Happy New Year and En Provence Clue 6

After my daughter and her boyfriend and our beautiful grandsons have driven away this morning, heading home, until next time I spend New Years Eve sewing away with Bonnie Hunters Mystery Quilt part 6..... I feel so proud of myself for keeping up with each clue.... I can't wait for the final layout. It is very intriguing.
I did use this tutorial for a bit of help with these quarter square triangles. I am a visual person. There are a lot of tutorials out there. This one actually showed it in the same colour layout as Bonnies. It was easier for me to follow.
http://thecraftyquilter.com/2012/02/quarter-square-triangle-tutorial/

Celebrating NEW YEARS EVE. 

Sewing away on En Provence clue 6 and a healthy snack!!!!!!

All sewn and ready for pressing open and spinning seams

All ready for trimming

I am a sliver trimmer 

All trimmed and finished well ahead of time....

All nicely stored away for the next clue.

Make sure you go over to look here if you want to know what is happening. Over 100 people link up each week to show what they are making. Thousands are sewing along with the mystery....
http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/en-provence-mystery-part-6.html

Here is the link up party for clue 6 & 7 

http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/mystery-monday-link-up-part-6-7.html

En Provence slivers of scraps.   FEED THE BIRDS......

I have been collecting my slivers of scraps and putting them into a bird feeder. I got the idea from Val. Have a look at what Val does.....
http://myplvl.blogspot.com.au/2016/08/extra-thread-is-for-birds-part-2.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE I KNOW AND WHO EVER READS MY BLOG. I CAN ONLY WISH EVERYONE A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE TIME AND WISH 2017 CAN ONLY BE A BETTER YEAR THAN THIS ONE.

HAPPY SEWING EVERYONE....

A gift for the inlaws....

When my inlaws stayed with us they liked the microwave bowls that I used. So off I went and made them 2 for their Xmas present. I posted them off before Xmas so I hope they get them soon.
This is the tutorial I used.
http://tamarackshack.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/microwaveable-fabric-bowl-tutorial.html
I have quite a few of them and just love them.
I have put 60/40 wadding in them but this time I used all cotton wadding. The fabric is all cotton too.
These are only used for warming food for a very short time in the microwave. I would not recommend heating them for a long time. 2-3 minutes is plenty. If your food needs longer do the first few minutes without the holder and then put the bowl in the holder for the last minute or two.

They can also be used for ice cream too so your hands don't get cold. That's for the people who don't eat at the table..

Microwave bowls.

What have I been up to. Hunters star revival

Well, a while ago I was part of  http://paperpiecersswapclub.blogspot.com.au
I was getting 12.5" blocks. Or so I thought.
My request was for Hunters Star. 12.5" blocks. Green star with white background..... No brights.
Well this is what I got.....
I know that it is a risk when you join a swap, I accept that. It is always a challenge to work out how to put the blocks to good use. Putting them together and having a finished product.
Some were even sewn in reverse. This happens with paper piecing. So I unpicked and reversed 3 blocks.

Fixing the reverse blocks.

As you can see they weren't that accurate. Some measured 11.5"

This one was way out...

One was bright, One had a green background.

Green background and brights.. oh well

Look at the different sizes...

Mmm,.some size variance 

What was I to do with them. I still wanted to use them. They were still good and made with love.
So I cut them all back to 11.5"
Positioned them.

All trimmed ready for stitching together.

And sewed 2 borders on them. I extended the stars in the first border.
I have a wide border to allow for quilting and trimming.
This now measures 45"

All ready for quilting

Christmas time is about the joy of giving....

Hopefully Cassie liked her gifts for the SSS16. I really enjoyed making them. They were different to what I have made in the past.

Gift 1.
Fold away shopping bag.
C is for Cassie.

The outside of the shopping bag

Gift 2
Drink bottle cooler
With added lace and buttons

Just love the OWL button 

Extra embellishments 

Gift 2
Every sewer needs that extra push to drink water.
Just add a standard bottle of water to have by your sewing table. Take it with you wherever you go.

Gift 3
Jam jar lid covers.
Or... for buttons, coins, threads, anything you choose.

Gift 4
Hot chocolate kit and felt stocking 

Gift 5
 Dishcloths....
1. The initial C for Cassie
2. A rolling pin and flour tin
3. Waffle weave.
4. Diagonal knit.

Gift 5
 Reverse side of the dishcloth

Gift 6
A pine cone tree decoration 

Gift 7
 A cute teddy pin cushion

It's Christmas Day and present opening time....

I just don't know what to say. I am blown away with what Cassie   http://cassiescuddles.hoodfamily.org.au has made and sent me. It really has put a smile on my face and made this Christmas a very special one. I am happy.

