Countdown to Free Time.

This time next week I'll be home alone & MOTH & DD will be on their way to Moscow! Boy has that time come round fast-I'm not game enough to ask if all the paperwork is finally in order-last I heard- it wasn't so I'm not asking again!
MOTH always gets very uptight before he travels- he hates take-off & landings- but insists that he will not let this get the better of him (he was in a plane that hit the deck in Vietnam, so he has a reason to be tense during landings!)

We travel very differently -he likes to be wherever he has to be at least one hour early than the suggested time to get there-which means about 4 hours ahead of time for a flight-I prefer to get there at the suggested time- neither of us have ever missed a flight from being late-but we always argue when its time to leave!
Some years back MOTH rushed me out the house-got us both to the airport with hours to spare only to find he had us there a whole day earlier than needed. The gal at QANTAS changed the flights for us-saying that it gave her the laugh for the day & for me having to put up with such a dickhead! (I agreed whole heartily! on that point)
DD keeps him in line- she'll take no nonsense from him even if he is her father-from all accounts they travel well together- I think its great that they do have trips away as father/daughter time.
DD's dog, Ella, had surgery through the week-MOTH has been visiting her everyday as she has been quite out of sorts- I suggested he take her a 'get well bone' to cheer her up-my suggestion was not taken kindly! Seemed reasonable to me.
This weekend I've managed to get 2 quilt tops pieced-that's 3 down-2 to go if I make it to my goal of giving everyone a quilt for Christmas.
Good news on the project front- the last project has been accepted for publication- this one won't be out until the middle of next year some time, but submission is in October-so gives me a few weeks to get it all together & write up the notes before I have to post it off.
The days are getting longer- no getting up in the pitch black in the mornings now- I much prefer to have a little light when I have to get out of bed - its bad enough that I have to get up when MOTH is sleeping soundly....and my alarm is telling me its time to get ready for work! The alternative of staying home everyday with MOTH is just not worth contemplating at this stage- work is preferable!
My raspberry socks have been waiting most of the week for me to finish them off- only have the rib to knit, but I just never seem to get there with them- perhaps tonight if I don't get my nose in the photo shop manuals I've been reading....even if my pics aren't perfect I'm learning how to cheat to make them that way!
Until next time,
happy Crafting
Oz-Tralien

Sewing, Snaps, Selvedges & Socks.

It seems I missed last week-I kept on meaning to blog but never got around to it.
I was busy.
The past 2 weekends I've been madly sewing to submit a project- hopefully to be published-its surprising how much time it takes to get a project together. Fingers crossed, now I just have to wait.
The weather has been absolutely glorious the past week- very warm days, cool nights for sleeping & even a soft breeze on a few days- perfect- who would want to live anywhere else than Sydney! Not me.
My socks are progressing- that was one of the reasons I haven't blogged I was waiting for a work colleague to take a pic of my GS's socks I knitted on one of her children's feet-so I could post a photo of them....maybe she'll take them this week for me.
Yesterday I attended the stitches & craft show at Rosehill- there are 3 of us that go together every year, since it started.
The past 2 years I was not too happy with the exhibits & wrote to the organizers & complained about the lack of sewing-it was all beading & paper-that sure doesn't float my boat.
Things had changed this year- they had some young designers upstairs with their wares & blogs & sites to sell their wares- really interesting & trendy stuff-yeah! what a wonderful change.
We did notice that a lot of the old faithful stall holders were missing-its probably got too expensive for them to take a site as I know they charge pretty heftily to exhibit here. That's a shame as they were missed.
All in all we came home with very little- I purchased a knitting pattern, a shirt pattern & a small piece of wool blanketing to do sample on for another project I've had on the back burner for quite some time.
I did come home & make a little purse after seeing a dress, chair & an umbrella covered in selvages- what a clever idea- although they used to make smoking jackets from these & the idea came from a blogger called ricrac- so its not my idea, but I loved the look.
My socks are progressing slowly but surely- am just about to the gusset on the second sock in the raspberry wool- they are very pretty- wonder who'll nab these.
My DIL tells me her Pilate's class are very jealous of her new socks & have asked if I'll knit them & sell them- not bloody likely! who would pay $50 for a pair of hand knitted socks? & that wouldn't even be a good return on my time.

