Charm Square Baby Quilt

A second charm pack project in a month!

A cute little baby quilt this time, made from this charm pack:

I used the entire pack of 42 squares, sewed them into 7 rows of 6. The result was still a bit tiny, so I added a couple of borders to make it into a decent size.

Such a quick project - so satisfying!

As you can see, I've even got it layered and basted.

Ready for quilting!

Spa Tote

I finished up this tote last week.

The fabric is from Moda's Spa collection :

I used a charm pack for this, but only needed 21 charms. So  I still have 21 more charms left over from the pack - enough for one more tote!

The inside of this bag is lined with unbleached cotton, and I used some medium weight interfacing instead of batting, so put together it's quite sturdy without being too stiff/bulky. For the handles, I opted for some cotton canvas webbing which I bought from Kelly here.

Here it is posing with the bag I'd been using for my work things:

I've been using my new tote for a few days and I have to say I'm really, really happy with it.

You'll also be pleased to note that it's received Yummy Hubby's nod of approval ;-)

Missing AGAIN

Just finished tidying up the sewing room. And you know what I find? Or DON'T find I should say.

My pin cushion has gone missing. AGAIN.

I just don't understand it. How can a little cushion stuck full of pins just go missing?

I'm starting to wonder if one of the Meows ate it? Maybe this one - she was skulking around with a guilty look earlier:

Or maybe this is Milo's payback to me for saying he looks like an alien...

And here's a photo of my pin cushion:

Only it's not the pin cushion that's lost. I couldn't take a photo of that one, obviously because it's missing. Grrrr.

Change Flower

Yummy Hubby has been growing these flowers and I just had to share them with you. We first thought that the tree had 2 types of flowers : white and pink. Then one day he gave me one to bring to work with me, and oh my goodness me, was I in for a surprise!

Anyway, I brought another to work the very next day, and documented the changes...

Here it is at 10am:

At 11am (please excuse the panadols in the frame - it was a big migraine day!) :

 At 12 pm :

At 1pm :

At 2.30pm :

 At 4 pm:

And overnight:

Watching the changes was like watching a miracle unfold before my eyes. I couldn't help pausing in my work every now and then just to admire it, and to revel in the grace of God. I hope we never move so fast that we miss out on little miracles like this.

Ok, ok, enough of the sentimentality. Have a great week all, hope you enjoyed the photos!

Hexagon Applique Mini Tote

I'm happy to report that my sewing mojo appears to be making a comeback.

The hexagon applique that was sleeping at the back of the shelf has now been embellished with machine embroidery...

And made into a cute little tote...

It's a really mini tote. Sort of like a large toiletry pouch. With handles.

This little one is being gifted to Zu from the office. She'd been asking for a little bag with handles, so I thought this would be perfect. 

Hope she likes it!

Umm, thought I'd also post a photo of Milo stuffing his face...

Sometimes I think he looks just like a little alien. But a very, very cute one. Ehehehe. 

XOX

Plans

I feel like I'm on the verge of falling off the edge of blogland. It's been a challenge keeping up to date lately. I know I've hinted at this before, but oh my goodness, my day job is really making me work for my money these days! I'm trying to keep upbeat about things - I mean, at some point it's GOT to let up right? Right???

As you may guess, I haven't had the chance to do much sewing (let alone blogging), but I do now have 26 blocks (whoopeee!) of my Scrappy Trip Around the World.

I think I'm going for 36 blocks, so I've got 10 more to go, hu hu! For the moment though, I'm packing my blocks up and putting it on the temporary back burner. I'm in need of something a little more stimulating now, and let's face it, making those blocks over and over again was getting a wee bit routine. And having bits of fabric all over the place was becoming too much clutter for an already cluttered mind. This is just part of it:

But before we leave the STAW, I'll just show you what I think is my favourite block so far:

I never knew that salmon and aqua could go so well together :-)

Anyway, moving ahead, today I've peeped into my secret stash of charm packs - nothing like a charm pack to get one sewing again...

and selected 2 packs...

I'm planning on a tiny baby quilt with one pack (let's just pretend we don't know anything about any UFOs at the back of the cupboard, ok?), and a new tote for myself with the other. I've been lugging this lime green bag to work for the past month or so ...

 ... and have just about had enough of the sarcastic comments from Yummy Hubby about it. So, just to shut him up, I'm going to whip up a pretty new tote for me pronto :-)

And while I was pulling out my charm packs, this old hexagon applique fell out into my lap:

Goodness knows how long it's been sitting in there! I think it's about time it be made into something more useful.

Looks like I'll be having my hands full ... I promise to make an extra effort to check in again soon.

Until then, happy sewing!

Wonder Toy

I've been really lazy lately about posting (I know, my bad) so I thought I'd better drop in a say a quick hello - Hello!!!

Today I'm going to introduce you to my new wonder toy. Actually, it's not so new.  I got it in the beginning of January, so I've had it for a couple of months now already. Anyway, here it is, tadah!

It's the Brother QC1000. And it's amazing!

I've had my eye on it for a couple of years now. And I've been trying to get everyone to buy it for me: Yummy Hubby, Mum, Dad, even dropping hints to my friends, colleagues and boss (no harm trying, you never know when you can catch someone on a generous day right? hahaha). Of course everyone either ignored me or fell just short of telling me to sod off, so two months ago I went out to my LQS and bought it myself. And you know what? I absolutely love it.

It's such a far cry from my old Singer: there're so many functions and buttons and feet etc etc, it took me a while to figure things out. There's been a lot of trial and error. And a lot of broken needles. There was  even one night when I started bawling and sobbing like a child (not kidding here) because I thought I'd broken the entire thing. Which of course I hadn't, eheheee.

I've still got my trusty old Singer. It's been cleaned out and is currently getting a well earned rest (retirement??) in its cabinet. Yummy Hubby thinks I should give it away to someone, but I'm feeling a bit selfish (or sentimental?) about it, for now at least. Perhaps if he asked me again in a few months...

In the meantime, I'm enjoying every minute with my wonder toy :-)

Have a happy week ahead!