You can't argue with this....

My eight year old son did this at school.
Santa and the reindeers exist.

I've heard some people say that Santa is not real. But I know he is real and if you read the following pages I will prove it to you.

When I wake up in the morning and I see Santa's footprints, surely this is evidence that he has been here and left presents.

In the night I hear my dog barking. This clearly shows that Santa is in the neighbourhood.

Santa is real because all the Christmas movies and songs like the Polar Express and songs like jingel bells,makes it s fact, and all would agree that Santa must be real.

Every year the news reporters say that Santa is on his way and we even see the footage.

Hope you learnt a lesson and instead of believing that Santa is not real and believe that he does exist.

Have we convinced you? I believe - do you?

Wishing everyone a very happy Christmas season.

Warm Wishes,

Lynda ( bettsylyn)

There's one present under the tree.....

There's only one present under the tree. It looks a bit lonely doesn't it? Can you guess what it is? Yes, it's my SSCS present from Tracey. There's a Santa pez dispenser there too - I'm surprised that the kids haven't tried to influence me to open that.

And look.... it's the Christmas decoration which came with the swap. It was nice to have something to open when the parcel arrived. Isn't it just the cutest little redwork Santa you have ever seen?

So thank you Tracey - I can't wait until Christmas Day when I can open my gift.

And of course thank you to Chookyblue for organising this wonderful swap again this year.

3-2-1 swap

A little while ago I signed up for a swap with Paula at Coffee Time Stitches. The plan was to make a tote bag and add 3 things for stitching, 2 Christmas goodies, and one recipe.

My parcel arrived from Tasha but I'm afraid I can't show you what the parcel looked like as it arrived because it was too exciting and I couldn't wait to open it. I love blue and green and look at my bag - even though it is Christmas fabric it is in my favourite colours. Yay!

Inside the bag there was a pattern, some fat quarters, scissors with a cute scissor fob, and sadly I've just noticed that the cute Christmas notepad and gingerbread chap stick were cut from the photo. And did I mention the chocolate - well it had to go straight into the refrigerator, so it's not showing up. The recipe was for peanut butter cups which I know my boys love - so it was a great parcel.

The bag itself is huge and reversible - you can see more cute fabric inside which I could change to if I wish. It is one of those bags which will be perfect to carry all the presents around in when we go visiting.

And even though it is in Christmas fabric I have this earmarked as my new Yoga bag because it will be large enough to carry my mat and cushion, as well as my blanket in winter. It is absolutely perfect for that and now I can take one thing off my "things I want to make" list.

(I won't tell you how many things are left on that list though)

Thank you so much Tasha and also Paula for organising this swap.

Everything old is new again...

I don't know if everyone remembers the days of tie dyed t-shirts....I certainly do. It seems though that it is all coming back going by what I've seen in the shops this summer.

My son was invited to an 18th birthday party and the theme was....yes, you guessed it....tie dye!

So of course he had to do his own (and some for friends too).Here's his efforts - his is the orange one and he was really pleased with it.

Nice results - but I wasn't too sure about the buckets in my bath tub and the fact that I am still finding rubber bands in my laundry. I think he was thinking about going into business but hopefully I was able to talk him out of that.

Who would have thought that back in the 70's when I was tie dying T-shirts I would use those skills to instruct someone else so many years later. Sometimes I do get to be a 'cool' mother.

Hair........

Before............

After........

aww, sweet...

Well, I have to eat my words because he did cross the road (see previous post) and buy me a little present. I got three fat quarters. They are nothing like I would have chosen and he tells me he liked the reproduction quilts, which is an area I haven't even ventured into.

The fabric on the left is actually brown, I have no idea why it looks purple. I think I will keep them together and make a runner for Christmas, and I think I even have the pattern to suit. Actually I am looking forward to the challenge of making something out of this.

I guess he's a keeper.

Email.

My husband plays in a band and this weekend is interstate at the Maldon Folk Festival, leaving me to hold the fort here with the kids until Monday night. I could say he is having a great time but apparently it is raining heavily so I am not sure about that.

Anyway on the trip to the festival from Melbourne he sent me an email from his phone :-

It was titled Look what we saw in Gisbourne and included this photo

Now I don't know anything about this shop and I am unlikely to either. I asked him if he went in and he replied "Of course not". Which just brings me to wonder why he even bothered to send me the photo. I am not impressed.

I also asked him today if he was going to visit the Maldon patchwork shop for me as well. He says it is raining too hard to cross the road. Hmmmm.