So I sit here this Christmas morning and just have to take time out to do a special post....

It's so good that Cassie has been blogging a little bit more at the end of this year instead of once or twice a year. When I started emailing and following her it was hard to see what she got up to. That has changed and it has been a joy to follow her blog and having the odd email chat with her.

We were partnered in the SSS16 over at http://santasackswap.blogspot.com.au

We were to make 5 gifts and a Santa sack, stocking or bag. I cannot express how amazed I am with what Cassie has sent me.... I hope you enjoy them too.

HERE THEY ALL ARE. OH SO MANY. I AM SPOILT....

Love the little Xmas setting puzzle, the coiled basket, Xmas balls and bells, the ginger bread man is so cute and the tape measure rosette is fun. It will be added on to my wall hanging. It's very fun..

And of course the bag is a great one I can use to put a special project in...

Wow. Look at all these I get to open.
What a great selection and where do I start.
It's 41 here today so the chocolates need to go in the fridge and be cold and ready to eat at supper time

A pencil case and some wonderful scented pencils.
I have never seen these pencils.
Strawberry and chocolate scented.
Will these help me with that hunger feeling?????

A journal and a lovely cover.
This will be going to work.
I'm sure I will have lots of notes to take.

Another great little bag. I'm yet to find a home but I'm sure it won't take long.
Maybe I can do some stitching on my lunch break.
I can put the needle case in here too. 

A great bag for my tea cup and tea bags at work.. 

A great bag with a zipper to close the top and a side pocket too.
Wonderful. Might be handy at my new job.

Love the saying on this t shirt.
I don't where you got it from but it is fantastic...
****** Cassie made a special order for my t shirt from
https://www.sunfrog.com ******** 

A lovely little needle case. I can see me making a few of theses as gifts... 

If the shirt fits WEAR IT... and it does..
Great for workshops and retreats.
I don't know how she knew my size...

A lovely selection of gifts in this years Santa Sack Swap...

I am about to start a new job so I will be able to use a few of these gifts straight away.

There is a mug bag for my tea cup and tea bags, a special journal and cover, a beautiful pencil case and gorgeous scented grey leads ( I will be taking lots of notes so they will be used )

And then there is this fun t-shirt I will be wearing to my quilt group meetings and workshops.

Of course all the other gifts will be used...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.

I HOPE YOU ARE HAVING TOO GOOD OF A TIME TO BE READING BLOGS. 

ENJOY THIS SPECIAL DAY....

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL.... clue 5 is done and dusted....

I'm tucked away sewing with my air conditioner running and watching the last QUILT CAM. I'm in heaven....
Bonnie posted clue 5 early so us down here in Oz made a quick start on the many half square triangles needed.
How easy is this... http://quiltville.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/surprise-en-provence-part-5.html
I always try to do this method when I have a lot to do.
http://chezstitches.blogspot.com.au/2014/05/the-magic-8-revisited.html This is an easy tutorial to follow.
I did make the odd one or two blocks from smaller scraps for a little bit of extra colours but they were all done in no time. All done before Xmas day. Now to wait for the next clue.

The easy 8 way...

All half square triangles complete

Yes I'm a sliver trimmer

So with that I must say to everyone

HAVE A VERY HAPPY AND SAFE CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR. 

ENJOY YOURSELF AND MAKE THE MOST OF THE FESTIVE SEASON WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE
http://pin.it/mzFpmiL

Tomorrow I can open this....
From Cassie at
http://cassiescuddles.hoodfamily.org.au

Cassie sent this parcel to me for the SSS16

I'm part of http://santasackswap.blogspot.com.au

More for the NICU ward at the hospital.

After talking to the person in charge of the NICU ward I came away knowing of a few things they needed to brighten up the ward and make it a happier place to be...
First up were some humidicrib covers. These help block out the ceiling lights and also decorate the crib. They wanted cheerful patterns specific for boys and girls. Not necessarily blue or pink but patterns to define the sexes. We all want out little babies to be known.
The size for these are easy to make. 26" x 33" or   66 cm x 84 cm... approx.
They are made with flannelette or both sides cotton. They can be pieced or use a panel. The best part is they DO NOT need wadding.. I used a darker backing on them so the seams didn't show up as much with the light behind it....
I bagged them.... sewed them right sides together, leaving a gap for turning, turned them right sides out and topstitched the gap closed. I added more top stitching all over to hold front and back together..

I had a small strip of this cute baby print. I cut it in half  and added strips of the plain blue.
I think it looks very cute.

I had some left over teddy bear fabric in green. This went on the back

One for the boys. I have just added a plain blue drill fabric for the backing.
It is a bit heavier but looks great.

