One Monthly Goal for July

As usual, it took to the very end of the month for me to meet my goal for the month, but we got there.  Thank goodness for accountable goals to get me over the line.

My goal was to turn this little pile of fabric into a table runner, the same as I made as a swap gift some years ago.

Happily I met my goal. The twister ruler gives such an effective pattern.

The fabrics in the centre are from one of Anni Downs' ranges.  The outer border is not hers but compliments it beautifully.

I quilted it with my walking foot.  Lots of twists and turns as I echo quilted each windmill section. 

I do love the colours.  They go rather nicely with our old table and dresser.

Not only is this my One Monthly Goal, it is also a finish for One Project a Month with Kris.  There were also a couple of  "in the background" goals as well, which I met and shared here. 

I'm so happy to have met my goals each month this year.  While I haven't completed many UFOs, I haven't created any more.  That is a great feeling.

Pop over to Elms Street Quilts to see what everyone else achieved during the month.

Now to decide what to work on next month.

Rainbow Scrap Challenge and Splendid Sampler for July

Each month I set myself some stitching goals.  Firstly, my One Monthly Goal (OMG) and in the background the Rainbow Scrap Challenge (RSC) and Splendid Sampler 2 (SS2) and I like to have a finish for One Project a Month (OPAM). Don't you love an acronym.  

My challenge before sewing anything this month was to excavate the cutting and sewing tables.  That started a big sort out of my sewing room.......not that anyone could tell if they visited.  It still has far, far too much stuff in there.  However, I did find some treasures that had not seen the light of day for a very long time.

So, back to the stitching......

The colour for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge this month was Pink.  This month I made four blocks, which are always nice and easy.

My goal with SS2 was to make four blocks.   In my archaeological dig of my sewing room I discovered another little stash of 1930s prints.  Bonus.   There were even a couple of charm squares in there. Some of these have been around from when I had not long been quilting......I had pre-washed a couple of fat quarters. That doesn't happen any more. Anyway, I decided that I would use these new to the collection fabrics this month.

Ta da!  There were some very pretty fabrics in the little collection.

Now, to keep it real, I was showing my completed blocks to Mick when I noticed a little boo boo.  

Do you see it? At least by being on the corner it didn't take much to turn the two blocks around the right way.  I'm glad I found it when I did.

I'm still working on the table runner for my OMG, which is also my OPAM, but it is getting there.   No worries, I still have a whole three days up my sleeve.

I'm linking up for the RSC over at So Scrappy.

Before and After - The Laundry

We've been wanting to spruce up our laundry for quite some time.  It is rather plain, with a back door, door into the kitchen and door into the garage.

Before we went on holidays we brought our hanging zygocactus inside, out of the frost, and just had it sitting on the bench.  Once we returned Joey accidentally knocked it off the bench.  It overbalanced because the plant was all on one side of the pot, no fault of Joey's.  Fortunately, the plant survived relatively unscathed.

It did however spur us into action to hang the plant and tidy up the laundry.

So, to some before photos..........not quite before, as we forgot to take any before we installed the new shelf on the wall.

From the back door, towards the garage.

From the kitchen.  When we moved in we took the end door off the cupboards so that we could hide Joey's litter tray and give him access with some privacy.  

Towards the back door.

Now for the after....

From the kitchen.  A white basket tidies up Joey's food nicely.  I found a cute basket to put on the bench for Joeys' sachets.  The fabric basket next to it will be moved shortly. We have a bit of a zygocactus nursery happening, as I stuck the bits that broke off the main plant into pots to see if they will strike.

It was fun to find some of our vintage laundry bits and bobs and lamps. There will be more tucked away that may get added later. 

Towards the laundry door with the large zygocactus hanging up.  

Getting the hook in place was quite a feat for Mick, as it is right in the corner of the house and access was very difficult to add a solid support in the ceiling space.  He did well.

