Christmas Wishes

Once again I'm having a break from my blog over the festive season.
Thank you to everyone - both old and new friends who read and comment on my blog, encourage me, give me advice  and tips, book recommendations and recipes.  I love how this blogging community has given me new friends all around the world.

Wishing you all a safe and Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

See you back in 2016.

2015 Finsh-along - Q4 completed

Well this has been the first year I have completed all my goals, plus a couple of extra projects in the finish-along.  Here are my Q4 finishes:

Christmas placemat - pattern from here

Birthday Club gift for Gwyneth - based on Noodlehead's wide open pouch

Rainbow Clutch, ( Grey Clutch) for Mum

X Factor Pillow Swap - done

It is so nice knowing I can start the year with some new projects and finish off some fun, just for me projects in 2016.

Linked up on 2015 Finish- along at On The Windy Side.

Scenes from my Week

From the sewing room

• pretty Liberty scraps from PolkaDotTeaFabrics  ready to be cut up for my scrappy border on the Bloomsbury quilt

From the garden

• looks like I will have fresh beans for Christmas Day

From the Twelve Days of Christmas Ornament swap with my sister

• days 1-4  - hanging and spinning in the breeze - next year we make days 5-8

From the lets practice for Christmas Day files

• the plan is that all the children (teens) will eat at the outside table, weather permitting, however it was too breezy today to set that up for photos.  I have also learned that Pohutukawa flowers in vases bring in ants - lots of them, so I won't be doing that on Christmas Day.

From the "I've joined the colouring book" craze

• A Liberty fabric  colouring book  from my sister, a bit like random quilting, I still agonise over colour placement.

What are you doing this week?

A Rainbow Clutch in Shades of Grey

Remember that pile of fabric that I wanted to turn into a Rainbow Clutch  (that isn't a rainbow )for my Mum. Well it has been made and gifted, so now I can show it off.  Mum had picked a variety of grey fabrics from my stash, which I subsequently narrowed down to two.

The front patterned panel is an Ann Kelle fabric and the grey is a shot cotton from Spotlight.  The lining which you can see in the top photo only, is a delicate floral from Dear Stella.

The pattern is from  Anna Graham's book, Handmade Style.  She gives really clear detailed instructions for all steps of the making process.  However after a couple of attempts at installing the back zipper,  I found it easier to baste  the rear zipper before machine sewing it in.  I did find  that some of the  many layers in places made it slightly more difficult to sew.  Overall I am happy with how it turned out, and as a bonus, this is the last item on my 2015 Finish-Along - Q4 goals, to be completed.

 Happy Birthday  Mum, I hope you enjoy using it this summer.

Weekending

• star jasmine in full bloom in my garden - love it's scent, especially first thing in the morning or in the warm evening air

• trying out a new caramel pavlova recipe for a potential Christmas dessert - I can't remember which magazine I found the recipe in, but there are lots of similar ones on the internet

• playing with potential borders for the Bloomsbury quilt - if I go for this option , the quilt will end up at about 80" square

Hope you have all had a great weekend.

X-Factor Pillow Swap - Holiday Edition

I know there haven't been a lot of sewing posts lately, however, there has been a fair bit of secret sewing going on, which I am finally able to start posting about.  When Tiina  (Cottilello on Flickr) posted that the theme for the X Factor Pillow Swap - Round 12 was Holiday, my immediate thought was Christmas.

In New Zealand because we have a summer Christmas we don't usually decorate with holiday themed pillows and quilts, but I decided to participate anyway.  Nothing wrong with starting a new tradition in my home.

I kept thinking of a Christmas tree pillow, and one night while lying in bed, I had the brilliant idea of using a selection of green fabrics to make Sugar Loaf Blocks. While fossicking through my fabrics, I pulled out this bauble print from Ann Kelle's Jingle collection, which when fussy cut fitted perfectly in the centre of my blocks.

Carefully stitched in a simplistic tree shape with a star in the top block,  a wood grain trunk and various low volume backgrounds I had my pillow top.  Simple quilting and a bright cheery red Christmas print binding (again from the Jingle collection) completed my pillow.

This has now been sent off to it's new owner and I am waiting for my Christmas  pillow to turn up in the post - hopefully in time for Christmas this year.

Weekending - The Bloomsbury Quilt edition

My Liberty Bloomsbury quilt has been pulled out of the WIP pile this weekend, and well and truly worked on.  Over the last few evenings I have been hand appliqueing the Dresden circles and their centres on to the solid backgrounds.  I decided to go with the grape solid rather than a contrasting colour, but then while rummaging though my stash, I found this floral fabric (I think it is a Kaffe Fassett print) which picked up all the colours perfectly.  It looked too busy as the actual centre circle, however by making smaller circles I was able to use it as a feature, and I think this has also toned down the grape.  Piecing the blocks together certainly didn't take long, but pressing those seams has been hot work today.

I love how it looks so far, however I have plans to make it bigger than it's current dimensions of 60" square and have some more beautiful liberty strips that I purchased from Polka Dot Tea Fabrics to use.  

Quilt Facts:

Solids - from Spotlight
Liberty  - from Westwood Acres Liberty Club
Pattern - from Bijoux Lovely

Scenes from my Week

From my morning walk 

• beautifully vibrant pelargonium and a rose which I think is called Sally Holmes

From the sewing room

•  my final Christmas placemat is finished - so another goal completed from my Q4 list for the 2015 finish-along.  

From the WIP pile

• another finish - my French Hen decoration for my sister 

From the bedside table

• new books to read and freshly picked, sweetly scented, sweet william.

From the vege garden

• the humid spring weather means my tamarillo tree and beans are having a rapid growth spurt.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend.

Weekending

Rachael and Mr Chew Chew - pom pom making

Crochet lessons

Got to love my library!!

My beautiful Meadow pillow - photo courtesy of Deb

My beautiful AMH pillow/pouf from Rachel

Button detail

Beaded stitch markers

Today I made the trip from Auckland to Matangi again, for our last sewing day get together for 2015.
I had accumulated over the past couple of weeks a lovely pile of new quilting and cook books, so they were well browsed through.  Hand sewing, cross-stitch, pom-pom making and crochet lessons were all taking place today.  Lots of yummy food again too.

Gwen and I were the lucky birthday club recipients this time. I was very spoiled with the handmade gifts I was given.  From Deb, I received a beautiful Meadow pillow cover, featuring  so many gorgeous fabrics and from Rachael I received a beautiful Anna Maria Horner pillow, featuring her handmade pottery buttons.  I think my family will be banned from using these.

I made Gwen a pouch for her knitting (my first finish in my Q4 finish-along goals) and some beaded stitch markers.

Such a shame we probably won't have another get-together until next year now.

Wednesday WIP

A Christmas ornament for my sister,  from"The Twelve Days of Christmas" collection from mmmcrafts. I have the odd days, she has the even days.  This will be a French Hen!!  The embroidery is done, now I just need to wash away the stabiliser and sew it  all together.

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Weekending

Well it's been a while since I did a weekending post, but here's what I got up to this weekend.

• relaxing on Friday night, after a somewhat manic week at work - a new magazine and a glass of chardonnay, the perfect way to start the weekend
• in the garden - lots of weeding, cutting back and planting new plants  Pleased to see my passionfruit vine has started flowering, lots more buds on it too, here's hoping I get a bumper crop after last years rather drastic pruning gave me a total of about 12 fruit.
• in the sewing room - finally I have made a start on the final Christmas placemat , so nice to be sewing again.  
• in the kitchen - this recipe for school (and work) lunchbox treats

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead,