Four lucky winners today for our FNSI/EWSI.....are you one of them?

How was your Easter break?  Did you manage to squeeze in some Easter traditions,....some yummy hot cross buns and of course, chocolate over our stitching weekend?  Did you manage to get away for a well deserved break or like me, did you just relax at home soaking up the peace and reflecting on the reason for Easter?

I love being able to just stop and breathe, without having 'hundreds' of jobs to be done before I start the rat race all over again.  But that would be the same as all of you, wouldn't it?  I do love to be busy;  working gives me purpose and makes me feel satisfied but there's nothing like stopping every now and then for some well deserved calmness just to reset the mind and body.

And that's what our stitching weekend did for me....I hope it had the same effect for you?

Before I show you what I got up to, I have to draw winners for February and March. 

Our wonderful and generous sponsor, Dawn of Kitty Rose Cottage has been waiting patiently for me to get my act into gear so she can post these beautiful prizes out, soooooooo, no mucking about here.......you've waited long enough for these......here goes:

Ta da Ta daaaaaah....

From the 32 stitchers who joined with us in February, either in our Facebook Group page or in  blogs, Our February Winner was drawn and she is..........

    DIANNE MARCHESINI......congratulations lovely!  

I'm sure you'll love the special treat Dawn has in store for you.

Now for our March winner............drumroll please............26 joined with us in March but we could only draw one..........

    congratulations to PINK ROSE!  

 Another fabulous winner who will get to enjoy a lovely prize from our awesome sponsor!

I was keen to put my Birdhouse 'Heartstrings' quilt together but only got as far as handpiecing and stitching the centre panel, but I'm quite happy with that.

I love all things designed by Natalie Bird....she's an amazing Aussie designer and this one really caught my eye.  I've been using my Tilda "Windy Days" fabric range for the EPP and even though I hadn't been organised enough before I started to think of what threads I should use to match the range, it still works beautifully.

I used my Sewline fabric marker to draw the grid lines for placement of my dresdens.  I've never had much luck with the blue water markers...they always seem to  're-appear' for me, but the Sewline markers are made especially for fabric and work a treat, especially when you use the Sewline eraser pen which just makes the lines disappear before your very eyes! 

I did get the inner border stitcheries cut to size and their sashings but haven't yet stitched them together, my 'helper', Mocha was interested to see what I was up to so I never got as much done as I'd planned, sooo...that's a job for the next long weekend which is coming up in .....two days!!  Aren't we lucky here in Australia with all these holidays one weekend after the other?  Although I won't be taking it for granted as it's a very important public holiday, celebrating our Anzacs who fought for our freedom.

Now it's time for our special EWSI draw....I did promise there would be two lucky winners....one who will receive a fantastic prize from Dawn and another who will receive a special gift from 'moi', just to say thank you for putting up with my lacksy-daisy organisation of our get-togethers....I do get there but life often gets in the way! 

I don't know what Dawn has up her sleeve for a first prize but my supplementary prize for someone special is this....

one of Natalie Bird's Birdhouse patterns, the 'Blooming Lovely' pincushion and some scrappy Tilda fabric to make it!  'squeeee'.....The picture is just indicative of what you might get in the way of fabrics but I'll put some together so that you can make the gorgeous pincushion ...and I might even find some threads to throw in too so you can stitch the design without having to wait! Isn't that exciting???

Let's just see who our two lucky winners are....the coveted First prize from Kitty Rose Cottage goes to......

HELEN McCULLOCH........wheeeee! 

 Congratulations Miss Helen!

And the supplementary prize provided by me goes to .....

ANORINA MORRIS.......woohoooo!!! 

Congratulations to you too Miss A!   

And a special thank you to all of you for joining in.....you don't know how much pleasure it gives me being able to stitch along with you all.   Being in a remote-ish, rural area in far North Queensland away from many of my stitching pals, there isn't much opportunity to join in with others so I'm grateful to you all, every single month.....THANK YOU! mwah!  (If only I could give everyone a prize!!!)

have a wonderful week, or what's left of it and from me to you,

Big Sugary Hugs always xox :o)

Who's up for FNSI aka EWSI??

