HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of my blogging friends a very Happy New Year. I hope that 2012 will be kind to you.

My wish for 2012 is to be able to spend more time designing and on my own business than I did last year. At the beginning 2011 I said my wish was to take care of myself, but lots of things happened during the year, and that was far from the case. It ended up being quite a stressful year, with totally unexpected things taking up my time. So, I am also going to try and start the year with the same thought in mind -- "To Take Care of Myself". Whatever the year brings for you and for me I hope that it keeps you all safe and that your dreams come true.



I am adding another photo from the box today too. I have unpacked and taken photos of all the rest of the goodies to add each day. These are some lovely soaps. I do love using nice soap.

OPPS FORGOT A BOOK............

This lovely book missed the photoshoot of the books.




There are some lovely ideas in here that I will be able to put to good use.

BACK TO THE BOX............................

There are always a nice supply of books in the box that comes from Rachel. This year was no different.

I am sure that I will be able to use this fun book for some ideas for my cards.

The Country Women's Association cookbook is a must in every kitchen and I have looked at it a few times and just hadn't got around to buying it for myself. I do have quite a collection of cook books. Find them a bit hard to resist. I must have known Rachel had it stashed away for me.

Yummy cupcakes. They are so much fun to make.

No excuse now for not being able to find a new recipe to cook for dinner tonight, I will just have to have a look through these lovely books.

QUICK TRIP TO MILDURA AND BACK...........

On Tuesday, I packed up the car and headed to Mildura. Most of the stuff in the car was not mine, it belong to our son Toby. All that belonged to me was my little red overnight case.
Toby finished uni at the end of October and has managed to get himself a job at Sunraysia Daily as a journalist, which is what he studied.

It is a long time since I have been up there, infact Toby was only about 18 months old on my last visit, and now he goes back as a fine young man with his whole life in front of him. Anyway, it is a lovely spot and I am sure he will love it up there, and I will love going to visit him. I didn't get much of a chance to have a look around as I was busy helping him get some furniture organised and unpacking. He has moved into a lovely brand new home that was up for rent, with another young guy who was looking for accommodation. Everything just fell into place beautifully.

On my way back yesterday (Wednesday) I had a break in St. Arnard and found a lovely little shop called Hen Picked Crafts. Lots and lots of goodies and guess what I found down the back, yes some fabric. Lisa was lovely to have a chat with and I now know exactly where I will be taking a break on my trips up to visit Toby.

OUR TRADITION FOR CHRISTMAS

A few years ago I started making Croissants for brunch to start our Christmas Day. I don't think my live would be worth living now if I didn't make them to have with our glazed ham.

They are a lot of work, but well worth it.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL

A quick post to wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas. Have a lovely day what ever you do.

I have been very busy in the kitchen today, and have more to go tomorrow. Christmas is generally just myself, my hubby, and the 3 kids. We have all the trimmings though, but boy it is a lot of work when getting everything prepared.

Hope you all have a very happy time and stay tuned for more photos of the goodies in the box.

LATEST CARD DESIGN....................

Put this card together last night for a lovely young couple that announced their engagement a few months ago now, but I just haven't got to catch up with them.


Quite happy with this one.

THE OTHER PIN CUSHION AND THE FABRIC....

Now, here is the third pincushion. Isn't it just so special. Too nice to use I think.

Every parcel has fabric. Aren't these pieces fun. The thinking cap is on for a design with these. I have a couple of things drifting around in the head.

And this piece is also a fun piece of fabric. Sorry I didn't iron the creases out, I was just going to fold it back up and put it back in the box.


Rachel thought Aprons, and you know what I agree. Could have lots of fun with this one. Watch out Rachel, you could even get an apron back with some of this fabric!!!!

I LOVE PINCUSHIONS...............

Rachel knows that I love pincushions and I now have quite a collection. Sometime I will show you some of the others that she has made for me.

Isn't this one just devine. The cross stitch is so fine. The spool that it is sitting on is vintage. Oh, how special.

This lovely one is a Christine Book Design. On each of the sides of the hexagon is a pocket for needles, scissors, thimbles etc. Will be put to good use this one. Shame really to stick pins in it.

Oh damn I am having trouble getting the third one downloaded. You might just have to wait until tomorrow for that one. I might try again later.

GUESTS FOR DINNER..........................

Last night we had some dinner guests. It was a good chance to charge up the BBQ for the year and try out some new salads and good excuse to make desserts that I don't normally make. I made a pav with rasperries on top, and then I made this Creme Caramel which I haven't made for a long time, but it was a hit. Not much left for left overs today.

Just for fun, I also made these reindeer faces. Not many eatern as everyone was full from the main course and sweets, so plenty of left overs of them. Also had a couple of santa hats on the plate and I made some nice Lemon and White Chocolate truffles. Lots of goodies made for anyone who drops in for a cuppa before Christmas.


At the end of the table I had this little fragrance burner going, and once again I have broken with tradition and used something out of Rachel's box of goodies. This lovely little burner was one of the goodies, with lovely little cookie melts to go with it. The one I burnt last night was a ginger cookie.

