JaM What's on the Mannequinn?

Hope life's treating you fine and your day is peppered with good friends, good coffee(or tea) lots of laughs and of course lots of PROJECTS................

Joining in with JODY and JaM  What have you been


  SEWING
                                                                                 
 MAKING
                                                                                 
 BAKING
                                                                                 
 OR       THRIFTING
                                                                               

Now this lovely Mannequinn is owned by my HUSBAND BOB (yes its true) when i first meet him it was in the corner of little flat with lots of clothes piled all over it.  She has followed us along our journey in life and at one stage was kidnapped by 15 year old daughter to hang all her special things on .When she finally left home she wanted to take it with her was told ........... find your own.

Now she lives in the corner of our bedroom and is usually home to all my scarves BUT hubby keeps piling on all his clothes and i keep having to take them off...........

So here you can see one of my latest projects strips of flying geese which i have been making with left overs and sewing them when were on longish drives or in front of the TV.

On the making front mostly lots of mess in my garden ripping out all the Summer Crops which have finished ready for the Autumn plantings.

The Baking department..................... Corn Relish with the last of the Cobs, threw in some onion,celery,ginger,and spices and an hour later bottled and some eaten with our rissoles, must of been OK as our visiting friends have tucked a jar into their suitcase!!!

Now the thrifting department.....................As I've said before I'm trying really  really really hard not to acquire to much more STUFF but when a friend says " I'm throwing out some stuff do you want some old towel etc" i say "YEP lets have a look"    and down the bottom of the cardboard box is............

                                                                                   
My youngest daughter Laura who's 19 and living in Melbourne while at Uni thinks its pretty Awesome and its now hers.  Yep I'm the favorite parent!!!!!

Love to hear what's NEW with you........................................................

JaM Watcha Got ?

Joining in again with Jody and the theme this week is anything  new to your collection?

Now this isn't actually new (I'm trying so hard not to acquire anymore treasure as i don't have any room left)its been in storage for approx 20 years but i had forgot about it and only found it again recently when looking for Xmas decorations so it feels like new.

 Its a bedspread made by my ex husbands grandmother(all the way from America), its made with a very good quality calico and has a wonderful pattern of blue cotton hooked into it.

                               It is Queen sized and has a border around the bottom edge.

                                                                                
                                                                           
Beautiful as it is I haven't used it, (thought my second husband might feel strange with it on our bed)just keeping it to hand on to one of my daughters when their a little older and will appreciate the work and skill of their Great Grandmother.
Would anyone know what this type of needlework/craft this is called?

I have been Op shopping this week but only for glass jars for jam and pickles ..............
It was so hard to walk by the linen shelf.............Maybe one more gingham table cloth..................

Step away from your sewing machine.

Joining in Today with Jody and JaM.  Step away from your sewing machine.

 Life at present is a little messy and dusty, with building materials, nail guns,ladders etc littering the renovation we are doing at present. Hubby and i are in our little caravan so there's not much space but just enough for my sewing machine a Janome Memory Craft( a present from my hubby) which is a real pleasure to sew and quilt with.

The machine lives under the table most of the time and my sewing boxes and materials at the end of the bench.

I do enjoy both hand and machine quilting but at present I'm just making up a couple of hearts with scrap fabric which i will tie together and hang from a door handle or give as gifts.

                    I have also just finished this small embroidery using a piece of Irish linen.

I'll have to wait a least a couple of months before i tackle anymore big projects but its quite exciting watching the house take shape.Unfortunately no sewing room.(maybe a studio one day)

Happy Stitching !!!

First Stitch.

I can't remember the first stitch i made but i do remember sitting by my mothers side watching as she sewed.
I also loved looking in the linen cupboard at all the tablecloths, runners and lace cloths that older family members had made and now layed folded and quiet in the dark.
Luckily sewing was offered at school and i learnt over the years to firstly read and follow a pattern, insert zips, make pleats,attach collars, hem, embroider and finish a project.
My two sisters and I were encouraged to make our own clothes as we got older and i have fond memories of standing at the counter looking through the pattern books finding just the right pattern and then choosing the fabric.

Over the years i have made clothes for my three children(now adults) and have expanded my interest into embroidery and making quilts. 
Many hours have been spent in Op shops,markets and garage sales collecting vintage tablecloths, aprons, bedspreads and two very special quilts.

There has been times when i haven't made anything for months or years but then the next wave of interest arrives and off i go........

A big wave has hit and I'm determined to finish a few projects and start a few new ones too.

                                                                            
        First project will be finishing this quilt for my son Rory, maybe for Xmas.