The longer you leave it, the harder it gets

Oh dear, it seems to be the same old tune here.... far too long between posts.... but hello anyway and a happy New Year to you!   I haven't even managed to get a post done in January, now we're in February and I am woefully late in sharing some beautiful Christmas swap gifts made for me by my lovely friend Leanne.  We did three swaps last year, Easter, our birthdays and Christmas, and it seems Leanne knows me so well, even though we've never met!!

Leanne made me this beautiful Christmas wallhanging with a redwork stitchery, it is gorgeous, and was admired by everyone who visited us at Christmas, truth be told I have now moved it to hang in my sewing room, it's far too pretty to only have on display at Christmas time!  And of course it's in one of my fave fabrics 'Scrumptious'.

She also made me this sweet little pin pillow... isn't it cute with the little orange flower..... and a cute pattern and magnetic closure to make a little hexagon purse.  Thank you so much Leanne for another great swap.....  xx

   

This is what I sent to Leanne, a Thimble Blossoms mini Spools quilt and a journal, both in Scrumptious fabric(both of us using the same fabric was not planned, but great minds think alike!!)

And now tilt your head to the left, this is the journal, a Melly and Me kit, and some Tilda braid I sent.  For the life of me I can not get this photo to stay turned around the right way in Blogger!

I have done almost no sewing in January, and February hasn't started much better, I am heading to the sewing room this afternoon to make the binding for my Scrappy Trip quilt, I really want to get that baby finished, and soon!  As usual January has been crazy busy on the farm, so much stock work to be done, and I am only now catching up on the several hundred blog posts I was behind on reading.  I have missed the signup deadline for OPAM for 2014, but I'm still going to try and get something done each month anyway..... last year was my best year for finishes in a long time, I think the Stitch-Along projects being small each month helped my cause.  So here's hoping 2014 will be a good stitching year for me..... hope you're finding some 'you' time too..... Nicky x

SSCS gifts

Now that the dust has settled on our Christmas celebrations I want to share the beautiful gifts given to me by Cheryl in the SSCS exchange organised by Chookyblue and her very able assisant Googy girl.  In my last post I showed you the sweet little angel ornament Cheryl stitched for me and here is my beautiful Christmas stitchery piece, isn't it lovely?  I love the pretty variegated thread Cheryl has used, and the festive fabrics too.  Not only did Cheryl give me some of her beautiful stitching, but she also gave me a kit for another of Marg Low's cute Santa ornaments, I've seen some of these around blogland lately and they are lovely!  Thank you Cheryl, I have been thoroughly spoiled....

My SSCS partner was Maria in Australia, and I made her a Shepherds Bush cross stitch design into a Christmas pillow.  I made a few modifications to the pattern to make it the right size and shape.  I included a hexagon bag pattern and a few fabrics for Maria, a little blog spying told me that not only did she like the colour purple but she was a hexie fan too!  

A big thanks to Chookyblue and Googygirl for the time and skills they put into organising this swap, it's the only one I've participated in every year since I started this blog, and I love it, it wouldn't seem like Christmas morning without my SSCS parcel to open!  

Well the year is rapidly drawing to a close, I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope all good things come to you in 2014.  We are going camping with friends for a couple of nights to see the New Year in, so I will see you all again early in 2014.......... till then, take care ...... Nicky xxx

Where do I start?

So much has been happening here over the last few weeks, I have finally made it to the blog to check in..... 

Firstly my Secret Santa Christmas Swap gift has arrived from Cheryl in Australia, just look at this beautiful angel ornament she made me, it is adorable, thankyou so much Cheryl, I am waiting very patiently(OK, not so very patiently) for the big day to arrive when I can tear into the other parcels!  A very big thanks to Miss Chookyblue and her team for organising this lovely swap....

My SSCS gifts finally went on the sleigh and were delivered to Maria in Australia, where she has now opened her ornament.  From my stalking of Maria's blog I knew that her favourite colour was purple, so it may not be the most 'Christmassy' of colours I wanted to make her a purple ornament, though it shows blue in the picture.

Recently I was thrilled to receive my Scrappy Trip quilt back from Linda at Razzle Dazzle Quilter. Earlier in the year I won the quilting of a quilt in a generous giveaway by Linda.  The quilting Linda has done for me is nothing short of beautiful, and I plan to get the binding attached over the Christmas break, and then I will take some photos of the finished quilt.  So excited about this one!

