It's October FNSI already!

 ....and it's crept up again!!

This month's is a little delayed (or extended, depending on how you look at it!) as I totally lost track of last week being the third week of the month.  These months when the first is near the Friday really throw me!  So last week was an impromptu FNSI with this week being the 'formal' one!  Both weeks qualify for the lucky draw at the end of the month so make sure you're in.

I've been back for my orthopaedic visit and despite my ligament healing well, the swelling and inflammation is causing huge issues with movement and pain so I'm off for another 2 months recouping.  I don't have to wear my leg brace anymore, thank goodness.  Even though it helped significantly with pain and stability, it kept slipping down my leg as I walked and it was as frustrating as much as it was a relief!  I did go for a cortisone injection on Monday though.  Boy oh boy.....that was an experience!   The cortisone wasn't an issue at all....didn't feel a thing but the local anaesthetic into the knee joint was quite another story!  Put it this way, I'm glad I had a lovely nurse rubbing my arm for distraction and holding my hand!  I'm hoping it makes a difference....I've noticed a little so far but I don't want to be too over zealous!

In the meantime, I'm plodding along on some Christmas sewing and trying to catch up on some UFOs.  I did manage a finish of a Dutch Braid table runner, which I just had to put together as it had some beautiful bee fabric in colours I love.  

I finished a Christmas quilt in 'not my usual' colour palette but thought I'd step outside the square.  I really enjoyed playing with the free motion quilting on this one.

I'm preparing the last few EPP blocks for my Celestial Star Quilt so that I can complete it whilst I'm visiting my boy in Brisbane early next month.  My grandson will be 4 so I'm very excited for the visit.

And I've been catching up on my Temperature Tree Cross stitch.   Just a few days behind now but the temperatures are starting to rise again so the colours are becoming warmer too!  

There has been some secret squirrel Christmas stitching happening too which I can't show yet and some progress on BOMs I've been trying to catch up on (when my little helper isn't getting in on the act!).

And lots of catch ups on Netflix, Stan, Binge and all the other channels!!!  I managed to catch up on the whole six series of The Handmaid's Tale......a truly eye opening, thought provoking view of 'eutopia'! 

What have you been stitching?  There's been a few sneaky peeks in our Facebook Group HERE.  If you haven't joined in yet pop in and join because we often get the 'first looks' of our FNSI escapades there!

Last month we had twenty-one lovely ladies join in and there was loads to be inspired with.  I know I've been known to make a couple of  'sneaky purchases' based on what others are making....there's some beauties!   I popped everyone's names into the magic Wheel of Names and our winner for September was drawn!  

Congratulations to: 

Yahoo Sharon!!!  I'll message with details and a gift from our wonderful sponsor, Dawn of Kitty Rose Cottage will be on it's way to you!   Dawn has some beautiful projects and kits using the new Tilda Merry Little Christmas for sale so pop on over and take a look! 

 Make sure you sign up for this month (which is actually tomorrow night!) so you're in the draw for October!  I read somewhere on Facebook the other day that there is only 9 Fridays till Christmas!!! EEEK  ..... This year is really flying......must get more of my Christmas list written and made!  How about you?  These FNSI are really good for catch ups with our Christmas sewing, don't you think? 

Anyhoo....have a fabulous Thursday and I look forward to stitching with you all tomorrow night.

Sweet sugary hugs xox :o)

Springtime FNSI!

 In the southern hemisphere, we have begun our spring routines....out in the open air, admiring flowers and gardens, warmer days (in the most part) and cleaning and organising routines aka spring cleaning (I wish!).

My bush orchids have started to flower and the butterflies, bees and birds are being more productive in and around the yard.

I have been stuck at home off work for 8 weeks whilst my knee repairs after a work 'accident'!  Yes I know, I have the worst luck!  I was taking a client home from hospital after having her hip replaced and whilst taking her bag to her top landing, her dog started jumping and barking incessantly.  I put up my hand to calm him but I didn't judge him well....he grabbed hold of my finger and didn't let go.  Well, as you can imagine, my first reaction was to pull away....but he STILL didn't let go!!!!  Hence he ripped my finger open (I won't post the pictures in case you're squeamish!)  and despite trying to get back to the car where the first aid kit was, the pain overcame me and I passed out and in turn twisted my leg in the fall and tore the ligament and menisci in my knee!  Fun times!  I must have hit the un-health lottery this year!  I'm ok though thank God...I just have to wear a ROM (range of movement) brace all day every day for the six weeks until I see the orthopaedic doctor again.

I am catching up on my stitching though!  (always a positive!) and I'm loving home delivery of my groceries!  

My time at home has given me incentive to catch up on some long-standing UFOs.  This one has been on the list since before Covid so I decided to pull her out and get going.  To be honest, the fussy cutting intimidated me a bit, but I'm feeling much better about it now so I hope to have it finished by the time I go back to work.

