Taking it easy……

Last night my sister Anne popped around to sit and sew with me for a few hours and over a couple of coffees and chatting while watching TV I started working on a new to me crochet square……..

I managed to finish five of these squares from a book by Jan Eaton called 200 crochet blocks for blankets, throws and afghans, this block is called “Willow”". I’ve seen this block popping up on other crochet blogs I like to visit and fell in love with it so last night I pulled out my basket of odd leftover balls of 4ply and started working out the pattern.

I started on the green block last night and finished it this morning with my 1st cup of coffee, the white, blue & red blocks soon followed. I think I’ve found another block I can become addicted to, I especially love the custard yellow colour and I can see a custard yellow blanket being made up with it for me, I know, I know it’s not red & white but sometimes you just have to try some new colour combinations and this yellow just makes my heart sing.

I hope your long weekend has been a fun and productive one like mine and you’ve found some time to work on something you love to do

Results from FNWF…..

Last night saw me stitching these reindeer embroideries onto fabric for a runner….all in preparation for Christmas in July.

I also put the final stitches into this embroidery, now to find some fabric to compliment the cottage garden thread I used “ Kangaroo paw” maybe some French general???? This will be going in the Christmas basket once I figure out how I’m meant to put it together, at the moment it’s all double Dutch to me probably lack of sleep has something to do with this LOL….

Anyway enough about what I got up to pop over to Cheryll's and check out all the other participants blogs and see what they got up to as well, I’ll be doing this as soon as I start up a pot of pea & ham soup I hope to get done for tea tonight with warm crusty bread MMmmm

FNWF…..

Are you joining in the fun tonight????

Celebrating with Chooky ….what i got up to!

this weekend to celebrate 2 years of Chooky’s shed anniversary I finished working on the central stitchery panel for Anni Down’s wall hanging. I also put together my doll for the Tilda swap……

She still needs to get her knickers and dress on and maybe put a bit of face paint on but I’m hoping to do all this next weekend as it’s our long weekend for us here in Victoria.

I also finished Anne’s cushion ready to give to her this week, it matches the blanket I made for her last Christmas, it’s only taken me another six months to finish it lol now I can the leftover wool back into the basket and look at starting another project maybe???

So the past weekend was a very productive one especially if you also include all the baking I did as well…..bring on next weekend I say!

Giveaway win and what I’ve been working on…..

Kim had a giveaway on her blog to celebrate a very special “O” birthday and I was the very lucky girl who won it and look what arrived in my mailbox…… a gorgeous table runner using a mini charm pack, LOve it!! and Kim also included a couple of extras, a pretty charm pack called Soho Chic and a dainty little notebook she picked up in Darwin while holidaying for her birthday, thank you Kim you certainly brightened my week up a lot.

Why don’t you pop over to Kim's blog and check out all the lovely quilts and stitching she’s working on Kim does such lovely work and you wont be disappointed and while you’re there why not wish her a happy birthday for last week

I’ve also been doing a bit of baking today as I wanted to try out the Donna Hay apple and blueberry cake from the book I got for my birthday from Shez……MMmmmmm it looks and tastes delicious just ask my hubby! I’ve also made some pumpkin soup which seems to be popular as Chooky has also been making this. I’ve also been baking a couple of things for my sister Anne, her favourite biscuits “coconut crunch” as well as a date and nut roll so I think I’ll be popping by her place sometime tomorrow with a basket of goodies for her  

In-between all this baking I’ve been putting a few stitches into this stitchery and have plans to continue working on it tonight while vegging out in front of the  TV, I’ll try and pop around a few blogs tomorrow and see what everyone's been up to while celebrating with Chooky this weekend.

Chooky’s Birthday weekend celebrations!!

This weekend will see me joining Chooky at her chook shed to celebrate her 2nd Birthday. I’ve spent some time today tracing out a stitchery I previously made for Shez last year in our one on one swap and always said I’d make myself one so this weekend will see me start on…….

This is a gorgeous wall hanging by Anni Downs but I’ll be making mine as a stitchery I even have all the threads etc… together from when I made Shez’s, talk about itching to start on this one! I’ll also be putting this together…..

After finishing my sister Anne’s blanket last year for Christmas I still had some wool leftover from the project so I thought I’d make her up a matching cushion I just need to put it together which I hope to achieve over this weekend.

