Christmas Stitching and a Giveaway!

So I started snipping Mr 11's quilt today, I really did, but Miss 25 started sewing Christmas decorations. How am I supposed to resist that? So I didn't. This is the table she set out in front of me to tempt me.

Our stitching table

 I decided to sew a heart for a friend of mine. It was so much fun. Beads, sequins and embroidery threads are some of my favourite things!

Heart (mine)

Miss 25 decided to make a star just because. We are going to start decorating for Christmas at our house any minute now, and we probably need a few more stars!

 

 

 

 

Star (hers)

 We had so much fun today with this Christmas stitching. It is so much fun to be able to complete a project in a day. It makes you feel so productive! As for tomorrow, I'm planning to continue the snipping. Really, I am!

Two Christmas Dekkies!

Now for the GIVEAWAY. It's not mine, but my daughters. Pop on over to Picklesticks and have a look!

I won a give away!

the sweet package Marg sent me

The other day I had a dream that I had won a blog give away, so I woke up all expectant. I am an eternal pessimist (We really are happy people. We spend most of our time being right, and the rest of the time being pleasantly surprised!) and dismissed the dream as soon as I was truly conscious. Later that morning as I checked my favourite blogs, there was my name! I won two patterns in a Marg Low give away! (Check out Marg's blog and all of her pretty things here.) Today I received them, along with a couple of trinkets to use with the "Festive Trinkets" pattern. I am looking forward to using that pattern. I did a class with Marg in Adelaide last year and had a wonderful time making a bookmark for my daughter. I am planning to make Christmassy stuff in October and November, so look out for my trinkets!

two patterns, as well as the trinkets on the ribbon

In other news, I seem to be distracting myself from finishing the sewing room (Visits to Ikea... blogging... ). Must. Go. Finish.

And the winner is........

Jill!!!

500 posts that's amazing! Hope I will reach that milestone one day. There are no excuses for not doing homework now with such a vibrant table to work on. Cheers

Had the random number generator help me out with this one! Send me your snail mail addy Jill and I will send your goodies off to you.

500th post and giveaway

This is what I did today. I covered my boring white Ikea table with some oilcloth. I have been planning to do this for ages. I am finally getting organised! As you can see the table now works so well you (or Miss 13) can even do homework on it. I am absolutely crazy for red, white and aqua so I decided to combine these two fabrics (sewed them together even) and staple them to the table. I like it a lot. So, this is where I will be sewing the giveaway this week. Leave a comment on my 500th post and I will draw a winner on Friday. And the prize? It's good. Handmade by me on my new, bright table.

Some questions answered for Joolz. (Head on over to be part of the fun!)

Joolz is having a 150th blog post celebration! Yay Joolz! And part of winning her small giveaway (her words not mine) involve answering some questions on your blog. Here are my answers. (They looked like fun so I'm in!) Ahem........ everything some of you might have wanted to know about me............



# 1 What's for dinner tonight?
For dinner tonight we had sausage hot pot cooked in the slow cooker, with mashed potato and baby peas.

# 2 What's your favourite cute animal picture?
My favourite picture is above. It's one I took myself at the Botanical Gardens of a heron helping himself to the fish in a glasshouse. It was a warm day so the doors were open and this guy saw an opportunity and took it! Survival of the fittest, huh?

# 3 Who does the dishes in your house?
Well, it's either no-one, or everyone. I'm not sure which. Everyone I guess. We have a dishwasher (when you get to child number eight you get one, that's what I told my Bradley and he fell for it......umm......followed the rule completely) and the idea is we all stack it as we finish using the dishes. Mr 8 is the emptier. He's very good at it.

# 4 One a personal note, regarding toilet paper - Are you a Scruncher or a Folder... or a Fruncher/Scrolder, he he!
This one is to do with advertising I think. (I never understood that ad!) I don't think I do either. I don't think I do?????

# 5 What jar (brand) of (tomato based) Spaghetti sauce do you use for Spagetti Bol?
I don't. I make my own. I use tomatos, garlic, onions, herbs etc simmered.

