Christmas stash!

I was one very spoilt Cardygirl this year...

books, fabrics, little treats...a very loved girl!

Fabric as delicious as turkish delight...

books to inspire & savour...

 a huge pincushion that will be hard to lose (thanks Lea!).

Some bloggers were asking about a Christmas quilt pattern...

from the blog Festive Fun 20 on December 21st...

it is Past Times by Threads of Time/ Lyn Wilson.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Cardygirl xx

Christmas reveals

Here is one of those secret Christmas things....

a quilt for DD...had to surprise her as she lurks on my blog!

Not bound yet...but I will get it done. Truly!

The top row is folded over the clothesline...

didn't need it to get on the ground as the pic was taken in a break from the rain.

Everything looks so green & fresh...lots of frogs in my garden too.

I got the fabric from Modern Retro Textiles...Heather Ross Far Far Away range,

with some Sue Ross fabric for the sashing...an orange micro dot.

DD loves the Princess & the Pea story...I think the colours of this fabric make it

suitable for a grownup girl's bed!

She likes it. The gauzy fabric was a bit of a challenge though.

Cardygirl xx

Thankyou Cheryl!

Christmas morning meant I was at last able to open my SSCS pressie!

It came all the way from Cheryl in the US...

she is so clever and made me this beautiful Christmas table topper...

it is very special to know that she had been "stalking" my blog

& spent the time to make something just for me!

Go & visit her at polkadotsandrickrack.blogspot.com....

she is lots of fun!

Thankyou Cheryl...it is now a special Christmas treasure for me!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun Finale!

I hope everyone has a safe & happy Christmas.

Enjoy, relax & reminisce!

I am having a lovely quiet time with my dear ones.

I am still trying to finish a present...

this old stitchery pattern sums me up!

A Joyous Christmas to you all.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.22

A pleasant evening with friends...a late night post!

You have seen my gorgeous nativity...

here are some lovely santa's....

and DD made this stocking...

the pattern is in a recent Homespun mag.

It's nearly Christmas!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.21

There are some lovely nativities out there...

here's mine.

A corner of the family room...

a wine bottle gift bag from a Janelle Wind pattern...

more redwork from a Helen Stubbings pattern.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.20

Not many sleeps now until Christmas!

Most of our festivities are organised...but there are thingsthat may not get done.Oh well...no point getting stressed out about it!

Three days of paid employment then a few off....

hopefully might get some stitching done!

A festive quilt from a Lyn Wilson design.

Love the reds & greens.

The leftovers made the Santa sack posted earlier!

do you like this one?

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.19

Blogging every day is hard!

Slowly (or rapidly dependant on current state of mind!!!) heading to Christmas...

a few more decorations to go still.

A stocking from a Leanne Beasley pattern...

typically me I added lots of satin stitch.

I have a couple more to do in my WIP basket!

If you stop by, leave me a Christmas message please...

I know you are out there!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.18

Cross stitch mini wall quilts

Shepherds Bush designs & buttons.

They were fun to make as the linen is coarse & 4 strands of thread were used.

They are cheerful & bright.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.17

A little different today.

Last night was "Craft" Christmas.

A small group that sew weekly, or as you can, throught the year,

met to have nibbles, chat & have fun!

Identities have been suppressed ...LOL! They are shy!

Here are the remains of the nibblies...

DD made a little house inspired by Lisa's post...

here is my tree...note the tree skirt I made a few years back...

it was from a pattern in an AP&Q mag.

Lastly a decoration made by my daughter in aged 7yrs...love it!

Hopeyou are having festive fun with your stitching pals!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.16

By now you are wondering...how much Christmas stuff does she have?????

Sadly I am a bit of a Christmas tragic...

not the Griswald's sort of scary Christmas freak with a power grid worth of lights...

no, I just like to have pretty stuff at Christmas!

Still a bit to go....

I have even scared DH...note his comment a couple of days ago...LOL!

Today's offering is a little wall quilt...

DH went to Arizona a few years back & came home with the pattern & fabric for this little gem.

I like it because he chose it!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.15

A cushion...from a pattern by Piccaninni Patchwork.

Makes you feel Christmas-sy!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.14

A wall quilt, "Christmas Truffles" by Helen Stubbings.

My craft group all made one...they all look great.

I used  fabrics from my stash...I love reds.

This is a great pattern book....and it is full of yummy truffle recipes!

Choc peppermint balls & Creamy white macadamia truffles...mmmm!

Delish!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.13

An enormous stocking...another Christine Book pattern.

It hangs in our entry...

I jokingly told DH to fill it...

he offered a beach umbrella...

LOL!

What would you put in it?

It has lots of felt appliques, beads & ricrac...it was nice to be able to use bells & buttons...just have fun with it really!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.12

And still she goes on!

A little cross stitch...love the reindeer!

This is a pattern called "The Reindeer Sampler" by Sweet Nothings.

Completed in 2002.

It has lovely Mill Hill Treasure hearts on the reindeer...

always reminds me of Rudolph!

