" Sewing Elephants on Friday Afternoon plus some extras."

Hello,

Special thanks to Wendy the host for Friday Night Sew In. This time I sewed in the afternoon.

 I worked on these panels which are part of a project that I'm working on. Found the free machine applique embroidery designs on the net. There are a few different sizes which is ideal for what I have in mind. It's great to use up those scraps of fabrics. In fact the main part of the project is a heap of scraps that I had in the Flour bags that I was using up late last year. I have two more Elephant panels to make.

 First thing Friday morning I made some more Ricotta cheese. I had plenty of whey so used some of this to make two loaves of bread.

 I now keep all the recipes and cleaning hints I have  in a folder in the kitchen. I used the fabric that I won from Anthea late last year to make a folder cover. The leftover square was turned into a hot pad.

 This year is certainly all about using up what I have on hand. I found these cute machine embroidery Valentine Owls and thought they would be perfect for a t shirt, one on each sleeve. Lisa I used some of the fabric you sent across with David last year.

The shirt was a success so I made another in this floral print. I made pattern "G" which is the middle one in the bottom row. There is supposed to be some lace or something similar around the neckline. I gave this a miss.

I hope everyone else who joined in Friday Night Sew In had a productive night.

Enjoy the weekend.

Happy days.
Bev C

"Sometimes the occasion calls for two quilts."

Hello,

Sometimes you need to make two quilts. I used the same pattern, a "Bareroots" pattern called "Baby Things." I changed things around a bit, adding more word stitchery and doing double of some of the designs.

First I made a pink one.

 I had a fat quarter of the purple kite fabric that I purchased many years ago and the rest came from the pink box of fabric in my stash. I found the flowers already made up withe the vlisofix on the back. Can't remember what I was going to use them for.

 I hand quilted around the squares.

Plus around the flowers on the edge. I used a small yellow check fabric for the backing and binding.

Then it was time to make the blue one.

 Same pattern but added some ric-rac and the duck ribbon came from Lisa. The Teddy Bear fabric on the border was left over from a dress that I made Lucy when she was little. Yes I keep fabric, it does come in handy. You can't see in the photo as I chopped the top of it but I added some appliqued Teddy's from the border fabric to the top border.

 This one I hand quilted a little differently.

This one also has the yellow check fabric for the border and backing.  I had both quilts finished in time.

Because in the early hours of Sunday morning we welcomed our first Grandson born to Ainsley and Julian. A gorgeous little boy named Jacob Alasdair.

Please note:

I must mention when I did the post about being a Nana we had no idea that Ainsley was expecting. We received the lovely phone call a week or so later. Pauline was the only blogger who was told and she was sworn to secrecy. Pauline has met Ainsley and Julian and two of my other children.

So now it is official I answer to Nannie.

Happy days.
Bev C

"Seahorse Softie."

Hello,

Sometimes the fabric in the stash dictates what I make.

 I found a free pattern on-line for a Seahorse. It was very easy to make.I used version 2.

I used a different "sea themed" fabric for the other side.

Happy days.
Bev C

"Cross Stitch,Mug Holder,Mug Rug,Cucumbers and the best Grout/Floor Cleaner ever."

Hello,

Happy Monday.

Lots to show today some that I should have shown in January. First the Weather vane cross stitch.

It is so hard to take a decent photo of this. I am so pleased with the framing once again.

I also needed a new mug bag. This only takes less than one fat quarter of fabric. I used the same fabric for the lining and had a matching teapot button which I purchased many years ago.

Last week I finished of this ornament pillow. This is another freebie from Lizzie Kate Designs. You guessed it, there is some Lavender in the pillow.I used the blue fabric for the backing as well.

I found a Betty Boop freebie on a embroidery site and I knew I had some scraps left over from a piece that Marina had sent me a while ago.

 I added the wording to the design. A rather long mug mat or a dieter's place mat!

 On Saturday I picked the first three Cucumbers from the other lot that I planted. I decided to pick them when they were not quite fully grown as the weather is heating up again this week.

I found a wonderful floor/tile grout cleaner on the net but it used Dawn Dish washing Liquid which is not available here in Australia so I have Australianised it with Morning Fresh Concentrate.

 All you need is two ingredients. Heat 1 cup of Vinegar in the microwave and add this to  1/2 cup of the Morning Fresh Concentrate and put in a spray bottle.. The original recipe used 1 cup of dish washing liquid but as this is a concentrate I decided to scale this back to 1/2 cup.I purchased a spray bottle from Coles but this was an absolute waste as it is called a Trigger Spray Bottle only problem it didn't trigger at all.The mixture is now in a old Shower Power bottle. You only need a small amount, it is very soapy. I squirt a little on the floor and use either a tile grout scrubbing brush or just a plain old scrubbing brush and get down on my knees and scrub away. I put the brush into a bucket of water every now and again and you soon have very clean grout and tiles.It  soaps up so I have my Enjo Mop on hand and a old towel to wipe the floor. After many years of trying different cleaning products I will be using this recipe from now on. It is also good to clean down benches/sink, you only need a small amount for this task as well.

Let me know if you try the cleaning recipe.

Hope you have a wonderful week.

Happy days.
Bev C

"Makes Me Happy Monday."

Hello,

Happy Monday, hope your weekend went well, a bit cooler weather so that was great.
Happiness is...

Mammoth Sunflower

 Having the Mammoth Sunflower seed that I planted bloom. The bees were loving it.
I planted just three seeds and only the one came up. That is enough because it has so many seeds in the head. Seeds were purchased from Eden seeds many years ago.

 February marks Valentine's Day, I got in early and made this last month. Put some Lavender in with the toy fill. This in the hoop design is available from Kreative Kiwi Embroidery.  I used a scrap of Twill fabric to make this one.

 Kiwi designs were definitely in favour last month.  I have decided to try and stitch a Christmas ornament each month. . This one is of the  Pohutukawa bloom, the native New Zealand Christmas Tree. I had some Paua shell fabric which was used on the back as well. To add to the Christmas theme I used some silver ribbon that I received wrapped around a Christmas present. This cross stitch design is from Homestitchness blog.

Happy to be doing some recycling of sorts. We have lots of candles here at Kainga. They don't always burn down properly. You are left with a lot of wax but no wick. A quick Internet search and a hour or so later I had this lot of wax melts to put in the top of my burner. The main scents are Pumpkin Maple Syrup, Rose and Vanilla. I left them on the bench for a while, they were quite deceptive as I think everyone went to take one as they looked like a plate of Marshmallows.

What is making you happy this fine Monday?

Happy Monday.
Bev C