Filled with Christmas JOY

I am always blown away with the process of making and how this act renews hope and joy within your body.

This reath is a little project I hadn't even written down to do in my list of to do things - but here it is and as a completed project I feel just wonderful and in the Christmas spirit.

recent train stitching

A recent trip to Melbourne was a good time with a needle and thread. But I am ashamed to admit I am a Flickr thief.

These are for Christmas pressies and a special birthday too - but lets keep that a secret

Late Christmas sewing

Last night in the cool of my cellar I finished off two project that I hoped to give as Christmas gifts.

A little late; but can wrap and share as new years gifts tonight!




Tonight me and the kids are having a sleep over at Mums (Kd has his bag packed on his back already it is 8am!) and my sisters are coming too. We are having a crafting new years party. J if off to a festival to play in a band in Lorne.

Finished Kds snuggy too - he was in the cellar with me while I finished it off - I gave it too him and he told me it isnt the snuggy that he wanted. I felt the same - it is finished but not really with the grand vision that I had.


A quick reference to the source material for the transformer forms on the rug - I used images from a collage that Kd made for his 4th birthday invites



Finally a special gift from my Mum a sewing camel with some embroidery scissors - her web site is here and her blog here so you can learn more about what an amazing woman my mum is. (gee mum is that a proper sentence?)

more Christmas making exchanges

My family is rather large with six children (me and five brothers and sisters) in all and to make Christmas affordable and fun we have started a hand made chris cringle - this year being the second.

My last post was of the miraculous lap top cover I made (seriously proud of myself) and here are some pics of the lap top cover & the new owner and some other gifts made by my family (sorry I haven't documented them all - next year I will do this - sometimes Christmas grumpiness gets the better of my mind)


This is the amazing and wonderful apron made by my sister R by my sister soon to be C - it even came in its own little pouch - I have been making a lot of hints that an apron like this would make an excellent birthday present for me!


This is a coffee banger thing - no idea what it is called and it is a really bad picture of this useful gadget; although a good pic of J being very appreciative of the gift made by my Dad.

Christmas Badges

This year I had the brilliant idea of making Christmas badges as little gifts on cards.

They are embroidered pieces using my improvised version of Button hole filling and some text. A local designer, Lyndsay Meager, her shop and blog is here, runs a badge making business and she whipped them up for me.



Biscuit making today to give with the tags!


Here is what button hole filling is supposed to look like; I couldn't managed to get the loop under right; so just looped then tucked.

They Sold before the opening!

Got a phone call late this afternoon and both pieces I was fretting over last night have sold right before the opening how is that!

I am feeling full of confidence as I made them deliberately as a test to see if they would sell and they did as soon as they went up - I was concerned that my work wasnt connecting to people and sure enough it is - but would I really pack it all in if it was a flop?

Hell NO!

Here is a little snippet of a work that I am making as apart of a crafty blog exchange thing. It has been initiated by an amazing woman called Meg McElwee and from her blog



















Our instructions are:

To your partner, you will send:

1.) One handmade holiday decoration. Decorations made from any kind of medium are acceptable – from fabric to yarn, paper to paint.

2.) Your favorite holiday recipe.

3.) A "Tradition" Tutorial. This is description of one of your family's special holiday traditions. If needed, you should provide step by step instructions. (For example, if your family makes graham cracker candy houses each year, you would provide more concrete instructions.) You might also consider sending along a couple of photos of the tradition in action.

My partner is Stacey and she has a blog too.

This week the last week of spring and just before the first week of December I have finally started making my Christmas cards.

Here is a sneak preview



























got a bird theme happening - this year.