Prettiness ....

Sheila hosted a fun swap - Postcards.... and did a tutorial for us to get a headstart.... it's over HERE incase you would like to try too....

Rosie was my partner and look at this awesome postcard she sent... it has beautiful old lace with some hand sewn ribbon flowers and beads... it is just so elegant and pretty....

and two ultra cute buttons came along with it.....

Thanks Rosie... I love it very muchly

I think I'm going to have to find a special way of storing and showing postcards

I wanted to send Rosie a quilt and I love seeing them hanging on a line..... this is the postcard I made...

Fiddly doing that tiny little Foundation quilting... and of course a little birdie

Teresa sent this lovely Wonky Square block last week - isn't this a lovely selection of fabrics?

it is a lovely addition to my collection of blocks... soon I will be needing to put them all together.....

I also got a pretty bookmark and Portugal pin...

see how they work beautifully in my latest bookclub read....

Thanks Teresa....

I also recieved the last pincushion base in my group so I have been stitching it and will be posting it off to DeeDee tommorrow ...... this is the little patch I added...  DeeDee likes Victorian so there is some lace (maybe not Victorian but it is certainly old), some roses and french knots and a little bag charm....

Hope you love your pincushion DeeDee.....

Hope you all have a lovely rest of the week.... and can spend some time in your happy place....

Liquorish allsorts....... colourful and different

PINCUSHIONS

My pincushion arrived from Nova Scotia this week..... it has been having happy travels and visiting folk from all over the world... thanks Val, Sandi, Sheila and DeeDee...
.. it is such a wonderful work of art......and full of things I love .... 

see the little pink flap window?

with a special surprise underneath..... cute huh?
and the lizard... and the dragonfly... and the flowers... and the embroidery.... oh I could go on and on

Melody's also arrived back to her place..... look at her lovely one - such a lot of detail .... and you can read more about it HERE

just a couple more to find their way home...

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I thought I would have a look at what the fuss was about

I see so many things in blogland and on the internet that I love... and I seem to be building up a notebook of scrappy notes for reference... which is not terribly convenient... or user friendly....

Pinterest is building up boards of those things I love... recipies (only easy peasy ones!!) inspirational pictures, sewing and patterns of things I really really want to make....

I'm not sure how it all works and how else I would use it ...  but it is a fantastic easy reference for my own use..... and very easy to 'pin' (I have to have easy)
- it automatically references back to where you pin from.... no copy/paste of the url.....

I'm still learning... any tips?

You can see what I have done HERE or link through the logo on my sidebar....  if you are pinterested...... (couldn't resist that one)

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

I'M READY FOR CHRISTMAS
(well, I'm ready for my pressies....)

This little stocking is a joint effort... a friend of mine did the Cross Stitch and I have made it up - lined and corded

.... isn't this the cutest stocking... it is 10" tall and 7" long at the foot ....

There is a Rainbow Lorikeet - one of my favourites and regular visitors to my garden....

Little person Roo has a kangaroo in the pocket.....

and look at the little butterfly on the flowers.....

(this stocking would probably suit a grandiechild... tough... I'm keeping it!)

just the right size for hubz to fill with special treats for ME.....

FIRST DAY OF SPRING

I am playing with this....

It's a Secret Spring Swap for ****** from *********

(hint.... she has a blog)

Bitsa this .... bitsa that......

I haven't done an update on the pincushions for a while... most of them are 'home' now.... and I wanted to show you a few recent homecomings....  I have linked to the 'owners' posts so it would be great if you can visit and read about them.....

Sue's  pretty base..... Sue explains where the pincushion has been

Marina's base

with a detailed picture on her blog....

Janet's base:

travelled slow due to postal strikes...

there are a few more which are on it's way home..... update later....

These pincushions started as a base and then went to various countries for a little bit to be added each time.... they had great adventures and we end up with an amazing pincushion .... or whatever we choose to make....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I was lucky enough to recieve a block this week.... look at my lovely Christmas Tree from Larain and she added some very pretty Christmas tree fabric..... which I'm dreaming about what to do with.... hmmmm

Don't you love all those parcels under the tree?

and my regional postcard from Yukon Territory..... Janet really does get bears in her backyard... look at this post - amazing.... and I love the postcard.. with the squirrel and a beautiful stitched bush.... thanks Janet... fun swap

Sheila is thinking about doing a 'tutorial' on how she does landscape cards and organising a postcard swap..... go HERE to read more and let Sheila know if you'd like to join in (will be in September sometime)

and just so you know I have not been sitting idle... prep work for Block 2 of Butterfly Garden....

