End of week highlight

Well to say this week has been crappy is an understatement-anyway life moves on..and to go to the post office box on Friday just made my weeks wogglies all hide away…

There was 2 collect cards , hmm I was expecting 1 what could the other one be..

I rushed inside to handover the cards and get my packages….

Yes one of them was the one I had been expecting from Rose, did you follow Rose as she was making them glorious blocks in loving memory of her pop – so many times on visiting Rose and seeing what the next one looked like I would get visuals of my pop in my mind..???? have you seen her In Pops Garden BOM finale-what you haven’t seen it –get on over there and look it is gorgeous….

Anyways Rose did a draw of names from people who left comments and knock me down with a feather my name came out, I was so chuffed when Rose emailed me to say she had done a draw and my name had come out..AND and and my prize was a complete set of In Pops Garden BOM patterns.

           

This is going to be a project for 2010-I am excited about getting to start this already.

And then my 2nd parcel was…………oh my the lovely Jenny had sent me a fine wonky placemat yipee..it is so funky and awesome-and the stitching is so  sergeant major straight and even and neato and now it’s all mine..

Yes I know I should iron first but I was in such a rush –bad me….

Thanks heaps to both of you..

Cheers Vickie

Thanks for stopping by.

vroomm vrooom splutter,bang!

There would be some super dooper graphics to go with this post, but I have no energy to go find them..So i'll just give you all some boring text to read...
Today I went jumped in my car around lunchtime to go get my new glasses from the optical store,now this round trip takes approx 180 minutes-but the boss was kewl with that as he was aware of the headaches I have been suffered due to my need for new glasses.
So of I goes, I get 1115 mins away from work and a light comes up on the dash-it says CHECk,welll yeah like check WHAT-so I calmly phone hubby..he says are any other lights on -I say nope..he says well you should be ok..So off I go again..only to travel another10 mins and think hmm I smell something ickky....next thing I know there is putrid smoke billowing out from under the bonnet..
So I quickly try and maneuver of the highway only to have the car lock up on me just as I pull off the main dirt..crap is a mild description of the word I used..here I am in the heat of the day not a flippin tree insight and sun just glaring at me...
I phone work get a tow truck organized then park my butt on the hot dirt and wait tralahlah lahahtralahlah..50 mins later truck arrives -(oh yeah quickly rang hubby informed him what happened but told him I had it all under control...and then my battery died in my phone couldn't even play a game)..So we get the car up on the tray and head for the mechanics,arriving safely at the mechanics-"I urge you now to pop your cuppa safely on your desk".
I ope the door to get out of the truck and oh man goddunnit I forgot I was in a truck and yep I just went to step out like one would when normally exiting a car...wel there goes my butt sliding down the massive wheel arch thingy-ouch ahh intense pain-one quick look tells me no-one has seen this stupid act of dumbness, so I quickly straighten up and thank god I did not land face first into the bitumen...I do my best straight walk I am in no pain and walk into the office...
Give them the details and the tow truck driver then drops me off at work-heck I sure remembered real quick I was in a truck and stepped down properly as my butt was caning me ,
I survived the rest of the afternnon till the mechanic rang and said around $3000 to fix car as motor is cooked..oh man car ain't worth that much...by now I am just felling a tad sore and have a lovely big bruise appearing..I guess I'll be finding me a cheap runaround on the weekend-I so am not in the mood or mind or state to be after anther vehicle the other one was doing me just fine..ah lifes wee hurdles hmmmffttt
Cheers Vickie
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Eco bag swap

Yeah yippee I have finished my Bag for the Ecologic bag swap ran by Francesca

so I thought I would show you a picture….oh dang but then I remembered I wish for Francesca  to be the first one too see this bag .So I decided a sneak peek was the best I could provide for now…

Oh wow it look sso fab , yep true it does –this was another of them dang projects that I made without a pattern and kept liking it more and more as I went along..but no It is not for me and in the mail it will go

cheers Vickie

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Mail in and Mail out

Ohh looky a surprise in the mail for me….the lovely Isabella was out and about at the Burnie Guild Friendship day and she sent me this gorgeous card with my 2nd love on the front…

And inside was something of my first love so lucky am I.Isabella said she couldn't resist these and just had to get them for me,

 

how very sweet of her this was.Thank you heaps again Isabella ….

