It's been a while... what I've been up to!

Hello all, I'm sorry its been so long since my last post... Oh my, time got away from me!  I'm afraid I've been quite busy, mostly just with life in general and a few little challenges that have come our way, but I've also been working on a few craft related things.  Presently study has become my top priority as I try to finish up assignments before the end of year cut off.

The weather is a bit up and down at the moment in Melbourne, we've had a few really beautiful, sunny days and then we've had a few absolutely horrid days where we wondered if winter had made a return.  Overall though the weather is on the improve which I find helps my mood lift and I seem to have more motivation to get things done.

School went back from holidays on the 6th October and every week I have been teaching the Grade 5's and 6's some basic sewing and crafting skills.  We are all really enjoying it, and to my surprise, we even have a few boys in our class which is brilliant.  We started off with some kids sewing kits, my little bucket o pins pincushions, hanging hearts and last week, a cute little snowman ornament.

Snowman ornament with LED candle nose

I usually prep the items into little kits before I go, which means there is less scrambling for items, no arguing over colours and we can get started quickly.  Some of them found the sewing a little tedious so I have included a few gluing based crafts to keep everyone enjoying the creativity.  They usually follow my instructions and then individualise their project at the end.  I love seeing what they come up with.

Some time back I was asked to make a lap quilt for a friend of mine who was in remission from breast cancer.  She was going to a Breast Cancer Breakfast where each attendee was asked to donate something to be auctioned on the day with the money raised going to breast cancer research.  Well, I ummmed and arrred over this for weeks, trying to think of a design that represented breast cancer but would appeal to a wide audience.  We didn't have a great deal of time, and with study, work and family commitments, neither did I, so I chose a pattern that was fairly easy and repetitive to sew.

I ended up choosing a pinwheel design, using some of the pinks I had in my stash.  I purchased a couple more to complement what I had and off I went!

Considering that the pinks were quite different, because of the white, it came together really well.

Once the middle was done, I found this Baby Pinwheel blanket pattern on Moda Bake Shop and thought the prairie points would complement it perfectly (my first time doing prairie points so I'm very proud !).

I thought a pieced backing would save on costs and I also love how much more interesting they are than a plain backing.

I finished it off with stipple quilting on my domestic machine and machine bound it.  It finished up at 130cm square.

And here is the finished product... ta dahhhh !!!

I'm so happy with the result and so was my friend.  It sold for $220 on the day.

I've also made some progress on my Grandma's Flower Garden WIP.

Rather than cutting the hexagons to add the borders, I've appliquéd the last row of hexagons onto the border strip.  I love the decorative edge it's made.  Of course now I'm left with tackling the corners but thats the way these unplanned quilts go.  I've had some helpful, much needed, advice from the quilters guild group I attend.  I tell you, joining that group has been wonderful for me.  Loads of wonderful advice and inspiration.

Well thats it from me for today

Yours in Stitches

Leanne x

A new look and exciting news...

I am absolutely loving our 'new look'! Thanks to Naomi of Nomie Boutique Stationary we have a new logo - what do you think?  Its all part of taking this little business to the next level.  Soon I will be opening an Etsy shop, selling some of my patterns - I am so excited about that, although its very daunting and there is so much to learn.

I haven't been able to post as much as I would have liked.  I have been incredibly busy with a couple of new projects in amongst looking after the family and studying.

These projects I really would love to share with you but both (yes both!) have been accepted into one of Australia's leading craft magazines and scheduled to appear this time next year (its a long wait!).  Magazines plan their future issues a long way in advance so I have some time up my sleeve before the actual pattern has to be submitted.  I am thrilled that they are so interested in my work and there is even talk of my designer profile being published.  You could not wipe the smile off my face the day I found out.  It will be great advertising for me and the shop, which should be well and truly up and running by then.

I also bought myself a present: a light pad, which I have wanted for so long, is fabulous for tracing designs onto fabric!  Its been invaluable these last few days.

A special thank you to the Daylight Man for their expert service and prompt delivery.  I'll definitely be ordering from them again (I have my sights set on a floor lamp).  If you'd like to order your own Lightpad they come in A4 and A3 sizes and are they cheapest supplier I have found, with free delivery Australia wide for orders over $50.

The weather here in Melbourne has been icy cold - its definitely winter!  Jack Frost has come to visit on quite a few mornings

and we've even had some hail

and quite severe storms.  I am thankful I don't live in some of the colder areas of the state - they've had snow!  Of course, this makes us appreciate the sunshine that does appear occasionally, that little bit more.  I am so grateful I have a warm house to live in, a roof over my head, a warm bed and my stitching to keep me company whilst I sit on the couch.  On the plus side, there are a few things in bloom in my garden.

