Finally a finish...and a flying start!

After two weeks away from work & my usual level of activity, I am now feeling well again. Sadly with all that time at home little sewing was done except for my cross stitch. I had only stitched the first line of the verse so decided it needed to be finished rather than looking eerily prophetic! So here is my interpretation of Jenny Beans Halloween on 40ct Flax with GA threads. 

I am preparing for a stitching weekend...great company, lots of stitching and sounds like some yummy treats... must remember to pack my joggers for some serious walking! I am preparing my projects...this is a trial block of one of them...why oh why did I pick a project with 144 flying geese???? 

I think the block looks great though.

Technical issues have also been troublesome... Blogger not letting me leave comments and Skype malfunctioning...hard to keep in touch with travelling loved ones! Oh for tech support!

 Cardygirl xx

May Le Petite

This month's Le petite project is pieced...Candy Bar Pinwheels from Moda Bakeshop.

It is cute and was the ideal size for a busy month. Have you been watching these projects? For little quilts some have a lot of sewing...great lessons in patchwork. I believe we could almost rename this group "The Year I learned to love points". Lots of points and I am really feeling great with them. This one is from Bliss, I think it may find a home on my dining table. Rather than using a Candy Bar (I have never seen one down here) I used part of a charm pack and coordinated the elements to define the look. What do you think?

 Autumn is well and truly here...the pear trees are turning...by next week it will be bare!

Cardygirl xx

It almost rained in my happy place...

It has been a fairly quiet week here, the cough developed rapidly and I have ended up missing work and lolling about on the lounge for most of the week with little energy...but mending now.

That made me think about my "happy place"...somewhere or something that lifts my spirits when I am a little flat. Fabric shops are definitely on my list (and yours too I bet!) as is spotty fabric for me. I adore dots and spots in all colours, sizes and shapes. A couple of months ago there was some family stuff happening and I chanced upon a fabric shop...aah the mood began to lift...and I wandered inside and found some lovely red spots (my favourite)...yippee! So with the sun beginning to shine in my personal world I headed for the counter to purchase my happy red spots... only to meet the grumpy fabric lady! Don't you hate that! She was in a mood and she wanted the world to share it...I was grilled over my fabric choice and she even tried to make me feel bad for having time to sew as she had NO time at all. Boy was she a delight! Fortunately I didn't let her rain in my happy place (though I was concerned I may have had to buy more fabric to lift my mood...cue husbands sigh of relief ) and I was able to deflect her bad vibes and dash out of there with my mood still good. Most fabric shop owners are great, inspirational, warm people...scary ones are awful...I know I won't go back there again. The spots do look sweet with the Dresden...definitely a happy place combination for me...spots, Dresdens and Flower Sugar...I feel happy again!

Where is your happy fabric place?

Cardygirl xx

Ironing board magic

The  worst of my big assignment is done, just some fine tuning of referencing still to be done, but I feel very relieved that it is out of the way for now. So that enabled a little fiddling today...a nice change from a recently hectic pace...tidying & organsing my incredibly messy sewing room...vacuumed and dusted so it looks respectable...sorted bags into project boxes...do you feel better when you restore order to chaos?

For months I have been meaning to recover my mini ironing board...inspired by a Cotton Way pattern I added some fun to the sewing room...Bliss does brighten a room doesn't it?

Here is a corner...it looks so tidy...maybe need to do another pic in two weeks...hmmm?

Feels like I am about to go down with a cold...a hot drink & pyjama's might help!

Hope you are warm and well wherever you are!

 Sniffygirl xx

Mothers Day 2011

Happy Mothers Day to all who nurture out there.

Friday was spent with my Mum, lunch, shopping and generally catching up.It is sad that she doesn't live close enough to visit every day, so it is lovely to share days when we can. We talk daily, but it would be nice to see each other more often without the long trip. I will be down her way for a conference in ten days so I have opted to stay with her and have a sleepover. She is excited!

A little stitching time today...

