Homemade Gifts

I only made two gifts this past Xmas, a pincushion for dd Emma & a bag for my lovely friend Pinky. I also made a bag for my dear friend Helen's January birthday.

The pincushion pattern is in Annie Downs book 'Some Kind of Wonderful.' 

I handpieced the whole thing. I tried machining the top & base to the embroidered section, but it didn't end well, lol. 

 The base.

I hoped Pinky, a US friend, would like this cute Aboriginal inspired fabric so I made a bag for her out of it. The fabric is much brighter than it looks in the pic.

I got this cute fabric at Spotlight last year. 

I made 2 identical bags, one for me & one for Helen. 

I'd seen a few pleated bags online & I really like them. I didn't have a pattern, so I made one up. I plan to make more pleated bags in different sizes.

The Gamesroom

Just so you know I haven't just been sitting around on my bum doing nothing - ta-da!

The Gamesroom - I call it the playroom, but ds Rowan says that sounds childish, oh to be 16 again & so grown up.

This room used to be dh's study, if you're familiar with the tv show Hoarders insert before picture here:

Total disaster area with no floor visible!

His reason for the disaster area was that everyone dumped all their stuff in there. Funnily enough, when he moved out & took his stuff, the only thing left were the family photo albums.......

So an empty room, what to do? I thought it would be good to have a dedicated place for the Wii etc, also a quiet place to sit & read, or watch a dvd. I also decided to put in a bench for the printer & a cupboard to hold  stationary. The wardrobe holds all our games, photos & some old videos. I do like to be organised!

As you can see it's a pretty bland room, here we'd already ripped up the hideous aubergine carpet. I'm slowly getting rid of it all. 

The walls are blah coloured, & the original owners finished all the timber work with one of those awful 2 pack stain/varnish products which looks patchy & horrible. I will work my way through the house painting all the timber work white, it not only looks a lot better, it also lightens up each room enormously. But on the downside it's a bugger to keep clean, lol.

We bought some aqua paint for the main bedroom a couple of years ago, but it never got done, so I decided to use the paint in here. It was a lot darker, read brighter, than I remembered, so I added a lot of white, & ended up with a very pretty colour.

I wanted a timber floor but not all the work & expense involved so this is a cheat. See pics at the end of the post.

I went to IKEA to buy the white shelves & as always had to check out the 'as is' corner. The red lounge was a bargain as the cushions were dirty. As they all come off for washing I figured why not? It washed up brilliantly & I love it. Rowan & I spotted the rug at Masters & being total Anglophiles had to have it.

And finally, with the quilt we had to have, the curtains up, & the cute lampshade I also found in the IKEA as is corner, plus a lampbase from my fave vintage shop, it all came together.

The bench, again IKEA as is, it's actually a cupboard door plus some IKEA legs.

The cute little vintage cupboard I bought on eBay for $20 has heaps of storage & the top lifts up, how cool!

I've always made do when it came to shelving but I decided to splash out & buy something a bit swish. IKEA Hemnes was just the ticket, it's actually solid wood & I'm really happy with it.

Finally all the dvd's in one place instead spread between several shelves through other rooms.

Inside the wardrobe.

The Floor

The floor is 2 layers of ply, first we laid the sheets, cutting them to fit.

 

Then we cut the top layer into strips & laid them. We glued them & nailed them with a nail gun. We then undercoated them & gave them 2 top coats of paint. 

You could stain & varnish them, or just varnish them. We have jarrah through the rest of the ground floor & I didn't want to stain these to match, it's too dark. I thought a light stain would look bad against the jarrah, so decided to paint the floor white as a total contrast.

We have also decorated the main bedroom & Rowan now has it. Once he has his double bed I will post pics. I'm currently working on the 'library,' formerly a dead space between the kitchen & my sewing room. I have a list a mile long for improvements for each room so I will be very busy this year!

I should mention too, I don't get any commission/kickbacks from IKEA or Masters for mentioning them, worse luck!

