'Tis The Season.... 'Tis done ......

This year's Stitch-A-Long hosted by Chookyblue has been the pretty 'Tis The Season wallhanging designed by Natalie Bird.....  month by month Chookyblue has cajoled - and even cracked the whip - to get us going....

This week I have done some quilting and binding

'tis done

I used fabrics I had.... so it is a 'scrappy' Christmas hanging

bordered in a dark blue

the sashing has gold - which glitters prettily in the light

I found some old sheets vintage stripes for the backing

quilted around the blocks and a bit of fun on the borders

used the wreath block for my label

(I love the little silver reindeer) 

Thanks Chookyblue... I haven't got a Christmas hanging - it will be such fun to decorate this year.

The Stitch-A-Long blog has loads of different ones that people have made... pop on over HERE if you need a bit of Christmas inspiration... it's not too late.... yet....

Now I really am famous...

... you all saw my amazing Spring Swap gift from Melody......

well, now she has made a pattern and tutorial... so you can make one too......  (but don't forget I have the original!!!!) .... aaaaah... fame at last.

Just pop along HERE and get out your felt and have a stitch..... it's fantastic fun to work with....

Yesterday I played with my slicing...... this is growing.... you see there is another grandiebaby arriving in a months time... and it might be a girl.... a nana must be prepared.....

(me, being me ran out of the pink for sashing so had to trundle off to a LQS and buy some more... such a hardship......)

... but I won't be doing any more today.....

 ... off to see quilts... and teapots... and crafts... and gardens.... and flower arrangements....

wish you could come too!

Prizes and Creations

Lovely Teresa over in Portugal and Sue from Quilted Hugs have both paid me such a compliment....

Thank you Teresa and Sue .... I love your blogs too.....

There are rules to this award...

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share seven things about yourself on the post.

3. Pass the award to fifteen bloggers that you think deserve it.

4. Lastly, contact all of the bloggers that you've picked

 for the award.

Those 7 things about me....... hmmmmm

1- Nanahood is the best job I have ever had

2- If Hubz didn't bring me coffee before he went to work I don't think I'd wake up till mid-day

3- I am trying to grow my own vegetables

4- I have 3 lovable brothers ... it was great being the only girl...

5-  I have 2 lovely male cousins... - it was great being the only granddaughter

6- I think my family live too far away... but my friends make it bearable 

7- I grew up on a farm.... and loved it.....

So there you have it.....

Now to find 15 others.... Oh... the other thing I should have told you is that I am by nature a rebel... and as such I tend to break rules a lot.....I have broken a rule by telling you 8 things about myself now....

and now I am going to break another....

I love all the blogs I read... and find then all inspiring, entertaining and I have just loved meeting people from all over the world.... we read each other and comment and do activities together.... it is quite an amazing phenomenon .....

So you are ALL Versatile Bloggers to me... and I hope some of you can play along and tell us 7.... or 8 (if you are a rebel too) things about yourself.....

Talking about Awards... I neglected to show you these a couple of months ago....

 

My darling Daughter in Law in England put a couple of my goodies I made for preciousness into a local show..... a first and a second... how fun is that?

Of course you know who is the Award winner in my opinion... isn't she beaut?

I did say Nanahood is my favourite job? 

I get paid in hugz.....

Oh - and if you think I am sitting here idle....

I've been slicing.....

I've been piecing.....

I've been binding.....

I've been stitching.....

........... I have been making UFO's .........

there WILL  be a finish ....... sometime!!!!!  Aaargh

Stitch-A-Long blocks

The last of the blocks stitched .....

Here comes Santa.....

and like so many others I have used the Christmas Wreath for a label...

Here they all are together......

that won't be the final layout

but I can start planning....

This quilt is being made with the support of a Stitch-A-Long... there are lots of different ones to see HERE 

Meanwhile I have started playing with these....

~ dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate ~

you won't see much of this..... you see it is a present for youngest daughter who has been complaining LOUDLY at not getting a quilt

Finished blocks and New Gadgets......

I am celebrating Christmas in July with these finished blocks...

I do like the partridge one...

(I might need to make another)

and although I am not fond of real life mices... I do think these ones peeping out of Santa's boots are a bit cute...

This is a great stitch-a-long and I have enjoyed seeing several already made up and finished.

