LITTLE RED HEN

Crafty Christmas goodies

2011-12-26T16:39:00.000+11:00

Look at the lovely gifts I received in Christmas swaps - lucky me!

This gorgeous quilt was looking so great on the back of my couch yesterday (it's stretched out for the photo) and was lovely to snuggle under earlier this afternoon on a much cooler daythan yesterday while I was reading and watching the start of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.

The top is cotton and the colours are fresh and summery; the back is minky, I think, in lime green. It looks so nice against the green walls in this room.

The quilt is my gift in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas swap and was made for me by Melinda in Marietta, Georgia. She knows I love it.

For the past I-don't-know-how-many years, I've been a member of an online group of lovely women from various Australian states, who love crafting and make beautiful things. I won't be rejoining the group next year, but plan to make more things for my home (new cushions are urgently needed!) so this year's Christmas swap is doubly special.

Dawnie made me these lovely things - the sweet little Christmas pudding needlecase, the pretty journal cover with lovely Barb Smith buttons, the handy zipped pouch, the sweet little pincushion and that gorgeous "Love to sew" bag.

Thank you again, Dawnie - I appreciate every stitch.

I wasn't idle, I promise - I won't show what I made for one swap partner, who hasn't posted yet, but these are the gifts I sent to May Kristin in Norway, my partner in the SSCS - the Christmas ornament, which she was allowed to open as soon as she received the parcel, and this table runner, in summery colours to send a bit of sunshine her way.

We swapped Christmas email messages this morning; it's so nice to know that these gifts are a link between strangers across the world, and to learn a little about each other's lives.

I've had a very happy crafty Christmas! (and it was nice in lots of other ways, too - helping prepare for a big community Christmas lunch at my DH's church, a barbecue lunch in our sunny backyard, a lovely chat on the phone with our daughter in China, gorgeous gifts from family and friends and just relaxing - so special.)

Going west

2011-10-25T20:32:00.000+11:00

The Mister and I are flying to WA on Thursday morning for a wee holiday; can't wait. We will be travelling between Perth and Albany - any suggestions on what to see and do will be appreciated! I've not been to WA before and Mr LRH hasn't been there for years.
It's been quite a week here, with storms, some work-related issues, the nail-biting, nerve-wracking Rugby World Cup win by my favourite team, the All Blacks (despite so many years in Australia I am still a Kiwi at heart) and showing off Ballarat to our lovely young visitors from France. It was cold and wet again today, so most of our sightseeing was from the car, but we managed a walk through the Botanical Gardens without being blown off our feet and they were so impressed by all the beautiful buildings in the city and with our visit to the Art Gallery.

Gorgeous giveaway

2011-09-26T12:30:00.000+10:00

My lovely friend Jo in Tassie is having a gorgeous giveaway. It closes today, so get your skates on and rush over to her blog to find out all about it. Anything involving Lynette Anderson's fabrics, Marg Low's patterns and Theodora Cleave's buttons has to be good, right?

Purse swap

2011-09-17T15:49:00.001+10:00

The online group I belong to had a framed purse as our latest swap challenge.

And it proved to be more of a challenge than I had bargained for. I ordered a purse frame kit from the wonderful Nikki in Melbourne and set to work.

The instructions were impeccable and all went well until it came to crimping the frame after the glue had set.

I got a little carried away with the hammer and the frame wouldn't shut - oops. I emailed Nikki for advice and she was so encouraging - she even offered to try and fix it if I couldn't. Wasn't that lovely - thanks so much, Nikki.

Normally if I stuff up I give up, but because I had committed to the swap that wasn't an option, so I ordered another frame and had another go - and this time everything was fine (maybe because this time I used pliers to crimp the frame, with cardboard in between to prevent scratches. )

The purse was for Kerry in Nundle, and the one she received (pictured bottom left) is in the same fabric as the bag I made her for Christmas.

And she made me the one at the top - it's in soft green wool with a pretty bowl of roses on the front - so gorgeous. Kerry's much smarter than I am - she chose a sew-in frame. She also sent a cute tape measure and little scissors and wrapped everything in pretty pink fabric.

Thanks heaps, Kerry. And thanks, Sarah, for organising another fun swap.

And speaking of swaps - I've signed up for Fiona-Marie's Great Global Christmas Swap and have a partner in the US, and for Chookyblue's Christmas swap (not telling you where my partner is from). Which means I will have to make more stuff, but before I do, I will have to clear up my sewing room. I started a tidy last week and just made a worse mess. At least I found some stuff I was glad to see again... Better get to it. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Machines

2011-08-21T18:02:00.000+10:00

This afternoon I have had the chance of using two new machines.

One is a steam mop, which I had at home to try out. The other was Accuquilt's Go Baby cutter.

No prizes for guessing which one I most enjoyed using.

The steam mop gave me clean floors and a sore back; my adventures with the cutter (ever so kindly lent to me by my friend Jeni, who bought it on Wednesday) has resulted in a pile of tumblers in '30s fabric; sets of circles in three sizes and four-inch squares for a potholder.

Now to start putting them together...

What I did on my holidays

2011-07-19T09:50:00.000+10:00

I go back to work on Wednesday after two weeks off .

As Mr LRH didn't have holidays, I took off to NZ to visit two of my lovely brothers for the first 10 days or so of my break - and it was great. Not the best weather for a visit (cold, wet, a bit dreary) but nice and relaxing after lots of changes and stresses at work. And good, too, to have a visit unrelated to sad times - previous trips over the past five years or so have been when my mum was ill and for her funeral.

One brother and his partner live in Wellington with their two littlies; it was such fun to get to know my niece and nephew (4 and 1 respectively later this month) and enjoy family outings and simple things like reading stories to my niece (who loves books and libraries and was so impressed to be told that her auntie works in a library). She and I had a fun outing on the cable car to the superb children's playground in the Botanical Gardens. If you're in Wellington, make sure you visit the Minerva Bookshop in Cuba St - it specialises in textile books and magazines; be warned, you'll be there for ages!

I made a quilt for my niece when she was born so I just had to make one for her baby brother. I had a lot of fun choosing 'boy' fabrics and not so much fun putting it together (blame my terrible spray basting technique). With some unsticking and restitching (and nervously machine quilting with the walking foot on my new machine for the first time) it turned out well - phew! I used a free Two Little Banshees tutorial; what a great pattern . I'll definitely do that one again.

I travelled by bus to Auckland - where my youngest brother and his wife live - because I wanted to see more of the countryside. The land was so lush and green and despite the grey, gloomy weather, the scenery was beautiful and I really enjoyed the trip, although it was a long one - 11 hours or so.

We had some lovely outings - to Devonport, a pretty suburb across the harbour, where we had a delicious lunch (zucchini and mussel fritters for me, yum!) and mooched in bookshops, galleries and craft shops; and to Matakana, about an hour north of Auckland, where there was more yummy food and a fabulous pottery. Some gorgeous pieces made their way home (intact, I'm glad to say) in my hand luggage.

At the weekend I took a bus to Paihia in the Bay of Islands (four hours each way) just because I could. The weather was wonderful, the sea views divine and it was just so relaxing. I stayed in a so-so motel on the waterfront and enjoyed mooching around in the sunshine.

On the Sunday morning I took the ferry over to Russell, a little town that was briefly the capital of New Zealand in the early days. Russell is a lovely little place that wasn't always so peaceful - think Maori Wars and a rough, tough frontier atmosphere and you'll get the picture.

Then it was back to Auckland and back home the next day after a very boring flight and horrible food. It was a short trip, but a merry one.

Add to that a couple of enjoyable catch-ups with crafty friends, lots of reading and general mooching, getting up late... well, you know what holidays are like.

Back to reality tomorrow, alas.

PS: Sorry about the red background; I just can't seem to get rid of it.

