December Daily...a start!

I woke up this morning faced with that horrible question...which direction do I run in first? It's almost December, my to-do list is out of control, the diary is filling up fast, and I'm feeling the time slipping away!

I pondered the situation over some chocolate and a cup of tea (as you do), and decided that I had to

a) breathe
b) write a new list and
c) pick one thing off that list and make a start!

I picked the one thing that was bothering me the most (after choosing to ignore the laundry) and that thing was December Daily. I always do December Daily. It wouldn't be December without December Daily. But without a cover, or a theme, or a size, or even a clue how I was going to attack it this year, December Daily was looking a bit grim.

I went to the stash...

...and found some old 8x8 page protectors that needed using up. I based the size of the album on that! I thought I was going to do a classic white album this year...but the red polkadots took over :) They do that a lot.

So with the cover started...it's just paper at the moment, no chipboard yet...I started some interior pages. Just the basics, but a start, nevertheless.

Simple, but workable.

And all of a sudden, the panic is starting to subside.

Thank goodness...it's not even December yet!

TTFN xxx

Bliss...the Photo Shoot!

A photo shoot can only mean one thing...

...my Bliss quilt is officially finished! WOOOHOOOOOOOO!

I may or may not have gone a little crazy on the photos....

...and my neighbours (and several passers-by) may or may not think I have lost my mind :)

But I really don't care...it's not every day that you finish a quilt :)

And by finish, I mean it even has a quilt label! I cheated a bit, and made it out of some leftover pieces from the quilt...ties it in to the front, don't you think?

This quilt is just for me, despite the many attempts by my girls to claim it as their own. For now, it will sit on my bed...or my lounge chair...or wherever I can look at it the best :)

Sigh...I love my Bliss quilt.

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday - The Friendship Edition

Hello, Happy Thanksgiving (for those of you who celebrate) and welcome to another edition of Farmers Wife Friday!

I am thrilled to announce that my printer is now fixed (thank you Leisa xxx) and I am back to normal programming...and even on time this week :)

My blocks this week are all about Friendship, which seems sort of appropriate on Thanksgiving, because I am so so thankful for my friends...my in-real-life friends, my childhood friends, my oldest and dearest friends, my blogging friends, my online friends. You enrich my life in so many ways, and I would be lost without you!

So without further ado, we have Block 39, Friendship...

...as you can see, I'm going with the same-print/different colourway thing again this week :)

Block 40 is called Friendship Block...

The two of them together (with a tease of the quilting pattern on my Bliss quilt...it's yummy!)

I have quite a nice little stack of blocks now...I could look at them all day, really :)

But NO...there is binding to be sewn on...dreaded binding...blah! Have I mentioned before how much I dislike sewing binding on? Especially on really hot days. Anyhoo...back to it...

TTFN xxx

Polka-dottie :)

It could be that my polkadot radar is on very high alert lately...or maybe I've been in the shops a little more than usual (it is nearly Christmas, after all)...but I'm finding it almost impossible to come home from shopping without a new addition to my polkadot collection!

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I spied this classic water jug in Myer recently...

...even better, it's part of a whole collection of polkadot loveliness! There are dinner plates and dessert plates, cups and saucers and teapots, in purple and red and green and yellow...sigh :)

Then there's the oversized teacup and saucer plant pot...

...oh so cute! I found it at my local Thingz store :)

And I can never leave Typo without a bag in my hand :) They have all sorts of polkadots happening, from i-Pad sleeves to mushrooms to giftwrap to paper lanterns. Heaven.

A little something to note: these polkadottie goodies were taken outside for photographic purposes only :) My husband has forbidden me from extending the polkadot theme into his outdoor domain...I wonder why? LOL

TTFN xxx

Simple mathematics :)

You know what I'm thinking?

Moda + Christmas = FUN!

Go here for details.

There's always something new and exciting to keep our fingers busy, isn't there?

TTFN xxx

Some More of My Favourite Things :)

There is probably nothing more addictive for me than working on a new project (other than chocolate, of course!)

The colours and patterns are all new, and there is still that little buzz of excitement I get when I pull them out of my work basket :)

Of course, all this "playing with new things" means that my other projects can be a little neglected.

Luckily, our Stitch-a-Long group has a work plan...a plan of attack. This means that, now that my blue jeans and my suitcase blocks are complete, I have to put this little project away until the end of December...

...which can only be a good thing for my to-do list :)

TTFN xxx

A Day in the Hills.

