The curtains are ready to hang. The rail is going up this morning. So now I’m porjectless, I’m about to start a new quilt. I’ve been shopping this morning, and found some very yummy fabrics. Now just to cut out one block & decide on the colourway!
June 14, 2008
June 11, 2008
Day Four
The loungeroom, hallway & office are today’s focus rooms, with Skipper suggesting today’s obscure job being a 50 item pick-up in the focus room (the 50 item pick up is a Domestic Guru specialty that has made a huge difference to me!). I know I say this every week, but I really need to get my office sorted out. I don’t know why I find it so hard to just get stuck in, but I’ve got to get over it & just do it!
The curtains are going well, I have one all stitched up except the hem, ready to be gathered, and the other is cut, ready to go. Hopefully I can knock over my focus rooms quickly today & get the second one done, and maybe even hem them both, ready to be gathered tonight! I’ll be back later with a picture of my progress, my dining/sewing room is too dark at the minute.
My new “iron every night” habit is going well, I managed to clear my backlog of ironing last night. I think the secret is to not think about it too much, don’t sit down, and just do it!
Starting the curtains…
I’ve just been down & bought the tape & thread I needed, so I’m about to get stuck in…
June 10, 2008
Day Three
Woo-hoo! Halfway through the week! Today’s focus is the bathroom & laundry, and the obscure job is once again a 50 item pick-up in the focus room (Obscure job, & the wonderful 50 item pickup suggested by Domestic Guru)
It’s also project week over at Domestic Guru. My main project for this week is to make some curtains for our loungeroom. If I can get that done, I can get back to doing fun stuff like making quilts! Now I’ve worked out how the photo upload works, I’ll try & post some photos as I go along. Today is stage one, buying thread & tape, cutting the fabric, and starting to iron & pin the hems. I’ll post back with a pic this evening to show my progress!
I’m also starting a new habit, it’s been a couple of weeks, and my other habits are well ingrained now. My new habit is ironing – every night, while watching tv, if there is ironing to be done, I will iron for either half an hour, or until it’s done, whichever comes first. I’m hoping if I do it in bite-sized pieces, it won’t be so daunting, and it may actually get done! Last night was the first night, and I got half an hour done, which saw me about halfway through the collection on my bedroom floor.
The Quilt!
As promised, pctures of the “bonus quilt”!
I used scraps from the main part of the quilt to make the binding. Quite tedious to do, but worth it in the end, I think.
And one of the quilt as a whole:
June 9, 2008
Tuesday, or is it Monday?
Yesterday was the Queens Birthday public holiday, so I didn’t bother with my focus room, just did my daily jobs and spent some time with my family. We also had the in-laws come to visit on Sunday, so I had lots of clenaing up after that to keep me busy. I managed to do 4 loads of washing, and put three loads through the dishwasher! I always try to ensure the kitchen is clean & tidy before I go to bed of a night, but on Sunday, after a day of entertaining, I had done one load in the dishwasher, and couldn’t be bothered with the rest, so left it. Well, wasn’t it a depressing sight yesterday morning! It served to remind me why I do it off a night! It is much more pleasant! I also managed to finish my quilt last night, I’m really happy with how it turned out, and will post a pic later on.
My rooms for today are the kitchen & dining room. My dining room has been taken over as a sewing room, so I do need to give it a good tidy today after finishing the quilt. I want to make a start on some curtains for our loungeroom today, so need to completely clear up all my quilt stuff so I have a clean slate to start with. The obscure job for today, as suggested over at Domestic Guru is a 50 item pick-up, with a twist – only pick-up in the focus rooms! That should be a challenge, but I’m sure I’ll be surprised.
June 5, 2008
Day Five
Domestic Day today! Because we were away earlier in the week, I’ll use today to change the sheets & little bits & pieces, plus the sun is out, so time to catch up on my washing! I also want to try & get some baking done, as we are having visitors over the long weekend (Monday is the Queen’s Birthday holiday here). Also, being Friday, Domestic Guru tells me it’s time for a 50 item pick-up, and I still so disorganised from being away that I’m sure it won’t be a problem finding 50 things!
