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

2012 is for joining in!

I haven't been part of a sewing group since I first started quilting back in 2001... I lived on an Army base and had some lovely American army wives who taught lots of different hand piecing and appliqué techniques. 10 years later, No one has time to catch up once a week for some sewing...sad but true. None of my friends or family (except my mum, an occasional knitter)sew or craft... ALL my 'crafting' friends are online!

I have made some awesome friends through craftster.org , an online forum for all things crafty (including all the lovely ladies over at Handmade'ns ;) ) . Next year (2012) I'm cutting back on my swaps and joining a few quilt related craftalongs and block swaps. First up is




In case you are wondering, it's "Quilt as you Go, Free Motion Quilting, Quilt-A-Long" !! I'm looking forward to refreshing some skills learnt a long time ago, and learning some new ones - cant wait to get started!

I have also joined my first 'Quilt Bee' through an Australian group on Facebook. It's 12 people with one month each - everyone picks a different block. At the end of the 12 months we should have 12 fantastic quilts that we have all contributed to! I'm still undecided which block I would like, my month is in June so I do have a bit of time up my sleeve.

If I don't get back on here amidst the mad Christmas stuff happening in the next few weeks, I wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season!

Kate x x