Thimbelina

A big week!

2012-02-06T14:05:00.000+11:00

Last Friday, saw me finishing up my very last day in the office where I've worked for the last 15 years..... It's a bit daunting to think that I'll no longer be working there but I decided to accept a position much closer to home. I start my new job next Monday where I'll only have a 5 minute drive each morning instead of the usual 45km trip.....will be so nice being closer to home!

After having farewell luncheon's on both Thursday and Friday last week, one for all staff and one just for the Export office where I worked, I also had a farewell dinner at my favourite Tapa's restaurant on Saturday night..... so spoilt!

My farewell gift..... my workmates know me well!

The lovely tray that all my sewing goodies came on.......

Handmade by one of the men in my office to make it extra special!

Amazing cake.... there were actually two of these but the first one was gone in no time!

Beautiful, bright coloured flowers!

More flowers..... these one's were mysteriously left on my desk??

Thanks to everyone who helped to make my last week a great one.... and for all your wonderfully supportive comments and wishes, you will be dearly missed!

Until next time...

Lounge makeover complete

2012-02-03T23:42:00.001+11:00

So I finally talked myself into tackling the two-seater lounge that I've been putting off for a while. The re-covering isn't too bad - it's removing all those pesky staples beforehand that's the problem. Anyway... I think you'll agree that it looks much more modern now. The photos aren't the best but I didn't want to put off showing you any longer!

Would you believe that I ran out of fabric with one seat cushion to go (I obviously didn't do my sums very well). When I went to buy more it turned out the fabric had been discontinued and there was no longer any left on the roll in the shop! You can imagine how delighted I was when they rang me the next day after finding a remnant out the back.... phew! I thought I was going to have to start over again.

I couldn't resist adding some red for the cushions.... and can happily say that I have now well and truly mastered my fear of the invisible zip!

Until next time.....

2011 Reading Challenge

2012-01-02T14:12:00.000+11:00

Sorry to bore any of you with my reading posts but :-
Last year I joined the Goodreads 2011 reading challenge and set my goal at 50 books for the year.... the same amount I set as a personal challenge for 2010. I'm pleased to say that I not only reached my goal but exceeded it by 17 books!

This is what I read for the year:
1) Tomorrow 6: The Night is for Hunting by John Marsden
2) Tomorrow 7: The other Side of Dawn by John Marsden
3) Marked (House of Night 1) by P.C.Cast
4) Betrayed (House of Night 2) by P.C.Cast
5) Chosen (House of Night 3) by P.C.Cast
6) Blue Bloods (Blue Bloods 1) by Melissa De la Cruz
7) Untamed (House of Night 4) by P.C.Cast
8) Hunted (House of Night 5) by P.C.Cast
9) Tempted (House of Night 6) by P.C.Cast
10) Burned (House of Night 7) by P.C.Cast
11) Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush 1) by Becca Fitzpatrick
12) Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
13) Undead and Unwed (Undead and Unwed 1) by Mary Janice Davidson
14) Undead and Unemployed (Undead and Unwed 2) by Mary Janice Davidson
15) Undead and Unappreciated (Undead and Unwed 3) by Mary Janice Davidson
16) Undead and Unreturnable (Undead and Unwed 4) by Mary Janice Davidson
17) Undead and Unpopular (Undead and Unwed 5) by Mary Janice Davidson
18) I am Number 4 by Pittacus Lore
19) Crescendo (Hush, Hush 2) by Becca Fitzpatrick
20) The Wee Free Men (Discworld 30) by Terry Pratchett
21) Awakened (House of Night 8) by P.C.Cast
22) City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments 4) by Cassandra Clare
23) The Devils Kiss (Billy Sangreal 1) by Sarwat Chadda
24) Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld 4) by Kelley Armstrong
25) Haunted (Women of the Otherworld 5) by Kelley Armstrong
26) Broken (Women of the Otherworld 6) by Kelley Armstrong
27) No Human's Involved (Women of the Otherworld 7) by Kelley Armstrong
28) Personal Demon (Women of the Otherworld 8) by Kelley Armstrong
29) Living with the Dead (Women of the Otherworld 9) by Kelley Armstrong
30) Frostbitten (Women of the Otherworld 10) by Kelley Armstrong
31) Waking the Witch (Women of the Otherworld 11) by Kelley Armstrong
32) The Scent of Shadows (First Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
33) The Taste of Night (Second Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
34) The Touch of Twilight (Third Sign of the Zodiac) Vicki Pettersson
35) Gone (Gone 1) by Michael Grant
36) Hunger (Gone 2) by Michael Grant
37) Lies (Gone 3) by Michael Grant
38) Plague (Gone 4) by Michael Grant
39) While I Live (Ellie Chronicles 1) by John Marsden
40) Incurable (Ellie Chronicles 2) by John Marsden
41) Circle of Flight (Ellie Chronicles 3) by John Marsden
42) City of Souls (Fourth Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
43) Strange Angels (Strange Angels 1) by Lili St.Crow
44) Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
45) Betrayals (Strange Angels 2) by Lili St.Crow
46) Jealousy (Strange Angels 3) by Lili St.Crow
47) Defiance (Strange Angels 4) by Lili St.Crow
48) Stray (Shifters 1) by Rachel Vincent
49) Men of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong
50) Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles 1) by Kami Garcia
51) Divergent (Divergent 1) by Veronica Roth
52) Blood Rights (House of Camarre' 1) by Kristen Painter
53) Cheat the Grave (Fifth Sign of the Zodiac) by Vicki Pettersson
54) The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
55) Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynne Barnes
56) Halfway to the Grave (Night Huntress 1) by Jeaniene Frost
57) One Foot in the Grave (Night Huntress 2) by Jeaniene Frost
58) At Grave's End (Night Huntress 3) by Jeaniene Frost
59) Flesh and Blood (House of Camarre' 2) by Kristen Painter
60) The Help by Kathryn Stockett
61) Destined for an Early Grave (Night Huntress 4) by Jeaniene Frost
62) This Side of the Grave (Night Huntress 5) by Jeaniene Frost
63) One Grave at a Time (Night Huntress 6) by Jeaniene Frost
64) Reckoning (Strange Angels 5) by Lili St.Crow
65) First Drop of Crimson (Night Huntress World 1) by Jeaniene Frost
66) Angelic by Kelley Armstrong
67) Counterfeit Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Once again there is a lot of superantural fiction in the list thanks to my sisters influence which I mentioned in last years post here. I'm still really enjoying what I read although I might try to throw a few classics into the mix for this year..... maybe :)

Also, if you'd like to see how I've rated any of the above books you can check them out in my Goodreads. You can also read a bit about the story and checkout other peoples reviews which is where I get a lot of my recommendations.

Lastly, if you've read something that you think I might like.... please share! :)

Until next time.....

FIS Swap

2012-01-01T14:31:00.001+11:00

Now I can show you the things that I sent to my Friends In Stitching Christmas swap partner Jane of Sweet Cinnamon Stitches ..... the main present that she opened on Christmas day is one of my all-time favourite patterns by Janelle Wind - A Frilly Dilly Bag. Jane tells me this has been on her to-do list for some time.... I guess she can cross that one off now! :)

This is the inside of the bag showing one of my labels..... I had these made up quite some time ago now but usually forget to put them on the things I make.... glad I remembered this time!

And these are the other little pressies I sent that were opened each day on

the five days leading up to Chrissy:

This was such a fun swap to put together!

Until next time....

SSCS 2011

2011-12-30T09:33:00.000+11:00

So now that Christmas is over....I can show you the swap pressie I sent off to Kristi as part of Chookyblue's annual Secret Santa Christmas Swap for 2011.

I always have trouble deciding on what to send my partners but thought you can't go wrong with something Christmassy for a Christmas Swap......I settled on a wallhanging!

I can't seem to put my hands on the pattern at the moment to tell you the designer but I will dig it out if anyone would like to know.

Until next time....

Swap Parcels opened

2011-12-27T20:34:00.000+11:00

It was very exciting to have a couple of special parcels to open on Christmas morning, both from swaps that I've participated in:

The first is from Tess of Raggedy Station who is also part of the Friends in Stitching online group. We each had to send five small parcels to be opened on the days leading up to Christmas and one main handmade pressie.

These are the five smaller items: Sewing pins, cute Christmas buttons, notecards, Joy Patch Pattern, Note pad holder and scented drawer sachet... there was also chocolate which didn't last very long at all!

The main pressie was this gorgeous sewing bag and matching needlecase....it's just so lovely!

Tess must have lots of patience to make all those sweet little yo-yo flowers with pretty button centre's. The handles are just lovely too and feel really sturdy so I can see this bag getting lots of use!

