Give away at Fee's Shabby Shack

Fee's Shabby Shack now has a blog to complement the online store. She is having a huge give away to celebrate. Why not head over to the blog and sign up for her newsletter. Also check out her shop. She offers free postage for Australian customers and low postage for international customers.

She sells lovely patterns for stitcheries and patchwork and a variety of notions.

Definitely worth a look -

The Shabby Shack blog

Fee's Shabby Shack store

I have only one photo of sewing to show. Just as well I had the Shabby Shack to write about.

Happy Quilting,
Val

Buttons or earrings???

I can't decide if I will make buttons or earrings from my projects. Maybe both. I love the feel of the fused glass. It is so much fun to make quilty looking jewellery and I can't wait to try some little dishes.

Maybe some brooches when I get a little neater with my piecing.

Linking up with SewDarnCrafty linky party week 124

Happy Quilting,

Val

 

Posted with Blogsy

Glass Applique

This is what I am calling my new venture.
DH was looking for something to do and jewellery making has always interested him. He decided to buy a kiln so he could make fused glass jewellery and it is a perfect companion to my sewing. I was excited because I could see that glass was a great medium for making quilt block designs.
Yesterday we fired up the kiln and made a couple of sample items. One was my first quilt block.

The nine patch is my first glass quilt block and the blue and white one has gone in today. It won't be ready til tomorrow.

The kiln is only small so projects will consist of brooches, pendants, ear rings, buttons and small dishes.

It is quite exciting to make things with the glass. This is how it looked while it was firing.

We have to experiment a bit but I hope to make some more complicated designs soon.

Happy Quilting,
Val

Cute fleece fabric

Went into Brisbane for a lovely lunch with my mum and my two daughters. I took the opportunity to visit Lincraft for their half price sale. I decided I wanted some polar fleece to back my Debbie Mumm sampler and I found a cute owl pattern. While looking I found a beautiful coral fleece (much softer than polar fleece) with a Christmas pattern. They were both $6.99 a metre and I bought 3m of each. I think I will use the Christmas one to back my Welcome to the North Pole quilt.

I also couldn't resist a nice tea box from The Tea Centre.

On Saturday I am going to Aldi bright and early to buy a down jacket for $49.99. It has duck down in it. I saw a duck down jacket reduced to $200 at Kathmandu and the goose down jacket was $500. I guess the Aldi jacket is quite a bargain. I have wanted a down jacket for a while because they are warm, light and squash into a small space. It will be perfect for holidays involving plain trips. Mum and I have started saving up for the Australian Sewing Guild trip to Sydney next July. It will be great for that.
I finished a knitted dog for DD1. Sadly I forgot to take a picture of the finished article. I have now started a cat for DD2. She tried to knit her own but got thoroughly confused so I have borrowed her book Best in Show - knit your own cat, to help her out.

I completed my first crochet square from my new book. I made it first with a 5.50 hook but it was just too loose and open. I pulled it undone and did it again with a size 4.00 hook and it looks just right.

Happy Quilting,
Val

Putting some blocks together

I managed to finish the June owl. I then put on the wadding and did some simple quilting. I put the blocks together. I so want to finish the July owl so I can get this top section completed.

I quilted and added another row to my scrappy sampler. I hope to work on the last row a bit today as well.

Happy Quilting,
Val

QAG Quilt Exhibition

Mum, my daughter and I had a lovely time looking at all the historical quilts. There were some unusual ones like the one made out of scrap fabric one lady's sister brought home from her job at the shirt and pyjama factory. It was all stripes like men's pyjamas. There were some amazing examples of hand quilting that looked impossibly neat and intricate and a set of four poster curtains all done in clam shells. The most interesting one was done by female convicts expected to maintain industrious feminine arts while on the ship to Van Dieman's Land but my favourite item was a set with tiny scissors and a matching tiny sheath. They should definitely have had replica scissors for sale in the shop. I love tiny things.

After much perusing of the items on offer for sale I bought a crochet book with lots of pretty square patterns and motifs.

For lunch we had the Patchwork Platter consisting of a delicious hot potato and mushroom tart, finger sandwiches and  two sweets. It came with a glass of sparkling white wine. We got the entry and the platter for $30. I highly recommend this activity as a pleasant morning out if you can get into Brisbane.

I have turned off comments so I just have a diary to share. 

I am not incommunicardo since I am still on Google+ and Facebook and Flikr just reeling blogger in a bit.

I am happy for anyone to plus 1 my posts or share them.

Happy Quilting,

Val

Another Tea Cosy

When I can't think of what to make, a tea cosy or a tote bag are such wonderful props for a bit of fun sewing.
I like to collect greeting cards on my trips around. I display them in my glass top coffee table and cabinets that I walk past all the time. I have quite a few and every time I swap them around I find another favourite.
This one I got at the gift shop in St Martin's in the Field in London 2010.

I enlarged it a bit and made myself a tea cosy.

I love breakfast out in the sun and the path outside my winter parlour is a perfect spot.

Stumpy thought it wasn't quite warm enough for him yet so he stuck to his sunny chair on the inside.

I was pleased to get some mail. A lovely book on making landscapes that I won on A Quilting Reader's Garden blog. Thanks Angie.

I wasn't celebrating 4th July but it just happened that mum and I had a wonderful high tea at Tea and Niceties on Tamborine Mountain on Thursday. We joined the lovely ladies on the Brisbane Australian Sewing Guild tour. Mum and I knew a lot of the regular tourists from the Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide tours. The tea was $45 each but a real treat. Those little scones are to die for!
I took this picture with my phone and found it linked automatically with my Google+ albums. It was ready for me to just upload to this blog post. So easy.

If you like cute applique (and who dosen't?) check out Fat Cat Patterns. I have started collecting the doggy faces. I may not get time to make them yet but I just love them.

Val Spiers on Facebook

Val Spiers on Flickr

Happy Quilting,
Val