Aaah...young heart at heart!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.11

A small cushion made for my daughter...

inspired by a saying...it was on her bed in the Christmas season.

The buttons were  made by a girl who was a neighbour years ago.

She is too old for it now...but it is a nice tradition.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.10

Quick & fun today.

To Newcastle yesterday Christmas shopping & visiting the folks!

Phew...but getting organised.

A little cushion inspired by a Stephanie Simes pattern.

I satin stitched the little pears (you know how I love this stitch)...

and was really happy with it...I thought it was cute...

until my dear children said that it didn't look like a partridge in a pear tree...

more like "a bird in a bum tree!"
Every year that makes me laugh...priceless!

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.9

A large Christmas sack from Hugs & Kisses.

Great fun to make...from quilt scraps...that quilt will come later!

I love satin stitch...my nemesis at school but now I use it all the time.

I think the variegated thread really suits this project.
I love the hugeness & happiness of it!
Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.8

A group of little cushions from a workshop with Christine Book.

It was at The Whittingham Schoolhouse near Singleton, now closed.

A great fun day out with stitching friends...Christine was a lot of fun.
 These patterns were later released in her Christmas book.

I have made lots of theses as gifts & often put a bell & a cinnamon stick inside them.

"Noel" is my favourite.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.7

One of my favourites.

A crazy patchwork stocking inspired by Rhonda from southern Cross needlework.

Lots of lovely silks & laces found their way from my scrap box into this.

Fun with beads, ribbons & other embellishments...

a tiny brassy bow, a little crocheted heart, a monogram...

a tiny cobweb with a gold beaded spider...lots of fun.

Glittery net & ric rac.

There is even a scrap of heavy gold lace overlaid with sheer & then quilted in gold thread.
Am I boring you....do you want more?

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.6

Advent calendars are full of treats when you are little!

I made this one from Hatched and Patched...

every night there was a riddle in the pocket which led to a small treat...lots of fun.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.5

And sew it continues...

this is a cushion from a pattern designed by Christine Book.

it is a lovely plump cushion so it is hard to see that the wording is...

"Dear Santa....Love from me xx".

What I like about this is the old fashioned redwork Santa...

he has a merry twinkle in his eye!

There is a pocket where you can leave Santa a note.

Hope you are enjoying the journey!
Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.4

The journey continues......today's offering is quite a few year's old too

(I will start posting more recent stuff as we progress!)it is from a stitchery pattern by "By My Hand" called Holly Jolly Christmas which I bought whilst visiting relatives on the Central Coast of NSW years ago...I liked the naivety of the doll & added seed beads as the holly berries.

We put up the tree last night & decorated it as a family...my children are now adult so, no doubt, we will have few Christmas' with just the four of us left...work, travel & partners will change & enhance our futures.

Cardygirl xx

Festive Fun No.3

Today we are going back to about 2000.

A workshop with Sue Cody resulted in this sweet hanging.

Interestingly this is version 2...version 1 had a dreadful case of red colour run...eeek!

A hard lesson learnt about prewashing...especially after the applique was needleturned.

I still like it & every year the thought of that colour run makes me smile!

Cardygirl xx

Festive fun No 2

A much loved cross stitch from the Prairie Schooler.

Made in 1997...DS loved this one...he even stitched the red nose on a reindeer...he was 6yrs old.

I always think this story creates a wonderful Christmas mood.

Cardygirl xx

Festive fun No.1

Quick blogging will be the best idea this month!

I am about to start house decorating, so I thought I would share my decorations

from Christmas' past....

This quilt hangs in my entry.

The kit was from a shop near Wollongong...

I am sorry at this time I cannot let you know who the designer was.

I love the way just putting it up makes me feel festive.

It makes me feel that Christmas really is on it's way!

Cardygirl xx

HOHOHO..it's SSCS swap time!

A long day at work was made wonderful when I arrived home to find my SSCS present had arrived!

Oh, thankyou Cheryl of Polka Dots & Rick Rack....it is so exciting!

Sorry about the outfit...I did say straight after work!

This is my gorgeous snowman ornament....sort of like sparkly marshmallow!

I have to wait to open the rest!

Thankyou Cheryl for your generosity & thankyou Chookyblue for organising the swap!

I hope my gift finds it's home soon!

Cardygirl xx

Christmas finishes...

The heat & dust continues to make life a little challenging here.

An incident on the rideon lawnmower involving a slope, hedge & loss of a tyre

helped to keep my weekend interesting!

Fortunately DD is home from uni...she keeps life fun!

You will be pleased to know that DS survived his "Schoolies" week away....

a cut foot was his biggest complaint!

I can sleep again.

DD & I are making a toga for her to wear to a party next week...

pretty basic but she is happy with it.

I made her Christmas stitchery into a hanging...looks great!

This little cross stitch turned into a hanging.

The naive angel was finished too...the kids think she looks a little evil. ?

Working away on my 9 patch block quilt...it is looking good.

Hope  you are getting all of your christmas tasks done...

decorating is next!

Cardygirl xx