Another Finish & Goodbye

Yes, another finish

on Saturday I made Heather Bailey's 

Book Bag

made in 2 hours, it does have a couple of adjustments

the pattern used ruffles and I didn't want ruffles, so I

left them off, but the ruffles give the bag flap

length so my flap was to short.

Minor addition and the flap is long enough

the handle also wasn't long enough for me, so I added

a bit onto the length, then it was too long so I 'took' it

up to the right length.

Fabric came from Japan, its been in my stash since we lived in

Western Australia

and look at my hexagon progress, I need to stitch the top

point section together and the centre diamond will be made

I put it on my bed yesterday and the diamond is huge, so my 

original plan to add 2 rows around once its finished has been

cancelled, I will make 2 half diamonds, sew it to the 

background, sandwich it, do a crosshatch pattern,

bind it and it shall be done.

I have lots of hexies ready to do while we travel and

are away

Which is where the goodbye comes into it

I won't get a chance to get online again so its goodbye,

see ya later for nearly 2 weeks

A Big Finish

Ta Da

Tail Feathers 

designed by Natalie Lymer of CinderberryStitches

using Butterscotch & Rose fabrics

dodgy photo but the holder uperers are at school

now I need your thoughts and opinions

remember I cut up 4 jelly rolls to make a hexagon quilt

well I pulled what I had done off the wall on Sunday and

started sewing the hexagons together

and yesterday it hit me as to what I should do with all those

hexagons

I will add another 2 rows to the outside of the uber large diamond

then appliqué it to the centre of the background fabric 

then I thought I could make 2 half diamonds to appliqué

to each side of the background fabric 

sheesh here is a really bad diagram of what I mean

will that look ok or should I make 4 half diamonds and

have them appliquéd top and bottom also??

I am open to suggestions, please

and yes I have more than enough hexagons to create this

big quilt for my bed

we are going away next week, home for my mama's birthday

can you guess what I will be doing as we drive to Melbourne

on Wednesday and then as we sail across 

Bass Strait on Thursday

go on have a guess :)

and big congratulations to 2 of my girlies who are 

SSC reps for their classes with badges!

Google Reader

I am confused!

Am I going to lose my blogs I read list on the sidebar

Or

The list of latest blogposts when I sign in (which I ignore and use the list on my blog sidebar)

Can someone please clarify because googling google reader just confused me even more

The plan of attack

Is Chemo ....... Again

This will be round 3 of chemo for her, then as far as I know they will reassess in 3 months.

At least it's 'treatable'

Thanks for all the P&PT xx

Needing Prayers & Positive Thoughts today

Mum has had a recurrence of her lung cancer and today we will get the results to see exactly what we are dealing with and whether the treatment her oncolgist wants to do is an option.

I tell you the wait is driving me crazy and I am just hoping she will tell me the truth, she had a lung biopsy last week but told me she just had a broncoscopy to see what her airway was like.........hello mum, you should know that my sister will always tell me the truth, you have been rumbled

So pleased we are heading home on 2 weeks for her birthday and Easter.

If you could say a little prayer for her I would be very grateful :)

Really.....

I am unpicking YET AGAIN

Sheesh will I ever get these blocks made

They are supposed to have the 2 dark triangles at the top, so why did I put the light triangles at the top....

Reverse Sewing Marathon

that was my day,

I am working on Block 4 of Civil War Journals

and yesterday I started to sew the remaining 9 blocks

all was going fabulously until I realised that instead of sewing theses

I had sewn these

and today my ironing board portable work space

looks like this :(

I unpicked 144 pieces of fabric and then re-sewed them

the correct way..... 

Ugh its been a while since I have had a day like that!

Road Trip

Yesterday a very good friend and I took a road trip

interstate.....to Victoria

why I hear you ask, well to visit 2 lovely

patchwork stores in Orbost

I didn't buy much really

these are my purchases

I need to make the reindeer, how cute is he

and Sophie informed me, she NEEDS to make

the snowman

this yummy pattern, by a NZ designer

she also had a a very delicious table runner,

but there were none left :(  so I will visit her web site

and order direct from her

a new clover blue pen, dh asked why I only

bought 1, but she only had 1, and some new needles

I love these needles for appliqué

I found this very cute little sign and it just had to come

home with me

and backing fabric for 'Erin's Quilt'

Sewing wise, 

the centre of my Civil War Journals is together

after avoiding night time sewing all week, I started the appliqué

on Month 3 of Butterfly Garden last night

I have 1.5 flowers left to stitch down

this morning I got block 4 ready for tonight while I watch

The Paradise on ABC1 and Messiah on Foxtel

Henrycat is busy supervising, he has made himself a sleeping

spot on my shelves, he can't possibly miss out 

and the embroided blocks of month 3 

Another Finish

Yesterday I had coffee with a very dear friend and she 

showed me a bag she had made, to say I was in love with 

her bag was an understatement

so she lent me her pattern, and in between

golf lessons, homework, cooking dinner

cleaning up after dinner, organising the girlies

for today, showers and MKR

I too have my own bag

Ta Da

Cheryl's Diamond Bag

fabric was Neptune jelly roll

it only uses 13 strips from the jelly roll

so today after I finish sewing the blocks for

month 2 of the Civil War Journals quilt

I am going to use the remaining strips to 

make a Chevron runner for my shelves.

