Vignette progress and swap mail

I was determined to finish blocks 5 and 9 of the Vignette quilt before I could go back to Christmas sewing and I am pleased to say I have finally finished them!

Here are the completed blocks on my design wall bed.  Not a very good photo, but it gives the idea.

I received my Great Global Christmas swap from Kim (no blog) in America, when I saw the courier coming I ran to the door!  Kim was so generous and gave me lots of lovely gifts ...

It was wrapped in this beautiful fabric

Look at all the goodies - a notepad, 6 fat quarters of fabric, a hand made box, and a wash cloth and a mug rug that Kim made

In the hand made box was hand cream, Christmas buttons, a Christmas decorations and nail files

Kim also made me this cute snow man wall hanging, it looks perfect with some of my Christmas decorations!

So, as you can see, I was thoroughly spoilt!  Thanks Kim for my wonderful parcel and thanks again to Fiona for organising this swap.

It is starting to look a bit like Christmas around here, although someone (I am suspecting my son or husband!) keeps playing with one of the decorations ...



Hmmm ...

Ahhh, that looks better!

 It is Friday Night Sew In this Friday so I have signed up, see the button on the side if you are interested.  Now I have finished blocks 5 and 9 I am free to do some more Christmas sewing, I think I have the perfect project lined up.

I'm looking forward to sewing with you on Friday, Wendy

Great Global Christmas swap

I completed my swap gift for the Great Global Christmas swap a couple of weeks ago and it has already arrived in America to my swap partner Kim (no blog).  That means I can show you what I made for Kim ...

Good Friends Warm the Heart wall hanging - Michelle Ridgeway design from a Country Threads magazine

I also made Kim a bag to put the chocolates in ...

Festive Tree bag - Hatched and Patched design

And I added chocolates to the bag and gave Kim a tea towel and a fridge magnet with Pavlova recipe on it ...

Kim has posted my parcel and I am loving the thought of receiving something all the way from America!  A big thank you to Fiona Marie for organizing this swap.

We have just come home from a yummy dinner out to celebrate my father's birthday ...

Happy birthday Dad!

Family gatherings feel very special and caring after losing Mum and Dad has been such a dear in his obvious love of Mum.

In other news, the lovely Cherise has awarded me the Liebster Award.

This award is to showcase up and coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  Thank you so much Cherise for giving me this award and for the lovely comment you left!   The rules are to copy and post the award on your blog, thank the person who sent you the award and link back to their blog, then pick five blogs and leave them a comment.  Last time I received an award I struggled to pass it on in case other's didn't really want it, but this time I thought I would award it to some of the lovely ladies that I 'met' first through blog land, ones that meet the criteria, of course. 

Kristen at http://meadowbrook-kristen.blogspot.com/

Cate at http://vintagecate.blogspot.com/

Florence at http://chezprincessenounouche.blogspot.com/

Michelle at http://allthingsrustyandfabric.blogspot.com/

Josie at http://dillydimple.blogspot.com/

I love all the blogs that I read and I appreciate ALL the wonderful and encouraging comments I receive, thank you.

Happy stitching, Wendy

Lovely mail

Clare from Craft Lady in Kiwiland and I had a little swap, making each other pincushions.  The one I made Clare is here, and on Friday the cushion Clare made for me arrived in the mail.

Isn't it amazing?  Clare's stitching is beautiful and I love the mini embroidery threads and scissors that she has stitched.  Thank you so much Clare, I LOVE it!

What's been in my hoop this week?

I posted my Great Global Christmas swap gift this week so I put my other Christmas sewing to one side and have been stitching away on blocks 5 and 9 of the Vignette quilt. These blocks seem to have been a work in progress for a long time but perhaps that's because I keep getting side tracked with other projects!  I am determined to finish these before returning to Christmas stitching.  I had better get a move on!!

Happy stitching, Wendy

A finish and a busy weekend

Today I got some buttons and ribbon so I was able to finish the owl softie, so now he has eyes, a beak and a ribbon around his neck ...

Octavius the Owl - Jhoanna Aranez of One Red Robin in Homespun Magazine Vol 9.10

 

I love his cute little tail!

This little owl is for a colleague who is pregnant and her baby shower is next week.  I loved making this pattern and I like the effect of his quilted tummy.  I actually made it at 70% of the original size, I seem to have a thing for slightly smaller dolls and softies!  He is about 9" tall.  I think I will end up making more of these as both children have fallen in love with him and would like one!

I had a busy but lovely weekend.  On Saturday I travelled with some of my family to Raetihi to visit with my aunt.  After a three hour drive we arrived, such beautiful scenery that is so different to Hamilton.

Mount Ruapehu

Mount Ruapehu with the smaller Mount Ngauruhoe

Isn't it beautiful, there is something majestic about snowy mountains!  We had a lovely visit with my aunt and she loved the pincushion I made her.  I had a chance to look at her quilts and talk 'quilting' with her and we all enjoyed walking through her beautiful garden and through the little Raetihi village.  Dad enjoyed the day and it was a nice chance to hear some more family history.

On Sunday my husband and I headed in a different direction to Thames which is in the Hauraki gulf ...

So I travelled about 690 km this weekend, but with such lovely scenery and such nice times catching up with family, it was worth it!

Happy stitching, Wendy

FNSI results

This is a quick post to show my FNSI results ...

Please excuse the poor photo and poor lighting, I have just returned from Raetihi where I had a wonderful day with family, so I have taken a quick photo to show my Friday results - which is this cute little owl.  I need to purchase some buttons for his eyes (I have pinned the eyes in place at the moment to help choose the button colour) so I hope to complete him in the beginning of the week.  I will be back then and also share some photos of my outing today.

Happy stitching, Wendy

A pincushion finish!

I can finally show a finish tonight!  I have made a couple of pincushions as gifts, one is for Clare at Craftlady in Kiwiland.  Clare was lovely enough to offer to make me something so I suggested we did a swap instead so I could also make her a gift and we decided on pincushions.  The one I made her has arrived safely so I can show you ...

Petit Amour Pincushions - Lisa Pyke of Cubby House Crafts in the Homespun Magazine Vol 12.9

The back view with a little pocket for scissors.

I made a second one for an aunt as I am visiting her this Saturday.  As many of you know my mother died in August so my family have been trying to do more with Dad, who of course is lonely after losing his wife of 51 years.  So, my aunt is Dad's half sister and she lives in Raetihi which is about a three hour drive from where we are in Hamilton and we have only made the trip once in very sad circumstances when my aunt's husband died.  I am really looking forward to the day for a number of reasons:  it will be a lovely day for Dad; four of my family are going - Dad, my eldest sister and her husband, and me which means I get to 'wag' (i.e. have a day off!!), and my aunt is the only member in my close family or extended family who loves to quilt!!  To be honest, I think that is the point I am most excited about!!  I am looking forward to seeing what she is working on and I hope she will love her new pincushion.

Wow, two posts in two days, that's pretty good for me!

Happy stitching, Wendy

Tuesday's treasure

I have a new treasure to show today ...

Isn't it lovely?  I popped into one of my favourite shops yesterday to find a little gift for a friend and this nativity was the first thing I saw when I walked in.  I do have one nativity set but I had wanted another, I love Christmas and all the decorating but I also want to balance that with remembering the Messiah's birth.  I wandered through the rest of the shop and found something for my friend but then I was drawn back to this.  It came home with me and I do love it.

Don't forget to pop over to Melody's blog to enjoy other lovely treasures.

Happy stitching, Wendy