# 6 Do your children make their own beds and put out their clothes or do ... you?
Hmmm....... this one is difficult. We do the quilt/doona/duvet thing so there's not a lot of bedmaking to be done. They do their own. They also put out their clothes. If they want them back again clean they have to get them to the laundry.

# 7 Can I have your favourite recipe for a dessert you love?
I think this questionaire shows just how contrary I am. I don't actually like dessert much. If pressed to provide a dessert I will usually make a pavlova. My favourite is just the meringue recipe I use for my kids (they love meringues!). Three egg whites, 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence. Once it's baked and cool I top it with yoghurt (the kids favourite flavour is vanilla, but I'm happy with any flavour!) and fresh fruit. I go for whatever is in season. Tastes best that way.

# 8 My ironing board is permanently set up - do you labour over baskets of ironing ordo you fold, put away then iron as you need.... like me?
I used to have an ironing basket. Until baby number five. Of course it was always full and we were always scrabbling through it to find clothes when we were in a hurry. I decided that was dumb and ever since we have just put all the clothes away and then ironed as needed. I used to fold them all. Now (since baby number 7) we don't even fold them. We just make a pile and each of us takes our pile to our room and puts it away. It seemed silly to fold things that were going to be hung up anyway and it's not such a big job if we all fold our own things before we put them in our drawers.

# 9 Do you wear makeup each day or go Phhhffft! Stuff it! How often do you go to the hairdresser?
I have never worn makeup every day. When I was young I couldn't wait to be sixteen so I could wear makeup. (the age at our house) Then I turned sixteen. I get migranes from perfumes so wearing makeup was never really going to work for me because it is all full of perfume! I am also an excema sufferer. Yeah, dunno why I was so excited to be sixteen. If only I'd thought about it for a minute I'd have realised that it would never work! My Mum used to wear makeup more often than not and some of my daughters do. The hairdresser? Hmm.... my Mum is a hairdresser so the number of times I've been to a hairdresser could be counted on my fingers. She also taught me to cut hair so most of my kids have never been to a hairdresser at all. I think two of them have been to a hairdresser.

# 10 What is your ultimate personal indulgence eg. relaxation/treat
I think it is fabric. And sewing accessories. I find stitching and sewing to be very relaxing. Theraputic even. So I have a cupboard full of fabric, a rainbow of threads, zips, buttons, wadding etc, just incase inspiration comes upon me. I never have to wait for the shop to open to finish something! It is an indulgence I think, but one that I find very relaxing and pleasurable.

Okay Joolz, so that's me! If you want to be part of Joolz's giveaway go visit her blog. And if you decide to answer her questions let me know in the comments so I can come read yours too!

The bag - given away!

So, I finally finished it! Saturday evening my Bradley and I went out on a hot date (something we try to do regularly) and both ended up feeling quite ill. We succumbed to a tummy bug at roughly the same time. (We must be in love!) I thought I would soon feel better, but didn't until today. Anyway, this is the bag. It's a bit bigger than the bags I made as Christmas presents, but it's based on those bags.

Another view. The bag is lined with bright blue homespun. It seemed to go so well with the soiree! The blurry photo below shows some detail of the inside of the bag. A hot pink zip and a pieced pocket finish the bag off.

And now for the winner. Miss 22 did the draw for me and she pulled out MissyMack! So Sam, you are the winner! Please email me your snail mail address and I will send it to you. Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and lovely comments about my 300th post. Bloggers really are the nicest people! I am looking forward to the next 100 posts and my 400th post giveaway now. The idea of 100 posts is really exciting to me because of all the crafting and creating that it represents. I'd better start sewing!

