Stinging eyes and fingers

My eyes are crossed and my fingers very tender.... But Brutus the 3rd is very nearly finished!!! Has been a relaxing weekend

Getting my groove on

After finally finishing my last quilt I'm now back into my stitcheries and see if I can make some good progress with Brutus before getting side tracked with something else...

Hot everything traced off last night and started some stitching tonight while in my motel room

Another one down

I have FINALLY!!!!! finished the baby quilt for my friends new baby. I started the planning for and organising the quilt as soon as I found out she was pregnant at 12weeks.... Baby Lillie was born nearly 3weeks ago!! The benefit of being later than expected is that I was able to add her name....

The very hungry caterpillar... Machine quilted and my first real attempt at free motion!!

...The back view

... And where I've stitched the name. My first go at top stitched on a quilt once it's been out together. I'm getting the whole hiding the starting stitch okay but still need to work on the end stitch.

Now to start on the next project :) and hopefully it won't be so long between posts next time 

I wish I could sleep!!!

I've been on holidays this week... And have slowly ruined my body clock! I'm now staying up late and sleeping in late everyday. You'd think this wouldn't be a problem only when you get up at 12pm there's not much day left to fit in all you want to do!! I was attempting an earlier night tonight to start to reset my body clock for work next week but it doesn't seem to have worked... I'm lying here looking at the ceiling very much awake :(

I did spend some time playing with my blog today in the computer though (to date I have only worked with it on my phone or iPad) and have reorganised it a little and am much happier with it now. I'm hoping to be a little more regular with it too now that it looks prettier.

I guess I'll stop writing stuff as its only keeping more awake and will roll over and listen to some of my audio book.... Surely the soothing tones is Jim Dale reading Harry Potter and the Chamber if Secrets will send me off to dreamland in no time at all :)

In the craft groove

Had quite the productive day today!!! And what's better is that tomorrow is a public holiday for Queens birthday work won't get in the way of my craft groove (which normally happens after a Sunday afternoon sewing session).

So I finished off Brutus the 2nd

And got a start on the quilt I'm making for a friends new baby (due in a few months). I bought the kit ages ago and have kept putting it off. This afternoon I thought I would just go in and cut and prepare all the material ready to do aver the next week. So I pull everything out and what a delightful surprise it was to discover everything was pre cut!!! A quick squiz of the instructions proved it was a series if straight lines sewing so I thought bigger it why not??? So the top is done. I've also prepped all the binding so just need to cut backing and wadding, quilt and bind! 

Am very excited about how it looks. Can't wait to finish it. Now to think about how to quilt it.

Shall keep you updated

Winter is here

Well it's been a while between posts, but I've had some fun crafting this afternoon and thought what better reason to blog is there??

Winter had peaked its little frosty head in a bit early this year. The quilts are getting plenty if use, the slippers are on and the tea pot is getting plenty of action. But don't you just hate it when your only one cup into your pot and its going cold! By the time your pouring the third it's all cold and not at all meeting its winter night requirements. So, to ensure plenty of warm tea this winter I have made myself a cosy! And it's reversible, which I'm a little chuffed about. Will venture to make a trivet tomorrow.

This is it with the pink side showing

And now with the alternative purple.

I had so much fun with the free motion quilting, and am somewhat impressed with my stippling skills. My discovery the other week that the bobbin allows a different colour on the bottom vs top thread meant I was able to easily blend the quilting cotton!!

Well, now I'm off to have a shower and a pot of warm tea!!! Have had it sitting, warming with water and cosied while we had dinner. Another invaluable tip of tea drinking in winter - be sure to pre warm your pot and cup!!

All my quilts are home...

I've just finished off the binding on my wedding signature quilt and taken photos of it and my other 2 finished quilts ready to put in the show next weekend.

All my quilts are currently "home" except for the shaggy I made for my brother as a quick throw together. It's a great feeling being able to lay them am out and know you made them!! Or most of them as the topper of the wedding quilt was put together by the amazing ladies at Tuesday night craft!!!

I've posted some photos, but have been limited in my layout options as blogging from my phone!!

Preparing for the show...

My lovely husband bought a frame today for me to put my embroidery in for the show next weekend.

The quilt I made for my nephew has also been posted back to me and arrived yesterday to enter. Ill get photos of it and the one I made for myself and post up one day soon.

Getting excited now. I love the show!!!

I've just had to move this post as I put it on the wrong blog last night!! So now I have lost my picture :(

Something new...

A little excited tonight as I completed the final preparations for my next few embroidery projects.

Traced the patterns onto fabric last night at craft, stopped in today and bought the pellon this afternoon. All ready to get stitching and keep myself entertained in the afternoons while out of town for work next week.

Couldn't wait though and started one tonight!!

Last night was productive in other ways too as I was able to pin my wedding quilt ready for quilting this weekend!!

So many crafty things to do, so little time. And I really must plant my seedlings this weekend!

Belly Flop

Hmmmm... I started out this blogging venture nice and strong but have dwindled.

 Not a lot has really changed.