Thankyou so much Tess.... everything you sent is just lovely!

The second parcel I received came all the way from Sherry of Books, Hooks, Sticks Etc in the USA and was for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap that I have done for three years now. Sherry really spoilt me with lots of goodies:

So many things: North American national parks calendar, Quilting magazine, diary, candle, Capitol Building jigsaw puzzle, notepads and sticky notes.... and then there were the handmade things!

Lovely quilted table mat, wallet, needle case.... and the main pressie:

A beautiful table runner. The rustic colours will look lovely on my recycled timber dining table!

Thankyou so much Sherry... they'll all be put to good use!

And thanks to Chooky for organising another great swap.

Until next time.....

Swap Parcel Received

2011-12-20T21:12:00.000+11:00

We've been away for a few days..... and look what was waiting for me when we got home last night:

All these lovely goodies are from my Friends in Stitching group Secret Santa Christmas swap partner... ???

It's an advent swap so we had to send 5 smaller parcels and one main parcel to open on Christmas day....you can see they're all numbered so I know which one to open first.

I opened the first one today but I'll wait and show you them all together once I've opened them!

Until next time.......

Year 6 Farwell dress

2011-12-11T08:41:00.001+11:00

Remember that beautiful bright satin fabric I showed you back here?

Miss 12 chose the fabric and New Look Pattern no.6933 herself and I set to work....hoping that I could manage to pull it off since I'd never worked with anything quite like it before (I think Miss 12 was nervous too). I managed to finish it off last weekend in time for Miss 12's year 6 farewell on Thursday night....... what do you think?

Miss 12 was thrilled and it was definitely the brightest dress there! :)

Taylor Swift Love Story hair completed the look..... compliments of this Youtube tutorial Miss 12 had me watch (much easier than it looks):

Next step....High School!

Until next time......

SSCS 2011

2011-12-08T23:35:00.001+11:00

I was very excited to receive my Secret Santa Christmas Swap parcel yesterday.....all the way from Sherry in the USA.

Just look at all these parcels...... Sherry has spoilt me rotten!

Boy, I think I'm going to have to get the kids to hide them so I'm not tempted to open them all before Christmas!

Although, I did get to open one straight away..... this cute little ornament, isn't it sweet?

Thanks so much Sherry and to Chooky for doing an amazing job or organising it all once again!

Oh.... and I managed to get my last swap parcel posted off today too! This one is for the Friends in Stitching online group that I'm part of. We had to send one main pressie and five smaller ones to be opened in the days leading up to Christmas..... I wonder who they're heading to, Hmmm??

Until Next time....

A pressie for my Sister

2011-12-02T18:23:00.001+11:00

It was my Sister's birthday yesterday so I can now show what I made for her last week. I've been promising her a bag for a while now and since her taste is a little bit different to mine I had her choose the fabrics and the style of bag a few months back.... with no promises as to when she would receive it, lol.

And it's reversible.... so my Sis gets two bags from the one!

I did the handles in denim so that it would go well with both fabrics and I'm very happy with how it turned out.... She loved it!

The pattern for this one is the "The Reversible Bucket Bag" from The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam -

I just love this book with lots of tips and great ideas when it comes to making bags.

Now I just have to find time to make the other one she's picked out... :)

Until next time......

This and That

2011-11-27T14:20:00.001+11:00

I have managed to fit in a little sewing lately but unfortunately nothing I can share as yet..... I've finished my SSCS pressie, also a pressie for my Sister's birthday on Thursday and both are now making their way to their destinations!

I wonder where this parcel is going.......??????

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it along to Club Quilt today as I've been busy baking for a Birthday Morning Tea that I'm providing at work tomorrow and I've also been working on another project that I need to get finished asap......isn't the fabric gorgeous and bright? It was chosen by Miss 12.

Hopefully I'll have some more show and tell for you shortly!

Spoilt!

2011-11-25T22:09:00.001+11:00

Things have been so hectic here of late..... I have a list of things to do before Christmas that's a mile long! Normally I've finished all my Christmas shopping by now but not this time....I only purchased my first gift today! Anyway, I've been a very slack blogger! I've had things to post, just no time or inclination to do it.

I wanted to show you the lovely Birthday gift I received last week from Leanne.... one of the lovely ladies in the Friends in Stitching online group that I'm part of.

Leanne is from Punchbowl...so all the items she sent had to start with the letter "P"

A very nice Pincushion

Gail Pan Pattern

Picnic chocolate bar

Spoilt!.....Thanks so much Leanne!

Until next time.....

Re-upholstery success!

2011-10-23T12:19:00.000+11:00

I've been wanting to attempt to re-cover our old lounge for a while now and finally took the plunge yesterday. I'm pleased to say that the project was a success and I can now go and buy more fabric for the remaining two lounge chairs.... I wasn't game enough to do so initially just in case I couldn't manage it and I wasted money on all that fabric!

This is what I started with...... our poor old lounge had seen better days!

Please ignore that state of our lawn.... hubby has thankfully gone off to fix our mower this morning!

And here she is....new and improved!

I used a fairly heavy weight fabric which is almost like a canvas as I'm going to use them on our back deck and make a sort of outside room.... just have to save up for some bistro blinds now!

No mistakes hiding under the cushion either!

And this is why my fingers are sore today..... so many staples to remove!

Once my fingers recover.... I'll do the remaining single chair before I tackle the two-seater!

Until next time.....

Custom order finished!

2011-10-19T21:37:00.002+11:00

I've managed to get the cute little Charm Square quilt I was working on finished and ready to pop in the post...... I hope the recipients love it as much as I do! I really do have a thing for the Verna fabric range....so fresh and pretty!

Complete with yellow polka dot backing, a striped bind and my own little label

When I first made one of these I used the Charm square baby quilt tutorial from Moda Bake Shop but enlarged it so that it was a better sized quilt. If you would like the measurements etc, please let me know!

Until next time....

Custom order!

2011-10-08T17:01:00.000+11:00

A while ago I made a little quilt for some dear friends when they had their first baby..... they loved it so much that they've now asked me to make one as a gift for a special friend of theirs who has just had a baby girl!

I don't usually do custom orders but I really enjoy making these little charm square quilts.... and when Kelly chose Verna as her fabric choice, I just knew it was going to be gorgeous and lots of fun to make:

The top is all together.....

I just have to hand-stitch the applique before it's ready for quilting!

Until next time.......

"unfun" versus "fun" sewing

2011-10-05T15:50:00.000+11:00

I spent a whole day last week sewing and don't have a single interesting pic to show for it..... I seriously loathe mending and alterations of any kind although it feels really good to have all these annoying little fixes done and out of the way!

This is what I did:
1) Mended Mother-in-laws sheets (Seriously?? who mends sheets??)
2) Mended Father-in-laws trousers - one of the few people I volunteer to mend for.... he really is a keeper!
3) Mended a cap for my friend Cath - This was in a bag of things she gave me around 12 months ago (could be longer) for mending and given how long it's taken me to get to the bag she probably wont ask me again (Should I be smiling at that thought?)
4) Mended a Top for one of Cath's girls
5) Mended a plastic covered pool bag for Cath
6) Looked at the denim skirt of Cath's and shoved it back in the bag unmended (~~hoped~~ figured her girls would have outgrown it by now anyway)
7) Cut off and hemmed two top sheets that have always been too wide and dragged on the floor.
8) Hemmed the curtains in my bedroom that have been hanging with pins in them for about 2 years now.
9) Hemmed two sets of Curtains in master 9's room that have been hanging with pins in the bottoms for even longer than mine - he has FINALLY stopped nagging me! :)
10) And finally, I mended a dress - belonging to Miss 12 and I'm pleased to say that it still fits!

Then on Monday I moved on to some fun sewing and managed to get this little quilt top together:

Such pretty/girly fabrics

I have no idea what the fabric range is as the quilt was started by my Aunty Lin before she passed away last year. Lin had most of the coloured blocks together but there weren't any instructions to follow so I hope she would approve of what I did with it. I tried to use up as much of the fabric as I could while still leaving enough to do a pieced bind. So now I just have to find some backing and I can send it off to be quilted before returning it to Uncle Ron for one of their Grandaughters!

Until next time....

Shaggy Rainbow Quilt

2011-09-26T20:32:00.001+10:00

I just had to share some pics of the gorgeous rainbow quilt recently completed by Miss 12.... it's one of the many first place winners she entered into our local show a couple of weeks ago and she was delighted to take home the junior champion ribbon as well. Why not pop over to her blog "Little Miss Thimble" and tell her what you think?? She'd just love that!

