Scrap Busting Again

It rained heavily last night. I point this out because it hasn't been raining much at all in my part of the world. So you can imagine what a welcome respite it was. *grateful*

I crept away to my sewing room, listening to the rain lashing against our windows... and pulled out a scrap bin :-)

So it became Saturday night, with just me and my scraps...

A happy mess!

... err, with a little furry animal keeping me company (not really, coz he fell asleep).

There was no plan at all - I just started piecing random scraps together.

A block ...

A strip ...

Becoming even bigger blocks!

This might just become my next scrap project :-)

Have a great week ahead all!

Quilting Love ....

... is literally what I did while making this quilt.

See what I mean?

I had just the one fussy cut square of the word 'love', and I hid it in the middle of this patchwork quilt.

This one was made especially for a little girl born on 5 March, and I finished it just in time too! (And I just have to say what a cutie Baby Alia is!)

My inspiration came from this Stargazer print from Patty Young's Lush fabric line - pink and teal... mmmmmmm... I had a yard of it hiding in my shelves. Did I say it's mmmmmmmmm?

I was told that the new mummy really likes this little quilt. *happy*

It's Friday tomorrow, hip hip hurray! Have a great one all.

Previous Finishes

I've started a couple of new projects, and was about to share my progress here when I realised that I haven't posted some earlier finishes. So I thought I had better be a bit more organised and list them here first.

First up is a string table runner.

I didn't think much of it while I was making it - my focus then was just to use up some of the longer strips in my scrap bin. But I changed my mind pronto as soon as it was finished.

Now I really like it. Hip hip hooray for scrappy projects :-)

Then there's the blue coin quilt:

Baby sized, and is the blue version of a similar pink coin quilt I made a few months earlier.

I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again - coin quilts are the easiest! I highly recommend them if you're a beginner quilter or if you just need a quick finish.

I'm hoping this little quilt will find a new home soon.

Enjoy Sunday all, and have a great week ahead!

Hope, Faith & Love

It has been a harrowing weekend for us in Malaysia, when one of our commercial jets suddenly dropped of the radar. At time of posting, the aircraft and all on board have yet to be located.

Lost planes are, sadly, a given event, but when it hits this close to home it forces on an entirely different perspective.

There are no words to describe the shock and anxiety that we are experiencing, and I cannot even begin to imagine the emotions of those with loved ones on board.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the souls on MH370 and their families.

A Blanket Called Misery

So what did I do during my convalesence?   

Well, I was sitting on the sofa for most of the time -  it was really all I could do. I couldn't catch up on any sleep because even laying down was tricky. Using the sewing machine was out of the question, as was walking around the sewing room pulling and slicing fabric. And don't even think of quilting or basting! So there I was on the sofa, getting more and more bored and more and more depressed, when inspiration came in the form of you tube. You see, I Iearned how to crochet via you tube! Isn't technology amazing? 

So somehow I managed to procure a couple of balls of yarn (one a cinderella blue and one lime green) and a crochet hook, and I chose a granny square tutorial. Eventually I got the hang of chains and double crochets and my granny square just grew and grew. Before I knew it, it was big enough to cover Milo, haha! He liked to nap next to me on the sofa, so every once in a while I would drape my square over him to guage my progress. Now I wish I had taken a photo ... 

But anyway, I soon used up the 2 balls of yarn and sent Yummy Hubby out for more. 

(I also told him to get a tapestry needle, but he came back with another crochet hook) 

And so my granny square grew .... 

And it's still growing .... 

I've left it alone for a while now, but I'm not done with it yet! I'm going to keep going until I run out of yarn, and see how big it gets. 

Yummy Hubby is impressed with the square (which is really a little blanket by now - measures about 3 feet square). He says it should be given a name, like 'Slipped Disc' to remind me of the time when I made it. Of course I told him that 'Slipped Disc' was  a lousy name for a blanket. So then he suggested 'Misery'. Morbid, I know, but you know what? I like it :-) 

This little blanket just proves that good things can come from not so good things. *grateful*.

Enjoy the rest of the week all!

Back, and My Back

Hello! Is anyone still here? 

I've been away for a while, and courtesy dictates I should explain. 

I've had to take an involuntary break from sewing these last few weeks. You see, I had been having backaches and a horrible pain down my leg for a long time. In the past year the pain (which I've since learnt is sciatica) had been getting progressively worse. I finally went to get it checked in early January. An MRI showed a herniated lumbar disc, aka a slipped disc. In doctor speak it's S1, L4-L5. 

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_disc_herniation

I have no idea how I got it, I have no recollection of any particular incident (or accident!) that may have caused it, but that's not really surprising as the medics say the herniation looks many years old. I must have left treatment to the very last, because as soon as I was diagnosed the pain came fast and furious. I was reduced to a wheelchair. Painkillers did little. Physiotherapy did nothing. The level of agony was such that I was prescribed immediate surgery (twice!). But it turns out that I'm a real chicken when it comes to these things because I found myself wheeling myself as far away from the OT as fast I could.  

By luck, a friend suggested something called acupotomy, which is a scary version of acupuncture. At the time the thought of being stabbed by a hundred needles seemed infinitely more attractive than having my back sliced open and my insides fiddled with, and anyway I was pretty desperate by this point, so I willingly submitted myself to a string of intensive acupotomy sessions. I had never hear of acupotomy before, and it's really something to be experienced to be believed, so I'm not even going to bother trying to describe it here. Thankfully, it seems to have worked, and I've since graduated to one (painless) acupuncture session per week. 

Happily I'm now up and about, although I still have residue sciatic pain in my leg and haven't quite resumed my previous levels of activity.  But I have to say that I'm so, SO grateful to have recuperated this far. There were days when I couldn't walk more than a few steps and inevitably some low moments followed where I wondered if life would ever be the same again. I'm sorry if all this sounds a bit dramatic, but pain does things to your mind, do you know? 

Anyway to cut a long story short, I've now re-entered the sewing room, and am slowly, carefully, trying to pick up where I left off. 

You will not believe how I'm SO looking forward to playing with fabric again, creating more fabric things and sharing them with you in this forum. Taking this break has also reminded me not to take things for granted and to always, ALWAYS count my blessings. Every single day.

To my Yummy Hubby, I can't thank you enough just for being there. To everyone who takes the time to visit this blog, please know how much I appreciate you. I wish you all health, faith and happiness  and as always, happy sewing!