December Stitching, Gifts and One Monthly Goal

Now that the month is nearly over it is time to share what has been happening on the stitching front during December.

Firstly, this year Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap went into respite as life got in the way.  However, it was suggested by one of the previous participants that we could send a decoration to Chooky to brighten her Christmas.  You can see them all here.

This is the little decoration I made.  It did have a red ribbon hanger, but I took the photo before I added it.  

Mum has been crocheting lots of kitchen towels for the church fete since she has moved into full time aged care, so she made this rather appropriate one for Chooky and I then found the little chook on our recent travels.

My friend Lou (Manxgirl) and I swap Christmas gifts each year.

I was delighted when there was a package of bunting in soft floral fabrics.  I was rather taken with the set that Lou made for her sewing room, so was very surprised and happy to find some had winged its way over here.  Happily, it matches my sewing machine cover and will fit above my sewing room windows nicely.

The rest of the gift consisted of a very practical sized project bag in kiwiana fabrics and some yummy nibblies and pins.  All very handy to have.  

This is what I sent to Lou.  A sewing machine mat with a decoration the same as Chooky's and a few extra bits and bobs.

Although it is designed as a sewing machine mat, Lou has found that it is the perfect size to use as an armchair caddy on her favourite chair.

My One Monthly Goal for December was to complete four Splendid Sampler 2 blocks.  Well, today it is New Year's Eve and I have just added the final stitches.  Once again, goal met by the skin of my teeth.

Nancy's Spool.

Antique Memories

For Madge

Cheers.  This is a bonus block for the New Year, so rather appropriate.

I'm linking up with Elm Street Quilts.  I'm really happy that I joined this challenge, as I have met my goal for each month except one.  I'm pretty pleased with that.  I think the secret has been to make realistic goals.  The goal does not have to be to complete a project, but can just be to complete a certain stage.  I'm looking forward to participating again next year.

I'm also adding my few little finishes to One Project a Month hosted by Peg and Kris.  I didn't succeed as well with that this year, but there are still quite a few finishes in the side bar.  I'm particularly pleased to see some UFOs on that list. 

Now I'll have to start thinking about what I want to achieve in 2019.  The world is full of opportunities.

Happy New Year

We have just returned from the New Year's Eve Party held in town.  We've never attended before, despite it having been running for several years now, so weren't sure what to expect.  We enjoyed a picnic with some good friends, sitting in the park, soaking up the atmosphere, listening to good music and people watching.

It is hosted by the local council and is a really family friendly event, culminating in a spectacular fireworks display. The weather was perfect and a full moon in the background added to the charm.

My favourite one was right at the end.  I'm not sure if that was the intention that it look just like a moth hovering over a dandelion, but I love it.

Have a very happy and safe New Year.

Our New Years Eve

For the first time in I don’t know how many years Mick and I had a quiet New Year’s Eve at home.

After a hot, windy day, we sat out on the verandah as it started to cool down.  The birds came to life and some kangaroos appeared once the sting went out of the heat and the wind died away.  It was so nice just sitting there in the quiet watching and listening to it all.

We decided to have a barbecue dinner as the sun faded away leaving a lovely soft light.

Gradually, all the birds settled for the night and the roos hopped away, leaving everything quiet.

We listened to some nice music while watching as each star started to appear, one by one, until all of a sudden there were too many to count and the saucepan emerged from the dusk.

We are fortunate in that looking from our front verandah to the north we cannot see another house light, only an occasional car light on roads in the far distance.  I spotted two satellites (very rare, it is usually Mick that sees them) and Mick spotted a third, as well as two light planes in the distance.

By now the silence had been replaced by a chorus of many frogs.  We just sat there, taking it all in.

I had originally thought that I may watch the Sydney fireworks on the TV, now that we have one, but nature was putting on a much better show.

I hope you all had a wonderful New Year’s Eve, be it partying or just being quiet like us.  Wishing you a Happy New Year from Mick and I.

