Getting Organised Pt 2...

Like so many other crafty folk - storing your treasures is one thing....
Being able to get at them easily is quite a different story!

Most of us find that everything gets shoved in boxes - and sometimes those boxes are neat and small and clear - easy to see inside and not too heavy to lift.



But - in the case of all good stories (get that? store - ies...  Oh never mind....)
- the thing you want is ALWAYS in the bottom box!
And that bottom box was ALWAYS inaccessible.

Solution No. 2 to the problem I had was found in the shape of .....

DRAWERS..

These ones are by
(Aussie Company) Oats

and the good thing about this storage solution is that if the thing you want is on the bottom....


Just pull out the drawer....

or

better still.....

Take it out completely and go sort through your stash for those colours you need..

With an internal measurement of 12" x 16" it is very easy to fit those treasured fabric lengths.


I also have one of these in the top cupboard with all our First Aid stuff in it - so when a band-aid is needed urgently - we just pull the drawer out and are good to go where ever it is needed.

AND they make a VERY neat solution to the mess that was underneath my work table.

Shake a Tail Feather....

Which is what I am going to have to do if I am going to get this Quilt finished in time for it's appointment with the Quilter!

Ever since I first started working on "Sing Me a Song" with my little 'Steampunk' style Bird, I just felt that he was missing something.

I set about asking, searching, drafting, photographing and googling in the search of a suitable 'rear end' for my bird.

Finally coming up with this wing and tail combination.

Don't worry --- I didn't destroy my block
I had a 'brilliant idea' !
(Well, I thought it was brilliant)
I photocopied the block,
Then cut out the pieces I wanted to alter - all without removing a single stitch.

I also copied the fabric that I wanted to use.

At 100% scale and in Colour, it gave me the advantage of "Having my fabric... and using it too!"

and what's more....
When I fussy cut out a piece and it didn't look right...
I just stuck it back into the page and cut out another one!

As you can see, my fabric would have been quite a mess in the quest to find the perfect Tail-Feathers.

Now I think That looks better!


And he can continue to sing to his little Heart's Desire!

I Spy.....

It has been finished and carefully wrapped up for ages, and now I can finally share with you the completed I Spy Quilt that I had been working on.

The problem with making a quilt for someone who you know has read your Blog, is that you can't post about it - or show it off - until it has been given....

It is intended to be a play-mat with lots of things for the 3 older children to find and teach the new arrival as she grows.  And in true play tradition -  I chose a backing of deep blue with silver stars so it can become a canopy of starlit Night Sky.

Did they like it?
Well, I think little Willow looks a bit ticked off that the older siblings had appropriated it so soon...


The last I saw of it - it was draped above the dining room chairs, underneath was stuffed full with every cushion in the house and a giggle of girls!

Getting Organised Pt 1

I like to be organised... 

this is a task that I fail miserably at... 

but I keep trying.

I know there will be LOTS of crafty ones out there that have already come to the same conclusion that I did last week... So I am going to share this with those of you who haven't!

And that is .....  Scrapbooking Paper Storage Boxes make ...

AWESOME block boxes!

 And Work in Progress Boxes!

And
"I bought all the fabric - Now what am I going to do with it?" Boxes....

And...
UFO boxes!

Ok, maybe that one isn't technically a UFO - it's more of a
"I bought a Kit and haven't had time and /or space to get back to it without interruptions" box
- but that doesn't fit on the label!

....you get the idea!
And they all stack up nicely.
(Can't show you a pic. of that 'cause I only have one box)
Yep.... real organised!

Cat in the Hat rescues Quilt...

This time last week I posed two questions, and received some great suggestions back, but ultimately it was my decision.

And that decision was..... 

...Pull it out - and do it again!

My Dad would say, If a job is worth doing it is worth doing well, and that applies to Quilting as much as it does to your daily 'Desk Job'.
So the Orange got tossed in the Scrap basket and the search began for the right fabric.

I was chatting to the ever helpful team from Logan's when I spied the "THAT'S IT" fabric sitting on the back of the stand at the craft show last Saturday.

This Dotty Blue Background from the Cat in the Hat range was perfect for the style of Quilt that I wanted to achieve.

The blocks went together reasonably well considering the (hideous) amount of bias seams that were involved.

...I saw a bug... and I jumped on it.....

The family all like the new colour scheme  and have been making comments about what it could represent -
(it even got Spike's seal of approval).



But the best came from DS#2 who stated :-

"Mum - That's what happens when you drop a "Bugs in Bottles" Quilt!