Pay it forward, Pay it back...

Friday Night With Friends was supposed to be an all day self-indulgent session for me, however, there was washing, folding, a bathroom to clean, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping to be done, and by then it was 2pm.  I had some lunch, went into town to get the mail, came home and then sat down to start.....text message......

"Mum, can you do me a big favour?   Can you get a present for a friend's 21st?  I'll pay you back!"

Famous last words?!  So off I went, not knowing what on earth to get.   A few unreplied text messages later and I ended up at my favourite shop where I bought a gift voucher and a gorgeous photo frame for the birthday girl.

Needless to say, when the boy got home, the gifts got the stamp of approval, which shocked me no end. But I felt good.... there was my pay-it-forward deed for the day.

By this time it was 4 o'clock.  So much for my self-indulgency.  I turned on the tv and set up the dvd, picked up my cross stitch and started to stitch away, breathing deeply and satisfied I could now enjoy myself.   Half an hour or so later, hubby comes home...."what's for tea?"

Long story short, I did end up starting my FNWF on Friday night!  And here is my progress.....

I can honestly say I'm enjoying the process and loving how it's turning out.  I'm nearly there.....

I love spending my stitching time with my like-minded FNWF friends.  Thanks to Cheryll for another great night.  

....and if you're still wondering, no I haven't been paid back for the gift yet.....do you think I ever will? 

xox sugary hugs :o)

Friday Night With Friends at Cheryll's Place

I was determined to get the stitchery for my Let's Get Stitched Kris Kringle gift underway before the last minute (as is the usual case).....so Friday afternoon I had a look on my Pinterest pages and got some inspiration.
Because the theme for LGS this year is Christmas, I went for a wintery look, something that's atypical in the north of the country  but that one day, I long to experience.

Believe it or not, I finished it!

  I'm really so happy with how it turned out in  its variegated Threadworx Christmas colours.....

Now to stitch it up into it's little Stitcher's Keeper, designed by the wonderful Fee.
 That's on the agenda for this week....along with a couple of other stitchy projects!

Thank you to the lovely Cheryll for hosting us on Friday night...it's not too late to pop over to Chez's place to see what everyone else got up to...we certainly had some fun!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

Last Friday Night spend with Friends

The days just seem to fly past just lately and here it is already Tuesday and I'm only posting my FNWF accomplishments now!
Needless to say I did get something done.....I'm getting closer and closer to finishing  the Girls' Day Out stitcheries and then I can start putting them together into a quilt top.
I did get some work done on them during the week but on Friday I worked on the last two blocks, getting one more finished and working on the last now....so close, I can smell it!

  Just the last finishing touches of the roses.

Did you notice my new little dinky 'tool' my lovely friend Dianne gifted me?

It's a magic little thing called a needle minder......its super strong and you can throw that thing around and the needle will stick to it like glue!  No losing my needle anymore...I love it.  There's a rare earth magnet on the back which is really powerful and attracted to the one on the back of the pretty leaf embellishment.

It's so good and doesn't get in the way...although because it has such a strong magnetic field, it's not recommended for people with pacemakers and what makes it even better is a friend of ours makes them....Pauline, a North Queenslander, is also an artisan who makes the most beautiful soaps and candles.  You can pop over to her website  or her Facebook page and take a look or drop her a line if you're interested.

In the meantime, if you haven't already (I am probably the last!), pop on over the Cheryll's blog and see what everyone else got up to.  Needless to say, I'm so excited to see this quilt progressing so quickly!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

Have you taken the pledge?

Cheryll’s inviting everyone who participates in her swaps to take the 2015 pledge:

But I think it applies to all bloggers, blogworld-wide.

 

THE 7 STEP PLEDGE

I,  Wendy B of Sugarlane Designs(you insert your own name), will try my utmost...

· To always swap on time.

· To always email a THANK YOU to my partner.

· To be considerate and thoughtful when choosing a gift.

· To give my partner the quality of gift that I would like to receive.

· To communicate when it’s required.

· To NEVER over commit and let a partner down.

· To advise the swap mama when I receive my gift.

This I sewomly pledge....

~*~*~*~*~*~

Place the button on your blog sidebar & post "the pledge" to acknowledge your intention & commitment.  Remember too, to pop on back to tell Cheryll, you’re a blogger with integrity!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

FNWF and Fathers’ Day wishes

I wasn’t sure if I’d make it to Friday Night at Chez’s as hubby had 7 of his teeth out in hospital and I wasn’t sure what time we’d be home.  As it was, he was brought out to me at 7pm and we were able to make it home by 8…..he was such a trouper…..being a 55-year old male and never having had a surgical procedure in his life, we weren’t sure how he would handle it….all I can say is ……flying colours!

