Sewing & Gardening Snippets

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 All the Spring feels this week, from this sweet bunch of flowers sitting in Mum's crystal vase on my bench  💛

Jane purchased these cushions from me a few years ago now & just loved them.  They were looking tatty so she removed the buttons, opened them up & removed the stuffing, then soaked & washed them.  She asked me to refill them with new wadding, some covered buttons were missing & I also replaced 5 panels which were threadbare.   Jane was delighted to have them back again & they turned out great.

My youngest son returned my hair straighteners after "borrowing them" for over a year.  He gifted me these silicone hot-mats which are made especially to sit straighteners on.  As everything kept falling down the back of my wardrobe I decided to make a simple pouch to store everything in & chose fabrics to match the silicone mats. 

I just sewed together 4 inch squares, quilted them & then made a lined bag to fit everything.  Although I wasn't going to have a closure I decided to add a button tab to stop it all spilling out. 

It is proving to be so handy to hold everything together & I am no longer crawling around on the wardrobe floor, trying to find it all. 

There has been some other sewing completed but as it is being gifted I cannot share it yet as the recipient reads this blog  😉

The Garden is waking up after the winter & there is colour everywhere.  The magnolia is in full bloom & my Azalea is looking the prettiest it has ever looked.  September is a busy time for me in the garden as there is much to do.  When it all feels overwhelming (as it frequently does) I just remind myself of how it looked this time last year when THIS disaster was all going on! 😯

This variety of Tulip that is just coming in to bloom is called Parrot Tulip.  I have a packet each, of pink & white in Mum's old concrete Urn.

Remember how I mentioned in * this post * about growing giant Sunflowers up the side of my Hothouse?   I've started some seedlings & they are doing well. I am currently moving them outside each day to harden them off before planting.  

For those that don't know, Worm Tea is a wonderful liquid plant food.

I cleaned out my Worm Farm & filled 12 bottles with fresh Worm Tea. I could easily have filled more but I ran out of bottles & need to acquire some more.  

The raised veggie bed that I planted in autumn is doing well with a variety of Brassicas.  I dug over & fed the 2nd bed & planted strawberries, beetroot, & 2 varieties of lettuce.  I'll plant more when it gets a bit warmer.  

I bought some tomato plants & put in the no-dig bed that I had ready in my Hothouse.  This year I remembered to use plastic cages as last year, they flopped everywhere.  

I purchased cucumber & chilli plants but will keep these pots in the Hothouse for another month 'til it's warmer. 

The Aloe Vera plant that I grew from a leaf from my daughter-in-law, was looking yellow & rootbound so I took it out of the pot & split it up.  I got 2 good sized plants for myself & then 6 small size ones, two I have already given away & I'll find recipients for the other 4.  

I have 3 large potted topiary Buxus that were looking orange & neglected after the winter months.  I gave them all a good prune, the smaller one got removed, its roots trimmed & then planted in fresh potting mix.  I cannot do that with the bigger ones as there is a large crack in one pot & I fear it will break completely.  I gave them each a half bottle of worm tea & a good water.  I am hoping they won't die of shock after this (!!)

Sid had book character week at his school & went as "Dog Man" from the Dog Man Series of books.  His Dad made his 3D mask & his Mum made the hat & decorated his shirt.  I thought he looked wonderful 💙

I am not sure how this happened last night & I can assure you I had not sedated the Ginger Girl Cat (!!) but they got rather close on the fireside mat.  If you look closely at Pippi's face you will see she is not entirely happy about this but Little One was hardly breathing in case she hissed at him.  I can verify that No Hissing took place (maybe I hissed just a teeny bit at The Mr) 😉

Thank you dear friends, for your ever-welcome visits here today,

Wishing you a wonderful rest-of-the-week,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Sewing for Juno & Sadie

Greetings lovely friends & readers

 Welcome to Spring - you old favorite of mine 🤎

And we have definitely been having Spring Weather here this past week - four seasons in one day - classic Spring weather.

 Last Sunday marked the two year anniversary since Mum passed away & I gathered together all her favorites ... Orchids, daffodils, lavender scented candles, & played her favorite songs all day.  I still find it hard to believe she is no longer here. 

I have finished some Christmas Gift Sewing for my Step Grand-daughters, Sadie & Juno.  I have crossed out "the C word" so you don't all yell at me that "it's far too early yet Julie, to mention that word!!"  😉

I purchased this book for Sadie & then remembered the doll set I made for my friend Jane back in * this post * in 2019..  I asked Jane if she still had the pattern & she very kindly posted it to me.  It is Goldilocks & the three bears by Two Brown Birds designs.

The doll was tricky to make, the bears were simple.  I ended up remaking the dolls legs longer as they were so short they barely peeked out from her dress.  I didn't want to shorten the dress as it needed room for the pocket.  

I'm pleased I lengthened the legs as she looks much more in proportion now.  The small & the medium bears both fit in the pocket. 

