Favourite Things Friday

This little treasure is the result of unpacking. (I have found soooo many things that could qualify as a FTF item!) I went to a punch needle embroidery class sometime (I have no idea when!) and I made this. I love it. I have done two other embroideries (both have been made up into something) and that's all. I really like the whole process of punch needle and the finished product. I really must do more!

Edited to add: Forgot to say, if you want to see who else is playing "Favourite Things Friday go here!

Treasure!

A co-operative quilt top by picklesticks and me designed by Christine Book.

I have been discovering all sorts of treasures as I unpack. The storage spaces I have here are different so I need to go through most of my boxes in order to get the storage right. It has been a lot of fun because I keep discovering treasure. This lovely little quilt was started many years ago by a teenaged Mrs 27 (picklesticks). It is from a Christine Book book of patterns. She progressed so far with it and then gave it to me saying she had no desire to ever finish it, so I finished off a little of the stitching and sewed the buttons on. The next step is to quilt it I think. This is where lots of my quilt tops get stuck. I really loathe the basting process and until recently was not confident with quilting at all. I have become more confident with my quilting, but still have to improve or 'get over' the basting side of things! I really like this little quilt and intend to finish it soon! (As soon as I finish this unpacking and setting up! And finish my Tis the Season quilt too of course!)

So pretty!

Ikea and thinking.

An Ikea room from the 2011 catalogue

I went to Ikea today. Since moving to Melbourne I haven't been as regular a visitor to Ikea as I was in Adelaide. Not sure why. Certainly I live much further away than our last house, (It's pretty hard to get closer than across the road!) but it's probably not further than the house before that. Some people assert that I have been to Ikea far too many times already and therefore extra visits are not only not required, but superfluous. This is possibly because they have been to my house. On admittance to my house some think they have somehow travelled through a wormhole into Ikea. Yes, some claim that it looks like an Ikea showroom. I like it. And I guess that proves that I like Ikea.

So today I went to Ikea. I had a list of items I needed and I was ready to spend! Unfortunately, most of the items were not there. (Despite my Bradley being told last week that the most important one would be there this week.) This is where the interesting thought I had today comes in. In Adelaide they have a system of placing a card on the shelf telling you when the out of stock item is expected in. Now I am sure they don't do this for every out of stock item, but I have seen it many times there. I thought, "If only they did that in Melbourne!" I decided to line up to enquire about my desired items, but gave up after 15 minutes of fruitless waiting. (I'm not very good at queueing, or waiting.) I had places to be you know. As I drove off I pondered on what a great store Adelaide is and how frustrating Melbourne's Ikea is. And then it dawned on me. All I was doing was championing the familiar. I think this is a thoroughly human trait and all the great advances in science and thinking that we have had have only come from people who were brave enough to step away from the familiar. For some of us the phrase "Familiarity breeds contempt" is incorrect and should read, "Familiarity makes us really comfy".

The moral of this story? We should all try to be as unprejudiced as possible and take each new experience on it's own terms, rather than comparing it to what may have happened before. Oh. And Melbourne Ikea should really put some notes up as to when out of stock items are expected in.

Do you love precuts?

I think Honey Buns are possibly my favourite precut. Of course, I like them all!

My last post, which showed some of my precuts in my fabric cupboard, started me thinking. Do you love precuts? I am crazy for them (obviously). Which got me wondering why. Of course I have always loved the feel of Moda fabric and when they introduced precuts I was easily sold, but I do have precuts from other fabric manufacturers in the cupboard too. For me I think it is something to do with the fact that there is a full range in the precut pack. A little piece of everything the designer was thinking! The only thing better than that would be a big piece of everything. (Oh how I love the sight of bolts of fabric lined up in a fabric shop.) And maybe that's all there is to my precut love.

When you first hear of and think about precuts they seem to be such a great idea because they are precut! Who doesn't love fabric already cut out and ready to go? When it comes down to reality though, how many of us sew precut squares or strips together and leave it at that? I know I cut and sew, or sew and cut, sometimes multiple times. There is a little less work in a precut than a piece of fabric, but usually you still have to do some cutting.

Maybe it's the fact that precuts are just so attractive. So pretty. So cute. So enticing. (As if quilting fabric needs extra lovability!) You don't have to pick up a huge bolt and take it to the counter. It's just a tiny little package that makes you feel like you are hardly buying anything at all. (I remember being very surprised the first time I worked out just how much fabric was in a jelly roll if every strip was laid side by side. So that's why they seem to last forever!) Perhaps precuts are just an excellent marketing gimmick.

