Christmas Tea Towels.........

I have been trying to get my Singer Machine to embroider correctly.  I got it back from a service about 2 months ago but I didn't have time to sit and play.   Last week I decided it was time. I think I have got it sorted.   The back of the embroidery even has some of the bobbin fill showing.  By the look of these photos I am extremely happy with my machine.

                                                                                     

Christmas T Shirt Time.........

 Each year I get less and less Christmas T Shirts to make for my Grandsons.   This year I have only made one.  I may get one more year in if I am lucky.  This year I have chosen this design from Urban Threads.  I hope he still believes in Santa.

Secret Santa......

 Every year at our Patchwork Breakup we have a Secret Santa.  I received these two beautiful Angels.
They are gorgeous.  When I was checking my facebook feed when I got home from the luncheon, the same two Angels popped up so now I can give you the link so you can make them too..    Merry Christmas.

Sewing Machine Ornament........

Aren't these little felt Sewing Machine Ornaments just gorgeous. I couldn't resist the temptation to make some.   I got the pattern from Betz White.  Very easy to make and I used tiny beads instead of doing french knots  for the knobs on the machine.  Even made the little spool of thread.  So happy with how they turned out.
                                                                       

Joining the Squares.........

I have finished the 20 blocks and now I am joining all the squares together. This was my first time at joining squares, as you go.  The directions were very easy to follow and you can find them here.    After I finish joining the squares I will be putting a border around  all of the rug.  I feel very pleased with what I have achieved  as I am only learning to crochet.
                                                                             

Snack for Santa Wall Hanging.......

I made this little wall hanging for my grandsons to put up when Santa is visiting on Christmas Eve.. I hope Santa enjoyed his snack.  It wasn't a big project and I  embroidered  the message " Enjoy your Snack, Santa" onto black fabric and the stitched it onto the background fabric and covered a small canvas using staples to hold it altogether at the back,  added some decoration and boys loved it.  I hope Santa does too.
                                                                                 

We will Remember Them !

Lest We Forget........

Girl Angels.......

So glad I started early in the year to make these Angels for my family.  Every year it is the same, it gets very busy from now until Christmas and things don't get done.  I have now finished the girl angels for the females in the family.  They are so cute and I hope that they love them as much as I do. The design is from Embroidery Garden and it is an In the Hoop design for Embroidery Machines. I used white felt and there was no need to use any stabilizer. I just hooped the felt.  They turned out perfect.
                                                                         

Finally Finished

Finally got around to finishing the cover for my Singer Embroidery Machine. It took me quite a while to make all the selvage  blocks.  I found a very long selvage that looks like small fringing and stitched that around the bottom of the cover.   I also made an In the Hoop flower from Embroidery Garden just to give it a bit more character.  Now my machine can take pride of place in my sewing room.
                                                                                 

Cushions!!!!!

                                                                 

I was looking for something to brighten my lounge room for summer.   I bought these yellow cushions from a cheap shop, but they needed something to add a bit of interest.    The roses are made In the Hoop on my embroidery machine.    The design came from Embroidery Garden.   The silk petals are bought in packets and then stitched on a backing in a circle ending up in the centre,  For the centre I had some black beads which I mixed with some Glossy Accents from scrapbooking and they all stuck together with a lovely shine.  Very happy that I could transform some cheap cushions into something special.
















                                                                                   

Cooper is Eight.

My Grandson Cooper is Eight this week,  He is a little fisherman so when I saw this design ,  I knew it was perfect for him.    He will be able to wear it to the fishing competition this weekend.   I hope he catches a fish.  I found the pattern WendyStitch  It stitched out really well and I was really happy with the design.
                                                                             

Towel Time Again..........

Gee doesn't twelve months go fast.  This time I only had to make two towels for my friend Desley's Granddaughters.  The girls mother thought it would be a good idea to stop when the girls reached 10 as she was getting too many towels.  so, only one more for Georgia. This is a really lovely pattern for girls and I got it from My Memory Design  Really happy with the design and how it stitched out.
                                                                             

Hand Towel for Thomas........

For my grandson Thomas I decided to do this design from Urban Threads as he is into skulls.   The hand towel has a little zipper in one corner that can be used for money, keys or other bits and pieces that boys have. I will leave the $10.00 as a little surprise for him and see how long it takes him to find it.
                                                                                 

What a Difference a Bit of Paint Makes......

