Happy Birthday to my Friend ChookyBlue's Chookshed

It's attended a virtual Birthday party this weekend, so wish I was actually celebrating with Chooky and the girls. But alas I'm like the other cyber attendees, stitching and celebrating at home from afar.

The weather is perfect for a stitch in though here in Sydney wild and wet.

Friday night saw me stitching pairs together for my next Lucy Boston Block, whilst drinking red wine with a bit of a cheeseboard for dinner with hubby watching a movie, the wind crashing and the rain pouring down.

Saturday, home alone and I decided the weather was telling me to lay in and read so I finished off a great book. Before slinking out of bed to the couch and Lucy, and another block in process, home alone for the best part of the day/evening one block quickly turned into another with the help of some ginger spiced Mojito, it was a pizza delivery dinner on hubby's way home from work. Oops Lucy took over.

Sunday and that weather was really crazy.... The images on Facebook were frightening and I decided that some chores needed doing, so a quick bathroom clean and a whip around with the vacuum and I settled in for a bit of stitching on Lucy feeling happy, and less guilty that I was truly having a me weekend, thinking of the chatting and fun going on at the chookshed.

Today I was joined by a few family members, we chilled out with episodes of wolf creek and I got my stitches on....completing 3 blocks over the weekend.  ***EDITED that's 4 blocks - just found one under my quilt tiding up - thought I'd done more 

This Last block being the challenge block, that I cut and prepared from my time spent in the chookshed from this post.

This Morning I was up early and went out whilst the weather cleared to share with you some of my walk that was blocked by the weekends crazy King Tide and rain.

And here is my Lucy blocks completed so far, she really is growing thanks to Chooky for the inspiration and Sandy of Shirallee stitches for my Blocks of the Month.

My First joining block

Prehab and Happy Mail

Diary Date - 11th May 2015

I began today with some trepidation, as it marked the beginning of a new part of ME, hopefully with the help of what is known as Prehab (REHAB for before surgery). My surgeon is hoping that the next intensive 3 month programme of 3 hours a day 3 days a week of Physio and Hydrotherapy will help improve my muscle tone and perhaps put surgery off for 10 years. I am totally exhausted to say the least, but at least I have these pretties to look forward to... tonight I begin another project.... eeek!!! 

Exciting ‪‎happy mail‬ from Shiralee Stitches a new addiction, Chookyblue shared her's with me whilst I was there visiting recently and well I just couldn't resist.... Oh the joy of this Lucy Boston and my love for EPP... Oh if there were more hours in the day to just sit and stitch, perhaps with my ice packs keeping me company after every rehab visit... I may just get some done.

SAL - Natures Journey

A Progress Report

THE PLAN

Yes there was a plan, and I have struggled to keep up, but here is my progress report

January  -Christmas Wishes Stitchery

February Part 1 big-2hearts, 1basket, 1flower +small 2hearts, 2 hexies, 1 square, 1circle, 1year

March Part 2 big-2pears, 2stars, flower +small- 2circles, heart, hexie

April Part 3 big-2flowers, 1star, 1cherry, 1dragonfly +small 2bees, 2circles

May Part 4 big-hexie, 2xpersimmons, butterfly +5small 2xsquares, 2xbees, initial

June Part 5 big-leaves, acorn, flower, 2xpieced blocks +4small 2xhearts, 2xladybugs

July Part 6 centre appliqué

August Part 7 2 borders with the little squares appliquéd on - well, they are all cut out, preparation is the key they say. That and my love for ziplock bags. I am progressing slowly, so I am now only 1 month behind.... fingers crossed I can catch up before September is done.

September Part 8 last section and into a top and quilted - there is still hope, with a weekend away coming up in Bathurst it may just happen.

GDITC - Bag Finish and Swaps

So this weekend is my annual GDITC (Girls Day in The Country) outing, and of course it means deadlines are looming on last years project - but Ta Dah, it is done and packed and ready to go for the weekend.

I did Promise Kate that I would finish my Chateau Quilt but sadly I have been working on it, but it's a lot more than I planned on . I have done over 1001/2 inch hexies, and all but the chateau is needle turned. But I just didn't get to sewing the quilt top together before leaving home. So it will be a next bloggers meet share.

