productive day AND July Giveaway

Well the holidays are over and the psychological shift is amazing! I just can't bring myself to do anything in the holidays (as far as meeting responsibilities is concerned). I did do some necessary paperwork at the beginning of the first week, but it took me 10 days to post it!! sigh.
I posted out all my (late) RRs today, as well as the June , yes June , giveaway. sigh.
I haven't even done the July giveaway...sigh.....
Anywho, it's all done now, AND i got my workshop stuff ready today. That is tomorrow and I would usually leave it until tomorrow. I am trying to see the benefits in doing things on time, and/or early. I used to pride myself on being punctual. Now I feel proud when I manage to get up in the morning....SIGH
Blah blah. Lets move on to the fun stuff. I needed a postcard , so I finished all the postcards that needed backing. See, being early for next time. Yay!
The colours are SOOO off in these. but I just couldn't get them right. This first one is stitched with a Sassa Lynne thread.
This one took on a mind of it's own. It wanted to be a landscape. It is stitched with one of the DMC variations threads that Freda sent me.
These two are really bad colour wise. The are a beautiful deep, rich red. When I got them the right colour, the stitching looked shocking. So you have pics highlighting the stitching, then one that shows a truer colour.



And here is one of my round robin blocks. Theme = cream on cream. So far I have done the fly stitch leaves up the top left, and added the vine running through the lace around the silkie. I did not do the silkie. Still lots more work to do yet. Gerry likes super encrusted blocks.

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JULY GIVEAWAY

This will be July's giveaway. Leave a comment on this post to be in the draw. (It really is much more beautiful than it looks in the picture).

Japanese Knot Bag

I came across Helen (a fellow Kiwi crafter) on Stitching Fingers, and then Sharon linked to this great pattern Helen has offered on her blog. She calls it a Japanese knot bag. I have also seen these kind of bags referred to as 'wristlets'. Well Of course I had to do one in CQ, and thought a tone on tone would be nice. Below is my embellished front. I used fabric from a baggie that my swap sister, Lorenza, sent me, and also some fabbie that my mum bought me.
And here is the finished product. This is the most technical I have ever got with sewing a bag together. I followed the instructions, made a proper separate lining and everything. The bag is fully reversible. The only change I made to Helen's instructions was that I left a slit in the side on one of the handles to turn the bag, rather than through the top of a handle. There is just to much CQ bulk to pull it through that small gap.
I used the heavy grade fusible lining to give the (circular) base some stability.
Here is the lining. No stitching showing!! The back is plain blue.
And finally the bag as you would wear it, modelled by the ever compliant Ben.
The base is about 15cm diameter, and if the front was a square it would be approx 8". It is a quite reasonable size, more than adequate for a night out. I would actually like to try and make a smaller one, but the smaller it gets, the harder an embellished bag would be to turn out

The Cross completed

I have FINISHED a project!!. I have it hanging on the wall in my lounge at the moment.
I ended up painting the canvas as I did not have enough of the fabric I wanted to use. I think that covering the canvas with fabric would be a far better option, just for stability. I have sewn through the canvas to attach the cross, and a good yank from a small child, and it will probably rip off. But it is wall art, and therefore should not be being yanked on!!
I am incredibly pleased with how it came out. It did look good on a black background, it also looked great on a maroon background, but I felt that was a bit much. It does all look at bit green on my wall, but Belinda's walls are not green.
It is so sparkly as you walk past it. I am very inspired to put some of my RR and DYB blocks together and get something on my walls. Can you belive I have NO fibre art displayed on my walls anywhere. Even the spirit dolls didn't go back up (yet) since painting the lounge. I do get round to doing things....eventually. Anyway, I am happy with it. Now just to hope that Belinda will be too.

For those of you that commented on the 'circle of friends'. This is actually the Playcentre logo, which is where Belinda and I met.

Woohoo. I did it!!

Well, I am so freakin' proud of myself. This little project had the potential to go soooo wrong, and it came together really well. No unpicking, no redoing, no complete fuck ups that would require me to start again, which is what I was expecting. This is a memory book for Tiffany's 21st. I will set up a basket with various pens etc and ask people to write something in it for Tiffany. Either a memory of her from her past, and/or a well-wish for the future.

