A Joyful Keeper

 

What is it about a Spring Day that makes you want to just get up and go, go, go? Even if it is Autumn?

I remember years ago, my mum and I went shopping one day in April. It was the most beautiful day. The sun was shining, and the air was crisp. There was joy in our hearts as we wandered up and down the main street of the town we were in. We walked into a small shop and greeted the lady, and said,

“Isn’t it just a beautiful Spring day?!”

At the time, we both wondered why the lady looked at us so strangely, and hesitatingly agreed with us. We browsed through the shop, and then headed out into the sunshine again. A little while later, it struck me, and I turned to my mother and said,

“Mum! It’s not Spring, it’s Autumn!!!!”

We had forgotten we were in the Southern Hemisphere…. And indeed, April in Australia is Autumn. How we laughed as we remembered the lady’s strange look! She really must have thought we were slightly nuts!

I still look out at this time of the year, on a day like today, and think it is Spring. It doesn’t really matter, because I will enjoy the day regardless of what season it is. And I will chuckle as I think of that day my mother and I went shopping….

It is the perfect day to strip all the beds of their sheets and get them on the line. It was a day like today, a few months ago, that I washed all my quilts, as you can see in the above photo.

Why, yes, dear, we can put it by. It does seem out of place

On top of these down comforts and this spread of silk and lace,

You see, I’m used to having it lie so, across my feet,

But maybe I won’t need it here, with this nice furnace heat;

I made it? Yes, dear, long ago. ‘Twas lots of work, you think?

Oh, not so much. My rose quilt, now, all white and green and pink,

Is really handsome. This is just a plain, log cabin block,

Pieced out of odds and ends; but still–now that’s your papa’s frock

Before he walked, and this bit here is his first little suit.

I trimmed it up with silver braid. My, but he did look cute!

That red there in the centers, was your Aunt Ruth’s for her name,

Her grandmother almost clothed the child, before the others came.

Those plaids? The younger girls’, they were. I dressed them just alike.

And this was baby Winnie’s sack–the precious little tyke!

Ma wore this gown to visit me (they drove the whole way then).

And little Edson wore this waist. He never came again.

This lavender par’matta was your Great-aunt Jane’s–poor dear!

Mine was a sprig, with the lilac ground; see, in the corner here.

Such goods were high in war times. Ah, that scrap of army blue;

Your bright eyes spied it! Yes, dear child, that has its memories, too.

They sent him home on furlough once–our soldier brother Ned;

But somewhere, now, the dear boy sleeps among the unknown dead.

That flowered patch? Well, now, to think you’d pick that from the rest!

Why, dearie–yes, it’s satin ribbed–that’s grandpa’s wedding vest!

Just odds and ends! not great for looks. My rose quilt’s nicer, far,

Or the one in basket pattern, or the double-pointed star.

But, somehow–What! We’ll leave it here? The bed won’t look so neat,

But I think I would sleep better with it so, across my feet.

It’s Saturday morning but I didn’t get a chance to post this last night. Since I did sew this on Friday, I thought I’d still post it.

Last night we had a special “Hats off to Mothers” evening at church. It was for mothers and daughters, and we all needed to wear a hat. Elizabeth didn’t have one, so I remembered that I had a pattern somewhere for girls hats, and amazingly enough, I found it! It was one that had either been given to me, or I got from the opshop:

I had never tried it before, so I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to do it or not. But I really wanted to give it a go and make a special memory for Elizabeth. We chose a pretty white on white from my stash and made a start:

There were a few bits that gave me some trouble. I always find it a challenge sewing circles to bands and avoiding tuckers. In the end, it worked out fine. Phew! Elizabeth found some pretty ribbon in our ribbon box to tie around it, and also made some ribbon flowers to put on the front.

Alls well that ends well! And one of the best parts is that because I had all the materials already, I didn’t have to spend a cent. So I guess this would class as a Frugal Friday post as well!

For more sewing ideas go to Waiting for Him 

For more frugal ideas go to Biblical Womanhood

We’re back after our weekend away, which didn’t go quite as I expected! LOL! When does it ever…?!

Friday night I started getting a bad sore throat and my head and nose started to feel very blocked up. Thankfully my mother-in-law has boundless energy and I was able to rest on the weekend while she did all the work! I didn’t get much sewing done at all, just a bit of hand sewing. I just didn’t have the energy.

What I did do, however, nearly drove me nuts. I decided to bring a box of beads with me that needed sorting. The packers had packed it on its side, so that all the beads that were so nicely in their own little squares, had tumbled down into the wrong squares:

So began the tedious work of sorting them all out.

I almost got it done! I just have two small compartments to finish…. but I decided to stop because every time I closed my eyes I saw beads! We use the beads to make small ornaments and also to decorate wall hangings and stuff like that. This box was mostly Christmassy colors, so I really wanted to get it sorted before we started using them on our Christmas projects.

I also started to make buttons. I learned this from a dear friend of mine while we were in the Middle East. I used this clay:

Then I rolled it out and used small cookie cutters. I used a toothpick to make the button holes, and then laid them out to dry.

