Good news - my first PIF project received!

just remporting that my first Pay it forward package was recieved by Sue!!
she has blogged about it here

i made here a Christmas table runner out of blocks that i had received in the swap.  i wanted to do this because Sue is the person that runs Quilting block swaps Australia....and it was that group that really got me going with quilting, blogging and chatting with all you lovely ladies!  anyhoo, i wanted to show my appreciation, so i am glad that she liked it!

gotta keep working on my other two PIF projects though!
pugs and kisses
crafty
xx

FINISHED! September Two Buck Block

this is the fifth in the series and apparently from here on in they are repeated, but in different materials

im not thrilled with this one - there were so many seams that my stitching went awry many times....

i think i may devise my own patterns rather than repeating the other ones... i guess we'll see

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! September Christmas Block Swap

i think i forgot to mention...but the block swap group is also doing a Christmas themed block swap!  very excited

i requested "star blocks" in traditional christmas colours on cream backgrounds....and i stole that idea from Maria!  and it is that very Maria that I am swapping with first!

so here is the star block in traditional christmas colours on cream background that i made for her :)

i LOVE christmas fabric and am excited to be using it each month for the next while.  i think there are 11 swappers, and so we should have enough blocks by this time next year to make a quilt ready for Christmas 2011.....can't even imagine that far ahead yet!

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! September Block Swap

have a mentioned that I LOVE being in this block swap!!!!  so much fun!  click on the link in the side bar to join up - US and Canada residents now welcomed :)

this month i had the lovely Irene and Alicia to swap with as the group is growing so fast!  awesome!

Irene requested any block in autumn colours and so I made this "On the Oregon Trail" block

Alicia asked for any block in any colour - wow, talk about freedom!  it made it a bit harder to choose!  but i found some fabric in my stash that i had forgotten about but loved, and so thought i would use that.  i made a "Chinese Puzzle" block...

but it is not good enough to send.  the photo actually does it too much credit!  it doesn't sit flat, the corners look terrible once i squared the block up and the points don't match.  as they say on Top Gear - ambitious, but rubbish.

so take 2, and i tried a "Magic Cross" block using the same material...

which i am much happier with!  so that will go in the post to Alicia tomorrow!

can't wait to see the blocks in return - have seen Alicia's on her blog (see my side bar) but have to wait for it to make the long journey from the US!  will share with you when it arrives!

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Asher's pirate vest and bag

whew - managed to finish it off today! took me AGES to get the lacing in the sides, but i think it was worth the fiddle

and here is everything that a pirate boy needs - vest, swords, patch, earring, periscope (is that what they are called?  the extendable eye piece telescope thing? or is that on a submarine?) and hat!

and of course, what do you keep it in when you are not being a swash-buckling pirate?  your pirate sack of course!

also good for keeping loot in.....

while i am typing this, hubby is giving the little human his bath and they are both making a lot of happy noise - lovely.  thought i would share this photo with you of hubby mowing the grass of our front yard and the little human helping

very adorable - lots of cars slowing down for a look-see.  glad to see i am not the only one who thinks he is cute :)

pugs and kisses

xx

FINISHED! Crafty Money Keeper

we all are living in tough-er times and so it is appropriate (if unwanted) that crafty money is more tightly controlled......i think :)

see, this is what happens when opposites attract - picture young crafty pug, full of energy, conversation and craziness, meets future hubby, down to earth, stable, good listener, financial conservative. they fall in love and get married

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

anyhoo, as they say, you fall in love with the strengths, you go home with the problems :)  that sounds much more dire than it actually is :)  i love my husband and he is a wonderful husband, father and bloke!  but....

and one of the big differences in our lives is the way that hubby and i deal with money - me, free wheeling and spending - you need money, here have it! i want that pretty thing, yes please! fabric is on sale, better buy 4 times as much!

of course, little human comes along, im now at home and income is less.....so! budget time. mind you, we always had a budget of course - hubby looks after that! but apparently, he just let the crazy craft spending go! but now, we can't do that anymore....

this is good for me - discipline in your life is not something to be sneered at (the pile of UFO's in my sewing area is laughing at me).

