Christmas has arrived and OPAM

Yes, I know it is only the end of October, so Christmas cannot have arrived, but if you looked at my sewing area at the moment, you would think that it was Christmas tomorrow.

I have completed 3 lovely table runners

 and a couple of adorable wall hangings.

 Here they are in closeup.  The fabric panels were designed by Dianna Marcum (a couple of years ago I think)

 I love the phrase on this one.  It really makes you think.

I have also finished a 'secret squirrel' quilt (made with a friend) that I can't reveal or it won't be a secret, but we love it and we're am sure it's new owner will love it too.

So I am quite excited.  These are 6more items for my OPAM list and that brings the month tally to a very healthy 30 items.  Whew, no wonder I feel tired  like I have been sewing alot.

Gifts for our teachers

Well a few more "Teacher" towels have joined the craft fair stock.

 but more importantly than 'stock' are these two towels for our class Teachers.

Tomorrow (Friday 28th October) is World Teacher's Day & we will give these to the two ladies who spend 5 days a week educating my boys and making them feel like they can do anything.  We really appreciate the work of our teachers. They are dedicated, they care, they are approachable and they genuinely want to know what is going on in the lives of the boys.  They share in sorrow for the boys, they share in joy. They are exactly what a teacher should be and we are going to make sure we say thank you.

The boys will put the finishing touches on their notes/pictures to give to the ladies tomorrow.  

Will you take 5 to thank your teacher?

A 'flock' of elves and a 'herd' of angels

Well I am not sure of the technical term for a group of elves and I am fairly certain that a group of Angels is a 'host' but I feel like they are a 'flock' and a 'herd' due to their behaviour.  They were rolling all around the table and wings were flying and the elves were joking around.

These three were chosen due to their exemplary behaviour, but look at Red there, he is try to steal the limelight from the others.

Now he is behaving himself, but he looks kind of cheeky.

These three along with about 47 others are destined for the craft fair where their new owners will be able to choose the letter they wish to have personalised onto their elf or angel like these three below for the family of a good Roma friend.

Just in case you think I am joking, here are the rest of them waiting to go.

Well these don't count on my OPAM list, but it sure feels good to have more finishes under my belt.

OPAM and Craft Fair

Well the Craft Fair is getting closer (only  32 days to go Bindi - don't panic though) and my stock is coming together nicely.  As it needs to as we have a 9th birthday, a wedding, a 60th birthday and just the usual craziness of Term 4 to deal with before then.

These Christmas towels will accompany my 'teacher towels to the event.

and a close up of some of the phrases

 These are my favourite, but I forgot to photograph them before I stitched them into rolls.

  "Peace on Earth" so you can sort of see the stars and "peace on" one towel and "earth" on the other.

 and the same idea with an awesome tree & "Merry" on one towel and "Christmas" on the other.

I am getting excited now and as a bonus these are 11 OPAM finishes.  YEAH!!

A hat for Mum

When my parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago I was given the task of making a custom fitting hat  for my Mum.

Now it has been close to 2 years since I did the hat making workshop and so the old grey cells got a bit of a work out trying to interpret my notes.

I forgot to photograph the hat while it was here so thanks Mum & Dad for emailing these through.

Mum wanted a small brimmed hat that would keep her head warm for when she next travels to Europe.

 It is made from tiny corduroy.  Not perfect and looking at it now I wish I could reach it to unpick the top, but Mum says she likes it and it will squash nicely in her suitcase and 'come back to shape again' when needed.

Mystery Weekend Reveal

Well I am back after my mystery patchwork weekend with Roma Patchwork and Crafters.  The mystery was quite mysterious with none of us being able to 'pre guess' what we were making.

I started with my fabric ironed and sewn like this.

I then spent some time doing this

To end up with a large piece of this.

 

Mine did not progress further than this as I was talking too much.  Here are some of the others.

 and the one below is by Bev.  Bev enjoys putting a twist or interpretation on her task.

Now I can hear you wondering, "What was the mystery?" 

Officially the mystery was a woven table runner & place mats, but our tutor Julie of Cow Paddocks Patchwork & Craft  thought we would appreciate the flexibility of a large piece to work with rather than 'pre cutting' a table runner & place mats.

I think at this stage the pieces are destined to become a backpack, an overnight bag, a centre for a quilt, cushions, corners of a quilt and just about anything you can imagine.  Hopefully I will capture some snaps of the finished projects.

As for mine, I have no idea.  I have some deadlines and secret squirrel projects in the pipeline, so it might be a while before I have the time to focus on what it will become.

OPAM and Teacher Gifts

Well I have 6 more projects to add to my OPAM list and to tuck away into my stock for the Craft Fair in November.

These are "Teacher Towels". Thank you gifts for your child's teacher.

 the towels come with a large hanging loop

 that fits over your hand,

 over a door knob

 over a chair

 or can hang on a towel rail.

there are 2 phrases stitched on the towels "Thank You Teacher" or "I belong to the TEACHER".

