Journal covers being stitched up here, there & everywhere

It is very exciting to see some journal covers being made up from my tutorial. It still blows my mind that from my humble little sewing machine in Australia, I can stitch something, blog it & almost immediately see a version made by a stitcher on the other side of the world. BLOWS MY MIND, I say! Here are some of the lovely versions that I have come across:

Poor Jean at Linen & Raspberry was one of the first to 'survive' my tutorial instructions! We exchanged an email or two ironing out some confusion in my instructions, but she has come up with a lovely cover nevertheless! 

Jean has added some gorgeous hand stitching to her cover, and a very cute bloom on the back.

Jannimary has made this stylish duo. Using a striped fabric horizontally instead of vertically looks great.

Fiona at Scraps in Progress really got busy and whipped up several journal covers as gifts. She has used some of her wonderful novelty prints, making the most of the large print designs. 

Jane at Sew Create It has added some gorgeous button detail to her journals. 

And Pia at Pia's Place has added some embroidery & a sweet butterfly.

Well done girls - they all look fantastic. It is so much fun for me to see your interpretations. 

What was I thinking, Dear Jane?

I made this block a lot harder for myself than it needed to be ... but I think I like it.

This is G5 Poof - yes, that's it's official name! Personally, I wasn't keen on the big white 'poof' that was supposed to dominate this block, so I tinkered with it a little.

The last of the frilly dillies ... for now

I am feeling a bit 'frilled' out after making three of Janelle's Frilly Dilly bags in such a short period of time. But this one was a priority to finish for my Little Miss Thirteen!

You can't really tell in the photos, but I scaled the pattern down to 80% and, if it's possible, Janelle's design is even cuter when it's smaller! The fabrics are all from one of my favourite ranges, 'Summer in the City' by Urban Chiks for Moda, on linen - just for a change!

And I managed to find another vintage buckle, perfect in '1970's, in-your-face' orange.

Journal cover variation

I stitched this whimsical girly some time ago and she has been sitting patiently waiting for me to make her up into a journal cover. 'At last', she declares!

I have used my previous journal cover tutorial again for basic dimensions. 

The stitched panel was too big to include a scrap-pieced strip on the front cover, so I sneaked one in on the back instead:

And another on the inside:

And I used some ric-rac to trim the top & bottom edges:

The stitchery design comes from the lovely Elsa Mora blog, as a free pattern here. 

Of course, you can use any stitchery design you desire to come up with a similar result.

I have had some great comments from several girls who have made up journal covers from my tutorial. I will be back soon to showcase some of their fantastic interpretations.

My Brunsvigia josephinae is flowering!

Yes, I probably need to get out more! But I was very excited to find, on a quick trip back to our farm garden on the weekend, that my Josephine's Lily (Brunsvigia josephinae) had shot up two wondrous flower spikes for the first time.

It is difficult to capture this amazing plant in a photograph. It has similar growth pattern to a Naked Lady (Amaryllis belladonna) in that the flower spikes appear from large, bare bulbs with the foliage appearing well after the flower is gone.

It is a rare bulb, and was given to me by a gardening friend with the instructions to 'guard it with my life'!

It supposedly takes many years before it will reward the grower with blooms, and yet mine has flowered within two years. How special!

The lily was reportedly named after Empress Josephine, Napoleon's first wife, who was a patron of horticulture & established famous gardens at Malmaison in France.

Silly Gilly lists Frilly Dilly

I know, the title is a shocker, but I will only ever get one chance to use it! Gillian of Silly Gilly has listed my Spring Frilly Dilly bag on eBay.

The listing ends on 13th March, so there is plenty of time to get your bid in if you are interested. 100% of the proceeds (apart from postage being charged at cost) from this auction will be sent to the Red Cross 2009 Victorian Bushfire Appeal. The eBay listing for my bag can be found here, and there are many more items being auctioned on behalf of other crafters here. An enormous thank you to Gillian for organising the auction for such an important cause.

Fun at the fair

There were lots of treasures to be found at our annual school fete on the weekend, the highlight being this gorgeous old pink dish for $2.50 on the White Elephant stall. I have no idea what era it is from, but it reminds of my Grandma's depression glass.

I spoiled myself with a new necklace made by Picadilly Designs.

And I found wonderful fresh quinces & rhubarb. The quinces are destined for quince paste, and the rhubarb is screaming to be teamed with new season apples in a crumble.

So there is no shortage of things for me to do today. There is one more frilly dilly to be finished, this one for my daughter ...

And I need to get back to finish this ...

and this ...

Although I'm really tempted to pop over here & make one of these sweet pincushions!

Have a great day. I'd better get to it!

Sweet & swanky giveaway at V & Co

A quick post tonight as it is late & I need some sleep after a day of financial reconciliations - oh joy! Just letting you know about a very sweet giveaway over at V and Co. The lovely Vanessa is giving away two very cute honey buns, so be sure to pop over to visit her before Thursday.

Spring Frilly Dilly to be auctioned for Bushfire Appeal

The winner of my recent giveaway, Rebecca of Edward & Lilly, chose the Winter version of Frilly Dilly for her very own. This means the Spring Frilly Dilly (below) will be auctioned on eBay with the proceeds to be donated to the Red Cross Bushfire Appeal. 

 

The lovely Gillian, otherwise know as Silly Gilly, has offered to put together a 'monster eBay listing' of items from crafters all over Australia on the evening of 6th March. The Spring Frilly Dilly bag will be listed then. I will post a reminder as the date draws closer. In the meantime, if you'd like an early peek at other items to be listed, pop over to Gillian's blog.

The stitching strategies of a desperate woman

I get a bit stir-crazy if I don't find time to stitch in a day. It's not pretty! To save myself & everyone around me, I devise little strategies to squeeze in some sewing amongst the busy-ness of the every day. I have been making these blocks. 

Even if I only get one made per day, I feel satisfied to have at least accomplished something!

I keep a small plastic box of 1" scrappy strips readily accessible. I use Melly & Me's scrappy challenge tutorial, but employ freezer-paper foundation piecing as it is infinitely quicker. I can make one of these 5" blocks in 20 minutes flat!

And slowly, but surely, these little blocks are accumulating. They make me happy!

I have even taken to using some selvage strips in the blocks which is fun -  Ric Rac, the selvedge queen, would be so proud!

What tricks do you have to scratch the stitching itch on a busy day?