Carrose Creations

Sunday Snippets

2012-01-29T19:15:00.001+10:00

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

UPDATE: Dear Jane - January, 2012

2012-01-28T15:01:00.000+10:00

In September of 2009 I started a long term journey ~ a Dear Jane Quilt was born. A very long term project was planned and now I find myself 2 years into the journey and I have completed 37 blocks out of 225. A challenge was thrown down to one of the girls in our online Quilting group to complete one block a day and hopefully have the top to complete by Quilt Camp which is held in November. Now we all know I can never let a challenge go to waste & even though this challenge was taken up by Belinda; I decided to jump aboard and attempt to complete 110 blocks to equal Kirsty's current tally. I think it's do able and if I keep up the pace that I've kept going in January, then anything is possible! I've been busy prepping and planning, sewing and cursing, journalling and scanning blocks and each night I find myself dreaming of them. I am planning an update at the end of each month to track my progress. At the top of my blog, you will see I have created a page listing all the information I'm gathering on the blocks, including a picture of my quilt to date with all completed blocks highlighted, as well as links to the girls who are also Dear Jane'ing along with me.

Each block is a mere 5" (4.5" finished) and some of these blocks have up to 49 pieces in each! That is a lot of piecing and the blocks can take as little as 10mins to prep and sew and up to an hour (or more) for the difficult blocks. Fiddly little buggers! I finished my 25th Block during January and counted up the number of pieces used - 546! I tried explaining this to my husband (he who doesn't understand quilting and all it entails… except the money side - he totally understands that I spend FAR too much money on fabrics LOL) 25 blocks all at 5" - 546 pieces! That is a lot of work so far and I'm not even close to finished!

As I find myself further into this quilt, I have had to set up a few documents to help me keep it all together and keep me on track (already I have flicked a few of the colours I originally did and re-done them in new colours) I have a graph of the colours I want it to be. I have boxes of already used Dear Jane Fabrics and boxes of Un-used potential Dear Jane Fabrics in my sewing room. I am hoping to do each square a different colour but that will depend on finances and storage space. I can fit only so much fabric into my small craft space!

This was always intended to be my learning quilt. So often there are parts of quilting we don't particularly like to do. Mine is the basting. Then there are other parts of quilting not yet tried and always put off for fear of being wrong. Well this quilt has helped me overcome my fears. I have done everything on these 37 blocks and feel rather adept at the full aray of quilting techniques and while I am far from perfect at any of them, I feel more confident. There has been machine pieced and foundation pieced blocks. Appliqué and Reverse Appliqué (which I have fallen in love with). Paper pieced and Hand sewn. Plastic templates, manilla templates, freezer paper templates. At times I've found myself confused and bamboozled but it hasn't stopped me yet. I am actually feeling obsessed with these teeny tiny blocks. I am churning them out at a fast pace and loving the process. I wonder how Jane felt when she made her quilt? I wonder how the loyal followers those attempting their own Dear Jane feel. Are they loving the process as much as I?

My favourite part of the quilt so far (apart from the cuteness of the 5" blocks!) is the journaling. We all know how much I love to write and this is no exception! On the CD provided there is an option to journal your progress. I have written a single page on each finished block and stored it in a folder for safe keeping. Each page contains the name of the blocks, date completed, number of pieces and any notes on the block. It also gives you a spot to write about current events and I am also glueing a piece of the fabric used and making notes about where I got it from and how much I paid. And a small colour picture of my completed block after it's scanned in! It is really comprehensive and with 37 pages now completed - I have already created a gorgeous journal to keep forever.

Each block is printed out (depending on what style it is in) and kept in a working clear binder, a small piece of fabric is also included. Each block is marked off on my master chart and then I scan them & add them to my virtual quilt. I won't lie, journalling the journey is extremely time consuming and fiddly, yet I am so glad I decided to do it too - I am creating my own piece of history!

Blocks completed up to January 2012!

Can you spot the ones I did twice? I had decided to re-do three of them because I didn't like the original colour way chosen. Luckily they were easily prepped and sewed up this morning in 10 mins!

Rain, rain... GO AWAY

2012-01-24T22:00:00.001+10:00

We have had solid rain here since Monday lunch time, from midnight last night it has been a sheet of water bucketing down (making school drop off and pick up wet, soggy and fuzzy haired!!!)

I took photos of our back yard around 2pm and again just after 3pm

An hour later

The side at 2pm

And an hour or so later

Its obvious our drainage after last years floods need some work!!

Even the neighbour rang to say she had never seen so much water coming off our place!

We need it to stop now - would be nice to do a school run in sunshine!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday Snippets w' Tinniegirl

2012-01-22T18:51:00.001+10:00

My Quilted Journal - Week 2

2012-01-14T16:32:00.000+10:00

We are having one of those lazy days at home. Unbrushed hair. PJ's until whenever and lots of sewing. And Coffee. While the husband lazed and dozed on the couch watching TV, Miss K playing happily with her dolls and toys, I crept away and spent some time in my Craft room. Determined to finish my first Work in Progress for 2012, I did that and even had time to wash it before blogging it a little earlier today. Seriously remind me to check that there are no undies in my photographs BEFORE I post them on the world wide web… sigh. Oh well… too much information!

I've printed more blocks for the Dear Jane folder. I now have 16 blocks printed ready to prepare and finish, and have run out of room in the book! Will be buying myself a new folder at the store this week! I managed to finish another block today, bringing my total to 24… one more and I get a Silver Certificate (the Silver is for finishing 25 blocks!)

I've also played around with the layout and changed some of the colours of the block layout. Originally I was sticking as close as possible to Jane's original quilt, but the edges were bothering me so I fudged it around a little. I may need to change the colour of one or two blocks… but I will deal with that at a later date. I also numbered / lettered the blocks, it was getting frustrating counting down and across to find my block! Be sure to check out my Dear Jane page (see above) I am updating it as I go and will be doing a monthly Dear Jane post to give updates on how I'm travelling with it.

My vintage sheet / picnic blanket is coming along nicely. I have been busy sewing a row when I get the chance and now have 8 rows of 12 sewn together. Another 4 rows to piece and add and this top will be finished (unless I decided I want more rows and use it on our bed ~ or the boat, though not liking my chances on either!)



It's been a productive Quilty day here today. I am trying to make the most it because next week I really need to get back into my cleaning routines and the following week when school starts I need to get busy studying again.

12 WIP in 2012 ~ Quilt No 1 "Eye Spied"

2012-01-14T16:18:00.001+10:00

Once upon a time.. a long, long time ago ~ actually it was only 3.5 years, so NOT that long in terms of quilting - right??? I pieced a quilt top.

It only took me two years, to finally get around to basting this quilt and after deciding the quilt was no longer my cup of tea, I used it as a practice piece for a little dodgy free motion quilting (practice makes perfect… and it appears I needed LOTS of practice!)

Then it was added to the pile of Work In Progress quilts. All at different stages of completion, most just waiting for minor finishing touches. This one is embarrassing because ALL it needed was the binding.

Enter AJ's challenge to complete 12 existing Work In Progress Quilts in 2012 - I knew I had to join in. Quilt number 1 on my master list was this little quilt… patiently waiting for a further 14 months for a wee bit of binding. Today I have snuck into the sewing room and pulled that little quilt out of the cupboard. Not wanting to go to the shops to buy more fabric, I settled on using a bright green, blue and purple stripe and started cutting. The lines weren't straight & a just a little unsure of the bright green against bright pink, I forged ahead relentlessly - I just HAD TO FINISH IT TODAY. And after 3.5 years - she is finally finished.

I'm calling it Eye Spied (as in the past tense… remember how long it's taken me, the original game of Eye Spy is over!)

The obligatory arty shot, LOVE our new tiles out the back for photographing Quilts… thankfully the hubby swept and mopped them just this morning!

The back is mainly this bright circle fabric (pink, green, yellow, purples and whites) that I bought years ago combined with a strip of left over pink from the front.

See that dodgy Free Motion Quilting. I think this was the first quilt I used my BSR foot on) I do love that puffy look after it was freshly washed!

The binding… I love how it's ended up multicolour stripes! Machine sewn binding because I was lazy and wanted this one out of the sewing room.

And one very happy customer! Poor child… I started this in 2008 when she was just over 12 months and still in the cot. Luckily she loves hauling quilts and sheets around the house, so this one will become the house quilt for her to rough and tumble with as much as she wants!



That wraps up Quilt number 1 for 2012. I'm off to check out my master list and start working on the next quilt!

Sewing the scrap pile

2012-01-11T10:06:00.001+10:00

Have you seen The Pleasant Home blog - she is running a Sew Scrap Along during 2012. Each week she has been posting up inspirational quilts using all scraps. After seeing how many scraps I actually had floating around and subjecting all of those to a bath ;) I decided to start some long term scrap busting projects - because I totally need MORE work in progress quilts ;)

Last week I started a string quilt utilising all of Nanny's old scraps (scroll down a few posts to see that project)

I also decided to start cutting up my scraps with plans to make a postage stamp quilt - one day!

Taking one tub at a time I threw all the ultra small pieces in the washing machine (in a delicates bag to stop it fraying too much) 2 bags filled gave me a decent amount of scraps to get starting on. This was the first tub of scraps to be chopped up.

Armed with my Rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat I realised the next day I had put the blade on the WRONG side :o WTF was I thinking. It blunted the blade and I couldn't work out why it felt so different. Lesson learned!

Several hours later and puffy feet from the heat in my little sewing room - I NEED AIRCON! I had a really small bag of 2" squares for my postage stamp quilt. Another bag of 1" squares (did I mention I can't bear throwing anything away) and a few more 2.5" squares for a scrappy 9 patch I started making after I had finished quilting a project.

It honestly doesn't feel like much to start with and will probably take me years to get enough to make a decent sized quilt from, but I like that I am getting organised. And the best part is all the pieces that are a touch bigger (not as large as a FQ but too big to cut up as scraps) have been stored in a far better system of a plastic bag (for now… probably move them to a box at some point in the distant future)

I now have another pink tub of scraps to be chopped up as well as 4 more little baskets to be washed. I feel as though the organising is coming along at a really good pace this year!

Going back in time

2012-01-11T09:47:00.001+10:00

Last April I started a new quilt project, 6.5" squares cut out of vintage sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths blogged about here

After sewing a few rows together, I stumbled there was something not quite right about it, it was lacking it's quaint charm (you know that one you see when other people create their vintage sheet masterpieces) well I called out to the bloggy friends for a bit of help here, it was decided that the orange / green check (ex tablecloth that was horrible to sew with) needed to go. BUT that involved unpicking and I don't do well with unpicking or re-doing projects. So into the cupboard it went. Until this year's 2012 challenge popped up and I decided it was time to get cracking on it. First things first, unpick orange / green check. Then off to the op shop yesterday to see what I could find.

I struck op shop gold and decided to leave some of it still there for the next person collecting vintage type fabrics / sheets. I only wanted to spend $10 and I did exactly that. Two sheets (above) set me back $7 but that pink was so gorgeous!

I then picked up 6 pillowcases and while I know some of these are probably more 80's era they were still floral and at 50c each I thought I'd grab them anyhow and re-donate if they didn't work.

So I came home in the stinking heat that was yesterday and started cutting and cutting and cutting some more. A couple of hours later I had a pretty little stack of vintage charms. All 144 squares stacked up in a star ready for sewing!

I still wasn't 100% sold on some of the squares so decided to lay them all out on the floor to see how it flows. As the rows grew, so did my love for the squares mixed and matched. No particular thought except to scatter the colours around. While I was undecided about that darker pillowcase (pictured above) I love that it gives it a little more depth while not taking away from the lighter colours.

It was so darn big, I couldn't photograph all the squares lying in rows. This is about 3/4 of the quilt. I am for the time being doing 12 x 12 (that's 12 rows of 12 squares) which will make it 72" square) IF I decide to add more it will be simply a case of more cutting and adding more rows to either side! I am stoked at how it looks for now!

What do you think - MUCH better than that ghastly original I was trying to do with that orange / green check? This morning I've managed to sew up 2 rows. Hopefully will get another 2 done before I pick up the girl and go out to lunch… wish me luck!

So the BIG question… will this remain a picnic blanket or will I try to get it on the boat as our bed quilt. Hubby didn't seem terribly keen on the idea and when I suggested to him that it would be perfect as the boat is circa 1960's and these are mainly 1970's it would be the perfect fit. He muttered something along the lines of can't we have blue or something similar… But then THIS from the man who doesn't quite 'get' quilting. I'll let you know how I go convincing him!

My Quilted Journal

2012-01-07T17:08:00.000+10:00

I realised today as I was filling our my Dear Jane journal that I have never really 'journaled' about the day to day quilting I get up to. Sure I have blogged and in recent times it's more a 'ta-dah' look what I finished post. After listing up my Work In Progress Quilts the other day and subsequently cleaning and re-organising my craft room for the 500th time, I realised that I have many more than the quilts that are at that Ta-dah moment. More still I have started or purchased with a particular reason in mind and as I age, I tend to forget why the heck I did that. So today with this post I start my "Quilted Journal"

Yesterday after entertaining a little girl all day while hubby worked on his boat (and did some fishing) I asked if I could have today off. I fully intended on spending the free day to sew and quilt to my hearts content! So it was quickly arranged. Miss K was none to happy to realise that I wasn't coming with them to play tinnie (boat) swaps nor was she happy to hear I was off to the shops WITHOUT her. Yet it's now 4:30, my free day is nearly over and she seemed to have enjoyed herself. Me? After a crappy start and getting sidetracked with Facebook, I ended up with a few finished blocks. Though it hasn't quite been the day I envisaged ~ it's still been exactly what I needed.

I started with a Dear Jane block. It looked easy enough with only 13 pieces to it, a simple nine patch on the diagonal. Simple. Well we all know how catastrophic the last quilt on the diagonal went for me… but this one - no problem. All went well until I sewed on the first triangles outer, it didn't line up. Dang. Cue Unpicking. Re-sew both on, check they are matching and sew on 3rd triangle. It is then I realise that the block is too small. half an inch too small. WTF. Oh dear. Check the measurements I've cut the pieces out correctly. Re-check and decide to unpick the whole thing and start again.

At that point I realised it was nearing 11am, half my day was spent gas-bagging to the quilters on Facebook and making a block that was too small. Damn. Time to go shopping. I headed to Spotlight and bought a few more pieces of fabric for my quilt as well as a tonne of other stuff I really didn't need. Sigh. There goes the budget and the fabric ban for 2012!

Home again where I made myself lunch just in time for the crew to arrive home. After lunch I headed back to the sewing room, determined to make use of this one day of quilting freedom. I re-did the block this time doing just under a 1/4" seam and Ta-dah my block turned out just fine.



Inspired and on a roll, I quickly started another I had cut out ready to go… do you like my design boards?



The next block came together really quickly. Go figure - it had 40 pieces to it.



So that was it for my Dear Jane progress to date - stay tuned, I am half way through a blog post with an update on them all.

As I mentioned I've been trying to re-organise my craft room (again) a post on that will follow as soon as I finish it! Anyhow with a pile of fabric still to wash, piles to be folded, I was feeling very weighted down with the sheer quantity of fabric I actually own. I think I have carried forward a few hoarder issues that both my mum and nan have… So I tentatively mentioned to my quilting group that I was going to op-shop a lot of old fabric that my Nanny gave to me way back in the early days of sewing. I've probably had them sitting around for 7 years myself and lordy only knows how long she had hoarded them for. So in my mass clean up earlier in the week, I pulled down the box of Nanny's fabrics and started sorting them into piles. Keep. Throw. Op shop. The keep pile kept getting bigger and bigger and it appeared that my hoarding tendencies were still intact and bigger than ever. I just couldn't bring myself to throw them nor op shop them. Instead I put them back in a box and decided to sleep on it and see if I could come up with some way to use them rather than storing them in a box. Some of these fabrics were old. Lots of florals and small prints from the 80's - I swear mum had dresses made from some of this stuff and some of the fabrics were god-awful ugly. Yet I couldn't throw them out.

THIS is the reason….



My beautiful Nan obviously had an idea to make these into something back in the day. She had pegged together groups of strips. Long and short. So old that the pegs are crumbling and breaking when I touch them. So after thinking it over I decided to find the perfect scrappy project where I could start using these fabrics and adding to them from my stash (if needed) and use it as a great big picnic rug or quilt. An ongoing work in progress. Last night I stumbled across the string quilt. Sewing pieces on the diagonal across a square of interfacing. I'm not cutting these nor trimming them to make perfect straight edges, they are going on as is. Wonky or not. This is going to be one unique quilt and I'm hoping not too ugly! I managed three blocks today

I did warn you there were some ugly fabrics involved, but some of these have grown on me ~ absolutely loving that green!

And that rounds out My Quilted Journal for today. I'm hoping to do some more tomorrow!

Bright colours in today!

2012-01-06T16:53:00.000+10:00

Pink Princess Parties!

With pretty little girls all dressed up in… well pink!

Splatters of paint in my new art journal and another layer for the canvas (using up the leftovers)

Bonding with the newest girl… it's amazing how different each girls' personality really is.

It's been a lovely colourful kind of day. I'm off now to unpack the shopping before the husband arrives home and witnesses the broken fabric ban & other "not really needed" shopping I did today! I lasted a whole 6 days ~ I don't think there is hope for me!

To frog or not to frog?

2012-01-04T16:42:00.000+10:00

The last 2 days I have been re-organising my sewing room. A progress post to follow (and yes, yes I know I have done this mammoth task numerous times before!) Anyhow on my travels I came across this ripple blanket that I had started end of last year just to use up some crappy coloured wool. I lost interest and the colours weren't really grabbing me. I had every intention of frogging the whole darn thing and re-using the wool in other projects…



Until I pulled it out to photograph! I'm just whinging the pattern and only have a vague idea where it is headed.

But as I stare down upon it's ripply goodness something in me tells me to keep going with it. My husband (who doesn't understand quilting ;) LOL) says I shouldn't have used the white as its too much against the muted colours, but I think it adds a pop but looking at it I probably should have done 2 rows of white instead of one… it looks a bit patchy.

What do you think? Do you think the colours are all wrong and I should frog it? Or keep on going and see how she turns out?

2012… new year, new resolutions, new me...

2011-12-31T12:43:00.000+10:00

2012… a new year awaits and my head spins with all the opportunities it may hold. Looking back at my goals for 2011 I actually didn't do too bad considering all that life decided to throw at me. To look back and see that I not only managed to pull myself out of a deep hole & if not complete most of my goals but make great shifts toward them is saying a lot. After me listing 2011 as a spectacularly crappy year by most standards, maybe I should be looking at it as a spectacular year of learning and growth! A (very) quick wrap of what I wanted to achieve in 2011 and how I stand 1 year later…

1. Organise my Life - I managed a WHOLE year using the OTI organiser. I've already started filling out the new one for 2012!

