Some Finds and Some Finishes...

The Finds:
Last Friday my husband and I went to the Toowoomba Swap Meet. I don't go every year as searching through car parts is hard work, but this year it paid off! I found a few lovely Carlton Ware pieces - at a nice price for a change! I really love the little peach dish - it's my favourite find.

I've also found this wonderful site that prints off all your blog posts and photos. This book holds everything I posted for last year and I just love going back through it and remembering the year. If you are interested in printing your blog posts you will find the blog book site here. This is definitely my kind of diary!!!

Now the finishes:
I am in an on line group (Friends in Stitching) and last year for my birthday I received this lovely stitchery. I have finally finished it and made it up into a block keeper.

Also in this group we are doing a block of the month - so I've decided to keep all those blocks nice and safe until the end of the year in this keeper.. these are the blocks we've done so far...

I've made another dolphin for a friend of my brothers. They've just had a baby, and my brother asked me if I would make the baby a dolphin. I was very happy to be asked to make something for him! This is my fourth dolphin and I still love making them, especially in the gorgeous bright colours of Amy Butler.

More baby things.... These lovely panels have come into my favourite quilt shop and I've made a couple of the things that you can make with them for Tereasa.

Cute baby bag and a baby block softie.. Love the colours in this range and there are lots of nice and easy things to make with these panels.

We've had lots of rain here and the dam and water tank are full - such a nice feeling - so I am washing like mad today to get that mountain of washing under control.
I hope you are all having a great week and achieving heaps!!
Teresa xx

What Makes me Happy No. 6

What makes me happy?? My Nannas beautiful old sewing machine!!!
My Nanna bought this machine on April 19th, 1950 - I know because I still have the original Letter of Purchase! So it's nearly 60 years old and it has had a wonderful, very full, productive life.

My Nanna worked for years making curtains on this machine for a local furniture shop. As well, she was a dressmaker in a home business, and still made her own dresses right up until a couple of years ago. (She loved making her own dresses, because she couldn't buy anything with big enough pockets in them! Her dresses always had huge pockets!)
I was so proud when my family decided my Nannas most treasured item would be passed on to me. Having her machine and all her sewing things around me makes me very happy - especially when I miss her so much. It makes me happy to remember my Nan every time I look at them.

Hope you are all having a wonderful, happy day!

Teresa xx

Some Finishes for February

I have always wanted to make something for Valentines Day and I found this great tutorial to make the above heart block here. It's a little like my string blocks, only with this block, you make all the blocks in one go. Cut them to make squares and turn them around, then add the white corners. It was lovely and easy and I am really happy with the way it turned out.

I have this little quilt hanger in my hallway and I usually have the same quilt hanging on it. Now I am going to try and make enough quilts for the seasons and holidays to be able to change it around throughout the year. Well at least I've made a start.... February!

With this table runner I was able to mark 2 things off my list... 1 - Make something for my sister-in-laws birthday and 2 - Finish a project for Stephanies String block challenge. You know how much I love these blocks, and as my sil loves coffee, I thought I would make this for her in coffee and cream colours. I am really happy with it and think I may make another....

This is the first block in Jenny's free BOM - "Bouquet". I was so determined to make this quilt this year that I made myself an ultimatum...make it before the 2nd block comes out or I can't make the quilt at all. I really work well under pressure!

This is the 2nd block in my on line groups BOM and it is the Georgia Block. I am so glad I decided to make this quilt in the Rouenneries fabrics. I just love them.
So far a good start to the month!
Hope you are all having a wonderful, creative week!

Teresa xx

What Makes me Happy? No. 5

What Makes Me Happy????

Tuesdays!!Tuesday is the day I get together with my best friends at my favourite little Quilt Shop, Homespun and Beautiful.
This is the day of the week, where we laugh, share stories and jokes, stitch, sew, create, solve all the problems of the world, (forget all the problems of the world), catch up on the latest news, eat yummy food and

did I mention LAUGH?

BEST day of the week!

Teresa xx

AWARDS

This post is long overdue and I have been trying to finish it for days now and have decided to JUST GET ON WITH IT... My apologies for taking so long.... I am overwhelmed! as I received not one, but two blogging awards from two very special blogging friends that I have 'met' on my blogging journey. The first I received was from Sarah who I 'met' just before Christmas. She was my partner in a Christmas decoration swap. I thoroughly enjoy reading her down-to-earth blog and her beautiful scrapbooking just blows me away. Thank you so much Sarah - I am really chuffed you sent this to me!!
In accepting this award, I must:

1) Name 5 things I love

2) Present it to 5 other bloggers I think are fabulous (will come to that later....)
Okay.... 5 things I love...
~ My family (goes without saying)
~Traveling (on holidays anywhere!)
~Having a coffee waiting for me when I get up in the morning!
~Time to create
~Eating out

The second blogging award I received from Bev of Kainga Happenings. I 'met' Bev last year and enjoy reading her blog immensely. We are currently doing the "What Makes me Happy Monday" Challenge together and it was Bev who started me on that. Thank you so much Bev for the award and I am very grateful. In accepting this award I have to:
1. Tell 7 interesting things about myself.

