26 April 2021

15 Minute Challenge and Anzac Day

 It was a long weekend to commemorate Anzac Day.  This year the march in the city went ahead but only family were allowed to watch don't ask my how they managed to police that.  Limited numbers were allowed at dawn services around the country though Perth are in lock down at the moment and their services were all cancelled. They only allowed limited numbers at services but then the AFL were able to 80K at the Anzac Day Match I guess money talks even in a pandemic.  

I've been doing lots of cross stitch this week and finished off a couple of projects today from last years Sewing Club by Blackbird Designs from the finished pieces.  I turned one into a lavender pouch and had some more lavender left over so that went into the drum as well as some sawdust.  The next piece I'm working on is supposed to be a little bag but I'm not sure that I want to make it into a bag, maybe it can go on the top of a tin.... who knows.  I have linen to make another 2 drums which will be the next projects and the one of the samplers in the book.  



I pulled the fabric for my next quick quilt yesterday and had a bit more of a play this morning, adding and subtracting fabric.  I think I'm pretty happy with what I have chosen and this will probably be my project for sewing class this week.  I'm thinking of doing more blocks this month and making a 4 x 4.  

Mo's hair this week, she worked out how to do it herself so I didn't have to stand and paint the colour on, she still hasn't managed to get the ends pink yet but I think I like this colour combo the best.    



Hows your week been, I seem to be keeping up with the stitching even though work has been a bit of mess this week and doesn't promise to get better.  They have increased my hours from now for the next 3 months .... though I get the feeling it may be longer than that.  

Head to Kate's to see how everyone is going.  


19 April 2021

15 Minute Challenge and a couple of finishes

 


I finished the quilting and then the binding of Quick Quilt 2 on the weekend.  I even finished the binding in one night which would have to be a record for me.  I really wanted it done and dusted so that must have put some speed in my needle.  

I also finished the cross stitch band for the Christmas pin cushion I was working on.  I have started another cross stitch project from the kits I received last year and want to use the space on this piece of linen to work another pin drum from the same pattern book.

I managed to get the water stain out of the linen which means I have a bit more space to work with.  I'll leave making both pin cushions up until the new cross stitch panel is done.  

Below is a bag that I made for one of my girl friends birthday.  It was weeks in the making.  DH call's it the million dollar bag as it took quite a number of weeks to finish.  It was also a million dollar bag because it took a lot of fabric and the bag wadding wasn't cheap though the finished product looked very professional so worth the expense.  I've just ordered some more bag wadding so I can make myself one and maybe a couple more for my other friends, I'm hoping that the 2nd and 3rd times won't be as difficult because I will kind of know what I am doing but I'm not holding my breath on that.  





It was a 7 out of 7 week.  I feel that in the coming weeks I'm going to be needing my 15 minutes of chill time with needle, machine or crochet hook.  So how did you go?  Check outs Kate's page.  






15 April 2021

Free Quilt Pattern for Quick Quilts 2

 





The pattern for Quick Quilts 2 is available here to download for free until 15 May 2021.  After that you can purchase it from my Etsy Shop.  Just scroll down to the bottom of the page.  

12 April 2021

15 Minute Challenge and another busy week

 I think I am almost on top of stuff at work, the boss wants me to aim for the end of the month to start working extra as they have only given us 3 month budget for my increase in hours but he said if we need to bite the bullet earlier we will.   Found out today another state manager has resigned so we might be in a holding pattern for a bit longer, it will also mean more travel for my boss ahhh the joys. He did say we could look at moving the office west of the city next year to cut both out travel time.  I sent him a cheeky snap of a small shop front that is for lease around a 10 minute walk from my house.  I know its been empty for about 12 months so who knows it may still be available when our lease is up.  He's wants something in Glenelg either way it will cut each of our travel time down to next to nothing, which I am all for.  

Mo had a party to go to and no dress as it was a bit more dressy than she was use to.  I admit I was at the kill me know stage of shopping after spending 3 hours at the local shopping centre going from shop to shop and back again. I worked out the sticking point was the fact that she had to pay for it and the only dress that she was happy with was $200.  At least she has scored  3 shifts this week for work so that should pay for it pretty quickly.  The problem was when we got home was that she wanted her hair coloured and she wanted it in gradients this time, navy blue through purple to magenta lets just say I slept well apart from the aching legs but she did look very pretty for the party Friday night.  



Sewing wise I have been doing more cross stitch which has slowed because I broke my magnifiers, but I have got enthused to get some more drum pin cushions made from the Blackbird book that I was collecting projects from last year.  There are 3 more in the book that I haven't made so I bought some linen online to finish off the remainder of the patterns and there is a lovely framed sampler that I may do as well.  Today a couple of easter cross stitch kits arrive so I will be ready for next year.  

Quick Quilt 2 is finished and the pattern is posted on the 2021 BOM page.  I'm still quilting it I think I have a couple of hours left to go and then binding, but I will post pictures once its done.  

We got back Mo's latest pots this week.  One was for a gift for the birthday party which came out so cool I wanted to keep it, its an essential oil pot that you put the reeds in to scent a room.  She tells me she is going to make a Etsy shop for now to put up the one off stuff that she wants to sell as she doesn't have time at the moment to set up a full on website for now which all costs money to do.  




The week didn't involve any pretty walks the weekend turned a bit ugly not much rain but windy and overcast and a lot colder than it has been.  Hope you had time to stitch or knit or do what ever creative thing you do.  Check out Kate's blog to see how everyone is going.  





05 April 2021

15 Minute Challenge and Happy Easter

 How has your Easter been? Have to say mine has been pretty great.  Lately all I feel like is that I'm rushing from one place to another but Easter has been a real slow down and recharge, just what I needed.  

This week was another 7 out of 7.  I've done some crochet, quilting and the last couple of days I have taken out some cross stitch.  I also bought a couple of easter kits from the Crewel Goblin (which will have to be for next Easter but that's ok.  

I was waiting on a shipment of fabric markers that didn't arrive for my quilt so I got out my karisma pencil and a pounce pad to mark the feathers on the quick quilt.  I was a bit scared when I started marking the quilt with the pounce pad and it didn't iron off (as instructed).  I then tried it on some scrap and got it out by washing it so I sort of using the two methods to mark it as I go and filling in some of the areas with some echo quilting.  I was hoping to have it finished this weekend but I don't think that is going to happen.    I'll either do a bit at night next week or leave it to the weekend.  




Yesterday DH and I went for a long walk, following the local creek then up to the beach and along the beach nearly to Henley then back to Grange.  We stopped under the shade of the trees by the jetty to cool down before walking home its been lovely and warm.  Only the pub was open so there weren't a lot of people hanging around the area like there usually is on a weekend.


I got out my Christmas cross stitch, I only have the band to finish.  I should have enough linen left over to make another pin drum from the Blackbird Design book that was used for the cross stitch club last year it was one that I really liked and it never made it to the list of projects.  I have 3 more projects from the club to finish one I wasn't going to do so I will use the threads for that project on the drum.   One of the other projects is supposed to be an oval box, but i may make it into and egg like the cross stitch projects I have ordered and have a little nest of them for decorating next year.  

We went a saw Mo's pictures at the SACE Art Exhibition on Thursday, she was so nervous about seeing her work on display.  She's been a bit stressed about some of her work at Uni, doubting herself and worrying about the workload, I think she will settle down after the first semester she still is very much still trying to find her feet.  In fact she is coping a lot better than I thought she would for all the new different experiences she is facing.   I expected a lot more tears, OCD and anxiety to be showing than there is.  The first term of school is always hard for her I think she is getting better at it.