Two posts in two days!

I was pretty productive in class tonight, so I thought I would share my results. My wall hanging is almost done (yay!).

As you can see I finished the borders around the stitcheries and sewed on the patchwork sections. It is all very bright. I am wondering if it is ugly....so hard to judge given I have been looking at this fabric for months!


And I have selected the fabric for my border and backing. Dots! Apologies for the colours, taking photos indoors at night doesn't really represent the true look of the work. Maybe one day I will actually get home from work before dark so I can take a decent natural light photo! Then again, I am probably just dreaming.....

I wonder if I will get any time to finish this before I go to WA....hmmmm.......almost tempted to keep going tonight, but Ladette to Lady is very distracting!

Gozleme and other things

Okay, so I should be working on a presentation I have to give for work tomorrow, but it has been a while since my last update, so I thought I should add some piccies of what I have been up to.

Mum and I have had a slight obsession with gozleme for a little while now, and have been meaning to try and make some ourselves for almost as long. Well, last week mum decided to put her talents to good use and make some! Of course I turned up just in time to eat it


The filling- lamb mince mix, spinach, feta

Mum made the dough

Frying it up

The finished product! Yum yum. I managed to gulp it down pretty fast! There was even enough for leftovers for Saturday lunch. Thanks mum!

Onto other things now. Millie the cat is definitely in the crazy season (well, crazier than normal, if that is possible). I think she is hunting birds here...

Back to craft. I have been progressing well with my christmas baubles. I have sewn half of them, and after that all I need to do is stuff them and make the bit to hang them from my tree. Which reminds me, I should take a photo of my new tree (although it is a tad sad looking at the moment, it has no decorations).

There is an interesting story behind the tree. I spotted this cute little 3 foot tree when the Christmas stuff first came out. It was $55, which I thought wasn't too bad. Anyway, fast track a few weeks and I was at a particular store (names removed of course), and decided I was gonna get me that tree! So up to the counter I go (they obviously do not just leave boxes of the trees lying around for self service). So I wait...and I wait, whilst some lady decides to have a conversation with a friend. When she finally decides she is bored enough to serve me and I ask for the tree. To cut a long story short, it seems all a little bit too hard for her to just get me the tree, so I leave the store and tell her don't bother. The next day I was at another shop (yes, I shop a lot) from the same chain. In I wander, not really thinking about the tree at all, and what appears before my eyes, but the tree, on sale, 30% off! Woohoo, tree now costs something like $34. Needless to say I was quite happy about this. So to the woman who made things difficult, I saved myself 30% because of you! It must have been fate.

Anyway, I digree. Craft again. I have been working on my wall hanging in class. Tomorrow I reckon I will be pretty close to finishing it off in patchwork class. All I really need to do is sew a couple of borders round the stitcherys, attach the patchwork squares, and do the back. Will update after tomorrow night to let you know how I go with that.

So a few things are coming together, which means I may actually progress onto some new projects. I am off to WA for about 10 days on Friday, so I will take some sewing with me (and reading- currently reading Anna Karenina!) and see what I can get through.

Until next time....

Keeping Crafty

Wow, what a busy couple of weeks. I have been holding off blogging in the belief that I haven't actually done anything worth blogging about, but when I went to download all my photos I realised that despite all my work stuff, I have actually been relatively productive craft wise. I haven't even managed to add any photos on the progess of my wall hanging project (I have cut all the patchwork blocks, just need to put the strips together and make it look pretty).

Anyway, here is a rundown of what I have done and taken piccies of.

Yesterday I went to the Christine Book sewing get together, held at Mamre House. It was perfect crafty weather (i.e. wet and a little cool). The theme for this years get together was blue birds, and upon spotting some hints of the day on Marg Low's blog, I couldn't say no when my mum asked me to go along with her.

We were pretty spoilt for choice on the day. We had a bunch of projects to choose from...

Isn't the display pretty?!

If only we could take these goodies....lovely birdies!

I had my eye on a few projects, but I thought I would go for the stitchery heart and bird button, as the example below shows....

We did manage to get given patterns for everything else, so I got myself some fabric and buttons to do one of these tags somewhere down the track (yes, I know I promised myself I would not buy any more projects...but I did!)

We also got an awesome goodies bag on the day, which as well as the patterns for everything included....

This birdie button by Theodora Cleave designs

A pattern from the Home Patch (hmm, Xmas present idea?!)

Some yummy bird fabric!

Christine's bluebird patterns

and Marg Low's patterns.....so nice!

I have progressed pretty well with my chosen project, almost finished all the stitching...

Just doing the little crosses

Apart from that, I have also been working on my Christmas wool baubles. I cut all the bits out and have managed to make a mess at mums with my work...

I have finished the stitching of 3 of the 6 feature pieces. I don't think it will take me long to finish these off, if I find the time!

I also got some nice little presents on the weekend too from Aunty Diane. She just returned from the UK where she was cleaning up her Aunt's place (she passed away recently), and she came across these finds. One is a dragonfly brooch, and the other pieces are bakelite buttons! They are so cool. I am not sure how I am going to use these things yet, whether it will be for jewellery or on something crafty, but I can't wait.

