2011 Challenge: Make, Bake, Craft & Create

At the start of the year I set myself a couple of goals - 1) to make, bake, craft or create as many gifts as possible and 2) to make more quilts to keep rather than gift. Here's some highlights for the year...

Yummy preserved lemons and lemon curd...

Central Park Quilt - a completed quilt for us!

The Philatelic Society - a completed quilt for Gus.

Arcadia Quilt for John's 70th Birthday.

A doll's quilt for Phil's youngest cousin.

Strawberry fields HST quilt for my MIL for Christmas.

My Mermaid Quilt.

I still have lots of works in progress that I need to finish up (sooner or later!) and lots of lovely fabrics that need using. At the moment I am working on a quilt made out of my much coveted Flea Market Fancy (FMF) and can't wait for the fabric to be released again in February. I'll share more on that soon.

Until then, Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2011 has been a fabulous year for you all! I am definitely looking forward to 2012 and a few changes (some big, some small!). See you next year!

Lara

Santa's Workshop

There's not many more sleeps until Christmas! Eeek! I have been a busy little elf this past week sewing a dozen heat packs as teacher gifts, finishing up 3 superhero babushkas and a little sweetie petite doll... as well as a superhero cape for Oliver!

Heatpacks

Cute 'thanks' ribbon and labels

Candy Cane Mice - cheap, sweet little gifts

Alexi, Nickolai and Yuri - a fantastic trio. Nickolai has already been gifted.

Herb bunches - another sweet, cheap gift. 7 different herbs to say thanks!

Ginger - a sweetie petite doll for someone in the South Island.

Now I just need to finish wrapping gifts and run through the checklist. Also need to decorate our ginger bread house with the kids on Saturday, decorate and bake the ham and build a bike! Hope you're feeling organised and ready to celebrate. This will probably be my last post until after Christmas, so wishing you a very Merry Christmas! May you have a lovely day with family and friends!

Santa's Direct Reports

Last week the boys Daycare had their annual Christmas party. It's always a great opportunity to see the boys playing with their friends and to chat to other parents. Each year some poor father dons a Santa suit and sits in the sun handing out gifts to the children. This year Wellington had an unusually hot day so poor Santa must have really been feeling the heat!

On the way home, Oliver piped up in the back seat "That wasn't the real Santa was it?"
Me: "what do you mean Oliver?"
Oliver: "that wasn't the real Santa. Under his white beard was a black beard."
Me: "that was very observant of you Oliver. No, that wasn't the real Santa. At this time of year Santa is so busy finalizing all the gifts, reading all the letters from the children and reviewing the naughty and nice list. He gets lots of invitations to Christmas parties, but he can't go to them all. So he picks one of his special helpers to attend the party for him."
Oliver: "oh. Ok."
Me: "just don't tell the other children ok?"
Oliver: "ok."

I can see this Santa gig might not last as long as I had hoped. Last year he wanted to know why such-and-such from daycare had got gifts because surely they would have been on Santa's naughty list...

I've been working hard on finishing up some more little Christmas presents. I will hopefully post about these later today :) only two weeks until Christmas day! Hope you are finding your christmas spirit and enjoying the festive season!

Christmas Crafting!

It's officially less than a month to Christmas. Let the countdown begin :) The Christmas Tree is up... a little early yes... but I needed an activity to keep the kids busy and entertained before they drove me up the wall. My poor DH has been working most weekends all weekend.

Introducing Yuri - an Ooshka Babushka Boy.

It's been some time since I made something that wasn't a quilt... I intend to give one of these as a Christmas gift. Yuri's not quite perfect but gave me an opportunity to perfect my efforts... Fortunately the boys loved him all the same. He's currently capeless but I am hoping to add that to him this week.

I plan to use some AJ fabric to make an Alexy for someone little and special. Just waiting on more face panels to arrive :)

You can order an Ooshka Boy here. There are girl Ooshkas too! So sweet!

I also have been making buttons, magnets and badges with my new i-top. Actually I bought the i-top MONTHS ago but it only made it out of the packaging last week. I also made a wee FMF coaster and a wee green log cabin pin cushion.

Here's a sneaky peek of something delightful winging it's way to someone...

And here's a pic of my Mystery Giveaway that Michelle won at the start of the month...

I was given some needles like those above in the pic and they are the best! So much so I've bought a few to add to Christmas pressies for crafty friends! Thanks Georgia for putting me on to them to begin with.