Complete with cosy flannel backing....

We saw this quilt over at Kerri's blog a while ago and both fell in love with it straight away..... it was the perfect choice for Miss 12 as the only thing she needed any help with was the corners of the binding and she had the whole thing completed in just under a week....even the hand-stitching of the bind!

Until next time.....

For Master 9

2011-09-18T15:35:00.001+10:00

Another lovely day at Club Quilt today.... I managed to get this little runner finished for Master 9. It's something I've been going to make for a while now as the top of his nice cedar chest of drawers (a gift from his Grandma) is getting a little scratched.

Very simple 2.5" inch squares, quilted on the diagonal.... nice and boyish!

Until next time.......

Birthday Bash

2011-09-12T10:58:00.000+10:00

Just thought I'd share a couple of yummy pics from my hubby's 40th on Saturday night...... I'm thinking breakfast dessert might be the go this morning! :)

Mmmm..... yummy caramel mud cake!

This is the most delicious mud cake recipe..... I will have to post it so you can all try it too!

The decorations were partially inspired by the very talented Melissa from "My Cake School" blog.

And my little niece turned 5 on the same day so I had to make a cake for her too...

this one is chocolate with kit-kats and smarties (idea found here)!

Hmmm.... cakes, cheesecake, pavlova and rocky road.... where to start??

And I just have to show you the great caricature painting we had done as a birthday gift:

The artist is Graeme McCullough of Grazart Gallery in Dalby....very clever!

Hubby loved it and had the best night catching up with friends old and new..... we were both exhausted yesterday though after a 4am finish!

Until next time......

Home for Summer

2011-09-10T08:33:00.000+10:00

That dear little stitchery I showed you a few posts back has finally been made up into a cushion.

I just love this "Home for Summer" pattern by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched....so sweet!

I changed the back a little so I could use up some squares I had:

The fabrics were all scraps from my Angel's Story quilt......

it's nice to put them to use and to complete a project at no cost!

I'm knee-deep in preparations for my Husband's 40th at the moment .....we have about 60 people coming tonight to help celebrate (I really hope the weather stays nice as they wont all fit inside, lol)!

I'm looking forward to catching up with friends old and new for a happy occassion.

Until next time....

Sweet Menagerie

2011-09-07T20:19:00.003+10:00

Finally! This one has been sitting patiently for probably 12 months or so just waiting for me to hand-stitch the back of the binding down..... now that it's done, I really don't know why it took me so long to get around to it:

The design is Sweet Menagerie by Bloom for Moda Bakeshop and you can find it here.

Back view

I just love this quilt but I'm disappointed that it doesn't actually match the room that I made if for......so in order to justify making another one in a slightly different colourway I'm hoping to sell this one.

Please let me know if you're interested!

Until next time........

A pressie for Jo

2011-08-22T20:02:00.000+10:00

I'm pleased to say that those yummy fabrics I gave you a sneak peak of last post have now become this:

An Abbey Bag (Pattern by Abbey Lane Quilts)

I just love these little pincushion/scrap bags and have made three of them now. My dear friend Jo has been admiring mine for a while so I knew she would love one for her birthday.....she was thrilled!

My colour inspiration came from here:

A cute little Pillowcase dress that Miss 12 made for her new little cousin... I just loved the fabrics she chose!

Until next time.....

This and That

2011-08-19T23:52:00.002+10:00

This last couple of weeks have been pretty crazy in the Thimbelina household..... I've been working full-time instead of my usual three days a week and I'm really starting to feel it. I take my hat off to any Mum's out there that manage to work full time and juggle young family's while still keeping their sanity in tact!

I've still managed to squeeze in a little bit of stitching..... I'm hoping to get a chance to turn this one into a cushion soon. I made one of these a while ago for a swap and really struggled to part with it...so it will be nice to have one for me!

A little retail therapy!

This beautiful book purchased recently includes a project by the very talented Ros of Bloom.... also a member of our Club Quilt Narromine. Lots of nice eye candy in this one!

And lastly:

This is what I'm playing with at the moment....aren't they scrumptious?

Until next time.......

Much better!

2011-07-30T17:58:00.001+10:00

I picked up a little dress for Miss 12 today.... honestly, it looked ridiculous on her being so long and daggy but we thought if it was shortened to tunic length it would look a lot younger and a lot less like a night-shirt. We also removed the really huge and hideous rosette that was stuck to the front of it....I've seen such nice ones in blogland but this one was really awful.... I just wish I'd taken a before shot!

Anyway... this is how it looks now...

and it's roomy enough to where a long-sleeved shirt underneath:

Miss 12 also likes it with a belt:

And with the fabric we cut off the bottom...I was able to make a braided headband using the fantastic tutorial here, by Make it and Love it!

I will definately be making more of these....they're so easy and perfect for Miss 12's curly flyaway hair!

Until next time.....

Lego Birthday Party

2011-07-23T19:26:00.000+10:00

This week saw me busy preparing for Master 9's Lego themed Birthday party. Birthday party's only happen once every few years in our household so they're sort of a big deal. The lego theme was lots of fun and thanks to all the clever people out there in blogland I had lots of great ideas to work with. Needless to say....no sewing happening here at the moment! :)

First there were invitations to be made..... I used the instructions from Spotted Canary

Followed by Lego man cookies..... tutorial courtesy of SweetSugarBelle

Lego head cake pops....thanks to Amy of Living Locurto

And of course, a Lego cake.....it looks better if you squint a little as the cake was a bit crumbly and was awkward to ice, lol. Inspiration for the cake was from here only I used melted chocolate set in tealight candle surrounds to make the bumps which worked really well!

Inside was multi-coloured too......

Party loot boxes.... thanks to Deliah creates

More cookies..........

all packaged up to go in the loot boxes along with some lollies and of course chocolate!

And lastly.... the decorations.... tissue paper pom-pom's hung from the roof of our deck.

These are really quick and easy and you can find the tutorial here.

Thanks to all of you who generously shared your ideas..... It was a great day and certainly made Master 9 very happy. He's still grinning!

Until next time.....

Stocking Swap - Part 2

2011-07-17T09:11:00.000+10:00

This is the dear little stocking I received in our Friends in Stitching Christmas Stocking Swap......

It was made by Leanne of Lizzie-the-Quilter and is just adorable..... look at that lovely stitchery....too cute!

Thankyou so much Leanne.... I just love it and can't wait to fill it with lollies at Christmas time :)

Until next time....

Stocking Swap - part 1

2011-07-16T16:34:00.000+10:00

Last night was opening night for those of us that took part in the Friends in Stitching Christmas Stocking Swap so I can finally show you what I made for my partner Jan:

The pattern is called "A Little bit of Christmas" by Anni Downs

It's miserable weather here today so I haven't ventured outside yet to photograph the lovely stocking I received from Leanne.... maybe tomorrow!

Until then.....

A Cushion!

2011-07-11T21:30:00.002+10:00

I finally managed to get my first new cushion finished for the lounge room.....goodness knows how long it will take me to make it's mate. Don't go holding your breath now!

I love how the linen looks with the Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow fabric

And it looks great against the huge navy floor cushion I made a few weeks ago:

You can find the instructions at Rebel Homemaker, she has lots of beautiful cushions!

Until next time.......

Finally...some time to sew!

2011-07-02T17:47:00.000+10:00

I spent a good bit of today finally putting together a cushion to go with the quilt I made for my new little Niece "Marlie". I finished the stitchery last weekend at Club Quilt so I only had to assemble it. Now I can finally post off her parcel on Monday! Yay!

And while I was in cushion making mode.....Miss 12 decided to finish off one she has had in the making for quite a while. I think she did the applique panel about two years ago and she used the scraps from her coin quilt to finish it off! Turned out pretty cute don't you think?

Until next time......

Floor Cushion

2011-06-19T09:10:00.000+10:00

Not the most exciting project but I managed to get a much needed new cover made for the huge cushion that lives on the floor in our loungeroom.... the only carpet we have is in our bedrooms so the kids love to sprawl on this giant cushion in front of the T.V!

Ta-Da.... my 120cm square cushion!

The back simply fastens with velcro

And to fancy it up a little...here's a peek at another cushion cover I'm working on:

Hopefully I'll have it finished in the next couple of days!

Until next time.......

For Marlie

2011-06-12T08:43:00.000+10:00

During the week I managed to get Marlie's quilt all quilted and bound...... Nice easy straight lines which is the only sort of quilting I'm brave enough to attempt! I really like the look of the straight lines though and I've done a couple of baby quilts this way now.

Now I just need to get a couple more things made to go with it and I can send it off!

Until next time........

New addition!

