Lost and Found

 My mojo tends to be on a permanent lost and found mode but this post is about sewing projects. You know when you have a project in mind ... and you know where you stored it ... but it's not there? Maybe it's those pesky little craft gremlins playing hide and seek!

Well, after my marathon effort of finishing projects for our Exhibition, it was time to get back to my king size bed quilt. I knew exactly where that was ... but I FOUND a few other things tucked away neatly inside the container.

My scrappy version of a Flower Pot wall hanger I had made and forgotten about. The pattern was "LotsaPotsa Flowers" by Betsy DeFazio I browsed in an old magazine.  So a rushed quilting and binding job and just made it in time.

Another FIND was my original piece of Sashiko for the Chookshed Challenge ... maybe I can add this one to a new list for next year?

But wait, there's another FIND.  A carry bag complete with insulbright for taking my iron to patchwork day ... it was all cut out and ready to sew.

Always a great feeling to have a finish, especially when they've been around for a while. I still have 1 or 2 projects that the gremlins have hidden ... yes, I'm blaming them.

I hope to post some exhibition photos this week. The opening on Saturday was a huge success but unfortunately I couldn't attend ... we had a family reunion to attend and much catching up to do. Mum was 1 of 8 children and some of her cousins were also able to attend ... luckily the weather played nicely too.

FNWF and Another UFO

 Tonight's the Night ... joining in with Cheryll and Friends for .... I think I see some cross stitch happening ...

Another UFO becomes a completed top and another container leaves the stash (I've actually repurposed it for one of the Mystery projects)

This one goes back to Feb 2012 ... "Seasons Of BOM" designed by Wendy of 'Sugarlane Quilts' and Dawn of 'Sweet as Cinnamon'. I had completed 6 of the 12 stitcheries and sashed with 2.5" squares so after a dive in the stash I found the blue and hey presto!

The blue is looking darker than it really is.

Another wall hanger top to quilt.

Chookshed Challenge and a UFO

 How lucky am I?  In January I swapped my number #6 for item #10 so that I could have some little embroideries done for when it came time to mark cards.

Hey presto and February's number is #10 so I get to switch back for item #6 and make cards. As well as popping those little cross stitches into cards, I plan to make a few other flowery cards with my Stampin Up bits and pieces.

My sewing 'stuff' is spread between 2 spare bedrooms and the 'craftavan' so I've been busy trying to sort, rearrange, condense etc etc and get down to the van and 1 spare bedroom. Some bits and pieces I'm taking straight to the van to be dealt with ... enter a UFO!

Tucked away in a take-away container were the completed embroidery 4.5" squares, 4 sewn strips and lots of various strips of fabrics. Scrolling back through my blog, I first mention this project in March 2011. It was called "Home Sweet Home BOM" by Paula ... unfortunately when I click on the links they no longer work.

So using the strips in the container along with 1 or 2 strips from stash ... this is what I came up with and now have a completed wall hanger top. I've even managed to remove 1 set of small shelves from one room and open up a little bit more space for when Mum visits ... winning.

All Wrapped Up

 A timely wrap up of my sewing for the year.  Thanks to Cheryll and her WOOFA Challenge, I kept stitching away at A Merry Christmas Garden (picture in previous post) and plan to have it quilted and binding finished to gift to my daughter for Christmas 2021.  That might be a long way off but I have a lot of quilting lined up for next year.  So with the help of Cheryll, I will accept next year's WOOFA Challenge and aim high.

Thank you also to our little group of Elves over at 1XmasItemAMonth ... it's always much more fun to sew with friends.

My last finish for Christmas was a wall hanging for our Patchwork Group Santa Swap and Break-up on Monday. 

The Murder Mystery Quilt will be wrapping up in January. December's task was adding some lotus buds.

We've managed a few good showers of rain and a green tinge is appearing but hoping for a lot more rain yet to fill dams and the underground water.  Hoping 2021 is much kinder to everyone.

August Finishes

This little wall hanging had the last yo-yo stitched in place about 4 hours ago ... just in time for August OPAM. Ruth Buchanan had it published in AP & Q in October 2008 so it's ONLY taken me almost 3 years to make one for myself. :)

Thankyou to the lovely OPAM gals, Peg and Kris for keeping me inspired to have atleast one finish each month.

