Postcards and Family Craftiness

Two more fabric postcards ready to take the plunge into the red mailbox. This first is for a birthday . . .

the heart card is for our July swap so I've just scraped inside the end of the month.




As for family craftiness, DD made this folder cover while home from Uni, so no UFO box for this little project.

My mother is into all types of crafts. This denim quilt she made from hand-me-down jeans and purchased the border fabric. She also made the cream bed ruffle.

Another little wall hanging of mums, featuring stained glass work.

Happy sewing be it with family or friends.

What I've Been Up To

I think I lost the month of July to everything being hectic at once. Combine that with a dodgy internet and I haven't been here as often as I'd like. So while all is good and quiet, may I share what I have managed to squeeze in.
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This is a pattern I purchased from Tazzie Quilts and I've been wanting to make up for a while so I made two. Pink for me . . .

Blue for my lovely FRIENDS Swapee, Marina.

I also finished off joining the strips for the month of June and embroidered the name of each month on each first strip from January to June.

Then I got stuck into July and finished with a week up my sleeve. To see more colourful calendar quilts, click on my sidebar link. You can also read where some of my fabrics come from as my stash isn't plentiful enough to cover 365 days of the year.

At our last patchwork day I managed to cut all the strips and backing squares, ready to make a start on our king bed quilt. Currently I have 36 x 6.5" blocks ready for the next step.

There are two fabric postcards awaiting my attention today so I may have more to share later on.

A New Blogger and a Giveaway

My lovely 'Christmas in July' swap partner has joined the blogging family. Click on over and give Carol at The Patch Craft a quilters' welcome.

While you're out and about, you might like to visit Kate at Stitched With Love. She's having a handy giveaway to celebrate the number 200.

I think I've managed to join in the Stitchers Angel Swap 2009. I say think because technology can be a pain in the you-know-what sometimes and I had to take the long way round.

July has vanished into thin air as far as I can tell but I hope to get some sewing done this weekend. I also have a few pics of things to share so I'm off to do a couple more things around the house and then we'll see.

Happy Sewing

Swap FRIENDS

It's a real test of patience when the parcel notice arrives in the mailbox and you're not going into town for another week!
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But it was well worth the wait for Marina's parcel of goodies for the FRIENDS Swap. I was thrilled by her thoughtfulness.


F - Feline Fabric and two Fat Felines
R - Rose gift cards with envelopes and Red Lindt chocolates
I - Iris fabric and Iron on Transfers
E - Eggs (fabric ones) in an Embroidery hoop
N - Notebook
D - Doily and a Dilly Bag
S - Scarf
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Plus some other choc and coffee goodies amongst the wonderful gifts, not all chocolates made it to the photo. Here's a close up photo of some of the beautiful gifts.


Below are the goodies I sent off to Marina, you can visit here to see more photos.

Many thankyous to Khris for organising this great swap. As always, I enjoyed the gathering as much as the receiving. Swaps are such a lovely way to meet new bloggers and make new friends.

Christmas In July

July 1 (yesterday) yipee! What seems like ages ago, I joined Karen's Christma In July Swap. We had a list of goodies to gather and post to our partner to arrive by July 1. Mine arrived last Wednesday and I was very good and didn't open it till yesterday morning.
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First opening revealed two lovely gold wrapped parcels and a festive greeting card with quilling.


DD helped with the unwrapping to reveal these wonderful gifts.
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The chocolate is almost gone and I'll be trying Carol's Pineapple Slice recipe very soon. A noodle roll made with beautiful rose fabric, to keep my work safe and Rudolph to hang on the Christmas Tree this December.


I look forward to making the 'Christmas Bon Bon' kit and the pin cushion and tape measure are already in use beside my sewing machine. I'm really taken with the red button christmas tree embroidery, it's so clever. Each was wrapped and tucked inside this pretty floral bag

including a special treat for my girls (cats).

This swap was lots of fun to take part in thanks to Karen's great organizing. I hope Carol enjoys her gifts as much as I did gathering them, pictures below.

Happy Sewing

Can You Smell The Roses?

It's been awhile since I've had some roses to share. I noticed these three getting ready to bloom and will keep a close eye on them.


Their scent is devine. Mum's favourite, the Double Delight.



Must be their last flourish before the chill takes over.



