A project a day keeps the doctor away

Those of you who read that whole last whingey whiny post will know I have been reasonably unwell of late.

Today I self medicated in the sewing room. I worked a little bit on my gifts for my Pay It Forward recipients...

and started to feel a little better but I knew it was just a brief moment of well being and a relapse was right around the corner.

It was time for preventative medicine!!

What was needed to combat this horrid flu was a new project, of course.....what better way to fight germs and disease than the thrill of riffling through the stash waiting for inspiration to strike!

I did think of all those Unfinished projects but I knew they just didn't have the appeal to really get me well again. No a new (preferably with no purpose) project it had to be............ and off I went.......

Quick and cheerful !!!

The answer - a little doll sized or miniature quilt with vintage chenille. Twenty little 4 1/2 inch squares and it was as easy as winking.

Now the boys of the ric-rac household are off to see Silver Chair and Powder Finger in concert tonight, in Ballarat, in a big top, in the rain and it is currently about 8 degrees........hmmmmm.


Those of us left behind will be nanna-ing it up on the couch with a bit of Australian Idol, lemon tea and the binding to hand sew.

and we are as happy as happy can be about it !

Today was MY day !

So today was MY day !

Not such a big deal I guess and hardly worth a whole post but after a month or so of early starts, late finishes and working weekends for concert , today was MY day. I was really really looking forward to it. I had slow-breakfast, out for coffee, spot of shopping, crafting afternoon thoughts.

Concert week (last week) was spent running around like Mrs invincible doing at least 20 things at once and by Wednesday I kinda had a little niggly, yes-your-tired-but-maybe-this-is-something-else kinda feeling.

The show must go on and on it went - It was a huge success !!! A few small hiccups of the getting -smacked- up the- side- of- the- head- by- drum- waving- grade- 6- boy variety didn't put me off. Nor did getting my finger caught in the back curtain mechanism . Throat felt like a wee volcano had erupted inside but I blamed the over reliance on the smoke machine to cover the bad dancing.

The next day saw me front up for the jury duty lotto draw ! No hassle, I looked like Frankensteins bride, sat far away from everyone, glowered and coughed. They only needed 6 people from a room full. I'll be safe and get let off and then have the rest of the day to rest. But nobody voted me out and I made it to the final six -lucky me

So jury by day, concert by night and my hand gets run over by the drum riser when I try to lock the wheels. Darling little boy tried to use it as a giant skateboard. Another success and then Bump out ! LATE night , can't go for celebratory drinks as I am sure I have been eating crushed glass.

"Friday off " is sacrificed to jury duty. Strange muscles ache , ears ache, no sense of taste, no will to move.

By this time it is obvious I am not well. The fact that the judge had to exit the jury because I could not stop coughing was a bit of a giveaway ! Not too worry it'll be over soon right? My cough sounds like a cross between a ships foghorn and a harp seal in distress.

Spend the weekend trying every potion known to humankind and still continued to cough until I vomit ( mmm nice !!!!!). Ache in every conceivable place on the body. Begin to think I may as well just eat Vicks vaporub-at least I could taste it.

Monday ! Armed with an arsenal of potions I head back to jury duty and cough my way through the next four days. Found some great throat lozenges that kinda stopped the coughing - sugar free !!! Do you know what that means - yep whatever they use to sweeten them means one must keep ones person within about 5m of a toilet at ALL times. Judge has to exit jury again so I may poop, and yes I had to get the jury foreman to request this of the judge in open court !

To cough or to poop? That was the question! Coughing of a vigorous nature very nearly inclined the pooping so it was a tricky time ! Of course all this had to occur with minimal disruption to the court and whilst listening to every word of every witness and taking notes and trying not to cough, sneeze, poop, vomit or fall asleep.

At last, yesterday jury duty finished after a whole week and today was my day .

Woke up, coughed a bit, coughed some more and coughed so much I cracked a wee little bit of a vertebrae in my back ! (this is self -diagnosis on the law of probability , the fact that I have done it before and the fact that no doctor has the time or inclination to help me until next Tuesday at 4.35!!!!!!!!!).

Sitting hurts, laying hurts, stretching hurts, scrunching hurts, thinking hurts, throwing stuff in frustration doesn't feel too bad for about 3 seconds but because no-one else is home and I have to pick it all up and that really hurts.

Ring every person I have ever met begging for drugs - BIG DRUGS - The kind of drugs that stop back pain. Think of just starting at A in the yellow pages and ringing every number. I'm willing to pay.

Yes !!! A friend of the mother has some spares - just a few but they are the make- you- really- really- want- to vomit- but- you- can't- because- you- will- vomit- them- back -up-and-then-you-need-to-start-again variety - do I want them?

YES !!!!!!!!

Tomorrow, Now tomorrow is MY day.

Back with buckets !

Hiya,

Here is my very belated bucket tutorial. I was hoping to do this for Whiplash but never mind. I fluffed the first lot of photos but had to use one of them here as I missed a step - just ignore the fact that the fabrics change won't you?

There are probably a gazillion versions of these floating around in the craft cyberspace, so these are the way I make mine. They are super useful for little things in the sewing room or for hair ties and stuff !

For each bucket you will need:
· 5 ½ x 18 ½ inch strips of outer fabric, light wadding and iron–on interfacing.
· 6 x 18 ½ inch strip of lining fabric (note it is a bit bigger so you get the nice trim at the top.
· Circles measuring 6 inches across in outer, wadding, interfacing and lining for the base.

Step 1.

