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!
Well, I can't believe I haven't written a post since January, but in my defense, after the washing machine flooded half of our house and we had to replace flooring, carpets, walls etc, everything was packed away and my computer was inaccessible for the interim. I've only just signed off on the completion of repairs and I must say, it was a HUGE job. We've had people ask us if we were moving in or moving out! Packing boxes were stacked everywhere and half the house contents were moved to the front rooms. Mind you, it's been great for de-cluttering and it's given us the encouragement to start downsizing 'stuff'!
It hasn't made it easy to get into my craft room though as boxes and things from other rooms were stored (aka stacked) in there so sewing has been hand stitching in front of the tv when I can. I've been working on a secret squirrel swap project which I can't show yet, but I can tell you it's done in Tilda, so very pretty!
I seriously can't believe Easter is over and we're heading into May in the next couple of weeks. Every year I say the same thing and I'm sure it's not just me, is it? I hope you've had a beautiful Easter spent reflecting, resting and sharing beautiful moments with family and friends.
My little man (aka grandson, Ryker) had limited chocolate this year due to his craziness whenever he gets too much sugar so instead my son and daughter in law took him to see one of his favourites......Bluey at Bluey World! He was over the moon and even got to meet Bluey - you can hardly tell them apart!
He had such a big day he was exhausted before he got home. He slept so soundly last night.....so soundly that he fell out of bed and didn't even know it! Thank goodness for Snapchat and videocalls....the hardest part of living thousands of kilometres away are the experiences you miss out on, don't you think?
My focus in the past couple of months is to get my Patchwork of the Crosses quilt finished. I'm at the 'putting the blocks together' stage and constructing the top. Then I'll go back and do the edging and corner blocks before sandwiching and quilting. I hadn't looked at it as a whole until I took a progress shot of it on the bed today, complete with cat bump!
Couldn't get him to move! Still, I'm so happy with how it looks in Tilda! I still have a couple of rows to add and I'm happy with how it fits my queen sized bed with plenty of room.
If you're thinking of making your own, take the pressure off and order your blocks from Kitty Rose Cottage. Dawn will co-ordinate the colours for you and you can choose your own sashing block colours to suit your room's colouring. I chose a pink grunge fabric as I am making this one for moi!
I hope you get the chance to see what everyone's been creating in our Facebook FNSI Group. There's been some beautiful and needless to say, inspirational makes over the past few months. My list of wants is getting longer. If you haven't joined our group, just click on the "join" button on the group page or message me and I'll invite you in.....easy!
I've drawn our winners for January, February, March and April and without dragging it out, here they are.............
Congratulations ladies! Dawn has your details and will be sending your prize shortly.
I hope you enjoyed our FNSI together and I look forward to stitching along with you in May for a very special Birthday FNSI celebration!
Big sugary hugs to you all and chocolatey Easter love xo :o)
Isn't it weird that it is already a quarter of the way through the century? I can remember, what seems like only a month or two ago, preparing for the end of all technology with the Y2K bug and potentially the end of all mankind through a computer-induced apocolypse!!! Now here we are, 25 years on and we haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but technology certainly has changed in that short time - hopefully for the better!
So, speaking of technology....are you all ready to jump on board with our first FNSI for the year? For those of you who are new, the FNSI tab above will explain all the details, you can join in by linking your blog below or if you don't have an active blog, sign in on our group Facebook page HERE This is where all the activity happens on the Friday night and even well into the weekend because we all know, it's always Friday night somewhere in the world.
So join in, be inspired and chat with other like-minded crafty people, maybe meet some new friends and find some more projects to add to that never-ending list of projects we all have, all while having the chance to win a prize from our very lovely and generous sponsor Dawn, from Kitty Rose Cottage.
Let's start the post with our December 2024 draw. We had such a varied lot of craft, all very beautiful and all very inspirational. That's what I love about our little group - the inspiration is always off the charts! With 26 ladies joining in, some cross stitching, some stitching, some organising. some EPP, a little backing, a little binding and some Christmas decorations completed, we certainly had a busy night. I took the names to the Wheel of Names to see who our lucky December winner is and here's who it spun.....
Congratulations De! Your Christmas isn't over yet! I'll be in touch!
I'm looking forward to stitching with you all on Friday night. Make sure you sign up so you don't miss out on the draw!
Well, welcome back to the blog! It's been a heck of a year with work, work, work, a husband unable to work, a washing machine that chose not to work (but flooded the house) and a brain overwhelmed so often that I didn't get the blog to work! I'm hoping that 2025 is a smoother year for all of us and I'd like to end the year on a high!
