FNSI is here...perfect for winter!

 Last month was my birthday month and I got spoilt rotten.  I found out our new neighbour has his birthday the same day as mine....only 32 years later (!!!!) so we took him out to lunch and then went to dinner with family.  He and his wife bought me a beautiful bunch of flowers which was very unexpected.  My boss called me into her office to talk 'serious' business.  I was honestly wondering what I had done wrong and going through a million different scenarios.  When I walked in, she unveiled a pair of perfectly gift-wrapped boxes and told me I could not open them until my actual birthday.    When I woke on my birthday, I headed straight for them as they had me intrigued.......inside were a pair of pearl earring and a pearl drop necklace, signifying 60 years!   So much thought put into it...and I haven't taken them off since!

I caught up with my best friend, Dianne and although our visit was quick, we always pack so much into such a short time.  She gave me such beautiful and thoughtful gifts....no stitching ones but ones just for me!   I love my snuggly and my warm socks.....perfect timing!    I caught up with Shez too and we went to lunch and had a 'girls day', shopping and just chatting.  The day flew by so quickly.  So many visits, phone calls and messages and lots of scratch-its....a few wins but put it this way, I'll still be going back to work! lol  Despite that, I am truly feeling blessed beyond measure!

I have been feverishly working on completing my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt and I can confirm I have finished the top this morning!   All Tilda fabric provided by Lucy Boston Club – Kitty Rose Cottage and I must say, I LOVE it!    If you've thought you'd like to start one but don't feel confident picking colours for all the blocks, I highly recommend letting Kitty Rose organise the hard work for you.

I love the colours all put together and how each one pops .  The pink Grunge fabric in the sashing really frames the blocks beautifully.  I couldn't be happier.  Now I just need to sandwich it and figure out how I want to quilt it....any suggestions gratefully accepted!  

I also finished the Tilly Tote Bag for a swap gift.  Here is mine that winged its way to it's recipient who has a love of pink, blue and teal....I hope I made one that fits the brief.

and here's the one I received in the swap....just gorgeous, don't you think?

Even personalised with a 'W' on the pot!  and the scrunched flower is just beautiful.  Some gorgeous swap gifts arrived with it too.. feeling very special. 

This Friday is our June FNSI - our first winter one in the southern hemisphere and our first summer one for those in the northern sector!    Even here in Tropical North Queensland, we've been hit with Mr Frosty with nightly minimums down in the single digits (but only for a few days!)  We're back up to minimums of 15-17 degrees C and daily temps of about 25-27 degrees C.  Still chilly for us but definitely nothing to complain about.  We managed to even cook up a nice warm beef stew one night and soup was also on the menu.  I even got out my fluffy slippers and my sewing buddies decided they'd help warm me up whilst I was stitching too!

Now I've finished this, I'm thinking Friday night might be catch up time for my Temperature Cross Stitch Tree.  Now it's getting cooler, I might be seeing some different colours come through which will be nice!   What will you be doing?  Any plans yet?  I can't wait to see what you are working on whilst we all sttich along together.  I get loads of inspiration from you all....my 'to-do' list is getting longer and longer!

Make sure you either sign up below, or sign up on our Facebook Group page.  If you've never joined in before or if you know someone who would love to join us, please invite them along.  The more, the merrier!  And who knows, you might get drawn out as the winner of our random monthly prize draw, proudly sponsored by our wonderful sponsor, Dawn Hay of Kitty Rose Cottage.  Pop by and have a look at some of the goodies she has in store.  There are definitely some beauties there.

Last month we had 29 ladies join us for our May FNSI.  There was so much happening.  I put the names into our Random Name Picker and spun that wheel like there was no tomorrow......

Congratulations to Jeanette Graham!!!!  Yippee!!!!  Dawn will be in touch to organise your prize.  Thank you to everyone for joining in.  I really hope you have as much fun as I do.

In the meantime, don't forget to sign up.  Have a great rest of the week and see you Friday night!

Big sugary hugs xox :o)