Anyone for Pie ??????

I have a few passions - One of them is cooking. I "love" to cook and every so often I get the "fancies" - Today I fancied apple pie............ So I defrosted some of those apples that we stored back here and added a few raspberries and tonight we had steaming hot Apple & Raspberry Pie. Yum Yum !!

Another passion for me is the garden and as I have mentioned in the past I love spring time which got me to sketching a scene showing lots of little corners of our property.

I haven't decided what I will turn this stitchery into yet but I am having lots of fun getting it finished.


This is "Chester" ----- I nicknamed him that when we first moved to this place. He is a Wattle Bird who visits a tree outside our bedroom window every day. He sings me the sweet songs of spring. Sometimes he brings along some friends who also feature in this stitchery. Of course there are lots of flowers and lots of bright cheerful colours. Once I have finished I will show you "Spring Time".



And "YES" Geelong Won !!!!!! By 12 points !!!!!!
It was a fantastic game.


Back to work for me tomorrow after 2 weeks break.

HUGS,

Ready for a Bruisin?

Well the title has a double meaning. I have had a few health issues of recent times and that has involved problems with my balance. In the past two weeks I have had 3 falls. The last fall was on Thursday and boy it was a ripper !! I have a very sore elbow and arm and am covered in bruises on my leg. Hubby says I am like autumn leaves - Always falling ----- I didn't laugh...........

Now for the real bruisin...... Kaitlin and I are passionate Geelong (Cats) Supporters - AFL Football. The Grand Final is today. Kaitlin has decorated our games room in the Geelong colours and we are ready for kick off at 2.30pm.

One of my dear friends - Jenny of Elefantz - Has just confessed to me that she is a St Kilda Fan - Our rival today !!!!!! But win, lose or draw - I will still love you after today Jen :)

Here are some daisies from my garden which are just spreading every where and I love it. White daisies are such a favourite of mine. I love that yellow centre - It is like looking into their souls - Which will be the theme of another stitchery set I have on the agenda.

And lavender is another favourite - I love the colour, the prettiness and the scent.

I know that I have said it before but Spring time is such a favourite season in the garden - The new growth is just amazing at the moment.

Don't forget the sale I am having at the SHOP - Stock is selling fast so if you are after fabric now is the time - Fabrics are priced at just $10 & $12 per metre.

Also check out my friend Vicki's blog - Tozz's Corner - She is having a fantastic give away as part of the gum tree designers launch - Not long now until the draw so don't be hasty.

Off now to get ready for the big game.

GO THE CATS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs,

Everyone Loves A Sale !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody loves a Sale and I am having one !!!!! I have so much new stock that has arrived in the past few weeks that I haven't listed in my shop yet, so I have decided to have a clearance sale of the current stock.

Most fabric is down to just $12.00 per metre (Sold in 1/2 metre lots for $6.00) including Moda Spring Magic, Clementine, Vine Creek and Much Much More.............

Go to the Specials page for all of the bargains and also check out the Pre-Cut pages as well. The SHOP is here !!

And with a sale must come a Give way !!!!!!! If you blog about my sale giving your readers a link I will put you in the draw to win a Blessings Jelly Roll. So leave your name on this post to win and wait there's more.......... as an added bonus if you win and you have made a purchase from the shop I will also throw in a Blessings Charm Pack.

Sale ends 30th September.

Happy Shopping

HUGS,

What Inspires You?

So what inspires you? I know for me it can be many things but my garden is always on top of the list. We are fortunate to live in a semi-rural area where we have land to grow lots of plants and have beautiful bird life. Listening to the birds always makes me smile.

The garden is always full of suprises. Sometimes when we plant things we have no idea what the finished product is going to be like and even how it will grow. I bought 2 small geraniums last year in a tiny pot from a chain store. They had no label so the only identifier was the leaf. It turns out that they are creeping geraniums and have grown beautifully. I am eagerly awaiting flowers to see what I get - How fun is that? I am sure that once they have flowered that they will feature in a stitchery.


