Wonderful Garden Sculptures.

Hello,

I had sewing on Friday and spent the day cutting out paper petal shapes then covering them with my chosen material for a project I am working on. After sewing Mum Lucy and I went to a cafe/bookshop which has recently opened in town. Most of the books are 2nd hand although there were a few new ones including one by a local author who has just been published,who is Lucy's English teacher. The bookshop has a lovely atmosphere about it. Lucy wants to go again. I enjoyed a lovely cappuccino,they have 5 Senses Coffee which is Yum. Pistachio and Lime Cheesecake was also enjoyed. Upstairs there are two lounges where you can sit and read the books or paper and there are boardgames to use. Today I will be putting together my monthly stitchery challenge,I have been putting this off which is not a good thing. A short while ago I went to this garden centre which has a tea house and the most amazing sculptures. Around every corner there is something different. From the road you wouldn't even know it was there. A real pleasant surprise. They hold functions there including weddings,it certainly would be a wonderful place to have your photo's taken. I took plenty of photo's,it was hard to choose only five. Enjoy...

I hope you have a great day. Stay warm. It is wet windy and cold here today but the rain is welcomed our tanks will actually get some water into them and the garden loves a drink.

Happy days.

Bev C

144 Buttons and a House.

Hello,

I hope everyone is having a great day. Today I finished sewing on the binding and hanging loop for "My Button Quilt". I bought this pattern back in January while on Holiday from this great shop There are 144 buttons sewn onto this quilt. So for the last couple of days that is what I have been doing.

The mini quilt has a button on each square.

There are three jars of buttons

Of course there is a pin cushion and a teacup full of steaming hot tea. I got to try out my Yo-Yo maker which I bought from my local craft store last year. They certainly make great flowers. I am really pleased with how this quilt has turned out. It is slightly heavier than your normal quilt,with the added weight of the buttons.

When I finished the quilt I made up the "Bless this House" pattern that I got from Dzintra
This was a quick and easy pattern to make up using bits and pieces. It looks lovely in the frame.
I can see this design being used maybe for an address book cover or enlarged and used on a cushion.

Happy sewing.

Bev C

House and Garden Stitchery.

Hello,

This is what I have been working on this week and I framed it myself on Friday. Two of the stitcheries are from "A walk in the Garden" designed by Lyn Briggs The House stitcheries are some of Cath's designs. I think both of these combined very well. I have added some extra stitching to all of the designs. I will hang this up in my sewing room. Lucy was jumping for joy yesterday afternoon, when Ian and I got home from our walk she had the biggest smile on her face. Not long ago she wrote a letter to the Western Front which is our state based footy show. Her letter was read out. Although she didn't win the prize pack she was excited to hear her letter read out. Lucy is fully engrossed in football and can't wait for the weekend to come. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Happy days.

Bev C

Wonderful mail arrives at Kainga.

Hello,

This week I have been busy stitching some little embroideries, I have just finished putting them into a frame. I will show you this another day. Today I wanted to share some mail that came to Kainga. This I Love Raggedy stitchery is from Robyn.
I have my thinking cap on,I have been admiring Robyn's satin stitch. It is just damn fine work. I will treasure this Robyn. Thanks for sending it on to me. I hope you have some more room in your cupboard now.

Yesterday I received this parcel of patterns from Dzintra.

I instantly had to make myself a cuppa and sit and read these patterns. They are just beautiful. Thank you. I think I will make one of the smaller ones today. It is a wet and windy day here so it calls for sitting stitching with the fire keeping me warm. It was lovely to be woken by the sound of rain this morning.

Happy stitching.

Bev C

Winners, and I have serious patchwork envy....

Hello,

Well today is the big day. My first ever giveaway. It was wonderful to read what makes the best Christmas present. Family friends and patchwork were all involved. What a beautiful day everyone has at Christmas. Congratulations to Teri . Thank you to everyone for getting involved in this.

On the weekend Ian and I had a day out going to the markets etc. We had lovely afternoon tea at this lovely shop.

I bought some Rose hip and Cinnamon,which has the most beautiful smell,it just had to come home with me. I was also in love with the little hand painted sewing kit. There is a tape measure inside the little box and it has a needle case attached to it.

I was pleasantly surprised this morning to get and email from Pauline

Pauline has outdone us all in the Raggy Quilt Challenge and completed a cushion and quilt. There are plans to make some more. Please go to Pauline's blog and see what she has to say about this challenge. Pauline has the gift of "writing". It was most interesting to hear about the patron Saints of sewing. We all have someone to look after us when we are sewing. Isn't that nice. A big welcome to Lucre and Carrie who live in New Zealand who have joined in the challenge and are making a raggy quilt for winter.

Lyn who is my guardian angel as she is always sending me lovely funny emails sent me a photo of the Mug Bag which she has made from the tutorial I have on my blog. I love it Lyn.Lyn has won prizes for her quilting and is very talented. Thanks for the photo Lyn. I received a lovely parcel earlier on in the week,but I will leave that to another day.

Happy sewing

Bev C

Giveaway!!! Pre-Christmas in July Giveaway.

