OPAM Finish, Love is Block

Just a quick post to show my OPAM finish for November and also Block 20 (above) for Love is. Only 4 more blocks to go now. Am working on Block 21 and have just printed Block 22 today, so some catching up to do. Where has November gone???? Only 2 presents bought for Christmas and no preparations in the pipeline for Christmas Day, so I will have to get a move on. Tomorrow, I am heading to the shops to hopefully get most of the shopping done. Only time will tell if that plan is successful or not.

I have been working on a variety of stitching things this month but some are for presents so I can't show them as yet. I can show you my finished dilly bag though, which I was going to make on camp but simply didn't have time. I got to use up some of the chicken fabric which I have had in my stash for a many years. I'm pleased with how the bag turned out and just how quickly it came together.

One of the girls from our group has made several for her family and friends and is going to fill them with goodies and nicknack's for Christmas which is a great idea. Must keep that in mind for next year.

Well must go and write a list for tomorrow. Till next time...........

More Tamborine camp photos, OPAM finish

Above is the place mat I made for the camp and is my OPAM finish for this month. Below are a couple of photos of the tables with the place mats being used. They made our meal times quite festive.

Below are photos of some of the quilts the ladies brought along for show and tell. The first two were part of a previous challenge where participants were given 2 mens shirts and were asked to make a quilt out of them adding 1 or 2 extra fabrics supplied by them. The results are quite amazing when you think what the ladies started with.

This quilt was made using scraps from the quilters stash.
Lovely rain here at present so hoping I might get some UFO's finished as well as a tidy up of my quilting room. My grandparent duties are not required on this lot of school holidays as my grandson is up north visiting his mother and brother for the 2 weeks. I hope they are all having a wonderful time together.

Progressing slowly

I haven't been doing too much lately. Time is passing much too quickly. Here is another block in the Love is series. Still got a couple more to go to catch up but will get there eventually.

My Gardeners Journal blocks are going slowly but have managed to get the stitchery finished on these two blocks. I was extremely pleased when I finished the house as it took a very long time to complete. Have the next 2 blocks ready to stitch although they will not take as long I hope.

Here is my big boy's rug. Scott was a bit upset that he missed out when his two boys got there's so I made this version for him. Instead of making it square, I purchased 2 metres each of the blue and grey polar fleece to make his rug a bit longer.

It is certainly breezy here today after a couple of days rain. A nice day to catch up with some stitching I think. Hope you are having a good day too. Till next time.......

Grandson's Visit, a Party & Another 3 Cuddle Quilts completed !!!!

Well it has been a busy few weeks. My grandson was down from Gayndah to visit his Dad on the school holidays so tried to spend some special time with him. I miss him a lot since he moved away. He seems to have grown so much taller even though it is only a few months since I last saw him. He loved the cuddle rug I made him as you can see in one of the pictures below. I managed to finish another one for his brother Jake as well. So there would be no arguments over them, I made them in their favourite colours. Like most siblings, they are very good at both wanting the same thing at the same time so it is good if you can overcome the problem before it arises. While Tom was visiting, his Dad had his 40 th birthday party so there was lots to do and prepare for that. It was a great night enjoyed by everyone and a great way to celebrate another milestone in my son's life. My daughter-in-law Deb put a photo poster together of Scott's 40 years. It is amazing how much we have all changed over that time especially the hairstyle and colour changes that I have had over the years. My grandson Josh asked his Mum who the person was in the photo with his Dad and Uncle Scott. Of course, it was a much younger and slimmer me with long blond hair.

Since the party, I have made 2 more of those cuddle quilts with another 2 to go. The pink and blue one is for me and the red star and black one is for Josh which I finished for his 13 th birthday yesterday. They are so warm across your knees on these chilly nights and so quick to make.

Tom above and Jake below.

Now I must get back to my quilting and stitching. Am way behind with everything. Till next time..........

Another OPAM finish !!!!!!

