FNwF | show and tell | Monkey Wrench/Snail Trail

Yay, another opportunity to spend time in the sewing room without any guilt LOL

Mr Fixit had his RDO on Friday, but was more than happy to do some work on his computer.  I know!!!  it was supposed to be his day off, but he gets so much work done at home because he is able to work uninterrupted  :) ......... anyway ............. that left me free to do whatever I wanted, so ofcourse I chose my sewing room .......... after a few household tasks were completed.

In previous years, I have participated in Block Lotto, and have been enormously lucky to win an embarrassing 3 times!  During last year, I only made 1 block, but as all the blocks will be 6 1/2" this year, I can see myself making more :)

During January, I concentrated on my Farmer's Wife Quilt and didn't get an opportunity to make January's block, but when I saw that February's block was a Monkey Wrench/Snail Trail, I  just knew I had to give it a go - I have always wanted to make a Monkey Wrench/Snail Trail block!

The colours for February are brown and a light background - perfect for me, as I have my Farmer's Wife Quilt fabrics handy :)

so here is my very first 6 1/2" Monkey Wrench/Snail Trail block for Block Lotto




I usually donate my blocks, since I have been lucky enough to win, but I REALLY like this block and the colour scheme, so I am putting my block in the draw :)

I think I will make another block in this same colour combination for my Farmer's Wife Quilt :)

I also got another sashing row cut, sewn and attached to my Farmer's Wife Quilt.

It is now wide enough to fit on a queen size bed - this next row will make it long enough :)

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day - any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Light the Night in Adelaide

You may remember I recently made a quilt for my friend :) 

Well, Di has been sent home - sadly, there is not a lot more then can do for her, but there is one more ray of hope - a clinical trial.  We are all hoping and praying that this trial will have a positive outcome :)

I'm lighting a lantern at Light the Night on October 9 in support of my friend, Di.

More information on this event, can be found HERE

Please support the Leukemia Foundation with a donation to help Australian families impacted by blood cancer. 

Di's team 'Di's Peloton'  will hit the streets on October 9, walking to support the Leukemia Foundation and our wonderful Di'sy. Please consider joining me, or if you cannot make it, making a donation to support this special cause.  Light the Night, we are doing it for Di!

If you would like to support me, My Support Page is here

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day - any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

FNwF - show and tell

FNwF came around quickly, once again, but this time I was prepared :)

The combination of a sick Mr Fixit (yes again :(, he hasn't had a very good run this year) which left me to my own devices, and my desire to make a quilt for a friend who has been diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukemia saw me able to spend time in my sewing room.

I won these coin stacks blocks whilst participating in Block Lotto in 2011 and whilst the flimsy has been completed for some time, I had lost the motivation to actually finish the quilt.  Dianne loves colours, and it has just kind of happened that everyone has been posting rainbows on her facebook page, by way of inspiration; so I thought it was perfect that Dianne be the recipient of this quilt.


marked up ready for quilting with painter's tape


Diagonal quilting finished


binding rolled over and clipped


my messy sewing room - LOL - time for clean-up when this UFO is finished!

This will be Lifetime Quilt #13

I also made Dianne a journal cover.




This is completely reversible: so that when Dianne's treatment is finished, she will be able to turn it around and have the cameras showing on the outside, and use it for her photography :)

Dianne is such an amazing woman, I truly believe she will beat this terrible disease.

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day - any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

FAwF/FNwF | Show and tell

The first Friday Night with Friends for the year, and thanks to the cricket being on, I could make an early start in the afternoon - hence my FAwF (Friday Arvo with Friends) :)

I started the afternoon with some simple sewing together of some scrap squares given to me by a family friend.  They were stuck onto some pelon with a grid, and all I had to do was fold and stitch along the lines :)  some of the blocks had been completed, and some were partially completed and some were just tacked on - so, some very simple sewing indeed.  The hard part was laying them out in some form of pattern.  As I was working on them, I noticed a slight gradient to the colouring, and realised there was a 'method' to how they were laid out.  This is what I ended up with



I am not convinced I have laid the sections out as the original maker intended - I think I may just do a bit of reverse sewing and re-arrange a few sections, as well as match up a few more seams :)

Block Lotto
Next up, I made up a block for Block Lotto - I didn't participate last year, and this year I am hoping to make at least one block each month.



I really enjoyed the precision of this Double 9 Patch block.

Fat Quarter Swap
I spent some time selecting fabrics for my Fat Quarter Swap partner, and the two birthday club members. So I don't spoil the surprise, here are some black and white photos :)

I won't say who is getting what here - packages will be in the mail on Monday.

Christmas Block Swap
I received these lovely blocks from Amanda, one of the newest swappers to join our swap group.

