Table Runners

I found this pattern in an old magazine and had to make it.  

The hardest part was choosing which fabric to sew.

 

 but... I bought this wonderful 60 degree ruler while in the States a couple of months ago.. unfortunately it arrived home broken, but my handy "other half" was able to glue it back together with no bumps, so my rotary cutter is still able to glide over it.

I experimented with it on 2 other fabrics first (making a runner from each fabric), then made up 4 table runners from this lovely light house fabric.

The slowest part is sewing on the binding.  I have only finished these 2 runners so far and have another 5 runners to bind.

 I can't do anymore at the moment, as I have a hole in my finger from pushing the needle through..
 I wish I could use a thimble, then I could just keep on binding!

Just another reminder about my Australia Day Swap... taking names closes on 6th January.

Until next post...
Jewells

SSCS 2013 opened at long last

 It is now nearing the end of Christmas Day here in Australia.
All presents have been opened, HUGE lunch has been eaten and washed down with champagne.
Family has now departed and gone to their home and now I am here going through my presents again.

Amongst the gifts is the SSCS 2013 parcel from Sharon Z.  It was such a surprise to receive so many gorgeous items crammed packed into that tin box!

Thank you Sharon so much and also thanks to Chookyblue for hosting the swap.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all.

Until next post..
Jewells
PS: Don't forget to join up for the Australia Day Swap!

Santa Sack Swap

 

 Gone Stitch' held a Santa Sack Swap and  Tracee Forster and I were swap partners.

We are now allowed to open our gifts and look what I received!

 The table runner is on the nest of 3 tables in the lounge room
The red place mat is under a Santa cookie jar
The 2 ornaments are hanging on the tree
The 2 red & white dishes are washed and put with my Christmas table items
The red bird & candle is sitting on the table runner
The 2 tea towels are in the wash basket so they will be ready to use on Christmas Day
The box of chocolates have already been sampled and the rest (not many) are in the fridge
The craft book has been thoroughly pawed and now in my craft book case
The ribbon & fabric used for wrapping is tucked away in the sewing room.

THANK YOU Tracee... I am soooo spoilt!

Until next post...Jewells
PS: Don't forget to join my Australia Day Swap!

Had to Laugh & Aussie Swap

I received my gift from "Sharon" in Jelly Wares swap and had to laugh..

Why???

Here is my gift from Sharon (I don't think she has a blog) ... 

and here is my gift to the person I sent to. (Won't say her name, as she might not have received it yet)

 

Goes to show that we must follow the same blogs!  Thanks Sharon, as I don't actually have one of my own, I now have it on my kitchen sink to use.

Now onto my Australia Day Swap


I have 6 names so far (including myself), but would love a lot more to join.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE join up and have some Aussie spirit, patriotic ism, FUN!
I will stop taking names on the 6th January, email all of you with your swap partner's details in time for you to post on the 16th January. (You WON'T be sending to the same person that sends to you).
All details are here or scroll back to my last posting.
Please email me your name, snail mail address, and blog (if you have one).  AND/OR leave a comment and I will get back to you.

Until next post..
Jewells

Aussie Aussie Aussie ... Oi! Oi! Oi!

G'DAY!

Australia Day is approaching (26 January) and I feel, as an Aussie, I should host an

AUSTRALIA DAY SWAP.

I sometimes feel that us Aussies aren't as patriotic as we should be and I want to play a part in some sort of good old "mate ship" and show some kindness to a fellow person and give some lovin'.

The way I thought we could "celebrate" is to send 9 items to a fellow swapper.  Now the way these items are to be chosen are – they have to start with each letter in "Australia".

For EXAMPLE:

A – Australian Made item (you could make it)

U – Utensil, Ugly fabric

S – Sunflower seeds, Smiley fabric

T – Tea Towel, Trims

R – Ribbon

A – Apron

L – Lilac, Lavender, Lolly

I – Ink pen

A – Apple fabric

That is just some ideas I have come up with on the spur of the moment… but I am sure you all can come up with others.

Anyone interested?   Leave a comment or email me. 

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.

Oi!  Oi!  Oi!

Julie 
PS: A couple have asked about "posting date"... 16th January .. 
PSS: Sign up closes on the 6th January..
PPSS: Only open to Australian residents (sorry to overseas people!), due to there being so many items, it could be too heavy to post..

SSCS 2013 Has Arrived!

 

 Look what came in the mail!

I had just come home from a full day of visiting Mum in hospital, to see this parcel sitting on my kitchen table.

I ripped opened the satchel to find this inside. (Forgot to photograph the package before opening it!)

 

My SSCS2013 Secret Santa is Sharon Z.

 Isn't the presentation of the present beautiful?

My "other half" whisked it away and hid it before I had time to finish squeezing and prodding it to work out what was inside!

 

 So, I was left with this package to open now.

Isn't it just adorable?
I must get my decorations up, but after driving 90 mins each way, every day, to the hospital to visit Mum, I just collapse in the chair when I get home.
Poor Mum, has been on the waiting list for surgery since Sunday night and is still waiting... she was all gowned up, nil by mouth,  ready to go yesterday...all day... but  never got there.. they gave her something to eat at 7pm... and it will all happen again today...waiting, waiting...
They are going to put a "stent" from her kidney to her bladder, then 6 weeks later, she is to go back to have the kidney stone dissolved.. well that is what I was told "last time".

