An update....

I forgot to show that I had finished my 4 scrappy place mats and 2 mug rugs.

These are made from strips I had left over when I prepared an African theme quilt which I am planning to sew up at retreat next weekend...  It's always great to use up every last piece.

My 'sewing' time this weekend was just organising stuff really - and sorting

I have this bag of arbitrary stitcheries I have done over the years and was trying to think of some things to make with them

I found some other precious stitcheries with them

Many years ago when we lived in Zimbabwe I did many years of work with HIV/AIDS education and care.  The organisation I worked for had a sister organisation providing skills for financial independence to women affected by HIV/AIDS, many of them infected by the virus.  One of their main income generating projects was doing embroideries and I was gifted a whole lot of them. 

This one especially meaningful as it was a thank you gift from the women

I had a lot of other ones but they were used in quilts for the eldest grandsons... but I kept a few of my favourites.

Here are a bunch of guineafowl....

… and a pair of giraffe....

The Tenda bus service - chockoblock full ....

When the women knew I was coming to live in Australia they sewed this one for me....

I do want to make things with them - probably wallhangings or cushions.  What would you do? - I need ideas

This embroidery was not done by the same women but I found it amongst my mums things. 

It is quite a small one and so that and these other two have been taken out to make up some needlecases

Most of today I just had my scrap baskets out and tipped over!

My African violet usually lives outside but we brought it indoors to protect it from the cold and it is so happy in this sunny spot.... It might have to live here permanently...

Handstitching lately has been doing a stitchery I can't show just yet - but it has taken much longer than I thought..... the main bit is done so I got onto some more blocks for My Small World.  They are taking up time too .. the finished block is 4 1/2" so those leaves are quite little and there are 5 to do altogether....

Righto, Gotto Go, I think a cup of coffee and a bit of handsewing is called for - I've been on my feet all day....

Safari time......

I started off ChooseDay by laying out my safari photograph blocks....

I was lucky enough to inherit this fabric from someone cleaning out some 'samples' some years ago

 It didn't take too long to sew up the rows and then the rows all together...

I'm really happy with that 'grassy savanna' look background fabric

(It's leftover backing from another quilt)

It's roughly 54" square 

… now it's gone to sit with the other "When I grow up I want to be a quilt" pile that I have....

There were a few blocks left over so I sewed them together too...

Then I started on another quilt made with an indigo jelly roll... the photograph doesn't show up well but I got these two strips done... 

Groups of 4 strips are sewn together then cut into triangles then sewn together at an angle to get the up/down look

I did have to fiddle around a little and do a bit of unpicking.... there is two more strips like this to do then joining up with background...

The backing is pieced with the left over strips from the Jelly Roll

Today I have young Widget but in between baking and football (me and balls are NOT a good mix!) I quilted the little mat - a stipple always gives a nice bit of texture....

…. now he has his own mat he can use here....

He decided he likes T bone steak so we have got some of that to go with chips and veges so his new mat can be used tonight.... 

Hubz bought me a new laptop thing and I am trying to move things over etc etc …. I seem to have messed up moving Feedly and lost a bunch of posts I haven't read and commented..... first world problem but it makes me realise how little I like changing my habits....  I hope I don't lose touch with the blogs I love to read....

Righto, Gotto Go... Time for a cuppa before a rousing game of UNO.....

end of June.....

Half of the year has gone by.....

June has seen these projects finished for me....

A Kathy Schmidtz wallhanging .... which I just loved making

... a bunch of mesh bags.... which were a bit boring if I am honest.... but useful....

.... and my Tool caddy, which was fiddly, but I love my lizards and it is very useful....

So thats my OPAM projects, thanks Kris and Peg for hosting

... and I have continued with blocks for my Dutch Treat UFO..... 

... and those are my Finishing Stitches projects... thanks for hosting Joy

A couple of wet days and these Apostle birds came into the veranda to dry off.... they are silly birds and don't stop chattering.... but they always make me laugh.  They march around the house cleaning up whatever they can find ... then generally make a nuisance of themselves around the neighbourhood

Lovely mail this week all the way from UK .... don't you love how it was personalised with the decorations of the envelope....

... and inside a special teatowel..... this is our little Matilda..... there is another in her class so she is Matilda R

 My design wall is looking like this at the moment.... that block with the aqua square is the latest in the Moda Blockheads weekly ones, also circles, Angel Story, Flowervill, mini baskets, Dutch Treat and My Small World...

Anybody get the idea I have a short attention span????