I bought a A5 spiral bound sketch book, and set about making a pattern for the sleeve. This was the first opportunity for things to go wrong. If you are taking the size of a book cover, wrap it around the book to check the size. Do not take the pattern with the book lying flat, it will not be big enough.
I DID NOT get this wrong! yay!
Also remember to mark where the front is. When doing a cover the front will actually be on the right of your template, not the left. More disaster avoided! (see pic at the end)
I cut my template the size of my book sleeve,minus the pockets, and marked where I would piece the front. Because I use the fusible interfacing, when the front was done, I sewed the back on, then ironed it in place.
Jump ahead here. I have cut, pieced and embellished the front, sewn the rest of the cover (back) to the front, just plain black fabric, although it is worth mentioning that , quite by chance, I grab some that had some stretch in it, and this worked really well.
What you see above, is some heavy grade fusible interfacing, cut from my original template, fused to the correct position for the book cover. The extra black to the left, will create the pocket that the cover fits into. More excellent thinking on my part, as I was going to cut it to size, then sew the extra on. Quite unnecessary for the back. You do however, have to do that for the front. The pins are holding down where I will finish the edge of the pocket. I didn't measure this, just made sure it was generous. I also remembered to sew this first, before sewing the pocket down. Disaster number 2, or is that 3, avoided.
I probably could have taken more photos, but I forget when I am in the middle of sewing...
Ok. Next was creating the pocket for the cover to slip into. Right sides together, and I have drawn a couple of black marks where the edge of the sleeve comes to. Sew to here.
Here is the pocket, with corners trimmed, ready to be turned right side out. Do the same for the other side.
After the flaps were sewn down, my only sticky issue now was the raw edges left along the top and bottom, between the two pockets. If I do this project again, I will think a bit more about this, but my solution worked fine. Disaster number 4 averted.
Above you can see 3 orange arrows. I pressed my raw edges down. Ironed on some of my handy-dandy fusible interfacing, then did a row of straight stitch close to the edge.

Here is the book in it's sleeve. Please note everything is fitting PERFECTLY!! (can you tell I am pleased with myself?)
And below, the finished cover. T's colours for her party are black, silver and hot pink.
I have to say the thing I am most pleased about is that the cover is straight. I MUST have things straight, if they are meant to be straight. If it wasn't straight I would of had to of started again. I am so pleased I don't have to start again.

Here is the book lying open...see what I mean about the right side. If I hadn't thought about this, my book would of had a beautiful back.

June giveaway winner ....finally

and the winner is...

WENDY !!!

Congrats Wendy. PM me your snail mail, and I will get the tag in the mail.
Thanks so much everyone who takes the time to comment. I enjoy these giveaways. Will work on getting July's up tomorrow (or maybe the next day) .

I have found, purchased and painted the canvas to mount The Cross on.
I have started, and almost finished, the embellishment of a book cover, for a memory book for my s-daughters 21st. I really hope it comes together OK. I am putting off constructing it....

a quicky...

Just a quick post today as I fly out the door to deliver my daughter to her grandmother and aunty for a few days! yay!

Here is a pic of the Cross with the beaded edging on. I am wanting a pre-stretched art canvas (ready to hang) for this, but I have not found one the right size yet...
Thought I would throw in a pic of one of my grandmothers wonderful creations. All her quilts are applique, AND hand quilted. I just wouldn't have the patience. This one is just gorgeous. Hundreds of little stuffed grapes, and various flowers all over it.
And finally, this is all the clothes Brooke laid out to take to nanny's...for 2 nights! She is so much like me. I remember going on school camp (for 2 nights) and the teacher had to lift my suitcase on the bus!! What??? I like to be prepared.OK?

I still haven't got the kids to pic numbers yet for the June giveaway...gosh, and its already time for Julys!
Brooke's number - 12
Jon's number - 3
Will get Ben's later.

I forgot to thank Jasminduft from Poppies and Butterflies for her Brilliante Weblog award. Thanks Jasmin! It is nice to know that people read and enjoy.

Eye candy alert!!

Please go and check out one of the other blogs I manage. This is from all the round robins, swaps, and contests that our members do. Many of them don't keep blogs, so this is the only chance you get to see their work.

Crazy Quilting International - The Blog

I forward all comments on to the group, so help convince them they need blogs of their own, and comment comment comment.

Will do giveaway draw tomorrow. Watch this space.

A completion...almost!

A year ago my bestest bud moved away and I began "The Cross" project. It was supposed to be finished for when she moved. Well, it wasn't. Then I thought I would finish it a take it down when we went a Xmas. Well, I didn't. So, they are coming up here for these holiday's and it is Belinda's birthday while they are here, so I was determined to finish it. And I have...almost. I only had a tiny bit of embellishing to do. I think I thought if I didn't finish it, they might come back.

Anyway, for those of you interested, here is how I finished the edges. It is the same process I use for everything I do - postcards, atc's etc.
Here is the embellished piece face down. I have cut a piece of heavy fusable (pellon) lining the same shape/size as my original template, and fused that to the back.
Next I fold up the corners and press. This gets nice tidy mitres.
Here is all the corners and edges folded in and pressed. The fusable lining is quite thick, and offers a good clean guideline for folding up to.
Here I have cut another piece of lightweight fusable interfacing, slightly smaller than the original template. I iron this in place, which keeps all the edges and corners looking neat. I did consider leaving it like this, in which case I would of used a double-sided fusable, and backed with fabric, but I have another plan.
And here is the finished (almost) Cross. I am going to do some beading around the edge. I was going to do black, but that seems a bit sombre for a Christian symbol of faith, so I will probably use pearls. I am going to mount this on one of those pre-stretched canvas's you can buy. Again I was considering a black background, but I am warming to prehaps green.
Suggestions welcome. It is about a foot wide by foot&1/2 long.
It feels really good to get this finished. I know I finish little things all the time. But this has been lingering as UFO for quite a while. It is interesting to see how I chose to embellish it a year ago. I think it would look quite different if I started the same project again today.