Christmas in July swap

2011-07-17T16:39:00.000+10:00

I've mentioned before that I'm part of an online stitching group called
Friends in Stitching. And yes, we all think of each other as friends although many of us have not met (although we are planning a get-together next year; fingers crossed).
We do regular swaps for each other and the latest was a Christmas in July stocking swap. I don'tknow about Queensland, where some of the girls in the group live, but in Ballarat, where I live, it has certainly been cold enough to feel properly Christmassy.
Anyway - I received my stocking from Tracy in Narromine on Friday and have been admiring it ever since. I love the choice of fabrics and that quirky reindeer stitchery.

Maree was my swap partner - I raided my stash and coincidentally used the same pattern (by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched) as Tracy. Aren't the results so different!
And I was lucky enough to be able to hand over Maree's stocking in person. Maree and her family live on a farm in NSW and have been travelling around for a few weeks. They'd arranged to get together with fellow bloggy friends Jodie (Vintage Ric Rac) and Rachel(Four Wise Monkeys) and we had a lovely afternoon tea and lots of laughs at Jodie's house - thanks, Jod! It was great to meet Maree and her lovely family.

Swaps and autumn colour

2011-05-31T06:26:00.000+10:00

Being part of two birthday swap groups meant lots of lovely extra pressies for my birthday last week.

In my online group, Friends in Stitching, the rule is to make for/give your partner gifts beginning with the initial of the town you come from. Being very literal was optional. So from Kerri in Echuca I received this elegant stitching tote, plus extras (pins, a tape measure, a notebook - sorry if I've forgotten anything, Kerri!) and an easy pattern for making fruit-themed pincushions. Excellent choices - thanks so much.

The girls in the birthday fat quarter swap group Maree organises every year came up with inspired, eclectic choices in keeping with my wish list - fresh and modern, reproductions and 1930s. And the extras - giant emery boards (so cute!) embroidery threads, little scissors, a gorgeous mug mat/mini quilt and a softie pattern. So generous - thank you all very much.

I had a lovely birthday - I usually work on a Friday but had arranged to take the day off and had a relaxing time at home. There was reading, and music, and stitching, and fabric patting , and lots of Facebook messages during the day, and phone calls and a lovely meal out at night. So nice.

Autumn is on its last gasp (sigh - it's my favourite season, love the colours ) and as well as taking some garden shots I roamed around the house with the camera, and here's what I found.

Edited to add: Blogger isn't playing nicely and all my pics have ended up at the top of this post; I can't move them around as everything is in HTML code - but I'm sure you will work it out!

Goodies

2011-04-16T22:12:00.000+10:00

Friends in Stitching, the online group I belong to, had a swap of Anni Downs' projects and Friday was our opening night, during a rather manic chat session.

Tereasa in Queensland made me this stitching folder, pincushion and scissor case; aren't they gorgeous. All wrapped up in pretty fabric, too. Thanks heaps, Tereasa!

And this is what I made for Chookyblue in NSW; she's a country girl so I couldn't resist this Farm Girl stitchery.

I love swaps!

I went to the Australiasian Quilt Convention in Melbourne on Thursday and came home with shockingly sore feet and some new goodies.

Some lovely fabrics.
Natalie Bird's "Tis the Season book - lovely little Christmas stitcheries - tape and a kit for a mug bag, designed by Lisa Chandler. I love her fabric; I'm making this project for my daughter. A coaster is included in the kit but it will be too heavy to post so I'm keeping it - ssh, don't tell her!

Pretty felts, some wool and a couple of little patterns. I made the little key fob at Marg Low's Make and Take class. I love Marg's designs and was so happy to meet her; she's my nice neighbour's SIL .

OPAM finish for April

2011-04-05T13:50:00.000+10:00

I don't usually do anything special for Easter, apart from sleep in and stuff my face with hot cross buns and chocolate.
But when I saw this freebie Easter design on Bronwyn Hayes' blog, it was irresistible. I finished this gorgeous little bag this morning; it will be filled with bags of little Easter eggs and sent to my daughter Rosy in China as a special treat. Lucky she doesn't read my blog, isn't it...

My wonderful weekend

2011-04-02T09:30:00.000+11:00

What fun I had last weekend attending a stitching gathering in Hobart, meeting new friends, catching up with old friends, laughing, chatting, eating - oh, and not doing much in the way of stitching.
The occasion was the Quilted Crow's annual gathering - my first but definitely not my last. Leonie and Deirdre's lovely shop is in an old church with magnificent stained glass windows.
Our tutors, Leanne Beasley and Rosalie Quinlan, are just gorgeous - talented, funny, sharing; they each spent a lot of time at individual tables admiring our work or helping out. Leanne demonstrated satin stitch on my project after I confessed that I'm crap at it - Thanks, Leanne. She's a champion ironer too - she offered to iron the iron-on tranfers to the background fabrics for our chosen projects - what a star. Oh, and she signed my copies of Vignette - I love these mags and they will be even more treasured now.
I sat at a Tassie bloggers table - it was lovely to see my old friend Vicki again, to meet Fee and to finally meet face to face some of the Tassie girls in the Friends in Stitching online group I belong to. What a nice bunch they are!
The fun didn't end when the gathering was over - I stayed the night with lovely Jo and enjoyed checking out her huge - and well-stocked - craft room. Thanks to Jo and her family for their hospitality and to Jo for saying yes, we could make time for a quick visit to Salamanca Market. She scored a gorgeous little felted purse and I bought a wire bird for my birdie collection and some handmade wooden buttons. Not to mention the bits and pieces I couldn't resist at the Quilted Crow...
Next day it was a catch-up and coffee with a friend and her gorgeous little girls, then on to another friend's place for lunch and to stay the night. We used to be neighbours years ago in the country south of Hobart when our kids were young; it was lovely to see her and our other friend and former neighbour who came to lunch. Lots of laughter and reminiscing.
Next day my friend and I wandered through the city, ducking into a few shops including the Needlewoman, where I could have spent the rest of the day (and a vast amount of money). Wandering along the docks in the sunshine is a special memory; Hobart is such a pretty place but I lived there for some years and let me tell you it can be cold; we were so blessed with good weather. All too soon it was time for us to catch a plane to Melbourne. What a great weekend it was!

Help wanted...

2011-03-31T20:53:00.000+11:00

It's not just because it's late, because I tried the same thing earlier and it didn't work. I thought maybe if I let Mr/Mrs/Ms Blogger have a rest, held my mouth right and had another go it would work, but no...

I wanted to do a post with pics about my wonderful weekend at the Quilted Crow's stitchery gathering in Hobart last weekend. I can usually transfer pics from Picasa to Blogger but not today, although strangely a screed of HTML stuff about the pics was in the template above the text I wrote. They didn't appear in the preview, though, and when I published there was a big blank space where they should have been.

HELP! Is it me? Is it Blogger? Anyone else having problems?

In the mail

2011-03-24T07:38:00.000+11:00

Look what the postie has delivered in the past week or so - lots of lovely stuff to play with.

Bec in country NSW was having a clean-out at her place, and the bargains were irresistible. Lovely pinks and greens, along with yardage of Fandango by Kate Spain plus a jelly roll of the same line. I love Fandango - can you tell? The designs remind me of the beautiful, ornate tiles I saw in my travels in Portugal last year and in India - particularly on the Taj Mahal - many years ago.

And from Hatched and Patched in Bathurst, also in NSW - bags of crushed walnut shells (wonderful for filling pincushions; here's a hint - use a funnel when filling or be prepared to spend an hour or so trying to gather up every last little bit of grittiness you've dropped everywhere) and some gorgeous felted wool. And because my order was delayed a little, I also received one of Anni's early patterns - what a nice gesture!

Giveaway

2011-03-21T14:38:00.000+11:00

Look at this lovely giveaway from Fee at Designs by Fee - two Fresh Cotton charm packs from Fig Tree Quilts plus a length of gorgeous rose-patterned fabric from the same line. It could be your lucky day - but only if you visit Fee's blog, which has lots of other lovely things to read about. Good luck! Fee is one of the Tassie bloggers I'll get to meet at the Quilted Crow's gathering in Hobart on Saturday; can't wait.