So all in all I have managed to progress with a few projects. Multi-tasking, how talented of me! Haha

Hopefully the next blog I can show some finished pieces!

Pin cushion

I managed to work some more on my pincushion at patchwork class the other night. All the wool felt bits are done now, I just need to put it together.

I also decided on my next project. I decided to do the Creature Comforts block from Cinderberry Stitches. I ordered it on Sunday hoping it might arrive before patchwork on Tuesday (but it didn't, hence the pincushion work). I decided that I am going to make the squares around the stitchery using left over fabric from my table runner. The insipiration hit me while I was in bed on Saturday night, cause of the similarities between my fabrics and the original pattern. Anyway, my pattern arrived today (good birthday present) so I can start it next class, if not earlier.

Tonight was jewellery class and I made two pieces (well, 3 technically). I am going to give away what I made as presents. One item is for a lady at work, for her bday next week....and the others are really cool, but I can't show them, as they are for a special person who may potentially read this blog and I don't want the secret to be revealed just yet ;)

And to finish tonight's blog, here is a very lovely present I got tonight for my birthday from the wonderful and extremely talented Beadywitch...

I have already put my needles in it (they were previously located in my lounge, potentially a dangerous option). How yummy does it look?!

Oh, and one final one, Amelie and Atticus gave me some awesome stitchery patterns (including one of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland) for my b'day too so will post some piccies once I get round to stitching them up....

'Til next time................

Table Runner Over and Out

It's done! I finally finished all the hand quilting on the table runner. It is not perfect, so don't look close, but I think it has come up okay for a first timer. The only problem I face now is trying to work out which table to run it on! I actually wish I had a chest of drawers in my room which I could put it on, then arrange my jewellery on top of. That would be the ideal location. Until then, I will leave it on the coffee table in my lounge room so I can stare at it when I get bored.

I think I may have also worked out what I want to do next....another completely new project of course (the ones waiting in the wings can wait a bit longer!). Last night I was looking at the Cinderberry Stitches blog and got really excited about two patterns...

The Tail Feathers Quilt

and....

Creature Comforts

Hopefully I can manage to get hold of one of them (maybe at the Stitches and Craft show next weekend?!?!) and make them. I find the stitcheries really cute.

Onto books now, and I just managed to pick up the next selection for my Book Club. We are reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides....

I will start on it once I have finished reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Can't wait to see the movie adaptation of it.

Still alive

Okay, okay, yes I have been slack. I have been partaking in some craftiness, but I have been too busy to take photos and write an update. I also hate taking pics of my work at night, cause the lights here are hopeless, but I never seem to get any free time during the day so night pics will have to do!

So since my last update I have been up to a fair bit. Patchwork classes resumed, and I bit the bullet and with some help from my wonderful teacher (I am saying this without prompting, of course she doesn't read this blog... :P) I managed to get a handle on hand quilting.

I did a bit of quilting on the ends and round the flowers, but decided last night I needed to put a bit more in by putting crosses over every second square.

Hopefully I can finish it before Tuesday's class so I can start on a new project!

As well as the quilting I have also been doing my usual Thursday jewellery classes. The last couple of weeks we have been working with chain mail designs. Last week I made a bracelet and some earrings.

Tonight we did some continuation of the chain mail type stuff. In all of these pieces we had to make all the jump rings (the round wire sections) by wrapping the wire around knitting needles. The bracelet I made tonight is a real fave. Made all the rings, then linked them, then threaded some beads through the middle. Could be a good present idea for Xmas

So all in all despite being hectically busy at work, I have managed to get a few projects done :) With any luck work will calm down a bit and I will finish my other half finished projects, including my pin cushion (I have been a bit slack!)

And one final picture to end the blog. This is the cool design the barrista put on the coffee when Mum, Dad and I went to dinner in Bathurst. How cool is it?!?!

Got the craft mojo back!

Okay, well my mojo wasn't really gone as such...but I was otherwise occupied with work and my blog (and craft) was thus neglected. I can say I was too lax with craft though. Before I headed off to Melbourne last week I had a craft day with Amelie and Atticus. I was semi productive I guess. I managed to tack my table runner....

I am actually really scared of the hand quilting. I think I am going to cheat and do some bits on the machine because otherwise it is going to take me 10 years to finish this!

The other thing I worked on was my pincusion from The Home Patch. So far I have cut out all the tiny felt bits....

All I need to do now is iron them on and then whip stitch them. Hopefully it is easy enough! Guess you will see when I am done.

Tonight I am also working on another project. I am making a pendant for a friend of mine. I am going to make it into a necklace which she is giving to a friend for her b'day. Anyone who is my facebook friend would recognise this pendant, as I made a similar one earlier this year for my friend Christine.

Getting ready there

Fabric in, now to add the dragonfly charm

Drying time!

I hope I wake up in the morning and it all works out.

Anyway, a long blog, so I won't elaborate on my Melbourne trip this time, other than to say I paid a visit to Patchwork on Central Park and got some fabric for Amelie and Atticus, as well as myself....

I have no idea what I am going to make with it yet, but it's Alice in Wonderland design and it's COOL.

Time to go and read I think. Next time, a few piccies from Melbourne, and some talk about future projects and BOOKS!