Friday 25 July 2014

Christmas in July!

well the day arrived and boy who could wait....
my parcels didn't travel too far as they came from Eltham from Anne. Not sure if ann has a blog or not as she didn't mention on the card.
Big thanks to Ann for such beautiful gifts made with such perfect stitches and put together so neatly. Love the fabrics too.
Now for the pictures you say?

 The little cross stitch ornament is amazing such little stitches and all so perfect.
Thankyou so much Ann I love them all and the little extras will come in very handy.
Thanks also to Cheryll for organising the swap, you are amazing! x
 Just need to wait and see if my partner likes my goodies.

Some progress on the Christmas lunch....I think this little echidna is full to the brim with ants he couldn't fit another one in, that's why they are making a quick get away.
 Mrs Kangaroo has been finished too..
She is stuck cooking the bbq, now that doesn't happen in my place. BBQ is secret men's business and I promote that notion at every opportunity. With four males in the house I should be right for life!
I don't think I fancy witchety grub, gum leaf and gumnut skewers though?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Marina

Wednesday 23 July 2014

thankyou mr postman...

well there have been comings and goings...

these went in the mail......... along with a couple of surprise packages....
 these arrived
So looking forward to the 25th when all will be revealed! Thanks to mr postal tracker I know my parcel has been delivered too.

Well I must admit that after finishing my swan lake I did feel that the above quote did sum it all up a little bit lol
so I have started a few new things and am waiting to start a few more to fill that empty void in my life......
......this got started....
Aussie Christmas lunch by Smee Designs.
I bought the pattern late last year and had the intention of finishing it for Christmas but it didn't even make it to the starting line.
This year will be it's year.
Love the cocky and roo singing along
 You didn't know that Kangaroos could play the piano did you?
Nearly finished the roo cooking the bbq. I just love the sense of humour that Natisha of Smee designs adds to her designs they make me happy.
Another week is flying by, is it just me or has someone sped up the calendar?
Hope you are all having a great week
cheers
marina


Sunday 13 July 2014

the last hurrah...

The holidays have once again come to an end.  I think my mojo went away for a break too, but luckily it came back for the home stretch. It must have hitched a ride with Rosalie and Liz when they came for a sewing day on Friday. We had a very productive day and I felt a bit of a spark happening.
I was adamant that the weekend would involve some decent time dedicated to the sewing machine so I could get the blocks up to date for the Lisa Bonegan sew along.
And..... ta da!
thought this would be a good sew along to join in with and then those half square triangles appeared.
(my triangles seem to be following a slightly different arrangement to the pattern for both the centre blocks but I didn't realise till they were all stitched and there was no way I was un picking them all. )
 This is an alternative centre block that Lisa has designed for those that don't want to do the wool applique.
The coloured triangles were positioned towards the centre on this one.
That centre star was very tricky. Don't quite get the 'scant 1/4" seam' allowance thing and I think this is where I may have mucked up a little. It all came together in the end well enough though.

 I have put a ruler in this pic so you can see how small those pieces are. I must be going loopy attempting piecing this small?  Now to wait for the next instalment..
 these cross stitch designs are great fun and quick and easy. some little pin cushions made for the gift box.
Three of these got made for gifting too. This one was my prototype that I showed the city girls last week to get their stamp of approval. Just need to do the hand stitching around the edges and they will be done too.
Boy I wish I had had some of this enthusiasm for the whole two weeks and not just the final burst.
Them's the breaks....
Hope you have all had a productive weekend too...
I'm off to look at the huge moon we apparently have due to the moon orbiting so close to the earth.
Fascinating
cheers
marina

ps. links for the cross stitch designs used for the pin cushions are
thanks to these generous designers for their free charts for these lovely patterns.

rabbit with scissors: http://patrickswoods.com/blog/itemlist/tag/Rabbit
bunny: http://thelittlestitcher.blogspot.it/2014/04/spring-rabbit-free.html



Tuesday 8 July 2014

binding done and some other bits...

This week i was very enthused about getting the binding done on my swan lake. I bought some red bias binding months ago on a visit to L'uccello and thought I had bought enough but.....Sunday night I ended up here.....missed by that much......
I wasn't looking forward to a trip into town but was desperate to get the binding done so I gave L'uccello a ring and they had the extra binding in the mail last night and it arrived today. How's that for service?
Binding is now complete. I have started sewing yo yo's too and one side is nearly complete.

 Friday night I managed to get this top all pieced together. I have decided to not put the top and bottom stitched border on. I prefer it a little bit plainer. I might try to get some big ric rac to run around the border.

 Here is a pic of my clamshells. I haven't added a row for awhile. I think I need to decide what to make with it first?

 This is a little new project that I couldn't resist....
it is a free project from Lisa Bonegan of Primitive Gatherings. I made a good start on the appliqueing at quilt group on Saturday and finished it off yesterday. . The sweet background fabric made it's way home with me from the Essendon Quilters Show on Friday, along with a few purple fabrics from Threadbear.
Now I just have to share a few photos of Miss Maisie 'cat scanning' the new Swan Lake quilt on the bed.

do you think she approves?
Hope you have a great week!

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...