lululollylegs

Sometimes it seems like forever.....

2011-11-23T22:16:00.007+11:00

between my posts, particularly when you are waiting on a winner!! Goodness I must be the world's worst blogger at the moment.

I enjoyed reading your lovely comments - looks like we all countdown similar things. We are currently in the countdown phase for daughter number 3's 6th Birthday. Everyday is "how many more sleeps to my Birthday Mummy?" So exciting!! Oh and there has also been the countdown to Grade 6 camp, oh and the countdown to putting the Christmas tree up, and the countdown until school finishes and Christmas day - I can't keep up with it all!

Anyway thanks for your patience and now for a winner!

And the book goes to .................

Well done to you Jo!!! I can even drop this one off as she happens to live up the road!

And now back to the sewing machine. I am working on lots of new projects at the moment including these.......

Blythe doll dresses!! Chloe and I are going to open up a Blythe clothing online shop so stay tuned - we're still trying to come up with a name so any suggestions will be most welcome!

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ....... Giveaway!!!

2011-11-04T10:27:00.003+11:00

Rather a while ago I made this....

And now it's in this.......

So I am going to do this........ A GIVEAWAY!!!!!

You'll find lots of great countdown projects for Birthdays, Father's day, back to school, Hanukkah and Christmas.

And please go and have a look at all the other fabulous books coming out from Stash, I feel really thrilled to be a part of their design collective. So many great ideas and designers all in one place!!

So if you would like to be in the running to win a copy of Countdown Calendars, just leave me a comment and tell me what you and your family like counting down to.

You have until midnight November 11th so off you go!!

She's apples!

2011-09-22T13:19:00.010+10:00

Here's a little sneaky peek of a design I'm doing for this lovely publication.

All I can tell you about it is that it's a cot quilt, I'm only using scraps and I love it so far. You'll have to wait for it to be published to see the rest!!

And there are more Three Dolls designs on the way too.......

Done and Done!!

2011-09-15T21:38:00.007+10:00

I am determined to get through the pile of unfinished projects that is looming in the corner.

First off the list is the quilt I gave my brother for Christmas - it just needed to have the handquilting finished. Done!!

This pattern is called Mitali - designed by the very lovely Mitali, my amitie colleague. It's great for using up lots of scraps and having some fun with the perle thread.

And yesterday I finished a cushion for one of Daph's little friends. I went through a lot of changes with this design. First I found a big mark on the white fabric so had to chop it off. Then sudden inspiration hit and I added the row of bunting and another colour. It also meant the bird is standing on something which is good really!

I had extra bits appliqued on it and really wasn't happy. That's why it kept getting put back on the pile. So I simplified it and then went nuts with the quilting - and I love the finished result.

It was given to its new owner yesterday and has apparently been slept on so it is well loved already which makes me very happy!

There is more to come.......

Giveaway!!

2011-08-03T21:17:00.005+10:00

For anyone interested in winning a copy of my new pattern plus a few extras just click on the link to Three Dolls on the side bar!

New beginnings!

2011-07-31T22:07:00.015+10:00

Hmmm it has been a while. But there is news....

I have finally decided to be brave and go it alone in the world of sewing pattern design. So this week I have launched Three Dolls.

Do they look familiar??

And some of you may have seen my first pattern under the new name at the Craft and Quilt Fair held this weekend in Melbourne.

Meet Peggy Pigtails and Her Picnic! Peggy has been around for a little while but I have always wanted to make her a picnic set. You can make a picnic basket, a picnic rug, a plate, a cupcake, a chocolate biscuit and a juicy red apple.

This is the first of many new patterns and of course I will eventually bring over my existing designs so they are all under the one banner.

But right now I just have to make it through our bathroom renovations. Hmm might do some before and after shots for you!

Quilts for Queensland

2011-03-14T21:20:00.003+11:00

I have finally had time to finish my quilt to add to the lovely pile of quilts and blocks being collected for those who suffered devastation in the recent Queensland floods.

It's just a bunch of squares but they're pretty and soft and will hopefully bring some comfort to someone special.

I can't help but feel it's rather insignificant when I think of all the suffering people in QLD and Christchurch and now Japan are facing. But if it brings a smile to one little face then I suppose that's a good thing.

To see more of the lovely quilts being put together pop over to the Quilts for QLD flickr group and have a look.

Legs Eleven

2011-03-01T22:20:00.003+11:00

Someone's had a Birthday......

Happy Birthday my sweet girl!

UFOs and other pretty things!

2011-02-27T13:10:00.006+11:00

So while I am working on my little doll quilt for the swap I am also trying to get a few ufos off the pile. Some have sat there for a rather long time.

It's the hand quilting that gets me. I always think it's going to take forever but if I actually just got on with it I wouldn't have such a huge pile of unfinished quilts!

A perfect example is this quilt for my little friend Ruby.

Ruby is now two and the quilt was basted waaaaaay back when she was about 7 months old! We spent New Years with Ruby and her family so I decided to get stuck in and finish it off. It took me one week, a broken nail and a few holes in the finger! Not bad.

Mostly it was just lines but I added a few hearts and flowers.

and then some trees for the border.

And of course a little message.

We're both pretty happy!

But you know there's always more than one quilt on the go and I have since added another basted quilt to the pile so it is no lower - just a different colour!

Here's one that was for my brother and his family for Christmas - just finishing off some quilting and the binding.

And this one here is for my bed - finally one of my own!!

I have been collecting a heap of beautiful blue and green fabrics for the last few years starting with that gorgeous Liberty bird fabric. During the holidays I finally found time to jigsaw puzzle them all together. No real plan, just lots of big pieces to show of the patterns and I LOVE it!

It will be very simply quilted with lines using this lovely pale greeny blue Perle 8 thread.

But right now I'm finishing another one that has also languished on the pile for way too long. And I will challenge myself to get it done to show off in my next post because it is for Chloe and it is her 11th Birthday this week.

So enough chatting I'm off to do some quilting!

Don't Faint ....

2011-02-21T21:33:00.003+11:00

Yes, ha, ha, it's me!! I've been writing all sorts of posts in my head and just never getting around to doing any of them.

So today I got this in the mail and thought it was time to appear again and share.

Lark have republished some of the Pretty Little series into booklet versions and my mini quilt was selected as one of the 12 designers in our book. Yay!

And guess who I got to meet the other day?

The very amazing Kaffe Fassett! I felt so inspired and wanted to run and pull out my knitting, start a tapestry and ten new quilts all at once. I just love the way he sees things. He is also very witty and relaxed so it was a huge pleasure to sit and listen.

Now what else is there.

Oh this little person started school.

She loves it so far - just a little weary!

And I'm doing the Doll Quilt Swap round 10. I always enjoy this swap and I have a fun partner. Too bad I can't share much with you or she'd pick it immediately!! Here's a little sneaky peak anyway.

Now I think that's enough for today - don't want to overwhelm you!!

Getting Ready for Christmas

2010-10-26T21:54:00.005+11:00

I had a lovely time at work today as Lucy and I unpacked these gorgeous Christmas crafts.

There are all sorts of beautifully packaged patterns for cute things to make.

And many of them are available as kits in these lovely patterns and colours.

There's lots of other fun Christmas fabrics to choose from too.

I now have a few projects in mind for Christmas. Have you got anything planned?

Lazy but productive!

2010-10-24T21:37:00.003+11:00

We had a nice lazy Saturday morning.

I made a chocolate cake with my helper.

She had the best job...

mmmm yummy!

Lucinda was as usual feeling crafty and had been asking to do an applique canvas.

She drew up a design and gathered her fabrics. I started the first stitch and off she went.

All finished...

And hanging on the wall!

I was fairly productive too. A cushion for Lucinda to give to her friend for her Birthday today.

The Birthday girl's favourite colour is blue!

And this afternoon I started to put together this which is a long overdue present for a union jack loving nephew!!

Tonight I'm quilting it and hopefully will have it all put together in the next couple of days. Love ticking things off the list!!

2010-10-14T21:48:00.006+11:00

Guess who just worked out how to swing herself!

Doll Quilt Swap fun!

2010-09-19T17:45:00.005+10:00

So another Doll Quilt Swap is done and dusted with only a few people left to receive their quilts.

It was an interesting swap this time with lots of new rules and regulations. One has to be a bit chattier apparently or your partner might think you have disappeared and won't know enough about you to make you a quilt. My partner was missing for most of the swap but for me it was about making her something special from her original preferences email and not worrying about what she was thinking every day.

The swap participant numbers have now reached around the 200 mark so I suppose it's important to make sure everyone is keeping up and communicating. Part of the fun is, after all, getting to know all of the swappers. And of course there is nothing worse than joining in on a swap and not receiving anything in the end because your secret partner has done a runner! Mind you I think most people join swaps with the best of intentions.

One of the ongoing games during the swap was to try and guess who was making you a quilt - or 'sparting'! I really found it hard to pick which one might have been mine this time. There were lots that I really liked and one that particularly jumped out at me but I wouldn't have guessed for a second that it was actually for me.

When I opened the parcel I was really quite overwhelmed. Such gorgeousness!!!

It never ceases to amaze me that someone would go to such trouble to design and make something so lovely for me!

Jill is so clever - she pleated linen for me!! How good is that! This quilt has so many stunning elements that I love completely.

The quilting - fabulous, the colours - perfect, the crochet doily - brilliant, the pleating - stupendous, and to top it off, beautiful grey binding! And then there's the back - wow!! It really is completely fabulous!!

To add to my joy I also found some extra special goodies included.

I just have to make a cushion with the crochet table mat - it's just perfect for my bed!

So thank you, thank you Jill for your cleverness, style and generosity - I LOVE it!!

To make it an even better swap for me I got the best partner to make a quilt for. Here's a little of what she wrote in her preferences to give you an idea of how completely fabulous she is.

so many things that i like… linen, wool felt, gingham, children's drawings, hand embroidery, lots of little handstitching, freshly washed+dried all-puckered up quilts, fairy tales, forests, trees, birds, sweet, but not cutesy with a touch of darkness (think neko case's, fox confessor brings the flood) gatherings at the tea party table, gees bend-ish quilts, making do with what one already has (even though i adore all of the new fabrics out there) with a bit of vintage thrown in for good measure, improvisational quilts, hexagons, dresden plates done in a cool modern way, plus (cross) designs in red + white, heather ross, the unexpected, odd little creatures (anything “the black apple”-ish), aqua+paleyellow+gray, pink+green (always and forever) and colorcolorcolor (just not too fond of purples...but you never know...you may have some awesome purplish fabric that you have been dying to use!)

To say I was inspired and raring to go is an understatement. And anyone who knows my work will know that I love a picture quilt so the thought of a fairy tale was too irresistible. Out came the pencil and sketch pad and I spent ages googling images and pulling out my old children's books. Weirdly some of the images I came up with belong to Jill who sent me my quilt!

Finally I decided and it was mostly because of this guy!

When I posted a progress photo on the swap group it seemed most people thought he was cute! I was a little worried as I thought maybe he was not scary enough but apparently he looked hungry too so I kept going.

This bit was next.

Then this bit.

And this bit.

It got bigger and bigger and I stitched and stitched. And then my wrist decided to give out! So I had to put it down for a few days. But in the end I got there and this is what I sent.

It is now living with the lovely Cathy and her sweet family. Apparently I am 'made of awesome'. I can't tell you how brilliant that makes me feel!

And even better - her littlest sweetie is playing with it and talks to the wolf!! Aaaagh so adorable!!!

You can see all her lovely photos here.

So thanks to the organisers of the Doll Quilt Swap. I know it's a huge undertaking and I really appreciate how hard all the swap parents work. I think to know that you have helped create all sorts of wonderful quilty magic amongst us all must be a reward in itself.

Good things come to those who wait!!

2010-09-11T22:37:00.005+10:00

About a million years ago - well more like nearly three - I started a quilt for my Mum as a gift for her 70th Birthday.

Remember this?

I finally gave it back to Mum in January after taking an incredibly long time to quilt it and it has been happily living on her bed since.

But... I didn't take any photos and finally I found the time last week.

It took me quite a while to quilt because I kept changing my mind. So after much unpicking I finally settled on the leaf pattern for the sashing and really like it now.

This lovely quilt design is a slight variation of the Vintage Comfort pattern designed by my lovely colleague Judy Newman. Judy has finally started up a blog called a very fine house. She makes all sorts of wonderful quilts and things so go and visit and say hi!

I really like having a close look at this quilt as it's one of the first quilts I ever made and finished (finally). I can really see how much my machine piecing has improved and how much my quilt making in general has improved and evolved.

Now, on to the next one!!

Meet 'Peggy'

2010-08-11T21:11:00.008+10:00

Looooooook!

My first ever doll pattern and I think I quite like her. Hope you do too!

I can't tell you how excited I am to be on the front cover!!