Through the week I had a birthday-another candle in the cake- I'll need a fire hose to put them out soon....not too sure I like the changes as I get older- there are more wrinkles- the boobs are lower (thank heavens for good bras that keep the girls up there!) & I'm not as flexible as I used to be either....and we wont even mention the extra weight!!!
The kids have bought me a couple of books on photo shop so here's hoping that I actually learn how to edit the pics I take to make them look even better- although the key to getting a good photograph is easy- take lots to start off with & get it right pre-edit!
DD & MOTH are still busy organising their trip to do the Trans Siberian Railway- I bet it'll be cold in Mongolia-sleeping outdoors in a tent!
While MOTH is gone I'm hoping to get some quilting done- although he still hasn't fixed the frame...not sure what is so hard about getting a piece of dowelling that will fit inside the tube.
Until next time,
Happy Crafting,
Oz-tralien

This & That

The house is all quiet-I'm not at all that sure I like it this way, it's much more fun when we have a 4.5 year old in the house!
Our eldest son, his wife & our GS have been visiting the past week & returned home today-its all eerily quiet-no small boy to come running down the stairs, excited that I'm home from work or wanting me to share some special treasure he has made or found during the day.

The pirate cave under the stairs is gone, the blankets packed back into the cupboard, until my little pirate returns in October for his birthday.
I notice that my baby doll is still on his bed- he took quite a shine to my re-born doll when he was 3 & looks for her every visit now- he has named her "Cuddles" & is quite happy to carry her around & 'mother/father' her. She weighs about 5lbs- so is no light weight doll!

On this visit we used the sewing machine together- he made 3 little bags, which he has taken home with him, as he told me he could put his 'treasures' in them-its a start & hopefully he'll progress to more projects as he gets older.

During the week I started a pair of toe up socks for him- didn't have a pattern so am winging it-finished the first one today-the great thing about these toe up socks is being able to try them on! Also progressed with the raspberry coloured one I started last week- am up to the heel but have put it on hold to make GS's socks.

Made GS a little pair of soft slippers after he arrived as our tile floor is very cold in the mornings- used a red quilted fabric & lined them with purple wool felt-he was delighted with them & happily put them on each morning after his morning cuddles in our bed!
Took lots of pics of him while he was here & even had a few enlarged to frame.....great subject to work with as he was happy to chat to me while I snapped away at him!

Sunsets have continued to be spectacular the past week as well & have a few more shots of those - DS no1 took the screen off the upstairs window & we lent right out over the roof to snap shots across the bush!

Back to sewing next weekend- the following weekend is the Stitches & Craft Show- sure hope there is more variety this year than last year...didn't buy anything other than lunch last year!

The wattle trees are starting to bloom- poor DIL developed terrible hay fever while she was here from them-they may look pretty but all that pollen sure sets lots of folks off at this time of the year!
Been blogging a year now- wow, hasn't that time gone quick!
happy Crafting,
Oz-Tralien

17 weeks til Christmas....

Don't you just love a sale?! Especially when you know the prices aren't jacked up to pretend to give you a discount & you know bloody well that they are. Not one of those sales- but a real good, genuine sale.

The Sheridan factory outlet is quite near where our work office is located & they had a sale-ended up making 3 trips & buying stacks of manchester- but it was sooooo cheap couldn't resist (& here I was thinking the other day that I more than likely did not need to buy any more manchester for the rest of my life as I have more than enough!) Oh well, bit like saying I'm not buying anymore fabric! Ha!!! as if that is ever going to happen.

I bought 3 of my adult children sheet sets after they messaged me that Yes , please we'd love more bed linen (especially as they know that Mum is paying!)- picked up some sheet sets for my Grandson, new sheets for the single, spare bed & new sheets for our bed- lots of towels (lots of towels!-most for my stash, as at that price they make fantastic gifts- just put a name on them & away I go!). I worked it out that on a lot of the items I saved about 74% & a few of the goodies were closer to 90%!!

One set was delivered this morning to a patient who had requested, if I could, an embroidery on some towels she wanted to give as a gift- they were easy enough-that's a few towels out of the stash already.(2 down 20 to go!!)

Tuesday its Lizzie's birthday & I've put a lovely L on a gorgeous eau de nil coloured towel for her- there were matching face cloths & bathmats with this colour- no hand towels- so she's getting what I was able to buy-I know she loves this colour so its a good choice for her. I picked the Queenie alphabet to use from Francine's embroidery- love this alpha- its really classy & it comes in a really huge size which is nice to put on a towel as a single letter. I'm off Tuesday so I'll leave that parcel on her chair at work for her as a surprise (unless of course she happens to read my blog in which case its no longer a surprise!)

We had a magnificent sunset the other day- I lent out over the balcony to get as much of it as I could-I'd like to be able to get up on the roof for photos- but I don't suppose that's going to happen.

All ready for our Melbourne family's arrival tomorrow- GS rang while I was at work this morning to tell Grandad that he was so excited he can hardly wait!LOL don't you love the enthusiasm of a 4 year old?

