Stitching Without a Machine

With my sewing machines away being serviced and not wanting to stitch bindings down (another story for another day) I joined Sarah's Little Things Club. There are six paper pieced projects that finish at approx 12" x 14", and each project is a different English Paper Piecing shape. A great way to try out different shapes without taking on a large project or ending up with odd bits of paper piecing that don't make anything.

The first month was clamshells and Sarah has sent this in French General fabrics, oooh so nice! At first I didn't like doing these but after a few rows I got the hand of it and flew along. Mr Busy saw it one night and when I told him about the others he suggested that I join them all up for a larger quilt. I thought it was a great idea but with each mini quilt being not identical in size it wouldn't work; also these are coming in different fabrics so my choice is to keep them as individual projects.

Back in March the girls all went to Girls Day Out in the Country at Nundle. I stayed home because I was due to have a baby shortly and wasn't up to a big day out. The guest tutor was Sue Daley and I wanted to join in so I started on this paper pieced pincushion for an October birthday present.

I think I got about half of the pincushion completed then it sat aside until October, of course! I finished it a week before the birthday (lucky this was later than I thought the birthday was!) so it arrived in plenty of time.

I intended to fill the pincushion with some silica sand or crushed walnut shells but having no machine meant I was unable to sew up an inside lining to keep the insides in, so I filled the pincushion with toy fill. Kylie loved her pincushion, and making it in some of her favourite fabrics was an easy choice. The hard part was choosing buttons!

While my sewing machines were away (about three months gone in total) I bought another one. A beautiful early 1900s Singer treadle machine. I have wanted one of these for a few years now but Mr Busy was dead against it before, and for some reason he agreed to me purchasing the 'dust collector' as he calls them.

It needs a bobbin and a stitching plate but I am sure I will come across these somewhere. The kids are fascinated with it,can't wait to try it out. The day this came home my seven year old son sat at it and sewed up his teddy bear by hand - very inspiring!

Bec xxx

FIS Hatched and Patched

 This is what Kerri made for me, the gorgeous 'Smell the Roses' bag from Anni's book 'A Gardeners Journal'. I love the teal/blue fabric she made the bag from....so rapt to recieve something so beautiful! Thanks Kerri! I have used the bag on every trip to town since recieving it; lots of room inside!

This is what I made for Razzy. I made her up a sewing set using patterns of Anni's from here and there; tied together with the same stitchery/applique pattern. The bag is 'Petite Sewing Set' pattern, the needlecase is a 'Simple Stitchings' pattern, the scissor fob was in the book 'Simple Pleasures' and for the pincushion I used a pincushion pattern for the shape and enlarged the red bird stitchery (''In the Life of a Bag" book) and made it into a wool applique. I even used some of the fabric that I used to make my 'Gardeners Journal' quilt. Love what I made, it was fun making up a sewing set.

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post, I have been laid up though. Had a minor surgery on my foot and the stitches only came out yesterday so I am still hobbling about. I have done only a little sewing, and that is secret sewing for a FIS birthday. I have the bookwork for the farm up to date and have been reading alot. I recently discovered Julie Klassen. So if you are a Jane Austen fan you will love Julie Klassen. Another recent favourite is Cassandra Clare....eagerly awaiting the next book in the mail!

What are you reading?

Lovely Things....

 I don't know where the rest of March went, nor do I know where nearly half of April has gone; but I do know that time has slipped by far too quickly since I last blogged, and I have so much to share!

Earlier in the year I was in a colour swap that Maree from On My Verandah organised. I sent green things to Cheryl and I recieved pink things from Toni. Gorgeous pink things. There were also a number of yummy pink things (lifesavers, marshmallows, turkish delight to name a few) to eat but they didn't make it to the picture. The parcel arrived on a day I needed a pick me up. I had just arrived home from doing a 10 hour return trip to pick up solar panels for DH; I had four of the children with me and a hellof a load in the trailer; and big mountains to drive down....fun day....so Toni's parcel put a big grin on my face when I got home!

I forgot to take a pic of the greens I sent.

 Toni covered the buttons herself, gorgeous bits...Thanks Toni!

 Another swap that I was in recently was for the Girls Day in the Country at Nundle last month. We had to make something designed by Hatched and Patched (the guest tutor) with a size limit.

Having just finished my Gardeners Journal quilt I used some of the beautiful border fabric to make this needlcase, LOL, with a GJ stitchery - love the ladybug!

 This is the inside of the needlecase.