2011-06-07T08:58:00.000+10:00

This dear little person arrived three weeks ago today, and is the first child for my brother and his beautiful wife.....which means I have another little Niece to spoil! Welcome Marlie xoxo

So now that we're home from our visit and everything has settled down again, I managed to get a quilt top put together on the weekend especially for Marlie:

The fabric is Blush by Basic Grey and I used a PDF Tutorial called "Charm squares baby quilt" from Sew Mama Sew, but I used almost double the number of squares to make it bigger and added baby's name to the bottom.

I don't have to work today so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to start quilting it....I'm itching to send it off now!

Until next time.....

A promise fullfilled - well almost!

2011-06-03T15:01:00.000+10:00

I've already shown you one small project that I made on the Club Quilt retreat a couple of weeks ago but the main project I took along was one that is very special to me.... I don't know why it seems to have taken me weeks to finally photograph it....hmmm!

When my Aunt passed away this time last year she left an unfinished quilt behind that she had asked me to complete and I'm pleased to say the top is finally done.... It's a beautiful quilt and I think she would be very happy with it!

My Aunt had done a lot of the work and had finished down to the bird row which she had already half stitched.... I did the rest. When I look at my contribution now it doesn't seem like much but it took me the best part of the weekend!

The vine at the top will have yo-yo flowers added after quilting

That pattern is called "Country Hearts" by Patwork Pumpkin.

So now I just have to find some backing and send it off to be quilted!

Until next time.....

Birthday Swap!

2011-05-24T20:12:00.000+10:00

Here's a little something I made at our Club Quilt retreat a couple of weeks ago..... it was for a Birthday swap and arrived safely at it's destination late last week in time for Sarah's birthday on Sunday!

My swap gift had to start with the letter "N" and be no bigger than 8" in size....

I sent a "Nifty Needlework pouch with notions".

I hope Sarah liked them!

Until next time....

Mothers Day!

2011-05-10T16:14:00.002+10:00

I had a wonderful Mothers Day on Sunday..... not only was I totally spoilt by my family but I got to spend a good bit of time with my Mum as well which is something I haven't been able to do much of lately. She has been away for almost four months looking after her own Mum and we've all missed her terribly.

My day started with brekky in bed (pancakes....Mmmm) and was followed by flowers, DVD's and a beautiful silver watch. Master 8 made me a lovely card and a book of vouchers with things like: I promise to be on my best behaviour and I promise to wash the dog (We don't even have a dog....maybe a bit of a hint on Master 8's part....lol).

So now I can show you what I made my Mum:

Another Skinny Verna table runner only this time using a charm pack of Lily and Will....you can find the recipe on the Moda Bake Shop website.

Mum just loved it (she has been hinting for one of these for a while)........

and it looks great on her big timber dining table.

Until next time....

Celebrate - a finish!

2011-04-29T09:24:00.000+10:00

I managed to get my "Lets Celebrate" table topper finished during the week.... and I just LOVE it!

The photo's don't really do it justice....I must invest in a camera that has a macro setting one day....but at least it looks white and not blue in these pics!

Until next time....

Let's Celebrate

2011-04-26T18:00:00.000+10:00

I did manage to get some stitching done while on holidays..... I've been working on "Lets Celebrate" by Hatched and Patched and it's coming along nicely. This project is actually for me and something that has been on my to-do list for quite some time. I've been procrastinating with starting it as there was so much stitching in it but it was the perfect way to spend some of my evenings while camping.

The picures don't do it justice....I always have trouble photographing white and they seem to turn out a bit blueish - I would love some tips if anyone has found the secret!

I should have the finished product to show you in the next couple of days.
Hope you've all had a lovely Easter break!

Until next time...

Swap Received

2011-04-22T12:07:00.000+10:00

Look what was waiting for me when I got home from holiday's last night....isn't it pretty?

This parcel was sent to me by Jo from Lilly Pilly as part of the Friends in Stitching Hatched and Patched swap and she has been waiting patiently for me to return home to open it.

I'm surprised I managed to wait long enough to take a photo before ripping it open!

Inside was a beautiful bag made from the book "In the life of a Bag" which I've been eyeing off for a while....

With perfect little stitcheries....

And plenty of space for important things like books....

And the cutest little matching bookmark that was put to work straight away....

Jo has done a wonderful job making them and the colours she chose are just lovely....they're so ME!

Thankyou so much Jo....I adore them!

Until next time....

M.I.A. and a Swap

2011-04-19T23:03:00.001+10:00

It's been a while I know, but I have actually been doing a little stitching of the secret kind and I've also been on holidays with no internet..... it's nice to get away from technology every once in a while so camping was perfect!

While I've been away my swap partner "Dawnie" from the "Friends in Stitching" online swap group I've joined received her gift that I made:

The pattern is "Home for Summer" by Hatched and Patched and Dawnie just loved it....I'm so pleased! I wasn't sure how the stitchery would go as I've never stitched using single strand before but it turned out really well and I'm already planning to make another one soon.

Jo from "Lilly Pilly" has made a gift for me but I've haven't yet been able to open it....It should be waiting for me when I return home on Thursday....I can't wait! She does some beautiful work!

Until next time........

Nundle continued...

2011-03-30T16:41:00.000+11:00

So it's probably about time I showed you what I made while at Nunde....yes, I did actually get some stitching done! The projects designed by the lovely Anni of Hatched and Patched were:

1) A cute little woolen purse called "Bits and Pieces Purse"

2) A sweet little wallhanging

I chose to make the purse but I didn't quite follow the instructions and put my own little touch on it (are you surprised?). I loved the little woolen purse Anni designed but didn't think I'd like using a woolen puse so I made mine out of fabric with one of Anni's cute little stitcheries on the front:

And so that I didn't waste the wool supplied in our kits....I purchased Anni's "Larry the Lamb" pincushion pattern.....Isn't it cute:

G.D.I.T.C Swap Received

2011-03-27T12:08:00.000+11:00

I know.... I promised this post days ago....Ooops!
Anyway, I finally took some pics of the lovely gift I received in the Hatched and Patched Friends Swap.... the cutest little mug bag made by the lovely Alison from "This Old Aunt Quilts" who just happened to be sharing the same table as me for the day of stitching. It was lovely to receive a gift from someone who's blog I was familiar with and to put a face to the name!

It has little pockets all the way around the outside so that I can take along my teabags/fake sugar etc and it was even made in my favourite colour.....blue!

With the cutest little stitcheries:

And the lovely china mug that I received on the day fits in it perfectly

Thankyou Alison....I've been wanting to make myself one of these for ages!

Until next time......

G.D.I.T.C Swap

2011-03-24T19:53:00.000+11:00

While at "Girls Day in the Country", we had the option to join in on a Friendship Swap.

The rules were simple:
Using one of Anni's designs (since she was our guest designer for the weekend) we had to make up a swap gift which was to be no bigger than 6" x 6". We then wrapped up our creations and placed them in a brown paper bag so that they all looked alike and were each given one someone else had made! How Exciting!

This is what I made using Anni's "Bunny Hop" pattern:

The recipient was delighted and I can't for the life of me remember your name "Oooops"....

if you're reading this I'd love to hear from you!

And this is a pic of all our swap pressies together....I'm not going to point out which one I received just yet as I'm saving that for tomorrow when I have a chance to photograph it properly:

All the ladies did a wonderful job..... there are some really scrumptious goodies here!

Until next time........

G.D.I.T.C

2011-03-21T20:24:00.000+11:00

Well I've just returned from "Girls Day in the County" organised by the lovely Kerry Swain of "Cottage on the Hill"..... and what a weekend it was!

Everything was perfect..... the location, the food, the projects and of course the company! We were lucky enough to have one of my all-time favourite designers: Annie Downs of "Hatched and Patched" as the guest designer for the weekend and I even managed to bring home a small completed project which you'll get to see in the next couple of days.

It was lovely to get a chance to meet a lot of my fellow bloggers and put faces to names that I'm familiar with although I didn't get nearly as much time to chat with them as I would have liked....it just went so fast!

Not the best pic.... but this one shows all the bloggers that attended on Saturday

The lovely ladies I shared a table with as well as Kerry & Annie:

All hard at work:

I can't wait to do it all again!

Until next time......

Man-Gift!

2011-03-11T10:20:00.000+11:00

Is it just me or are the men in our lives really hard to make for?? When I came across this tutorial recently over at Sew4Home I just knew I had to make one for my hubby who is always ranting about not being able to find the remotes after the kids have had them!

My version is quilted rather than being just one sturdy piece of fabric for the backing as the tutorial suggests. I also varied the pocket sizes a little and made the whole thing 1" narower, then I bound it using the No-Snit Binding tutorial from You Go Girl..... love that tutorial!