Another thing that inspires me are "buttons". I love looking at them and playing with them and choosing them. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of "sorting" buttons for my grandmother and the love affair with them continues today.



I am currently working on a set of stitcheries which incorporate both. I love "quotes and sayings" that have meaning. I have a large collection of them which I have collected over a period of years. This one is lovely "Stars are the flowers of heaven........" Isn't that just so sweet?

Hubby and I spent the day yesterday in the garden - Manual Labour and I are not a perfect match and last night when I came inside I was literally hobbling. Kate and Amy suprised me with a beautiful hot spa - complete with Rose Petals, Candles & some craft magazines - I felt so much better after that. It was a lovely thoughtful gesture and was very much appreciated.

Don't forget all of the give aways to celebrate the Gum Tree Designers Blog.

Paula is giving away a gorgeous Anni Downs Quilt pattern and also a sweet little kit to make a chickadee pincushion. Time is running out to enter so pop on over today.

Don't forget my give away as well. Instructions for entering are here.

Becoming a follower of my blog will give you a BONUS entry in the draw.

Hugs for today.........................

What a Glorious Day !!!!!!

Spring time is my favourite time of year.................

The garden comes alive and is such an inspiration. Motivation returns with each ray of sunshine and the colours are just amazing.

Here is my first rose just waiting to burst into bloom.


And all of those bulbs that I planted way back in March are now bursting with colour.


My white camelia's are beautiful.

This is an area which we have rocked this week. With all of the rain we have had it became rather boggy. The wine barrel has freshly planted Red Salvia and the garden bed contains Kiwi Fruit & Passion Fruit.

Today Amy & I planted seeds ready for summer harvest - Tomatoes, Watermelon, Peas, Corn, Zucchini & Cucumber. We are in the process of erecting a fence around the vegie patch as our girls (hens) like to dig up the plants. Hopefully this will remedy the problem.

With all of this gardening and flowers it has inspired a few more projects. This is all ready for me to stitch up tonight.

Have you been over to Judith's give away at Creative Studio? She is giving away a pattern by 'Lynette Anderson' and a packet of Lynette's handmade wooden buttons to use with the pattern, 3 fat eights to start you on your way with the delightful stitchery cushion in the pattern and; one of Judith's pieces of hand work; a calcio baking throwover cloth, with a prim design. What a fantastic give away.

We have all had such a fantastic response to the Among The Gum Trees Blog. We are looking forward to spoiling you all with some Christmas Patterns in October & November.

Not long now until I reach 100 posts and that will mean another give away on this blog - Stay Tuned !!!

Hugs,

Brand New Pattern Release

"Sunny Days"

Carry All

There are lots of projects in the "makings" here at Mothers Cupboard at the moment but today there has been a finish and a pattern written for my "Sunny Days" Carry All Bag.

It has a bright little stitchery on the front and is stitched in lovely pastels.

It has extra long heavy duty handles for extra strength and long enough to put over the shoulder comfortably. I just know that Sam is going to want one so another has already been cut out for her. The pattern is available in my etsy shop now.

Have you all been entering the giveaways to celebrate the launch of the Gum Tree Dsigners?

Joy from Joy Patch is having a fantastic give away as part of it. She is giving away
4 of her quilt-as-you-go patterns - "Diamonds and Braids", "Dragonflight", "Jelly Charm" and "Slice and Dice" and a Charm pack of Gypsy Rose to start you off.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway and become a follower for an extra entry.




Have a wonderful and productive weekend won't you?

Hugs,

Check Out The Give Aways & a Maddie Update

Have you seen Jenny's fantastic give away? It is to celebrate the launch of the Among The Gumtrees Blog. Pop on over and enter the draw. She is giving away a pattern pack for her "Shabby Roses Beaded Cushion", complete with gorgeous Gutermann beads and a copy of "Material Obsession Two" Plus she is also giving away two fat quarters from the gorgeous new "Birdie" range from Me and My Sister and a huge Sandy Gervais panel from her Celebrate Spring range, complete with 3 pretty quilt labels. Isn't she a generous gal?

