And More

I got a little more done today with the discovered unfinished projects, in between a few chores and visits etc. I turned one little hand quilted stitchery block into a mini quilt to hang on a wall:

And finished this little bag which I had already pieced and hand quilted and just needed to applique on some bands to hold some ribbon ties:

I don't think I ever told you what was wrong with Spice from a couple of posts ago. The next day after poking and prodding some more, I finally worked out it was her tail which was so sore and making her miserable. We went to the vet and after a thorough examination the vet didn't think it was broken, but it was swollen and hot at one point so she prescribed some anti-inflammatories and after 2 days Spice was back to her normal happy boisterous self. Thank goodness. These pups are such a worry sometimes but I guess I should just be thankful that they are so happy they wag their tails so crazily they injure themselves sometimes.

Just adding another pic in:

Some more discoveries

I've been poking around my sewing room a bit more this weekend, and found many more abandoned projects - some lone blocks, stitcheries, even an experiment in sashiko!

I'm thinking I am never going to get to the bottom of the mess in my sewing room!

But I did turn that little sashiko scrap into a pin cushion and that big Dresden plate into a cushion:

So slowly, I am making a bit of headway in my cleanup!

Finishing stuff

I think one of my goals for this year is going to be to try to finish old projects laying about the place .... and there are so many of them. Whenever I'm hunting for something I come across another one. So my other goal is to clean up my sewing room, and the first step is to finish a few abandoned projects.

This is one of them, a small log cabin quilt. The borders don't really go but I've also given myself a few rules about finishing things without buying new fabrics, so my new mantras are "near enough is good enough", and "whatever it takes to finish it".



I spent yesterday sewing binding onto both of these quilts, plus another big quilt even though I haven't finished quilting that one. I think it is quilted enough for the batting not to shrink any further. I started hand quilting it a couple years ago and then abandoned it. I'd like to finish it though, there is just so much quilting to do .... and my fingers hurt from sewing on three bindings. I even have a blister!

I found this great site with some free stitchery patterns a few weeks ago and printed off a few that really appealed to me but so far have only completed one (above) which I antiqued with some Parisian essence.

Note: Thanks Tanya of Tanya's Prim Thyme Designs for correcting me. The above is actually one of her patterns, available for free here: http://www.patternmart.com/pattern/9045/Free+Prim+Crow+Stitchery+Pattern

It is Australia Day todayhere and everyone will be off to celebrations. The biggest thing around here is at Parramatta Park which is where some of my family and friends will be today. I don't plan on going if I can help it, Spice is a bit down today and won't let me out of her sight. She's eating, so I don't think she's sick, but I think she may have hurt herself somewhere as she is sad and she was whimpering a little last night and wanting to be cuddled all night. I can't find any injuries, so maybe she just pulled a muscle on our walk yesterday afternoon. I hope it is just that. There is nothing sadder than a puppy who has lost her wag.

The Never-Ending Honey Bun

I have been making such great use out of the Glace Honey Bun my Secret Santa Sheryl gave me for Christmas. I've managed to stretch it to make a generously sized table runner, a cute little bag and now I've used it to finish my heart stitchery off into a big, comfy 20" cushion.

I need to give it a wash - somehow during the making of it, I managed to get orange juice on my stitchery, as you can see more clearly in this photo ...... why do these things always happen to me?

I've full of ideas for new projects at the moment. It has been a while since I have been this enthusiastic about sewing. I think having a break from the stress and hell of work has caused it. Unfortunately, I'm back to work tomorrow, so hopefully my inspiration will not just fly out of me again like air out of a deflated balloon : (

Humid stormy day

It's not terribly hot here today but it is horribly humid, very energy-sapping. And there are rumblings of thunder in the distance. A typical summer's day in Sydney I guess! It's not much fun doing housework in this weather, but of course, it's not too bad for sewing.

I started this little heart stitchery pattern yesterday while watching TV, I hope to finish it today, then I'm not sure what I'll do with it:

And today I've been playing with a Jelly Roll making these simple cross blocks:

I've sewn all the strips into pairs, and am just working up the energy to press the seams and cross cut them.

I've been a bit lazy in the vegie garden this summer. The weather has not been conducive to gardening the last couple of months - raining for days so it is hard to get out and do things, and blazing hot at other times. I have planted tomatoes and lettuce which are doing well, and the herbs and spinach are still going strong.

I had forgotten though that I had planted some beetroots some months ago in the side garden which I rarely venture into. So I was surprised to find a bunch of huge beetroot in amongst the weeds! Some were starting to get a bit old and wood-y in texture, so I decided to pull the whole lot and pickle those which were still tender.

I'm not a huge fan of beetroot - I like it occasionally on a salad sandwich or burger, but don't eat a lot of it. My Dad loooves beetroot though so I imagine most of this will go to him.