MAIL OUT

Now there will be some mail leaving my town this week going all the way too The Netherlands, to be delivered to Simone as she is my partner in the 2009 Advent swap hosted by Fiona with help from Jo and Julie ,

see there they are all wrapped hehehe.no you cannot have a sneak peek..just some wee stitching to do on the main gift and away they all go…

Cheers Vickie

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Stitchers Angel Swap

Oh wow oh me oh my..give me the tissues yep you read correctly..upon opening my package from my stitchers angel Cori I was teary eyed…..

Look at this gob smacking gorgeous bag made just for me with chooks/chickens on it..it truly is gorgeous and such beautiful handwork.Oh I must share that hubby on seeing this bag said “he would not mind one bit if I wore the bag when out with him"..(not that he would stop me) he too was way way impressed with Cori’s workmanship and thoughtfulness in the items she made for me ..

Cori even made a cute label and sewed it on the bag back….But wait there is more.

Awww someone give me some cream please this is such a splendid looking apple pie and seriously look at the apple it is soo tiny and so perfect…what a gorgeous pin cushion .If you love this apple pie as much as me and want your own go visit here Cori at Chitter Chatter Designs and order a pattern-very reasonably priced if I do say so myself.

ANddddddddddddddddddd then there was this….

Isn’t he just the most handsome rooster, and beautiful stitching , and machined trim all the way around this beautiful cloth..which will fit perfectly on a set of drawers in my sewing room…I feel so blessed to have had you for my partner Cori thank you again heaps..

Special thanks to Helen for hosting this swap.

Cheers Vickie

Thanks for stopping by.

Aunt PittyPats Apron swap

Another parcel that arrived for me last week was my apron swap package from

JoJo. The swap was for a Halloween themed apron or a fall theme, Jo and I chose fall theme. What a wonderful box of treats she sent me.

Isn’t this box soo cute, and then inside I found all these treats.

(click pic for a larger view)

to the left is a lovely apron with nuts on it-then there is some scrapping thingies, and some macadamia shortbread(hubby said wonderful of you too think of him-thanks),behind that is some fabric with kitchen utensils( I can see some potholders in that) ,and then there is some lovely brown checked (fabric looking) muffin cases and one of Jo’s great size  eco bags with leaves on it..Jo had written funny little notes on each item…thanks heaps again Jo,I loooove it all.

cheers Vickie

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Look what came for me

This packet arrived in the mail just for me…

It was made by Anita it is so beautiful and the stitching is awesome,the colours are very me and the wee notebook is on the fridge..thank you so much Anita.

Cheers Vickie’

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change is happening

Moving along
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I’m Back

"Be who you are and say what you feel...
Because those that matter... Don't mind...
And those that mind... Don't matter."
-Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Taking a break

I am taking a blog break for a day or 10 might even be 20.....
Cheers Vickie
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Addicted too bag swap's

My dearest Hubby calls me the bag lady as I have bags everywhere so how could I resist another bag swap eh?

Click on the above picture and pop on over too Francesca's blog and sign up -sign ups close 4th October..
Cheers Vickie
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Raymond is in the house

Yeah yipee I done something for me...My arm will severly let me know I have over used it for the remainder of the day but ahhh that's life.
Raymond is now in the house..I did take him outside for a garden shoot-flippin dogs wanted to get hold of him so he will remain indoors...


This pattern was in Australian Country Threads Vol3 N02-2003.

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Change to comment window

A few people are having trouble leaving comments on my blog so I have changed the way comments are left ,still basically the same except you will have a window pop up for you to comment in.
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Time out Sewing.

Yep that’s correct time out…time out for me I really needed to take time out and do some sewing for me can you guess what it is..OK missy yes you ,you already know ..