Another Year Over a New One Just (about) Begun

I seem to have so much to share today, so forgive me if I seem to ramble.

Firstly, I had the pleasure of meeting Chookyblue and having lunch with her yesterday.  She is just delightful and we hit it off straight away.  Isn’t it amazing how you meet fellow bloggers for the first time and it is like catching up with an old friend.  We look forward to catching up again at Nundle for the Girls Day in the Country in March.  I can’t wait for that weekend, it will be so much fun.

Remember the Verandah Views BOM that Cheryl from Willowberry Designs kindly shared in 2009? (She has just announced some projects for 2011 – Yay!)

Well, I started it and was very good at completing my stitchery each month at the beginning of that year.  We were going away for a few weeks, so I prepped a couple of months worth and took them on holidays with me to work on, and then brought them back home in the same state as they left.  LOL

Therefore, I was behind the eight ball and stayed that way.  I finished the stitcheries early this year and even embroidered the label WITH THE DATE 2010!!!

The only problem was that apart from the stitcheries I hadn’t done any more.  So, I thought I’d better start on the rest today – yes on the last day of 2010 and I have at least completed the top.

I’m quite pleased with the way it has turned out. Now I just have to quilt and bind it and then find somewhere to hang it.  Maybe that will be completed by the end of 2011.  You can’t rush into these things.

I do have a couple of little finishes for this month though.

A friend of ours was due to have her first baby on Christmas Eve, but he hasn’t arrived yet.  As I know he will be a boy I have made a few bibs for him.  I really enjoy making these.

I have also made a few tea wallets as gifts, but I keep forgetting to take a photo.  Anyway, here is one of them.  They are so quick and easy to make.  The tutorial is from here.  I just substitute hat elastic instead of the fabric loop as a closure.

Also, here is what I sent to Terry in Ohio for her SSCS gift.

The pattern for the table runner was in an old Country Threads magazine.  I also sent a tea wallet and one of Anni’s woollen pincushion patterns.  It was a great swap to be a part of.

Finally, just because, here is Joey helping with the washing.  Isn’t he a good boy, stopping the wind from blowing the basket away. (He is normally impossible to take a photo of.)

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and may it bring everything that you hope for. Summer has finally arrived here so it should be a lovely evening to celebrate.

By the way, at the beginning of this year I actually wrote down a list of 10 goals for 2010.  They were not specific items, more ideals.  Well, I read over them today and I can’t say that I really achieved any of them, so I think they will be my carry over goals for 2011. Let’s see how I go.

Cheers

Janice

Another Year Over, A New One Just Begun….

Oh no!  Another long post . . .

We had a lovely time at the New Year’s Eve party last night.  The weather was windy and looked quite stormy when we arrived, but it soon cleared and the wind dropped, making it just a perfect night to be outdoors, enjoying good food and company.

This morning we had a very leisurely start with French Toast for breakfast on the verandah. 

It is cool and drizzly, so a very pleasant way to start the year.  We do so enjoy our breakfasts like this.  Who needs to go into town to a cafe?

A few flowers have decided to bloom now that we’ve had some decent rain.

I think I’ll have to get some more dahlia bulbs, as they always look so cheerful.

I’ve been in a somewhat reflective mood this morning, reviewing the last year according to “Blog” and wondering where the time has gone.

I have so enjoyed becoming a more active member of the blogging community during the last year.  With all the new BOMs, challenges and swaps announced at the start of the year I decided to take a tentative step at involvement.  I started Red Delicious BOM, but only completed a couple of blocks before deciding it wasn’t for me.  However, I have really enjoyed working on Verandah Views. 

I still have a few blocks to complete, but I know it will happen this year.

Although I have shied away from the bigger Swaps, I have participated in Maree’s Redwork Cushion Swap, both of Jellyware’s Wash Cloth Swaps, the Christmas Fat Quarter Swap and the Christmas Ornament Swap.  This has been a great way to meet new people and make more friends. I was also lucky enough to win two giveaways.  However, my biggest inspiration was the One Project a Month Challenge with about 50 small projects completed in the twelve months. 