We've had a busy few weeks of weaning lambs, cultivation work, school concerts and prizegivings. Our Miss 11 has finished at primary school and was rewarded for her hard work this year with a trophy for Diligence for her class at the Leavers celebrations.  She is super excited to be heading off to the college next year.  And Miss 13 received the General Excellence prize for her class with firsts in 5 subjects, we are just so proud of her and her hard work this year.  Two very proud parent moments! 

Christmas shopping to be finished this week, and the aim is to get our crops all sown before Christmas, and hopefully the old ewes shorn, and about 2 weeks of blog posts to catch up on, so if someone could find me a few extra days in there somewhere that would be much appreciated.  

Hope all your holiday season plans are coming together for you and that there might be some time for stitching in there too......    Nicky x

Another year older

A couple of weeks ago I had the good fortune to celebrate another year above ground.  My lovely stitching friend Leanne and I are sharing in a birthday swap this year and I was so excited to open my parcel from her on my big day.  Just look at all these goodies Leanne made me, and all in some of my favourite Bonnie and Camille fabrics.  

                                             A sweet little pillow with bluebird stitchery

A needlebook with a matching stitchery. The second photo shows the lovely spotty flannel on the inside of the needlebook and the felt inner for storing all my needles and pins.

There was also this sweet project pouch made in 'Bliss', which Leanne has beautifully quilted....

 And all of my gorgeous goodies together, see those cute crochet flowers and Leanne's House postcard, aren't they sweet!!  

Disclaimer:  There may also have been some Caramello Chocolate in this parcel, no prizes for guessing why it didn't make the photo shoot!  Thankyou again Leanne, I was spoiled rotten, and am so thrilled with my lovely handmade gifts.  Leanne's birthday is coming up soon, so I hope she will enjoy her goodies from me too.

I was lucky enough to attend my first ever retreat last weekend, I had a wonderful time, and worked on lots of projects(no new starts for me, wasn't I a good girl...lol).  Once I get some pics taken I will be back to share soon.  In the meantime I have over 200 blog posts to catch up on and see what everyone's been up to.      Till next time...... happy stitching........ Nicky x

My beautiful Easter swap gifts

My lovely Easter swap parcel from Leanne arrived and didn't she spoil me!!A gorgeous applique bunny bag, he is adorable, as is the little bunny with the orange spots who was carefully guarding some yummy easter eggs that the family enjoyed...... Some pretty fabrics, buttons, some yummy DMC threads in colours that make me think of Easter, some sweet little iron-on birdie patches and a length of the measuring tape that you can stitch onto little projects - I've been looking for some of that for a while.

Thank you so much Leanne, I love it all and really enjoyed our swap......

What are your plans for the weekend?  There really needs to be some serious housework happen here this weekend, our youngest daughter and I are off on her school camp next week, so must get myself organised ..... it should be lots of fun(the camp, not the housework...lol)  

So maybe not too much stitching time here, but I live in hope!

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

PS - Thanks for all the comments and advice about how you stitch down your dresden plate blocks. The jury is still out but I will have to make a decision once I get all the blocks sewn.   My FNWF efforts last week got all the 'petal' parts made and a couple more put together, but just never got back here to show them........ what a hopeless blogger I've been lately!

My SSCS gift from Lea

Christmas morning was made even more exciting when I opened my SSCS gift from Lea.  Lea stitched this beautiful cross stitch cushion for me, isn't it adorable, those hares driving the reindeer sleigh are the cutest...... and the pom-pom trim is fantastic!  I was so thrilled with my gorgeous gift, so thankyou Lea for the cushion and my two lovely Christmas ornaments, and a huge thanks to Chookyblue for organising this brilliant swap again.  This is my third year in Chooky's swap, and I hope she's planning on doing it all again in 2013, I wouldn't miss this one for anything!!

I will share in the next couple of days what I sent to Cheryl in the US, I have had a lovely email from Cheryl saying how much she liked what I made her....... it's always a relief to hear that!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas, we certainly did...................... until next time, happy stitching......Nicky x

Santa's been early.......

I was lucky enough to get an early visit from Santa yesterday, he delivered this wonderful SSCS parcel from Lea, who has a beautiful blog Fairy Floss Stitches.  Not one, but two darling felt ornaments, and a Larry Lamb pincushion pattern, which will suit me perfectly.  Thank you so much Lea, I am blown away with your beautiful gifts, now I just need to be patient and wait till Christmas Day for the big reveal of what is in that gold parcel!  A big thanks to Chookyblue for organising the wonderful SSCS swap for us girls all over the world to enjoy. 