Hello,

Happy Friday to everyone! A few days ago I noticed that a local restaurant at a hotel was advertising its Christmas in July Lunches already. I know some blogs have a metre showing how many days to Christmas, which truthfully scares me. Our life is all planned out for us. So I decided to get into the Christmas spirit by having my first giveaway. I have a panel of Father Christmas's that I haven't used and most likely won't so they can be yours. I made up the smaller one (above)a few years ago. Of course they don't have to be made into a standing soft sculpture they could be put onto a T Shirt or a Santa Sack or Christmas Table cloth, the ideas are endless.

This is the rear view of Father Christmas.

This is the front view. When completed the large one is about 19 inches high and 10 inches wide. The medium one is about 16 inches high and 8 inches wide. Please leave a comment to win this,let me know what your favourite Christmas present was and I will draw the winner next Thursday 18th June at 9.00am. Those who don't have a blog are more than welcome to enter just leave an email address. Good luck and "Happy Pre Christmas in July."

Happy days.

Bev C.

Cushions and some stitching.

Hello,

Thank you to those who left Birthday wishes for David. They all had a great time. They enjoyed there night out and behaved themselves. David got back to the hotel in the late hours of the morning then he and a mate went straight to use the Sauna. No wonder he came home and slept and slept. Pauline has been very busy with this challenge with the Raggy Quilt. Pauline and Chris have been out to patchwork shops and op shops scouring the country for just the right material. Look at the Raggy cushion that Pauline has made to try out Raggy Quilting. It is just beautiful and Pauline tells me that the photo doesn't do it justice. Congratulations Pauline I can't wait to see what else you have done.

I have finished another cushion. I paper pieced this and it will look great on the lounge with the other cushion that I made before. I will have to buy an insert for it.

Yesterday I got to work on "My Button Quilt" I enjoyed looking for material to use in this. It is a very scrappy design. There is some more applique to put on it and a border. Then I attach the buttons. When I was making up the quilt part of it I thought why would someone want to join 1 and a half in squares together but it was enjoyable and can see why people love making doll quilts and miniatures.

I have also done blocks one and two of another block of the month called "Stringybark Farm".

There is supposed to be a name on the dog kennel but my dog hasn't been named yet.

There is rain coming today,hopefully we will get a decent shower. I hope everyone has a enjoyable and relaxing day.

Happy stitching,

Bev C

Buttons,Books,Magazines,Flowers and Birthdays.

Hello,

I hope everyone is busy and well. This week I have had some lovely mail. The first parcel is from a giveaway that the lovely Gail had.

I won a big bag of buttons, which will come in handy as I have a wall hanging pattern that I bought earlier on in the year which calls for lots of buttons. Gail made a beautiful little card which has been much admired in this home. I was also given a bookmark which has been put to use already. My previous bookmark was a piece of selvage from some material I had cut out. Thanks very much for the lovely prize Gail.

I have been doing lots of reading lately. I discovered this book called "The Olive Harvest" in the local library. Unfortunately it was the 3rd in the series. I ordered the first two and now I am about to start this one. Carol Drinkwater is an actress and is known for her work as Helen Herriot in the television show "All Creatures Great and Small". The books are about her and her partner then husband setting up home in France and developing a olive farm. With all my reading my sewing has been put on the back burner for a while although I did start some hexagons for another cushion. I find this kind of sewing very relaxing.

These magazines were sent to me from Chris,my sister in New Zealand. She got them from a Op Shop and there is some more on the way. These are about 20 years old but they certainly are still relevant today. I wonder how many people have owned or looked at these. They were originally made in America went to New Zealand and are now in Australia. Some well travelled and loved magazines. Thanks Chris.

These Happy Faced Pink Pansy's are flowering well in the garden. They are so tiny only a few inches high but very cute. I will have to get another punnet of them and put them into a pot so they are easier to see.

Tomorrow is David's 18th Birthday. Ainsley and Julian are coming down today and tomorrow we will all go out for lunch. Then Ainsley and Julian and Bonnie and Ryan are taking David out for the rest of the weekend. They have booked into a 5 star hotel in the city and will be enjoying the nightlife. Lets hope they all get home safely. Happy Birthday David and best wishes for the coming year.

Happy days.

Bev C

The Australia and New Zealand Raggy Quilt Challenge of 2009 and beyond...

Hello,

A few days ago I sent a email to Pauline and she has taken up the challenge of making a Raggy Quilt. If Pauline wished to really take up this challenge she had to drag my sister Chris into this as well. Well surprise surprise they have decided to have a go. They both said if Lucy can make a quilt so could they.

The best part of this challenge is there is no time limit. This all came about because Lucy is making a Raggy Quilt for her Textiles project this term. I told her I had one in a bag in my sewing room. I told her where it was and when Lucy went to pick it up the bag started malting it had been there so long!!!! So I have a project to finish. Now I must find some clear and concise instructions to send to Chris and Pauline. If anyone else wants to make a Raggy Quilt please feel free to join in, you may be like me and have one to finish off.

Happy days.

Bev C