A Gardener's Journal - It's Finished

What a great way to finish 2012 with getting my A Gardener's Journal quilt FINISHED!  I started way back in 2010 stitching with the original Stitch-A-Long girls, and put my final stitches in to the top at the beginning of 2012.  Eventually I got around to sending it off for quilting to the very clever Leeanne at quiltmekiwi who has worked her magic for me.  I am so thrilled with the quilting, I never imagined it could be so perfect for this quilt, thanks Leeanne for making my first ever professional quilting experience so awesome!

A Gardener's Journal Quilt - Designed by Hatched and Patched

  

Thanks to Chookyblue and all the Stitch-A-Long girls for the encouragement, motivation, and inspiration that you all share so willingly, you all helped me get over the finish line on this one.

Till next time ......... happy stitching.......... Nicky xx

Merry Christmas

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.  Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957)

Wishing all who visit here a wonderful Christmas, I hope you have a magical day with the people you love................  you may see from the pic what I will be doing after Christmas(stitching binding that is, not playing Scrabble!)  I will share the beautiful quilting Leeanne has done when I have the binding all finished.

Much love to all and Merry Christmas.......... Nicky xx

A Gardener's Journal ........ the final block

Late last week the final stitches went into my last block of A Gardener's Journal, and it felt kind of sad to be finished.............. of course I still have to get the borders on and decide if I'm brave enough to quilt it myself or send it out to get a proper job made of it!  Once that's done I can get onto the new Stitch-A-Long project, another Anni Downs quilt, My Favourite Things from her Some Kind of Wonderful book.  I'm really looking forward to that!!   

Finally ......... the blocks are joined, almost a quilt top now!

Here are some pics of the kids vegetable gardens, they have their own little patch each, this is our youngest's below.........

................... and our eldest girls here ..........

And below is part of my potato patch...... some yams are in the tyre at the back.....

and some of the other goodies growing in our garden........

.............we've been eating lettuce, salad greens, radishes and silverbeet for a while now, and lots more is nearly ready now ....... I've had a terrible time getting carrot seed started this year, the first lot I think the seed was too old, and it's been pretty dry since I sowed the new seed.  We are desperately short of water, we are only on our own rainwater supply, and there is no rain forecast till at least the end of the month......... so I need to convince hubby to help me pump some water from the creek for the garden.  

So now there's only 5 more sleeps to go, I'd better behave myself so Santa stops by ........

Till next time....happy stitching

Nicky

No excuses

There really are no excuses for why I've not been here, just seems like life got in the way this month.

Here is a little of what's been going on .......................... I finally got these parcels on their way to a mystery destination for the fabulous SSCS exchange.........

And the next step on the first of my pinwheel baby quilts for our friends twins......... the blocks are pieced for the second quilt, but still need to join them together and ponder those prairie points.

I'm happy to say that the final block of my A Gardeners Journal quilt from the original project at the Stitch-A-Long blog is getting closer to finished, still a hand, some feet, arms, two eyes and some greenery to go............. but progress is being made!

A couple of weeks ago I dug out a long neglected project, Stitching Round the Block, this round I am so behind on is for Janis, who probably thinks it's never going to make it home.  I have set myself the goal of having it done by Christmas, and have most of the hexies made now.  This whole project really scared me....... but now I really wish I had just got stuck into it when it arrived!    Making the hexies wasn't so bad, but I'm very worried about taking the papers out and stitching them onto the background.  Any tips would be gratefully received...................?

So that's about it from me to sum up November on the crafting front, there is lots of farm work happening, weaning some lambs in the next few days, then shearing old ewes, crops to get sown, grass paddocks to be sown, it's all go round here!  The girls have had swimming lessons in town after school every day for the last two weeks, I am SO looking forward to some days at home, what a joy it is to have a day where I don't have to leave the property!    Not to mention the fast approach of Christmas ............. I can't stay in denial for much longer I don't think. LOL

Till next time(hopefully not quite so long though) .............. happy stitching..........Nicky

Tis the Season blocks

Here are the last four of my Tis the Season blocks finished up.  Now I need to join them all together and get it finished up before the end of September so as not to be the last to finish this quilt over at the Stitch-A-Long blog where we've been stitching this since March.  I am one of the few slackers slower stitchers who still haven't finished their A Gardener's Journal quilts from last year, so I don't want to be in the same boat this time around!  In the final photo I'm showing some rather wrinkly progress of the stitchery for my final AGJ block.  I've been trying to put a few stitches in here and there so I can get it finally finished.

It's been a fairly awful week of rain, hail and cold winds, not the ideal weather for lambing, but not quite as bad as last year ....... yet.  The sun is out today though, so it would be great if it hangs around for the next few weeks at least.  

Till next time ................................. happy stitching........... Nicky

One block left now ....

 After some *gentle encouragement*  from Chookyblue, I have now pieced my second to last A Gardeners Journal block and here it is.................Block F............. but that very last block is still quite a way off finished.

 Over the weekend I also finished up Virtues Sampler by Little House Needleworks.  This is now in my rather large pile of finished cross stitch to be framed.

 And while I was busy on the machine I pieced the first block of my Butterfly Garden, I'm pretty pleased with how it's looking, and I've finished a couple more miniblocks during the last few days.

So now I need to catch up on this months Tis the Season and Birdie Stitches blocks...................I don't want to fall behind ............. again!