One of my WIP's, my Grandmas garden hexie quilt, has been making some progress.

The paper piecing is now complete and I'm moving onto the borders.  This project has been on the go for about three years so its great to see it finally approaching completion.  I am so happy with it.  It was one of those projects that just evolved as it went along, with no real plan.  As a result, there is a slight difference between the white fabrics (more had to be purchased halfway through) but I think it will be less noticeable once its quilted.  I have consoled myself with the rational that many quilts of yesteryear were less than perfect as their makers used what they had and often had to compromise.  Its quite long because I've decided its going to double as a tablecloth.  I think it will be lovely to decorate the dinner table when guests come over (under a plastic cover of course!).  I'm linking this post to the Freshly Pieced blog for WIP Wednesday, Lets Bee Social over at Sew Fresh Quilts, and Heather and Megan at Quilt Story!

I have been making some more of those cute little needle books for my local quilters guild as they will be having a quilt show in September this year.  Many in the group are making things to sell at the stall.

I've also been racking my brain trying to come up with some little sewing projects for my daughters school.  As I mentioned previously, I will be teaching some 10 year olds to sew.  Finding small, interesting but uncomplicated projects is not as easy as I had imagined.

My little bucket pincushion tutorial will be up soon... promise!

Until next time,

Yours in Stitches,

Leanne x

Time for tea

I've had a lovely couple of days, busy but just lovely.  Firstly, Mother's Day, or Mother's Day Weekend as I have now renamed it (one day was never enough to honour me lol) started on Saturday with homemade waffles for breakfast and lunch at a local pasta restaurant.

Then Sunday, with bacon and eggs served in bed by DH and a few little visitors bearing gifts of all sorts: cabled scarf, football scarf, teddy bear mug, slippers and a sweet little notepad.  We headed off to the countryside to visit my Mum and Dad mid morning and had homemade pumpkin soup for lunch followed homemade coffee flavoured ice-cream and lounging about catching up on this and that.  Very relaxing!

Monday came before I knew it and so time to get back to being busy.  Currently I am studying to become a certified bookkeeper and so there is homework to be done, and assignments to be submitted.  I severely underestimated the amount of work this course entails and each unit seems to drag on forever, but I am enjoying it and hope to be finished by the end of the year.

Yesterday I had a most enjoyable catch up with a couple of girlfriends.  Oh were we spoilt!  There is only three of us but this time the host put on a huge spread and this included SCONES!  Oh my... I love nothing more than a freshly baked scone with strawberry jam and whipped cream.  One of life's sheer delights.  Coupled with a hot cup of tea I can think of nothing better to enjoy in the afternoon before the hustle and bustle of school pickup.

My favourite scone recipe is Lemonade Scones.  A little messy to make I must confess, but light and fluffy and a real pleasure to eat.  Here is my version:

Lemonade Scones

3 Cups Self Raising flour
a pinch of salt
1 cup of lemonade
1 cup of thickened cream

Preheat oven to 220 C.

Sift dry ingredients into large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.

Pour in the lemonade and cream and gently mix together with a knife.  Empty contents of bowl onto lightly floured bench top and knead very gently.

DO NOT over handle the dough.  You may need to sprinkle over a little flour whist kneading to prevent sticking. 

Cut 12 scones with cutter and place closely together on greased baking tray.

Bake 10-12 mins (longer if still doughy in the middle).

Serve with jam and cream.


The only other thing I like more than eating sweet treats is sewing.  I haven't been doing a lot, I must confess due to studying but I would like to give you a little sneak peak at something I've been working on.

You just never know when you start to experiment where a design will lead you.  It's not quite the look I'm after but I love it and it has lead me to experiment further with other ideas.  It's made using the selvages and strings from trimming/squaring up other projects so each fabric reminds me of the last time I used it.  I just love using up the scraps, its a very frugal project and the colours seem to sparkle against the white background.  It will be a cushion and I plan to finish it by the end of the week and put it up here as a free tutorial.

Also, this has been an ongoing work in progress for the past couple of years and is definitely a labour of love.

It's made of 1" paper pieced hexagons, hand sewn, and I believe the arrangement is called Grandma's Garden.  Typically, at the end of each day, my DH and I sit and catch up on a few TV series we are watching and I like to work on this.  It helps me wind down before bed and makes me feel I'm getting something done just for me.  Actually I have quite a few WIP's *oh the guilt* so have decided to add these on the sidebar to inspire me to finish them.  I can be so fickle sometimes jumping from one project to the next, as each one inspires me.  Why? Because I can! haha

Until next time

Yours in stitches

Leanne x