New Arrival

I received a card today from my daughters friend.  What a lovely way to share the news of a remarkable moment...

the birth of a child.

Surname blocked for privacy

I made "A Zoo for You"....a floor play rug, before Sophie was born, otherwise I could have made it in the prettiest of pink fabric...

Just perfect for a pretty little girl!

All the best to the Mum Alyson & Dad Steve...
and of course baby Sophie.

Where you really Beanie?

That's such an OLD joke...enough already.

Off to Alice Springs

Here is part 2 of my knitting for Outback Babes with "beanies" to keep the little ones warm. They are very easy and fast to knit up and best of all you get to use all the left over yarn in the stash bucket. These are only a few of the bundle my sister-in-law and myself have sent off...but you can see how cute they are. If anyone wants to knit up some, just email me and I'll send the pattern....too easy!
:)

Another Give Away

You've got to be in it to win it........
Like everyone else I'd love to win the Accuquilt Go! Cutter....  so I'm giving you the chance to win as well. Follow the button to "A Quilting Life" on the sidebar and enter for YOUR chance to win this fantastic prize.
Good Luck Everyone !!!

Two Mails

SNAIL MAIL: It's so nice to receive snail mail that doesn't involve an invoice or a bill...isn't it? Today our friendly postie delivered a back copy of a mag I wanted, so now I can look forward to reading the articles and leafing through pages of pictures of quilts made by the artisans in the craft. Its so inspiring to see what some clever people can do with left over scraps of fabric or hard to use colours....it's just amazing!

E MAIL: Over the weekend I asked my new quilting friend Maria (Life on the Block) for "how to" instructions for the pyramid door stop and she very obligingly sent them to me. It's a nice group to belong to, this "world of quilters"...isn't it! Email is instant (or close to it) and very easy. So THANK YOU Maria. I also touched base with both my Canadian Swap partners almost 1/2 way around the world......Oh so easy!
Our close ancestors would not have believed or even imagined what would develop for living in this modern era. I send and receive TXT messages every day and my children would not be able to LIVE without their mobi's...!!! Had my father still been alive he would have been "gob smacked" with the changes he would see as he was born before the invention of the electric washing machine, the Geiger counter and the neon light.
What does the next decade have install for us....um....I wonder?

One thing is for sure...when I wake Wednesday morning (although unofficially) ...
it will be SPRING....yeh !!!

To Cut or Not to Cut

Or better still.....WILL THEY CUT ?
I needed to dispose of a pair of my scissors so after a few last words to an old friend...out they went!

They were blunt & wouldn't cut paper anymore....so sad....but "move on" I said. So I went out to buy new scissors. All I needed was a pair to cut paper....well that's easier said than done....how many different types are there!!! The answer....LOTS..... but as I am right handed that was one decision eliminated easily, but there were still 6 pairs to choose from. "I just want to cut paper" I told the salesperson. He said "Well.. try them on for size" so I did and  found that some were comfortable and some were not. Crazy eh? But in the end I did select a pair and I'm happy.

New scissors - 3rd on left.

But it got me thinking and I remember reading this somewhere "a good pair of scissors is a pleasure to use. A bad pair is miserable and ineffective".....how true.!

So how many pairs of scissors do you own ? 
Here is a pic of my collection....and my family knows not to touch them. My words "Put the scissors down and back away slowly" resound in their ears....haha
:)

Friday Night Sew In

This is SUCH a GOOD idea !!!  It gives you the perfect excuse to slip away. Why didn't I find this group ages ago....just think of what I could have achieved..... THANKS "Handmade by Heidi"  

I'm already looking forward to the next one!

I had the task to pick bright & funky "girly" colours for this project as it's a gift from my daughter to her friend.

I then placed the pieces on my work area and organised them.....

until I was happy.....

Yep.. this works for me!

Then I started to sew!

And here it is after my

"Friday Night

     Sew In" !!!

Katinka's Bling

Not quite finished....but well on its way.