2010-07-30T11:40:00.012+10:00

This year is flying by and I have found it hard to keep up with documenting what I have been making. So I have decided to make a big effort to remember to take photos during daylight hours instead of thinking about it at 9pm when I finally get to sit down and sew.

Ahh where to begin.....

My lovely boss Jennifer Kingwell weaves magic when it comes to putting fabric and quilt designs together and this Block of the Month quilt Green Tea and Sweet Beans is no exception.

Of course the last month has gone out to participants now and I am still mucking about in month four and five but I always knew it would be a slow and lovely project that will one day get finished.

As I am quite new to quilting my experience with older style blocks is fairly limited.

This quilt seemed a perfect opportunity to try and master curves and other more difficult piecing and of course I absolutely love doing needle turn applique of which there is plenty.

And bonus, the fabrics are chosen for me by the clever lady herself so I only need to concentrate on putting it together.

Slowly.....

I am also working on a little quilt for the Down Under doll quilt swap

And I also have another pattern underway for a very pretty girly quilt.

But I'm sure it will be a while before that comes to life.

There is more but that's enough for today.

Oh and for those who really love the Green Tea and Sweet Beans quilt don't despair, it will be available as a pattern very soon. And Jenny is about to start her new BOM called 'The Circle Game'. If you were ever going to learn how to hand piece a circle then this is your project!

I heart Liberty!

2010-07-22T12:47:00.004+10:00

And linen and Anna Maria Horner voile. And all mixed together it's beautiful!

Parterre made for my friend Michelle's Birthday in May.

And a cushion from Amy Butler's Zinnia pattern made by Michelle to match.

And best thing is I get to visit them!

Finished!

2010-07-19T21:13:00.011+10:00

Another swap is over and done with and this one took forever! The school holidays weren't quite the ones we planned as two of the girls were sick so much of my time was spent mopping brows and cuddling a miserable four year old! In other words, not much sewing was done!

Anyway we survived and they are back at school and life has resumed it's normal busy pace. I was very lucky to squeeze in a lovely 'quilting retreat' with 15 other mad quilters on the last weekend of the holidays and it was absolute bliss. I did nothing but eat and sew and giggle for two whole days. And I didn't have to lift a finger to make my bed or cook a thing! I did achieve a fair bit but will show you that another day.

So here is the gorgeous cushion/pillow I received in the Pillow Swap.

It was made by Rebecca and I love it - thanks!!

And here is mine.

It hasn't arrived at its destination yet so I can't tell you who it is for. I hope she likes it!

I was a little ambitious time wise with this and decided to hand piece. In the end I'm glad I did as I like the way it looks but goodness it took some time.

And here is a little sneaky look at my latest pattern, the "Katy Carry All".

And yes, it decided to be very grey and raining the day I had to get the photos done, but I kind of like it as it makes the bag stand out.

The pattern will be available this week at the Amitie stand at the Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair. And I'll make sure there is a giveaway over here as well.

I have much more to show so stay tuned and I will be back soon!

Clearing Out!

2010-06-13T19:06:00.011+10:00

It's a long weekend here and while it would have been lovely to spend some time away somewhere relaxing I have instead been hard at work cleaning out my house. It's long overdue and I can't believe what we have been living amongst. Some days I feel like I'm suffocating!

The catalyst for this hive of activity is a piano! Yes, I have been fortunate enough to be offered (cheap) a lovely old piano for the kids and it gave me all the motivation I needed to create some space. And it's tough I tell you - I'm allergic to dust and digging about in storage boxes and old stuff turns me into a eye streaming, sneezing mess. But it's all worth it - I have one whole room back AND we have cleaned out every cupboard to make more room.

I have also neatly boxed my excessive fabric stash into colours which kind of freaked me out - didn't know I had that much! At least I know where everything is now. I must say I'm very jealous of those with 'studios' or 'sewing rooms'. All that space to spread out..... sigh!

Of course there has also been time for a bit of sewing! I'm hand piecing my cushion/pillow front for the Pillow Talk swap.

My partner's inspiration mosaic indicated that she was quite fond of scrappy, pieced work and colourful blocks. I'm enjoying looking at some old style blocks and giving them a bit of a modern twist.

So far I quite like it and it's such a nice way to finish the day!

Swaps and stuff!

2010-06-08T21:15:00.010+10:00

I think it's really time to get back to this old blog of mine. I miss blogging and I have so much to share which is what it was meant to be about after all! Life has been very different (and stressful) in the last 12 months but I feel like it's coming back to some kind of normal.

Lucky I have had my sewing! It's a great distraction and I have been consistently busy with swaps and some work for magazines and another book project (yay). A couple of patterns have also found the light of day with quite a few more coming - if only there were a few more hours in the day!

I love the swaps. I get to connect with such a great bunch of clever and funny people and I just love the challenge of making something for someone I don't know and coming up with something new. I'm a massive fan of the doll quilt swap which is just about to start again- 200 swappers this round so it's pretty popular. But recently I have done a few new ones.

The { Urban } HOME Goods - a modern swap was organised to make things we'd like for our homes. My partner Scootin' Annie had a few requests but one was irresistible to me.

She also revealed that she wanted a pouch for her DS. Done!

And you should see what I got from my partner Mari.

Isn't it all just fabulous!! That coffee cosy is just perfect!

A few posts ago I had a little giveaway to celebrate 100 posts and the very lovely and patient Jenny from ohjoh won. I finally finished her prize and was able to hand it over last week.

The design is very inspired by the amazing and beautiful work of Sue Spargo who came to Amitie last year. She is visiting again soon for any of those interested in doing one of her classes.

Jenny is a local so popped into Amitie while I was working. She has a pretty bad fabric addiction like me so it seemed ideal to meet there.

So I may be quiet here but I'm still making things. I promise to post more often and maybe I'll go back and do a retrospective to show you some of the things I have made over the past year. In the meantime I have a cushion to get onto for another swap!

And the winner is........

2010-03-28T16:17:00.008+11:00

My apologies for the delay on picking the winner as I'm sure you are all dying to get a copy of this book.

I set my girls to the task of cutting up the names and putting them in a bowl. (That's you out the back Ali.)

And with a bit of a swish around...

Lucinda pulled out a name.

But who is it?

The lovely Laura Jay of course - congratulations!!

Email me your address Ms LJ and I'll get the book on its way to you - I hope the mail from Australia to Canada is a little faster than the reverse!

Guess What.....

2010-03-14T18:22:00.004+11:00

Sometime in 2008 I had a mini quilt design accepted for a Lark publication called Pretty Little Mini Quilts.

It seemed like forever to wait until 2010 for it to be published but guess what has just arrived.............

I am so excited and proud to be in one of these gorgeous little books as they are just lovely. The front section is filled with all sorts of fabulous quilt making information and then there are pages and pages of fabulous little quilts. From embroidery to applique, machine to hand sewn and traditional to abstract, there is something for everyone.

Here's mine.

And I'm in fine company. This one's from the very talented Kate from Two Little Banshees. I think it would make a great quilt for a baby given its slightly larger size.

And this one is from a fave read of mine Beki from artsy-crafty babe.

This is one of my favourites in the book but of course I have many!

So simple and sweet.

And just because I know so many of you enjoy making these gorgeous little quilts I have one to GIVE AWAY. So leave me a comment and I will pick a name Sunday 21st March.

Doll Quilt Swap reveal time again!

2010-03-09T21:25:00.010+11:00

Finally finished my quilt for the 8th round of my very favourite swap - the Doll Quilt Swap.

I absolutely LOVE this quilt and it was loads of fun to make too.

I think there will be more dresden plates appearing soon!

It is now flying to its new home far, far away and hopefully that person will love it as much as I do.

Go and have a look at all the stunning quilts in this round. Seriously these just get better and better every swap.

And for all those who like making doll quilts, or any quilt for that matter I will have something special for you in the next couple of days so look out! And yes it does include the word 'giveaway'!!

Oh and did you notice that I have now completed two of those projects I had in my post the other week. That's not bad really. And the third I should be able to finish tomorrow so maybe you will even see that here soon!

101

2010-02-22T21:26:00.013+11:00

Well what a lovely response. Thanks for all your nice words. I hope I didn't cause too many falling off chair with shock surprises!

So I guess you all want to know who the winner is.

Well after removing Jodie's comment and the weirdo Japanese one, I stuck the numbers in the random thingy and it came up with this.

And that is Jenny from Ohjoh. Jenny is new to blogging so go on over and have a look at all her lovely creations. And I have actually met her as she is a customer at amitie.

And now I have to think of something to send you Jenny. I'm thinking something quilty as you are quite new to that craft. So email me with your address and I will get something out to you shortly.

And here is one of those projects finished.

It is a cotton scarf for my lovely sister in law Sacha who can't wear wool. She has seen it unfinished so this won't be a surprise.

I am really happy with it but won't be doing more crochet for a while as my shoulder has locked up. Last time it got my wrist. Not sure I'm meant to crochet which is sad because it's really pretty.

And just because I haven't posted for ages and because I have a new camera, here is my beautiful baby girl Daphne. Who is not such a baby anymore!

Let's just get on with it shall we!

2010-02-15T12:55:00.009+11:00

I promised my dear bloggy friend Thimbleanna that I would post this week. So I sat and wondered what I would write about as I'm slightly out of practice. And given this is actually my 100th post I thought it needed to be special and important.

Then I realised that there was never going to be a really special time to start again and that I should just post. So hi! I'm back. Hopefully some of you are still about.

Here's a couple of pics of some stuff I'm currently working on.

All taken with my brand new baby!

Of course there are many other projects I have on the go but I'll get into those further down the track. And I do know that I owe people things which are coming I promise!

And I guess I should mark this occasion by giving something away. Not sure what that will be yet but I'm sure I can dig up something. So leave me a quick hello so I know you are still out there and I'll get one of the girls to pick a winner this Sunday 21st Feb.

Perfect Parcels!

2009-05-11T22:04:00.012+10:00

I don't often give a lot of thought to the quilt I am to receive in the doll quilt swaps until they turn up in my letterbox. I find the most fun is in creating something that will be right for my partner and challenging my design and construction skills.

I do occasionally think about it as I check out all the lovely pictures of the quilts as they pop up in Flickr and wonder if it's 'the one'. And of course I have my favourites.

It's always a lovely, big surprise when it arrives and I get to open up the package and reveal the cleverness within.

Today's package confused me for a moment as it was mailed locally. But then I saw the name on the back and tore it open while standing at the letterbox because I knew what was inside......

I just LOVE everything about it. The size, shape, colours and wonderful simplicity. Aren't the birds just gorgeous!

It was designed and beautifully made by the fabulous Tamara who lives down the road from me (kind of).

Thanks again Tamara it will be hung somewhere special because we all love it so much. And hopefully we'll get to meet soon!

So, lucky me, I'm getting quite a collection of little works of art!

Go here and check out all the fabulousness from this swap round.

And just quickly, here's a sneak peek of my latest offering which is finally 'winging' its way to its new home! My wrist is back to normal and now that I have finished the quilt I can try and get back to some more crochet!

Full Reveal

2009-05-06T22:36:00.008+10:00

See, time is a problem - it is again some time since I posted! During that time I have suffered a wrist injury and been unable to do much in the way of craft and I have turned 45!

So I don't have a lot to show you except a full reveal of my Four Seasons Quilt Swap 5 Monochromatic quilt which has finally arrived!

And I'll also chuck in a photo of my 45 year old self with my gorgeous new scarf crocheted by the very lovely Cathy.

It is cashmere and silk and just so soft and warm - I LOVE it! I was really spoilt last Friday by my darling family and friends - thanks everyone!

By the way I also have new glasses.

Oh and since this photo was taken at Easter I have finally had a haircut! My usual hairdresser had actually become pregnant AND had her baby since I last went!!

Anyway enough blathering about me. I'm just putting the final stitches into my quilt for the Doll Quilt swap which is now running late as I had to stop for over a week. But it's looking good now and will be off to the post office tomorrow.

And the wrist - well let's hope it wasn't the crochet that caused it!!

Time!

2009-04-20T23:16:00.009+10:00

This is what I have been doing with my spare time.

I have had the idea to make this for my bed for a very long time.

And I have had the wool for a very long time.

Just no actual time to start it!

So how much time do you think will pass before this is finished?

Show and Tell

2009-04-16T21:49:00.010+10:00

Just before the Stitches and Craft show I received this gorgeous quilt in the mail and have been terribly slow in sharing it with you.

It is for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap 5 Monochromatic challenge. Don't worry I was polite enough to thank Simone whose lovely work it is.

Look at the gorgeous detail in the embroidery.

The stitches are so tiny and neat as is the piecing. And it is all lovely green!

Thank you again Simone. As I said, it will definitely become part of our family's Christmas traditions!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T21:32:00.004+10:00

Just chilling....