• 
  You may do this differently but I prefer to iron my interfacing to my wadding rather than my fabric – I hate those little wrinkles I always get if I iron onto the fabric.
  Do the same for the bucket bottoms as well.

Step 2.

With outer fabric and lining right sides together (and the wadding interfaced piece under the outer fabric) sew along the long (18 1/2 inch) edge that will be the top of the bucket.

You can see the layers here. The black is the lining (face down) linen is the outer (face up) and then the wadding/interfacing on the back of the linen.

Open up and press the seam.

Step 3.

Take the short (5 1/2 inch) sides together and sew along creating a tube. Almost done now –

Step 4.

Sew the bottom into the outer fabric end right sides together. I do this by dividing the circle and the outer into fourths and than matching up the pins. You can clip this seam after you have sewn it if you like. Do the same at the other end with the lining base BUT leave a turning space (I leave about 1/4 of the circle).

(the brown is the lining in this photo)

Step 5.

Turn the whole bucket back through the space you left in the bottom. Then you simply tuck your lining into your bucket and slip stitch the opening closed. I like to top stitch around the top.

You can stitch-in-the-ditch for a nice finish.

Add a bit of Auntie Cookie or whatever you please and they are ready to fill ! You can add handles too !!

Sabotage !

Oops

So what have we got here?

It's not a pretty sight.

That's right Sarg the victim is a Janome sewing machine cord, quite obviously tampered with. Estimated time of death sometime on Sunday (during concert costume sewing).

The labs have come back and it has been cut by a sharp object with two parts. Yes sir, probably scissors.

Hard to believe I know, the sheer brutality. No apparent motive - a crime of passion maybe ?

We've narrowed down the list of suspects Sir and Jodie , yes she is the owner of the machine, she's waiting in interview room one. She claims she knows nothing about it. Give her a couple of days without her sewing machine Sarg and she'll be singing like a bird.

smell-o-blog

Aha, Miss organisation strikes again.
This week I made my little buckets as part of the whiplash challenge, using the spy fabric.
Blah !! My photos for the tutorial were shocking !!! So if you want to pop back tomorrow I will have a do-over on the buckets

Of course when I say tomorrow I use the term loosely. Tomorrow I am going to work. We are a week and a half out from school concert and there is still heaps to do.
Have I told you about the puppets?
I have been making eight Giant puppets for the concert - they are footballers and they are about 2.7m tall HUGE !!! Anyway depending on that.......... the bucket tutorial may be a bit later than tomorrow.


Check out these little mouse-trap buttons I grabbed today . It was the end of the tube type sale.

Today I cut some Daphne from a bush in the garden - it is such a lovely smell and now the house smells like spring. Then later I had to chop fresh coriander for dinner - another favourite smell. I was wishing I had smell-o -blog so you could all share. Then I got to thinking about smells and how they can transport you back.

I remember the smell of green apple shampoo when I was about 10. When I was pregnant I was addicted to the smell of Aloe Vera soap . I have no idea why but I wanted to shower ten times a day just so I could smell it.

The smell of old style freesias is the smell of my Nanna's house and the little vase she kept in the bathroom. Her bath was so old the enamel had worn off one end and it was all scritchy scratchy if you had to sit at that end. I could go on forever with this !
Ok so if you had a smell-o-blog what would we be smelling ???

Worst job in the world !!!!

After our gorgeous time at Magnolia Square, we headed off to Brenda's for lunch and some stitching ...... Brenda is serously one of the most welcoming people I have ever met. She tells a great joke !!!
We laughed a good chunk of the day away before we headed off to a patchwork shop.

You know, at first, I found it hard to understand the crabbiness of the shopkeepers. But the more I thought of it the more I felt duty bound to share with you the plight of the Patchwork shop worker.

Ode to the Patchwork Shop Worker

Oh Patchwork shop worker I know you’re no shirker
for harder jobs barely exist !

You must slave all the day, putting fabrics away,
and cutting must sure hurt your wrist!

People pop in, and they smile and they grin
but you’re wishing them dead in their tracks.

For they demand your attention and want you to mention
the location of pretty charm packs.

When they come in to visit and dare ask "where is it"
you mutter and glower and groan.

With a roll of the eyes, and a number of sighs
It”s all you can do not to moan.

Is it your fate, in this job that you hate?

for all customers to come and annoy you.

You want them to quit, so you treat them like shit
and get snooty when someone implores you.

Your whingey and whiny, and your shop is so tiny
that and you bump and you shove as you pass

Then you look down your nose, and strike up your pose
(the one with the pole up your A...)

We still give you our cash, to increase our stash
And we smile and try to be sweet.

But we save up our thoughts and our nasty retorts
till we’re safely back out in the street !

No more I promise........................

On we go

So, after all that shopping we had to have some morning tea.

All the chairs (there weren't many ) were taken so Annie and I ate on the church steps. My cake is the one half eaten (of course) and two of them did make it home to my kids.

Then we headed back inside for our second visit to Aunty cookie, where Annie pulled out her "reserve purse" and continued to shop.

The Aunty cookie stall really did look great !

The market was an interesting mix of things but the venue was waaaaaaaaaay to small. There were more than a few nudges and bumps and "excuse Me's" as people jostled around to see things.

I bought this brooch for myself, isn't it great ??? - the bag is the name of the designer / business I believe. I wish i had asked for a card.

I never wear brooches but figure at 38 I am bound to grow up and become one of those well groomed women who can wear brooches and those casually tossed shawly things any day now !!! So I am prepared !!!!

Hang around tomorrow for the final installment of our day - who knows I may even turn into one of those women over night (There were lots of them at the market as teacup noticed )