able to add the borders to finish off. Thanks Wendy and Dawn ... they're such sweet little blocks.

Next I worked on the 2nd bundle of 100 x 2" charms from the first Postage Stamp Charm Swap. As I sew each set together I have another bundle of squares on hand to act as leaders and enders so that I can chain sew and not mess up my layout. Not only did I get the 100 block finished, I also managed to join the next bundle into pairs. I love how all those random fabrics come together in the end.

I seem to be in a knitting mood at the moment and finally made a start on a sock!  Photos when I have a little more progress to share but I will say that after the 3rd start (pulled it out twice) I am learning heaps.

Here is how my list of May goals went.

BISS BOM ~ I'll get there eventually :)

TTS ~ Chilly Penguin

1 Xmas Item ~ Knitted Wash Cloth

Work on a UFO

Cut Fabric ready for workshop

(I have sorted the fabric into main, contrast & background)

Label my hexie Table Topper

Finish current UFO Scarf

Happy Sewing, Knitting, Creating

Slow Cooker Soup Day

I'm joining Chookyblue for her Slow Cooker recipe weekend.  If this weekend isn't perfect for some slow cooked beef and vege soup then it never will be ... brrrrrrrr!

I recently found these soup mixes and have already made a chicken soup and a pea'n ham soup. With the chicken soup I added a whole chicken and shredded the meat off the bones once cooked. I added some almost finished ham on the bone to the pea'n ham soup and also flaked the ham to add more body.

I had some beef neck bones in the freezer so I've added those to the country vege soup today for an added beef flavour with chopped carrot and onion. Might throw some frozen peas in towards the end of cooking time. Yummmo ... soup for dinner tonight!

What do you have on the menu?

1 Xmas Item and Scraps

Phew!  Just squeezing in between getting home from work and having dinner which is in the oven as I type. Hot off the knitting needles (finished last night while watching "Grays Anatomy") is my first knitted dishcloth ... 'Love'.

My first non-scarf finish and I had to learn how to un-knit and un-pearl when I skipped a row as it would have thrown the pattern out.  In the beginning I was doing something wrong and pulled the first 1/3 out because it just wasn't looking right. So out came my handcraft encyclopedia for a quick refresher on the purl stitch ... much happier with the second try.

Tomorrow I'll pop round and visit all the happy little elves to see what you've been creating this month. Remember your Christmas Items can be for yourself to use or a gift to be given and if you ran out of time this month ... there's always next month ... no stress here :)

Yesterday I even managed to turn the sewing machine on and do some sewing ... 100 little charm squares all into a block. These were the first set I received in the first swap (February?) and I have one more set before I can start on the 3 sets I received in this month's swap. Amazing how they all come together.

The rain has been falling softly all day so looks like it could be perfect for staying indoors over the weekend and sewing till my hearts content. Hope everyone can squeeze in a little or a lot of sewing too!

Weekly Catch-up

Oh boy, do those days fly by!  I finished another TTS block ... 'Chilly Penguin' ... an appropriate block by the look of the weather forcast for the weekend :(

I've also stitched the wreath block to use as the label for the back of the quilt.

At the moment I'm enjoying a spell of knitting ... must be the cooler weather.  After finishing the collar scarf I've been working on another UFO scarf as well as knitting a dish cloth for my 1 Xmas Item this month (I'll be back tomorrow, fingers crossed, with the finished item).  I love those ruffle scarves and just have to buy more wool in different colours. Also next on my knitting agenda is an attempt at socks. I thought I better shout myself to a nice knitting bag to hold all these projects :)

Another spur of the moment purchase was an adorable sewing box. I wasn't looking for one but Spotlight had a whole stack of them on sale and as I walked past one particular one jumped up and said that I just must take it home with me.  Of course how could I not! It was the only one of this design and I also got to use my birthday discount to reduce the price even further :)

When I'm lucky to have a day at home I always have a constant companion ... almost to the point of being a pain in the proverbial and I just have to walk away and come back later when the computer is free.

She's here again right now but as yet I have full use of the mouse pad. The balls of wool sitting on the printer are waiting for the socks to begin.

Now it's back to some more knitting and perhaps the sewing machine will get a run today too. Hope you find some time today for a little crafting.

A Little of This and That

Oh to have the life of a cat! 

This is our spare bed at the end of the sewing room which gets glorious warm sunshine in the mornings.

Lately each time I open a storage box I find another UFO ... maybe I should stop opening boxes. This one I have no idea how long since I started but now it's out I'll get it finished. 

The wool is BOA and I think I'll just knit untill I'm happy with the length.

Yesterday I dug out my container of 100 x 2" postage charm squares which I'd already sewn into pairs and finished joining them all together.

Now for the other 2 bundles of 100 squares from a previous swap. I hope to have them all joined before my next 3 bundles arrive.

My plan is to leave each set of 100 as a block and join the blocks with sashing. What colour would you suggest as sashing?

Happy Crafting

Monday Catch-up

It's a public holiday here today so I get to stay home from work ... I have so many 'little jobs' that I'd like to tidy up today but first things first. This scarf began it's life about June 2010 and I found it last week while looking for something else. Just need to bury some ends and it's ready for use and just in time as the weather has turned quite chilly .... brrrrrr!

Yesterday I noticed these 2 babies getting brave. Mum and Dad continually fly by and call for them to 'leave the nest' ... so far this is as far as they go and up on the board behind them. Number 3 is still hiding safe inside.

Through the week I posted off these 3 little parcels to USA as part of the Postage Stamp Charm Swap and I have 2 more to send tomorrow. Then I wait until my new 2" charm squares arrive in my mailbox and start playing with them.

Lastly I'd like to share a few photos I took last Sunday. After a wet Saturday and overcast Sunday I took the opportunity to get out of the house and took the camera for a walk ... joined by my girls for company.

Can you see the 2 kookaburras sitting in the tree branches?

Happy Monday

Moving the Goal Posts

I find my calendar is filling up fast with the day to day  and 'must do' stuff and it's not leaving much time for my favourite past time of sewing. So if I keep my sewing goals small I still feel like I've achieved something crafty and it looks good to cross projects off as done each month.

 

For those items that aren't achieved, I just move the goal post to the end of the next month ... no stress! There's plenty of stress from other areas, I don't need to add it to my sewing time :)

 

APRIL

BISS BOM ~ work on border

TTS ~ next block

1 Xmas Item ~ finish Candle Mat (March)

1 Xmas Item ~ Felt Bell (April)

Quilt hexagon table topper

Pin Cushion

 

Time ran out for the pin cushion but I was able to substitute another one as an entry for our show. The last bundle of BISS Bom fabric still waits patiently for me to start cutting.  I'll be attending a workshop in June to make a quilt so I need to pull out some fabrics for that and get all the cutting part done ready to sew, sew, sew ... looking forward to that weekend.

 

 

BISS BOM ~ I'll get there eventually :)

TTS ~ Chilly Penguin

1 Xmas Item ~ Knitted Wash Cloth

Work on a UFO

Cut Fabric ready for workshop

Label my hexie Table Topper

Finish current UFO Scarf

May you achieve all or atleast most of your desired goals.