2. Organise my Home - I started with small steps and achieved a lot. Enough to make my husband see (this is GOOD).

3. Live simpler - Have sort of stalled on this one, hoping to get back into reviewing areas again in 2012.

4. Address my Health Issues and Lack of Exercise - 2 operations and some new medications and the health issues are still on-going. A few new things on the cards to try in 2012. Exercise? Well I bought the WII. That's about as far as it got. Ask me again next year!

5. Creative - Writing: While the daily writing didn't happen, I did manage to give NaNoWriMo a darn good crack. PLUS I signed up to a course and scored a DISTINCTION for my first assignment!

6. Creative - Photography: I managed the 365 challenge until around September and am proud of my efforts. I did NOTHING further with the course (*blush*)

7. Creative - Sewing and Quilting: After months and months and months, I finally found the enjoyment in sewing / quilting again. Totally raring to go in 2012.

***************************************************************

So 2012? Following in the same vein, I hope to get my house and life completely ORGANISED and stick to it. Live more SIMPLY. Be CREATIVE. Stay HEALTHY.

Operation Organise!

* OTI Diary - I want to continue on utilising my OTI daily PLUS I want everything linked up to my computers / phones etc. With the recent installation of iCloud I think this will work. Appointments added to either my iPad or iPhone will end up on my personal laptop as well as my Work Computer.

* Home & Life Organiser - I started one a few years ago but it never really worked too well as it was aimed for the American market. I want to create one of my own to hold all those important life details that I constantly have to search for.

* Domestic Guru - I have the Domestic Guru Organiser half printed out and ready to start (tomorrow!) I am also on the search for natural cleaning products and want to prove to the nay-sayers that they do indeed work. I stumbled across one earlier in the week Dawn dishwashing detergent and warm white vinegar for shower screens - OMG they have come out so clean!!

* A place for everything and everything in it's place. My biggest issues in the past is not thinking how I wanted to store things. I'm still working on that but am slowly getting better!

Operation De-clutter!

* House: I started de-cluttering in 2011, this year I want to be ruthless with it. I have far too much CRAP and it's weighing me down. I will be targeting a room each month and following Skips 25 days of de-clutter I am hoping that my house will continue in the same vein I started this year.

* Social Media: THIS is a big one for me. I realised the other day that I have far too many blogs in my reader (350 seriously!) so I started culling. I have whittled it down to 300 with more to go but for now it's such a relief to only have to read about 30 blog posts per day rather than the 50+ I was getting! I am also trying to utilise Evernote, Pinterest and Bookmarks to keep track of crafty ideas I may stumble across.

The Simple Life

* Gardening - create a vegetable garden that LASTS and actually gives us produce.

* Greenhouse - I am waiting for the other half to build me a greenhouse

* Solar - with our new Solar Hot Water we have managed to pretty much eliminate our last power bill, we want to continue on in this vein and look at other ways to save on power.

* Water Tanks - I still want another tank, hubby is not sold (yet)

* Chickens - we still want to get chickens but we need to think it through as they will need a yard away from the pooch!

* Budgeting - I am committing to a weekly budget and am pledging to spend less and use more of what we have here.

* SPEND LESS.

Creative Life

*Writing - I have 11 assignments that I would like to complete either this year or by the end of 2013. THIS will be my priority for 2012. I also want to attempt NaNoWriMo again but this time better prepare myself for it.

* Photography - I NEED to start my course. THIS year I want to submit at least half of the assignments. While I am not doing a 365 or committing to other challenges as I want to make my course a priority, I am doing a personal happiness project (much like the 365 Gratitude ones popping up around the place) this one will be simply instax photos of things that make me happy accompanied with some words (cause we all know how much I love my words!)

* Sewing / Quilting - I want to clear out the pile of WIP this year. I also want to try my hand at other areas (making clothes for me as well as for Miss K and the Dolls)

Healthy Life

* Exercise more

* Drink more water

* Eat healthier foods

* Research ways to make living with endometriosis easier on the day-2-day.

PHEW. That's a big list! While I am trying not to 'commit' to anything much this year, I have signed up for three challenges - I know right?

1. AJ's 12 WIP in 2012, as blogged here and here!

2. Skip is having a 2012 'year of the cheap' it actually blends in with AJ's WIP challenge.

3. Buy no (new) Fabric. I am aiming at buying VERY little this year and trying to utilise the bulging stash WHERE possible!

Oh and one more thing, remember yesterday I summarised my reading in 2011… I went and counted the "still to read" books on my shelves and OMG I have well over 100 books to be read :o So I am officially on a book buying ban. Actually I don't think I will spend any money in 2012 unless it's for organising my life better.

12 WIP in 2012

2011-12-31T11:44:00.004+10:00

AJ has come up with a little challenge for 2012! A challenge to finally finish all those (sometimes pesky) WIP projects we all (except Belinda) have hanging around in our craft rooms! Well I reckon I would have to be the QUEEN of Work In Progresses! I really don't mean to be, but I just tend to bounce from idea to idea and while some days I am perfectly happy to curl up with my crochet hook, others you will find me cross-stitching or quilting or knitting. And don't get me started on the Art Journalling! Today I have listed my immediate quilting projects that have been hanging around for some time now and I have listed them here in the hopes of completing all in 2012. Some I will be donating to charity, some will be given away and some will be for us to use and enjoy!

Quilting WIP (in order of the least amount of work and what needs doing)

~~1. Eye Spy Play Quilt: Bind~~ Finished - January 2012, blogged here

2. American Jane Lap Quilt: Baste, Quilt, Bind

3. Round Robin Quilt: Baste, Quilt, Bind

4. Black & White Heart Wallhanging: Baste, Quilt, Bind

5. AJ's Mystery Quilt: Borders, Baste, Quilt, Bind

6. Disappearing 9 Patch: Piece Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

7. Happy Camper Quilt: Piece Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

8. Spotlight Jelly Roll Lap Quilt: Piece Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

9. Vintage sheets Picnic Quilt: Piece Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

10. Matroshka Dolls / Star Quilt: Piece, Top, baste, Quilt, Bind

11. Foundation Pieced Wallhanging: Finish Piece, Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

12. Spring Fling Lap Quilt: Cut, Piece, Top, Baste, Quilt, Bind

There is an entry fee to this challenge, 1 FQ to be sent to AJ to compete for the grand prize at the end of the 12 months! The beauty of this competition is that only 6 projects need be 'already started' luckily I have 12 that have definitely been started! Since 6 projects can also be new I have plans to make 2 quilts for presents that are not included in this list so happy to know that I can use those projects IF need be!

Reading in 2011

2011-12-30T15:50:00.000+10:00

The year was a little lean on the reading front. I struggled to find my stride and to be totally honest I struggled to find books to suit both my mood and my interests throughout the year. As much as I enjoy reading, this past year it was given the back foot in priorities and it showed when it came to making a full list of what I did read. 30 is a pretty poor effort considering I was originally aiming for 50! I am hoping next year I will manage to read a little more and I am going to make a concerted effort to read less blogs of a night-time and more books. I might even store my iPad in the office overnight to keep me from checking Facebook one last time before bed ;)

I finished the last book of the year today - The Brave by Nicholas Evans and found it to be a pretty good read. Didn't particularly like the ending but it was better than the previous book completed - Land of Painted Caves by Jean M Auel... I do NOT recommend that one!

I've wandered around today trying to find a new book to read to bring in the new year and found I have tonnes of books waiting to be read on my bookshelves. I am thinking I've probably got close to 50 'not yet read' so this afternoon I am going to make a list of all those books and in 2012 I am planning on reading through that list - I am hoping to read most of them by the end of the next year! I am also putting myself on a book buying ban... it would seem that I buy for the sake of buying and am not getting to them, as well as having them clutter my house! So in 2012 no new books unless I read 5 copies from here. Op Shop copies allowed but must be re-op shopped when finished unless I enjoy them immensely. I am also going to attempt to read more on my iPad - I have already downloaded a few books that I have been wanting to read, so those too will be added to my pile.

1. HUNTED - PC & Kristen Cast [finished 02.01.11 - p.439]

2. TEMPTED - PC & Kristen Cast [finished

3. LAST SACRIFICE - Richelle Mead [finished 15.01.11 - p.

4. BURNED - PC & Kristen Cast [finished 23.02.11 p. 323]

5. AWAKENED - PC & Kristen Cast [finished 03.03.11 p.290]

6. HEART OF GOLD - Fiona Palmer [finished 06.03.11 p.

7. SHOPAHOLIC & SISTER - Sophie Kinsella [finished 14.03.11 p.

8. SPINNING OUT - Christine Darcas {p. 402}

9. SUCCUBUS BLUES - Richelle Mead [finished 21.04.11 p. 477]

10. SUCCUBUS NIGHTS - Richelle Mead [finished 10.05.11 p. 462]

11. THE QUILTERS KITCHEN - Jennifer Chiavernini [finished 15.05.11 p. 204]

12. SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL - Francine Pascal [finished 23.05.11 p. 273]

13. DEAD RECKONING - Charlaine Harris [finished 11.06.11 p.325]

14. BEYOND FEAR - Jaye Ford [finished 13.06.11 p. 422]

15. DIVINE BY MISTAKE - PC Cast [finished 26.0.11 p.575]

16. IF I STAY - Gayle Foreman [finished 04.07.11 p. 240]

17. DIVINE BY CHOICE - PC Cast [finished 08.07.11 p. 382]

18. DIVINE BY BLOOD - PC Cast [finished 14.07.11 p. 391]

19. ELIZA'S GIFT - Rachael Herron [finished 16.07.11 p. 319]

20. LUCY'S KISS - Rachael Herron [finished 17.07.11 p. 347]

21. PAYCHEQUE - Fiona McCallum [finished 23.07.11 p.368]

22. SING YOU HOME - Jodi Picoult [finished 29.07.11 p. 466]

23. NORTH STAR - Karly Lane [finished 16.08.11 p. 304]

24. BLOODLINES - Richelle Mead {finished 30.08.11 p. 421}

25. BREATH - Tim Winton {finished 13.09.11 p. 265}

26. WICKED LOVE - Melissa Marr {finished 28.09.11 p.328}

27. THE GLITTERING FIELDS - Patricia Shaw {finished 25.10.11 p. 374}

28. THE SECRET LIVES OF DRESSES - Erin McKean {finished 26.11.11 p. 372}

29. THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES - Jean M Auel {finished 24.12.11 p. 661}

30. THE BRAVE - Nicholas Evans {finished 30.12.11 p. 487}

Started but not yet finished!

PILLARS OF THE EARTH - Ken Follett

A CHANGING LAND - Nicole Alexander

Finishes and Inspiration

2011-12-29T18:11:00.001+10:00

There's nothing quite like spending a day with a crafty friend to get the inspiration and motivation flowing! I finally finished this little embroidered lavender filled matryoshka, she is so adorably cute and I'm sure she smells good too - I just can't smell a thing with this head cold!

My friend Cath was showing me her current cross-stitch projects and I've come home inspired to start doing and maybe finishing some of mine! Starting with a seaside dimensions I have had for years!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A finished Object…

2011-12-28T14:42:00.000+10:00

Once upon a time I bought a cute little cushion for my lounge - the man of the house is against any type of cushions 'living 's the couch - but I used my (then) pregnancy hormones to convince him I truly needed it because my back got sore while sitting. It's been there ever since and now after 6 years it's getting a wee bit ratty and old looking.

I had mended it once before but even that mending popped out and started ripping further… :(

Even the inside of the cushion was looking a wee bit sad and sorry for itself.

Today I gave it a new life. Now anyone else would have turfed it in the bin & bought a new one. Heck the old me would have done just that. BUT my new policy for 2012 is fix it till it can't be fixed no more! This will hopefully help in my pledge to make 2012 the year of the cheap as well as my fabric ban that I signed up for last night with the EB girls. No fabric purchases unless it's absolutely necessary (like backing for quilts made from the stash!) I barely bought any fabric in 2011 (well apart from for the DQ swap, AJ's Sew in and at the craft shows… but that still counts right?)

Using my Go Granny Fabric from Ms CurlyPops I whipped up a cushion front.

On the back I was going to cut into some denim I had bought with the intention to make myself a skirt, but instead decided to use an old pair of jeans legs I had cut off after they got a hole near the crotch :( Cut down one leg seam, leaving the opposite seam still intact I used that and I think it came up pretty good. A point of difference and fully recycled!

I struggled with the zip though. :( I'm thinking I need to whip up a bunch of zippy pouches so that I can get some practice because I quite obviously still SUCK at it! It's all bulgy at the bottom which is probably due to cutting it a little too big.

And the old cushion cover… binned? NO WAY! I've set it aside for my Art Journalling ~ I'm about to start a new book and hereby pledge to use entirely recycled items in it! Hopefully by the end of the year I will have used up a fair bit of my scrapping stash - well that's the plan anyhow! Stay tuned!

Christmas It's a Wrap

2011-12-27T20:59:00.000+10:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The big day has now been and gone. We celebrated for three days and today I am absolutely knackered. Actually I've barely moved off the couch (which is owing more to a summer head cold then exhaustion) but it's been good resting up. I'm getting a bit bored though as I didn't even have the energy to do any craft while relaxing and vegging out!

Christmas Day arrived in our house nice and early - 6:05am with a little girl, a big cheesy grin and a great big sack of Santa's pressies. Absolutely convinced that the top present was a pillow pet.

Well what do you know… a Unicorn Pillow pet. Declared BEST present ever! Gee if I knew I could have stopped spending at $14 I'd have saved myself a lot of money! LOL. All other gifts have been played with to death already with special mention to the Barbie Jet, the Barbie house and her new big girls camera. She really is a sweet little girl, she told me she was very spoilt with so MANY gifts this year. I know she was, but gosh it has warmed my heart to see her so appreciative & play ALL Day with her new barbie stuff and go to bed happy!

It would seem that the the small girl presents were a hit with the big girls too. These are her next cousins up and it's hard when you are the only 'child' on Christmas Day, but the big girls more than made up for it, continuing to play with the barbie jet and barbies long after the little girl wandered off! It's also hard when you are a poor underfed dog waiting for someone to notice you waiting at the snacks table!

I scored REALLY well from my Big J & Miss K this year! A keyboard & case for the iPad (this is all GOOD news for my novel writing plans); Smallville (final) Season 10 on DVD - cannot wait to see this one again, Harry Potter Deathly Hollows Part 2 DVD; A nerd herd shirt (do you watch Chuck? No…. well that's probably why you don't get it!) and a new Blythe Girl to add to my (growing) collection. Feeling VERY spoilt!

Isn't my new girl just gorgeous! I sent my hubby an email with about 4 different girl suggestions and let him decide. I wasn't really 100% sure on a couple of the girls I suggested to him (but I was in a rush and they were on the cheaper end of the scale…) Though after seeing this new girl arrive, I am SMITTEN! Seriously! Her hair is a reddy-brown and not as long (nor as short) as my other 3 girls, her skin tone is darker and she is just so sweet. So the big Question… am I done with my dolly family? I honestly don't know. Seeing the four of them lined up together feels like I am, but I honestly can't say. I have everyone on the lookout at op shops / antique stores for a vintage - I can dream can't I? Ask me again around my birthday - I would really love to try my hand at customising… perhaps my next girl will be for that?

Boxing day was spent at my parents with my brother and his family. A yummy lunch, lots of presents and good company! My dad got a new camera - a Nikon Hybrid that we had a good play with. He managed to get some awesome photos with it - some were better than mine :o I'm not sure if that's because he was shooting auto and I was on full manual settings? Either way I am looking forward to a few photography excursions with him and I WILL get him off the auto mode! He just doesn't know it yet ~ I need to read up about it all prior so I actually sound like I know what I'm talking about! We discovered an interesting fact though - we have Poppy's feet. His resemble his normal foot, mine resemble when he had the gout ;) LOL

I'd had 2 beers by this stage, perhaps that's why my photos were of feet & becoming a little hit and miss!

So that was our Christmas 2011, it was a big one & I've hit a wall and am about to take this little body off to bed. I'll be back in a few days, I've many thoughts about my goals for the coming year, I'm just waiting for my head to clear so I can write it out properly!

Advent Blog-a-long #24 Merry Christmas (eve)

2011-12-24T11:40:00.000+10:00

We've arrived at the end of the Christmas Countdown. I've had fun again this year, though the past few days have seen me petering out somewhat and wishing that the Christmas Anxiety wasn't rearing it's ugly head. BUT we made it peeps. Tomorrow is day one of celebrations with a follow up celebration on Boxing day and while I spent yesterday pretending that EVERYTHING was completely under control… it appears it wasn't. The house looks as though a bomb went off. I have a million 'must try' treats that I haven't got around to. I want to make a trifle to take on Boxing day and have no idea how to make a trifle (LOL) and all I want to do on this dreary (torrential down pour) that is Christmas Eve is curl up on the couch and do some knitting - is that so bad???

Instead I have been productive… White choc peppermint Oreos for presents!

One bag of Elbow pasta cooked ready to add the ingredients - which I need to grab at the shops later today.

All the plates stacked & lined up ready to be washed for tomorrow.

A box of sweet stuff that I had intentions to bake up and make up… still not done Big J will be happy post Christmas to munch away on all that is left!

And now I'm escaping. I'm taking a time out because my anxiety levels have increased after a certain 4yo had a little dinger… give me strength to last the next 24 hours!

So it's my time for Krispy Kreme and coffee.

I hope you and yours have a safe and happy Christmas, drive safe on the roads and enjoy some Christmas cheer. Thanks to the girls who joined in with my meme this year, I meant to get around and visit once more, but time is not on my side… perhaps this afternoon while I knit and iPad I will come by for some Christmas bevies? See you sometime after the Christmas Fun!

Advent Blog-a-long #23 where's the day gone?

2011-12-23T14:12:00.000+10:00

I have done NOTHING remotely Christmassy today! Today was moving day for the boat. For those who don't know we bought a vintage (ex) trawler years ago, oh dear it was UGLY. My husband has spent the last 4 years and practically every weekend renovating it into a more original version complete with bunks so we can sleep on it eventually. In this time we managed to source a mooring in the passage and by some miracle the mooring we were given was right off the front of the mainland where there are only minimal boats moored AND it's literally a stones throw from Nanna's house. Standing at her back gate you can now see our boat.

So the day has been spent dropping husband off, taking some photos of her journey and racing over to Nanna's where we walked along the bridge to get some shots as they boys drove her to her new home.

Arriving home later than expected I was disappointed to find ONE of the Christmas presents ordered hadn't arrived in time for Christmas, but absolutely stoked to find a letter from the College with the results of my first assignment I submitted. I was so excited to see I had earned a Distinction!

YAY ME! For the record, a Distinction is the 2nd highest result (there are 7 rankings) Best Christmas Present Ever… (well actually a new Blythe doll will be the best chrissy present ever, but this comes pretty darn close and it's giving me the oomph I need to start the next assignment!)