I’ll also be attempting to get this dress sewn together for my Tilda swap as well as put the poor doll out of its misery and sew her arms and legs on. Sunday night will tell how much I actually get done but I know one thing I wont be crafting by myself this weekend just pop over to Chooky's blog to join in the fun, I’ll be sipping my latte and eating cake to keep my strength up this weekend and maybe a chip or two LOL hope to see you there 

More Birthday surprises…..

 

Shez  and I are in a Birthday fat 1/4 club and she had asked if she could give me my fat 1/4 at our Mill Rosie meet up and I said sure not suspecting a thing when she surprised me at our Mill Rosie meet up last week with a beautiful birthday gift she’d made for me, I’d seen this sewing case on her blog a little while ago and must admit I was drooling big time over it but now I’m doing the happy dance because it’s mine alllllll mine! I  LOve, Love, LoVe it!! but that’s not all Shez also included with the bag……

Some yummy thread worx thread in a rainbow of pastel colours almost too good to use as well as my Birthday fat 1/4 and two boxes of yummy savoury biscuits, Shez know I’m not a big chocolate eater but I love anything savoury. Thanks Shez as once again you have spoilt me rotten

I borrowed this photo from Shez’s blog I think the smile says it all.

I also received on the day another birthday gift from my lovely friend Christine, a fat 1/4 bag made from Bonnie & Camille fabrics as well as a pkt of cute mushroom pegs, mushroom fat 1/4 and yummy smelling hand cream. Thank you Christine for making my birthday such a happy one

I was also spoilt by another friend Melody with a gorgeous Lynette Anderson fat 1/4, buttons and her book “It’s quilting cats & dogs” I can’t wait to start tracing/cutting out a few of the projects in this book and using the fat 1/4 in some of the projects. Thanks Melody you can never have too many projects on the go is my motto and with friendly enablers like you I’ll never be short of something to work on

Over the next week or so I’ll try and remember to upload some photo’s of my Tassie trip I went on in April for my birthday, I took quite a lot so I’ll try not to overload you with too many all at once.

baking mojo happening here…….

Remember this book I showed you in  previous post saying there were at least two recipes I needed to try my hand at making well my baking mojo kicked in today and the pictures below are the result of it……

 

I made not one spinach and feta tart but two from the one recipe….Are you getting hungry yet?

Number two browned up a bit better and I changed the recipe around as you do and added an extra egg and used fresh spinach instead of frozen and this tart looks a little bit nicer as I realised I still had a few leaves left in the bag so I just added them to the top and hoped for the best The only other thing I’d change next time is not add any rock salt as the ricotta was salty enough without adding anymore but it still tasted yummy. My sister Anne popped around just as I was about to take out the first tart so she got to share a slice with her cup of coffee, nothing beats eating  fresh food straight from the oven with great company.

I’m heading off in a bit to watch my nephew Andrew play Seymor in “Little shop of horrors” but I’ll be back to baking after that and the next recipe on my list is the apple and blueberry cake  from the same book so watch this space for more photo’s

Christmas through the year……

I finally managed to buy a frame for this French inspired cross stitch and put it together, so another item ready for the Christmas basket. I’ll be linking up with  Anthea for Christmas through the year, you still have a little time to add your finish if you’d like to join in the fun just click on Anthea's name to take you to her blog to sign up 

Bronwyn Hayes's Swap With Shez!

Shez never ever disappoints when she’s your swap partner look what she made for me in our one on one swap, not one but two gorgeous linen tea towels with beautifully stitched Bronwyn Haye designs on them, way too good to dry the dishes with I think!

Shez does such tiny and neat stitching but wait there’s more and no it’s not a set of steak knives lol…….

Shez also included two matching hand towels to go with the tea towels, how spoilt am I!!! But wait Shez also included……

This beautiful recipe book by Donna hay, I think Shez knows me pretty well by now and knows that I love to cook, I’ve already picked a couple of recipes I’d like to try out…..

I know my hubby wont eat the fetta one but boy I’d love it for a Sunday brunch when he’s off on a bike ride….all mine and not have to share DIVINE! and the salt & pepper prawns has me drooling on the keyboard as I type lol.

Another recipe I will definitely have to have a go at is this scrumptious looking apple & blueberry cake MMmmmmm double drooling now!!

Thanks for my gorgeous gifts Shez but the best thing about our swaps is that I’ve gained such a lovely friend through blogging which to me is priceless.

I also have some more lovely birthday gifts to show everyone that I received on Saturday so I’ll do another post soon with more pictures