I finally finished my sock- I knew this one would knit up quicker as the pattern was much more interesting. So both pairs that I started in Montana are now done....the yarn is already with the pattern for the next pair-have been itching to try these since I saw them in my knitting book & bought the yarn while in the USA-shame I couldn't get the colours I wanted, the pattern is Flame Wave Socks & I'm using Cascade's Fixation yarn in bright red! Should be eye catching.

MOTH managed to break one of the rollers on my quilting frame through the week- not sure what he was doing- so now I will need to get that fixed before I can do all the quilting I have in mind for Christmas....did you know its only 17 weeks until the BIG day? I have a lot to get done in that time.....maybe I need to write a list like my friend Ruth does (for everything) it might just keep me on track!

Until next time

Happy crafting
Oz-Tralien

Call to Action.

Sometimes I wonder what it is that finally urges us to DO something about things that have been niggling at us for ages. We put up with them for so long, then ...WHAM...we can't stand it any longer & we have to do something about it! The straw that breaks the camel's back.

My sewing room has been driving me nuts-I can't stand it when it gets too messy.

I know I have plenty of friends who can only be creative when they have a mess around them- not me. Its not like I want my room to be pristine all the time, in fact I find this counter-productive, in that, I don't want to mess up my nice clean room again, so I don't sew.....go figure.I just like it to be tidy enough so I can cut things out & have most of my things away-not in piles all over the place.

Saturday I played around with double folded mitred corners to make a 'window' in a chalk board place mat I was making for our Grandson who is coming to visit next week. Took me most of the day measuring & playing around to do what I wanted-I realised after I cut it & folded it I needed to allow 12" instead of 8" to get the size window I needed- lesson learnt & then I had to do my window a different way so as not to waste the space fabric I had bought for him in the US as I didn't have more....where there is a will there is a way. No mistakes in this house just a new way to make something!

This morning I was going to start on DIL's quilt- the aim being I'll make everyone in the family a quilt for Christmas....at this rate maybe 2 will get them,if they are lucky, (only because I have the top already made for one of them!)

And that's when it started. The towel I throw over the chair I have up here in the sewing room, slid to the floor, as it usually does-it slides off & I pick it up & throw it back on,constantly. I decided that I'd just recover the chair-just like that, I'd picked up the towel once too often. It has been doing that for the past 2 years....it never really bugged me that much, but this morning that was it- time to do something about it. I pulled out some fabric that was sitting in a pile on the floor & chop, chop, stitch, stitch...2.5 hours later I was the proud owner of a very swishy looking chair- covered beautifully- couldn't believe how well this all went together....why didn't I do this sooner?

That was then I decided that the room could do with a bit of a tidy up, thorough vacuum & all the surfaces wiped down & ALL the piles of fabric from my recent trip be put away....I'm not sure what happened along the way but the curtains came down- I decided that the roman blind wasn't going back up again ....now that I look at the new curtain (yep, I just sewed a new one- back into that stash again!)-I'm sitting here in my very tidy sewing room & looking at the new window treatment & thinking 'why the hell didn't I do this 2 years ago when the curtain started to bug me then?'- even washing the sheer curtain has made a difference!

My room is looking all light & airy & its so tidy- everything is away-including my old sewing machine that has been sitting here on the desk since I bought the CV (anyone want a loved 2140 with more hoops & gadgets than you'll ever need- I have one for sale at a very cheap price!) Incredibly tidy. Oh, I love it!!!

Now what prompted all this action?-I never set out to make chair covers, pull curtains down & wash them- re-arrange the sewing room & make new curtains & put everything away.....I wish I could bottle this urge to action- I would make a fortune selling it to mothers of teenagers who never want to do anything......imagine putting it in the MOTH's morning coffee & getting all the odd jobs done around the place.....in a sewing slump?- just 2 lumps in the coffee & off you go! No more waiting for the final straw.

My neighbour rang this afternoon to let us know she'd been burgled last night-they got her wallet with her cash & cards-they have already tried to use the cards....but what was more upsetting was they came in while she was asleep & she never heard a thing, even after breaking a glass door to gain entry- she's feeling somewhat violated . This will be a reminder to us to be more vigilant with where we leave things when we go to bed.

MOTH can very lax in leaving the doors open when he is out doing the gardening in the backyard-I'm always asking him to lock the doors...maybe this might prompt him to lock the door! Our suburb is not immune as he thinks it is, to being burgled.

