A Lovely Weekend

Well I think this says it all, the maximum temperature reached 42C on Sunday after a hot Saturday so we stayed indoors with the air conditioner just set on 'dry' and 24C which is very comfortable. I watered the garden and filled up the bird bath early in the day.

This pretty candle holder from the op-shop reflects the blazing sun...

For Christmas I made bunting with thread and dry gum leaves, if I'd had more time it would have been nice to write a wee note on each one...

while watering I spotted this big pod on my Bower Vine...friends have advised to put a paper bag over it to collect the seeds when the pod bursts as it will eject them far and wide...

I finished my first socks using the Not Just Socks yarn from Spotlight...the pattern is on the ball band and it uses one ball per pair of socks...normally sells for $13 so I watch out for it coming on sale and buy a few at a time...it's quite fascinating both watching the colours develop and also the intricate construction of shaping the sock...

On Sunday I also made this 'back pack' from a curtain remnant and some cord...I needed help from Marie at the DTE page as I couldn't visualize how the cord worked...this pattern is similar if you want to have a go, they would make useful gifts too...

filled with a cushion...I would prefer to use this than a shoulder bag while walking around town...

I made a yummy lamb curry and rice for Joe and I but Dad needs something mild and soft so I made him a quick seafood meal, wild caught salmon and prawns, a potato cake and some soft broccoli...this is a bread plate as he needs to eat small meals now...he loves his seafood and would happily eat fish and chips for every meal!

That's my round-up of recent happenings here, today I am going to see Elizabeth and the boys and get the paperwork started for C to start secondary school next month. Just the cost of the uniform is mind boggling and I have no idea how many families can afford it at all. At this new school there is a Student Support set-up where you are sent if you turn up out of uniform. They will lend you a complete uniform until the end of the day when you go and change back into your own clothes...the humiliation of that makes me cringe.

Bye bye for now
xxx

Easy Burp Cloths/Bathmats etc

With grandchild #7 on the way I want to help ease the costs for his parents ... in the olden days we would throw an unfolded terry nappy/diaper over our shoulders to catch any milky burps...now they sell burp cloths which looked cheap and nasty to me so I got cracking on these. I bought 2 brightly coloured thin bath towels and cut off the hemmed edges, then I cut each towel into 6 even pieces.

I had lots of oddments of fabric here and bought a few cheery fat quarters, washed and ironed them and placed them right sides together on the towelling squares



Then I stitched around the edges leaving a hand sized gap...I trimmed off the excess fabric and corners, turned the piece back out so that the right sides were showing, stitched that opening closed and then stitched a quarter inch around the edge. Before long I had a dozen individual cloths which will serve a myriad of uses.





I think they measured about 18 x 14 inches and they cost me $17.50 for the whole dozen!

This technique is also how I make bathmats and pet bedding...just bigger sizes and you can use old towels and clothing to save even more money.

Hope all is well, we're muddling along and had a big family get together on Saturday from which I am still recovering! Will get posting again soon as I have a million old family photos I need to add...here's a wee taste thanks to Dad's cousin Marion...my Grandad Gardner with 5 of his 6 siblings, they were photographed by the local paper in response to their call for the oldest group of living siblings, Uncle Fred was too far away to come for the photo but here are Annie, John, Betty, Margaret, Jim and Herbert(grandad)

This is a character reference written for Grandad in 1926 by a local businessman, Mr Carr. The writing around the reference is Uncle Alan's explanation and mention of meeting Mr Carr fifteen years later

Big hugs xxx

New Cushion Covers

I love all things roses and couldn't resist this gorgeous Paris fabric in Spotlight last week I thought it would be nice to replace the dark cushion covers in the lounge room with something more summery but I wanted a quick fix this time. Instead of the usual buttons on the back I wondered if a simple over-lapping cover would work and it does! I cut 1.5 metres of fabric into 4 wide sections, hemmed each end and then sewed up the sides with a 3-4 inch over-lap...