I finished up my Christmas Block Swap sewing - once again, some black and white images so I don't spoil the surprise

The swap is really only supposed to be one block each month, but since Amanda sent me two blocks (one she was not so happy with, but for the life of me, I can't see why) and I wasn't really happy with the colour selection of one of my blocks; I decided to send two blocks back :)

More time in the sewing room today ............. I can't wait to get started this!

here are my fabrics 

A Facebook group has been created by SueB, founder of QBSA, for those that are doing the FW - for newbies like myself, who are just starting out and for those that have already started it, but may need a bit of a prod encouragement to continue.  You can find the Facebook group HERE

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day - any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

January FNwF - Show and Tell

Our first FNwF for the year .......... we had 64 people join in  :)

I got a lot done - hubby is still home on annual leave, but that didn't stop me seriously ignoring him for the afternoon and early evening :)

But first, I must pass on thanks to Vanessa, 

for sending me this lovely FQ and gorgeous tag as a thank you for the work I do as
Swap Co-Ordinator for the Fat Quarter Swap Group
awww, thanks Vanessa, your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated :)

OK, so now onto what I accomplished for FNwF :)

The afternoon starts with good preparation

The last of my Christmas Bubbly  

setting aside my blue scraps for the start of the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC14) project
(see link in the sidebar)

which turned into this :) will finish it this afternoon

SharonJ, my January partner for QBSA, is super organised and has already sent me two blocks - my request was for the Starflower block in rainbow colours on either BLACK or WHITE solids

I think she has met the brief :)  thanks Sharon

I completed the following two blocks for SharonJ

Sharon's request was for any block in purples, lavenders, greens - I hope this is acceptable :)

these blocks are packed and ready to be posted on Monday

I was on a roll with digging through my purple stash, so I made some blocks for Block Lotto
(see link on sidebar)

January Block Lotto - Double Chevron Block

The top block was made using the tutorial provided - starting with one big 8 3/4 inch square

the bottom block was made using my preferred method - starting with 4 1/2 inch squares 

It has been quite a while since I participated in Block Lotto, but these blocks appealed to me :)

This lovely block and fabric bowl arrived during the week from Jan for January Christmas Block Swap

Here is the block I made for Jan 

it is now packed and ready to post

Must be off for now - I have a heap of FQs to bundle up and put in the mail - stay tuned for my next post.


Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

Block Lotto block & Shopping Spree

Here is the Block Lotto block for this month

Hot Cross 9 Patch

I can't believe out of all my stash, I don't have any other plaids ;-)

I am hoping to get to make some more before the end of the month ;-)  

I got an excellent bargain on eBay the other day - all these fat quarters to add to my stash

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day. 

Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-) 

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.

FNSI show and tell

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day ;-)

First up, the day started with a quick sweep, mop and vacuum; kitchen sink nice and shiny ;-) now with the chores out of the way, I could sew to my heart's content ;-)

The postie delivered some squishie joy this morning ;-)





The above goodies from Carol for April Fat Quarter Swap - thank you so much for the extras ;-)

See my other post about Fat Quarters received in the Fat Quarter Swap group HERE

The choccies came in handy for the obligatory FNSI preparation - Step 1 - Drinkies (Bubbly & Orange Juice) and choccies ;-)

See what I am putting my tools on?  That is the potholder I received in the CraftMad Potholder swap from Lauren - it was far too nice to get all dirty using it as a potholder ;-)  now I can see it every time I am sewing and admire it's beauty.  Better pics HERE

The postie also delivered this


from Busy Thimbles - Moda Old Primrose Inn. - their recent newsletter offered free postage for a short time, so I went to the site to have a look see - this layer cake was on special and so was some yardage ;-)

Now onto my To Do List .................

CraftMad Ugly item for Mandy
CraftMad 3 dudes jelly roll block for Kelly
CraftMad 3 dudes jelly roll block for Mandy
CraftMad 3 dudes jelly roll block for Merry

Cushion cover for Our Craft Forum Swap #10

First up - ugly item for Mandy as part of our CraftMad sewing swap

We had to pick an ugly fabric and make something with it - this was much harder than it seemed ;-( I picked this fabric, as it was not my most favourite colour scheme - I got it as a bulk lot from somewhere ;-) It is beautiful Lecien fabric, but the pictures did not really represent what I was buying - live and learn ;-)

Next up the 3 dudes jelly roll block (Let's strip it) this was part of our CraftMad Family Quilt block swap.

for Kelly


for Mandy


for Merry

I love how this block comes together and how many different effects can be created with this procedure. These blocks finish at 9 1/2" and could be a good candidate for Block Lotto in the future ;-)

I finished off my cushion cover for Our Craft Forum Swap #10 for TrishJ

here is a tease photo

this will be in the mail on Monday ;-)

this is the gorgeous cover I received from TrishJ

thanks so much TrishJ - will get a better insert for it and use it while I am sewing ;-)

I also did a little re-arranging of my Fat Quarters - I am getting a lovely collection together now ;-)

I am buying a clear storage container every two weeks to help store my fabrics - the latest one is for my Christmas Fabrics.

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)


Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.