I'm also catching up on our FNSI draws.....my goal this year was to not be behind but it's just not my forte as I've found out!  So here is July and August's draws.  Each winner will receive a beautiful prize from our wonderful sponsor Kitty Rose Cottage. Some of the projects you see in my finished photos are available as kits HERE and if you're a keen Tilda collector, there's also some sale fabrics still available HERE  (at $7.50 a half yard cut, you can't go wrong!)  Along with the newest Tilda Christmas collection 'Merry Little Christmas'....it's divine! 

I have my fingers crossed for you all.......our winner for July is:

and August's winner is:

Congratulations to you both!  I love having you all join in and share our love of stitching and creating on a Friday night...hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  We will be in touch with our winners pronto....but don't worry, there are more than enough FNSI prizes to go around.  Just make sure you're signed up each month and your name will always go into the draw for a chance to win too!   Just a little bonus for joining in with us.  

You can either sign up below or join in on our Facebook group page HERE. 

 Recommend us to your friends after all, we know the more the merrier right?  And we always have so much inspiration and fun......we foster new and old friendships and inspire ideas we never thought possible.  I know it's my escape into a magical and wonderful place each Friday we join together.....the cares of the world just disappear!  Can't wait to join with you this Friday night for a night of friendship and fun.

Sugary sweet hugs dear friends xox :o)

July FNSI is open for sign-ups

 Wow, what a month!  The nights are getting cooler but not so much as you need to wear layers up here in North Queensland!  The roads are full of caravanners migrating north for the winter.....such a great place to be!  Our lowest temperature has been 8 degrees and that was only for one day....mostly in the early to mid teens in the morning going to mid to high twenties in the daytime.....it's perfect!   The beauty of living in the tropics in the winter!

Our school holidays have just finished and my back and neck have decided to seize up....go figure!  I have bursitis and tendonitis of my shoulder and have been off work for the last two weeks due to the drugs I'm on for the pain.  I have been ignoring the niggling pain for the past year or so but it had gotten so bad I just couldn't bear it.....massages, chiropractor and acupuncture have done little to fix it so off to the doctor I went. (I have an appointment with the physio next week...it's taken me 7 weeks to get an appointment!!!!)  I'm off for a CT scan tomorrow on my neck and upper back and a guided cortisone injection next week so fingers crossed I can get on top of it.  Lesson learnt......don't ignore niggles as you get older!!!  We need to take care of ourselves!

So whilst I've been at home I've been catching up on some sewing.  I've been putting together the hexies I received as part of a hexi swap in our craft group.  I'm making a quilt top with them and I'm sure to need more but it's well underway.  It's been a trip down memory lane as some of them have the dates on the papers on the back and some are from the early 2010's!  It's lovely to see them come to life.

Ive also been playing around in my sewing room and with hubby's help, have moved things around to be more "user friendly".  As my stash has outgrown its space and having been an empty nester for quite some time, things slowly but surely moved into my son's old bedroom.  It's been a favourite haunt but having been time poor and not very organised, every time I go in there I get very overwhelmed with all the clutter....I don't really even know what I have as some of my stash is in my downstairs space, some by the sewing chair in the lounge, some in my study and a lot in my sewing room so time to do an overhaul....very gently and carefully whilst I have some time (don't judge me!)

  I've loved looking at organising sites and getting loads of ideas but not sure how to execute it in my space so I've gone ahead and started to corral things.  This is one area I've started...with a bit of my fabric.  I've a shelf of some of my Tilda ( I have a HUGE tub to sort through yet) and some of my Devonstone solids.  Just getting my fabric together will be a huge achievement and then, maybe I'll feel a little more in control!  

I've gone through my threads and organised them, sorted my felts and my linens, lace and ribbons as well as my pellon, parlan and interfacings and my ironing station and cutting table are almost there.  So much more to do but little by little I'm getting there.  It's a good feeling!

As it is the third week of the month, it's time for FNSI this Friday night!  Every month I ask the same question.....how is time flying by so fast?  But I'm so glad I get to share it with you!  

I'm planning on stitching up a swap gift this Friday so hopefully it will be done and ready to post next week.  It'll be secret squirrel business so probably no pictures till after it arrives at its destination but there may be, just may be some sneaky ones!  

What will you be stitching?  I look forward to seeing what's on your machine/mat/lap this week.  Make sure you sign up below, or over on the facebook group page   Share it far and wide, the more the merrier.  We have over 150 members now but the more we have, the more inspiration and friendship and who doesn't love that?

