The Return of the Mojo and The Gathering..........

I am so pleased that my mojo has returned. I hope that all of those bloggers who left a comment that were looking for theirs have also found them. It didn't say where it had been or even who it had been with but I was just pleased to see it return. Look at the big pile of stitcheries that I have completed. I have also finished my stitchers angel gifts and they are on their way to my angel as we speak.

Today was the Quilted Crow's Christmas Gathering with guest tutors Rosalie Quinlan and Leanne Beasley which just happened to fall on Halloween. The Bloggers were challenged to come along with a Halloween theme by Jo who rather likes "Halloween".

Cathy came along in the spirit of things and brought along her spider friend and also some lovely treats in her cauldron. Sarah, Leanne, Lisa, Christine & Helen were just some of the other bloggers who attended. As usual it was a fun day with a whole lot of eating, chatting and giggling and not a lot of stitching.

Here we are - Cathy, Jo, "Me" & Deidre

Jo with Cathy's spider as a nice head piece.

As mentioned the food was great - especially the yummy sweet stuff - The brownie biscuits were a hit along with the fudge and of course the Rocky Road - And yes Jo did get her mouth around that HUGE piece !! - I do have photographic evidence but I am keeping it for a time when I can use it as a "bribe" - HEHEHE

There were lots of lovely projects. I took many photo's but to cut down the size of this post I thought I would show you the 3 that i have chosen to make. This is a lovely stitching bag from Leanne. I purchased the kit to make it.

"Leonie" from the Quilted Crow designed this lovely Christmas Quilt. I purchased the kit to make this also.

This is the project from Rosalie that I decided to start on the day. It is mounted on a canvas and will be hung on my bedroom wall once it is completed.

This is all that I achieved on the day in 6 hours !!

Jo - showed me her technique for chain stitch - I think I am loving chain stitch !!

And what would the day be without oodles of purchases??? I purchased lots of goodies including 2 kits, rusty bells, perle cottons, punch needle kit, fabric, Rosalie's new book "A Stitch In Time" which she kindly inscribed for me and a few other bits and pieces.

It was a lovely day and was just what I needed !! I am off now to have dinner and then to spend some more time on the stitchery that I started today.

HUGS,

Mutant Fruit Tree, Visitors, Garden Blooms & A Freebie !

The garden this time of the year is bursting with colour and a lot of the new plants that I planted last year have enjoyed the very wet winter and spring we have had and have just flourished.

These daisies have quickly filled their new garden bed.


Our little orchard has also gone crazy. These greengage trees have given us very little fruit in the last 3 years. I hard pruned them 2 seasons ago and have had our hens around their base and this is the result !! Mutant fruit trees bursting with fruit. I have never seen fruit in such abundance in one tree. If you are not sure what they are they are the size of a fairly large plum when fully grown. This tree will never carry this much fruit to maturity - There is just too much of it.

We had some unexpected visitors walking through our garden on Sunday. Mummy duck and her brand new family waddled across and took a dip in our pond.

They had such fun and were so lovely to watch. All ducklings were black expect for one little yellow one. Mum was very proud.

The last few weeks have been so busy and I haven't blogged as much as I would have liked so I thought that I would try to make it up to you with a free stitchery pattern. Click HERE to download it. It is the stitchery that I used on my sewing machine cover that I made for the August Challenge over at Jenny's Blog.

The stitchery says "A Home is built of Peace and Love and not of wood and stone. A place where happiness lives and memories are sewn" How true is that??


Enjoy your week !!

Hugs,

The Show Starts Tomorrow !!!

The Royal Hobart Show starts tomorrow. Today was set up day. Hubby, Sammy & I spent the morning creating the "Mothers Cupboard" site.

We have a lovely Moda Pre-Cut Display.

And lots of accessories.

Wish me luck at my first "real" show.

Hugs,

Have You Seen My Mojo?

Have you seen my mojo? I seem to have lost it? I have lost my burst of energy and creative spirit at the moment. I have battled the flu for almost 2 weeks and in the middle of it took a short road trip/holiday with a friend and I just haven't been able to get motivated since. I have many projects on the verge of being finished with just a few bits left to do but still they sit in a big pile..........................

What do you think of my new wooden box? It was a thrift find and will be used for display at the Oatlands Festival this weekend and The Royal Hobart Show next week.

