Building houses!

Building a house can be completely overwhelming at times. You have a bit of an idea whether you've picked the right tiles, colours and trims when you lay them all out on the table, but you aren't completely sure until you see the finished product.

Fortunately when making a house cushion it's a bit easier to change my mind.

 I had planned on the pom pom trim for my latest batch of house cushions.......but after attaching them all I had a change of heart. Not so easy to do that on a real house.

 This is going to be our indoor cricket pitch, runway, bowling alley, according to the kids.

 I think the house cushions look so much better with a pretty little scalloped edge and a twill trim bow.

 This is our family room which will include the kitchen, meals and lounge all looking straight through to the formal lounge.

 I love watching our new home change a little each week, it's very satisfying to see that the choices made on paper were the right choices.

 This is one half of our back veranda, a place where we'll spend many leisurely afternoons.

 I'm so please with how things are going with the house, just as I'm so pleased with how my house cushions turned out. I took this picture of them all lined up on Megan's bed head where she already had the little birdy living on a stick ...... watching over her nest.

 I know this is a slow process, but I'd rather that so the builders get it right the first time.

 A couple of these house cushions have been listed in my madeit store if anyone is looking for a bit of cuteness! 

Thanks for stopping by.


Edit: Cusions have just sold, I'll try to get a few more made soon if anyone is interested.

51 weeks to go!

Yay how exciting only 51 weeks to go until the London Olympics! I was supposed to share this with you a week ago when the Olympics were 1 year away, I mean it should have only taken me a few hours to complete but I ran out of steam part way into it.........so now I'm celebrating 51 weeks!

 I have a style in mind for our new house, a mix of old and new furniture with a few eclectic pieces thrown into the mix.........this cushion fits in perfectly with what I'm after. I love it so much I think I'll make it a Red Stitch Design regular when I'm up and running again.......shouldn't be too much longer.

I just want to give out a huge virtual hug to all of you who have sent me messages of support, they all mean so much and I love and appreciate every single one of them. I knew I had some special people in my life but it took something like breast cancer to realise just how special they all really are.

Love and hugs to everyone!

Dress revamp!

 A friends daughter is making her Holy Communion on Saturday and the little dress she had needed a little something doing to it across the front.

So yesterday I spent the morning relaxing and making these soft little flowers to attach to the front of her dress.

Hope she likes it!

Pretty things.

Everyone knows I love pretty fabric and while checking out a few blogs this morning I came across a textile designer called Sarah Jane, her designs are so beautiful I just had to share. You can visit her blog here.

 Image found here.

I also wanted to share whats left out of the several bunches of flowers I received while in hospital. It's only a few daisies and a couple of carnations but I think they make the sweetest little display.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Taking inspiration.

Last week some time I had a weird dream about how incredibly busy I was with all my Christmas sewing last year and how I vowed to be more prepared this year. I'm thinking it was a message to pull my finger out and squeeze a few Christmas items into my sewing list. I know what you're thinking, she's crazy it's June, who thinks about Christmas in June!

I'm trying to think ahead because I know that our house will almost be finished around this time and my energy is going to be needed else where, packing, cleaning and organising all that stuff we've accumulated over the years, I know that there is going to be limited sewing time!

So because they're so time consuming I made up a few advent calendar bases last week, now all I have to do is come up with a few different colour schemes......some traditional and some a bit whimsical.

I love this little make-up bag I bought Megan last Christmas and I thought I'd take a little inspiration from it for my first calendar. I can't wait to get stuck into it in between orders which are starting to flow again after my short break.

I'd just like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of my lovely blog readers concerning my last post........your kind words mean so much XXX

Working on......

a new place for my little owls to hang out!

I've been wanting to create a place for my owls to hang out for a while, just wasn't quite sure how to go about it until one night last week when I couldn't sleep (  it was 3am ) and my mind was going over all the things I wish I had the time to make and how I'd go about making.

I have quite a list of things I'd like to try happening in my head at the moment....... I wonder what I'll be adding to that list tomorrow morning at 3am???

Eisteddfod time again!

It's that time of year again...Eisteddfod. Parents volunteering with costumes, props and practice, it's all good fun for the kids and something which I don't mind helping with when and where I can.

This year Megan is playing a character called Suki in a small play her class is presenting, and on the weekend I had a go at making her her very own kimono. I used a basic dressing gown pattern to get the shape I wanted then made a nice wide stiffened sash. I wanted to go the extra step further and do the big loopy/bow thing on the back but Megan said that it was perfect as it was and no-one was going to see the back anyway!

 If I get the time I think I'll do it when she's not looking!

She looks so cute all dressed up. Now all I have to do is figure out how to do the make-up and hair.

Thanks for stopping by.

Two little birdies.

Today wasn't a very productive day on the sewing front, I was more concerned about getting all the washing and a bit of cooking done before another busy week ahead.

However I did manage snap these pretty pictures of some new birds I made on Saturday night before the sun went down today.

 So pretty and perfect for a little girls room.

 These two are destined for life in the small town of Coolah.

If you really liked one of these little birds it's no problem to make another......just let me know.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

My Creative Space.

Megan's bunting/banner worked out kinda nice, it was super easy to make and even though the fabric colours are not an exact match to the fabric I'm going to use for the doona cover, it's as close as I'm going to get and because it's way up in the air no one will notice.

I've decided to make the pillow shams and back the doona in gingham........I'm hoping I'll find some on my next trip to Tamworth, because as you can see I only have two little scraps draped over the pillow and it's not even 100% cotton. After that I'll be giving that lamp a makeover, the base will be painted white and I haven't decided what to do with the shade yet........any ideas?

 It's so pretty in the morning sun, and so nice to have a change away from the pink and lime she had going on before!

For more creative space head on over to kootoyoo.