Christmas 2012

  Xmas got away from me, so this is a better late than never post. :-) 

 I used all my fave traditional stuff for the foyer.

 

  This doesn't show up well, but looked really pretty. I simply hung a range of baubles on mono filament thread from a piece of dowel. I wrapper tinsel around the dowel to cover it & then hung it from the window pelmet.

 I saw this idea on another blog & thought it was so cute. I love old ports & have quite a few. I've left it out & will set up another little vignette in it to enjoy through the year.

.

It was nice having a 'pretty' tree this year. I decided to go pastel with my tree, soft pink, aqua, lime, silver & white & I really loved it.

The dumb waiter makes a great place to display our village. Rowan set it up for me this year & it looked great!

I decided to put together a hamper of food & fun for Emma & her fiancée James. I picked up this gorgeous vintage cane hamper at my fave vintage shop, it was just perfect & Emma can use it in her sewing room for storage.

 Molly loves Xmas, (she's very fond of ham), so it's her fave time. :-)

December Book

Well it took me a month to read this book, all 946 pages of it. 1096 if you add in the appendix & index! The downside of this book, weight, boy is it heavy, the upside, one of the most interesting books I've ever read! 

It starts with the birth of Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1900 & follows her incredible life until her death at the age of 102. 

Although I'm a 3rd generation Aussie,I've always been an Anglophile & I'm very proud to have Scottish & English great grandparents. I'm also a royalist, so this book was just my cup of tea, though I have to say this book is not just about the Queen Mother, it is also an excellent way to learn so much about the 20th century in England, so many things I knew a little about, suddenly became a lot more detailed.

One of the main things I learned was just what an incredible lady the Queen Mother was. When she married she expected to one day be the King's sister in law, of course when King Edward VIII abdicated she was suddenly the King's wife, & knew that her eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth was destined to be a Queen. King George VI would never have been as successful without his amazing wife. Her sense of duty was never-ending but she was also incredibly devoted to her family, & was a adored by her entire family. She was also a very loyal friend to hundreds of people.

I also came to understand a lot more about how the royal family works & just how much they do. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves the royals. Oh & I picked it up at All Books for Less for just $5!!!!

Yule Greetings from Oz

'Twas the night before Christmas; there wasn't a sound.

Not a possum was stirring; no-one was around.

We'd left on the table some tucker and beer,

Hoping that Santa Claus soon would be here;

We children were snuggled up safe in our beds,

While dreams of pavlova danced 'round in our heads;

And Mum in her nightie, and Dad in his shorts,

Had just settled down to watch TV sports.

When outside the house a mad ruckus arose;

Loud squeaking and banging woke us from our doze.

We ran to the screen door, peeked cautiously out,

Snuck onto the deck, then let out a shout.

Guess what had woken us up from our snooze,

But a rusty old Ute pulled by eight mighty 'roos.

The cheerful man driving was giggling with glee,

And we both knew at once who this plump bloke must be.

Now, I'm telling the truth it's all dinki-di,

Those eight kangaroos fairly soared through the sky.

Santa leaned out the window to pull at the reins,

And encouraged the 'roos, by calling their names.

'Now, Kylie! Now, Kirsty! Now, Shazza and Shane!

On Kipper! On, Skipper! On, Bazza and Wayne!

Park up on that water tank. Grab a quick drink,

I'll scoot down the gum tree. Be back in a wink!'

So up to the tank those eight kangaroos flew,

With the Ute full of toys, and Santa Claus too.

He slid down the gum tree and jumped to the ground,

Then in through the window he sprang with a bound.

He had bright sunburned cheeks and a milky white beard.

A jolly old joker was how he appeared.

He wore red stubby shorts and old thongs on his feet,

And a hat of deep crimson as shade from the heat.

His eyes - bright as opals - Oh! How they twinkled!

And, like a goanna, his skin was quite wrinkled!

His shirt was stretched over a round bulging belly

Which shook when he moved, like a plate full of jelly.

