Vignette Pre-Orders + Published + A WARNING !

I have just received notification that Leanne Beasley's new magazine will be released on 1st November.  I am ordering in limited copies.  This will be a quarterly magazine and the first 8 issues will each have a block inside of Leanne's new Block of The Month plus other projects and lots more. RRP is $17.95 per issue but I will be pre-selling this first edition to a limited number of people for just $17.50 including FREE postage within Australia.  If you would like to order a copy just drop me a line - goldwen at bigpond.com and I will send you a paypal invoice.

Sorry all of the copies of the magazine that I had on pre-order have now been spoken for.  My friend Sarah is still taking orders so go Here to reserve your copy with Sarah.


 

I have been so busy lately that I had forgotten to tell you about my Sammy The Snowman project which was published in the Country Christmas edition of Handmade magazine.

My lovely blogging friend Karen wasted no time in making her own version of him for a friend. Hasn't she done a lovely job.

And now for my warning -----  I received a call this afternoon from my bank telling me that my credit card had been compromised in France, England and the US. 

It seems that a web site that I have used (even though they use a secure server) has been hacked and credit card details have been stolen and used.  I will contact the 2 on-line stores that I have used to let them know.  I usually only use paypal and have never had any issues at all.  I use it for all of my business transactions and luckily they have a payment dispute mechanism which guarantees you safety.  But please just be careful where you are shopping and make sure that it is safe.

Re-Purposed Thursday

 It's Thursday again .......  Can you believe it? So that means that it is Re-Purposed Thursday here at Designs by Fee.  One of my favourite things to re-purpose is glass jars and trinket dishes.  I am always buying different bits of glass - They look so pretty when filled with different things.  I have an extensive collection of buttons - Most of which are too pretty to use - You know what I mean don't you?

You might remember when I purchased this christmas tree shaped jar with a lid?  It is now filled with cotton reels.



And more buttons !!  How do you store yours?  Almost every time I go into a thrift shop I come out with a piece of glass of some description - It seems that lots of people have no need for jars and dishes so you can get them really cheap.



You can even dress them up with some recycled twill tape.



Most quilters and sewers have a scrap bin.  I like to go through mine every few months and cut the scraps into different sized squares.  I will show you next week how I store them.  Some of them get made into Yo Yo's that I keep on a glass trinket dish on display in my sewing room.  They are great for dressing up projects and are fun to make.

And of course my quilting safety pins need a home where they are easy to grab when you are basting things together.  A Trinket dish is perfect for that.

Even my Rotary Cutter lives in a glass jar.  He shares the space with pencils and pens so that they are in easy reach on my cutting table.

My pens and pencils on my computer desk live in an old glass.  Take no notice of that glass of indulgence on the right - It just happened to be sitting around when I was taking the pics.

You quite often find these little vinegar bottles sitting on the shelves at the thrift shop.  They make perfect single stem vases.



This one holds my first rose of the season.  Isn't it pretty?

If you want to join in on Re-Purposed Thursday just leave your link here and leave a comment.

This Week's Recipe - Berry Trifle

Our home is full of yearly traditions at Christmas - One of those is a Berry Trifle for Dessert.  My sister is "Chief Trifle Maker"  And she makes a lovely one.  HERE is the recipe.  How are you going with your Christmas Treats Recipe Book?  I have seen some lovely ones.  It is nice to have all of your Festive Recipes in the one spot.  Next week I will share with you my Boiled Fruit Cake recipe which I have adapted over the years.  It is my husband's favourite cake. 

 Picture belongs to www.taste.com.au

I am getting low on traced stitcheries in my basket that I keep beside my recliner.  I love to stitch of an evening whilst spending time with my family and really need to have a few hours tracing off some more.  This one is the centre piece of a pattern written by my lovely friend Dawn of "Dawn Hay Designs".  It is from her peaches and Cream pattern.  I of course had to make mine in shabby pink and green - LOL.



And here is the beginnings of a new design.  Besides Flowers and Hearts that I love to use in my designs,  I like birds almost as much.  Isn't this cute?



I have chosen all of my fabrics for the Stitching Around the Block Quilt and sent them off to Liz yesterday.  I have used the fabric range "Sweet Divinity" from Riley Blake Designs.  I have also sent a little note book for the girls to write whatever they like inside.  It will be a nice little keepsake of our journey together.

Don't forget that tomorrow is Re-Purposed Thursday so get snapping with your camera.

Home from Camp

Yesterday we arrived back home from Quilt Camp at Hagley in the North of Tasmania.  Jo and I travelled up together and had a lovely time browsing lots of shops along the way.  Camp was full of lots of lovely ladies and lots of yummy food and a few glasses of nice wine. 

I finally got to meet the lovely Pauline from Calico Crossroads - We have been e-mail pals for ages and it was so lovely to finally meet her - Take my word for it she is a real doll and her shop is gorgeous.  I had a lovely time and we have already booked in for next year and intend to go for an extra day in 2011.  I can't wait !  A huge thanks to Sarah and Cathy for organising it all.

Have you joined Helen's Stitching around the block?  I am in a group with Peg, Liz and Vicki (who I met at quilt camp - She is just a gorgeous gal )  Here is my block which will be winging it's way to Queensland tomorrow.

I worked on a few different projects at camp including this post and rail quilt for Amy in gorgeous "Sorbet" fabrics.  I am not far off finishing the quilt front and then it will be off to Sarah for quilting.



Talking about quilting.........  I picked up my Flower Garden quilt at camp from Sarah.



I remembered to pack the binding fabric so was able to attach it.

Sarah did a beautiful job of the quilting it compliments the stitched and applique flowers.

The white on white fabric teamed with Bliss gives the quilt a lovely fresh look.