Colours

2011-03-17T16:08:00.000+11:00

A wee while ago I took part in a colour swap organised by Maree of On My Verandah. She's a genius organiser, that woman. In no time at all, threads, fat quarters, something nice to eat and something pretty (purchased or handmade) in chosen colours were making their way to recipients in Australia and NZ.
The photo above shows what I sent to Christine in NSW, who requested cream. Must say I was a bit daunted at first, but I think it turned out just fine.

And below is what my partner in Victoria, another Christine, sent me. Isn't that bag the prettiest thing! I've never seen watermelon rock before. The lovely fabric is earmarked for something special for me - don't know what yet. Christine knows I'm thrilled to bits with what she sent me.

Another earthquake

2011-02-22T19:40:00.000+11:00

My heart goes out to everyone in Christchurch affected by today's earthquake. The images on TV remind me of a city in wartime - crushed or badly damaged buildings, people being rescued, people wandering around in a daze, emergency accommodation set up in parks... I was brought up in NZ and have fond memories of holiday visits to this beautiful city as a child and later as an adult. My family lived in the Wellington area, and as there is an earthquake fault line through the centre of the north island earthquake drill was a regular part of my schooldays. An earthquake like the one that devastated Napier in the 1930s (hence all that city's fabulous Art Deco buildings) would have been expected in Wellington, not Christchurch - and certainly not twice in six months. So sad. This afternoon I logged onto the Google NZ site, which has an area where people can search for names, or post information that they're okay; fortunately the names of my Christchurch friends weren't listed. Fingers crossed for them, and for everyone who is missing or injured.

My Monday morning so far...

2011-02-14T10:19:00.000+11:00

It's just after 10 am and I'm exhausted already.

Around 9.45 I raced out of the shower to answer a phone call from the guy who is going to cut down the huge alder tree in our back yard. He said he'd be there in 15 minutes - yikes! Definitely not enough notice, so I rearranged for 10 am then rushed round getting Gus and Katie, our two daft but delightful Cavaliers into the garage and opening the side gate; went inside to a phone message saying the appointment would now be at 1.30, so I reversed the process but forgot to shut the gates.

Of course Gus and Katie took full advantage of the situation and zoomed off (they run really really fast and are serial runaways whenever they get the chance). Lucky me, they hadn't gone far and actually came when I called them - phew! And yes, this time I remembered to shut the gates. Definitely time for a cuppa and a bikky.

First finish for 2011

2011-01-31T21:00:00.000+11:00

I have lots of ideas and inspiration for all sorts of things to make, but so far have only managed one finish. This Perfect Pear pincushion was designed by the Quilted Crow girls in Tassie and was so easy to make (which is why it appealed to me so much!) I've used a combination of gorgeous felted wools purchased online from Hatched Patched in Bathurst,NSW and from Kerry at Cottage on the Hill at Nundle, NSW. It's filled with crushed walnut shells, also from Hatched and Patched. I've not used this filling before and will be ordering more; so much easier than stuffing. Make sure you use a little funnel to transfer the shell grit into the pincushion, otherwise those teeny tiny little bits travel all over the place. Can you tell who had to do a big cleanup afterwards? Hope you are all having a fun year so far. Happy stitching!

For Linda in California

2010-12-28T18:10:00.000+11:00

I made these gifts for Linda in California, my partner in Chookyblue's SSCS swap. The cushion cover stitchery is one of Jenny of Elefantz' lovely designs, it was so nice to stitch. I chose the colours to complement the colours in her sunporch and also one of the roses in her garden. On the left is one of the ornaments I made for her Christmas tree and on the right is a coaster featuring some Australian floral fabric.

Linda blogged in such a nice way about her gifts; I'm pleased that she's pleased!

Thanks so much, Chookyblue, for organising such a great swap; I really enjoyed taking part.

A very swappy Christmas

2010-12-26T11:11:00.000+11:00

I've taken part in three Christmas swaps this year and have enjoyed the challenges of each one - trying to find out what my partner would like, then figuring out what to make, then sending off the parcels - with fingers crossed that they actually get there and that my partner will like the contents.

I haven't had a response from any of my partners so far, so won't post any pics of what I made for them. But here are some photos of the lovely things I received - I am SO lucky.
The pic above shows what I received from Cathy in our Friends in Stitching swap. We are all Aussies, some of us know each other, some of us don't , but we all love our craft and our swaps. My new little bag and needle folder are an Aussie production too, with patterns and fabrics by Rosalie Quinlan. Gorgeous! And choccies, too. Thank you very much, Cathy.

Trash in England was my partner in Chookyblue's SSCS swap; she's an Aussie girl with a great sense of humour who comes from near where I live and I've been lucky enough to meet her twice while she's been visiting Australia. I loved the Christmas ornie she made for me and couldn't wait to open the rest of the parcel (but I did, I WAS good, really I was...) The Lindt chocolate bell and the Santa Kit-Kats were very welcome, I spent ages perusing the patchwork mag and as you can see the runner has been put to good use. It's reversible, too - with a line of three French-themed birds on the back. Love it, love it, love it - thanks so much, Trash.

The last pic shows what I received from Katherine, also in England, in Fiona Marie's Great Global Christmas Swap. The theme was "Bag a Fat Quarter", and we had to send to each other - you guessed it - a small gift bag and a fat quarter. A Bronwyn Hayes redwork stitchery decorates the bag she made me, and because she lives near the sea, she chose a lovely seaside-themed fabric and card to go with it. Brilliant! It wasn't a secret swap, so we had some emails back and forth, getting to know each other, which was really nice. Thank you all so much for the lovely handmade gifts; you really made my Christmas.

Making, baking

2010-12-21T16:26:00.000+11:00

At the risk of sounding up myself, I think I'm ready for Christmas. Cards are sent, presents wrapped and sent/under the tree, baking done, house decorated, grocery shopping done ....

Of course, publicly declaring that I'm organised may yet bite me on the bum - surely I MUST have forgotten something (something important, not just not sending cards to a few people who have sent me cards and will now receive a new year message sometime in 2011).

Making: I got round to making some ornaments this year. Two hexy ornaments went to my daughter Rosy in China, along with a scarf I made for her from some lovely Japanese fabric (20-25 cm by WOF, stitched on three sides with a gap for turning, pressed, gap stitched, self patted on back - easy peasy).

Another two hexy ornaments went to Linda in California, my partner in Chookyblue's SSCS swap. She displayed them so beautifully on her blog. I put together a kit purchased from Aussie designer Marg Low (fabric, felt, pattern, rusty bell and a wooden angel cut-out designed by Barb Smith from Theodora Cleave); it went together so nicely and looks great on my Christmas tree.

And speaking of Christmas trees - the tree ornament at the left in the top pic came from my other swap partner in the SSCS swap, Trash in England. Love it - and the fact that I've met Trash twice while she's been visiting family (and doing crafty things) in Australia.I can't wait to see what's in the parcel she sent that I'm not allowed to open yet.

And my three brothers received little Santa bags to hang on a door handle. I hope they can work out what those small bags are for!

Baking: - can't show you any of that because it's safely tucked away in the freezer, out of sight, out of mind (hopefully). I made my usual Weight Watchers' Christmas cake (because I like it - the recipe involves lots of dried fruit, coffee, a bar of chocolate and flour, very easy and it always turns out well), spice biscuits, shortbread from my late dad's recipe and mandorla, Italian biscuits made mainly from almond meal and egg whites and topped with a glace cherry - delicious.

So - apart from being unable to work out how to put my photos in the right places, that's my Christmas sorted. If you haven't finished shopping yet, good luck finding a parking spot. And a very merry Christmas to all my bloggy friends and your families; hope you have a wonderful time.

Another giveaway from Corrie

2010-12-19T15:51:00.000+11:00

Okay, so I didn't win the Retromummy giveaway last time, but there's hope for me yet, because she's having another one! Yep, Corrie is giving away fat quarters of the gorgeous Flower Sugar fabric. Pop over to her blog to find out more. Thanks so much, Corrie.

Fingers crossed

2010-11-12T21:51:00.000+11:00

Lovely Retro Mummy Corrie is sharing 14 fat quarters of Rosalie Quinlan's new range with two lucky winners - ain't she sweet! The range is called Sweet Broderie, the fabrics are so fresh and pretty as you can see and (hopefully, I say, with fingers crossed) mine! Pop over to Corrie's blog and have a look; it's all about fabulous fabrics and family life . Nice.