So with that said, I've managed to catch up on our winners for August, September, October and November....what's that saying....better late than never??? I apologise profusely and please don't expect the prizes before New Year as I've dumped it on our beautiful sponsor, Dawn as a lump sum so please be patient if you're a winner. Our prizes are generously donated and come straight from Dawn's pocket so I feel awful leaving them all to happen at once....I really think I need to go visit her in 2025 and take her out to dinner and drinks (and stitching of course!).
Here are our winners and I am ever so thankful for each and every one of you who join in to stitch with us each month. Our Fridays together really are the highlight of my year and I hope they have the same effect on you all too.
August 2024 saw 29 stitchers joining in and our lucky winner randomly drawn by the Wheel of Names is:
25 stitchers participated in our September 2024 FNSI and the winner is:
October 2024 was a fun Halloween theme with 23 stitchers joining in. Our Winner for October is:
November 2024 was a bit quieter with 20 stitchers coming together but that only gives each person a better chance of being drawn as a winner! That lucky stitcher is:
A H U G E congratulations to all our winners and here's to a win for all of us in 2025!
Speaking of wins, I feel like I've had a win with my Farmer's Wife blocks being put together as a flimsy...all I have left to do is add the borders and then sandwich, quilt and bind it.....so close!
That's a 2025 finish......well, maybe it might get a look in before the new year but I'm working with only the public holidays off so I can't see it.
I'll be working on my Patchwork of the Crosses blocks this Friday night, adding more spacer blocks and sashing blocks. I'm loving how this is coming together.
What will you be working on?
Before I forget, a sincere thank you to our sponsor who always provides such wonderful prizes and encouragement - Dawn from Kitty Rose Cottage.
Pop over to her online store to grab yourself a bargain...I can honestly say she regularly sells the best priced Tilda fabric, sending it all over the world and if you have any queries, she will bend over backwards to help. She truly is one in a million and I'm proud to call her one of my very best friends.
If you're not a member of the FNSI Facebook group yet, please join so you can follow along and see what everyone else is up to in real time. Then post in your blog (if you have one) and we can join you on your page via your link below and join in the fun in more depth!
Still a week to go, but Merry Christmas to you all. I hope you're blessed with everything you could hope for with lots of stitchy time and more!
I'm really look forward to stitching with you on Friday night....and remember, it's ALWAYS Friday night somewhere in the world!
Yep it's time, and I'm late! Had a very busy week with double shifts all week and tutoring afterwards every afternoon so a bit late to the party I'm afraid! But I see a lot of you signed up in our Facebook Group which is great. The advantage of signing up on the blog is, if you have a blog yourself, you can link people to your page so they can learn all about you and maybe create new friends and learn new things! I'm a lover of blogs for this reason but I don't get much time to indulge myself in them at the moment....life has become soooo hectic! (I know you know what I mean!)
Anyhoo.....sign up below if you can, or in the Facebook group under the sign up post for this month and remember to add some photos there so we can encourage you along!
Catching up on winners from June and July....this time is just running away from me! I managed to get it organised this morning and in June, we had 31 ladies join together which is awesome! It's so wonderful to be able to spend some quality time together, even if it is virtually, sharing things we love.
So I put it to the Wheel for a decision, and our lucky winner for June is:
Congratulations Dianne!!!!
In July we had 23 ladies....there was so much inspiration, from stitching to piecing, crocheting....I wish I was as talented as you lot......I can do some things but there's lots I just am NO good at, and I recognise that but love to watch your talents unfold before me each month.
The Wheel decided.....and July's winner is:
Congratulations Marilyn!!!!
Both lovely ladies have won a $30 voucher from our wonderful sponsor Kitty Rose Cottage to spend on whatever their hearts desire! Remembering that for the rest of this month there is a sale on 'to celebrate Dawns Birthday Month. Make sure you send her some birthday love by popping over to the site and buying up whilst there's 30% off some of the fabric ranges and 25 % off kits and patterns, whilst stocks last!
