FNWF - Friday Night with Friends

So glad I remembered this month. I still love to visit the blogs but it is always better if there is a FNWF for them to return the visit.
I have a pile of irregular little rectangles. There were hundreds but I have used some up over the couple of years I have had them. They are fabric samples so each one is different.

I squared them up as best I could. The ones for the HST I made as big as possible. I am following the Scrappy Challenge at Patchwork Times. Each month she posts a new block with a tutorial. You have to finish a project with the block to link up. I figure if I stick to tea mats I will get it finished. I have quite a few sewing things on my plate.
I love the way the dark and light show up as stripes. The seams are not perfect but I have never been a process person. I just like the general affect. I wasn't going to cut all those little rectangles into perfect 1 1/2 inch squares.

I will do some quilting and try to get it finished for tomorrow. Today is a blog browsing day for me. I will take a break from sewing today.

Thanks to Cheryll for hosting FNWF. There are lots of people signed up. A great list of blogs to browse through while I have my breakfast cuppa.

I am also linking up with Anything Goes Monday at Stitch by Stitch.

Happy Quilting and Crafting,
Val
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FNWF February 2014

I had forgotten that I needed space in my schedule for linkies I joined in with last year. I have to keep joining in with FNWF. I can't believe how big it is now.

With the excuse of company Friday night I decided to make a cake. Turns out is was just me and hubby here to eat it and I nearly forgot to get a picture of the finished cake. I salvaged a couple of neat slices for a picture this morning.

Marbled Chocolate and Orange Loaf

I have posted the recipe and some making photos on my Books I am Reading blog since the recipe comes from one of my favourite recipe books.

I decided I would work on my next scrappy star for FNWF. It was dark by the time I got into the sewing room yesterday and it was a bit hard choosing colours. I hoped they would still look all right in the morning.
I had to delve into my smalls box since it called for 3" squares and my scraps are too scrappy to make into neat squares. It also needed quite a lot of the one fabric for the background. I only managed to cut all the pieces last night and had to get up this morning to at least have something respectable for a FNWF post.

I have started the In the Garden BOM and had a pile of scraps that needed a bit of sorting so I can work on that some more today. This is my rental house sewing room.

Much more organised now.

I sewed all the HST for the scrappy star.

This is what it will be like. Seems to be a couple of holes to fill there.

I have mentioned on a few posts that I have moved house. We sold up our acreage in Brisbane and have moved to the beach further north. The beach is a couple of minutes walk away. This was yesterday morning. I don't mean to rub it in but it has been such a long time coming and we are thrilled to be here.

Today I am linking up with FNWF (Friday Night with Friends)
I am cooking breakfast as I write this - pancakes to have with yoghurt and blueberries. I will make myself a coffee after breakfast and post the cake recipe before posting this. Then I will spend some time checking out what the rest of you have been up to.

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Happy Quilting and Crafting,
Val

FNWF - A bit of knitting

I just needed a little push to get Belinda Jane finished so I signed up for Friday Night With Friends over at Cheryll's Cubby Hole. There is a long list of bloggers to browse through.

I fell in love with this dolly the minute I saw her online. She is a PDF pattern from Dollytime on Etsy.

Here she is in her knickers lounging on my knew summer shirt fabrics.

She has a pretty shell top.

And the most amazing skirt and cute cardigan.

Funnily enough it was the cardigan that attracted me first. It reminded me of the hand knitted cardigans my mum made for me when I was in primary school.

This is my first and last mention of the North Pole September roundup. If I hadn't promised myself that I would finish it this year it would be rolled up and put away. I hope everyone is doing better than me.

Happy Quilting and Crafting
Val

FNWF

I have been working away on my Debbie Mumm sampler trying to get it finished. Not too much to go now but those pesky little Ohio stars are becoming tedious. Only two more to go. They are the last pieces and go in the top border. I have to finish them before I can sew the border on.

You can download this design from http://www.debbiemumm.com/Projects/QuiltBlocks/2012/

I didn't work on this one Friday night but I have been getting some done on my Go Wild Garden quilt. This is from Country Cottage Quilting by Lynette Anderson. I have 8 background blocks done. There is quite a bit of applique on them.

I get the newsletter from Fort Worth Fabric Studio and they had a mid week sale a few weeks ago. I was on the verge of buying the Short and Stout range at full price then it popped up on sale. Whoo Whoo! 7 yards and a panel for $76. That is a bit more than $10 /metre including the postage. I love it.

Thanks to Cheryll at Gone Stitchn' you can visit lots of friends who all joined in with Friday Night With Friends. It is great to see what everyone is doing.

Happy Quilting,
Val

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FNWF and a busy week

On Friday my neighbour rang me just before lunch and said "Are you busy this afternoon?".
I expected she needed someone to mind the kids while she fitted something in. She has 4 young children so I try to help out in tight spots. I was quite excited when she asked me to make a red riding hood cape for her daughter who was off to Guide camp after school. It took me an hour and a half.
From this:

To this:

My official Friday night sewing was some cross stitch. It is a round Christmas decoration with three lovely bells. I am doing it on 16 count aida. I am linking up with FNWF over at Gone Stitchin with Cheryll. There are lots signed up. I will be visiting as many as possible this weekend.