2. Nominate 7 blogs. Again, I will get to that.
Now 7 interesting things about myself was really hard, but here goes:
~ When I was 15 I traveled to New Zealand to play tennis for my Tennis Club
~ In my lifetime I have almost drowned - twice!!!
~I am claustrophobic and cannot sleep in a sleeping bag!!
~I love everything old and antique.
~I taught folk art painting at my local craft shop for 8 years.
~Up until my early 20's I had a HUGE fear of dogs!
~Years ago I was talked into entering the Miss Aspley Contest (most embarrassing thing I have ever done in my life!!)

Now this leaves me with 12 people to choose for blogging awards. This is really hard for me. I love to visit so many blogs, not only in Australia, but all over the world. There are so many blogs out there that are truly worthy of this award..I hope you don't feel that this is a cop out, but please feel free to take either button and award yourself. Everyone's blogs are unique and personal and reflect the individual. Just taking the time to post about what you have done, what you feel, what you see is inspiring and creative.
I thank Sarah and Bev so much for thinking enough of me to pass on this award. I can't help but feel very honoured (I just may get a big head out of this!!).
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Teresa xx

Block Keeper Tutorial

I have done a tutorial for a block keeper using a post office tube and a couple of people have asked me to put it on my blog. This is my first tutorial, so please excuse any mistakes. If you have any questions, or need further instructions, please leave me a comment and I will do my best to explain. I know there are lots of ways of doing this and this is in no way the first time a post pak tube has been used for a block keeper - this is just my take on how to put it all together.

Hope you enjoy making the block keeper.....

1. First of all you will need a postpak tube from the post office. There are different sizes available, but the 17 1/2" and the 29" tubes are the best. You will also need fabric for the outer, lining and wadding. Cut a piece of fabric the length of the tube by however wide you want the keeper to be (remembering the fabric has to go around the tube once and be big enough for your blocks). For the 17 1/2" tube I cut a piece 17 1/2" x 36".

2. Draw and cut out 2 curved corners on one short end.

3. Use this piece as a pattern to cut the same in the 2nd piece of fabric and the wadding.

4. Quilt these pieces together any way you like - just as you would if you were making a little quilt.

5. Make a tie 1 1/2" x 30". Sew along the long edges and turn through. Find the centre of the tie and the centre of the curved side and pin to the edge as above.

6. Make enough binding to go around 3 edges of the mini quilt. The short straight edge is glued to the tube, so you don't have to bind it.

7. Bind the edges, catching in the ties.

8. Handstitch binding to the inside.

9. Now comes the fun part.... Take the plastic ends off the tube and place the tube onto the fabric, making sure it is straight and edges line up. Using a hot golue gun, glue all the way down the raw edge of the quilt. Roll the tube back onto the glue and hold in place until it dries.

10. Now roll the fabric around the tube and glue along the edge again, enclosing the raw edges.

11. Once the glue dries I slip stitch the fabrics together. This neatens it up and makes it stronger so it won't come off the tube.

12. Roll it all up and use the ties to keep it all together.

13. If you want to cover up the plastic ends, you can either make 2 suffolk puffs or you can make 2 little pincushions. Just hot glue them to the plastic ends when you're done.

All you have to do now is put your blocks on the quilt and roll it all up.... Too easy!!!

Hope you can follow my instructions, and I would love to know how you go making one for yourself.

Teresa xx

A couple more finishes......

My Aunt paints the most amazing pictures and her artwork is gorgeous. A couple of days ago she gave me one of my favourite paintings that she has had printed on to a fine canvas... what to do with it? Make a bag of course!

The beautiful copper heart shaped button was brought back from New Zealand by a kiwi friend of mine... it's been waiting to be sewn on to something for ages!!!

This is another one of my Aunts paintings and I'd love to print this onto fabric and make something with it as well. I just love the colours!

I've also made the above little stitchery (a Lynnette Anderson design) into a book cover. It holds your standard A5 notebook and I adapted it from a Hatched and Patched pattern.

Just love the bear button on this stitchery!
Another super hot day today and it's been very quiet with my son back at school! I am missing the company!
Hope you are all having a productive day!

Teresa XX