2009-04-08T21:34:00.019+10:00

It's school holidays here and so far we haven't done much which is quite nice really. I realised on the weekend how relaxed I was feeling for a change which just goes to show how stressed out I have been. The weather is also cooler and a little wet which is just lovely. Perfect for pulling out those knitting and quilting projects.

Today was my dear friend Christina's Birthday so we had an afternoon tea to celebrate. A little champagne and cake is very nice on a Wednesday afternoon!

Especially if it's one of Helen's gorgeous passionfruit sponges!

Happy Birthday Christina - thanks for being a couple of weeks younger than me!!

Christina's daughter also celebrated a Birthday last week and we popped in for a bit of cake and a dance after school.

Sophia's present from her Mum and Dad this year was a bedroom makeover and the theme was red and white and a bit of High School Musical. So I made her a cushion and bought her a matching fleecy blanket for her bed.

I enjoyed wrapping the present - check out the ribbon!!

Chloe also made Sophia a 'Mixtape' full of their favourite songs so the kids had a ball in Sophia's room and gave us a few hilarious dance performances!!

You definitely needed long hair!

I also have some sneaky peeks of my latest creation for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap which is hopefully not far away from its new home.

This was a monochromatic challenge and one of my partner's choices was yellow. I had an idea floating around my mind for several months but was side tracked by the huge volume of work I had to complete in the last couple of months. By the time I got to make the quilt I actually didn't like it any more and even Chloe and her girlfriends told me they didn't get it! They are usually gushing in their opinions and they just looked confused.

So I pulled it all apart and made this one. I like it so very much more and hope that my partner does too. It will be a little later than expected but I have put in a few bits and bobs to soften the blow.

I now have to work on my Doll Quilt Swap 6 quilt and I have a really cool partner whose work I have always loved. I have another great idea for this one - hope it works out this time.

Hello.... anyone out there??

2009-03-25T13:58:00.015+11:00

This won't be a long post even though it could have been incredibly long given the gap in communication. I just thought I would start by saying hello and give you a brief run down of everything I have been up to and then I will do smaller posts about each of those things. Is that good?

So when we last met, I was preparing for Chloe's Birthday party and the Stitches and Craft Show. I also had several projects to work on but I can't tell you about those or I'd have to kill you.

Kidding!! I will let you in on those as they pop up in the magazine world. I have also created another Audrey and Maude pattern but more about that later.

And my computer died on me! But I'll save all those stories for another day.

This post I will devote to a little photo run down of Chloe's 9th Birthday party and I will continue with other stuff later this week.

So...we started with a little cupcake decorating and much finger licking!

And they made a few chocolates.

Next I took out my fabric scrap boxes, some stamps and some paper and asked them to design their own placemat to use at the dinner table.

They concentrated very hard on this and came up with a heap of gorgeous ideas. They used them for dinner and then took them home.

Lots of yummy nachos and heaps of giggling.

After dinner fun with some silly string.

And of course... yummy icecream Birthday cake.

Happy 9th Birthday my gorgeous girl!!

The next day we went and had her ears pierced! Ahh so grown up already. Where did all that time go?

I promise you will hear from me again soon!!

You are invited....

2009-02-17T21:57:00.011+11:00

Well you aren't but 8 lovely young ladies are - to Chloe's 9th Birthday party. After having no idea of what I was going to do, Chloe and I came up with a few really good ideas.

All she wanted was her friends over for a few games and nachos and tacos for dinner - easy!

We're just adding in a few extras! I will give you a full debrief after the big event!!

And here is a little something I made for my brother for his birthday - again, I find it hard to know what to make or even buy for men!

I do know his wife really liked it!!

And here's what I have been spending a lot of my spare time doing.

I'm making some bits and pieces to donate to the The Toy Society and handmadehelp.

And of course, I'm working on some special new patterns which will hopefully be ready for the Stitches and Craft Show. Now THAT you definitely are invited to!!

Can you help?

2009-02-11T14:28:00.014+11:00

I haven't felt like posting for a bit because I'm not quite sure what to say. As I'm sure you are all aware our little state of Victoria has just suffered the most horrific bushfire disaster we have ever seen.

We are all in shock and just so incredibly sad that so many people and homes have been lost. I think this post goes some way to explaining it. But it's unimaginable really. These photos took my breath away and just made me cry.

I know many of you out there are thinking of us and it has been lovely to receive kind emails from people checking to see if we are all ok.

I am about an hour's drive away from most of the fires but know of many people who have been affected. We are all busy trying to think of ways to help and here a just a couple that you might like to consider too.

A collection of wonderful auction items are here.

Rainbow Comfort Packs for children.

The Toy Society are collecting handmade toys.

Bushfire Quilt Project

Meet Me at Mikes have a good list of all that's going on.

And of course they need money and every little bit helps. You can donate here.

A little prayer wouldn't go astray either for those who were lost, those who survived and all those who are still fighting the fires that are still burning.

Grrrrrr - boys' toys!

2009-02-02T07:42:00.008+11:00

I don't have any boys so when it comes to buying them gifts I can get a bit stuck.

But when we received the invitation to my nephew's dinosaur themed 3rd Birthday party surprisingly I knew exactly what to make.

Ages ago I bought some fantastic fabric from Spotlight and wish I'd had the foresight to buy heaps more. It is waterproofed and absolutely brilliant for little bags.

So I made him a special dinosaur bag!

And bought a heap of little dinosaurs and trees to go inside.

This guy was the biggest and scariest.

I told him to hide!

These went too.

He loved it all! Ahh the satisfaction of getting something just right!

So I promised you news!

2009-01-26T22:32:00.025+11:00

Well it's fun news about Cathy and me and Audrey & Maude. After reviewing Cathy's adorable Poppy and her Puppies in Issue 1 of the new UK mag Sew Hip we were asked to provide a couple of exclusive patterns as well.

In Issue 2 you will find Flirty Florence!

And in Issue 3 you will find Henrietta the Hippo!

I love all her angles!

They even put us here!

Which we had a fair old giggle about. And just so you know, that's Cathy on the right!

Now, onto the work in progress pics!

I finally finished the top of Chloe's quilt!

Yaaaaaaay!!

I know it will take another very long time to quilt but at least the design part is finished.

And it looks nice and vintagey which was what I was after. More importantly - she loves it!

And this photo is for Leslie.

I am knitting a lovely cardigan that I found via this fabulous girl. Katie is always making lots of lovely knitted stuff and inspired me to get the needles out again. She's not bad at the old quilting either - check out her latest couple of completed projects - gorgeous!!

I love this design and I already had just the right amount of wool in one of my favourite colours ready and waiting.

Hopefully it might be done in time for the cold weather.

It's our last week of school holidays and then I can get stuck into all my projects.

I have some work for another more local magazine to get done and my latest Four Seasons quilt swap to complete.

I also have all sorts of new patterns drawn up and hopefully will have some of them ready for the upcoming Melbourne Stitches and Craft Show. Cathy and I will be doing our applique canvas classes for the kids again which will be fun. And this year it has changed venue and is being put together by these fabulous people so I can't wait. Of course there will also be lots of other great crafty bloggers there so if you live anywhere near it's a great opportunity to meet them and all sorts of other fantastic retailers.

This week's weather is expected to be the hottest it has been in 100 years! 40 deg (104f) and above for four days - eeeew. Sounds like hiding inside and sewing weather to me!

Lazy, lazy, lazy!!

2009-01-18T23:17:00.018+11:00

Well I guess it is the holidays but really I have been a bit lazy with this poor neglected blog. And it's not as if I haven't done anything to post about!

I won't bombard you all with a million things. Just a few.........

Cathy and I taught another children's class at Amitie last week and these are the completed samples for the kids to work from.

This one is Chloe's.

And so is this!

I love the little crab!

If you go here you will see what the girls in our class made. It never fails to surprise me how clever and creative these kids are. They always have a very strong opinion about what they want and their choice of colour. They really did the most wonderful job.

Chloe has also had her machine out making another pin cushion for a special friend. She is still learning but getting more adventurous. I think we might try a simple skirt next.

And I have been doing some quilting of this quilt.

A year is nearly up and I still haven't finished but it's getting there.

And I have been working on Chloe's quilt.

I'm sort of making it up as I go along and keep changing my mind. I think I have finally decided on all the fabrics and borders etc. It will most likely become another Audrey & Maude pattern.

And last week I decided to have a go at another quilt I promised a friend a very long time ago.

I'm not sure I like the colours. The blocks are very large (see my foot) and I was going to sash it with cream. But I still think it is a little dark for my friend's taste. I will have a play with something else this week.

So that's it for today. I have other news to report but I shall leave that for another day this week!

Oh and last, but by no means least, I wish to send out a huge congratulations to my friend Kellie who not only appears in the latest issue of Australian Quilters Companion magazine but has also just opened a shop to sell patterns for all her lovely work. Good luck Kellie although I know you are going to be a huge success!

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T22:09:00.017+11:00

Well it's the last day of 2008 already. I don't know about you but this year whizzed by in a flash for me.

And so much has happened. I started a lovely new job. I started a creatively satisfying business with a really fabulous friend. I made lots of stuff. My children are happy and healthy. And I just celebrated 12 years of marriage.

Not bad really!

And along the way I have met the most fantastic bunch of people and done some things that I have never done before. So it's been new challenges and lots of fun too.

I'll finish the year with some photos of a few little projects that are in various stages of completion.

This is a sample for a children's class I will be teaching during the holidays.

Here's Chloe's one. She is always my guinea pig for these projects.

It's fun and we're enjoying working together choosing our shapes and colours.

Next is a quilt ready for quilting.

This is for my girlfriend's baby Ruby who is now six months old. I was going to make her a cot quilt but thought this would last longer.

The pattern is 'Town and Country' by my lovely colleague Judy Newman who will hopefully soon have a blog up and running. I thought I might have a go at machine quilting this one with a bit of hand quilting around the edge.

I just fell in love with the fairy fabric and will be making a similar quilt for Lucinda soon.

Next is another apron pattern. This one is featured exclusively in Issue 2 of Sew Hip magazine which I'm yet to see.

This particular apron is off to the UK to someone who has been waiting many, many months for it.

So I wish you all a very happy and safe New Year and look forward to all the goodness 2009 will bring. Thanks for visiting and all your lovely support and encouragement.

I leave you with a photo of my funny girls. The little one has been teaching the big ones silly faces! xxxxx

Christmas!

2008-12-27T21:55:00.013+11:00

Finally finished the cake I make for my Mum each year.

A last minute letter to Santa.

Christmas day fun with cousins.

My lovely Brother with his son and 'their' new toy crane!!

A heavenly post lunch cuppa (with some wine and a few other yummy things).

And one of my favourite parts of Christmas - delicious cherries.

Hope yours was equally splendid!

The third is three!

2008-12-17T21:19:00.012+11:00

My little Daphne turned three last Friday. I can't believe how quickly that has gone.

We had a party on Sunday afternoon. Nothing too much, just afternoon tea with our families and a couple of friends.

I did make a special cake though.

We all gave three cheers.

We cut the cake.

And ate it!

Happy Birthday my little girlie girl!

We have also done the yearly trip to post letters to Santa.

So now he knows what to bring!

And on the crafting front I have been mucking around with a few bits and pieces. I made this cushion for one of Chloe's girlfriends for her Birthday.

She was hoping for something made by me.

There's a few other finished things to show you but you'll have to wait for a day or so. And if you are in the UK, go and check out Issue 2 of Sew Hip magazine - I have pattern in there!

It's all about the quilts!

2008-12-04T21:56:00.023+11:00

It's Doll Quilt Swap reveal time again. Oh how I love these little quilts - they are so much fun and such a great way to practice all sorts of different styles and ideas.

For my DQS5 quilt I was inspired by a lovely customer at Amitie who brought in a much larger version she had made for her family.

I wanted to do a linen and red quilt. Well actually this is a really great cotton version of linen which I absolutely love using for all sorts of things.

Bit by bit I developed each little section of the quilt. Ideas came from magazines, my creative 8 year old Chloe, the quilt I saw at work and from bits and pieces I had floating about.

I am hugely pleased with the result and hope my partner likes it. This one I had trouble parting with!!

So luckily I was distracted by the arrival of my quilt and WOW it's absolutely beautiful!

The colours are so very pretty and the design and construction just amazing! Thanks so much Lucinda I LOVE it and it will be going up on the wall in my daughters' bedroom after we repaint after Christmas. Go and have a look here at all her other gorgeous quilts.

We have enjoyed putting up the Christmas Tree this week and added some new ornaments. How cute is this!

And look what I picked up last Friday.

And if you are desperate to get started on another little quilt swap, the Four Season's Quilt Swap has popped up again. It's slightly different this time but I can't resist the challenge. Can you?

A little Christmas cheer!

2008-11-16T21:23:00.023+11:00

Goodness, it's been a while!

