Flannel Hexie Progress

Some time back in late June (I think) I basted my Flannel Hexie Quilt.

When it comes to basting, I'm a bit soft. I hate crawling around on a hard timber floor sandwiching a quilt together. My back... my knees...they get so sore and I feel SO old.

Then one day Mr Stitch bought me the most unromantic but MOST useful gift EVER.

Knee pads!! If you don't have some...get some.

So now, I only need to practice a few of those stretches I learnt in the one yoga class I ever went to. You know, the ones ...hissing cat and downward dog (or whatever they were called). I do these every five minutes or so to stretch out my back and I feel like a Spring chick again.

 I have quilted around 35 flowers and have just 7 to go. Then I will be able to start on the border.

I have been using Perle 5 and Perle 8 thread to quilt around the centres and petals.

And here is the back.

While my hand quilting is far from perfect, I really like the honeycomb effect it makes on the back.

So now I'm off to snuggle under my quilt and finish those flowers while the weather is still cold. It's the perfect project for this time of year.

Enjoy your weekend...hope you get some stitching done too.

So Glad It's Wednesday

It's Wednesday, and now that my (paid) working week is over, finally a chance to show you our second Cassilis Quilters gathering at The Plough Inn in the beautiful town of Cassilis.

What a lovely way to spend the day...

...lunch on the lawn...

and lots of stitching with old friends and new.

(L to R) Jannimary, Fairy Floss and Lenore from Merriwa patchwork shop...

Thimblestitch, Dragonfly Crafts and Julie (no blog...yet).

Look at how productive we are!!

Like slaves to our needles.

If you look closely, you can see a little peek of my flannel hexie quilt in the bottom right hand corner of this photo.

It is up to the quilting stage...more photos in a future post.

Finish It Up Friday

Today I am linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday. I finished my needle case from Anni Downs' book 'Some Kind Of Wonderful'. One thing I really enjoyed was looking through my button collection in search of a button to finish it off.

  I saved these buttons (along with some old wooden cotton reels etc) when my parents moved house many years ago. Most of these buttons were in my Nan's stash and my mother was literally throwing them into the rubbish pile when I arrived just in time to save them. She can't possibly have known what prizes hid inside that container!!

Here are a few in close up for you. I just can't imagine what my Nan was making that would require buttons that look like oranges??

 Below...my needle case  finally complete (I did complete the embroidery back in January 2012!! Has been in the 'to do' pile for a while).

So now I can also add this to my OPAM tally. 

Oh, before you think I'm super organised with all of my buttons sorted into that container, here is the rest of my button collection thrown into a jar. I like to keep the special ones separate. 

What A Week!!

 The long awaited 18th birthday party was held last Saturday. It was lovely that so many family members and friends travelled for the event and several stayed with us.We sadly waved goodbye to the last of our visitors today. 

Two of the visitors (and the last to leave today) were my parents. Usually Mum and I take some time to sit and sew together...but unfortunately not this visit.

So...I haven't sewn a stitch since last Tuesday!! I have to admit that I can become a little difficult to get along with if a whole week passes with no chance to sew. It is my release...my way of relaxing and unwinding.

After the usual chores this morning, I made sure I had some time at my machine to catch up on a few projects this afternoon.

First I made this little zipper case. It was a kit from a new patchwork and gift ware store called Finders Keepers (no website to link to yet).

Then I finally got around to sewing block 3 in my Toes In The Sand Quilt...a good thing as block 4 will be arriving in my letter box soon.

I bought this fabric from the new store and made this with it...

I completed the embroidery for the matching needle case and pincushion back in January 2012!!!  Hope to complete the needle case before the holidays end and I plan on making the bag as well...one day...soon.

Ahhhh.....I feel so much better now. 

And what about finishing my hexie flannel quilt I hear you ask? Well...it is basted and I am going to relax on the lounge once I finish this post and continue with the hand quilting. 

Photos to follow soon.