"No bums on seats just Tony Rabbit."

Hello,

This has been another busy week but I did manage a few finishes. I was recently given a few circles of velvet that were originally going to be for chairs but decisions were changed on the colour. The velvet was perfect for making a rabbit.

 Meet Tony Rabbit. Tony is made in the hoop on the embroidery machine. I used some waffle cloth for his feet. Lots of texture on this one.

 Textile Traders is a lovely store which has a fantastic remnant bin. I was lucky enough to pick up these two pieces of flannelette which are perfect for some cot sheets for Jacob.

 Sometimes I think bloggers have ESP. I was walking down to the letterbox the other week, thinking to myself how lovely the garden is now especially the Alyssum is blooming. Amazing how this plant just pops up after some rain.

 

Lo and behold Cheryll sent me a lovely surprise in the mail. A garden inspired panel. Thanks so much Cheryll, I plan to add some embroidery to the designs.

This weekend I will be joining in with Donna in her virtual sewing bee. Donna is celebrating her 2nd year in her Chookshed and would love if you could join her .I will be sewing something that can be found in a Chook Yard.

Happy days.
Bev C

"Owl in the hoop, a complete surprise and a new cross stitch."

Hello,

Happy Tuesday.

When I do machine embroidery sometimes I dive straight in and do the project other times I test sew a piece to see if the colours and fabrics go together. Luckily for our Grandson Jacob I did just this, otherwise he would have been a bit scared of the owl I was making for him. Lets say that plainer colours work better together.

This design was stitched in the hoop with four separate hooping's. I then joined them together. Made a padded backing and joined it together with hand sewing on the base. I had to go back to school days when we were taught to hand sew things together before stitching on the machine, especially when it came to joining the nose section. Sometimes doing things the correct way really works!

Last Monday I was so surprised to get a parcel from Bobbie Lynn for Mother's Day.

 To say I was overwhelmed with this parcel is a understatement.

 In the parcel was this tea towel with a Cucumber embroidered on it. Bobbie Lynn and I have been talking about my lack of Cucumber growing until by some miracle we were able to grow them this past Summer. So now I have my very own Cucumber all year round. You see Bobbie Lynn is very efficient in growing Cucumbers I think her good vibes were sent all the way from the US to here so my Cucumbers had to grow.

 Also in the parcel was some of Bobbie Lynn's decorated eggs. These are just so delicate. I am actually on the look out for a fallen nest to put them in. Meanwhile they are in my sewing room for me to admire.

 I was also blessed with a set of handmade cards and envelopes. They look too nice to use don't they.

  

 Stamps. I had been talking to Bobbie Lynn about how some crafter's had been using stamps in hand embroidery and lo and behold one of her friends was no longer in need of these. Amazing generosity. I have some plans for these.

Thank you so much Bobbie Lynn.

I have started a new cross stitch, doing a little each night. Some nights even undoing what I have just done! I purchased this pattern last year from a on-line shop which operates out of Melbourne called Needlework Boutique.

Italy has a new citizen, congratulations to my nephew  Ryan  and Edy and big Sister Faye on the arrival of Emily May last Friday. Best wishes to you all.

Unfortunately there is one less amongst us, today our Son-in-law Julian says goodbye to his Nan in New Zealand. Love and prayers to Julian Ainsley Jacob Debbie Fiona Alisdair and family.

I have been reading Mrs Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini. I am not enjoying this as much as her other novels. I have just flicked to the back and saw that the lady that the story revolves around had written her own novel. Think I will try to read that one. This one seems to be a bit slow going. Has anyone else read this book. I would be interested to hear what you thought of it. The copy I am reading is in big print so it is quick to read in that respect.

Happy days.
Bev C

"A little birdie told me"

Hello,

Happy Monday.

I picked up a small cross stitch kit from Spotlight for $3.00, I thought even if I don't stitch the design there is no way I could purchase the Aida cloth and thread for that price.

Last month I stitched the design which is on 14 count Aida, lovely and big to see. No need to use the magnifying glass. I did leave out some stylized back stitching which said "With love from me to you." 

Instead...

I made up a fabric envelope for  secrets to hide in.

I made it all into a 18 inch square cushion. I had previously purchased a metre of each of the Bird fabric's from Spotlight.  

Happy days.

Bev C

"Sewing Box and Autumn Crochet Coasters."

Hello,

I enjoy the challenge of making something up as I go along.

 Working with template plastic and thick linings etc was a challenge at times but it worked out in the end. I now have a sewing box to put my pin cushions etc that I have near my sewing machine.

 I found the 4 Homespun Patches at the local Red Cross Shop last month for the sum of $1.00 each. I  also picked up the cross stitch kit which had a price tag of $3.00. When I got to the counter the lady charged me only $5.00 for the lot. The Homespun patches had a original price tag of $9.95. So for $5.00 I got just under $50.00 worth of goods. This is one of the reasons I always look in  op-shops before a actual craft shop. You never know what surprises you will find. Plus you are helping a charity.

Melody  had a link to this pattern on her blog.

I was gifted the cotton after showing a family member the pattern. They had a friend who loves nothing better than sharing her stash. I have been the recipient of some lovely crafty items from this lady before. I received two balls of this lovely cotton that is made in Australia. It was so lovely to crochet with. I ended up making 8 of these coasters. 4 for us here at Kainga and 4 are wrapped up for Ainsley and Julian. I didn't worry about doing the embroidery on them. I did add a extra row before doing the finishing round as I wanted them a little bigger.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all the Mum's.

Happy days.

Bev C

"Royal Mail, Charm Square Pouch and new flowers."

Hello,

Happy Monday.

I received some Royal Mail last week.

 No not those Royals. These ones are from the latest Peter Alexander catalogue.

This is the Royal Mail that I received, a lovely pink parcel from Clare.

 Clare recently had a giveaway on her blog. The great thing Clare is joining in this year is called "Stitch from Stash."  So all the prizes came from her stash. I was especially pleased to find a piece of 32 count linen in the parcel. Thanks so much Clare.

 Julia gifted  me a lovely pack of charm squares late last year. I have had them out on the ironing board in the sewing room chopping and changing them around to see what I could make with them. I did think about a cushion then maybe they could be attached to a cross stitch I am working on. I decided in the end a pouch would be a good choice and so useful. I was given the machine embroidery sample from one of the ladies in my monthly sewing group so wanted to use that up. With the addition of some lovely cotton edging  gifted from Lisa it all came together. The centre blue square in the top row is actually some blue 14 count Aida, there was a odd number of squares in the pack.

 This is the other side, brown toned fabrics down the bottom with green along the top. I added some ric-rac to this side from my stash. Calico was used for the lining and the zipper was re-cycled from a plastic make-up bag that Lucy had.  I made the pattern up as I went along.

We recently purchased some tough plants for the garden. Well I hope they will be tough enough to survive next Summer. My favourite little purchase has got to be this "Cosmos Diversifolius" a little perennial Cosmos.

It grows in part shade, I have it underneath a Rose. It grows 45 cm high and 2 metres wide. The flowers are not much bigger than my thumbnail.

I had a computer free weekend. It was so enjoyable, I had my head in a book most of the time. Carole Mathews  latest book called "A place to call home" I have read most of her books and always find them easy to read and she makes you feel like you are there.

Hope you all have a wonderful week, would love to hear what you have been up to.

Happy days.
Bev C