Necessity and Invention

Great title eh, its hard to think up titles you know.   Today I decided to change the sewing table I was having difficulties with the height of the bench in the sewing area so have moved the sewing machine (the pfaff quilter) into the other room.  I decided that I could make a bench on the arms of the couch that is in there with some panels I had in the outbuildings which would be the right height..........and they are perfect - the right height and can use the knee lift etc......its making the sewing go a lot quicker.   This is not perfect of course BUT as soon as I can get rid of this couch and the two chairs that go with it that reside in my bedroom at the moment LOL  Hubby will build me a proper bench to this height in the corner of the room so I can put both machines there ready to go which will be great as the light in there is really good the windows are behind and let in heaps of light midday. 

 

Am getting along with the strips for the quilt now, have cut out the next three batting strips and backing so its all ready to go and am now sewing up all the strips - fingers crossed I can get these first 5 panels done in the next few days and can then move onto the straight panels which are once colour and will be quilted maybe in some sort of loopy loop quilting - I will try and see how I go 

First Panel done on the quilt

I have modified this a bit as I found the "sew, flip and iron" method was just not working for me and was slow, so I have sewn the panel together and then put it together by stitching in the ditch on the seams of the coins.  I would rather stipple than stitch in the ditch I have to say but now I have started the coin panels like this I will continue for the rest and do a design or stipple in the plain panels in between the coin ones.       Got to say my stitch in the ditch is pretty bad, but hey this is for me on my bed so I am not unpicking (which I normally would do)........ Hard to get good pics of the whole length as this is going to be super queen size OMG....hehe

Busy Busy Busy LOL

Well I have been super busy today - first time I have got out to the sewing room for a bit and I was really hanging out to spend some time playing.  Yesterday I downloaded some really cool Quilt as you go patterns for quilts from Joy at Joypatch which looked really interesting as I have been wanting to do a quilt for my bed.  These are done with Jellyrolls which unfortunately are just far too expensive to buy here in NZ they are approx 75 - 85 dollars which is just too much.   Soooooooo  I thought heck make my own so have been cutting up 2.5 lengths of material all afternoon....... some from fat quarters which I have on hand just because I wanted to LOL and some from some fabric I had in the sewing room as I decided to use what I have for this quilt - Its just for my bed so it doesn't matter if its a bit scrappy to test out this technique.    I also cut out 5 inch squares and 4 inch squares as well as I was going along to add to the stash (cardboard box)  which I intend to fill up eventually for making scrap quilts and runners and bags.  So all in all a really busy day but productive.

Smallish pile for the quilt

Pile getting a bit bigger LOL

All Done and ready to go

Some fat quarters cut up

Box which I intend to fill up as I go with all the fat quarters which have been just sitting in the room for ages 

First panel with the backing and batting together ready to add the 2.5 lengths to - don't look too hard at the backing -  I got half a bolt at Spotlight a while ago for 2.00 so am using up what I have for the backing as it will take a bit and I am using what I have in the sewing room for this one- I used basting spray for the first time so will be interesting to see how that goes.

Hubby (AKA Captain Caveman - AKA Crafter)

My Hubby (affectionately known as Captain Caveman)  is the poster NZ man who wears the black stubbie shorts, black singlet and gumboots who also fishes every weekend he can get away with it LOL....... 

Yesterday he disappears out the back of the house for the afternoon saying  he had things to do - he popped in side to ask me if I had any bits and bobs that were of a rustic nature in the "shop"  (AKA craft room) LOL... 

So after that comment I thought I had better go and see what he was up to.......  and here below is what he was making for a friend to hang on the front of her house at the beach.  Very surprising as he is not known for patience - actually has no patience normally at all -  things fly about in the air when he is fixing something LOL.........

Not bad for someone with no patience LOL.......mind am not sure about this new crafty side to him, there has been mention of a trip to Spotlight to have a look - I am not sure I want to share the crafting money two ways LOL LOL

Weekend Doings

Hi there, things are really busy around here at the moment but have manged to do a wee bit of pottering about in the Craft Room this weekend, the weather has been awful and we still seem to be missing summer - am hoping it will appear sooner than later.   On Thursday evening I NEEDED to go to the supermarket to get our wee doggie some dog roll that only this one supermarket has.......(spoilt thing) BUT how fortunate that it is right next to SPOTLIGHT hehe........and the below fabric just happened to jump into my arms .........