Disclaimer : He isn't so bad, he does let me visit all the patchwork shops I like - he just doesn't go in himself. I just might have to educate him on what to put in emails though. You know the saying if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all, well, my new saying might be - if you weren't thinking of going in and buying me a little something then don't bother telling me about it.

(He is worth keeping, he does the cooking and the grocery shopping. I guess I'll just have to overlook this.)

A day for sewing...

Last Tuesday saw four friends get together to explore the possibilities made using x-blocks.


We met at Kayly's house and set about cutting our strips into blocks. ( sorry about the sideways shot).


Here's the plan for my first block.

And here's four different versions - taken at the end of the day. Mine is the first one with the border still being played with.

And also on the day we had a show and tell of a cute baby quilt made by D. Too cute!

Thank you Kayly for a lovely day and lunch - we need to do this more often.

Oh dear....

It seems that my blog took a holiday for winter, an unplanned hibernation. Sorry about that. But spring has arrived and there have been some reminders to update so here's a quick first post back.

I think my problem is that I think too much - things like who would be interested in that, or who would want to see my little bits and pieces? Then I try writing and it all seems so dull and boring. I have read other blogs where people have asked themselves the same questions so I know that I am not alone. In the end I guess it comes down to the fact that this blog is my record and anyone who wants to come along for the ride is more than welcome.

So in the spirit of making the first step back and not wasting time thinking about how to make it perfect, I am posting.

And just so there is something to look at - there's a picture of my eldest son and myself. It was taken when he graduated from the University of Queensland back in July with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology. He starts his first real grown up job next Monday - which I am sure is going to be a real shock for him as he is actually going to have to have to get out of bed on time in the morning.

'Baseco Mahal Kita' Tote

I'm a bit behind due to the school holidays and other stuff so I need to write a few catch up posts.

This one is to show you a great bag and also to give a plug for the pattern too.

Back in March Dawn posted about this bag, the reasons it was designed and the aim to raise money for a worthy cause. I bought a pattern and made it up out of a scrap bag of Whimsy.

I just want to say I love this bag! It is the perfect size and the handles are just the right size for me. I might be a bit late in making it but it does mean that I can remind you all that the pattern is available here and I can really recommend it.

Here's another later post Dawn wrote as well.

So if you thought about it at the time but didn't get around to buying a pattern maybe you can do it now. It is worth it.

Early Bird Christmas Crafting

There's a button over to the right which says Early Bird Christmas Crafting - you may have seen it around on a few blogs. If you are curious you can click over there and see what it is all about.
Every year I say I am going to have presents ready for teachers and friends and every year it is always a mad rush. So I decided to join. But one of the main reasons was the fact that I wanted to be organised enough to donate some things for our school Christmas stall. What better way than to start planning now?
The first thing we needed to do is make a journal. Now I've wanted to try that for a while so using the pattern from Moda Bake Shop I made this. (Giles the 2002 Harrods Christmas Bear is my holder).

I dug out some Debbie Mumm christmas fabric for the cover - I am not so sure about the varigated quilting thread but after all it is the first one I have done. The stitching on the front I had from last year. I bought it as a little kit from one of the craft shows and it was supposed to be made into an an ornament but I just was never happy with the way it was going. So when this project turned up it seemed perfect for the job.

So here I am ready to go.....

A quick baby gift...

My daughter's teacher left on maternity leave two weeks ago and the children are looking forward to meeting the new arrival after June. I made a little present for my daughter to give her teacher - a little zipper bag. I put some disposable change mats and nappy wipes inside.

(front)

We didn't know whether the baby was a boy or girl so we had to find some fabric which was gender neutral. I had plenty of pink and blue fabric but had to dig a bit deeper to find something in my stash. But Peter Rabbit came to the rescue and I found just what I wanted.

(back)

I just used a variety of strips. Check out the cute Peter Rabbit ribbon I found to use as zipper tabs.

Basically this pattern is from a Lazy Girl Designs pattern, below is the first zipper bag I made using this pattern. They are quick to whip up - I think I will make some more Peter Rabbit ones as there are a few births coming up in the later part of the year.

A day in Ipswich.

Yesterday a group of us from the Friday Craft Group went to Ipswich to see a display of historical Australian patchwork quilts. What a fabulous visual event! Because I am also interested in history and old things I especially enjoyed it. These quilts tie in with an amazing book called The Fabric of Society by Annette Gero, who is probably Australia's best known quilt historian. If anyone has the chance to see this display before the 25th of July then it is certainly worth the effort.