That’s it..I’m off to progress some more…

Cheers Vickie

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Pattern Giveaway

Well that made you look didn't it..but alas no it's not me giving away a pattern it is Corrie
from retro mummy - go on off you go leave a comment and see if you win eh?
Cheers Vickie
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Friendship Bag Swap

I just went to the post office too see if my spotlight catalogue was there (grr it seems to have gone awol )..However I got the most pleasant surprise there was a package from my Friendship Bag Swap partner..

Colleen made me the most pretty bag in lovely tones that scream ME ME ME, and she added some gorgeous detail too..and some extra goodies inside my bag…

Isn’t that the most cutest –gorgeous wee bag?

This bag is now going to house my sewing machine needles –surely I won’t loose them now eh?

What a girl look at that some needles for my sewing machine ..hmm makes me wonder has Colleen been reading my blog….A nifty wee sewing machine ion a chain and lovely quilt pattern…

Cheers Vickie

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CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?

Have you been there yet? Have you seen it? Have you heard of a secret going around several blogs? well yippetidy doodahday today is the day and look what was unveiled.

9 Australian designers yes I said 9 nutty crafty bloggers all in the one place-how exciting is that eh? I just know there will be heaps of inspiration and good times Among the Gum trees....
so get your butt over there and say G'Day..tooo all these gals

Cheryl of Willowberry Designs

Dawn of Dawn Hay Designs

Fiona of Mothers Cupboard

Jenny of Elefantz

Joy of Joypatch

Judith of Creative Studio

Paula of Sew Little Fabric

Vicki of Tozz's Corner

Vikki of Sew Useful Designs

Cheers Vickie
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PIF gift sent

Yeah I can confirm that Naomi has received her PIF from me..and I can now safely show you a picture of it..I think she likes it ..

I know I loved it and had the tug-o-war that so often happens when I finish and item for someone,

will I send it –no I’ll keep it-nah I have to send it I made it for someone else ..Oh but I do love it so and that usually seals it, the fact that I like it so much tends me too think and hope the receiver will  like it just as much

well silly me didn’t take a pic of the 4 coasters that I made to go with this as well…when Naomi gets a minute I’m sure she will add a pic on her blog too.

Cheers Vickie

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King Blue progress

The strips are coming together nicely for the King Blue quilt that I have been asked to make

remember I showed you the cut fabric here..

I have been quietly sewing strips each morning and the progress is quite smooth so far.

I showed the owner of this project a sneak peek and she was rapt at how the colours look..so that is great…

Cheers Vickie

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Stichers angel Swap

I’m really finding I want to get back into stitching again, so I joined the stichers angel swap over at Hugsnkisses  by Helen –due to an injury and then an operation on my right arm nearly 2 years ago now my arm is weak and fiddly things like stitching do not come easy..

So I am concentrating real hard (yeah I know you can hear me from there) and I am taking my time

and have thus far made 2 projects for my partner, showing them here won’t reveal the secret as there is heaps of people participating

I guess if my partner receives them and thinks they are cruddy she can always send them back- but I am hoping she will just appreciate the effort I have done…hmm that may sound pooopy to some but I am just a wee bit lacking in confidence with stitcheries..

Cheers Vickie

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Friendship Bag Swap

woohoo another item finished….I joined the Friendship Bag Swap over at quiltinggallery

using the tutorial by Rachel Griffith from p.s.I quilt, such a cute bag to make and super easy…

Now I’m off to find a wee goody or 2 to pop in side (not a requirement of the swap but I just want too). It’s a secret so I can’t tell you where it’s going too.

Cheers Vickie

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Being creative with Roc-Lon, yes me.

Oh I'm such a sad case truly, I just couldn't resist the challenge to play with some fabric I had never seen before so I joined I Have A Notion contest just cause I wanted to try the Roc-Lon fabric..
Anyways I was sent a piece of the fabric 8½" x11".
I looked at it - I touched it-I rolled in between my hands- I bent it up-I folded it up-I even tossed it to see how far it would go, and then I got to work.
I had these lovely fabrics here that I purchased a while ago from Fresh Squeezed Fabrics range was called Ginger Blossom.
So I set about cutting and sewing and made a table center piece.