Any how have a great weekend everyone. 

I know I will.

September Stitch A Long completed as a gift

Well it's our last month in the Stitch A Long, I am sad that it is ended, but also happy as it means that Christmas Swap time has come and it's time to work on learning who my swap partner is and make her something special.

But anyway Septembers item was a needle case from the Some Kind of Wonderful Book by Anni Downs. I loved it, but I really wanted my item to be more suited to my recipient and so it morphed with the aid of this pin

I love how it turned out and it has space for all the things needed for a spot of stitching when travelling

So did the Birthday Girl, Happy Early Birthday Janet!!!!

Stitch A Long February & March, & More...

Well it's been a bit of a finishing off week for me with sewing. That happens when your going on a stitching weekend away with the girls....and I need to pack. I found some bits, oops that needed just finishing off so why not. Tidy, Finish and Pack, so this has happened for a little more than a week now.

There was the scissor keep that we are making as a swap for GDITC, I am so looking forward to going, and this pattern has been in my stash printed off to make for ages. It is a Lynette Anderson Design and a freebie on her blog. It was so easy and went together really quickly, and I made my own braid and tassle - yeah me!

 

 Then there were a few cups of chai,

  whilst I stitched and worked on the binding for a few more Love/Hope quilts, post to come in a few days with more on these.

 Oh and then there was the extra stitchery, and pieces that I had cut ready for my double up of February's True Friends Tote Stitch-A-Long from Natalie Bird's RED HOME (with my altered Natalie Lymer's Cinderberry Stitches stitchery), yes I had planned to do it in February, but well it got put under something and then under something else...so it's now complete...and yes it's perfect for my crocheting, I even added a little pocket on the inside that's divided so that my needle (or a pen) is in a safe spot as are my scissors (or my phone). Packed and ready to run out the door for car trip hooking :)

Then there was March's Stitch-A-Long Pin Cushion from Some Kind of Wonderful by Anni Downs. As per my do it twice and gift one, or store as a gift for later and keep one for myself. Of course I did 2 and modified one, for an upcoming Birthday. I loved this project as I am a keeper of scraps, I have a basket full of them, I hate to say that they cats think it's a bed and love to sleep in it. But It's my go too for small projects. I was even lucky enough that the gifted one, on my rummage in my scraps it matches her birthday gift from 2010 in this post

While Stitching away, I was pondering the stuffing. Now I have made a few pincushions in my time. And have always liked/prefered the harder ones, but they usually involve a button/ or stitch though the centre, after stuffing to then help make it a little firmer. I also like them to have some weight in them so that they stay put and don't float around. So I researched and it seems that there are many things to stuff pincushions with. I did like the sound crushed walnut shell, apparently it is sold as bedding for reptiles, but after sending hubby on a pet shop mission and he visited 3. We were out of luck, although one sales assistant was very helpful and did suggest buying and blending the nuts myself. She did mention that somebody had asked her before for them for the same reason.  

So what are you stuffing your pin cushions with???

I opted for my usual, Steel wool centre, and then thought I would try rice as a wieght, then the question was how to get that in the centre of the pin cushion - Glad Wrap  - OK. Now you see that pin cushion and you see my wrapped steelwool coated rice bundle....mmm HOW DOES IT GET IN?????

OK, so it's not going in, so I unwrapped and ended up with a mess of rice, but all items went in with much difficulty, my pin cushions look lovely, although they are not as heavy as others I have done, and are a little floaty, but they work and hey look aren't they cute???

 And mine of course matches my Sue Daley Clam Shell roll that I made last year, which you can see in this post - I had just enough scraps for the pin cushion. It matches and also fits perfectly into the roll. Match made in heaven.

 Then I have been wanting since purchasing this Tilda Tin last year that I wanted a fabric liner - well today was the day - and I love it, it's not perfect, but it works - and holds all my bits and it doesn't rattle as much.

Well what a week, tonight's pile of hand stitching is ready - yes those bindings need hand stitching down...