I was quite amazed when I counted them up.  The little craft group I’m a member of has also been very enjoyable, as have the couple of workshops I’ve participated in here in town.

But. . . . when you check my side bar, you will see UFOs that have progressed no further and projects that still haven’t been started.  Let’s see if I can make some inroads this year.

So, what about the rest of the year. . . .

Family played a big part, with Dad’s 90th, Mum’s 80th and Mick’s 50th. 

We also had Dad participating in Anzac Day and the Rededication of the local War Memorial.

There were a few minor dramas, with my car being sick at the beginning of the year, then my sewing machine playing up and the iron died.  We had a grass fire next door, Joey our cat was bitten by a snake and Mick killed three brown snakes in the yard.  Mind you, everything ended up just fine, and if that was the worst that happened we were really quite blessed.

We had some weird weather. 

Dust followed by snow in September and then a heat wave in November.

Despite the ongoing drought, we had some lovely flowers in the garden in both autumn and spring and I had a lovely time with my bulbs in pots.

We also harvested some yummy berries and veges.

Our collection of bits and bobs grew with visits to op shops, our local church fete and a few antique stores.

We are seriously running out of space, so I think this habit may have to be somewhat curtailed.

We enjoyed some time on Mick’s bikes.  He got the old BMW on the road and we attended a Classic Rally and went to the Bike Show in Sydney. 

We also attended a couple of BHCC outings, although not nearly as many as in previous years.

Of course, our year would not be complete without plenty of tripping around. 

We went to open gardens at Crookwell, Millthorpe and Bathurst. 

We had weekends away to Kiama, Nowra, camping on the Abercrombie and Braidwood.

There were outings to the Bronze Thong, Hill End and the Millthorpe Markets.

The highlight of our travels was, of course, the Isle of Man, where we watched lots of bike races, had a great time playing the tourist and meeting up with Loulee.

It was so good to meet her and we hit it off straight away.

Now I realise that although the year has flown, we have actually done quite a bit.  This is despite Mick having an extremely busy year at work and not having much time off.

So what does this year hold?

I don’t like to make New Year resolutions, as I don’t seem to keep them, so it just sets you up for a fall.

In January I revealed my dream of a Sewing Shed in the back yard.

The bike took much longer to finish than anticipated and I don’t know if it will eventuate or not.

We are off to Albany in a couple of months for the Ulysses AGM – riding across the Nullarbor on the new BMW which will be fun. 

I do hope to continue to do quite a bit of crafting.  I noticed that in all the sewing I did last year I did not complete one quilt.  That will definitely have to be remedied this year.

The main thing I hope for in the coming year is health and happiness.  I look forward to continuing to be involved in the blogging community as it is such a friendly and positive thing.

Happy New Year.

A Lovely Break

(Warning – very long post.)

I’ve been having a lovely break since Christmas.  It’s hard to believe that it was nearly a week ago.

Our Christmas was different this year as it was the first time ever that I haven’t had Christmas lunch with my parents.  We still got to see everyone, which was the main thing.  The weather was pleasantly cool and we had gentle soaking rain all day.

Lunch was at Mick’s sister’s place and despite the rain we ate outside under gazebos.  There was no fear of our food getting wet as we were escorted to the table by these gorgeous “brolly dollies”.

Santa was very kind to Mick and I.  We have a tiny laptop to take travelling on the bike.  Now we won’t be having to look for libraries and internet cafes.  Very handy.

I was spoilt by my Mum.  She made me this beautiful collection. 

Now, I maybe gave a slight hint a few months ago like “Mum, can you please make me some covered coat hangers for Christmas?”… and maybe I reinforced this suggestion by delivering some old timber hangers shortly thereafter that I had found in an op shop.