Surprisingly enough, the remotes seem to be liking their new home and haven't been found underneath the lounge cushions since.....hubby is most impressed! Gotta love it when things go to plan....LOL

I would love to hear of your favourite Man-gifts!

Until next time.....

Stacked Coin Quilt

2011-03-05T10:10:00.000+11:00

Another finish for February that I hadn't gotten a chance to post about:

You've proabably seen this one in various stages over the past 6 months or so but It's finally finished (even if it is a little late for Miss 2's birthday....Ooops!). I can't wait to give it to her now.... must get a label on the back before I wrap it up!

Until next time.......

Happy Birthday Mum!

2011-02-27T20:04:00.000+11:00

Another Snap-happy bag I made for my Mum's birthday last Thursday..... not a book bag this time but a pouch to keep all her bits and pieces tidy in her Frilly Dilly Bag I gave her for Christmas. I also made a matching lanyard for her phone and filled the pouch with some other goodies!

Happy Birthday Mum..... Love you!

Until next time.......

The Circle is Complete!

2011-02-19T21:00:00.001+11:00

For the last few weeks now I've been madly stitching this project and it's been killing me not to share it with you.... I soooo wanted to share!

About four years ago my wonderful friend Nic (Creative Disorganization) and I made a very special quilt for our dear friend Cath (no blog) and about two years after that I received the same quilt made for me by Nic and Cath. It's been a long time coming but Cath and I finally got together and made Nic her quilt so that we now all have a very special quilt made by wonderful friends and the circle is at last complete. While all three quilts have been made using the same pattern and a lot of the same fabrics, they are all still unique and different and I love how they all turned out.

It's Nic's quilt that I've been madly stitching for the past few weeks as Cath really doesn't enjoy the hand-stitching side of quiltmaking (and she's way too critical of her work).... I put her to work doing lots of other jobs ;)

The blocks before they were joined.... except one which I must of missed photographing

The flimsy all ready to go off to the quilter.....

I sent it off on Monday this week and had it back by Tuesday!

All done.....quilted and bound, ready for wrapping!

All three of our beautiful quilts

The quilt I received for my Birthday two years ago:

Cath's quilt....the one that started it all!

The pattern is called "Friendship's Heart" by The Birdhouse and I think it would have to be one of my
all-time favourite patterns. The fabrics we used were from several different ranges allthough most of them were by Kansas Troubles Quilters.

I've set this to post later tonight, so that by the time it appears on my blog I will already be at Nic's birthday dinner and she will have no doubt opened her pressie.....why not pop over to her blog and give her some birthday LOVE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIC!

Until next time........

Sew Yellow!

2011-02-19T14:02:00.000+11:00

Master 8 needed something yellow to wear to the swimming carnival as well. I really don't make as much for him as I do Miss 11 (it's just so much easier to sew for girls), soooo.....armed with a case of the guilts and some yellow and white star fabric leftover from Miss 11's dress.....this is what I made:

He was pretty stoked that I'd made him something but unfortunately It probably wont fit him for long......

I really should have chosen a larger size!

I'm happy to report that Namoi won the day......Go Namoi!

Until then........

Busy, Busy!

2011-02-13T14:19:00.000+11:00

I'm still here..... and would you believe I've been sewing like mad??
Not much I can show you yet I'm afraid. I've finished a swap pressie for the Nundle retreat coming up next month and I've also made progress on a Club Quilt swap item and another swap item for a Hatched and Patched swap with the Friends in Stitching group that I've recently joined. So.... lots of secrets I'm keeping from you....but not for too much longer!

I can however show you this little dress I made for Miss 11 yesterday..... she was recently chosen as the Sports Vice-captain for Namoi House at school this year and the house colours are yellow. It turns out yellow is not the easiest colour to find in clothing so I decided to make something quick and easy for her to wear to the school swimming carnival next week. I drew up a basic pattern using the little girls dress pattern from Retro Mummy as a guide (It only went to a girls size 6 and I needed a ladies 10). Surprisingly.....all went well and I think it turned out very cute!

We added the tie as an afterthought which gives it a little more shape.

Until next time.....

Easy Scrolls

2011-01-30T10:14:00.002+11:00

I've been making scrolls a lot lately..... they've been such a hit at home with the kids as well as with the bigger kids at mine and my hubby's workplaces and they're so easy to make:

Dough Ingredients

300 ml Water

2 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Salt

2 tsp Sugar

600g pack bread flour and 1.5tsp yeast

Toppings

Tomato Paste or Pizza Sauce

2 rashes Bacon (rind removed and chopped)

Fresh Basil

Grated Cheese

(or whatever takes your fancy)

I cheat and throw all my ingredients in my bread machine on the dough setting, but if you don't have one you could make your dough the old fashioned way..... I'm sure you're all much more clever than and I am!

Once the dough is ready I spread it out on a board and top with tomato paste or pizza sauce, chopped bacon, fresh basil and cheese so that it looks like this:

Roll it up and pinch dough closed

Cut into roughly 2cm slices and spread out on a greased and floured baking tray

Bake at 180 degrees C for about 30 mins

Serve hot or cold.....Yummo!

Makes about 15

Enjoy!

Sewing of the Non Quilting Variety

2011-01-23T17:50:00.000+11:00

Another lovely day at Club Quilt today but unfortunately I'm working on a secret project at the moment and can't show you what I've been up to.... I can however show you the shirt I made for myself last week:

I used New Look pattern no.6515 and while I'm not fussed on the fabric I now know that it's a good fit and I can make another one using some favourite fabric I have stashed in the cupboard. I think I'll give the sleeves a miss on my next one too!

Until next time......

Stacked coins Finish

2011-01-18T08:17:00.000+11:00

You may remember this quilt top I made back here and here...... well, it finally came back from the quilters just before Christmas and I managed to get it bound at our last Club Quilt sewing day back on the 9th?

I'm thrilled with the swirly heart pattern the quilter used, which you can see here:

I love how it has turned out and can't wait to give it to dear little Claire when she turns 1 next month!

Until next time.......

Blogging slump

2011-01-16T18:25:00.000+11:00

I've really struggled this week to write any blog posts at all.... with all the devastation that has been taking place in Queensland and now other parts of the country, anything that has been going on in my little world just seems so insignificant. It's been heartbreaking to read and watch all the stories and I've found myself sitting bewildered in front of the television instead of the sewing maching a lot these last couple of weeks. Fortunately, my family and their homes in Dalby, QLD have been spared even though it was pretty close at one stage with water running under my Sisters home, they have stayed safe, thank goodness! I'm hoping to get a chance to contribute to the below flood appeal's that I've come across in blogland.

If you'd like to help, Retro Mummy is calling for 12 1/2" quilt blocks to make into quilts (there is a great video on her blog with instructions for a Wonky Log cabin block) and Gum Tree Designers are collecting sewing kits to be sent off to quilting groups in the affected areas (the list of inclusions can be found on their blog).

Hope you're all safe wherever you are and I promise to share some quilting in my next post!

Until next time.....

MIAF!

2011-01-14T09:03:00.000+11:00

I've just joined a new Club Quilt challenge for 2011..... MIAF (Make it a finish)!
The initial idea was to make a list of all your UFO's and see how many you could finish in the year.... since I don't really have UFO's as I'm one of those odd people that likes to finish what they start before moving on to something else. I know. STRANGE! Anyway, it was decided that since Cath and I didn't have UFO's we could include projects we would like to make that haven't yet been started, so this is the list I came up with:

1) Bind Sweet Menagarie Quilt
2) Bind Stacked Coin Quilt
3) Finish Aunty Lin's Country Hearts Quilt

4) Finish Aunty Lin's Baby Quilt

5) Finish Cath's Country Hearts Quilt (she's never going to....it's been 5 years now!)

6) Shaggy Quilt from Bliss Flannels

7) Bagalicious - Girl Friday Bag

8) Bagalicious - Pita Bag

9) Bagalicious - Sunrise Bag and Wallet

10) Quilt from Pure Jelly roll

The two quilts to be bound are actually my only UFO's although they've only been waiting to be finished for a couple of weeks.... there were three of them but I managed to get one done last Sunday which I'll show you soon. The two quilts of Aunty Lin's are ones that I inherited recently (sadly, she passed away about 6 months ago before she got a chance to finish them) and Cath's country hearts quilt belongs to a friend of mine who now has five children and very little time to sew!

Hopefully I'll manage to get them all finished this year!

Until next time......

Now I can Sew!

2011-01-08T09:02:00.000+11:00

You might be wondering where all my holiday sewing projects are?