 I had a great day at the A&P show on Saturday, I entered a few things, and was lucky enough to come away with a prize for most points in the Handwork & Craft section.  It helped me a LOT that entries were down compared to other years ....... usually I wouldn't get a look in!  My luck was really in as a I bought a couple of raffle tickets and won this awesome Christmas cake........ isn't that Santa playing with the Christmas lights so cool........

 Wonder how long we can wait till we start cutting!

                        

Only 20 sleeps to go........ are you all ready for Christmas??   ('Cause I am definitely not!)

Till next time ........... Nicky

My SSCS gift .....

......... one of the highlights of Christmas Day yesterday was opening my Secret Santa Christmas Swap gift, sent to me by the lovely Chookyblue......... if I had known just what was inside there is no way I could have waited until Christmas morning.  But because I was trying so hard to be nice not naughty, I waited and boy was I excited at about 5.45 yesterday morning......... that's what happens when the girls wake you at 5.35am begging to get into their loot!    I have been so spoilt ............ this is the most gorgeous wallhanging - I absolutely love it - it is so me ........ and if I am completely honest I may have even shed some tears when I saw it!

I can't put in to words how much I love this........ the verse is SO true........ 

and the gorgeous little stitcheries are so pretty ............. here are closeups of a few ..........

I was going to email Chooky to tell her how thrilled I was, but decided to track her down in the online whitepages ............. first time lucky with the right number ........... her Book Worm answered the phone and yelled out to Mum that it was 'someone called Nicky and she's a Kiwi' ......... well spotted Book Worm, it's hard to hide my NZ accent LOL.  It was fun to catch up with you Chookyblue,  I hope all your plans for Christmas Day went well and that I didn't hold you up too long! And of course a HUGE thankyou for my fantastic gifts including these other lovely cards and notepads .........  isn't her photography cool??

Chookyblue does a wonderful job of organising the SSCS exchange, and there are lots of happy and grateful people posting about their gifts today, so Thankyou for organising the whole 'event'!

So Christmas Day was a very hot day here, we enjoyed a lovely Christmas dinner at home, before heading to the beach with Kelly for some cooling down in the water.  What  a lovely spot where the river meets the sea........... and then followed by an evening meal at my Dad's place.

I hope your Christmas was a happy one, enjoyed with family or friends and that Santa was as good to you as he was to us.   We have some busy days of farm work coming up, so we are making the most of a couple of days off to relax, hope you're finding some quiet time too ................I'll be back later with what I sent in the SSCS exchange.

Till then, thanks for visiting ..................... Nicky

Chookyblue's SSCS ..................

............. and I really do mean Chookyblue's SSCS, because when I visited my mailbox this afternoon while out checking some sheep, guess what I found?   Turns out my own Secret Santa is the one and only Chookyblue herself, aren't I the luckiest girl around?.   So Chooky's parcel had a ride on a different kind of sleigh all the way home with me grinning from ear to ear......... it was all I could do not to tear into it at the mailbox, but I didn't want to lose anything on the bike ride home!

I had a feeling 'in my bones' that either Chookyblue or Maree would be my Santa swapper this year, don't know why, I just did!   When I saw Maree was firstly flooded out and then flooded in at her home and couldn't post her SSCS parcel yet, I decided it must be her, and figured that was why my parcel was taking the long way to my house.  Seems I got that theory wrong.  LOL

Just look at these goodies, isn't that sweet little bauble ornament the cutest, complete with a lovely little bell button........ I love it and it is now hanging on my tree.  Chookyblue has sent all those other lovely goodies in the pic above, so I'm going to be naughty not nice, I mean nice not naughty and wait till Christmas morning, though you can bet they won't stay unopened for long on the 25th. lol  

So THANKYOU for making my day Chookyblue, I've had a big smile on all afternoon, and I know so many others are grateful too for all the effort you make in organising this wonderful swap.......Thank you my friend xx

Till next time.................Nicky

Exchange Spoils ......

 Not only did Christmas morning mean lots of lovely gifts from family, but I got to open my two exchange gifts received recently.  First up was the 6 Things exchange organised by Maree.  My swap was sent by Barbara/Aunty Bee, and it was stunning.  Don't you love this bag, designed by one of my fave designers Rosalie Quinlan, aren't the colours gorgeous. 

 And look at all the other goodies, beautiful scented soap, scorched almonds, the lovely needle case I opened when it all arrived, christmas crafty magazines, a cross stitch book and a stunning Heaven and Earth Designs chart.

   

These are not for the faint hearted!  Look closely at the stitch count - I kid you not - 351 x 495, and I think I counted over 90 different thread colours used!  Maybe it won't be finished before next Christmas. LOL

Thanks so much Barbara for all these goodies, you made my day!  And thanks to Maree for organising this fun swap for us all to enjoy.