Sometime last week I managed to stitch the 'ee' block for the Home Sweet Home BOM being hosted by Paula at Quilt Happy, Quilt Often.

Happy Spring for tomorrow.

Monday's Show and Tell

 Saturday I gathered my supplies ready for some serious sewing. You can't see it but my coffee cup is not far away either.

Step 1.  Cut fabric into small pieces.

Step 2.  Sew small pieces back together again.

This is going to be a small wall hanging. Top is sewn together and awaiting quilting before I add some embelisments.

Then because I suffer from a small attention span I moved onto the next project. Last Wednesday I cut these fabrics into 2 3/4" strips.

Over the weekend I finished this rail fence top. The feature fabric is a tropical ocean scene.

I have short deadlines for both projects (less than 1 month) so I hope to soon share some finish photos.

Oh and there is still an acceptable amount of M and M's left in the bowl ... I did ration myself on those.

Sharing Time

Seems like ages since I've been here ... what a week! Deadlines ... Mail ... Bugs

Bugs, seems once you get sick this year, it keeps returning for another bout. Everyone I talk to has been experiencing the same thing. You get sick, you just get over it and then either the same one or another bug grabs hold. DH has been fighting something for a couple of weeks and now my throat infection from a few weeks back is returning. Grrrrrrrr!

But enough of that, you don't need to share my bugs. I am going to share with you the high points of my week. A little while back, Fiona of Mothers' Cupboard had a sale and I found myself placing an order quick smart for ...

Fiona was also holding a giveaway and never did I imagine that I could be so lucky ... YIPEE!

Then this week when I was starting to feel yuk, this little pink parcel cheered me up toot sweet!

Thankyou so much Fiona for the chance to win this delicious jelly roll ... perfect colours for me ... and a charm pack to top it all off. More dreaming now of how to put them to good use.

Fiona is also one of the lovely Gum Tree Designers. If you haven't checked them out yet then you don't know what your missing. More goodness tomorrow with their next free Christmas design.

Deadlines ... yes. As usual finished this one Tuesday night to be delivered Wednesday morning for entering in the textile section of our local Art Exhibition. It's Deborah Baines' "Floral Fancy" found in 'Creating Country Threads'.

Couldn't help myself, I was enjoying this pattern so much. I also added some beads to the centres of three flowers and little yo-yo centres to three. I even did some hand quilting around each appliqued flower.

While not a winner on Friday night, it's a winner for me. Congratulations to the clever ladies who won placings with their entries and to the other ladies who entered.

Now it's on with the next deadline ... paperwork today and to finish off my Holiday Quilt Swap and Christmas Ornaments.

Is anyone else daunted by how quickly the end of the year is coming?

Happy Sewing and keep well.

Postcards and Family Craftiness

Two more fabric postcards ready to take the plunge into the red mailbox. This first is for a birthday . . .

the heart card is for our July swap so I've just scraped inside the end of the month.




As for family craftiness, DD made this folder cover while home from Uni, so no UFO box for this little project.

My mother is into all types of crafts. This denim quilt she made from hand-me-down jeans and purchased the border fabric. She also made the cream bed ruffle.

Another little wall hanging of mums, featuring stained glass work.

Happy sewing be it with family or friends.

Quilting Times Ahead

Christmas Day and first on my agenda was my SSCS gift before breakfast. Christmas Wishes and a big thankyou to Cherri, I'm now the proud owner of a LizzyHouse original print. I'll be keeping an eye out for a suitable frame and hanging it in my sewing room to admire. Also a set of Lizzy's Cathedral Cards. To top it off Cherri also included four fat 1/4's of lovely fabric.

A special thankyou to Chookyblue for taking on such a huge task. It was so much fun having a gift under the tree from a new friend.

I was also lucky enough to be gifted a couple of quilting rulers (I've been hinting) and more fat 1/4's from family members.

As promised here is my first finish for Finn's Challenge which is quickly coming to a close. The idea was a wall hanging for me to practice machine quilting, with and without a walking foot, traced and free motion.

As I'm getting more confident at playing around with my blog, I'll be having a face lift for the month of January. I've also decided to tidy my sidebar and start fresh with icons for 2009.

Fingers crossed the building storm clouds will bring some much needed rain this afternoon. So far we've missed out on all the storms going round and the paddocks are desperate for a drink.

Here's to a Happy, Healthy New Year and a wet one for those who need it.