February 8

Hello friends, I've just been over here living life, and then this morning I realised that I'd completely fogotten about blogging. So according to this little page here, January didn't happen for me. Of course I've been a busy bee - I don't remember exactly what I've been doing, but things are moving around in the sewing room, and that's a good thing!

Let me update you with a few things:

I got my 2026 doll quilt exchange in the mail, and it's currently winging it's way across the globe to it's new owner. I cannot wait until it arrives!

This was a really fun quilt to make - I hit the scrap drawers really hard. You can see the Jane Austen background fabric there again, and you'll be seeing it again and again as I still have a lot of it! If you're interested, you can see the lovely quilts that people are making over on Instagram with the hashtag #dollquiltswap2026

And another challenge I'll dip in and out of is being hosted by Larissa from mmmCrafts. You can do either the 12 Days of Christmas, or the Merry Humbug challenge, and maybe some people are doing both? I'm working through the 12 Days already for the grandies and some friends, so I elected to do last month's Merry Humbug project, Mr Scrooge:

Ohhh this was fun! Really lovely handwork while watching the Australian Open tennis. One of the  hardest things for me with these projects is deciding what colour palette to use. I wonder if Mr Scrooge himself would have chosen to wear a lovely pink robe ...

This month the challenge is to make Santa, so I'll get busy on that at some point. Ohhh, and don't forget if you're working on these challenges and are anxious about painting the sweet faces, I have them available in my Etsy store for purchase.

And another challenge I accepted ... Repro Quilt Lover Taryn is hosting the Fancy Four Patch challenge. I'm up to date so far with two weeks having been released, I know I won't be able to keep that up though with upcoming travels etc. But here is week two: (I have to hunt further to find what I did with the week one image lol)

Last week I made another block for the Sarah Morrell quilt. This a project I've been on go-slow mode with. Maybe I've found a little of my mojo with it though?

The centre section was hand pieced and the outer section was foundation pieced. A few of the points are less than perfect, but I'm happy enough to let them just slide on by.

I've started another block, and hopefully I'll get it finished during the next week.

My sourdough starter is still kicking along and doing well. I don't remember what I talked about last time, but since I've reactivated the starter, I've learned that I have better success with baking in a loaf tin rather than a dutch oven. This is a recent loaf:

I've been baking about twice a week, and the rest of the time my starter lives in the fridge. I use about 50g of rye flour in each loaf and the balance is regular bread flour. Camo and I love it, Marty not so much - he's a white bread from the supermarket guy.

Last of all for today, here is the puzzle that Amy and I completed during the holiday break:

It was REALLY fun! It's a Jane Austen World puzzle, and it was so much fun looking at all the characters and buildings while we were putting it together. It had to get put away eventually as the small people wanted to play with it all the time, but I think I'm going to put it together again sometime this year. I enjoyed it that much!

Anyway, that's a little of what I've been up to recently, thank you for being patient while I mindlessly bobbled around here - hopefully I can remember to check in with you all a little more often. Ohhh, and Happy New Year!

On the eve of Christmas Eve

It's getting late here - the night before Christmas Eve - I'm quite worn out as it's been such a busy day. Pretty much all the days in the lead up to the 25th are hectic and there are few minutes spare. I decided I really must grab the laptop and do a little writing or it'll be another week before I think of it again.

I'll try and go in order of things that are in my phone ... first up, now that they've been gifted, I can share some of the things I made for the gift bags for my lovely quilting friends:

Keyrings made from one of the mmmCrafts 12 days ornaments patterns. I embroidered both sides of these hearts, and they could still be used as ornaments really.

And some bag straps, or phone wrist straps. These were a really fun make. I don't have one left for myself, but I'll fix that in the holidays!

For my birthday my sweet girl Amy found another piece of Masons Vista for my collection. She always knows the very best things to get for me. This ginger jar is just perfect, I love it!

These are this years 12 Days ornaments for the girls and for some friends that live in the USA. In photo order, 3 - French Hen (for our friends), 5 - Gold Ring (for Mary), 2 - Turtle Dove (for Hazel). I love working on these ornaments and simply cannot wait until I get to work on some of the people!

I was thrilled to reach my goal of 300 days of hand quilting during the year. I crossed that line last week, and I don't think I've sat at the hoop since. I'll rectify that after Christmas day.

Because I'm on holidays now, I fired up my sourdough starter again. When I put it on hiatus some time back, I dried and froze some of the starter so it would be easy to get going should I want to. It was ready to bake with again quite quickly, and I made some dinner rolls.

If I make these again I'll try and do better with the shaping, but I'm learning all the time. I didn't have much bread flour which is why I tried these rolls first, and when I got more bread flour I made sourdough and baked it in a loaf tin. No picture I'm afraid, it was eaten so fast. Next time fingers crossed I'll get a picture.

And last of all for today, this afternoon I finished this year's gingerbread house. I'm pretty happy with it!

I used a pattern from Ellen Designs. Her templates are wonderful, and her gingerbread creations are just spectacular. I hope I'll be able to create at her level some day!

