Last chance to sign up

Today is the last day to sign up for the Christmas Ornament Swap .

If you would like to receive a small ornament from another blogger now is your chance .

Hop over to see all the details at Daisy Quilts .

Not very exciting for you maybe ...

but for me it is !

It is very rare for my husband to take a day off work for anything but fishing but today he did because he needed fishing gear ! He mentioned he was going to our closest big shops over an hour away and it just so happens to have a Spotlight ! I thought it would be sweet if I kept him company on the drive so after getting the kids to school off we went ! I must say my husband is not one for shopping and so I could keep out his way I suggested he just drop me at Spotlight and it worked ! I knew my time in there was very , very limited and I flew into the shop like a frenzied woman . I managed to grab and pay for all of this in under 10 minutes and I didn't even hurt anyone in the process .

Now this is something that intrigues me , why do assistants in fabric stores say "what are you going to make with this ?" Like it matters ! Isn't it enough just to have it ?

Show and Tell

It's always great to hear that people have enjoyed making my designs but I get a real thrill when they send me photos as I love to see their own fabric choices . Khris made her version of Frances Frog in no time.

Jules had been looking to make a machine apron when she came across my pattern .

Lisa also sent me her gorgeous version of the machine apron .

The machine apron pattern was published in Handmade v27 no 5 .

The pattern for Frances Frog is available from my shop or my ebay store or email me .

Thanks girls for sending me the photos .

I'm so sorry I slept in !

And His Highness had to get his own breakfast !

I'm sure this look says "Serves you right!"

I heart Christmas Ornaments

There's still time to sign up for the Christmas Ornament Swap .

These little stuffed hearts and buttons don't take long at all to whip up and the great thing is if they're not in traditional Christmas colours you can have them up all year .

Sign ups are being taken with Robyn over at Daisy Quilts .

On a brighter note .

I received my copy of Handmade v27 no5 yesterday with my project for the machine apron in it . I just love these colours they are just so pretty ! I call these colours bright pastels which is a bit like saying soft black or square circles , whatever they're called I think they're me !

On the other matter , I would like to thank all who left such supportive comments or the many who emailed me . Yes I was a little sad but life is too short to let such things take up too much of my time . I will continue doing exactly what I love to do , creating and having fun . Thankyou all.

Moving right along ....

Bloggers eyes are everywhere !

Apparently there was a great market near Sydney over the weekend . A blogger contacted me yesterday to tell me all about it . There was a variety of stalls but one in particular caught her eye , it was one selling the stall holders "original" designs . It was a popular stall and this lady enthused how original and unique her designs were . In a very nice display this stall holder had a pile of my design Frances Frog . When the blogger enquired about Frances she was told it was her own design now because she had used different fabric , what !!!

I have just a few questions for this person - did you ponder and sketch this design for weeks ?

Did you test your pattern in calico and hand it over to kids to see if it passed the rough test ?

Did you dream about your new design ? Did you pass your almost finished pattern to a variety of testers and appreciate their input ? Most importantly , did you name your design after your little sister who lives in New Zealand that you rarely see ?

I can confidently say NO is the answer to all those questions . I am a very easy going person and I am flattered that people like my designs all I ask is that people think carefully and treat others how you would like to be treated .

Christmas Ornament Swap Ideas

There's still time to sign up at Daisy Quilts to join in for Christmas Ornament Swap .

I made a heap of these little cushiony things for family members last year . I know you are thinking mmm what a nice little thing to attach to a gift , well sorry these were the gifts !

It has become a bit of a tradition that my siblings , all 7 of them , receive a new handmade ornament from me . I must get started on this years soon !

Don't forget to see Robyn about signing up for the swap !

Would you like a ribbon with your water ?

That's what I'll be saying to the kids for the rest of the school holidays as I blew the budget on all these gorgeous ribbons ! How could I resist and believe me I was being careful too . Fiona at Ribbons Galore has the best range of ribbons and if anything it was a little too good ! Fiona is away until the 19th but you can still place an order and then your kids can enjoy ribbon with their water too ! Yay for all the happy kids !

Christmas Ornament Swap Ideas

There is still lots of time to sign up for The Christmas Ornament Swap so if you're interested pop over to Robyns at Daisy Quilts and put your name down . As Robyn and I said we would be posting ideas I thought I'd better get my act together and start doing just that !

These are Heather Bailey flowers doubled and made in Christmas fabric , so easy !

SEW

Barb from Barbs Creations was the second to sign up for my PIF and as I have had a bit to do with Barb on our craft forum I know what an incredibly talented lady she is with needle and thread . Barb produces the most beautiful things so I was hoping she might like something a little different from me as her PIFer . I used scrapbooking paper and canvas to create a picture for her sewing room , of course I included some fabric as I couldn't say "SEW" without giving her something to sew with .

Thanks for signing up with me Barb it's been fun !

Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap 2009

As there are only 85 yes 85!!!! days left till Christmas and things start getting a little busy we often can't manage any big swaps .....so..... how about a little swap ?

Robyn from Daisy Quilts and I have joined forces to arrange the

"Handmade Christmas Ornament Swap 2009 "

This swap is an easy one for this time of the year as it's a small swap , so small in fact it's made to hang from a Christmas tree ! If you would like one on your tree , join us !

The swap is open to all those with a blog in Australia and overseas so you must be prepared to post airmail .

Details , Details - All players will be given one swap partner , you will send to one lady and she will send to you .You will make and send one only gorgeous handcrafted Christmas tree ornament and one lovely Christmas Card for your partner (nothing extra). The ornament will measure no more than 5 inches (approx) and should be handmade by you with love and care. (Example: Make something special that you would love to receive yourself. Please do not cut out a paper star and send it to your partner.) Robyn and I will be posting links to more ornaments and (hopefully) some finished ideas just in case you need some extra inspiration .
So…. if you would like a small tree ornament (no bigger than 5”) handmade especially for you by another friendly blogger sign up now!
Please take the button from the sidebar to add to your blog and let’s have some fun making bloggers trees the best ever this Christmas!

Sign ups are being taken with Robyn at Daisy Quilts , have fun !