Oh woe is me

I know this is not my usual type of blog post but I really am just over uni. I have 2 weeks to go and I can't wait to be finished but I have an essay I'm writing currently due this week, a couple of summaries to submit before classes this week and another essay and an exam the week after next. It's not that it's difficult, just that I have so many other things I'd really rather be doing. Like:

• Making scones - just cuz I can
• Listing things on ebay
• Working on my Christmas card orders
• Beading
• Adding to my paper piecing project
• Daydreaming about moving house
• Writing my novel for National Novel Writing Month
• Watching Gilmore Girls....again
• Reading the book I started last week
• Putting together the I spy books I cut last week
• Making more Thai pants
• Trying out new bag ideas

Sigh.... Uni really is boring sometimes. Ah well. Only 2 weeks to go.

10 random things about me + FNSI

 It occurs to me I havent blogged so much lately. Uni, family and life in general seem to keep getting in the way of both crafting and blogging. I have done some things but instead of telling you that I cleaned my house last week and reorganised my sewing table, and that I have the week off and many projects in mind - both UFOs and new projects - and promise to blog again at the end of the week particularly since I havent done much in the way of OPAMing I shall be insired by Clare and tell you 10 things about myself.

1. I am tantalisingly close to being done with my uni degree.

2. I have absolutely no idea what my plans are for next year, but I do know there will be crafting!

3. I'm the second oldest of 5 kids. But my brother was always the rebel so I still get 'you're the oldest you have to set the example' *sigh*

4. Sometimes I feel I'm in my forties at heart because I truly am a housewife. I love to cook, both for myself and others and I love making other people happy, I also sew, knit, crochet and bead and I really am happy at home with my own setup.

5. I am quite nervous about my family meeting my boyfriend on Sunday - not because I'm concerned about their opinion but because he is. I don't want them to scare him off.

6. My guitar currently has rainbow coloured strings on it. It makes me smile every time I look at it.

7. I really do love the smell of clean washing. Particularly that of clean sheets when you get into bed. However I loathe making the bed.

8. My house is lived in. It is not dirty, but often cluttered. However I know exactly where everything is and you can always navigate your way around. Mind you, my house consists of 2 rooms so there's a limit to how cluttered it can get and still be manageable.

9. I love my nephew dearly, he really is quite cute, but gee he's an odd duck. He walks like a penguin, makes the cutest face when he's in trouble and the other day when I was doing uni work discovered which button to press on my phone to make it light up. Sounds cute until you hear he was supposed to be brushing his teeth so now my textbook, laptop keyboard and my touch screen phone are covered in white sticky fingerprints.

10. I have many projects in mind for this week including a hand pieced quilt. I am determined! however, to finish my hexi quilt before starting another large hand piecing project. I may just try the pattern out on a cushion instead.


So there you go. Ten things about me. Enjoy, feel free to play along. Happy friday.

P.S. Anyone following the Christmas Sew-along over here, today is friday. Keep an eye out for block 5.

P.P.S. Tonight is Friday night sew in  - sign up here

Life happens.

I've just realised it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Oops.

So what have I been doing recently? Not a great deal.

I spent all of last weekend with my extended family as it was my Nan's 70th party on Saturday night. So my very large family came from all areas QLD down to VIC to get together and celebrate. It was great to see everyone and catch up, meet the new partners and see how big children have gotten etc etc.

I sorted out my classes for uni this semester. I managed to plan them for an overnighter again. I'll spend my wednesday mornings on trains, wednesday night with my nephew, thursday in class and come home thursday nights. Exhausting yes but its only for 13 weeks and then I'm officially finished with my degree and UWS and can carry on my Diploma of Education anywhere I want. Oh the possibilities. I do have family all over Australia you know ;) Melbourne is looking really good.

Last week my housemate from last year came to visit and we caught up and stayed up talking most of the night. I havent seen her since uni finished 2 months ago so there were a lot of things to talk about.

As far as crafty stuff goes, I've been working on the stippling of my ZigZag quilt and my cute giraffe cross stitch. Both of which are ongoing projects that are going to take a while but its good to chip away at them.

Hmmmm what else? Oh yea, I get my student bonus this week so I can FINALLY buy myself a convection oven and return to the days of scones, muffins and late night pastries. Not to mention chicken kiev, wedges and lasagne.

Plus, with said bonus I'll be able to spend some time in Spotlight. *rubbing hands together in glee*

I believe that's just about all you need to read about me for now. The only thing I've missed is the fact that my lovely Nan left me her cold when she was here last weekend so I spent all of yesterday in bed.

That's all for now.

a quilt just for me.

Now I know a lot of you ladies out there have met my friend Ron and probably have your very own round Tuit. Well yesterday I told good old Ron to get off my back. I came across a pattern yesterday I fell in love with and have now started cutting fabric for.


