Thursday 25 November 2010

Happy American Thanksgiving!

My American friend Donna sent this to me and I'd like to share it will all my American friends on their special day.  Enjoy the day, gobble, gobble!

Wednesday 17 November 2010

Fall "Break"

Unexpectedly I'm having a Fall "Break"; on October 12th I got up from my computer and my left foot had fallen asleep.  I put it down twice and took a step.  Unfortunately I didn't plant it correctly and broke my fifth metatarsal bone and was in a cast for two weeks.  I then progressed to this lovely black "space boot" but am not able to go to work.  As a result I've been able to do a lot of hand stitching.
 You might remember the wool crazy round robin pin cushion top I shared with you.  Well I decided to put around the side of it the following. "Leave room in the garden for the fairies to dance."  Then after adding the top to the sides I started a new project.
 My friend Rita was a great help to me in the early days of my broken foot, so I made this small garden themed pin cushion for her as a thank you.
 Rita helped make my condo more crutch safe as I couldn't weight bear for the first two weeks after my break.
 Then I started work on the Winter themed pin cushion I was going to make while working on the round robins.
 I finally decided to make my "pin cushion" into a sewing case. I hand stitched the zipper in.
 I did manage to get to my sewing machine to sew the lining bottom to the sides, but everything else is hand stitched.  By luck one of the donut bobbin holders fits perfectly along with a little fairy tin that I keep my Clover applique pins in.  I put some batting in the lid to stick pins and needles in along with some in the sides to make them stand up when the case is open.
 I decided to make a second sewing case with the winter piece.
 As you can see I happened to have this snowflake fabric to make a seasonal lining.  The outside reads "Snowflakes are Angel Kisses."
 I was on a roll, so I made myself an Autumn themed pin cushion that is filled with crushed walnut shells.
 During the Falloween Blog hop I found this pumpkin pin cushion and leaf needle keeper by Terri Degenkolb at Whimsical Quilts.  Her blog from October 3rd is where you get a copy of the pattern. http://whimsicals.typepad.com
 I've also been working on my long narrow crazy quilt piece.  I'm not saying what it will become yet.  But I've been having fun designing patterns to fit the patches.  The house just grew out of what I had pieced.
 I've had some fun with flower designs and am planning on stitching them later tonight maybe.
So you can see I've been keeping busy despite my broken foot!