so i now get cash in hand to purchase craft gear - this again is good for me, because if i don't have the cash, i don't buy the gear. (the 'out' clause for me in this is that we have a separate budget line for 'presents' and often my creations fall into that category - whew!).

i didn't want to carry around the crafty money in my normal purse, and so i created a crafty money keeper!

fabo prints charming fabric from my not-LQS (that was in my stash) and a wooden button that my mum brought me back from Tassie, made from some kind of tree that is purpose grown for buttons (or something).  they aren't washable, so limited in their use, but i thought a very appropriate addition to the money keeper.....a reminder that all things have a use for something (and i can picture my mother's stern 'telling off face' - argh!)

i just opened up a paper envelope and used it as a template...

i put the button hole off centre for the purse, but in the middle of the green-y semi-circle.  not sure if i am happy with that look, but you can't redo button holes!!!!

but the best part of all - i have managed to be disciplined for 2 whole pays now....so there is some crafty money in the crafty money keeper, being saved up to buy backing, sashing and batting to finish off my Birdie Quilt

any frugal tips to pass on?

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Adeline's tagged blankie

a lovely young couple that we know have had a baby prem - but thankfully everything is going ok for mum and bubs

they have called the little girl Adeline - a name i love!!!

anyhoo, here is the tagged blanket i made here - her name is embroidered in the middle using the curly font on my sewing machine.

so easy to make - this was 1/2 hour total!

hopefully it brings some joy

pugs and kisses
xx

p.s. don't forget FNSI sign ups!!!

FINISHED! August two buck block, Jan's garden and Morgan's pillow

so in my absence from the blogging world, i have been crafting!

this is august's two buck block - i like the design very much, but am not at all fussed with the pink material....never mind!

this is Jan (my mother in law)'s birthday present!  my dad framed the embroidery for me in a frame i found at our local shops on sale!  lovely and a bargain - winner!

and this is a pillow i made for the little human's friend morgan.  not for any reason, other than the fact that she is a little champ, and a good friend to the little human.  she has a lovely gentle spirit and is a great example of sharing, caring and love.

pugs and kisses
xx

RE-FINISHED! August Block Swap

with my new found confidence of creating 12.5" blocks, i thought i would remake Cathy's block from this month too.

she requested any block in reds, blacks and whites - so i made a Arkansas Cross Roads Block, measuring a very happy 12.5" :)

hope my swappers can find something to do with their 12" blocks - pillows perhaps? :)

pugs and kisses
xx

RE-FINISHED! August Block Swap II

now that i know how to sew a 1/4" seam (see last post!) i remade a block for Paola

as you may remember, she requested any block in country colours, and so i made the following "Fair and Square" block (and yes, it measures 12.5"!)

whew! can put it in the post now :)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! two buck block update

i just realised that i haven't blogged about my recently completed two buck blocks.

here are the two for June and July

love doing them and using thangles - very easy to get nice points - and let's face it, i need all the help i can get :)

love the colour way too - im doing it through Kornacraft which i count as my LQS even though it is 20 minutes away :)  they are offering it in two colour ways - this one (pink) and another one that i think is brown?  they wanted to offer a more masculine one, but was a bit too dark for me.  so this one it is!  i haven't bought the finishing kit, as im not 100% sure what i want to do with them once they are finished, but fun in the meantime

and $2!  can't go wrong ;)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Henry's praying bear

ok!  first the good news!  Henry's bear is finished, and he is looking like a bear who is praying
this is the good news!
he is certainly not the most well constructed or neatest bear, but that gives him character.
my hubby was encouraging as always and said i had better put a note on him so that people knew that he was handmade, otherwise people will think i got him at the shop - what a sweetie.  but i know that is only because he doesn't know where to look for mistakes, like we do!!!!

this is henry's bear before embroidery - i thought i would include this as he looks like he is doing 'the robot dance'!

and of course as the little human points out, his stuffing is still hanging out!

so later that night, i finished him off.....

he looks rather peaceful after such a traumatic creation, i think ;)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! August Block Swap

i know, i know, it's still july
but sue our chief block-swapper is so organised she already gave out our partners
and hubby had the little human yesterday, so after i finished my study in the morning like a good girl :) i rewarded myself with an afternoon of crafting!!!

