Sewing for Miss A....

Miss A hasn't missed out, either. Of course, she isn't old enough for a bed yet, so I have time to do her a cushion and snake.

As my Son G, DIL D and Granddaughter Miss A (or Miss M if we use her abbreviated name) are moving back here from Tasmania (oh joy oh joy! ) in 2 weeks, I thought it would be nice to make a couple of summer tops/dresses for Miss A to wear in this warmer weather.

This little top is reversible....



Floral top....which can be turned inside out to...

a pink top!

This Care Bear top/mini dress has bear buttons added. When my hand is better and more co-operative, I will make 2 white bows and add them to the top, near the hemline at  the front sides.

Recent photos

She's such a happy little soul. Can hardly wait to get her here and give her lots and lots of cuddles. :)

And yes, there is more sewing to show and tell.....told you it has been a productive month!

Cheers,

For The "Big Boy Bed"

February has been a very productive month, so far, in my sewing room.

First up was this cushion for Master M (Grandson). He has moved out of his cot and into a "big boy bed" so Nana (moi) decided to make a cushion for him out of this lovely Hoot owl fabric. He loves Giggle and Hoot - a children's programme on ABC2 here in Australia.

Front

Back

 Then, of course, I made this snake, to be tucked in beside him to help prevent him falling out.... it really needs to be longer, to match its fatness, but it needed to fit in the bed, which is a toddler sized bed, not a single. I can add lengthe to it later if wanted. :)

I think the snake was a big hit! :))

I have made more, but I'll save them for other posts.
Cheers,

Stitching

In the last few weeks, I have been managing to find some time to do some hand sewing. One project I am working on, is this one by Ella and Skysie:

I have slowly been finishing each of these pre-printed stitcheries. 6 are now finished and I only have 3 to go.
This is what I have done so far:

The stitcheries on the pattern are mainly in pink, brown and green, to match the colours used in the borders. I haven't decided what fabric to use for the borders, but there will probably be more colour, so I am doing these in the colours that appeal to me. The original also uses colour pencils to in-fill sections. I haven't decided whether to do that or not, as yet. If I do, it will only be small areas.
I also have to decide if this will be a wall hanging (not much wall space left in our house! lol) or a lap quilt.

What have you been working on as a longer term project?

Something finished

I am not a knitter. In fact, apart from doing a small sample square in sewing when I was young, I have never knitted anything. I had an Aunt who did beautiful knitting for us kids and teens, so why bother?

I did make a crocheted top and some berets back in the 70s, but nothing since.

Then I saw this wool......



and just had to buy it.

I was going to make a crocheted scarf, but my daughter commented that it would look good as a poncho for my Grandson.....

I searched on the internet (wonderful place!) and found a very simple pattern, which could be crocheted or knitted. I tried a couple of rows crocheted, but it was just too thick and bulky, so I decided to give knitting a go. After all, I only needed to make 2 rectangles and stitch them together!

It has only taken me 4 evenings! :)

Can't wait to give it to him and see how it looks! :)

 

Lucky lucky me!

Why am I so Lucky and so Happy?

Because I have a wonderful swap partner in Melody! Look at what she has made me for my Christmas Santa Stocking Swap.....



 I love it! The colours are so fresh and yummy (I have eyed this range off on other blogs but could not justify buying them so that is an extra bonus!) and the Angel is so perfect!

Inside are 4 beautifully wrapped pressies that have to remain there until Christmas.........  so exciting!

Thank you Melody! It's the perfect Santa sack for me! :)))

                    

Finished bag

Remember this little sneek peek I blogged about here - where I shared the origins of the things I used to make the little brooch?

Well, it was part of a bag for my Christmas Swap partner, Melody. Melody loves French General fabrics, so of course, I had to make the bag using this gorgeous range. It is nice and roomy - designed for her to go Christmas shopping, or to carry gifts to friends homes, or to cart a heap of things to quilting days.
And no, I can't tell you what pattern I used, because there isn't one. The bag just grew the way it wanted to, as I made it. :)

Melody has received it and posted about it on her blog, with much better photos. :)

Brooch made with a crocheted medallion of my Mum's and a button from her button box

One side of the bag -

And the other side of the bag....

Detail of stitched trees with button stars. The little bird was added for interest but also because Melody like s little birds

Detail of the top row, with button flowers - they were also from Mum's collection - I remember similar ones on my jumpers in the '60s- embroidered leaves, and silk cord for the bow



Closer look at the buttons

 

In the pockets that I made on the Other side, I included a notebook with the French General fabric pattern on it, and a pen to match.