A fat stack of prezzies he flung from his back,

And he looked like a swaggie unfastening his pack.

He spoke not a word, but bent down on one knee,

To position our goodies beneath the yule tree.

Surfboard and footy-ball shapes for us two.

And for Dad, tongs to use on the new barbeque.

A mysterious package he left for our Mum,

Then he turned and he winked and he held up his thumb;

He strolled out on deck and his 'roos came on cue;

Flung his sack in the back and prepared to shoot through.

He bellowed out loud as they swooped past the gates-

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, and goodonya, MATES!'


Have a safe & wonderful Christmas everyone.
I'm looking forward to the new year & already have a few resolutions in mind.

November 'Book'

  

Only 1 book to report this month, not because I haven't been reading, but because I read this one then started on a rather LARGE book, which halfway through December I'm still reading. At nearly 1000 pages it counts as 3 books but you'll have to wait until December books to see what it is that I'm LOVING!

Now back to November, I treated myself to another Marion Keyes, I try to ration myself because I just love her books so much I don't want to devour them all in a row, lol. This one was no disappointment, it was great. I just sort of fall into a relationship with Marion Keye's characters, they're just so believable & interesting. 

This story revolves around the launch of a new woman's magazine & the different people who have been employed to make that happen. There's Lisa who thought she was being transferred to a New York magazine & is more than a little shocked to find herself in Dublin, Ashling who feels a little out of her depth as Lisa's assistant & her best friend Clodagh who seems to have the perfect life with her husband & children, but does she? Of course there has to be a man & is this case it's Jack Devine the magazine's managing director. Marian's books make you laugh, & make you think, & just give you a really good story. The only bad thing is that they end!

My life has been a never ending rollercoaster this year so I find books the perfect escape. I always read when I go to bed & it usually helps distract me from whatever drama I've been dealing with that day. It doesn't always work but quite often does. 

October Books

3 books, 2 winners this month.

Ok Eat, Pray, Love, another book I'd heard of, but knew nothing about. I really quite enjoyed the first section, Italy, but I'm afraid India & Indonesia, Bali to be exact, weren't enjoyable. 

Basically this book is one woman's journey to find herself & tell us how wonderful she is along the way. I didn't think she was wonderful, I thought she was ignorant & shallow, but that's just my opinion & it's worth the paper it is written on, lol. I think it's simply one of those books you'll just love or hate.

Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth, another true story but this time about a woman in the east end of post war London delivering babies & home nursing in sometimes the most appalling conditions but with such a dedication you just thank god there are people like her in the world. Jennifer turns up to work at what she believes is a small hospital, but what turns out to be a small convent, with a team of midwives who also happen to be nuns. I watched & loved the tv series so was rapt to find there was a book & just had to have it. It's brilliant, funny, sad, moving, entertaining & inspirational. Now this is a book I can't imagine anyone not enjoying.

The Hot Flash Club by Nancy Thayer, this was a fun book. Four woman with very different lifestyles meet by chance & become firm friends. It soon becomes apparent that they can all help each other with specific problems & set out to do so. I've now found there are more books in the series so I look forward to tracking them down as I'd like to continue following their stories.

Yay I've caught up my book blog posts. I've just been so busy lately I haven't had much time to blog. I finished painting & wallpapering the main bedroom for ds to move into & I'm currently turning the 'study' into a playroom for the Playstation. I hope to get it finished quickly as there's a couple of pieces of furniture I really want to get painted this month so I can get into Xmas mode for December.

September Books

Three great books this month.
The Monster in the Box, another Inspector Wexford by Ruth Rendell. As always a great whodunnit, that kept me guessing. It always helps that I've watched so many Wexford movies that I can picture everything I'm reading. This is a strange story that really started when Wexford was a young officer, 2 unsolved murders, & even though Wexford believes he knows who the killer is there is nothing to tie him to the crimes. Decades later the same man Wexford suspected is back in Kingsmarkam & back on Wexford's radar.

Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido. I'll be honest, it was the cover that attracted me to this book, I guess that's true of a lot of books. An unusual book & I enjoyed it & went back & bought some more books by the same author. The story begins with 18yo Katherine & her friendship with one of her professor's & his family. The book spans a decade & the changes in her life. I found it in the $5 bookshop, more & more of these shops are popping up, & they've opened one in my little local shopping centre. Woohoo. They have a facebook page so you can see if there's a store near you.

https://www.facebook.com/allbooks4lesscomau?ref=stream

An old favourite, The Mirror Crack'd by Agatha Christie, one of my all time favourite stories & I absolutely love the movie version with Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis & Kim Novak. The bitching between Liz & Kim is brilliant. Back to the book, it's a clever plot & I wonder if you'll guess whodunnit & why? In this one Miss Marple is home in St Mary Mead & her good friend Dolly Bantry features too. Her police detective nephew Dermot has been sent to investigate the murder of Heather Badcock & takes full advantage of his aunt 's gift for sleuthing. Even though it is a murder mystery as always there are some light-hearted moments to enjoy.

August Books

Again 3 very different books. (Yes there's only 2 in the pic. I've already disposed of 50 Shades, I was never going to read that again).

I was given 50 Shades of Grey for my birthday, or as I refer to it 50 Shades of Shite, & I would have to say, it is without a doubt, the WORST book I've ever read. I knew nothing about it when it was given to me, except that it was very popular. Yes well all I can say is 'The Emperor's New Clothes' syndrome is alive & well & it's a damn shame when trash sells so well, & makes some talentless hack rich. Shall I tell you how I really feel? Lol. 

Seriously this book is badly written, annoying tripe. It is repetitive & boring. As far as being titilating it had the opposite effect on me, I felt like I needed to shampoo my brain after subjecting it to this garbage. Yes I did finish it, I don't think you can sit & criticize a book if you haven't even read it & it may well have improved as it went along, it didn't. My heart didn't beat faster as I read, my stomach turned over a few times with nausea. If you want a book that will make your heart beat faster & put you in a romantic mood read Pride & Prejudice. I like my men to be men with a personality, give me Mr Darcy any day of the week & keep this troll with a never ending supply of condoms in his pocket!!!!! As for the bathtub scenario, was the bath just a few inches deep or did she have a snorkel??? Did anyone else wonder about this??? 

Now I'm sure there are people who agree with me & people who don't, cool. If you don't agree please feel free to blog your opinion of the book, on YOUR blog. I know a lot of people love it & that's cool, my only real concern is that young girls, or boys for that matter, are reading this & thinking that it's the norm & ok to be treated like this. Now that's a worry!

So after finishing that crap I needed to read a GOOD book so I chose Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy. I didn't think I'd read it before but soon realised I had, but settled to enjoy it again. What a beautiful, well written story about people I cared about. What a joy to read. It tells the story of Elizabeth, a little English girl who is evacuated to a big Irish family for the war, & the friendship that develops between her & Aisling the daughter her age in the family & follows their lives as they grow up. Over 600 pages it could have gone on longer, I wish it had.

The Wish List is an unusual book. A 'normal' family is suddenly thrown into a difficult situation when it comes to light the father is a drug addict, & has run up huge debts. While he is in rehab, his wife & 2 young sons, must sell up & move, & get their lives back on track. Things take a strange twist when one son takes it into his head that their elderly, grumpy neighbour is in fact Santa. This book is funny & sad & definitely a good read.

My Entry & a Quick Catch-Up

I've entered 'My Crazy Heart' wallhanging in a contest. If you like it the best, please vote for it. :-)

http://tinyurl.com/a6c3fzd

Life has been hectic here lately. I've redecorated the main bedroom & ds has moved in there. I've now emptied the study to paint & it will become the 'playroom.' A home for the Playstation etc. I'm slowly reorganising the whole house & I plan to get rid of as much excess stuff as possible. That includes a major clear out of all my excess quilt & craft stuff. After over 30 years of crafting, & over 20 years of quilting, my tastes have changed also my eyesight simply cannot handle some of my earlier crafts. It's going to take months, but I'm hoping that at the end of it life will be much simpler. 

