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)

Sheryll's Friday Night With Friends

Friday night was spent catching up with an old friend....one I met on the cruise earlier this year.  What a perfect time to renew acquaintances as Sheryll was hosting FNWF.

I worked on the second purple block (which I have personalised with purple and green) on the cover girl "Celestial Star".  Can you believe there are only 2 block designs in this entire quilt?  Sharon Burgess from Lilabelle Lane Creations  is a genius! (as well as a gorgeous person!)

 This was the first of the larger blocks I completed on the cruise....so pleased to rediscover her.

...and here is my first of the smaller 'fill-in' blocks....

It was my first attempt at fussy cutting for EPP (English Paper Piecing) so my blocks are a little 'off' but I'm happy with it.  I realise now though, that when looking in context with the whole quilt, I'll have to remove the outer yellow pieces and change them to white as the background in my quilt is going to be white (like Sharon's).  I never thought about the whole quilt when I was making the block as I was so focused on learning the process.

Either I keep this one as a practice and make an extra, or I alter it but I love it too much to let it go solo....and it took so much to work it out, I don't know if I'll remember how to fussy cut like that again!  I need revisions!!!!  "SHAAAAARON????"   *watchoutYouTube!!*

I knew it was time for bed when I got up to have a pit stop and when I got back I was confronted with......

They are adorable, but seriously???????

Thanks Cheryll for another wonderful FNWF and allowing me the pleasure to meet a dear friend again!  Pop over and see Cheryll and the girls to see their spoils!

xox Sugary Hugs :o)

FNWF and a Lucky Find

It's been a bit damp here with monsoonal rains so staying in and stitching has been a plus.  Friday night I joined with other ladies  and our lovely hostess Cheryll for our monthly Friday Night with Friends.

But before I share, I have some good news......I got a phone call last Tuesday from our local council.....someone had handed in my beautiful girl to the pound!  

It was hard at the start as Milo had forgotten who she was and she was just an 'intruder' to him...she smelt 'funny' and he was not impressed.   It took a few days but now they are the best of friends again.  Mocha has been seen by the vet who said she had been looked after well so after just over a month, they decided she wasn't keen to stay with them and wanted to come home.  All I can say is thank God for microchipping...that's how they found who she belonged to as she had lost her collar, who knows when?

Told you 2019 was going to be an awesome year!

This wet weather has given me lots of catch up time so Friday night for me began early.  I managed to catch up on the second last block of Foxley Village.

I'm keen to put this one together with only one block to go.    I also put my hand up to join the 'Bloom quilt sew-a-long' with Chez.

 I was a bit behind but managed to get the first two blocks prepped and stitched down as well.

Some more progress on "It Takes Two"....

...and even a hexi for our group swap.....

All in all, quite a productive Friday I think! 

The week saw some treacherous weather in our parts with the monsoon hovering over our area and flooding a nearby city so much so that the dam had to release water at 8pm last night so its banks did not burst.  The timing coincided with the tides so the impact would be as 'minimal' as possible, however this put its residents at risk and with around 2000 megalitres pumping out per second *eek* about 20000 homes were flooded. Today is predicted for more rains and already the area has been tagged as having a 1 in 100 year event that is the second largest flood in Australia's history. You can see some of the devastation HERE and HERE.  And here is a photo from the end of our street.  

You can see the block flooding and the drain is just about at its limit.  But we are nowhere near the devastation Townsville has encountered.  They have had around 2000mm of rain in the past week whereas we (about 80km south) have had about 1000mm  It's predicted we'll get another 1500mm in the next 10 days...we're hoping and praying not, but time will tell.  Mr B had to 'relocate' this Eastern Brown snake who managed to sneak in under our back door and take refuge in our lounge room!  I can tell you we've both never moved so fast in all our lives as these are in the group of  most dangerous of all snakes in Australia, if not, the world!  

Talk about freak out!  This one was a juvenile and about 3 ft long but mighty fast!  We locked the cats in the bedroom and did what we had to do.  Needless to say, there are multiple towels piled up against the back door, hopefully sealing it from unwelcome visitors.

Don't forget to go and see what other friends got up to as there are some beautiful crafty people in our groups.

for now, I'm sending big sugary hugs and loads of love and thanks xox   :o)