I blame Moda.

Yup. I do.

I blame Moda for my lack of money. It's all their fault.

They shouldn't keep making 'to die for' fabrics.

Fabrics that I 'must' have.

Yup, it's all Moda's fault.

And it has nothing to do with my lack of will power at all.

Good news? I think I may have found my sewing mojo again! Stay tuned for more!

I am so clucky right now.

Between having a fabulous new niece, and the gorgeous little daughter of the boss at work - I am seriously feeling a wee bit clucky lately. There are babies everywhere - and they are oh, so cute!!
I finally had a hold of Alecia, and she is just darling. Mum and bubs are doing well, and Alecia is quite happy to sit still and watch the world go by, whilst blowing bubbles. Apparently she is quite long, with big feet. Which is not suprising to me at all - as my brother is 6'7" and my sister in law is around 6' herself. I think Alecia is going to be one tall miss!



As soon as I found out she was a girl, I bought some lovely pink waffle fabric from work, and last weekend I made a little blanket for her. Of course, a special touch was added with her name.


I'm so wrapt with how it turned out - and my brother and sister in law love it. Which is even better.
Ok, I hear you. I'm rambling on long enough about my little niece.


So, how are all the Homespun 'Stitch-a-long-ers' going?? It's great recieving emails from those who are participating - I hope you are enjoying it! Please feel free to email me through some photos to share on my blog. I'd love to see them. :)

Also, just a note. Homespun have added the finished sizes of each stitchery panel to the General Instructions page on their website. So, check it out here. This should hopefully save some confusion over the correct size of each stitchery. :)

Some exciting news!

I am thrilled and delighted to announce that I now am an Aunty!! My dear brother and sister in law have welcomed a little girl into the world on Friday the 11th of June - Alecia Lily. Born by c-section due to a breach at 9:01am, weighing in at 8lbs3oz.

And I know I am probably biased, but she is so adorably cute. I'm not normally a 'mushy' newborn sort of girl - but hey. She's cute. Really cute. I am yet to have a cuddle of her yet (so can't wait!!) but so far mum and bubs (and dad!) are doing well!

Sorry for my lack of blog posts (once again.) But I've actually been sewing! Hurrah! Of course, I've been doing some sewing for my new little neice, but I am yet to take some pics yet.

My latest finish is this quilt, which I made for a lady from my church. This lady, Janice, was a particular great help and encouragement to me with making clothes for the kids in Indonesia. So I have been wanting to find a way to thank her, and what better way than a quilt.

It's a simple design, measuring about 45" square (forgot to measure it before I gave it!) I'm really happy with how it turned out - and I love the back of it. And the quilting.


Thankfully, Janice loves it too!

Gratitude.

First off, thank you so very much for your lovely comments following my previous post. It was a wonderful encouragement to read your comments, and personal stories that are close to home about prostate cancer. Our family is coping well, and I think the shock of the diagnosis has finally settled in. I appreciate all your prayers and well wishes, and I'm so grateful for them. Thank you!

Now, don't be shocked - but I actually have some sewing related news to share! Oh my goodness. I know. It's been awhile, hey? See, I always try to make handmade gifts. So of course, as most of you know, it was Mothers Day on Sunday here in Australia. {Happy Mothers Day to all the wonderful mums out there!! Hope you had a fab day!}

So, with the diagnosis of my dad happening last week, mothers day had completely slipped my mind - till 3 days before! Um, help?!

Thankfully, my mum and I had bought a couple of "Faded Memories" Charm packs last year, with the intention of my mum learning to make a quilt for herself. Well, we never got around to it. So I thought I'd make her the quilt anyway!

And how brilliant are the Moda precut ranges? So darn easy and quick. And, you end up with a brilliant result. I love how this little quilt has turned out. And my mum absolutely adores it. She even took it with her to church on Sunday to show it off.

I simply quilted vertical lines on the quilt, spaced about an inch or so apart. And I'm really happy with how it looks. It gives it that wonderful 'crinkly goodness' and has a lovely texture. Me thinks I'll be doing it more often. Oh, the quilt measures 42 x 51". Perfect lap size.

Please excuse the dark photos - it's a bit of a cold and wet day here in Victoria!

So there you go - I actually started and finished a quilt! Now, don't fall over in shock.

I also just wanted to share a bit of workplace excitment. As most of you know, I'm lucky enough to work at Patchwork with Gail B in Bayswater, Victoria. And at the moment we are celebrating a new extension to our shop. And it looks fabulous!

I just had to take a few photos to share - however my camera makes it look quite dark inside, which isn't the case. The shop is now almost double the original size, and it's so nice and bright and spacious inside.

And a nice bonus is that I've lost 1kg from all the extra walking around the larger shop!

For any locals, we're having a sale at the moment to celebrate the opening of the extension. Lots of great goodies on sale, and it wraps up on Saturday the 15th.

Apologies.

Wish I could make this a happier update post!
I've had to take a bit of a break from my craft and blogging of late. Not just because I've been flat out busy with things, but due to family concerns. My dad has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer, so we are all in a state of shock I think. He has been having tests etc for a few weeks now, but today we just recieved the news.

As you can imagine, sewing is the last thing on my mind at the moment. However, I am sorry for not updating earlier with the measurments for the Homespun Stitch a long. Please forgive me!

I feel like I haven't been doing my blog any justice of late, and I would much rather not post anything than be forever posting 'I'm sorry!' messages!!