So I can hit the send button while it's still Wednesday evening, I'm going to finish up this post ... but first, please allow me to wish you Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. I hope you have a wonderful festive season, and here's to wonderful things in this coming year! xox

November 14

Hello lovely friends. I was trawling through photos on my phone and thought it really was time to check in with you all. I think I have a few interesting ones to share.

But before I get to that, I just wanted to say how wonderful it is to see our lovely friend Teresa from Fabric Therapy posting again. I missed her lovely humour and wonderful work, and I don't mind confessing that I was worried. But there she is with her delightfully quirky applique and I'm beyond thrilled to see her again. Hi Teresa! xox

During the last month it seemed like I got a lot done, I get forgetful what I've shared here, as I've often popped a few pictures on Instagram - it's so much quicker to share there. So here goes:

A lovely friend of mine experienced a terrible loss, and my quilter brain immediately wanted to make her a quilt to wrap her in love. I used some favourite fabrics and this was the result. I can't talk about it too much, it's too sad, so I'll leave it at that.

The little cutaway HST's and scraps meant that I could make up this small table topper, so I gifted this to her too a bit later on.

Another DJ block, B5 - Hot Cross Buns. I tried so hard to get the points of the applique diamonds really good and sharp - some are better than others. There haven't been any more DJ blocks since this one - I'm definitely flitting from one thing to another at the moment, and I'm quite enjoying not having any particular deadline right now!

Some friends and I took a day trip to Victor Harbor and visited with lovely Penny at Pennylane Patchwork. I had never been there before and absolutely LOVED it! Here are my purchases on the day - I really had to restrain myself as I had set myself a limit of $200 for shopping, and came in just under the wire. There was no proper reason for me to have set a limit, but I find it really easy to buy SO MUCH and I know that there are fabric and notions purchased long ago and they are crying out to be used!

Here we have a little decorating I did in the hallway for Halloween. My darling friend Norma made the sweet little crochet pumpkins for me. And you see the Halloween table topper from a few years ago on the table there.

For the first time ever I put a couple of decorations outside. I saw someone on Instagram who had made up these light up pumpkins - I'm sorry I don't remember who it was, you know how it can be when one is mindlessly scrolling. You take a garden solar light (the kind where the top of the light looks kind of like a hat) cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin to fit the light but hat sits on top of the pumpkin - a small hole in the bottom of the pumpkin if you want the spike to poke through. Set the pumpkin with it's little light inside in the garden for the day, and in the evening watch it light up. I was thrilled with the result, and it was really inexpensive. This year we actually had a couple of trick or treaters which is unusual for our street!

After the spooky season passed, I set the hallway back to it's usual state:

Next came Melbourne Cup day, and I decided I wanted to make a pillbox hat to match a pencil skirt I had sewed earlier in the year:

Oh my goodness I was absolutely thrilled with how it turned out. I purchased the pattern from Elsewhen Millinery - the pattern very easy to follow with great instructions. I did make a couple of alterations because of the thicker fabric that I used, but it's about 98.7% exactly as written. Here is a link if you're interested in seeing the wonderful patterns this designer has for sale: Elsewhen Millinery.

On the next Saturday we had a dinner party with lovely friends. I took this picture before we learned we would be having extra guests and added the extension table. I love to use my Spode Byron dinner setting it's so much fun that the cabbage pieces add something a little different. I do have enough side plates to do the job, but the contrast is cute. We had a really great night and I left the cleanup for the next day. When that job was complete it was time to ...

... put up the Christmas tree! The Adelaide Chistmas Pageant had rolled through the city the day before and for so many local folk that means it's time to start decorating for Christmas. I would normally have done it on the Saturday but dinner party preparations meant that I was a bit too busy. There is a big gap at the bottom of the tree which I've since filled with a large pick including berries and poinsettias etc. I only noticed it after I'd taken the picture from this angle. Isn't it funny how pictures often reveal what the naked eye can't see. And I've used my favourite Dresden Plate Tree Skirt. I think I'll make another someday, maybe with a red toile fabric and coordinates. It's so much fun being able to change things around on a whim.

So that has been my past month - thank you for sticking with me if you've made it this far. It really has been quite busy and I haven't had many opportunities to check in, neither here nor on Instagram, but I hope to post a little more in the lead up to Christmas. Hope you're all well, and chatter soon! xox

October 8

I've just been looking through my phone trying to find photos from the past month - hard to believe it's been that long since I was here - and I'm amazed that I don't have many to share with you right now. But here goes:

I made some more of the star blocks, I really love these. I hope I can get 200 made before the end of the year, but time is running out! I'm going to dig into my conversational prints again, they really sparkle don't they?

And if you thought I wouldn't be able to leave this stitchery project alone, you'd be absolutely right! I learned about Derwent Inktense Pencils and thought it would be really fun to do some shading. I added some additional run ray lines in there too. But I really must put it aside. This is going to be my project for travelling when Mum and I holiday in Europe next year.