ALL my special projects are finished and on their way to their final destinations. I still have some stuff to do to my latest effort for the doll quilt swap but I'll hopefully get that out of the way by the end of this week.

So after doing several projects that I couldn't show you I now have one that I will happily show off as I am thrilled with the way it has come out.

This idea came to me Thursday week ago. On Friday I raced into work and grabbed the fabrics and cut, arranged, re-cut, rearranged and finally machine stitched down all the circles.

I finished on Tuesday night and took it to the quilter on Wednesday who helped me choose the perfect quilting pattern.

I got it back on Friday and bound it with my favourite stripey binding.

And here it is!

Actually it's only blog finished as I am handquilting the baubles, star and pot to make them pop a bit.

So look out for it if you visit Amitie as it will be in the window leading up to Christmas.

And in case you haven't seen all the photos floating about on other Melbourne craft blogs, here is my photo of the very lovely Amy Butler from Thursday night.

That of course is Cathy with me. We loved the whole evening - Amy was just so interesting and relaxed and endlessly inspiring. Thanks again to the very fabulous people from Living Creatively - a really great night.

I leave you with a photo of my middle girl Lucinda who this week has overcome her fear of the swimming pool. Yippee and well done my girl!

Hip hip hooray!!

2008-10-20T22:05:00.005+11:00

Look what arrived in my letterbox today!!

I was so excited I had to have some of this while I read it.

Because aside from it being a completely refreshing and lovely crafty magazine filled to the brim with wonderful projects and profiles of fabulous people, it has this...........

How cool is that!!

I have to say that when Manda emailed me to ask if she could review one of our patterns I nearly fell off my chair having been a big fan of hers from way back. Who would not want to be involved in such a great new publication! And she wants more! So look out for some exclusive Audrey and Maude projects coming up in future issues.

And buy the magazine - it really is fantastic.

Project upon project upon project upon.....

2008-10-13T21:00:00.013+11:00

I have finally found time to sit down and write a little. I have been madly working to get a special project done that has to be in the UK asap. It took off today and I can breathe a sigh of relief for at least a couple of days. I have several other really important projects on at the moment with fairly tight deadlines and some days it's a struggle to keep up. I'm glad to be able to tick one off the rather long list. And if I owe you an email or something in the mail - I apologise and promise you it's coming!!

Here's a little sneak peak at a small element of the special project but that's all for now!!

Squeezed in between everything else I finally found time to get stuck into Chloe's quilt. Can you believe I have only ever made one quilt for my children which was Daphne's cot quilt! I have the fabric and designs worked out for all three but of course to be fair, I have to start Chloe's first.

And I'm loving it so far.

And so is Chloe!

So once all the blocks are done I will work out what to put with them. Any ideas??

The other project I took away with me was my Mum's quilt. That has also been languishing in the pile. I had decided to have a hand quilting night each week but it hasn't eventuated.

I did about six blocks which isn't a lot but at least I have reacquainted myself with this lovely quilt and can try to do a little each week.

So have you seen this? A very special thank you to Angela and her lovely staff at Living Creatively - their support is endless and wonderful!!

And guess what!! I have had one of my little quilts accepted for a Lark Books book called Pretty Little Mini Quilts. I'm absolutely thrilled! Again the deadline is very soon so if you don't see much of me you'll know what I'm doing!

But this week sees me finishing two presents for two very special people who have been waiting and waiting and waiting. They have been tied up with the whole project for the UK thing but they'll be on their way this week, sweetened with some other goodies I promise!!

Which reminds me of something else I must get started on for Audrey and Maude! Sigh........ but I love it, really I do!!

A little break in transmission!

2008-10-06T23:13:00.022+11:00

It has been a busy school holidays with lots of projects on the go.

I have many, many things to show you and won't attempt to do it all in one post.

For now I will leave you with a few photos from our very relaxing holiday last week.

We went to one of my favourite places in the world.

This was our house.

And this was our backyard.

We had visits from friendly locals.

And did lots of amazing walks.

We even did a little crafting.

And the girls favourite thing?

Patting a dingo puppy!

So thank you Grampians, we are all feeling refreshed and ready for the rest of the year!

She's Apples!

2008-09-14T21:55:00.017+10:00

I have been waiting to do a post on this for ages but wanted it to be received first. Then I ran out of time as I had to get away for a girly weekend in Sydney. I'm completely exhausted but really want to show off my latest creation.

Some of you may have already seen this over on Fi's blog and on her Flickr photos.

I can't tell you how excited I was to get Fiona as a partner. It was quite funny considering she had just had me as a partner for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap.

I had all sorts of ideas for Fi who likes a bit of the vintage look. Then one afternoon while I was busy tidying up the kids toys I picked up a little plastic tree. Within minutes I was cutting up a heap of greens from my stash. And an hour later the quilt pieces were cut and ready for sewing.

I love how this turned out but it's actually the second version. The first I used vliesofix to attach the leaves before I appliqued it and it was way too stiff. It wasn't Fiona at all. Soooo, I redid it and just sewed around the leaves using a straight stitch. I like how it is fraying a bit around the edge. I also changed the background fabric to blue for the sky and green for the grass and I think overall it has a much softer feel.

After coming up with the original idea I decided I wanted a lovely vintagey novelty fabric for the back. And look what I found at work. Lovely new fabric just perfect for the back.

To add a bit more detail under the tree I used the little flower pattern from the back.

Then it was just a couple of hours work with my little yoyo maker and I had lots of little red apples.

Finished off with a little label.

And all packed up ready to go to my lovely friend Fi!

And to finish, here's a snap from yesterday. Enjoying a glorious Sydney day with my Goddaughter Sophie.

A doll bag, a doll quilt and my little doll!

2008-08-29T21:59:00.013+10:00

I have a little bit of crafty stuff to show you that is completely unrelated to a swap or Audrey and Maude.

Chloe was invited to a Birthday party tonight at a ceramic painting shop. They had to wear their pj's and make icecream sundaes! So what to buy an eight year old girl that is not Smiggle or Build a Bear?? After wandering around for ages I suddenly realised it would be quicker and easier to go home and make something.

So, inspired by a top of Chloe's, I whipped up this little number this afternoon and I LOVE it!!

Chloe and I went through the ribbon jar, the button jar and the fabric stash and together came up with this colour combination.

You can see I was interrupted - check out how I sewed on the buttons!

I added some ribbon to the straps for a bit more detail.

And gave her a little happy face.

I might have to make some more of these!

But that was just a little break from doing my doll quilt for Doll Quilt Swap Four and creating my latest Audrey and Maude pattern. The latter is a secret but here is a teaser of the doll quilt.

It is due to be finished this weekend so other than going to work tomorrow, you know what I'll be doing.......

I leave with you with a snap of my other little doll who just looooves the camera!

How I wish I had those eyelashes!!

The full Reveal!

2008-08-25T23:48:00.004+10:00

Just a quick one tonight.

Here is a full reveal of that little project I was working on.

I was invited to participate in a 'white bag' challenge for a Living Creatively installation at the Sydney Stitches and Craft show. The brief was to decorate it in any way you like without changing the shape of the bag. I couldn't resist doing little aprons!

We had a fantastic time at the show. Look here.

Now I have a doll quilt to complete!

A sneak peak!

2008-08-20T22:29:00.007+10:00

You must be wondering if I've decided to pack it all in! Sorry, I didn't realise it had been quite so long.

I have been very busy with a couple of bits and pieces and of course whipping up some more designs for Audrey and Maude which will hopefully be out pretty soon.

In the meantime, here's a sneaky peak at a little project I have been working on that will be a part of the Living Creatively stand this weekend at the Sydney Stitches and Craft Show.

Cathy and I are flying out very, very early in the morning so I'm off to bed!

It's Summer somewhere.

2008-08-06T20:50:00.014+10:00

It's time to finally reveal the very last of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilts - received and sent.

Last week I got a big surprise and found a squishy parcel jammed into the letterbox. Lo and behold it was my Summer quilt from my friend the superwoman Fiona.

Isn't it just wonderfully summery and gorgeous!

It's beautifully quilted so that it puffs up like little pillows - you really want to touch this quilt.

And the fabrics - so very Fiona - deliciously vintage and super pretty!

And a sweet little label.

Thanks Fiona. I absolutely LOVE it! It will be hung in Daphne's room where it will make us all very cheerful!

And now to the quilt that I have sent far, far away.

I wanted my Summer quilt to have a similar look and feel to my other Four Seasons quilts. I'd like to think that they would look a little like a set if they were all together. I love doing applique and the single image I kept coming back to was 'the summer dress'.

This time I used my machine a bit more and did the applique with the buttonhole stitch.

The dress fabric is one of the stunning new fabrics in Anna Maria Horner's new range 'Garden Party'. It just seemed the perfect colours for a summer dress.

I tried a little bit of free motion quilting, which is not super flash. I wanted it to look like wall paper in a girl's bedroom.

And to finish, a little coat hanger.

And that is the last of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilts. Thanks Margaret - it's been fun!!

More Gorgeous Goodies!!!

2008-08-03T21:42:00.019+10:00

I have nothing of my own to show you until tomorrow but I can show you lots more lovely goodies people have sent me!

First up a rather bad photo of the gorgeous sock monkeys from our lovely friend Kellie. Kellie and her beautiful children came for a visit during the school holidays and brought these with funny monkeys with them. Kellie whips these up in a nano second and they are soooooo cute, my girls absolutely love them! They have each been christened but the only name I can remember is Daphne's - Boom Boom. I was hoping to get a better photo but I only remember when they are all in bed so this will have to do! A pj's, first thing in the morning one with breakfast all over Daph's face!

The last couple of weeks I have received such a lot of fabulous parcels in the mail.

I had the very good fortune to win a giveaway on Valerie's blog.

Can you believe she sent me this stunning little vase from Anthropologie! It's just lovely and such a wonderful colour combination.

With it was a foodie magazine which is one of my favourite things in the world.

And the sweetest little ballerina dollies that she made for my girls.

They were so thrilled and immediately picked out one for themselves. I have forgotten the name of Chloe's but Lucinda's is called Waterlily because it looks like a fairy in a book and Daphne called hers Christina (after my friend who wears bright red lippy).

This week I had another lovely parcel with this very pretty embroidery I won on a giveaway on Katy's blog.

It's just lovely and perfect for Chloe and Lucinda's bedroom.

I have to say my girls have done very well out of this blogging caper and seem to always be included so thank you very much from all of us!

One of my favourite customers came in last Saturday to kill some time while her children were at gym. She helped me put some fabrics together for some samples for an upcoming pattern - she has a very good eye and a great sense of humour so we had great fun. She then offered me some of her stash!

Sure enough, on Tuesday she came in with this fantastic pile of fabric. Just look at this gorgeous repro 1930's loveliness!!

I'm so in love with this fun, fun fabric and can't wait to come up with something to use it for - a quilt I think?

Speaking of quilts, after all my promises I am late again with my Four Seasons Summer quilt. It is done now so only a couple of days late, but I have no photos.

I also received my stunning Summer quilt this week from someone I know well - but you'll have to wait!

Next post - some overdue quilty love!!!

Just a Quickie!!

2008-07-26T20:54:00.021+10:00

This is just a quick post to update you all. I'm finding it quite hard to keep up with everything these days so I apologise for posting so infrequently. With kids, work, Audrey and Maude amongst lots of other things life is pretty busy!

And speaking of Audrey and Maude I'm here to announce our latest patterns.

Poppy and her Puppies

and

Robot Boy and Robot Girl

And to celebrate our new friends we are having a giveaway. So scoot on over to Audrey and Maude and leave us a comment.

Playing Catchups

2008-07-15T21:03:00.024+10:00

Firstly, thanks for all your lovely comments about the train quilt. It is wonderful to have it finished and be able to get on with the next bunch of projects.

I have so much stuff to post I have been putting it off! And this week I have been very busy and too tired to do any posting. So here goes - be prepared for a long photo heavy post.

After patiently waiting for several months my gorgeous little Doll Quilt 3 Swap quilt finally turned up last week. Yippy!! Isn't it absolutely stunning!! Wonderful colours and a lovely design by the very fabulous Laura Jay. I have offered it to my girls for their bedroom wall as we are rearranging things and it will look perfect with all their red and aqua.

And check out the sweet and very intricate little pin cushion she sent with it. I LOVE it all! Thanks so very much Laura Jay - you can relax now, all is well.

And how weird is this - my Doll Quilt Swap 4 quilt turned up on the very same day! This little beauty was made by Ros and is to be hung in Daphne's bedroom. It is so very pretty and very us. Ros also included some absolutely gorgeous ribbons that are also just the right colours! Thanks Ros.

And here's more that I haven't had time to photograph and blog about. I have participated in the Sassy Apron Swap twice now and haven't posted either apron - so sorry!!

