January roundup

Time for a catchup on January............ lots happening on the farm...... some random farm pics from December and January.......

Yesterday I was thrilled to catch up over lunch with Michelle and her lovely family.  They are on a family holiday travelling around the South Island, and it was so nice to meet and finally put a face to the name/blog.  Michelle is a beautiful quilter and stitcher, her lovely blog is called It's Sew Me.  Here we are outside the cafe - I didn't notice how much taller I was till I saw the photos today.....lol.  I hope you and the family had a safe journey north Michelle......... and thanks for taking the time to meet us.....

Last week we headed to the beach with the girls, they had lots of fun boogie boarding in the waves, and we all had a little R & R for a couple of days, before heading home and back into lots of sheep work.  Today is the last day of four days shearing, great to get a good spell of weather to get that job done.....

On the sewing/stitching front, here is the little Ruby project I started earlier in the month.  It is almost quilted, and I have decided to send this one over to Chookyblue for her Caring with Quilts appeal for those who have lost everything in recent bushfires in her area.  This is not a big quilt, but would be OK for a cot quilt I think.  I will finish quilting it this afternoon and get it on it's way ASAP.  I can always make another one for me!!  If you can help by sending a completed quilt please get in touch with Chookyblue...... most of us can only imagine how heartbreaking it is to lose everything.

This bundle of loveliness arrived in the mail ....... I've had my eye on this since I first saw it and I could resist no longer.  This is Flower Girl by Thimble Blossoms using Bonnie and Camille's Marmalade range.

 I was also asked to make a pencil case in the same bike fabrics I made a pouch from last year, sorry no pics, it's in use at school today!!  So that together with my Stitch-A-Long Thread Catcher makes 2 OPAM finishes for me this month.

And finally here is a lovely cool desert I made for the family last night........... meringues, piled with whipped cream/yoghurt and lots of fresh berries.... yum!

Well, if you've made it all the way to the end...... thanks for sticking with me!!

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

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

I'm still here ............

......... so it seems they haven't carted me off yet - lol.  It's heartening to hear there are so many others out there just like me!  Starting too much and finishing even less - thank goodness for OPAM and Sew It's Finished.

We've had a busy couple of weeks here on the farm, so not  much stitching or blogging happening lately.  I have signed up for Friday Night Sew In for the 18th, hosted by Heidi and Bobbi.  If you want to join in head on over here.

I had a FNSI of my own last night, and made this wee pencil roll for a little friends 9th birthday party my youngest is attending today.  I changed my design slightly from last years effort, and added velcro so the top flap will fold over before rolling it up.  Next time, I'm going to try an elastic loop and a button, less fiddly than tying the bow for little fingers maybe.  Woohoo a project started and finished on the same night ...... and ............I even used fabric I had on hand.  If you can't find me later I'll be off shining my halo.

 



But........to offset that good behaviour, I have made a couple of online purchases lately including this fabulous book ......it really is a beauty .......and I have some of Camille's gorgeous Bliss on the way - I couldn't resist any longer. There are lots of people out there tempting me with beautiful pictures of Bliss fabric and projects.  Thanks Michelle and Suzi and others.   :-)

Well then, I'm off to spend the rest of the afternoon with my sewing machine, planning to piece the shoo fly blocks for the first Vignette block and get some more done on my latest Gardener's Journal block. 

Thanks for visiting today.......till next time happy stitching ................... Nicky

Time for a catch up.......

Hi folks, it's been a crazy week or two around here, lots happening on the farm, and busy times for me at work as well.  We have just had a holiday weekend here, the Saturday and Sunday of which we spent getting our lambs tailed.  As we expected it was a pretty disastrous lambing for us, however the lambs and ewes we have are all pretty healthy, so we will do our best with what we have.  On Labour Day Monday we made a daytrip to Roxburgh and jetboated up the Clutha River to Alexandra and then onto the Clyde Dam.  It was a lovely day out, only problem was I left my camera behind, so I haven't got any photos of beautiful Central Otago with the wild thyme in flower, smells heavenly and the countryside looks amazing.  Photos next time!!

In stitching news, some long awaited stash arrived..........some lovely new LHN charts and gorgeous overdyed threads, sitting on some Weeks Dye Works 32ct Linen in 'Straw'

and LHN's Virtue Sampler which I couldn't resist making a start on. Oops - Fallen off the wagon again!

Some cute pins - 'Pink Lemonade' from Just Another Button Co

And because I need another project start like I need a hole in the head, here is the beginnings of my Stitching Around The Block, from Helen Stubbings - Hugs and Kisses.  I am thrilled to be in a little Kiwi stitching group with these lovely ladies Raewyn, Janis, and Leanne.   Raewyn and I 'met' thru our blogs a few months back, our blog address names are very similar, and we are both(obviously) farm girls!  I have my fabrics pretty much finalised for this little quilt, and this centre block needs to be finished by the end of the week and sent on its way North for the beginning of November. 

And just so you know I haven't forgotten my committment to stitch one of these 'Butterfly Garden'  miniblocks each week, here is an update.  These three are finished mini blocks from Block 2.........

..............and these four are prepped ready for applique and stitchery. 

I must confess I am a little behind my one a week target though, likewise I am very behind in the Gardener's Journal SAL.  Thankfully most the others aren't, so you can check out some lovely blocks and quilts over here.  Secret stitching for my SSCS is still happening, and  I am gathering things for my 6 Items Christmas Swap too. All in all, it's going to be a busy countdown to the end of the year - thanks for calling by here today to visit, I appreciate that you have persevered this far. LOL 

Till next time, take care ............. Nicky

Fallen in love........

