Easter Long Weekend

I realised that I forgot to post a picture of the last Pin Cushion of the Month.

This one includes the pattern and fabric for a pincushion, needle book and a wristlet. The fabrics are really lovely and the stitcheries are really simple. It also came with a little pink bird pin. This will be added to the pile to take along to craft camp. Speaking of craft camp, the forms are now available and the camp is on the 22 - 24 May. I can't wait and I am sure that it will be here before I know it.

I finished this stitchery.....
I really love how it came out. The colours of green and orange go so well together so now all I need to do is make it into a bottle bottom pincushion.

(29/10/09) edited to add - This stitchery was inspired by the lovely Cinderberry Stitches and it was made into a needle book.

This Easter weekend has been full of relaxation. I have been drinking lots of these...
The boys have been having fun playing with this (Guitar Hero: World Tour for PS3)....
And my sweetheart (aka the easter bunny) gave me these little treats...
And I have been doing some tidying of my craft area and continuing with the Hexagon blanket. So all in all, we have had a very relaxing weekend.

The boys are now on School holidays for 2 weeks although I still have to work my usual days and my sweetheart doesn't get holidays like teachers do. He will be having a very quite time at school over the next 2 weeks with only the admin staff there (most of the time).

8o)

Where Did February Go?

I can't believe that a month has gone since I posted last and that I didn't even get to post in the month of February. Now what did I get up to last month? Well, I made a few of these...

and some of these...

and one of these.

I received another one of these

and bought this...

I also will show you a photo of our new family member.

We now have identical twins and mine is the older of the two (it is actually just the model previous) I must admit that I feel very spoilt to now own my very own macbook and it is great not having to wait for someone else to finish on the computer so that I can check my emails and blogs. We really are a very geeky family as we now have a computer each and one spare.

We have been having to get used to a new routine now that school is back and everyone is going to the same place. I must admit that I do feel a little like a taxi driver with all the comings and goings to the school because we only have one car. We try to leave home at 7.50am and I drop everyone off at school at 8.00am, I then drive to my work to start at 8.30am (1/2 hour earlier than last year. Fortunately I have a wonderful boss who is happy for me to work the extra ½ hour each day). I leave work at 3.00pm to pick the kids up and usually have to wait in the busy carpark for 15 minutes for the two boys to come to the car. We drive home and I try to get homework started and dinner ready then I wait for my sweetheart to call me to go back to the school to pick him up, which has been at about 6.00pm (he works a very long day usually without a lunch break). Last week was a bit of a break as we had the use of my In-Laws car as they went to Melbourne for the week, so, Sweetheart drove himself and the boys to school and I only had to make one trip up there to pick the kids up.It feels like my life is a bit of a roller coaster at the moment. My brother and his wife with their two littlies left to live in Melbourne last week and I am going to miss them all a lot. I know that my kids are going to miss their little cousins as they just love them to bits, especially my 11yo.

My craft group just had their first Slipper Night for the year and it was Japanese theme this time. I gave a Sushi making demo and I think that it went really well. I just realised that I should have taken some photos of what I did but I was so busy with thinking about what I had to do that the thought didn't even enter my head.

Until Next Time 8o)

New Treasures

I am back from our little break and had a great get away (even though the temperature was unbelievably hot 42 deg C) but that is summer in this part of the country and I don't mind it that much especially if one can live in air conditioning.

Well yesterday I went on a little shopping expedition (all on my own) so took advantage of it and headed into Spotlight. Well, I got some bargains. They had quite a lot of  their quilting fabrics marked down to $8 and $5 per meter so I chose 1/2 meter of each of these...

When the sales lady scanned them in they were even cheaper again, I wished I had got more but then I thought about it and realised that it was enough for now.

I think my favorite one is this ...

I am going to make a bag with it for my niece for her Mrs. Potato Head.

Then there is this selvage ...

which is almost the cutest thing I have seen. I am going to have to find a use for it.

More projects running through my head and now I want to get stuck into something. I am just not sure what yet.

I can't wait for my new camera to arrive as I am sick of having shocking looking photos on here. Hopefully it will be here next week.

Edited to add:

Look what arrived today...

Yes it is the next Pin Cushion of the Month. This time by Leanne Beasley. This kit is amazing value for money as you get patterns and materials for 5 pincushions. They are all really cute. Am looking forward to making these.

I have decided that I really need to do a craft room clean up. My area is so untidy that it keeps putting me off of starting anything. I think that I need to go through my craft cupboard also and sort some stuff out. It is getting a little bit stuffy in there. I am thinking that some more storage boxes are in order to help with the organizing so may need to make a trip to Ikea.

8o)

What I've been Up To

Look at what I got a couple of weeks ago....

Yes the next installment for my Pincushion of the Month, and no I haven't made the last one yet but I had decided that I would save them for the holidays as I have 4 weeks off, although the first week is Christmas week so I won't have much time for making things for myself.

We started our Christmas shopping yesterday, yes I did say started, and we got most of it done. I am having difficulty in coming up with something for my sweetheart but I am sure I will think of something. My 11yo son and I are going to be doing the Christmas cooking tomorrow, we are going to make Almond Cresents, Malto Balls and Gingerbread men. I will post photos of the finished products. These are things that are only made at Christmas time so as to make them special and things to look forward to having.

