A Return to Simplicity.

Yep.....I had to change my blog for Christmas. It is so hot here in Queensland that I just wanted to see a cool theme.  I can't wait to put up the tree next week and have already drafted the grandchildren to assist with the job. There is the promise of swimming and watermelon to help sweeten the bargain. I thought I would show you some of the things I have made in the past. I love making one new item each year and to slowly replace all the store brought (not many left now) things. Reindeer sitting - I think he's eaten too much to stand. Flying Santa. Saw this moose in a magazine so I freehand drew him and painted after Mr B cut him out with the jig-saw. I don't think it is safe for me to handle sharp things........sometimes cut myself.......have the scars to prove it!!LOL. I have three of them.....quite a little herd and plan on adding more when I can find the template I made! Happy elf.......he is happy! Crossed arms, Crossed legs..........

I had a couple of draws for the 2 fat quarter sets, one for previous follows and one for new followers. Names in the hat  bowl. Daughter picking the names without looking. The winner of the first draw is "Quilt Happy" And the winner of the second draw is "Handmade for one Year" Please send me your snail mail addresses and I will get these in the mail next week. Thanks to all who participated. Note: The cushion from the last entry is a Natalie Ross pattern called "For You with Love" and it is a cushion and has a sweet little bag that goes with it. The bag is the "For You" part, only I haven't made it and just love the "With Love" part of it.

It was a dark time stitching in my craft room last night...............................the fluro light started to strobe and I had no choice but to turn it off and  complete my cushion by lamp light. Lucky the embroidery had been completed earlier and I only had to stitch the rest together!! I felt like a pioneer woman and with a bit of imagination it could have been fire light. Well it's done now and I can't wait to see it on my bed. Just a couple of different shots. Thanks to Heidi and Bobbi for hosting this lovely get together. Hope everyone had a productive night. Don't forget I am announcing my give-away tonight.

I have finished another block from my Cake Walk quilt. I think there are five more to go and then a few pieced blocks and I will be able to start putting it together. I ended up re-tracing this block as the pen faded too much and I couldn't see the design. I don't think I pressed hard enough and with a bit of fading it had almost disappeared! These blocks don't take long to do as there is not much stitching to be done on them. Love it when there isn't any satin stitch in the design. I saw the original quilt at  Virginia Quilter  and loved it instantly. Not a very good piccy, but there aren't many around of this design, although there are other quilts called "Cake Walk" around. I have sorted out my fat quarter swaps and birthday club gifts.....................always say I am going to be more organised!!!!..............but never seem to be! Anyway, today I remembered to take a piccy of the swap goodies. Can't show you yet as it is a su...

I had yesterday off and had a lovely day mucking around in the craft room. Off course I really wasn't prepared and was thinking about finishing the runner ................but..................I decided to try something new. Some time ago I purchased a purse frame from Spotlight and thought about making this up. Now after a lengthy internet search it appears you have to draft your own pattern according to the size and shape of the handle!!! Isn't that just peachy!! Now I don't know about the rest of you smart people out there but sometimes there is just not enough views of something and I NEED MORE. Anyway thought I would try..........A try is better than no attempt at all! Here's cat testing if the fusible fleece is the proper stuff. Yep! It's iron on! Go ahead.  Quality checked and approval granted for commencement. Of course cat will sit right in the middle of everything! The first effort turned out a little puffy on the sides where the frame ...

I have spent some of the weekend working on a couple of secret swaps so I can't give too much away and these will have to keep you guessing! LOL Two different items below! I can however show you a couple of other little things I have been making.  Made a couple of gingerbread men from felt. The funny thing was.......after  the photo was taken  the camera had "blink detection" written on the screen.  What?.......who blinked? Me or them? Look at the fellow with the stripy bow! Is that a sinister smile??? These are going into a box WITH a lid. I found this pattern in 2011 Better Homes and Gardens magazine......knew there was a reason to keep this edition! The hangers on these fellows are from last years candy canes. You know the ones that come in a box of about 20 and they seem to linger around all year! Someone must have brought a box of 100 to work last year and I asked everyone to keep the hangers as I could use them for craft (didn...

Friday Night with Friends saw me finishing the Red Brolly Christmas Hanger. I love it and despite thinking that it might be fiddly to sew it was surprisingly easy and came together quickly. And........I sewed it together at night  !!! I always try to do some craft after work in the evenings, but sometimes I am soooo tired I make a mess of it and have to spend time unpicking or even re-cutting a piece! And lots of choice words!!! LOL! Just trying to show you the sides here. It's quite roomy and I will be able to fill it with plenty of goodies. I made the hanging ribbon a little longer than the pattern stated so that I could tie a decent bow of sorts. Might get another couple done before Christmas. I also tried to do some stitching on one of the blocks for "Cake Walk" but the green pencil is fading and combined with night light I had to give up. I will need to get out the light box to retrace it again. NOT HAPPY! Won't be using that pen for tracing a stitc...

OMG!!!! look what the post man brought....................a treasure trove of goodies from the letter "F" challenge. THANK YOU PAT! I love this stuff. Do I feel spoiled? Yes I do. Here is cat again helping me to open the parcel.  She just loves the rustling of paper and always thinks it for her! Look at how beautifully they were all wrapped. I get ideas every time I participate in a swap. Funny Fat of Fabric. Four Fasteners. Felt with fantastic form. Flower that's fabulous from fabric. Fun food with Fruit. A Friendly Freebie. Have to ask the question again..............................Who's spoilt?? A big thank you to Pat for sending these great "F" items to me, and of course Cheryll for organising this in the first instant. Don't forget my give-away to be drawn on 17th November. Check it out  here .