We had a great sew in for June with 32 members join in. It's a great get together to catch up, encourage and support one another and to be inspired with all the crafty makings going on.  Our wonderful sponsor, Dawn of  Kitty Rose Cottage sends a prize to one lucky random winner for the month and maybe it will be you?  Have you had a chance to pop over to see what's new at the Cottage?  The new Tilda Merry Little Christmas release is ready for pre-order.......I'm frothing at the mouth as it's just divine!

I can't wait to make something with these when they're available.  Make sure you pop over and pre-order.  I swear Dawn has one of the cheapest prices for Tilda in Australia.  You won't regret it.

In the meantime, our lucky wheel has been spinning and has drawn our winner for June FNSI.

Congratulations Leah for being drawn as our June winner for FNSI!!!  I'll be in touch for details.   Meanwhile, sign up below or on the Facebook group page so you don't miss out in July!  

Looking forward to sewing with you Friday night.

Sugary sweet hugs xox :o)

 

A little bit of Lucy

 I always enjoy our FNSIs together and seeing what everyone is creating.  With almost half the east coast in lockdown,  it's great that we can still stitch together and enjoy each other's company, even if it's virtually.   

I managed to get a little bit of Lucy Boston done...I'm a newbie and have only just started so I'm onto my second block now, thanks to a bit of encouragement from Dawn. 

I love the way she chooses her colour palettes and being Tilda fabric, (and I do love me some bunnies and bees)  how could she go wrong?  

Talking Tilda, have you seen the new range, Windy Days?  

It's so pretty...and the coordinating Aella fabrics are delish too.  

They're not available as yet but you can pre-order at Kitty Rose Cottage and I've shopped around and they're one of the cheapest!! (just saying *wink*) And Dawn does ship both nationally and internationally so well worth a look.

If you haven't had a chance yet, pop either back HERE or over HERE to see what goodies everyone played with on Fri-Sat-Sunday for our FNSI.

Our draw is to choose both last month and this month's winners.  I swore I'd be more organised but I don't think it's in my DNA! So here goes....last month:

Congratulations to Catherine Doust who is our winner for July aaaaand......

Congratulations to Narelle who is our winner for August! 

Woohoo!!! Congratulations ladies.  Dawn has two beautiful kits (one each) which she will send to you if you can message your postal address to me please?

I hope the rest of your week is full of crafty wellness and lockdown is treating you with care.

big sugary hugs always xox :o)

A March Winner

Hi all,

thanks for joining in to our Friday Night Sew In get together last week....I love how social media has made it so easy for us to 'be' together whether we're in the same room, the same state, the same country or in a totally different time zone!      

Ten years ago or so, when I first began blogging and took that tentative step into the big unknown world, being able to 'meet' with others and talk to new people with similar interests was so liberating (and still is!) particularly if you're in a small country town, isolated from groups in the big cities.   Now with the added plus of  social media, it is far more 'instant' and it feels like  you're right there with each other, regardless of where you are!     I've met so many beautiful people who have now become close friends because of both blogging and social media and I feel just so blessed, thanks to you all!!  *mwah*

One of my very closest friends was my very first commenter on my blog and she has now become FNSI's major sponsor.....

Kitty Rose Cottage is a wonderful little online shop......Kitty Rose has a beautiful array of  Kits, Clubs, Stitch-A-Long Packs, Fabrics and Sewing Essentials that she uses and recommends herself. It is the home of the Little Box of Creativity, a monthly surprise ingredient box to make a lovely sewing item and is also a stockist for Tilda.   Check out these gorgeous little bunny purse frames she has.......

aren't they divine!!!!??? But you'll need to be quick.....these bunnies are hopping out the door! 

And don't think that because you live overseas you can't shop with Kitty....not only does she offer $7 Flat Rate Shipping within Australia (Tracked), she welcomes International Buyers and offers competitive International Postage Rates.

Kitty Rose (aka Dawn) is not only a creative and talented designer, she's a truly wonderful person with a heart of gold and will go out of her way to help you, so if you're looking for something special, just pop over to her shop and ask.   She'll be only too happy to help.

Have a look at what she's provided for this month's FNSI prize!

A beautiful English Paper Piecing mini quilt kit complete with pattern, epp shapes, tilda fabrics, background and threads.  I told you she is a generous, kind-hearted soul didn't I?   

Let's jump right in and see who our lucky winner this month is.   We had 33 lovely ladies join with us from all over the world so without further ado.....here we go........well, maybe not!  I've video-ed the draw but for some reason it won't upload and I have been trying for the past two hours!!!!  grrrr. 

It  worked perfectly last month so I don't know what the issue is!  All I know is, I'm not happy with it.

However, them's the breaks and the alternative is a photo of the draw!   So, who is our winner this month?????

CONGRATULATIONS!!!  make sure you drop us a line with your postal address and details and I'll let Kitty know so she can post your parcel off pronto!

Have a wonderful rest of the month.

Big sugary hugs xox :o)