Advent Blog-a-long #22 The business end & comic relief

2011-12-22T18:00:00.000+10:00

Getting down to the business end now and after the day I had today (was thinking I could knock over the final work of the year in an hour and it took me nearly 4 :o plus errands, my daughters last day at daycare - forever! it was somewhat crazy!)

So to keep up the spirits I am piking on today's posts while I go drink me some real spirits (trust me I NEED it!) and sharing some funny Christmas pics that have been doing the rounds on Facebook this month - these were all shared by my friend, no idea who they all link back to. Hope you enjoy them & get a little giggle out of them. Tonight I will be giggling as we relax on the couch with National Lampoons Christmas Vacation!

Trust me Yule absolutely love it, Get your copy from here

This last one is so FUNNY… you see one year I did get underwear from Santa. A g-string of all things & I had just turned 18 - my grandparents used to throw a Christmas Eve Party and organised for a "Santa" to arrive in full costume. This particular year it was one of my Uncles Mates who had the special job and I honestly don't know who was more embarrassed when I opened my G-string and my Aunty spying it pulled it out and batted Santa with it saying "what a naughty Santa" I never could look the poor bloke in the eye after that little encounter. And the perpetrators behind this little story… yes my darling parents, who duly stood by and giggled hysterically. Real Funny.

SCARRED FOR LIFE!!!

Advent Blog-a-long #21 Holiday Play

2011-12-21T17:21:00.000+10:00

Tomorrow is Miss K's last day at daycare - EVER! I'm excited because we have 4 weeks together at home before she starts Prep at the end of January. I'm also a little sad because she's been at this daycare since she was 15 months and will miss her little friends who won't be starting school until the following year. We headed to the Island today for a playdate and since we were driving past Chickenfeed we just had to stop in for a quick look. I was actually looking to see if any of their Christmas stock was on special, but they had limited stock remaining which is sad - it's still another 4 sleeps away!

While there I decided to pick up a couple of little games/things for us to do over the coming weeks. I plan on getting a few more of these to alternate each day to keep her amused plus it's something I can help her with - this is GOOD for me as there is only so much Polly Pocket, Barbie & Pony play I can indulge in!

First up for a whopping $2 was this frog game. 8 little jumping frogs and a pond. Best $2 I ever spent, we have already played with them for an hour out the back first by jumping them into the pond, then doing frog jumps to see how many tiles we could clear (FTR I won that one with a whole 2.5 tiles!)

Our second bargain buy was a bit more expensive at $2.99 ~ a Princess Puzzle. I was a little worried because it has 100 pieces but she sat with me on our new Outdoor table & we put it all together and she did an awesome job helping (though I did finish it off) I am planning on popping back by the store tomorrow and picking up some more of these little puzzles to make a rainy day/holiday activity box as well as for gifts for little girls / boys her age. For $3 you really can't go wrong!

Earlier in the month I picked up one of these "Lenticular" puzzles. It has 63 pieces and was (until today) one of the biggest puzzles we own. It was actually really hard to put together as most of the pieces were green and they change colour each way you look at it. Particularly hard doing this one upside down too - I really don't recommend it and it can give you a headache - but the puzzle in itself was good and at $5.99 well worth it for little people gifts!

Do you have a holiday box of games / things to do? What others would you suggest?

Advent Blog-a-long #20 Christmas Lights

2011-12-20T20:47:00.000+10:00

Each year we take a drive to see the Christmas lights around the Island. Sadly in recent years there are fewer houses participating but there are still a couple that go all out. Usually these places are inundated by people - even last years trek to see the lights in the rain had line ups of cars waiting to see them too.

Tonight though, we were one of very few out looking. We could take our time and I even managed some semi clear shots on my iPhone - which is pretty cool since my phone doesn't like night shots!

This is by far the best Christmas Display the Island has to offer (in my opinion) it has jumping Kangaroos (only in Australia) across their front fence and the whole front yard is filled with blown up Christmas toys - santas sleigh and all. It is pretty cool. I would have got the other side of the house except hubby is not one for stopping long - Men - Sigh!

A quick photo of Mr and Mrs Clause, again only half a display fast husband, slow 3G in instagram!

On the beach side of the Island there is one street that everyone flocks to - most of the houses in the street do some type of display and these are my 2 favourites! This guy goes all out and has a cool ambulance and some Christmas thingy in his garage (I can't remember what and tonight it was too late to stop and see it again, shame because the weather was perfection today!)

Across the road is another favourite, the lady sits in a camp chair out the front with her dog and greets everyone as they pass.

And arriving home our daughter commented that we don't have any Christmas Lights up yet. We are trying to convince her that the 13 x $2.50 Solar lights we just bought and put in our front gardens are Christmassy enough. She isn't sold though. Sadly with our latest power bill coming in at a measly $46 ($34 of it being the GST componant) I can't see anyway to convince Mr Power Nazi to agree to Christmas lights unless they are solar powered and doesn't cost us or affect our super low power bill!!! LOL.

So please settle for my Christmas Tree all lit up.

And a funky shot - just because I can!

Quilt #2 - 2011 Quilts for Qld

2011-12-19T15:20:00.000+10:00

Oh dear. Another embarrassing one. This was started the weekend of the floods. I postponed the basting & the quilting (as I usually do) for months and months. No excuse really except for losing my quilting Mo-Jo (see previous post!)

This one is a jelly roll from Spotlight sewn full length in rows.

Quilted a 1/4" on either side of the ditch, it was quick, effective and no ends to tie in (not that I really bother to tie them in LOL)

Backed with a rose purple spot from Spotlight and bound in the same (I could NOT for the life of me find anything in the matching range) I actually really like this little quilt and while perhaps NOT to everyone's cup of tea, I do so hope that someone gets some use out of it. Now I need to slink off and email Corrie and find out where to send it.

The binding on this one has been machine sewn (from the front to the back) I don't usually attempt this and probably should have hand sewn the backing down, but considering it's taken me 11 months to get it to that stage, I didn't relish another 12months of waiting to hand sew LOL. So I machined it in place and while it's not perfect and I probably should have used purple thread, it's tacked down and sturdy enough.

So quilt #2 - 2011 Quilts for Qld finished in December 2011.

I wonder what 2012 will hold. I am inspired now to spend a vast majority of the new year quilting… but we will see what happens, I have a niggling idea for 2 such quilts about mid year and of course I totally need to do something for our bed SOON!

Quilt #1 - 2011 Miss B's Playquilt

2011-12-19T15:14:00.000+10:00

Highly embarrassing. THIS quilt was started back in November 2010. Actually this quilt should have been finished back in 2010 because it is by far the most easiest and quickest I've managed to put together. A panel of bright coloured animals (is it Alexander Henry?) that Kayscha sent me, teemed with some blue that she sent and pink cornerstones (from my stash) I had the top done in a couple of hours.

The quilting took me MUCH longer to actually action. I put it off and to be honest I had completely LOST the drive of quilting. I wanted to finish it, I just didn't have that creative urge to get it done. I feel so bad about it because I'm sure the mother thinks I am SO Slack at not giving anything to her bubba who is now 1 and a bit :( It was just a difficult year for me to find any type of motivation. BUT it's finally done. I quilted it very basically. Straight lines in the 'ditch' where the panels slit and then in the wavy fishy area, I have free motioned following the waves. It looks a little dubious from the reverse and my thread tension started to play up somewhat - but by that stage I just wanted it DONE!

So finally Quilt #1 - 2011 Miss B's Playquilt is finished in DECEMBER 2011.

Advent Blog-a-long #19 Quilting

2011-12-19T15:08:00.000+10:00

A very picture heavy post today… I don't apologise for that - I am very excited!!! A few weeks ago Skip threw down the challenge to finish a quilt for her son for Christmas. Now although this challenge was hers ~ I can't help but gate-crash current challenges & decided to use her as my inspiration to finish my daughters Care bear Quilt! Today I decided it would be finished I had managed to get myself to the binding step and decided at the last minute to use the tutorial for back to front binding as found here. Basically you machine sew the binding on the back of your quilt, then fold it over and sew it down from the front. I had a matching pink cotton on hand and because this one is intended for use on her bed daily and will be receiving weekly washes, I figured it needed something a bit more sturdy than my dodgy hand sewing! LOL

The quilt pegged out on the line - it is so large it takes up the full width of my line and I couldn't hang it the other way as it drags on the ground!

The quilting on this was very basic, I stitched in the ditch (and surprisingly managed to stay in the ditch) around & through each checkerboard square as well as around the care bear wonky log cabins. I had a large panel at the top of the quilt that I decided last minute to practice some Free Motion Quilting and it appears I still suck at it and need more practice! I was going so well and only managed to pucker up one little section of the top and one square on the main body. Not bad!

Now the fun part was lying it on her bed today while she is at daycare. We bought this new bed for a couple of weeks ago and apart from the initial issues we experienced (ok it was more than an issue, the blasted bed broke in two :o and I didn't receive ANY compensation nor apology from the store. They deemed fit to replace the broken parts and put it together for me. Needless to say I was NOT impressed and I'm still a bit jacked off at how they treated the whole thing. BUT there was no injury and that's the main thing) so back to my quilt :) with the delivery of the new bed (take 2) I was inspired to get to and finish this quilt for the girl. Can you believe she is 4.5 and THIS is her first mummy made quilt (ok I lie, I did do a blanket style daycare one a couple of years ago!)

I absolutely adore the bright colours against the bed and it's a real point of difference to the normal 'licensed' doona covers she normally has gracing it!

A close up arty-farty shot - because I can!

And her bedroom from the door way. It's finally starting to look how I want it, though that bookcase needs YET another clear out!

So this is Quilt number 3 for the year (plus the doll quilt) all of which were finished in DECEMBER! Stay tuned there will be another 2 blog posts today to show off the other 2 finishes!

Advent blog-a-long #18 doggy Christmas

2011-12-18T19:28:00.001+10:00

Even the dog loves Christmas here!

And yes, this does cause yelling from miss 4 when she realizes he is curled up on her reindeer toy ;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Advent Blog-a-long #17 Snippets of a pre-christmas hiatus

2011-12-17T19:07:00.000+10:00

Realising you haven't pre-prepared anything for your 2 besties (blame it on the stressful week) & you are seeing them in an hour?

2 jars, 2 christmas tags, some ribbon and a mix each of the Cleansing Grains - see my post here for original links

Coffee amongst the wildlife… literally!

Stopping to smell the gardenia's

Admiring the new outdoor table setting(s) on the back patio

Admiring my view from the new Sunlounge!

Aaah… so blissful

There's no place I'd rather be!

Has your day been as awesome? No? Well pop on over… there's room for one more on the sun lounge next to mine!

Advent Blog-a-long #16 Christmas Reno's PART 1

2011-12-16T16:03:00.000+10:00

Not a very Christmassy Related post… but the first part of these Renovations are planned to be finished by Christmas Day as we have a full house here this year!

From this…

Looking very exciting!

To this!

Now we await the delivery of not ONE but TWO new outdoor settings. After the fiasco of the first one yesterday we stopped in two purchase Table number 2 only to see the display model was dirty and screws starting to fall out (if you remember the broken bed fiasco last week then you will know why I was a wee bit dubious) almost pulling our hair out and knowing we are short on time to get one here BEFORE Christmas we called into Bunnings on a whim, not really expecting to find anything. We found a 6 seater that was close to what we had been looking at only problem it wasn't made in an 8 seater setting. No problem. We bought 2 of them. So we now have 2 tables and 12 seats we are hoping that by putting the two together making a square-ish type shape we have done the right thing. The price was actually cheaper than buying either of the two original tables, so I managed to convince Big J that we totally needed the sun lounges that went with that range. Delivery will be later this afternoon - Very Excited here to see things SLOWLY coming together!

EB Doll Quilt Swap RECEIVED!

2011-12-15T18:48:00.000+10:00

Today I received a cute little parcel in my mailbox… could it be??? The parcel delivery man did a hasty retreat as he saw me barrelling down the drive to collect my little quilt (we are practically on first name basis after having him call most days for the past month LOL!) Inside was a lovely vintage sheet tied up with ribbon and some POPPING CANDY Chocolate… have I mentioned before how much I adore popping candy chocolate (what, once or twice ROFL!)

I had the pleasure of receiving from the host who had been expecting to be around the corner on a play date which got cancelled a couple of times. Shame because I would have REALLY loved to have met her finally… but soon AJ, we will meet soon!

Onto the important stuff… the Quilt. I'm so excited and after the day I had it was the one bright moment that made me smile! I'm still smiling as I think of it in my craft room ready to hang!

A gorgeous little mushroom scene, just perfect as my imagination tends to run free!

The most adorable little Butterfly, all hand embroidered!

And even some green grass between the mushrooms!

Isn't it just so perfect? I absolute love it AJ, thanks so much this one is a welcome addition on my craft room wall. Now when you come for your play date, I expect you to call in for a cuppa and you can see your quilt hanging IRL :)

Advent Blog-a-long #15 More decorating

2011-12-15T18:33:00.000+10:00

Oh dear. The stresses of Christmas have been encroaching. A very long story which I won't bore you with, the short version being. Put a table on HOLD only to find out it does not EXIST. We have 10 days till Christmas and need to source an outdoor setting or else I will be madly buying pillow pets for all to sit upon LOL… which in itself is sort of funny because I had a TERRIBLE time sourcing a pillow pet for a certain 4yo who desperately wants one from Santa.

On top of all that I installed a new updated version of our accounting software and it is TERRIBLE. Slow. Nothing is the same and short cuts no longer work and that's only the minor irritants for me, I have a half page list of everything the program no longer performs *sigh*

Meh - truly that's nothing too dreadful, just a minor blip in life.

I came into the house late tonight and the sight of my beautiful Poinsietta plant gracing my table is so deliciously Christmassy that I am once more feeling relaxed and excited about the coming season. I buy one of these plants each year and manage to kill it by February *sigh* but this year I wasn't going to buy one at $12 a pot in Coles I just couldn't justify it with all that I had been spending on food and presents, until we went to the Brand new Masters store. I found this one for $12.40 IN a White ceramic pot and I bought a pack of four red and white Rattan balls to decorate the base. It makes me smile!

Four balls weren't enough, I went back and bought a further 4 today and they do a full circle around my new plant.

There has been lots of crafty behind the scenes going on here. I'm declaring this the finishing month. I have already finished 2 quilts (yet to photograph), one Art Journal (nearly 2 years in the making). I am nearly finished the Care bear Quilt and it will be finished by Christmas, I just need to get cracking on it, nearly up to the binding so not far to go at all. I am also totally going to finish the last book in the Earth Children series. I started it WAY BACK in MAY when I got it for Mothers day. I have struggled through 550 pages of cave paintings - seriously this woman must have just filled out a word quota. It has been boring and a real struggle to get through it. I have 90 pages and I WILL finish it tonight. Usually I won't push on with books that don't hold my attention, but I felt I had to read this one as I have previously loved the whole series (give or take one or two of the books that were a tad boring) but on the whole they have been a good story line… just not this last one. Major disappointment!!!

Advent Blog-a-long #14 decorating

2011-12-14T19:47:00.000+10:00

This year Miss K is 4.5 and finally old enough to be trusted with decorations in her room. Apart from her little miniature tree that featured last night and is decorated in My little pony ornaments and The Simpsons ornaments, I have also decorated her chest of drawers.

On it we have one singing chipmunk, one Advent calendar (surprisingly… she hasn't eaten ahead and has asked me each day before she has it :o ) a copy of The Christmas Story, the Little People Nativity (featuring elf Stewart who popped by one night) a santa torch & lastly a few Christmas cards because mummy has been too slack to make a hanger for them ;)

I saw the Little People Nativity on Special at Kmart a few weeks back and hummed and arrred about it then I saw it at Myer (it was more expensive, but I was in the buying mood) so I grabbed it and she loves it. I was a little worried that it would be getting too young for her but after weighing up the pros and cons, I figure this is one that is just hers. She can play with it as much as she wants and can continue to do some for many years to come!

Mummies Nativity on the other hand (the one I purchased last year (?) is a no go playing zone. I have it set up on my sideboard. With the Christmas table runner I was sent in the EB Newbie Quilters swap a few years back, it sits alongside our current Christmas photo (would you believe I finally framed the photo this year… I found this gold frame in the photo box that never gets opened!) We also have the advent tree, the Santa snow globe and my Christmas tin filled to the brim with Chocolate eclairs. I'm not sure why I only buy the Chocolate eclairs? I don't even really like caramel, but it's something I started years ago and the husband hasn't yet complained!



For the time being I think I have ALL my Christmas decorations I need. Well for this Christmas season anyhow. Next year I am sure I will find something else I simply HAVE to add to the collection. So tell me, what do you have as part of your collection that is the be all and end all of your Christmas decorating?

Advent Blog-a-long #13 Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-13T14:16:00.000+10:00

I was starting to feel a little bah humbug earlier today… I know, totally not normal for ME! I'm just finding myself a little frustrated about best laid plans and shops that are filled to the brim with crazy shoppers. Slow ones. Fast ones. Big ones and Little ones. After finalising the majority of my christmas shopping (excluding those last minute items such as lettuce) I was stoked to see today's bill come in under $200 (that's including the weekly shop, but today's included the rest of the drinks, dips, chips, Kabana etc… so not too bad!)

I just realised I haven't yet shared my Christmas Tree this year :) this year my little helper stuck around for the majority of the job instead of getting bored & leaving it to me!



My new ornament this year is an owl knitting a blue scarf - too cute (I will have to get a close up later on!)

My Tree Quilt remains unfinished, next year it will be finished - Quilt camp is on late November next year so I will take it with me and have it finished by 1st December (Remind me ladies won't you now???)

Here is the finished tree all done up in it's finery! I noticed it has quite the lean to it this year due to my daughters stand back and throw method. For the most part I'm leaving her decorating as is, but I did make adjustments when I discovered she had hung 6 ornaments on some branches…

We even decorated her little tree that sits in her bedroom.

Both the kids enjoyed posing and mucking about after the tree was finished.



I will try and get a decent night time shot of the tree, my tripod broke but am sure I can manage to hold it up while taking the photo!

As I was preparing to pull out the decorations, I decided to quickly snap a photo of how I have them all packed up in the 2 clear plastic boxes. Our decorations are stored in our roof space year round and while we haven't had any creepy crawlies (apart from the gecko egg I accidentally squished last Christmas… ewww) I would much prefer they be in plastic rather than cardboard.

I have still managed to squish most of our decorations (obviously the advent tree, nativity scene etc don't fit) into 2 boxes. It is like a game of Tetris at the end of each Christmas trying to get them all to sit back in the boxes. I use chinese food containers for the beads and silver bell wreaths.

Special decorations are kept in their original boxes. Big J and I each have a Batman & Superman ornament and Miss K now has a special rocking horse as well as a nutcracker musical ones. Each are repackaged in their box until the following year. I then use two different sized boxes from the cheap shop to store the other decorations in. So far this has worked for us, touch wood no breakages and I will continue to do this in the coming years.



