September Christmas item

Oh dear, I am three days late with my Christmas item but I decided to finish my snowman ornament anyway.  It is from a paper foundation pattern by Mary Herschleb designs and includes the four ornaments I made.  I had great intentions at the beginning of the year to make larger Christmas items like table runners and a tree skirt but so far have only managed little ornaments each month. I guess there is always next year!  Thanks again to Narelle for her encouragement each month.  As well as making a snowman this week, I have also been working on my niece's cot quilt, just one more border to go.  It has been challenging for me trying to choose a modern palette but hopefully I have succeeded.    I couldn't resist buying some gerberas this week, the colours are amazing.  Paul has almost finished repainting our lounge the same soft grey we used in our bedroom here, we loved it so much and it really makes the gerberas pop!  Wendy xx

It's spring time

Spring time stitchery I made Michelle

Spring stitchery Michelle made me

The weather here has been crazy: sunny, rainy, hot, cold, and last night I was kept awake with a thunderstorm that sounded right above our house.  September is almost done and I am writing my first post of the month!  Life has been busy lately: trying to keep up with work and kids, and some of our friends have been suffering with health issues so I have been fitting in visiting with them.
Michelle and I sent and received our spring time stitcheries for the Let's Celebrate swap with Mrs Martin's quilt shop.  I sewed the Home Tweet Home picture for Michelle which was a free pattern I found here and I added in some fat quarters too.  Michelle made me the gorgeous Red Brolly cat stitchery and gave me some other goodies too.  Now to decide how to finish it off, I am thinking maybe a cushion.
I am keeping up with my Chateau Hexagon quilt and have started block four.  I have also started making a cot quilt for a niece who has her first baby in December.  I finished Charlie's jumper and immediately started a cardy for me as well as sewing a top and blouse for myself and I have a dress half sewn.  I am definitely interested in having a more homemade wardrobe but I will save that for another post :)  Wendy xx

I've been spoilt

Michelle is my swap partner for the Let's Celebrate swap and she thoroughly spoilt me for my birthday. Look at the beautiful pouch she made me, I love the design and the fabrics. The project box is perfect for storing the blocks I'm working on and Michelle very generously filled it with lots of lovely goodies. Thank you so much Michelle, I love it all!
And thank you everyone for your get well wishes after my last post, you are all so kind!  I am much better and have got back to some crafting this week.  A bit of painting (which is different for me!) and knitting.  The jumper is for Charlie and the photo shows my first attempt.  I reluctantly decided it was too large for Charlie so have re-knitted it in a size small and with tighter tension.  Thankfully it is fitting her well this time and I am up to the bottom rib.  There has also been a little bit of stitching done lately but as it is all for gifts so I cannot show you it yet!  Wendy xx

August Christmas item

I have had a quiet week fighting a cold, with sore throat and temperatures.  Over the weekend I've been reading and watching Wives and Daughters and generally laying low.  I had hoped to make two ornaments this month but have not really felt like sewing or doing anything much!  I did finish this little Santa though for my one Christmas item a month.  Thanks to our Chief Elf Narelle for encouraging us each month! Wendy xx

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