SIT-ting Pretty…

Blue, White and Red

That can only mean one thing…

…Preparing for SIT 2012

Sew It Together is a yearly get together for craft bloggers from around Australia to meet together and shop, sew, talk, sew,eat, sew, talk, sew and workshop.

Inspiration struck and I have an almost completed name badge for the Name Badge swap…

Who’s this for?...

Are you happy to have some DS fabric in your badge?...

You?...

Maybe…

Another tradition is the Sample Swap.

More inspiraton and these are on the go…

The best part about them - one charm pack and a bit of exta fabric and and they are on their way to completion.
The charm pack was a special thank you to all Retromummy's helpers with quilts for Queensland.
It's been sitting just waiting for the perfect project!

ANZAC DAY 

Today commemorates a special day in Australian history and has a marked impact on the psyche of the nation.
At Gallipoli in 1915, soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beach in Turkey as part of the Allied war effort. It was a disastrous campaign with huge loss of life, on both sides of the conflict. However, Australian ideals of mateship and integrity grew out of the legend of the ANZACS . Now ANZAC day is a day for all veterans of any conflict to be recognised for their bravery and commitment to our freedom.
This is not a celebration of war…I think this sums up best...

The Ode

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

(RSL Website)

Lest We Forget...

Trip…

Ms Diva who is now studying at CSU in Bathurst came back to visit over Easter.
We spent some time shopping at IKEA for a chest of drawers,

material, curtains, cushions and all manner of gadgets (frypan...dressing table mirror...candles), that the girl out of home needs.

Of course this meant lugging flat packs and awkward curtain poles back to Bathurst and going on the train or coach wasn’t going to cut it.

So a little road trip was organised as a way to get her back home and a way to amuse the Missses Bee & Minky for a school holiday treat.

We loaded the Tarago with the bright red chest of drawers, curtain rod, assorted road-trip necessities and headed west on a 3 hr tour…ring a bell?

Well, we didn't exactly get shipwrecked, but the rain I drove through was abominable and, with the truck that jackknifed on Victoria Pass closing the road in both directions, added more than an hour to our journey. Luckily Ms Diva had her laptop and we watched and episode of  "Commumity", while we waited!

We eventually arrived safely and had a lovely 2 day break.

There was a working bee to put together the wardrobe, make curtains and put up the curtain pole. In the spirit of student accommodation, we bought 2.5 metres of 250cm wide quilt backing and used hemming web to make a casing for the curtain rod. We flexed our assembly muscles, learnt to read “Ikea” and wielded screwdrivers like we were possessed and put together a perfect “student digs” decor!

The little Misses were wardrobe packers and spent a lot of time trying on Ms Diva's clothes (and shoes!) and trying to convince her that they could be handed down now!

When we returned home, she sent me a picture of her tidy room (this was taken almost a week ago so I’m not sure it still looks like this!)

The green coat hanging in her wardrobe, is a Vinnies special...nice to know that the spirit of op-shopping is alive and well...I wonder if there is an "oppy" gene?

The trip back to Sydney was totally uneventful and exactly the 3 hr drive we should have had on the way up!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…

Adventures in Sewingland…

This cute little girl has been occupying my sewing machine for the past few days.

She is page 1 of a 5 page fabric book project that Daughter #4 is making for textiles.
Minky worked out the background layouts and is hand drawing each part of each character onto vliseofix…I’m guessing that she didn’t realise how much work it would involve, so these holidays there has been a bit of tension (ha ha) as I push her to get more done as it is due to be handed in in the 5th week of term!
It's taken a fair bit of time to get the stitch size and tension (now you know why I laughed!) correct for the satin stitch,
...so a pictorial record of the right setting is now being kept.

This is the setting for the tiny straight stitch.
The red is for the narrow satin stitch,
the pencil marks are….hmm they are left over from previous settings for my sewing…hence the need for the picture now!

Before the machine was hijacked, here is what I’ve finished…

These are the February and March Bloggers BOM blocks. I’m making a second one of the March block and this time it will have better contrast. I didn’t take into account the amount of white in a few of those prints I chose.

This gorgeous aqua and red card trick block is the April block of Sew n Bee Happy ready to send off to Leona.
So far I have made an extra one of each months' blocks to make as a keepsake of the bee.  It’s already shaping up to be a bit wild in the colour department and I’m thinking it will be a great bed runner…

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

MaTH’s Birthday...

It was his birthday, but I think I got the best present…

The extra bathroom in the laundry renovation has had the finishing touches put to it…

My end of the bargain was easy…lemon cake with lemon icing!

Happy Birthday dear Man about The House XXX

Break...?

I've accidentally had an unintended blogging break...

I did break out the scissors and rotary cutter and prepare a few things to sew when I could get a break...

I've cut out 2 of each block for Feb and March of the Bloggers BOM (here)...

My own version of the Sew & Bee Happy online quilting bee...

I'm making an extra one of each for myself as a record of the bee

Kat asked us to make a wonky star block and I got lazy and I've invented a wonky friendship star (4 less seams to do and no need to make neat half square triangles).

breaking out the knitting needles...

Black-Devil Angler fish from this book by Hansi Singh.

breaking the bank...well not really Spotlight has DS on sale for $10.17 a metre...

breaking out the pre-cuts - this little charm pack of "giddy" and some "hello betty" layer cake are ready to be pieced for twin girl #1, who was born into our neighbours family recently...

 ...for twin girl #2 - bit bit of "giddy", some "domestic bliss" and a few mixed charm squares - already pieced and the backing bought at the Spotlight sale (most things were 40% off, so I've really saved a lot!).

...and he's such a vicious character and threatened to lure me to my fate, if I didn't put in a few more photos of his handsome self...

Well now I'm on school holiday break, I'm going to break out the sewing machine, break the sewing drought...and take a break from these dreadful puns!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...