HAPPY NEW YEAR

Thankyou all SO much for stopping by my little blog your comments mean SO much! To the Blurkers, dont be shy, leave a comment so I know you stopped by, I love reading them all..... I try my best to reply!

I hope 2010 brings you all such Wealth, Health and SO much Happiness! Please take care if going out tonight.

I shall 'see' you next year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

x Sarah

Makeover & Sweet Treats

Do you like my 'new look'? While helping my good friend Vicki (via MSN chat) put a new template and add some gadgets to her blog, I thought I would give my blog a make over! Quite like this new template I think!

Ok, here are some MORE pics of my lovely gifts that I received! This GORGEOUS bag made by my lovely SIL Kate. This is a Cinderberry Stitches Bag and she tells me that it was in a Homespun mag..... I cant remember seeing it:

Look at her beautiful stitching! Thankyou SO much Kate, I just *love* it..... the colours are just gorgeous! xx

And, my lovely friend Kristy made me some Sweet Treats (and I have to share with Dennis - bugger!!). Rum Balls, Shortbread, Apricot Balls, Coconut Ice and White Chocolate Stars, YUMMO!! All tied with some silver ribbon and a little Xmas Tag which looked SO cute! Mind you, they are all gone now LOL! Thankyou Kristy xx

My SIL Judy made this for me..... hmmmmmm..... Reindeer Poop!!

With the back saying this:

HONESTLY, I did think I had been GOOD this year (I even gave her one of the Bon-bons!!).... Maybe I HAD been naughty a couple of times :+) LOL

Our little nephew was SO taken by this that he wanted some too..... Judy actually had some left over and gave him a bag full - to put in his pooping reindeer he received for Christmas a couple years back LOL!

*** These were chocolate coated Almonds, Sultana's and Strawberry Licorice ***

Ok, I am off to do some chores...... this afternoon I might make one of the Patchwork Party blocks - not sure if I need a set of templates or not - anyone know?

Enjoy your day

x Sarah

So...... what did I receive?

For our Group Secret Santa Swap, Bec made for me and I was SO spoilt! She made me this beautiful Satchel in pretty pink and green (my favourite combo!!). I think the fabric may be Tanya Wheelan?!

AND, she also gave me these 2 lovely books - and I can see myself making some things from these too!!

Got to *love* this pincushion..... it is a Leannes House design called 'Sarah's Pincushion' - how fitting is that lol! Thankyou SO much Bec, I really love what you made for me! xx

My Mum and Dad, gave me the Patchwork Party Spring 2009 Edition blocks! The fabric in this set is Sachet Potpourri and it is just BEAUTIFUL!! Some of the blocks look a bit challenging, but I am sure I will work it out!

So I have one more post to show you..... more Xmas gifts!

I hope you all are enjoying my show and tell!

x Sarah

Part 3

The last lot of handmade gifts from me...... But, I am waiting to hear from a friend in the US to see if she received her gift. So I will show you all her gifts later!

I was making for Cathy in our online Group's Secret Santa and I decided to make her this bag! I am SO pleased with the way it turned out (yes, I want to make myself one too lol). Cathy is abit of a Bronwyn Hayes fan and was very pleased with it - which was a bonus!

For my friend Kristy, I made her a Bon-bon (shock horror lol) and I had these 2 scrapbooking pages done for SO long of 2 of her children, that I had planned to give one in a frame and the other to go in her album so she could swap and change, but, I thought the pages needed an extra 'something'...... the day we were to catch up, I managed to go through my HUGE scrapbooking tub and found the bits and bobs to finish it off. And, she loved them!!

Here is Ebony:

And Tyler:

So tomorrow I will share some of the amazing gifts I received!

x Sarah

Xmas Gifts part:2

Here is Mum's gift. A Sewing Machine Cover designed by the talented Rose from Threadbare Creations! I made this one in Aster Manor fabrics with the Applique in assorted 3 sisters ranges to keep the colours matching! Mum had mentioned to me a few times that she liked it (well actually LOTS) and I did take the hint - secretly, as she was surprised when she opened it LOL. I must make one for myself (I know, I ALWAYS say that!!). The pattern says you will need 10 Jelly Roll Strips, but I used a pack of charms and cut it into quarters (if your charm pack has 41 you will end up with enough 2.5" squares!) If you would like the pattern for this click here or here.

