Back to school!

Well, school went back today! Always a mixed feeling about that! The house gets quieter... the mess gets less... the routine kicks in... we really miss them when they're gone for the day!

Miss 2 and I pottered around the house this morning feeling a little morose, did some chores, then headed to Sewing Bee to do some more work on our Pads for Africa project. This is a huge job... bring on quilts any day!!! Jill has been a wonder sewing away getting pads finished. To this point I've done a lot of co-ordinating and overlocked what seems like a gazillion insides made of wadding or towelling overlocked together. If you know someone who can sew and would like to help please let me know... these hygiene kits can make a huge difference to young African women. What we plan to do is keep sewing until the container leaves sometime early next year and then send the kits along with a sewing machine, instructions, and materials. That way the project can continue if the girls are keen... no matter how many kits we sew there will never be enough so this feels like a nice compromise.

Tonight I was absolutely wrecked so I had a rare evening in front of the TV and did some more knitting on the red dress! It's almost ready for neckline and sleeves so hopefully it will be off the UFO list pretty soon!

While we're on the subject of red things...  mum and dad just got back from Singapore... thought I'd share a couple of the things they brought back... Just love this red dish...

Cannot believe that dad managed to hunt down and find a CAMEL in Singapore of all places!!! He is gorgeous and fits beautifully into my rather extensive camel collection! 

More beautiful things from Singapore to share another day! 

And last... just for fun... found these rather groovy tissue boxes at the Reject Shop recently! Just to make me smile!! Also made my friend hooked-on-yarn a little happier to sneeze too! It's the fun things that make a life well... more fun!!!

Blogger Uber-Quilt-Fest progress...

I've been really enjoying doing these blocks... sometimes being on the other side of the world is torturous... waiting until the time zones catch up with a new block! So far I'm pretty happy with progress... especially since I don't intend to buy a single piece of fabric to complete the quilt... oh, hang on a sec... I did purchase a couple of new black and white pieces that were too delicious to pass up the other day!!! Oops! That wasn't supposed to happen... but I didn't buy them FOR the quilt... so does that mean I get let off the hook?!

Anyway, here are my new blocks...

Block 6

Block 7

Block 8

Half way there! Thinking I will piece them all together with black sashing and a black inner border then a black and white striped border, then black binding... thought I might piece the first two rows together but I cannot believe I have run out of  black homespun!!! How is this possible?!?

An hour later... I scrounged and scrounged and found a bit of black... and a strip from another quilts... so... voila...

I am so loving this quilt so far! Thinking black on all the inside borders and sashing and then black and white stripe on the outside border... what do you think?!

Making Chewy...

Well... it's not something I thought I'd ever find myself doing... making chewy... but life is full of surprises!

Actually, it was easier than I thought... done in an evening... and although it's a bit off in bits I'm generally pretty happy with it! Not that I think it's edible... far from it... but I think the kids will like it... especially my 2 year old! We'll have to wait until the morning for a full report!

So how did I come to be making chewy!? Well... I was blog browsing... as one does... and I saw the recipe... and knew I just had to make it! I rummaged around in my boxes of material and found just the ingredients I needed and a couple of hours later... it was done!

I really must commend draw!pilgrim on her most excellent instructions!  They were super simple and clear! Sorry for the wonky bits... they are mine... not hers... ! Also I didn't have any cord in my stash so I used some fur I had been debating about sending to another home... and I stitched my felt face on instead of putting it under... Felt and duct tape stitched on for the ammo belt and he is done! Seriously that face is a bit wonky isn't it... but hey... you gonna tell a wookie that to his face?!!

Whadya think Princess Leia would say!?

Postscript:

2 Star Wars tragics love him... as does the 2 year old!!! :-)

Bloggers' Quilt-Uber-Fest

 Well, I have been having a lovely time since I joined the Bloggers' Quilt-Uber-Fest... a new block every day for 16 days! It's almost like instant gratification... except sometimes 24 hours seems like a long time!!! Anyways, it's holidays, and I've had a sick toddler so a little diversion has been nice! I decided on black and white with a splash of colour look! I have a big drawer full of black and white fabrics and a bunch of coloured scraps crying out to be used up! Okay, so I admit it's a bit of a favourite of mine! Strangely because I find black and white on their own pretty dull but they certainly do make the colours stand out and I'm always up for that!!

Here are my blocks so far...

Block 1

 Block 2

 Block 3

 

Block 4

  Block 5

5 down, 11 to go! Stay tuned!