 My Anni Downs project I am playing with- those teeny tiny shoes were fun to needleturn...

and I do a little cross stitch each night on my 50th sampler the gravestones are hard to see under the tree...

and this little beauty by Blackbird Designs has just been framed...it looks "old". Perfect!

Just my DD around today...a lovely dinner cooked and some uni work done.

Plus there has been a little progress on my TTS blocks!

Hope you had a happy day...

Cardygirl xx

Check...check!

This was one of those weekends where I was on fire (figuratively speaking!)...lots achieved...I can go back to work knowing that a few jobs were ticked off my to do list at last.

Lawns mowed...check!

Weeds sprayed...check!

Washing done...check!

Dogs coats washed & mended...check...check!

Assignment started...check!

Discussion board participated in...check...check!

Mothers Day present organised...check!

Thank goodness there was time left for a little stitch! These blocks are for my Confetti Cake quilt, inspired by one I saw a while ago on Sherri's blog. I cut it out early this year, you may remember that I had a bit of a cutting disaster- remember it is unwise to cut out when you have no sleep in the wee hours of the morning due to a post op hubby! But it is looking good...quite quick once it is cut out correctly!

Also I have been slowly plodding away on my TTS stitchalong blocks...I have assembled three more blocks ready for tracing...I can hear a whip cracking...hmmm!

I was a Royal wedding tragic too...loved the dress...aaah...young love...how nice!

Cardygirl xx

Well, I went to my room...

 Quiet long weekends...add a dash of rain to stop lawn mowing and you have the perfect recipe for a bit of stitching! There has not been a lot of fabric play lately, so that is just what I did today!

Finished this months Le Petite quilt, Brocante. Fairly unoriginal this time and made it in Pom Pom de Paris the same as the cover pic. But I thought the fabric is perfect for Mum and the pattern was cute. Whilst I am happy with the finished top, it was probably my least favourite as I stitched it up...don't know why really...perhaps I just loved Endless Summer last month SO much, and the fabrics are not to my current taste...anyway, I think Mum will love it. I have a lap quilt planned for her in these fabrics too...obviously she doesn't read my blog!

To add some cheer to a dull day I started playing with some fabrics I love to make something that looks very different to the original model. Still have a bit of applique today so will be a little while before I reveal it...a hint...it is an Anni Downs pattern I bought at Nundle. Hmmm?

Better go...these books are telling me I have an assignment that needs attention!

Cardygirl xx

Easter Snapshot

A quiet family Easter...Mum up to visit...both children home...pleasant weather...opportunity to wake up without the alarm. Bliss!

Homemade Hot Cross Buns...

Easter tea towels with Mum's crocheted edgings...

Easter bags full of treats...

Delicious cake for Easter celebrations...

A little progress on my cross stitch...

Hope everyone is having a joyous Easter!

 Cardygirl xx

Slow and steady...

...progress on the stitching front. Jenny Beans Halloween is having a bit of a makeover...she has become my half century sampler...I never had a birth sampler so this one is all mine! I added my own words where Jenny Bean's name was stitched on the original...I think it looks okay, what do you think? Once I have done the background behind the date I am going to tackle the front wall of the house.

Some chain piecing for Brocante...it is looking soft & pretty in French General...it will look great at Mum's place.

An afternoon with DS who is home from uni...so nice to have him around...we went to the movies and saw "Paul"...light & funny. Poor boy was stuck in the car with me prattling on for the 40minute drive to the movies & then 40 minutes home again! Smart mother isolating him in the car...then he can't get away...hehe!

Hope you have had a nice weekend...

 Cardygirl xx

Cross stitch progress

Still steadily working away on Jenny Beans Halloween...I am loving the quirkiness of this one...but I always dawdle when I am doing blocks of color...hence the slow progress on the house! I am planning on adding some different wording, so will reveal when it is done.

A question for you cross stitchers out there...where do you start a design? Borders or centre? 

Cardygirl xx