Time flies

January flew by this year, and February is doing the same thing! Hopefully I will post a photo of the completed give away bag tonight. This is something else I have been working on this week. In fact it is this doll that has set me pondering about how time flies. I started this doll somewhere near the end of 2007. I remember sewing her head on in October of that year, but her head was all wobbly and I gave up. I am not a softie maker, but I was inspired by all of my children (who all make the most wonderful softies!) and some sewing successes I had in August 2007. I decided that I had it in me to design a doll and make her, despite never having done it before. The last couple of weeks I have been sorting through my crafting things (a legacy of changing rooms and me moving to the room without storage - don't worry, my Bradley took me to Ikea to remedy the storage problem.) and setting up my sewing room. You can see a little of my desk in the doll photo. Well, I found the doll with her ridiculous wobbly head and decided to finish her off. Miss 22 watched me as I took her head off and commented that I was halfway to serial killerdom. I guess she took my "finish her off" comment a different way! Now her head isn't wobbly anymore and I even made her some clothes. She isn't an Amish doll (faceless) so she's not quite finished yet, but I'm working on it. I have learnt a lot from making her and may just become a softie maker after all. Check in later for some bag updates!

Giveaway post (celebrating 300 & etsy shop opening)

We went for a drive to Goolwa on the weekend. I hadn't been there since before the Hindmarsh Island bridge was built. (Can't even remember when that was!) I was lucky enough to be able to snap some sailing boats on the River Murray. I have been feeling very restless and "done" with everything the last couple of weeks. Not enough sewing or creating perhaps. The devastation of the Victorian fires has been sobering for everyone I think. (Official death toll stands at 201 with a firefighter killed today. The fires are still burning and fire fighters are still risking their lives. They say the toll will rise, because there are still people missing.) I can't pretend to have really been affected by the horror of the fires, to do so would negate the suffering of those who were actually involved I think. I think I feel like Loz described in this post. She described it in a way I hadn't even thought about. Thanks for blogging that Loz. You helped me clear my head a little.



I have been doing a little sewing this week and have actually added some bags to my etsy shop. (Have a look on the side) I "made" my etsy shop last year in January and then just let it sit there. It was all a bit scary. Mrs 24 (picklesticks) came over with grandson yesterday and I was able to pick her brain and actually get my shop up and running.



Now for the giveaway. I am working on a pieced and quilted bag.


The fabric is from a range called Soiree. I had to look "soiree" up in the dictionary. It's one of those words that I think I know what it means, but find hard to explain! A soiree is an evening gathering or party, usually for some particular purpose. So, join me in my soiree. Leave a comment and help me celebrate my 300th post and the opening of my etsy shop, and I will send a bag and some other goodies to one of you. The comments will be open until Sunday night. Check back on Monday to see the winner! I will post a photo of the prize as soon as it is completed.


Edit: A new blogger, Judith Tetley, is having a giveaway too. Pop over and have a look.

My PIF from Loz arrived

Okay! Let's get this out of the way first! It's HOT today! 41 degrees celcius as I type this (nearly 6pm!) I'm sure you will read this on every South Australian blog post today! Or maybe just the whingey ones! Now, down to business.


Some time ago (can you tell I can't be bothered to look this up) I signed up for a "Pay It Forward" on Loz's blog. Well, today it arrived! My kids were so excited! They are such good value for money. There was a festive atmosphere as I opened it. I slid the calico bag out of the post bag and got very excited. It says "Angas Park" on the front and I know that Loz lives in the Barossa Valley near the dried fruit factory. Could it be that she sent me some Angas Park goodies?

Yes! And a gorgeous tin sporting cherries. It's very cute and I am mulling over in my mind what I will put in it. First I thought something to do with sewing, but I'm thinking now I might put some little essential in it and put it in my handbag so I can look at it all the time.

And this is the PIF itself! A covered book (A visual diary - perfect for me! Actually, I was just saying yesterday afternoon that I needed a visual diary to carry around in my bag and then this arrived!) and a really cool mesh bag. Now, I know it's a "really cool mesh bag" because Miss 22 told me it is. In fact, she is still holding it and extolling it's virtues. I think she likes it!

See! A visual diary. Blogger thinks it goes this way up for some reason! Thank you Loz. I feel very lucky. And the arrival of my PIF prompts me to send mine to my 3 recipients. Watch this space!

Oh! And a heads up. I am approaching my 300th post and in the tradition of my 200th post I will be having a giveaway. This time I'm hoping to be organised enough to actually have the giveaway on my 300th post. Stay tuned!