 This week has got away from me again and it's time for our FNSI tomorrow!  It's a long weekend being Easter, so Good Friday is our stitchy day...so I was thinking.....maybe...seeing as it was a long weekend and people are relaxing and enjoying 'me' time, maybe we could have a EWSI aka Easter Weekend Sew in!~ Who's with me?  

  Starting tomorrow, we could stitch all day, part of the day, all weekend, part of the weekend  or any combination of the aforementioned!!!!   AND to make it interesting.....not only will we have a prize draw from our wonderful sponsor, Dawn at Kitty Rose Cottage,

.... we will have a second prize draw courtesy of moi, including chocolate!!! (well, the Easter Bunny needs to be recognised too!)

.....and I haven't forgotten the last two draws....these will be drawn over the weekend and released in our Facebook group.

You can join anytime over the Easter Weekend and either join up below (which is easiest for me!) or pop a photo up including what you're stitching in the Facebook group with your name and your blog name (if you have one).  I sure hope you can join us.  If you haven't joined our Facebook group yet, pop over HERE, that way you can keep up with all the activity over the weekend.

I know it's late so I won't babble too much now as I'll be popping in and out of the Facebook group over the weekend....don't forget to join in if you can...there's always room!

Albeit to say, Happy Easter and may health, happiness and peace be with you always.

Big sugary hugs xox :o)

Happy St Paddys Day and FNSI sign ups

 ....And again, this one has snuck up on me!  I've started a new job and that, along with the two others I have, have made me a tad forgetful.....I didn't even know what day it was today when I was asked at work....is it Tuesday??  Whaaaaaat??? Thursday, already!!!  The days are flying by! 

So firstly, Happy St Patricks Day...to be sure, to be sure!  I hope the little green fella dropped a pot of gold at your door, or at least a rainbow leading you to one!  

Because I'm running so late with our sign-ups, I'm going to leave the draw from last month till the weekend but please join me tomorrow night for some sewing fun.  I'm spending the day tomorrow with my bestie, Dianne so my stitching will start around 10am......not sure which project I'm going to work on yet, there may be multiples, but I will share pictures in the group Facebook page, just so you can be there with us!

If you're not a member of the FNSI Facebook group yet, pop over and request membership.  It's a private group so we don't get any trawlers in the system to spoil it but you are more than welcome to join in. 

Don't forget, by joining in and posting a blog post or a photo on the Facebook page with what you got up to (to inspire us all), you're entered into the draw to win a very generous prize from my favourite craft shop, our sponsor (and my other bestie!), Dawn at Kitty Rose Cottage, who is an expert in all things Tilda .

So without further ado....sign ups are now ''live'' below so pop in your details to make sure you're in the draw.  If you don't have a blog, post your pic in the FB group and I look forward to stitching with you all tomorrow! 

Sweet dreams (I'm off to bed for an early start to work - 5am!) and big sugary hugs xox :o)

FNSI sign ups for February

Another month, another FNSI.....speeding through the days yet again!! 

I always thought that as I got older, the days would slow down and I could enjoy 'my time', but I find myself longing to go back to the days when I built cubby houses in the backyard, went hunting for mushrooms for breakfast in the paddock and took the dog for long walks down to the dairy to return our milk bottles for small change.  Those days seemed to last forever and nothing interrupted the task at hand and you could just 'enjoy' the moment.   These days, there are so many 'pressing' things that 'need' to be attended to, just fitting them into the day seems impossible at times, and within what seems like moments, another week is gone! So much for 'retirement'!

Despite that, I LOVE spending my Friday nights each month with you all, stitching away, together - even though it's virtual, it still feels like I'm with my 'mates' and that warms my heart.  I love that we can meet together, share our love for craft and that we have a wonderful sponsor (and beautiful friend) in Dawn, aka Kitty Rose from Kitty Rose Cottage, to spoil us....or at least give us a chance at being spoilt!

Speaking of which, last month we had a record 31 ladies stitching with us......welcome!   The more the merrier, so if you're on the fence about joining in, it's simple!  If you are a blogger, you can join in via the link below (Mr Linky link), or if you don't but would still love to join in and have the chance to win a fabulous prize supplied by our magnificent sponsor, Kitty Rose Cottage, you can join our Facebook group HERE, leave a comment and picture with what you're working on, and you're in!  Simple!   