A lovely lady named Di, who has recently started stitching recieved the needlecase I made; she was so excited!

The swap gift I recieved was made by my friend Dawnie! She made Anni's dog pincushion, which I love. I don't have one of Anni's pincushions for myself though I have made a few, so this is just fantastic, I love it thanks Dawnie!

This parcel is yet another swap parcel! The online stitching group I am in has also had a Hatched and Patched swap (no size requirements). Opening night is Friday next week. I made for Razzy in the group and my parcel was posted to her yesterday. Can't wait to see if she likes what I made! I had lots of fun making this swap gift, did something a little different but still within the guidelines. Will share these swap gifts next weekend.

Please forgive me for not putting links in, the internet is running pretty slow here this afternoon.

10 Days on...

I think you had better get a cup of tea or coffee as this post has turned out to be WAAAY longer than I intended when I first started writing.....

10 days ago I fell down some steps.

There were only two of them but the lower one isn't as wide as the top one; I step off towards the side to avoid the big mud puddle that sits in the middle at the bottom of the step. AND because I am a sparky's wife we have lights in the sheds but NOT outside. It was night when I fell and my poor little boy was in my arms at the time. He was quite shocked to have his mummy suddenly fall screaming to the ground. Aside from the shock he was fine. I was not. LOL.

Somehow I made the long and painful trip into the hospital, funnily enough there was another patient in the emergency room (our hospital is small) with his ankle bound up in bandages and crutches near by! Good news, the Dr said he would eat his hat if I had broken bones in my foot and sent me home on crutches.

Crutches are not fun to use, especially in my circumstances. To leave the loungeroom/bedroom part of the house I have to go down about 7 very narrow and steep stairs (no railing of course); then negotiate about 25m of postholes (waiting for posts), uneven ground and lots of mud. This the only way to get to the bathroom and kitchen at present.

I can now hobble to the bathroom without the crutches almost causing another accident, which is much better.

Where the icepacks sat on my foot I only had mild yellow bruising come up. Amazing stuff that frozen water! The rest of my foot was not pretty. In the photo below the bruising has cleared up alot since it first came out.

Now I am hobbling about and helping more with everyday things but it will be another week or so before my foot is back to normal and pain free.

A few days ago my second youngest son, who is almost 5 yrs old, suddenly had a bad foot like mum. I found him lying on the lounge with pillows under his head and his foot, complete with ice pack!

Paper Bag Swap

I am making for Peg in the paperbag swap that with the Friends in Stitching webgroup that I involved with. She has sent me a stitchery (beautiful, as everything is that Peg makes!), two fat quarters, two buttons and some gorgeous ricrac to make SOMETHING for her!

I have no idea what yet, any ideas? Don't you just love how she decorated her paper bag? Just beautiful! My bag, that I sent to Leanne who is making for me, wasn't decorated nearly as creatively - sorry Leanne.

Part of the swap was that you had to put in something chocolate for your partner. Peg put in a couple of my favourite chocolates and some for the kids; but they aren't in the pic's as they were enjoyed last week when I was lounge bound. This is the back of Peg's gorgous bag.

While I have been laid up; between handing out extra chores and schooling the children; I have done some stitching. I already had the two little stitcheries done, and part of the house before my accident. Weeding the Garden should be finished tonight, all things going well. So when I am able to sit at the machine again I will have three blocks to put together for Gardeners Journal.

One day last week I had had enough of the stitcheries and decided it was high time that I got this pincushion made for DDs upcoming birthday. It is made from wool and was just divine to stitch on. DD went back and forth to the iron and did the pressing for me. LOL, a couple of pieces have a slightly brown tinge to them! So far she has forgotten that she asked me ages ago to make this for her.... The yellow pin is a pintopper, gorgeous!

Last of all Mr Busy has started to paint the house. I take ages to pick paint colours. He was in a rush and not happy because I hadn't decided. He didn't want to paint it mid to dark blue like I wanted so I told him to pick a colour. He chose violet from a traditional colour scheme, but I told him he had to have a darker colour as our windows, roof, gutter and fascia are all light in colour and we needed some contrast.

So the house is Intense Purple. I love the colour. I am not sure if it is right for the outside of the house though. Maybe I have been too used to seeing the white undercoat for the past four years???? Once the verandah sides are done I will be able to get a better idea of it. The only side painted at present doesn't have a verandah off it so it is rather exposed and bare looking.

Don't you love our temporary verandah rails made from sheep yard panels......