Hopefully a few other parents think these are a good idea and buy them for their class teacher.

Bright Scrapping Paper Challenge

About 3 weeks ago my friends Gayle & Brooke of Scrap 4 Fun handed me two very bright sheets of scrapbook paper and said.  Make something.  Can be whatever you like.

Now as a non scrapper I just sat and looked at the papers and thought, "mmmm they are bright".  I was really stumped and I needed whatever I made to be fast.

Lucky for me our local cheap shop was selling some laser cut trees & look what I made.  The flash did something to the colour it is much brighter in real life.

 and on the back I used some Christmas papers so the tree is usable all year round.

so Gayle & Brooke, thanks for the challenge, I hope I passed.

Do you love a mystery?

This weekend my patchwork group are hosting another workshop.

It is MYSTERY PATCHWORK WEEKEND.

 

I am really excited as it is a 'no stress' weekend.  I don't know what I am making, so I can't be concerned about messing it up.  It has really got the ladies talking trying to predict what we are doing.

Could it be a pincushion? Apron? beaan bag? Kids activity tee pee?

I don't know, but I am fairly certain it not a pincushion.  We have waaay too much fabric for that.

Hopefully I will have some photos after the weekend.

Oh yeah these are my fabrics.....

yummy.

Maison de Garance by French General for Moda with complimentary and contrasting fabrics from "Adoring" by Sandy Gervas for Moda.

See you after the workshop.

We Stitched, We Scrapped, We SOCIALISED

As promised, you have popped back and I have a photo of our Girls Night In.

On Friday night we got together to Stitch, Scrap & Socialise to raise funds for Queensland Council Council to assist in funding research for women's cancers (breast & gynaecological).  Whilst we were small in number we were great in enthusiasm and raised over $200 with a couple more donations promised.

Thanks for coming along ladies.  See you next year.

I'm so excited

I am so excited because I have finished more stock for the Craft Fair in November.

These are some of my favourite crafts "Teacher Gifts".  Our teachers work like Trojans all year to make sure our children get a good education.   I think too many people forget to say thank you.

  

Now that photo above is a sample of the items (I do actually have more than 5 of each)

Here are Teacher Ruler Magnets

 and Teacher Duster ornaments/hangers

I hope they are something the children feel 'is just right' for their teacher.

Tonight is the Night

Yes it is here again.  Stitch, Scrap & Socialise is on again TONIGHT. 

We are really excited.

This is a fundraiser for the Cancer Council. 
We are looking forward to a fun night and we might even get some craft done.

Pop back tomorrow and hopefully  I will have some photos for you.

A visit from the postman & another finished Care Quilt

Look what was in my mailbox yesterday.

This lovely parcel was sent by Kris from Tag Along Teddies.  Kris & Peg are the organisers of OPAM (one project a month).  I was one of the lucky OPAMers who was drawn out of the hat in August for finished projects.  Look at the lovely prize.

 

The patterns in the book are great and they all use jelly rolls & charm squares (or 2 1/2" strips and 5" squares).  Hopefully I will be able to create something from this lovely book soon.  Thanks Kris

And I have finished another quilt.  YEAH! One for the OPAM list and another for the Club Care Quilt Collection.

 This is Blue Hearts Care Quilt.  It has the cutest little girl and boy fabric in it and the Blue hearts give it a bit of zing.

 Once again, this quilt will go into the collection to be given to someone in need in our community.

Why Outback Crafter??

Why Outback Crafter?? I can hear you thinking that is a strange post title, but bear with me.

Dawn over at "As Sweet as Cinnamon" posed this question on her blog and encouraged other bloggers to answer it to. "Why did you name your blog what you did?

So here goes, nothing too exciting.

Outback Crafter came about as we have moved 4 times in 11ish years.

I live in Queensland Australia & it is a BIG state.  Most of the towns we have lived in have been considered 'country' towns in the west or north-west of the state fondly called the "OUTBACK".

I have dabbled in almost every craft around (patchwork does have the majority of my time) and seem to just be a crafter.  So when I had to choose a blog name on that fateful day when I decided to blog, that is what came out.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to visit Dawn's blog to see the link up to the other blogs that have answered the question.

Thinking, Pondering and admiring the work of my Friends

Yes as the title says, I am thinking, pondering and admiring the work of my Friends.

Thinking and pondering the future of these collections of yo-yos

 

Yes, they are laid out in tree shapes.  I am seeing bags?, or apron fronts? or who knows?

And admiring.

This beautiful bright bed topper for "My big bed Nanna" was made by Colleen from a Jelly roll and some great angled piecing

 and a close up of those braids

 Very nice Colleen.  I hope it is loved by it's new owner.  

I love having crafty friends, they definitely provide inspiration.