Lots to love about today :)

I picked up my two quilts...A Gardeners Journal and Bliss...from the quilters, and am thrilled with them! I'll be sure to show you when the binding and quilt labels go on.


The quilter lives quite a long way from my house, so I took the family (plus an extra child) with me, along with a picnic lunch and my camera...

We found some waterfalls, had a little nature walk and paddled our feet in crisp, clear streams.

We climbed trees, in spite of wearing pretty dresses :) ...and were thankful that Daddy was there to help us down!

We found the most awesome fish, and divine roses, and inspiring gardens, thanks to some quick texting to a friend with local knowledge (thanks E!)

We drank iced chocolates, laughed lots, and explored another part of our beautiful city.

Lots to love about a lazy Sunday!

TTFN xxx

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday - The Re-do Edition

I've been mucking around with my Farmers Wife blocks since...well...Friday :) It's been one of those little exercises in frustration rather than joy this week, where points didn't want to match up and colours didn't look right.

I started off doing Block 27 Darting Birds. The colours looked great, but after putting the 52 pieces together, I realized that some of the points weren't so great. That was Friday, and other more exciting things beckoned (like shopping at IKEA, and having a crafty catchup with Linda and Tracey) so my blocks were abandoned.

Saturday dawned, and I started off with Block 50 Honey's Choice...

I was inspired by Kristyne over at Pretty By Hand with my colour choices...she's been making a couple of blocks with the same pattern in different colourways, and they look awesome! I had to add a piece of Rose Parade in the centre, just to tie in with the rest of my blocks :)

I showed my blocks to the girls on Friday night, and they agreed that my blocks-with-white were MUCH nicer than my blocks-without-white. So rather than persevere with my Darting Birds (which still didn't want to play nice!)I remade Block 29 Economy...

This one is MUCH MUCH nicer than the original...which even Linda suggested that I bin!

I probably should try to make a few catch-up blocks during the week, but time is a bit limited...and the quilter rang last night to tell me that she has finished , not one, but TWO quilts for me! WOOHOOOOOO...I see some binding in my future :)

TTFN xxx

About Christmas cards...

I've made a little start on my Christmas cards...and I'm feeling pretty happy about that :) I actually considered not making them at all this year, but my sense of tradition took over once more (such a sucker for tradition!)

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I usually make a couple of different types of cards for Christmas...a newsletter card for friends and relatives in far-off places (usually with a photo enclosed) , and a normal card for those that are close by. I started with the newsletter card...

Making the sample is probably the hardest part...so many decisions! After that, it's easy to create a production line, crank up the printer, and whip them out. Sounds easy, huh?

So, what I really want to know is...do you send out Christmas cards? Do you wait until you receive a card from someone before you send them one back? And do you continue to send people cards, even if they never ever send you one? Burning questions, I know...would love to hear your thoughts :)

TTFN xxx

Pretty potholders

My desk was in need of a tidy...badly in need of a tidy. It was getting to the point where I couldn't find my double-sided tape. Or my scissors. Or my sewing machine :)

So rather than just shift unfinished projects around (as I normally do), I decided this morning to go for a finish...and my eyes landed on a
Label Crew project that has been taking up desk space for months!

I started these potholders a few months back at a "3 Of US" crafty evening, and they have occupied a space on my desk ever since.

That happens quite a lot around here :)

They are designed as a gift set, complete with banner, which is rather cute. I'm thinking they might make a nice Christmas gift for a teacher, wrapped with some other kitchen-type goodies, like tea towels. Or jams. Or utensils.

Or not :)

They do match my teapot quite nicely, don't they? hee hee

TTFN xxx

A lovely distraction :)

There are so many things I should have been doing today...boring things like mopping floors and doing laundry...but I chose to play with my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt instead :)

I didn't plan for it to take all day, but cutting little 1 1/2 inch squares of each and every fabric took some time (what a shame!)

And there was a little embroidery to finish off too. I decided to go with blanket stitch for this quilt for a couple of reasons...I love the texture, I love matching thread colours, and I can do it neatly (unlike needleturn, which I am not so good at!)

I've thrown some blue fabric in there, because I really want my blue jean block (coming up next) to have blue jeans :)

Just a couple more blocks to go, and I've done the first row...which is due to be finished by the end of December. Love that feeling of being up-to-date...at least with one of my projects, anyway :)

The funny thing about housework...it will still be there tomorrow :)

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday

Here they are...and on time this week!

