Friday night sewing

Last night was the perfect night for sewing; the weather was cold and wet so I had the fire going, a movie on and then Nigellissima on TV.  I finished the third block for the Chateau Hexagon quilt; I'm still loving working on these blocks.  I also did a bit of secret sewing.  Thanks so much to Wendy for being our wonderful hostess!
Charlie had a such a nice day last Saturday.  Soccer in the morning and then her school banquet in the evening.  Her sweet cousin Maddi helped Charlie with her hair and makeup (I have no talent in that area!) and I think she looked beautiful.  I especially love the photo of her laughing.  The years are going by so quickly and Charlie is turning into a young woman before my eyes.  This year particularly she has matured a lot and become a sweet caring person, love you Charlie!! Wendy xx

Little finishes

I am sitting in front of my laptop with a cup of tea feeling rather pleased with myself, having just spent the last couple of hours weeding and tidying two of our gardens.  What a difference two hours can make!  The week has been a rather stressful busy one so it was nice to get outside and do something physical for a change.  I haven't had much crafting time but did finish Josh's crochet circle cushion last Sunday and I think the colours work well with his Boys Story quilt.  I used the flat circle tutorial from Attic24 and joined the two circles together with double crochet.  The cowl is a pattern from here and was a quick easy finish.  Mine is a bit thinner than the original as we don't have super bulky weight yarn in NZ but I have worn it a couple of times already this week and am really happy with it.  And lastly, I finally got a photo of Charlie in the dress I made her here.  It was a dull day so the colours are not true, the blue is really a navy.  She looks pretty cute in it I think!  It is Charlie's school banquet tonight and she has just come home from soccer, red-faced and muddy, and we were laughing about how she will be transformed from that to looking like a princess later!  Wendy xx

Friday night with friends and gifts

Cheryll hosted Friday night with friends last night so it was the perfect opportunity to start this month's Chateau Hexagon block.  I got as far as appliqueing the wheelbarrow and started the stitching.
Yesterday was also my birthday and I was spoilt with lovely gifts from family; phone calls; a lunch date with my three sisters and a niece.  Paul looked after dinner and I had got Jack the Giant Slayer from the DVD store so I was able to settle in to my evening of stitching.
Look at the wonderful gifts in the second photo that I received from Leanne.  She had even wrapped the parcel in a gorgeous spotted ribbon.  Thank you Leanne, I love everything and you helped make the day special.
The last swap for Mrs Martin's lets celebrate was a morning tea swap and Michelle sent me two lovely house mug rugs with the pretty tag and teabag.  Since tea is my go-to drink, I can confirm they are getting lots of use!  I made Michelle the Tea Time mug rug which is a free pattern here.  Then just for fun I made her the crochet mug cosy from Mollie Makes magazine, issue 7.  I'm not sure how useful it is but I thought it was kind of cute!
We are enjoying spring-like weather here today, it has been such a mild winter.  Lovely. Wendy xx

Introducing Miss Maggie Rabbit

School holidays are coming to an end and we have had plenty of time to unwind, time with friends and occasional outings too.  Yesterday we went to Despicable Me 2, such a fun movie, we all love the minions.  I have spend my down times happily stitching away on Miss Maggie and she is now finished, complete with a liberty dress, old fashioned boots and a knitted capelet.  I made one change to the pattern and that was to make her a pompom tail.  The link is here if you are interested in the pattern.  Miss Maggie whispered in my ear that she would rather not be where the cats can reach her so for now she is looking after my blue china, Wendy xx

July Christmas item

I was determined to finish some Christmas items after missing last month! I made two little ornaments from a paper foundation pattern by Mary Herschleb.  The pattern also includes a cute Santa and snowman that I may try next month.  I took these photos on Monday when the sun made a welcome appearance in the afternoon.  Little Holly was making the most of the sunshine too, napping in a warm spot.  A big thank you to Narelle at Pins and Whiskers for organising a Christmas item each month!  I am having so much fun this week, creating a cute little someone and doing a bit of crochet, simple pleasures!  Wendy xx

Friday night sew in

Wendy from sugarlane quilts hosted FNSI last night and that was the perfect incentive for me to finish the second block of the Chateau Hexagon quilt, such a cute little block.  I added the last stitches this morning although I really should be doing housework!  Thanks Wendy for being our wonderful host.
We are in the middle of school holidays here so I have been reasonably busy, however I have completed one side of the crochet cushion I am making and I made time on Thursday and Friday to sew Charlie a dress.  It is from a gorgeous book called Home Sewn which has a lovely introduction about the origin of New Zealand fashion and home sewing.  There are also ten patterns from leading NZ designers.  Hopefully I will get a photo of Charlie in her dress at some stage to share.  Well, no more procrastinating for me, I must get on with my day, Wendy xx

A little finish

A couple of weeks ago Charlie requested I make something to hang from her little white shelves.  I decided to make an embroidery, a free pattern from the gorgeous blog, nana company.  I reduced the pattern by 25% so it would fit into the hoop I bought, then finished it simply by leaving it in the hoop with felt sewn on the back.  Done!
I have been trying desperately to photograph the many birds that visit my bird feeder but my camera just isn't up to the job.  We get lots of sparrows visiting but also gorgeous little green finches that I had never seen before.  You can see the one sitting on the branch more clearly than the one on the feeder.  We are enjoying the extra birds so much that we are now putting out lard as well to encourage the white-eyes.  It has been so mild here lately, more like spring than winter, although there is a cold snap forecast.  I was pleased to find erlicheer flowering in my garden already, quickly bringing them inside to enjoy their fresh scent, Wendy xx