I've finished something and a giveaway !

Of course me being me has to wait till the last day of the month to finally post a finish !
I gave you a glimpse of this last week but at the moment the days have all been running together so it may have been last year .
I did design this bag a while ago for a swap I was in and since then I've made heaps of them as gifts and I have four around my home .
Very useful bags these are they are called Catchits as they are just pretty and frilly and you hang them on the end of the bed , on the bathroom or wardrobe handle to , you know .....catch stuff ! They are for all those little bits and pieces that I can't be bothered putting away really don't go anywhere .
I should be finished writing the pattern this year this week so if you need a Catchit at your house and who doesn't , just leave a comment .

Celebrate this momentous occasion (me finishing something ) with me and you can win a Catchit pattern !
Not the best photo sorry , it was almost dark when I got a chance to take a photo .

A tribute to a very special friend .

 I am so grateful to you my uncomplicated friend .
Although you came with no instructions
I understood you completely and you me from the moment we met .
My friend , you and I were meant to be together .
Through thick and thin (fabric) and when I've felt I've lost my way ,
you were there to gently guide me .
You never pretend to be anything you're not and never laze about on the cutting mat limp and uninspiring .
You don't try and seduce me with false promises of greatness or flash your cottony goodness at me and demand my attention .
You have never complained about threads caught in your bobbin or squealed and whined about needing an oil or dust .
You have always been prepared to work really , really hard for me and you are always ready to spend lots of time with me .
You my friend are loyal and true ,
I thank you .xxxxxx

I'm just as shocked as you !

I'm shocked because I'm almost finished a project for this months OPAM !
There are still a few days to go and I just might make it in . Isn't it pretty !
For someone like me (and most of you) who lives for craft not to be able to get things done is so frustrating .
Life's like that ......

You really ort to see this !

Did you come to laugh at my terrible spelling in the title ?
Well I've got you bluffed because this is how you spell ort which is just another name for leftovers and in this case leftover threads .
This is pretty much the extent of the crafting , if you can call it that , that I can show you this week as everything else I've done has been hurled across the room in a hissy fit !
Sometimes things just don't work out !
I hope to be back soon with something that has worked out and of course that means a giveaway .
In the meantime you may admire my orts in the jars looking so sweet and we'll all just pretend I'm crafty !

What's in a name ?

Introducing Mabel !
Thankyou all for your fabulous suggestions , tips and advice on dating the old dear , you have been very kind and I really appreciate it .
There were so many names I liked and a lot of them were my family names of Aunties and even my grandmother Daisy someone even suggested Nellie which is my daughters name .
I chose Mabel obviously because I felt it sat right but also because I live in Gundagai and Dad , Dave , Mum and Mabel from Steele Rudds story has an association here .
Two people chose Mabel and as I promised I will send you each a copy of Sewing Machine Apron pattern .
Cherrie from Willywagtail and Sarah from Red Gingham if you would please email me with your addresses I will get your patterns in the post .
The Sewing Machine Apron pattern is now in my shop and in my ebay store .
Maybe you are wondering what the big deal is just choosing a name but it does seem to be a bit of a problem in this house . We have a huge boofy male cat here with the very unsuitable name of Flower !
While I was out the other day my son found a very timid , scrawny , female kitten , what else would he name it but Ralph ! See why I needed help !
Thanks again .
I'll be back soon with another giveaway !

A dear old lady and a winner !

 I can't help myself , make that two winners !

But first I'd like you to meet this dear old lady I found at the Scouts garage sale last week , isn't she just beautiful . I whisked her out of the hall for the huge amount of $3 !
 She even works (although I haven't put her through her paces yet ) but even if she didn't I would still love her .
Would you like to name her ? If you have any brilliant suggestions worthy of this grand lady leave a comment here please and if I find a name I really like I'll give you a Sewing Machine Apron Pattern too !

The ladies who have already won a pattern are Susie because her name was drawn out and Tudy because the first one to comment never usually win !
Susie and Tudy if you could please email me your addresses I will get your patterns off to you quick smart !