I will also use today to finish up some bookwork that is waiting for me, and maybe, if I’m lucky, I might be able to start quilting. The quilting should take too long, so I’m hoping to be ready to bind by Sunday. Once the quilt is finished, I then need to make a start on some curtains for our loungeroom, followed by a lap quilt I found, also in mum’s scraps pile!
Something fun we did yesterday was make playdough. The recipe I used was found on the back of a packet of Cream of Tartare. It was very simple:
“2 cups of flour
1 cup of salt
4 tsp Cream of Tartare
2 tsp cooking oil
2 cups water
Combine ingredients in a saucepan, and mix over a medium heat for three to five minutes, or until mixture congeals.”
You can add food colouring at the cooking stage, but because it makes so much, I just broke off a small amount & kneaded in the colouring as it cooled, leaving me with a smallish lump of green playdough, and a huge amount of uncoloured, so I can make a different colour when we are sick of green. I did find I needed to add a touch more flour as I needs, but I think that was because I didn’t cook it long enough, as I was scared of burning it.
June 4, 2008
Day Four
It’s still raining here, which is throwing out my washing routine, but I won’t complain too loudly, as we desperately need the rain. It was a bit harder reminding myself to fold clothes as I went yesterday having to use the drier, but I managed it… right up until the last load I brought in! Now I have a big pile of washing to fold, and I really don’t want to do it! It reminds me why I started the “fold as I go” habit, it really makes life so much easier. I also didn’t put a load of washing in last night, as I had a load in the drier, and another one waiting to be dried, and didn’t want to get too far behind.
My quilt is coming along nicely too. I went to the fabric store yesterday & bought the bits & pieces I need to finish it off. It is now half-tacked, and I hope to finish tacking tonight ready for quilting tomorrow! I’m very excited, and hope to finish it over the weekend.
Today’s focus rooms are the loungeroom, hallway & office. My office is an absolute pigsty, so I plan on using the toddler’s naptime to get stuck in & get it tidy. While I’m there, I need to also shred old paperwork that isn’t needed anymore, and chuck it on the compost heap.
June 3, 2008
Day Three
Yeah, I know I missed days one & two, but I was busy off having a holiday! Today is catch-up day though. The focus rooms for today are the bathroom & laundry. I didn’t get around to making up my laundry detergent last week, so I’ll be attempting to get that done today.
The obscure for today over at Domestic Guru is to check all your hot drinks & cup-a-soups for expiry dates & chuck those which aren’t any good.
Project week (over at Domestic Guru”)was a great success here, I made a library bag with Maisy Mouse appliqued on on the front – the small boy adores Maisy! Sifting through my mum’s scrap piles, I found a heap of patchwork blocks finished & waiting to be put together. These blocks were in reds & blues, perfect for a little boy. I started work on the “bonus quilt” last night, and have all the rows sown together, and have made a start on joining the rows together. I hope to get the quilt top finished today, and to have it edged, batted & tacked ready for quilting by the weekend. Sounds like a quick quilt, but it’s actually quite a drawn-out one – I think the block are around 8 years old!
My habits are still going strong, though the next couple of days may be a test, as it is raining, and having to use the drier, it will be very tempting to just chuck everything in the basket & deal with it later. I must be good, I must be good!
May 29, 2008
Day Five
Good morning! Finally Friday, and it’s time to get ready for the weekend! Today is Domestic Day, which I love, as no assigned rooms means more time for fun stuff!
My project for this week (it was Project Week over at Domestic Guru) was to make a library bag for my son. I have finished the bones of the bag, and am just in the process of appliqueing a Maisy Mouse on the front. I hope to have it finished either today or tomorrow. What was your project for the week?
I must confess, I didn’t put my washing in last night like I was supposed to. In my defence, it has been raining here the last couple of days, and I have two loads on the line, and another two waiting to be hung. Hopefully we’ll get some nice dry weather today to give me a chance to hang out the wet stuff & maybe do another couple of loads. I won’t complain too much though, we are desperate for rain, so I think some damp washing is acceptable!
Have a great weekend!
