Giveaway - One Year Anniversary

Today is the day, one year since I began blogging. It was a very tentative start but now I'm hooked. (DD says that 'hooked' isn't the word for it.) It's great to be able to see all the beautiful works and meet such wonderful people.

Many thanks for the lovely comments and encouraging words, it's like having an extended family. I mentioned to DD about being challenged to finish her WIP's, so we might see about a Christmas deadline. She also has a mug mat that I'm about to put the binding on ready for her to hand stitch the back, so that should be finished before she goes back to Uni.

So on to my giveaway, just a small something in the spirit of milestones reached. Below are 5 of the 8 mug mats I made. Just leave a comment with your choice of which 2 you would like to own. I'll do a random draw next Tuesday at noon.

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

The remaining 3 will be done up and donated to my school's "Christmas in July" Cent Sale.

Quilting Wishes

Finally Something Finished

I've done it! I've actually finished something, or somethings. Here's to the first of my challenge items for Peg's finish 5 by the end of July. They're only small but there was four of them.

I'll be posting photos of them tomorrow along with a small giveaway. Yes, I have reached a milestone. It occured to me the other day that I began by blog back in July last year, the 10th to be exact was my first entry.

Tomorrow being the 10th of July, I'm going to give away two of my mug mats to one lucky reader. So I hope you'll come back then to have a look see and maybe add a comment to enter.

DD has been home from Uni on holidays and has been working on a cross stitch. Today she decided to do some more sewing on her patchwork table runner she started, I won't say when.

Good or bad, she takes after me in having a few projects on the go at once. She also has a hand embroidery piece on the go and a scrappy block number that will become a large cushion cover. And a wall hanging waiting to be sandwiched and quilted.

Lucky for hubby and I, she also loves to try out new recipes and has been keeping our sweet teeth satisfied.

My Mum and Dad are visiting for a few days, bad timing with the cold snap upon us. Good for spending the days in the lounge in front of the heater with our crafts. Last time I visited them I took some photos of some of mum's crocheted rugs so when I get them from my phone to the computer, I'll share them too.

Quilting Wishes,

Summer Swap Peak and Flowers

I'm back and faster than ever. Sadly my old computer was just TOO old and there was nothing that could be done for it so I had to juggle the budget and buy a new tower. I'm still using my old monitor, speakers etc.

Here's just a little sneak peak at my summer swap quilt. I'm currently doing some embroidery on it and then it's ready to sandwich and quilt.

I've also completed the top for project 1 and ready to sandwich and quilt. Today I plan to get the binding on the rest of the mug mats ready for some hand sewing at night so everything is coming along for finish 5 by end July. More work on the chenille bag is scheduled for Friday (fingers crossed).

You can tell that I'm one of those who have multiple projects on the go all at once instead of completeing one and then going on.

This photo was taken on my mobile phone. One of my mother's pride and joys, bougainvillea. She has a row of pots with different coloured flowers.

It's another cold and blustery day today with showers, perfect for staying indoors and sewing.

Quilting Wishes

Birthday Girl

My best friend is having a birthday today and she not long ago started her own blog so pop on over and say g'day.



A purchase or two from the chemist has done wonders for my headcold. My sewing progress is coming along nicely. Project 1 has a lot of points so it's slow and steady and my little summer swap quilt is coming together. I have a sneak peek photo on my camera but my computer is in at the doctors so I'm using DD laptop at the moment. Depends if I can upload photos to it.



The wind is picking up outside so it's looking like a lovely day for staying indoors and sewing. Off I go.



Happy Sewing

Pass the Paracetamol Please

Well, last Friday came and went and I didn't make it to Patchwork day. Thursday I could feel it coming on and sure enough Friday morning woke up with an A grade head cold. Luckily, my brother phoned to say he would be in town and could bring DS home for the weekend, so I spent Friday with the tissue box.

I did manage to pull out some fabrics for the first of my 5 to be finished by end July. I'll call this "project 1" as it's for a competition and I don't think I can show anything about it till after the judging. Yesterday I was able to get some sewing done and the top is about 2/3 finished.

Today my plan is to finish piecing the top for "project 1" and make a good start on my Four Seasons Summer quilt.

If you're like me and could use a pretty tidy bin, Sarah's Crafty Nook is giving one away to celebrate her 100th post.

Back to the sewing machine.

Ready for a Challenge

I'm being brave and have joined in a challenge that Peg is having over at Happy In Quilting. Not off to a great start with things looking like no sewing till our patchwork day on Friday 27 June but after that is school holidays. So two weeks of no going to work means mega sewing time, fingers crossed.

