All Wrapped Up

Before Christmas 2011 - digging into my memory bank here - I wanted to make some gifts that were effective and best reflected the ladies I was making them for.  In the Moda book "Fresh Baked Treats"  I found the perfect gift to make - Jewellery Wraps.

They are beautiful.  A little bit of a fiddle, but oh so worth the effort.  I made one for my good friend Judy first...

Folded Up



Opened Out

The Outside

... then I got carried away and made them for my Mother In Law and both Sisters In Law.  I just fell in love with the colour combinations and it didn't matter what fabric choices I made, I felt that they were all fantastic.

Folded Up - Wraps for MIL, SIL1 and SIL2



The Insides



The Outsides

The best thing about these gifts, is that all four ladies are using them.  I think I hit the jackpot in gift choice - wonder what I'll make for next Christmas?

Snuggly Jumper

When you use pure wool, you can't help but get a really snuggly jumper that was a joy to knit.  Using TeAwa Wool (from New Zealand) - colour Barrier Reef, I knitted up this basic child jumper, size 5, with Patons Classic Kids pattern.

The Jumper!

I gave this particular jumper to a friend for her son.  I had the wool for so long that my children grew too much for me to knit anything for them with the quantity that I had!  oops! 

Off to look at what else I have to knit now.......

Busy with "Just Takes 2"

Since the beginning of the year, I've been following the fun over on the blog Just Takes 2 .  A new venture from Brenda at Dear Jane and Gay at Sentimental Stitches, this new project is turning out to be quite a bit of fun, well, actually, I'm loving every little part of it!  The philosophy is simple - 2 Friends and 2 Fabrics will make 2 Quilts.  The full history is on the Just Takes 2 Blog.

Here are my efforts so far this year.

Blocks 1 - 6 

 

Blocks 7 - 11




Blocks 12 - 13

I'm about a month behind at the moment, not having completed all of the March blocks due to my slowness at completing the optional Stitcheries.

Within one of the local quilt groups, there are approximately half a dozen ladies also working on 'Just Takes 2' and the variety of colours is fantastic.  You simply cannot choose a bad combination it seems when you add a cream or white to another colour.  It's so lovely to suddenly have a little group within a group to be sharing our quilt blocks - and the rest of the group is enjoying the eye candy I'm sure  :)

Tropical Dreaming

Finally something finished to post about!  Some 2 months after I publicly announced how wonderful I would be at finishing projects this year, I have had my first finish - complete with a label.

This quilt is called Tropical Dreams. 

Never one to shy away from a challenge, I had a go at competing in a Jelly Roll Challenge. The theme was dreams. When I saw the Bali Pop “Spumoni”, I thought of nights in the tropics, with all the lush colours of the rainforest and waterfalls around me. So I challenged myself to come up with a pattern that would let me slip away into ‘holiday’ mode of no stress and yet allow me to make a quilt top in one day.  This quilt “Tropical Dreams” is the result.



While I got absolutely no-where with the Jelly Roll Challenge, I completed the quilt to make a wonderful lap quilt, so that I can dream of a tropical holiday in the rainforest!

 Above, the front of the quilt and, below, the back of the quilt.

And, true to form when publishing to my blog - the photos turn out sideways...  sheesh.......

I was bugged!!!

Stitching away on my Jacobean Cross Stitch, I tugged the threads thinking I had loose a knot caught in the back, but no, there was a bug! Unbelievable! How rude of that little insect to get stuck like that.... grrrr....... Here is the poor helpless creature......

I guess seeing really is believing? :)

Traditional Tuesday

It seems that I am a bit of a soft touch when it comes to making Sampler Blocks! The one over on the blog 42Quilts is no exception. Jennifer Dick, since last September has been offering weekly blocks, which can be modern or traditional. Modern Monday offers a new slant on the traditional blocks - which is very interesting and well worth considering. However, I have chosen to do the Traditional Tuesday option - which, yep, you guessed it - is very traditional.


I am using 1800s reproduction fabrics with mostly reds, murky creams and blues with a splash of green and purple/grey thrown in for good measure. The fabrics were purchased for a different project that I had intended to design myself, which I could never seem to get around to starting and then when I came across this project online, I knew that the fabrics would be perfect.