I often hang out in my local library skimming through quilty mags and drawing sketches of what I could/would do and how I could use it etc. Ordinarily those sketches stay in the book until i have the time/money/patience to actually do something with them. The one i found yesterday didnt even get that chance. 


The moment I got home I went straight to my fabric cupboard to see what I could use and work out how I could make the pattern work with what i wanted.


The pattern was a queen size quilt with a zig zag pattern done in a pale brown linen contrasted with 40 brights. I wasnt a huge fan of the brown, it kinda looked like there was something missing. but i loved the pattern. the block is quite simple even thought it uses HSTs. however i thought the overall design looked like it was facing the wrong way. the reason i say that is because it was square and the zig zags were going top to bottom in a column type way and it wasnt long enough. it felt like it was cut short a little.   


Anyway, to fix that issue and actually be able to make the quilt with what i have, i changed the measurements to suit a single bed and turned the zig zags around so theyre horizontal instead. also, i changed the block size from 9" to 12". because i can. and because i loathe cutting and sewing teeny tiny pieces. plus, changing both the quilt and block size means less squares. the original involved 900 squares, mine has only 360.






also, i dont have 4metres of the same fabric so instead of bright vs plain im doing bright and lights. The lights are different creams, whites and a pale brown. some with patterns, some without. either way, they will contrast nicely with the bright fabrics i have floating around in my stash. so this is officially a stashbuster quilt. im so proud.


so yes i spent the evening rifling through my stash and cutting all the lights. todays plan is the brights. and possibly starting on the chain stitching of the HSTs.


and just FYI this quilt is for me. it has my name written all over it. it will be my couch snuggle blanket and will most probably be backed in flannel for that purpose. i havent yet made a quilt for myself. ive done them for my siblings and my nephew as well as a crib quilt and a couple of singles for selling or charity but this one will be made of teeny tiny squares and lots of patience, therefore it will be mine. plus it will have all of the fabrics ive used over the past few years for different projects so i feel it's fitting.

my very exciting cutting table and the fantastic progress ive made so far.

yea so i should have rotated this in images before uploading it here, i always forget to do that. anyway, you can see the block and the overall design from my sketch. the rest of it is just notes about the measurements.

I'm baaaaack

Have returned from my cruise with many many photos and a few souvineers. I had a wonderful time and will tell you all more about it later but for now I'm still unpacking and sorting out exciting things like doing groceries.

I will definitely post photos when I upload them but for now, special thanks to Gail who was nice enough to send me a card before I left wishing me fun on my trip. :)

what ive been working on

I've been knitting and sewing a lot the last few days. I did 5 scarves on friday. This is the only one i have left because my mother took off with the others. And those are the skirts and one of the scoop neck blouses ive been making, I  have 2 more tops to make before my cruise.

Sewing up a storm to get ready for cruising.

This is only a short post and will be devoid of pictures because blogger will no doubt throw a hissy fit if i try to do anything quickly.

Anyway...this week has been full of sewing new skirts and blouses to wear on my cruise and staying warm until I leave. It's been very cold down here and my back is giving me a hard time. Plus I am almost out of internet hours for the moment and cant buy more til after the cruise so will be incommunicado for a couple of weeks.

Also, I taught a friend how to do paper pieced hexagons on monday. She's going backpacking in London in July and wanted a project she could to anywhere. It was quite amusing. I made her the little Origami bag I wanted to try and filled it with hexi fabric and papers, pins, paper clips, cottons and a few spare needles as well as needle threaders and she got so excited.

Anyway, back to my sewing. Will post pictures of clothing and cruising in a couple of weeks.

Pictionary

In 10 days I'll be going here (New Caledonia)..

on one of these...

where I'll be doing some of this..

and this..

some of this and...

and this. I might bring..

one of these.

Amazing what you can fit in a 500g postage bag

Now that uni is over *jumping up and down* I was able to go through my baskets and unearth some things to send to QLD for the flood affected. I have 2 baskets, 1 on of WIPS and 1 of finished projects.

So I pulled out the finished basket and sorted out what was to be sold (bags mostly and table runners) and what is to be given away. Normally I work on throws, scarves, beanies, gloves and socks for my local Vinnies group but when I heard there was and appeal for scarves and beanies in QLD I figured I could send a little further.

I removed the blankets from the pile and then squished as much as I could into the post bag. Thats what I ended up with.

Also yesterday I made myself a new outfit. A black flippy skirt and a purple scoop neck tank to take on my cruise. Havent taken a picture yet but I will when I'm all dressed pretty.

Am determined also to finish that darn doormat I started. The rain is making my nice clean floor all wet when people come in. sad :(