I hope you're having a great week, thanks for visiting me today, it's lovely to *see* you ................ till next time ................Nicky

SAL progress

It sure has been a while since I've posted, mostly because there hasn't been much to share. We had one of the wettest weeks ever last week, with over 5 inches of rain in four days, which is huge for us, there is surface water lying everywhere, everything is sodden, and the stock are making mud wherever they go. However, today is a stunner, so we've been making the most of it while it lasts.

It feels like I've achieved very little on the crafting front, however I intend rectifying that tomorrow! Here are my May blocks for the Tis the Season SAL, Christmas Angels and Chilly Penguins.

These are all my completed blocks so far....half way there. This is not the final layout, but I just wanted an idea of how they would look together.

I did finish Block C of A Gardeners Journal recently and shared it on the SAL blog. This block has taken a long time.....but boy is it good to have it done! 

I had a little splurge in town yesterday. I found this lovely book, thought it would be perfect for some ideas to use all those charm packs I've been hoarding collecting. The lovely ladies in the shop were unpacking yardage of the beautiful Pom Pom de Paris by French General, and I was hooked!

Thought I'd like to make this little quilt 'one day' with the Pom Pom de Paris charm pack. 

Recently Jody of Jody's Crafty Creations and Perri form Stitches in the Bush have both awarded me with the Versatile Blogger Award.  I think maybe that 'versatile' might be a euphemism for 'starts far too many things and never accomplishes anything', but I am happy to accept LOL.   Thank you to both these lovely girls for thinking of me!  Jody and Perri both have beautiful blogs, so why not check them out.  Jody has recently started designing her own gorgeous softies and Perri has a wonderful store, and is the co-ordinator at the Vignette in Stitches blog too.  Busy girls!

 The Versatile Blogger Award rules:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post
2. Tell 7 things about yourself that others might not know about you
3. Pass along the award to 5 newly discovered bloggers
4. Contact these bloggers to let them know they’ve received the award

Now here is the cop-out!  I am quite possibly the most boring person in the world - I look at all the interesting things people share about themselves in these awards, and I can't think of anything half as exciting about me!  I received a similar award about a year ago and came up with some very uninteresting facts about myself!!  Might be time I took up a dangerous hobby to add some more excitement to my life. lol

I have discovered lots of new blogs lately, some of which are already on my blog list to the right, and many of these have already been gifted this award, so I'd invite you to have a look through and visit a few, you never know who you might meet just one blog away.   

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend ..........take care and happy stitching .............. Nicky

Sometimes life gets in the way..........

................. of being a regular blogger.  Thanks so much for the kind words on my last post for the people of Christchurch.  From what I've seen and heard life in Christchurch is still incredibly difficult, with ongoing aftershocks and life turned upside down for so many.  I'm still thinking of you and hoping for things to improve for you all!  Your netball girls almost did the impossible last night and came so close to beating the Waikato-BOP Magic - Go the Canterbury Tactix!(and of course Southern Steel)

Despite the lack of blogging I have acheived a little stitching, here finally is my sixth A Gardeners Journal block.........

Oops..... just noticed the top flower on the left needs a few more stitches!  I'm undecided on whether I will applique the hearts into that big green block, add something different, or even leave it blank.

Over at the Stitch-A-Long blog, the 2011 SAL has commenced, a lot of the girls have finished their GJ quilts, and are on to Tis The Season by Natalie Bird.  But you know me too well... and I've started the next one too.    LOL    Here are the fabrics I've chosen, all French General in pinks and reds, and stitching with DMC 115 thread. 



Next up is February's Birdie Stitches BOM block, these are fun, and pretty quick to stitch up too.

And finally, here is a sneak peek at what I'm making with my Bliss Layer Cake.  This is part of a little quilt for my gorgeous wee niece, using Bloom's Abracadabra pattern.  Excellent instructions, and I have enough to make a single bed size quilt for my elder daughter too.  She has been watching me piece this one and has been begging me to get some more fabric and make her one too!  If only she knew I'm already a step ahead of her!

Well, thanks for sticking with me this far, I hope you're having a fabulous week, I've been catching up with some blog reading today, so I might just 'see' you soon!

Take care and of course happy stitching......... Nicky

January plans

So far so good - my January plans are working out.  It's been a long time between drinks, so to speak, but finally I have another A Gardeners Journal block done(just pretend it was finished in August!)

I finished up this wee needleroll yesterday, took about 20 minutes, only it had to wait 2 and a half years to get done.  Better late than never!

  

Isn't the little dragonfly button sweet.

 

In My Garden Needleroll - Shepherds Bush

Fabric and threads as kitted

Our camping trip was fabulous, got home and realised I have no tent or campsite photos, but here are some lake photos I did manage.  The weather was great while we were away, though we were worried when it started to pour on the way there!  But it stopped to let us get our tent up, and by the next morning all the rain was over.  Everyone came home with a bit of sunburn - Ouch.  Lots of fun, swimming in the lake, boating and time spent with friends.   The girls start back at school next week, so that brings the summer holidays almost to an end.  :-(

 

 

And last but certainly not least, I have joined Peg and Kris with their OPAM challenge for 2011, lucky I finished the needleroll yesterday, or I would not be off to a good start. lol 

Now I have to set up a list and button for my sidebar and get busy!  Between OPAM and Sew It's Finished I want to get more done than my miserable dozen or so finishes from last year. 

Lovely day here today, I'm off to the garden for some much needed weeding.......have a great day, Nicky