Another 'have to do' project

My gorgeous hubby has taken out my little balls of energy this morning so I can have some 'free time' to do as I please. Yesterday he did the Otway Classic bike race round the great ocean road (im glad he came home in one piece) and returned home at about 6pm tired, sweaty and in need of a good lie down.

Today is my 'thank you' day from him. I have to resist the urge to vacuum or clean the bathrooms so I thought i'd start off my free time with some blogging.

The blocks Ive been working on are not needed till May so i have plenty of time to play around with their designs. Im so enjoying sitting down at the end of the day and working on them.

Im also working on a baby quilt of my own design:

Im hand stitching on all the applique (as I hate machine sewing tight corners). Ive almost finished the centre panel (above) but now have to decide what kind of borders to put in. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I might throw in a few birdies and other garden critters but I dont want to make it too fussy.

I have been following oh fransson for some time and they are currently doing a 'quilt-a-long'. I dont think i'd be able to participate in this quilt-a-long but the quilt is certainly one of the things i'd love to do (in my never ending list of 'to dos'.

Two for the price of one is my kind of deal!

So I spoke to friend #2 today after having a chat with my sis. I have known friend #1 & #2 for over 20 years and although (due to children) we dont see each other often we are the type of friends that just pick up where we left off.
After talking about how friend #2 had disappointed me with my sister, (mwah) I came to realise that stewing over it was stupid. Sis said 'what if this was your last day on earth.. is this the way you'd want to spend it?'. No way!! So I called friend #2 and she had a giggle when I said she'd upset me. "YOu know me, I tell it like it is. I felt crap and I couldnt be bothered coming over". Yes, I do know her. If i'd thought about it alittle more i'd have come to that realisation myself. Its alittle harsh but she does tell it like it is. And I love her for it.

So, enough of that. Today (because I still havent finished the blocks) Ive put up a few pics of some reversible pinafores that I've made for the girls (and some pressies too). Simple, comfy stuff and you get two for one. I havent made a heap of clothes for them, but i intend to.... once I get off the laptop.









Reversible pinafores. They are so cute and you get two tops in one. So when one of the sides gets dirty you just flip it over.



Fabric flower tute found here.

A bit of a letdown

Im alittle cheesed off today. I dont usually use the term 'cheesed off' but im toning it down. I'd arranged for a couple of friends to come around for morning tea/ lunch and was really looking forward to alittle adult conversation. Fifteen minutes before they were suppoed to arrive, friend no. 1 called to say she wasnt feeling well and that she wasnt coming. Ok, thats cool. Shes got a newborn and sleep is probably not happening much at her pllace. So i waited... and waited... and waited. No knock at the door, no ding dong. Cakes in the oven, house is clean, kids are dressed and their hair combed. An hour later Im seriously doubting that friend no. 2 will turn up. So I call. Surely shes on her way I think. Then she picks up the phone. "hi" I say. "OH hi" she says. "So I guess this means you're not coming over" I say. "Oh well (friend 1) didnt call me and I really couldnt be bothered" she says. Long silence... then I say "well ive got a cake in the oven and i've prepared lunch". "Oh" she says.
Come on... whats so hard about picking up a phone. I'll get over it. She's a really old and dear friend. Still, doesnt mean I cant be alittle disappointed.

Thanks for letting me vent. Now back to our usually transmission.

Im still working on the blocks for a friend so Ive been doing a lot of blanket stitching and running stitching with some very fiddly metallic thread. They are looking really lovely. I hope she likes them. So rather than putting up a pic of the incomplete blocks (again) i'll put up some pics of the blocks I did for my lovely friend and her gorgeous bub.







These blocks are text on four sides and pics on the remaining two.

I need a weekend after my weekend

This weekend was totally crazy. I think we spent more time out of the house than we did in it! Saturdays are always busy with swimming in the morning (which is great because it means we are out of our pj's before 9am) and Sundays are family days. This weekend was extra busy with a christening and our wedding anniversary. We also had a friends catchup night on the saturday night so all in all it was madness. The poor kids had a meltdown last night and this is the first time i've been able to have 5 minutes to write up a quick entry.

Ive been busy with the sewing as well. Here are a few things I made on the weekend:





Here is a paisley elephant for baby F on his christening on Sunday. Eventually I'll also make a quilt with jungle animals on it (aforementioned lack of square cutting). The elephant theme comes from the invite for the christening (which was elepahnt shaped.)





Here is the quickly made crayon rolls for two littles sisters who I haven't seen since before christmas. These were their christmas presents. I whipped these up in about 2 hours. After making 14 for christmas presents in December, Ive become an expert at them. I didn't dread doing them as much as i'd thought. I actually enjoyed it. ITs that instant gratification thing.


Letter G for Grace... her birthday was only 3 weeks ago!!