I'd be interested to know when others prune your roses?

I really must take more care of them, these have grown themsevles pretty much.

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The mailman brought my Christmas in July parcel today so now I must put it aside until July. Thankfully that's not to far away.

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Even closer is Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop - Cyber Stitching Day . . . . tomorrow! And I haven't even peaked in the parcel yet, although I am soooo tempted to take a look tonight to see what delights I'm in for tomorrow.

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To top it all off, I'm on two weeks holidays for the school break . . . . Yipee! Happy Sewing times ahead.

Enjoy your weekend.

Designer Blog Hop

Feel like having a Hopping Good Time! Then hop yourself over to Gudrun's blog to see what it's all about.

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10 Blogging Designers . . . free demos or patterns . . . giveaways . . . what more can you ask for?

Sneak Peak Time

Here they are, a couple of peaks at some of the goodies for my Christmas in July Swap.

Now to wrap and post.

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We woke to rain on the roof this morning and it hasn't let up. Just nice steady rain, although I did still have some washing on the line from yesterday, but I don't mind a bit. A great day for some sewing ... or I could get ahead on some bookwork ... mmm?

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I'll leave you with two photos of my mother's Zygo Cacti. She has six different colours in total but these two had the nicest blooms.

Happy Sewing

Nothing to Show ... Yet

Another week at full speed. Today I'm trying to finish off some secret goodies for swaps.
Hopefully I'll have some sneak peaks to share.

I've also had a quick look around Mandie's place and had a play with a couple of freebies. Now back to those finishes.

Just Checking In

I can't believe 12 days of June have almost been and gone, and I haven't had a chance to do a post!

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Still I have nothing to share. Life, cold weather, flat camera batteries and back pain have all joined together to keep my hands tied, so to speak. I have managed to keep working on a couple of things for swaps so these I can't really share till after they arrive.

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So to my swap partners, if you're hoping for sneak peaks, know that I am working away on your goodies. Yummy treats will be left until the very last moment so that I don't have to keep replacing them after giving in to temptation.

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I'm also excitedly awaiting my package for the Cyber Stitching with Mrs Martin's Quilt Shop. Not sure yet if I'll be able to leave it unopened until stitching time or not ... we'll see.

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Just to add some photo content, here is my brother's Moonlight Cactus, taken just as the sun was rising.

Hope everyone is finding a little 'me time'.

Wonky House 4 and May

With the power off for a little while this morning, there was nothing to do but finish this off ... my Wonky House #4.
They've been so much fun to do and we have Jenny to thank for her creativity and sharing the designs. I've now trimmed the four and have chosen a different fabric to border each house. Then I'll think about the next step.
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Yesterday I was very pleased with myself. I managed to sew all the May strips together for my Calendar Quilt and ... still have one day of May to spare. Neither April or May's fabrics came from my stash ... to find out more you might like to click on the logo on my sidebar.

I also have a plan for the fabric for June, but you'll have to wait till the end of June for those.

Happy Sewing

Perfect PIF

Now it's time for some show and tell fun.
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Wednesday's mail also brought me a parcel notification slip. Now I knew that Robyn had posted her PIF gift to me so I just had to get my hands on that parcel, quick smart.

I had heaps of fun just opening and photographing so hope you enjoy the retell.
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Pretty rose paper and pink ribbon.

Ok, now some red cellophane and pretty butterfly stickers.

Ooooh, there's more.


Ready?
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Ta Da!!!

The most beautiful rose fabric bag, impeccably made. A pocket on the outside and two pockets inside. I've already tried out my mobile phone and glasses... perfect fit.
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Here's a close up of the gorgeous fabric with a loop/button closure at the top.

I can't thank Robyn enough for the joy she has given me. And to top it off, not only this fine rose mug for me to enjoy my coffee, but a few little extras were wrapped and hidden inside the bag.

Robyn, that little red tin will be perfect for my hexagon papers, it's almost empty.

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Now it's my turn to Pay It Forward ... so to Vivian, Sarita and Kelly-Jo . . . I'm working on it.

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If you've been tempted to join someone's PIF and haven't yet, I highly recommend it. Not only is it wonderful to receive your gift, but it's a lovely feeling to make someone else happy too.

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Have a lovely weekend.