..........with these 'Martinique' fabrics by 3 Sisters.  These fat 1/4s were purchased from eBay a while back and I haven't been able to bring myself to cut into them! Sad, isn't it? 

So I've decided I won't make that first cut yet, and instead will use the same fabrics, but from this Charm Pack.   Perfect for what I have in mind, another Skinny Verna Runner like this one I made a couple of months ago.  Guess this one will be called 'Skinny Martinique'. lol

 You can find the pattern here over at Moda Bake Shop. 

All of this will hopefully be achieved at the next Friday Night Sew In, being hosted by Heidi on Friday September 17th.   So join in the fun, and head on over to sign up!

Today is my youngest daughter's birthday, she received her giraffe pencil roll as part of her gifts this morning, so she is off to school with it today, feeling pretty pleased with herself.  She got her ears pierced a couple of weeks ago, so she also scored some earrings, some books and some other bits and pieces.  Her request for birthday dinner tonight is home made pizza, followed by a cream sponge for her birthday cake, so I'd better go and get baking! 

Thanks for all the e-mails I received on Saturday, wondering how we fared after Christchurch's earthquake.  Thankfully we are nearer the bottom of the South Island and didn't feel a thing.  My thoughts are very much with the folk in Canterbury, who have literally had their lives turned upside down.  It will be a long road to rebuild their beautiful city, but one I'm sure they will achieve.  They breed them tough in Canterbury!!

Till next time, take care.......Nicky

Friday Night Sew-In Plans

Tomorrow is Friday Night Sew-In....check out the link in my sidebar............why not join in?  My goal is to turn these two new Michael Miller fabric purchases into a little surprise for my younger daughters birthday next month.  It won't be completed in one night I don't think, but I will  let you know how I get on .  I thought these giraffes were just too cute - they make me smile, and I think my daughter will too.

Also planned for Friday Night Sew-In is to get this garden tools block made up as much as I can for this months A Gardener's Journal block, I still have a couple of little stitcheries to finish to complete the block, but it's slowly getting closer.

  

Also purchased this week was the latest edition(at least in NZ anyway) of my all-time favourite magazine, Australian Homespun.  I have been collecting these from the beginning, and there is so much eye candy and gorgeous inspiration to be found within.   This is the Christmas Issue - and as always I was not disappointed.

Whether you are joining in Friday Night Sew-In or not, have a great weekend doing something that makes you smile!!  Thanks for stopping by ....................................... Nicky

Confession time........and a Lizzie Kate Christmas update

Okay, time to 'fess up and show the goodies I purchased from Lesley at the Mid Winter Christmas workshop last weekend.  Mostly fat quarters of fabric and linen, some bundles of the lovely new Parlan iron on stabiliser/wadding, a new embroidery hoop and the set of strips in the middle which were for the Bluebird project bag.  Under all of this is Rosalie Quinlans gorgeous book 'Gift'.  Rosalie was kind enough to sign my copy for me.

This is a stunning book, with a little bit of everything inside, dolls, quilts, bags, cushions, lots of little things perfect for making and giving. 

Also long overdue is an update on my Lizzie Kate Christmas Spirit piece.  I hadn't done much cross-stitching for a while, as I've been trying to keep up with A Gardeners Journal SAL, and that seems to be taking up most of my(never enough) stitching time.

Over the last couple of evenings I have finished Cheer, Gifts and Wonder, and started on Carols.  Only have Carols and Peace and the border to go, so it will be great to have a finish.  They have been a little thin on the ground lately as most of my projects at the moment are pretty big ones. Could also be good to cross another WIP off my list as I have received a little(?) challenge from May Britt to start stitching on Leanne Beasley's Butterfly Garden quilt.  She and her friend Hanne have committed to stitching a miniblock a week.  There are 81 mini blocks in the quilt, so I guess over a year and a half to get it made makes this acheiveable. They don't have this many to do, but I haven't started it yet!  I have made a promise to myself that I WON'T start anything new until I cross something off that list though!  Before I commit to this I need to be sure that I can still keep up with AGJ stitchalong.  It has been wonderful to see everyone elses stitching and blocks being finished, definitely makes you want to keep going with it. I have been playing with a large selection of fabrics for Butterfly Garden and will show some pics of what I'm planning to use soon.

School holidays started here yesterday, so it will be great to have the girls around, we have a few outings planned for the next couple of weeks - it's always nice to get out of the routine of school and sports etc for a while.  Hopefully some quality stitching time too.....................

Thanks for visiting here, I really love reading your comments, it's also nice to know I'm not just talking to myself!!! lol Catch you again soon.

Stash .....and an award

My luck is in at the moment it would seem.  I have been stalking my mailman(not literally, lol) for the last few weeks waiting for an order I made in January to arrive.  Since I ordered, there have been the most beautiful new designs released, that I really need want to own.  For now though, my newest stash that finally arrived today must sustain me for a while.  I ordered the  Lizzie Kate Holiday Spirit Double FlipIt series, LK Christmas Sampling chart, LHN's He's a Flake, and Winter Greens.  There is also WDW and GA threads for these designs and others, and some cute little charm packs for some Lizzie Kate Santa charts I already have. 

In other lucky news, my name was drawn by Cyndi to receive a Pay it Forward, so sometime soon I will offer a PIF here.  Cyndi has a lovely blog, and some very exciting news happening over there at the moment.  Cyndi has also been kind enough to give me an award.  I will have to spend some time today thinking about 10 things you might not know about me, and post the award details then too.

For now though, I hope you are having a fabulous day.  Thanks for stopping by. Nicky