Christmas 2017

 Merry Christmas everyone, I hope you all enjoyed the special day. Ours was very quiet but lovely.
I enjoyed getting all my Christmas goodies out of storage and decorating my home.

 Each year I try and make at least one new Christmas project but time got away and I only managed to sew the binding on a new table runner I made last year for my coffee table. Oh well it doesn't matter because I did have my new quilt I designed for a magazine publication earlier in the year. So I guess I can call that my new 2017 christmas project.

 My Tis the season quilt by Natalie Bird is always my favourite quilt for Christmas. I love the fabrics and the stitcheries are so sweet.

 Also on display is my new Jim Shore ornaments i bought in the USA back in September, these are so lovely I think I'll leave them out a little longer.

And whats Christmas Day without my traditional picture of my boys. Getting more handsome every year I must say. Lol,


In 2 weeks time I will be participating in my very first half marathon, I'm excited but nervous at the same time. I have been training hard for months now and after completing 2 10k races I know I'm more than ready to challenge myself even further.
Wish my luck,   I'll be sure to let you know how the big day went.

Thankyou for stopping by.

Happy sewing

Around the garden

 Hi there, not a lot of sewing going on around here lately because I have been  busy spending my time in the garden. This time of year is when I get my summer seeds planted and the vegetable garden started.

 Poppies and Zinnias, my favourite flowers.

 My vegetable garden is now doing well, all seeds have sprouted  so in a few weeks and months I hope to have some yummy carrots, cucumber, brussel sprouts, snow peas and pumpkins.

 All my roses are so pretty, I love to cut them and bring them inside.

 I did make some time to sew a sewing machine cover that I designed for a magazine a little while ago. I made this for a friend and gave it to her last Sunday. I do enjoy sewing for others.

Soon I'll  be digging out the Christmas decorations, can you believe Christmas is almost here.

Have a wonderful week. xx

Time flies........

Hi everyone. I really didn't mean to leave it so long between posts but the days have come and gone so quickly lately. Do you find that to. Christmas will soon be here. Eeekk

I have had some fun in my sewing room recently, I made this lovely camera bag for my etsy shop and now its on its way to a new home in USA. I'm so pleased . 

 As well as sewing, I have been cosying up the house. My sweet husband painted this cupboard for me, it was all dark wood and while I loved the style I no longer liked the colour, so out come the good old electric sander. Didn't he do a great job!!
I have  had a lovely time playing around with all my things, rearranging and folding.

 I love little baskets of quilts rolled up. Much better to have them out for everyone to see.

 I did a little halloween decorating to, Its a fun time of year.

 I even started a new halloween quilt, I have made all the blocks now I just need to put it together. I'll have it ready for next year for sure.

So thats what has been keeping me busy.

Hope you have found some time to do all the things you love to. Thankyou for stopping by.

Until next time .... Happy sewing.

Iowa...... I love you

 Hello friends
We are back from our USA trip and I must say I had the best time of my life. After a few days in LA we went to Iowa to meet my dear friend and her beautiful family. It was amazing. Such a beautiful state full of gorgeous barns, houses and people.

 The first day In Iowa we went for drive for the day to look at all the barns with the quilt blocks on them. It was such a thrill to see such these. You would not believe how incredible some of these barns are. And so big. Our driver for the day was my friends daughter and what an angel she was. The biggest smile you have ever seen on such a sweet girl. Thankyou Arianne, you are such a delight.

 Fields of soy beans were everywhere and looked so pretty.

 I received some beautiful gifts but this one really touched my heart because it was made by a very beautiful 11 year old girl who is my friends grand daughter. We instantly became friends and Emmy was my constant companion for the rest of our trip. Each time i see this pillow now it will remind me of this adorable girl and our fun times we had. Her sweet nanny gave me some beautiful gifts to but I'll share them next time.

 I did buy a few souvenirs for myself including this lovely magazine. It has beautiful pictures on it. Perfect for the coffee table.