First up is my most recent Summer apron from the very lovely Lucy Byrd who runs the Sassy Apron Swap. It's a great design based on an old pattern and is the first apron I have had in this style. I really like how it does up and plan to make a few of these myself. Most people I know request full aprons and this is a lovely version. Thanks Lucy.

And even more embarrassing, I didn't post this sweet little apron which I received in the Spring round of the Sassy Apron Swap. It is from Suzie and is super cute with the lovely Kristen Doran fabric and little flower appliques. Chloe fell in love with it instantly and as her dreadful mother has never made her an apron - true - she has claimed it as her own. Thanks Suzie and sorry I took so very long to post a picture. Don't worry everyone I did thank all of these people via email when I received them - I'm not that bad!!

And last but by no means least, my little doll quilt from the Lemonade Stand quilt swap. This was made by Mary Whidden (can't find a link) and is her very first attempt at a quilt. Having just completed a two day course in machine quilting, I have to say I'm really impressed with what Mary did without being shown how and how good are her joins. It is now being hauled around and used on various dolly's which is as it should be. Thanks Mary.

I haven't reported in about the lovely little girls class Cathy and I did last week at Amitie. It was a lot of fun and the girls were hilarious and really lovely. A couple of favourite comments were "boys can't multi-task" and "don't you love reading so much that your mum has to get mad at you to stop reading and come and eat your dinner". Gorgeous!

Here they are hard at work.

And proudly displaying the finished product.

Cathy made lovely pink meringues.

And I made pink cupcakes.

We think it was a big success and look forward to doing some more kids classes in the future. Speaking of classes, I attended a two day machine quilting class at Amitie with Deborah Louie. I shall report on that next post, this one should keep you busy for at least a few days!!

I think I can, I think I can......

2008-07-04T20:43:00.015+10:00

Actually I know I can, I definitely can!! I finally finished the train quilt!!!

Lochie, the lovely recipient of this quilt, is turning one tomorrow and I thought it was a fantastic deadline to work to. We had a yummy morning tea to celebrate today and I presented the quilt after finally finishing it last night.

I found this lovely Michael Miller 'I think I can' fabric not long before Lochie was born and thought it would be perfect for a vintagey style cot quilt for him.

After mucking around with ideas for ages I finally decided on a 'four patch square on point in a square' out of lots of fun prints and a nice not too cream quilter's muslin. Not sure what the technical terms are here and I'm sure there are proper quilting people out there going "what!!!" But I know what I mean.

I quilted it with two squares in the four patch and triangles in the triangles.

Then I fussy cut all the different versions of the train. I quilted this square in various ways and hated them all. Then my mum suggested I do a diamond and it was perfect. I really like that it follows the line of the square on point beside it.

Somewhere during the designing phase I decided I would quilt train tracks around the border to finish it. About five versions later I'm really glad I did.

Right down to the little engine - it's the Lopez Express of course!

Finished with a slightly wonky label that I like even more now the quilt is washed.

And folded up ready for wrapping.

I had even bought him a train card to match!

Happy 1st Birthday sweet little Lochie!

Chloe's Project

2008-06-22T21:17:00.011+10:00

Well Chloe did finally succumb to the awful gastro on Monday but was over it quickly and back at school the next day. This week's illness (and I do believe we are working our way through some list somewhere!) is another virus with a cough and conjunctivitus!! So Chloe was home again on Friday and Daphne and I joined her with the sticky eyes. We are all much better today - I wonder what this week will bring........

Anyway, I asked Chloe to be a guinea pig and test out a little project for me yesterday.

She sewed lots of patches together to form a rectangle, then drew a heart and appliqued it on by blanket stitch.

I then sewed in the lining and turned it right side out.

Chloe blanket stitched the sides and around the edges.

And sewed on a button.

For a first go at hand sewing and blanket stitch I thought she did a fantastic job!

And the reason for this project?? Well, Cathy and I are planning to teach a children's class at Amitie during the school holidays. So if you have a child of 8 years old or above who would like to learn to do a bit of sewing - stay tuned! We are just figuring out the final details and will let you know this week.

And here's a little sneak peak at another project I'm working on!!

I'll let you know more about these little friends soon........

Little Quilts and Big Girls

2008-06-15T21:51:00.017+10:00

I promised to show you my latest doll quilt for the Lemonade Stand Doll Quilt Swap. It took me slightly longer than expected due to the dreaded gastro bug continuing to weave its destructive pathway through the members of my family! Only Chloe left to go now and she's looking nervous!

Anyway, the idea for the quilt is obvious. When I made the scooter bag I did two versions of it facing either way. So I used the one I had left and added some little squares.

And of course, my fabourite stripey binding.

And a few little quilted flowers to give it a bit of a 70's feel.

It went off in the post last week and will hopefully arrive at it's new home sometime this week.

I was making Daphne's bed this morning and realised I'd never really shown you her quilt properly once it was finished.

Daph's room is one of my favourites in the house and the least messy (so far).

And it's full of lovely bits and pieces like this gorgeous teddy my friend Christina made for her on her first Birthday.

Here's a few shots from yesterday. My little girl is growing up so fast.

Summer in Winter!!

2008-06-11T21:50:00.014+10:00

Finally I have a few things to show you and I'm running miles behind as usual!!

This family has had so many illnesses in the last couple of months and I am so completely over it. My little Daphne had a yucky tummy bug last Thursday which she lovingly passed on to me and my husband. I am slowly recovering from a horrible day yesterday spent either curled up on the couch or in the bathroom. And I couldn't even go to work and you know how much I love my job. Hmmm - not fair!

The two older girls both have horrible sinus infections but are soldiering on and all three have a decent cough! It never ends!!

And thanks for the concern for my neck. It improved very quickly and has been fine ever since. I'm sure it's just from having a certain 2 year old squeezed up against me in bed!

So I solemnly swear the next two quilt swaps I do are going to be finished at least 2 weeks before they are due regardless of what hideous bugs you throw at me - and you can hold me to that!

Now some photos.............

This is my Summer Sassy Apron Swap apron. I actually completed the apron weeks ago but forgot all the extra bits to go with it. It's taken me this much time to get everything else together.

I found some lovely summery fabric.

The apron had to have some embellishment so I thought some frills would be pretty.

And then I decided to add a flower for good measure! I hope my partner doesn't think it too over the top but it is only a brooch so can be removed and put on a bag or something.

We also had to provide a recipe for a non-alcoholic summery drink so I included this from one of my favourite Aussie chefs, Bill Granger.

And last we also had to include a 'dish cloth' or what we call a tea towel. I found some nice matching orangey ones and appliqued one of them with one of the lovely sunshine images from the fabric.

So, sorry to my partner but it is now on its way!

Tomorrow I will hopefully show you a picture of my lastest quilt for the Lemonade Stand quilt swap. It is also terribly late but it's on its way after I take some photos in the morning.

I received some lovely mail yesterday but will show you later this week.

I am off to have some more sleep while I can!

All is revealed!

2008-06-01T22:16:00.012+10:00

I can finally do a full reveal of my Doll Quilt III swap quilt.

The reason I was being so sneaky about showing the whole quilt was because my partner had posted a photo of a sunrise in Alaska, where she lives, as her inspiration for the quilt she was making.

So I decided to have a go at a sunrise quilt myself.

I found this pattern on line - sorry I can't remember where as it was some time ago. I think it was actually called 'Rising Sun' or something equally obvious.

Well my apron package is ready and I'm currently finishing off my next little quilt for the Lemonade Doll Quilt Swap quilt which was also due yesterday. Unfortunately I've put my neck out which I haven't done for a very long time. I've ice packed it as that's what usually works but my goodness it makes my whole right side ache including my head!!

I worked yesterday and lucky for me I got to meet the gorgeous Christie from Pigeon Pair who was at Amitie for a blog meet. I also had a quick hello with the glowingly pregnant Corrie - I swear she has so much energy and the most beautiful skin! And you can now get our patterns in Corries shop!

And by the way, if you are interested, the Doll Quilt 4 swap is up and running as of today. They are taking 100 participants so if you want to join in (yes I mean you Kellie!) get your email off to Susan.

I promise I will post some photos of the quilt and apron swap goodies later this week when I'm feeling a little more myself.

The scooter has landed!

2008-05-27T22:25:00.014+10:00

Well my Spring quilt finally arrived at its destination and just in time for the recipient's birthday.

Lovely Valerie has a very entertaining blog and during one of my little research reads I discovered that she owns this little beauty!

So I couldn't resist. I had to make her something with a scooter on it and came up with this.

I did the scooter image in a funky floral. It's just a little bit 70's which I absolutely love.

And the spotty interior to finish.

Oh, and I forgot to show you the back of the quilt.

So another of my little quilts has found its new home. My other one for the Doll Quilt Swap III is still winging its way to its secret destination.

So here's another sneaky peak. Hopefully you can see the whole thing soon!

I have much to do this week including mailing out my apron for the Sassy Apron swap which just needs a few extra touches and my extra little quilt swap quilt should be on its way soon too.

And finally, before I rest my weary bones, I would like to thank you all for your good wishes on the launch of our patterns. It's very exciting and we can't quite believe they are finally here.

Well here goes.........

2008-05-22T21:32:00.011+10:00

We very proudly introduce

Audrey and Maude!

Six for Six

2008-05-12T22:10:00.008+10:00

A while ago I was tagged to do a 6 things about me meme by Fi of sixteen bluebirds. I decided to do it instead about my gorgeous Lucinda who turned 6 today.

1. She laughs like Bart Simpson mostly at her own jokes!

2. She has a terrible screaming hissy fit loud temper.

3. She is scared of heights, swimming and won't use lifts.

4. She HATES scratchy labels and makes me cut them out of all her clothes. And she hates all her socks!

5. She draws beautiful pictures.

6. She loves playing with the boys but at heart is very girly.

Happy 6th Birthday my funny girl - you are quite a challenge for poor Mummy but a really adorable one!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T18:45:00.003+10:00

This is what I love about Mother's Day.

Special messages from my beautiful girls.

Happy Mother's day to all you lovely mums out there - hope you enjoyed some spoiling and lots of cuddles like I did!

Still here, still sick, still sewing!!

2008-05-08T21:47:00.009+10:00

Well I'm still here and I'm still sick! But to make it more interesting I have a different cold this week.

The last one was a snotty sinus, headachy thing but this one comes with a lovely never ending cough and a lack of voice. So not only do I feel poorly but I'm driving everyone else completely mad!

And added to that I have had various children home with it and little Daphne is now coughing along with me. So not much is getting done although I do have a few bits and pieces to show you.

Yesterday I had a note from the postie to go and pick up a registered parcel which I knew must be one of my doll quilts. When I went to pick it up the girl handed me a huge and heavy box so I was a bit surprised. We raced it home all excited and sure enough it was my Four Seasons Quilt Swap Spring quilt. But it was also four lovely quilting magazines and lots of yummy lollies/candy/sweeties (depending on where you are from).

How incredibly generous!

The quilt was designed and made by Su who makes all sorts of wonderful quilts and sounds like a gorgeous woman with a really big heart. It's a pleasure to have 'met' her. Thanks so much Su for my lovely bright, cheerful Spring quilt and all the other goodies, we are enjoying them enormously.

Finally I have completed my Spring quilt. It's off to its new owner who as far as I'm concerned is one cool girl. I'll let you know who it is when she gets it because she has a lovely blog.

I hope she likes it.

And here is a little sneak peak at my doll quilt for the Doll Quilt III swap. I haven't said much about this quilt as it was inspired very much by something my partner said on her blog and I think it will be way too obvious. So again, you'll have to wait and see.

The other thing keeping me extremely busy at the moment is pattern writing and sample making. So in case you forgot that I make aprons - here's a few of my recent ones.

We're not far off launching so stay tuned!

Oh and by the way Fi, my extra exciting news is that I WON $5,000 of advertising on the Living Creatively website for generating lots of leads from my blog during the month of April. So yippy for me - perfect timing for our new venture!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

2008-05-01T21:25:00.016+10:00

Yes, today is my 44th Birthday and it has been a completely lovely day. The lead up to it, not so good as we have all been sick with a horrible virus and I'm still no where near back to my normal self.

But today was about being spoilt, having lots of visits from gorgeous family and friends and loving every minute of it.

And to share my joy I thought I would show you all my wonderful presents.

My husband is giving me a new sewing machine but I need to investigate the best options first. So as a little surprise for the day he gave me some fabulous books. The apron one is a copy of an old apron pattern book and is amazing.

Chloe gave me a beautiful locket.

Lucinda gave me a wonderful new CD and some of my all time favourite chocolates from little Daphne who really wanted to keep them for herself!

Some gorgeous kokeshi girls from my gorgeous girlfriends Christina and Daphne. You can pose their little heads - aren't they adorable!

A completely brilliant teapot and mug in my favourite red spots from my sister Michelle.