Oh how I love them fabrics...
I then took photo of the table mat and printed it on the Roc-Lon (and forgot to take a photo grrr)..
So I the cut around all the edges with pinking shears cause I like that look.
I hole punched down the long sides.and then threaded some green ribbon in a twisty fashion, turned it inside out and boxed the corners by machine.


Anyways this is what I made
nice and fresh looking zippered purse/cosmetic purse oh did I tell you this Roc-Lon can be printed on..can be sewn by machine or hand, can be painted and it does not fray either...oh yeah and it holds it's shape, and heaps more ...


I sewed the zipper in by machine and also stitched some of the zipper in by hand just too see how it would go.


I hand sewed the hanger-handle and added some bling.


Made a bling fob for the zipper too.
This was a great brain thinking project for me as in the end I had decided I was going to make something that would enable me to do a few of the things that it's said you can do
So summing up I...printed on it..hand sewed..hole punched and machine sewed and I had fun.
Cheers Vickie
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I guess it’s hot ???

It has been horrid weather here ..yukky yukky icky-sticky humid heat, just a tad difficult to keep cool or find a cool spot….

This morning I went  too clean the bathroom..well yeah like so what you say we all have to do it at sometime.

Yep very true..but I did not need to slide back the shower curtain and have a near heart attack

when a vision of something caught my eye..

Obviously Cya did not think the bath needed a clean, but it does see look there is a hair there…

Cat was safely removed and now I am off to clean…

Cheers Vickie

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Civil War fabric giveaway

ohh yes please civil war fabric is delightful..now I don’t really want you to go and enter ‘cause I just so need to win ..hehehe. But hey gotta be in it too win it and since I’m such a sharing caring person ….Elaine is having this great giveaway..so go on scram…

cheers Vickie

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King Blue begins.

Ok I’ve sat and looked at the fabrics long enough…now I have cut them all into strips..with lots of too-ing and fro-ing I’ve decided to mix the colours up as much as possible-this will also give the owner lots of possibilities with accessories for the room, and I think it may just look good too.

I have started sewing rows together and will be back later with some more pics…

Cheers Vickie

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I have company

Come on now how much closer do you think this cat could of got to me, whilst on the computer eh?
Cheers Vickie
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my Machine has a new dress.

Well let me start by saying I had always wanted to do a dresden plate block..which I did a while ago in lovely 1930's fabric (that was gifted to me)..I admired the block for sometime then it got cast aside-yeah I know bad girl....
That was until I sat it on my work bench and said"this will not be an orphan for any longer"..and so the brain started ticking and voila a new dress for my sewing machine was born..and I am crappy at taking pictures..took like 20 just to try and do this justice it truly has a nice crisp fresh look-perfect for the pending gloomy wet season that will hit us soon...
I have not reduced the size of pics so you can will get a huge view when you click on images.
Oh boy it was tricky working out the applique shapes I wanted, I ended up tracing a pair of embroidery scissors -button jar just fliked it-cotton reel was a tad challenging I knew in my head what I wanted it too look like and after several trying attempts I got there--pin cushion nearly done my head in,but overall I was happy with how it all turned out...

Could not have a plain boring back on it could I?
All good dresses need pockets and this one is no exception, tidy holes to hide things.....

Close up just in case you missed it.
And just 'cause I sometimes have an odd sense of humor, I miss spelled "then" for "den" cause it's a dresden block, and truly I must dress before I sew sewing in jammies can be so user unfriendly for me.

