Where ever have I been?

Not sure, but I think the last three weeks have just disappeared! I’ve been feeling like I’m a little terrier dog paddling upstream, just when I think I am making progress I remember there’s also a brick tied to my tail and I begin to sink……and float backwards…..into the jaws of a crocodile!

Now is that melodramatic or what?

I am really struggling with my “Make the Days Count” mantra, I feel myself slipping a little and find myself longing for the weekends, and ultimately the next lot of holidays.  Although I have given myself a mental slap and remembered why I want to stop “counting the days”

So now I have had the mental shake up required, here’s what I’ve been up to since my last post.

 

 

Remember the Sit Me Up Donut from my last post, well here is the Most Beautiful Girl in the World using it for the first time. I opted to use toys Leah carries with her, instead of making the ones from the pattern, just because I a bit lazy really!

Poor little mite has eczema over her face right now, and has to see a dermatologist in the near future.

Georgie loves having Brooklynn on her level, she keeps giving her her toys and wondering why she doesn’t throw them for her like we do!

 

Card classes this week.

Last weekend the Brisbane Craft Expo was held at the Convention Centre. Sharon, Gail Margaret and I had an enjoyable day browsing the vendor stands, chatting, and generally having much needed therapy sessions with each other.

Sharon and I did a little workshop at the Brother stand called a Fabric origami bukuro. It cost just $5, and included the fabrics, a tin with sewing kit inside and use of a brand new Brother sewing machine. I would show a photograph but I gave it to Leah to put the sewing kit into, she seems to be getting interested in craft, after 22 years of watching me, I guess it’s not surprising.

She did a sewing class when she was about 13 and it seems to have paid off because she said she knew how to sew on a press stud, only the first time she stitched one side on upside down!

I was very impressed with the Brother machine we used, it was a NS 30, and very reasonably priced, it may be just what Leah needs to get her creative juices flowing?

Not something I want to push on her, she has to want to do it for herself or a machine will just become a white elephant I guess!

A few lovely fabrics came home with me last weekend along with a bag pattern (I know, big surprise?) a stitchery pattern for 12 Matreska Dolls, and a few other bits and bobs.  I had a lovely time unpacking my shopping bag and fondling my purchases, best therapy I can think of, and although not covered by Medicare, sure is cheaper than a Psychiatrist in my opinion!

The days that followed was a frenzy of stitching a back pack for my friend Sharon’s birthday.  While shopping on Saturday she had reminded me that we had a pattern for a back pack that she thought would be great for this kind of outing. It took until Monday half way through the day for the thought to germinate and form into a plan to get it made for her birthday Friday 1st April.

I had most of it done by dinner time Monday just needed to buy a buckle and some webbing for the straps the next day. Plan going well, until I realized how much I rely on diagrams.  This pattern, while lovely and simple looking, has no diagrams, only a front and a back photograph of the finished bag. Consequently I found myself reading, reading and re-reading the instructions. Then reading them out aloud, until I got it…..only I didn’t get it until after I had stitched the oval shaped base in the wrong way. 

I tossed it aside while I cooked dinner Tuesday evening thinking that perhaps I had to find another gift idea.  I’d didn’t relish unpicking that night as it was black background fabric I’d used.

Dinner must have motivated me along with the fact there was nothing I wanted to watch on TV so unpick I did.  With another read and re read aloud of the instructions the bag was finished by bed time.

In my hasty relief I forgot to take a photograph before I posted it the next day!!!

 

On the other hand,  I had be wits about me today because I went outside in the late afternoon light to photograph todays project.  The pattern was one I bought last week called “Let’s go out” by Julie Scanlan of BeBeBold Japanese Textiles. So far I have only made the zip up pouch using a fat quarter of cute little Matreska Dolls I fell in love with at the Craft Expo.  Seems I couldn’t stop at one!

  

While taking these photographs, I remembered that I hadn’t blogged about my Lady Bug Shoes. I was browsing this blog  saw her shoes and I was hooked! I had to have my own! So off to this site to see if I could find something that would give me something fun to wear, and be good for my very temperamental feet. I was thrilled to be able to purchase them in a narrow fit, what’s more they are divine to wear!

I think that this may be the end of my show and tell. OH I almost forgot…..

 

This lovely water bottle carrier was a gift from my New Zealand friend Sue, she was in Brisbane visiting family and after a bit of a hic-up we managed to meet for lunch, squeeze a visit to the Quilters & Embroiders Store and a relaxing afternoon tea stop all in one short day! 

The bag had it’s debut at the Craft Expo last weekend and it received several comments, the fabrics are stunning! Thank you again Suzie!

That’s enough from me, time to think about bed……

Thanks for visiting,

Julie