Friday 30 March 2012

Making a start

Last night I thought I would make a start on the gift quilt I want to make. I will keep it simple with the charm squares but wanted to add just a little something.
I happened to have some magazines for recycling and picked up an old Country threads and flicked through it. There was a lovely hanging that had a little house appliqued on it. I thought it would look lovely done as an oval medallion to put in the centre of the quilt. I used the template from one of Anni Down's designs and adapted it to suit this applique pattern.
The wording that will be stitched reads 'Let love surround you'. Very apt I think.


I will include this somewhere in it and applique some hearts on a cream square.

Thankyou for your suggestions, I think the majority feeling was that less is good, the gesture will say a lot in itself.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Craft group tomorrow and I am playing hostess. Better get some cakes ready! We all love to eat while we chat and stitch.
cheers
marina



Wednesday 28 March 2012

Great mail and one christmas item

I am a few days late with my post of my Christmas Item but I did post a sneak peak earlier this month, alas I can still only show another sneak peak, different spot though....

Here is another tease sneak peak of a swap gift... Will be just a little bit longer till I can show in full..
Today I received a parcel of loveliness from the fat quarter shop.
I have bought some fabric from the Papillon range by three sisters to finish off my Park Avenue hexies' quilt top. I am debating whether to add one more row or not and then it will be time to make the fill in half flowers and half hexies. I have drawn them up so that I can work it out. I find it hard to just visualise what to do and have to write it all down and see it in black and white. 

I will have nine flowers left after finishing the top and I want to sew them onto large blocks and make a lap quilt for one of my nieces as a gift. I have some more of the butterfly fabric and a cream jacobean tonal as well from this range. It is so hard to find the tonal fabrics in shops here and when I have done they sell out so quickly!
 The last goodies that were in the parcel were these lovelies. A work friend lost her son in a car accident last week and I thought it would be nice to make her a small 'comfort' quilt. Such a pretty range of fabrics, now to play around with it to make a nice top. I might applique something on a small cream centre. I have about two weeks to get it done so simpler the better I think. The tan will be for the binding and the patterned fabric will be an outer border. That is my tentative plan.



Would appreciate any ideas from someone that has gifted a comfort quilt as to how you worded the gifting of the quilt, if that makes sense. I don't want it to seem corny and I want it to be a nice gesture.
Well back to swap crafting...
Roll on weekend!.
cheers
marina



Saturday 24 March 2012

shuffling the Penski file...

Random crafting been happening here.... I finished my Friends with benefits swap gift now just to wait for the sending date and put a few goodies in with it.

I have been doing some more cross stitching and it is my goal to get at least one done each month to put away for gifting. I finished these two and Els has sent me two new lovely designs by Simone so I am looking forward to getting into them. I just need another trip to town to get some more linen. With holidays coming up that shouldn't be too much of a chore!
this is a Blackbird Designs pattern. There was meant to be a border but I misjudged the size of linen I would need so ended up a bit short.

A design by Stickeule
I think it is quite cute.


I have long been admiring fussy cut hexies made by Maria from Life on the block and Melody from House on the hill so when I look at fabrics lately I look for the possibility of fussy cutting hexies.  I found some gorgeous Snugglepot and Cuddlepie fabric and couldn't resist it. Maria mades some cute fussy cuts flowers and thought she might like a piece as I had plenty for myself so we arranged a little swap. Maria sent me some lovely fabrics to fussy cut and of course I couldn't just put them aside so I prepped them last week and yesterday made them up. I had some hexagons ready to stitch into flowers from fabrics in my stash so they have made quite a good start on a new collection! I think there is another scrappy flower garden in the future......somebody stop me! An intervention may be in order...






Hope there is some crafting time in your weekend!
cheers
Marina

Saturday 17 March 2012

friday night stitching

Tennis is back on the agenda so I got to sit at home and stitch to my heart's content!
I have been plodding along with my down in the garden block this week and here is the progress so far....

What I needed to get a wriggle on with last night was my 'little bit french' swap item and my 'friends with benefits' swap item.
here is my little bit french...  I think I didn't centre my stitchery properly so I ended up with a little conspicuous space, so I thought I would fill it with a monogram.(the white blob is blocking out the initials of my swap partner as this is a secret swap)
I haven't decided whether to make it a doily or pincushion?

I made a start on the friends stitchery, will show a peak at that once it is done.
This one is a bit harder as my partner hasn't hinted at her favourite colours or styles to I am going to have to wing it a little.
Fingers crossed I choose correctly.
Happy stitching!
marina



Saturday 10 March 2012

two days of happy crafting....

Last night I worked very hard to finish my sil's birthday pressie. The inspiration fairy sprinkled her dust and it was go, go, go!

My niece shares her birthday with my sil and as we will see them tomorrow I thought it would be nice to take her a little something- some tea towels, spruced up for her new home. I put their initials on one tea towel each, no excuse when your name is on the tea towel for not taking a turn?
I went to buy the little hanger from Jemima's and thought it would be good to pick up some fabrics for my item that I have to make for the 'little french swap'.
I think they are quite pretty..

I also got another small project finished but I can only give a sneak peak as it will be my Christmas item for March...

Am so cooking with gas...lots of happy stitching done!
cheers
Marina

Friday 9 March 2012

it seemed like a good idea

You know when you have an idea and you think, Yeah I can do that, then you rethink why did I start that with such a short deadline?
I have been busily cross stitching to make a small hanging cushion for my sil's birthday this Sunday. I didn't think it would take as long as it has been but I am nearly there...
I found this cross stitch design at The Primitive Hare. I thought it would look great in her kitchen as she is accessorising in reds. It will be a little bigger than I had thought but I love it and hope I will have the patience to make myself one later.

I have pinched this photo from Fiona's blog (hope you don't mind) as I forgot to take a photo of the completed pin cushion myself. I made this especially for Fiona and just wanted to acknowledge where I got the design from. The patterns is from HERE .
I love the way it turned out. I can tell you these little cross stichery pin cushions are quite addicitive. 



I made up my list of February finishes ....
-Block 5 of Down in the garden
-2 Cross stitch pincushions
-3 Christmas trees
-Binding on my grandmothers flower garden.
-Made one and started two Christmas angels gifts, third one prepped.

Swan lake update for February
All up I have cut 44 bodies, 51 stars, 32 heads and made 14 hexie flowers.

Back to my cross stitch!
Have a crafty weekend
marina

Time is flying....

 Seems like my blog has become a little neglected again, this doesn't mean a lack of crafting though. Progress has been achieved on most...