 My vegetable garden is still just a patch of dirt. I dug through some new soil not this weekend just gone but the previous one and moved the truss for the tomatoes and beans. I've bought some seedlings and have been nurturing them in their punnets, really must get them in the ground soon. The chooks are still laying well, and actually escaped out into the neighbours yard last week and were roosting on a stump in their back yard when we went down to put them away.

 We've been sussing out and refining our skills with the bread maker and are getting consistently good results. I'm loving waking up in the mornings on the weekend to a house full of the smell of fresh bread and then having hot fresh bread for breakfast!

 My crafting is coming along slowly. I'm having a go at appliqué for the first time on one of my current projects, and then Im still doing more embroidery (absolutely loving it!) and will eventually get around to doing this baby quilt on my to do list before the baby is born and celebrating its first birthday!! I wish I could set aside more time in the day to do more.

 And on the fitness front I have started back doing my exercise and hitting the gym. 24/7 gym access with Snap Fitness is something I have to admit I do enjoy even though I am only using it at normal times. I have re-discovered my complete lack of upper body strength and an determine to develop some!!

 Well that's a fairly decent update of all the things that haven't really changed. One of these days Ill log on on my computer instead of just through the iPad and look into pretty-fying a little more and adding so pictures.

Missing home...

Currently hanging out in a motel room and missing home a little. As part of my job I sometimes spend a few nights away from home servicing schools that are further away. I'm currently at the end of day 2 of my 4 day trip and would be happy to go home tomorrow. I find one night is okay, two is okay, but the third night I always want to go home. I've had a productive few days though and been able to get most of the paperwork and admin side of my school visits sorted while at the schools, so all going well I can keep it up, and spend less time working on it on Friday when I'm back in the office. Maybe even swindle myself and early mark! Though I doubt it.

We are starting to plan out next trip to the canarvans. The wonderful group of ladies I exercise with went for a long weekend last year and had an amazing time. I can't waitntondonit again, though it won't be until October. Will try and set up my camping supplies and build up my fitness and endurance so I can blitz the trip this time. I was very proud of my efforts last time. Did 20ish km walking for the day. My aim for October will be to run sections!!

I'm a little sleepy, but need to make sure I go to sleep so I'm not tired for tomorrow. I'd much rather stay up reading my new book all night, but unfortunately that's not an option mid week.mwill count down to Friday when I can do that.

A green thumb I will grow...

I started my grading venture today. I have a history of severe brown thumb to the point where I have even killed a cactus! So it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

I've bought some seedlings of a variety of different veges, a Cousin It plant and my lovely husband has organised for some garden soil to get delivered next week to mix in to what's already there. I spent an hour or so today turning over the soil that is there and set the sprinkler on it got a while. Will turn it over again tomorrow and then next week before I mix in the new stuff, then I should be ready to start planting. The chives and some parsley seem to have survived from the last attempt so hopefully they will continue to grow.

I don hope it all works and I am able to grow something!

We have screen doors!!!

I got home from work this afternoon to find that our screen doors have finally arrived and been fitted to the front and back doors. I am SOOOOO excited (I think this is yet another one of those signs that Im starting to grow up and be all adult) and can't wait for tomorrow as we have fresh breeze flowing through the house all day. Not to mention the additional fresh air that will be moving through the house when Phoenix and Raven (the cats) do their business in the litter tray!
It's also been rather fun this afternoon watching the cats get a bit closer to the dogs (Chook and Duck) through the back screen...

I guess now is a good a time as ever to formally introduce my fur (and feathered) family. There are 8 of them in total. 2 cockatiels Darcy and Bundy, 2 cats Phoenix and Raven, 2 dogs Chook and Duck, and finally 2 chooks Rufus and Fido. We have a boy and girl in each pair... Keeps things nice and even I think. The cats and purely inside and the dogs are purely outside, so apart from a few short encounters through the front screen door at our old house they never really meet each other, so it will be interesting to see how their relationships develop as Chook and Duck like to hang out and sleep at the back door.

I'm determined to get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight. Despite being completely exhausted each afternoon and planning an early night I still haven't been going to bed until midnight or so, so now (as its already 9pm) Im going to head off for a shower, and snuggle up in bed to read a bit of my ebook before having a lovely sleep. Looking forward to waking up to the smell and taste of hot fresh bread (got a loaf in the break maker set to finish at 8am).

Well hello there...

Well hello, and welcome to my blog. This is my first post and I'm a little excited about starting my blogging venture though am finding it very frustrating to do on my iPad as it keeps not letting my type!! It also doesn't help that Ive decided to start playing with it when I have only 10% battery left!!I hope you (if there is anyone out there reading) enjoy updates on my sewing, terrible attempt at gardening (as I attempt to re start the vege patch my parents made me which I proceeded to kill), bread making ventures (recently acquired a bread maker), crazy stories about my diverse fur family and share with me as I begin the next chapter of my life with my new husband (married 3months....oh my gosh where has that time gone??) and starting a family.Now, Im off to find my charger, and see if I can find away to get this process more user friendly on the iPad!!