Hopefully I'll have time to update my reading list soon & I really hope I can get Live Writer working again so I can post more easily & with the font I like!

My Some Kind of Wonderful quilt top is done!

The deadline to have this quilt done & dusted is Oct. 31. I knew early on I would not have my quilt finished, so my aim was to have my top finished. I thought I would still be madly sewing on Wednesday but I actually finished my top Friday night. I’d lost the patch that goes over the sewing block so I had started making it again, I hand pieced all the little in between block sections so that was going to add some time. Anyway, decided to have another search, & found it, yay, so I was able to get it all together. I was actually surprised at how big the top is, I just love it! Note the sun was out when I went out to photograph my top but by the time I prised ds off his laptop to help hold it up the sun had gone.

I also stumbled towards the end as I wanted to replace the butterfly block but couldn’t decide what to put. I then remembered a freebie block offered by Bustle & Sew last year so I dug it out, resized it, & voila! I do love the seaside, it somehow makes me calm, lol, I should live there in that case!!!!!

I have really enjoyed working with everyone on this quilt through the year. I don’t sew with anybody so this was my quilt group. I’ve loved looking at everyone’s work & seeing how everyone interpreted the blocks & the great range of colours chosen. I’ve certainly been inspired by the work of others & I would never had got this far without the group. I really hope Chookie decides to launch another quilt for us all to work on.

I can’t wait to choose some backing, I’ll be checking my stash today, so I can get it layered & start quilting. I also plan to add buttons & beads to some of the blocks, buttons for the centre of flowers & beads for the seagulls eye & the heads of the pins in the pin cushion. There is also a string of bunting to go on my caravan. Maybe this time next year it will all be finished. :-)

I've learnt a lot working on this quilt this year. After over 20 years of quilting I've discovered that working on one project pretty much exclusively actually suits me better than having a ton of things all on the go. I have way too many ufo's at the moment that I will spend time going through, to decide what I really want to finish, & what I can just let go. I want to finish the things I still love & then just work on 1 or 2 things at a time. 


I also plan to have a major downsizing of all my craft stuff. I have a large studio that is packed to the rafters with every sort of craft thing known to man, & rather than feeling inspired when I walk in, I feel overwhelmed & guilty. I started crafting when I was about 8 & at 52 there aren't many crafts I haven't tried, so I have the stuff to do everything! I'm also one of those people that has to every book there is on every craft I love, which adds up to hundreds & hundreds of books. So the clear out must begin. If you have been through this & have any tips to share, please do!!! I'm not a big fan of eBay & although I will give some of the stuff away, I really need to try & recoup some of the huge amounts of money I've outlayed on all this stuff.

If you'd like to check out the other quilts here is the link to our shared blog:

                            http://stitch-a-long.blogspot.com.au/

SKoW Update

I have been making slow but steady progress on my 'Some Kind of Wonderful' quilt.

 I have finished Rows 1 to 3 & part of row 4.

Nearly all the other blocks are finished or close to it. I’ve written ‘Rise & Shine’ on my sun block. Mum used to wake me with that phrase every morning, drove me bats, but now it makes me smile. She’ll laugh when I tell her. :-) I can’t help thinking the sun looks liked a fried egg, hopefully when all the rays are embroidered it will be ok.
I’m not doing the butterfly block, it doesn’t grab me but I haven’t decided what to do in it’s place.

I’ve also made my top & bottom strips, the strips to go between rows 4 & 5, & the strips for the right hand side are nearly done.

So I’m working away, my aim is to have my top done by the deadline, in 17 days! & maybe even layered ready for me to quilt. 

I've finally installed Fireworks so I can process pic again & can blog!I I will catch up the books I've read soon.

For some reason Windows Live Writer won't recognize this blog so I have to compose my posts in Blogger which can be very frustrating!!!