September Friday Night Sew In Sign-Ups

Yes, it's time again!

FRIDAY NIGHT SEW IN......aka FNSI

This month, seeing as it's Autumn for our Northern hemisphere friends and Spring here for us, and things are a-changing on the weather front, I have chosen a cute little fellow as our prize this month...

Isn't he adorable?   Maybe longstitch is something you've wanted to try and just 'never got around to it'? (We all know that feeling don't we?) This kit provides everything you need to sample the art of longstitch, needle included!

Make sure you're in the draw by linking up below and joining in for a fun-filled virtual night-in, full of chocolate, wine (?) and stitching, this Friday night.   Make sure you share with your friends, as we all know it's so much more fun when you stitch with friends.

xox Sugary hugs :o)

Oh what a beautiful morning...

As usual, my Wednesday nights are spent with hubby 'up the bush' where he works....it's just gorgeous - kick back, smell the roses  eucalypts  and watch the roos and wallabies hop along the dirt track whilst the cows meander amongst the silvery-green bushes.
This morning, I had to return to reality early as I have to work today.  Along the highway there's a lookout  and I just had to stop this morning......what I saw just took my breath away....

The view was spectacular......it certainly does pay to stop and take a look around you. With all the trouble and strife in the world around us, it's sometimes hard to see the beauty that IS there, and sometimes it's right in front of us.  Today was a day I felt truly thankful and blessed.

Hope your day is as wonderful too!

Oh, I've had a few messages saying followers are having a bit of trouble commenting...something to do with Google+, so I've disabled that part.....please let me know if there's anymore issues?  Hopefully that's fixed the problem! *phew*

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)

Spending tonight with friends...

....and you can come along and join too!

Cheryll has her regular, first-Friday-of-the-month, get-together at her place tonight.  Even though she's away, she's very kindly left the key under the mat so we can let ourselves in and party on! 
I have plans to finish the last of my 'Girls' Day Out' stitcheries so I can start putting it together next week......getting exciting now.    Pop over the Cheryll's blog and link in and join us.  What would you rather do anyway, than stitch away with friends?

I'm off to prepare....lots to do
See you tonight!
xox sugary hugs :o)

August FNSI Winner ♥

That's it for FNSI this month....hope you got to join in.

If you missed out, there's always next month, where stitching virtually with friends, in the comfort of your own home, with the chance to win prizes and have a party without leaving your comfiest armchair watching your favourite shows and doing what you love best is always top of the agenda!

I did managed to finish the four blocks I started on Friday...

....and even got started on the next four (which are also the last I have to do before I put the Girls' Day Out flimsy together)....

Time to draw a winner.  We had 28 ladies altogether on Friday night.  I heard they all had a ball! This month, my friend (Mr RNG) scrambled up the number a bit and chose......

SUSAN

 who got busy with some Crazy patch embroidery on Friday night....just beautiful!

Congratulations Susan.......and your prize this month is something I'm sure you'll get some use out of.....especially seeing as Christmas stitching will be sneaking up on us, I'm sure!

Six skeins of handpicked, six-strand cotton DMC Christmas colours.

Hope you enjoy your prize.....drop me a line letting me know your postal address and I'll get these off to you.

Thanks for joining in again this month.  Will have to start planning for next month, after all it's the 23rd already. The next FNSI will be on Friday 16th September, so you might like to note it in your diaries so you don't forget, or post it on your page.  Sign ups will be available from 12th Sept.

xox Sugary hugs :o)

FNSI progress

I got a little done on Friday Night.....it has been a busy week with my father in law taking a turn on Wednesday Night and ending up in hospital.   We didn't leave 'til about 2am and up there again at 8 for doctor's rounds.   Thursday was a waiting game filled with tests galore and Friday he was sent home....seems Alzheimers and early onset Dementia was the cause of what we thought was a light stroke, although they didn't rule that out entirely.

The future's not looking rosy but it could be worse so we're looking on the bright side...Dad's still here with us and we're going to make the best of it with him.

So Friday night I was exhausted but I did manage to get some stitching done.
I started with a plan to get these done ....

...and by the end of the night I had got to this stage....

It ended up an earlier night than I'd planned, catching up on sleep and as I couldn't think straight, there was more reverse stitching than progress so it was time to put it to bed!  Needless to say, after a rested night, I've managed to get three out of the four complete and I plan to finish the last one tonight.  That leaves me with only 4 more stitcheries before I can piece the Girls' Day Out Quilt.  I'm getting excited.

So what did you do for FNSI?  Have you posted about it yet?  Don't forget, because I'll be drawing one name out randomly tomorrow to win this month's prize.  If you'd like to visit everyone, click on the links {here} and you'll see the inspiring work that was done on Friday night.

I'm off visiting now....

xox Sugary hugs :o)

What to do with Leftover Bananas?

In our temperate climate, I'm often left with bananas that go past their 'use by' date and no one will touch them.

  I have a perfectly good banana bread recipe but the family is getting bored with that one, so I decided I wanted to try a healthy muffin alternative - one that  could prepare me with 'suitable' supplies for FNSI.
.

Now I'm no expert with muffins....I know they're supposed to be one of the easiest things to bake, but for some reason, my muffin making efforts turn into escapades!
Not one to give up, I thought I'd give it another go...what have I got to lose?  I'm throwing the bananas out anyway if it doesn't work!
So I opened up my trusty Muffin cookbook.....

and gave it another try.

I made a modification in that I didn't add sultanas (my boy doesn't like 'flies' in his food), but substituted the same amount of chopped pecans......all I can say is

B-I-N-G-O

They were a massive hit!   The recipe made 8 large muffins and they looked and tasted beautiful!

Need I say I'll be making some more for FNSI as these ones didn't last long.......*burp*

Why not try a batch for this FNSI nibbles?  If I can make them, anyone can!  And if you haven't joined this month yet, it's definitely not too late.  Sign-ups are{here} and don't forget to share.....remember, the more the merrier!

xox Sugary hugs :o)