April WOOFA

Well, another month of lock-down, with only 1 trip out of the house each week for grocery shopping :)

Working on finishing a cross-stitch started in 199-something - that long ago, I can't remember.  There is only the back-stitching to do, so it is nearly there :)

The fingers got a bit crampy working with the hoop, so I switched to another UFO of hand stitching :)  Working on a Gail Pan design - Little Bird Sewing Set

Finishing off another UFO

Then .......... thanks to my lovely Bloggy/Facebook quilty friends, I discovered a group of Aussie designers have shared some beautiful designs for a stitch-a-long in a Facebook group :)
yeah, I know, I shouldn't really be starting anything new, but I was so inspired by what I saw on my quilty friends' blogs :)

I grabbed the first threads I could lay my hands on - red variegated - and started stitching.  In the end, I had about 4inches of thread left, so I just made it! 

I ransacked my sewing room and found a box containing threads that were received as part of the swap group I used to run called 'Fat Quarter Swap Australia'.  Each month a group of us would swap 2 Fat Quarters and sometimes there were some extra embroidery threads in the pack :)  I didn't do stitcheries back then, but I kept them thinking they might be useful one day LOL.

I have been well and truly bitten by the stitching bug - here is the next stitchery I have started :)

I am not that good a stitcher, but I have enjoyed the slow steady pace of stitching, and as I need to sit at the desk with a magnifier, that means I am not spending time on the computer, which for me, I feel is a much better distraction than reading news stories and facts & figures on Covid-19 :)

you can find the group on Facebook  Love & Hugs from Australia Stitch-A-Long

So all in all, a satisfactory amount of progress on some of my UFOs/PHDs (UnFinished Objects/Projects Half Done) for the month of April.

Thank you Cheryll for WOOFA, and many thanks to the 'Love & Hugs' designers for providing such wonderful designs :)

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 ;-)

Christmas in July - what I sent - the big reveal

I have heard from the lovely Cheryll, that my package for Narelle has safely arrived at it's destination :)
(big sigh of relief)

We had to make 3 handmade items with something off the following list:

C...  Candy Cane OR Candle OR Christ
H...  Holly OR Heart
R...  Reindeer
I...    Inspirational word/s 
S...  Santa OR Stocking OR Snow Flake/s
T...  Tree OR Three wise men
M... Mouse OR Mistletoe
A...  Angel
S...  Snowman OR Star 

I = INSPIRATIONAL WORDS - wall hanging

Don't look too closely at my stitching :(  I have a long way to go to improve my stitches, but I hope the recipient will like it as much as I do ......... bumpy bits and all :)

C = CANDLE - candle mat

(made with bits of the fabric left over from the above wall hanging)

S = SANTA - notebook cover

a notebook to keep track of Christmas Things to Do 

and a little extra something :)

A = ANGEL Charms

one pearl charm, and one purple charm, as I know Narelle loves purple :)

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.

Christmas in July - in the mail :)

I have been working on my Christmas in July Swap - organised by Swap Queen, Cheryll, from Gone Stitchin

Here is one of my items :)

and here is the item that inspired me to make it :)

the one on the left is what I received in the very first 'completed sewn item swap', 

from the lovely Fiona  :)  Mine is the one on the right :)

Don't look too closely at my stitching :(  I have a long way to go to improve my stitches, but I hope the recipient will like it as much as I do ......... bumpy bits and all :)

here is a tease of my second finished item

(made with bits of the fabric left over from the above wall hanging)

You will have to wait and see the other items :) 

I will post pics once they have been received.

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.

12" mini swap - show and tell

The next instalment of the 12" mini  Club has arrived

Here it is .............. already hanging up on one of the very few wall spaces I have left

it was from the lovely Anorina, of Samelia's Mum

I think Anorina has been stalking my blogs, as these lovely extra Fat Eighths were in the envelope  :) 

I just love, love, love the cameras :)

and just to refresh your memory, this is what I sent to my partner - Kim

Another wonderful swap, organised by the Queen of Swaps, Cheryll, from Gone Stitchin

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.

FNSI - show and tell

Well, it was a cold and very wet Friday Night here in Adelaide

So I got some quiet stitching done

nearly finished the stitching!
I have some heart buttons that I received in a FQ swap,
I am sure they will be perfect!
Now I just have to find them ................. I have put them somewhere safe :)

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.

June Blocks (updated) .........

I got to spend quite a few hours in the sewing room yesterday ......... there was a bit of a movie marathon of X-Men movies on Foxtel, so Mr Fixit was suitably entertained for the afternoon and quite happy to be ignored  :)

blocks received for the CraftMad Family Quilt

from Mandy

from Merry

Clay's Choice

Star Cluster (Sawtooth Star)

here is what I have sent 

CHRISTMAS BLOCK SWAP

Tease photo for JenD, USA - June

hopefully, it will arrive shortly :)

Updated:  Jen's Block has arrived

QUILT BLOCK SWAP AUSTRALIA

these lovely rainbow starflower blocks

from Donna, for June

since Donna was generous enough to send two blocks, I have returned the favour

making progress on my Christmas in July Swap

Bad News:  The kit I purchased was missing a few things - like threads and batting :(

Good News: I was able to use up some of the threads I have received as part of the Fat Quarter Swap :)

I am not a good embroiderer, but I think I am improving.  I am certainly enjoying the nice quiet time sitting and stitching :)

All that is left now, is to:

• finish my CHERISH Do Good Stitches Charity blocks - 2 x improv blocks/log cabin in the red/orange /yellow spectrum surrounded by lights/neutrals
• catch up on my RSC14 blocks - purple, green & yellow
• catch up on my Globetrotter QAL/BOM blocks - March, April, May, June
• make a start on my 12" mini quilt for September - Summer Theme

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

Once again, it was time to share some stitichin' time with my bloggy friends :)

Unfortunately, after a lovely day out on Thursday and lunch to celebrate my Dad's birthday with my sister ........ Friday morning I awoke with a very sore throat, runny nose and runny eyes ........ somehow, I had picked up a virus ............ bugger!   This morning, I have a very scratchy voice and a head cold :(  not happy Jan!

However, this did give me the opportunity to sit quietly, watch a bit of TV whilst doing some stitching for my Christmas in July Swap.

I even hand stitched the label on the back of my completed 12 mini

I have been looking at my finished mini on the design wall and think I am happy enough to send it :)  The stitching is a bit wobbly, and I hope the receiver will appreciate the challenge it was for me to do this one LOL - I am not a very good embroiderer ..... I actually said 'woo hoo' out loud when I completed my first french knott :)  the second one, I must have been over-confident, as it didn't work :(, but eventually, I got the hang of it.  So the french knotts on the Christmas in July embroidery are just that little bit neater than the ones on my 12" mini.

Now to go visit other fellow FAwF/FNwF participants and see what they have been up to :)

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.