Making toys and other crafty stuff…

Not a lot of quilting happening here, except for a couple of quilting jobs for other people.  I wish I could get some quilts made and into the shop!

I am working on a quilt that is destined to be a wall hanging in the future when we have finished renovations and the lounge is painted.  It was a quilting bee quilt, made by myself and 11 others who all created blocks for it.  I sent everyone some gorgeous hand screen printed linen, along with some calico and purple and orange linen.  Now the quilt is together I’m hand quilting all the blocks.  It’s coming along nicely (if somewhat slowly) and is a nice project to sit with while watching TV on cold nights.

It seems that every time I sit down at the sewing machine I get yet another request from the kids for something they want me to make.  I had a half made panel that is meant to be a Cow bag, but I could see it wasn’t going to come together very well, so I made it into a soft toy.  Cameron loves it!

It was just one of those preprinted panels which I picked up for 50 cents at a church sale.

Last week I picked up a really neat little book for Cam from the local Sallies.  It’s called the tale of Frog and it’s all about a wee bean bag frog that gets nibbled by mice and ends up with new stuffing.  A cute story and since then I’ve had endless requests for a frog toy.  So I downloaded a free pattern and made some this afternoon.  Minky on one side and coloured fabric for the underside.  They are pretty cute!

Despite the serious face he really likes it.

Cam got one, Lilly snaffled one and Cam decided the third one is for his best mate

I am making the boy a Pirate doll (his request) for his birthday too.  Maybe after that I can get some quilting done.

 

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Homegrown

Last weekend I was hunting about looking for something for lunch when I decided to make a Frittata.  I was so pleased that I was able to make it with all ingredients that we have grown ourselves.  Here’s what I made it from…

Homegrown bacon

Silverbeet (chard) and Spinach

Spring Onion

Baby leeks

Wild potatoes (which Ian found growing in the compost heap, regular ones and purple ones)

Garlic

and eggs that our chooks laid

I think it was the most delicious Frittata that I’ve ever made!

The purple potatoes made it very colourful.  Not bad for a winter meal.

Tonight we are going to make Nettle soup as we have a huge mass of Nettles growing in the pig pen.

Ian and I are making inroads into getting our vege garden back up and running.  We have 3 new beds ready for compost this week, then I will plant Broad Beans, Peas, Beetroot and some winter lettuce.  The garlic that I planted a few weeks ago has sprouted nicely.  Lots are hard work, but totally worth it!

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a bit ripped off!

I could write a post about how much i am enjoying not working, which would be totally true, even though it has rained all week. But i am feeling a bit ripped off. i had a visit to the dentist today.  It’s been six years since i last went. i had booked in for a filling, sure that i had at least one hole. i asked for an estimate when i made the appointment and was told approx $150.  so i didn’t have a hole where i thought, but a big cavity under an existing filling. the dentist was very good and the excavating and filling was painless at the time.  unfortunately the hole went right down to the nerve, which got slightly damaged. the dentist said 95% of the time the nerve will heal fine. i hope so. so i paid the much larger than i expected bill ($275 including x-rays) and was told the tooth might be a bit sensitive for a few weeks. after the local wore off it was more than just sensitive!  i hope it’s not still this sore tomorrow. add to that my kidney stone has been playing up for the last 3 days. i’m pleased to say i finally have an appointment to see the urologist in a couple of weeks. i hope next week is a better one. i have enjoyed being at home though.

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When animals go bad…

Bloody animals, sometimes they are more trouble than they should be!

It all started with the cat last week.  He came inside for breakfast looking like this….

I was a bit WTF???  I’ve seen him dirty before, usually from hiding under the cars, but thats MUD.  I don’t know what happened to him, but it didn’t come out until I let it dry and brushed it out.  Gross job!

Then when we went outside this morning there was a really rank smell just by the door.  All our pipes for sewage are just under the house close to there so I was a bit worried, then Ian came to let me know that the Dog had kindly discovered a hidden nest of eggs.  Which she had stupidly been eating.  The Dog usually sits on the porch by the door, hence the rancid smell.  Damn Dog had left a trail of egg shells all the way from the stash to her kennel.  Yuk.  So bad Dog and bad Hens for hiding the eggs.

The Dog has been in the bad books all day, and the chooks are banned from free-ranging for a while.

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The Emperor’s new clothes…

Oh, I mean Cameron’s new clothes

The boy just keeps on growing!  To be expected I suppose, he is going to be 6 next month.  I’ve noticed recently how few of his clothes fit properly any more, so I decided to make some.

I gave Cam a choice of the type of lined jacket he wanted, totally expecting just a regular hoody, but he choose a pattern called Sargent Pepper, by the time I finished it, in gorgeous red fabric I got from Thrive, I left off the epaulettes and only had 3 buttons instead of double breasting it with six, it’s more Freddie Mercury meets Star Trek, but I love it! and Cam seems to as well.  I lined it in a heavy weight gray Merino for warmth.  It really could do with a little more width across the back (which I’ve noticed on a few of his clothes) but it will fit this year at least.  I’m keen to try this in different fabric.

Then I made the boy a replacement pair of black skinny cords.  I’ve made these before but somehow managed to completely cock-up the zip fly.  I blame the drugs  After a lot of unpicking I got them right.  As with the last pair these were made from an upcycled stage curtain.  I had just enough left for these.  Not bad for a wee bit of recycled gifted fabric.

He was too busy watching TV to pose for the camera!

Check out the seriously cool button he chose for the skinny’s this time! I got it from a friends button collection ages ago knowing that Cam would love it.

Expect to see many more blog posts about sewing in the near future as I still need to make the boy some other clothes, some to sell in the shop and a few gardening posts too.

This is my last week of work, Yay! Only 4 more days to go

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Trashy TV and toothache

I have to admit to neglecting the blog of late. Part of that is that things are fairy busy, but part of that is due to having to go onto Facebook for Sew Vivid and wondering whether I should carry on with the blog.

Today we finally had Sky TV installed. We’d been thinking about it for a long time and a special deal came along, so now we’re hooked up. I think Cameron watched TV all day while I was at work.

I’ve discovered a big hole in one of my teeth. Not really what you want to find when you are stopping paid employment. Karma? I haven’t even been for a check up since 2006. I hate going to the dentist! I especially hate the huge cost. However I don’t think I will be able to ignore this cavity for long. Better sell some quilts to pay the impending dentist bill.

Oh yay!

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Work is so much more fun….

when you’ve handed in your notice and you can start counting the days till you finish!!!  Yes, I’ve resigned from my job.  After trying out my new hours for 2 months, being refused leave for the next school holidays and not liking a big part of the job, we’ve come to the conclusion that sometimes it’s better not to work.  So I have 2 weeks and 4 days left and then I can sew, sell quilts, work on getting our garden back up and growing and help with some of the easier renovation work around the house.  I’ll miss the ladies I work with, some of the benefits and wearing nice uniform, but there is lots I won’t miss.  As Cameron is spending the holidays at home with big sister and big brother while I work, he is looking forward to me being home too.

I’ve got some sewing done in the last couple of weeks.

The Cat in the Hat quilt, this is a raffle quilt to raise money for the Venturers camp in January.  If anyone would like a ticket they will be available from me till the end of the week. $2 each.  Email address in the sidebar. It’s single bed size.  I’ll post it anywhere in NZ free to the winner. If anyone international would like a ticket postage would be at the winners cost.

I’ve also finished the Lorax quilt, which is now listed in my Felt shop…

The back…

Expect to see more regular blog posts once I finished work   And more pics of crafty stuff!!!

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