Of course its purple and green - what can I say it spoke to me, well yelled really "take me home, take me home" hehe  well thats my story and I am sticking to it.

Yesterday I tidied up the craft room LOL really tidied it up, ready to make another mess and of course thats what happened today ROFLMAO.......

So here is the start of something new, a blank piece of fabric on the design wall first thing this morning and a whole bunch of "stuff" all over the cutting table.

 

then the mess really started to happen Oh My and what a mess it is in now there is material and paper all over the place - but a satisfying afternoon indeed, auditioning fabrics and cutting out and standing back to see how it looks - A very enjoyable afternoon.   

 Now the below pics of the design wall with the fussy cut flowers on it is just sort of being interviewed at this stage have used steam a seam so can reposition them wherever or whenever I want has been fun but I think I need more fabric hehe .....not going to have enough of the one I want to use as I brought it in Australia and cant get it here in NZ so a wee buy overseas this week might be in order.....   

Update on the Fantasy Horse Thingy LOL............

Ok not sure exactly what this is going to be yet but am slogging on with it............... today I managed to break 5 needles one into my leg eeeeeeek.......now that smarted big time........not a pretty site at all but had to keep my composure in front of the other ladies at doll club......... Mind you they were rolling around laughing really really hard at the time (must have been my blood curdling scream methinks) .....so here are some progress pics of getting this covered up, got a ways to go yet and then will need to add bits here and there to build up some muscles I think.   Needlefelting and me are still in the early stages of veering between hatred and acceptance at this point LOL LOL

 

 

 

 

Hooves on the horse/unicorn or whatever its going to be LOL

Ok have done the hooves now not a fantastic job I got to say - it seems clay and me are not best buddies yet, things take time so it seems LOL.........anyways here is the next stage ready for the needlefelting next, which as happens seems we are also not the bestest of buddies either ................ hopefully we can become a wee bit closer as my fingers bleed  ROFLMAO..........

 

New Project

Well its been a few weeks again cripes got to get with the programme, mind have been working hard since getting back from Australia (in my full time job) so not much crafting time at all.  Today I decided to have a go at a horse tutorial that my friend Sharon2 is giving away for free on her blog.   Sharon is a master needlefelter so not sure how I will go with this LOL Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeek... but am giving it a go JUST FOR HER hehe.........so here are some progress pics, must say that as I said to her Hell will need to freeze over before I will sew this again hehe.

All sewn up ready to stuff OMG the size of those legs are tiny

and here he/she is the headless stuffed horse, unicorn or whatever LOL

Rough Weekend

Well what a weekend after coming back from Hot Australia - we have had weather sooo cold its unbelievable when we had early spring before I went.  We had a really bad storm on Friday night and the power went out and the winds were incredible really scary.  Got up on Saturday morning to quite a lot of devastation with our old three bay shed demilished basically by the wind and the worst thing the iron from the roof had attacked my car so the roof is all dented and the monsoon on the drivers side has been ripped off and shattered not to mention the pile of scratchs etc all along the drivers side of the vehicle.......... eeeeeeeeek   Mind we have been looking after a wee lamb who was out in the other sideof the shed so was more worried about that poor wee thing, BUT all was well and that area was well protected and she was fine.......

Hubby feeding the wee lamb

 

 

 

 

 

 

Immm Back and got heaps of posts to make

Imm back from an awesome trip to Australia, well actually been back a week but just too tired with being back at work etc to post until now - firstly I want to show a quilt I made that hasnt made it to the blog before, and also a couple of owls I made as well.

 

Now some pics of the girls - we had a ball and did some shopping and learnt how to crochet and generally yakked our heads off thats for sure.  Some of the pics I have pinched of the girls as I didnt take as many as I thought - mind you there were plenty being taken.  I need to take some more pics during the week of my secret sister gift from Anita which is now hanging in my Craft Room.

Khris and Naomi

Anita Helena and Diana

My bed below - It was a waterbed wooohoooo

 

Lounge area

Jeanette and Helena outside our cabin

Helena pretending to sew right at the end of our weekend LOL

In the pool - what a relief for my poor swollen legs in the heat I could have lived in there

 

Me, Khris and Diana

Girls working (sort of)

 

Getting ready to shop

Shopping hehe