What a hoot!!

I would like to introduce you to my newest family addition...Hooty the Owl..

I have a thing for these little guys, I have one on my keyring even.
My dear friend Natasha MADE this for me for my birthday..
I have to tell you that it is the first handmade gift I have received since I was a child..
I have given out my fair share of handmade things but never realised the intense humbling feeling to know that someone has spent so much time for your benefit...Thanks again Tash!!

He has a cute hand stitched tummy and the cutest little feet! And eyes that go on forever..( Perhaps I should call him Jamie?? as in Durie!! , wouldn't mind finding him hiding in my garden!!)he he.....

Anyway after feeling the handmade love I decided to wiggle my tail and weave in the threads on a stack of crocheted beanies and bakers boys and pop them onto made-it.. So someone else can enjoy some handmade...

Back living again!! - the no sew school holidays..

Hi there, I just want to make it clear that this IS A SEWING BLOG!!! (and crafty other stuff) but because I didnt get to do any of that stuff over the school hol's, I am going to bore you with the things that I did get up to!!..

Firstly (so I have a nice picture at the top) I did cover these 3 canvases with my very special Aunty Cookie fabric from Kelani...

NOW, onto the other stuff (so you dont think Ive been hibernating for a month!)

We decided to do the backyard finally in the holidays, so in true Extreme style the hubby bought in the digger to prepare the site... Lets call this the BEFORE picture

BEFORE

MID WAY DONE!!!

We spent the first weekend of the school holidays in Melbourne gathering some large palms for our back yard.. Yes my hubby does everything to the Extreme... Let me tell you it was a long, tiring weekend but very worth it.. If anyone had to drive along the western highway with a palm tree poking into their windscreen in the wee ours of the morning, I sincerely apologise..Then with lots of coffees and lots of beeping and dirt through the house we nearly have a pool hole... It is finished now but I have failed to take a shot of that yet..

By the time the pool is ready to swim in, the penguins should be ready to leave the aquarium and they can move straight in..ha ha..not!

SOME SEWING RELATED STUFF!!!

I received the most lovely prize from dear Wynona over at Ivy Designs... Thankyou soo much..

It was the most lovely wrapped parcel , The girls loved the button rings and I was the lucky model for the hair clip, and that bag oh my!! It is reserved for special girly functions (yes to share!!!)...

Oh the joy of those school holidays.. I need to reacquaint myself with the clothesline because the dryer was way too much easier in times of chaos..

I thought this would be quick but after all the accidental deleting of photos and the spreading out that happens everytime I upload another photo (because of my accidental deleting) this has taken a painful hour or more!!! Damn I am home alone, little man at kinder and I had intended on rebooting the Janome's from their long slumber, but now its time to fly again... Oh when will life slow down???

PS - I had a birthday last week, check out those gorgeous flowers from my MIL...Happy sewing all you lucky people who can actually find the time!!

Jo

Stitches and Craft review.

I went, I saw amazing things, I met amazing people.. The day was awesome!!

My friend Jacqui from my sewing group came too and we had a great day out.

I didnt take the camera, but Jacqui took this one of me in front of my favourite quilt pattern, the Aunt Becs 9 patch... ( I look like a damn rabbit!)

I picked up a few fat quarters from the infamous amitie, A long coveted pattern from Jodie for the kinder girls, A purse frame kit from Nicole Mallalieu, Some postcards and tags from Fii, Some wool from Yarn Barn and a few beads and things...

I had some of the sewing girls around last night and I shouldve taken some pics but got sidetracked playing the wii.. I was a little bugged as the linen for the back of my quilt was all sold out and I have now decided to make a patchwork back also..

I have also been busy crocheting this lovely scarf from ravelry after seeing this one.. It isnt as bold as I had hoped, as dear hubby said, the colors look a little like vomit. (Thanks honey!)

I am feeling very poorly this afternoon, The old saying goes -'if you cant beat them join them'.. Hubby dragged me to the gym about a month ago and now I am enjoying at least 3 trips a week..( I even joined him at bootcamp for a morning- holy crap!!)

I stepped the pace up a little with his challenge of doing BodyAttack this morning.. Oh how unfit am I, I sweated so much I have had a headache all day, despite drinking so much that the toilet has been my best friend all avo..

My very first quilt top!!!

I am very pleased with myself, I have finished my very first quilt top. A dissapearing nine patch with sashes and borders in linen.. I dont mind it at all..

I am unsure wether to do the hand quilting thing in the raved about perle thread or if I should quilt it by machine? I saw one online that had waves from side to side and I thought it looked very modern and it was something I could do myself without years of practise first (Like the dreaded freehand stippling).

