Sunday Stash Report - Win some lose some

I was really looking forward to making this week's stash report. I had a couple of finishes during the week, including a massive one so my figures were looking spectacular... and then yesterday I went to a second hand craft shop.

 Everything there has been donated - I guess pre owned is a better way of describing it. Its an amazing shop filled with donated goods - lots of fabric, - yardage and scraps alike. Patterns, projects in various stages, loads of beads, tapestry wool, scrap book stuff... etc etc etc. I had found a pattern I was itching to do on Pinterest but hadn't taken the time to pull the fabric for before coming on the trip (I wrote about this yesterday) and so I looked for the fabric there and got it ... and a bit more. I just added the fabric to my spread sheet and with all the little bits and bigger bits I ended up buying close to 8m of fabric (for less than $30) so that upped my figures somewhat. Never mind. I am happy with my purchases. I got a bargain and the money went to a good cause. (I wrote about this yesterday when I was getting frustrated by thread breaking. Update on that. New needle solved the problem. I finished stitching down all the applique on the second runner and quilted one  with only one thread breakage... and that was when thread jumped out and wrapped around something.)

So... my finishes. I finished Onya Bike during the week. Still no great photos of it but its lovely. Total 14.74m

8.50 m of bunting for the Handmade with Love Stall. It looks great and I sure hope the others in the group love it as much as I do. Its bright and colourful and I was thrilled with it. 1.32m fabric 

I was trying really hard to get a table runner finished tonight so I could count it but I have faltered at the last. I still have to make and attach the binding but its gotten late and I am too tired and my husband is trying to sleep in the room we are staying in at my daughters so I have called it quits for the night. A finish there isn't far away and it will be good to be able to mark off a little of the input I took on Saturday.

So this week's figures.

Week 30
Fabric Used              16.05
Fabric Added              7.87
Weekly Net                8.18

Year To Date
Fabric Used               87.69
Fabric Added             44.74
YTD Net                    42.96

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Slow to take a hint

How quick are you on the uptake? Are you quick to change your ways or are you stubborn to the point of ridiculousness.

That was me tonight. I have been working on a project - one I had spotted on Pinterest and was wanting to have a go at. 

this is the quilt pattern from the website.

Its here on AddieLoucreates.com - a gorgeous Christmas table runner. I had planned to pull some fabrics to take away with me whilst I am in Brisbane visiting 3 of my children (Fangirl, Kombi Boy and his partner Gamer Girl, and our youngest Boyo) However I didn't get time to pull what I needed - and I knew I didn't have any of the cream background fabric I needed and I didn't get to look through my scraps for the green and brown. Besides I knew that Fangirl and I were going to visit The Nest here in Brisbane. On Saturday, Monday and Wednesday  from 10 - 1 they operate a second hand craft shop selling all manner of donated craft items for very reasonable (cheap) rates. Going with a project in mind would focus my spending and allow me to have some fun and not feel guilty for buying fabric I didn't have a purpose for.

So this morning Fangirl and I drove over to the house that is The Nest and enjoyed a browse through their goodies. I spent $43.50, mostly on fabric (I shall account for it tomorrow) and came away with a bulging bag of stuff that I do have plans for.

After a very indulgent lunch - her treat as my belated Mother's Day celebration we visited another craft shop and puchased the Vlisofix I needed and then we came home and I started to create. I had to print out the pattern and then trace off the trees and stumps, iron them onto the fabrics, cut them out then iron them onto the background and finally I could start to sew them down to the background. This is where my being slow and stubborn comes in.

My thread kept breaking. It was good aurifil thread. I rethreaded the machine, I cleaned out the bobbin case, I rewound the bobbin, I checked for others stuff but I wouldn't replace the needle. I was sure I hadn't long put it in. There was nothing wrong with the needle. I sewed some more, I rethreaded. Again and again and again as it kept on breaking. I breathed. I swore (silently or under my breath cause I don't use those words). Finally with one tree (out of the 10 on this table runner) to go.... I replaced the needle... and ... yeah... I sewed the whole tree without a break and now its bedtime.

I can't credit that I can be so slow and so stubborn... and yet... yup that is me. I don't know why.

I shall show you a photo of my efforts another day...I hadn't intended to write a blog post tonight... till tomorrow

Stash Report on Monday

I am late again this week with my stash report. Yesterday was crazy!

Its coming up to Christmas... we all know that can be a crazy time of year. Yesterday Fixit Guy was worship leader at church so we went up early. After church we had our usual cuppa and lots of chatting with our friends there. Then I went shopping. We had invited a few friends over for a bbq tea and I needed to get some supplies. I did some sewing in the afternoon after I had got back from shopping and then our visitors arrived. One had cancelled but Fangirl and Bek, our other daughter came over. We put together a gingerbread house kit and the girls made the most gorgeous Minion Christmas decorations. After a yummy bbq dinner followed by the TimTam ice-cream I'd made when I got home from shopping the girls were about to go home when they remembered that Queensland was due to have a prime view of a meteor shower. So we sat out on the lawn and stared into the sky. Didn't see much and then checked on the web and found out that the best time to see it was in a couple more hours so we gave up. But it was lovely sitting out there, enjoying the warm summer air.

