Christmas Baubles, threads and magnolia

This is the final Christmas decoration for a while as I have started on magnolia this morning and completed winding all my new threads yesterday and placed them in order in my DMC box.  I think I will run out of room when I get the next lot lol.  I might have to move the DMC into plastic boxes and place my other threads in this box perhaps.  Not sure what I will do yet but it will be a while before I order anymore.  I can highly recommend www.ozstitch.com.au  and they even provided me with a $10 off my next order because it was over $100. 

Well it is to be very hot here today so I will now continue to stitch the leaves on magnolia.

Christmas bells

Here's the christmas bells.  They were to have buttons sewn on the cream strip but I went for lazy daisies with a bead for their centre.  Less is more sometimes.

Ginger bread houses

Here's the cute ginger bread houses.  The original was to have coloured dots on the roof etc and I decided seed beads and as the house needed something else Lance came up with the idea of a sprig of holly or some candy canes.  I went with the holly.

Christmas stockings

From the same book came these.  I wanted to do some chistmas stocking and used one of the large stocking patterns but didn't enlarge it.  I also didn't want too much decoration on them as I felt the baubles had almost too much.  I'm heading off to start on a set of bells now lol.  They are very quick but I have decided to schedule one set per day on here.

Christmas baubles

Here's a pair of Christmas baubles from 'Fa la la la felt' by Amanda Carestio.  There are quite a few I really like and have 5 different sets of two cut out to sew at the moment and as they are fairly quick to make I might even be able to squeeze in a few more lol.  Over the next few days I will show each pair and they will all be from the same book.  There are also some cute ideas in one of the magazines I picked up yesterday.

Mind you still need to hole punch and put ribbon hangers on them.

I was a very naughty girl .......

who fancied a trip to Kyabram to see what cheap fat quarters might have been available and spent just a little more than intended.  But how often do you see $2.50 fat quarters.....

 

and then have a couple of $5.50 ones catch my eye....

 

 

After spotting these kits and umming and arring about getting them....

 

 

 

I walked to the back of the shop and found a box full of Cascade and DMC wool threads at 50c a piece!  I am trying to gather a little collection of colours so that one day I can make something with them.  I did manage a good colour selection to add to some I already had from a discontinued Appletons sale last year.  Slowly but surely I will have a woollen project on the go either this coming winter or the next.  As usual I will pick something lovely, delicate and florally and just use whatever yarn colours I have amassed.  Would be nice on the next trip if she had the entire collection of Cottage Garden threads at $1.  I think that will never happen lol.

 





I also visited a little newsagent in Tongala which is a really tiny town and found a few magazines that I hadn't come across before.  Now this is the really naughty bit because they were all over $10 lol.   But then again I have only done this twice in the last year so its not so bad if you average it out over 12 months right?

Well back to some felt ornaments I have started making as they all need to be finished by Friday this week.  Thats my self imposed time limit because I am hoping that thread will be here and I can start the Magnolia project.  The week is warming up too so I plan lots of stitching between now and Monday lol.

Yay it's Friday!

Well FNSI has started well.  I have managed to get quite a few things done and it is only lunchtime lol.  

Fristly last night I finished off the leaves for the scissor keep and pin ball.  They have been pressed and prepped ready for sewing together.   It is from Inspirations maagzine and the orginal was worked on silk with beautiful silk threads.  I chose a white fabric and DMC threads.  There was a conversion for the silk to DMC but I didn't use it and now wonder how much of a difference it might make.

 

 

 This gorgeous magnolia is designed by Trish Burr and is from Inspirations magazine.  I have prepped the fabric and have it in the hoop ready to start some of the preliminary stitching.  Can't wait for that thread order to arrive lol.

 

This is a pic of the original 'we are family' quilt designed by Bronwyn Hayes from Red Brolly.  The pattern featured over four issues of Homespun magazine Vol. 13 - No. 1 - 4.

This is where I started off this morning ......

 

and ended here with a completed top.  You can see from the original pic I changed blocks, colours and even left blocks out lol.  Suits what I wanted so why not.  All those beautiful fabrics were all $2 fat quarters that I picked up back in April and washed and put away for Lance to give me for my birthday.  I love them all and one day I might have to see if that store still has her $2 fat quarter table lol.  At least the stash has grown a bit but I can still get the lid on that 52ltr tub.  Might be time to go shopping and get another tub and fill it lol.  Might just need to find the money tree first.

 

Well that is the first half of my FNSI and I will be back in the morning with the second half. 

 

Have fun stitching the night away everyone.

 

 

FNSI Signups and threads

Well have just signed up for the FNSI and am eager to stitch the day away.  Have managed a small amount of machining today but did get all the threads sorted, skeined off and put back in their rightful place today.

I also placed a rather large online order for some DMC threads for a new project that I might just start preping tomorrow.  At 90c a skein I decided to go through my collection and completely fill in the holes for the first 700.  Which of course is not 700 skeins but you know what I mean.  I payed with paypal and am sure everything is safe and above board but just in case I do have some protection.  It's the www.ozstitch.com.au that I ordered through and will let you all know how I go as I am sure it is an even better deal than spotlight!  Here in town I would have paid about $1.35 - 1.45 which is wicked really.  I still bought about 10 skeins this morning locally so they are not missing out completely.  I'm crossing those fingers in the hope that I don't get them burnt lol.

Our Family Quilt

Here's the last panel almost finished.  I only have about 4 pickets left to stitch tonight then hopefully tomorrow I will get some time to start sewing panels together and have a finished top to show you.

Christmas quilting finished

The Christmas quilt is all finished and I even machined on the binding so no handstitching required.   Mind you the back is a little interesting in parts but that will improve with more practice.  So no one is looking at the back lol.  May be the pics would look better too if I pressed the quilt.

FNWF

Well I finally have a much better laptop with working shift keys and everything lol.  Plus, I can now comment and use caps. 

The other thing I can't believe is that I have sucessfully linked and saved the button for the new FNWF.  If you click on the button it should take you to Cheryl's blog.  I missed out last night but I will be there for the next one.  Not only is the stitching time good but it feels like you are stitching with friends because we are doing it all at the same time lol.  Weird I know.

I'd better get off this laptop now and go and do the ironing.  Last big job that needs doing after vac'ing and washing the floor as well as painting the fence, mowing the lawns, cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, doing the washing ....  anyone tired just reading this.  I am.