More finishes for 2011....

And a very big THANK YOU!! to my sister Anne for coming to the rescue and attatching the bindings to these three baby quilts for me,from the bottom of my heart and my very tired body I thank you XXX, LOL.... More pictures later on why I'm soooo tired really soon :)
P.S: I wont be classing these three quilts as OPAM finishes as I didn't finish them by myself.

FINAL OPAM FINISHES FOR 2011.....

 Remember when I showed you this table runner a litttle while ago,it just needed to be hand  appliqued so I've been slowly working on this in-between other projects......

 Well here it is finally finished and ready for Christmas 2012.....

 Don't look too closely at the date on this stocking,I found it while rummaging through my Christmas fabrics and all it needed doing on it was to be stuffed,stitched closed and a loop attatched to hang it from a door knob,another finish I can use for Christmas 2012.....

All this tea towel needed was the angel's halo and eyes to be stitched and then I used the colonial knot stitch to attatch some jumbo ric rac to the bottom and VOILA another finish I can use for Christmas 2012.... I'm too scared to look any further in my Christmas stash in case something else pops up needing to be finished lol :)
I think I've got a good head start on my Christmas decorations for next year....

Pressies from/for friends....

 This pin cushion and thread catcher are from my Ondrea my forum buddy who I've also had the pleasure of meeting and hope to do so again next year...I love the combination of red and white together,thanks Ondrea I LOVE THEM!!

 This is the Babushka wall hanging I made for Ondrea this year using some blue scraps I had left over from her birthday pressie this year...I know she loves blue and white together.

 This gorgeous Christmas table topper is also from a dear friend Vicki also another forum buddy....don't you just love the colours of Christmas,certainly brought a smile to this girls face when she opened up her parcel,thanks Vicki I LOVE IT!!
I have been thoroughly spoilt this Christmas!

This is the cushion I made for Vicki's gift this year,I know she doesn't have much hanging space where she lives so I thought a cushion for her new arm chair would do nicel,I added some extra special buttons tothe corners to add a bit of discreet bling as well.
I just wanted to say thanks to both my dear friends for your lovely and very thoughtful gifts this Christmas and for being my friends :)
I'll be back later today to show you some photo's of a few finishes I've been working on over my holiday break....

Santa sack swap no.2....photo heavy!

 This gorgeous wall hanger is what Karen made for me for my last present in this swap,Karen also included the wrought iron stand which just sets it off beautifully....I LOVE IT !!!

 Karen also made me this beautiful dove felt banner which will be strung up in my sewing room come Christmas 2012....Bring on 2012 I say lol.

 I had so much fun opening up all my pressies,Karen was sooo thoughtful and included these thread holders with a ball of green in one ready to start stitching.Karen also sent me a couple of pkts of speciality sewing needles and a cotton reel holder for when I'm travelling,a fantastic idea!
I love the pin cushion wristlet and the needle holder,very pretty and very useful.I'll have to try and get the cross stitch kit done before next Christmas so I can use it in my Christmas decorating.
Thank you karen I love all of my pressies and I enjoyed participating in this swap a lot and I hope to join in the fun again if it's run in 2012!!

 

 These placemats I made for Karen and her family as a little extra for this swap....

 I asked her to open them Christmas Eve so she could use them Christmas day if she wanted to.

 This pincushion and bag I also made for her for this swap....

 I tried to use a lot of Australian designers for my projects like Jennifer Reynolds "oops a daisy" table runner....

 I sooo enjoyed making this penny pocket and birdie I couldn't stop at one and have a couple more cut out ready to be made up for me....

 I couldn't resist making this Leanne Beasley couch companion and included a few extras to fill up the pockets....

 These two pot holders were sent early in the swap and I told Karen she could open this one as soon as it arrived on her doorstep....

This is the santa sack I sent for all the pressies to go into while waiting for Christmas/Santa to arrive......
I just want to say thanks Karen for being my swap partner I enjoyed every minute of it and I hope you did too :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL....

Just a quick post to wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012....
This New York baked Cheesecake is heading to my in-laws today to have for Christmas day,hasn't turned out too bad for my first attempt at a baked cheesecake!
I'll see you all when I get back :)

photo heavy post...what I've been doing this weekend

 Saturday I was baking some almond and white chocolate shortbread,which turned into.........

 These all gooey and drizzled with scrummy white chocolate,then I started baking.......

 A batch of Anzac biscuitsa,then I started baking.......

 A double batch of coconut crunch biscuits,then I started baking.......

 A batch of chewy chocolate chip biscuits and the final pictures are what I did with all these biscuits....

 I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped and then.......

