Who can resist a fabric sale????

Not me often.

Faeries in My Garden have had an annual sale on Australia Day and the following week or so for a few years now.
This year some fabrics were $7 pm or $5 if you took whatever was on the bolt, plus a lot of other discounts.

I mainly went for a backing for a quilt where I needed 5.4 metres - what I found had a bit over 6 metres so it was cheaper to buy the whole lot....(that's the accountant in me talking...I think).
But, as the balis were also on special at the same price I picked up a few more - just one metre of those.  And I do have a specific project for all but one of them.....truly!!!

All those fabrics were out the front...so I ventured into the shop area and collected a few Cottage Garden Threads to add to the collection  (guilty - it IS a collection - I have only used a few of them...but they are so pretty...)

I also picked up a scrap bag - $2 - they are fabulous value - there are a lot of large pieces..some are almost fat quarter size...and the bag I chose even had 2 pre printed embroideries in it.  Most of them are shown in the photo below.  There are quite a few that will work with my Mrs Beasleys Sampler quilt and as I don't have a lot of that soft pretty stuff, it will be good to add to the variety for that quilt.  And there was a pack of small bits of various landscape fabrics... and a green bit that just might be big enough for a tree in my North Pole quilt.

And a "bundle" for $6 - 7 pieces - most of them are about 20 - 30 cm of fabric - that is the blue lot in the photo.  They will be great for some charity quilts that are planned this year.

I came home with 2 fairly full and quite heavy bags - fabric does weigh a bit! but all for a great price.
So, if you need some backings...or balis for something special and you live anywhere close enough...go and pay Faeries a visit.  The sale continues for a while yet...oh - the sale is for online shopping too . . . .check the link above.

OK I'm off to find somewhere to put it now . . . that could be tricky!!!!

FNSI - January 2014

FNSI - a great excuse to sew (well - really do we need an excuse???)

I had already cut these poppy blocks after seeing some on Marilyn's blog. So I assembled them - I left the black stitching on the circles for a daytime sewing session.  They are for Aussie Hero Quilts.  I couldn't commit to a whole quilt, but a few blocks will always help.

This is a really quick block and no fussy matchy bits - a great group pattern and I think it would look great using all sorts of floral fabrics and the same coloured centre.

Then I put my "Bob the Builder" hard hat on and constructed a building for my Welcome to the North Pole quilt.  I was really sorry I couldn't do this last year when there was a group going, but I am having fun with it now.
This is the Coffee Shop (originally the Marble House - but patterns are just a guide - aren't they??) - I figure Santa & Mrs Claus need a few good cuppas to get them through that busy season... I know I do....I am thinking they are going to need something more than a coffee...maybe a pub???

There will be a lot of embellishments added - especially a roof!

Thanks for everyone's company and thanks to Wendy or hosting and providing recipes.

OPAM 2014

Peg & Kris are running OPAM again for 2014.

I you want to join in go & visit Peg or Kris - read the rules and then join in.

Thanks Girls - we need all the encouragement we can get!!!

Christmas / New Year break

Usually I take a break from work over the Christmas / New Year period.  We are forced to take about 5 - 7 days each year and I usually take an extra week.  I ended up with 3 weeks off work.
Last year, in particular, I used a lot of that time to prepare sewing projects for the coming year.  I planned to do the same for last Christmas.  And I must have done that - I didn't do a lot of other things, just sewing "stuff"....but it's hard to see what I actually achieved.  Last year I ended up with at least 8 little projects ready to sew during the year (for the Stitch-a-Long blog).

Whatever I did this year is not as visible....oh well thats how it is.

So - what did I get done??

• I traced  the vliesofix for all but one block of "Welcome to the North Pole". 
• I pieced and traced the stitchery for block 1 of Mrs Beasleys sampler (and although I am very keen to get my hands on the next issue which has been delayed MANY months, at least I still have a chance of finishing block 1 before Block 2 is available)
• I sorted through all my drawers of fabrics, so they are all neat and tidy (for now) and each "colour" fits in the drawer....LOL....BUT I need more drawers....
• I just about finished all the machine stitching for the "My Town" blocks that I plan to finish this year
• I re-made some angels for a friend who has misplaced her collection
• I made a list of what I want to work on this year
• I started my McKenna Ryan group blog and got a few recruits
• I made two small wall hangings for some young girls I know who have each bought a unit

There were at least 7 other things I wanted to do....as usual my plans far exceed the time available.

Not to worry there is almost a full year ahead... plenty of time to finish all those projects.......NOT!!!

FNWF Results

Last night I joined in with 63 other people and we had our first cyber hug for 2014.

Even though I have all that company I still enjoy watching Better Hones & Gardens, so I usually hand stitch on Friday nights.  This week I worked on:

No special treats last night - we had been out for a quick Middle Eastern meal, so I settled for a coffee.

Hope you all had a great night sewing and can do more over the weekend....and now only one week until FNSI....

Thanks to Cheryll for hosting us!  Pop over if you want to be able to visit a lot of other "workers". 

FNWF

Its on again - delayed for a week - but I'll be joining a big group of other people sewing on Friday night.

I've been able to spend a fair bit of my holidays (since 20th December sewing & organising, so its nearly time to do a round up of all that.

If you want to join in you can go the Cheryl's and sign up.