Just a quick post as time is just flying by in this household. Scott's 40 th birthday is next week and with trying to help him get the house in order and trying to finish a couple of quick quilts for his 2 boys, life is a bit hectic at present. Tom will be down next week for his Dad's birthday and I wanted to make him a warm quilt to take back with him. Of course, I made him a quilt when he was younger but haven't got around to making his brother Jake one as yet so I decided to make them both a no sew cuddle quilt. Jake (6) has been asking me of late when I am going to make him a quilt and thought I might have the time to make him one while he was at his Mum's for the school holidays because I didn't have to look after him. Funny how kids minds work sometimes. The quilt is made using fleece material and is just a matter of laying a square top and backing piece together, removing selvages, then cutting a 5" square from each corner and cutting 1" by 5" strips along all sides then knotting them together. I have finished Tom's, he loves green so used green/brown camouflage fleece with a brown back. It feels so warm and cuddly especially with the weather so cold at present. Hope he likes it. Jake has the same fabric except in his favourite colour, blue. Hope to finish Jake's by tomorrow. These quilts are great and I am thinking I might have to make a few more. I got the seal of approval from my cat Oscar as I had big trouble removing him from the middle when I was trying to turn the quilt to cut the sides. Maybe I need to make a smaller version for him but then he probably wouldn't want to sit on it if he was allowed to. A big thank you to Cyndie from our quilt group for bringing hers in to show us. Quite a few ladies from our group have made them for their grandchildren as well.

Cheers for now......

Another OPAM Finish, Pinwheel Sampler

Here is my second OPAM finish for February. It is another Xmas wall hanging. I have had the stitchery done for quite a while and didn't know how to finish it until I saw a hanging in a Country Threads magazine and adapted it to fit my stitchery. The red Xmas fabric I had in my stash and when I saw the yellow fabric, it all fell into place. I tried to get red star buttons but couldn't find any so looked through my red button jar and came up with these. I am really happy with how it turned out. I have decided that I am going to try and make one Xmas thing each month so by the end of the year, I will have either lots of new decorations for my house or some nice gifts to give away. That sounds like a plan. Hope I can keep to it. I guess time will tell.

PS I Quilt has the first block of her pinwheel sampler quilt up on her website. If you would like to check it out, click on the button on my sidebar.

A Finish, Something New, Projects on the Go

This project has been sitting unfinished since before Christmas. I really started it a couple of years ago but had put it aside and forgotten about it until looking through my cupboard and there it was. I had to change the year to 2oo9 and I still didn't get it completed. So it is now on my wall near the dining room table until the end of January so I don't feel so guilty about not finishing such a small project in time for Xmas. My first finish for OPAM.

The stitchery above is one I am working on and when completed will be incorporated into a shoulder bag. It is a Hugs & Kisses pattern which I purchased long ago. It will be a gift for a very old friend I have known since primary school. I have painted part of the stitchery using my folk art paints and have added fabric medium so that the colour will be permanent.

The patisserie layer cake, a lovely gift, will be used to make a Pin Wheel Sampler quilt that Rachel will be starting on PS I Quilt shortly. The button and link can be found on my sidebar. A layer cake, 3 yds of co-ordinating plain fabric, backing and binding is all that is needed.

And finally, my new Brother machine which I needed to buy as my old faithful machine, sadly, could not be repaired and had to go to machine heaven where-ever that is. I have had it a number of years and it has been most reliable so I decided to stick with the same brand so I could use all the clip-on feet from my old one including the walking and quarter inch foot. I have found that when the Bernina is on the quilting machine if I don't have another machine to use, I can't do any machine sewing on other projects. Once I start a quilt top, I really don't want to take the machine on and off. Just thought I would let you know that I am still practising and improving slowly I hope. Am going to try out the speed control and maybe the pattern device on the week-end. Wish me luck, I may need it.

Next Tuesday is AUSTRALIA DAY here in AUSTRALIA. Hope all my AUSSIE friends have a great day.