Bunny eggs

What a day! Exhausting to say the least and the heat isn't helping. Melbourne is a funny city in that way. Its autumn and over the past few years autumn weather is just plain hot!

I feel like a slug in this weather. Dragging my bum around, turning round in circles with two kids trailing behind leaving an almighty mess. I cant tell you how many times i've bent over today to pick up after them. Good for the waistline I guess (Im trying optimism out).

In the midst of all this bum dragging and picking up I've managed to finish little bunny eggs for the little Easter basket I made a few days ago for our kinder raffle. Im not overly impressed with them though. I wish I had time to do them over. But me being me left it to the last minute and for some reason I am compelled to try something never attempted before in a very short space of time. Mum was over helping out with the kids so I had her sewing (I felt like a sweatshop manager) the bunny pieces together. My mum is the best.

There was no time to put in a little note explaining they they could be used for things like throwing into the basket or juggling. I'm hoping that whoever receives it will work it out.

Here are a few pics:


Here are the four bunny friends in their new home.


I took a pic of each of the little fellas but this was the only one that came out. I really need to get hubby to take these pics.


Blurry I know but it does show all four.

Quilts

Ive finally got the kids settled in bed and thought i'll keep quiet while they fall asleep and type up a new post.
My TO DO list is growing day by day with more birthdays, christenings, babies and easter all getting closer. I can tell its going to be a mad rush trying to get everything done. Im trying to get a quilt done for a baby's christening on Sunday but so far ive only cut out some squares. I dont think i'll get there. To make matters worse, I had the worst sleep and woke up with a headache that i cant seem to shake. The kids have been little terrors today which hasnt helped things. My fuse is very short today. I hope my sewing doesnt give me as much of a headache as my kids have.

These are some of the quilts im making or have made. Ive made one or two others but silly me forgot to take pics of them. They take an awfully long time to piece and as I have a very simple machine, quilting takes even longer. However, they are one of my favourite things to make and I know they will be treasured by those who receive them.



This is still incomplete. It is SOO bright im not sure what im going to do with it yet. I might make it larger and make it a quilt cover for GIll. She loves it.
Inspired by http://www.filminthefridge.com/2009/04/24/a-colorful-string-quilt/


Yet another incomplete quilt. Im hand quilting this one so its taking me a while. Eventually it will be a quilt for gorgeous baby Evie.
Pattern from the "Material Obsessions" book


Yup this one is completed!! A cot sized quilt for baby Joseph.
Another from the "Material Obsessions" book.


This quilt was the first quilt I made wihtout a pattern. I pretty much made it us as I went along. When I got to the border I realised that the green was way too bright so I cut out some butterflies and sewed them on. One day i'll take a better shot of this quilt as it really is quite pretty.

Cushions

As the existing work is at a standstill today (going to the zoo with two small children is exhausting) Im putting up a few pics of work that is now completed. Looking back on the work that Ive done, i realise that I have, infact, achieved something over the last twelve months. Even though Christmas almost sent me batty (sewing till all hours to get presents finished on Christmas Eve) I am pretty proud of what I have created.
Now the next step is to stop the procrastination and get on with making a living out of what I love doing.
I think i may have to enlist in the expert photography of my hubby as some of these items are kind of let down by the photos.

Today i'll put up a few pics of cushions that Ive made.


Japanese fabric floor cushion


Tree cushion


Cross stitched centre with side ties cushion cover

Cushion made for Gilly's little friend Lila


Something for Kate

W.I.P

Ive been working on a few things of late. Ive made a easter basket for a raffle at kinder and also making some baby squares for a friends niece. Here are some pics of my work in progress (squres) and completed basket (kinder raffle). I'll have to find a fun (quick) pattern for a bunny I think.

The four text sides of Lara's squares. I love working with decorative Japanese fabrics. I intend to quilt the sides using a Japanese technique.

This basket was made using an online tute found here: http://ayumills.blogspot.com/2008/05/tutorial-fabric-basket.html . It was pretty easy to do and I even managed my first box corners. Quite easy with the instructions given.


First boxed corner!

Existing creations

Ive been at this sewing caper for a couple of years now and have made stuff that I love and some that Im not so pleased with. As with everything, the more you push yourself the more you find that you can do. When it comes to sewing and general creating, I love to try something with a tute or pattern and then just go off and do a variation of the thing i've taught myself. From this process Ive found that I LOVE to applique. Here are a few pics of appliqued work, both my own design and that of others.



Cushion made for my niece Mia. Applique attached by fusible webbing and then blanket stitched. My own design.

Side view. Side fastening cushion. No zips!

Quilt design taken from "Material Obsession"

Let the sew begin

Hi! Thanks for visiting. This blog is intended as a creative outlet for me to document what Im working on so I dont have to bore all my friends on facebook.
Its also a space where I'd love like minded crafters to look and comment on my work, provide feedback and generally get to know all those people out there who have the same passion as me.