A Giveaway at Picklesticks!

This is the dragon that Mrs 24 made to giveaway to celebrate her 75th post. You should rush over here and comment for a chance to have him live at your house! Quick!

Go see Helen's new designs!

I had the wonderful opportunity last weekend of seeing some of Helen Stubbing's new patterns at Jane's Gathering. I just loved them, especially this sweet pattern. Don't you just love bunting? It is one of my favourite things. Celebratory! It's really festive! At the moment Helen is having a giveaway over here. She has five new patterns, so it's really FIVE giveaways! If you like Aussie designers you should rush right over and see if you can win one of the giveaways.

Bag Swap Bag and a Winner!

Last week was a crazy-busy week. I had so many things on! I worried that I wouldn't get everything done, but I pretty much did. I did finish my bag swap bag and send it off. I hope my swap partner likes it. I was pretty happy with the end result, despite my quandry whilst making it.

It turned out to be quite big and I ended up putting a fabric covered cardboard base in it to give the bag more shape and create a flat bottom.

Of course I also included a zippered pocket inside the bag. I like to have a zippered pocket in all my bags to keep little bits and pieces in. The inside of the pocket has the fabric that I based my stitching pattern on.

The back of the bag is quite plain.

Another reason for very few posts last week was that my camera is STILL at the fix-it shop. It's been there for 4 weeks now, and I kinda think that if they can't fix it in 4 weeks then maybe it just can't be fixed and they should just give me a new one! Over the past 4 weeks I have been borrowing my kids' cameras. Fortunately I have a lot of kids, but last week they all wanted to use their own cameras! Imagine that! Using their own cameras! So this very artistic bag shot was taken by Miss 18. She's studying photography at Uni this semester so I was very privileged to have a "professional" photographer take these photos of my bag.

Now, back to this bag! This is my first ever giveaway (in 213 posts! I mustn't be your typical generous crafting blogger!) and it has been so much fun that I'm sure I'm going to do it again. One of the funnest parts of having a giveaway is visiting the blogs of everyone who leaves a message! I even got to google "random number generator". And the winner is: Sarah! From If only I had chocolate. Congrats Sarah, I will email you later today and request your mailing details.

Happy 200th Post and a Giveaway!!! (Well, actually 213th, but you get my drift!)

Yes, this is finally the Giveaway post! I have decided to give away my herb garden stitchery drawstring bag. So, if you would like to have this bag at your house please leave a comment and I will draw someone's name next Sunday. It is lined with the green and white spot and the back of the bag is pieced with little squares just like the top of the front. The stitchery is a Bronwyn Hayes design. Making this bag was very fun. Especially because I was busy avoiding the bag swap bag. That's right! Didn't have time on the weekend to finish that one, but managed to make this entire bag instead.

I have really enjoyed this blog of mine. Over the past 212 posts I have meet so many wonderful people and seen so many great ideas. Even after all this time I am still finding 'new' blogs and 'meeting' new people. When I started blogging I had no idea how to do it (thank you Mrs 24 who taught me everything I know), and was definitely in the creating doldrums. Having this blog (and reading other blogs) has inspired me to create so many more things than I would have otherwise. It has broadened my horizons. I started it in an effort to find my happy place and this little corner of the internet is it! I plan to keep blogging forever (or as long as it is fun!) and you should all stick around for another 87 posts to enter my 300th post giveaway! Good luck!

Another Uncle

The boys at my house are completely captivated by their nephew. He looks so sweet sleeping in his uncle's arms. Hard to believe that my 6 foot 2 inch 14 year old was once so tiny! (I can say that because at 8 weeks this fellow weighs 8 kilograms and my little boy was only 5.4 kilograms when he was born!) This whole grandparenting thing is quite amazing. Is that the most cherubic face you have ever seen in your life? Or is he just completely ordinary and my conviction of his attractiveness just part of the *grandparent effect*! Sigh. Not sure.

Hey! I will hit my 200th post soon and will be doing a give away to celebrate! Stay tuned!