New Redwork design

Hi everyone, I thought I'd give you a little sneak peek of my new project for 'Country Threads' magazine.
This is one of the cute little birdy characters, I wonder what he is up to..... :)
Don't know how that chocolate got there :)

Happy Stitching,
Sandi x

Mini Christmas Puddings

I'd like to share with you a gorgeous recipe sent to me by the lovely Maureen from CrazyQstitcher. I made these scrummy little puds over the weekend. They would be great to take along to a Christmas celebration.

You could make some of these now, and pop them in the freezer, as you know how hectic christmas time can be.

Ingredients

1 x 800g bought dark fruit cake

1 x 375g dark chocolate

small amount of alcohol (I used 1/4 cup Bundaberg rum)

small bar of white chocolate

Crumble the fruitcake, heat enough alcohol to moisten and flavour same. Melt dark chocolate and stir into cake. Both alcohol and chocolate need to be hot so the chocolate does not set.

Roll into balls and decorate with melted white choc and tizz up with green and red for holly. (I used some christmas sprinkles - holly leaves and berries).


If you put your index finger to thumb, this is the size of the ball.

Green/red cherries cut into little bits are good for holly leaves, ...or lolly snakes, jubes not rolled in extra sugar are okay too.
Puddings are very rich and will freeze.

Enjoy!

Sandi xx

 

Tawny Frogmouth and her baby

Nesting in our big tipuana tree between the house and railway carriage studio, we have a mother tawny frogmouth and her baby.... aww....isn't it cute. They are a night bird, similar to an owl. Mr tawny roosts nearby, and you can often hear them calling to each other during the day. They make a humming sound mmm...mmm....mmm.
The tawnies had a nest in the same spot last year, and had two babies (this year only one). Baby tawny stares down at you with it's big orange eyes as you walk past. :)
Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

Picnic quilt progress

This is the picnic quilt that I wrote about, two posts ago. It is called 'Flowers for Thee' by the Chook Shed Pattern company. It is coming along. And it is a great portable project. I will re-arrange the blocks around when it is time to piece it together.
Happy Stitching,
Sandi x

A Sweet Treat for Dot

Hey, someone has to eat the leftovers  :)  scroll down.......

It was my MIL's birthday last week, so I thought I'd make her a basket, and fill it with some home baking.
I whipped up this cute little fabric basket following Pink Penguin's tutorial - very easy - I will make some more of these.

Then filled the basket with some little iced gingerbread men and stars.

Dot loved it!

Happy Days!
Sandi x

Sweet Friends, Bits and Bobs.

I had a lovely visit last week,  from one of my bloggy friends, Sandrine. She gave me a beautiful handmade soap that has the most wonderful blackberry fragrance...mmm yummy. (thankyou very much, Sandrine)

I went to the Brisbane Craft & Quilt fair recently, with some of the gals from the quiltgroup. I didn't buy much really, but I had a great day out looking at everything.

One of the fabrics I bought. It is Japanese and printed on both sides. There is the cherries/braid/strawberries on one side, then the blue check/polkadots on the other.

Hubby gave me an Angus & Robertson bookstore voucher he had been given, lucky me. Whilst looking in the bookstore, I found this lovely book, Material Obsession two, full of inspirational quilts.

I have started working on another quilt - 'Flowers for Thee' by the Chook Shed pattern company.  I found this (old) pattern in a magazine, at my quiltgroup's library. It has a lot of tartan fabrics in it. I will be able to use up a stash of tartan pieces that I have had for a very long time. The quilt is made up of a four-patch and an appliqued block that has a simple basket and heart on it. I think it will make a nice picnic quilt.
Happy Stitching,
Sandi x

Strawberry Pincushion Tutorial

Would you like to make a strawberry pincushion? I will show you step by step, how to make these little cuties.

It is very easy. (This pattern will make two pincushions).

You will need:

::  8 inch square of red fabric

::  scrap of green felt

::  strong thread, sewing needle, scissors

::  stuffing

::  hot glue gun

Click here for the free pattern sheet for the strawberry leaf top.

Let's get started!

Draw a 7 1/2 inch circle on a piece of paper. Mark the diameter. Cut out the paper circle.

Pin to your fabric, and cut out the circle of fabric.

Cut fabric circle in half. This will make two pincushions. (one for you, one for a friend).

Take one of these pieces and fold in half. Right sides together. Pin. Draw a line in pencil along the straight edge, curving it just before the fold (see photo) - because you don't want to have a 'pointy' strawberry :)

Stitch along the line. Stitch second strawberry.