Cheers Vickie
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I needed some machine needles

Arghhh I ran out of needles for my sewing machine so off into town I headed, thinking yep I will go too the Janome shop instead of spotlight that way I will not spend excess money on fabric, just get needles and leave right..nope wrong.The Janome shop was the most dismal place I have been in and just had no atmosphere at all..so somewhat rather peeved, I headed to spotlight just too get needles.
Well they saw me coming didn't they, there was a massive table with rolls and rolls of fabric marked down to $3-$4-$2-$6,and if you purchased the roll you got it for half the marked price-now come on would you look eh?
Got my needles yep I did, and then the fabric started screaming at me "come see come see"..


well first one off the rank was thisssss 245cm wide quilt backing,2.45 meters total =$6.30


Then from top too bottom of pile purple hippo's=1 m total $1.
Blue and maroon print =1.8m total$1.50
pale pink background with strawberries=1.5 total$1.50
pastel colour gingham check = 4.5m total $4.50
small purple print = 3.5m total $4.80
pastel stripes = 6m total $8.25
So I now have some other fabric LOL....and if you add up them prices($21.55) that's darn cheap eh?

Cheers Vickie
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Mail brought tears

Just did a routine check of the mail box today and oh my goodness, there was a package for me
from Tracy(sunny corner farm-blog gone).
Last year I sent Tracy a RAK (random act of kindness) gift, I had read that Tracy enjoyed to cross stitch so I sent her a semco kit-which I think was called farmyard sampler...well blow me down with a feather if that completed cross stitch was in my package-along with a magazine-and I am admitting that it bought tears to me my eyes, just thinking that Tracy did all that beautiful work and then gifted it back to me-
I hunted around the house for the many empty picture frames that are stored in different places and voila found a frame sheeeeshh aida cloth is not very friendly when trying to get it straight, I have done the best I can (with my not too well working right fingers) but hubby will have a Mr Fixxxx-it look later...so without further ado here it is.
Thank you so very very much Tracy, your a gem yes you are.

Cheers Vickie
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Wanna win some fabric?

Ah see now I got your attention eh?
Well pop on over to i have to say and have a peek at the yummy fabric remnants
that Randi is giving away-


To tempt you even more here is the pics Randi has on her blog.....
Cheers Vickie
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Ohh it's so soft...

I had to go grocery shopping today blah arghhh icky..but when you combine it with some op/thrift store shopping it become oh me oh my wow.
Today I got this beautiful wool it is so soft-oh how I wish you could feel it you'd go ohhahhh I just know it. I have no idea what it is, but it sure isn't nylon-and maybe I might just make some sockies for me(oops yep must finish the other pair I started).


Oh yeah and the critical part of this purchase as with any was the price $2.75..doing happy dance.

Cheers Vickie
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Ever get that feeling?

Yes you know the one, when you are happily working away at something..yep that one where you feel someone/thing is watching you..I have had it often lately ..and this pic will tell you why.


See when i turned around and looked up there was Cya and Leave, keeping a watchful eye on me...


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More than a sneak peek.

Okie dokie here it is….

Nice a pretty for a girl-nope no baby’s on the way…just made it cause…I liked the way the fabrics went together and the quilt was randomly sew, no pattern thru.

Dang one of these days I will remember to iron first…

Cheers Vickie

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Blue Blue Blah

Well if you've been reading you would quickly know that blue is a blah colour for me, I just don’t use it at all.

So imagine my quandary when asked to make a king size quilt and you guessed it she wants blues..

Well we went to spotlight & 2 hours later walked out with her fabrics choices-she decided once she started looking at fabrics that adding some other colours would allow her  accessorise options, phew it’s not all blue so too speak,and I am hoping these colours will look great once made up.I’m pretty confident they will all blend when made up in the same design as my Dry Season Quilt.

 

This is the stack 12 different fabrics in all…and the large piece of fabric on the bottom will also be the backing fabric. So if I disappear for a while you’ll all know where I am-stuck with the blues.

Cheers Vickie.

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A Project

Well I have been a busy beaver in my room true I have, so I thought it best I show pic so you will believe me.

Aww now c'mon you didn't expect me to reveal all did you.
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Dry Season Quilt

Yeah it is finally quilted ok it's finally messy meandered stitched, now for the binging..argh so much hand stitchin to do-

I am very happy with the way all the fabrics look together.

Just a close up of the messy stitch.
Cheers Vickie
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