I may not have a chance to post again before Christmas so if not I wish you all a very happy day and would like you to remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

When a Handbag is not a Handbag (but something way more cute)

Look what arrived in my mail box today....

Isn't it wonderful? I love everything about this kit and the wonderful thing is that there is enough materials to make both the pincushion and the needle case. Notice the needle topper, it has a little house on it and is really cute. This was one of the sneak peeks that made me sign up for the pincushion of the month club in the first place. I can't wait to get making this one and will hopefully have a finished product to show you soon.

I also wanted to show you what I get to play with every Friday morning at craft.....

I love this machine it is so easy to use and is so much fun, it makes me feel as though I am a real barista. I find it a real joy to serve the ladies at craft each week and it is a real privilege to make them cafe style drinks. I honestly enjoy doing this as much as making craft items. I guess it is a craft in itself anyway. I guess that one of the things that God has gifted me with is a passion to serve people and I just love doing things for others. It makes me feel good to know that I can use this gift each week and put my whole self into it.

Hope you all have a great weekend. I am looking forward to hearing from Janet at Wildcraft farm to see who I am partnered with for her "Christmas Spirit" Swap. Entries are now closed.

8o)

Craft Camp Projects Complete

Another week since my last post. I do think in my head that I want to post more regularly than just once a week but the days just seem to go too fast.

Well I am back safely from Craft Camp (which I can't believe was a week ago) and managed to complete all of the projects that I took with me except for the Size 1 pyjamas as the pattern that I was using started at size 2. I think that they turned out really well.

The pincushion was quite fun to make. I did however have a few issues with the pattern as it wasn't really clear as to which embroidery stitches to use or give any directions on how to do them. Fortunately I was sitting next to a wonderful lady who is a whizz with a needle and she clearly explained to me how to do the stitches I wasn't too sure about. I wasn't going to do the beading but I think it just finishes it off. I am now ready and looking forward to next months Pin cushion.

I finished another Pencil Roll but I ended up giving it to my 11 yo son to use in his Shoe Box of Love and to be given to Samaritans Purse for Operation Christmas Child. I will make another one for my nephew for his birthday. I am actually thinking of making him one of these as he is going to be a full time kindy boy next year and he might find this more useful.

I am so sorry that this post took so long to put up but I was having a few problems with blogger not loading my photos and realised that I had saved them in the wrong format (won't do that again!).

I am now in the process of putting together a few items for 'Dorcas Day' which is what we call our craft stall day at Friday craft group. It is being held next Friday morning and I am hoping to get a few things together for it this week. As we have to man our own stall I will have to try and juggle myself between my stall and the cafe, I may have to combine them. It is named after a woman in the bible who was known for her fine dressmaking skills. Her story is found here.

Well that is all for now. I am hoping to get a bit done this week and hopefully have something to post later on.

8o)

I have made another baby gift this time for our Youth Pastors wife who had a baby boy on Friday. 

There is only one bib but it is reversible.

I also bought some fabric to be made into pyjamas for my nieces and nephews for Christmas. The first fabric on the left has coloured crayons printed on it so thought it would be ideal for some  pencil rolls.

I also received my next pincushion project from Pincushion of the Month club. 

This one is going to be interesting as there are a few techniques that I haven't done before. The first being a self covered button and the next is beading. I will post a picture of the finished project hopefully before the next one arrives.

8o)

We're Back

Back from a SA Short Break feeling refreshed. We spent a lovely couple of days here.

South Shores at Normanville. 

It was only an hour and a half drive from home so really was a short break. Ideal for those who hate long traveling. The accommodation was really nice as it isn't even a year old and there was so much room. As you can see we enjoyed some really great weather and it was ideal for flying our kite which was a lot of fun.

I have also finished my first pincushion of the month project. 

I think it turned out OK but as I had never actually worked with felt before there are a few things that I would have done differently. I think I should have done it all by hand  and not used the sewing machine as I couldn't sew an accurate seam. Well I guess you always learn something. I am now looking forward to what the postman should be bringing this week I will also be posting my Stitchers Angel project this week as well.

8o)

Post Card with a Difference

Sarah at QFD has put out a challenge to those of us involved in the Pincushion of the Month Club. She has asked us to post a photo of what she would see if she hand delivered our Pincushion of the Month Club package. I couldn't choose just one so I have put together a montage of a few places. 

I love my city (Adelaide) and as a family we love to go camping by the beach so I couldn't go past showing some sunset shots of Moonta Bay and finally a couple of  shots of the beautiful Murray River near Murray Bridge in SA as seen from a Houseboat.

Look What Arrived Today

Firstly I have finished my first Stitchers Angel Project. It is the little tote bag called "Blue Wrens Nest" by Natalie Lymer of Cinderberry Stitches.

I hope my Angel friend likes it. The colours actually look a bit washed out in the photo as it is a bit more vibrant in colour than this. I think it is pretty cute though and would be happy if my Stitching Angel has made one of these for me.

This also arrived from the postman today. My first installment of Pincushion of the Month from QFD. I can't wait to get started on these.

And these gorgeous fabrics also from QFD. I haven't actually bought any new fabrics for ages so thought I would treat myself. I'm not sure yet what I will make with them but I will know the right project when it comes along.

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow with Treasure Tuesday. See you then.

8o)