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Monday, January 24, 2011

I was going to sew but...

I was going to sew this afternoon after getting ready to host book group tonight.  However Charlie decided that he would rather be Houdini and returned home looking like this...
one leg done, the other left
I was just seeing off the intruder that was trying to attack my bone collection
Two hours later he was burr free and had a very quiet hour inside before going out to have his dinner and then disappearing again.  I was not amused!

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Sunday, January 23, 2011

Another UFO bites the dust!

I have just finished another UFO project.  Hooray for me!
my completed Leanne Beasley's stitchery project from the Immerse yourself in stitchery day last September

At the start of 2010 I made a list of all of my unfinished projects.  Obviously things I started during the year were also added to the list!  In Challenge Group we have to show progress on the completion of projects from the list - so far I had reduced my list by three items.  My challenge for 2011 is to try and get the list as close to finished as possible.  What do you think about my chances?
My UFO list...
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Saturday, January 22, 2011

Fabric Frolic loot!

I had a fantastic day out on Friday on the Outer Eastern Fabric Frolic.  Lots of purchases and a very lovely lunch at the Patchwork Tea House in Warburton.

Here is a look at my purchases loot!
Lily Patches - Fig Tree Quilts fabric
Craftpaks - some more Fig Tree Quilts Fabric and some Robyn Pandolph
Michelle's Sewing Basket - make and take workshop was a zippered bag, so I got some more zips!
Missy Moo Cottage Craft - Anni Downs book and more Robyn Pandolph fabric
The Patchwork Tea House - purchased a lovely Tilda book, Fig Tree Quilts Pattern and some more fabric!
Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop - some beautiful Viv's Creations bird patterns.
Foothills Fabrics and Threads - a lovely Bunny Hill Design and a cute fat quarter.
Attic Quilts - my favourite fabric line is Lake House Dry Goods so I could not go past this collection!
 I already have some projects in mind for all this fabric, I am sure you will see some of it in a number of projects in the coming months.
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Thursday, January 20, 2011

Outer Eastern Fabric Frolic

Tomorrow I am heading off with Kathy, Marie, Rikki and Kaye on the Outer Eastern Fabric Frolic.  In one day we visit all eight Patchwork shops, purchase fabric and get our passports stamped.  The prize this year is a sewing machine and I am hoping that this is the year that I win it!  I do the fabric frolic every year - it has become the annual end of summer holidays activity, I love seeing what the different shops stock in terms of patterns and fabrics.  It is lots of fun and I recommend completing the activity.  I'll make sure I post and share my loot!
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Challenge Group - finally finished!


After several late nights sewing, cutting, and more sewing I have finally finished my Antique Flower Garden quilt.  I have to say that until the final pieced border went on I was not really enamoured with it... glad I had learnt how to needle turn appliqué but not exactly in love with the almost completed project.  Anyway all those thoughts changed once the final border went on...  I have to say that I am happy with the completed quilt even though there is a giant mistake that I am not happy about but can't fix unless I take the whole thing apart.  However I am not going to point out the mistake cos everyone assures me that it is not that noticeable.  Is it obvious and they are just being polite?

In celebration of the end of the 2010 Challenge we went and had breakfast at Lintons Cafe in Mt Eliza where Trish was awarded the Challenge Group Trophy.  As the previous winner I was the treasurer this year and was horrified to realise that while 2nd last I had paid a total of $30 in fines, Nicky had paid $40 and Rachel only $5.  This meant that breakfast was cheap!  On the bright side it has made me all the more determined not to pay a single fine in 2011.  I have even started and almost completed my first block for the 2011 Challenge.  All will be revealed in my next post...

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Wednesday, January 12, 2011

A Birthday Gift

 Angela, my Aunt, is a quilter too!  It was her birthday last week and I made this finger pin cushion.  She does a lot of hand piecing, appliqué and quilting and I have noticed that others find a finger pin cushion very handy.  She didn't have one so I made it!  I found my inspiration from Shannon makes stuff and Very Big Jen.  Please note that I had a manicure the day of the photo and my purple/black nails were not selected to match the pin cushion, though it is an amazing coincidence!

And what did we do BG (Before Google)?  Every time I want to make a small project I have done a quick search on Google and usually find a number of different and interesting options.  These sites have proven to be very helpful, particularly for me as they offer visual explanations of each step.

My fabulous pencil case, it is fabulous cos I have had it for over ten years and while small is carries a veritable treasure trove of items, anyway it has a broken zipper.  So I guess the next project is a zipper pencil case...
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Saturday, January 1, 2011

Wrist Pin Cushion

Kathy, my mum, has a long arm quilting machine and she has found that having a wrist pin cushion is essential when working on a quilt.  A couple of months ago while I was visiting her home I noticed the wrist pin cushion that she was using.  It was obviously made very quickly and was not very attractive.  The worst part was that as it had no backing material most pins scratched her arm if they went into the pin cushion too far.  Kathy said that she would love a pin cushion for Christmas.  I got the hint but I didn't want to make just a plain boring pin cushion.  A quick search of the Internet resulted in a number of inspiring options from Girl in Pink, Flutterby Patch, Embroidery Garden, Needle Book, and Keyka Lou.  I decided to make one that was was a combination of a few of them, a wider cuff would ensure that the elastic would not leave marks on the arm and I decided to use templastic to create a hard disk to ensure that the pins wouldn't hit the skin when in the pin cushion.  I used leftover Mrs March fabric from my Antique Flower Garden Quilt to create a Jane Austenish pin cushion!

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