These three quilts all came back from the quilter's just before Christmas but I haven't even had a chance to think about binding them yet....... soon though....very soon!

What I have been doing is some much needed sanding/plastering/painting around the house.....

The railing all around my back deck needed sanding and a couple

of coats of paint....very time consuming!

These timbers under the front verandah had never been painted!

A fresh coat of paint for the front door.....much more welcoming!

The hallway needed some plasterwork and a new, more neutral colour!

And finally.... I convinced Hubby to hang some nice timber blinds (that I've had in the shed for years waiting to be cut to size) on the three loungeroom windows!

As much as I would have prefered to be sewing, I'm so pleased that all these jobs are finally done. It's not often I get 10 straight days at home and I wanted to make the most of it, so after Christmas was over Miss 11 and I spent 4 days on the house. She was a wonderful help and I couldn't have got so much done without her..... It turns out she's pretty handy with a paintbrush!

Today I can finally SEW!

Until next time....

Final OPAM for 2010

2011-01-01T22:47:00.000+11:00

Here we are in 2011 already....... I really don't know what happened to 2010, it just seemed to whiz by didn't it? I hope you've all had a wonderful year and thankyou for all your comments and encouragement throughout the year..... I really appreciated them!

I just realised that I had two more December finishes for OPAM (One Project A Month) 2010 that I hadn't yet blogged about..... although I'm sure you're all sick of seeing my Snap Happy book pouches by now??

My sister requested one with "no flowers" .....

so this is what she received for her Birthday early in the month

I also made one for our Niece for Christmas but was is such a hurry to get it wrapped up that I didn't take any photos of it.....Duh! I used a black and white floral fabric and some red and white polka dots....which was really cute, just a shame my brain wasn't working!

So that brings my total finishes for the year to 76.... and when I joined I thought I'd be happy just to have one finish each month! *Happy Dance*

A huge thankyou to Peg and Kris for the great job you do in sorting through all the finishes each month and organising the fantastic prizes....so glad you're both going around again this year!

Until next time.......

SSCS - Final Reveal

2010-12-27T19:28:00.000+11:00

The gift I made for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap went all the way to Loulee in the Isle of Man (her blog is called Manxgirl)..... Lou is a Knitter and once I found that out I knew exactly what I wanted to make her. A while ago I'd spotted a lovely Knitting project pouch and jounal designed by the very talented Lisa from "A Spoonful of Sugar" and I'd been itching to make it!

Loulee's favourite colour is blue.... and I just love how it turned out in these nice soft colours:

This one shows my new labels that my very clever Sister designed....aren't they great??

I was a bit nervous about stitching through the carboard for the dividers.......

but it worked out really well!

Loulee loved her pressie and her hubby was delighted with the jar of vegemite I included in her parcel!

Until next time........

SSCS 2010 - opened!

2010-12-26T12:05:00.001+11:00

I was very excited to finally get to open my SSCS parcel yesterday.....

My partner was the lovely Kaaren from The Painted Quilt and she not only made my pressie but she designed it herself..... A lovely stitched and hand-quilted wall hanging:

Kaaren has used a varigated thread which looks lovely and adds interest

and the hand-quilting makes it very special.

I love that she has written on the back of it.... so I'll always remember where it came from!

Thankyou so much Kaaren....I love it!

And thanks again to Chookyblue for once again organising another great Christmas swap....

I just hope those last few parcels arrive soon!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day!

Until next time........

Secret Santa pressie!

2010-12-23T21:17:00.000+11:00

Today we did a bit of a Secret Santa Swap in the office..... some of the men can be a bit tricky to buy for but I remembered seeing a picture of some "Reinbeer" on someone's blog only a week or so ago (I can't for the life of me remember who's blog it was).

Anyway.... here's my version of the Reinbeer, aren't they cute?

You can just see the little bags of m&m's that I tucked in the middle:

They were definately a hit and I can see myself making them again .....

Miss 11 and I had a lot of fun putting them together!

Until next time.......

6 Items Sent

2010-12-20T20:26:00.000+11:00

My 6 Items Xmas Swap parcel arrived safely at it's destination last week but with so much happening I here of late I haven't had a chance to show you what I sent to my partner Dzintra.

My 6 items included:
1) Something to read - Book: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and a Book Pouch
2) Something to eat - Chocolate
3) Something Smelly - A Scented Candle and some nice soap
4) Something for the Craft Room - Effie the Elephant Pincushion
5) Somehing Handmade - Couch Companion
6) A Xmas Item - Christmas Tea Towell

The Couch Companion

(Pattern by Leanne Beasley)

Effie Elephant Pincushion

(Heather Bailey pattern "Effie & Ollie" thanks to Khris who was my partner in the FRIENDS swap)

Christmas Tea Towell

(Stitchery from "A Little Bit of Christmas" by Hatched and patched)

Book Pouch

(Snap happy bag pattern by Stitchin' Sisters - size modified)

Dzintra was delighted with her parcel and I've really enjoyed exchanging emails with her since the big secret was unveiled.... the only thing I regret is not making two of those couch companions at the same time!

Until next time.....

6 Items swap received

2010-12-19T15:09:00.000+11:00

Oooops! Is it Sunday already? It seems I completely lost Saturday!

Anyhow.... here are the items that were made for me by the lovely Fiona of Dragonfly Crafts for our recent 6 Items Xmas Swap:

Lots of lovely's....so very spoilt! :)

1) Something to read: 2011 4 Ingredients calendar...lots of yummy looking recipe's here...Mmmm!

2) Something to eat: Cadburys delicious hazelnut chocolate....which may or may not be empty already.

3) Something Smelly: Scented soap and cute "rubber-ducky" washer.

4) Something for the Craft Room: Adorable little button tin.... complete with the cutest novelty buttons.

5) Something handmade: Gorgeous patchwork bag with "Friends" Stitchery

6) Xmas Item: Lovely red and white "spotty" oven mits.... love spots!

I have to show you some more pics of the awesome bag Fi made:

A nice roomy bag with little pockets on the front and Lovely fabrics!

and the sweetest little stitchery.... just look at their wild hair... love it!

Thankyou so much Fiona... next up, you'll get to see what I made for my partner... Dzintra!

Until then......

Xmas Stitching

2010-12-17T10:16:00.001+11:00

Last night was the Club Quilt Christmas Party....... A lovely night with a good turn-up of Club Quilt ladies, great food, great company and more importantly PRESSIES!

Most of us made a handmade something to include in the swap.... there were so many beautiful things but unfortunately I didn't take my camera.... If you pop over to the Club Quilt blog I'm sure you'll be able to check them out over the next few days!

This is what I made:

The pattern is "Father Christmas" by Hatched and Patched

Only one of them was for the swap.... I decided to make two at once so that I would have one for myself.

I usually make things and give them away then never get around to making mine... I think I'll start doing this more often!

I also included a "Beaufort Bag" that I made back here and Joanie was delighted with her pressie.

These are the goodies I received which were made by Jan:

A lovely bag.... I can't wait to get this one washed up and put through the dryer so that it goes all shaggy!..... gorgeous colours!

And some great little sewing accessories.... aren't they cute?

Thankyou so much Jan (no blog)!

I also got to find out who my 6 items Xmas Swap partner was....Fiona from Dragonfly Crafts! So I'll show you all those goodies tomorrow.

Until then.......

Teacher Pressies

2010-12-14T21:50:00.000+11:00

This afternoon I finally managed to get the kids teacher pressies done..... and just in the nick of time since it's the last day of school tomorrow!

Miss 11 has two teachers.... so I made a jewellery pouch for her female teacher and some rocky road for her male teacher (Men can be so tricky sometimes!). I also made a jewellery pouch for Master 8's teacher.

There are six little pockets on the inside to keep all that bling tangle-free and protected!

Tasty Treats for a Truly Terrific Teacher!

Phew.... another job out of the way!

Until next time........

6 Items Swap

2010-12-13T20:19:00.000+11:00

Well I've finally finished all my swap parcels for this year..... my last one, the "6 items Christmas Swap" hosted by Maree went in the post yesterday! *Happy Dance*

I also managed to get a swap item made for our Club Quilt Christmas party this Thursday night and the only other sewing I need to do for Christmas is to make the kids teacher pressies tomorrow!

Finally light at the end of the tunnel!

Until next time......

SSCS 2010 has landed

2010-12-11T09:12:00.000+11:00

Well now that the SSCS parcel I sent has arrived safely at it's destination (although not without a couple of customs queries), I can finally tell you that my parcel was sent all the way to Loulee in the Isle of Man.... you can checkout her lovely blog "Manxgirl" here!