Next, turn the fabric right side out. (it will look like a cone). With doubled strong thread, sew a gathering stitch about a quarter of an inch from the top.

Stuff the strawberry firmly. Pull in gathering thread and tie in a knot. The strawberry leaves will cover the top of the strawberry, hiding the gathering and the small area of stuffing in the centre.

Cut out the strawberry top paper patterns (A) and (B).

Pin to the felt and cut out around the pattern. Or trace around the pattern with a white dressmaker's pencil. Then cut out. Cut out another set of leaves for the second strawberry.

Using the instructions on the pattern sheet, hot glue the strip of three leaves (A), and roll up to form the stem with three leaves attached. (be careful of your fingers with the hot glue - ouchy!) Open out the leaves, and glue the to the three flat leaves (B).

Glue these two together to form the strawberry top

Hot glue underneath the strawberry top and attach to the strawberry. After glueing the top on, I like to put a small dot of glue under each leaf to hold it down.

Voila! She is done!

I hope you will enjoy making this fun project. These cute little pincushions would make an ideal gift for a sewing friend.

Happy Stitching,

Sandi xx

We Have a Winner

It is time to draw a winner for my 'Berry Nice' giveaway. Thankyou to everyone who entered, I enjoyed visiting all those blogs :)
Drum roll please:
The winner is Gudrun (from Iceland).
Congratulations!

Cheerio,
Sandi xx

Pumpkins and Whirlygigs

Do you like my pumpkin? I made some of these for friends quite a while ago now. (but didn't get around to making one for myself). I had the fabric already cut out in the eight segments, plus the stalk, and then it was put away (and forgotten about). Well, I found the pattern and fabric recently, and finally made it. Don't know whether I'll use it as an ornament or a large pincushion. :)

These whirlygig blocks are adapted from a pattern I saw in a recent magazine. Their blocks were a zig-zag design, but just by using the block in a different way, I could make whirlygigs. The bonus with this block is that there are no templates, easy peasy!
Happy Stitching!
Sandi xx

A Berry Nice Giveaway

As part of the Blogtoberfest celebrations, I thought I would join in the festivities with a little giveaway. This is what one lucky person will win. A strawberry pincushion (made by me), two fat quarters of fabric, and three handmade strawberry buttons;  sweet.....

Just leave a comment below, and you can go into the draw. You must have a blog to enter. It will be drawn on 20th October. I am happy to post overseas.

Good luck everyone!
Cheers,

Sandi x

Beach Day

Friends of ours were camping at Double Island, (north of Noosa), on the beach. So we packed a picnic lunch and joined them for the day. Great view from the campsite.

Catching the car ferry across the river, on the way there.

I got to fly my new kite. I saw a kite stall at a market a little while ago, and bought a bright rainbow coloured one. Hubby asked who I was buying it for, and I said 'me' - I had always wanted my own kite.
I had fun flying it :)

The campsite, tucked in under the trees.
We had a lovely day there, relaxing with our friends.
Whilst there, we saw several pods of humpback whales travelling north.
Hope you had a great weekend too.
Cheers,
Sandi x

Yesterday's Dust Storm

Erkk!  This is what it looked like here yesterday in our little part of the world, just after lunch. A huge dust storm covered a big part of eastern Australia.

This is a before photo, taken about a month ago.
Blue sunny skies today. Still a bit windy, but nothing like yesterday. Thank goodness that this phenomenon doesn't happen very often.
Cheerio for now,
Sandi x

A Finish!

The little cotton spool quilt is finished now, and is hanging up on the wall. I am really pleased with the way it has turned out.

I think it looks great in it's new home.
Happy Stitching,
Sandi xx

In My Mailbox

Look what arrived today in my mailbox - a mystery gift from CurlyPops.

She had a competition to guess what she was sewing - and I guessed right!

A gorgeous hand made red brooch - and it's my favourite colour too! :)))

Thanks so much, Cam, I love it!

Cheerio,

Sandi x

Appli-Bond Needles

I thought I'd show you these applique needles I've been using, you have probably seen them before.

These Petal Play appli-bond needles are great for applique (using the iron-on fusing method). They just power through the layers with ease. The needles have a three-sided point on them and are very sharp and strong. I bought mine from Patchwork Angel.

Happy Sewing,

Sandi x

Early Visitor

Er.....excuse me, have you got any sunflower seeds?

Ta...!

Mr King (parrot) (not a very original name, I know) usually visits at this time of year. He will fly around the house looking in the windows for me. This morning, just before 7am, he was waiting patiently (for his seeds) on a chair on the back verandah.

Do you feed birds too?