And just incase you are wondering where I got the felt centre piece. No, it was not in the box this year, but it came in last year's box of goodies.

MORE GOODIES -- THE KITCHEN AND COOKING STUFF

Here are some more goodies out of the box. This is the goodies for the kitchen and cooking.

There are serviettes, spatula, silicone grip, patty cases, cookie cutters, paper doileys and the rolling pin.

The rolling pin is very heavy and I told my hubby that I would come in handy, but guess where Rachel got the rolling pin from. Her very clever dad made it for me. Oh, how special, I will think of him every time I use it. It is almost too nice to use, but don't worry "Snowy" it will be used, and not only for hitting hubby on the head!

Then there are these two lovely egg cups with their lids to keep the eggs warm whilst the toast is cooking. How nice they are.


There were two different sizes of cup cake papers in the box, the small ones in the first photo and the larger ones here. I have actually broken with tradition, and used something out of the box before New Year.

When I saw these Santa Hat cupcakes on Bronwyn Hayes blog http://www.redbrolly.com
I just had to get the Christmas cup cake papers out and make them. How cute are they. Thanks Bronwyn for such a fun idea.

TIME TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE GOODIES

As promised, I said I would share some goodies with you that I received in my box from Rachel.


This is a lovely table runner made from wool felt. Isn't it just lovely.

Another lovely piece made out of wool felt. My word Rachel was busy getting these lovely goodies made. But there are lots of other handmade goodies that I will show you over the next few days.

A couple of days after Rachel's daughter Elise saw my post "Additions to the Chook House" she was out shopping with her mother and spotted this pattern.

She convinced her mum to buy the pattern and she promptly went home and started stitching. Isn't it gorgeous. Elise has just finished primary school, and heading into secondary school next year. I can see that she is going to follow in her mum's footsteps, as is Rachel's eldest daughter Kiara as she does some lovely stitching and woodturning, which she gets from her grandfather.

You will see some goodies that he has made in some later posts and I will show you something special that Kiara made for me last year too.

THE BOX HAS ARRIVED....

This is what came in the mail for me on Wednesday morning. I was so excited, I ripped the paper open, and then realised that I had forgotten to take a photo so I placed it all nicely back together again so I could take this photo. Then I got into it.





You may remember reading a post back in July, when I went to Geelong to catch up with my
Kindred Spirit Rachel and her family.



Well, this is the box that has arrived this year for me. I very quickly went through it on Wednesday, as it was a busy day, then after everyone had gone to bed and after the fruit cakes were cooked, and the plum puddings were still boiling away, I sat and quietly went through it again. Then I had to head up to NSW for a couple of days, so I am going to go through it again bit by bit, and as I do I will share some of the goodies with you.



The tradition is that my box stays as is until New Year's day, then I completely unpack it and put things where they belong. Rachel unpacks hers right away, but I enjoy sitting and looking at all the goodies over and over again, and I have a few girlfriends who like to come and look too. I have to watch them very closely though to make sure nothing disappears out of the box. They all wait with anticipation too for the box to arrive every year.



Over the next week, I will share my tradition with you by posting photos to so you can see how spoilt I am -- but I do love it.

CREATING COUNTRY THREADS VOL. 12 NO. 7

Once again I have been having trouble uploading photos onto my blog, but today must be my lucky day because I am able to manage to get them on.

This is the front cover of Creating Country Threads - Vol 12 No 7 and you will find it on your newsagent shelf now.

In it, you will find my quilt that I first made up in a black and red combination and called "Simply Red". I then made this one and hand quilted the entire quilt with a lovely varigated signature thread. I enjoyed the hand quilting process, and am extremely pleased with how it came up. I used a Keryn Emmerson design and I traced it onto some Tear-Away quilting paper that is available through Pauline Rogers of Quilters World. You can get onto their websites and order online.

If you want to have a look at my quilt in the black and red combination, then go into my Quilt Patterns page and you will find it there.

There is also a story in the same magazine about the Wagga Wagga Embroiders Guild, which my mum belonged to for many years, so it was lovely to read all about what they are up too now.

LATEST CHRISTMAS CARD DESIGN

This is my latest Christmas card design. I made the centre panel for a different design, but when I made them, I had them too wide, so didn't want to waste them, so created this new design.

MORE GIFT VOUCHERS FOR STEPHANIE'S WONDERFOOD CAFE

Steph has been selling lots of gift vouchers this Christmas, so I had to do some more for her. Don't forget, if you are finiding it a bit difficult to decide on something for that someone who has everything, a Gift Voucher from Stephanie's Wonderfood Cafe in Johnstone's Walkway is a great idea.

THIS IS HOW MY CLOTHES LINE LOOKS THIS MORNING

Cannot give away any more than this at the moment. You will have to wait to see the finished product. Lucky it is a sunny day to get all of that washing dry.

TUESDAY NIGHT MEETS UP WITH WEDNESDAY MORNING....