I decided Sadie needed a drawstring bag to keep the set in so I sewed this lined bag using fabrics already in my stash.  This entire set was made using fabrics I had - the only item I needed to purchase was the maroon drawstring cord for the bag.  

Sadie is now 3 - I am hoping she gets lots of pleasure playing with her set.

Juno is now nearly 6 ... I purchased this fairy from a local friend who makes dolls & sells online under the name 

Little Haboo.  I like to support small business's & I thought this wee fairy was adorable with her glittery wand.  The fairy Princess book kept to the theme.

The fairy came with her own box, beautifully decorated, & a mattress, but I made the wee quilt as I knew Juno would want to tuck her fairy in.

Here is the gorgeous box the fairy came in.

 I felt Juno needed her own drawstring bag to keep her set in as well - once again sewn using fabrics already in my stash.

If Juno doesn't like her Fairy doll then I know a rather-grown-up-65-year-old-"girl"  who would be more than happy to play with it 😉

My friend Jane had given me this cross stitch about 10 years ago now, it had been attached to some calico but was very worn.  Although I'd used it in displays, I'd never made it up in to anything.  I unpicked the calico & gently washed the cross stitch piece.

Using some coordinating Tilda Fabrics from my stash I bordered & backed the piece & then filled it with crushed walnut shells. It looks so pretty sitting in one of my displays. 

I have had much unwanted help & supervision this past week, as I work on crafty pursuits.  Miss Pip very kindly oversaw the painting of some containers during the week ... then Little One kindly sat & pressed the piece of fabric I was trying to sewing 😐. I do not know how I manage without their help sometimes (!!) 😉

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead dear friends - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other.

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

The Sewing Room Wall Quilt ♥️

Greetings lovely friends & readers

Remember at the beginning of the month where I wrote about my thrifted shelf to raise my Goldfish Plant up off the floor?

 Well for the first time ever my plant has decided to flower ... so I can only imagine it's feeling a lot more relaxed now it can't be bothered by furry paws 🐱(not the ginger one either !!)

Yesterday was Daffodil Day here in New Zealand, which is a huge fundraiser for the Cancer Society.  

My dear friend Shirley & I decided to drive over to the other side of the city & visit the Daffodil Farm.  This was our car after our visit, top left (luckily I bought a bucket of water along) ... & these were my purchases top right.  Two huge vases full for only $20.00. 

 I just adore them & they make me feel that spring is not too far away.  (I always put them out of reach of my furry family members as I realise they are toxic to them)

Then on Wednesday when I did my big monthly grocery shop I couldn't resist this pot of mini daffy's just at the entrance to the supermarket.  I've planted them in a thrifted tureen & they look wonderful on my deck table.  

My dear friend Jennifer of elefantz designs has retired from blogging after 17 years.  We all miss her immensely, but are pleased she has listened to her heart & is taking a well earned rest & devoting her energy to other areas of her life.  

She has shared so very much with us out here in blogland over nearly 2 decades  - more free patterns, tutorials, & blocks of the month than I could ever count, innumerable scriptures ... whenever I would see her post pop up on my Reading List, I would always feel like putting the kettle on, it was like sharing a cuppa with a dear friend reading Jennifer's posts.  She is deeply missed indeed.

At the start of this year Jennifer began a free block of the month called The Sewing Room - you can still access these free patterns * Here *.  

I decided I'd quite like to stitch along with this so I began my blocks &, as is usual with me, I promptly fell behind.  Recently I managed to finish all 6 blocks & decided to assemble my wall quilt.  Jennifer was using a gorgeous Tanya Whelan range of fabrics for hers but I decided to use up some of my Tilda scraps as I have so many 😉  I think herein lies my first mistake, as I just grabbed scraps from a variety of ranges & nothing really co-ordinated.  

Once I'd finished the applique & stitchery work I added the borders around my blocks.  My original plan was to mount the blocks on the damask tablecloth that I was using as a background for my stitchery blocks - one of Mum's old & very thin tablecloths.  I pinned my blocks onto the cloth to see how they looked & didn't like it at all.  Many messages went back & forth to my dearest friend Leeanne while I picked her quilty brain.  Add some colour she suggested.  Deciding not to use the damask cloth I chose a good quality low volume cotton for my strips & broke it up with 1 inch squares, then I tried a scrappy border around this.  You can see top right I've only done 2 borders while I walked past it for a day or 2 deciding whether I liked it or not (more messages to Leeanne).  Yes - I liked it (I think 😵)  

So I finished the scrappy border all around it.

The back of the quilt showing the E2E sewing themed design

Luckily, right around this time, I was able to meet up with Leeanne & took along the wall hanging top to discuss further.  I asked her whether she thought it would suit being quilted using a sewing themed E2E design & she took it home & sent me some samples.  The one I chose is called "Sewing 2" & I absolutely adore it.  Leeanne was able to reduce it in size so the pattern didn't disappear completely off the wall-hanging.  You can read her post about it 

* here * & she has much better photos than mine are.  Honestly her magic touch just brings quilts to life so much!