Until next post..
Jewells

A posting on my blog "at last"

Life just seems to be whizzing by and I keep thinking that I must post on my blog, but then realise I haven't done a stitch of sewing for quite a while (until 2 days ago), so thought I had nothing to post about... then I read a message from Chookyblue this morning, to all the SSCS2013 members saying that some of us aren't posting on our blogs enough... I felt guilty... so with camera in hand I raced up to the sewing room and took a couple of photos.

The first is a Santa kit I bought while in the States in October.  I started working on it a couple of days ago.  Felt good to finally get back to the machine.  It is a simple kit to make up, and it is so cheery and bright.  Just love it!

 The second photo is a quilt that Mum is making.  She was going along great, working on it each day, until 2 nights ago when she doubled over in pain.  Unfortunately, there were no doctors on call at my local hospital, so an ambulance took her to the nearest hospital, 45 mins away, where she stayed in emergency for 18 hours, having blood tests & x-rays and then was sent by another ambulance to another hospital, (now 1.5 hours away from here).  Mum was meant to have surgery straight away, but due to other emergencies greater than hers, she ended up having a "band aid" fix late last night and is scheduled for surgery "sometime" in the next couple of days....
her illness is due to a KIDNEY STONE!  You can't imagine how much pain one little itsy bitsy stone can make...  Mum is 81 years old.  Thank goodness for morphine!

Until next post...
Jewells

SSCS 2013

 

It is nearly time to post off my Chookyblue's SSCS 2013.

I went outside and hung the decorations on my passionfruit vine to photograph them...(disturbing a couple of tiny green frogs perched on the stem above the spot I hung the ornaments).

 

Then I tried to display the items I made for my secret sister, on the back steps in a pleasing to the eye way. (Failed miserably!). 
I normally make one BIG thing for my swap partner, but decided this year to make a lot of little things.

Now to parcel it all up and post it off on Monday.
Until next post...
Jewells

I have been away!

 Sorry I have not written on my blog for over a month, (my Christmas swap partners must have been worried about the lack of entries to my blog!), but at the end of September I made a snap decision to go to the States to attend a Statler Gammill seminar and off I went to the States for 5 weeks.

The first morning of the seminar, I will say I was "treading water" with all the information being thrown at us, then in the afternoon, I completely "drowned".  Luckily the next 2 days were a mixture of both lessons. Speaking to people who have attended every year, they say that they felt the same way I did the first year, but with experience with their machines, they found going every year beneficial.

Of course, while I was in the States, I bought up on fabric, buying 100's of yards to add to my stash.

I also went shopping... let's just say, the American economy certainly had a boost while I was there!

 
 Must tell you a funny story... the last airport I was at to come home was Los Angeles.  It has only just fully opened that day after the fatal shooting a few days earlier... well, just as I was about to go through the security body scanning X ray, I had a "hot flush" (ain't menopause something!).  Well it must have shown up during the scanning.. I was pulled aside, told to put my arms up and I was frisked, then swabs were taken from both palms of my hands and put through the drug detection machine... of course I was clear on all accounts and let go... on leaving I mentioned to the female attendant that I just had a "hot flush" and she said that it looked like I was sweating through being nervous.. something that drug mules often do.

Must keep unpacking...
Until next post...
Jewells

Knitted Cotton Rug Finished

 Finished!
Yesterday I sewed the squares together and was just about to crochet around the outside with white, then realised that it looked great without another border.

Each square is about 8" and I "just" had enough pink.  I was starting to panic that I wouldn't have the cotton for the 8 squares.  I kept weighing what I had left and silently prayed that it would be enough...and there was!  PHEW!

As mentioned before, these wonderful free patterns are found on "Down Cloverlaine's" blog.  Just click on here and it will take you to her great site.

Until next post...
Jewells

Knee Rug - Last one!

 

Mum is so happy to have finished all the cot quilts.

The colours don't come up as pretty as they really are, they look a bit drab here, but take my word for it, the colours are very rich.

 

 I used a floral quilting stitch.. sort of the same flower as in the material.

The backing is a quilt in itself, using strips of fabric from the same colour range.

Mum is a bit partial to this one and I think she wants to keep it for herself!

Until next post..
Jewells

Third King Size Quilt Finished

 

 Phew!!! 

The binding certainly takes some time to do, especially when you do it in the adds while watching TV at night time.

This is based on a log cabin design and the free pattern can be found here.

I used a yellow floral fabric for the backing.

I think we will make some small things now.. like table runners.

Until next post..
Jewells

Bright Child's Quilt

 

This is another of the cot sized quilts that I cut, Mum sewed, then I quilted.

 

The quilt has a cotton flannel front and a fleecy (stretch) on the back with wadding in between to help stabilise the stretch of the fleecy.

I thought I would try something different with the binding, so I attached the binding by the machine to the BACK of the quilt, then attached the binding to the front of the quilt using a herringbone stitch on my machine... this certainly was a quick way to attach a binding.
(I won't be using this method on large keepsake quilts, but might again on kids throw in the wash quilts).