From this month, we've had to change our prize for our winners. Due to the cost of living and expenses constantly rising, we won't be offering our $30 voucher from August as a prize. Instead, Kitty Rose has offered to continue sponsoring our monthly sew in with a prize but instead of the voucher, it will be a current pattern/s that will be posted to you to enjoy! It could be any from the range, whether it be a Kitty Rose pattern, a Gail Pan Pattern or something different, I'm sure you will love it! For overseas winners, your pattern will be in PDF format and whoever is a winner, the prize will be personalised just for you! I'm sure you will understand and can embrace the changes as the prize is still one worth vying for!!! A big thank you to Dawn at Kitty Rose Cottage for constantly and generously supporting us on our crafty journey together. xx
Now I need to get ready for work so I'll leave with sign ups below and sugary love and crafty hugs
Wow, chilly weather even here in the north of Queensland, also known as the Tropics, but boy, those 8 degree mornings are proving to be very crisp and "non-tropical"! Despite that, our days are beautiful, with mid 20 degree temperatures and clear blue skies.....a favourite time of the year. My job requires me to drive daily to Townsville, an hour trip each way and driving in this weather is just glorious!
The sunsets and evening skies have been magnificent and as our sugar crushing season has just started, the beautiful smell of caramelised sugar permeates the air. We really do live in the lucky country.
I have managed to finish a couple of long term projects which brings joy to my heart (in more ways than one.....you'll see what I mean shortly!) The only problem is, when I go looking for things, I find so many more that I'd forgotten about.....my list of UFOs and WIPs just keeps getting longer and longer! You see, I'm a classic Gemini...... I'll focus on something and then something shiny and new will catch my eye and I'm off! I have FOMO and I've struggled all my life to overcome it. As I get older, I'm finding I need to reign myself in and focus, focus, FOCUS and I am getting better but boy.....I'm discovering so many projects that either need completing or starting. A few of you know my list is well over the *hmfffph* mark (muffled because I don't want to give anyone a medical episode!) and maybe that's why I haven't made a list....but I really do need to! Can you relate?
Back to those finishes..... Sheryl and I went shopping a couple of years back when she first moved to North Queensland and we went to a quilt shop where we both bought a pattern - Jardin de Poche by Veroniques Quilt Designs. I bought the kit to go with it and when I travelled to visit family, took it with me as it was a good hand applique and stitchery project. Well, two years on, I've managed to finish the stitcheries, put it together, learnt to 'tie' quilt using hidden cross stitches (thank goodness for YouTube!) and bound it....my favourite part, and now it sits proudly on our dining room table! I love this one!
Another finish I treasure is one designed by my beautiful friend Joy Coey, who we tragically lost to cancer a few years ago. I had started this pattern at a "Let's get Stitched" retreat quite a few years ago and Joy had taught me how to fussy cut. I was so very happy with that effort and proud of what I'd learnt as Joy was a fantastic teacher but when I got home from the retreat I'd left it at that, hidden in a box as I was too 'scared' to ruin it (have you done that?) After I finished my Jardin de Poche, I was working on something else in my sewing room. This box kept popping up like it was prodding me to finish it. So I bit the bullet and once I started I just couldn't wait to finish. It had techniques, elements and products I hadn't used before which made me a little apprehensive but Joy helped me through! I found afterwards that I'd missed a couple of paper pieced elements in the design, but that's ok, it made it 'mine'! I had my first attempt at bullion roses (again - thanks YouTube!) and despite thinking I'd never 'get it', I trudged on, knowing that things get better with practice. They're definitely not perfect but I'm happy with my first attempts.
It will be used constantly and loved and treasured because it has so many memories of our gawjus Joy stitched into it. I know she was prodding me and guiding me all the way through the process and I'm so thankful for knowing and loving her!
Now, on to our FNSI draw for May....we were blessed with sharing the night with 35 fellow stitchers/quilters/crafters and I know I got my fill of inspiration, but there's always room for more! If you'd like to welcome anyone to join with us, please feel free...the more the merrier...and don't forget to let them know that just by joining in and sharing their crafty progress , they go into the draw to win a $30 voucher to spend on ANYTHING their heart desires at Kitty Rose Cottage, courtesy of our wonderful sponsor Dawn Hay. If they'd like to know more, direct them to the link at the top of the page where they can find out all about FNSI aka Friday Night Sew In.
Thirty-five names in the Wheel of Names and the person that was randomly drawn for the May prize is.............
\o/ \o/ CONGRATULATIONS NATALIE!!!!! \o/ \o/
We can't wait to see what you choose from all that loveliness over at Kitty Rose Cottage for your prize.
Don't forget to sign up for this month's FNSI. I've left it a little late as I've had problems with my computer......what should have taken an hour has taken all day! Doesn't matter though, just sign up below OR over on the sign up post in our Facebook Group.
I can't wait to stitch with you all tomorrow night! I'm soooo looking forward to it!
.png)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)
