2011 and already ACHIEVING!

 

 

In late December/early January we took our annual summer holiday. Each year we go to a different location as after all there are so many beautiful places in Australia to travel and check out. This year our choice was the lovely historic township of Port Fairy.....

As you can tell, we had a great time! But alas, when I got home I came down sick.......that very night!! What a bugger! That certainly wasn't in the plan and it was quite annoying when I had all the best plans to craft and finish off ufo's when I landed home!

Well after a lost week, I have made up for lost time this week and I am not finished yet. But I thought I would take the time to show you what I had accomplished. I have ticked 5 things off my to-do list!

1. Lucy's Crochet Bag - as its known in blog world now! After the original one I made in May 2010, one of my close friends saw this bag and had a request of her own - earthy colors which haven't come out that well in the pick, but I followed the recipe of her requests for colors.

This time I decided to not only stitch the flower via the button in the middle, but I decided to slip a stich into the outside edge of each of the flower petal to hold it down and stop them curling - I am happy with how it splays out the flower.

 My girlfriend also stipulated that it needed to have strong handles. Hmmm, tough since they are crocheted! I used single crochet to make the stitching tighter and add strength but sensed this would not be enough. So whilst stitching I gave it some thought.......what if I sewed webbing onto the inside of the handles to stop the stretch? Well this worked, but then I decided the web tape was too stark and noticeable so I tried to antique the handles with some walnut ink (thanks to my scrapbook supplies).

I really enjoyed crocheting away on this over the hols! I was the old granny sitting in the caravan, sitting on the lounge chair, sitting on the beach......crocheting away! Everywhere I went, so did the bag. Talk about ACHIEVE!!

2. Play with some stuffies - a new baby coming into the family, oops born yesterday into the family, deserves a lovely gift. I couldn't go past making these lovely stuffies! Congrats to Nikky & Perko on their bouncing boy.

Unfortunately I can't seem to rotate these photos so my apologies. These came from a new pattern range from Melly and Me. She suggests you can put a child safe rattle or squeezie in it. I tried! First of all, I tried to purchase an insert like this from a number of stores. No luck. So I got some bells but notice they won't ring when held firm, as stuffing would do. So back to thinking it over - what about putting it inside a little bubble or something similar? So my family had to all eat kinder surprises so that I could have the plastic bubble inside. This didn't work either! It banged rather than rattled or rang. Frustrating. Then in the end, I had sewed up the fronts to the back and was stuffing them through the opening, when I realised I had not left enough room to get the bubbles inside! I was a bit over it by now so a couple got bells on their just in case it worked! It didn't! Oh well, move on.

3. Noticeboard - No, you are not seeing double and I am not repeating an image I already showed you! I made one of these noticeboards (identical) for my sister for Christmas and never got to finish my own. So this was my mission. I am over having all unfinishes around the house!?!

4. Completed block 6 & 7 of the Mystery Designer Xmas BOM (with the fat quarter shop).

Life got a bit on top of my towards the end of the year with report writing, exam marking, professional developments, preparing for a change of work plan for 2011, Christmas and holidays. I am sure you can all relate in some way. So I needed to catch up on these BOM's - the 8th one is in the air as we speak on its journey from the US to Aussie land.

This is most of the stash so far - looks great huh?

5. Preparation for a very special quilt...........I have looked for years for just the right quilt for my beloved sister! She told me last year that she was very fussy when it comes to quilts and this only made the task even faster. Well, of course you can resist the urge to visit new (or any) quilt shops when you are out of town? I went to one of my favourites in Warnambool, Fragrant Cottage with no known intention of what I would buy but I should've guessed I would fall in love with something in there as the fabrics are all so gorgeous! And that is where I found it!! A new blackbird design book I had not seen before (I just love these designer's work!). The quilt is called Country Bloom and is a combo between old world charm and shabby chick I suppose. Big 24" blocks will applique up quick. So today I pieced the backgrounds and cut out the applique pieces for the first block so that I will be able to work on this over the year. No photos yet but very pleased with how it is coming up!

Talking about going to quilt shops when you are out of town.......it is true that I often seek out a quilt shop but after my trip to Warnambool I knew I had spent enough and did not actively seek out any more (oh and a little visit to the Port Fairy shop too). But when I suggested to hubby or rather reminded him that I would like to Hamilton and we should travel back through the town since we had not made a day visit there whilst on our holidays, he seemed to think there was an alternative criteria!!!

HOW DARE HE? ME? Me? Even when we got to Hamilton and we got out of the car, he wanted to know what we were going to do now. My reply - I don't know, have a look around at the shops I guess. He still wanted to know why we were REALLY here and where was the quilt shop? Accused but not guilty we proceeded around the shops, and what did we find at a steal of a price?.....................this beautiful piece.........

I knew a friend who had a grand piece like this in their lounge/sitting area and I have wanted one myself for years. Well Kev (hubby) seemed to think alike. On sale, this was a real bargain and such a find. Now if we had not gone to Hamilton for a short visit........????

Lastly, today I spent some precious sewing time with a dear friend and her family. I say 'precious' as this is probably our last sewing date for quite some time!! Joy is about to depart the country and join her hubby back in Saudi Arabia. I think we all achieved despite the talk!

Joy finished this quilt top using moda charm squares - isn't it sweet?

 Elizabeth was working on a set of 6 stitcheries that she designed herself - very clever girl. This is the first one almost complete with some possible sashing options. Very nice. This is going to be very sweet and pretty.

Okay well that is it for me for now. I need to jump onto my side bar now and update my first lot of finishes for 2011!! How exciting!

I have also decided to add a block counter to the side bar too - I thought it would be interesting to know how many blocks I sew during the year! Why don't you consider doing the same too?

More finishes to come before I go back to work.....

with love, Bonnie xox