First up is Block 48 Homeward Bound...

...I'm still out of sequence due to printer problems, but grateful that I can still make blocks with the templates I have :)

Block 46 is called Hill & Valley...

...a rather strange looking block, don't you think?

You may also notice that I'm back to using white background fabrics again. I've always said the ones with white are my favourites, and I'm now thinking maybe I should use white in all my blocks...LOL...what do you think? Maybe I should lay them all out and have another look? The indecision that I'm experiencing with this quilt is slowly doing my head in!

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for visiting :)

TTFN xxx

Bb is for Baby

A simple card to show you today...

...a precious little boy is the newest member of the Temple clan, so I decided to stop procrastinating and pull out some paper to make him a card :) I also pulled out dozens of soft toys, searching for the perfect prop for my photo...but it seems that all of the blue teddy bears are long gone, so Little Bear it had to be!

I used random bits and pieces from my stash to create this one...even some papers from my scraps box! The houndstooth checked paper reminded me that I have a Cuttlebug embossing folder in the same design, which I used to add some texture to the background, and I based the colours on the sticker in the centre.

Too easy...but perfect crafting for a Wednesday afternoon :)

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday...The Monday Edition

I'm a bit all-over-the-place
with my Farmers Wife blocks this week...what, with all the excitement of the Bliss quilt top completion, and the start of my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt, the Farmers Wife blocks just didn't get a look-in :)

But here they are...better late than never, huh?

We have Block 41, Friendship Star...

...made with two prints, because I'm still a bit short on those blocks. Very easy piecing on this one...love that!

Then we have Block 28 Duck and Ducklings...

...which, despite the ridiculous amount of small pieces, came together quite nicely (must be all the piecing practice I had with the Bliss quilt).

My block numbers are all out of whack too. I've been having some issues with my printer here at home and can't seem to print any more templates...so I have to find blocks that use the ones I've already printed :)

Happy Monday

TTFN xxx

The Call of the Colours

I am weak. I have no will power. No....it's true....don't try to stick up for me :) I swore that I would not start on another quilt until at least one of my other quilts was officially ticked off my to-do list.

These little boxes of mine are very hard to resist though...

Is there anything more fun than picking threads for a new project? Especially when you have yummy new fabrics to match them to.

...and a Stitch-a-long group who have already started, and tease me every day with their fabric selections and completed blocks!

So today, in a moment of weakness, I gave in. I pulled apart that gorgeous bundle of fabric. I pulled threads from those boxes of colourful goodness.

I traced, and I vlisofixed, and I rotary cut, and I created blocks all ready to stitch when next I sit in front of the TV to watch something.

It's naughty.....but it feels oh so good :)

And let's be honest here...(most of) those other quilts are very very close to finishing. Right?


I'm almost convinced :)

TTFN xxx

Bliss.

I'm so excited today! Look what I put the borders on this morning....

...yes, it's my Bliss quilt! It couldn't not be gorgeous...the fabric is Bliss by Bonnie and Camille, and there is nothing not to love about it. Aqua, red, pink and green. Sigh...it's delicious.

I used a pattern called All in the Family from Camilles' book, Simplify. It seemed appropriate :) The quilt used a jelly roll, and a white-on-white print from my stash....I didn't want to buy anything specifically for this quilt :) (except for the borders, that is)

My goal was to make a quilt without embroidery - a pieced quilt that could be quilted with an all-over pattern. It was fun, and so much quicker than a quilt with hand stitching! I dropped it off to the quilter this afternoon, so it should be home again before we know it!

My unfinished quilt count is dropping quickly...and that is something to get VERY excited about, because it means I can start another one :)

Hope you are having a great weekend...what's going on at your house?

TTFN xxx

Love...in kit form :)

Sometimes on a weeknight, I really feel like playing with my craft supplies...but don't have the creative energy to actually design something myself :) Do you ever feel that way?

Enter the Tomorrows Memories "A Cardmakers Tea Party" class kit...designed by Tracey, and made by me :)

I absolutely love attending the classes, but find it can be a bit tricky for me to get there. These cards are from a class I missed last month...aren't they lovely?

I played with my Cuttlebug, used some punches, stamped a little...all the while knowing that the finished product was going to be awesome, because Tracey is the most awesome-est cardmaker I know :)

Love a bit of mid-week crafting...don't you?

TTFN xxx