This one needed to be made bigger so I cut the backing bigger and bagged it.
The extra fabric wrapped to the front making a border with mitred corners. 

Another cute panel.
 I stitched all around the animal shapes to hold it together.

A cute panel with a bright pink backing

If anyone would like to help out and wants to post some to me to pass on to the hospital drop me an email. I would love to have some others help me. I had these panels here so I knew I could whip these up quickly. Now I can spend some time doing a few pieced blocks and have some fun with different patterns.
Just a reminder... They measure 26" x 33".. they are made of cotton or flannelette fabric.. NO WADDING/BATTING is required. A darker fabric for backing is preferred but not essential.

I am building up a list of items to make for the hospital and have started a new page so they are all in one place. There will be some photos which will link back to the post with the requirements...

PREM BABY makes
Thanks for caring...

Knitting Premie Beanies

PREMIE BABY BEANIES……. 8 PLY

I had trouble finding beanies the sizes the hospital needed. Some premie patterns actually fitted up to 3 month olds. I tried a few patterns then decided on the following. I wrote my own. 

The hospital actually wanted them longer than most patterns I found. It made them more flexible to fit the tiny, elongated heads.

If you want to help out and join me in using up some scraps to donate to the hospital please keep the colours gender specific. Doesn't have to be pink or blue but boy or girl. Think back to when we had our little bundle of joy. We wanted everyone to know if we had a boy or girl and all wrapped up in grey makes it a bit harder. Put a pink or blue stripe in it… They also prefer them started in rib instead of garter st. The band is longer so it can be folded up if a smaller beanie is required.

I made these beanies in 3 sizes. Small, Medium & Large…

Now we know yarn thicknesses vary and plys aren't always the same… keeping this in mind I used both thick and thin 8 ply. 

Thin 8 ply I used size 3.75 needles (9) and made all 3 sizes.

Thick 8 ply I used 4mm (8) needles and only made the small and medium size.

SMALL.. Cast on 34 sts 

 Rib… K1, P1. to end… WORK 10 rows

 Work 16 rows st st.

 SHAPE CROWN

1. (K2, K2 tog) to end….. 26 sts

2. Purl

3. (K1, K2 tog) to end….. 18 sts

4. Purl

5. K2 you to end….. 9 sts.

6. Purl

 Cut yarn & thread through sts on needle. Pull tight, fasten off and sew up seam.

MEDIUM..Cast on 42 sts
Rib… K1, P1. to end… WORK 12 rows

Work 24 rows st st.

 SHAPE CROWN

1. (K3, K2 tog) to end…. 34 sts

2. Purl

3. (K2, K2 tog) to end….. 26 sts

4. Purl

5. (K1, K2 tog) to end….. 18 sts

6. Purl

7. K2 you to end….. 9 sts.

8. Purl

 Cut yarn & thread through sts on needle. Pull tight, fasten off and sew up seam.

LARGE..Cast on 50 sts 

 Rib… K1, P1. to end… WORK 14 rows

 Work 34 rows st st.

 SHAPE CROWN

1. (K4, K2 tog) to end…. 42 sts

2. Purl

3. (K3, K2 tog) to end…. 34 sts

4. Purl

5. (K2, K2 tog) to end….. 26 sts

6. Purl

7. (K1, K2 tog) to end….. 18 sts

8. Purl

9. K2 you to end….. 9 sts.

10. Purl

 Cut yarn & thread through sts on needle. Pull tight, fasten off and sew up seam.

Once you have made a couple please feel free to add some patterns in. Garter st stripes, st st stripes, Lacey patterns, hole patterns even cables if you choose. Have fun.

As you can see they are tiny. The small size fits over a small wine glass.

Tiny premie beanies

I am adding this to a new page called PREM BABY makes to have all my little makes listed in one place.
PREM BABY makes page
If anyone wants to help out please email me for more information. 

Sunraysia Patchwork Friends Xmas breakup..

About 30 of us got together for a lovely meal at the Irymple hotel. 2 courses, 3 meats roast dinner followed by plum pudding with brandy custard. Beautiful.

Doesn't it look like Xmas 

This year the decision was made for everyone to make a shoe bag.. we all like to go away and need that special little bag to keep our shoes safe...
This was what I made..

The shoe bag I made went to Shirley

Gift wrapped so lovely

This is what I received.. All wrapped up in a beautiful gift box.

My lovely shoe bag made by Donna

A lovely shoe hand appliqued on to a pretty background. I'm very happy with my win made by the very talented Donna.

Look forward to getting back to the group for our first day back in January. It's an all day sewing day too.  Yippee....