I have been busy making all sorts of things. I found a pattern for knitted slipper socks out of thick wool. I have already worn them and washed them. They are very snug over normal thin socks. If you sign up to Ravelry for free there are lots of free patterns to knit and crochet. The slipper socks are here http://www.ravelry.com/designers/yuko-nakamura

I also tried out a new crochet stitch called lover's knot and made a little scarf to wear with my slippers.

I should have posted my Country Cottage Quilting SAL on Thursday. I had the Hollyhock needle book finished. Here it is.

Because the cover turned out a bit crooked I tried again with a new stitchery but the same book cover design. I love the new free stitcheries from Red Brolly.

I changed the insides quite a bit. I used some applique elements from Some Kind of Wonderful and a purse clasp magnet for the scissors.

Several times I have linked up with Applique Thursday at A Quilting Reader's Garden. Last week Angie offered a book as a give away for those who linked up. I am thrilled to say I won a book on making patchwork landscapes. Thanks Angie.
I suggest you have a look at her blog A Quilting Reader's Garden. She has a hexie Friday too.

I have been trying to avoid knitting dish cloths. You all know why :D
They are extremely addictive.
I have collected some patterns in Pinterest and I bought the Sugar and Cream cotton yarn online at Yarn Over. Yarn Over is based in Brisbane. I worked out that buying about 8 balls from them is a similar price as 8 balls from the US.
I knitted a big one and tried using it but it is just too bulky so I have made several 5 inch ones. I think I will have to have a new one for each day because they take so long to dry. I don't fancy using a cloth that has sat damp for a day. I also found that the dark wine colour ran. I will stick to light colours now.

I cut up some Audra's Iris Garden and Avalon to make 2 1/2 inch squares for Nanna's Farm.

I bought a lovely new book about Amish gardening. It is a lovely look at the life of several families in the garden through the year. I love it. The photos are beautiful.

It is starting to get very wintery here lately. I am thinking I will have to try some baking. Nice puddingy things. Perhaps I will make some things to take to the quilting group. At least that way I don't feel obligated to eat them all.


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Happy Quilting,
Val

FNWF The Fox

I started sewing up the fox on Friday night but had to finish him off on Saturday. I like sewing during the day better.
He was a little bit fiddly but after struggling to sew on the snout with a straight needle I decided the curved needle would make it easier to attach the ears and legs. The instructions say sew on the tail with the button and that's it. I ended up sewing the button on the tail then attaching the tail with the curved needle.
He is quite dashing I think.

The neighbour's cat just had to see what was happening during the photo shoot.

If you are not ready for Google+ you can comment from my Facebook or Flickr.

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Happy Quilting,
Val

FNWF - Sand Pipers wall hanging.

Just a bit behind on FNWF

These oyster catchers are so cute wandering along the shore. I fell in love with the pattern when I saw it online at the Centre Diamond store and I determined that I would buy the kit and make it as a gift for my mum.
This shop is in Cannon Beach, Oregon a lovely seaside tourist town on the west coast of North America.

When I got it out and started to put it together I also started remembering our trip over the mountains to the beach. It had snowed on the mountains the night before and was raining now. We were there in early March 2012 so the weather was pretty cold.

On the way over the mountains from Portland we stopped at an old logging camp turned into a restaurant called Camp 18. Not very inviting at first but inside it was lovely and cosy.
They make the biggest tea buns you have seen and they go great with hot chocolate.

It was all made of timber and had lots of great carvings.

They even had resident kitties.

The weather was a bit better as we came down to the coast and the scenery was quite spectacular.

I finished up the applique stitching and then the quilting on Friday and did the eyes on Saturday morning. I now just have to do the binding and a hanging sleeve but I need to buy some more fabric for that.

I had a lovely time on Friday Night with Friends. I am sure if you were actually here you would have had to put up with looking at lots more photos :)

Be sure to visit Cheryll to see the list of everyone who joined in.

Happy Quilting,
Val

Friday Night with Friends

I love looking at what everyone is making. A good way to see what lots of like minded bloggers are up to is to 'link up'.
Today I have linked up to FNWF over at Cheryll's Gone Stitchin' cubby hole.

Everyone has signed up here.

Be sure to look at what others are doing.

I have to admit that I am not a night time sewer so I worked during the day yesterday on some cross stitch and the table runner and early this morning I sewed up the needle case.
Here is what I have to show.

7,8,9,10 on the 12 Days of Christmas table runner.

A double sided scissor fob.

Nearly finished a pin cushion top.

Sewed up the needle keep.

These three items are gifts for the quilting group next Christmas. I have decided I will make lots of little cross stitch pieces and make them into fobs, pin cushions, needle keeps or pin keeps.

Happy Quilting,
Val