I survived !!

I survived my first day back at full time work - mind you today it was a day just for staff and the students have yet to return ! I am currently sitting on the lounge with an ice brick on more sore tired ankles..... and I wasn't even on my feet for that long today !

It was hard to leave this little face and going to full time daycare is still causing tears. Hopefully she will get use to it and that it won't take that long.

Last day of holidays

Well today is the last day of holidays before I return back to full time work tomorrow ! I only will be working for about 12 weeks before bubba number 2 arrives so it's not like I am dreading going back or anything like that, as I will be off again very soon. In fact I find I am a lot more productive when I am working as time is limited ! So seeing it was the last day we spent the morning down at the beach - a beautiful hot summers day as you can see by the photos.

Zippered brooch

I have been admiring the lovely range of zippered brooches that are popping up all over the net and on flickr. Most of the ones I have seen have been made into a brooch, but they can also be used on headbands, hair ties and I even saw a pair of shoes with the zipper flower on the front. I decided to give it ago with some old zippers I had. I tried 2 methods :

This first method is created by starting with a tight coil in the middle and then pinching the outside to form a traditional rosette.

The second method I tried, you create the petals first followed by the tight coil in the middle. These ones are much bulkier, and you can see the two different sizes I created. I was thinking about giving one to my Make Mine Modern swap partner..... but do you think ?

Working on our backyard

Miss Isabella was given a swing set by santa for christmas which has lead to some major renovations on the backyard ! Our backyard was on a bit of a slope - not great for a swing set, so we had to get it levelled, build a retaining wall, turf it and do a fair amount of work outside to get in looking good.

Consequently most of our time has been spent doing this.... but as you can see the results look pretty good !

almost there..... the partially finished product

making sure everything lines up

getting it all level !

before we began this is what is looked like before. Unfortunately we had to remove some trees but we are planning on replacing the whole garden on the back fence.

Isabella's quilt - is almost there !

In september 2010 I started a quilt for my daughter Isabella. I managed to secure a small amount of the entire Moda 'Blush' range ( yummy !) and wanted to make a quilt for her bed which she will move into very soon. With the help from the girls at 'Bee seam piecing downunder' I sent out my fabrics and requested this block:

They were all super fast in returning them, but once layed out I thought the 'white square' in the middle looked way to plain. Some after some thought, I appliqued a different print from the range in the middle of each square and went around the edges with pink or aqua blanket stitching. Time consuming - yes !!!, but well worth the effort.

24 blocks later and a large 5 inch border, which was needed to fit the king single bed I am about to send it away to a professional long arm quilter.

So all that will be left to do will be to hand stitch the binding when it comes back and....

it will be FINISHED !!!

Jasmine's apron

Jasmine is a little girl who was born 9 days later then Isabella. When I was pregnant with Isabella and Nat was pregnant with Jasmine we were meant to be 4 weeks apart in due date and the plan was for Nat to go into labour and tell me all about it - what to do, what not to do, what drugs to ask for etc. As it happened I had Isabella first - approximately 5 weeks early and the day I left hospital was the day Nat had Jasmine ! Although born very close together these girls are completely different in terms of reaching their milestones, what they like and of course personality ! Anyway Jasmine turns 2 in March and I thought I would make this cure little apron for her:



I just love the main fabric used, it has little definitions, cute pictures and cook utensils on it

I added the pink ric rac on the pockets for a bit of a change.

Bee Blocks

I definately need to keep on top of my bee blocks this year. The process will be : recieve fabric, make block and send back within a few days. Espically considering I am returning to full time work in January, am 22 weeks pregnant and am chasing around a toddler means I won't have time to sit and think about my blocks. It will just be a production line - in and out.


In the red and aqua bee, Krissy wanted us to use this tutorial.


Here are her blocks:

They need to be pressed better a nd if I was to make these blocks again I would definately press the seams open and not to one side as it got a little bulky in the middle. A high level of accuracy is also needed !