My Dad and little Brother are golf MAD!! I gave them lots of golf bits and bobs, but decided they needed a Golf Ball Bag each! I had this fabric for SO long planning to make them one but never got around to it, but this year I did! Turned out pretty well I think!

I really *love* these little thread bins that Kerry Swain taught us how to make - quick, easy and a great gift idea! So, I made one for Mum (in Mistletoe Manor Fabrics)and Kate (Amy Butler Fabrics) to go with their pressies..... along with some matching stork scissors (you can never have enough!!)

Ok, so I will pop back in tomorrow (hopefully morning) to share the last lot of gifts I made, then onto what I received!

I hope you all are enjoying your day

x Sarah

Xmas Gifts part:1

Yesterday was a beautiful day spent with Family..... lovely and relaxing! I have SO much to share, it was a hard decision weather to show you what I made for gifts this year, or what I received - what I made won!

So, here is another batch of those lovely Christmas Bon-bons! These were such a hit, and I ended up making 7!!

Last week, when I was up SO early, and hubby had gone to work, I set out to finish this quilt in time to give it to him for Christmas! And, I tell you, I only just finished it in time! He was very pleased to open it and we both loved the way it turned out!

I made this at Calico Crossroads at the Kerry Swain Workshop!



Here is a close up of the centre block named the "Georgetown Circle'!

It did turn out just as I had hoped!

I will be back tomorrow to share more pics - nearly tea time here, so must go off and do that!

I hope you all had a wonderful day yesterday (& Boxing Day too of course!)

x Sarah

Merry Christmas

Finally, all the pressies are wrapped and ummmm..... around the tree?! There it is..... only just sticking out amongst the gifts!

Alot of the gifts have already been sent away/passed on - so this lot are only some of the family ones!

I would like to thank you all for stopping by my little blog and to you wish you ALL a wonderful, happy and safe Christmas.

I shall pop back, maybe Boxing Day to share some of the gifts I made!

Take care
x Sarah

Not long now..............

Only 4 more sleeps! This year, I think Christmas has come around TOO quick! But, I have managed to complete most of the projects I set out to make for gifts - which I am pretty pleased about! I still have a couple of things to finish off. I cant really show much here, as I know I have some 'sticky beaks', so I will share some of the cross hatching I have been doing:

As I was up at 5am this morning with Dennis before he went to work (I know I am mad - I am on holidays!!) but, it was REALLY great, as I actually accomplished HEAPS! I took this opportunity to quilt his quilt while he was out of the house and now the binding is on too - though have to hand stitch it down.... might get up early again tomorrow and sit and do that while watching some movies in the morning (actually, I have an hour and a half until he gets home......)!

This quilt and my own Bon-Bon are the only things for me to finish YAY!!

I hope your Xmas sewing is nearly done too!

x Sarah

Another Table Runner.....

Yep, another Table Runner! I made this one in Aster Manor fabrics for my Nan who is in a Nursing Home. I thought it would be a great gift for her to sit on her photo cabinet:

I love the Prairie Points around the edge:

I love this range - I may have to make myself one too LOL

I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday - day of rest!

I am off to hopefully start quilting my George Town Circle Quilt (if I don't get side tracked LOL)

x Sarah

More runners, a visitor and a MESS

I had planned to pop in yesterday..... but I tell you, it just was not my day!! Everything I touched turned to 'crap'.... can I say that here?? To bad, I did! I had planned to get up early - after doing arvo/night shift - big mistake! I had lots to do, but nothing went right, so I had a late afternoon nap (something I NEVER do!!) and just didnt do a thing after that........

Anyway, this is what I wanted to show you.... the Table Runner I made for my work Secret Santa gift. I used a charm pack of Frosted Memories as I wanted it to look Xmassy....... This pattern is the same one I used for the Hampton Blues Runner I made which is my own design..... I must write the pattern up as it is SO quick and easy!

I used little white buttons in every point instead of quilting it. So along with one of the Bon-bons filled will Candy Canes, I think it will be a great gift!

Today, while doing some Secret Squirrel stuff, I could hear all this racket outside. On my investigation, I found this little fella. I rang back inside for the camera and by the time I got back out there he moved from one of the tree's in the back yard and was actually on the lawn! I tried to get a little closer, but he flew away! Then I heard him again..... just down the driveway sitting on the fence - SNAP.... got him!

