Dame such-a-lot

Such a lot has happened since I last blogged! I want to keep up with my blogging so that I am keeping track of my work. Hmm...

So what happened?

I lay in bed for 4 days with the flu, sat out in the Autumn sunshine when I could, ate oranges etc. I got the flu before the flu shots were out... so I guess there's not much point getting one now! (At least for a few weeks until I am quite over this one). I have mixed feelings about flu shots, but I really need to talk to my Dr. I had pneumonia 13 months ago and need to be very careful. Well, that's one of my excuses for not blogging..

What's another one? Oh yeah! I couldn't find my camera.. well, my DH's camera just doesn't quite cut it, it's a different brand, and I always find the colour quality so different to real life.

I have been working on another funky monkey!

Here he is!!! What a cutie! This one reminds me of a little cartoon stuck to my fridge. It is one scene picturing the traditional pirates with a wooden leg, or a hook, or an eye patch and one is saying "Arhh, here comes Mr Perfect" because a pirate with all his appendages and eyes is approaching. At the moment, this is Pirate Magoo because he is missing an arm and his eyes!!!

Here's something else I have been working on... yay!! The medallion quilt from Jo's Little Women club is finished! (Well, the top is finished). I just love it!! I challenged myself not to use green (which I usually LOVE) and I only have one in it (one is not too bad is it????).. the original quilt was green and red, so I wanted to do something cool and soft rather than warm, but still use the vintage look of Jo Morton fabrics.

I have also been working on the Quilt-Aid blocks. I am at the half-way mark in terms of time, and have 3 weeks left to completely finish my quilt and write the instructions. ACK!! You know what I will be showing you next!!!

I will post pictures of the Quilt-Aid blocks very soon!

Funky Monkey gains sight

This poor monkey had no eyes since December 6th 2008. (Yes, I just looked it up on my blog to see how long he has been waiting just for eyes.) I started making funky monkey on November 21st 2008. Maybe I could attach a label to his bottom like a Cabbage Patch. LOL!!

This is one of the things I love about my blog - it is my quilting diary. I can't tell you how many times (pre-blogging) I thought back and tried to work out when I started a quilt and when I finished it (for it's label, you know...). My bugs in bottles quilt still doesn't have a label. Hmm... note to self, post a photo of that.

I love Sharyn's idea of making a quilt journal to document all of this (my book covers would do well for those). I have a couple of ideas books that I have scribbled in over the years. Perhaps I will take some photos of pages and the finished quilt sometime to show you. (OK, that thought is also filed away - not in my brain, but on my blog, VBG.) I should make more book covers for them.

Did you get a spare calendar over the New Year period? Perhaps one from the dry cleaners or something like that? I guess businesses are cutting down on such things, but you could still pick up a calendar for a good price now that the year has already started. Keep it next to your sewing machine and write in some of the ideas Sharyn suggests here.

It is such a clever idea. Although I write in this blog, I don't post every time I change a sewing machine needle. LOL!!

I have a new panel. The design was inspired by an object book from the 1940s. I am going to make a soft book from it, but the pictures would also make good blocks in a quilt.

The flash didn't go off in the bottom photo, but I can't be too picky, I haven't had time to post for days!!

I am really enjoying the warm weather - BBQs outside in the cool of the evening after a hot day.... we have been eating lots of salads, unusual combinations that we rustle up so we don't get tired of lettuce and tomato. Another warm day today, 30 degrees C (it's been 2 days in a row at 39, so it is some respite, but still certainly not gardening weather).

Three things to finish...

I've got three things to finish this weekend. I've been slack with the finishing and too fluid with the starting right?

Thanks to this blog I have finished 28 items this year so far!! I am going to keep that list showing for a little while next year, then move on to 2009.

Okay, here is the monkey I have nearly finished. The felt eyes are pinned on, they just need to be sewn on.

Here is the peg bag. The binding is sewn on (I bet you recognise the binding from the monkey's shorts - clever you!), it needs the coat hanger in, fabric cover for the metal hook, and a bow with buttons to hide the opening where the hook comes out.

This bag needs to be finished by Tuesday. I did frog it all and re-sewed it. When the gusset bent it needed more space within the fabric envelope. Basically, I left one end open until I had sewn the lage suffolks onto both sides. It just needs the handle, and I want to glue some braid along the joins of the gusset and suffolks.

Then, it's Christmas presents full on! Some to start, and some to finish! I will show what I can, when I can. One can't really know who is reading their blog posts!!!

Monkey Magic!

Do you remember that TV show? "Monkey Magic?". It was funny, badly dubbed and lots of play-acting with the Monkey floating along on a cloud quite a lot.

I don't remember that much of it (I was only about 6 or 7 at the time it was in telly), but perhaps it is closer to the Hindu stories than I ever knew.

Anyway, this monkey is working really well. It's really not that difficult (maybe I got lucky, it went together okay). The monkey has no tail! He is wearing shorts, so that's okay.

Even though mine has no arms yet, he feels like a great size to pick up and carry around. I am thinking of making one for a friend's 3 year old daughter. I am going to her Hi-5 birthday party in December. Hmm... We'll see how we go for time.

My DH says, you don't have time to make all the Christmas presents you plan to, but he's happy for me to make her the monkey!! LOL!!

frogs, monkeys, what next?

I don't really like the way my Cookie bag is turning out. I might have to add some braid along the seams where the gusset joins... or... (and I dont really want to do this), I might have to frog it all (frog as in frog-stitch as in rippit rippit).

I am up to a tricky part on the monkey - I hope the back and front pieces I have made will match up!! The monkey is definitely more difficult to make than Mrs Perkins.

I've got so many things going on at work and business that I am not sewing as much as I would like at the moment. I am working and planning for the future, now.

Arms, legs and horns

I've sewn, turned and stuffed the tiny, tiny horns on Mrs Perkins. Would you believe they had to be stuffed with a wooden skewer!! Turning the raw edges under drove me a bit crazy!!

She now has ears, a mane and a tail. I just need some felt for the eyes.

Meanwhile, here is a little monkey. How do you like the arms so far? I am going to finish stuffing the arms and legs in the car today - (we are off to the Victoria Market - maybe we'll buy some nice fresh fish, cheap meat and very fresh fruit and veg).

And here is another job I will be doing in the car: finishing my Christmas Cookie bag. Here are the fabrics I chose. Don't they look good Mum?? *wink*

And that's not all I've had on the go. I finished a redwork stitchery, to turn into a peg bag. I need to buy some ric-rac before I can finish it.

I need to get onto some Christmas gifts, but I won't be talking about them until AFTER Christmas! LOL!! Mind your business!!