Cats & Quilts - a match made in heaven... (except maybe those stubborn little clouds of fur that latch on to the fabric!)

Kitty Quote of the Day

I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul. - Jean Cocteau

Monday, March 4, 2013

Long Weekend....


There is a lot to be thankful for today...

* It's been raining - in Perth - in March!
* It's quite cool - in Perth - in March!
* It's a Public Holiday, Labor Day, in Western Australia only - sorry Easterners...

* I had a great day at Applique Club yesterday, lots of laughs
* I have been surprisingly crafty productive this weekend
 * I am up to date on pressie making & swap planning

* I have done & enjoyed 4 weeks & 9 Aquafit classes at the gym - moving my lazy ass again at last!

* The pool in the backyard is patched & appears to not be leaking anymore - thanks FWA!

* Hun-bun is a happy, happy, more spoilt cat than ever.
* I have been woken to Hun-bun cuddles on the bed three morning this week, a record for HB. He tells me he took today off as it is a public holiday for WA pussy cats too ; (
* I've pulled up my big girl panties & I am coming to terms with Little Brun being gone though I think the likelyhood of me ever stopping talking about him is very slim - bear with me....

So this weekend on the crafty front, I have stitched stuffies;





I have prepared 10 Easter baskets;



 I have prepared baby bunnies for sewing - these are the smaller cousins to Aunty Shez's big bunnies. I decided to reduce the Homespun pattern;






I have finished cutting out a baby quilt in Melly & Me's fabric line Where The Wind Blows;





I made six cards also but forgot to photograph them so they will appear in another post. And the result of this & many other projects - my scrap bin is over flowing...


The tin I keep next to the iron at my cutting station in the laundry. Once it gets too full I empty it into the sewing box. As you can see 'in to' the sewing box is just not possible anymore. Fortunately on the way back from Applique club yesterday I had to go to Bunnings for a flood light bulb so a solution to the scrap problem had to be found. I was thinking one of those mini wheelie bins but my next question was where would it live. So for $15 I came up with an ideal solution - a 27 litre, swing top rubbish bin;





It sits perfectly under my cutting table in the laundry and so no one will ever mistake it for a rubbish bin, a few scraps & some scraps of Floriani Appli-kay Wonder and my bin has a label;

 
In case you haven't come across this product before, it is like visofix but you can move it. I use it for applique as I can place the pieces, pick them back up off the fabric backing & replace them or pick up a part of a piece and place under a piece that should have gone down first. It is very forgiving & easy to work with. 

It sticks without ironing (as you can see on my bin) and once you are happy with placement, an iron will lock it into place. It's not as cheap as visofix but after loosing so many pieces as the backing & sticky sheet came apart I always use this. Visofix doesn't seem to store that well and I always want some on hand as I am a late night planner & cutter. It comes on its own roll so is easy to store too. I buy a few rolls at every craft show annually or occasionally online. A roll 9 inches x 3 yards lasts me ages & it cost me $17.00 for the one opened last night. It's personal preference but this is the product for me.

I hope everyone has had a great weekend too. The line up for machine sewing in my home is getting a little overwhelming - look out Janome, your rest is over!

Happy stitching
Tracee xx










16 comments:

  1. lovely post tracee,its great to see everything is rolling along great for you,we have your heat wave down here,the rest of the week in the 30's i am loving this heat.Looking forward to seeing these little bunnies and boy 10 easter bags you are on a roll.xx

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  2. You have been busy Tracee. The application wonder looks good. I'm sure your Janome is up for the challenge, haha. Sharyn:)

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  3. You have bene busy Tracee, your projects look great, We get our long weekend next week. yippeeee

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  4. You've been very busy Tracee. Our long weekend is next week, so we'll think of you while we're relaxing on Monday!

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  5. Lots of fun stuff going on in your life at the moment - enjoy! Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to for our long weekend next weekend. If I survive this week (lots on at work + a sick mother in hospital), I am planning on taking Friday off as well, for a four day weekend! Yay!

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  6. Sounds like a fun productive weekend..

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  7. You have been very busy Tracee!!! Looking so good.....even better when there's a public holiday thrown into the mix! Don't blame you for missing Little Brun...Hun-bun seems to be trying to fill the gap...you're both doing well!!! I've got a roll of Appli-kay-wonder somewhere.....thanks for the reminder...must try it! Love your new scrap bin..cool idea!
    sugary hugs xox
    Wendy :O)

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  8. great idea! i think i have a trash can here to hold mine

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  9. You HAVE been busy on some great projects Tracee. Thanks for the tip on the sticky visofix I use something similar but that's hard to find. Hope you enjoyed your L-O-N-G weekend over there! :)

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  10. Looks like you have planned some beautiful projects Tracee. Glad things are settling down for you but never stop talking about Little Brun. We still talk about the escapades of our previous pussy cats and dog. One in [articular used to be a real handful lol.

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  11. Lovely post, Tracee. I think it's fine if you talk about Brunie for the rest of your life. Why not? I don't think dwelling on good memories occasionally is "living in the past" as is so often said. I often share my memories of Bucky my Saint Bernard who died 7/4/96. I never felt so safe when my husband was traveling as when I had 150 lbs of over-protective love watching my back. He was special, like Brunie is for you, and those pawprints on our hearts will never be erased. And, as Martha Stewart says, That's a good thing!. 8)

    Thanks for the memories,
    Susan in Texas

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  12. Wow lots of lovely projects on the go Tracee

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  13. You have been one busy lady. Love everything.
    You go right ahead and talk about your baby all you want. Hugs for your heart. I know it's so hard.

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  14. Sounds like you had a lovely long weekend, love all your projects! Nice to hear Hun Bun is happy and enjoying your extra cuddles.

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  15. So productive ans love the bin idea. I swear by floriani appli-Kay too!

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  16. You have been very busy !! Lovely stitcheries !
    Florence

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Thank you friends for leaving a comment on my post - love to get them! Tracee xx