I did try and get some stitching done in the hospital whilst I waited….but the lighting was terrible and my eyes were beginning to hurt so I just put it away till I got home.  I did manage to catch up on a bit more of this though…..

Buuuuut…..it hit when we got home……

…poor gummy bear was exhausted……or drugged to the eyeballs!   But that gave me time for some more stitching….or so I thought.  Whilst hubs was in theatre, I had a quick trip to Spotlight and found some Anchor threads marked down to 25c a skein…..could not pass it up so I figured now was as good a time as any to sort them out…..

and then I managed to squeeze in a little cross stitch….a brand new project (I know….I just can’t help myself!)

I certainly had a ‘different’ sort of FNWF, but one that I was very happy with as everything turned out perfectly!  Thanks for being a terrific host yet again Chez.  Why not pop on over to see what the other girls got up to on their Friday night.

Now, nearly two days later and hubby’s raring to go……he’s much, much better, and who would’ve guessed he’d be feeling so good after such a short time.  Thank you for the many good wishes and prayers….they certainly did the trick! 

Today we happily shared Shepherd’s Pie and ice cream (not together!) with his family for Fathers’ Day….something ‘safe’ to eat.  And he’s enjoying my his Fathers’ Day gift too…..

Weeeell, I do my coffee! *wink*

A very happy Father’s Day to all our significant others…..we certainly couldn’t do without them, could we?

(via Google Images)

Sugary hugs xox :o)

Release of Block 2: “Love” –Let’s Start Christmas SAL

It’s been a week since the start of our stitch-a-long and there’s been such wonderful feedback…..thank you all so much….you really are good for my ego!!  But believe me, my feet are still planted firmly on the ground!

I know you’ve been waiting, ever so patiently, so now to release……

BLOCK 2: Love

Pop on over to Craftsy to get your copy, and if you haven’t got the first block yet, you can grab it there too. 

And remember to pop on over to our Facebook page and see what others have been up to.  While we’re at it, don’t forget to add the ‘Let’s Start Christmas SAL’ button to your sidebar to share the Christmas Love.

 I really must figure out how to write code for these buttons, but for the meantime, you can just copy and paste to your ‘pictures’ folder and then upload to your sidebar on Blogger.

Remember tomorrow night is Friday Night With Friends over at Cheryll’s so pop on over and sign up for a virtual stitching frenzy! 

Not sure if I’ll make it as hubby’s surgery is at 2 tomorrow afternoon but I’ll be taking some stitching with me, just in case…..and I’ll be stitching later on in the evening when we finally get home, because I don’t think we’ll be home too early with the hospital over an hour away.

Looking forward to seeing your  Love blocks.

Sugary hugs xox :o)

FNWF and some secret sewing

I always love Friday night…..getting to stitch with lots of my favourite people….and  Friday was no exception.   This sums it up perfectly….. Well….maybe a good stitchery……and a good glass of wine!!! I got to finish the last of my stitcheries on this beauty…. the cornerstones are hard to see from a distance (and I really should have pressed it…but I was too excited to share!!!)….so I’ve done some close ups… aren’t they sweet??  An early Cinderberry Stitches design called “Friends Welcome”.  I just love Nat’s designs!!!   Now, just to back it and quilt it….that’s next on the agenda……but not before some secret stitching happens using these gorgeous batiks (something different for me, but something I’ve wanted to try for so long!!) … It’s a commission for an upcoming edition of Patchwork and Stitching……so that’s my agenda for this afternoon….and seeing the sky is grey and overcast, I think it’s going to be just perfect sewing weather! Pop on over to Chez's blog to see what everyone else got up to on Friday night….you might even get some inspiration……it pops up everywhere!!!!! xox Sugary hugs :o)

FNWF and some secret sewing

I always love Friday night…..getting to stitch with lots of my favourite people….and  Friday was no exception.   This sums it up perfectly…..

Well….maybe a good stitchery……and a good glass of wine!!!

I got to finish the last of my stitcheries on this beauty….

the cornerstones are hard to see from a distance (and I really should have pressed it…but I was too excited to share!!!)….so I’ve done some close ups…

aren’t they sweet??  An early Cinderberry Stitches design called “Friends Welcome”.  I just love Nat’s designs!!!   Now, just to back it and quilt it….that’s next on the agenda……but not before some secret stitching happens using these gorgeous batiks (something different for me, but something I’ve wanted to try for so long!!) …

It’s a commission for an upcoming edition of Patchwork and Stitching……so that’s my agenda for this afternoon….and seeing the sky is grey and overcast, I think it’s going to be just perfect sewing weather!

Pop on over to Chez's blog to see what everyone else got up to on Friday night….you might even get some inspiration……it pops up everywhere!!!!!

xox Sugary hugs :o)