Katinka will be able to hang all her ear bling together.

Bloggy Giveaway

There's a GREAT giveaway happening at "Leona's Quilting Adventure"...so why not visit her blog and register to participate....It's that simple.... and Leona has been very generous with her giveaway gifts.

Just visit- http://oneygirl-myquiltingadventure.blogspot.com/ and follow her instructions.

GOOD LUCK  :)

How cute is this ?

It's been a long hard day.....

Whose Sewing Room?.....

All that's left to do on my wall hanging is the finishing touches. As you can see I don't have a face yet and one or two of the new buttons "that I couldn't resist at my local quilt shop" still needs to be sewn in place.... but I'm almost there!! Can you see yourself there amongst the fabric stash...? There's nothing like searching through it and coming up with the perfect piece. It's one of my favourite places and I spend far too much time visiting it. Anyway to answer the question.....
its .. MUMs sewing room! :)
(inspiration: Naive & Country QUILTS Vol.1 No2 )

Please forgive me

It was remiss of me not to show the block I received from my August swap partner Sue (Quilt Block Swap Australia) ...so it's shown here to make amends. I really like the wacky christmas tree and I know it will look great in the table cover when its on display during the festive season. Thank you Sue....it's GREAT.

I've also added a pic of the block I sent to Sue....a Churn Dash.

Shopping Bug

What a bargin.......
LOVE the new leather boots !!






And this was just the FIRST day of shopping.
Hope we can get it all in our bags...

Oh well...there's always carry on...

Back from Melbourne

My younger daughter and I took off on a 4 day "girls only" shopping spree and flew to Melbourne Victoria. It was wonderful to spend quality time with her & we certainly satisfied the "bug" within !! We spent heaps, laughed a lot and walked ourselves into the ground.... what a GREAT time. I did manage to visited one material shop (can't believe it was ONLY one) but found a really cute panel. My daughter wants me to make a gift for her friend (newly expecting) so I decided to follow an idea I got from Sue (Quilt Block Swaps- Australia) and use the panel for a quilted floor rug for the new baby. It's her 1st baby so she should get a lot of use from it....so THANKS Sue for the inspiration. Unfortunately I had to wave a sad good-bye to my daughter this afternoon as she returned to her home to be ready for that dirty four letter word....W O R K.

Friday Night Sew In

I've just joined a group which sounds fantastic and a lot of fun. You should check out the button on the right-"Friday Night Sew-In" - and take a look. I think we all need inspiration and a prompt now and again, so I'll be in anything that helps the cause. I'll try to be upstairs tonight working on an idea for my project....cause I'm  looking forward to this Friday! Come on and join in !!!!!
:) Chez

Make Me Happy

Made in  Association colours.

I was involved with a representative netball team for several years and just before NSW State Age Championships held in July each year, the coach and manager would give each player a small gift. This is what I made for our "12 years" team one year. The "make me happy" flowers were able to be stuck to the bus window while travelling to & from the venue and then taken to the tent for "GOOD LUCK". After the 3 day competition had ended they were all taken back to their homes to be kept as a memory....I hope !

African "AidsBaby" Tees

I was asked over a year ago by my sister-in-law to knit some baby tee-shirts or vests for a local charity in Cooma NSW to keep infants warm. The charity in turn forwarded them to Africa where tiny babies who were suffering from aids were given them. Now the charity has found a need for these vests here in Australia for Aboriginal babies. Of course they do not have to be suffering from a disease but are just needed to make life a little warmer for a little one. The pattern is VERY easy and all you need to use is 8ply wool or acrylic and in any colour/s (preferably not light colours) and there are 3 sizes you can make. It's a great way to use up scraps. If anyone would like the simple pattern please email me for details. I will also give you my mailing address so my sister-in-law can pass them along.This is a "feel good" past time & I have received various THANK YOU's from the local group and many photo's of them distributing these vests.

Maybe you would like to help?

Cheryll