Chook Shed Challenge #1 July.

 My Chookshed challenge is complete.

I had a DOH! moment when I cut the front panel upside down!

I was able to pop in some off cuts from the base and handle fabric.

Phew!

You can't see it in these images but like many of the others I quilted the side and back panels so that it has a bit of body and sits up nicely.

Very happy with my Scrub Stitchin' bag.

Thank you Chooky for including it in our packs.

Now I'm off to add a Loulee label to it.

Poof! Another week gone.

 So in no particular order...

Today I helped my soon to be Daughter in Law Lee to complete her first ever patchwork project.

You know she was having a go at EPP and had selected some of my fabrics to have a play. She even had a go at fussy cutting, then with the briefest of how tos.... Off she went and glue basted and sewed.

Then after an even briefer how to, she got on and hand quilted her completed top!

Today I guided her through having a tidy up around the edges, cutting and hemming two pieces for the cushion cover back, her first time using a sewing machine ever, then we used my overlocker to sew the back pieces to the front.

She is rightfully incredibly proud of her achievement. So Many firsts.

I think my son Joe is quiet proud of her too.

I caught him admiring her work and giving it a squeeze.

So what's next?

She thinks she might like to have a go a wool applique!

GULP!

I've never tried, so we borrowed a book from our club library while we were there yesterday and asked around about where to get some not too expensive wool packs near home, so that Lee can feel the fabrics she will be working with. Even newbies like to fondle fabrics. LOL

I've suggested that her first wool project could be a hussif.

That led to a lot of googling, she had never heard of a hussif before or even a housewife.

But if she is going to continue with needle crafts she will need one, my spare pin cushion and an old choccy tin is fine for now, but as she grows so must her tool kit.

So, on Thursday we are both off work and we'll be taking a bit of a road trip up to Annie's Country craft store. I've blogged about Annie's before. Lee says she has looked as she has driven passed, and wondered what is inside. In a few days she will find out. 

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Well that was Lee's week, what about mine?

Yesterday at club I sat on one of the couches rather than at a table and pushed on with my Spots and Stripes EPP. I've decided that it is big enough and it is time to begin filling in the spaces around the edges.

Not a great shot, but you can just see the dark pink with red spots filling in along the left side of this image. I'll do better next time I promise.

Also reaching a milestone is the A blocks for my Windswept paper foundation pieced quilt.

They are all made.

Tomorrow before work I'll be making some B blocks.

Yippie!

Progress is also being made on my latest scrappy crochet project. My pile of granny squares is slowly growing.

I was also able to get in a few hours on my Christmas Cross stitch ornament this week too.

It's not finished but hopefully by the end of the month.....

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Two weeks ago when we celebrated Miss Charmaine's 8th Birthday I gifted her a Frozen activity box. It had a great where's Olaf? book and a 200 piece jigsaw puzzle. She was very daunted by such a large puzzle but with some guidance and encouragement and also a little help she was able to get all of the sides sorted and completed and she even had about half of the inner pieces done before it was time to go home. I promised to look after the puzzle until she could visit again. I kept it safe and somehow managed to not put any more pieces in. Today Charmaine ran to it as soon as she arrived, but as I was busy preparing lunch then helping her mum, her attention did not last long and she wandered off to play with the building blocks.

After lunch we sat together and with some more encouragement she got on with the job of completing her puzzle.

Just look at that face.

Another very proud young lady.

It wasn't an easy puzzle to complete and I think she did incredibly well. 

After completing that big puzzle with all those small pieces she made easy work of her 35 piece mermaid puzzle. LOL

I might have to find some more puzzles for her.

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And that was my week.

I wonder if Chooky is still on zoom?

She was there this morning, I was glue basting some batik scraps given to me by my pal at club yesterday.

A Beautiful Box of Goodies.

 You know I like to keep an eye on the local trading pages on Facebook. I often see great deals and giveaways but miss out because I see them too late.
The other day I got lucky. The lady was giving away a box full of 'Crafting Bits'. When I asked what she said some calico, some hessian and some trims.

Yes please said I.

Look at the lovely box, it's so full the lid won't close.

Under the lid.

There were some pretty broderie trims.

More trims and bias tape.

Look at these pretty roses.

Sadly it's only a small piece.

Next out was two big pieces of calico and another mystery fabric.

A good size piece of polyester batting.

And also some iron on pellon.

Some stabiliser for backing stitchery and embroidery pieces.

And finally in the bottom of the box about 2 meters of hessian!

I hadn't realised there was quite that much. I have a plan for a small amount of it.

More about that when/if we use it for the wedding table dressings.

And just look at the box.

Isn't it beautiful?

Not just on the outside, the inside is pretty too.

The lady told me she had a few Trelise Cooper boxes, they like to use pretty boxes when they mail out your purchases.

All the goodies have been put away and the beautiful box has become a project box.

It's right at home with all of my other lovely boxes.

Yes, I have done some sewing and some crochet, I'll tell you about that another day.

I also have some great recipes to share.

Remember that squirrel?

It's now a completed top. 

It looks much prettier in real life.

We are having dark winter days here and getting good photos is not easy.

So anyway about this quilt top.

It was a 20 piece layer cake that I found in spotlight, the outer green border was on the shelf right next to it. The red border came from my stash.

No cutting or fancy blocks required, I just put the squares together after a quick shuffle on the design floor, consulted with my pals Chooky and Janice on the borders and Voila!

This pretty will be going to an ex colleague who will be having her first baby very soon.

So I need to find backing fabric and get it on to the frame. 

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In other news I have made a start on my Scrub Stitchin' bag. Yesterday before going in to work an extra shift I completed all of the applique and stitching on the front. Hopefully today I can make more progress.

I'm also progressing nicely on my latest scrappy crochet project.

And that is all of my news.  

Now I'm off to find a new recipe.

Something sweet. For me. 

New Recipe....

 It's a carnivore recipe but very tasty.

Last night we were invited to a friends place for a pot luck tea.  Our friend knows that Tony is on his carnivore diet and was happy for us to bring along something for him to eat but also let everyone else have a taste.
We opted for the Carnivore Bacon Cheeseburger Pie.
This is not my photo, we forgot to get images and the small amount that came home with us may taste good but it no longer looks pretty. LOL
So I took an image from the website where I found the recipe. 

This was a very tasty dish and something that we would both do again. Our hostess and the other guests all had a taste and I saw people going back for a little more. By omitting the sprinkle of chopped chives or parsley this one is a strict Carnivore meal.

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Charmaine's birthday lunch today.

Roast chicken, boiled potatoes and veg with yummy gravy, followed by Chocolate Birthday Cake (I cheated and bought one) and ice cream.

Grandad gets dry chicken. LOL