Sandi x

'Sit and Stitch'

One of the projects I am working on at the moment. It has these words around the border - 'On days when I can sit and stitch, my life runs smooth without a hitch'.

The project is a mat to put a sewing machine on, but I thought it would look nice as a wall hanging, in my studio. I have been wanting to sew this one for quite a while now (have had the pattern for many years). It is designed by Janelle Wind. I love these spool blocks.

I have put a different sewing machine design in the middle. I still have to do all the blanket stitch around the applique pieces. And finish the writing.

Janelle's pattern in the magazine.

Something nice to have with coffee, are these very rich chocolate brownies, I baked. Some of the ingredients are, dark chocolate, macadamia nuts and rum. PLUS, it has chocolate ganache (chocolate & cream) on top.... mmm..... almost a chocolate overload. :)

Lastly, a garden photo.

Our fragrant wisteria is looking lovely at the moment, the pavers below are covered in a carpet of purple confetti.

Cheerio for now,

Sandi x

Sort of Recycling

We are big on recycling in the embroideroo household. Does this count?

It is a blue plastic lid and ring from a cream container. I cut the ring open so it doesn't get stuck on Mr Bowerbird's head.

Cheers,

Sandi x

It's Out!

Whoo-hoo! ......look......it's arrived!

My first project to be published in Country Threads magazine is out now. I was sooo excited to receive my copy in the mailbox!! The project I designed is a pattern book cover, featuring those cheeky bowerbirds.

Inspired by the bowerbirds who visit my garden.

I love to look in the bower and see what blue treasures he has collected.

Happy Stitching,

Sandi x

Never Too Much Fabric

Yesterday, I went with my quilt group on a bus trip to Hervey Bay and Howard. It was a fun day with a lovely bunch of ladies. The first shop we visited was called Dewdrop Inn Patchwork & Craft. This vast store has a huge variety of fabrics and notions.

Linda (from Dewdrop Inn) showed us some new products and a demo. (And provided the group with a welcome morning tea).

After shopping for our fabric fix at the Dewdrop Inn, we had a picnic lunch in a nearby park beside the Bay.

Next stop, a little country town called Howard. Here the owners have two stores, a Drapery, and a patchwork fabric store, which is in an old bakery building across the road.

Lots of fabrics and bargains to be had there. Also a beautiful afternoon tea - Devonshire scones and tea/coffee. Yumm!

A few of the fabrics I bought.

I haven't any projects in mind for these fabrics yet....just adding to my collection, as you do!

Happy Stitching,

Sandi x

Garden Blooms

Come with me for a walk around my garden.

This yellow chinese lantern (Abutilon) has loads of beautiful flowers on it at the moment. It is a favourite flower for honeyeater birds too.

One of the port wine magnolias. This one has a beautiful perfume, and releases it's scent in the afternoon.......lovely. Can you see the bee in the flower?

Here is a rhondaleisha, and it is covered in clusters of perfumed pink flowers.

Pretty pink jasmine buds.

Walking round the garden, there are wafts of flowery fragrance......and bees buzzing .

The weather has warmed up considerably, almost like summer, these last few days. Just waiting for some welcome rain now.

Cheerio,

Sandi xx

Playing with Blocks

Today I am having a play with a couple of blocks I made from tutorials. The first one is 'whirlygiggles'. I made a template from the instructions given by greeting arts. (thanks Annie)This is just some scrap fabric. I was thinking of sewing this in reds and white.

The other block is called 'spools'. I saw this one on Karen's blog, (Mon. June 22, 2009). Her tutorial is great. Don't know what colours I'll use for this one.

Happy sewing,

Sandi xx

One of these things is not like the other one....

Lets play a game of - One of these things is not like the other one........did you pick it? Mmm....

That's right! It's the funny-looking black bird with the red head and the yellow ...whatever you call that dangly bit. Handsome devil isn't he? He is a Brush Turkey!

Looking, looking, for what's falling from above.......

Mmm....sunflower seeds. This seed tray is above where the turkey is. These noisy rainbow lorikeets visit every day.

Been working on some new stitchery designs. So not a whole lot of stitching going on. (yet)

Cheerio for now,

Sandi xx

Flower Arranging.....? and a spot of tea

I have these blue-faced pansies in a pot on the back steps, aren't they pretty?

Mr Bowerbird thought so too!

So what does a bowerbird do these days to entice the ladies to visit his bower? Flowers and a lovely cup of tea.

Cheerio for now,

Sandi xx

I See Blue

A male satin bowerbird (above) (picture from Birds of Lamington National park)

Can you see the blue 'treasures' ? A satin bowerbird has built a bower in our garden.

He has been very busy collecting!