Now a couple of weeks ago I was discussing pinning a quilt with Bobbie - and bemoaning the fact that pinning quilts in cold weather is not much fun....

Now I have discovered Bobbie loves gadgets - in fact she is possibly the gadget queen around these parts and she introduced me to a wonderful gadget to help with my poor cracked and spiked fingers....

I was pinning my quilt quick smart from then on... and no stabbed fingers (or blood on the quilt)

Thanks for the tip Bobbie......

I do love weekends... there is an art exhibition Hubz and I are going to... I'm not knowledgable about art but I think it will be fun... and requires a short drive .. maybe a pub lunch... and a walk....

I wonder what your plans are .......

~ I've got some binding to do ~

..... and a stem stitch lesson to finish! ~

 ...... and a Christmas wall hanging to complete ~

......... and a mug rug to sew together ~

... and some felt ornaments to blanket stitch

.... and.... and..... and....

July has run away

~ Pfftsst ~

Have a lovely weekend and hope you find some time to spend in your Happy Place

Picnic Day..............

I'm going to join in with Melody's Teddy Bear Picnic today ..... we are having  a cold spell here in Queensland and I think it is coming from Melody's place so I thought I would provide a little quilt for everyone to snuggle in....

In 2009 we discovered we were expecting our 4th grandiebaby.... 

I had done applique before but no piecing of little pieces and it was fun going and choosing a bunch of colours to go together - I wanted the quilt to suit either boy or girl...

stitch in the ditch quilting around the blocks

I do love the little bugs in each block

teddy bear expressions.... mmmm

in the ditch quilting around the shapes

early attempts at free motion quilting (I traced the design on first with water soluble marker)

Little grandiegirl looked cute snuggled up......

I hope everyone manages to keep warm at the picnic....... 

I'm off to go visiting HERE and then sit and a do a bit of stitching ....

and of course I hope you find some time to be in your Happy Place today....

Blocks... and blocks....

Here is the second of this months blocks for 'Tis The Season Stitchalong....

I'm pleased to be keeping up to date with the blocks....

Y'see Chookyblue hosts it and she is right good at cracking that whip if you don't keep up!!

and I am going to do another of these angels..... for a Christmas goodie ....

Now to get a start on another BOM I have been wanting to do for ages...

Little Birdie Stitches with Little Miss Shabby......

I'm using some Rural Jardin which I bought when Bec from Oh Sew Busy had a clearing out sale earlier this year.... cutting the charm packs into little squares to make the borders......

I like to use pellon at the back so I traced out first and then am adding the borders before stitching

..... and I've been doing some machine stitching of borders and planning of layout for the Aussie Spirit quilt

Helen sent out 34 blocks... I have had 33 sent back which is brilliant ...

(Marina kindly helped with a second block as South Australia hadn't arrived and I just couldn't leave them out... I did live in that beautiful state for 2 years!!)

I made up a couple of blocks of blocks to even the numbers.....

I've started sewing the blocks together ..... nearly done

I hope you have some time for fun stitching over the weekend

All in a Weekend's work.....

G'day, I do hope your week is going well.....

The Celebrate Friendship block is finished and off in the post.......

Sharing a cuppa with a friend......

..... is always special....

My free motion quilting is nowhere near perfect but it is improving... and I love going into my 'Happy Place' with it....

That's a UFO finished... it's also a project finished for OPAM..... yippee....

Oh... Kathleen, if you are reading today... thanks so much for coming by..... you wanted to know about the pattern for this stitchery.... I haven't seen it sold separately.... it is part of a BOM series in Homespun last year.... (by the way your message arrived as a no reply so I couldn't get back to you...)

... and I have done this cute Chilly Penguin for my 'Tis The Season Sew-A-Long...

The temperatures are going down here down-under and we are starting to feel like Chilly Penguins ourselves

Marina saw my Wiscasset quilt and offerred some unused layer cake for the back....  see what arrived in the post last week... there is enough for a fantastic backing..... thanks so much  Marina... aren't these colours delicious?

.... these are the tea towels I sent Judy over in Tasmania for the swap - I sent one of the vintage ones I had made and then another with a 'new' cloth

..... they have arrived with her and to my relief she loves them

Just to show you I am not lagging behind in my ironing....

I just got a bit ahead with the washing......

Phew - after all that work I need a snack....

Pikelets SOAKED in Maple Syrup