Next up was the much anticipated SSCS organised by Chookyblue.  My swap came all the way from Maricarmen in Argentina.  I had already opened this lovely little ornament when my parcel arrived, isn't it sweet.

This handpainted Christmas card is beautiful - in soft colours on something like vellum I think.  I love it!

 

 And here is the little quilt Maricarmen made for me - in pretty Christmas colours.  Thanks so much Maricarmen for adding another lovely surprise to my Christmas Day. And of course a big thanks to Chookyblue for organising this fabulous swap.

I'll be back later in the day with some pics of the goodies I sent out for these two swaps.

I hope your Christmas was wonderful too, and that Santa was good to you too!

Be back soon, Nicky

Fabulous Friday ..........

It feels like I haven't been here much lately......... so heres a bit of a catchup on the last couple of weeks.  My SSCS gift arrived with Cardygirl/Alison earlier in the month.  Here is a pic of the ornie I finished up for her. 

In breaking news my own SSCS gift from Maricarmen arrived in this mornings mail all the way from Argentina.  Excitement plus in my house right now!  However my camera battery is dead, so I will take some pics tonight when I get home from work.  My ornament is so cute and is on the tree already.  Thank you Maricarmen, I can't wait till Christmas Day now!  Thanks again Chookyblue for organising this brilliant swap!

And I also forgot to show a pic of my 6 Things swap which was sent off to the land of Oz.  This was the swap organised by Maree.

And then there was Queenstown.  We had a wonderful weekend with good friends who also have two girls the same age as ours.  Lots of boating and swimming, too much eating, but most of all lots of relaxing.  This is the view from the beautiful house we stayed in looking towards the town.

Down at the lake shore - yes, it was as cold as it looks in that water!

Hubbie about to take off on the "Mojo" behind the boat..... 

.........and still on after several circuits.  The general consensus was that the water was far too cold for skiing.

(Thanks A & S for a wonderful weekend)

Tonight is Friday Night Sew-In, and I've missed the last couple, so I'm really looking forward to this one.  I think I will get some more done on my Stiching Round the Block for Leanne and Raewyn.  Leannes is almost done, and Raewyns piece has arrived from Leanne late last week.  Why not head on over to Heidi's and sign up for some sewing time tonight??

I hope you've had a great week and that your Christmas plans are coming together for you. Thanks so much for stopping by today - I'll be back tomorrow with some FNSI progress and some pics of my SSCS parcel and ornie.

                                         Have a great day............Nicky

Exciting mail .....

Look what the mailman brought to me yesterday!  How exciting, my 6 Things swap organised by Maree has arrived.  My gifts are from Barbara, and they look very intriguing.  I have opened the one shown on top and found the cutest needlebook(something for the craftroom).  How did Barbara know that I adore paisley fabric??!?  I love it, thank you so much Barbara.  She even included a gift for each of the girls, who unlike their mother have placed their unopened gifts under the Christmas tree .  But I have put my other gifts under the tree and we'll see if they make it till Christmas.  Probably won't, patience is not my strong point!  Obviously I have Barbaras address on the parcel, but I can't find an email or blog address for Barbara to say thanks.  So if you happen to be reading this Barbara, please pretty please send me an email(on my sidebar) so I can thank you directly. 

Isn't this needlecase so cute...thank you Barbara!

My own 6 things swap was a bit late being sent, after Customs opening my SSCS parcel to Alison I have done a little more research about what I can and can't send to Oz, so hopefully my parcel will arrive to it's recipient next week.

Finally for today, these two cookies in a jar were last minute teacher gifts delivered by the girls to school today.  The inspiration for these cookie jars came from Shabby Art Boutique, where there have been lots of fab Christmas ideas recently.  This is the actual cookie jar link.  My very good intentions to stitch them a small gift have just not happened in the mad rush of the last few weeks.

Today is the last day of school for the year and I am so pleased, everyone is tired and crabby and ready for a break.  Life has been so crazy for the last few months, I keep thinking next week will be better, but it doesn't work out that way. lol   However, I am hoping that *next* week will finally be a little quieter.  I went to town and did most of my Christmas shopping yesterday, a big day, but great to have it done, since my helpers will be tagging along behind me after today.

We are heading away after school with friends for a couple of nights to Queenstown.  It will be great to unwind with a glass of wine(or two) and some R & R by the lake.

Thanks for stopping by today, and for the kind and thoughtful comments you leave, I love reading them, I am woefully behind in my blog reading, but will catch up on everyone when we're back next week.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'll catch you next week .................. Nicky