I am also going to make another bag from

a Shangri-La  jelly roll but with much

shorter handles.

I LOVE my bag.

OPAM finish

its only a little finish, but a finish none the less

March SAL pincushion

now to get back to my Civil War Journals Quilt

Todays Sewing

It was nice to have a tidy organised sewing room today

so I got busy making some Bee Blocks.

I have joined a quilting Bee or 2 on Facebook, and

to date have made 6 blocks

here are the 2 blocks I made today

This lady gave us the choice of 2 tutorials I made 1 of each  block

design for her

I will admit I have struggled as the ladies are all wanting

bright, modern fabrics, 1 asked for selvedges....

and as I rarely use brights, nor do I keep selvedges or scraps its been

interesting

this block was foundation pieced, I love Foundation piecing

tonight I have stitched the band for the March SAL project,

a pincushion, I have cut the top and bottom squares, now

I just need to sew it all together.

I guess I should get back to Butterfly Garden tomorrow night, and

I need to finish the first months blocks for my 

Civil War Journals quilt......

why do I feel like I have my fingers in too many projects

Re-Arranging the Sewing Cave

it was uber cluttered and I couldn't find

anything so today I asked 2 girlies what they were

doing and when their reply was nothing....

I got them busy. We have unpacked cupboards and shelves

re organised plastic tubs of fabrics

we have moved shelves and cupboards

and moved them again.

My one issue was my design wall. In our house in

Tasmania and the house we lived in when we first

arrived in Eden, I had a full wall for my design wall

in this house I didn't, I had a quarter wall......

well I almost have a full design wall again

here is my new and improved sewing cave, please

excuse the floor, I haven't vacuumed it yet

looking in from the doorway

see my design wall......

my design wall, with the centre block for

Aunt Grace's Circle of Friends, Butterfly Garden,

Mum's quilt, 2 Bee Blocks and my hexagons

this shelf unit used to stand upright,

dh suggested we flip it on its side and I must say it was

a fabulous idea, I can see a narrow shelf topper in my

immediate future :)

Dh also took the door off my Horn cabinet, as there was 

no room to stand at my cutting table when it was open

suits me to a tee as my sewing machine had mm to spare

whenever it had to be put away in the cabinet

my cutting table, back in the corner with my rulers

hanging again 

& all my little quilts, I still have to find room

for another 3 small quilts

this black box is cause of all my lack of wall

space issues, sadly I can't move it as its got something to do 

with the Port believe me if I could move it would be

out in the sunroom not in my sewing room

FNWF results.....

or should that read lack of results

I only managed to get my appliqué ready for stitching down

sorry about the lumpy view, Henrycat won't get off the quilt
for anyone at the moment, and let me tell you, he is so
snuggly and warm that he makes you very tired when he
sleeps on your lap

but I did some sewing related online shopping (does that count)

Cookies and Cream Craft  

have a sale on and I shopped very well

for not so much money

I purchased

Lynette Andersons Country Cottage Quilting 

a Heather Bailey bag pattern 

the 2013 Quilters diary

&

2 packs of wooden cotton reels

for less than $50 including postage,

very happy little shopper I was indeed.

Ok I best go a feed the 1 child I have home today, her
lunch and then I can get stitching to make up for
last nights dismal effort!

Joining in

Tonight I am going to join in with

  Cheryll

For 

it will be the first time I have joined in and I 

will be working on Block 3 of Butterfly Garden

I have 3 flowers and a butterfly to appliqué

Yesterday it was so wet & cold I asked dh

to light the fire, it was 14.2 degrees outside and

only 18 degrees inside. 

it was so cold

Henrycat even hopped onto my lap to sleep

and he never ever does that of his own free will.

Today its a bit warmer but overcast and dull

so I am finishing the stitching on Butterfly Garden

and I will get Block 4 sewn together, all the stitcheries are

traced, I just need to sew the block together

We have no plans for the weekend other than running the girls around

 Miss Imogen has a cub scout hike tomorrow, 

Miss Sophie has a scouts dvd night until Sunday morning

Dh has golf and Miss Em has no plans YET

me well I might just do some sewing and work on my

Civil War Journals quilt.

Next week I want to quilt tail feathers, means I need

to move 'wolfie' out to the dining table to get it done

but I am determined to get it finished before we go away

for Mum's birthday.