Righto, Gotto Go..... the weekend is here for enjoyment....

Hope you have a wonderful one

Chooseday......

Didn't meet up with the other girls to sew this week but I still decided to Choose my own projects instead of working .....  Tuesdays has become my 'me' day!!! haha

Yesterday I spent the day doing some machine sewing of scrap projects....  this is when my table was still tidy!!!

Making some more blocks for My Small World .... I am always amazed how long it takes when you are sorting through tubs of scraps, ironing, cutting little pieces....  much easier with new fabric!!!

The large block is 4 1/2" (every life has a tiger in it doesn't it????) and the small ones are 2 1/2" 

The churn dashes are 3 1/2".... I think they are very sweet....

... and these little bordered squares are 2 1/2" .....

Took most of the morning to do these....

Had the last of the focaccia with some yummy home made soup for lunch ....

After lunch I took out my tub of Safari scraps and sewed strips together for a few tray mats and a little bit left over will make up a couple of mug rugs...

I had to piece some of the backing and of course scraps of wadding from the edges of quilts - lovely to have an empty scrap tub

I will just do simple quilting and bind .....

Woke up this morning to the wonderful sound of gentle rain....  

you can see how brown the grass is.... crispy to walk on....

Righto, Gotto Go..... I'm going to finish off those tray mats and then get to work....

Have a lovely rest of the week......

Pooooofffff......

.. .. and the weekend has gone!!!!

Friday I spent preparing a quilt to be quilted .... and I did sew the latest Blockhead quilt block...  nice and easy and didn't take too long.... 6 1/2" and used up a bit more scraps.....

On Saturday we had a lovely couple come and visit us.....

Michelle and her lovely husband - who made the most wonderful focaccia to go with our lunch (sorry, I ate before I took a picture!!)

Besides a social visit Michelle was relieving us of some garden junk!  She had mentioned she was looking for a rusty wheelbarrow for putting a succulent garden..... well I had just the thing sitting at the back of our garden.... 

...not even necessary to make any drainage holes......  lovely old home made barrow top I think.... just a couple of old tin sheets bent onto a frame....

We did swap succulents too... we got some and she got some......

... and I got this gorgeous length of hedgie hoggy fabric - they are so adorable and I will look for a special pattern to make something with it....  thanks Michelle.... I loooovvveee it....

the sewing machines are tissues.... not that I think I could blow my nose on them but they will be a useful addition to a sewing kit... you just never know when a tissue is needed... 

It was a lovely day of chat.. the two blokes went off and amused themselves at an airoplane museum thingy and we just talked... and might have had some chocolate....  it was 70% cocoa and as Michelle said cocao is a vegetable....  so we had our dose of veges... 

Have you heard they are putting vegetables in coffee....

Yes the latest thing is a broccoli latte... the cafe is supposed to be helping us get our daily dose of vegetables..... I'm sure powdered green stuff is very healthy... with caffeine...  read about it HERE.  Anybody tried one?  

Righto, Gotto Go... I will have a non-vegetable laced coffee and start work.... will be head down, bum up here for a while...

Tool Easel.....

I finally made up my "Tooly Tool Easel" ..... 

I have seen a few made by friends and thought it would be a great carry out to hold the goodies on my sewing days.

I got the pattern HERE.... not expensive when you buy the PDF and it comes straight away.  I do admit to having to think hard in some places... I am a bit instruction reading challenged but we got there....

Isn't this lizard fabric so fun... I was gifted it in a Secret Santa a couple of years ago and delighted to use it for this carry bag...  as you can see I added a few matching plain colours so I could see the pockets easily.

I have started on the blocks for My Small World..... as I said I am instruction reading challenged and these are the second lot I did.... the others were trimmed too small!!! sigh

These blocks are big - 4 1/2".....

These pinwheels are smaller .... 2 1/2"...... I am using smaller pieces from my scrap baskets for this quilt.

I am trying to make a bit more effort on accuracy ... still not getting all the points meeting ... oh well

Handsewing in the evenings with the fire blazing and the TV on has resulted in 4 more Dutch Treat blocks....

I do enjoy the variation in the blocks, some take several evenings, some can be done in one... they are all different.

Righto, Gotto Go......  quilt pinning day ..... and the weekend coming up... hope you have a good one

Blog comments.....

Shez has found a solution to the blog comments.... I think most of the people I link with on blogs also link with Shez but just in case you can read her explanation... it is so simple it is laughable!!!

look over HERE