Lazy, lazy, lazy!!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!