An amazing orchid called Dancing Lady (oh yes that is sooo me) and vintage treasures from one of my oldest and dearest friends Michelle, who also brought over some yummy lunch and the biggest lemon meringue pie I have ever seen.

And as if that wasn't enough, she is also making me a little quilted sewing bag which I promise to show off when she finishes it.

I told you I was spoilt didn't I.

Then my lovely Mum and Dad turned up and they had been trawling the local antique stores in the rain and came up with these.

A totally stunning Royal Crown Devon Art Deco vase and another little matching one.

I'm in love..... aren't they fabulous. My Mum and I found another Royal Crown Devon vase at a market once and we have been interested in them ever since. So the collection is well on its way now!

What a truly lovely day. Thanks everyone for all the visits and the cards and the phone calls. I feel very loved and not too, too old!

Now crafting.... hmmmm have been living in a sinus pain blur with sick children to entertain. Sooooo, over the next couple of days I should have two finished quilts to show off to you. One for the Four Seasons swap and the other for the Doll Quilt III swap.

In the meantime here's another little teaser of the Spring Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilt.

Thanks!

2008-04-16T23:01:00.009+10:00

Just a quick post to say thank you all so much for your good wishes on my blog anniversary. It is so lovely to think that there are people from all over the world popping in to read about my latest creations. I wish I could send you all an apron!

But there can only be one winner and this time it is:

Lindsay of Today we are reading.

Congratulations Lindsay, email me your address and give me an idea of the sort of apron you would like - half, full, modern, retro, frilly pink, blue - whatever!

Do you like the tissue box? I cut up all the names and was looking for something to put them in when I found this on our table. Perfect for the job I think - thanks Lucinda.

And I leave you with a little sneak peak of my latest Four Seasons swap quilt for Spring which is due very soon!!

A toast to Lululollylegs!

2008-04-10T21:59:00.000+10:00

Yes, raise your glasses (or cups of tea depending on what time it is in your part of the world) as today is this blog's first anniversary.

At the start of last year I participated in a mini-swap and was lucky to be matched with Ali. Being the endlessly encouraging person that she is, she finally convinced me to take the plunge and start my own blog. Well thank you Ali as it has certainly been one of the most rewarding and personally satisfying projects I have ever undertaken.

It has been an amazing year and I have achieved such an enormous volume of work, made some fantastic friends, been offered a wonderful job and now I'm even starting up a business with a fellow blogger!

A little while ago I was tagged by Florence with this archive meme. I thought it was a good opportunity to save it for today and go back over the last year's posts.

So here goes:

Archive Meme Instructions: Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. … but there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.Link 2 must be about friends.Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.Link 4 must be about something you love.Link 5 can be anything you choose.

Family: Post Holiday Chaos. I know that the start of this post indicates much madness and mayhem, but I think it's a good reflection of just how crazy life with three young children is. One minute you can be enjoying a lovely holiday and the next you've got twenty different activities to go to and a sick child. The holiday was really lovely though and it's about time I started planning where we're off to this September.

Friends: Friends+Fabric=Fun. This post describes my first meeting with my gorgeous friend Cathy. And now here we are both working at Amitie and starting up our own business together. It's such a lovely rewarding friendship and it's all because of blogging and an apron swap!! And did you know that we just discovered that our Mothers went to primary school together - I just knew we were meant to be friends.

Myself: A day for Me. I have realised looking back through my posts that I don't actually write a lot about me and what goes on in my head. I tend to just show you things I make or write about my children. I think this post describes how I feel a lot of the time - way too busy. I don't get a lot of time to do things for myself or indeed time by myself and this was such a lovely day. I have to admit I have not made time to have a hair cut since and it is well overdue again.

Love: Cheers! A celebratory post about my darling husband's Birthday and our wedding anniversary. It was fun to post those photos as I so rarely get to see them. It's a fun time of the year for us with New Year's thrown in for good measure.

Random: Party Time. The reason I chose this post is because I can't believe how much my life has changed since I started this blog a year ago. The stitches and craft show left us all on such a high and I realised how wonderful it is to be a part of such a lovely on line (and off) craft community.

It's been a pretty good year I think and I can honestly say I'm quite proud of myself. I have made stuff all my life but hadn't done much at all since I had the children. Now my head is just bursting with ideas and every day there is something new and inspiring to be seen on someone's lovely blog. So even though I probably spend far too much time reading blogs, I think it has definitely made me much, much more productive.

Anyway I don't think I'll tag anyone with this, but if you are keen to give it a go - be my guest!

Now to a bit of crafty eye candy. Look what arrived in the mail for me today from Amy at Lucy Kate Crafts.

How completely adorable is 'Rosie' and she is so beautifully made. Amy also included some divine fabric which is perfect for my sofa quilt fabric stash. A lovely and generous prize Amy - thank you so very much!

And I will leave you with a few photos of my latest finished project. The wedding quilt is finished except for the label.

I'm really happy with the quilting. It is a blossom pattern and a great overall pattern for this quilt.

When I first chose the fabrics I really wanted to add a black and cream striped binding. Luckily I found just the thing and I absolutely love how it has come up.

It looks quite nice in my house - hope the newly weds like it for theirs!

So thanks to everyone who reads my blog wherever you are. It is so rewarding to receive feedback about my creations and you are all a real inspiration to me.

I think that means I should do a blog anniversary giveaway!!! Leave a comment by this Sunday 13th and I will pick a winner on Monday which allows for the time difference. I think it has to be an apron - don't you!

Looking forward to the next year of posts.

Eggs, chickens, rabbits and leaves!!

2008-03-31T21:25:00.019+11:00

Here I am..... over here, yes it's me - I'm back!!

Actually I haven't really been anywhere. It's school holidays and I have been just a tad busy with the children. And we haven't really done anything in particular but I do have a few bits and pieces to share with you.

First of all I have a couple of Easter photos.

The Easter Bunny left lots of yummy chocolate in the garden........

.. which Daphne thought was completely fantastic!

Then we enjoyed a delicious lamb roast and chocolate cake at Mum's with the family.

And speaking of bunnies, our friend Sophia got a lovely white rabbit for her Birthday so we decided to give her a little soft one.

The pattern is from here. Very cute and very easy! Happy 8th Birthday Sophia!

On the sewing front I have been mainly doing some hand quilting on the train quilt. As the lovely recipient's Mummy reads this blog I can't show it to you. Hopefully they won't have to wait too much longer.

I also made some aprons for the Stitches and Craft show to demonstrate how one pattern can be done in several different ways.

And for any Melbourne people who would like to know how to make a simple apron - look here. I'm doing an apron workshop!

Cathy is also running a workshop for her lovely children's clothes which is going to be hugely popular if the interest at the shop is any indication.

So did I tell you it's the school holidays?

Did I tell you it's Autumn?

This ......

...... is what you do when it's school holidays and Autumn!!

And Florence and Kathy who tagged me recently, I haven't forgotten and I will get to them soon I promise!

Party Time!

2008-03-18T21:25:00.000+11:00

Wow, so much to tell you but where do I begin?

I think I will start with the slumber party on Saturday night.

A cherry themed slumber party. Five eight year old girls and my two oldest daughters. Fun!

They arrived at 5pm, made pizzas, ate icecream, played outside, watched a movie and giggled endlessly.

Their party bag was a little denim tote lined with cherry fabric with their initial on the front in more cherries.

In it we put cherry earrings, cherry lollies, cherry note pad, pen and a little elephant stamp and stamp pad.

The girls were thrilled.

The earrings were a big hit and apparently make one look like a teenager! They even got teased by the nine year old boy next door over the fence.

They thought it was 'the best party ever'!

I have also had the most wonderful few days at the Stitches and Craft show. The stand was amazing and the staff just fantastic!

I got to meet so many of our clever local crafty girls who were not only inspirational but just completely lovely.

And I can't believe how many craft bloggers came in for a visit over the four days. Friday was like a huge ongoing blog meet and I was able to put a face to so many of my favourite reads.

We saw Jo, Tamara, Stacey, Corrie, Jodie, Annie, Donna, Tracey, and Kellie. And we shared the stand with Jenny, Fiona, Angela, Kristin, Kris, Amelia, Virginie, Bianca and other amazing crafty girls.

We were even brave enough to be interviewed on stage every day and some of you may have even caught us on Kerri-Anne Kennerley on Friday morning.

It was a really wonderful and rewarding experience in so many ways and I'm just so glad to have been offered the opportunity. We also got such positive response regarding 'Audrey and Maude' our new sewing pattern concept and loads of inspiration for patterns. Better get on with it then!!

Some stuff to show before the Show

2008-03-10T22:35:00.002+11:00

It's a busy time and I haven't really had time to post. There is so much happening at once. First let me show you some finished work.

Being a lover of all things aprony I decided to participate in the Sassy Apron swap. The first theme was Spring.

I finally got my apron finished after being interrupted by several family illnesses and other dilemmas. I have had this gorgeous fabric for ages and always wanted to use it for an apron.

It makes me think of the green of new growth, the beautiful pink blossom trees and the blue, blue skies of Spring. Teamed with the teapots I think it's quite a cheerful little apron. I sent it off with some cute Easter cookie cutters.

I finally get to show you a bag I made for my gorgeous girlfriend Ros.

It's similar to the one I made my sister-in-law for Christmas except I used linen, rounded the bottom and added some yummy liberty and spots.

Happy belated Birthday my friend!!

And now I have some special news! This is a very exciting week and I have been madly sewing in preparation for the Stitches and Craft Show where I am joining several other craft bloggers on the Living Creatively stand.

I'm joining forces with the very lovely Cathy of Miss Marzie fame who works with me at Amitie every Tuesday sewing up gorgeous samples for the shop.

And why are we there.............?

Cathy and I have decided to get together and develop a range of simple sewing patterns for aprons, bags, children's clothes, and quilts. I know a few of you have discovered our venture via Miss Marzie but to all those that don't know.... look out for AUDREY and MAUDE.

You can come and see us and lots of other local crafty ladies demonstrating various craft activities. Cathy and I are also being interviewed about the concept of Audrey and Maude, craft blogging and how we met through an apron swap.

So if you are a local pop in and say hello.

Stitches and Craft Show
Caulfield Racecourse
Thursday to Sunday 10-5
Living Creatively Stand on Level 1

My lucky leap day girl!

2008-03-01T19:46:00.004+11:00

Yesterday Chloe had a Birthday.

And she doesn't get many of them being born on the 29th of February.

Yesterday she turned 2!

No really, she had her 8th Birthday and I can't believe it's been 8 years since this beautiful little person entered our lives.

She is such a sweet, clever, generous and kind girl and we're so proud her.

Happy 8th Birthday gorgeous girl.

Four things and a Quilt

2008-02-25T21:31:00.000+11:00

Jacquie from My Sew Called Life tagged me for this 'four things' meme a couple of weeks ago and I finally found five minutes to answer the questions. While you read my riveting answers I will also share with you some pictures of my latest quilt project.

Name four jobs I have had ~

1. Payroll clerk for Melbourne Water Board

2. Account Co-ordinator in various Advertising and PR agencies

3. Marketing Manager for Financial Services company

4. newbie @ Amitie Textiles

Four Movies watched over and over again ~

1. Room with a View

2. Shadowlands

3. 84 Charing Cross Road

4. High Society

Four places I’ve lived ~

1. Melbourne

2. London

3. Melbourne

4. Still here

Four Shows I watch ~

1. Trash telly - Big Brother, America's Top Model, Bachelor, Farmer wants a Wife - love em all

2. Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares - my current fave

3. Today Show - my time keeper in the morning

4. Bargain Hunt/Antiques Roadshow - preparing dinnertime telly

Four places I have been ~

1. New York, USA

2. Siena, Italy

3. Maldives

4. Budapest, Hungary

Four people who email me ~

1. Christina

2. Other bloggers

3. Family

4. Weird Nigerian people!

Favorite things to eat ~

1. Roast beef

2. Chocolate

3. Chinese Food

4. Sushi

Four places I would rather be ~

1. At my sewing machine

2. Swimming in a blue, blue sea somewhere

3. In a bubble bath

4. Asleep in my bed

Four things I look forward to this year ~

1. Watching my children grow

2. Sewing and designing more

3. Enjoying my new job at Amitie

4. Going away for a romantic weekend with my husband

I'm supposed to tag some people and I'm pretty sure lots of you have done this before, however, I would like to tag a couple of new blogging friends. Firstly Kellie who is a local blogger with a very cute family and she makes the most gorgeous quilts. And second Celandine a lovely blogger who I discovered last week. She makes and sells all sorts of lovely stuff. Go and say hi to them both.

The quilt is a wedding gift for my Brother in Law who is getting married this weekend (yes it will be a late present!) The pattern is the very popular Aunt Bec's 9 Patch from Amitie and is super easy and always really striking. It is going off to be quilted this week which is a first for me and I can't wait to see how it comes up. Now I'm off to bed - I have to 'work' tomorrow you know!!

