Sew, Stitch, Snap, Share

Lacey at the Circus, one of my Mother in law's award winning dolls

Another project knocked off my to do list.

My MIL (a porcelain doll maker) asked me to make an ironing caddy/portable ironing mat for another doll making friend of hers.  I had made my MIL one a few years ago, that she takes to  doll classes/conventions/competitions with a mini iron in it.  Of course I said yes.  She purchased the fabric and notions required and then posted them to me.  I duly procrastinated on starting it.  It is hard to sew for other people when the fabrics aren't what you would pick yourself

Last week I finally started working on it, a little bit here and there. The part that took the longest was actually marking out all the measurements for stitching.  I used a white colour pencil for this, all my other fabric markers didn't show up on the heat resistant fabric.  Over the weekend just gone, I finished the machine sewing and then was able to work on the binding and buttons in the evenings.

I haven't included a photo of the caddy unfolded,  it was very hard to photograph silvery fabric and get a decent photo.

My "must makes" for other people are done, so now I can get back to my never ending wip list.

Now, it's YOUR turn to share, by linking up your sewing and stitching projects, whether they are starts, wips, or finishes, following these guidelines.

1. Link up from any post from the past week that features something you have been sewing or stitching,
2. Somewhere in your post, please link to this post.
3. Please comment on a couple of the other Sew,Stitch, Snap, Share links - it's fun to receive comments from new people, and we are trying to encourage people to read blogs and keep blogging too.

Weekending

The past week has felt like spring is on her way.  We have had beautifully fine if somewhat cooler days.  Yesterday I repotted some pot plants, weeded the vegetable garden in anticipation of the compost I 'll be digging in soon, and had two loads of washing blowing in the breezey sunshine on the clothes line.

Here's a rundown of the pretty parts of my weekend though.

Baking:

•  Black Velvet Cake - recipe from this beautiful book and also found here.  This smelled divine as the stout, butter, chocolate and cocoa gently heated and melded together. The cake itself was delicious, very rich, so pieces smaller than what are cut are in order.  

Handsewing

• Binding a wee project for my MIL - more about this in Wednesday's Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE
• Some more ice cream soda blocks

Reading:

• The Chosen Few by Gregg Zoraya.  This is a true story about a platoon fighting in Afghanistan, it read like fiction, I couldn't put it down.  Such a heartbreaking read though, and such courageous young men.

Some beautiful, new to me blogs:

• https://www.abookishbaker.com
• https://katedaviesdesigns.com

Hoping you have all had a fabulous weekend too.  See you next week.

Scenes from my Week

I'm still adjusting to my new work timetable, so while I may not be as frequent at posting blogs, I am not planning on disappearing, just getting the work/home/me time balance sorted.  So here's a little bit of what's been happening the past few days

• Miniature cyclamen still flowering in my garden, they are nice and sheltered, so flower from early autumn on.

• Flowers from The Scout, given to me after a bit of a down week at work. Every time I walk into my dining room, they make me smile

• Meat free Monday is definitely happening in my home and without to much grumbling from the family either.  This week it was Moroccan Red Lentil and Chick Pea burgers - recipe from here.  Also I have decided to stop my Cook the Books posts, I'll still link to recipes and show photos of some of my baking or more interesting meals, just not in a separate post.

• More ice cream soda blocks - little bits get done during lunch breaks, or while waiting in the car during Miss B's archery sessions.

• My current reading pile - lots of different genres and themes, some for the book club I am co-hosting at work, so I really need to crack into them.

Hope you are all having a fabulous week.

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

Woo hoo, I have a finished bag.  The Open Wide Bag, I was making my sister is completed.
This was the first time I had used soft and stable,  I really like how the bag holds it's shape. I made the large bag which is approximately 9" x 12" x 6", and omitted the front contrasting fabric panel, because I didn't want to lose any of that beautiful Kaffe print.  I may make another one in the medium size for me, and would increase the binding width to 2.25" for the binding around the zipper, which I think would fit slightly better.

Overall, I am really pleased with how it has turned out. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed making bags (even if they do cause a little bit of bad language to be muttered).  I think my sister was planning to use it for crochet projects, and it looks as though it will hold quite a lot.  Now to package it up and post it off to Australia with some treats for her.