I have SO many sewing projects on the go, and some not even started at the moment. I just could not work in this mess:

How embarrassing!! So, this arvo I decided to give it a little bit of a clean. I was starting to find that I could not find a thing! All good now!

Ok, better get going...... some stitching is calling! I shall pop back tomorrow to show you another gift I will have finished by then!

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend

x Sarah

Bon-bon sewing

This last few days, I have been stitching up a storm! I have just received these Hatched & Patched patterns for my online store and could not resist making one to go with a gift (ok, ok I have made 3 so far..... I can hear you laughing Roseanne - she says I ALWAYS make 3 of everything!!). These are SO quick and easy to make so I could not resist...... I bought some little Candy Canes to fill them up:

I decided to make one in green which turned out quite well..... I used 2 strands of thread for this one and didn't put the french knots in the little stars to see what it would look like and I quite like it! This green one I am going to put with my work Secret Santa gift:

Here are the 3 all together....... I have another couple traced out LOL

Hmmmmm..... I must get some ribbon for the ties - they look a bit 'daggy' with just my thread showing!

If you are interested in this pattern, have a look here - don't forget FREE postage on all my patterns!

I am keeping up to date with my December Daily Journal, but have to add some pics. Once I have some done I will share my progress......

Enjoy the rest of your day

x Sarah

PS: Remember Vicki - the new Tassie blogger? Well, she has changed her blog. Pop over and say hi here, and check out her gorgeous quilt she made for her little GD.

It's starting to feel a little like Xmas.....

This year, as we have most of our gear in storage (and our Xmas stuff is way, way at the back) we wont be putting too much Xmas stuff out (like I usually do!)..... but, I did manage to find this little tree amongst my stuff here! It is one of those 'fibre optic' tree's and flashes many different colours, I have it sitting on a table in our lounge room:

And, I am pretty pleased to say, I have made a start on my Xmas sewing...... and even have a few finishes - but can't show you yet! I do know that some of the recipients look on here, so I had better not! But, I am working on my secret Santa gift for my work gift..... it is well on its way and it is looking quite good so I can show you some of that later in the week...... I should have it done by then!

I hope you all have enjoyed your weekend
x Sarah

'Table Turnover' Tutorial

OK, here it is...... My 'Table Turnover' pattern:

Here is a pic of the Table Topper/Lap Quilt and you may use it to put on your blog and link it back here if you wish:

So, you will need a Turnover pack - there are 80 triangles in each pack. They are generally 6" squares cut into triangles. And, you will need a Charm pack too - mine had 40 charms. Sew 2 triangles together on the long side - like the below pic. I made 2 the same of each block - that way when you cross-cut them they match up together (if you wish to do this, it is easiest and quickest if you separate your pack in half) you will see further down what I mean:

Now, you will need to cross-cut them from point to point like this:

As I had 2 blocks the same, I was able to put them together looking like this:

But, if you wanted a more 'scrappy' look, which will look just as beautiful, it would end up looking like this:

Then, once you are pleased with your block arrangement, sew them together, you may need to trim your 4 patch triangle block down to 5" (the same as a Charm Square):

Now you are ready to sew the rows! When sewing the triangles and squares together, make sure that they alternate. One block, one triangle, one block, one triangle etc. I made mine 8 blocks wide - but if you intend to have an odd number across, you will need to make sure that you alternate the first block.

When you have your rows together it is time to sew the rows together. I made 8 rows for mine! Make sure that the blocks alternate on the way down as well as across. If you have an even number across, you will have a 4 patch one end and a block the other so it is easy for you to sew together:

Here is mine. 8 blocks x 8 rows:

The finished size is approx 36" square - just the right size for my coffee table. I did have a few blocks left over (16 in fact!) and plan to make something with those. You could easily make yours 8 blocks x 10 rows, or 7 blocks x 11 rows etc.....

I hope you have enjoyed this pattern. I have enjoyed sharing it with you (and glad it didn't go astray again!!) If you would like to purchase any Turnovers - I have limited stock in my online store.... and if you purchased a Turnover & a Charm Pack I will add some binding fabric as a 'bonus'!

x Sarah