Week 7: Tulip.
Finished size of stitchery block is 1.5x3".

Week 8: Home.
Finished size of stitchery block is 3x4".

Give Thanks: Week 6

Well, how is everyone going on the Homespun Stitch a Long?? It's been so wonderful to recieve emails from so many of you participating in the program. I'm really looking forward to seeing your end results!

Well, the 6th stitchery has been released today, titled, Threads of Friendship. The finished size of the block for this one is 2x3".

Have fun stitching!

I'm back!

Yup, I'm back safe and sound from Indonesia! And I had an absolutely AWESOME time. I loved it all, and I actually didn't want to leave. I really love West Papua especially, and the people are just wonderful and kind. I wish I could have stayed a couple of extra weeks!

If you would like to read about my time in Indonesia, please check out my Sew Blessed blog for all the info and photos. It's a worthwhile read, I promise!

So, now that I'm back I'm hoping to get into some sewing for myself! I feel like I haven't done any sewing for me for quite some time now. However, this whole 'sewing for me' thing won't last long, I know. I'm going to get back into sewing clothes for a second trip to Indonesia soon.

But I have two Moda layer cakes I'm itching to cut in to, and some charm packs begging to be used.

I've had some wonderful emails from ladies who are doing the Homespun "Give Thanks" Stitch a long! How exciting!

For those who have asked, below is the list of the finished sizes of the blocks so far:

Week 1.

Butterfly. Finished block size is 3" square.
Week 2.
Love Heart. Finished block size is 1.5" square.
Week 3.
5 Hearts. Finished block size is 1.5 x 3."

Week 4.

Family. Finished block size is 2x6"

Week 5.

Angel. Finished block size is 3" square.

I'll be putting up the finished block size each week as a new one comes out, so check back often.

Hopefully I'll be back soon to share what sort of sewing I've been up to lately!

.excited.

Well, it has been wonderful to hear from so many of you who are participating in the Homespun 'Give Thanks' Stitch-a-long! How exciting! I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the stitcheries as they progress along. If you have any photos, and want to share them, please feel free to email them to me.

Now, I had a lady ask if each week I could put up the finished size of each stitchery. There has been a bit of confusion over whether the stitcheries are printing out at the correct size. So, just to make it clear, the stitcheries are actually quite small, and the fabric allowance is generous to allow for ease of sewing in a hoop.

If you would prefer to save on some fabric, maybe try using a large piece of muslin or homespun, and don't chop it up for each individual stitchery. Instead, just draw and stitch each stitchery on the fabric, allowing some room between each one of course.

Below is the finished block size of the stitcheries that have been released so far:

Week 1.
Butterfly. Finished block size is 3" square.

Week 2.

Love Heart. Finished block size is 1.5" square.

Week 3.

5 Hearts. Finished block size is 1.5 x 3."

Hope that is of some help ladies!

Oh, if you are doing the stitch-a-long, please let me know in a comment on this post, and I'll add your name to a sidebar on my blog.

In other news, I am leaving for Indonesia tomorrow! Yes, tomorrow! Talk about exciting. And my other exciting news - we have 170 items of clothing for the orphans!! How awesome is that?! And that doesn't include other bits of donated goodies, like a soccer ball, hair clips, pens and paper etc etc. So I am really looking forward to going back to West Papua and blessing the kids with all these goodies! I have just spent the morning rolling up each item and packing them into the bag. I have so many photos to share with you, but just not the time at the moment - sorry!

So, I will be back on board after Easter, so if you don't hear from me for awhile - that's why!

Till then, happy stitching!

...Give Thanks...

So, did you see it? Did you see it?

*jumps up and down excitedly*

Yup, the new Homespun magazine came out, and guess what was in it? My quilt!

Talk about exciting!

So, the Stitch-a-long has begun, and you can check out and download the instructions on the Homespun website. I've already had ladies sending me an email to let me know they are doing the stitch-a-long - yay!

Well, I'm glad at least someone likes my quilt!! I must say, there is quite a bit of nervous apprehension when you do something like this. Must be to do with my fear or failure or something like that.

Anyway, I will be doing some of the Stitch-a-long myself and coming up with some new ways to use the stitcheries, and I'll be sure to share it all with you.

Till then, happy stitching!

Little bit of this and that..

Well, it's a wee bit hard taking pretty and creative photos when it's rather windy and dark outside. And drizzling with rain. Not that I'm complaining about the rain mind you. I'm so grateful for the rain that we have been having lately.

But I wanted to show you all what's been keeping me busy for the past little while. See, I am heading over to Papua in Indonesia in 16 days time (eek!) to deliver the clothes for my Sew Blessed mission. So I have been madly trying to sew as many things as possible, and that has been taking up any and all of my free time.

Once I'm back I'm determined to get back into the swing of sewing quilts again. I have so many designs running through my head that I want to create!

So yes, I'm getting pretty excited about going back to Indonesia, but also pretty nervous and anxious. There just seems so much to do in so little time! I have no idea how I'm going to be ready in time.

Anyway, just to finish off this post with a little something I have been working on (when I needed a slight break from sewing clothes!) I absolutely love the Patisserie range of fabric by Moda, so this little quilt is made using a Turnover, and some co-ordinating fabric for the strips.

As I said, it's a bit windy outside, so excuse the pics, but I just had to share the yumminess. I think I will leave it at this small size, as it will be perfect to hang on the wall of my future dream house. *sigh* Someday!