How do you store your decorations?

And this is the star on the top of our tree. I am fairly sure it belonged to one of my husbands Nanna's, it is so 80's and so delicate!

Advent Blog-a-long #12 Santa Photo

2011-12-12T15:04:00.000+10:00

Another year down and yet another year that Mummy stars in the Santa Photo. I'm not complaining though ;) we all know how much I love Santa LOL!

This year we once more made the quick trek down to North Lakes and got our Santa Photos at Myer - no line up and yes while a little more expensive, I absolutely love it because there is time to chat to Santa, you aren't rushed and it comes in a nice little folder. Yay for Santaland at Myer!

I've decided on a new Tradition for us - seeing that I am now starring in 4 of the 5 Santa photos, I am going to continue this until I can no longer make Miss K come along with me. I'm sure one day she will get to old for Santa Photos with her mumma, but what a cool 21st present it would be if we could do it every year. I'm quietly hoping that she gets a little of her mum's Christmas passion and I'm sure this is entirely doable!

So here is 2011 photo with Santa!

Our 2010 Photo

Our 2009 Photo

A dreadful 2008 (taken at the local shopping centre, poor little tyke was crying her eyes out!)

And our baby one way back in 2007… it was a great picture and I can't believe she didn't cry!

And now I must get back to it… we've been inundated by all manner of vermin here the last few days. One or two Head lice (ewww) which resulted in one less day at daycare (only 5 to go now) a 2nd mouse in the house (need to evict him cause it's snake season), a green tree snake on the boat (my husband got quite the shock to find that little fella) and woke this morning to ants all over the kitchen - we disrupted a nest a few days ago & they have tried every window to stream into the house and every time we poison one window opening, they find the next one. Hopeful that now all the windows have been done, we may have sent the last of them. Needless to say, I have been busy fumigating the house today and am a little over creepy crawlies!

Advent Blog-a-long #11 Christmas Parties

2011-12-11T20:14:00.000+10:00

A quick one today as I am tired after a pre-Christmas get together with some old work mates in the city.

Last week we had my daughters daycare Christmas Party. As little bittersweet because she will be finishing up at Daycare just before Christmas and won't be returning as she is off to Prep next year. She has been at this centre since she was 15 months and absolutely loves it and her teachers! Since she is our only child, we don't have anymore in the system so we wanted to make the effort for the final Christmas Party and I figured it was another chance to get Miss 4 used to the man in red!

I gave DH the camera to get the photo as she would not let go of me, poor terrified little chicken - but after waiting nearly an hour to get through ALL the kiddies that had attended, Santa FINALLY called out her name and she did the brave walk by herself to greet him and get her present (it helped a little that Miss A was standing right there beside her!) I was so proud that she finally did it by herself. My little baby girl is growing up!

See her skirt - that's the one I made her last year, by some miracle it still fits her (YAY!) got to love getting 2 christmas' out of outfits :)

Advent Blog-a-long #10 All I want for Christmas...

2011-12-10T16:19:00.000+10:00

This one time at Quilt Camp… I took along some squares & fabric I had started a few months back with every intention of at least half finishing a quilt top for my Daughter's bed. I managed to finish several blocks while at camp in between chit chat and eating ;) but my daughter was distressed when I came home without her finished quilt!

A new bed was all the inspiration I needed to pull out those squares, add some more and piece together the top. Laid out on her new bed it looks so bright and happy!

A little further inspiration from Skip who is currently working madly to complete a gorgeous Dr Seuss Quilt for Christmas & I decided that I too could finish this one for Christmas (which is SO FUNNY considering it took me 12 months to complete the last quilt & that was a 'panel' quilt to be blogged soon!)

Challenge Accepted!

Skip has her pom-poms at the ready and is cheering me all the way, should you wish to join her cheer squad - she is captain 'kay?

The top was finished last night after some major issues with measurements (typical of me) and then today even with a sinus / hormone headache I have managed to make up the backing, basted it and started Quilting it - I know right, I'm usually so darn slow when I arrive at this step. So if everything keeps going to plan, I have 15 days to finish this quilt in time for Christmas… can I do it???

While I was busy Quilting. Miss K fell asleep on the couch and I found this little man curled up in her New bed!



And there has been a little Christmas Craft happening today. After seeing this Candy-cane Wreath on Pinterest I decided I could totally make one…



Umm… mine didn't turn out the same as the original… but it only cost me maybe $5 to make. Now I need to find a place to hang it before the husband returns!

Advent Blog-a-long #9 Advent Fun

2011-12-09T09:01:00.000+10:00

A good friend I use to work with sent me a Jacquie Lawson Advent via email. If you haven't heard of Jacquie Lawson, hop along now and check it out for yourself - lots of gorgeous e-cards and two different advents to download... and did you see that iPad one (am not looking, am not looking!) She gave us the same last year and we got a lot of fun out of it until my computer decided it lacked any form of Christmas Spirit and up and died on me.

I finally got around to downloading the new advent yesterday (yes I know, how slack am I - the month is nearly over! but it's all good, you can still go back and enjoy previous days!) I now have a lovely little snow-globe on the bottom of my screen - how sweet is it?

And a little close up of the globe... isn't it too sweet!

When you click on the snow-globe you are taken into London Town and each day you you click on the numbered bauble and are taken on a little adventure for the day.



Some days there is a cute little video to watch, other days are interactive activities to enjoy. One of the activities this week was to make our own snowflakes which then flutter down over London.



It is very cool and a great activity if you need one for those pesky rainy days we have been experiencing! Luckily the sun is shining once more today, I'm off to catch up on a weeks worth of washing then off for a play date!

Advent Blog-a-long #8 Christmas Treats

2011-12-08T21:04:00.000+10:00

Today has been slightly CRAZY here and for the most part not at all Christmassy!

We've had a drama filled 24 hours and truly I just want to curl up with a Vodka and pretend it didn't happen! It all started with a new bed that within hours became a broken bed (and no it had nothing to do with any funny business ;) yet another new bed today that touch wood has survived a few more hours than the last one... I had to work today and realised that I am behind a couple of weeks (have had to take a few days off due to other commitments) and it occurred to me that I have an appt next week and the week after is just before Christmas and I would like to only do an hour or two on that day if possible. The only problem was today was just not meant to be, between re-organising the new(er) bed, taking delivery, numerous coffees, coffee break with inlaws and Facebook (it's an evil place) I just didn't get motivated enough to finish as much as I wanted to. Sigh. So next weeks' appt is cancelled and it WILL be a big day.

On top of all the craziness, tonight was Miss K's Christmas Party at Daycare. Luckily I was sort of organised before hand and this afternoon I just had to pop 4 of these yummy treats into a little Christmas box for her 2 teachers. It was hard giving the rest of them away and now I will definitely have to make a batch just for us!

White Choc dipped Oreos with Peppermint crush.

I love that Christmas is the only time of year you can buy 6 boxes of Oreos at Woolies and not have the checkout chick bat an eyelid LOL

I decided to make all my Christmas Cards this year... so how's that going? I have managed to finish 5 - I grabbed 2 for the teachers! Basic but I'm learning basic is better (for me)

Christmas Party was good fun, it was a BYO picnic at the centre and luckily the rain held out long enough to have the party. Santa arrived in Style in a massive B double Mack Truck. Beeping his horns as he went past and again as he came back and parked on the footpath - it's times like these I love living in rural suburbia... you wouldn't get that in a city daycare centre!

And we won't mention that I may have had a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat when he arrived... it was the excitement ok! I sort of got caught up in it all ~ I love Christmas.

One Big Girl - signing off!

Advent Blog-a-Long #7 (elf) Stewart

2011-12-07T16:25:00.000+10:00

Sometime in November I saw a status update from Retromummy about an Elf on the Shelf. She said what now? I had never heard of them before and not surprisingly I found myself quickly hopping over to google to check it out. Within days of hearing about him, I was seeing him pop up everywhere on Pinterest and really - why wouldn't he, he is pretty darn cute. So after thinking about it for a week, I bit the bullet and placed my order for one with Amazon.

Fingers crossed he would arrive before the official start of the Christmas month, I was so excited to receive him at the end of November. I won't lie to you. There MAY have been some screaming and jumping and it wasn't from the 4yo either :o I think Big J was thinking I had completely lost it before the official silly season actually began... but I have recovered and our little Elf - aptly named (elf) Stewart (do you get it??? Alf Stewart aka Home and Away) has settled into his new home really well!

The box is quite huge when it arrives, inside the front flap resides an Elf on the Shelf as well as the storybook!

The elf lives on a shelf inside the book until the Christmas holidays begin and then he hangs about in your house, each morning he has a new hiding place.



Inside the book are pretty pictures and the story explaining what you can and can't do with your Elf.

At the end of this story is a place to record your new Tradition.

Apart from being a such a cute idea plus having a lovely little story to go with him, I love how you can go online here and register your elf for adoption and in return you get a cute little Adoption Certificate as well as a letter from Santa that includes your name and your Elf's name. I do so love interactive toys and Miss 4 was absolutely bewildered when she got her letter from Santa! And for all you creative types... there is a section where you can do an Elf Scrapbook of his adventures during the month!

If you are a little partial to all things Christmas (like me) then go and buy yourself an Elf today! Personally I think he is well worth it :)

Here is our (elf) Stewarts adventures so far this year!



And this morning... we caught him watching a little TV - cheeky Elf!

Advent Blog-a-long #6 Books

2011-12-06T13:46:00.000+10:00

Last year (or the year before) one of my online forums we discussed Christmas books. I was a little embarrassed to own up and say just how many Christmas Themed books I had collected over the years... I think I was up to 21 at that stage. THIS year I counted them all after we received the latest book in our collection and realised I now have 24 + one golden book about the Christmas Story that is residing on Miss K's chest of drawers for the Christmas season.

Here they are all laid out!

I had seen previously around blog-land people wrapping up all their Christmas themed books and letting the children open them one by one during the month of Christmas. Sort of like a book Advent. I tossed up whether I should do it and worked out that it would take me a while to wrap all the books and all the while wondering how silly I was wrapping books we already owned! Then early last week I realised that I had two episodes of Glee to catch up on and organising myself a coffee, I sat down and started wrapping. Kirsty from 2 little monkeys is doing it too and even better she is sharing a photo of the books each day!

So were you wondering how I ended up using those labels I showed you yesterday? 24 books wrapped in Red and White paper each labelled with a Christmas tag from 1 - 24.

I figured if Nothing else, at least it would help Miss 4 count and recognise her numbers. As well as a bit of fun!

At first I stacked them in her reading corner, but then on my travels last week I discovered this Merry Christmas Box for only $4 - it's the perfect size for storing the wrapped books during the advent as well as storage for the year when they are packaged up once more.

Any qualms I initially had about wasting time on a Christmas project like this were quickly washed away - Miss 4 has been ever so excited arriving in our room each morning with the next book in the pile and her face is a picture of Joy.

Now this story - as with any of my stories has a funny part... lying in bed the first morning and seeing the pure joy on her face as she unwrapped her first book, I turned to Big J and said "well this activity was well worth the $10 is cost me" he nods and then turns to me and says "wow, did you get all 24 books for $10" Mere male moment at it's finest!

Cost of this little Activity

$6 wrapping paper - I chose one roll of red, one of white. Both of which have ample left over to be used on other presents

$4 - Storage Box

Tag, Spray paint, Number tags from my Scrapping supplies.

I think this new tradition is a keeper for us!

Advent Blog-a-long #5 Craft

2011-12-05T14:37:00.000+10:00

Just a quick post today - my head is pounding with a sinus headache and I feel like horrid! I wanted to share with you a cheap arts and crafts idea that I found on an American blog during my art journalling days. It's something I have been wanting to try for some time, but I struggled to find any of these little pump pack bottles. I finally found one in a toiletry set for $3.99 (though I have since managed to find some cheaper ones on ebay!

Water and green food colouring. Yes - that's all this is! Spray it on some shipping tags from Officeworks and you have yourself a nice cheap little label to adorn for Christmas.

Aren't they too cute and the spray goes on differently on each tag, here I've teamed them up with some numbers for a little Advent count down that I promise to share with you tomorrow (my head can't cope staring at the computer screen a moment longer!)

Advent Blog-a-long #4 All about the elves...

2011-12-04T09:32:00.000+10:00

What's an Advent Blog-a-long without some elves?

Or in this case an Elf! I grabbed this DVD at the shops for a whopping $9 - having never seen it before (much to my husbands distress... but I assured him that I would like it because I may have recently developed a liking for all things Will Ferrell... yes I know - even I was shocked at myself! You have to admit he is funny though!) The whole family sat down together to watch it last night and it was a really good family Christmas movie about a Human who grows up thinking he is an Elf. With a healthy dose of Christmas Spirit, a great Christmas soundtrack it's a movie worth viewing this Christmas! Be warned it has some 'fart' jokes and if you have a child like mine, there will be hours of giggling!!!

This morning I was awoken at 6am by an excited child who had discovered (elf) Stewart in her Pony car! What a cheeky little elf this Stewie is turning out to be :) he is already worth every penny I spent on him because Miss 4's face is absolutely priceless each morning - awww!

And what would a post about Elves be without the top of the pops (or in this case... popping candy in chocolate!) That's right. Tis the season to be silly and happy because Magical Shelves are back on the shelves once more!

My good friends in Blogland know and appreciate how much I love these little Elves... I even got a message on the 1st October from Kirsty letting me know they were on the shelves already! Yay for Kirsty and Yay for Magical Elves! It appears I have also spread the love of these little guys - which could be a bad thing because that means LESS for ME! One of my other bloggy peeps mentioned on Facebook how I had hooked her on them too. I also fed them to my niece last week. So the word is spreading. If you HAVEN'T tried yourself one of these little morsels of goodness - go directly now to your local shop and pay the money for a bag of 12 - you will NOT regret it!

Now I am going on a limb here to share with you just how these delicious little fella's should be eaten. I have years of experience in eating them, so trust me I KNOW BEST!

See on the far back elf, written on the bottom is POPPING CANDY. If you come from a different era or country that means Pop Rocks. You know those things that pop in your mouth & should NOT be mixed with a can of soda or else your tummy will explode!!! (what??? That was only an urban legend - here I was thinking it was true)

The Eating of the Magical Elves

Take ONE elf. Open the packet & bite off 1/3 of the elf. I personally like to start with his head. Stop right there. DO NOT BITE or CHEW or MUNCH any further.

Let the elf sit, languishing on your tongue and swallow that milky chocolate goodness! Now I am here to tell you that it is perfectly OK to drink soda at this stage, the chocolate must mask the pop rocks and let me assure you it does not explode in your tummy ;)

Once the chocolate has started to melt, you will feel an explosion in your mouth - little pops of popping goodness. Now IF you have moved that chocolate third around sufficiently you will find those popping will be all around - a much better sensation than in one small spot. To have them popping upon your tongue, under your tongue and between your gums and teeth - well the experience is that much more satisfying isn't it now? Once the popping has resided (it could take a few minutes if you do it right ;) you may move on to the next third and repeat the whole process over!

NOTE: I am not paid in anyway to promote Magical Elves, though really I am thinking I SHOULD be seeing as how I give them a shameless plug EVERY Christmas all for my own personal satisfaction. Perhaps Cadbury could come at a lifetime supply of Magical Elves for me. Gosh knows I've spent enough on Magical Elves over the years to keep these little suckers on the shelves to return year after year!

EB DQ Swap - 2011 - sent!

2011-12-03T13:47:00.000+10:00

Although none of us really frequent the EB forums anymore; we are all friends on Facebook and have created an EB Quilters group there so we can continue to share our quilting journeys and lives. This is the 5th year of the Doll Quilt Swap (my 4th year participating) and I have to say my hardest yet. I think it's because I just have NOT quilted in forever. I had lost all oomph for design and if it wasn't for some behind the scenes email help by Kirsty as well as some gentle prodding by Kayscha, I'm not sure I'd be here today. But here I am. Finished. Posted. And surprisingly my partner received it in 3 days - way to go Australia Post (there has to be a first!!!

My partner this year was Anna and I've been so happy that she has commented on everything I posted relating to this swap. Thankful because it put my mind at ease several times! Anna didn't want traditional blocks in her swap and I got myself into quite the flap after seeing her previous received quilts as they were simply stunning - think "Don't look now" style which I can't do (well not can't, just haven't attempted yet) so I went to the local quilt store with an floating idea in mind but found NOTHING matching my thoughts. On the way out the door I luckily stumbled over a small box of Anthology Fat Quarters and the colours and prints just spoke to me.

First attempt was a dresden plate and let's just say... it didn't work! Next up I decided on circles. A strategic placing of them on a linen background and each circle raw edge appliqued in place. It started to grow on me slowly and I took it away basted ready for some Machine quilting on our recent quilt camp. Kayscha totally convinced me to hand sew around each circle in co-ordinating colours. I told her she was welcome to do it for me ;) I was kidding... I think. Anyhow. I came home from Quilt camp and I started to hand stitch around each circle, a couple of hours later I was caught up on my TV viewing for the week and I had finished the circles.

I'm not sure if you are supposed to get the crinkly look out of the linen, but I couldn't get it to budge... hoping Anna doesn't mind too much!

I didn't love this quilt until I pieced the back... I love the 2 fabrics against the deep blue & I love how the stitches of each circle came through (I used Blue, Variegated Red/pink and White) and I love how I placed the circle label into a blank area without circles!

This was my FIRST finished quilt this year (hence the word heavy post... a "look at me - I finally finished a quilt" post) I am so happy Anna likes it and can't wait to get back into some quilting in the new year. I highly doubt I will manage to finish anymore quilts this year ;)

Advent Blog-a-long #3 Crafty Stations

2011-12-03T13:37:00.000+10:00

With Christmas fast approaching and a craft room in dis-aray I knew it was time to clean out the spare room. I'm afraid before photos are just not possible... you would be shocked that I could have lived the last 12 months in such squalor... and it was 12 months because in the middle of the room on the floor was the box of odd shaped Christmas things that hadn't quite found a storage place. A whole year's worth of boxes & crap piled up. After spending a whole day sorting, cleaning & wishing I had just napalmed the lot - the day ended with more floor visible than furniture and a nice cleared spot against the wall for my craft table to sit against. A perfect spot for A Crafty Station!

Though it gets messy VERY quickly it's been the perfect place to make tags for Christmas gifts, use my organiser and wrap the presents. So much so that half the presents are now wrapped and under the tree!

One of the little crafts I have managed to complete this year already is little A5 sized colouring books. Take a few different Christmas Themed colouring pages, print 2 per page & cut in half. Then add a pretty A5 sized piece of Christmas paper to the front as a cover. I then used our binding machine to bind each of them (had to cut the A4 binding combs in half to get this size) Lastly add a hand stamped name and picture to each.

I had made Miss K an A4 sized booklet & added some washi tape around her name tag.