Block 1 - Crossroads

Block 2 - Log Cabin - not yet made.

Block 3 - Rail Fence

Block 4 - Churn Dash

Block 5 - Sawtooth Star

Block 6 - Mosaic

Block 7 - Mr Bones - not yet made

Block 8 - Pinwheel

Block 9 - String Block - not yet made

Block 10 - Snowball Variation

So far I have made 7 blocks out of 15. There will be more to come in the next few weeks as I catch up after the holiday madness.

Hmmm - which reminds me, I must catch up on my Just Plain Nuts and Golden Memories blocks too - samplers are just too addictive!

A New Years Eve Resolution - UFOs

Today I have listed my UFOs onto a database - 49 this year. I have sorted into "To Be Quilted", "QAYG" and the "general list" of where there is pieceing and cutting to be done. Somehow, this simple sorting, even though they are all UFOs, has freed my mind somewhat.

I have also started afresh with a smaller list of just 4 projects too. A birthday, a class working with odd blocks and a wedding shall take care of finishing those projects, with a bag project thrown in for good measure. I'm pretty sure I've made it achievable for the 8 weeks I've allocated myself to get these things done. On my personal list there is one extra UFO added to get to flimsy stage if I have time.

Also (what - there's more? :) ) A friend and I have challenged each other to complete a 'done done' UFO finish per month during 2012. This is a very accountable thing to do as it means having to physically show it to the other person in the LQS - no escape here! The way I have sorted my UFO list now, makes me think I can achieve this. On my DSM, it takes me about a week or so to complete the machine quilting of a big quilt. My biggest procrastination point is the handsewing of the binding, so if I save this for social sewing days, it should happen while chatting shouldn't it?

My gorgeous fabrics and fantastic projects will be far better off being completed and gifted or used.

So, to all of you UFO'ers out there, whether it's scrapbooking, knitting, quilting, woodworking or whatever, raise your glasses with me tonight - New Years Eve - to a toast - UFO Reduction!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Flimsy - unquilted quilt top

DSM - domestic sewing machine

UFO - unfinished object

LQS - local quilt shop

Merry Christmas

When I signed into my blog today, I didn't realise quite how much time had passed since my last post - what happened to the last 4 months? However, I have not been idle! After Christmas, there will be several postings of my 'show and tell' where you can share what I have been making as the gifts will be with their new owners and I don't have to be secretive anymore.

The last couple of weeks have been really lovely with shared dinners, BBQs and catching up with people. The true spirit of Christmas is in the sharing of simple things, with friends and family and just enjoying each others company.

Thankfully the weather has finally warmed up and the kids have been able to run around with the rain-water tank hose in the yard and make mud pies in the sand pit - a blessing(?) of being completely self-sufficient and not a town water supply.

Here is my Christmas tree, complete with two Santas and Mrs Claus whom I made a few years ago.

With good tidings, I wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to sharing more 'quilty' and 'crafty' things with you in the new year.

Baby Clothes...

Here is my latest attempt at crochet. A nice, simple pattern which was produced by 'Panda' yarns. I chose to crochet this cardigan in Patons Dreamtime 4ply 100% Australian Merino Baby wool.

It's been a long time since I have completed any baby knitted/crocheted items and this was very enjoyable to do. I had forgotten how nice baby clothing is to make.
So soft and cuddly. This size is to fit approx 6months, so it's the perfect light weight cardigan for those slightly cooler days we sometimes get in summer. The cardigan will be given away in a week or two (when the baby arrives) to my swim coach for his very first grandchild.

Stained Glass - sort of........

At the end of each year when our SS&Q Group has Christmas Dinner, 2 Elves will hand out a parcel to each group member. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make the challenge set out in the gift box. You then get 6 months to make the challenge for it to be revealed at the Christmas In July lunch. This year, the Elves chose "Stained Glass". The challenge was fantastic, with 21 out of 50 members completing the task.

Here is my entry
Above: The central section
Below: Quilting detail

The rest of the stained glass challenges can be viewed here on the Sunbury Stitchers and Quilters blog. Beware - there is some fantastic eye candy on the group blog! :) Enjoy.