Betcha he reads, betcha she sews

School holidays here, the kids are getting into the musicals.

Annie, Marry Popins and High School Musical

Got all the songs stuck in my head :)

Very busy had lots of visitors!

Have done some sewing (lots actually)

I made bonnets and aprons for some kids at church to wear to trek.

All up I made 8 bonnets, 7 aprons and 5 skirts

No photos. Camera is in being fixed.

I did manage to take some photos of my latest baby quilt though

I'm really happy with this quilt :)

I didn't buy any fabric to make it!

I have made it for a friend, when I asked her what she would like she said "blue"

I said "anything else"

"Blue would be good" she replied

So I looked around the internet and saw some quilts similar 

and then raided my blue scrap draw.

I thought I would have to buy the white but I found 1 metre and that was just enough.

I also happened to have some bamboo batting so no purchases to make this one YAY!

Now I just have to hope she likes it.

I have had some really awesome sewing things happen lately 

(well awesome for me lol)

but you will have to wait until I get my camera back to show you :)

Oops

Had a few quilting mishaps lately

Here is the first

I decided to do this quilt along

I was happy with how each block turned out but when I went to put them together the rows would just not line up. Very disappointing!

How ever I have not let it defeat me, I am going to add sashing between each row and that should fix it :)

Next

Spotlight wanted some 12 1/2 inch squares for some quilt they were making. it was supposed to be spring colours

I tried to adapt Kate Conklins fussy cut squares with floating boarder but I got my measurements terribly wrong. It's ok and they seemed happy with it :)

I am also working on a baby quilt for a friend. It was going along brilliantly but I ended up having some problems with the quilting :(

Haven't taken any pictures but I have managed to fix it and when its finished I'll post some.

I am going to blame these little disasters on DIETING or lack of SUGAR!!!!!

Can't be too upset though I've lost 4kg in 3 weeks

Have a great sewing day!

Little and Quick!

Anyone for dinner at my place?

Now my table can look this good for 8 people 

I think I should start entertaining again :)

I have been off sugar for 9 days now and the only way to keep away from the fridge/cupboard is to sew

I started by making this cute table runner

Not my normal colour/fabric selection but something about these fabrics grabbed me and I was quite happy with how it turned out,

but what's a table runner without place mats?

I made them reversible , so one side is green and one side is blue.

I machine stitched the binding, 

which I made using my bias tape maker :)

Had some problems but all in all very happy with the outcome.

So here is the set without all the paraphernalia.

All I need now for that dinner party is

more chairs and more cutlery!

Some guest might be nice too LOL 

Holidays

Martin and I just got back from the most glorious holiday in Cairns (without the kids)
We went for a whole week!
Must send a big thank you to everyone who helped look after our kids xoxoxo
Here are a couple of pics of my fabulous underwater photography

Ok so now I have made you slightly envious should probably show some sewing pics.

Remember the quilt top I made Anthony well I did actually finish it :)

Lovely sunny day here :)

When I went to put the quilt together I decided it needed to be longer so I added strips at the top and bottom

The quilting was just inside the red blocks blocks in black thread

I changed the pattern for the back too, as money was tight at the time so I had to use fabric I already had.

Anthony loves it and it's really well used.

I have also been working on a quilt for me (finally)

I am working slowly with this quilt along (link)

Will post some pics when I take some lol

Long Time Coming

Last April not long after I started quilting my friend Kate from Kate Conklin Designs posted this tutorial 

I loved it! I thought it looked simple enough and went off and bought 24 fat quarters.

It was really fun to make the quilt top. I added sashing around each square - cause I like it

I was happy with how the top turned out but was really scared of going any further as it was quite large.

Another friend of mine (also a Kate) really liked it and I promised it to her.

Well this last week I finally got the courage (and the cash) to finish it.

I worked quite hard on my binding and I am so happy :D with my corners

The quilting is just in the ditch but being such a large quilt it was a lot of work (very heavy)

I went with a plain back as opposed to piecing one as a thought the front had quite enough going on.

I really love the red binding it works well with both sides :)

As for Kate she has put it on her King size bed!!!!

I guess the lesson here is don't ask me for something you need quick it could take me over a year lol

101 ways to make money

Anthony has this book "101 ways to make money"

It is full of cute ideas for kids to make money and he and his sister thought they would give it a go.

They had heaps of fun shopping for supplies, cooking cupcakes, decorating them, making lemonade, creating signs and

setting up

now after about 15 minutes 

they are bored out of their brains lol

When does school go back?

Pretty in Pink

Kylie was the first winner from my apron giveaway.

She asked for a full apron in pink with cream.

Here is what I came up with

 my usual model - doesn't she looked thrilled :)

There is some cream in the appliqué but not much oops 

I also made a little matching bag to keep it in

Kylie let me know that its a great fit and she has used it already. Kylie makes some awesome cakes you can check them out on her blog. Her last cake was a pink castle so it would have matched the apron (heheheehe)
Now off to make mum's one

Everyone's a Winner

OK so an apron giveaway isn't really that popular :(

Lesson learned!

A big thank-you to the people who entered (mostly family)

To say thank-you everyone who entered gets an apron YAY

The purple one will go to my Grandmother who is turning 90 shortly

Happy Birthday Grandma

For Kylie I am making one using this fabric

For my Mum

And Dad

Dad's will be a barista apron.

I will post pics when they are finished.

Next time I'll giveaway fabric :)

Apron Giveaway

I mentioned on my last post that I was doing a basic sewing class. Well I'm finished it was a lot of fun. I learnt some new techniques and made a couple of things I'm quite proud of.

Here are some cushions

a bit of appliqué and covered buttons

it even has a zip on the back :)

I hadn't ever done a zip before so very impressed with myself

We also made an apron and this is where the giveaway comes in.

I worked hard to get the seams nice and flat and even.

It is made of drill with some quite nice quilting fabric for the appliqué 

I may have mentioned before that I'm not good at following instructions and this apron was no different

I changed the pattern to make it better in my opinion :)

What did I do.

Firstly I made the ties twice as long and while my daughter is very skinny they even can tie at the front on me.

Secondly I changed the pocket to make it more like a hoody pocket.

Lastly the appliqué was supposed to be at the top in the middle only, but this is prettier :)

So what do you think? Would you like to win it?

To win leave a comment telling me the best thing you ever made.

For a second entry become a follower, or mention that you already are.

I will draw the winner on Tuesday the 28th of June 2011

at 5pm - Australian Eastern Standard Time.

(That's my birthday)

Good Luck

Lots of sewing

Well plenty of sewing going on but its been awhile since I wrote about it.

I really am enjoying making clothes at the moment.

Got the tutorial for the shirt here

Awesome website!!!!!

Isn't Bianca a cute model :)

I have also had my hair and eyebrows done, YAY

Made my Mother-in-Law an apron for mothers day

Tutorial here

And I finished the quilting weekend set in Brights

I have also started a sewing class. It's a beginners course and I'm not quite a beginner but I am learning cool stuff, lots of fun.

Anthony's Quilt

It is hard to make quilts for older boys!!!!
I have been putting off doing one for Anthony as it just seemed to hard but he has been begging me.
During the holidays I sat down with him and we came up with this.

Then we picked colours.
He wanted red, black and grey.
I made copies of the design and coloured them in.
When we had it how we liked it I went to work

He loves it!!!!!!!
Now I have to finish the back and quilt it (knowing me that could take awhile)

On a separate note Martin and I went away for the weekend to Sydney with some friends.
We had a great time
I thought I would share a picture from the apartment's lounge room window

Nice hey?
Now back to reality!