Apple Pincushion!

If it seems like I have been doing very little sewing - your are absolutely right! My goodness, transferring from the old to the new computer has been a big deal - poor son-in-law and I had a few very serious disagreements, but at least here we are. Oh, I guess only 3 days to get completely set up is not too bad!

I have gone pincushion crazy lately - Heather Bailey's fabulous pattern! - to date, two pears and one apple. Wow, it is a great pattern!

The apple is sculpted - see the indent in the bottom and it sits beautifully, too!

Preparation for a shaggy baby quilt - hope to get some sewing done today!

We are currently going through some of the worst weather I have ever experienced - very squally wind and rain - but then, we live a 10 minute walk from the Indian Ocean, so we are really copping it. When I lived in the tropics, I went through several cyclones and it was as bad as this - we even had a tile fly off our roof at 4am and were so lucky to have Emergency Services come out and temporarily patch the spot up with a tarp and sandbag. It should all settle this afternoon - let's hope so!

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I will be able to read so many more blogs now and answer emails so much more quickly now I have this speedy little girl to help me on may way - really looking forward to it!

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Have a lovely week!

Rumi's Giveaway!

I did have a couple of pics to post, but I'm in a maze of leads here and don't know how to plug my camera in - it's all happening, the new computer is being installed and meanwhile I am working at a very uncomfortable angle on Dear Old Faithful!

Check out the gorgeous little bag above - please visit Rumi at Lucky Frog and enter her Giveaway! She is a gorgeous girl and thinking she won't have many Comments - let's surprise her - and the little bag is just adorable, I'm sure you would love to win it!

Another great spot to visit today - Janet at Quiltsalott - this girl is amazing, her little fingers must work at the speed of lightning! Breathtaking - you won't be sorry!

Happy weekend - I am going to slink away and make an apple pincushion until my computer geek arrives!

Green Tea and Sweet Beans - June!

After all the lack of confidence about doing the little Propeller blocks (Whirlygigs - I call them) - here they are and I stitched them on the machine. The Wedding Chain block, I showed you recently, I stitched that by hand. Rita from Red Pepper Quilts gave me a few very helpful tips - thanks, Rita! I love Pinwheels and Whirlygigs in a quilt as they create movement!

Very, very busy and colourful, I know - but, I love all the cute fabrics - I included some fabrics from a few of my favourite people, so some happy memories there. Jennifer Kingwell of Amitie has really got me going and I can't wait for July's block to arrive! Some lovely bright colour in very dreary, wet, cold weather!
I'm off to pick up my new computer now - wish me luck!

PS - for all the NRL fans, whoohoo Queensland - you've done it again!

SEWN Giveaway Announcement!

Monday morning our time - June 22 and this is what I was doing, above - I should have been notifying my SEWN Giveaway winner - here's a nice surprise for a lady who so generously gives of her time to all things quilty and bloggy - yes, Maree it is you, congratulations! Maree of On My Verandah was person 22 to leave a Comment and that was how a winner was chosen! Lots and lots of Comments came from my very faithful Followers and I'm sorry I couldn't give a little buzz to lots more!

Isn't this a grim picture? My beautiful? front garden - no roses for a few months, I'm afraid! Dear Danielle and I each worked for over 3 hours solid, a sore back and legs today, and we are supposed to be doing the back garden this morning. It is very wet and miserable out there so I hope Danielle decides to give it a pass. The quote to have the gardens done was $160 for 4 hours - whew, some skilled people who work in mining and construction in this state don't earn any more than that and do we ever get receipts when we pay this type of worker? - all food for thought isn't it? Off your soapbox, Girl!

My miserable little bit of stitching! Still embroidering in the evening and Sunday night decided to do a Pie - the start of my Pies and Tarts Quilt. With a bit of luck I'll get to the machine today!
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Happy week everyone!

Another Pincushion Pear!

Yes, another pear - this is for my partner in the Pincushion Swap! I really enjoy making these cuties and an apple is next on the agenda - Heather Bailey's wonderful pattern has a pear, an apple, a tomato and a strawberry! I hope the next is for moi!

I will include two Kaffe fat-quarters - seems everyone loves Kaffe! So do I and I don't have a lot, so that is some fabric I must stack up on!

There has been little done in the way of sewing this week - the above is one little 6 1/2" square hand-pieced from my BOM, Sugar Beans and Green Tea. The whirlygigs, I haven't started - thought about it last night. Now don't laugh at me, I told you I had sewn only a little bit!

This is only a small part of my tidy-up! This grand old cupboard used to be Mum's and Dad's linen press - still plodding along nicely and serving it's purpose! See up top left - metreage, and I really don't have a lot of it. Variety fabrics - stacks, and I have code fabrics in front of the boxes to tell me what is stored in each.

Some of my threads - those in the right-hand slot are hand-quilting threads and some of those underneath in the second slot, too. The bottom of the left-hand slot all of the thread I have left of general purpose sewing thread - I like to use Rasant, but not freely available here! Scissors, I think I unearthed 12 pairs, shhhh!

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All very boring, and still a bit more of boredom today - hopefully a little sewing this afternoon. I also had a big, big, clean-out of 'My Office' this week and yesterday ordered my new computer, hooray! It will be built by next Thursday and hopefully my Best Friend of the Moment (son-in-law, Adrian) will set it all up next weekend!
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Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend - cold, wet and very blustery here!

PS - don't forget my little Giveaway will be selected tomorrow!