These are the ornaments I sent, which have already been unwrapped
and are hanging on Lou's tree:

You'll have to wait until Christmas to see what else I sent!

Until next time.......

Challenge Accomplished!

2010-12-10T09:42:00.001+11:00

On Christmas day last year I started reading Twilight.... not because it was something I was all that interested in but because I wanted to see what all the hype was about and I wanted to check it out before I let my 11 year old read it. To be honest, I thought I'd hate it so you can imagine my surprise when I thoroughly enjoyed it and finished all four books in the series in about two weeks! It was nice to make time to read again which is something I haven't done much of since having children. I decided to challenge myself to see how many books I could read in the year and promptly gave up watching TV of an evening in favour of reading...... I started out thinking 20 books in a year would be great but a couple of months into my reading challenge I set the number at 50, and last night I started reading book no.51!

So...This is what I've read:

1) Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

2) New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

3) Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

4) Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

5) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

6) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

7) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

8) City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

9) City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

10) City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

11) The Naming by Alisson Croggon

12) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

13) The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

14) The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

15) The Short 2nd Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer

16) Evernight by Claudia Gray

17) Stargazer by Claudia Gray

18) Hourglass by Claudia Gray

19) The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

20) Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

21) Recycler by Laren McLaughlin

22) The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

23) The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

24) Fallen by Lauren Kate

25) Maximum Ride: Angel Experiment by James Patterson

26) Maximum Ride: Schools out Forever by James Patterson

27) Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

28) Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

29) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

30) Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

31) Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

32) Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

33) Definately Dead by Charlaine Harris

34) All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

35) From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

36) Alone: Chasers by James Phelan

37) Need by Carrie Jones

38) Captivate by Carrie Jones

39) Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

40) Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

41) The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong

42) Tomorrow: When the war Began by John Marsden

43) Torment by Lauren Kate

44) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

45) Tomorrow 2: The Dead of Night by John Marsden

46) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

47) Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

48) Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

49) Tomorrow 3: The Third Day, The Frost by John Marsden

50) Tomorrow 4: Darkness by my Friend by John Marsden

Edited to add a couple more:

51) Angel by L.A.Weatherly

52) Tomorrow 5: Burning for Revenge by John Marsden

My sister has been my main influence for the change in the type of books I've been reading and she thinks it's hilarious that she has me reading all sorts of supernatural fiction these days and a lot of what I've read has been young adult fiction which has really surprised me..... if you'd like to know more about any of these books you can check them out on my Goodreads page here.

I would also love to hear what great books you've been reading and welcome any recommendations as my to-read pile is getting quite low now!

Until next time.......

Happy Mail

2010-12-07T16:22:00.000+11:00

Today the mailman delivered my SSCS parcel all the way from Canada!
So now my Secret Santa swap partner is not so secret anymore.... Kaaren of "The Painted Quilt" is my partner and if my lovely ornaments are anything to go by then I just can't wait to tear into my other parcel. Hmmm.... I may just have to ask the kids to hide it for me until Christmas so that I'm not tempted to open it early!

Not one but two cute little ornaments which have already found the perfect spots in my home :)

The bottom parcel is the one I'm trying very hard not to open....

I also received a cute little snowman note pad!

Kaaren sent a lovely note with her parcel and apologised for not being able to include a Christmas card with her gifts.... she is in the process of moving house and when I say moving house I don't just mean across town but 1000 miles away....OMG! I'm amazed she was organised enough to put a parcel together at all!

Thankyou so much Kaaren :) and thanks again to Chooky for hosting such a great swap!

Until next time......

Water Rising!

2010-12-05T17:21:00.001+11:00

Lots of excitement in our little town of Narromine at the moment..... this is the view from outside my parents house a short while ago:

This roof covers the play equipment which is now completely underwater.

An old steam engine in the park

Football field

These ones were taken at the bridge on the edge of town:

Yesterday it measured 11metres..... today it's 13.1 and still rising.

Lets hope it doesn't get too much higher!

Until next time........

Oooops! and other stuff

2010-11-30T13:13:00.000+11:00

My name is Thimbelina.... and I'm a bad blogger!

It seems my one year blogiversary slipped by on the second of October and I didn't even notice, LOL.
Things have been pretty hectic in my household of late which hasn't left me much time for my hobbies except for a couple of secret items. I've only got one more swap to complete now! YAY

My own birthday also came and went on the 19th and I had every intention of blogging about how spoilt I was.... Here are a couple of the crafty things I received.....

The dear little box held a Spotlight voucher! Most of my other things I received such as books, chocolates, wine and various kitchen and household items are now either spread out throughout the house or have since been consumed! YUM

I've also started working on this quilt which I picked up from my Uncle Ron on the weekend..... Sadly, It's one my Aunt didn't get a chance to finish before she passed away almost six months ago now and I'm glad to have been asked to complete it for her.

Hope you're all managing to fit in a little crafty time as the silly season approaches!

Until next time....

2 swaps down, 1 to go!

2010-11-25T18:48:00.000+11:00

More secret sewing happening here...... My SSCS parcel is now making it's way overseas to ?????

Here's my parcel looking all Christmassy....complete with strategically placed ribbon so as not to ruin the surprise for my recipient....LOL

As of early today Chookyblue was still waiting on quite a lot of parcels to be posted...... lets hope they're now all on their way so as not to cause Chooky too much stress.... she really does do a wonderful job in organising it all and we do want her to do it all again next year right?

Hopefully I'll have something I can show you soon!

Until next time.........

Fabric love!

2010-11-20T14:52:00.000+11:00

I've just found a great giveaway over at Retro Mummy from the gorgeous new fabric range Sweet Broderie by Rosalie Quinlan........ so pretty don't you think?

Why not head over and enter?

Until next time......

Another One

2010-11-17T20:10:00.001+11:00

Not feeling very wordy tonight but I wanted to share some pics of another Frilly dilly bag I whipped up for someone extra special.... lets just hope she's not poking about my blog! It's much the same as the one I made for Khris in the recent Friends Swap here.

Until next time.......

Pattern Intimidation!

2010-11-12T11:30:00.000+11:00

Is it just me or do you all have one of those patterns that you find intimidating??

I bought this cute little Izzy and Ivy pattern sometime ago.....Isn't that hat just adorable?

Anyway, since I wasn't doing anything with it I gave it to my friend Paula who wasn't the big scaredy-cat that I was..... this is what she came up with (and I think this is only a sample of the ones she has made):

Aren't they gorgeous?? I can just see Paula's Miss 4 looking lovely in these....... So now, as you could imagine... I think I may have to get over my intimidation and acutally make one myself!

I'd love to hear what crafty thing you find intimidating!

Until next time........

Playing catch up!

2010-11-06T13:48:00.002+11:00

On Tuesday I had a visit from a dear friend of mine who was keen for a lesson on making a couple of items she'd seen on my blog:

We started on a book pouch for her Mr 10......

in suitably blokey camo fabric:

And finished with a dear little Retro Mummy dress for Miss 1.....

who was NOT impressed with having to try it on at the end of a long day!

Overall, a productive day...............

Although, I'm surprised we got around to sewing anything considering how much talking we did!

Thanks for a great day Trish.....Hugs xoxo

Until next time....

F.R.I.E.N.D.S ..... again!

2010-11-02T08:00:00.001+11:00

So this is the last handmade item I sent in my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel to Khris........ an Embroidered Heat pack!

I used Frolic fabric that was leftover from the runner I made and I think the stitchery was one from a Gardners Journal?? by Hatched and Patched.... the rest I just made up as I went along.

The inner bag is made from calico and filled with rice.

Until next time.....

More F.R.I.E.N.D.S

2010-10-31T10:00:00.002+11:00

Another of the items I sent in my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel to Khris...... A Runner made using the Skinny Verna tutorial from Moda Bake Shop and some lovely Frolic charms squares I won from Princess Martha a while ago for helping her source a much-needed sewing book. Again, I used the No-snit Binding tutorial from You Go Girl... which means no hand sewing the binding down and a really neat finish....Love it!

Until next time.........

F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap continued

2010-10-28T20:06:00.001+11:00

Well now that I know Khris has opened her F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel I can finally start to share with you what I sent:

F is for Fridge Magnets
R is for Runner
I is for Inspiration (Magazines)
E is for Embroidered Heat Pack
N is for Notecards
D is for Dilly Bag
S is for Sweets

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of the bought items and of everything together so I only have pics of the things I made............. The Frilly "Dilly Bag" was my favourite so I'll start with it:

I just love this pattern by Janelle Wind and I'm sure I'll be making a few more of them soon!

Until next time......

So Spoilt!

