Navy and Lime Love

Remember this quilt a while back?

It sold on Etsy a few months ago to a lovely home in the United States.

But, the quilt hasn't been forgotten. It was pinned by some innocent person on Pinterest, and is now floating around on various baby and nursery boards. A little bit of excitement here, yes!

It's become so popular that it was even used as inspiration for a Scrapbooking Card making challenge.
Christine, from Practical Scrappers, sent me a message to say that my navy and lime quilt was used as inspiration for a card making contest on their blog. You can check out all the amazing cards here. There are some very talented ladies out there!

So, it looks like navy and lime is a winning combination, especially for nurseries. And especially for a boy. It's nice to see a colour combination other than just baby blue.

So, if you're thinking of how to style your nursery - try navy and lime!

Don't miss the giveaway!

One must start a love and appreciation of fabric from an early age.

It seems that Jonathan is quite keen to oblige!

Happy 1 month to my precious lad for tomorrow.

Don't forget and miss out on your chance to enter my celebration giveaway! Check out my previous post for details. Entries close Valentines Day!

Celebration Giveaway!

Giveaway closed!

Thanks for your entries, winner announced soon!

We've just had a baby.
My husband, Simon and I got engaged two years ago.
And it's officially one year since I opened my Etsy shop.

I feel like celebrating! Who's with me??

To celebrate these wonderful things I'm having a giveaway.

I started off selling handmade owl bunting in my Etsy shop, followed by patchwork quilts, patterns and nursery accessories. And now of course I have also added Moda Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and Charm Packs.

So I thought a giveaway for a Moda Jelly Roll and a Chevron PDF Patchwork Quilt Pattern might be in order.

The "Sew Stitchy" range by Aneela Hooey is a wonderful celebration of all things sewing related, including hexagons, pins and even a few little birds. It features fresh colours of pink, aqua, grey, lime green, red and white. It's a fun and happy range, and seeing as this is a fun and happy time of my life - I thought it would suit!
I have these Jelly Rolls available in my shop, here.

Now, here is how my giveaway will work.
For you have a choice to make.

Either, you can enter to win the Sew Stitchy Jelly Roll, and a Chevron Quilt PDF Pattern.
Or, you can enter to win the mystery box prize.
What is the mystery box prize? Well, that would defeat the purpose of the mystery, wouldn't it??

But, I have this box, in my sewing room. And in that box could be piles of fabric, or even more jelly rolls, or perhaps a sewing book or pattern? Or all of the above? Or maybe, it might contain an old pair of socks.... or one of Jonathans bibs....
Oh, the intrigue.

So, this is your gamble. You can either play it safe, or try for the mystery box prize. The choice is yours and entirely up to you!

So to enter...

- Leave a comment on this post. Make sure you mention in your comment which prize you would like, either the Jelly Roll and pattern, or the mystery box.
- For an extra entry, share my giveaway on your blog. Make sure you let me know though!
- And for another extra entry, like our page on Facebook. If you are already a 'liked' friend of Missy Mack, you will get an extra entry too. Again, make sure you let me know!

Giveaway is open to Australian residents only (sorry international people - I'll have a giveaway for you guys soon!! I promise!) and will close on the 14th of February (naww! Valentines Day!) at 6pm AEDST.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing in my celebrations!

Our precious possum

He finally arrived.
At 42 + 2 weeks, our darling and precious boy arrived, on the 13/1/13.

He is absolutely perfect.
Even at 2am in the morning.
And again at 4am.

Life is brilliant.
Busy, yes.
But brilliant.

Thanks be to God!

Sewing for Baby #1

I think I've been waiting for at least 10 years for the excuse to sew baby items! For some reason it didn't feel quite 'right' to me to be sewing clothes or nursery knick knacks when I wasn't even married. It felt like I might be getting a bit too ahead of myself.

But now - I am free to let my creativity run when it comes to all things 'baby'! So I thought I would share with you my creations along the way, and include a few tutorials for some things.

Firstly our nursery. Since we are having a surprise, and will only find out the gender once our baby makes their grand entrance, I decided a neutral colour scheme was a must. At first I thought mint green and grey, but I have now added some more colour to that, with the addition of apricot, aqua, teal, lemon and white. It's gorgeous. It's neither boy or girl. And I love it!

We have painted our nursery walls the classic Dulux Antique White USA. We wanted something smart and simple, and I particularly like white, or near white, walls. I find blogs like Dreamy Whites, and Meadowbrook Farm, particularly lovely. And it's because of their gorgeous white walls, and colourfully country decorating pieces they include. I've realised I admire and like the Modern Farmhouse style of home very much. Thankfully our little cottage lends itself to this style quite nicely!

Whilst the painting is complete, the nursery itself is still a work in progress. I have a feeling it will always be tweaked and adjusted, even well after the baby arrives! Our lovely cot was a gift from my parents and my Omi and Opa, whilst the change table I scored for $60 off Ebay. One cannot describe how thrilled I am with it. We still have plans for shelving, a new door, some more colourful artwork, curtains, a rug and other bits, like a light fitting. But, you know, one can't do all these things in a rush.