so here is cathy's block - she requested any block in red, black and white - i am putting it in the post tomorrow

it's a blackford's beauty block that i found at Quilter's Cache - such a great website!!!!

the only bit i am a bit confused with is the finished size.  you can select on the website patterns for block sizes - handy when you are in a swap that is swapping 12" blocks (there is about 100000000 of them of that size on the site!).

but i have made 2 now - the churn dash block for sue last month and now this one.  sue's turned out to be 12.5" (which would seem right as when it is sewn into a quilt, the finished block will be 12") but cathy's above is 12" now (so would be 11.5" when sewn into a quilt).  so confusion reigns in my brain!

btw i checked with cathy and she graciously said she was happy with the block as is.....what a nice lady!! hopefully it works ok for her :)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Project toy society - drop number one!

as they say, there is some positive in every situation :)  as i sat waiting at the doctors this morning i finished stitching my softie kitty!

a quick stuffing and he was ready to go!

...i got my tag and letter together

... and then put kitty in his bag ready to be found (don't worry i cut holes in the bag so he wouldn't suffocate)

then for the drop!  hubby and i brainstormed some great locations - i decided that i want to limit my drops to the City of Playford (the council area that we live in).  the toy society encourages you to drop your toys at places where there is street art or a good vibe.....we don't have many of them in playford.  so i decided to focus on places that i thought people would be blessed if they find a free gift.

so first drop!
little human was all ready to go 

and we decided on the park bench that is near our local train station

all ready to be found, picked up and loved by someone!

will go back later today and see if it has been taken - exciting!!!!!

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! July Block Swap

i have recieved my first block swap from Sue.  i requested any block in cream, blues and greens - i love it!  can't wait to see my collection grow!

this is the block i made for Sue.  she requested a churn dash block in creams, blues and browns.  i hadn't made the block before, so not sure if it is what she is after.  hope it is!  the colourings seem a bit harsh to me.....so fingers crossed that she likes it.

such fun to be swapping!
pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Lachlan's Library Bag

ive started a mini project of giving each of my mate's kids a handmade gift for their special events!  i don't think ill let myself be shackled by the project :) but i am on my way!  Marley's quilt was the first one, and now Lachlan's 2nd birthday library bag!

i have also started working on henry's baptism praying teddy. but after a couple of hours working on it today, i was reminded why i don't really enjoy making dolls etc! so annoying trying to keep all the pieces aligned - i am not a patient person :)
anyhoo, at least this one is done! will keep working on the teddy :)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Marley's quilt

whew! got marley's quilt finished before her thanksgiving service this sunday

i had an absolute DISASTER of a time quilting the thing - if it wasn't a gift that i needed on sunday i think i would have thrown it away!

the thoughts i had on how it would look didn't really work out. i thought i would use the decorative stitches on my new machine to do some lines through the strips of material to follow the horizontal form of the quilt.

but the thread i used (varigated yellow guterman thread) kept breaking EVERY TWO SECONDS! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. so i ended up using straight stitch, a wavy stitch and a zigzag stitch for most of it. the gold ribbon that is on the front (and on the back by the way!) is on there because one of the decorative stitches got so kerfuffled that i had to stop. i then couldn't get it unpicked because it was so densely stitched on top of its self. so a cover up was all i could do......but i think it covered it up ok :) hopefully the recipient will never know :)

pugs and kisses
xx

FINISHED! Dino-tail

today i spent the morning working on a dino-tail for the little human's playgroup end of term dinosaur party!!!

i used the mermaid/dino tail pattern from this website - and got some great plush fabric from Spotlight

im pretty happy with it and i think it looks good on him :)

hopefully i can post some photos from the party of him wearing it

pugs and kisses
xx

ooooooooooooo photo of Blush quilt

took some new photos of the Blush quilt in my parents-in-law garden today
very happy with them
i think they look oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
:)

pugs and kisses
xxx

FINISHED! Sheri Berry Christmas wall hanging

happy with the result - used only the fabrics that i won from Homespun that i mentioned previously. love a freebie!

will be a gift for my friend Helen for Christmas

pugs and kisses
xx