Another place I really wanted to visit was Handmade Heaven. I've been reading about this shop on a blog I have been following for a while, Selena's Vintage. I just love her bunnies and teddies made from chenille and wanted to see them in person. ( Check out her blog header - who could resist these bunnies?) But even better - I didn't just get to meet the bunnies but I got to meet Selina as well. She came into the shop while we were there with a new beautiful quilt and I worked out who she was. I also got to meet Bubba Chenille as well. One day I am going to get one of those rabbits or maybe a bear - or even both - I just have to decide which colour I want.

Keep up the wonderful work Selina.

And after that we popped into The Country Quilt Co for a quick visit where I came away with a Joypatch pattern I wanted.

So it was a lovely day and worth sharing.

P.S. I'll put in a plug too for The Handmade Expo - which is another Ipswich event to check out some time.

For those who don't know Ipswich is a city just to the west of Brisbane.

Just what was needed....

Back in March, one of our favourite girls in the family turned two. We couldn't be with her on the day, as she lives a little distance away but we sent a cute 'baby' for her. She has always loved carrying a 'baby' with her and I found a perfect one for her. We heard later that the first thing she did was 'borrow' a tea towel to wrap her baby in.


So what should a good grandmother do? Yes, make D's 'baby' a quilt. I had some cute scraps and quickly made a dolly quilt. Doctor Puppy ( my son's) had to check it out before we wrapped it up.
We received word that the first thing she did when she opened the package was wrap her baby up without even being told what to do.

Front

Back

And here is D with the little quilt - I am not sure why her baby didn't make it into the shot. Still it is nice to see that she likes it.

Success!

ANZAC Day.

Today, in Australia and New Zealand it is ANZAC Day - a day to remember our service men and women.

Our school held a service earlier in the week and it is always good to see that our future generations are learning about the sacrifices made in times of war.

This is my grandfather, Gilbert Willis. He wasn't at Gallipoli as he was too young to enlist at the time but joined the army in 1916. He was in the 14 LHR [Light Horse Regiment], and later in the 41st Battalion.


These photos were taken in England, the one below is with his cousins. The story I grew up with was that my grandmother was a friend of these girls and he met her while visiting. He returned to Australia after the war and continued to stay in touch with her. He even proposed to her by mail and they were married the day after she arrived in Australia in 1922. They were married 59 years, until the death of my grandfather.

I suppose you could say that I am one of the lucky ones, my grandfather came home. Unfortunately others didn't, including his cousin and uncle. He always proudly marched in Anzac Day parades for as long as he was able, although I never heard him talk about the war.

Lest We Forget.

Another weekend away....

You would think that after a wonderful weekend away hand stitching I would be content but circumstances occured which meant the next weekend I was up at The Patchwork Angel on the Sunshine Coast doing a two day machine quilting and raw edge applique workshop with Kellie Wolfsohn of Don't Look Now! You can see all her beautiful work on her blog. We started on Saturday doing the raw edge applique on our practice piece and on Sunday we started to quilt it. Here's Kellie showing us how to keep our quilting lines flowing.


And some demonstrations of how to follow her tecnique on a machine.

And at the end of the day here we all are with our practice pieces finished - taken inside the front of The Patchwork Angel. Thanks to Kellie and Penny of The Patchwork Angel for a wonderful time ( and Penny's husband for the yummy lunches.)

And for once I didn't come home and put my work in the UFO pile - I jumped straight in and made a cushion the way Kellie does. (My poor little bird doesn't have an eye yet though)

And here's the back complete with the zip I put in, which is explained in Kellie's patterns. It works well - you can hardly see it.

So now I have lots of new things to try and techniques to experiment with - I had a great time away but now I have to knuckle down and finish a few things.

The Patchwork Angel website - www.patchworkangel.com.au

The Patchwork Angel Blog. - www.patchworkangel.typepad.com/blog/

Girls Day in the Country - Nundle

There's gold in them there hills. Nundle used to be a gold mining town. I think I'd have better luck finding gold at the end of this rainbow ( faint though it is) than anywere else.

Here's the pub (hotel) where we stayed. (my partner in crime Cheryl did the driving)

Then it was time to settle down to work ( well, fun really) ..... Our tutor for the day was Anni Downs.

Anni and the hard working Kerry had wonderful things waiting for us.

But we had to stop for morning tea...

These were the projects - a little fabric box

and the inside - sorry about the sideways photo

A pincushion made out of beautiful wools

And a fabulous needlecase, which I can't wait to start making. (Oops, another sideways photo)

And of course there are all the blogger girls.

A great time was had by all. Thanks Kerry and the gang. Yep, I'm already planning next year.