Charity Makes for 2014.

Yearly count on the charity makes for 1014.

 82 laundry bags, 40 quilts, 64 items for the Angels for the Forgotten charity, including hand made gift bags of colouring books, rulers, sharpeners, crayons, pencils and 40 drawstring bags. 36 Super hero capes and accessories and half  a dozen soft plush toys. I am very happy with what I have achieved this year. On top of that I have made for myself and for gifts 100 Christmas tree decorations, 50 Christmas tree decoration kits, 50 pin cushions to give to the people who serve me in Spotlight and Savers. Also I have re covered 4 swivel chairs and made a quilting table.
I am very happy with what I have achieved this year.

Aussie Hero Quilt In Progress.

 Meggie yesterday afternoon.

 

 This is the next quilt I have been working on over the weekend.

 The recipient has asked for red, green, purple, beach and rainbow.

 The fabrics have been cut, stacked, cut and re sewn together and trimmed.

 Finished block.

 Sashings and corner stones cut and ready to put together. 2 1/2 inches for the front ones and 1 inch for the backs. I have just seen I have forgotten to make the corner stones for the back sashings. I will be making those then putting them altogether.

This is the back of the quilt. Polka dots, batiks and Hawaiian fabrics remind me of beach wear.

This is the front of the quilt. all the brights in her favourite colours.
I will be assembling them into 7 rows of 4 blocks.

Ric-raC Sale.

 Good news stuff. My good friend Jodie Carleton has some new patterns out now, on sale too. You will in the newsletter get a code word for the PDF patterns with 30% off. Do hurry as this is only valid until 3rd of December. If you go to her blog,
http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com.au/
and sign up for her newsletter, there is a lovely Christmas present in it to make.

 I am showing you some of the delightful patterns she has there.

Divine. I could not resist and I have ordered the Mr Right the frog and

Owl, penguin and duck. this is the direct link to her on line shop.
http://ricrac.bigcartel.com/
I cannot wait to start making these beauties!

Savers Shopping.

Savers did not disappoint! Inspirational book marks, 65 of them for $5.00! They are all the same. They had other packets there with things like Grandma, sister etc not suitable for my use. These will go into the Aussie Hero drawer to be included in their care package. Love, love LOVE these stencils! Australian animal stencils. They are brand new, the store label was Toyworld at $14.95 I got them for $4.00. I can use them in 2 ways. straight forward stencils using fabric markers, or pencil them onto fabric for placement and use the pieces for applique. Probably more if I want to think about it!

Laundry Bag.

 This was finished yesterday.

I made a laundry bag to match. The fabric is what I have used for the back of the quilt too. Posting it this afternoon and a trip to Savers after.

Aussie Hero Quilt Finished.

Aussie hero quilt is finished.

Aussie Hero Quilt In Progress.

 This is what I am working on right now. An Aussie Hero quilt. The request is for a female, green and purple and cats.

This is the backing fabric, new cotton sheet from Savers Mill Park.

BOM.

This is block number 2 of the Block of the month from
http://jacquelynnesteves.com/sewing-quilting/sew-sweet-simplicity-free-block-of-the-month/

Christmas Stuff.

 The Snowman Advent calender is finished, I just have to re make the baby snowman feet cos Meggie walked off with them! The pattern said to use snaps to attach them onto the picture but I used velcro as I think it would be easier for kids to put them on. Overall it was great fun to do and will be a gift for my niece.

 Pincushions in progress.

 I had been letting my fingers do the walking on the hunt for crushed walnut shells to put into my pin cushions. This is what I found.
https://www.petstock.com.au/store-finder
My local one was Epping and they had it in stock. $14 for 2.7kg.
This is another good place but the postage for me was too high,
http://www.wellwood.com.au/walshell.htm

Pincushions still on my mind as I was in Epping I bought this pack of steel wool for $2. Also in the picture is the walnut litter.

Snug Little Snowmen

This is the large version of the Snug Little Snowmen pattern that I have made and tested today for
http://sweetbriarsisters.com/
Very cute indeed.

Thank You Gifts.

This is what I am making today. Skinny pincushions to be used next to the sewing machine for all the lovely staff of Spotlight and Savers who have served me so beautifully all year round. Always with a smile.
This is the link to the pattern.
http://alexiaabegg.squarespace.com/storage/pdfs/Skinny%20Pincushion.pdf

I have discovered that the main body of the pincushion is 6 1/2 inches wide, the width of my ruler, so that was easy! and I have created a lip on the 2 1/2inch wide measurement to make it easier to butt up against the fabric by using a couple of layers of double sided tape. This is a good way of using up small precious pieces of fabric. The filling is polyester fiberfill from washed second hand pillows that were not suitable for toy filling because it was too coarse and firm but great for these. This is what I will be making during the day and in the evening stuffing them. 
I will be starting on the next Aussie Hero quilt on Monday.

Shopping.

How cool is this doona cover I bought from Savers? Perfect for my Aussie Heroes. This single cover will be the backings for 2 quilts.

Aussie Hero Quilt Finished.

 This is a very scrappy quilt for a female with no preferences. Made up of random blocks and left over strips from previous projects.

This is the back with one of the block strips turned around to give it more colour. The blue and white fabric are the handkerchiefs.

My New Baby!

 Do you have a secret wish list? I do! Well I did, There was only one item on that list. this was it, a treadle was my dream and it has come true! Look at this wonderful machine, I have always coveted one of these.

My best friend has made this not so secret dream come true, I am looking forward to restoring it to use. How lucky am I!

What a beautiful thing she is.

Snowman Advent Calender Continued.

Week 5 of the Advent calender. Sandwiched and quilted and binding added.

Savers Shopping.

I cannot help myself, I have gone to Savers again, and for $3 look what I found! All these delightful cloth badges, from places in Australia.
I am thinking of putting them into signature blocks on a quilt. A good idea do you think?

Block Of The Monrh.

This is my first block for the  Sew Sweet Simplicity Block of the month.
I need to practice my 1/4 inch seams, but I am quite happy with my go. Lovely instructions.

Quilt Blocks.

 I bought this book from Savers, complete with templates using 4 shapes makes 27 blocks all are 12 inches finished size. They will be going into my quilt as you go blocks.

 Tilli this morning, they are already hot cats.

Meggie is asleep on my sewing chair, too cute to move so I was sewing standing up for this block, but I will be sitting down on the spare chair for the next one!

Quilt as you Go Blocks.

 Remember that packet of new handkerchiefs I bought from Savers a couple of months back? Well this time they are going to be the backs of the quilt as you go blocks.

These are the colours I have chosen for this quilt. Another female quilt with no colour preference.

Week 3 Snowman Advent Calender Continued.

 Week 3 of the Snowman Advent Calender. Making the pockets and appliqued the numbers.

 Looking forward to the next part too.

Meggie likes it!

Quilt Finished.

 Tilli this morning while I was sewing.

 Quilt finished. This is the front.

This is the back.

Quilt Continued.

 1 row has been sewn together and started the second row.

2 rows have been sewn and the rows are being joined together.

This is the back.