More rows have been added to my crochet blanket. It's a slow work in progress as I really only work on it while I'm 'watching' F1 with Marty.

While my Lily Rosenberry quilt was at the show, I put my Dear Jane quilt on the wall in the lounge nook. Seeing it again inspired me to make up a block or two - this one is block A9 - Cabin Fever. Can you believe I started the 30's Jane project about 15 years ago? You can't rush art my friends :-)

I've made another block since, but I haven't taken a picture of it yet.

Last of all I wanted to share this skerrick of fabric which my lovely friend Maryanne shared with me. Won't it look absolutely lovely in my Sarah Morrell quilt? I can't wait to use it. Thank you Maryanne!

That's it from me for now - I know I have a few things I can take pictures of over the next few days - I think I'll have a finish on a special project tomorrow. So I'll chatter soon!

September 1

I really wanted to put this post up yesterday while it was still August ... but I just ran out of day. So September the 1st it is! Hello Spring, I'm happy to see you!

This is the time of year when I'm spending a lot of time working on secret squirrell projects, but I do have some bits and pieces I can share with you - today I finished working on the applique block I will use in my Sarah Morrell quilt. I'm pretty happy with it:

I did some embroidery around the edge of the broderie perse flowers at the top as I wasn't satisfied with the edges, and I quite like how it looks - so I may do some additional embroidery at some point. Next up I'll make up a wreath style block, and beyond that I'm not sure. The little bits of broderie perse weren't too daunting, maybe I'll get more comfortable with it as I go along and ultimately make up some whole blocks. 

Recently I rescued a stitchery project from the archives. I had purchased some perle cotton with the gift voucher prize and this was what I thought I could use it for:

The flower and the lettering was all I'd done so far, so the ovel shape and the green box were what I did recently. It was just a fun little thing to work on for a bit, but I need to put it aside again so I can finish with my 'must do' projects. Mum and I are travelling to Europe next year, and this is what I'll take with me to work on on the plane and on train journeys. We're having fun with our planning, and I simply cannot wait until we head off.

I've also been putting more stitches in my wholecloth quilt - as I mentioned on Instagram, it won't be finished this year, and probably not next year either. But if I keep working at it, my wholecloth will be ultimately be complete.

This weeks fun news was that my Lily Rosenberry quilt has won another ribbon at the Royal Adelaide Show:

I never tire of seeing Lily hanging with her ribbons. Unfortunately my schedule means I'm not going to be able to get in to the show to see Lily in person, but I very much appreciate my friends sending me pictures to enjoy.

The last picture for today is Rowley-centric. We love taking him on long walks, and here is one from last weekend:

He's such a happy boy, and will happily head out for walkies two and three times a day. It's hard to wear him out.

Well, that's it from me for today. Hope you're all doing well - I'm off now to check for any comments I haven't responded to - I really have dropped the ball in that regard. Chatter soon lovely friends!

August 12

Heavens, it has been almost exactly one month since I posted here. It genuinely doesn't seem like that long!

I've been in a bit of a sewing slump since my big win at the show, and it's not the first time that's happened. It always goes away, and I'm already feeling more motivated, but there hasn't really been anything of note created.

I did manage to put a little something together to celebrate Christmas in July before that month disappeared completely:

This fabric stood out to me while shopping before Christmas last year:

I can't remember the name of the range, but I think I've since seen it around, and I thought it would look good combined with my Halloween Table Topper pattern. I'm super happy with how it came together, and will definitely use it when the season comes around.

Also recently, my lovely friend Norma has been teaching me how to crochet. I kind of knew how to crochet already, but I didn't know how to follow a pattern, so I've been working in stolen moments on this zig zag blanket:

My photo isn't great, so you can't really tell that the yarn is a pretty purple in addition to the soft pink and cream. I only seem to workk on this when I'm keeping Marty company while he watches on F1 races/practice etc. They're on hiatus at the moment, so I probably won't pick it up again for a couple of weeks.

And for the last picture which is somewhat quilt related - one of my prizes from the quilt show was a voucher from lovely Jeanie at Kookaburra Quilts. I had a lovely time shopping on her site, and here is what I bought:

Very useful things, and lovely fabric - I think all from Devonstone collections. Thank you Jeanie for your incredible generosity!

This weekend just gone, Camo wanted to check out a somewhat new Lego store that had opened nearby. I wanted to see it too, so I was absolutely happy to go. I loved their little photo corner - Camo flatly refused to have his picture taken there. My how times have changed!

And this collage on the wall was so impressive - the store attendant showed me where a piece was missing, not stolen but it fell out and was lost when it was installed. I don't think I could find the spot again if I was asked, and I'm certain you won't see it in the picture! But here goes:

I've loved Lego since I was a kid, and it's always tempting to buy a kit here and there. There may or may not be a few pieces in my sewing room ... can't prove anything :-)

Well, that's it for me friends, not a quilt heavy post, but hopefully I'll have something more exciting to share soon! xox