Until next post...
Jewells

4 more squares made for baby rug

 

I have now made 8 different pink squares in cotton.

 

I now will make the same 8 squares in white cotton.

 

Funny story with the above pattern...when the lady designed the Koala, she put a tail on it, (like a rabbit's) as she is an American and hadn't seen a picture of the back of a Koala... an Aussie contacted her and the poor designer had to give the Koala a "tail-ectomy"!

 I like the squirrel the best.. so cute!

As mentioned in my last post..please pop across to my "other" blog (homework for course I am doing) and I would be chuffed if you leave a comment.

Until next post...
Jewells

Blogging Course

I decided to go to a course at our local Community Centre...on BLOGGING.

The teacher was into "story telling" on blogs.

There were 15 of us there and everyone except me, did NOT have an up and running blog.

We were given homework...go home and start a blog... me?.. I had to start another one, as well as keeping this one.

So I have, and if you go here,  you will see what I have decided to blog about.

Please pop over and leave a comment..tell me what you think.

Until next post...

Jewells

Woof & Meow

 

 Another 2 cloths are finished.  

The dog and the cat.

For those who know me well, you must be wondering why I knitted the cat, as I am a REAL dog lover and can't bring myself to like cats...
..well, I am not the one who will be owning the finished project, and it is only right to include a dog AND a cat.  (Must admit the cat looks pretty cute...for a cat!)

Must get back to binding the last king sized quilt... and quilt the cot quilts that Mum is running up!

But first I am going to play with a new gizmo that Mum and I bought at the Newcastle Quilt Show.. it cuts fabric in squares, rectangles & triangles...

Until next post...

Jewells

Re-purposed Luggage Labels

 

I needed a break from quilting, so.....

I decided to make some luggage labels by re-purposing the badges from my old clothing.

I use to work for a garage that sold Land Rovers, so after I left, I cut the emblems off my clothing and "re-purposed" them.

I did the same to our old RM Williams jeans.  I even cut the legs off the jeans and made the labels out of the fabric from them!

Until next post...
Jewells

Quilted Knee Rug & Knitted Squares

 

I was getting sick of sewing the binding on quilts, so I decided to knit a square in between quilts.

I got the patterns FREE from the blog Down Cloverlaine.  (I have her listed in my favourites as "Best dishcloth patterns"). 

All of the "dish/face cloths" she designs, are also adapted into a baby's bib.

I am knitting these with 100% cotton and I hope to make about 12 or 16 different patterns (half pink, half cream), sew them together and make a baby blanket.

 

...and another knee rug.  Flannel on top and fleecy behind.

Mum says she is seeing squares in her sleep! ...well she has another 3 lined up to make!

Until next post...
Jewells

Quilt finished

 

I finished the binding last night on another of my king size quilts.  I decided to use some of my left over bindings .. after all it is a "scrap quilt".

This pattern was from Crazy Mom Quilts blog.

 

I used a blue backing covered in cute animals.

The quilting was ribbon bows.  (If you click on the photo, it will show the quilting much better!)
I loved this pattern and will certainly be quilting more quilts with it.

Now I have one more king sized quilt to bind, then onto knee rugs.

Until next post...
Jewells

One of Mum's Knee Rugs

 

I had some fleecy fabric that has been in my cupboard for ages, so I thought I would cut squares of flannel fabric (from my stash) to make a quilt top the same size.
  Mum sewed the quilt top and then I quilted it.

 The blue sheep fabric is the fleecy backing (shown in photo).  I didn't use a wadding as the fleecy and the flannel fabrics are thick and warm enough.
The quilt will be great for a knee rug or a throw quilt on the floor for a toddler.

I have 3 other fleecy backings to be made up into knee rugs.  I have cut the squares of flannel for 2 of them and now I must cut the third lot.

Until next post...
Jewells

Stacked Coins Finished

Phew! this one was a big one. I hand sew the binding on at night time during the adds on TV.

 

As mentioned in the last post, this quilt is called "Stacked Coins" and it is large enough to go on a king size double bed, with extra hanging over the sides.

 

I used a blue backing (my favourite colour), and the binding was left over strips of binding from previous quilts.

I used an apple quilting all over pattern... I haven't learnt how to do custom quilting yet.

Until next post...
Jewells

Another 2 quilts being quilted

 

Mum and I are on a roll... I cut and Mum sews.

This quilt is called  "Stacked Coins".  It is a free pattern from Crazy Mom Quilts.

 This one is made up of 2.5" x 4.5" scraps with white in between.  I have made 2 of these quilts before, and Mum thought she would make one from our scraps.

This quilt is HUGE... it would be large enough for a king sized double bed, AND have quilt hanging over the sides... if it was much bigger, I would not have been able to fit it on my machine to quilt it!

 The second quilt is a tad smaller (not much) and it was also made from my scraps... this time I cut and sewed this quilt myself.  It is on point and I was happy with how it turned out.
Again, I got this free pattern from the blog Crazy Mom Quilts.

Another 2 quilted, more to go.

Until next post...
Jewells