Easter swap

 

I loved being part of Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop Christmas Angel swap last year so this year I joined in her Let's Celebrate swap.  My partner is Michelle and our first task was to make each other an Easter gift.  I made Michelle a revoluzzzionary easter bunny and a Red Brolly googy bag filled with Easter chocolates.  They arrived safely so I can show them now.  

I put the last stitch in Charlie's quilt today, I am so pleased to have it completely finished and I will post some photos once I get some.  Wishing you all a lovely Easter, Wendy xx

Another phone pouch

Josh (13 years) has been asking for a MP4 cover since I made one for Charlie here so on Sunday I got him to choose fabrics and away I went.  I used the phone pouch pattern from Anni Downs 'In the Life of a Bag' book but appliquéd a more Josh appropriate picture on the front - Sonic the hedgehog!
We had a fab day on Saturday, the youth group went to Arapuni which is about an hours drive from home.  There is a dam, a lake, and a swing (suspension) bridge that is 54 metres above the water!  It is a beautiful spot on the Waikato River which is our longest river in New Zealand.  After a hike we had a picnic lunch and the kids enjoyed a swim and jumping off a rope swing on a island.  The swing bridge was a bit daunting for some, particularly as it sways with movement!  A beautiful day with perfect weather and scenery, Wendy xx

March Christmas item

Selbu Mitten, a traditional Norwegian design.  My March Christmas item, completed just in time.  The pattern is by Alicia Paulson, the cross stitch was worked with waste canvas over the felt and then I had to carefully wet and then remove the canvas, something new for me to try.  I love the look of cross stitch so I am happy with my little mitten ornament.  I am linking with Narelle at Pins and Whiskers for the one Christmas item a month, hopefully I will be back tomorrow with another little finish, Wendy xx

Crochet and dressmaking

I had a productive weekend.
I got some buttons and a cushion inner and finished Charlie's cushion.  Thanks so much to Lisa and Jane for sharing their crochet-a-long.  It was the inspiration I needed to get my wool out and get crocheting.  The pattern is the Copenhagen pillow.  I couldn't work out how to join the squares together along the way so I used this tutorial from the wonderful Attic24 blog to crochet them together later.  Then I used this tutorial from the lovely Cherry Heart blog to make the back.  After sewing on buttons and putting the pillow in I was done!  I love the look and Charlie loves it too!
I also got started on this month's Christmas item.  And I made myself a dress.  The Colette Sewing Handbook is a fabulous book that I bought last year.  It has five patterns and heaps of tips and fitting guides. I made the dress on the front cover, the Pastille dress and did my best to adjust it to fit me.  By some lucky fluke I bought a fabric that holds it's shape well but also has plenty of stretch so it is quite accommodating to my figure!  The dress isn't perfect but it looks okay.
After 2-3 months of no rain, we have finally had some over the weekend.  At this stage it isn't enough to break the drought but hopefully we will get a bit more soon.  Wendy xx

A lovely weekend

The weekend was lovely.  Exciting, joyful and happy.  It started with a parcel arriving for me on Saturday morning.  Paul got it from the mailbox and the conversation went something like this:
Me (excited) - I know what that is.
Paul - Did you buy something?
Me - No, but Lynne (my partner in the Christmas Angel swap) said she had a little gift to post me.
Me (reading the card) - She knows Gail Pan ... and she is friends with Rosalie Quinlan!
Me - Look at the pretty sewing kit ... and the cross stitched 'W' ... (opening the sewing kit) and tiny little embroidery scissors!
Paul and Charlie - laughing at me as my voice gets higher and higher.
Me - And there's a Gail Pan pattern ... and a Christmas pattern ... and look at the pretty fabric!
Paul and Charlie - laughing at the tear in my eye.
Me - And there's more, look at the Rosalie Quinlan patterns (happy squeal!)
Yes, I was pretty happy, thank you so much Lynne for my lovely, lovely gift.
Saturday afternoon we had our friends wedding and I got the cross stitch framed just in time.  It was a wedding filled with joy and happiness although I did forget to bring my camera!  Sunday morning was church followed by a relaxing afternoon at home.  I am working on the back of my crochet-a-long cushion, using the tutorial here by the lovely Sandra at Cherry Heart.  Thank you Sandra for such a great tutorial, it is perfect for what I needed, Wendy xx

Crochet-a-long

We are having a busy time here, busy weeks and then busy weekends too!  This last weekend we had our annual church family camp at Raglan.  The sight from our bedroom window was awe-inspiring, overlooking the Tasman Sea.  The view from that place takes my breath away each year.  The only crafting I have had time for is my crochet cushion, I am loving how quick and portable it is.  Thanks so much to Lisa for the encouragement to do this.  The colours go so well with Charlie's quilt so it is obvious who it is intended for!  I'm not sure what to do for the back so my next step will be to work that out.
I had to include the cute pussy photos that the kids captured lately.  Holly is such a sweetie and sleeps with her head plonked on the floor, and Barney, well he is just Barney!  Wendy xx

Charlie's quilt

 Such an exciting parcel was waiting for me when I got home from work yesterday.  Leeanne at quiltmekiwi has finished quilting Charlie's quilt and she has done such a fantastic job.  Charlie and I both love the quilting Leeanne has done, it looks stunning and suits the quilt perfectly.  Some of the thread she used is variegated rainbow colours (probably not the correct terminology!) and it goes so well with the embroidery thread I used.  We loved the message Leeanne quilted along the bottom for us too, Charlie thought it was a shame that it would be cut off!  So, thank you Leeanne, we love what you did.  Charlie's room has been newly wall papered and painted pink, so once I finish binding the quilt I will show you how it all looks together.
We are enjoying the last of the summer days although the ground all around is brown and the poor farmer's are saying it is a drought.  My potted strawberries are still providing us with berries; our home grown sweetcorn is perfectly sweet and juicy; and we have most of our evening meals on the deck.  We call it our green room as we are surrounded by trees, Wendy xx