Party Time ....

So... Chookyblue is having a party this weekend... and we are all invited!



her Chookshed is 2 years old... so get some stitching, get some bubbly and find some friends....

Chooky would love to know who is coming so let her know HERE who you are and where you are from

After my bookclub tea we will be having beer and BBQ
(since hubz knows how to cook BBQ)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHOOKSHED

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One of my most favourite projects was this fusion blanket I did in 2012....

The picture is dark but it is made of soft pastels and I did embroidery butterflies (from Butterfly Garden quilt) on several of the blocks prior to sewing ....

.. the back is a pretty flannel.... and I crocheted with a bamboo yarn which is very soft and cuddly....

 I wanted to do a similar project but in a light weight version and when a friend gave me some pretty matching fat quarters I decided the time had come....

I am using 4 ply cotton yarn from Bendigo Woolen Mills (their service was wonderful and prompt) .... this one is a lovely rich colour called Pomegranate... and feels as delicious as it looks....

The orginial tutorial I followed was HERE at Sewing Daisies..... and you can follow my process for my first one HERE if you are interested...

.... and I hope to do a bit of binding too....

Righto, Gotto Go... better make sure there is a supply of beer in the fridge for the party......

It's perfect......

............... and ever so soft and cuddly .........

My fusion blanket is done.... I started with doing some of the butterfly stitcheries on the blocks.....

the other side of the blocks is this pretty flannellette....

It really is one of the softest snuggliest that I have made... not quite a quilt but not a blanket either.....

.... I think I'll call it a quilket......

If you have been wondering about making one of these... go ahead... sooooooo lovely..

.. I will be doing this again....

the tutorial is HERE - the original design being by Sewing Daisies... thank you

Righto, Gotto Go......

those eyes are still watching me

FNSI September .....

Our Carnival time has started....

Creative Fields is in it's second year and is proving a popular attraction to visit ....

I spent Friday helping hang quilts.....

and setting up tables.....

to say I was exhausted is an understatement.....

but I was determined to keep my FNSI - all the other girls would be there 

.... managed a few seams of my fusion blanket.....

I'm still eating healthy... so I had raspberries .....

on my icecream.....

the blanket is slowly growing.....

lots to see and do at this time of the year

... grandieboy widget went down town with his godmother.....

there are piano's in the streets....

a bit of magic .......

Righto, Gotto Go.... carnival time and I'm at Creative Fields for the week - sooooo fun 

goodbye July and HELLO August ....

July is done....

I finished off a few projects .....

(8 for OPAM and 2 were UFO's)

Christmas Mug Rug, StitchALong friendship cushion,

Apple Core baby quilts, flower bouquet cushion, 

Angel Candle-mat,  Glasses case, Santa Sack

The last few evenings I have been blanket stitching my fusion blanket blocks
tutorial from HERE

and a bit of crochet on them

I am making 30 blocks altogether

but now I need to give it a break and stitch a gift ...

or two .....

I love receiving hand made items.... and I get a lot of enjoyment out of making them

it's great to see that hand made clothes are becoming more popular

are you in a swap?  maybe one of these is for you?

Sue is holding a Cushion Swap - registration over HERE if you are interested
I'm still debating with myself!

Righto, Gotta Go... those gifts aren't going to sew themselves

Thimbles ......

I have a nice little pile of fusion blocks growing... these still need to be turned out and edged...

I like to use a thimble when hand sewing .... in fact it has become such a habit now I 'think' I can't sew without one.... of course I have my favourite....

I kept it from my Mum's sewing things ... and this one gets used all the time ....

Then I found my finger under the fabric was also getting 'pricked' a bit too often and I don't really go for the blood on the stitchery look...

I used some of those plastic oval shapes... they work but didn't fit well on the curve of the finger... and I like those little leather circle patches but they get unsticky and have to be thrown out (I think I grease up too much because I couldn't use them over and over again like the label says!!)

I found some too tight lovely soft leather gloves in an Op Shop last week for $5 .....

felt sacriligeous but I chopped a finger off....

it is perfect for my 'under' finger... no more finger pricks .... and I have spares... I expect the leather will stretch a little with use and I may need to work out a little 'belt' for it..... any ideas??

I did see this pattern for making a thimble....  but I think a glove finger is easier... 

This is a sweet bone china thimble which was given to me by my Sister in Law from England  .... 

and most recently Linda sent me this one from France ....

... and I won these collectable ones of the Ned Kelly Gang.... they are apparently exact replica's with the 'bullet holes' and nail studs in the actual places..... I have turned Neds around to show the name...

So today the humble thimble is my treasure so I am linking up with Melody's Tuesday Treasures

Do you Thimble or not?  I'd love to see yours - or whatever your treasure is today .....

Righto Gotto Go...  I have got things to do... this little treasure is coming to visit a few days

The family are moving from Melbourne to Cairns and we are the half way stop
2 days to get here and 2 days to go

This is grandieboy Jack - I am so excited to cuddle him

- and I know you will understand me being quiet in blogland

Oh Rats ............

.... well.....mice actually.... we have had several in our pantry over the last few weeks and since the peanut butter treats haven't been eaten for a week I can assume they are gone....


.... but today I had to get on and clean the pantry of mice poo..... lucky for you I am not going to show you before and after pictures of mouse poo...


.. but I did want to show you what I use for cleaning ....

 It's wonderful in the kitchen... leaves the stainless steel benches lovely and shiny....

~ Cuts into grease so well so I use it on the bench top of the stove...


~ It was wonderful cleaning the pantry cupboards... I don't know about everyone else but I find there is always spills and that sticky oil areas.... just a wipe and they were done.... 


~ I found a few spice bottles that I wanted to recycle and got the labels off but the sticky was still on the side.... just a spray of this and the eucalyptus cleaned it off easy peasy...

~ I use it in the bathroom and round the toilet too.... 

The original link that I used is HERE....Thanks to Bev (my cleaning agony aunt!) who sent me the link and recommended it to me..... 


here is how I make mine

Miracle Spray
(more or less amounts I used) - I like using cup measurements but they are in mls in the original...


1.5 litre water (1 cup boiled)
1 cup vinegar  - I used cheap Cleaning Vinegar
1/4 cup dishwashing liquid 
1 Tbsp eucalyptus - love the smell of this and I use this for all sorts in the house
3 dessertspoons "Lectric" soda (washing soda) - concentrated washing soda found in the laundry area of the supermarket.....



Dissolve the washing soda with the cup of boiling water then add all remaining  ingredients.

Fits into a 2 litre bottle.  I had a 2 litre milk bottle which I used and then I bought myself a nice $4 spray bottle which I decant it into...

It's economical, I like the idea of making my own cleaning agents... and most of all it works....  this is now my standard cleaning agent....

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I have been working on my fusion blanket.... and trying to find the right yarn and cotton to use.... I got some lovely bamboo/cotton mix for the crochet

my first attempt I used a double thread of thin crochet cotton for the blanket stitch... it is not right for me... a bit delicate and wobbly ....

the second sample on the pink patch is what I will use.. .it is a finer bamboo yarn

this is where the butterflies fit in though not all the patches will have butterflies...
(the butterflies are reusing some from my Butterfly Garden pattern)

The soft pastel is recycled doona cover  .... and the brighter daisy is from some bargain flannellette ....

I think the bamboo/cotton yarn will be the most expensive part of this project - and that I got for 30% off......


Tutorial for this project found HERE - I found it irresistable

Righto... Gotto Go..... EVERYTHING needs to go back into the pantry now!!!  I would rather stitch.......

(My apologies for this spread out formatting - not sure what happened today but I can't seem to change it)