Lotsa lovely Loot

2008-02-17T19:16:00.010+11:00

Thanks so much everyone for all the lovely comments on my winter quilt. It is now safely with its owner Susan at Chickenfoot.

Now I want to show you the super quilt that I received.

When we signed on for the Winter part of the Four Seasons Quilt Swap we were allowed to request a partner and Margaret, our extremely capable swap manager, tried to put together as many as she possibly could.

Well, lucky me, I got the partner I wanted.

Kathy from Pink Chalk Studio makes the most wonderful quilts and I just knew she would create something special. You really need to read this to see the process she went through to get to the final quilt.

The design is amazing and the colours just pop. It is so well made and I just love looking at all the quilting.

I think it will find a home on our kitchen wall amongst a lot of other bright artwork.

And lovely Kathy was so incredibly generous. Included in the swap package were three beautifully packaged little kitties peeking out of their own little quilt. One for each of my girls who were nearly hysterical with the excitement of it all.

Kathy's 12 year old daughter designed this gorgeous little cat and we all think it is fantastic!

They have slept with them every night since they arrived!

Thanks Kathy for such wonderful creativity and generosity.

And speaking of generosity and creative talent, the very lovely Jade just nominated me for a 'You make my day' award. Well right back at you Jade - your posts are always a pleasure to read.

And to make up a list of ten I tag my dear friend Cathy, Ali, Jo, Fiona, Florence, Liz, Leslie, Jodie, and H&B who has just today delivered the most beautiful baby boy! All fantastic blogs that I have to read as soon as I see they have posted. They're funny, creative, thought provoking and endlessly inspiring - thanks girls for making my day!!

"Cosy Inside"

2008-02-11T22:27:00.002+11:00

My first finished project of the year - and it is very late!

I have to admit that I wasn't too inspired to make a Winter quilt given that we have had several days of 40deg but I had a few ideas.

And with school holidays, working on my Mum's quilt and preparing for the return to school and my new brilliant job, I mucked around with it for ages.

Still, it is done and winging its way to a distant secret destination - I hope my partner likes it!

Now I just have to finish all the other projects!!

My Big Girls!

2008-01-31T23:28:00.000+11:00

Guess what I did today!

Yes my middle girl started school and she looked so very little when she put her school dress on.

After initial nerves it all went well and she had a really great day!

And look at what my biggest girl has been up to.

We made this together and she won a prize over here. Check out all the gorgeous Melly and Me patterns - they are super cute and super easy to follow!

But not as cute as my big girls!!!

A very special Birthday!

2008-01-24T22:04:00.000+11:00

My lovely Mother turned 70 today!

So I can finally show you my secret project.

We went for afternoon tea and presented her with this!

It's based on Judy Newman's lovely pattern 'Vintage Comfort'. Because I wanted it to go on a queen sized bed I had to adapt it slightly by taking out the smaller blocks and then added a yellow sashing and border.

Now I just have to hand quilt it - and hopefully she will get it some time before her 80th!!

Happy Birthday Mum!!!

A little bit of this.........

2008-01-21T22:32:00.000+11:00

Well we're in the home stretch now with one week to go before school starts. Good timing too as the girls are getting a little restless.

We've done a little baking....

And a little eating....

And a little shopping....

I wouldn't normally buy such girly shoes but these are just divine on and I HAD to have them!

And I have done a little bit of sewing.

A small quilt (about 12" squarish!) for a couple of Lucinda's little soft toys - Fred and Cindy.

Do you like the back? It's very Denyse Schmidt don't you think. You get that look by not basting before you machine quilt to get it done really fast!!!

I kinda like it!

The girls had a very nice picnic dinner in the garden with lots of friends. My husband organised this and apparently everything was eaten which just goes to show how important the venue and company is!!

Little Daphne is making us laugh with her new style of dressing. Lots of bling and a backwards hat! All her own doing I swear!

Tomorrow is her first day at day care with Mummy along to see how we go. It's my first time putting any of my children in child care and I have the best reason for doing so because as of Feb 5th I am going to be working at Amitie every Tuesday - yippee!!!

Good Morning Christina!

2008-01-16T22:30:00.001+11:00

Surprise! Yes I'm back after a little break from blogging. To be perfectly honest with you I just couldn't be bothered writing anything and downloading photos - is that bad?!

I had such a ridiculously busy lead up to Christmas that I think I just fell in a heap after New Years. Do you know I was running so fast to get something done and out the door one day about a week before Christmas that I fell over!!! Right in the middle of my living room. I hit my head really hard on the sofa, grazed my arm and landed on one hip which ended up with about an 8cm circular bruise on it. So I decided that it was time to slow down for a while!

We have been chilling out mostly. Sometimes with friends, sometimes with family, often in our PJ's for much of the day, and often just hiding from the excessively hot weather we have been experiencing.

We enjoyed a much anticipated visit from our Dutch cousins. As there wasn't a lot of English spoken it took the trampoline to break the ice. A couple of bounces and everyone was giggling and having fun.

I've done a little bit of sewing with the girls and their friends. Chloe, Lucinda and their friend Mia went through my fabric scrap box and created a mosaic each. I offered to turn them into something useful.

Here's Mia's.

And here is Lucinda's - photo also by Lucinda.

The girls also participated in a class at Amitie, check out their creations here

And I have been working on a few projects - some still a secret and some just for the fun of it. I have to get my winter quilt done for the Four Seasons quilt swap for mailing on the 30th but another slightly larger project has been taking up my time. All will be revealed in about a week!!

I have been visiting all my friends in blogland of course, and even won a prize!

I actually won the green bag but generous Jodie added all the other lovelies. Thanks heaps Jodie!!

The bag is currently being used to hold this little crochet project - a cushion for Chloe.

I figure if I can manage this then I might attempt a granny square quilt at some point this year. We are (my husband is) repainting all the girl's furniture the most divine shade of aqua. I also have fabric for curtains. I will probably show you all when it is finished.

And you might be wondering why this title. Well one of my bestest friends has been bemoaning the fact that she logs onto my blog first thing and there's never any new post. So good morning Christina and good morning/evening to the rest of you. Thanks for all your lovely comments regarding my wedding photos - it was rather self indulgent but I rarely look at them and loved showing them off.

I leave you with some shots of some of the ornaments I received in the 2007 Holiday Ornament swap.

Cheers!!

2007-12-30T21:56:00.000+11:00

It's a very festive time in our household.

Yesterday we drank champagne to celebrate 11 years of wedded bliss.

I can't believe it was 11 years ago but we have certainly done much since then.

We all had so much fun that day, two churches and all!

So last night we had a lovely dinner at the Stokehouse, one of my all time favourite restaurants.

Happy Anniversary darling husband!!

And today we celebrated his birthday with a little champagne and cake in the garden - looking slightly more ordinary!

Tomorrow we will be having a few friends around to bring in the New Year and the following day is my husband's name day!

And it is the same every year - lots of champagne, fine food and wonderful company!

Today we had a visit from my dear friend Elizabeth so I can now share with you the present I made her as it has been very happily received.

It is nice and long to put on her bed and as she has a bad back she is thrilled with it's possibilities as a lumbar support!

I love the colours, they remind of the sea.

I also found time to take a photo of this fabulous bag my sister made me for Christmas.

And it has really lovely lining.

I can't wait to use it but I think it is more of an autumn bag.

Thanks so much everyone for your support this year. It's been so encouraging to receive all my lovely comments and feedback. I have much to achieve in 2008 and have much to look forward to.

And to all the lovely bloggers out there who provide so much entertainment, laughter, a few tears and who inspire me endlessly, cheers!! I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Wrap Up

2007-12-27T20:00:00.000+11:00

So Christmas is over for another year. I hope you enjoyed a lovely day with family and friends as I did. We all ate way too much and my goodness the presents were never ending - not sure where everything is going to go!

And what a few weeks it has been. I did try to do a post last week but blogger ate my photos and I didn't have the time or the inclination to redo them. So here it is - the last couple of weeks activities and some of the crafty projects I completed.

The 15th brought a mad weekend with lots of Birthday parties including Daphne's.

And look at this gorgeous creation!

A stunning bolster cushion made by my girlfriend Michelle.

Isn't it just fantastic!

I love the colours and all the little yo-yos - a gift to absolutely treasure! Thanks Michelle, we really love it.

We finished the weekend with a big Christmas party on the Sunday with my Mother's group. We provide a Kris Kringle gift for the children and I made these for two lovely sisters.

This is my more basic version of Renata Segtowick's wonderful idea. Renata's are so beautifully detailed - go have a look.

The week following was all about kinder parties, school parties, reports and finishing up the year ready for a good break. I made three tote bags for the girl's teachers but didn't have time to take photos.

Then I finally finished a commission I'd been sitting on for AGES!! Two aprons for my girlfriend to give to some special girls for Christmas.

A frilly smock for the little one.

And a frilly apron for the bigger one.

I discovered the new apple fabric at Amitie and it all went from there. It's the most lovely linen weight and just perfect for aprons. I'm really pleased with them and will definitely be making more.

And finally some gifts for my family.

A scarf for my Mum using some gorgeous Japanese fabric I had in my stash.

And a bag for my sister-in-law Sacha.

I LOVE this bag!!

I cut it from a bag I received in a swap which I think is an Amy Butler pattern (anyone know?). Then I just patched part of it, added some flowers and quilted the edges.

I also made some cushions and did a pin cushion swap with my girlfriend but have no photos yet - show you next time along with some photos of the gorgeous ornaments I have received for the Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament swap. But this lot should keep you busy for a while!!

By the way, before I forget, my pay it forward recipients are Fiona, Beth and Ginger. So can you all email me and let me know if you wish to participate and provide your address if I don't already have it.

Girls, Girls, Girls!

2007-12-12T22:13:00.000+11:00

My baby girl turned two today!!

She wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about.

But joined in anyway.

Happy Birthday my little pudding!

I don't have a lot to show you as I haven't been doing much other than my Christmas ornaments. But I did take five minutes to throw together this little skirt for my big girl on the weekend just for the fun of it. I quite like how it turned out and she seems happy with it.

But mostly I have been working very hard on finishing my christmas ornaments in between many social commitments. Unfortunately I was a day late so fingers crossed they all reach their destination soon!

Here are 'the girls'!

I have started to receive some of my ornaments from my much more organised swap partners and I am absolutely blown away by how gorgeous they are. I still have to takes photos of one of them and will post them next time.

And now it's on to all the other Christmas sewing!

A day for me!

2007-12-06T21:41:00.000+11:00

I had a fantastic day today!

My lovely Mum took Daphne for the day, Lucinda had a full day of kinder and Chloe was at school. After dropping everyone off I started with some secret Christmas shopping, then legged it home to meet a girlfriend who had to pick something up from me. I then raced back to the kinder to grab Lucinda to take her to a quick meet and greet with her new school teacher, dropping her off at kinder again half an hour later.

I then took off to a child care centre to have a look around because I'm going to be working one day a week as of Feb and need to find somewhere for Daphne to go. It was exactly what I was after and they had a spot available!! My next stop was Amitie for a quick fabric fix and catch up with the girls - always fun and of course I came away with a few more bits of delicious fabric. (More about that in future posts!)

My last stop was the hairdressers for my first haircut since November 2006! I tried a new place just up the road and it was brilliant! They also offer beauty therapy services and it's all sparkly and new and I think I am going to visit often!!

Then I got the girls, thanked my Mum profusely and went home. And I just knew there was going to be a special surprise in my letter box, because I was really having that kind of a day. Sure enough there was a parcel waiting.

A lovely Violet and Rose gift from Jo. I admired her bracelets a few weeks ago and she offered to make me my very own one.

Isn't it stunning!! Thank you so much Jo I absolutely LOVE it!! There will be something special on its way to you next week!

And finally, I have finished the second and slightly different Christmas ornament. I like her much more and will spend most of tomorrow making the rest of them.

Even though it sounds like a had quite a hectic day, it was actually really productive and fun. I feel like the planets aligned and everything went my way and after a few really stressful weeks, it feels good!

Paying it Forward!

2007-12-04T22:09:00.001+11:00

I can finally tell you who my little green quilt was for. A couple of weeks ago I had an email chat with Margaret the fantastic organiser of the Four Seasons Swap. I explained that I was very disappointed that I never received any thanks for the Autumn tree quilt I made and wasn't sure whether to sign up for the Winter swap. She then told me that the woman that received my quilt didn't send her partner Beth one. After reading her blog Modern Jax, it appeared that it was the second swap this unlucky girl had signed on for and both times she had received nothing.

So I HAD to make her a quilt - it made me feel good to make it and send it and made me feel better about my little tree quilt disappearing into nowhere! Go on over and visit Beth and say hi, she also has a very cute felt ornament tutorial to try.

I recently had the very good fortune to 'win' a Pay It Forward treat from Cathy at Pink Green. And I now get to offer the same to three of my lovely readers. So....