Modern swappers package

I have been super slack and have not posted about the super swap items I recieved from the lovely amy at bix and bee. The modern swappers swap went for 3 months and you had to send an item/s plus fabric. Amy has picked my favourite fabric ranges and has made the most beautiful gifts below:

Fabric from the Tanya Whelan's 'Darla' range, as well as a piece from Alexander henry, Henry Glass and Moda 'Blush' range

A gorgeous elphant softie

A dolls quilt using the moda 'blush' range

The back of the quilt, but it is so gorgeous that I will have to rotate the quilt so you can see both sides !

A pillow featuring my new fav fabric range Moda 'Bliss' !

Wasn't I spoilt ! I love this swap so much I have signed up again ! Although next round for swapping is right before bub is due so it better not come early !

Baby singlets

I have lots of friends whom are either pregnant or who have just had babies - there must be something in the water down this way ! Hence I have been busy with little applique baby singlets. Here are just a few: -


Simple girly singlets for baby Olivia and baby Scarlett. I think I am going to add antenna's to these butterflies though.

Cute boy singlets for baby Oxley and baby Will.

An apron for Zoe

This is the last of the aprons for the nieces - meaning that they have all had one made for their birthday sometime over the last 12 months. Now I just have 2 good friends that I will make aprons for their daughters to do and aprons are done !!!

I am loving the red spot and pink combination - something I normally wouldn't do, but I think it looks o.k. The pockets have cute rolling pins, and cooking terms on it. I also have a kids cookbook to go with it so hopefully she will like her present !

My first dresden plate block

The dresden plate block is one of those quilt blocks that I have always admired but never thought I could or would make up. It just looks to hard - all those points. The finished results is gorgeous and I have always thought I would add it to my 'rainy day' craft projects to try out. This month in 'Bee in my bonnet' bee Joanna requested a dresden plate block !!

So with great anticipation and dread I made and finished it today - and it was quite easy !! In fact I want to make a block using the moda 'blush' range I have used on Isabella's quilt and make it into a pillow. So..... what do you think ?

The instructions were super easy to follow. We used this tutorial with only a slight deviation. I think now I am pleasantly suprised at my attempt and would like to have a quilt made using this block !

Our little getaway - Ettalong

We got given a gift voucher for a short getaway away for Christmas and it was just what I needed to relax and unwind after the chrsitmas mayhem !

3 days away to rest, relax and recharge the batteries. It was my first time being away from Isabella but she had a great time with nanny and poppy. Have just arrived home and now have a mountain of cleaning, washing and ironing to do ! That relaxed feeling of being on holidays is slipping away - back to reality !

I heart sushi

20 weeks of pregnancy done..... only 20 to go! This pregnancy has been completely different to the my daughters. Firtly I was much sicker earlier on and have only just started to feel better - still sick but better!

With Isabella, the only thing that made me feel even slightly better was Moove chocolate milk - this time round the chocolate milk does not even make the slightest of difference! What I have been craving though is sushi ! I can't get enought of it - of course I have been avoiding anything with seafood and my favourite is chicken, avacado and cucumber. Feeling like I want to get back into serious sewing as well - so keep your eyes peeled !

New Years Resolutions

It is about this time of year that I have a good clean out of the cupboards and sit down and think about what I want to achieve for the new year. Unfortunately most of the good intentions hang around for a few weeks before they die off and I return to my old ways. However I am hoping that because I have written about them in this blog, then I will be constantly reminded and forced to take action. So......... for 2011 I hope to :
1. Keep my desk and sewing area tidy rather then letting it get out of control
2. Take more photos and actually scrapbook them rather then just have them sitting on my hard drive
3. Finish some of my UFO's particularly Isabella's quilt that will go on her bed and be needed very soon with a baby due in May
4. Do something crafty everyday even if it is only for 5 minutes
5. Make all my own cards - this was 98% successful in 2011 but christmas snuck up on me, and I was forced to buy 3 cards late December
6. Spend more time doing family activities
So 6 relatively easy and painless goals - we will see how we go - fingers crossed !!!

Happy new year to you and yours !!