A beginning

I have been tracing cutting and ironing this morning,

this fussy cutting is a challenge! More of a challenge for me this morning was to remember I needed to add the quarter of an inch sewing allowance as I was cutting!! Lucky there was a little extra fabric!

Progress as at lunch time and only a couple of scorched finger tips!! Pretty happy with what I have done so far...you will notice there are no tiny hexies just yet!! :-)

Yesterday was sit and sew at the Bellarine Quilters, show and tell was interesting

Jill has finished this beautiful quilt, all sewn by hand, the quilting done by a local quilter.

Lorraine turned a doona cover into a more interesting doona cover by adding the applique..isn't that a clever idea.

I am off to Gisborne this afternoon, so had better make a move and get ready.

Happy sewing.

Happy mail

I came home today to find the postie had left been on Thursday and left a parcel, it is the first month of the BOM, Doing the Rounds, I have signed up for this year, from Shiralee Stitches.

Pretty exciting huh!!

Lots of beautiful fabrics in there!!

I was going to start on this tonight but the power went off at about 6.30 and didn't come back on until 9.30pm, by then I was too hot and tired!!

Maybe tomorrow....is another hot day coming, but we have been promised a cool change, so here is hoping! 

Happy sewing.

Home handyman skills

have been dragged out for an airing this weekend!! I am staying in Boronia with Eve and one of the weekend proje ts was to empty the wardrobe in her my space room and create space for her albums of postcards. So yesterday we (I) dragged out all the boxes and stacked them along the hallway. Then we measured ip and worked out what we were going to do. Originally we were going to get timber and put in shelves, but then decided that was a bit hard (read impossible) so we went forth to Bunnings to see what we could find.  On our arrival I realised I had left the measurments at home....heat brain struck again!  Luckily I
 Could remember the measurements and so we found two sets of shelves that would do the job. We had to get help of the masculine kind to get them to the car.  😆 Once home we unpacked the boxes from the back of the car.....so much easier!
Now flat packs and I are not the best of friends but after several hours we had one together and in the wardrobe, the second one took much less time as we had a better idea of what to do!! I am pleased to say, despite the heat,  the two units are in the wardrobe, after some  interesting juggling and we have even gone to search for Eves albums and put them on the afore mentioned shelves! Now if you are not asleep I will show you a photo 😆😆

Are you impressed 😆😆 so much better organised now.

A little sewing happened here yesterday and last night

A grand total of 2 clamshells were appliqued to the backing before I moved on to

Some more little stars, 2 and a half done there.

Eve gave me this lovely box it had postcards in it, it has a hinged top and is paper covered ply wood I think. It will make a lovely sewing box. Love the William Morris fabrics...it came from the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Only one casualty,  a scrape on the leg from dropping a shelf on me, the hands were pretty sore after all the screwing in of screws on the shelving! But we had a laugh as I ended up with one of the album sticky labels on my toe and didn't even realise.  Time for relaxing now in front of the aircon, no more heavy stuff for me today.

Happy stitching.

Heading home tomorrow.

Clamshells are go!!

But firstly today it is Piece yourself together, where we celebrate all things EPP over at Hibiscus Stitches with Anthea.

I have a star nearly completed and some more stars glued down, I have run out of glue so might have to make a trip to a quilt shop! Sad huh!!

Today I pinned and trimmed and sewed and the borders are now on the clamshell quilt!! Why oh why did I put this off for so long, it didn't take that much time!!! Now I have to pull out all the gathering threads on the clams and applique the top row to the border.

My helper was with me nearly every step today, often under foot!

borders are on...Yay!!!! Thanks for the motivation City Girls!!

I wanted to share with you the beautiful flowers Marina gave me on Sunday..they are like sunshine in the house.

Elyte, Anne, Robyn and Annie gave me this tea and some chocolate biscuits that have vanished...I think one husband needs to be spoken to!!

I have had two bkie rides this week, one a couple of times around the lagoon, where I saw this pelican resting and today I went to the shops and back. Coming home I got up the wobbles with the weight in the bikes basket!!

But all is good.

Happy sewing.

This

morning I was at home waiting for some visitors to arrive, I had fabric out on the table, so I decided to cut some strips off before I had to put it away. I have to thank Robyn and Marina for motivating me, I have been a bit scared to cut into the fabric, they told me to just get on with it, so I did!!

