March FNSI is here already!

Happy St Patrick's Day!  A little belated but still, let's extend the shenanigans!🍀🍀

This year, like last and the one before, is just flying by.  I don't know what it is....is it technology taking over our 'free' time?  Being bombarded with information constantly through our phones and computers?  I don't know what it is, but I'm aging faster than I'd like....but I guess that's a bonus not afforded to some, so I shan't complain.

Are you ready for our FNSI this Friday?  What are you planning on working on?  I have just finished a swap gift that hopefully will be delivered before then so I can show you.  It was to be a pattern from one of our favourite designers made in Tilda.  I found it really hard to send it off....I loved it!  But I can make another one so I'm not too worried.    My only hope is my recipient loves it too and can use it.  I love practical gifts, not just dust collectors.  What about you?

I've also just finished a top for a quilt as a gift for my neighbours who are overseas at the moment getting married.  I'm waiting for the backing to arrive and I have two weeks to quilt and bind it before they get home.  It has been a fun one to do.  I've used blocks that were spare ones sent in the Little Box of Creativity from our beautiful sponsor, Kitty Rose Cottage.  We were sent two strips of Tilda fabric, one patterned and one coordinating solid each month for a year.  Sewing these together to make a 16 patch block made a rainbow of blocks and I knew I just had to make something special with them.  I got inspiration from an email I received expressing interest in a quilt a long for valentines day.  

I saw it and thought, "Ooh, this will be perfect!"  So I played around with some graph paper and drew a block and subsequent quilt design.  So each block became a heart!  I had to make an extra 9 or 10 blocks to make my quilt top and I'm super happy with it.    Here's some of the blocks....(I haven't taken a photo of the whole top yet as it's been wet, overcast and windy on and off over the past week or so...very unpredictable weather for taking photos!) 

I'm not sure what I'll be working on on Friday night but it will be something, that's for sure! 

I made a heart to commemorate one of FNSI's stitchy sisters who passed suddenly recently.  Our friend Catherine Doust had been ill but passed suddenly...she was only 53 years old and gave so much to our group as well as many other online groups.  She will be sadly missed. 

The hearts (which are one of my favourite symbols as you can tell from my blog insignia and the blocks I make) were made by many and sent to adorn her coffin so that we could express how much she meant to us all....tell your loved ones (end even those who are just friends) how much they mean.....it can all be gone in an instant.  Just know, I love you all. 

Thank you all for all you give to our little group.  It fills my heart every month knowing we can be together doing what we love best, even though we're miles apart.  I sincerely can think of nothing better.  Now saying that, I'd love to thank Dawn for supporting us with a prize each month for one lucky, randomly chosen FNSIer.  Have you been to visit her online shop lately?  There's some beauties there - the new Tilda Songbird, which I love, and the Brie Basics which I love even more!  They go with everything and are so beautiful...I think I need to buy yardage! (don't tell my husband!)  I think I might have to even order some poppyseed basics....they are cute!

So, our February get together had 23 beautiful ladies stitching.  I popped everyone's names into the wheel of names and spun to find our winner.  Congratulations to our February winner who will receive a prize from Dawn at Kitty Rose Cottage.

CONGRATULATIONS Dianne!!!!!

Now make sure you sign up below or on the facebook group page.  If you're not a member yet, press the 'join' button and I'll be sure to add you!

looking forward to stitching along with you all

Enjoy the rest of your week xox :o)

2026 First FNSI for the year and memories of times gone by.

 Welcome, welcome,  and a very happy New Year!

It just occurred to me that I have been doing FNSI for quite some time now after taking it over.  I had to go back and check how long and can you believe it......my first was Jan 20, 2012!  I've been hosting FNSI for 14 years this year....so since that very first Aussie FNSI, that's 

• 5111 days or 
• 13 years 11 months 28 days, or 
• 167 months 28 days or
• 730 weeks and 1 day or
• 122,664 hours or
• 7,359,840 minutes or
• 441,590,400 seconds!!!!

Can you believe it???  Happy anniversary to us! 

That's a heck of a lot of craft projects we've been able to fit in!  I'm so proud to be able to host this for us all, and with the help of our beautiful sponsor Dawn from Kitty Rose Cottage, encourage you with gorgeous fabrics and kits and a prize or two!  Speaking of which, have you seen the new Tilda range 'Songbird' ready for preorder?  (and yes, it is on sale at Kitty Rose Cottage!)  Ive just placed my order and can't wait to get it and make something beautiful.

Time has certainly changed since those early days and the idea of blogging is a little 'old' but I still like to blog when I can.  It's a little more arduous now with updates over the years making it more difficult to add photos and things so posts are fewer and farther between.  

Keeping up with the times, I've added our Facebook group to make it easier for those who don't blog (or who prefer the 'instant' inspiration) so if you are not a member of the group yet, I recommend you join so you don't miss out.

We've made so many friendships and learnt so much from one another over the years, I cannot imagine life without FNSI now.  We've grown from a few ladies to a group from all over the world.  I've found it to be so therapeutic and inclusive, particularly being in a rural area where getting together is limited. What are your memories of FNSI?  I'd love to hear.

Scroll forward and I've got a bit of a catch up for prizes for 2025.  November and December was problematic as computer issues made it difficult to post.....frustrates the bejeebuz out of me.....BUT, we'll start off 2026 with a positive...... some winners!! That's always good, isn't it?

We have winners for both November and December and without further ado....here they are.....

Congratulations ladies!!!  So much inspiration each month and a little payback is just the 'glimmer' we need!   

Looking forward to spending another FNSI with you this Friday night and for many more Friday nights to come!  Thank you so much for sharing it with me and here's to our little community growing bigger and stronger for a long time yet!

Big sugary hugs xox :o)

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)

A Happy FNSI Easter

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)

Welcome to our first FNSI for 2025

 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!

Big sugary hugs

Christmas Wishes for FNSI and a few gifts to give away

 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.

Don't forget to sign up either below OR on our Facebook group page.  

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!

Sweet sugary hugs xox :o)