A Tidy up

 Before

 

 After

 

My craft room has been in desperate need of a good tidy up
I bought a new cupboard which has given me a lot more room
Lets hope I can keep it this tidy
I have been away for a few days
My Mum turned 85 yesterday and when my younger sister asked what she would like for her birthday she replied "What does an 85 year old need , but you and Illene can take me up to see middle daughter. It would be nice to have you all together"
So that is what we did
My sister lives a 5 hour drive away so we do not get to see her very often
It was a lovely catch up but so very hot 44 degreees every day
We stayed inside with the air con most of the time
I have been catching up on all my Blog friends since I came home
Back to commenting real soon

Gifts I sent in Initial Heart Swap

 

 

These are the gifts I sent to Kaye of Kittenstitching blog in the Initial Heart swap hosted by Cheryll
The angel was a freebie shared by Michelle Rigeway on her Blog
I love Michele's designs
Another meeting at the cemetery yesterday
The man who made Lorraine's grave met with us and some members of the Trust
He is concerned that when the other grave is dismantled there will be some damage  underneath To Lorraine's grave
Depends how deep they went with the footings and aparently the new grave isn't even of legal measurements
Just gets worse and worse

Initial Heart Swap

 

 

 

 

My gifts in The Initial Heart swap have arrived from Sharyn from Sew Sharon
This was Sharyns first swap
Love the colours and the stitchery is lovely
Thank you Sharyn and also for the extra goodies


I have had a very stressful couple of weeks
When I lost my daughter we had a beautiful monument erected for her
I take great comfort from tending her grave and sitting talking to her
I was horrified recently when I went to visit her to see a huge new grave erected right beside
Touching . In fact they used Lorraine's grave for boxing
I contacted the family of the man buried there and they were as horrified as we were
A meeting was held at the Cemetery last Monday  with the families concerned, members of the Cemetery Trust and the Monumental Mason who says he was acting on directions from the Trust
Any way next week the new grave will be moved over and re erected giving us both a little space
They were the only graves in the whole cemetery that were touching
I'am so pleased it has been sorted and they have assured us it will never happen again
Needed to get it off my chest
Sorry Guys

FNWF

 

 

 

Have been busy today helping concrete the shed at my daughters house, so as yet haven't dropped by to see what every one got up to last night
Still have not taken my sewing machine for it's service, so I did some hand sewing
Iam making a quilt for Maggie, my adopted great grand daughter
I decided on this angel quilt from an old issue of Country Patchwork
the design is by Keryn Beisher

Finished the block I was previously working on and started a Christmas Stitchery
The pattern for this was a gift from my dear Blogging friend Maria
I was quite happy with what I achieved
Off to check out what others did last night

A Little Give away Win

 

 

I was lucky enough to win a little give away over at Peg's Happy in Stitching Blogspot
It is the most gorgeous little thread catcher and Peg kindly threw in a couple of extras
Thank you Peg
I love it

A Hand Towel Just for Me

 

I have long admired the hand towels that Shez makes
They pop up all over Blogland and I just love them.
And now I have one of very own
The colours are very Me
I just love it
Thank you Shez and Yes I will think of you every time I wipe my hands

My First FNSI and Cross stich Winners

 

 

Last night I joined Heidi and the girls for my first Friday Night Sew in
I set my self up with a Baileys on ice, some chocolate and a relatively simple project
I had been planning to make a table topper for my coffee table for some time and last night was the night
Do You think any thing went right?
My machine decided not to co operate, so after much messing around I did manage to finish it and Iam quite pleased with it
My machine will be off for a service as soon as I can get to Wonthaggi to get it done
Over all I did enjoy the night and it motivated me to get this one done
And now for the winners of the cross stitch kits
The cat one goes to Clare and the house goes to Shez
I do not need your snail mail ladies as I already have them, both of you having been my swap partners at Christmas
I will get them in the mail as soon as I can
Thank you to all who entered

A Little Giveaway for Cross Stitchers

 

 

I was given a couple of cross stitch kits
I do not cross stitch very well and I doubt I have the patience to complete these, so a little give away is in order
As far as I can see these kits are  complete
The fabric and thread and pattern are there and one even has the needle
To win one of these kits Please leave a comment on this post
I will draw two winners on Australia day January 26th
Oh and perhaps you should tell me which one you like the best

Lorraine's Christmas Flowers

 

My sister wanted a Christmas table runner and as I had not made her a version of "Lorraine's Flowers" I decided to change the pattern a little and make it into a Christmas runner
We were both quite happy with the results
Have been getting a little sewing done
Made a gift for the Initial heart swap and started on a quilt for a friends new little girl
Some progress to show on that soon I hope
The applique takes so long to get ready for stitching
I do enjoy applique
Have been busy chasing after grandchildren
The 14 and 15 year olds seem to always be needing a ride some where
They live out of the town now and their Mum works , so Nan is on call
I did hear Danielle, as I walked out of the door of the hair dressers when I dropped her in for a hair cut, tell the hair dresser that her Nan was tops, so that made it all worth while

Chrissy gifts I didn't Show

 

 

 

Some times I wonder about my brain
Not only did I not show the photos of these lovely gifts I received from dear Blogging friends but I did not even get the name correct of my Friday night party
Sorry Cheryll I should have said FNWF  Durrr
My dear friend Teresa from All Things Vintage sent me the gorgeous lavender butterfly and the hanging Santas
So very cute
And from The lovely O'Faigh' these beautiful felt ornaments and an Advent panel
Thank you both so much
Love them all

FNSI

 

Last night I joined in with the girls in Cherylls sewin
It was my very first sew in
I enjoyed it
Made me motivated to finish my stitching on the snow globe
I have never done satin stitch before and I have to admit I found all those french knots a little tedious
My photography is not the best
A bit like my computer skills
I cannot get the logo to come up on my Blog
I will do more sew ins this year I think
Just with out the logo!!!!!!!!
I

Some gifts I made for Christmas swaps

 

 

Just thought I would show some of the gifts I made for Christmas swaps
I enjoyed making them all

MAGNIFIQUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I got to open my gifts in the SSCS and final Advent gifts
Oh my goodness I was blown away by this gorgeous sewing bag from Flo in France
I love love love it
So beautifully made and even the colour is perfect
Thank you so very much Flo
Inside were more gifts
An Eiffel Tower key ring, some Tilda fabric and ribbon, the cutest buttons, some embroidery thread and to top it off some tea bags
Merci Flo and and also Chooky for giving me such a lovely partner and for the great job you do in organizing this swap.
Also got to open my final Advent gifts from Shez
I had admired these beautiful coat hangers when she showed them on her Blog and I was so pleased to find they were for me
Thanks Shez
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas
I had a nice day with family 

Gifts

 

 

 

I made this wall hanging for my friend Kathy for Christmas She collects angels, loves green and is always there when I need her so it is perfect
It is a Michelle Ridgeway design and was published in Country Threads magazine a little while ago
Second photo shows the lovely sewing set I received in my quilting group Kris Kringle
Love it
And lastly some more Advent gifts from Shez
Merry Christmas to all my lovely Blogging friends