I then tied a small packet of cheap crayons, a gingerbread cutout and a candy-cane to the front of each and ta-daah! I have a little extra gift for the kiddies from Mum's group. We do a Secret Santa rather than buy for everyone, but I like to give something little to each of them and this year I was in dire need of some creativity!

Setting up this Crafty Station has been my BEST Christmas idea yet. I do a little at a time and leave it all there set up ready for the next day. But a word to the wise, when setting up your Christmas Craft Station... be sure to make a list and check it twice ~ wouldn't want to run out of sticky-tape BEFORE you finish wrapping the first present :o

Advent Blog-a-long #2 A Homemade Christmas

2011-12-02T17:07:00.000+10:00

Look who we found in the Christmas Tree this morning...

Superman he is NOT, it appears that (elf) Stewart misjudged the height of the tree when flying home from the north pole!

Are you planning any home-made gifts this year? Every year I have every intention and then break under the pressure. Usually my home-made Christmas results in baking up a storm a few days prior & boxing up extra biscuits for the grandparents! Sometimes though I'd love to do something a little extra, something that I know will get used and be welcomed. So I am turning to Pinterest and other blogs to gain some inspiration on those little extras!

I stumbled across a recipe for Cleansing Grains last month and have had it bookmarked on my iPad for a rainy day - well today turned into a miserable day & when I woke up with a whopping huge white pimple on my chin I decided to make some up and see how it goes. I've had a lot of misses in the past with home-made beauty products. This one though is a clear winner (though very messy) it is so beautiful and soft leaving a creamy finish. I even rubbed some excess onto my arms and they felt so very soft this morning!

For this mini jar of grains I only used 1-2 Tablespoons of each ingredient and added Grapefruit essential oil instead of Lavender (all I had on hand) A perfect gift for friends, teachers and grandmothers, now I just need to source some more jars like this one!

We've had a busy day here today more crazy Christmas shopping which will most probably be my LAST venture to the major shopping centres - so busy and school hasn't even finished up for the year yet!

Today's crazy purchase... l

A $2 pack of Christmas cards complete with Santa, Mrs Clause and Rudolph! Miss 4 loves playing memory game (and usually kicks my butt at it every time!) Probably NOT the best learning tool, but I have found that matching the numbers is a great way for her to learn her numbers - of course we are hoping that she doesn't go to school next year crying out Black 10 or Red 8...

2011 Advent Blog-a-long Sign Up

2011-12-01T16:52:00.002+10:00

Advent Blog-a-long #1 Crazy Purchases?

2011-12-01T13:21:00.000+10:00

Do you get a little CRAZY for all things Christmas? Yes? Well maybe this little meme is for you! Every year for the past 3 I have hosted the Advent Blog-a-long! It's just a little bit of fun and a place for me to share my own CRAZY countdown till Christmas. You can play along - there are no rules, just be sure to link back to me so that I can swing by your place to celebrate some Christmas fun! This month I have actually planned some of my posts for the Advent blog-a-long (crazy hey... but I guess Skip aka Domestic Guru is rubbing off ;)

This year as I am not working to the same capacity as I was last year, so I promise you it will be Bigger and Better than in previous years. This month I plan on sharing some beaut Christmas stuff I have found on my travels, a little Christmas Crafting (big girl and little girl), family traditions, foods, crazy buys, drinks as well as the day to day stuff that we get up to around this Crazy Christmas Household!

So if you are possibly a wee bit partial to a little crazy purchasing like the one I did today...

BECAUSE you know EVERY household needs a flashing musical christmas tree pen and really, who could have walked past this set of 4 melamine Christmas plates for only $5. I know of one Husband that is gonna flip when he sees them, but I figure if I am the good domestic wife that he is now accustomed to and continue to serve up his dinner every night - I might just get away with it. I now have to work out a plan to get the next three packs through the door and into the cupboard LOL.

************************************************************************************************

We have started a new tradition this year, after Retromummy mentioned it I simply HAD to get one. We adopted an Elf whom deserves a full blog post of his own but keep your eyes peeled, he will most probably be popping up in some weird and wonderful places over the coming days.

(elf) Stewart after viewing one too many episodes of I Dream of Jeannie

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Happy December 1st to you and yours, this afternoon I am off to put up the Christmas Tree with Miss 4 ~ wish me luck!

Colour Crochet Bags!

2011-11-30T09:25:00.000+10:00

When the recent Quilt Camp was fast approaching, I decided that I needed a special Crochet Project to take along with me. Especially for Quilt Camp (we decided we would sit up all night and crochet, not realising the Sewing hall was open till 10pm!) I ordered some gorgeous Biggan wool from Tangled Yarns ~ quite the decadent purchase for me! I am a self-confessed Spotlight / Big W cheap wool shopper... partly because I am a tight arse and partly because I am notorious for NOT finishing projects. I will happily start them... but finishing is not my strong suit!

It also didn't matter that I was heading to the craft show the next day and probably should have saved my dollars, not to mention buying ANOTHER crochet kit that became my new Quilt Camp Project. Of course with a new Quilt Camp project, I had to finish this bag to take it away in right? So I madly crocheted and the Monday night before camp I just eeked out the shell edging along the top!

With only a little wool left and and two handles and 4 flowers still to make what was a girl to do but order MORE wool. This time I just ordered 2 of the same colour + 3 new colours (for future projects of course... and it was cheaper for the freight) and I managed 2 short handles that I sewed on just before the weekend and 4 flowers with ends to be sewn in awaiting construction!

Doesn't it look so delightful with my new Crochet project in it (ok so this shot is totally posed!) I am about half way through the new project, hoping to show you the finished project before Christmas IF it doesn't get too hectic around here with the blog-a-long!

The flowers and vintage buttons (from my Nan's button stash) were sewn on the final morning of Quilt Camp. I absolutely love, love, love my new funky bag! And I had several ladies commenting on it at camp and all of who decided they wanted the pattern link too!

Pattern - Attic24 Crochet Bag by Lucy (highly recommend this pattern, it is so easy to follow!)

Wool used - Biggan Design DK Merino First Cross (colours: 945 CandyFloss, Gentle Green, 830 Jacaranda, 060 GhostGum, 705 Turquoise) 1 ball of each + a little extra as I added 3 extra increase rows and then ran out for the handles!

If I were to do this bag again, I would probably try to source some Aran wool as I'm sure the DK will stretch, but as I'm only intending to use it to carry small crochet projects - I'm hoping that won't be an issue!

Sneak Peak

2011-11-29T15:27:00.000+10:00

A little sneak peak of my First (yes FIRST) quilt finished this year! & I deem fit to call myself a quilter - shame on me! All will be revealed ONCE it arrives safely at it's new home!

Sunday Snippets of my Monday Morning...

2011-11-28T13:57:00.000+10:00

Yesterday was a busy day, we attended a birthday party for a gorgeous little 2 year old and we got home later than expected. I may or may not have had a few too many cups of home brew (OMG it was so good I want to brew my own... perhaps I should add that to next years' to-do lists) and rather than do a post last night of my Sunday Snippets (none of which were taken on the phone) I thought I'd totally cheat and take some of our Monday morning.

Big J started yesterday morning with Bacon & Eggs and decided to sit out on the back patio. I suggested we should make the effort to do it every morning & why wouldn't you!

THIS is why I love Queensland!!!

Cereal served in Reindeer bowls (of course... would you expect anything less of me???)

And Vegemite toast

Cheesy {early morning} Grins

And satisfied customers (he was happy eating the vegemite toast leftovers)

My Instagram decided to freeze while taking that last photo & well it was too good to delete, so I did a screen shot (if you are new to iPhones you press the top button and the round button together and it will photograph your screen - good if there's a photo on Facebook you want to share with friends - rather than scrolling through history etc!)

Having breakfast outside was wonderful, no TV to distract. No iPad to distract and best part was once we'd eaten we came back inside and had enough time to run around getting washing done and the house tidied up before Daycare drop off. For ME that is an accomplishment, I'm afraid I am the type to roll out of bed, roll onto the couch and NOT move until well past the time I like to get her to daycare. At least this way I am actually up and moving for the day ahead.

It's coming...

2011-11-28T13:46:00.000+10:00

3 more sleeps peeps... Advent Blog~a~long will be back by popular demand (ok - so perhaps 2 people is NOT classed as Popular demand...) I really struggled the previous 2 years to keep up the pace while working but the good news THIS year, I am no longer working (well not to the capacity I once was) so I have more time to spend doing more christmassy themed posts. Are you with me again this year?

Seeing Granny

2011-11-21T14:57:00.000+10:00

Today was a GOOD mail day! We poor people in Queensland have been getting some SERIOUS delays on our Melbourne mail. DH ordered a DVD for Miss 4 and stupidly told her it would be here on Wednesday, 2 days after they sent it. Wednesday came and went, no DVD. Same on Thursday. Again on Friday. This went on for another whole week before DH went and bought another DVD for the poor chicken as she was so upset waiting for the mail each day only to find it didn't arrive once again! It finally arrived after 2 weeks.

I had the exact same problem when I ordered parcel number 1 from Curly Pops. We all know that waiting for delightful goodies from Curly Pops is hard enough for a day or two... but when Australia Post makes you wait 10 BUSINESS days. OMG I felt a bit like Homer Simpson awaiting his gun licence!

Luckily Parcel number 2 arrived today... a day or two less time to arrive than the first parcel (still 8 business days... good one Australia Post) but still very exciting to finally have it in my hands!!

Awww - I totally love handmade!

Especially when it is as cute as this little gadget pouch! Isn't the fabric so rad!!! It was a nice bright interlude to a day spent diligently studying!

Last weeks parcel (which I never got a chance to blog about was jam packed with wonderful Curlypops Goodies. I have a few handmade christmas presents sorted out now and was stoked to get this Go Granny fabric that Cam designed and released. I had been putting off ordering it for ages as I figured it would sit in my stash to be admired but never touched... I didn't want that and finally I bit the bullet when I had to order some christmas goodies and I bought a panel. OMG it is seriously delicious! I love, love, love it!

Starting small - I cut into it this afternoon and have put three little granny patches on my denim iPad cover (the cover was half price $9 at Target)

The rest of the granny square fabric is in the to-do pile as the time has come to replace the cover of my lounge cushion. I bought this little cushion when I was pregnant with Miss K and it's taken quite a battering from constant use! I have already patched it up once with some denim, but even that has fallen away, so in the next week or two I will be cutting out a Go Granny Panel and teaming it with some denim and giving new life to this little beauty!

BTW - I had no issues with Cam during all the stuff around Australia Post were doing. I'm just mentioning it here incase you are wanting to order early for Christmas - the post is just so VERY SLOW at the moment! Incidentally... it only took 8 days (including weekend) to receive parcels from Hong Kong and the US... go figure!

Sunday Snippets {taken on Saturday}

2011-11-20T09:51:00.000+10:00

We are LOVING the hot weather Queensland has been turning on recently.

It means lots of late afternoon swinging...

Lots of swimming in clear water (though I do admit yesterday was my first swim!)

Pulling out my favourite sun-lounge & enjoying the cool breeze!

Having to fight for space on the sunlounge *sigh* and reading. Miss 4 now informs me, she totally wants one too. Pink of course!

Finding new bikini bottoms that actually COVER the still red scars (pulled down a bit to show off said scar)

Talking to these little cuties in the backyard!

And better yet, today has dawned another bright day. I'm sure today will be something similar!

Linking up with Cathy, be sure to pop by and see what others are up to this fine day!

Upcyling Creativity

2011-11-15T13:31:00.000+10:00

Although I am rather crafty, I sometimes lack the oomph to turn my visions into reality. Many a project I've started and it hasn't turned out as expected, but I haven't given up hope yet. Last week (even though there were many more far better things to be getting on with) I started printing out my recently purchased copy of the 2012 Domestic Guru - you can get your very own copy right here and well as with anything that my mate Skip produces - it is down right EXCELLENT! Go on, I promise you won't regret it!

In 2012 I want to accomplish two major things.

1. Keep my house clean & in order - this organiser will be perfect for this (I used it back in 2009 and it was brilliant!)

2. Keeping control of the household budget and remove mindless spending, especially if I can 'do it myself'

So as I printed out my organiser this morning, I thought to myself it would be lovely to put it in a nice new folder to reside in for next year... my initial thought was to go buy one but that defeats the purpose of my household budgeting goal. So it was time to watch my pennies and put my recent crafty mo-jo into action.

Found in the bottom of my craft cupboard - one hideous 2 ring binder purchased just after I finished HIGH SCHOOL. Yes folks, this one has been sitting on the floor of my craft room cupboard gathering dust since 1990-something and yes I am a hoarder!

With no real plan of where I was headed, I started painting the inside with a light layer of Gesso.

I added a bit of pink & a touch of silver but found the pink was a bit too in your face, so next step I cut out some scrapping paper and covered that pink over. I also taped the edges with some masking tape (note to future crafty self - add the masking tape BEFORE you paint *sigh*

Pretty Scrapbooking paper (pink of course) and lots of Washi tape to finish off the edges and lastly a light layer of gel medium over the top to get a more rustic type look happening. Now I know this style wouldn't be too everyone's taste - but with limited scrapping skills & a few tips I picked up when doing some art journalling - I actually really really love this new binder!

To complete the look, I added some snowflake Washi tape around the edges and cut into the first page of Skips Organiser (I hope she is ok about me defacing her beautiful page) Some light pink Washi tape to hold it all on and Ta-dah, one girly folder all ready to go!

The inside, I have put Skips introduction page on one side & all my pages will be hole punched and added - ready for my year of gaining control of this house!

What do you think? I'm hoping that by putting the dreary old housework stuff into a pretty crafty folder it will inspire me to work harder so I have more time to craft!

Craft Retreat Part 2

2011-11-15T12:03:00.000+10:00

One final post on our weekend away crafting. Organised all the way back at the start of 2011, seven of us were keen to get away and spend the weekend at Cunninghams Gap crafting to our hearts content. Unfortunately two of the girls pulled out due to other commitments. The five remaining girls had an absolutely ball and it was great to meet up with all of them. Two of the girls I have been chatting to online for about 4 years now, so it was nice to finally meet and connect and craft together! I took along FAR too many projects - what was I thinking...??? I didn't even pull out my big camera which is a shame as it would have been good to get some pointers on photography from Rachel, but maybe I can do that next year!

At the last minute, I threw in a little mini album that I had cutout and done nothing further with & decided it would make a great little craft trip momento of our weekend away! It's not great as I took very limited scrapping supplies with me & today I need to finish it off with more journalling and the last of the instax photos I took!

I opted to use the word ANNUAL on my booklet as we have every intention of going away again next year - I can't wait ladies!

The second page I added a photo of the cabin we stayed in, it was just like school camp! We stayed in "Boonah"

A few more instax of the weekend - I should have gone crazy and got more... but alas I was too busy attempting to craft!

On the Saturday afternoon, they arranged for one of the local quilt stores to pop by and do a quick little demo and set up a mini shop. OMG. I thought I would be safe in the country far away from shops... Luckily I had just enough cash on me to buy these & pay for my coffees! Some perle threads, crochet cotton, a forrest friends jelly roll and some Christmas Fabrics!

We decided before we left, to have a little goodie bag! OMG the girls spoilt us something terribly! Thanks so much ladies, I love all of it!

My contribution to the goody bags was rather funny. Remember the design board I made? I decided after that it would be a great 'quilt' related gift bag gift for the retreat. So I made my husband drive me to North Lakes so I could swing by the art store and pick up the amount of boards I needed. I ended up buying 6 thinking 5 for the retreat + 1 for me. Turns out I counted wrong *doh* and ended up with an extra 2 for me. When I packed for the retreat, I cut out four new Dear Jane blocks and set them out on my 4 boards and it was really funny how the girls were commenting and saying they are really great, I must get some supplies and make myself one. I was giggling to myself! Actually a lot of other ladies popped by our table and asked what they were too. I've decided they are so good, to go buy a bigger board and make a larger one for my bigger projects too. Anyhow here are the 8 boards stacked up awaiting wrapping!

I also made each of the girls a pincushion that I had seen floating around on Pinterest. I can't find the link right this second, but I just cut it to how big I wanted them and they were super quick and easy to make!

Of course I had to test run it and make myself one before hand!

So that is the final instalment of Quilt Retreat 2011. I am so looking forward to 2012 and it would be lovely if we were to get a few more ladies to come along. If you are shy thinking you've never met any of us before - don't be! We did not stop talking all weekend!! Lots of fun and I'd highly recommend it! And the best part - my energy for crafting had been renewed - so I'm off to create!

Sunday Snippets on Monday... & Craft Retreat Part 1

2011-11-14T15:08:00.000+10:00

Linking up late with Cathy this week!

I had a busy weekend away on a craft retreat & thought it might be a good idea to share some little snippets (more to come when I scan my instax photos!) A few instagrams from the weekend crafting!

Roadworks are great when you are stopped at the foot of a huge mountain range!

I grew up not far from these ranges - glorious countryside in South East Qld!

At the retreat we all had one big table to work on. Setting up my machine on Friday night!

The start of piecing work... one of these squares was finished by Breakfast Saturday!

Four more squares to add to my small pile of Dear Janes! I picked the easiest ones to take along with me.

Snow came along to the retreat (and freaked some people out) I finally pushed myself to finish off a dress I had cut out long ago - just in time for Christmas!

Some wildlife greeted us upon arrival, this little man was far less scarier than the 6ft snake skin they removed from the roof - thankfully the snake had long since disappeared.

I had every intention of starting my new cushion cover, except ran out of time chatting and teaching others how to crochet! I did manage two rounds (which I had to frog and re-do when I got home as I'd read the pattern wrong) I did finish it off last night on the couch so it still counts as craft retreat finish!

As for Quilting... while I had every intention of finishing the 'machine' quilting on this little wallhanging, a very good friend convinced me it would look far better hand sewn! Luckily the retreat had organised for the local quilt shop to come by & set up a mini shop at the retreat & I bought some No 8 Perle threads to work on this today! I've never worked with these before & OMG I am sold!

I'm home now feeling thoroughly refreshed & am back to reality this week, though taking it a bit easy today. I've finished the hand sewing on my EBDQ Swap, now just need to bind and send.

A bit of this... bit of that...

2011-11-08T19:54:00.000+10:00

I am heading off to a quilt retreat this weekend that has been in planning since early this year! Three days and 2 nights with like minded souls to relax with, eat with, exercise with (hahahah, not me!) and craft with. I am particularly excited because two of the girls I have been chatting with online for years now - maybe 3-4 years?