It is quite a simple design but very achievable for everybody.  I try not to complicate my designs and I like to think that they are quick and easy to make.

I will be back on Thursday with some more re-purposed items and I will show you some photo's from camp later in the week.

Hugs,

FEE                     XXXXXXXXXXXX

Re-Purposed Thursday

Goodmorning.  Yes I know I said I would be early ......... the sleep in gremlins visited and said it was ok :)

So how are you going with re-purposing?  This week I am going to show you some items that I have saved from land fill or worse , I have fixed or painted them and now they serve in a new role in our home.

Do you remember this little shelf?  It was natural wood and has been poorly made - But I think that adds to it's charm.  One draw doesn't fit properly and someof the wood is cracked.  It has been given the white treatment and now lives in our front foyer.  Can you see the framed photograph on the top?  I purchased it with 2 broken corners.

I managed to glue the corners back together - You can still tell that they were broken but only just.  It now holds a photo of our 2 youngest girls that they took themselves and I discovered hiding away on the SD Card.  I just love their self portrait.

This little table was a nice find - It was green in a past life - It is made from pre-used timber.  It too was given the white treatment.

And this basket after being painted and cleaned up now holds one of my favourite quilts.

Want to Play too? Just add your link here.

Sorry ................

Please accept my apologies for not blogging before now - Life and my health got in the way  - BUT I am back now and getting my bags packed ready for the Tassie Bloggers Quilt Camp this weekend.  My gorgeous friend Jo and I are leaving early on Friday morning and are taking our time to wander up the other end of the state before arriving at camp at 4pm to meet the other girls. 

So how are you going with re-purposing?  I have a few things to show you Tomorrow - I will put the post up quite early to give you the opportunity to add your link to Mr Linky and join in the fun - It is just so inspiring to see what others are doing and does wonders for your mojo.

I am a bit late with this weeks recipe but here it is White Chocolate & Raspberry Tiramisu.  It is really easy to make and is one of those "show stopper" desserts.  I often make it when we are having a BBQ.  Click HERE to download the recipe.

It is a public holiday in the south of Tasmania tomorrow so I am going to spend some time getting my projects ready for camp.  I am hoping to take along some UFO's and maybe get 1 or 2 of them finished - LOL.  Wish me luck.  Hopefully I will see you back here tomorrow for

Re-Purposed Thursday.

Re-Purposed Thursday at Fee's - Want to Play?

Sadly we live in a disposable society where if something is broken we generally throw it out and buy another.  I am guilty of this, as are most of us I think.......  I thought it would be nice if each week on a Thursday we showed our blogging community things that we have given a new life to or have used for another purpose.  It may be something that you already had and have re-purposed, or something that you have purchased to re-purpose.  There are no rules just inspiration and new ideas for us all.

I adore cut flowers in the house and when this gorgeous vintage tea pot became lidless it began a new life as a cute little vase.

And this one was a glass cannister with a cork lid which I decided to no longer use.  It is now a vase too.

So what have you re-purposed?

Here is Mr Linky for you to add your link so that we can all be inspired by you.




Hugs, Fee

This week's recipe and catching up......

Gosh where did the weekend and Monday disappear too? It seems that these days the time is just flying by in a flash. Must be as we get older the time seems to get shorter? I apologise for being a day late with this week's Christmas treats recipe. But here it is Irish Cream Double Chocolate Log. There are no rules really for making this chocolate log - You can use any type of Chocolate Chip Cookie and can even eliminate the Baileys if you wish and maybe add Kahlua or Frangelico. We love this dessert at anytime of the year but it is a MUST on our Chrismtas Day Dessert list. It would cause a riot if I didn't make it each year.

Part of the reason why the days are flying by for me is because I have been sewing up a storm getting ready for Christmas which I am told is just 74 sleeps away !

I have written down all of the things that I want to make as gifts and have split it up into weekly target lists. So far so good - I am actually ahead of my list and I feel so much more in control than I did at the same time last week. Thinking about how much you have to do can sometimes be overhelming but lists do help - try it......

I have also been in the garage doing a little painting.

I have owned this print for a long time and decided that the frame would suit my decor much better white so it is almost ready to be re-hung in it's new clothes - Just 1 more coat and a little sanding.


I bought this little gentlemans wardrobe at a local thrift shop - It was painted a lavender colour. It has been sanded and undercoated and ready for some more layers of white. It is destined to be a towel cupboard in my bathroom - I am so in love with it's little legs. Hopefully I can get it finished in the next week or two.




And this little shelf lives in my entrance hallway. It has just 1 more coat to go of it's new clothing and will be moved back into the house on the weekend.

I really have the painting bug lately which has been brought on by all of the great inspirational blogs out there of some very talented ladies who are re-purposing lots of things for their homes. It is much more satisfying to re-purpose something you already have or something that has been discarded by someone else.

I am thinking of calling Thursday's "Show me your Re-purposed Stuff" day....... Want to join in too?

The Answer = A Winner !!

Do you remember last week HERE when I asked what that little silver thing was? Well it is a spring clip magnet correctly identified first by Barb. Well Done Barb ! E-mail me your address details and I will send you a nice suprise in the mail.

I have made a set of 6 magnets , each with a different design and wording. Once they are all sewn up I will show you the rest.

I have also been working on a new "boy" themed project. It is designed with a baby in mind. I found out today that the next grand baby due on valentine's day will be a girl so now I will have to make a girl version too.

It is such fun making things for babies - Luckily I have plenty in the family to sew for at the moment.

Do you have much planned for the weekend? I have started to write myself a list of To Do's each week leading up to Christmas. This is a kit I purchased from Quilt fabric Delights when I joined their Christmas In July Group. It is designed by Natalie Ross and is just too adorable to pass by. My biggest decision is going to be which grand baby to give it to. It is on my list of things to do this weekend.