I will think about it, maybe I will see something on SUNDAY!!

I am sooo very looking forward to going to the stitches and craft on Sunday!. From all reports it is bigger than ben-hur. Myself and a couple of fellow crafters from the sticks are heading to the big smoke to check out the talent and I hope to put some faces to the names that I have been lurking on for some time..

I have also been rather taken with my crochet and have joined ravelry, which has only added fuel to the fire.. I have finished a scarf and am trying my damndest at a new unusual looking scarfy thing now, once again, who knows what amazing stuff I will see on SUNDAY..

Phew!

What a weekend! Our fires here are contained and there were no lost lives, how thankful we have the wonderful CFA.

My husband spent the whole day saturday putting out spot fires on his mothers property and keeping her calm. Things could have been a whole lot worse, and after the tv stations finally came back on air at 10pm, I watched in horror at the devastation that other parts of Victoria were experiencing. The terror and loss is unimaginable, I watched several hours of updates this morning and just cannot fathom what people are going through.

I have been tagged by Emma at Emmaroseart

The tag is 6x6 - the 6th photo in the 6th folder.

This is a quilt that I took a photo of at last years Stitches and Craft!, It was this one that made me fall in love with the Aunt Becs 9 patch from Amitie..

I also got tagged for the same 6x6 by Selina at Wild Things of Noosa, so I bent the rules and chose the 6th picture in my downloaded images.

This is an idea we intend to implement in our back yard.. We used to have an inground trampoline, but with the round ones taking over, we will try and do something classy like this!

Now to pass this on for some others to do the same..

http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/

http://www.dearfii.blogspot.com/

http://noolygirl.wordpress.com/

http://blackeyedsusie.blogspot.com/

http://sillygillykids.blogspot.com/

http://thornberry.wordpress.com/

Oops, helps to press publish..

Heat, Wind and Fire!!

Oh my what a shocker of a day!
It is blowing an absolute gale and the heat!, Well it feels like I have jumped inside a furnace.
Then whilst surfing the net moments ago, I look out and see this out my office window..

We are in a new estate and there are only 3 rows of houses between us and that smoke... Open paddocks after that and the river is just off to the left, so lots of dry wood and not much water unfortunately. The helicopter is buzzing around and the sirens are very frequent. This is nothing like gippsland people are experiencing but it does get the adrenalin going.

At least with all that terrible wind, the soot wont be landing on us for the next day. I just hope they manage to get it all under control soon, There are a lot of spot fires starting up from blown embers.. Mother Nature!, it must just be PMS..

On a nicer note, my little baby started 3 year old kinder this week and he is so very proud of himself.. He wants to go every day. I didnt even have separation issues.. from him that is at least.

Till next time, Bring on the cool change!!

Controlled Chaos

Where did those 6 weeks go?? All that organising I did weeks ago and today I still find myself feeling like a mouse running in a wheel.. Will I ever find the cheese??

I am halfway through making slices and muffins for the school lunches, Have the labelling machine out ready to print and iron the new items, Lunchboxes at the ready, New shoes have been worn in and polished up again, Now today has consisted of ,what I call some serious multi-tasking!!

I have been a little preoccupied too, I have scoured the world of all the disappearing nine patch quilts and I bow down to you "oh great one" Annie, Yours is the finest of them all!!

Now I am begging of you, help me please with your expertise ( crikey that rhymes!) I am going to make one of these to practise my piecing and cutting skills before I cut into the Big one.. So tell me, (any opinions would be greatly appreciated!!)I thought I would use this stash from Provincial Patch.. Do these colors look ok?? I thought I would keep the brown in the centre, so It would end up as the small square, then alternate the red and green, keeping the blue on the corners so they stay large.. (or should I cut up a couple??) I have also realised that the brown print is the same as a red one and that could look dicky if they were beside one another..

This quilting business is a little tricky but addictive isnt it!! I havent even started yet and my mind is already thinking of others.. I think that I have crafters ADD.

See the two prints the same! the brown and red with the palm leaves.. I need to keep them way apart dont I? I actually like the plain brown for a centre.. maybe just throwing in the odd brown print.

I made a flower badge for miss P's new school bag today, that way she can see her bag hanging on the hook from a mile away..

Oh and I got this a few weeks back from the fabulous Missie Krissie.. It was delivered within 48 hours of ordering and I love it!!! Some of my sewing girlfriends suggested that I could use a little red sticky dot to hide someones name if they had been naughty!! thus threatening their status with a red sticker.. he he.. too funny