One of my creations that I'm just so happy with is my nappy or diaper stacker. I had been thinking about it for months, and finally the day of inspiration struck and it was complete within a few hours. I made the pattern myself, and it also includes a sturdy base, so it doesn't flop when half empty. It's not a particularly large stacker, as I wanted something a bit more compact and neat.
It's now proudly hanging off the change table, full of nappies and ready for some use!

I also now sell them as custom made items in my Etsy Shop. Head on over and have a look, even if you  aren't interested in the nappy stacker, I have lots of other bits and pieces, including some fabric.

Baby countdown? Currently 37 weeks and 4 days. 
Am I over it? Not just yet. Still am enjoying being pregnant, but we are getting more eager to meet our little baby!

Getting ready for a baby...

Well, with only 4 and a bit weeks to go, we are sneaking ever so closer to having a baby in our house! I still can't believe it's actually really happening. Simon and I are going to be parents! Eek! I know Simon is going to be a great and wonderful father, but I'm sure it's only natural to have doubts about our own abilities, isn't it? I just hope I measure up to the task! If I can be half as good a mum as my own mother - I'll be very content and happy!

A small baby blessing was held at our home a few weeks ago to celebrate out little possum. A few close friends and family members came to eat and drink, and then pray over Simon, myself and our baby. It was a wonderful and happy little occasion, and a delight to have possum blessed.
I had a fabulous time decorating the house in our "Cute as a Button" theme, and styling the food to match. It was a lot of work, but oh, so worth it!

My lovely and talented sister in law also induldged us with some baby bump photos to mark our pregnancy. As you can tell - we are so not 'model/posing' people! But it was great fun, and we now have some lovely photos to remember our baby journey.

And isn't it so nice to be able to wash baby clothes!? The best kind of washing, by far!

Enjoying the journey

Life certainly does get a bit more hectic when you're pregnant.

There are appointments to go to, bloods to have taken from you, doctors to see, a nursery to create, and things to buy. Mind you - the whole nursery creating and buying things has been super fun! I cannot even begin to describe how much fun it has been to set up our nursery and daydream about our little possum sleeping there. More on that later though - as I'm really keen to share some photos with you of Possums nursery so far. 

Pregnant, and loving it!

A small snapshot of the nursery.

And I know what most of you are thinking - if I think I'm busy now, just wait till a baby enters the household!! Yes, I'm well aware that my delusions of being busy at the moment will be a far cry from the constant need and attention that a baby demands. But at least that will be my sole job and object - and I won't have to concern myself with other responsibilities, like work, just yet!

French Provincial Quilt, on Etsy.

Love the softness.

My Etsy shop is growing steadily, and I am really enjoying making and selling my handmade wares. I love that all around the world, there are little nurseries or couches adorned with my owl bunting, or a cushion cover, or a patchwork quilt. There is something so timeless and personal about a handmade item, made with love and attention. And I really enjoy sharing that with likeminded people who appreciate it. 

We are nearly about to have our 50th sale on Etsy, which is so awfully exciting! I still remember my first sale and how I screamed and yelled and raced outside to share the news with Simon. And each sale I make now, I still get incredibly excited! 

So, do you remember the above pile of prettiness I shared a while ago? This lovely collection is a custom order for a young mum and her two daughters - one chevron quilt, and one circle quilt. The chevron quilt top is nearly complete, and looking so soft and pretty. It has been a joy and pleasure to work with this mum and these gorgeous fabrics. We are both looking forward to seeing the two quilts finished - hopefully before Christmas! 

A little secret...

...can you tell what it is?

Need more clues? 

How about now? 

Still can't tell?? 

Surely you must know my secret now!

Thanks to the wonderful Pinterest for all the photos. As to their links and who they belong to - I've lost it! If you see a photo that's yours - please tell me!

I think I'm a wee bit clucky...

What a wonderful response to my previous post for the free Block of the Month!! I must admit, I did have thoughts that no one would be interested in it when I was typing it up! So I am so thrilled to see that people are interested! And it was such a joy to see that Beatrice has already stitched her own Rusty block (she called him Patch instead!) Go and have a look at her blog!

I have also just made a little Stringybark Farm BOM button for you blog sidebars. Please feel free to save it to your computer and use it on your blogs.

On Friday I went down to visit my friend Emma, and the new baby Zachary. And I know everyone says this about babies, but he is so gorgeous! He is a solid little lump, and slept the whole time I was holding him. Which is very rare for me and babies. They usually start screaming the minute I have them!
Once I found out the name, I made this little picture. I wrote his name out, and then coloured it in with pencils and back stitched around it in black. Then I sewed some bright and cute fabrics, and of course, I had to include a pony in the top right!



During the week I got Maree's Paper Bag swap items in the mail!! She has sent some gorgeous fabric, and bits and pieces. I already have a few ideas in mind, but I'm going to sit and wait for a bit till I actually start.


I have some wonderful news to share with you all, but I can't say much just yet. But what I can tell you is that I am so excited, and so shocked! I can't wait to share my good news with you all.