 I am going to have fun sending Melody little gifts to pop in her bag during the year. The idea of the swap is to send a little gift each month and we get to open them at Christmas. I sent 4 little gifts off with the bag, but I have a couple more all ready to go. Then I get to do some more shopping and wrapping! Such fun. :)


cheers,

Gifts made for Retreat

2 weeks ago, I attended a Quilting Retreat in Bathurst. Each year, Southern Cross Quilters (SCQuilters), an online quilting group, holds a retreat somewhere in Australia or New Zealand. This year was the first time I have been able to attend. I HAD A BLAST!!! So much fun and laughter and meeting people first time face to face. I haven't had so much fun since I don't know when. :)
Part of the fun included an Angel Mortal swap. For 3 months before retreat, I had an Angel (who sent me lovely pressies, Hi Lorraine!) and a Mortal (to whom I sent lovely pressies). This was all done anonymously until the reveal on the Saturday night at retreat. We also gave (secretly to remain anonymous) 2 pressies to our Mortals leading up to the reveal, then a pressie for the reveal.

Thought I would share with you my final pressie to Grace (Hi Grace!), my Mortal. I forgot to take photos of the other pressies.

I used this pattern, which I purchased from BeBeBold, and followed the instructions for the bag at the back.

I chose Japanese fabrics because they are Grace's favourite. She had also mentioned that she liked wearing rust occasionally in winter, so when I saw this fabric, I knew it was a winner. The rust worked perfectly.

I made a few modifications to the design. (Can't help myself! lol) I lengthened the handles; added the decorative strip to the rust part - felt it needed it to tie the rust in with the print and to add a bit more Japanese flavour to the bag design; and made a false stiff bottom to be inserted into the bag for sturdier wear. It can be removed if Grace prefers.

Grace loved it and I'm told she wears it constantly.

***

Do you remember me buying this pattern? Again from BeBeBold. :) (Hi Jane!)

I decided to make some of the small sized owls for gifts. One for Lorraine, my Angel, one for Grace, my Mortal, one for Lissa, who gave me a lift to retreat, one for my daughter, one for myself and one to spare.

I did cheat a teensy weensy bit. Instead of making fabric eyes, I made felt ones (less work) and I painted the beaks with lumiere paint instead of using orange felt.

A Parliament of Owls:

Aren't they cute? I think I will have to make some more when I get time.

***

I still have to upload photos taken at retreat, so I'll post more another day.

Scquilty hugs!

Lindi

I won a book!

Clare from Clarescraftroom has just emailed me to say that I have won a book from Penguin - it's the Sew Darn Cute Book by Jenny Ryan. Can't wait to get my hands on it. Sure to be things there for my soon to be born Grandson!
Hop over to Clare's blog and see the book. Have a look at her blog, too while you are there. Lots of yummy crafty things. :)
            

23 sleeps to SCQ retreat

Time keeps March ing along....

I can hardly believe it has been over a month since my last post! Where did February go? Where has most of March disappeared to?

Lots has happened here to keep us very busy. I have been shopping with DD for baby things, sorting through fabrics with her to choose what I'll use for baby quilts, working on a couple of UFOs - one nearly finished! - and driving north to stay with my DSister and bringing a car load of Mum and Dad's things back with me.

DH has been spending long hours working on a new contract. We were quite enjoying the fact that he was home each day, even though we had no income, and we were living off savings. We have decided we are ready for a retirement of sorts, so we are now looking for alternatives to the long day, work slog.

So, here is a "snapshot" of my time away from the blog.

DD (and my Grandson) at approx 26 weeks pregnancy

Front view of a Take-along-tabbie that I made for DGS

I got the idea from Linda, who got the instructions from Arlette

Back view: I used flannel for a different texture

A cute little ring I treated myself to. Just couldn't resist! :)
I bought it on Etsy

And of course, I hit the plastic when the craft show came to town!

Some lovely silk "hankies" and some beautiful cords for fibre art. I bought these and some Jacquard Lumiere paints from Unique Stitching.

This you-bewt multi-use ruler from Aussie Patches. Great for using with jelly rolls and strips. I probably would have passed it by, only I arrived at their booth just as they were demonstrating it to another shopper. It's fabulous! I know I'm going to have fun with it. :)

Then, of course, I had to stop by BeBeBoldJapanese and check out all the lovelies that Jane stocks!

I bought this cute little owl pattern, some fat quarters (already 'absorbed' in my sewing room, a bag kit (I'll show you when I make it) and some cord.

Jane is located in Lismore, so when I headed up to my Sister's, I drove across to visit her - and of course, bought more lovelies! I'll show them off later. :)

Revealed!

Remember this sneak peek?

Well, it has arrived at its destination so now I can show you all. :)

This is the prize I made for Linda for winning my last blog comp: a little bag to carry small projects around in.

Seen here in a sitting position

Flattened view with sides tucked in

and here with other little things I made to include:
a wrist pincushion,
a little needlecase,
and an Artist Trading Card

I really enjoyed making these for Linda. I chose the Australian Aboriginal fabric because Linda has been over here recently visiting some of her family, and I thought it would be a nice reminder of her time here, and of us. :)

I'm so glad you like them Linda!