 I have a lot of frogs as well as  a lot of fake frogs in my garden.  They were all starting to get a bit chipped and damaged from the weather.   I thought about getting a tin of spray paint but that would be a bit hard to use around the eyes.   Also as I am a very messy painter, I had put this job off for a while, and then I discovered Paint Pens.  As you can see from the before and after photos what a huge difference the pens have made. You can get the pens in a medium and a fine point. I got mine from the local newsagent.   I am going to give the frogs a spray with a clear varnish before they go back in the garden.

A Quick Gift for the Boys!!!!!!!!!!

Heading up to Bowen in a few days to visit my grandsons and to watch them play football.  I always take them something that I have made.  I bought the hand towels a while ago as they had a little zip in the corner that could be used for a bit of money or a key.  I found this great design in my collection, not sure where I got it from.  The banner on the design was blank so I did the Cowboys for Cooper who follows the Cowboys Footy team and on the other two I put Roosters as the Kellen and Nathan are playing for the Burdekin Roosters.   I was happy with the result and I hope the boys will be also.
                                                                             

 

A close up of the design........

Challenge Time Again !!!!!!

 Every year we do a challenge set by Carol the lady who runs our Patchwork group.  This year she gave us a Patchwork Square that she had made and we had to make something with it.    The square is in picture one and I put the purple around it.   I decided to make this cute little bag.  I always try to do something different as I can't see the point in making the same thing over and over again.   I found the pattern here ( crazy mom quilts) and the directions were very easy to follow.   It is really a surprise when you unzip the bag to find three little zippered compartments inside.  By the way I got 2nd place and won a $25.00 voucher to spend on fabric.  Lucky me.

Log Cabin Rug.......

I am just a learning to Crochet so I wanted to do something fairly easy as I am only a leaner.   I decided to surf the internet and I found what I was looking for,  Something different and also it would suit either male or female.
I have a friend who does wonderful crocheting and will help me if I get stuck.   The pattern for the Log Cabin Quilt is here and the directions are very easy to follow and the blocks are quick to complete.  There are a few threads to stitch in but that doesn't take long either.  I am very eager to get this project completed.
                                                                   

Joining Selvedge.......

I decided to make a cover for my Singer Embroidery Machine with my Selvedge Blocks.  This is how I have.decided to join my blocks. I have joined all the blocks and have the shape of the machine cover but as my machine is getting a service I will not finish it until I can make sure it fits.  I had to make a lot more blocks as Singer Machines are quite large.  The only thing that I don't like is that to fit the machine I had to cut and join  some of the Selvedges but I like to see the things that I put so much time and effort into so I can live with that.   Hope my machine will be back shortly so I can get the cover finished.
                                                         

Happy Mothers Day..........

Enjoy your Day

Selvedges !!!!!!!!!

At our last Patchwork day we  all had to bring some Selvedges and some 4 and 1/4 inch blocks. This was one of the designs that we could work with.   The way the blocks are put together is what determines the design. I haven't yet decided what I will be doing with my blocks, but I will have to make a few more so I have enough to play with.   So, don't throw away your selvedges, there are plenty of great ideas out there.
                                                                         

Lest We Forget .......

Decorated Hessian Bags..........

 I have seen so many different ideas for decorating the hessian bags from Woolworths.  Here are a couple of ideas I have come up with using some of those doilies that we have in our cupboards. I made the Rose on my Embroidery Machine and the design is from Embroidery Garden.  The design uses the single petals that are bought in packets of a couple of hundred, and then you just lay them out in a circle and sew around on the bottom edge of the petals, starting from the outside working towards the centre. Covering the petals with some sovly helps with the stitching and stops the petals getting caught up.  I stiffened the doily and then stitched it on the bag around the edge and then hot glued the rose on. I also used some old costume jewellery that I had for the centre of the rose.

                                                                               

Pot Holder.........

 We all made these pot holders at our patchwork group.  A great way to use up some scraps. The pattern says that you sew  the front and back together with the right sides facing leaving a gap for turning.    I decided to do mine a bit different and quilt all the layers together and bind the edges.  It took a bit more time but I really liked the finish.

Easter Gift Bags....

This is a little bit late for Easter but I think they are really cute.I wanted some gift bags for friends we were visiting over Easter, I couldn't find anything suitable in the small town that I live in so out came the craft supplies and this is the result.  Also having limited time I needed something quick and easy.  I had the bags ( I am a bit of  a hoarder) and all the supplies and was surprised that something so simple could turn out so great.  All it took was a bit of my time...............