So much stuff!

2010-10-30T18:15:00.000+11:00

Actually, I should change the heading to Too much stuff! because that is what I have in my sewing room, which right now looks as though a tornado has whipped through.

Last weekend I bought a storage chest to house my craft patterns and have had a lovely time sorting them out and also sorting scraps by colour into different bags (and who knows where I'm going to put THEM). The wardrobe is full of STUFF , the chest of drawers is overflowing with fabric, I can't sit on the chair because it's covered in STUFF and the bookshelves are groaning with craft books and magazines.

And it's getting worse because I keep ordering and buying more STUFF - fabrics from the US because the dollar is so favourable, books from Book Depository because the prices are much cheaper than here and there's no postage charge, all sorts of goodies from Annie Flower Garden and Jodie's fabulous crafty garage sale this morning ...

And despite having been doing lots of stitching this month, I haven't actually FINISHED much and now I can't get near the sewing machine because - yes, you guessed it - there's so much STUFF in the way!! Did I hear someone say "destash"???

Not going to post a photo of the disaster zone - it's too scary. But I will have to get a move on with the clearing up because there are Christmas gifts to make and swaps to complete. And more discoveries to be made of things I'd forgotten about/hadn't seen for ages/couldn't find because of having SO MUCH STUFF!! Wish me luck.

Another finish - just in time

2010-09-30T16:10:00.000+10:00

Another OPAM finish for September - just in time. This cute little bag will be filled with Christmassy sweets and hung on a door handle. My house, or someone else's ? Haven't decided. I love this pattern - so quick and easy.

Another OPAM finish

2010-09-27T11:33:00.000+10:00

Hooray! Another OPAM finish for September. I fell in love with this fabric (purchased at Tessuti in Melbourne) earlier this year and it has been waiting patiently for me to turn it into something pretty/useful/both. What a combination - this fabulous fabric plus Jodie Ric Rac's one-hour bag tutorial (I have to admit it took me way longer than that, in between fluffing around and making other stuff). Anyway, a nice easy project from a great pattern that I have used several times before. Thanks, Jodie! I'm also showing off the My Garden blocks which I mentioned yesterday, when Blogger was not being very obliging.

It's in the bag ...

2010-09-26T13:56:00.000+10:00

...or at least it was. The online group I belong to, Friends in Stitching, is having a paper bag swap. Each of us had to pop our choice of two fat quarters, some trim and a button into a paper bag to send to our partner, who would make us ... who knows? A covered notebook? A small cushion? A bag? A pincushion? I've just put the last few stitches into what I've made for my partner and I'm so pleased with it I wish it was for me! I've used one of my favourite fat quarter project patterns and the fabrics and trims I was sent were just so nice to work with. Hope my partner likes it! So I've got another OPAM finish to add, and more projects to be getting on with.
Another secret swap, this time for my overseas partner in Fiona-Marie's Great Global Christmas Swap, just needs its handles and a few more stitches. Non-secret sewing includes a bag for me and Lynette Anderson's My Garden blocks. I am loving both these projects, especially the stitchery bits.
The bag is designed by Jenny of Elefantz, who does such lovely designs. It has a central panel of roses in chain stitch - what a nice change from backstitch, and it looks so effective. I'll be making up the bag with the Verna fabrics I bought from Jenny's ebay shop.
The My Garden originals are stitched and bordered with muted country colours; I've raided my hideously untidy threads collection to match the bright, pretty pre-cuts I'll use for the borders.
As one of my jobs is in a school library, and it's school hols here in Victoria, I've had some spare time and am loving being productive and having time to mooch as well.
Now I'm off to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

....and more catching up

2010-08-28T17:01:00.000+10:00

I spent my afternoon off this week with one hand up a giraffe's backside. Yes, I know, the things we do. Didn't hurt either of us a bit. My new creation is one of the softies Melly from Melly and Me designed for the Daylesford Craft Experience back in July (it was a great day out and Melly is as lovely as I thought she'd be.) The dear little giraffe is a gift for my new nephew Thomas in NZ. Hope he likes it - do you think he will consider the design merits and how very well it is stuffed as he dribbles on it? Maybe not.

The crafty day out was two days before my trip overseas - what an enjoyable way to get out of packing and house-organising! We've been back home, and back to normal, for three weeks. The weather has been cold and wet for most of that time and it's hard to believe we were away from home for five weeks, seeing fabulous sights, eating wonderful food, having such a good time and feeling WARM.

The highlight of our trip - apart from Monet's garden which is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous - was spending time with friends and family - Majken in Copenhagen, Jean-Luc and Sylvie and their daughter Anne-Laure in France, John and Carol, our Aussie friends, in a small village in Portugal. Randolph and Sue and their extended family came over to Singapore - where we were staying with Rosy, our daughter, who lives in China - from their home in Johore Bahru, Malaysia, to take us out for a big lunch. It's so nice to have friends who live in interesting places!

We spent two weeks in France - a week in Paris and the rest of the time in Lyon, Clermont-Ferrand, Le Puy en-Velay and Avignon - all fabulous places with lovely countryside in between. Must say we got a bit blase about 13th century thises and 16th century thats! I'd go back to France in a heartbeat. Enough writing; hope you enjoy the pics. No captions cos I'm too lazy. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

catching up

2010-07-25T19:03:00.000+10:00

this post comes from paris, where we are sitting in an internet cafe near the pantheon and other wonderful buildings & struggling a bit with the european keyboard.this is still our favourite city & we are here for 6 days - wonderful. yesterday we admired the lady &unicorn tapestries in the cluny museum, relaxed in the luxembourg gardens and generally gawped a lot.today we will probably go to montmartre where we stayed 9 years ago, eiffel tower and maybe other places; there's so much to see & do & lots of gardens to relax in, too; i have done a little bit of the stitching i took away with me but have only seen 1 patchwork shop so far - in lyon last week & it was closed; very sad. i am speaking lots of bad french & eating far too much great food; will probably look like a croissant when i get home.singapore is the next stop before home; our daughter rosy is joining us & we are all looking forward to our time together. we have had a lovely time catching up with friends in copenhagen, portugal and france and are loving our travels (apart from arriving at a strange railway station with our luggage & wondering where the hell to go); au revoir

What a week!

2010-06-27T09:52:00.000+10:00

It's been a big week - a bit of fun, lots of reading, not much stitching, a whole lot of thinking and a few big sighs of relief.
First up was my new very bad cold on top of my former very bad cold, accompanied by a cough that sounded like a cross between a goose honking and a dog barking. Nearly all gone, thank goodness; didn't fancy sitting on a plane for hours on end making that sort of noise...
The fun part has been mainly conversations - with the kids in the school library last week, and with new and old bloggy friends at the get-together Jodie organised yesterday in a swish new Ballarat cafe. Lots of chat, lots of laughs and some fabric shopping after - just what a recovering wuss needed! And I actually went home and made something - a cute little needlecase that was little freebie pattern from www.erinrussek.typepad.com. No pics of the fabric I bought yesterday, but above (because I couldn't get blogger to put them where I wanted them) are the fabrics I received for my birthday recently, from a fat quarter swap and from my Friends in Stitching group.
The reading - always my favourite thing. I once worked in a bookshop and now work in two libraries (school and public) and if I had a dollar for everyone who has said at some point over the years "It must be lovely being able to read all day" I'd be super-rich. Working in a library just makes your feet hurt (although as I do all the ordering for the school library, it would be irresponsible not to read at least some of the picture books - wouldn't it??) All my general reading (think who-dunnits and biographies, with a bit of chick-lit thrown in) comes from libraries but since I have discovered Book Depository, I have a whole new library of lovely craft books.
The thinking - Peter (my lovely husband) and I are off overseas tomorrow week for 5 weeks (Asia and Europe, including a week in Paris and 5 days in Singapore with our daughter Rosy, who lives in China). I've done most of the arrangements and am just wondering how and when to tell him just how many of the museums in Paris I want to visit. He knows by now that I'll be ducking into any fabric shop that looks even slightly interesting (all in the interests of research, of course!)
The sighs of relief were for the redhead who got the guernsey as our new PM and for the fact that as of 5.30 pm last Friday I am now officially on holiday for six weeks.
Just have to get through the next week, which will be a mix of now-I'm-on-holiday-I've-got-time-to-enjoy-myself stuff (including the Daylesford Craft Experience on Saturday) and packing and repacking and discovering I haven't got enough summer clothes that I actually like and packing and....you get the picture.

