The Fishes have returned!

I'm back! After having a bit of a break from blogging and just doing stuff without thinking about keeping a record of what I'm doing I have returned.

It was good to have a break and just focus on little things and to be honest I had lost my bloggy mojo for a while. Now I've had a break from it, I'm keen to continue on and get back into it.

So does anyone remember the cupboard I was going paint an eternity ago? Well it is done and is in the dining room being used. It now contains all the fishes playdough, paper, pencils, craft stuff, painting gear and other bits and pieces. It had a couple of coats of Antique White U.S.A in a semi gloss and I changed the two door knobs in the middle (they are the same ones the buffet/hutch thingy got when it was painted).

I finished quilting my three hawaiian quilts finally and they now hang above the cupboard in a row. I enjoyed doing them but was glad to have them finished as they had a lot of stitching in them. I hot glued some balsa wood to the back and hung them with those sticky velcro picture hanging things.

The darker turtle one below has been very lightly padded in the turtle bodies. It is very hard to photograph it but it has a slightly raised effect that gives it a little depth. I cut a slit in the back and poked some stuffing in then stitched them up again.

They are all raw edge appliqued and I went around the edge twice to make sure it was nice and secure.

So there you go, one painted cupboard from the tip shop all finished and put to good use. I made the runner from squares of blue and green batiks and its longer than I normally make to cover nearly the whole length.

Hope you like it! I promise to be back very soon!

Projects a go-go (or it's been raining a lot)

It's been raining a lot, hence quite a lot of things have been started or cut out or planned. After the boring stuff (housework) is done there's really no choice but to do a bit of sewing or crafting. What a shame! All the nearly finished outside jobs have been abandoned until the muddy bog outside has a chance to dry out. Should be a while since we're still waiting for the rain to actually stop. So meanwhile...... Littlest fish is getting a mermaid/underwater stitchery similar to the one I made for her sister a while ago (hers had a bit of a woodland critter theme). I'm using a beautiful mermaid pattern I found on little dear tracks etsy shop for the centre panel. Then I'm using some cute under the sea patterns from her lovely book Doodle Stitching (the motif collection) for the smaller panels around it, except for one which is a mermaid I found in Badbird's free stitchery patterns on her blog. The surrounding fabric patches will be made up of some much loved and hard to get hold of mendocino prints by Heather Ross. I'm going to very carefully fussy cut them out to get the best bits. If there's a bit left after this I'll make a cushion cover or something with the leftovers. Will show you some progress shots as it progresses.

I have aquired an interest in hawaiian applique and tivavae (similar but from the south pacific). I'm not sure how I aquired said interest but there you go, it's here so I may as well explore it.

I found a great website that sells patterns for cushion size projects up to giant Queen size beds (Poakalani, just google the name) and ordered a few to try. The first one is a 22" turtle pattern that I'm going to raw edge applique. I want to try another pattern using needleturn to give it a go. The turles have been cut out and pinned on to the backing fabric and so far so good. I'll try to remember to take some pics of the different steps as I go. Hawaiian applique in a nutshell is like those snowflakes you make out of paper when you're little. You fold up the paper and cut bits out then open up the paper to find a pretty pattern. Except with fabric. And a bit more thought out.

Next project a go-go is a planned quilt using this awsome pattern from Chasing Cottons, Who doesn't love sandcastles!? And they're fabric ones!

I'm going to first make a block up as a cushion cover for a little girls birthday pressie as after sifting through the stash I found some fabric that is sand looking with pretty little shells all over it, perfect for a sandcastle. You could do a fairytale theme or make it a bit boyish if you preferred, the fabrics on the picture are Heather Ross' far, far away prints which look beautiful.

And to finish off here's a pic of something that's just about done. I cut up a design roll (like a jelly roll but not from Moda) of Amy Butler's Soul Blossom range and did a sort of log cabiny thing with squares of other stuff in between. This lot was sewn together rag rug style and super quick. I'll post some more detailed pics and info in a separate post as soon as I find the other pics I took of it.

So there you go, heaps of things are on the go and with all this wet weather it's keeping me out of trouble. Now to figure out how to keep the rest of the fishes out of trouble.....

The Neptune table topper is done!

At the end of the kitchen where the dining table used to be (it now has its own room) is a spot I've made into a little relaxing area. I found the cane chairs at target and got some nice bright coral coloured cushions to add a pop of colour to that area. The little round table was mum and dad's and it's been around for a long, long time, except I recently painted it white.

Anyway I thought a little table topper would be nice for a bit more colour and the Neptune jelly roll that has been sitting in the sewing room being admired for a while had just the right colours in it!

I used some strips with coral, blue and green to match the cushions and kitchen that it's going with and sewed them together lengthwise.

Then using my trusty 10' wedge ruler I cut 36 wedges (10 times 36 is 360 degrees) going up and down the fabric so as not to waste any.

Then the sewing begins and 36 wedges were quickly sewn together to form, you guessed it, a circle!

I cut out a circle of pellon and backing and pinned them together (right sides together) while slipping in some ric rac so when it was turned right side out (through the circle in the centre) the ric rac would be around the edge in a wavy pattern.

Then after a good pressing I started quilting a spiral pattern all the way round and then went up and down all the wedges so it was very quilted and flat.

After this I cut out a circle using a saucer (it was just a little bit bigger than the hole it had to cover) and turned the edges under and quilter another spiral pattern to secure it.

So there you have it, a Neptune table topper and now that I have opened the jelly roll I am keen to make something else. It's a bit addictive!

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside....

When you can't be right next to the seaside all the time here's the next best thing!

