Colour swap...what I sent to Shez

 In the colour swap that Lisa was hosting I was given Shez as my swap partner from http://shez-enjoyinglife.blogspot.com/ This is a Christmas candle mat I made using a Cinderberry stitchery and I edged it with polka dot  prairie points as Shez had mentioned in one of  our numerous emails that she loved polka dots :)

 I'd had this stitchery in my stichery folder for a few years now ( can't remember where I sourced it from ) and thought of it as soon as I got Shez for my partner and then decided to make it into a wall hanging using a canvas and my staple gun I received for my birthday this year :)

 I know Shez also loved my journal I had in my giveaway recently and since she wasn't the lucky winner I thought I'd make another and include one just for her :) The stitchery is a Rosalie Quinlan.
Shez and I discovered we both love anything Rosalie :)

 Another Rosalie Quinlan pattern from her book "A stitch in time" I pinking sheared my edging for a ruffled look :)

 I also found this yummy creamy white flurry wool at my local spotlight store and just had to make a scarf for Shez in it :)

 I also discovered in our back and forth emails that Shez loved the fabric range "Bliss" and as I had some scraps leftover from a project I thought I'd make up a drawstring bag for her and filled  it up with some of the goodies below.....

I want to thank Lisa for hosting this fantastic swap,I've really enjoyed making/collecting all these for Shez........the best thing about this swap is I've made a new friend and hopefully when Shez gets back from her overseas trip we'll be meeting up in person for a cuppa and a chat :)

Colour swap.....Thanks Shez for spoiling me!

 These are what Shez made for me in the colour swap.I asked a for red and white colour combination and I got soooo much more! The little mushroom is a pincushion which is now sitting in my sewing room,the front stitchery is a jar cover and I have something special in mind for this and for it to sit on my sewing table so I can admire it when I'm in there.The stitchery hiding behind the mushroom is called a mushroom flip and is already in use with a stitchery project I am taking with me on my girl's weekned away this weekend.The mushroom flip and pincushion are by natalie Lymer of Cinderberry stitches and the jar cover is by Lisa from cubbyhouse crafts.......but wait there's more!

 Shez also included this beautiful shoe bag designed by Michelle Ridgeway....LOVE IT!

Shez also spoilt me by making me not one but two Christmas hand towels....I've been spying on Shez's blog and have long admired her hand towels so  feel very special to receive these in my swap parcel.
The best thing that came out of this swap besides the lovely pressies was I've made another new friend and hopefully in a couple of months Shez and I can catch up with a cuppa and a chat when she's back from her over seas trip.Go visit Shez at http://enjoyinglife.blogspot.com/ you wont be dissapointed,she makes such lovely things :)
I'll be back later with photo's of what I sent to Shez in this swap :)

My Saturday.....

 This is what I was working on Saturday while taking a break from studying.....a very nice way to spend the day :) This journal is going to be my uni placement reflective journal,I decided I wanted something nicer than just any old journal to put my thoughts into.......The good thing about this journal is I used what was in my stash and available in my sewing room.
I love how this journal has turned out,the green ric rac just addds that extra touch to it :)

I also finished making these two face cloths with the leftover chenille wool I made the baby blanket from,this wool is soooo soft to work with.
I can finally add some finishes to my May OPAM list,come back tomorrow and I'll show you some more pictures of what else I've been up to over the last couple of weeks.

Friday Night Sew In results....

This is what I was working on last night for FNSI....another crocheted baby blanket.I love how the colours look together,another one for the gift box when it's finished :)

COLOUR SWAP

Shez,these parcels are heading your way in the morning :) I hope you like what I've made and selected to go into your swap parcels XXXX
P.S: The photo's not too good as I'm playing around with my new camera settings,hope to improve sooner rather than later lol :)

Baking on a Friday.....

 Mmmm cornish pasties were made but were re-named cornish sausage dogs lol....may look funny but boy they tasted good,one didn't make the photo as it was gobbled up by DH before I could even take a photo and another was soon demolished by moi soon after this photo was taken,so all-in-all a success even if they did turn out mutant!

I had some leftover pastry I didn't want to waste so thought I'd make up this raspberry tart and let me tell you it too didn't last long before a couple of pieces were eaten from it,MMmmmm nothing beats home cooking on a cool day.

Photo's galore.....

 This is a baby blanket I've been knitting using a wool called chenille,it's very soft and lovely to work with.I have a ball left over from the blanket so I'm thinking of making a few face washers to go with the blanket as a gift.....another finish for the gift box this year and OPAM.

 These yummy fat 1/4's are from Cathy who organises the fat 1/4 club I'm in,Cathy sent these fat 1/4's for my birthday......thanks Cathy it feels like I've been celebrating my birthday all month lol.

 These very pretty red fat 1/4's ,ribbon and DMC threads are from Nomes who also participates in the fat 1/4 swap with me.Thanks Naomi I love them all!

 Naomi also surprised me with a belated birthday pressie,I love the red polk-a-dot pouch and can see my hexies having a nice place to rest while working on them.Naomi also sent me some card embellishhments and mini post it notes which will come in handy with my uni work.

 This is a picture of the front of the bag,just gorgeous.....

Look how deep it is,I'm predicting I'll be able to fit lots and lots of hexies in here,the perfect place to store them!! Thanks Naomi and Cathy for making my birthday a very special month for me :) XXX

SWAPS........

 On my craft forum I joined in the bookmark swap and this is what I made and sent to Nome's.The stitcheries are by leanne Beasley and done in purple Nome's favourite colour.

 This month in the fat 1/4 swap I also sent to Nomes ( I posted them together)  Nomes and I had a little discussion via emails about the theme as I don't really like brights so we decided to send each other something diferent and these are what I selected for her.I just love the babushka doll one!

I've also been working on finishing a few small projects like this cushion cover,all it needed was a bit of the running stitch done and then I could put it together....why oh why do I alsways get to nearly the end of a project and then put it away without actually finishing it off.All it took me was 10 min's max to finish the embroidery and another half hour and I had a finished cushion cover :)

Peg....this one's for you

This parcel will be winging it's way to you tomorrow......keep an eye out for the postie :)

More pic's.....

 I did a private pincushion swap with sue from http://chickadeescountrycottagecrafts.blogspot.com.au/ and this is the pincushion I made as well a few extra bits and pieces to go with it.I really enjoyed making up this pin cushion by Leanne Beasley,may just need to make myself one in red & white I think.

 This is the lovely pincushion and extras I received from Sue in the swap....ooops forgot to add the fabric panel to the pic's will add it in my next post Sue.The cappucino sachet lasted till just after the photo shoot lol.
Thanks for being my swap partner Sue and hopefully we'll be able to do another swap together in the future???

 This journal was made for a special friends birthday,I've loved making up journals to suit the recipient,plus I'd heard through the grapevine that the last one I'd made her had been filled up so a perfect reason to work on more.
I hope you had a very special day Ondrea and a wonderful rest of the year xxxxx

 My Hubby bought me my requested staple gun and bright & early on my birthday I played around with it by going through some stitcheries I'd put aside to put onto canvases.....let's just say I had a lot of fun but my wrist was aching after I'd finished this canvas.I'll show you more photo's as I staple more onto other canvases :)

Remember that lone round cushion I'd finished last month and the two round cushion tops waiting to be finished well TA DA..... all done!! I now have all three finished and I love them!!!!
I'll be back later with more photo's of what I've been working on and finishing up....I've been very busy :)