Bunnies!

It's link up time again over at the FMQAYGQAL, I havent made much progress in the last few weeks but I do have one to show. As soon as I saw the tree block I knew I had to stitch a bunny under it!

 Completely inspired by The Rabbit Tree quilt by our fearless QAL leader. Congrats on the feature in APQ (go have a look over at Quokka Quilts ;)

And another Bunny.... Isn't she adorable?? Made from a pair of white socks, a little bit more of a challenge than a standard Monkey.

The pattern is from LaliDolls on etsy - I just saw the elephant and cute baby doll patterns, seriously..wow.

And just one more bunny... I can see my FMQ skills are definately improving, thanks to the QAL and challenges I'm doing this year. This bunny 'hoopla' was made for a craftster swap I was in last month. The theme was silhouette, and my partner had listed 'bunnies' as a favourite. Cost me a fortune to post a 10in hoop to the USA (what is with that Australia Post?? It was lightweight and still cost me nearly 20 bucks??)

Thanks for looking!

Kate x

ugh...time to get the machine serviced

I had a few minutes to myself this morning and thought I would try out a quick tutorial I had seen posted on one of my Facebook groups - what a drama that turned into!!

Firstly, I CAN actually sew. I have been doing it long enough to know how to do most basic things, and I have a decent machine that I can usually get to sew a straight line - I say usually because today I want to throw it out the window!! I had threads break, I broke a needle (it was hitting the needle plate?) AND my stitching looks so dodgy it could have been done on one of those toy machines you get from the local KMart ...time for a service I think.

I did manage to get my little item finished (thread breaks and all) - here is my phone cover, made using this TUTORIAL over at Luellabella.

I just fits my Galaxy (its an iphone tute). I didn't have any elastic that was suitable, so I have used one of my daughter's hair ties! I still need to pop a button on it, but I'm happy with how it turned out - even with the dodgy stitching!

Better get back to all my WIP's

Kate x

I love Sock Monkeys!

I have found a new love, and it is Sock Monkeys! Not sure what it is about the cute little toys, but they are just so adorable and I want one in every colour possible ;)

So far I have made three, and with none I have actually kept for myself, I'm pretty sure there will be more coming along soon. I have so many inspirational pics on my pinterest, I have had to create a whole board to keep them all together!

Gratuitous pics of my Sock Monkeys



More to come soon

Kate x

Time to relax ...and get it all sorted

Have your kids received a whole heap of toy 'sets' this Christmas? You know, the ones with a million teeny tiny pieces that get lost within the first few weeks...or shoved under the bed to be found a long time later when the toy has already been thrown out?? Thankfully, at almost 12, my boy is past all that stuff. 9yo eldest daughter unfortunately not quite there and still likes all the Zoobles, LPS, even LEGO still makes an appearance.

I was browsing pinterest on boxing day (as I do) and someone had pinned a tute for "Clear toy Storage".

LINK to tutorial
Awesome! I just needed to go grab some vinyl.

Was a bit of a struggle at first, the vinyl sticks A LOT to the presser foot and the plate. I used the scotch tape that is suggested on heaps of 'sewing with vinyl' tips. It was ok, but my stitches still looked really dodgy (didnt help that I had bought a very thick vinyl, but it was the only one in stock at the time). I remembered I had a TEFLON FOOT that came with my machine oh so many years ago, after that - was finished in no time!

Ta da - MY first "Toy Storage Bag"

Tips for working with vinyl
- LOOK to see if you have a Teflon foot FIRST!!!
- Be frugal with the scotch tape (if you need to use it)- leaves sticky residue on the vinyl that you have to clean off after..
- REMEMBER to REMOVE the tape before trying to yank off your plastic bobbin cover!!! Yep, I broke it... Not sure how much it's going to cost to replace, but can't even order another one til my sewing machine guy back at work NEXT WEEK!!!! ...now I HAVE to tape it down to use the machine SOOOO annoying!!!!

I made a bigger more squared bag for the baby toys too :)

AND just one more.... I made a quick "netbook" cover this morning for the daughter (someone had the bright idea to get a white one!!(oops)... I just did a simple wallet style ( quilted of course! ) with a fleece lining. No links for this one sorry, I just made it up.I'm sure I have seen a few similar ones on pinterest.

Thanks for looking!

Kate x