Round robins and swaps

Here is my most recent DYB block completed. Cathy wanted jewel tones on her black. Despite this block looking very vivid, the colours are actually quite true. Lots of sequins and swarovski sparkle on this block.
And here are the completed tags. 4 for the swap, 1 for the giveaway (conveniently blacked out- haha), and one on the way to a friend...

progress on Fab Fan DYB

DYB = a six inch block, stitcher works the whole block. 6 blocks in the Round robin.

I find it useful to see a picture of my blocks to see whats missing. This block may look finished, but there is a bit more yet to do.Not a great pic sorry. That bottom left corner is very dark

what have I been doing....?

Well I was half way thru doing this post yesterday, when I got a call from the school...we have our first broken bone. In fact 2 broken bones. Ulna and radius (forearm bones) , 100% broken, not green stick fracture. 100% broken in a "OMG your arm is so deformed" kinda way!
So 7 hours later, which I thought was actually pretty good for ED, we were back home, thankfully. It was such a bad break they thought they made need to do surgery. He has to take it really easy as the break is "unstable". Luckily sitting in front of the TV is not a huge ask for Ben.
The staff at the kids hospital were great, can't fault then really, my only issue, the cost of parking, and not one offer of a cup of tea!!!

Back to yesterdays post, which was just a quicky really, to let you know I have been busy stitchin.
Here is the second block for Leslie's Breast Cancer quilt. It is not quite done yet.
Next is the current RR block. Leslie's fabulous fans DYB. The other gals started a silkie theme, which I have followed. The little thing that looks like a tree is supposed to be a fan...
Finally, a couple of teaser shots for the giveaway tag . It is finished now. If you want to be in the draw to win it, go comment on the June Giveaway post.


I haven't given you a lot to look at today, so I want you to go and visit Lauri's flickr site and gasp in awe at her 'color study' project. Just fabulous. Go, NOW!!

June giveaway

I just realised I haven't even done the giveaway for this month!! Y'all should of told me! A bit different this month. I will be giving away one of my seascape tags. These can be used as key rings, or add to a plain bag for a bit of bling, or, if you are really keen, they could be a pendant.
This tag is not yet complete, and you won't get to see the completed tag until the winner has received it. Makes it fun...for me anyways. So, same drill a usual. Leave a comment on THIS post to be in the draw.

Off to finish the tag...



Here are all the tags so far

Holy cow Batgirl...a blog post

Blogging seems to be becoming more infrequent....I have been busy stitching, I usually stitch for a (at least) short while everyday. It is a good indication that I am spiralling into a "depression" if I can't be bothered stitching...any way, I have been stitching, and here's the proof.
I pieced this actually for the 'girls night out'. I thought I would throw together a little drawstring bag for the gift. Well it wasn't going to work, and it was too small.
A while ago, on Barbara's blog, I saw a pincushion she had made and BEGGED for the instructions, which she kindly obliged with. I am not going to give you more than pics though, as I know Barbara is doing an article for the next issue of CQMagOnline, so you will all have to wait.
Anyway, back on task. I made this block, and it wasn't going to work, and I needed a new pincushion, so I decided to try Barbara's recipe. I kept the embellishment reasonable simple (for me), and I added special little things that have been sent to me in squishies.
Here is the embellished block, and ...wah-lah....the completed pincushion below.
The thick black trim stuff is a scrapbooking trim. It is self adhesive. Seemed to stick to the fabric ok, time will tell I guess, however it is almost impossible to stitch thru, so it may not be a versatile as I hoped. I have some leaves too
Here we have some lovely velvet leaves sent to me by Cheryl, ages ago.
The fan was crocheted for me by Cobi, and the oya (the lace fowers) are from Regin. The charms around the block were sent to me too, but by who I don't remember, sorry, however they were perfect for my pincushion.
More of Regin's oya, and of course some tatting, done by some wonderful woman somewhere...

So, while this is not a colour I probably would of chosen to use if I had started the pincushion with a plan, I am pleased that I did something with the original block, which probably would of remained unused forever. While it doesn't look it, this pincushion is BIG , great for 'losing' all those tiny beading needles. Finally, a pic of the base, covered in felt.

CQI 2008 purse contest

Well, the purses are made, the polls are closed, and the decision is final.
Please shoot over to the Crazy Quilting International Blog to see the winners, as well as all the entries.

Girls Night Out gifts

Once or twice a year, the mums from Playcentre have a dinner out, and we usually do a small gift to exchange with each other. I have made a couple of smaller tags. We are going Thai tonight. Yum!