Indoor Weather

Today's weather is as predicted by the weather guys. Freezing cold blustery winds, perfect for staying indoors all day. So it's full steam ahead with the housework with intermittent bursts of sewing to break the drudge.

Here's the fabric for my chenille bag I started at patchwork last Friday. All sewn and I just began to slice with my chenille cutter.

The two red fabrics I bought on Tuesday . . . . . just because. The black is for my single bed horse quilt but also works with the reds.

And here is my fabric ready to become a Summer Quilt for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap. I have a design in my head and sizings written down on a piece of paper so let the fun begin.

Lastly, this was my 45km (28 mile) drive to work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with the thickest fog on Friday.

Change of Plans

Last night we had a change of plans for today which has left me with a couple of hours spare this morning. So I grabbed my camera and went for a quick stroll.

This mandarine tree is my view from the kitchen sink and I wanted to share it. They're nice and sweet too.

I'm so pleased with my Zygo Cacti and intend to acquire a few more. Thanks to Helz I now know what they are called. I have two plants this colour, a pink with 3 flowers and a red with it's first flower. Nothing like these though, visit here for a vibrant display of colour.

Ever robust and ever flowering, i snapped these little Billy Goats, still wet with the dew.

This is DD's air plant. She was disappointed last year when it never flowered, but it's making up for it this year with three. Stay tuned.

Now I'm off to cook up a batch of Anzac Biscuits for lunches this week.

And thanks girls for your comments, it's always lovely to here from you.

Where Does The Time Go? and Thankyou

Firstly I want to say a very big THANKYOU to all the lovely people out there in blogland. You don't know it but you have been keeping me sane these last couple of weeks. Life just seems to keep finding more and more things for me to do but there is never any extra time handed out.

I did manage to get to our groups patchwork day around lunch time yesterday. They had a special day where some stayed on till 6pm so that ladies who usually work could pop in later. It was wonderful and I even managed to get some sewing done. Photos another day as I haven't even had time today to unpack my sewing things. I started on a Chenille Bag that I purchased as a kit from Dew Drop Inn, Hervey Bay. (Guess I need to add that to the WIP list).

So why the thankyou? Each night when I make time to check my emails, I squeeze in a quick visit to bloglines and catch up with a couple of you each time. It helps me wind down, reading what you've been up to and admiring all the beautiful works being shown.

I'm off to town Tuesday for a shopping day and on my list is some fabric. So I'll be able to finish off the mug mats and keep working on the single bed horse quilt among other things.

Must dash, it's early to bed for this worn out old hen.

Ready For Wrapping

Not only have I finished the towel for my niece but her birthday isn't till Saturday so I'm ahead for once. She took some scraps of this horse fabric home with her last time, so I saved some and have appliqued it to this white towel. Her mum is hoping it will become her new comforter (in time) as the old one is a mere scrap of it's former self.

I've also finished a mug mat for FIL using some gardening fabric from my very first quilt.

This pinky one just needs the binding hand sewn on the back, and of the remaining four, three are quilted and awaiting bindings. Somehow I didn't cut enough batting so the last one is waiting patiently.

Here is my Rainbow Wall Hanging WIP which I managed to do some free motion quilting on at our patchwork group last Friday. I'm very happy with the way this daisy chain has turned out and the flame quilting was done a while back. I've also shadow quilted around the applique. (Click on the photos to see the quilting)

Now I have a dilemma for which I would love to here your opinions. My original plan was to have the chain of orange and plum blocks run horizontal - first picture - hence the flame quilting. But on Friday I accidently held it the other way - second picture - and now I like both.

I'm very new to machine quilting so other ideas on quilting the remaining sections would be very helpful also.

Wow, hope this isn't too long winded and thankyou if you're still here. For a treat, pop over and visit Jo Jo at Home Sweet Home, she's having a giveaway.

Edited 28 May: Sorry, I've fixed up the link to Jo Jo's now.

Happy Quilting

Beautiful Autumn Days

I am doing the washing and a major move on housework, really I am. But it's such a glorious day outside I just had to go for another walk with the camera. One could really get hooked on this.








Also I did make it to our patchwork group yesterday for 3 hours and got some free motion machine quilting done as well as worked on the mug mats. Will share pics of that later.

Happy Snapping

Photos From My Garden

This afternoon, I did as Chookyblue suggested, and took my camera for a walk around the garden. It was very peaceful just wandering around and here are some pictures I'd like to share.

Happy Quilting