Great giveaway

2010-05-25T17:03:00.000+10:00

You probably already know that Jenny of Elefantz is a generous soul. And you probably already know that she designs lovely patterns. But did you know that she's having a great giveaway - Robyn Pandolph fabrics and a pattern to go with it? Well, now you do. Pop over to Jenny's blog, leave a comment and who knows - they might be yours (or mine, hopefully). And don't forget to tell Jenny I sent you.

What a day it was

2010-05-18T19:49:00.000+10:00

I had the best day out on Saturday. It was just me and 59 other crafty people, at the inaugural Sew It Together bloggy get-together in Melbourne. Lots of chatting, lots of laughing, lots of acquaintances to renew and new people to meet - oh yes, and some of us even crafted a bit. I'd arranged to meet Jodie Ric-Rac and fellow bloggers Rachelle and Deborah at Ballarat station at ridiculously-early o'clock. Lizzie joined us further down the line and we laughed all the way to the city and back. Huge thanks to Sheridan for organising it; a mammoth task. Our goodie bag was amazing - patterns, pieces of fabric, little kits for this and that, knitting needles - and she had even organised a prize for each of us (mine was one of Dear Fii's gorgeous little hexy brooch kits). Everyone was so great - crafters are the nicest people. I bought some of Corrie's gorgeous quirky Japanese fabric and couldn't resist this green fabric patterned with birds during a quick dash to Tessuti. Friends from Belgium were staying at our house and when I got home Mia asked if I had learned anything. I sure had - that crafters will go anywhere for a get-together - one girl had even travelled from NZ! Thanks for the great company, the friendship and the laughs, girls - see you at Sew It Together 2011 in Sydney!

Good weekends

2010-03-20T17:35:00.000+11:00

On the March long weekend a few weeks ago we drove down to Port Fairy (a lovely little town on the Victorian coast) to its annual folk festival. The shortened name is PFFF for Port Fairy Folk Festival, but I think there should be a couple of extra Fs thrown in (for Fun and Fabulous). It really is a great event, not strictly traditional folky, but a great mix of musical styles, with local and international guests all contributing to the audience's enjoyment. Highlights: American singers Nanci Griffith (who we also saw in concert in Melbourne later that week) Kim Richey and John McCutcheon in separate performances; Brian Kennedy from Ireland, Genticorum from Quebec - how energetic they were!- Dougie McLean from Scotland and Ego Lemos from East Timor. It was, as always, a pleasure to be there - for the music, the people, the food, the incidental conversations and entertainment. We came home with sore hands from clapping so much, and with several new CDs by John McCutcheon (who is also a wonderful storyteller), Kim Richey and Ego Lemos. Brilliant!
Last Saturday I spent having a last-minute panic over a project I was making for a swap for my Friends in Stitching online group. We were all doing designs by Leanne Beasley, and although a few of us chose the same patterns, everything looks so different. In the end, my bag turned out well and my partner likes it, which is the main thing. My partner sent me a gorgeous cushion. There are some wonderful Australian designers, and Leanne is one of my favourites.
On the Sunday I got together with some work friends to learn how to make soap. It was quite an eye-opener - all that stirring and measuring - but enjoyable too. One of the nice things about the day was just getting together; we all work at different branches of our library service and rarely see each other. Now there are emails and phone calls back and forth about the progress of our blocks of soap. We plan to get together in about a month, once it has cured properly, for show and tell. It's fun to learn something new.

Feb. finish - at last

2010-02-28T14:23:00.000+11:00

There's nothing like leaving things till the last minute to get the adrenaline flowing. Last year each member of the online friendship stitching group I belong to received a birthday stitchery - and we all got a big shock fairly recently when told the deadline for finishing it was March 3. Yikes! So having made a desultory beginning when I was recovering from pneumonia late last year (my birthday is in May and the stitchery was on the list to be done SOMETIME....) stitch, stitch, stitch I went, with an interruption yesterday to race along to Spotlight for some more thread (a very nice interruption, as it turned out, as I ran into Annie Flowergarden - hi Annie, it was lovely to see you!) Finished stitching last night or rather this morning - as I was washing the piece last night I noticed a short row of stitching still to be done - and it is now framed (in a rustic frame purchased at the Arts Centre Market in Melbourne a couple of Sundays ago ) and displayed on my sewing room wall. I'd always intended to frame this piece, not use it on a bag/cushion or anything else. So not only have I made the group's deadline, I've also squeaked in for a February finish; this really is a OPAM! Just for the record, the stitchery was designed by Leanne Beasley, whose designs are always gorgeous. And thanks to Cathy, who gave it to me.

First finish

2010-01-24T12:55:00.000+11:00

I have a finished project at last for the OPAM challenge. The pattern is Bird in a Basket, from Tracy Souza at Plumcute Designs and I think it is just so cute! It's now on the wall in my sewing room. It should have been there ages ago but I had a bit of trouble getting the ends of the binding to sit just right - only a little thing, but SO frustrating. Anyway, done now and I am happy with it. And just as happy that everything I used came from my stash.

Sarah's giveaway

2010-01-23T18:02:00.000+11:00

My friend Sarah at Sarah's Prim Treasures is celebrating her third blogoversary with a great giveaway - go and have a look! Sarah and I are in an online craft together and although we haven't met (she's in Tassie, I'm in Victoria) I know she does lovely work - lucky me, I've been her partner in several swaps. Sarah's online store, Patchworks Plus, is worth a look too - she sells a wide variety of patterns and fabrics and the service is great.

Phew, it worked

2010-01-12T11:11:00.001+11:00

By spending an alarming amount of time fiddling around with Blogger, I have managed to move my profile from the bottom of the sidebar to the top and FINALLY change the background. Hooray! Of course If I was a bit more tech savvy I wouldn't have messed everything up in the first place.I'm not sure about the background yet, but it certainly makes me feel cool on this hot day. How is everyone in Oz coping with the heat (and how is everyone on the other side of the world coping with the cold?) Keep cool or warm, whatever's appropriate! I'm off to do some stitching.

Keeping cool in the heat

2010-01-10T13:45:00.000+11:00

It's 36 degrees in Ballarat today - too hot for this Little Red Hen! So I am staying inside keeping cool thanks to the air conditioning and pressing on with a few projects - such as a stitchery I was given for my birthday last May, and Kira Koala, Rosalie Quinlan's cute softie from the latest issue of Homespun magazine. Kira will be a gift for my great-nephew Jake, who was born on Thursday.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

OPAM challenge

2010-01-09T16:25:00.000+11:00

I have committed to Peg and Kris's OPAM (One Project A Month) challenge in the hopes of finishing what I start! I am really good at meeting deadlines when I am making projects for others, but with personal projects, I buzz around from this and that to the other. Sometimes this means I have several projects on the go which do get finished, while others I begin are forgotten about. So here's to finishing those UFOs, WISPs and new starts - what a challenge!
And speaking of challenges - my sidebar is a mess! I have been unable to load the OPAM button to it, or to change the look of my blog; all that has happened is that the instructions for changing the background have saved to the sidebar but the background itself hasn't changed. So I am technologically challenged as well as finish-challenged - and that's enough challenges for one person on a hot sunny day!