 

Jennifer has composed her wall quilt using the 6 stitchery blocks along with 30 other fussy cut blocks, so hers measures 32.5 x 54.5.  As I have such limited wall space in my sewing room due to one entire wall being shelved, a double wardrobe & a large window, I didn't have this kind of wall space available.  I only used the stitchery blocks & borders in my wall quilt.  Mine measured 22 x 24 inches. 

Jennifer shared patterns for 8 different models of Sewing Machines in this block & mine was the same as hers, a Janome.  💓

I am SO so happy with my wall quilt & it looks perfect hanging beside Emily, my Sewing Doll.

  It's also away from the window somewhat, as things fade a great deal in this room which gets good light & sun.  

The wire hanger was already in my stash & fit the wall quilt perfectly.  Once I'd sewn the binding on I hand sewed a scrappy hanging sleeve on.    

Thank you so very much dearest Jennifer for all that you shared with us over the many years.  I am wondering if any of You made "The Sewing Room Wall Quilt" ... please leave me a comment if you did as I imagine Jennifer's designs hanging in all our creative spaces 💗 

It's a grey cold Waikato day here today, with brief 5 minute periods of sun followed by rain & a chill wind.  Miss Pip has informed me she is not receiving any visitors today & has tucked herself into a little nest on the dining room couch.  I wish I could join her 😉

Have a lovely weekend dear friends & thank you, as always, for your welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,

Shirley's Order - & Other Completions

 Greetings lovely friends & readers

My flowers this post are two of my orchids that are currently flowering happily - my indoor moth orchid & my outdoor plant, both in full bloom. 

My dear friend Shirley has just returned from a wonderful 6 week trip to Europe with her son & family.  Before she left she asked me if I could please finish some items for her while she was away.  

First up was Miss Maggie Rabbit.  I'd made my own version of Miss Maggie in * this post * back in 2019.   Shirley had sewn her rabbit & dressed her, but needed me to knit the cape, embroider the face, stitch the felt boots & add some embellishments.  

Shirley had sewn the rabbit's whiskers but wasn't happy with how the fine Perle thread was "flopping", so Miss Maggie underwent some cosmetic surgery whereby I applied watered down PVA glue to her whiskers & let them dry really well.  This made them stand out & gave her more character.

The felt boots were all handstitched & I added stuffing to the toes to make them sit well.  The pattern was included to knit her cape & Shirley had chosen a gorgeous yarn for this.  

I finished her a couple of weeks into Shirley's trip & she was able to sit on a shelf in my sewing room where I could enjoy her until Shirley arrived home.  I added ribbons & crochet flowers to her cape & ears.  I really love this pattern & I especially loved the Liberty fabric that Shirley used for her rabbits dress. 

The second item Shirley asked me to complete was this Angel.  You may remember back in * this post * last November where I made my own Christmas Angel.  Shirley & I had been shopping together & both chose the same fabrics for our Angels.  This one had only been cut out so needed quite a bit more work than Miss Maggie Rabbit.  Shirley was delighted with both her items & can now enjoy them in her Home.  

I am still trying to work my way through my kitsets & get a few more done.  This cross stitch kitset was purchased at the Quilt Symposium last October & I thought it wouldn't be too difficult to cross-stitch the small tree sampler.  How wrong I was !!   I had such difficulty seeing the tiny linen squares & after 3 attempts & 3 unpicks I gave up, as I was damaging the Linen.  

I still really wanted to make up the tree so I decided to hand draw a simple alphabet sampler onto the linen with Frixion Pen & then embroider this. 

Once I was happy with it I cut out a triangle shape & stuffed it really well.  I cut a piece off my gnarly old Plum tree branch for the tree trunk, glued this in & then poked my tree into a vintage cotton spool.   

I have a good stash of these vintage spools & I loved that this one still had the label on top & it was red/green colours.  I was going to wind some green thread around it but decided to use some vintage music paper instead.  

I realise it's far too soon to be thinking about Christmas but it was just a case of the next easy kitset to get completed.  This has been tucked away with other decorations for now. 

Another simple kitset that I thought would not be too labour intensive was this scissor keep from Sew Sweet Violet.  This was purchased when she closed her online store & she no longer does YouTube videos (sadly) but does do the paid Patreon Channel.  This was in Liberty fabrics & came complete with the Merchant & Mills scissors. 

I planted out my sweet pea seedling pots this week so thought I'd better get on & make some more as I have other seeds I wish to grow next month.  As I've mentioned before, the cutting out takes longer than the sewing up - I made another 15 (one is missing!! I blame that littlest cat !!) 

Thank you all for your lovely comments in my last post regarding my crazy-cat-carry-on ... 

I thought I should let you know that Blackie has moved on from the clothes dryer & is now sleeping in the bottom of the craft cupboard, Little One is camped out, right outside the door, waiting for Blackie to exit  .. & Madam Pip is down in the hospital corner, but No - she's not unwell, just living the life-of-luxury catching the sun's rays.  

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend dear friends,

Thank you as always, for your welcome visits here today,

Sending much love & friendship to you all,