So, here goes.....  and the winner is...........

Congratulations to Colletta!  Send me a message and we will get a special prize for you in the mail, pronto.

Don't forget to sign up below!  Have a fab week and see you Friday!

Sugary hugs xox :o)

Welcome to 2022 and our first FNSI

 Welcome to 2022 FNSI!  

I know the threats of Covid have not eased, in fact, with the Omicron variant the threats seem to have ramped up even more, particularly in our little town.  We had been pretty much isolated from Covid up until a couple of weeks ago and now we have 200 cases with 2 hospitalised and 1 in ICU.  Doesn't sound like much in comparison to where some of you live, but in a small town of about 15000 people where we have been untouched up until now, this is massive (and, I won't deny, just a bit scary!).

More changes for me too...I've left my job due to ongoing health issues and have been in a bit of a slump, something that I'd never even considered would be part and parcel with my resignation.  After a week and a half at home, I'm starting to find my feet again and I've managed to work on a couple of projects, finishing one of my Little Box of  Creativity kits from Kitty Rose Cottage and I'm currently working on finishing my Around the Garden quilt by Fee Fee and Me.

Sometimes, just the peaceful calm of stitching at home with friends online takes the pressure of the outside world off your shoulders, so FNSI is such a blessing for me and I hope, for you too.

Join with us this Friday night for our first Friday Night Sew In for the year.  Be inspired by other lovely stitchers from all corners of the globe and you never know, your name might just be drawn out to win a gorgeous prize from our sponsor, Kitty Rose Cottage.

Speaking of prizes, we have a winner from our December FNSI get together...... with 24 of us altogether (including Kitty Rose and myself, who don't count for the prize draw), it was a full wheel! 

CONGRATULATIONS HELEN!

I'm sure Kitty Rose (aka Dawn) has a fantastic prize picked out just for you!  Please send me an email with your postal address and we will get it off to you in the mail, pronto.

Meanwhile, get your projects organised for a Friday Night In , link in below, watch and be inspired on our Facebook group with your favourite beverage, nibblies and tv programs or movies and be prepared for some fun! 

Looking forward to a great 2022 with you all xox

Big sugary hugs :o)

Our last FNSI for 2021

 Seriously???  My head doesn't believe what my lips are saying (nor my fingers typing!) 

This WILL be our last get-together for 2021!  What a year!

I have nothing but thanks to you all for a wonderful year, keeping me on the straight and narrow reminding me of our special times together each month as I often forgot, helping me keep sane in this awful mess of national (and international) Covid lockdowns and health scares and keeping me on my toes with my sewing projects.  I'm particularly proud of the baby quilt I finished even though nothing else came close to being finished;  we were so fortunate up here in North Queensland with little effects of the sinister disease which locked up the rest of the world.  I managed to still go to work and function reasonably normally despite what was going on around us, but that meant my stitching time was less than I'd have liked but in the scheme of things....I know I'm truly blessed. 

Enormous thanks must be given to our wonderful sponsor this year - Kitty Rose Cottage!

Dawn has been a great friend of mine since my blog's birth in 2009 and our friendship has grown exponentially in that time and I'd be lost without her.  The fact that she stepped up and volunteered her sponsorship when I asked for help earlier on this year only proves how wonderful a person she is and I encourage you all to pop over to her shop and have a look around, get to know her and I'm sure it won't be long before you love her like I do!

Especially when she's taking preorders for the newest Tilda range....Cottage Beach!   I adore this one....small prints are so easy to use in so many ways.....swoon!

And if you pop on over, you'll notice there's something new in the shop!   Squeeeeee.....I think I'll be taking advantage of it too!

Just before I draw our November winner and add the Mr Linky Link for our FNSI, I must share my latest baby spam!!!!  (You didn't think you'd get away without any did you?)

Here's our little Ryker John.....1 month old already!  He'll be in high school before we know it! 

Now a drumroll........we had 23 people play along last month  and here's how it panned out.....

Congratulations lovely!  Dawn will be in touch with your prize details. 

Don't forget to sign up so you can be part of the December fun and maybe add your name to the list of 2021 winners!  

See you on Friday night and....

big sugary hugs xox :o)