On Saturday morning the Tuesday night stitching girls and the Wednesday morning stitching girls all combined for the end of year Christmas get together. This year we had High Tea at Stephanie's Wonderfood Cafe.



We had a lovely couple of hours sitting and enjoying one another's company. Time flies when you are having fun. A couple of girls were unable to attend, but this time of the year it is always hard to find a day that suits everyone.

MORE GIFT TAGS........................

I just love making these selvage gift tags. They are so much fun. I will actually have to put the brain into some sort of action and get a project happening with selvages. Who would have thought that we would be using them.

Here are some little Christmas gift tags that I have been making too. They are just little 3" x 3" gift cards, and they come with an envelope.

Orders gladly taken all of these gift cards and tags. E-mail for for prices.

CHRISTMAS CARDS......

Well, I have been trying for days to upload these photos of my Christmas cards, but it just keept telling me that blogger was broken. So, finally this morning I have been able to get them on here.

Orders are gladly taken and prices vary, so if you want to e-mail me I can let you know what the prices are, but there is a special on for Christmas and that is 6 mixed cards for $20.00. Each card come with an envelope.

ADDITIONS TO THE CHOOK HOUSE....

Mother hen is very proud of her new family. The 4 little chicks are 10 days old now and doing very well. Mum is doing a good job.

One little chick must be right under Mum.

The Saturday after the little chicks hatched out, along came Mother Duck with her new family.

She has 5 little ducklings.

So, she is now sharing the nursery with the Hen and Chickens. This keeps them away from

Mr. Fox, just incase he thinks he has a nice dinner.

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

It has been a little while since I did a post, but I have just come back from a few days in Port Macquarie. I went up to attend my nephew's wedding.

Here is the happy couple Peter and his new wife Lucy. A gorgeous couple.

This is one of the flower girls with the dilly bag that I made -- one each for all of them and they had their initial embroidered on the front in gold. More photos to come.


This is the view from my sisters front balcony. Hard to take hey!!!

ALL READY TO GO..................

Well, the baby blanket is ready to go. It will be coming to Port Macquarie with me on Thursday. I just knew that the fabric that I chose for the backing would be the one. If follows on with the theme of the ocean.



Now to get the dilly bags done for the wedding, the ring cushion is complete. Lucky qantas are back in the air, or I would have had to start walking today.

NEARING THE END....................

Well, I am getting close to having this baby blanket finished.




All I have left to do is put the back on it, so I will be able to show you a photo of the completed project real soon.


In the meantime I am busy workin on 5 little dilly bags for the flowergirls at my nephews wedding on the 5th November. Hope the airlines are kind to me, as I am flying to Port Macquarie for the wedding and I will be taking both the blanket and dilly bags with me, so hope there is no strike action. Fingers crossed.

CHRISTMAS IS ON IT'S WAY

Wondering what this is, well tomorrow I am doing a stamping workshop, and this is one of the Christmas things that we will be making.

It is a lovely little decoration that could be placed on the table as a table decoration, then they would have something to take home and hang on their tree for the next Christmas because................

It actually pops out like this when you move the beads up the ribbon.

And this is what it looks like from the side. Aren't they lovely, and so, so easy to make.

I think I will be making a few of these to take in for the residents at my work, and for table decorations.

If you want to know how to make them, and would like to book a workshop, just give me a call, or I am happy to make them for you.

THERE IS SOMETHING A LITTLE FISHY HAPPENING....

My niece asked me ages ago if I would do a baby blanket for her to give to a friend of hers as a gift when her baby arrives. Well, I thought about it for a long time, and wasn't really sure what I would do. As I am heading up to visit them all in a few weeks I thought I should get myself organised, and the baby this blanket is for is due in a couple of weeks time apparently.


Going through my stash, I came across this fabric, that I thought was perfect for reeds, and I have appliqued them with fly stitch, which adds to the effect. Then I found a piece of fabric with all of these fish on it, so finally it is all falling into place. I am going to applique some more reeds tonight, then I think I will do all of the fish by hand applique. There are more fish to go on yet. I also have fabric with shells on that will go a the bottom of the reeds.

Finally it is coming along nicely I think.

BABY CLUTCH BALL MADE TO ORDER....

I received an order for a baby clutch ball made with animal prints. What a great idea, and I rounded up as many animal prints as I could out of my stash. Clever idea Christine, and I think it looks great.





Happy to take orders for any colours or themes, just sent me an e-mail and the rest will be done.

LOOK AT THIS QUILT..................

This is not my quilt, but it has been made with the inspiration of one of my patterns.

A very talented lady in W.A. by the name of Terry Trigg bought my Alan's Quilt (Quilt as you go) pattern off me, and look what she has done with it. It is absolutely stunning Terry, and you should be very proud of yourself. Oh, and you have used one of my favourite colours (red). Terry also made the quilt a bit bigger and made it into a King Size Quilt.

Thank you so much Terry for e-mailing me your photo and allowing me to put it on my blog. Keep up the good work.