Relishing Retirement

After a minor health issue recently,

retirement is starting to agree with me!

 I seem to be busier than ever!

I love the freedom of being able to look after my 

grandchildren when needed!

I've found time to prepare all the octagon square 

blocks for my Bessie Creek Rd quilt,

which I'll finish by hand piecing.

These are the ones I've made so far!

I've finished the embroidery on my 

Daisy Love Purse....

now to make it into a zippy pouch!

I recently purchased this lovely soft laminated cotton 

from Frou Frou, a Parisian company.

I want to make a drawstring bag for travelling.

Finally, on the sewing front, I drafted a couple of 

LeMoyne Stars for a small project I am planning.

Finally, I have been tagged in a couple of Instagram 

posts recently,

with versions of my Scrappy Sandwiches tutorial,

 being made by girls on a quilt retreat in the United 

States!

It is very humbling knowing that my little blogposts 

reach so far!

 Happy days indeed!

SUZ

Short and Sweet!

Although I have quilts to quilt

1. Smorgasbord (- finishing it up!)

2. Quatro colour

3. Snowflake

4. Shine Your Halo (- hand quilting it!) 

I needed to make some quick finishes, so satisfying ...

I started with this Weebraw bag,

made mostly from furnishing fabric I'd purchased for 

$1.00!

And then, over a couple of days, 

I made a Devon Pouch,

from a long-hoarded linen fat quarter!

 I had to upscale it slightly to suit the zippers I had 

bought!

But I think it worked out beautifully

thanks to such a very well written pattern!

Do you have a favourite 'go-to' gift to make?

Happy sewing,

SUZ

Two weeks...

is a long time between posts! 

For no particular reason, I have not been very 

productive in the sewing department this year.

But I'm still here, doing what I can when I can!

I enjoyed some mindless piecing, making these 

'quilt-as-you-go' panels,

turning them into zippy pouches.

They are now waiting for some worthy recipients.

I have owned four "Merrily" panels for a long time,

and recently came across a free pattern online that I 

thought I could use with them.

And I'm thrilled with how it turned out!

It is now 37" square.

I really wish I had more of that gorgeous red and 

green 'stars' fabric.

I think it would be awesome as a large 74" bed quilt, 

using the other three panels!

If you'd like to make your own, the pattern is on the 

Art Gallery Fabric website here

Its name is "Snuggle"- pretty perfect, hey?

A Sewing Diversion

Sometimes it's nice to sew something different...

So I had a break from my quilt making 

Hand quilting

in all it's forms, to do some garment sewing.

First up, a pair of PJ pants for Eli....

 I then tackled this Summer dress I'd had cut out 

previously...

from this New Look #6022 pattern

A great dress that came together really easily!

Finally a lined winter skirt from a very old 

Simplicity pattern

Simplicity #5914

Yes, it needs hemming; the hardest job of all!

Before I start machine quilting one of the three 

flimsies I have waiting,

The inside, where I neatened up along the zipper

 I made this zipper pouch,

from a mini charm pack

 following a tutorial, I found HERE.

It finished at about 11" by 4".

It's going in the gift cupboard in preparation for 

Christmas.

Happy sewing!

SUZ

A Follow-up...

As a thank you to Rose for all the Cotton and Steele 

fabric and blocks she sent me,

 I decided the Lola pouch 

would make a nice gift...

Some Jane Sassaman for the outer and Lighthearted 

for the binding?

The Lola is my 'go to' pouch pattern!

It goes together so easily,

with everything well explained!

I was glad I remembered I had these leather 

tassels;

they do add a certain 'finish' to the whole thing!

 I have also wanted to make one of these....

for ages!

It is from "Patchwork Please" a very popular book 

from a few years ago!

And then I remembered I had a half-finished 

mug rug 

that was a perfect match!

I hope Rose drinks tea!

They are now living in the US, so I can share them 

with you !

I hope you love them Rose.

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Randomly

piecing....

a MCM Bee block for Mary....

made from this tutorial.

and these.....

to be made into quilts,

to help heal violence against women.....

made from this tutorial.

Giving....

this zippy pouch to Julie,

happy to know it arrived safely!

And receiving these "Pips" blocks...

part of the round robin I am participating in.

What should I add?

Maybe some inspiration can be found in this book,

"Illustrative Branding"

borrowed from my local library!

Happy days!

SUZ

Five years ago...

since I began blogging here at Patchwork N Play!

To celebrate my blog-iversary I'm having.....

a giveaway!

Chubby Star- circa 2010

What wonderful friends I have made since I moved 

here from my previous blog on 8th August, 2010!

According to my research, 

five is the number of balance.

There are five senses, five vowels, 

five Olympic rings and Chanel #5.

Not sure whether I ever showed you this!

Even one of my sons was born on the 5th of the 5th!

To have a chance to win my giveaway,

 of a zippy pouch like this,

(although you get to choose a colour or fabric I may 

have in my stash!)

tell me something fun about the number five and 

why it might be significant to you!

And as an extra entry, can anyone remember what 

my previous blog was called?

Gil guessed correctly...

So I will be sending here something in the mail

If so, I'll send you a little something too.

Please make sure I have some way of contacting 

you. 

(I will apologise now if I don't get round to replying to each comment, even though I'll enjoy reading them all!)

I will randomly draw a winner in...

 five days, of course!

Happy days,

SUZ

Sew slow.....

This is the way my sewing has been going recently...

Echidnas don't move too fast!

I made a triangle pouch from a tutorial found at

"A Spoonful of Sugar" blog

I need to tidy up my zipper ends 

for the next one!

I also made a couple of 'gender neutral' bibs,

for my sister to gift.

And finally I am making some pretty yo-yos ...

for my next Four-In-Art mini!

There is still time to enter the giveaway for a copy of 

Jess' Star Jump pattern, over here.

Like that echidna, I'll have my head down this week, 

getting my school work finished before our next 

term break!

Then maybe I will "sew fast!"

Happy days!

SUZ