I finished a pair of socks this week- oh, have they been dragging on, I never thought I'd get them finished- these were the gainsey toe up pair that I started in Billings....but I can now tick them off as finished! Have started the second sock to match the purple one, also started in Billings-this one shouldn't take so long as I like the pattern better-its more interesting. Not sure what I'll start when I finish this one- more socks maybe, I have much more yarn!

All in all a productive week-I can feel good about everything I managed to get done-even managed to get 5 patients onto the new computer system at work- we won't even go there with those changes!

Happy Crafting
Oz- Tralien

Machine Embroidery- Embossed Designs.

For the past 12 months or so there has been quite a buzz in machine embroidery circles over 'embossed' designs, it seems that a lot of digitizers have released sets of alphabets, shapes, dog breeds or animals to join the band wagon of supplying keen machine embroiderers wanting these designs & lets face it- if enough people ask, then you'll find that the digitizers will supply!

These designs work best on a napped fabric so make them perfect for putting names on towels-or initials for a monogram-this is where you see them used the most often. ANY fabric with a nap will give the desired effect, but, some fabrics work better than others & are these designs all what they are cracked up to be?

Here is what I found in my experimentation with these designs. Other machine embroiderers may have completely different experiences & outcomes to mine-I'm relaying my experiences & maybe these will help someone who is about to try their hand at this technique or is curious about how it all works.

The majority of these designs work by giving you a shape- say a rectangle & the letter is 'cut out' from the background. The background has all the stitching & the letter has the nap show through, thus giving it the embossed look. By giving an easy shape to start off with- letters can be arranged together to form names, words or monograms-easy enough.

I trialled a few of these designs & before stitching out read a few tutorials. Initially I tried the word Guest-which came from a fairly well known digitizer as a freebie. The letters were too small to make much of an impact on the towel-I tried it with Solvy as a topper & without-having read 2 tutorials where one had stated that it was imperative that you use a topper & the other said it was better not to have one. Personally I found with the size of the design it made little difference- the one with the Solvy has washed slightly better over time- but neither of them is readable after a few washes.

Size does matter-the larger the cut out area the better it will look-but then with size comes the problem of fitting enough letters in the hoop to do a long name- Christopher- would certainly take 2 hoopings & not everyone is happy about re-positioning to continue a design, especially when its critical that you line it up.

Another problem I encountered was the enormous stitch counts involved in making these designs work- the background is pounded into submission with 10,000+ stitches & you repeat for each letter- not much fun & it all takes time-too much time for the end result at this point! They look good, then go to pieces after washing- hardly the result you are after when spending that much time at the sewing machine.

The areas of embossing are stiff. Let's face it- if you are going to put that much thread into that small of an area it will end up stiff....some will say they don't mind that & that's fine- just be aware that it does do that.

I've tried different threads in my quest to have these designs look like the real thing (most often found in trendy or up-market hotels with the name embossed on the towels-either done with heat or when they make the towels in the first place & loom a lower loop. I have not gone into the intricacies of how the original idea is done!) They certainly do not stitch them. These designs are trying to copy that effect.

Thread. I've tried machine embroidery rayon, polyester,heavier weight threads,variegated threads & a matching coloured thread to the item (which is the more traditional method). I found the type of thread did not matter greatly in the scheme of things, although I do like the finish when I use Gutermann Sulky Cotton 30. This thread has a lovely sheen-slightly heavier, so gives a better fill & is 100% cotton.

After playing around with these designs & still not satisfied with the outcome post washing I decided that I would try a piece of organza as a topper. The organza has held up through washing- the letters are still readable,but this method is not for the feint-hearted-you have to burn the open areas out when you are finished- the organza will melt- the nap will pop out & you can then launder it to make the nap bloom a little more. I use a soldering iron. This method will not work well if the letters are too small- it is awkward more than anything.

Variegated threads work well, but are hardly what the original idea is about- but at least you can read what the letters say post washing- a big plus. I also used solid colours for the word "baby"-as these reminded me of baby blocks.

Fabrics. This is what I found with all the different towels & fabrics I tried. The lower & denser the nap- the better these designs work. On some super thick Egyptian cotton towels the result looked really good, it also washed better-on a longer looped towel & not as dense pile the design tended to 'wash out' over time. Polar fleece works well.....I would think that velvet would work well, although I have not experimented on it.

I did test some designs for a digitizer friend & her designs, even though they have a lot less stitches in them than a lot of others for sale- perform equally with the densely stitched ones-the up side of this is that the fabric doesn't become stiff, you use less thread & spend less time for the same results.

My conclusion for embossed designs. Well worth playing around with- I would not give them as a gift for fear that they wouldn't look good after a few washings-unless I'd used the organza method. The better quality the towel you use the better the result in most cases- use a topper-whether its a water soluble one or something like organza-the water soluble at least gives some definition for a little longer than without- the organza works the best for longer use.