I've got a few more things I am hoping to make in time for Christmas too! How are you going with your Christmas projects and shopping?

A Little Help Needed From My Friends in the USA

Dear Friends in the USA,

I was hoping to order the boys some clothes from Osh Kosh online... but they do not ship internationally. I was wondering if you might be willing for me to ship the goods to you, and then ship them to me for which I'd paypal you the shipping money and a little extra to thank you for your time?

Please leave me a comment if you'd be able to help and thanking you in advance,

Lara

Fiji

This time last week I was sipping cocktails by the pool at the Warwick Resort in Fiji. The DH and I finally zipped away on our very overdue honeymoon. Thankfully it was well worth the wait. We had a wonderful time.

Here's a quick few pic's...

View of the pool from our room

The Warwick Resort

The DH, me and a Fiji sunset

Now that we're home, the house hunting continues. We missed out on a house this week :( but fortunately there seems to be plenty on the market. Hopefully we'll find a place soon. No sewing to update you with I am afraid... but hoping to finish up a quilt top over the weekend.

I'll only be giving 2 handmade gifts this Christmas but both will be larger quilts so that's my excuse! Only a couple more Christmas presents to buy and we are all done! Woohoo! How are you going? Are you organised?

Destash Update

New...

Bliss Layer Cake US$30 or NZ$38 SOLD

The following goodies are still available...

22 FQ of DS Quilts Collection incl. prints released only at Joann's and Spotlight

US$66 or NZ$84 + shipping

Punctuation Jelly Roll NZ$38 or US$30 + shipping

Figgy Pudding Jelly Roll US$30 or NZ$38 + shipping

Figgy Pudding Honey Bun US$17 or NZ$21 + shipping

Terrain Jelly Roll - US$35 or NZ$44 + shipping

Happy to combine postage. Postage is from New Zealand. Please leave me a comment if you are interested.

You've got to be quick around here :)

Just a quick update: Thanks so much for all the lovely anniversary wishes. It really means a lot. Mostly because my DH has been working all weekend down in the South Island and we didn't get to celebrate together. Thankfully we have our honeymoon coming up this week! Whooopee!!

Secondly, I have drawn a winner, and Mr Random Generator selected (drumroll please)...

That's a 12 if you can't read it! Which is Michelle! Well done Michelle! I am so pleased you won! I'll be in contact shortly.

But for those of you who missed out, there will be another giveaway coming soon I promise :)

Destash Sale & Mystery Giveaway! (Giveaway Now Closed)

This year I've bought quite a lot of fabric... A little too much in fact. So much so I thought I better have a little stock take and a little destash. Not to make room for new fabric but to feel a little less overwhelmed by the amount of fabric I've got to work with. (And hopefully soon we'll be buying our first home - so a little less fabric to move would be good too :) ).

If you're interested in any of the fabric, please leave me a comment  - also, please note that shipping is from New Zealand :) I'll include some extra special treats too!

22 FQ of DS Quilts Collection incl. prints released only at Joann's and Spotlight 

US$66 or NZ$84 + shipping

12 FQ of Habitat - US$30 of NZ $38 + shipping SOLD

Bliss and Hushabye Charm Packs - US$8 or NZ$10 each + shipping SOLD

Punctuation Jelly Roll - US$30 or NZ$38 + shipping

Figgy Pudding Jelly Roll US$30 or NZ$38

Figgy Pudding Honey Bun US$17 or NZ$21

Terrain Jelly Roll - US$35 or NZ$44

Sherbet Pips Layer Cake - US$35 or NZ$44 SOLD

And finally, a year ago today I married my best friend, so to celebrate I am hosting a mystery giveaway. Please leave a comment to enter and trust me, it will be a delicious quilty treat!
 Winner will be drawn tonight - Sunday 6th November!

***Edit: Please note that the giveaway closed on Sunday 6th November at 9.50pm***

A Quilt for John

My entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival - big thanks to Amy for hosting this fantastic festival again!

I am very pleased to be sharing this special quilt for the quilt festival. Thank you for stopping at my small little part of the web.

I pulled it from the dryer this morning, in all it's crinkly goodness. This quilt is definitely an all time favourite. In fact I think it rates in my top 2 favourite quilts of all time.

This quilt was made with love for my Father in Law John. Tomorrow is his 70th birthday. While I made this quilt I thought about all the wonderful things John has done for our little family and for me. He is the loveliest person you could ever hope to meet. Patient. Kind. Selfless. Generous. Humble. Gentle. Always there to listen. Always there to care and help.