Bunting for Megan.

Yesterday I decided that I couldn't stand looking a the mess in the kids bedroom any longer. I went and got a big green garbage bin from outside and wasted no time in filling it with rubbish, useless clutter, broken toys......if it wasn't any good it was destined for the tip. I had a quick tidy of the wardrobes but I need a day with the kids home so I can check sizes.

I was thinking how nice and clean things were looking, wondering how long it would last once they were home, 10 min, 30 min. I thought about some gorgeous fabric I bought well over a year ago, wondering why I never used it like I had intended to in Megan's room. So today I've decided to start with a little bunting using fabric from my stash to match the scallopy looking fabric for the bed.

Megan's going to get a nice surprise when she gets home.

I love her!

I had a round three, four and five and this is the end result.....

 Isn't she the sweetest little birdy you've ever seen?

 I'm so attached to her that I almost don't want to put her in a box and send her to her new home.

 But I know where she is going and I know that she'll be treasured and loved by a very special little girl.

 Yes this little bird was a custom order, but I am working on a few more all to be posted to Shop Handmade this week. Remember if you want one and you can't make it to Shop Handmade please send me an email.

 They will all be lovingly handmade and only $24.95.

 I'm more than happy to do custom orders if you have or want a particular colour used......maybe something you've decorated your room with.

That's all I have for today, I'm off to do 6 loads of washing ( how exciting ) finish a few pear orders, and tidy up for visitors tomorrow.

Bunnies are hopping out the door!

Lately I've been thinking about bunnies in my sleep, how many I need to do the next day, what colour combinations I need to do, boy or  girl, it never stops!

It's all good though because this is what I love doing, making and creating on a daily basis brings me so much joy.....way better than doing ironing and housework. That will all change in about another six to eight months when we move into our new home which happens to be four times the size of the one we're in now. I'll be anal about how my house is presented .......cleaning the floors alone will be like a major work-out!

Here are some of those body parts turned into boy bunnies, all of which will be arriving at Shop Handmade today!

Do you like the big old wing-back chair they are sitting on? I love it! I found it at a garage sale for $90 and I intend to have it covered in some gorgeous upholstery fabric for the new house.......when I can afford it!

 While away in Orange last week I couldn't help but add to my fabric stash, I totally love the soft tones of the blues and mocha......could be turned into a quilt some day!

 Or maybe the beautiful Autumn tones of these fabrics.....

Either way I think I'm going to have some fun when time permits.

Self Covered Buttons!

I love making these self covered buttons, they are so beautiful and unbelievably easy to do. These pretty buttons were made up for the finishing touch on a few linen draw string bags I made for Shop Handmade over the weekend.

And this is my new favourite linen draw string bag!

These bags should be arriving at Shop Handmade today, so if you are wanting one go in and check them out.

Just in case you were wondering this post was done on Monday...... I'm not home yet, maybe in another few days. Wonder how those kids are going? How many times have they had takeaway? Are their uniforms neat? How is Mark going to do Megan's hair for " Crazy Hair Day" at school? 

I need to stop stressing!

Another look at the drink bottle covers!

 Unlike the first glimpse of my drink bottle covers here's a much clearer look.

 See I didn't forget the boy's!

 I've just finished packing this lot up ready for the posting to Shop Handmade in the morning!

Now I need to go and vacuum my house because towelling is so messy to work with when cutting, once it's overlocked it's fine but there is fluff everywhere and it's driving me crazy

Just in case you were wondering, yes I really do own that many drink bottles ( I found 21 to be exact ), they seem to multiply at our house and clutter up my cupboards.......at least when the kids step out with one now it'll look beautiful in it's new cover!

Yay I've finished!

This isn't Megan's quilt I've been working on, this is another smaller one I made out of all the extra fabric.

It makes me smile when I look at it knowing that the other one I'm working is going to be equally as beautiful......just three times the size!

I absolutely love everything about it and I'm going to find it hard parting with it!

I took the advice of some of my lovely readers and made a matching cushion sham, so glad I did because now it's like a complete set when on the bed.

The quilt measures 170cm x 125cm and the cushion sham measures 45cm square.

I'm really excited about doing some more of these, because as you know I plan on having them all over my new house!

I have just listed the quilt and cushion sham in my madeit store so if you're interested go check it out.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend planned, me well it'll be my sixth day straight of sport with the kids. We have had swimming lessons, swimming trials, cricket, rugby training, rugby carnival and tomorrow is cricket. I'll be so glad when lunch time Saturday comes, so looking forward to a rest or some serious sewing and maybe even a bit more blogging. So sorry for the lack of it lately....life suddenly got a little crazy!

Take care

I'm having a navy and red kinda day.

This quilt thing is starting to take over my house, I currently have not one, not two, but three on the go at the moment......and I've already started collecting fabric for a fourth. I'm thinking it might be time to order an entire roll of blanketing to have on hand not only for quilting but for some other projects I'd like to give a go.

.............................

I would like to be finishing Megan's as it was started first but I'm waiting for some pretty backing fabric to arrive, so after making up some of the blocks for Ryan's quilt a week ago I laid them all out this afternoon and stitched them all together. It's all a bit random at the moment, I'm sure it's going to look much better when I add the extra pieces around the edges.

 While Megan and I were in town this morning ( while Ryan was at cricket ) we did a bit of shopping, I was immediately drawn to this cute little outfit by Rhubarb the minute I saw it. See more red and navy.....I've loved these colours together for a while now and as I look around the shops it's clear that they're the colours of the season for the little ones!

 These pictures really don't do it justice, the quality is so beautiful.

 We found a cute wooden bead necklace to match so now the outfit is almost complete, all we need now is for our new knee length boots to arrive.

I love a bit of retail therapy!

Thanks for stopping by.