The heavier thread gives a slightly better coverage- although it would be hard for most people to pick the difference. All in all, I'm not completely sold- but then it was fun to play around with.

Everyone that I gave one of my experiments to -loved the look.....so its definitely a winner!

Happy Crafting

Oz-Tralien

On a Roll & Loving It

Boy, did we cover some ground this week.

Tuesday saw us out with friends from Malaysia for his Father's B'day. We went to a Chinese restaurant-not my choice but I could hardly say no- although I did try to get out of going. Chinese food & coeliac just don't go together- I ate boiled rice.

Wednesday we had a wedding to attend- the bride & groom & his DD from a previous marriage had been staying with us since or return- hardly saw them-great guests to have! Again this was at a Chinese restaurant-2 nights in a row & I was nursing a massive gluten reaction & really didn't feel like going. Everyone was insistent that I eat more than rice-my poor gut was screaming that rice was enough & let's face it- Chinese food with no sauce is pretty boring & bland. I was fed steamed fish & green vegetables. I was thankful that the cook had made an effort-but to me, the rice is just fine. I insisted, in some strong undertones, that MOTH help me eat the food they had brought for me as I really wasn't feeling up to anything much & it had to look like some of it was gone!

Returned to work on Tuesday-I wanted to go back on leave after the first day-I really didn't have my heart in it it & struggled to get up in the dark each morning- I find the getting out of bed in the cold the hardest. Things had changed at work.

Lizzie whom I have worked with for 22 years has cut back to part time- I'm sure she feels she'd like to cut back, but I will miss her being there for the full week- what is it about change that we don't like?

In Nursing its nearly unheard of to work with the same people for as long as we all have- its like an extended family- all our kids have grown up together, got married together & even started to have babies together.....most of us are at the same stage of life. Ready to retire. So I guess change will be inevitable over the next few years.

Out for dinner last night with our DD & her MOTH- they are always good company-they were talking baby names (this is the on again off again baby)-seems she's thinking about it, but I'll believe it when I see it-would love another grandchild-especially one that is closer-but time will tell.

Made a lovely huge pot of soup for the weekend- MOTH had been complaining that I didn't put barley in it- not that I do put barley in pea & ham soup- he is eating it anyway & I mentioned that I would take a bowl for Larissa at work tomorrow & you should have seen his face....what, my soup-you can't take that to work...so much for the absent barley.

Having house guests sure ups the laundry..must have done 8-9 loads yesterday- I truly was the washer woman!!!, but in true female style I multi tasked all day & managed to get quite a bit done.....why is it that men do not seem capable of doing more than one thing at a time. MOTH is lucky to do one household task a week & that's only if I leave a note with explicit instructions on how to do it & where to to find everything to do it!

Friday was our DIL birthday- had a lovely chat with our Melbourne based family- even had a chat to our grandson who told us he missed us (he now has lots of brownie points in his favour!LOL)-I'm trying to get them up as I'm organizing a 'girly' day out when she comes up-4 of us to the day spa for all their best treatments-hopefully it will make some improvement on me- but I have my doubts!

My sewing machine was going flat out all weekend- managed to get a baby towel done- in anticipation of the birth in August (this is the best thing about knowing the sex & the name- I can be organised ahead of time!) Also managed to make 2 quilts. One is completely finished & the other has some free hand quilting to be done in the centre panel & in the white borders- but I'd really had enough by the time I got the backing on & did all the stitch in the ditch on the second one. Seems I have a few baby items to make as DD has put her order in for her girlfriend's who are expecting at the moment as well!

I certainly made making these baby quilts quick & easy-I found in my stash (this is where a good all round stash comes in handy)-a couple of minkee like blankets, bought on special at the end of winter-last year- the year before?- who knows, they have been aged appropriately! I backed the quilt top with the blanket- not worrying about batting- cut the backing about 3/4" larger than the finished top- folded it to the right side & zig zagged it in place- talk about easy peasy lemon squeezy! The baby gets the soft,cuddly minkee & it goes all the way to the edge & over- saved me doing all that binding & hopefully the quilts don't look too pristine that the Mother's wont use them.

Don't you just hate it when you make something & you are told its too good to use.....I just don't get that.

My socks are coming along as well-started on the second one to match the first toe up I did as an experiment & finished the purple one- although Lorna, at work, tried to pick all the coloured flecks off it, till I smacked her hand & said that they were meant to be there-sheesh!LOL

My friends are saying the Alien is back- I feel like I'm on a roll & loving it!

Happy Crafting,

Oz- Tralien