A plan, and that January WISP...

2009 is my year for debt reduction - and I'm quite serious about it. I've worked hard at restructuring the family budget and we're very excited at the prospect of seeing more than 50% of our debt removed by the end of this year.
One thing I've wanted to do for a while is sell handmade items I have designed and made, items that I hope will bring pleasure to others. I'm not sure where, though I have considered Etsy, the local markets, or perhaps straight from here. That's the part I'm just not sure about.

My first design for this purpose is "Breezy", a little boy's baby quilt scattered with appliqued and embroidered kites, all 100% cotton fabrics. I'm right into whites at the moment - I love the freshness of it!

The quilt is 30 inches square, perfect for a bassinette, pram , or as a security blanket for small folk. If you are interested in purchasing this quilt I intend selling it for $99.

(I think this also counts as my WISP for January as you only need to actually *finish* an item for it to qualify!)

This is the next little quilt I'm making - boats this time, but still using that stark blue and white contrast. I'll post more photos when it is completed.

I'm also working on two pink & white designs...for the little girls.

I just hope the weather stays cooler so I can finally make all these ideas that are filling my mind.

God bless!
Jenny

Back to the needle and thread...

It feels as though January has been passing quicker than ever, and my hopes of bunking down and getting a lot of sewing done over the school holidays hasn't gone exactly to plan.

We've had a very dry last few months and the temps have been high enough that sitting in one position with fabric across one's knees has been a tad 'feverish' to the body temperature. We've no air conditioner in the house and only one ceiling fan plus two pedestal fans strategically placed around our living space. None of this was conducive to sewing.

Finally on Sunday the cool change arrived bringing with it much needed rain - and thus, a return to my needle and thread!

I have been following Lynette Anderson's "Noah's Ark" BOM since I discovered it last November, but just wasn't sure that I wanted to make the tiny little embroideries into a wall hanging so I've held back from starting. With the arrival of two of my young grandsons for a visit next month I thought it would be a beautiful heirloom if I made the blocks into a book instead - something I can bring out and read to each of the grandchildren when they visit, those present and those hoped-for in the future. I'm only embroidering them at the moment until I decide how I can design a cloth book to house them.
These are the blocks I've done so far, the dove still waiting to be finished.







I've also been working on something else - an idea to help me with my 2009 goal of debt reduction (which you can read about on my Dollars to Sense blog!). More of that in the next blog entry though. ;-)

Happy sewing!
Jenny