No matter what it is about precuts, I love them for their ability to give me a whole range that fits within my budget and I will keep buying them. (And hopefully using them! I am more determined than ever to make the most of my stash and to use it. That is it's primary purpose, after all.) So, do you love precuts?

Still unpacking here...

Still boxy and messy, but worth every messy moment as I discover long forgotten treasures! (It has been 6 months people and I am getting old. - refer to previous proof of my elderly status in the grandmother post below if you are a doubter!)

Things I should be sewing being rapidly covered by newly discovered projects!

Ahh... a fabric cupboard. Oh how I have missed you fabric!

... and it's still a mess, but I am feeling happier about the mess as I discover all my best things and empty and flatten those ugly cardboard boxes. Why do they make them so brown and ugly? Oh. Yep. Cause it would really take me forever to unpack them if they looked good. Good thinking cardboard box company!

I'm a Grandmother again!

This afternoon Mrs 27 (picklesticks) gave birth to a darling little granddaughter in Adelaide. Both are doing well and were able to come home this evening to newly enraptured siblings. Her timing was perfect because they came home at bedtime, so after everyone had a little cuddle they were all off to bed. Sleep tight family!

Two granddaughters on their Mummy's lap
Captured by a doting Aunty

I came home...

 ... a week ago now. We came home a little early because our stuff (furniture and things) arrived in Melbourne. There was much excitement (I now have more than two pairs of shoes!) and we figured that my Bradley would need some help to unload the stuff. (And he did because he hurt his back three days before the stuff arrived.) Mr 17 stayed in Adelaide to hang out with his friends and Miss 25 travelled there the day after we arrived home to help that 9 months (and counting!) pregnant picklesticks. (Still waiting for that little girl to arrive!) So the stuff moving was down to me (on the left, and then clockwise), my Bradley, Mr 10, and Miss 14.

Our feet.
Sad to report that Mr 10 is now wearing a men's size 10 shoe. Shocking, isn't it? No longer can I say, "Act your age, not your shoe size!" because they are the same. Our two older boys have BIG feet so I guess Mr 10 will go that way too.

Last Thursday lunchtime the first POD arrived. (Portable On Demand storage) And then a second on Friday. And a third on Saturday. (Yes, a lot of stuff!)

This gantry contraption takes the POD off of the truck and delivers it wherever you want it.

Mr 10 at the unveiling

It was a pretty full on three days. And of course, it hasn't stopped since. Lots of unpacking, furniture building and rearranging to do! One thing that has kept up our spirits has been the messages Miss 19 wrote back in January when she helped us pack. The one below is quite tame. There was one that read "I'll give you $10 if you can guess what's in this box!" (Mr 10 is still trying to claim that one!)

A message from Miss 19, who helped us pack, but didn't move with us.

And this is what our family room looked like after the pods were emptied. Yep. Lots to do. I may never sew again!

Just a tiny walkway was left!

Where I am

I am still in Adelaide visiting with my family after enjoying my Inspired Stitches weekend. (This is granddaughter cuddling a lizard, as you do!) I had four catchups with friends last week (Thanks Sue, Shay, Leonie and Loz, it was so good to spend time with you all!) and this week Picklesticks and I are planning to finish her new studio, while waiting for her baby to be born. I think that her baby should come before next Saturday (when I am off home) but she's not convinced that will happen. We'll see!

Inspired Stitches 2011

 Yes, I have just had two days worth of fun and stitching. (In that order. This you will understand when you see how much stitching I actually did.) Sarah always runs such a fantastic retreat. Thank you Sarah. Our tutors were fantastic. Thank you Helen Stubbings, Gail Pan, Janelle Wind and Natalie Ross. They were busy all weekend sharing techniques with us and chatting and laughing with us too. I got to sit next to Pip (One of my favourite bloggers!) on Saturday and had a fun time chatting to her. I had met her briefly in real life before so knew it would be a good day when I saw her at my table. Then today I got to sit with Annette, Gerri and Kerry. I didn't know them before today, but enjoyed them very much because they are from Melbourne (ish!) and told me all about Melbourne patchwork shops! A most productive day. "Networking", as Julie would say. (I sat with Julie and Karan both days) So, without further ado, my two day's worth of stitching:

And more importantly, I did have a wonderful time!