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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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.....