Well, not only was yesterday the first time I offered up something handmade for a random add-your-gift-to-the-pile-then-pick-one-for-yourself Secret Santa amongst non-crafty-bloggy people, but today I will be giving a handmade item to my husband’s boss. One of the top science people in his field in Japan. Well, it’s more for the whole lab, but it gets presented to the boss…. Read More
A Paper Pieced Pincushion… Sorta.
I’ve mentioned Wombat Stew before, a paper piecing bee I’m in with 6 other Aussie gals – Fiona, Gemma, Kristy, Jane, Lara and Marieka. I started the first round with Japanese cuisine blocks, Jane had October and requested paper pieced houses, and Kristy requested sewing notions for November. November was a very low sewjo month for me, and thankfully she’s… Read More
KIDS Are Doing It For Themselves
My husband has commissioned a wall hanging for his work! Although the payment terms haven’t yet been determined, I was more than willing to help him out. I enlisted the help of the paper piecing queen, Kristy from Quiet Play, to help turn his work logo into a paper piecing pattern. KIDS by SewBlossomHeart, on Flickr Rather than use just… Read More
Raw Paper Piecing Blocks and a Winner
First up, the winner of the Japanese fabrics was blondie19012k! Congrats! I’ve sent you an email 🙂 We’ve had a long weekend here – Friday was Japanese National Thanksgiving Day – and it’s been a beautiful, calm weekend. Sometimes it’s hard on weekends, when we’re both tired and just want to rest, and the kids magically know this and act… Read More
Know Thy Machine: Meet Ellie
I received an email from Shruti a few months back asking if I’d like to participate in this fun blog hop talking about my sewing machine. Well, who doesn’t love a good Q&A?! 1. What machine do you have? Â I have an Elna 1000. She may be little, a runt if you will, but she gets the job done… Read More
Travellin’ Pic Stitch Blog Hop: A Postcard from Japan
I don’t know why I agreed to this blog hop as I’m not a die-hard fan of EPP… probably because it’s such a cool idea and I knew I had to offer up a Japanese input! Even though I’m still not convinced about the supposed joy EPP is… But nevertheless, I agreed, so I did! And I actually enjoyed it… Read More
WIP Wednesday: Wombat Stew, Wombat Stew… Itadakimasu!
I am part of a wonderful little paper piecing bee called Wombat Stew. There are 7 of us and each month, we take turns being Queen Wombat and the rest of the group designs a paper pieced block according to the requested specifications. It’s also all from stash, which I love! I had the privilege of being first Queen Wombat… Read More
A Rotary Confession
Yesterday I changed my rotary blade. It was beautiful. So smooth and easy, like slicing through butter with a hot knife. I was just gliding my way through my trimming. I was in love because this is what my last blade looked like… Oh yes it did. That, my friends, is what a one year old blade looks like. I… Read More
Sunday Stash: A Little Of Everything
I’ve had a couple of weeks of random gatherings. It started with the arrival of these beautiful ceramic buttons are from Incomparable Buttons. I won them during the Blog Hop Party Giveaway and they’re all the way from South Africa. You should go read about the business – such a beautiful idea! They’re all handmade and hand painted by women… Read More
A Very Merry HST BOF: Christmas Wreath
Welcome to the Block Of The Fortnight in the A Very Merry HST BOF series! Every second Tuesday I’ll be posting a block pattern to make a Christmas tree decoration. Today’s block is the Christmas wreath! What you will need Traditional method: 10 – 4″ squares of background fabric 6 – 4″ squares of print fabric Pair your fabrics up:… Read More