Because I was going away, I decided to buy some new expensive (for me) Biggan yarn. I thought it would be a great project to do while I was away, ha-hahahaha. I hooked on and haven't looked back until last night I just managed to eek out the top of the bag and realised I don't have enough balls left over to make the handles or flowers. DAMN IT. I had every intention of using this bag as my crochet project carry bag. I am hopeful that after a late night order last night that my order will arrive before I leave! I did get a shipping notification this morning that it's on it's way - fingers crossed! I just love, love, love the beautiful edging on this bag. Pattern is from here the instructions are easy to understand and it comes together so very quickly. I added an extra 3 rounds to the bottom of my bag - quite possibly the reason I ran out of wool for the handles 'doh'

It was a happy mail today with the arrival of my daughters Christmas present - A Simply Guava Blythe. Oh how will I keep her in her box until Christmas morning, she is so cute! I was a little hesitant about buying a Blythe for my girl as they can be a little expensive, but after seeing the price of cabbage patch dolls the other week - I decided to bite the bullet. Miss K is 4.5 and starting prep next year which maybe a little young, but I want to teach her the meaning of a special dolly early on in the peace and I have confidence in her after the way she has treated my own girls that she can be gentle. Can't wait until she sees her pink hair on Christmas morning!!!

And speaking of hair. If you haven't seen my Facebook feed today you won't know that I have had a hair cut and got my first fringe since high school. I have been contemplating doing this for some time now, and today I just went with it - it covers up my big long forehead quite nicely! What do you think?

Not much else to share, I am trying to work out what projects to take to the quilt retreat on Friday... and I am wanting to take them all. So will have to see how much I can accomplish on Thursday and try to prep a few to go.

The story of a tablecloth

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000+10:00

Many years ago, a lovely yellowy / orange crocheted tablecloth was born.

The colour was a bit too much and the poor tablecloth languished in deep dark cupboards awaiting rescue.

Realising how well it fitted and would look on my dining room table, I saved that table cloth from it's deep dark banishment.

A small bath revealed a mottled colour. The orangey a stark reminder against the lighter sea-green splotches.



Until today with the help of two packets of ocean blue, my tablecloth is proud to be seen in public once again.



Not wanting to toot my own horn or anything, but it is now truly glorious! Can't wait to see it on my table this summer!

Huge, huge thank you to my MIL for creating this gorgeous piece in the first place, thanks to Dylon for those new packet mixes, awesome dyes though my fingers will never look the same again (MUST WEAR GLOVES) and to me for not giving in when others would!!!

Sunday Snippets

2011-11-06T16:31:00.000+10:00

As suspected NaNoWriMo is keeping me REALLY busy if you don't follow my other blog (or twitter, or facebook) you wouldn't know I have cracked 10,000 words in 5 days. I still have today's instalment to write. You know what - if I got no further on my story this month, I would be HAPPY AS at my effort. 10,000 is a LOT of words! I will push on though, I am just free writing, I'm writing sections each day and though most will end up edited out should I ever wish to go on and try to publish this story - the fact that I am writing it now speaks volumes for my willpower and stamina! I don't think there are any rules to NaNoWriMo as in how it is to be written, me I need to be a pantser and just right for the sheer sake of writing, once I get the momentum flowing the words just come to me. It will be the editing that will kill me as I'm sure most of my story is filled with fluff - but that's ok. It's all about writing. And I'm doing that! So without further adieu, Sunday Snippets bought to you today with photos and minimal words - because truthfully I am all worded out!

1. Sewing little gifts for the upcoming quilt retreat.

2. Writing my story; the old fashioned way

3. Fabric and toy filling

4. Needle and thread and a cute spotty tin to keep it all together

5. My dodgy hand-stitching... since unpicked twice and machine sewed in frustration

6. Colourful Crochet. 10 more rounds to go and hoping my balls of wool hold out till the end!

Check out more snippets over here

Blogtoberfest #31 This is the end...

2011-10-31T15:32:00.000+10:00

Well the final day of Blogtoberfest has arrived! I made it bar 2 days, so feeling pretty happy about that considering I was sick for a lot of the month!

Today has been spent taking the pooch to the vet ~ you would think after 13 years of vet visits... 1) I would learn to NOT wear a black shirt (I am covered in white dog hair) and 2) wear long sleeves, my arms are scratched to pieces. He does not like the vet very much :(

Today has been spent in the craft room, cutting pretty stripes working on my Doll Quilt and tidying up (yes, it's a scary thought!)

Today has been spent glueing. A lot. Secret squirrel business is going on here and I'm running out of free days!!!

Today I have been admiring pretty blooms from my best friend - awww!

Today has been the perfect end to Blogtoberfest 2011 - thanks for having me Cathy!

Now you would THINK that I am going to ground after such a big month of blogging? Well I'm not. November marks the start of NaNoWriMo and unlike last year, I am prepared to actually have a go of it and produce something by the end of the month. Gosh knows how I am hoping to achieve that when I'm going away for 3 days (I will be writing late into the night hee hee hee) and tomorrow which is normally a daycare day is our interview at the local school for Miss K, as it's the middle of the day we are taking her out of daycare for the day so I will have her to write around tomorrow and the next day. I'm under no disillusions as to how bloody tough this will be. So I probably won't be hanging out here much over the next month (you can find me at the other blog, I am going to attempt a daily check in as well as writing prompts / groups etc) I will have a heap of crafty stuff to share over the coming months, so stay tuned ~ the Advent Blog~a~long will most probably be making an appearance again this year... I have been on pinterest and OMG... after resisting for so long, I am now finding myself staying up till late pinning to my hearts content. Thank god for Pinterest App on the iphone!

Blogtoberfest #30 Sunday Snippets

2011-10-30T20:09:00.000+10:00

~ Eating Cookies (not real ones!!!) ~

~ Growing Avocados (real ones) ~

~ Photography Play (no {gumnut} babies were discovered by Miss 4) ~

~ Yellow / Orange Crochet (MIL creation) ~

~ Dyeing (note to self: do not stick hands in mix... they will turn blue ;) ~

~ Reflections in the dye pot ~

~ Seeing Circles (finally getting to the Doll Quilt) ~

How was your Sunday? Linking up with Miss Tinnie Girl herself for Sunday Snippets!

Blogtoberfest #29 two to go (after this one)

2011-10-29T17:27:00.000+10:00

Wow. Cannot believe that Blogtoberfest is about to end for another year. Today I thought I would have some lovely photos to share, but I have nothing. My friend came to visit and while we did have every intention to pop over to the Island for a coffee and picnic lunch with the girls, we decided since the girls were happily playing that we would stay and have a good old gasbag. So I'm pretty much all talked out. Nothing to say and nothing to share.

My friend gave me some inspiration on the Doll Quilt that I have been struggling with the last few days. While I had tentatively settled on a design last night, she had a few other ideas so I'm raring to go and filled with ideas! Cannot wait to get started on it! Which I should do NOW. Especially if this crazy person has every intention of joining NaNoWriMo again this year. And yes I do remember how I totally bombed at it last year... this year I am aiming to do better and hey - even if I wrote one piece of 200 words it's more than I managed last year right? It's a win-win!

See you tomorrow!

Blogtoberfest #28 Halloween Prepping

2011-10-28T19:19:00.000+10:00

This post is NOT for Skip (sorry lovely ~ Christmas crafting will resume shortly ;) LOL)

It is NO surprise that Miss K would eventually get around to loving Halloween with a father who practically idolises Tim Burton (think Nightmare Before Christmas or for those of you later comers Willy Wonker and Alice in Wonderland!) Big J decided that this year, since Miss K finally 'gets' Halloween that he would carve her a Pumpkin... $13 later (OMG :o ) we have a pumpkin that has been carved to a likeness of Jack Skellington.



See the creativity runs vast in our family!!!

Today I have been pottering around & decorating Miss K's room - on a budget!

A lalaloopsie dolly - Candy Broomsticks, complete with potion book, black cat and cauldron!

A cheap pumpkin pot (for trick or treating, though we will only be 'trick or treating at Nanna's house!)

A $2 witches hat to match her $3 witches costume for Daycare on Monday!!!

Do you do Halloween?

Blogtoberfest #27 not long now...

2011-10-27T20:05:00.000+10:00

We are on the final countdown till the end of Blogtoberfest... and to be honest I don't think I'm ready for it to end! Even though I have missed a day or two with extreme fatigue and sickness, I really do enjoy daily blogging and I don't usually find it that much of a stretch to find something to blog about - I'm always doing something with my time. This week I haven't had the energy to do much at all, the house has fallen apart and tomorrow it needs a good running about folding, tidying, putting away etc. The washing I'm finally on top of, but it was touch and go with some rain earlier in the week.

I've spent the week pottering. From one craft to another. There has been some behind the scenes work done on my EBDQ Swap which I can't show as the design is a dead giveaway LOL ;)

There's been some colourful crochet - an order from Tangled Yarns of 5 balls of Biggan. OMG. Where have I been, the colours of these are absolutely glorious & oh so bright! I have been happily hooking away since Monday afternoon (yes I did mention I was somewhat slow!) if I had the money, I would be buying some of each colour way and making a big glorious Bette like blanket ~ alas with my S.L.O.W. skills I cannot hope to justify something so brazen to my dear husband!

There's a new ironing board cover that doesn't fit *sob* lucky it is store bought. Perhaps tomorrow I will attempt to cut something funky out and use this as the insert? I also bought 2 new books tonight from Target. 2 for $25 I couldn't very well leave them there could I now?

And a little play with the cuttlebug... three little owls doth make a parliament (am I right?) and a couple of giraffes! I can see this new crafty endeavour will be FUN!

So that's a little of what's been happening around these parts.

Blogtoberfest #26 the hills are alive!

2011-10-26T17:22:00.001+10:00

I decided to introduce Miss 4 to this today....

Ten minutes and two songs in, she fell asleep :o she woke up this morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30am; making it a rather long day for all!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #25 Back on Track

2011-10-25T12:41:00.000+10:00

Thank you very much for all the well wishes yesterday! I am all better today, though taking it easy still and am ready to get busy messing up the (already messy) craft room once more! I thought I'd share with you some of my buys from the craft show - surprisingly, I didn't do too badly and was quite restrained throughout the day. I didn't come anywhere near my budget and I'm not sure if that was because I had

a) purchased a wooly order from tangled yarns the day prior and felt a little guilty

b) realised that I have far too many ~WIP~ and not enough (wo)man hours to do them all in

Either way - I was relatively well behaved! First up was a (slightly belated) birthday present from Mum & Dad. She promised me a cuttlebug machine and got me one they did! It was a show special and they also got me a couple of embossing folders + a couple of dies as well. Christmas of course ;) Now there is no excuse NOT to make my own Christmas cards this year.

Next up was a stop at Voodoo Rabbit... Had I not been on a relatively firm budget, I could have gone a little crazy there! Such beautiful retro type fabrics but i restrained myself and walked away with 2 x 1/2m fabrics plus the Nicole Mallalieu Design A-Line Skirt (after seeing it on Ms Curly Pops blog, I was smitten)

On the Prudence Mapstone / Yarn Glorious Yarn Stall, I found this gorgeous cushion cover kit. The colours are gloriously bright and I will most probably take this one away with me on our quilting retreat in 3 weeks time :o YAY!

At the same stall - I also decided on a whim to buy this Knitted Bracelets kit. They are very Whimsical and I loved that the buttons and flowers were all included. A perfect gift for upcoming birthdays I think!

I also bought a cute little Christmas Tree Ornament "dove" that I didn't photograph, but it's very cute in blue and cream - perfect colours for my tree!

And lastly - My mum was very naughty and bought me this Sashiko Christmas Hanging as I've always wanted to try one (thanks mum) she also got me the hanging star kit as well. She's a little naughty!!!

Blogtoberfest #24 sick

2011-10-24T20:25:00.001+10:00

A break in transmission here, I've been struck down with the blasted gastro bug :( knocked me flat for 2 days... Now I am really behind *sigh*

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #22 Craft fair

2011-10-22T19:22:00.001+10:00

Please excuse Car from today's Blogtoberfest celebrations; she has been at the annual craft fair and is right now trying to work out how they will eat in the week ahead. She may or may not have broken the budget and needs to hide certain items from the big boss-man ;)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #21 Organised pfft

2011-10-21T14:44:00.000+10:00

OMG. I can't believe I missed posting yesterday. While you are probably thinking 'so, everyone else has missed a post here or there too' this is ME we are talking about. Last year I did 31+1, the year before right on 31. I Love Blogtoberfest! But yesterday just felt it was gone in a blink of an eye. I had to work all day which meant an earlier drop off for my daughter at Daycare. A rush all day to get the BAS finalised - which I STILL didn't get done due to waiting on info for ONE transaction *sigh* then I started the filing. Oh dear god. I knew I was behind on my filing, having worked outside of the home for 18 months & having very limited time to do our bookwork meant filing was a lowly priority. I had done a day earlier in the year to catch up, but everywhere I turned yesterday was more and more paperwork. I then realised I hadn't done ANY archiving since BEFORE my daughter was born :o I know I'm not the most organised person around, but I am generally far better than this dismal effort. So I spent the day filing away as much as possible, we then knocked off half an hour earlier and picked up the girl from daycare and raced over to the shops to buy some office supplies (archive boxes... funny that!) then a stop for Macca's for dinner (shoot me now - Bad Mumma Moment) Home in time for baths and bed, before I myself collapsed in a heap in bed and read my book.

It's gone from a wee bit crazy to downright madness here at the moment. There is so much to remember, to do, places to be. I'm getting stuck trying to find enough spots to write things down let alone actually get things done. Just today I have managed 5 loads of washing (yes I was behind in my washing pile... I blame the crappy weather) I still need to race to the shops to buy some essentials AND I would like to sew a bit. It's now 2:30pm... I'm not liking my chances there!

My husband says to me last night - you can't possibly have THAT much to have to write it all down? And he's probably right. Except someone has gone a little crazy with ONLINE shopping! I'm going mad. A little from here, a little from there. It's madness I tell ya! Madness!!! I told the parcel man this morning that we WILL be on first name basis by the time Christmas rolls around!

My poor OTI (On To It) Organiser for 2011 has taken a battering, every week it is being completely scrawled over with lists of to-do's and appointments, playdates etc. Thankfully my brand spanking new OTI - purple for 2012 is ready to go with blank pages aplenty!

YET... even those seem to be filling up. (YES, I have started marking holidays / school terms in for next year... I maybe a little excited about this BIG change in our lives as well as scared witless!)



And of course with Christmas just around the corner... comes more lists. More ideas. More, more, more...

Lucky for me I purchased this ultra, super duper cool Christmas Planner from the Organised Housewife. Honestly - if you have a spare 10 bucks, get yourself one! 45 pages - in colour of Christmassy' goodness. There are list for budgets, lists for presents hidden, lists for presents received. Lists for foods, shopping lists. Calendars. Need I go on - get yourself over and check it out for yourself!

All printed out and placed in a folder on my desk, ready to be inked and stained with my thoughts and ideas for Christmas.

And with a cute little Santa - how could I resist! What are you doing to organise for Christmas this year? Have you started thinking about it yet?

Blogtoberfest #19 Crafty Stuff

2011-10-19T16:53:00.000+10:00

Last week, inspired by how much my girl loved her new skirt. I decided to cut out another 4... I should have learnt from my past track record how notoriously SLOW I am at making things and perhaps 4 was biting off more than I could chew. Plans were to make them on Sunday. I started a production line and got as far as gathering each panel (that's 8 panels in total) when visitors arrived, then we went out, Miss K got sick. Too tired. It's a myriad of reasons as to why they continued to sit, still in their gathered state until I finally finished one of them yesterday.

Skirt Number 1 - Pink homespun from local quilt shop, left over panel of linen with Matroshkas (?) and a teeny panel of left over light pink Fairy Frost (from a quilt finished last year) It felt really good to use up the little bits of fabrics that I hold onto 'just because' I played around on the overlocker with this one and decided to not hem it and just leave an overlocker trim. I quite like the way this has finished, perhaps not for everyone but for me - just right.

And here is the gorgeous girl herself modelling her new skirt that we wore to the playcentre (does this count as What I wore Wednesday?)

This afternoon after setting up the girl with a little crafty project of her own. I escaped to the sewing room and 20mins later - skirt number 2 is now (nearly) finished!

I just need to add the elastic in the waistband than she is all done! Blue flowers from the stash and green gingham from the odds and ends bin at lincraft.

Again I have just overlocked the bottoms rather than hemming. Tell me what do you think - honestly? Would you hem or leave as is? These are predominantly at home / daycare skirts!

And a cheap quick craft to keep the little ones amused. Blue Bowl from Ikea (?) some strips of blue celephane crushed up and a cheap $2 kewpie mermaid doll from the Reject Shop. Makes a pretty cute little bath tub with (fake) water. My girl is still out there after an hour playing with the celephane. Awww!

Tomorrow IF I have time, I want to finish another skirt and have just realised I have ONE Week to complete a quilt - eeek... don't think it's going to be doable. But we shall see!!!

Blogtoberfest #18 The new girl!

2011-10-18T15:16:00.000+10:00

Meet Snow!

Nude straight out of the box!

The seller even included 2 dresses that she thought suited her. I was so appreciative of this!

I'll try and explain more about how she came about and how she got her name... too darn tired to get to it today :(

Blogtoberfest #17 seeing squares

2011-10-17T12:47:00.001+10:00

This Blogtoberfest is not being very kind to us in the sickness stakes :( I've had what I can only assume was a sinus infection, complete with daily headaches that only eased off after starting a course of antibiotics. It has been a struggle to think of good blog fodder when feeling so darn crappy!
Yesterday, feeling vastly better I got busy behind the machine and
stupidly thought I could show off some new skirts today! Big plans that were pushed aside when my little girl started spewing at 5pm. 2am she finally stopped and I stumbled to bed exhausted (in hindsight I should have stayed awake until 2am instead of catching 2x 20min catnaps from midnight. Waking at 6am to a happy and spew free girl and NO coffee decided that today is an official lounge and movie day!

Not wanting to waste precious lounge time, I have been busy adding more squares to my growing piles for the Bette.

Choosing pretty colours, they have grown on me!

Watching the piles grow higher!

Pretty squares laid out beside me!

Hoping I don't get the bug too, that's all I need right now!!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #16 Self Portrait

2011-10-16T16:47:00.000+10:00

Today {Sunday Snippets} has been replaced with {Self Portrait} we did this last year and after attempting 500+ shots, I gave up and posted up a very scary, very wrinkly portrait of myself. Anyone who has been following my adventures of Self Portraiture during What I wore Wednesday, will know I suck at it. So a little twist on my Self Portrait post today...

My husband reckons I have wrinkly hands. He's just a big meanie! Anyone who can read palms is welcome to giving me a FREE reading - just make it a good one.

See more Blogtoberfest Celebrations over here. & Stay tuned, I've been sewing - might even have some finished products to show off tomorrow!