Remember my little grand daughter born 8 weeks pre-mature back in March? Here is little Madeliene today - 6 months old and a real sweetie. Today was the first time that she has been baby sat and she was an angel for her "grandma".

I am working on a few projects at the moment and will have some to show you in the next few days.

HUGS,

A Giveaway To Celebrate

To celebrate the launch of the Gum Tree Designers Web Site yesterday I am

having a Give Away as are my 8 fellow designers - How exciting !!

I am giving away a complete kit to make my "Family Love" wall quilt. The kit includes :- stitchery fabric, border and binding fabric, backing fabric plus easy to follow instructions and a pack of Madeira Variegated Rayon Thread.

To enter is easy.

Become a follower of the Among The Gum Trees Blog and upload the Among The Gum Trees Logo to your blog and leave me a comment here to let me know that you have done it and then you go into the draw. It's that easy. That will give you 2 entries. For a bonus entry become a follower of my blog.

Entries Close 10am - 30th September AEST. Winner Announced on the 1st October.

Hugs and Good Luck,

Exciting Launch of Among the Gum Trees!

The secret is out !

The day when *our* big secret is revealed and *we* can share with you our fantastic new blog entitled Among the Gum Trees.

In a (gum) nut-shell, this it’s what we’re all about:

A merry band of Australian designers sharing a few of their original and varied designs freely for your personal use

Among the Gum Trees is the brainchild of Jenny of ELEFANTZ, who has brought together nine established and emerging designers to offer something new and exciting to the world - their own original designs – to download free of charge!

Free of charge?! Are we mad?! Well, no we’re not insane, but we do affectionately refer to each other as “the nutters”, and we look forward to sharing our designs, our news, and our ‘nutty’ journey with you along the way, and among the gum trees!

So when is all of this happening?

Starting on Monday 5th October and thereafter on each subsequent Monday of the following eight weeks, there will be a FREE Christmas-themed DESIGN for you to download.

Then after Christmas, on the 7th day of each month starting 7th January 2010, there will be one free design offered to you from each designer, in turn. So, one free design every month for you to use for your personal use.


As well as the free designs, you will also receive monthly news from our editor and notification of all new for-sale pattern launches. The only thing we ask of YOU… is to please spread the word! Let’s see how far those gum nuts can fall from the trees!

Because we are a generous bunch of nuts, we are EACH HAVING A GIVEAWAY to celebrate the launch of Among the Gum Trees. And you can enter them all! But because we have become so good at teasing… we will be launching our giveaways tomorrow!!!

So in the meantime please start spreading the word and add our ‘Among the Gum Trees’ button to your blog! With a free Christmas design offered to you weekly you will have your handmade Christmas all wrapped up with time to spare!

I look forward to launching my giveaway tomorrow; and if you become a follower of my blog I will give you an extra entry!
Until then… embrace the gumnuts!

HUGS,

On My Cutting Board - Secret Almost Revealed ......

Look at all of this Yumminess - Lots of different Moda Ranges here - They sit in the midle of my work table just reminding me of their presence. I decided to open one today.

and here it is on my cutting board - Some Hushabye all chopped up ready for a quilt which I designed some time ago.

And a little stitchery incorporating "Birdie" fabrics from Moda.......



It is almost time to reveal a "secret" - Just a matter of hours now - Stay Tuned..........

Hugs,

New Designs

Finally I have managed to complete a couple of designs that I started a few weeks ago. This one is called "Family Love" and has a lovely sentiment stitched "A Family Stitched Together With Love Seldom Unravels" - I love this saying - and how true it is. The pattern and kits will be available in my Etsy shop tomorrow.

Here is my Christmas Applique wall hanging "Sammy The Snowman" - This pattern will also be available in my Etsy shop tomorrow.

I am currently working on 2 quilts. This is a sneak peek of one of the blocks from my "Hearts Desire" Quilt.

I have spent a little time in the vegetable patch today - Tomorrow I plan to plant the reaminder of my raspberry canes and my seed pinkeye potatoes. I am off now to finish another stitchery that I have recently sketched. Enjoy the beautiful sunshine.

Hugs,