I don't have an over-locker so I zig-zagged the edges to prevent them from fraying

and my beautiful Peace rose keeps on flowering

Have a great weekend where-ever you are,
Sue
xx

Neck Pillow Tutorial

As you may know we're off to Canada again this year. That's the great news. The not-great news is that we'll be in transit for over 50 hours non-stop on the way there! We've never had neck pillows before so I asked friends what they thought of them and they gave them a big thumbs up, Natalie suggested I make my own so I looked on-line and saw how very simple they are. Mum has an inflatable one so I used that to make my pattern from newspaper...draw around your template if you can borrow one, add 1/4 inch seam allowance...

fold the pattern and the fabric and pin the pattern to the fabric on the fold....this ensures both sides are the same...cut two pieces...

Pin back and front together with right sides facing...

Genius struck at this point and I cut the clip off an old lanyard so that I can attach it to my carry-on bag...

stitch the sides together using very small stitches for extra strength, I went over the lanyard 3 times to secure it firmly...leave a space as big as your hand to turn it right side out and stuff it very firmly...

  I took time out to introduce Twitch to a toy beaver, he couldn't have cared less!

Stitch up the opening and stand back and admire...

It was sheer chance and luck that my fabric pattern is the same on both legs/sides but something to consider when you pin the pattern to the fabric. This gorgeous material is a reproduction of one in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, I love the Edwardian look of it.

I used polyester stuffing but instead of buying toy stuffing I buy a pillow for $5 from Spotlight and get much more for much less! So we now each have a comfy neck pillow for $0 as I already had all the things I used, they were on sale for $14 each at the shopping centre and covered with some nasty nylon/synthetic material.
I saw that some people had made smaller ones for their children who tend to nod off on car drives, lovely idea.

We have a 12 hour wait at San Francisco airport for the flight to Montreal. I've checked on-line for information about the airport and they offer showers for $8 each and then we'll have to find a quiet corner to rest on the lightweight shawls I plan to carry. I do feel better for having a plan and pillow now lol! I also hope that we will see the Golden Gate Bridge from the plane.

Thank you all for your kind wishes for Jessie yesterday. Lynda thank you too for your thoughts about my "diary"...it really is my gift to my family and I do hope they will look at in years to come and know they were much loved and also see a little about me that perhaps they had forgotten or never knew.

Bye bye for now,
Love from Sue
xx

If you're unable to get something to draw around to make your pattern I will post one to you!

Some Crafty Blogs

I thought I'd simply share a few of my favourite craft blogs this morning, perhaps you'll find some Christmas gift inspiration here.

The first is Pink Penguin's Fabric Baskets...she is a dainty Japanese lady married to an American man and now living in Tokyo, her sewing is always witty and very appealing. I've made several of these little baskets, some for gifts and there are 3 of them dotted around the house containing my craft supplies and specs! I leave off the handles and often use denim for the base.

Roses

Japanese Prints

Yesterday I followed a link from the Homespun Living Blog and came across these delights...http://www.victorianaquiltdesigns.com/VictorianaQuilters/Handwork/main.htm

Another tutorial I have used several times is for these appliance covers, it's simply an upside-down bag really with a nicely made square bottom....I've cheated again here by making them with just one layer so they're not reversible but still very useful. I have one on the breadmaker, toaster, monitor and sewing machine! With the vast range of fabrics available these days you could really 'go to town'!

This is my monitor

breadmaker

toaster

These Stationery Folders are easy to make and very useful...I keep birthday cards, stamps and envelopes in mine and have given them as gifts with a selection of $1 greeting cards inside them...you could add some stamps too if your budget permits. They use little oddments of fabric so are great stash-busters and Melissa is a forum member too...she has lots of other lovely goodies to share.

Inside the folder

It has a handy pocket on the front too.

Now after looking at these delicious goodies I am itching to sew something sweet!

Do you have plans for the weekend or are you just going to go with the flow like me? Have fun whatever you decide to do.

Bye bye for now,
Sue
xxx