Blogtoberfest #15 A little more blythe

2011-10-15T15:27:00.000+10:00

Last night, my hubby and I headed out minus the child to meet up with our good friends. We don't often get to catch up, but it's aways fun when we do as us girls get to chat crafty chit chat most of the night. Comparing progress on projects and sharing new stuff we find. My friend C arrived last night bearing a little gift for me - she had knitted up this dress for my Blythes in an hour :o she did a great job on it & since she hasn't got a Blythe doll (YET... a little bit of #blytheenabling there, perhaps hubby might get the hint since he's been reading ;P ) here is Ally modelling her new knitted halter neck mini dress! It is so sweet & adorable - thanks Heaps C!

A little close up of the detail! Aren't those ruffles just to die for?

Now with news of a new girl arriving, I was a bit sad to realise that I STILL haven't attempted to wash Ally's hair since I received her in May for my Birthday. I have been putting it off as it's been a scary prospect but today I decided it was time. Stripping down and wrapping her in plastic... I kept hearing & seeing visions of Laura Palmer 'wrapped in plastic' running through my senses! I don't think you really do need to do the whole plastic thing, but I was taking no chances, plastic and masking tape over her pull string hole - just incase!

Here she is with the conditioner applied and waiting, waiting, waiting. I've since rinsed the conditioner and combed it up and am now waiting for it to dry to see if I need to re-do the mini spa treatment again. You see some Blythe girls who are NRFB (I think that means still in box?) have a weird residue through their hair and you need to wash it to make it sit right. Since my other girl was adopted, the washing / spa process was already done for me, so I didn't need to worry and her hair is so silky compared to Ally. Crossing fingers Ally will be soft and silky after her day spa!

We've also been busy cutting out fabric for more skirts. I have another 4 skirts cut and ready to sew. Just tossing up whether I now escape to the sewing room and start sewing the first sections of each, or curl up and do some more crochet? Decisions, decisions!

Blogtoberfest #14 nothing to see here

2011-10-14T23:13:00.001+10:00

I mean literally, nothing to see here!!! A busy day of swimming, cleaning, morning tea, shopping and dinner with good friends :)

Its 11:15pm, I'm tired and I nearly forgot todays post - whoops, lucky I didnt! Hopefully more interesting blogging will resume tomorrow!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Blogtoberfest #13 - Shopping

2011-10-13T17:20:00.001+10:00

I've been shopping!!! Little miss us on her way to me today, now to think of a name...

Regular blogging to resume shortly - as soon as I purge this blasted sinus headache :( feel like crap and it is now a daily occurrence :(

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #12 Our day + WIWW

2011-10-12T15:26:00.000+10:00

Today we hit the park beachside. I remembered my hat & slathered ourselves with suncream too! Shame I forgot to do my feet... I now have a thong mark :(

The best part of THIS park is that across the road is an op shop and a second hand toy shop - I had my fingers crossed to find a Vintage Blythe, no such luck I'm afraid... I did see a Kewpie doll if that counts though? It's probably a good thing that I didn't find any Blythes today ~ I may or may not have inadvertently adopted a new girl last night on the WPWD forums. Now I just need to remember the shop is there and pop past every few weeks - you just never know your luck if you don't try!

And speaking of LUCK! The op shop gods were good to us today! Remember SPOKIE DOKIES? A packet for the bargain price of $1, my girls bike is SO COOL, just like my bike was when I was a kid!

Next we checked out the book section and came away with EIGHT (that's 8) kids books for only $3.40

My All time favourite Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree, a copule of Berenstain Bears, An early reader and a Winnie the Pooh Christmas book & a Barbie book! What a treasure trove of books - have I mentioned how much I love Berenstain Bears???

And today is What I wore Wednesday - I tasked Miss K (4yo) to take today's shot and first one she missed my head, but she nailed it on the second shot! Perhaps this is the way to get my self portraits done for the future!

Today - White Tee ($7 Kmart) Stripey Singlet ($12 Kmart, I bought three of these, this is navy / cream) and denim skirt Target.

Blogtoberfest #11 New Clothes + fabric

2011-10-11T14:11:00.000+10:00

Today is a little photo heavy and a little plug for Janelle Wind as she has shown such kindness to me on Twitter lately and is very encouraging in my quest to find a new girl to join our little family LOL. Christmas is fast approaching and I think after much deliberation, I have finally decided to ask DH to get me a Nostalgic Pop.

A few weeks back Janelle stocked her Etsy store and I made sure I was sitting poised ready to buy as I have heard she can sell out quite quickly! I must admit the craziness of the sale bought back memories of those early days of Nappy Stockings - eeek... sitting & refreshing waiting for it to go live & then rushing to get what you want before someone else nabs it from beneath you. I was fortunate enough to buy 2 outfits and I made sure they were pretty similar for the girls and today got around to doing a mini photo shoot!

Pretty little packages

For pretty little girls!

Ally (left) modelling her new skirt and headband (teamed with a barbie singlet, until I get around to making her a new shirt)

Rue (right) modelling her new dress

And both girls in the sewing room, providing much needed inspiration!

I'm not usually one to plug other businesses, but truly if you EVER get a chance to buy a Blythe outfit from Janelle - do it!!! Speaking from experience, making these miniature dresses is HARD. Everything I have attempted to make so far has been a bit of a failure - I am intending to keep plugging away. I nearly had a pretty little red dress to show off, but unfortunately there was a slight altercation and it had a date with the quick unpick last night!!! Hopefully I can get to it later today.

This morning, I swung by the local fabric store to see if I could gain some inspiration for the Doll Quilt Swap. Unfortunately they didn't have the main fabric I went searching for and couldn't tell me when it would be in by. So my two options is to wait for the craft fair and see if I can buy some there or order online and hope it turns up soon. I was also a bit disappointed not to find anything to go with my swappee's preferences - so I'm back up the creek without a paddle... though this morning I had a little brainwave and am wondering if I could pull it off or not?

I did however find this cute box of Anthology Fabrics. 12 fabrics at around a FQ size each for only $42 which I thought was a pretty good price - as the prints are quite small, I'm hoping to make a few outfits for the girls and maybe I will use some of them for my DQ too???

Today's Blogtoberfest bought to you by Tinnie Girl!

Blogtoberfest #10 - Sewing!

2011-10-10T14:23:00.000+10:00

Are you sitting down? I have been SEWING. Yes that thing that I supposedly used to do a LOT of!!! As I said last Monday, my weekly schedule allows a little crafty time in the afternoons, but I have sadly neglected that time and used the time to study instead. So this week, I decided to be flexible and have spent some time sewing up a Ruffle Skirt for my little girl. I can't remember who linked the pattern - one of my old Newbie Quilter friends perhaps??? If so - thank you! Here is the link if YOU want to make one too!

I'm not sure if it will fit Miss 4 as she is at daycare today, but I am quietly hoping it is not too short for her - the beanpole that she is becoming! I have earmarked this pattern to make more and I think next times, I might even do a third tier (if I can work out how ;) as that will give her some much needed extra length!

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As promised late last week - this is my progress on the Bette Blanket! I am not going to start sewing it together until I manage to get a few more squares finished so I can be sure of a nice colour balance throughout. I am loving it so far though! It is very bright and very colourful!!! I've finished another three squares over the weekend, so that second section is filling up fast!

And just because... my little girl testing out the blanket after she helped me layout all those little squares! Modelling her Tillytom Dress - I'm so glad I have just ordered her another dress - this one (like ALL her dresses in her cupboard it becoming a touch too short) Look at those long legs!

Blogtoberfest #9 Sunday Snippets

2011-10-09T14:16:00.001+10:00

Linking up with Cathy for Sunday Snippets this week!

Blogtoberfest #8 Smurfedible

2011-10-08T19:49:00.001+10:00

Waking to a thunderstorm resulted in a very lazy Saturday morning here today! After the storm passed over, we decided to brave the rains and headed to the movies with Miss K! She was (at 4) better behaved than the teens sitting directly behind us, I was so proud of her! We both loved the movie, hubby thought it was too long?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Blogtoberfest #7 crochet

2011-10-07T16:09:00.001+10:00

The end of week is nigh & I am tired. A busy morning of swimming followed by a 4yo birthday party, my afternoon ahead is screaming for some quiet time. Some quality couch time; a spot of crochet, a few Pringles and a 7/11 coffee... perhaps the reason why I'm so tired - my first coffee today and it's nearly 4pm :o not bad considering I was on track to becoming a 3 coffee a day gal huh?
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Progress on The Bette Blanket is coming along in leaps and bounds THIS week.

I photocopied the blanket layout (naughty, naughty) and divided it into 4 (not exactly equal) sections - I figured this will motivate me more as I am only working on it section by section. It's not as overwhelming for me doing this! Last weekend I hammered and finished the last 10 blocks for section 1. Each completed block gets highlighted and tracked to make sure i have the correct quantities when this blanket is finished. It also helps when any blocks go walkabout... thanks to a nameless little 4yo!!! I even worked out how many blocks per section are required, it makes it less daunting for me to see that I only need 3 x B blocks for section 2, all of which have been finished this week - it appears that by being a touch ahem 'OCD' about this, my crochet is getting quicker. I've also been working on the bigger blocks first of each section, once I've knocked over the big blocks, it's just a hop skip and a jump to finish the mini blocks!!!

This afternoon I am going to lay out all my blocks once again and I will try and get a better progress shot to share. Anyhow as of today - here is my current count

Crochet Bette Block Tally
Block A - 2 / 4
Block B – 7 /14
Block C – 6 / 24
Block D - 12 / 53
Block E – 29 / 104
Total - 56 / 199

So just over a quarter finished. At this rate it will take me another 4 years to finish it :O
Blogtoberfest bought to you by Tinniegirl

Blogtoberfest #6 - endless

2011-10-06T19:10:00.000+10:00

Sometimes the path ahead may seem endless...

Other times it is far too close for comfort.

Today felt a bit like that. Some good news. Some bad news. Sometimes I hate news.

Just a few months back, my own path ahead seemed endless & not a little skewed...

Now, still on the same path - I am viewing it with fresh eyes and I can finally see that it is a good thing. Not something to be terrified of as I once thought.

I guess like everything in life, things happen for a reason. Fate. Kismet. It is why we are faced with obstacles and hurdles and feels like an uphill battle.

Together, with the right people around us we can fight the good fight, until we turn the corner and are faced with yet another new path to be explored & relished!

Blogtoberfest #5 What I wore Wednesday & craft

2011-10-05T15:37:00.000+10:00

Linking up with Janelle, Mardi and Yvette again this week, it's official I am running out of outfits to share - eek, to shop or not to shop! Might have to hit some op shops in the coming weeks to see what I can find.

Today's boring ensemble... bought to you by

Top - Big W (shown a few weeks ago)

Cardi - Target

Skirt - Target

Feet - my own ;) I did wear thongs, just forgot to put the on LOL!

Blogtoberfest #4 - Tuesdays here, there, everywhere

2011-10-04T16:57:00.000+10:00

Continuing on from yesterdays' theme of where my week goes brings us to Tuesday. Grocery and Errands. Tuesday is day 2 of daycare day & after dropping my girl off, I pop over to the closest shopping centre and do my weekly shop at Coles. I've only just started shopping at Coles and until this morning had been doing rather well with my budgeting and meal planning, keeping my weekly bill around the $150... today I maxed out at $200 - still vastly better than my Woolworths shopping bills - where $250 was an average shop :o



Of course these donuts had nothing to do with tipping the scales...

After I finish the groceries, I try to do any other errands that are needed, saving me from having to go back there again. This week was picking up contacts & buying a couple of $1 birthday cards. A zarraffas Coffee & I'm on my way home. By the time I packed away my groceries, I had just enough time to edit the first draft of my 1st Assignment in my new writing course before MIL popped by for coffee and cheesecake (she bought the cheesecake - yummo!)

Editing is so much fun, especially with red pen! 2.5 pages reduced to 1...

After their visit I spent more time on the course and blogged my weekly piece for the Write on Wednesdays group before doing daycare pick up and returning home.

I now have 20 mins spare, thanks to a quick dinner planned of Veges and Snags.



Do I sit for some quiet crochet or reading while the girl plays happily on her swingset...

Drinking a hot lemon and honey (trying to purge this nasty lurgy that decided to pop by to visit)

Blogtoberfest #3 Mondays @ home

2011-10-03T15:18:00.000+10:00

I decided at the beginning of the year that for the sake of my family, I would be far better off (both financially, emotionally and mentally) to become a stay at home mum once again. While others leave work to have more babies; I left because my baby is off to school next year. Seems a bit weird, but a few months into our new routine of me re-starting as a full-time SAHM, it seems to be working for US as a family. Of course I've had the silly comments of what on earth do I do with my time? And truth be told, after my first week at home I was twiddling my thumbs. I was asking myself what the heck had I just done to myself. Thrown away a perfectly good job to become the resident housewife.

Not a chance!!! Picture courtesy of my Queen Bitch book!

No I told hubby that while I desperately wanted to keep our housekeeper, I was happy enough to meet him on middle ground & *shock-horror* attempt it on my own. On ONE condition. He lower his expectations and standards of what a clean house should look like... so far that seems to be working for us and we are both happy enough in our new roles.

Which brings me to today and my blog post. I thought I'd share with you all, just what I do get up to in a week at home. I even worked out a new timetable for myself and laminated it (not realising that it's dated September *sigh* ) but it helps to keep things running to the best of MY ability. I've tried many things in the past, and this one seems to be working for now.

My new weekly roster!

There are plenty of places online to guide you in making up a roster. Monday's are designated housework day. In reality it is the ONLY day that the house gets a full top to bottom and while some weeks I find myself getting stuck into particular rooms, more often than not it's spent doing a general tidy up, putting away numerous hair bands and re-organising kids toys! This morning things didn't appear too bad, with only two messy hotspots to be of any issue.

The dining room table. A collection of stuff from the weekend gone. It's usually 10 times as bad as this...

The new games room, the girl and I curled up to watch a movie and everything got left.

One thing led to another and I found myself spending the morning running back and forth putting away toys, repacking colouring in books and pens and picking things up off the floor. Armed with my trusty housekeeper box of goodies, I had cleared off and washed down the table and that's about as far as I got as it took some time packing away toys that weren't picture in either of these shots...

My house keeping box, is a mish-mash of cleaning products I like to use. If I ever work out exactly what works best in it, I will be sure to share.

Now generally I HATE doing the vacuuming and mopping. Absolutely Loathe it in fact. Until a friend suggested downloading a book from iTunes and playing it through my iPod while doing it.



Now the time goes so fast, I find myself hankering for when I can next do the floors just to listen to the next instalment of my book.

So that's pretty much Monday's in my house. I neglected my exercise and study and hobby time today. But that's the beauty of my list... it's flexible and that makes me happy.

Blogtoberfest #2 Sunday Snippets

2011-10-02T16:03:00.000+10:00

Sunday again & time for another Sunday Snippets instalment - playing along again this week with Ms Tinniegirl herself!

Some yard work... hubby cleaned the pool area. I looked at the garden... maybe tomorrow?

Shadow fun... while Miss K swung high in her PJ's - she thought this was a cool novelty

50c Ice-scream at Maccas - we were totally 'smurfed' afterward!

Lazing on the couch... pink cushions... barbie movie... crochet... with my girl.

Usually Sunday Snippets is without words... you know a picture tells a thousand words. Personally I need words as well as pictures. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday wherever you maybe?

Blogtoberfest #1 - Welcome!

2011-10-01T13:16:00.000+10:00

Hi & Welcome to Blogtoberfest 2011! I am so keen to go on this years festival... that I put it in my sidebar as Blogtoberfest 2012 *blushing madly* if you don't know what Blogtoberfest is, it's obvious you have been living under a rock these past few years. It's the brainchild of Tinniegirl where bloggers join in the festival to blog daily for all of October. I have done it the past three years (since it's invention I believe) and apart from the first year, have managed to post daily with ease. For me it's easy. I could talk under wet concrete ;) As for what you may find on my blog this month is anyone's guess ~ I don't usually plan posts in advance as I like to use my blogging as an opportunity to look around me and see all the good and fun in my life.

Today I am sharing a small snippet of daily life around here! So grab a cuppa and come on in for some cake (chocolate of course ;)

Pretty new bedspreads ~ means I need to de-clutter the hall cupboard and op shop all the old never to be used again bedding stuff. Isn't this new one so pretty? It was a bargain at $63 at Target (King sized) I love it. Hubby hates it...

There are flowers growing in the backyard... don't know how as I've sadly neglected them all. I even managed to grow this yellow one from a bulb - only problem I can't remember what it is? I'm will run with it being a daffodil :)

Today the girl and I went to a birthday party. It was a lovely little party with just 5 girls and a beautiful blue butterfly cake!

I am on a mission to crochet or knit up as many balls of wool as I can. I have far too cluttering my craft room. This was what remained of a ball after a small scarf. I sat out the back yesterday making a beanie for the Blythes that ended up turning into a jockey cap - photos to follow!

Sitting out the back as the girl played. Love the weather this time of year :) Hate the mozzies and midgies :(

Just a small snippet of our days. Looking forward to seeing you more over the coming month and hey - leave me some comment love; I'll be sure to swing by your festivities too :)

What I wore Wednesday + a little craft

2011-09-28T16:17:00.000+10:00

Linking up with Janelle, Mardi and Yvette again for What I wore Wednesday. Another day, another park. It's a hard life I lead!!!

Today I realised that I have been so silly - I forgot that I own a really good tripod - why aren't I using it??? I set it up and tried to take a shot, unfortunately the top of it broke so I couldn't get a portrait shot (above is cropped) and the photo blurred pretty badly; by the time I realised it, I had already dismantled the tripod. Sigh. One week I promise I will deliver an OMG awesome self portrait!

Here is another shot, slightly clearer and not in black and white.

Today I am wearing:

Jeans Shorts - Target

White Tee - Kmart

Stripey Singlet - Kmart

And thongs. Because it was park day again today!

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Yesterday after posting my countdown list... I got to work in the sewing room. Listing things & publishing makes me more accountable, so I have now managed to sew the binding on the quilt & now just need to find 5 mins to sit and hand sew it down. I also came across a little piece of fabric that I had originally intended to turn into a scarf for my girls. As with most of my own creations if it doesn't work out to plan, I throw it aside... unfortunately I'm not to good without a patter. The 'scarf' was too short and too thick (I had added some batting as it was a cut off from the quilt I had just quilted) and it didn't sit right on the girls. A quick addition of thick elastic turned it into a funky headband. Lucky it sits under her hair as I put the elastic on AFTER the band was all sewed up. A little crochet flower (compliments of MIL) found in the bottom of a craft box and a wee button completed the headband. I love it.

Rue is modelling it with one of her new dresses I bought last week, this was in a bundle of clothes from an online forum I belong too. It is so adorably cute on her!