PPS - is it okay if I do not Reply to Comments in the previous Post, please? Thank you to everyone who has left a Comment - that's wonderful!

SEWN Launch Party Giveaway!

This Post is a little bit late in timing! However, here's what it is all about - I originally had joined up the SEWN Launch Party Giveaway and intended doing a giveaway, but as you know things catch up with me from time to time! I received an email from Sarah, saying I was one of the winners of the launch of her new site - I am so very thrilled, but one can hardly be a winner if one hasn't fulfilled one's commitment, can one? Oh, this is starting to sound so funny!

Here is my giveaway - a delightful pincushion designed by Heather Bailey (a really fun pincushion to make!) and two of Kaffe's fat quarters - I really welcome Comments and let your friends know, as I would like to help Sarah out with her new venture - she has given so much to Australia with her two books done in partnership, Material Obsession and Material Obsession 2!
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I'll close off the giveaway Monday morning - our time - June 22 - so good luck and please visit Sarah's new site SEWN by clicking the button on my sidebar - you are in for a lovely surprise!

PS - I am happy to post Internationally as the parcel should be quite light, so please let me know if you are interested - Sarah Fielke does have international followers and I'm sure you will find a lot of inspiration there over time!

Two Treasures!

As you know I am doing a big tidy-up, sort of getting there - though the family don't think so! Above is the best treasure a girl could have - my mentor, my role model, my Dad♥ In this pic I guess he was about 3 years old - now he would be 97! I knew I had this photo - somewhere? I will get it restored and hang it in my re-vamped 'Sewing Studio'. My eldest grandson, Tyler was so like Dad when he was a little boy - a little bit of Byron there too, I think!

This was Dad's tool box, now used for storing my batting! Age unknown, but I know it was covered in many layers of lead-based paint and I restored it to this wonderful piece - so many dints and battering showing the journey it has been on - we think perhaps 150 years old, it has been in Dad's family so long.

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I've enjoyed reminiscing - back to work - hope you are all having a happy weekend!

The Big Tidy-Up!

What a week - the big tidy-up is on and everyone thinks I have gone crazy! I guess we all get like that at times - nothing is neat enough! Lucky I have my little slave driver to help me along - DD, Danielle moves likes greased lightning and I have to try to keep up with her!

We were sitting down having a cuppa when the mailman arrived - look at this wonderful surprise that came in the Pincushion Swap - it was sent by Karrin and I am really so thrilled and happy, thank you, Karrin♥

Lots of gorgeous pink fabrics, a Quick Unpick and such a gorgeous girly pincushion - how very thoughtful! I must finish off my swap today and get it posted!

Another little surprise above - from Stephanie - a gorgeous little fabric pack and some new pins for my new pincushion - will look cute, won't it? Thank you so much Stephanie and you really shouldn't have - though I must admit I love surprises! This has been a week for them and I just love that feeling!

Shopping last week at Ikea with a big tidy-up in mind, I bought this great set of little drawers - they are metal, but still look nice and hopefully will eliminate that 'big black hole' that seems to be with me constantly wherever I live - I am forever putting things in a really safe place and then forget where that place is - a few more days of tidying and I am sure I will fill it up! I wish I could find a fabric sorter out there - one that could group everything just where I want it - never mind, I'll get there, I guess!

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Another weekend nearly upon us - all you lucky girls at the Sydney Show will be having a wonderful time - make sure you visit www.quiltersguildnsw.com/quiltshow go through all the categories - really wonderful!

Where Did The Week Go?

Time flies so fast - I haven't accomplished a great deal - lots of little finishes and a little start on my Pincushion Swap! I have managed to puddle along on my Redwork in the evenings (except Wednesday, of course - State of Origin - yay Queensland!)!

Three more little baskets done at sewing group on Thursday!

This is all pretty exciting! Rita, from Redpepper Quilts showed her great new quilt made from this magazine! I find a lot of work of Rita's is just so beautifully styled and finished and she seems to churn it out - do pop over and pay a visit!

This is the finished quilt illustrated here above and below are some fabrics that I hope to play with this weekend!

See the gorgeous handkerchief linens underneath - white, birch and hessian. Just going through my stash - I thought perhaps these will make a lovely table runner in this design for my Christmas in July Swap! Look okay?

Last, but not least - who's the Lucky Girl? I will be the envy of everyone with my 'old' copy of this magazine! Seems to me it was published ages ago and I have always kept it in a special place. I have so few Quilters Companions, it is quite amazing! I know lots of you visit Janet of Quiltsalott - if you don't I bet you will now - she has this glorious quilt as part of her Blog Header! Only a taste of the beautiful work Janet does!
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Happy Weekend everyone - I think for you folks in the Eastern States of Australia, it is a long weekend, celebrating the Queen's Birthday - have fun!

A SangSang Weekend!

And now there are three! All designed by Melly & me!

Danielle and I did achieve this weekend and wow! - what a buzz! Here are our little Korean dolls ! Now the very exciting part of this is - Danielle doesn't sew, or didn't! Her little dolly is on the right and with guidance from me this is the outcome - she was scared stiff of the machine which I had put on a triple strength stitch - terrified of the stuffing bit and then her hand-sewing of the openings was as neat as a pin. Danielle is quite artistic so she had lots of fun with the faces. Already she has chosen fabrics for several more and a pink, black and white retro one is next on the agenda!

This is my little girl with the buttonholing done around her face - there will be more of her to come! I think she is as cute as apple pie!

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Happy week everyone!