Now I need to paint them and they will be ready to decorate stockings like these ones:

We got home late Tuesday night. I am feeling much better now, probably due to my lovely rest at my dmil’s where I didn’t have to cook or clean! Yesterday I unpacked, did some washing and cleaning. Today I need to do some more, but I also need to start thinking about our move - it is only a week and a half till we get our new house!!! Exciting stuff, but also a bit nerveracking! LOL! I’ve decided to write a book about moving - it will be our 15th move in 15 years. What do you think?!

I’ve got more photos and more things to write about, but that will have to wait. I need to go and visit some blogs that I missed over the weekend! (Oh, and I guess I need to get up and do things around the house too….. )

….. is done!!!

Hmmmmm,… having a look at it now, I wonder if the pocket should have been lower or not there at all. I’ll have to see how it looks on her. I get so moody about my creations sometimes…! I am going to go and sit in my comfy chair, put my legs up and knit! I’ll worry about pockets in aprons tomorrow!

I came across this blog entry by MrsCatherine. As I have mentioned before (and you can see more about my opinion on aprons on my homemaking page), I love to meet other people who love aprons as much as I do! Check it out - it is really good!
When we arrived back in Australia, my dear friend Robyn had a pressie for me from when she went to Europe to visit her middle son. She found this piece of fabric in France, and thought of me! Isn’t that sweet? She knows I like blue!

She bought it for me with an apron in mind. Before our shipment of “stuff” arrived from the Middle East, I used it as a table runner. It looked lovely! Then I finally bit the bullet and cut out an apron:

I’m afraid to say, that’s as far as it got until today, when I finished it! I get a bit distracted with things always, sometimes, often……

Here it is all done:

It’s just a simple pattern. I’m not one for frills, but I do like pretty fabric. This is pretty, but functional. Now I need to make one for Elizabeth….!

I started this raw edge quilt before I did the raw edge kitchen mat. I finished it a few weeks ago, and am finally getting a picture up to show you. It was easy and lots of fun! The most tedious part was doing all the snips around the edges. I think it has come up well though.

This next photo was taken on Father’s Day, which here in Australia is the first Sunday in September. Robyn, her dh and youngest son joined us. My parents were visiting my sister and my dh’s parents were still on holidays. We had a lovely meal together and afterwards we played games. While the rest of us played games, these two were sitting at the table knitting - Elizabeth and her Nanna! I just love this photo. It is what families are all about.

I’ve been meaning to get started on Christmas gifts and projects. I kept seeing all the fun things Debbie J. at Homemaking Dreams was doing, and then I finally dragged out my Christmas stuff and got going! I’ve started with stockings. I had a bolt of this cute fabric which I used to make this stocking:

I also had a couple of meters of snowman print, which also transformed into a cute stocking:

And, I’ve been cutting and sewing strips to make a Christmas Fence Rail quilt:

I am hoping to make some table runners, placemats and other things for Christmas. That will keep my hands and needles busy, won’t it?

 

Hosted by Biblical Womanhood

I got two pairs of old jeans given to me by a friend. I had thought of making them into jeans skirts, but I decided that a mat for the kitchen was more urgent… so, I started cutting….It went from this:

To this:

To this:

What I did, was basically cut as many 6″ squares from the old jeans as I could. I was able to cut higher on the front of the jeans than on the backs because of the pockets. (AFTER I threw the scraps away I found a good idea for using jeans pockets…. bother!) Then I got some fabric that I had bought a while ago for a little over a dollar per meter and which I have a LOT of, and cut 6″ squares of that as well. I cut 5″ square of batting (again, cut your batting into squares or rectangles as you go, then you have a pile when you need them), and got a nice little pile:

I then sandwiched the layers together and quilted the blocks with a simple line of stitches from corner to corner. One day I will do a tutorial on this so it is a bit clearer. It is a great beginners project. I sewed all the squares together leaving the raw edges out, snipped the raw edges and put it through the wash. You can see how nicely the raw edges have frayed in the picture of it hanging out on the line.

Now it is in its rightful spot under the sink, catching spills and keeping our feet warm! All from a few scraps of jeans and fabric…

This is the first time I am joining in on Frugal Friday! What fun!

Hosted by Biblical Womanhood

A few weeks ago I made a bag, and as I went, I dealt with the scraps of fabric.

I started out with this scrap of fabric. I needed a 6″ strip for one part of the bag, so I cut that first:

I still had a scrap of fabric left after that first cut, which normally would end up in the scrap box and maybe “one day” I would use it! Instead I cut another 2″ strip from it:

Then I cut the 2″ strip into 6″ sections and had enough at the end for a 2″ square:

I ended up with:

One 6″ square, seven rectangles of 6″x 2″, and two 2″ squares - all ready to go into a quilt!

I used to just throw the scraps into a scrap box, and think that “someday” I would use them for “something”! Now I do this and it is amazing how soon I get a pile of squares and rectangles that I can turn into a “free quilt”!!

I have piles of strips and squares that are ready to go into a scrap quilt, or in borders, whatever really…. once they are all ready like that, they can be easily used in so many different projects! Try it and soon you will have a shelf full of “ready to go” scraps like I do!

Today is Log Cabin Day. I know this because my friend has a calendar with all these useless useful tidbits of information. In honor of this most auspicious day, I will post a photo of my unfinished Log Cabin Quilt in an attempt to shame me into finishing it:

Happy Log Cabin Day