I honestly do not know why I was dithering about with it!! The top part is cut and pinned ready to be appliqued

and the bottom strip and two strips cut for the sides! Easy!! It is really nice to be working with the  clamshells again. Tomorrow is sewing day!

I had to do some messages in Geelong today, so the morning visit was changed to afternoon and I picked up the visitors from Geelong and brought them home. They are friends from Auckland are they are on the cruise ship moored off Portarlington today. I brought them back here for a look at the house and a cool drink and then drove them back to the ship.

tourists at the end of the pier

Pat and Bryan heading for the tender

it was a perfect beach day at Port

the tenders take the Kiwis back to the ship

The view on my way home.

I think I might go and sew a little on the clam shells before dinner.

Happy sewing.

Ladies who Lunch

Today the City Girls ventured out from the city and came for a visit, also Tracee and Marg came down from Gisborne. The  latter came via a 70% off sale at a craft store, where I heard they had a very enjoyable time!
We had lunch out on the back deck,, but then moved inside as the afternoon warmed up, then the air con went on as the day got even warmer! We had a great time, good lunch and lots of chatting and laughter. A little sewing was even done!!

I tried to set the camera up on a pot plant to take a photo but I think this is a fail!!

Anne and Robyn getting the fresh breeze out the front

Trying to get photos of sewing projects...under Elytes hand is a beautiful star

Tracee working on her quilt centre

Marg making tiny flowers

Anne joining her flowers together...all hand sewing here

a photo pause, love the time delay so we can all get in the photo!! They are  such a wonderful group of friends. I enjoy their company very much.

Marina showed us her beautiful quilt top....her farewell quilt from her previous job, Marina has changed a few blocks to make the quilt hers, you can see a bit about the quilt here.

Love the centre block, the pattern is Gossip in the Garden by Anni Downs. 

and a few more circles have been completed...I have run out of prepared circles so it is back to tracing and cutting for me.

Off to sit on the couch and have a cuppa time.

Happy sewing.

Heatwave

It has been very hot here the last few days, we were supposed to have had a cool change around 4pm this afternoon, the breeze did swing around to the south but the sun is still very hot! So what better to do on days like these but stay inside and sew!!

I worked on some of the book reading quilt blocks

Yesterday I got a row finished and today

the quilt top is finished...the blues were not supposed to line up like that, they were supposed to be random, but random and I do not seem to get along to well!!  

over the last few nights a few more circles have been finished.

Yesterday hubby told me he had fixed the broken oar and it would not break again....mmmm...

not much rowing activity happening here! The broom stick/oar handle broke just after I took this photo

that tiny speck in the distance is me having a swim!Lol!!

and relaxing under a shady tree

this afternoon I have been working on the Christmas swap blocks from the Bellarine Quilters, I had to trim some blocks down, and add strips to some to make them bigger (mine included)...now I need to figure out how to make little squares of colour for the sashings that go across the quilt, I am sure there is a name for them, I just can't remember it!! Better go look in a book!

On facebook a couple of days ago there was a zucchini recipe that had no flour so I thought I would give it a try, and typical of me, no recipe...it was a bit runny at first

but it cooked up ok, even hubby said it tasted surprisingly good!! Wow!!

It had a zucchini, eggs, garlic, lots of cheese, Italian herbs and I put in some spring onion, just 'cos I could!! Might try it again one day.

Hoping for a cooler day tomorrow.

I had better go and sort some dinner

Happy sewing

Today

was supposed to be the day I cut more orange fabric and continued on with the book reading quilt, but you can see I got distracted! I have had this panel hanging about for weeks, so today I cut the strips and sewed them on and we have another book reading quilt top.

As the weather was so good the sheets etc plus the quilt off our bed got a wash and to hang in the sun today.

Hubby decided today was the  day for the big launch of the present he got me for Christmas....my own rowing boat...so we pumped it up...

carried it down to the beach and off we went

coordination is not so good

might be getting the hang of it, actually it is very peaceful just floating about!!

hubby went out for a turn, rowed and floated about

and then broke one oar..mmmmm.....he promises to fix it tomorrow! So i had a swim and sit in the sun instead.

Back home the washing needed to be brought in, the Supervisor came to "help" 

we have some plums on the tree but the birds have had the best feed as I wasn't here to put the net over the top.

I have had these strips of fabric on my sewing desk for months, they came off another project, I thought they might be good for the little stars, so today stuck on the templates and cut some out, have more to do while watching tv tonight.

I had better go and rescue the pasta for dinner!

Happy sewing.