Dad also spoilt me with this exquisite, tiny brooch. It is only about an inch from wing tip to wing tip.

I had to go and ask the jewellers how to use it, as it just has a couple of little pins on the back.  The body is actually a spring, you squeeze the wings together, which opens the clips and it grips your garment as you release the wings.  How clever.  I’ve always loved brooches, so this is a lovely addition to the collection.

Boxing Day is our lazy day.  We normally sit (or lie) on the verandah reading our Christmas books.  This year it was cool and wet, so we sat around the lounge room reading our Christmas books and doing sweet nothing.  We so look forward to our Boxing Day together.

After that Mick had to go back to work.  He has tomorrow off, and then once again, back to work.

I’ve  been very lazy.  I’ve done a little work in the office, but generally I’ve just lazed about and read a lot of blogs.  I had grand plans of doing lots in this break, but very little has eventuated. The weather has been relatively cool, which has been pleasant.

Sewing was high on my list of priorities, and after the first couple of days of doing nothing I did make a few things.  Nothing of any consequence though.

Spotlight had a special on all their fat quarters and a bought a few.  I then made this “Poochie Bag” from Happy Zombie’s tutorial.  It takes just three fat quarters.  I was quite pleased with how it turned out. 

There was a strip left of the fabrics, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make a fabric basket from Pink Penquin’s tutorial.  Both these patterns had been on my “To Do” list for quite a while. 

I wanted to use linen on the basket, but as I only have a limited supply (the skirt I bought at the op shop) I had to finish making my placemats first. Therefore, I made a fabric basket to match my sewing machine cover and mat.  I’m sure it will be useful for something.  It turned out really well.

So,  before I could make the second basket I finished making the other two placemats and matching coasters. I made the first ones back here.

Now I was on a roll.  The second fabric basket is very sweet.  Another fat quarter fabric is used for the lining.

There is still a tiny bit of each of the main fat quarters left, quite a bit of the pink lining and still a bit of the op shop skirt.  I’m pretty sure there is enough of each to make a matching journal cover from Bloom’s tutorial. 

However, when I did the last stitch on the fabric basket my machine gave a big clunk and bent the needle.  Not good. 

I just turned it off and left it till later.  When I had a closer look, there is a rubbing noise in the bobbin housing.  Mick thinks something may be bent.  I now have to see if my wonderful sewing machine doctor is around and let him have a look at it. And it had been sewing so well up till then.  Fortunately, I still have my little Stella that I can use….or I may have to get out some hand sewing.

Today I went to town and called in to Spotlight to buy some more machine needles.  Just as I was leaving an announcement came over the speaker.  As a result I spent an extra $2.70 and came home with all this:

All Christmas decorations at 10c each for 10 minutes!  At the front are glass baubles that you decorate yourself.  I plan to fill some with thread offcuts and fabric crumbs.  Not something I would pay lots of money for, but at 10c!  Also, the Styrofoam balls are ready to decorate with fabric.  I haven’t made these for years, but it could be fun with the new fabrics out.  There are also rolls of ribbon and lots of baubles to make a wreath.  These wreaths have me fascinated, but being ikey like I am, I wasn’t going to make one if it was going to cost heaps.  I think I’ll have lots of fun.  Now…….. where to store them.

Tonight we are off to a New Year’s Eve party with a group of our friends.  It’s been nice this year letting someone else do all the hard work. (That’s very slack of me, isn’t it!)  The dress up theme is the era of your vehicle (we are all members of the Historic Car Club).  Mick will just wear his Goodies T-Shirt for the 70s for his Rickman Honda motorcycle and as the only vehicle I actually own is the 2009 Subaru Forester, I’ll wear all clothes I have bought this year.  Maybe that’s cheating, but too bad. The kitchen has a lovely aroma at the moment as I’ve been roasting pumpkin in olive oil and garlic for a salad.  I could just sit and eat the pumpkin.

Have a wonderful New Year and see you next year!