Whilst browsing the markets in Victoria last week I managed to find this gorgeous 3 metre piece of Robyn Pandolph for just $6 per metre - What a bargain !! I have no idea what I am going to make with it but it is very soft and pretty.

On the garden front my seeds that I planted a few weeks back have started to emerge and it won't be long before they are ready to transplant into the garden.

And the tomato seedlings are still living in pots under the eaves until the final danger of frost is behind us and then they can also be moved into the garden bed. Hobart Show week is the traditional time in our area to plant out tomatoes but just to be safe I am going to leave it for another week after that.

If you happen to see my mojo out there somewhere please drop me a line - I would really like it back - LOL

HUGS,

Just a Stitch or Two...........

There is nothing more relaxing than sitting with my "darling" each night stitching away. I have a little basket which sits beside me and always has stitcheries waiting to be stitched. Here is my "Spring Garden" stitchering featuring Chester which is all finished. I now have to decide what I am going to make it into - I am thinking a cushion would be nice - What do you think?

In my basket are the lovely stitcheries that my friend Vicki recently designed. They are a lovely flowing stitchery and look great done in variegated threads.

When I stitch I always seem to bend my needles - This is just one out of my pin cushion. I think that it is my binding needle but is now just so comfortable that I don't have the heart to throw it out. Do you bend your needles when you stitch?

I also wanted to ask what sort of lighting you use of a night to stitch. I am looking for a new light. I like the sounds of this one - Does anyone out there have one of these? I am starting to have trouble with my eyes so I think that I need the magnifier.

Hugs,

Advent Swap Gift Giving Ideas

How are you going with your advent swap gifts? I have been putting lots of bits and pieces aside for my partner. Through our e-mails we have discovered that we have very similar tastes which has made choosing items for her much easier. Don't forget that your partner needs to receive your completed parcel of all gifts well before the 1st December so please allow enough time for it to arrive.

I thought that I would take this opportunity to give you a few ideas of little things which you could purchase for your partner :-

This web site has over 1100 items under $2 (It is a US web site)

Auction sites are also a great source of bargains. Ebay of course is a favourite of most people. Here are just a few bargains I found this morning :-

This Ebayer has Fat Quarters from as little as $1.00 with free postage

Sewing Accessories for just $2.00

Wow 4 Yo Yo Makers starting at hust 99c

Australia also has another auction web site. OZTION. Have you seen it before? Here are a few bargains from sellers over there :-

This Quilting panel for just 75c with this seller - They have a massive range of panels

or

Terracotta buttons for just $2.00 HERE

All of these items would be loved by your partner. Of course you may want to make your items yourself - You can also add sweets and chocolates every few days so that your partner can keep up their energy levels throughout their busy December. You might like to add a handy hint each day or even a favourite recipe? The possibilities are endless.

I hope that you are enjoying getting to know your new friend?

Hugs,

It has been a glorious weekend - Not a very productive one but enjoyable. Look at my gorgeous magnolia which is just starting to come out in flower. I have 3 of these - I have them planted in 1/2 wine barrels at the back of our house.

Eva has landed in store but my web site is totally out of date and needs some work - much like my house but I am getting there - If you find that you just can't wait until I upload them to the web just drop me an e-mail. We have Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Packs and Meterage. This is a gorgeous range and one of those that we will still talk about in years to come.


Even though I didn't get any sewing done over the weekend I did spend an afternoon cutting meterage ready for re-cutting into fat quarters. I also have lots of 1/2 metre rolls ready to take to the show.

I thought that I would take this opportunity to show you a few pictures of some of my favourite Robert Gordon Pottery pieces. I have a passion for his pottery and have lots and lots :) This pattern is "Liberty"

Remember the give away I was having in conjunction with my sale? Well today I drew the winner of the Jelly Roll. Congratulations Narelle - Please drop me a line with your address details and I will send out your "Blessings" Jelly Roll.

Just one more sleep until the Among The Gum Trees 1st Free Pattern - I wonder what it is going to be? Hmmmmm - Well Yes of course I know but I am not telling - You will just have to pop over tomorrow morning and download it. I will say that it is very very pretty and I am going to make one too.

I am working on a number of projects this week so will pop back with some pictures very soon. Have an enjoyable and productive week.

Hugs,