 On our very first USA trip back in 2013 I started collecting the Star Bucks cups, so I was thrilled to get some new ones for my collection this time.

They even have pride of place in the kitchen on a shelving made especially for them.

So thats just a taste of our USA holiday for 2017.

Janita I honestly can't thankyou enough for welcoming my family into your home and treating us like part of your family. Your cooking was amazing, your home  beautiful and your family are so wonderful. I can't wait to visit you again dear sister.

Thankyou for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.

I hit the Jackpot

 Hi there, such an exciting week for me. I received my September copy of Homespun Magazine which has one of my  designs  inside and much to my delight I found my quilt was on the FRONT COVER. I was so excited. Such an honour to have my quilt right where everyone can see it.
I'm still on cloud 9.

 Beautifully photographed as always. I couldn't be prouder.

 Before I sent my quilt off to the magazine I took it for a little photo shoot to the park, I love these shots. I was lucky a tree had fallen over the creek so I got to it as close as I could and draped my quilt over it. Stood back and was so happy at the scenery.

So there you go.
What do you think? I love these fabrics Olives Flower Market, they are so pretty and perfect for Spring.

Only 2 sleeps to go and my family and I are heading off to USA for another fun adventure. We can't wait to get there.

I'll be sure to share some photos when we return.

Until then, thanks for stopping by.

Mini quilts

 Hi there, so sorry for my long absence. July flew by within a blink of an eye and then it was August. I have been busy doing lots of sewing but most of it has been for magazine publications so I can't share any of it yet. So I'm here today to show you a cute little mini quilt I made for a friend in the USA,

 We did a little quilt swap together, this mini was so much fun to make but boy it took ages to get together. Of course I left it to the last minute deciding what to make so I was rather rushed but I love  how it has come together. Both my friend and I love fig tree so we agreed our minis for each other had to be in our favourite fabric.

  The pattern I used is called Picking Petals by another friend of mine. You can see her blog here. She has lots of pretty things to look at.

 This is the beautiful mini quilt I received from Stacy. Its so pretty and right now it is on my coffee table. I love the softness of this quilt.

 And stars are always perfect don't you think.

 I was a bit spoilt by Stacy, she made me 2 mini quilts. How lucky am I.. Look at this beautiful patriotic USA heart. I just love it so much. the colours are my favourite. For those of you who read my blog you know much I love red, white and blue fabrics. So this quilt is extra special.

We are counting down the weeks now until we go on our big USA adventure.
I'm thinking this will be our last big family holiday together, the boys are older now and I can't see them wanting to travel with us much in the future.  Plus I'm also looking foreward to travelling with just my husband. The last holiday we took alone together was on our honeymoon. Lol

Thankyou for stopping by, wishing you all a wonderful week. I hope you find some sewing time.

Saturday Sewing Session

 Hi there, do you ever have those weeks where you feel as though you haven't accomplished much? I have had one of those weeks and I don't like it at all. Working full time for the week really threw a spanner into my sewing routine. Usually I get to sew for 2 hours each morning before work but because I was working all day there was no time.

 One important job I did make time to do was get my newest design off to the magazine for publication in a couple of months, so that was a big relief.
Today the weather was so bleak and miserable I thought it was the perfect opportunity to sew and get a few things finished, I love pumpkins and have a made a few pincushion ones but never took the time to finish them properly, so today I did that. Isn't it cute with the button on top. I also sewed the binding down on my newest mini quilt. This is about a 10 inch square.

 I made a tree for a block swap I am in, need to make the house to go beside it next. Got to love those Fig tree greens.

 I also sorted my smitten blocks as I'm almost to the end and I want to make sure my colours are even so I can get a few new ones ready for hand sewing in the evening.

I really like this star block.

Hopefully my routine and work days will return to normal next week and I can cross a few other projects off my list.

Enjoy your weekend.