Don't forget the old lady has a loving home now but she needs a name and mmmm probably an apron too .

Pattern Giveaway !

Here I am with another giveaway , this time it is one of my patterns .
If the Sewing Machine Apron looks a little familiar it's because it was a special commission for Handmade Magazine and was published last year . Some overseas visitors may not have seen it so this is a great opportunity for you to win a copy .
 I had so many requests for it to become a stand alone pattern and now I've finally gotten my act together and done it !
I can't live without my Sewing Machine Apron as I sew as it is short enough that it doesn't get in the way of the fabric going in the machine and the pockets aren't too deep so I can't lose things like clippers in the bottom of them .
Would you like to win a copy ? Please leave a comment and please make sure you can be contacted .
Giveaway is open to all as a little thankyou for putting up with me !


After the giveaway I will have copies of the pattern in my shop and in my Ebay shop .

Sew Darn Lucky Winner

True Random Number Generator

Powered by RANDOM.ORG
min 1 max 135                81
Thankyou so much to everyone who entered , fun wasn't it ! No 81 is Lindi !
Thanks also to Penguin Books Australia for providing a copy to giveaway .
 Congratulations Lindi if you could please email with your address I will pass it on to Penguin Books and they will post your copy to you .
Now would you like to see what the next giveaway is going to be .....
What about I just give you a little glimpse , what do you think ?

Some of you may recognise this as it has been published before but I've had lots of requests and it has finally become a stand alone pattern .
If you would like to win a copy of this pattern I'll be back tomorrow to do the post for it as the excitement of the Sew Darn Cute giveaway is enough for me for one day .

Just a few little things .

I have a friend , shocking I know , who has told me lately she would like to do some stitching , her one stipulation was it was to be something little . If she told me once she told me twenty times and it has become a bit of a running joke with us about little things !
So I've gotten together a little parcel of little threads to give to her .

The other little thing I wanted to mention was about the Sew Darn Cute book giveaway in the post below .

I will draw the winner early next week and also show you a glimpse of the next giveaway for one of my patterns .

You are still able to enter the book giveaway because I'm a good little thing .

Sew Darn Cute Book Giveaway

I did say last week I would start doing a few giveaways so here's the first one!

Penguin Books Australia contacted me along with a few other craft bloggers and asked would I be interested in doing a post on

Sew Darn Cute by Jenny Ryan .

I thought long and hard (about 2 seconds) whether this would compromise the integrity of my very posh blog , ha , and decided it wouldn't !

The sweetner was that Penguin would give me a copy of Sew Darn Cute to giveaway .

I admit I really haven't had too much of a chance to look at my copy properly but there seem to be an awful lot of postit notes marking projects for the to do list already .

The projects , as the title says , are Sew Darn Cute already but I can see lots of ways to play around with the designs and make a heap of fun things .

Would you like a copy ?

Just leave a comment , simple !

Seeing as Penguin Books will be sending the book to the winner it is open to anyone , anywhere !

Thankyou to all who entered this giveaway is now closed .

Oh dear I forgot I had a blog !

Recently due to circumstances out of my control I had a bit of time and was having a ball, blogging more often , joining in My Creative Space , visiting lots of great blogs and getting lots of crafting done .
Then it was all over poof just like that !
Again due to circumstances out of my control , (don't go away I won't bore you with the details)
I no longer have any free time .
Just about every spare moment I do have when not catching up on housework and other really dull stuff , I've been spent making hundreds, well maybe dozens , of Little Party Frocks
for a friend who sells them for me at the markets she does along with the pattern for them .
If you would like a pattern for these it is available in my shop or in my Ebay store or email me .
Speaking of patterns I have not one , not two but three patterns ready to be released and again my pattern testers have been fantastic !
After such a great response to my Fabric Carrot tutorial (thankyou so much ) I'd really like to do some more tutorials .
So my plan is (hopefully) to release a pattern a week and of course that will mean a giveaway !
Have a happy and safe Easter , I'll see you next week !