The final Countdown

2011-09-27T12:07:00.000+10:00

A flashback to the 80's today... who didn't grow up listening to this calibre of music!! Feeling a little nostalgic this week as we are missing several bands / concerts that we'd have liked to attend (Alice Cooper, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Meatloaf) turns out there are far too many for finances and with some of them playing in 'festivals' the husband and I both agreed we were far too old to attend *sigh* it really sucks when you start feeling your age creep up! It's probably a good thing we aren't going, because there has been a lot of chatter on Facebook lately about my husbands old Mullet... (yes, apparently he donned the classic 80's Mullet, though it was more like an afro and YES it was WELL before he met me LOL) I was getting a bit worried he was wanting to relive his glory days and give her a revival... eeek!

This music today is fitting because I have so many countdowns to keep track of right now!

* 4 Days until Blogtoberfest 2011 Are you getting excited? I am!

* 35 days until NaNoWriMo - THIS year I am committing to it... if all goes to plan

*46 days until Quilt Retreat (OMG I am so excited!!!)

* 90 days until Christmas!!! EEK!

* 96 days until my 365 is finished!

* 96 days until 2012 arrives! 2012... feels like just yesterday it was 1982 & I was heading off to pre-school, scary to think my baby girl will be heading to prep (aka pre-school)

Of course I am in usual fashion, completely under-prepared for all of these events, I will do as I normally do - jump right in and take a breath! The next few months will be a bang seeing out 2011 and I hope not in the literal sense, there is still far too many crafty things I need to consider! My crafty list is getting quite huge, rather than list everything - here's a few pressing things I would *like* finished before the year is out.

* Miss B's quilt ~ needs FMQ & binding (needed end of October)

* Quilt for Qld ~ needs binding (eeek Corrie is hoping to finish her's by end of September, hoping to be not far off that date!)

* Doll Quilt for the EBDQS ~ to be sent by 12th November (I am seriously stumped for ideas... though i did find some fabric that *may* be suitable)

* Gift bag goodies for our Quilt Retreat mid November * Quilt for Miss K ~ needs piecing

* Consider some Christmas gifts - handmade... because I can and to cut down on costs this year!

Funnily enough I'm not feeling too overwhelmed, head down bums in the air and I should be able to achieve some if not ALL of the list. Though I may start it tomorrow. Twas an early morning start this morning, I'm afraid no amount of this:

nor this:

Will alleviate the black circles under my eyes from the night I had last night.

Bed after 11:30, struggled to fall asleep, woken at 2am (the girl), stumbled back to bed, struggled to fall asleep (again), woken at 5:45am (the girl... AGAIN) I am tired, grumpy and in need of a great big long Nanna Nap!

Sunday snippets

2011-09-25T15:47:00.001+10:00

Swinging with scooby!

Sneakers and gardening!

Cleaning leaves off trampoline

Choc-chip Oreo cupcakes - yummy!

Lazing around with the dog and child!

Happy Sunday to you!
Once again linking up to Cathy!

Small, easy and Quick Projects

2011-09-25T14:01:00.001+10:00

The last few weeks have been spent trying to get myself into the groove of studying, exercise and juggling to keep the rest of the household (cleaning, cooking, caring, gardening etc) floating along. It's been slightly difficult to say the least & even with a new daily timetable printed out for the next few months - I am struggling to fit it all in, but I'm going easy on myself... it matters NOT if I can't do it all in one day. It sort of makes me giggle a little because when I left work EVERYONE wanted to know what I would do with all my SPARE TIME. ROFL...

Today I awoke with a crafty urge... we've been out nearly every day the past week & as study is out on the weekend with a little Miss 4 hanging out at my feet & thought processes for my writing difficult when she chatters away pretty much all of the day! I pulled out my new hot pink glue gun (what girl doesn't need a hot pink glue gun hey??? And proceeded to put the finishing touches to this little Mini Design Board ~ You can find the tutorial here and here

This is seriously a QUICK & very HANDY craft project! If you are into quilting and don't have room for a big board - I suggest you make yourself one of these! In particular the size I chose to do (8"x12") is perfect for 2 x Dear Jane Blocks (yes, remember that work in progress I started many moons ago!) I purchased the foam filled board from a local Art Store (a few dollars) and have just used a spare scrap of batting from one of the many quilt cutoffs in storage for that 'one day' project. The binding fabric is from Anna's bag of scraps. I have a 2nd all ready to bound, but decided to give the hot glue gun (and my burnt fingers a well deserved rest... note to future self - don't use too much glue and don't stick your finger in it - it BURNS!)

The best part of these - the blocks stick! This is holding it upside and it didn't fall.

Go check it out - and whip yourself up a couple!!!

What I wore Wednesday

2011-09-21T15:21:00.000+10:00

This morning I was feeling great and had every intention of wearing this denim skirt of mine with a red shirt. Then I got a text to say it was going to be a bit windy on the Island and as we were headed to the waterfront, I decided to change tops and popped on this old mulberry coloured shirt that sleeves go to my elbows (on anyone else it might have been a 3/4 sleeve... but I have abnormally long arms... and don't get me started on my legs!) as this shirt is fairly thin, it is not so much a 'wear outside of the house' top so I threw on my long grey singlet top over it.

I'm feeling rather frumpy and blah today & a bit sick, hence the weird look on my face.

Denim Skirt - Kmart (several seasons old)

Top - Target

Singlet top - Target (one of my usual bargains!)

Blythe Craft

2011-09-20T13:09:00.000+10:00

Over the weekend ~ looking for something quick, easy and small to keep me occupied, I downloaded a few crochet patterns for the Blythe girls and got busy while the hubby was watching the footy. I whipped up two crochet beanies and had them finished before our show was over! They are so cute and so quick to do and best part is I can tell myself I am using up the wool stash (even if it's little bit by little bit) I can see myself doing an array of colours... perhaps one in every colour LOL

Here's a better photo of Ally modelling her new beanie with her new dress!!! Notice the hairbands... I got in trouble by Miss K for stealing HER hairbands (it's not like she has a box of 100!!!)

Sunday afternoon I attempted making a crochet top, but discovered the cotton I was using was far too thick (have remedied that with a quick stop at Spotlight earlier today) not to be defeated, I decided to trial a headband with flower. It's not the greatest as I got confused by the flower part and I think I needed one or two more chains in the band...

Then I decided she needed a matching skirt, so I whipped up the skirt from a piece of scrap I had lying around and decided she couldn't exactly go topless, so I totally whinged it with the top. Next time I will actually use pink thread, make it a wee bit longer & I also need to sew on a button (picked up at Spotlight today)

I've never been one for fiddly sewing - I had great intentions to make my daughter some clothes, but apart from a few items, I've never had the inclination to sit and sew anything remotely fiddly. These little clothes are giving me great patience as it is super fiddly and patience is something I've lacked over the last few years! I can see a few more outfits being added to the growing pile and looking on the smart side - my daughter will end up with a few for her barbies too :)

Camera issues... & blythe shopping

2011-09-19T15:14:00.000+10:00

Aaaaah... I have things to share & show off, but am very annoyed at myself right now! I have two camera batteries for the DSLR and both are F.L.A.T - good one Car! I then pulled out my old Fujifilm and it died after taking ONE photo and when I tried connecting it to the Mac, the Macbook won't recognise the dock *sigh* I have other things to be getting on with so can't be sure I can be bothered with the iPhone, so I guess my sharing photos will have to wait until tomorrow. Which is probably a good thing - I really should be spending this time studying.

I've been busy sewing & crocheting some outfits for my Blythe girls, feeling a spot of guilt after doing some online shopping last week with 6 new outfits and then going a wee bit crazy in the sale that Janelle Wind had in her little online etsy store last night... it was a very stressful exercise for me. I had 2 outfits in my cart, went to paypal and by the time I remembered my password and then stuffed around with the account details - you see I didn't think I had quite enough in my papal designated account, which meant it would fall back on an OLD credit card that I have since ditched... way to go keeping my details updated *whoops* I then quickly entered my new credit card details and it rejected those as my DH used that credit card (shared card) against HIS paypal account earlier in the week and it wouldn't let me use it. I tried the other credit card and it wouldn't allow that one either because it was still registered under DH account for 3 days until he can remove it *sigh* so then I had to use the normal account listed. BY THE TIME I managed to do this, one of the outfits had been SOLD from under me. So I paid for one item, hotfooted it out to the office to get the online banking dongle thingy so I could double check I had enough funds. I had $2 to spare :o so I transferred some more $$$ then I went back to Esty absolutely ADAMANT I was going to get another item, I missed out on what I originally wanted, but I got a sweet little dress to match the Sweet little skirt. Very Stressful!!! But lots of fun! It sort of reminded me of the times I used to try getting some Bubblebubs nappies for Miss K (they would do mass stocking in one go and they would go QUICK) Though not nearly as quick as this sale last night!

At the end of all this running around, my DH in his infinite wisdom says why didn't you just use my Paypal account. Umm... I didn't even think of it and besides I didn't want him to see that I was spending money when I really should be saving money. But then I realised that with all my running around and pulling out credit cards left right and centre that he already had a pretty good idea that I was spending his money so I should have just used his Paypal account. *double sigh*

Today I've redeemed all my spending by making sure the house is spotless ;)

What can I say - I am such a good wife!!! ROFL

Everyone needs a staffy!

2011-09-14T16:15:00.000+10:00

Rue & Ally (the Blythes) were hounding me to get them a pet to make their home feel more like a well... home! Together we tossed around what we should buy them and went back and forth between a bird, a fish or a dog (or all three) but it was soon decided that a dog would suit them best. A medium sized dog who would make himself right at home and love them unconditionally was requested so we hit the classifieds and found this gorgeous little Staffy pup and bought him home.

He is so happy with his new abode and went running around sniffing all the new exciting smells!

He then decided to make himself at home with Rue on the couch...

Something tells me, he has been channelling the other Staffy in the house!!!

What I wore Wednesday - 14.09.11

2011-09-14T15:20:00.000+10:00

Linking up with Janelle, Mardi and Yvette again this Wednesday with what I wore! I'm starting to think that Wednesday are probably NOT the best day for me to be sharing photos as we have mums group & usually head to the park - that means comfort wins over style!

Top - Black with Crocheted neckline ( a new buy at Big W yesterday for $5!!!)

Jeans - jag skinny leg (as shown previously, I did warn you there will be double ups!)

Shoes - Black and Pink Volleys

I really struggled with getting a self portrait again this week, check out those lilly white arms - shocking!

Today.... I must do

2011-09-13T08:15:00.002+10:00

- ~~The groceries~~
- ~~pick up new contacts~~
- ~~pop past Big W for new hook~~
- ~~20 mins Yoga~~
- ~~Cook Rissotto for dinner~~
- ~~Write for ~WOW~~~
- ~~Study~~
- ~~Email the girls~~
- Write a weeky timetable - started...
- ~~20 mins on Wii Fit (actually 22!)~~
- ~~Watch True Blood S4,ep3~~
- ~~Crochet the ripple blanket~~
- ~~Eat the passionfruit slice~~
- Bake cookies (or buy some...)
- Sew another square on K's quilt
- ~~Wash clothes~~

Listing it here, so I can hold myself accountable!

ETA - 5:45pm and I have managed to complete most things on my to-do list. Yay me!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

EB {FB} DQ Swap - 2011

2011-09-12T14:43:00.000+10:00

It’s that time of year again - I’ve participated the last 3 years and had so much fun doing so! This year I thought I’d do a blog post just for my secret partner, to give them some ideas on my rather eclectic taste in mini Quilts!

First up is my flickr Mosaic of favourite quilts. I also have another couple earmarked in my flickr faves if you want to check them out too.

As you can see - I love all sorts of quilts. I don’t have a particular style as such and I will pretty much love anything you make for me, be it traditionally pieced, modern, applique, funky, paper pieced, whimsical. I readily admit to being a bit partial to the vintage and retro style fabrics. Though the bright and modern styles sing out to me as well as the whimsical pieces. Pretty much - anything goes. To give you some idea of the quilts I already have on my walls & this years quilt will be added to the hanging collection - though I’m not exactly sure where it will fit in just yet…

This is the main wall above my sewing machine.



Left - Quilt made By Jade (I think it's Katie jump rope fabrics - delicious!) wonky squares - something I haven't managed to master yet!



Right - Dresden plate by Kaysca, this is delightful, hand stitched quilting around the full dresden plate and the most delightful hue of pinky vintagey feel fabrics complete with a chenille centre

In the middle are my newest addition of two hotties - Top by Lottielulu (not entirely surprisingly 2 of Ingrids quilts popped up in my flickr faves above!)

On the wall of my computer desk

A fabulous Helen special - my very own wonky house quilt in bright fabrics - love it!

Hopefully this post will help you somewhat in choosing something for me. Don't be afraid - just jump in and be assured I will love it... truly, I just love, love, love squishy mail!!!

{Sunday Snippets}

2011-09-11T14:37:00.000+10:00

The homegrown version today!

Yesterday we woke to the wind blowing a gale, it was a beautiful day just so cold and windy. Getting some clothes off the line late in the afternoon, I noticed a branch of the mulberry tree was drooping low. I went to inspect and realised it had split off completely. There was no saving it. While Hubby sawed her off and into pieces to be taken to the dump, I collected any nearly ripe fruit.

So many branches on this one section and so many un-ripened mulberries *sob, sob*

This is all I could collect and some are not quite ripe, so I'm crossing my fingers they will continue to ripen over the next few days. Otherwise I will just have to make do with what is left of the tree... and honestly this branch didn't even make a dent in it... we still have hundreds of berries. The girl and I were out picking them up off the ground today, staining our fingers red. Delicious!

I made a slice today. A passionfruit slice to be exact. You can find the recipe here, be sure to pop over and try it out it is truly divine & even better is when you use fruit straight off your own vine!

Moving away from the food photos... because I know how jealous you must be feeling of my green thumbs. And over to my hydrangeas. We have had a love/hate relationship this year gone past and I have only just now learnt I should have cut them back radically during the colder months. Too late now. This is a bud of flowers on the previously blue bush. It appears it has changed colour and I will need to either stick a rusted nail into the soil or have someone pee on it for me (oh I wish I had a little boy to task this too LOL)

A little camera play with my boy chasing flies (no he never catches any!) this involved me lying on the dirty tiles. Oh well. The things you do in the name of photography!

Playing with the dog. This is pre-jump. Be sure to check out my photography blog for the photo of the day - classic jumping action shot of the dog!

Riding her bike. Around and around. Around some more.

It's been a pleasant Sunday and right now, I'm off to bake some cookies and re-organise my tupperware cupboard for the upteenth time. The joys of being a housewife!!!

Snapshots of Saturday

2011-09-10T16:15:00.000+10:00

DH was at home today (rare for a Saturday) & it's been a lazy kind of day.

1. A little crochet... remember my promise just the other day about NOT starting anymore crochet blankets? Well it appears I can't keep promises! BUT this is using my stash of yarn only & I am all about knitting / crocheting through the stash, so it's all good right?

2. Reading... this one is for my course (well it has suggested reading more Australian Authors and this was the only book I could get my hands on at the shops) I am really enjoying reading 'real' books (well ones that don't have any vampires or fairies or warewolves LOL!)

3. Driving in hubbies car... first stop Fuel.

4. Relaxing in the back seat... yes she dressed herself today!

5. Sitting on the back deck of the boat... imaging the photo opportunities I will have once we are actually IN the passage - not long now!

6. Checking out the new bunk beds... if this bed was a bit longer, I would be definitely bags-ing it as mine! Check out those portholes!

7. Obligatory "dorothy" shoe shot... did I mention she dressed herself... yes that is purple & grey shirt, green skirt, brown & pink tights and red shoes. To be 4 again!!!

8. Driving home... approaching the bridge at Bribie.

So how was your day? I maybe back to play in the real Sunday Snippets tomorrow... we'll just see how the day pans out!

Carrose Creations

Sunday Snippets

UPDATE: Dear Jane - January, 2012

Rain, rain... GO AWAY

Sunday Snippets w' Tinniegirl

My Quilted Journal - Week 2

12 WIP in 2012 ~ Quilt No 1 "Eye Spied"

Sewing the scrap pile

Going back in time

My Quilted Journal

Bright colours in today!

To frog or not to frog?

2012… new year, new resolutions, new me...

12 WIP in 2012

Reading in 2011

Finishes and Inspiration

A finished Object…

Christmas It's a Wrap

Advent Blog-a-long #24 Merry Christmas (eve)

Advent Blog-a-long #23 where's the day gone?

Advent Blog-a-long #22 The business end & comic relief

Advent Blog-a-long #21 Holiday Play

Advent Blog-a-long #20 Christmas Lights

Quilt #2 - 2011 Quilts for Qld

Quilt #1 - 2011 Miss B's Playquilt

Advent Blog-a-long #19 Quilting

Advent blog-a-long #18 doggy Christmas

Advent Blog-a-long #17 Snippets of a pre-christmas hiatus

Advent Blog-a-long #16 Christmas Reno's PART 1

EB Doll Quilt Swap RECEIVED!

Advent Blog-a-long #15 More decorating

Advent Blog-a-long #14 decorating

Advent Blog-a-long #13 Oh Christmas Tree

Advent Blog-a-long #12 Santa Photo

Advent Blog-a-long #11 Christmas Parties

Advent Blog-a-long #10 All I want for Christmas...

Advent Blog-a-long #9 Advent Fun

Advent Blog-a-long #8 Christmas Treats

Advent Blog-a-Long #7 (elf) Stewart

Advent Blog-a-long #6 Books

Advent Blog-a-long #5 Craft

Advent Blog-a-long #4 All about the elves...

EB DQ Swap - 2011 - sent!

Advent Blog-a-long #3 Crafty Stations

Advent Blog-a-long #2 A Homemade Christmas

2011 Advent Blog-a-long Sign Up

Advent Blog-a-long #1 Crazy Purchases?

Colour Crochet Bags!

Sneak Peak

Sunday Snippets of my Monday Morning...

It's coming...

Seeing Granny

Sunday Snippets {taken on Saturday}

Upcyling Creativity

Craft Retreat Part 2

Sunday Snippets on Monday... & Craft Retreat Part 1

A bit of this... bit of that...

The story of a tablecloth

Sunday Snippets

Blogtoberfest #31 This is the end...

Blogtoberfest #30 Sunday Snippets

Blogtoberfest #29 two to go (after this one)

Blogtoberfest #28 Halloween Prepping

Blogtoberfest #27 not long now...

Blogtoberfest #26 the hills are alive!

Blogtoberfest #25 Back on Track

Blogtoberfest #24 sick

Blogtoberfest #22 Craft fair

Blogtoberfest #21 Organised *pfft*

Blogtoberfest #19 Crafty Stuff

Blogtoberfest #18 The new girl!

Blogtoberfest #17 seeing squares

Blogtoberfest #16 Self Portrait

Blogtoberfest #15 A little more blythe

Blogtoberfest #14 nothing to see here

Blogtoberfest #13 - Shopping

Blogtoberfest #12 Our day + WIWW

Blogtoberfest #11 New Clothes + fabric

Blogtoberfest #10 - Sewing!

Blogtoberfest #9 Sunday Snippets

Blogtoberfest #21 Organised pfft