Today Fixit Guy and I were determined to get back into our routine of walking the dogs in the morning and getting the house work done on Monday morning. He also had a massage appointment at 9 and a dental appointment at 10.40. I had a hair dressing appointment at 10.30 so we were on a pretty tight timeline. Things were going pretty well though. He got most of the vacuuming done before he went out leaving me to get the floors mopped. We have a steam mop which I love... usually... but today of course it played up. I started but it was obviously not working properly. I even had a go at pulling it a part to clean the steam vent but couldn't work out how to do it. He had a go at fixing it when he got home and I managed to get the rest of the mopping done but it was still not working properly.

This afternoon we even managed a second dog walk (they are ecstatic we are back on track) and then not long after 6 our boy Kombi Boy and his partner Gamer Girl arrived home from Brisbane for Christmas. They will be staying with her family for a few days till more of her family arrive and then they will come over to us. They will be having dinner with us till then though cause her dad is working nights so not home to have it with!! It was great to have them here with us for another bbq dinner tonight. (we ate leftovers. I had over catered the day before! )

So one way and another I haven't had a chance to get to writing this blog update. Actually there is another reason. Today a gunman took hostages in a busy Sydney coffee shop. The story has gripped our country and it is hard to really think of anything else as we all hope and pray for a good outcome. I am also very proud of the general Australian public who has overwhelmingly reached out to our Muslim Australians to let them know that we don't blame them. #i'llridewithyou is the number 1 trending hashtag - a message to muslim's who may be worried about travelling on public transport for fear of back lash from others.

Anyway finally getting to write it. Had to update my excel spreadsheet cause... yay I have had some finishes this week.

I have made 3 table runners using the Easy Christmas Table Runner by Rachel Godfrey of sewtodaycleantomorrow.blogspot.com.au One was for Fangirl - a Christmas one to decorate her new table. I showed it in my WIP Wednesday post but here it is again

Fangirl's Christmas Runner

Another is a present for someone who sometimes reads my blog so not spoilers here and the 3rd was for a present swap I was involved with. I can't show a picture of it at the moment as I can't download the photos from my camera as the cord is in the room where Fixit Guy is asleep. I want to get this posted.

I also have made two quilts for a project that our patchwork group has taken on. We have been asked to make some little quilts to be used with babies born too early. The quilts are 23" square and don't have batting in them. I have managed to make 2 this week using light blue and white fabric from my stash. I used a mixture pinwheels and nine patches in one and just pinwheels in the other. I am really happy with how they worked out


  


So
Used this week:                               5.71m

Added since last report                 o.0m

Year to Date Used                       139.03m
Year to Date added                       93.47m
Net Used                                          45.56m

WIP Wednesday. Vanishing Hours gets some attention again

I started to write a WIP Wednesday report last week after I got home from our big trip away but I didn't get it finished as I didn't have photos... still don't of some of the projects so will just do a recap of the last 2 weeks

Our last week of our holidays we were mostly in the Flinders Ranges, which is in South Australia, about 5 hours from Adelaide. For the first 7 weeks or so of our trip temperatures were on the whole cooler than usual. Of course as soon as we headed inland the temperatures rose somewhat! We were blessed that we could do our exploring and walking in the morning and relax more in the afternoon and then go for a sleep in the resort pool.

I managed to get some sewing done too. Our patchwork group has started a Block of the Month. The lady running it had chosen several months in advance and I had been able to take the patterns with me (she chose them off the internet) Whilst we were camping at Flinders Ranges I made up several blocks but I had misunderstood and thought that all the blocks were going to be in blue and white and so had taken a pile of blue and white scraps with me to make them. However once I had made them I found out via an email that the next block was supposed to be in pink and white... oops. I took the blocks I had done (2 of the first month and one for the second month) to patchwork today and found that I wasn't the only one to have made the second block in blue and white as well. They can go into the back.

I worked on my Christmas embroideries on the long journey home. We did the trip in just 2 days - which was pretty huge. Stitching the redwork patterns passed the time for me. I got 3 completed and started the 4th. I have worked on the 4th one during a meeting or two since we got home and whilst waiting for appointments so that has made good progress.

a finished embroidery block

Pam from Hip to Be a Square podcast and blog shared a great pattern she had got from Craftsy... a free download. It was called Easy Christmas Table Runner by Sew Today Clean Tomorrow I went to Craftsy and downloaded it as well and have made two of these gorgeous table runners. I can only share one of them here as the 2nd one is a gift for someone who may read this blog. The 2nd one I made for my daughter Fangirl. She recently moved into her first home of her very own... she bought a townhouse just before we went away on our camping holiday. She has a lovely big table that it will look beautiful on. I gave it to her today and she was very happy with it. I forgot to take a photo of it but she kindly took one and messaged it through to me so I could put it on my blog. 

  

I made it sort of reversible ... only I stuffed up the alignment on the back so it didn't end up straight but still... I was pretty happy with it and Fangirl is happy so that was great.

At Patchwork today after I had quilted the table runner I got back to work on Vanishing Hours. I used the big design wall we have there to work on the layout of the quilt





We tweaked a it a few times and to be honest... I don't think this was the final layout but pretty close. Once I had decided I labelled each block... A-F across the top and 1-7 down the side. Before I left to come home I had sewn all the blocks into rows and tonight I got some of the rows stitched together so I am making a bit of progress


I forgot to say... when I sat down at my Janome Horizon, to sew the when I first got home... it seemed so HUGE having only had my little Gem to work on whilst away. I am slowly getting used to it again although at Patchwork today I was back on the Gem

Now that I am no longer driving around the countryside I don't have the gorgeous photos of my wonderful country to give you as eye candy. I will salt this blog with some of the photos I haven't shown you occassionally

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