Secret Santa gifts

2009-12-28T18:17:00.000+11:00

These are the gifts I received in the Secret Santa swap for the online group I belong to. We're spread around the place, from Tassie to Queensland, and most of us have never met, but when it comes to making pressies for each other, we are the best! These are my gifts from Peg - aren't they beautiful. Peg does lovely work and I was so lucky to be her partner.
And this is what I made for my partner Bec:
a pocket tissues case, two covered coathangers and the vintage clutch purse from Pip Lincolne's wonderful Meet Me at Mikes craft book. I enjoyed making these for her (memo to self: must make them for me too!) and I love the fabrics.
For home and gifts, I whipped up one of Anni Downs' fabric bonbons which I filled with constantly-disappearing party sweets, and some Nancy Halvorsen cones. Two feature appliqued angels (I sent one to my daughter Rosy in China as part of a parcel of goodies ages ago but sadly she has not received it) and I made one from some gorgeous Christmas fabric that has been in my stash for ages. I didn't put sweets or chocolates in these as they are hanging from doorhandles in easy reach of our two food-obsessed Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Katie and Gus.
Happy New Year, everyone, I do hope we all have lots of good times, happiness and laughter in 2010 - oh, and lots of lovely stitching too!

Ho ho ho

2009-12-24T21:56:00.000+11:00

Good wishes and Christmas greetings, bloggy friends. Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow, wherever you are and whatever you're doing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Win fabric!

2009-12-14T21:58:00.000+11:00

Head over to the twiddletales blog and comment for your chance to win some of the collection of her Wild Thyme fabric Anina is giving away. The colours and designs are so fresh and lively - you'll love them!

Oops

2009-11-22T15:07:00.000+11:00

Oops, forgot to show off what I received from Sandy in the swap organised by Jenny of Elefantz and Vicki of Tozz's Corner. We were all required to send 2 fat quarters, trim and a button to our partner - nothing to make, no stress except wondering if our partner would like what we had chosen. It was a great swap for this busy time of year and I hope they do it again.
Here's what Sandy sent me - 3 fat quarters (isn't she so generous - the one at the front is from the Figgy Pudding range; it's the first piece of this range I have ever seen and I'm smitten!) a gorgeous little Christmas stocking button and a blue and silver drawstring bag containing Christmas bells and silver ric-rac. I'm so lucky! Thank you so much, Sandy.

In my haste to post Sandy's parcel, I forgot to take a pic of what I sent her - fortunately, I've been able to 'borrow' the photo she put on her blog. Nice, eh? love that little dove button; hope there's another one left in the shop just for me!

One swap after another

2009-11-21T15:48:00.000+11:00

Last night was the opening night of my online craft group's latest swap, a journal/diary cover. Lots of variety, lots of oohs and aahs over the internet during our chat (we are spread out from Tasmania to Queensland and many of us have never met).
This is what I made for Teresa:

and this is what Tereasa no, not a mis-spelling - different person) made for me:
It was so gorgeously wrapped up I couldn't resist taking a piccie:

And this is the parcel I sent to Simona in Italy for the Stitchers' Angel swap - sent late because I was sick for a while, and now received with thanks. As you can see, orange is her favourite colour - but she also told me she likes yellow and green and didn't mind surprises. Thought I'd play it safe, just in case. I'd made the diary for her before I got sick, and already had a spare stitcher's pouch I'd made a while back (phew!). I've made lots of these; they're handy little homes for some pins and needles, a few skeins of threads, little scissors and maybe a thimble. Jenny of Elefantz (love her designs) designed the bookmark - a freebie pattern - which was a last-minute whip-up, as was the magnet (fittings from Spotlight, fabric from my messy stash).
One more swap to go this year for our online craft group - a Secret Santa pressies swap - and after being non-stitchy for a while, I got the itch to stitch and just have a few finishing touches to go. Yay! Now if only I was smart enough to get posts with multiple pics looking tidy, as everyone else's does...

Swaps - and sew on

2009-11-10T10:22:00.000+11:00

After being stricken (yep, I think the word is appropriate and not overly dramatic, given I really was laid low for a while) with pneumonia, I'm back in the real world and nearly as good as new. Back enjoying life, reading, sunny days, my garden, good company. Back to work (and glad to be there - I'm sure that will wear off!) and back to simple sewing - which is great, given I have a few projects to complete. Nothing to show and tell right now (my Stitcher's Angel partner has probably not received her parcel yet and my partner and I in the Christmas fat quarter swap organised by Jenny from Elefantz and Vicki from Tozz's Corner have also swapped blog addresses, so better not show what I'm sending her. Hi, Sandy!
But because a picture is worth a thousand words (and pretties up a post very nicely), I do have a few to share.

This is my Stitchers' Angel gift from Dolores in Canada - an apron, thread basket, shopping list pad, magnets, threads and a lovely handmade card. There was also a gorgeous hand-made bookmark cross-stitched with a rosebud and my initials. Unfortunately, after spending ages this morning transferring photos I accidentally deleted that pic - twit!

And this is the first Oriental poppy bloom of the season in my garden. The plant looked quite dejected last year and no wonder - the dogs kept lying on it. Now it's all lush green leaves and big red flowers.

And this iris makes me feel so cool on our hot days. I have blue and yellow irises too, along with masses of roses, dianthus and all sorts of other goodies; it's a lovely (and fragrant) time in the garden.

The quiet life

2009-10-22T08:55:00.000+11:00

Life's been a bit too eventful in the past few weeks. The holiday was good, spending time with our daughter in China was so special, but it was all a bit tiring for poor old me - thought it was just the heat. Turned out to be pneumonia; never had it before and it has all been a bit alarming. I'm back home after a week in hospital here in Ballarat - we are so lucky here with our health care. Still very tired and a bit feeble and spending most of my time in bed but am so much better than I was. I have another week or so off work yet; will have to practice standing up and talking to people! Not ready to get back to sewing yet, but I am enjoying catching up on what everyone else in blogland is doing. Hope everyone's well and happy.

Up up and away

2009-09-16T21:02:00.000+10:00

Barring disasters (car breaking down on the way to the airport, forgetting the tickets and passports and other unmentionable things happening), DH and I are up hideously early and flying into the blue on Saturday morning.
The aforementioned early rising will be worth it - we're leaving behind coldish weather, work and our gorgeous pooches for the warmth of Singapore, Hong Kong and China. Just for a few weeks, mind. House sitter is organised, shopping completed, packing not even thought of. Oh yes, and I've been making stuff. We'll be spending 5 days in Shenzhen, China, with our daughter, who teaches English at a kindergarten. And a mum can't go empty-handed. My Rosy isn't at all crafty - I tried but failed - but loves it when I make stuff for her. So here 'tis:

The drawstring bag and the platypus stitchery are from Natalie Bird's little book that I bought at the quilt show in Melbourne recently. The diary cover is May Britt's gorgeous design for the Stitchers Angel swap and in the background are two scarves and a cosmetic bag made from a bloggy free pattern. Nice, eh?Here's a better view of the diary cover - oops, forgot to rotate. I'm sure you'll cope.
Can't wait to see my girl, and catch up with Malaysian friends, and enjoy the sunshine, the different sights, smells and sounds and indulge in some crafty shopping. If you're on holidays too - or if you're not - have fun.

Another great giveaway

2009-09-02T23:57:00.000+10:00

Jan at Sewjourn is having a great giveaway to a place I'd love to go to. Visit her blog for the details - and visit again just 'cos it's a good read.

Fabulous giveaway

2009-09-01T09:23:00.000+10:00

Head over to Mama Spark's World for a fabulous giveaway of Robyn Pandolph fabrics in honour of her four hundredth post. Now that's what I call a celebration!

Sheep, swap, shopping and sipping

2009-07-26T17:30:00.000+10:00

Okay, okay, so I just couldn't resist the alliteration!
I've had some fun these past two weekends.
Sunday last week we went over to Bendigo (a hundred and some ks away from home here in Ballarat; for those who don't know, Bendigo is another lovely old town in the Victorian goldfields) to the big sheep show there.
Not our usual thing , and for us the attraction wasn't the sheep but the chance to catch up with our old friend Merrilyn from Tassie.
The divine Ms M was there with her partner, who breeds sheep, so it was nice to meet him and to wander round the show with Merrilyn pointing out the different breeds (she's a farmer's daughter, so she just couldn't help herself). Many years ago I did a stint as a rouseabout in shearing sheds on the south island of NZ but I'd forgotten how HUGE some of these beasties can be.
It was all very impressive, and a lovely catch-up with an old friend (who incidentally does beautiful ribbon embroidery and tapestry.)
Friday was chat night for my online friendship group and the opening of our latest swap, a Christmas ornament. Here's what Leanne made for me - isn't it lovely! Thank you so much, Leanne.