I boxed them all up ready to take to work tomorrow! It's our work Christmas dinner and everyone is bringing a dish of food to share, these are going to be my special treat to everyone to be placed on the tables for the evening.
 I'm also going to be bringing a big bowl of potato salad which I'll be starting on once I've finished this post......... so as you can see I've had a very busy but enjoyable weekend :) Barb.

FNSI.....What I got up to

Friday night was a big night for me as I'd planned to go Christmas shopping with my sister in the evening so I started my FNSI early in the day and finished off this "Tis the season" stitchery while waiting for my turn to get my hair cut,I must admit I got some amused looks from the girls at the salon ( I think they're begiining to recognise I just can't sit still and not work on something at the same time lol ) and then this morning I put the back onto it and stuffed it.I made it slightly bigger than the previous one as you can see from the two pictures.
Now I'm off to do some more biscuit baking,choc-chip,anzac's,coconut crunch,almond and white chocloate shortbread......wish me luck as tomorrow I'll be baking a New York baked chhesecake as well as making up a big pot of potato salad,don't you just love Christmas time! It's lucky I love to cook LOL :)

Put the kettle on.....

 I just finished baking these biscuits,the Anzacs are for my dad and will be posted off to him in the morning and the coconut crunch is for my sister Anne who if she's reading my blog.....Pop the kettle on I'm heading your way after I finish this post for a cuppa and a catch up! Maybe even a couple of these biscuits I'm bringing with me ???

 This is the finished table runner I started working on Friday....all finished and ready for my KK,I hope she likes it??

This is the back of the runner,I used some of my scraps from another runner I was working on and this way it can be used either side........
Well I'm off to my sister's for a cuppa and a bicscuit,catch ya later :)

FNSI Results....

 Last night I sat and stitched this pretty Christmas tree design form http://elefantz.blogspot.com/

This morning it turned into a cushion......

 I also turned this $1.00 op-shop find for my work KK into.....

 A chef's apron with a simple flower applique on the pocket.....I hope she likes it??

 I also started working on this tea towel before I went out to babysit and it's turning into another gift for my secret KK

I hope she likes the table runner it will become when I get it finished.I hope to have it finished this weekend if I get my you know what into gear.I'll post a photo of it when it's done :)
I also plan on baking a date and walnut loaf using the loaf tin I bought at the op-shop the same time I bought this tea towel and chef's apron....total cost $5 and my time and scraps from my stash.
In case you're wondering the theme for this years secret KK at work is buying from an op-shop and putting your own little twist to it which I've done LOL.

Another finish for OPAM....

Finished this little mini-cushion off today and traced out a few more of the Tis the season stitcheries to make up more.
I love how the fabric works so well with the thread colour I chose :)

A finish for me....and OPAM

This wall hanging is what I've been working on over the last couple of weeks and finally put the last quilting stitches into it this morning.I used a lovely pink DMC no.601 for the sitcheries and the fabric range I used is called "Quite Contrary" by Riley Blake.
I just love how the fabric and thread work so well together :)

Busy,busy,busy.....

I've been baking anzacs for my dad,soon to make more....

Started re-stitching these blocks again with DMC threads instead of Anchor which bled orange all over one of my first set of these blocks and discouraged me so much I haven't even looked at them for well over a year.....back on track and hope to keep up with these into the new year as my UFO to finish.

I've also been busy stitching up a storm for my Santa Sack swap partner Karen,these are now on their way to her as I posted this parcel off to her after work today.I'll post photo's of all the pressies I made/bought for her after she opens them Christmas morning.
Soooo a very busy few weeks.......and,and,and......it's offficial I'm now on Uni holidays till Febuary next year woooo hooo I'm going to let my crafty mojo start getting to work,you aint seen nothing yet!!

FNSI....A start and a finish

 This is what I managed to finish last night before we lost power on and off for most of the night, a cushion cover to go with the flimsy quilt top I just finished a little while ago using some of the left over squares from it........the block is called a disappearing nine patch,

and this is what I started working on by candlelight....I know,I know another project started.I bought this wool a little while ago and thought it was 4ply and it wasn't till I got home that I realise it was 8ply and much too heavy to use for crocheting a baby blanket so now I've started using it in  another blanket but a knitted one this time,I'm very slow at knitting so we'll see how long it takes for it to be finished :)

Finally a finish for November

 I finally stitched the last row of edging around this crocheted blanket today...I needed a break from studying and nothing relaxes me more than using my hands to make such yummy creations.

This is a photo of som of the crocheted blankets I've finished off this year.I didn't realise how many I'd worked on  till I piled them all up to take a photo Mmmmm I have been just a little bit busy this year LOL :)