Now, it's YOUR turn to share, by linking up your sewing and stitching projects, following these guidelines.

1. Link up from any post from the past week that features something you have been sewing or stitching,
2. Somewhere in your post, please link to this post.
3. Please comment on a couple of the other Sew,Stitch, Snap, Share links - it's fun to receive comments from new people, and we are trying to encourage people to read blogs and keep blogging too.

Thanks for joining us.

Julie and Linda

Weekending

Most of my weekends seem to be an endless repeat of cook, sew, clean, so here's what I have been sewing and cooking this weekend.

• I am really something of a quilting butterfly, I flit from one sewing/quilting project to the next. I guess there is no chance of getting bored with any of them, or finishing any of them quickly at this rate.   Anyhoo, I have flitted back to the Wide Open pouch I was making for my sister. After a concentrated sewing effort, I got the side panels completed and sewn in , (Gosh wonder clips are a wonderful investment and product for this type of project), the bias binding made and attached, then detached and re-attached. Those curves were hard with layers of soft and stable and fabric.  After finally getting the binding attached successfully,  I decided to hand sew the binding down rather than top stitching it on my machine.  Now it's just the zipper, and the final pieces of binding to be sewn on.

• A little whimsical ice cream soda block in progress

• Sunday night dessert in progress, Plum and Cinnamon Upside Down Cake - recipe from here

Wishing you all a fabulous week, hopefully,  I'll have a completed pouch to show on Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE.this Wednesday.

Here & Now

Loving // this beautiful pink Rhododendron flowering in a neighbour's garden (I wasn't the only one either)

Eating // Warm and nourishing home made soups - this one is Lentil, Cumin and Silverbeet - recipe here

Drinking // Tea - Earl Grey, Dilmah's Rose and French Vanilla, Peppermint

Feeling // inspired by this blog post a friend sent me to read, and thinking I might try it for some of my EPP blocks.

Making // a longer arrow block for Miss B's quilt (a little wonky I know, and goodness knows how since it was paper pieced, but I'm going to try and embrace the imperfections, and I really can't be bothered unpicking it all).  Another Ice cream soda block, this time with a repurposed vintage embroidered tray cloth and Liberty, check out those tiny bullion knots that make the flowers.

Thinking // about making 'meat free Mondays'  a regular occurrence in my home

Dreaming // of summer fruits (my sister is gloating about how cheap strawberries are in Brisbane at present).


Linking to Here & Now at Say Little Hen

Weekending

From the sewing room:

• Two more Ice Cream Soda blocks completed, so that's the first two months finished. I love how they look together, and am now wondering about incorporating some vintage embroidered linens into the next months blocks.
• Some more filler blocks for Miss B's sea glass beach sampler quilt.
• A start on the felt applique project, new felt has been chosen (so much for using up my existing stash)

From the Library

• A pile of fictitious goodness - now I just need some mornings to lie in and read.

From the Garden:  

• The poppies I planted a couple of months ago are flowering, unfortunately I think my sweet pea seeds have rotted away.

From the kitchen:

• Biscuits and muffins for school lunches

Hope you have all had a fabulous weekend too.

Sew, Stitch, Snap, SHARE

With the colder winter nights we have been having, Miss B pulled out my scrappy sampler quilt to use on her bed.  I have had it rolled up in a basket since I finished it, and had forgotten how much I loved it, and how much I love seeing it being used.

This encouraged me to pull out the blocks I had made for her sea glass sampler quilt, and start piecing some of them together and making low volume improv filler blocks for it.  I don't think this quilt will be as large as the one she has been using, it will probably be more of a lap quilt size, but she can put it over her legs when she is studying at her desk in her room. She has asked that I add some more feather and arrow blocks to the assortment already made, so I may add a little more purple to some of those.  I suspect I may create a few more new blocks too, so no doubt my planned lap quilt will end up being bigger than anticipated.  Colour inspiration for this quilt can be found here.

Now, it's YOUR turn to share, by linking up your sewing and stitching projects, following these guidelines.

1. Link up from any post from the past week that features something you have been sewing or stitching,
2. Somewhere in your post, please link to this post.
3. Please comment on a couple of the other Sew,Stitch, Snap, Share links - it's fun to receive comments from new people, and we are trying to encourage people to read blogs and keep blogging too.

Thanks for joining us.

Julie and Linda