small time filler projects

I found this luscious piece of deep red velvet looking plush and immediately decided it would make perfect strawberries.  I used this pattern and tutorial from Embroideroo.  They turned out a little larger than I wanted and a second look at the tutorial states "pincushion".  Should have been a clue to silly me!  I'll shrink the pattern next time, but they were very nice slack time sewing.  I am currently working a project for the  OWOH  give-away-athon and have one week left to finish but needed a little "time out" project.
Tutorial can be found here.

Yummy fruit hey!  The apples are from a Tilda craft book called Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle.

Hand sewn beads are lovely and wonderful to do while watching TV but knocking the bead container over and spilling thousands of seed beads all over the carpet is not wonderful!  I spent ages picking up all those beads instead of just vacuuming them.  After all they were only a couple of bucks to buy.  I learnt a piece of paper is great for sweeping beads onto and then using as a funnel to pour them back into their container.

I got a little carried away making lots of red apples!  This fruit basket was a freebie from some wine selling merchant that knocked on my door.  He did talk me into buying some wine and threw in a free bottle of strawberry wine for me to try.  It was so delicious I ordered two cases more of the stuff.  Chilled it is the most awesome refreshing summer wine and best of all it has a very low alcohol content so visitors can have a glass and still drive home.

Another project to take me away from my OWOH project are these pouches.  I have made the same size as the tutorial and they are palm size pouches which make good  gift bags for little gifts like brooches, hair accessories, jewelery etc.  Tutorial was found on a wonderful blog called Maccabags and is quite a well made tutorial with good pictures.

I better get back to my OWOH project.  I am at that stage of changing my mind on some fabrics I have chosen to compliment the main fabric.  This is the time consuming part for me.  Choosing is so hard! lol

Thanks for reading!

Japanese Dilly Bag: with link to make your own

I have been in love with Japanese crafting for quite awhile now and I found a 'you beaut' tutorial on the net for a Japanese Dilly Bag.  It was easy and could be made to any size you need. 

Only takes two pieces of fabric 40x40cm.  A bit of Japanese origami folding is needed but the tutorial has clear pictures of each step.  It is written in Japanese, but the pics are really easy to follow.

A close up of the flower.  A Japanese fabric folding flower!  These flowers are great at using up scraps of fabric.

A side view.  If you want to have a go at this bag, the tutorial can be found here.  It's quick and pretty as well.  UPDATE:  link no longer works.  New link here.

It's my birthday today and guess what I got?

Jess (my daughter) gave me Wii fit for my birthday and it calculated my weight as overweight (no surprise) and my fitness age at 57!!!!  Yes 57!!!!  Bloody insulted on my birthday!!!.  But it doesn't stop there!  lol  Oh no the birthday gift keeps on giving!  The blasted machine goes on to say I am unbalanced!  My daughter and I had a load of laughs!

My dearest hubby gave me a Dyson dc29 for my birthday.  I connected the parts together, pressed start and got zapped with a big bolt of electricity!
I thought 'wow' my birthday gifts are really giving me a good time! lol

My other half explained the electricity as a static charge that most likely built up because of the oily film coating new appliances and wont persist.  I hope so because I really love these gifts!  One will get me fitter and the other will clean my carpets better.

Year 2011 is the year of a fitter me!

Lavender Sachets etc

A quick post today.

Sometimes I really feel the need to take a break from a project and make something else.  Usually a small, quick to finish project for instant gratification.   My  4 swap projects have turned out to be rather time consuming projects that I have never attempted before.  Being first time projects means, of course, I am learning a lot of new techniques. 

I really would like to show them to you but have to wait for the last two to be finished.  Nearly there.   I am still waiting for one swap partner to notify me that she has received her package.  Hopefully soon!

In the meantime there are these:

Lavender sachets filled with my very own lavender picked fresh off the bush early spring.  Drying time took longer than normal because we finally, after years of drought, got some rain!  Yay!  Our Murray River is starting to fill up again.

A couple more that still need to be finished!  Surprisingly I am not finding any suitable fabrics to compliment them in my scrap basket!  Something will turn up I am sure.

Free pattern and instructions can be found at Bustle and Sew.

Or you can buy this book.  The same pattern is in there.

I also made a little experiment.  Hopefully it works the way I want it too.  Its a little sachet to throw in the clothes dryer with your washing.  It is filled with scented bath crystals.  Hopefully they don't dissolve too quickly and ruin my washing.  SO I will be putting my hubbies clothes in first to try it out! lol

Casserole Cozy

I havn't blogged on my sewing blog for a while and here's a picture to show you why.  I have actually been sewing!  WooHoo!!

I am sorry to be a traitor to that saying that women are talented multi taskers but I can't quite operate a sewing machine with one hand and type on the computer with the other!  lol.  With the limited spare time I have lately I have chosen to sew.

Red spotty casserole cozy made using the tutorial from Dixie Doodles.  A very easy tutorial to follow. 

Here is a shot of the casserole cozy flat.  Just in case someone wants to see it flat! lol

A little look at the applique.  Technique used is "freestyle".  It's an excellent applique technique for slackers like me!! :)

I have also been making some lavender sachets.  I won't show them until they are 100% finished.  They are just waiting for the lavender I nicked from my brothers garden to dry so they can be filled and then closed.   They are extremely pretty and I can't wait to show them!

I made a doll!

Introducing my first ever completed doll.

I am pretty happy with my first effort at doll making.  Flaws and all.  I will keep those a secret but I will say there are a few.  She wouldn't have been made at all if I didn't have a bloggy friend talk me into a doll swap!  I mentioned a wish to learn to make a doll and now I have.

I learnt so much making this doll, from staining the body to making hair.  I used this pattern and tutorial from Lillie Mae's Crafts found here.  I didn't follow her instructions on hair making but used this tutorial instead.

Lastly, her collar is something I whipped up from a pattern I drew.  I was trying to make a sailor's collar.  If I make a dress with sailors collar again I will be enlarging the pattern I made.

Oops!  Just realized I didn't take a photo of the back view and she has gone off to live with her new family!