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

On the crafting front I am still working on lots of little bits and pieces for Christmas. Some of them I will be able to show you and some probably not as the recipients read this blog and I would rather surprise them.

So instead I will show you my ornament swap prototype which will definitely be changing.

I like her but want to make a couple of changes. She's a little too big and I'm not sure about the black and white.

We've started our Advent stockings, have put the tree up and this year we even have some lights on the house! I still don't feel remotely organised for Christmas and I also have Daphne's 2nd Birthday party on the 15th but thanks to my lovely Mum I have a fairly childfree day on Thursday to get some stuff done. I'm even getting a haircut which will be the first for some time.

Enjoy your week!

Bugs, Bush, balls and a bag!

2007-11-23T22:30:00.000+11:00

Why hello! It feels like I haven't been here for a while. In fact it even looks different as I type this in. When did the posting graphics change I wonder!! How bad would I have been at posting every day in November....

We have been through the wars in this house this week with a stinking dose of gastro affecting every member of the household! But after a couple of days of loafing about at home we're all back to normal.

Nothing a little dancing to Hi-5 won't fix!

Before we succumbed to the nasty bug, we had a very busy Sunday with two big family functions during the afternoon.

The first was a large gathering at a park with my Mother's family to celebrate what would have been my late Grandfather's 100th Birthday. My Aunt has put together an amazing booklet filled with our family history dating right back to the 1600's. I discovered that aside from English, Irish and Scottish ancestry, my maternal Great Great Great Grandfather was an American. Would you believe I share a common ancestor with the current President of the USA!

From there we rushed off to McClelland Park. My Brother-in-law Nik was one of 35 finalists in the McClelland Sculpture Award whose winner was announced shortly after we arrived. Sadly I missed the announcement as the little darlings needed to go to the toilet!

We did a brief wander around the gorgeous park but everyone was wilting under the very, very hot sun.

After checking out Uncle Nik's work 'We Refugees', we decided to take off.

The sculptures will be there until July so if you are in Melbourne go and have a look. It really is a beautiful gallery and park and the sculptures are wonderful.

I have found some time to do a little bit of crafting.

This is for my other Brother-in-law's girlfriend whose Birthday party we're off to tomorrow night.

Carol is a beautiful Lebanese girl so I wanted to make something really striking. The floral is from one of the new Kaffe Fassett fabric ranges which are just stunning.

I have many projects underway including aprons, christmas ornaments and other gifts and will hopefully have more to show you soon. Enjoy the weekend!

Secret Quilting Business

2007-11-16T20:58:00.000+11:00

I had a special project to complete this week.

Something that had to be done quickly.

I really enjoyed doing it.

But as it's a big surprise for someone.

I can't tell you what it is - or I'd have to kill you!!

No seriously, it's a big surprise for someone very special and I will reveal all when it arrives at its destination.

Now I'm off to start 9 Christmas decorations for the Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament swap. I have a lovely group of women from America, Canada and even an Aussie girl to swap with. And lucky me because one of them is one of my favourite bloggers house on hill road. I can't wait to see what will turn up in the mail.

And the winner is.......

2007-11-08T07:51:00.000+11:00

I promised Chloe she could pull the name out of the bowl so I had to wait until she got up this morning!

'Nicole' you are the winner!!

You wrote "wow i love your 'apple & pear' fabric, its just too cute for words. thanks for the apron tutorial :o) you made it so easy i think im off to spotlight next week to get something pretty to make your apron, it will be the first 1/2 one i have as i usually prefer the full ones."

And this is your prize.

As you like full aprons, hopefully you will enjoy this one!

So please email me your address so I can send the apron on its way to its new home.

And I had planned to show the other apron but it just didn't get finished. I had a nearly 2yr old who refused to sleep today which put the mozz on any sewing plans I had. And would you believe tomorrow our power will be off ALL day. Yes from about 8am- 4pm. So I think I will camp out at my mother's all day.

Anyway I WILL tell you what I am working on.

This is the first of several aprons I have designed.

I plan to make some to sell and eventually want to make them into patterns.

So any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for joining in and don't forget for those who are interested, the Freshly Blended Holiday Ornament swap is open until November 9.

A Fine Feast!

2007-11-06T21:47:00.000+11:00

Well you asked for it!

It was a gorgeous sunny day so we ate outside. The children all got on really well and had a ball. The adults got to sit down and have a glass or two of champagne and we all enjoyed a yummy lunch.

We stopped at 3pm to watch 'the big race' and then enjoyed a coffee and sweets!

Poor kids, I made them wait until I had taken a photo - they were dying to pounce on the meringues!

I hope those who had the day off enjoyed it - our day was a big success!

Good Intentions!

2007-11-05T21:28:00.000+11:00

With every good intention I said I would choose the winner of the apron giveaway on Sunday night. Well obviously it is now Monday night and I still haven't. Tomorrow is Melbourne Cup Day and the kids and Daddy were home today as the schools often make it a long weekend and hubby usually takes the day off. So together we prepared for a Cup Day party we're having tomorrow and I have had to drop all sewing (put it away) and clean, scrub and cook.

I have now decided I will leave the drawing of the competition until Wednesday when I have finished the new aprons and can show you them properly. In the meantime, just so you don't think I'm completely useless I can show you a little sneak peak of one of the new aprons which I personally think are well worth the wait!

If you are wondering why I am saying 'aprons' you will have to wait until Wednesday and I will reveal all.

Now I'm off to cook a lemon tart. We are having a barbeque with lamb cutlets done in cumin, garlic and lemon juice, chicken marinated in sesame oil and soy, sausages (of course), chargrilled sweet potato, zucchini, asparagus and red and yellow peppers, tomato, basil and bocconcini salad and potato salad. I will prepare a yummy antipasto to start and have already roasted some marinated mushrooms - mmmmmm! My girlfriend is bringing her delicious pavlova and the kids will get some banana and choc chip muffins. Not a bad spread all round topped off with a few bottles of champagne - it is the races after all!

So I'll be back on Wednesday with a winner and some aprons and hopefully I'll back a winner tomorrow!!

Button Bounty

2007-11-04T23:46:00.000+11:00

Goodness what a lot of apron love there has been. I had a grand total of 508 visitors on Friday which is a little overwhelming really. I am enjoying seeing all the other fantastic tutorials coming up each day - a brilliant idea for all of us who would prefer to make our own gifts this year.

I've been tagged by my mate Jade for a craft meme. And as I answer I will throw in a few photos of my freebie button haul. There was actually a lot more in there than I expected and these are a few of my favourites!

1. When did you start to create and make craft?

Not sure but definitely under the age of 10. I was always making stuff for my Barbies and my dolls house. I remember the first thing I knitted was a bright yellow and red vest - very 70's so I must have been about 10. I don't recall ever finishing it. I got my first sewing machine for my 18th Birthday and prior to that I used my Mum's. During the early 80's I used to race home from work and sew something up to wear out that night. Most of it without a pattern and it can't have been well finished - but I thought I looked great and at least different to everyone else. I spent many hours knitting in the 80's - remember all those fabulous multi coloured jumpers! I was also mad on drawing and up until my early 20's did a lot of painting and drawing - something I really want to get back into.

2. Why did you start creating?

My Mother was an avid sewer/knitter/crocheter and made pretty much everything we wore. I can remember sitting patiently waiting for an outfit to be finished before we went off to a party - which drove my Dad completely mad! She also used to make all our doll's clothes too - some of which I still have. She was given huge bags of fabric from a friend who worked in some kind of textile factory and I used to spend hours playing with them - just like I do now with my fabrics. So I guess being constantly surrounded by it encouraged my interest and desire to create. I also had a lot of craft books and did things like macrame - very groovy.

3. Why do you create?

I think because I have to. I just LOVE making stuff. From the creative idea to the cutting, constructing and completing I get so much pleasure. I have so many ideas swirling around that will probably never see the light of day. The discovery of craft blogging has had a huge impact on my creative output though and I have been extremely productive this year. And that in turn gets those creative juices flowing - such constant inspiration! But you all think like that too don't you?

4. What do you create?

I like to sew bags, aprons, some clothing, quilts and other bits and pieces. I love to knit but in fits and bursts and I occasionally do a bit of crocheting. I also really enjoy embroidery and hand sewing like quilting. I would love to be better at making softies but they are a bit too fiddly for my patience. I really enjoy the swap process as it challenges me to come up with something that suits my swap partner but reflects my personal style as well. I like making things up as I go along and don't often use patterns.

5. Has this changed since you began crafting?

Not a lot but my interest in quilting is new (it's just slightly addictive). I don't make as many clothes as I would like to and I have a huge passion for aprons that I didn't have before but maybe that's just fashion. I also like doing various crafts with my children now that they are old enough to really participate. I hope I can do more drawing and painting one day.

So Amy, Fiona, Leslie, Liz, and Cathy you are all tagged. Tell us about craft in your life.

I have been madly sewing yesterday and today and will have a few new aprons to show you tomorrow. I will also draw and announce the winner of my giveaway. I knew that would bring a few of you lurkers out of hiding and it's exciting to see several of you are from Melbourne. Now, to bed...

Gifts Galore and a Give Away!

2007-11-02T13:05:00.000+11:00

Just a quick post to let you know about this!

Sew Mama Sew have collected a huge amount of tutorials and ideas for you to make Christmas/Holidays presents. And I am really thrilled to have been asked to share my apron tutorial. So go on over and check it out.

And to all those who are visiting me for the first time - welcome! To celebrate all the new visitors (nearly 400 of you today!!!) I think I should do a give away. Write me a quick hello and I'll draw out a winner on Sunday night - November 4th.

I think the give away really needs to be an apron. I'm working on a few different apron designs so I'll surprise you with something new.

I'd better get to it!

'Tis nearly the season to be jolly ..

2007-10-24T23:39:00.000+10:00

tra la la la la la la la la

A lovely post from Megan and this post from the Diary of a Domestic Competent (don't you love that name!) have me thinking about Christmas. I'm never likely to be that organised but it would be nice to have some projects underway now so that I can finish them well before the celebrations are in full swing.

I was very sick with gastro just before Christmas last year which kind of ruined any plans we had. Hopefully this year we'll have more fun. We're extra excited this year too because my nephews and neice are coming out from Holland and we haven't seen them for such a long time - in fact we haven't even met our neice.

So, to my projects! The first project to be hauled out is my advent stocking garland. I finished all the stockings last year and we filled them but I didn't complete all the numbers.

Of course, I promised myself I wouldn't put it away until I had and now it's nearly November. I found it still waiting patiently on the shelf near my desk. Let's see if I can have these done by sometime next week - it's only numbers 17 to 24 - easy!

Then after a little research last night I re-discovered this wonderful Holiday ornament swap which I just missed out on last year. I really, really want to do this as I love the idea of receiving lots of little packages from around the world and how lovely to think that something I have made will (hopefully) grace something as special as someone's Christmas tree. So if you are interested go check out Freshly Blended the first week in November.

Here's a little inspiration. One of the best things about this swap is the fantastic mix of crafts and mediums. There's fabric, wool, felt, buttons, paper, beads, wood, plastic, ceramics and even metal. Some of them are just beautiful but my favourites have to be the little aprons (I so wish I had that idea), the adorable pink houses and the sweet penguins.

1. Pinky Ornamenty Goodness!!, 2. all done!, 3. the whole gang!

I would also like to work on some ornaments with my two older girls. Maybe using felt and embroidery or maybe something like this wonderful idea from Domesticali. I think I'll let them come up with some ideas and see if some of them are not too hard to create.

What Christmas/Holidays projects are you up to??

A name tag

2007-10-21T21:16:00.001+10:00

I was tagged a while ago by the lovely Cathy to play the name game.

Here’s how it works:1. Players must list one fact, word, or tidbit that is somehow relevant to their life for each letter of their first or middle name.2. When you are tagged you need to write your own post containing your first or middle name game facts, word, or tidbit.3. At the end of your post choose one person for each letter of your name to tag.4. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they have been tagged, and to read your blog....

So I have decided to do my first name and rather than blathering about myself I thought I would use it to explain my excellent visit to Camberwell Market today.

L is for lucky, lovely and loot. See this tin. I was admiring it and wondering whether to purchase it or not.

O is for open and ooh which is what I did, in that order. Because look what was inside.

U is for unexpected and unbelievable. And what happened next was both. "You can have that", a voice from behind a rack of clothes called out! And after checking about three times that he meant it, I took it. I haven't had a proper look in it yet but I must say that completely made my day!

I is for irresistible. And that's how I would describe lots of goodies at this market.

S is for scoring these gorgeous old pillow cases and rose tin. I never find stuff like this and as they were shutting up shop I got the lot for a song!

E is for excellent, a truly excellent day's shopping!

It is also for everyone I know has already been tagged. So if you haven't been, feel free to join in!