.. only took 3 evenings to stitch that one block - but oh so effective

Although this morning was a bit chilly I had to sit on the veranda for coffee and watch these amusing galah's.... there were 13 of them at one time... and they do perform wonderfully..... 

So I sat in the sun with my coffee and this sampler I am learning on....

welovefrenchknots is a lovely blog .... always fun to read and Bari J is teaching us through video's, guest artists and stitchery designs....  I am presently working on the bullion roses..... and am so impressed I can do them thanks to the video lesson...

Hoping your week is happy....

Crazy Pincushions.........

Many of you will have followed our process of making pincushions... or seen them on other people's blogs..... 13 of us have been sending our felt bases to far and wide to be decorated by someone, sent to another far and wide for more decor and so on........ if you are interested you can see the progress HERE

Some of the pincushion bases are arriving back home so I thought I would show you some of them... and also provide links which will take you to their owners and you can read up about them...... I hope you have fun......

the detail in these pincushions is amazing.... the bases are 6" in diameter or less which will give you an idea of how intricate the little embelishments are....

Sheila's Base..... (Nova Scotia, Canada)

and Jacqueline's..... (Florida, USA)

Roslyn's base...... (New South Wales, Australia)

Laura's base..... (North Dakota, USA)

and Dianne's .... (Nova Scotia, Canada)

Dianne's is the first I've seen made up into a pincushion which you can see HERE

I think they are fantastic

Hopefully in the next few weeks others (including mine) will arrive 'home'

We have been using the idea and guidelines of Kaaren from The Painted Quilt.... you can see her tutorial HERE to make the base and HERE is a tutorial for decorating the base

~ I wonder if you will be tempted? ~

Wool is  a wonderful medium and the pins slide in so easily but firmly, but this could be done in cotton just as easily .....

Crazy Pincushion SewABit Sew and Tell.....

G'day to you
The crazy pincushions are still travelling.... some are now coming to the end of their itinerary and will soon be on their way home

here are some I have spotted
and I'm sure you'll agree

THEY ARE LOOKING FANTASTIC

I love seeing each part put on by a different person and how they are growing so beautifully

This is Val's ........... and it is on it's way to Sandi now ....

Laura's base has left Roslyn's and is GOING HOME.....

Melody's base has been with Laura

and Sue's base has been visiting Marina.........

Previous posts about these and other pincushions can be seen HERE

Here is one that I have made up for a gift....

the top is about 8" diameter.....

and I added an edge around so it is a nice fat pincushion

lots of bugs, and flowers, and thingies to look at....

this was such a fun project and Hubz did have to be stern with me about actually posting it to the person I made it for!!

Felt and Tell ............ the next installment....

The crazy pincushions are growing so well..... here are some I have seen lately:

(where I can I have linked to the relevant blog-post)

Laura's base has been to Dianne and Melody:

I am amazed at how much these ladies have managed to fit in here.... georgeousness itself....

Dianne's base has been to Roslyn and Laura:

- this is coming up to be one fantastic garden....

Janet's base has been to Jacqueline:

look at those lovely flowers... and the detail on the stems.....

Sheila's pincushion - has been to DeeDee and Sandi:

very cute and pretty.....

Sandi's pincushion - decorated by Sheila and myself:

I love this unusual base design and it's coming together lovely too...

My pincushion - decorated by Sandi:

  that's a little pink door - this is the other side.... so there will be two variations.....

Val's pincushion - decorated by myself and DeeDee:

can you tell which part is Texan?

Sue's pincushion which has been with Janet:

beautifully stitched and isn't the goat a character?

I hope I have kept up to date ... there are some pincushions missing but I do know some of them are having long distances to travel for their overseas visits!!

Aren't they all great?

Please Pincushioners forgive me if I have missed your work and let me know