John's become such an important person in our life and for such a special birthday I wanted to make him something special.

This quilt is made with an Arcadia Layer Cake and Kona PFD white. The binding is a gorgeous solid aqua I bought from my LQS. I think it's a linen blend by Moda?

A quick trial run on our bed... Needless to say I am tickled with how this quilt has come together.

A close up of the quilting ...

Arcadia. Yum. The perfect manly line.

Blowing away in the wind.

I chose a very simple pattern, 9 patch blocks sashed in white. The patterns in Arcadia are so striking that I thought they didn't need a fussy quilt pattern. I'll be giving this to John tomorrow. I hope he will love this quilt.

An oldie but a goodie. John sneaking in some early morning cuddles with Oliver before work.

Wishing you the happiest birthday and many happy returns John. Here's to many more opportunities to celebrate!

I am also linking in with Finish it Up Friday even though it's Saturday. This quilt was finished up last night.

Thanks again for stopping to have a look at my wee entry this year. And many thanks to Amy!

Finish it up Friday, Week 1 (On Saturday)

The production line continues this week. I have finished the binding on my Strawberry Fields quilt! This quilt is for my MIL for Christmas. That's one ticked off the list!

Of course just as I was heading outside to take some pictures, it started to rain again!

Love the colours in Strawberry Fields.

So romantic and soft. I had originally hoped to back the quilt in this print in the slate, but I couldn't find it anywhere! I love this backing in pond too - I think it looks lovely. And who could go past a lovely gingham binding?

Gorgeous all over stipple quilting by the talented Viv of Highway Cottage.

So this is my big finish for Friday! Washed and dried and simply delicious. Even if I do say so myself. We've got some strawberries on our plants growing. They're green for now but I can't wait for them to  ripen :)

Have a wonderful weekend! If you need inspiration for the weekend, Amanda Jean is hosting a party! So I am joining in!

It's Wednesday!

And I actually remembered! Granted, it only did dawn upon me a few moments ago, but that's an improvement on the last few weeks!

 

 

So... I am joining in with another WIP Wednesday! This week I even have some sewing to share ;)

 

This week I am working on finishing up this quilt here...

 

 

 

(Apologies for the crappy photos. These were taken on my blackberry as our camera battery is flat again thanks to small fingers. Note to self... iron quilt top before photographing too!)

 

This quilt is for my FIL who celebrates his 70th birthday at the end of the month. We're making sure he is well celebrated with a family weekend away up to Taupo and a big birthday bash here the following weekend. I just need to add some nice wide white borders, piece the backing (white with the remaining squares) and ship this off to be quilted. I'd like to give it to him on our weekend away, but I think I might be biting off more than I can chew!

 

I am also sewing down the binding on my Strawberry Fields HST quilt... it's starting to look really good and I am so pleased that it will be finished well before Christmas for my MIL.

 

 

 

And... once these two are finished, then I'll be back to finishing up my Swoon quilt for Gus!

I also managed to finish up this little doll's quilt a few weekends ago now for my DH's youngest cousin Lee Lee who is 8 days younger than our Ollie. My DH is from a large family. He is the oldest of 20 grandchildren.

So... a quick wrap up:

On the go:

* Arcadia quilt for John (borders, backing and quilting!)
* Strawberry Fields (binding)
* Children at Play Swoon (5 blocks to go!)
* Bliss in Patches (sashing)

I also need to make another couple of dolls quilts for more birthday parties coming up over the next few weeks!

On hold for a little while longer:

* Hexagon quilt
* Wee Play DNP Super Size Me
* Dance with Me
(and possibly a few other's I've forgotten!)

Here's hoping I manage to find some more sewing time this week! Hope you're having a productive week too. Don't forget to check out what other clever people are up to at the moment here.

A little help needed from my friends...

Sometimes when I start making something, I get pained with uncertainty that I haven't picked the 'right' pattern or the 'right' fabric... I am currently experiencing that with my Children at Play Swoon quilt. I love the fabric. I love the Swoon pattern... but I am wondering if the two are the right match?

Please excuse the crinkles. This is my latest block... I am a little annoyed with the stripes. I couldn't get them to all match - and the perfectionist in me is a little frustrated. I don't know if I should keep going? I've made 5 out of 9 blocks. Perhaps I just shouldn't use the stripes and continue with the quilt? Or perhaps I should abort now, and make something else?

Here's my other 4 blocks just in case you've forgotten what they look like...

What do you think? What would you do?