Now, all these photos look nice and light, but that is because the light was on and I used a flash.  The room is actually rather dark.  You can see the wattle tree out the window in the photos above.  It was wonderful after Mick removed the trees, but still not all that light.

We then had a light bulb moment......pardon the pun......

How's that for a difference!  The glass door, which wasn't very expensive at all, makes such a wonderful improvement.  We keep thinking the door has been left open, when the morning light streams in.  Joey likes it too, as he can see outside.  He still likes to sit in his usual spot on the blue laundry powder container in front of the window.  Joey is not a small cat, most people actually comment how big he is, so he does well to perch on it.

We're very happy with the change to the laundry for very little expense and not a real lot of effort. It certainly has made an improvement.

Before and After - The Garden

While I didn't get much stitching done in June, lots of other things happened here at home.

I've shared earlier here and here that we started a new garden out the front. Before we went on our holiday we planted 50 mixed daffodils, some foxgloves, pansies, box shrubs and lavenders.  However, we had to wait until we returned home to buy the centrepiece.

We now have a nicely shaped weeping cherry.  The garden bed should put on a nice show in the spring.

Now that the raspberries had finished fruiting it was time to tidy them up.  The rule of thumb is that you remove canes that have fruited and next year's fruit grow on second year growth.  However, I read on a blog that autumn fruiting varieties can be cut back to the ground.  Our plants were given to us by a friend, so we had no idea what variety they were, but in their first year they seemed to fruit more in autumn that early summer, so last winter we cut them right back.  It worked beautifully, and is so much tidier during winter.

Also, before we went away, Mick cleared out our raised vege beds of the spent plants and dug in some worm castings from our worm farm.

Here it all is, nice and tidy, on a frosty morning.  All that was left is the parsley, silver beet we planted in early autumn and tarragon.  The white things you can see in the centre of the beds are worm tubes.  They are just sewer pipe with lots of holes drilled in the sides set deep in the beds.  Add a handful of worm farm worms and feed them kitchen scraps.  They act as a feeding station for the worms, where the eat the scraps and then go through the beds doing whatever worms do to improve the soil.  They work surprisingly well.  We top them up with scraps every month or so.

When we returned home we planted some peas and broad beans, which are just starting to poke their heads through the soil.

Next on the agenda was to remove some wattle trees at the end of our back verandah.

The wattles provided good shade in the summer but always looked messy.

They were also rather large for their position.

After a busy day, and a very full trailer, things look rather different.  We were amazed at how much extra light came into the yard.  Not something only realised by us.  Our next door neighbour also gets lots more light into her kitchen. 

The plan is to build a frame off the end of the verandah and plant a wisteria, which should still provide summer shade, but let in winter light, as well as have beautiful flowers.  Mick is busy scheming on how he will build the frame.  I think that will be his next project to have ready for when we can buy a wisteria plant in spring.

Some more tidying up will take place closer to spring, but we are happy with progress so far.

One Monthly Goal for July

It is once again time to set my achievable stitching goal for the month.  Decisions, decisions........

After the mad scramble at the end of last month I do hope to be a little more organised, and to kill two birds with one stone by making my goal to complete something, so that it also meets my One Project a Month goal as well.

Way back in 2013 I made a table runner for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and my swap partner was Caro in the Netherlands.  I made a table runner for her, which I was delighted to see on her table in several of her following blog posts.  I really liked the way it turned out, so set aside the remainder of the fabrics to make a version for us.  As you can guess, it never happened.........until now.

The fabrics have been waiting patiently in their little baggie.  Other than the green one on top, they are from an Anni Downs range from back then. I still love the colours.  The pattern is made with the Lil Twister Ruler.  A fun method, which is easier than it looks, although rather wasteful of fabric.

In the background, I will be making my pink Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks and hope to make at least four Splendid Sampler 2 blocks.  That little lot should keep me amused.

Pop over to Elm Street Quilts to see what the other clever ladies will be up to.