And this is what I bought at the quilt fair in Melbourne yesterday.
A great day out as always - met my non-bloggy friend Margot there and we wandered around happily, doing more looking than shopping (at first - that changed!) Iwas so pleased to get the pack of Moda strips, which contains enough fabric to make two toiletry/makeup bags - the pattern was included. I love my Marg Low pattern; she designs such pretty things and have lots of plans for the animal stitcheries in Natalie Bird's little book.
As for the sipping - today was the Glenlyon Food and Wine Fayre, an unmissable event. Glenlynon is a small settlement about 50? k from Ballarat. It has a great community spirit and every year packs local winemakers and food producers into big marquees that quickly become filled with people from many parts of Victoria who appreciate when they're on a good thing.
The entry fee includes a wine glass inscribed with the name of the event. It's such a nice souvenir to have when only the memory of the delicious things you've eaten and drunk that day (mulled wine, yabby puffs and a trout roll for me) remains. We came home with 2 bottles of red wine, blue cheese and jars of lemon curd, spiced quince jelly and pear chutney - yum!

I heart swaps!

2009-07-19T19:43:00.000+10:00

Don't you just love swaps! You know how it goes - you join up, you're given a partner's name and a list of likes and dislikes, you make and send some great stuff, you receive some great stuff. Brilliant!
It's been like Christmas this month - I've received three swap packages , with another one to come at the end of the month.
The first opening was a huge parcel from Glenys, my partner in the Christmas in July swap organised by Karen from Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop at Monbulk (Victoria). This is what I received (minus the huge box of Maltesers, which were scoffed quickly!)
Next to be opened was my parcel from Pat in Narromine. We took part in Maree's (On my verandah) paper bag swap. What a great idea - each participant put together 2 fat quarters of favourite fabric, plus embellishments, plus chocolate to help the creative process along, and sent them to her partner. Back came the raw materials fashioned into beautiful keepsakes. My gift to Pat was a bag with her initial stitched on the front, and a pincushion. The next two photos are of what she sent me - isn't it lovely!
I don't have any pics of what I sent to Glenys or Pat as my camera was missing (found it last week under a quilt and things on the chair in my sewing room, don't ask!
That parcel was closely followed by gifts from Doris in Iowa. Doris and I were partnered in the FRIENDS swap organised by Sew Prim Khris, and let me tell you, we are pretty pleased with ourselves.
This is what I sent:
F: for the fat quarter Buttercup Bag, plus fabrics
R: for reading - bookmarks and a bag from the library corporation I work for
I: Chocolate for indulgence and a lovely bird motif from Prints Charming for inspiration
E: Easy peasy stitching purse - I've made lots of these - they're great
N: for nose - a tissue cover in the same fabric as the bag, and a lace-trimmed hanky
D: for drinking (tea or coffee or whatever) - coasters made with fabric featuring thongs/flip-flops or, as they are called in NZ where this fabric and footwear comes from, jandals
S: A cosy scarf
And here's what Doris sent me:
A wall quilt featuring gorgeous dresses, a slice of pincushion cake that looks good enough to eat, novelty fabric, Mary Engelbreit charm squares, quilt pins and a fabulous quilt mag in which I've already earmarked at least 3 projects.
Oh, and I've signed up for Helen's Stitcher's Angel swap again. I think I'm addicted. Thanks so much to the makers and the organisers of these swaps - it has been fun.

Drumroll please!

2009-07-16T19:56:00.000+10:00

And now for something completely different - I'd like to introduce you to Katie and Gus, our adorable mum-and-pup Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
Cavvies are the best breed in the world - we're not biased (much - these two are our fourth and fifth of the breed).
Pros: Loving, loveable, cuddly, think everything you do is great and love your company.
Cons: They think it's food time ALL the time, they haven't read the bits in the dog books that describes them as rather regal so they have earned a collective nickname as "the scruffhounds", they love getting wet and muddy then wonder why you don't want them to come inside, they pinch teatowels off the front of the oven and take them to their basket, they chew their mattress, their long fur collects peastraw from the garden then drops it all over the dining room floor...
Better stop now, there are too many "cons". But we love 'em to bits anyway.
BTW, that's Gus at the top - this pic was probably taken just after he'd pinched his umpteenth teatowel of the day, while Katie has that long-suffering look all us mums wear at some time.

Christmas in July giveaway

2009-07-06T19:32:00.000+10:00

There's a gorgeous Christmas in July giveaway at Barb's Creations (http://barbscreations.blogspot.com). I'd like to think all the lovely things in this generous giveaway have my name on them, but I suspect I will have to stand in line...Good luck!

Stitching, swaps and songs

2009-07-02T08:54:00.000+10:00

As I mentioned in my last post (oh so long ago - time is flying!) I've been doing some swapping lately. I arrived home a few days ago to find an ENORMOUS parcel from Glenys in Melbourne, my partner in Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop Christmas in July swap. In it were a handmade fabric card, a dear little bag to fill with munchies and hang on a door handle, 2 Anni Downs stitcheries, a fat quarter of rose-patterned fabric and a matching button and a big notebook with a fabric cover featuring more roses and the initial J surrounded by flowers and a scalloped border. All this - plus the biggest box of Maltesers I have ever seen were wrapped up in a bag designed to hold Christmas wrapping paper and gift cards. Thank you, Glenys, for all these lovely things - and to Karen for organising the swap.
My gifts to Glenys included a bag made from Jodie Ric-Rac's tutorial, a glasses case, fat quarter and two simple stitcheries.
Now to finish off the paper bag swap, and a few last-minute things for the FRIENDS swap, and I'm done. I don't have pics of anything, alas, as the camera is still AWOL. Time for a new one - or a big house clean-up to see if it surfaces? Which would you choose?
As for the "songs" part of the title of this post, it's been a week now and I still can't believe I was there - at one of Simon and Garfunkel's 2 Melbourne concerts. What a thrill it was to be there to see and hear these legends whose music my husband and I have loved since we first heard it. They sang all the old favourites and although they must have sung them a thousand times it was as if they were singing them anew. It was such a treat and judging by the audience reaction (loud applause for each song and two encores) we all left the stadium with a song in our hearts.

Swap and giveaway

2009-05-09T14:21:00.000+10:00

I'm a sucker for a good swap, and this one sounds like fun. I've just signed up for Maree's paper bag swap - there's still time to join. Check it out on Maree's blog - http://paperbagswap2009.blogspot.com
She does come up with some great ideas!
And I've entered Robyn's giveaway; lots of lovely things (hopefully with my name on them!) at http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com
Not handmade - although having swapped with Robyn for Christmas last year I know she's a generous soul whose work is beautiful - just delightful to have.
Good luck!