2010-10-26T08:01:00.001+11:00

When I got home from work yesterday I was very excited to find my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel had arrived.... WooHoo! I sent mine off the pevious week but my partner Khris wanted to wait until I'd received mine before opening hers.... very sweet! I don't know how she managed to wait with it sitting there looking at her, although, I know the red frogs were calling to her and didn't survive the wait (since they were wrapped in cellophane and easily visible). I had a lovely time getting to know Khris and was thrilled to have the host of the swap as my partner. She did a wonderful job organising the swap and managed to do two swaps herself!
So here's what I received:

All beautifully wrapped..... not for long!

F.................... is for Fabric Charm Squares

R............................................. is for Roses

I....................... is for Items for the Kitchen

E.................................. is for Ellie Elephant

N..................... is for Notebook and Nailfile

D.......................... is for Duo of Dishtowells

S...is for Snap coin purse and Shopping Bag

Unwrapped.... what a lovely bunch of loot!

And a couple of close-ups:

Gorgeous dishtowells.... almost too pretty to use, I just love the yummy fabric Khris has used to decorate them, a charm pack of Lily and Will (scrumptious) and the cutest little coin purse!

A lovely set of four placemats with matching coasters and a pot holder........the placemats have a lovely weight to them and they're all beautifully made! I know these will get a lot of use.

This lovely notebook which has been embellished with my name and a nailfile.... very handy!

Yummy roses chocolates (which seem to have disappeared), charm squares (again) and the cutest little Heather Bailey pattern for an Elephant pincushion... can't wait to make this one. :)

The close-up of the shopping bag didn't turn out but you can see a glimpse of it on the left of the first photo.... it's a huge big sturdy bag that will hold lots of goodies!

Thankyou so much Khris, both for organising such a fun swap and for all my beautiful pressies that you so carefully put together..... I love them all and can't wait to hear what you think of the bundle I sent you!

Until next time......

Wee little dresses

2010-10-18T18:37:00.000+11:00

I almost forgot to show you these little beauties I whipped up a couple of weeks ago using Retro Mummy's great pattern..... this would have to be the simplest little dress pattern I've come across!

This one ended up being a bit too small for it's intended recipient....

so I'll have to make a bigger one and find a new home for this one (Size 0).

This one is on it's way to our little niece who has not long turned 2!

Aren't they cute?

I'm thinking about buying the license for these so that I can make a few to sell at markets or maybe even in an Etsy shop sometime soon.

Until next time.......

Shhhhh!

2010-10-14T22:29:00.003+11:00

Earlier this week I posted off my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap parcel to Khris......... hoping it might arrive at it's destination tomorrow and fingers crossed that Khris likes her goodies as much I enjoyed making and buying them!

Don't they look pretty all in red

(which just happens to be Khris' favourite colour ;).

Until next time.......

Club Quilt

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

Another lovely day at Club Quilt on Sunday...... again I can't show you what I was working on as that would ruin the surprise (Sorry...I'm making a habit of teasing you aren't I?). There weren't many of us there this week but we did get a visit from the lovely Chookblue and family on their way home from holiday.... sounds like they had a great time and I'm sure you'll be able to read about it soon on Chooky's blog.

Anyway...I was lucky enough to come home with one of the GYMB prizes for the month...... a dear little Stitchers Companion made by Peg:

Such pretty fabrics and I love the ric-rac and covered button...very cute!

It's just the right size to carry a small project in when travelling.

Until next time......

Christmas sewing!

2010-10-09T21:42:00.000+11:00

I've managed to make a start on some Christmas sewing today..... and the first project on my list was another tiered dress for my little 4yo niece who just loved the one I made for her birthday. This time I used beautiful bright spring colours:

Miss 11 tells me she'd like one just like it and I think she's very tempted to try to squeeze into this one....maybe I had better put it out of sight in case I find her stuck in it....lol.

And I thought she was getting too big for cute little twirly dresses!

I love these gorgeous fabrics from the Sandi Henderson Meadowsweet range....

aren't they just scrumptious??

Thanks to the lovely Melissa at Polka Dot Chair for her great tutorial which you can find here.

Until next time.........

I just love these!

2010-10-08T08:56:00.000+11:00

Since the book pouch I made Miss 11 was such a hit, I just had to make a couple more! This is what I was working on last Wednesday as well as some more secret stitching. I've now almost got my F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap ready to send off.... so will be able to post some piccy's of that soon too!

One of these has already been delivered to another young reader I know who just loves books.... 13yo Georgina travels an hour each way on the school bus and spends most of this time reading so I couldn't help making one for her just because! Who doesn't love "just because" pressies??

I used the "Snap Happy" pattern again by Stitchin' Sisters and Michael Miller fabrics and the only difference between the two is the the colour of the little pull tabs on the sides.

Until next time........

Exciting news

2010-10-06T15:29:00.000+11:00

Well I have actually been spending some time sewing today.... some of it secret swap stuff and other just for fun stuff but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see what I'm creating as I've got other more exciting news to share with you today......

I haven't been game to post about this until settlement was complete....

but we're now the proud owners of this little 4.5 acre block of land on the edge of town! It's a very exciting step for us as we've been talking about buying a few acres for years and while it's not huge I think it will suit us perfectly!

We wont be building our house there for some time as we still need to sell our current house first but we will be putting up a great big shed and I'm sure that I'll bore you all to tears with building stories over the next year or two.

Until next time.......

Mmmm.....Pie!

2010-10-02T09:43:00.001+10:00

Well not much sewing going on here at the moment. My time yesterday was taken up with boring stuff like housework in preparation for my Sister and family arriving for the weekend. It's an 8 hour drive to my Sister's place from here so unfortunately we don't get to see each other often (which makes her visit special enough for me to put my sewing aside, lol).

Miss 11 made a very yummy lasagne for dinner last night which we had with my roast vegeatable salad and I attempted a Lemon Meringue Pie for dessert.... I don't know why but I've always been a bit intimidated by meringue....Not any more! I used a recipe I found online at: http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/06/lemon-meringue-pie-recipe.html

It turned out great and was a bit hit....will definately be making it again :)

Dinner is at Mum's tonight where we get to babysit my little niece while my Sister and her hubby go to her 15 year school re-union....so a great family weekend....just a shame my hubby is away on a work trip at the moment!

Until next time.....

Book pouch

2010-09-25T16:16:00.002+10:00

I've been planning on making some book bags for quite a while now as Miss 11 is an avid reader and rarely goes anywhere without a book of some kind. It always upsets her when one of her precious books gets knocked about in her school bag and a leaking drink bottle is a disaster! I attempted one version with a flap and magnetic clasp closure which proved way too difficult to sew together since I was using plastic on the outside.

I ended up using the "Snap Happy" bag pattern by Stitchin' Sisters and just adjusted the measurements to fit a good sized book. I also sewed across the bottom corners so that it would have a flat bottom and used a layer of plastic over the external fabric to protect it a bit more...... Miss 11 is delighted! I just need to get busy and make a couple more now... Such a great gift for any reader and I could use one myself too!

I just love how this pattern uses a piece of old metal tape measure to make the snap closure....very clever!

Until next time......

Ooops!

2010-09-23T19:51:00.001+10:00

While at Cobar last weekend I bought some fabric that I thought would look nice made up into a top.... I had a specific pattern in mind, the only problem was I didn't have the pattern with me when I purchased the fabric so I guessed how much I would need.....Not. Very. Smart! I ended up having to cut it a little narrower to squeeze it out of the metre of fabric I bought, with the result that...It doesn't fit me! :(

Here it is modelled by my Miss 11.... It's quite roomy on her but you get the idea :

The pattern is "Amelia" shirt pattern by Frogslegs and Ponytails... and I can't find the name of the fabric (which I'm well and truly over now)

Jo was delighted when I gave it to her at work today.... and it fits her very nicely so I'm glad someone will be getting some wear out of it...lol

Until next time......

Club Quilt

2010-09-19T22:50:00.000+10:00

After much organising on the home front I finally had the all-clear to join the Club Quilt ladies on a trip over to the lovely Cobar Quilt Shop yesterday..... and what a great day it was! The weather was fine, the company and food were great and the welcome we received was awesome. Colleen looked after us very well and we also had a chance to see the lovely Jellywares shop that was recently opened by Jodie who you might know from her blog also called Jellywares.... such a beautiful shop!

It was certainly well worth the two and a half hour drive for a spot of retail therapy and I think we all slept well last night after our big day.

Inside Cobar Quilt Shop:

Jodies Beautiful shop:

Thanks to Peg and Fiona for the pics.... as I didn't take any myself.

Until next time....