Swap Goodness

My lovely parcel guy dropped in today with a wonderful package from Snailblazer Cass.

This lovely swap involved lots of Australian bloggers creating and sharing 10 handmade goodies. Being a relatively slack blogger, I only just made the deadline, so didn't photograph my 10 finished knitted washcloths. Neither did I wrap and label my handiwork. Luckily, the lovely Cass wrapped all the goodies, which made for a very exciting unwrapping today.


And look at the contents!

Thanks to Cass' organised list I can tell you that;
Suzanne made the headband
Sarah made the Diary/ pen holder
Natasha made the tissue holder
Bec made the iPod/camera/phone cozy
Jo made the cards
Danielle made the zippered purse
Sophie made the brooch
Kat made the makeup purse
Monica made the hanging chain
and Kylie made the hair tie travel case.

Thanks so much crafty women - I'm delighted with my parcel.



Yes, there are an awful lot of adjectives in this post, but I was really, really excited!

My creative space...

is in the process of moving. I have moved all the creative 'stuff' out of the old room, and it is piled in a corner of the Creative Haven.


I'm not rushing to put it all away, since once I do, it's pretty much immovable. So I'm running through various layouts, and trying to see the flaws in them BEFORE setting up the room.

Of course, the computer has been set up, but it's on wheels anyway... and I'd go bonkers without easy access to it for any extended time.

See other creative spaces here.

Getting bigger...

The soccer season has started, and Lucas is playing in the 6 year olds competition. They have 5 on the field at a time, and there are four games on a normal field. Dh loves his soccer, so is being fairly frustrated watching the games, as Lucas is not an attacking player (and why would he be? Everything behaviour-wise we've taught our children has been in the vein of being gentle and respectful of others.)


Lucas insists he is getting bigger, and more capable. He wants to walk to school alone, he wants to catch the bus alone, he is bursting with confidence. Until something unexpected happens.

This morning, we were walking up to the school when I realised his hat was still in the car. I told him to go up, unpack and we'd meet him at assembly. When we got up outside the classroom, my little boy was standing there with his bag, completely unsure. His name tag was no longer on a hook, so he didn't know where to put his bag. Stymied completely.

Not so big.

Last week, Lucas had Show and Tell on Monday afternoon. His item to show was a brand new tooth, which erupted behind his front lower teeth, as well as a wobbly front tooth. During dinner, I got him to show me the teeth, and the front tooth was gone... Dh instituted a search through the house for the missing tooth, and found something small and white which passed muster. Luckily, because it was our first visit from the tooth fairy, and the excitement was intense.

Definitely getting bigger.

Piecing...

Earlier this year, I signed up for Chaletgirl's 9 patch swap.

At the end of the swap, we'll each receive 48 blocks back, ready to be sewn immediately into a lovely quilt.

I'm enjoying the challenge of matching fabrics - some materials I absolutely love match absolutely nothing! Well, almost.

This is a selection of the blocks I've made so far.



I've just had a random thought - long ago, I participated in several SCQuilters swaps. I made a baby quilt for my son out of black and white swapped 9 patches and charm squares. Surely, somewhere in the cupboard I have 20 or 30 batik 9 patches...

More winter woollies

This time for my sister. We've just spent a fortnight with my English sister, her 2 children (4 and 2) and my parents staying in our house. We saw my Canberra sister and her children (2,2, and nearly 1) at least daily, and are now all utterly exhausted. The children played surprisingly well with each other, and the adults spent heaps of time together (even if it was spent watching the children.) Last time we were all together was Christmas 2007. Not that long really, but we miss out on so much being so far away from each other. I really wish my brother-in-law would seriously consider living in Australia.


Anyway, for my sister's birthday, I have knitted a scarf from Malabrigo wool. It's soft, and cosy and should be perfect to keep her warm in an icy winter.

Summer's Open Sandwich

is my food themed quilt, which was finished up in time for the meeting last night. Talking of which, the meeting was most interesting, with a guest speaker showing exactly how the Bali batiks she sells are made, and another showing fibres from a textile tour of India.



My quilt included raw edge applique over a layer of organza, french knots, hand and machine quilting.



This is the most machine quilting I've done on an article so far, and I was happy with the way it turned out (not quite as wavy as the picture looks.)

It's not a fabulous quilt, but it's done, used my ideas, and extended my skills so I'm very pleased.

My Creative Space

Today, when I should be cleaning like a maniac in preparation for the 5 visitors arriving tomorrow, I'm spending time sewing. So this is my creative space. More creative spaces here.

Specifically, I'm working on my entry for the Canberra Quilters Recipe Book competition. Why yes, the competition does close today.

Winter woollies

for my Annabelle this time. It's another version of the Drive Thru sweater, and I like this one even better. Even though my buttonholes are awful.



Ravelled here

In other news, the first house shuffle has begun. I'm turning the family room into a playroom, emptying the toys out of Annabelle's room, in preparation for it to be a guest room on Friday. The study will also be culled dramatically, to leave room for my parents to sleep on the floor (sounds tough... but they actually were planning to camp in the backyard!)

Book business

The last two years or so I have been deeply attached to The Book Depository for my online book buying. It's still great, but this post by Claudine has opened my eyes further.

Booko is a wonderful tool which compares book prices, including delivery for Australians.

Definitely worth a look for EVERY book purchase.

Cool post...

Multiple meanings from today's title;
A recent challenge from Amitie -to use all these braids and embellish!

It's getting cold in Canberra - my darling boy told me this morning "Mummy, I'm so cold I've got duckbumps."

And of course, any post is a cool post!