Time flies

2009-05-03T15:07:00.000+10:00

I can't believe how quickly the year is disappearing, or how long it has been since my last post. What have I been up to? Mainly busy at work and home, the usual stuff. Mind you, although I haven't posted, I have done a lot of lurking, so have kept up with all the happenings in bloggersville.
And I have been crafting, although most of it is for others. Despite my resolution (well, aren't they made to be broken??) not to do much swapping this year, I am doing Mrs Martins Christmas in July swap and just couldn't resist the FRIENDS swap organised by sewprimkhris. And although I haven't yet got my teeth into any of the table runners, bags, wall hangings or cushion covers on my long list of things I want to make, or indeed any of the patterns I bought at the 2 quilt shows I have been to this year, I have at least done some stitchery just for me.
One of my projects is a gorgeous bird and heart design stitched on the front of a little drawstring bag I will use for hankies. The pattern is from Rosalie Quinlan's book Gift; the design is stitched in variegated thread in coffee and cream shades on a background of rose-patterned damask fabric. It will be gorgeous when it's finished (she says modestly).
Last year I was lucky enough to win a redwork stitchery pattern called "Amalie Rouge", by Catherine Baynes of Willow Valley Store. The pattern comes with an iron-on transfer - yay! I used the same fabric as for the bag in these two little stitcheries and I am so pleased with them. No pics, though; the camera is lost somewhere in the house and if we ever see it again I will make a very colourful bag for it as the current one is pale grey and not easy to see among all the stuff on our shelves.
Our two dogs, Katie and Gus (mum and pup Cavalier King Charles Spaniels) are no doubt happy not to have their photos taken right now as they are recovering from what was to have been just a little tidy-up pre-winter clip at the pet shop and turned out to be an all-over (apart from head, ears and tail) shave. I don't know who was most horrified at the result, them or DH and me; they definitely looked rather embarrassed for a while, although to compensate they did get more cuddles than usual and spent several nights inside. Now their fur is growing back and they don't look quite so silly, thank goodness.

A tuneful weekend

2009-03-09T20:10:00.000+11:00

We've had a long weekend here in Victoria to celebrate Labour Day (?); DH Peter and I celebrated the extra day off work by taking off to the little coastal town of Port Fairy for its very big annual folk festival.
What a fabulous time it was; people everywhere, all smiling and happy and enjoying the music; good food to eat, only short queues for the loos...
Singers we heard and loved: Eliza Gilkyson (an American singer, new to us and now a favourite with her rich, mellow voice and sparky lyrics); Poms Chris While and Julie Matthews (beautiful harmonies); Aussie group The Audreys; Seamus Begley and Jim Murray from Ireland (Seamus has been around forever; plays accordion and has a beautiful voice; Jim plays guitar and sings harmonies and they share a rather naughty sense of humour); the April Verch band from Canada; April is a gorgeous little thing, a great fiddler, lovely voice and she does step-dancing while she plays; you have to see it to believe it (great to watch but it must be exhausting; don't know how she manages to do it and still continue to be so perky).
Anyway, no pics, because the ones I took were rather dire and dark. If you can, go next year - you'll love it!
And that, folks, is why I've done no sewing this weekend, despite a sewing room to clean up and new challenge projects to start. Since arriving home I've been catching up with the washing, getting ready for the working week and reading blogs (no prizes for which I've enjoyed most!) And I can't stop singing...

Let's go shopping!

2009-03-02T20:01:00.000+11:00

I missed out on meeting the Tassie blogging girls, who were there on Saturday, but Sunday was a great shopping day at AQC. My non-bloggy friend Margot and I caught the train from Ballarat just after 9 am, and the train back from Melbourne around 5 o'clock , and had a great time in between. There were so many tempting things to buy - and we did - interesting classes and lectures (we are now sold on the idea of jelly rolls and 10 inch squares) great things to see and friendly stallholders and fellow crafters to talk to. I was so pleased to meet the Quilted Crow girls from Hobart; I won one of their lovely felted wool patterns just before Christmas and it was nice to be able to thank them in person; their stand was lovely and so are they. It was great to catch up briefly with the Selvedge Queen herself (Ms Jodie Ric Rac) and to see so many fabulous quilts. Forgot to take the camera, so I'm posting pictures of my haul and wondering when I will ever get time to use it or where I will put it (storage in my sewing room is chocablock and I have only recently rediscovered the floor, which gives you some idea of how messy it was) -but I love everything I bought and don't regret any of it. And despite the fact that I really don't need to buy any more patterns or fabric, I AM going to the Stitches and Craft show in Melbourne a couple of weekends hence. No sewing next weekend - DH and I are off to Port Fairy Folk Festival over the long weekend to sit in the sun and listen to great music - can't wait!

....but not so great for so many

2009-02-15T15:34:00.000+11:00

While my year has been humming along quite merrily, if rather haphazardly, so many have had a terrible few weeks. So many lives lost in Victoria's terrible fires, so many homes destroyed, so many communities shattered or burned out of existence.
What has not been lost is the great spirit demonstrated by those affected by the fires - many are keen to rebuild their homes and their communities as soon as possible - by the generous public all around the world and by emergency services crews and all other helpers.
In company with so many others, I've donated to the Red Cross - have you? Please do! - and bid on crafty online auctions.
Feeling the need to do something other than pressing buttons on the computer, I've made some little carry bags which are now filled with textas, a colouring book and scribble pad; a little effort which I hope will bring some cheer into a few little girls' lives.
I've made these in response to an online plea from Monica at beyondpinkandblue.blogspot.com. Check it out - and check out Nikki's post to see the heap of colourful bags made at the sewing bee she organised yesterday (nicolemdesign.blogspot.com).
Inspired by the gorgeous pics Annie posts on her blog annie-flowergarden.blogspot.com, I've posted this shot of my favourite rose (taken BEFORE all the petals dried in the horrible hot weather) because it's so pretty, and also because its name - Best Friend - is so appropriate. There is such a need of good friends right now, and so many of us are being just that to people we may never meet, because we should, and because we can.

A great new year so far!

2009-01-12T11:34:00.000+11:00

Belated New Year greetings, everyone; do hope your year so far is progressing happily. Mine is; I am still half on holiday (still a few weeks to go before my second job at a primary school recommences for the year) so am enjoying the residual feelings of well-being and relaxation from my Christmas holiday break. My husband and I (sorry, sounding like the Queen here; I could do the white-glove wave if you insist...) spent the first week or so travelling around - a night in a cottage in Coonawarra, South Australia - 3 nights by the beach in Robe, SA - 2 nights in boiling-hot-but-good-anyway Mildura and 2 nights in Melbourne. The latter was a bit of an extravagance as we live only just over an hour away from the city, but it was so nice to walk about and mooch and catch trams and just do whatever. Yesterday we went to a festival at a very picturesque lavender farm, but the Big Ballarat Blog Meet to meet UK blogger Trashalou has been the highlight so far. Jodie (vintage Ric-Rac) arranged the get-together with bloggers from near and far coming together to meet each other and swap stories and ideas and food and sit under the big trees in Eureka Park and generally have a great time. Jodie is so brave; she invited us back to her place for hot drinks and cake and more chat and it was all great. If you want to see pics, you'll have to try other blogs; not only did I forget to take the camera out, but I still haven't got the hang of posting pics yet. We met first at Ballarat Patchwork; apart from door prizes and bits from Emma's grandmother's stash, we all came away with new bits and pieces. I am trying to be braver with colour this year and bought 2 nice bright fat quarters, Heather Bailey's new fruit pincushion pattern and the shop's own pattern for a pot mitt and pot holder. I'm happy to say the pear pincushion from the pattern is progressing nicely and is NOT doomed to become a UFO.
Happy stitching!

Thank you, and PIF partners

2008-12-07T18:16:00.000+11:00

Thank you all so much for welcoming me so warmly to blogland! I am really so pleased to be part of such a great community. And I now have two PIF partners - Julie of Bush Baby Jag and Working Mom Knits in the US; isn't that great! There's still room for one more - you know the score; you sign up for my PIF adventure; I make and send your gift within 365 days and each of you sends out a message asking for your own three partners, and so the home-made happiness rolls on. What a great thing to be involved in. Hope you have all had a great weekend. Enjoy your week.

2008-12-02T10:29:00.000+11:00

How exciting, I have had a response to my request for 3 people to be my PIF partners. Thank you, Julie from Bush Baby Jag! I will get crafting after Christmas. There's still room for two more. Hope everyone has a lovely week.

2008-11-30T23:40:00.000+11:00

I have just signed up with Shelley of Angels Come to Play for my very first PIF! How exciting is that! So now I would like to hear from 3 lovely people who would like to receive a handmade gift from me within the next 365 days, and are prepared to do their own Pay It Forward to keep the handmade happiness rolling.

Here at last!

2008-11-08T20:12:00.000+11:00

After sharing - and enjoying - so many others' bloggy worlds, I thought it was high time I joined such great company. Nothing much to say or show in this first post, but at least I've made the first move!