A nice reminder of what's nearby waiting for our next visit. I had made one of these a while ago that I gave to kindy for the Mothers day hamper we raffled and wanted to make another one for our place. This time I changed the colours from deeper blues to more bluey greens to more closely resemble the water around our area.

It has some little shells sewn onto the sand at the bottom that finishes it off nicely and a piece of driftwood to hang off.

(Pattern is from a book called Skinny quilts and table runners that I found in our local library)

What the?!!!

This funny red thing is a starfish! We hit the jackpot at the beach this morning and found not one but two lovely starfish. We have seen them on the beach before but they are not something you come across very often. There is a particular spot that is exposed at low tide where the more interesting creatures seem to gather. As well as getting to check out these beauties we found quite a few large sand dollar shells (none of them had anything in them, they hide in the sand when alive) and an interesting looking sea slug. It was really exciting for the little fishes to see the starfishes and we watched the star shaped one bury itself back in the sand without noticeably moving, it just seemed to magically sink before our eyes. This was definitely a special beach walk.

Now for something completely unrelated, a cot quilt for a new little baby that was born recently!

Little Ebony arrived a few weeks ago and had to have a pretty quilt for her cot so out came the rotary cutter and the ruler and this little beauty was put together. It didn't take long to make and is a simple 9 patch block alternated with a feature block. It was nice to sew something again and a princess dress has just been requested by oldest fish so it looks like a bit more sewing will be done!

A very hungry caterpillar likes to drink tea.

Well not really but I do! My very clever, bargain hunting friend took me to a place she goes to where there are bargains to be had on Thursday morn. It was a place Mr Fish has been before but he told me not to bother going there as there was nothing to be found! That's the last time I listen to him!!!!! It was none other than my local tip shop recycling centre! It's across the other side of town which may explain why I have not bothered to go there myself. (I usually only venture to the local green waste facility which is nearby) There was a shed full of old dressers and hutches and wardrobes, which were full of old tea sets and china and vases and glass wear and lots of other things. Then you go outside and there's a huge yard full of other stuff that won't fit in the shed! I picked up these lovely tea cups and saucers which are both bone china from England (I normally get things cause they look nice, it doesn't matter where they come from but you might want to know! And they cost $2 per set!!!!!!) The yellow saucer and plate didn't have a cup but they were too lovely to leave behind. So now I have a new place to lurk in the hope of finding some treasure and next time I'm going without the kids and without Mr Fish! Thanks Trine for taking me :)

This bunch of squares have been cut out to make.......

This very hungry caterpillar cot quilt! It's for Mr Fish's cousin who is due soon. I kept it simple and quilted wavy lines across the quilt instead of going around lots of squares. The parents to be like bright colours so hopefully this will fit right in.

Noddy and the doll quilts

Over the last few months I have managed to find these Noddy figures at the local op shops. They are soooo cute and remind me of when I was little and loved to read Enid Blyton books. I have no idea if they are just a cheap cereal box type toy or one you can actually purchase but they are all in great condition and I love them for the memories they bring to mind.

These two doll quilts have just been finished, they were super quick and easy to make, I didn't even bother with wadding as they are not needed for warmth. I top stitched around the blocks once they were turned right side out so they look a bit 'quilted'. They are for xmas pressies for two little girls but I won't mention names in case their mums read this.

Market day is tomorrow so wish me luck!

Works in progress

The latest bunch of things I have started are a quilt for Mr Fish's cousin who is having a baby next year, a new doll that sort of looks like a butterfly (that's what it will hopefully turn out like) and despite having other stuff that I should be doing I couldn't help but to start on the barn house that's made from the same tutorial as the gnomes home 'cept I did it 1.5 times bigger to fit all those farm animals in (they like their space apparently).

The butterfly doll is being made because oldest little fish informed me that her doll called Sabine (that is taken to bed each night for cuddling) needed a cuddle doll of her own so she wouldn't get lonely when she is lying on the bed during the day all by herself. (This actually makes sense to me, I don't know whether to be worried by that or not???!!!) And a butterflyesque doll was picked because Sabine likes butterflies. So there you go.

The barn is coming along nicely and I am now putting the windows on (if only real housing was this easy to build). The animals are waiting in the linen cupboard til they can move in, though oldest fish did find them and sneeks a peek at them when she thinks I am not looking. The barn is for littlest fish so this is okay as she can't actually open the linen cupboard door yet. Plus she is only 1 and doesn't seem to care.

The quilt has been fun to do as it required actual sewing on the sewing machine, which I haven't done much of lately so it was nice to take it for a spin. Anyway better get back to sewing on barn windows!

Happy Birthday Little Fish!

Well, today my oldest little fishie turns 3! I can't believe she is 3 already, the time had passed so quickly. She is no longer my baby but my little girl and 3 just sounds so old!

We ended up having a couple of cakes as we were visiting her nanny and poppy (dad's side) a few days before her birthday and then were home for her actual birthday with other nanny and poppy.

Not that she minded of course, more cake for everyone. She has been very lucky and has received lots of lovely pressies from all who love her and despite being a bit sick with a cold still managed to have a bit of a play.

I have finally finished my stitchery I took on holidays to do and am going to frame it to put in one of the girls rooms. It is a pattern from http://oneredrobin.com/ by the very talanted Johanna and i just love how darn cute it is.

My very clever Mum just finished a quilt she has been making for littlest fishies bed and it is quite adorable. I asked for some pink and green squares of some sort and it has some lovely fairies and mushrooms in it that just scream 'how cute am I' to all who see it. The bunny in the shot was just hanging around feeling a bit neglected after easter so we let him be in the piccie too.