Feeling pretty good

"Sew Easily Charmed"

this sunny Sunday afternoon.

Finally finished DD's and SIL's belated Christmas gift a "Sew Easily Charmed" quilt and it will be in the post and on it's way to Mt Isa tomorrow. "Hooray at last" I can hear my DD shouting, lol.

The quilt is a pattern designed by my friend Khris, love this pattern, great instructions and easy to S.I.D. After all my procrastinating about how to quilt it I was glad I had chosen to K.I.S.S.

Now I need to start on the wall hanging requested by DD, same pattern but a smaller version in matching "Freebird" Moda fabrics.

Also wanted to ask you that if you have a minute, pop on over to Khris's, Lucky and Dawn's blogs and check out how hard the girls have been working on quilts for victims of the floods. Lucky has also been making and collecting from other generous ladies lots of "Huggles" which are going to the HUGGLE FOR KIDS Flood Appeal  for the Grantham School.
What's a "Huggle" I hear you ask, check out Luckys blog to find out. Such a worthwhile cause for littlies children of Oz.

Hugs

Diana

I should be

machine quilting the lap quilt that is a gift for my DD and her Hubby, but I got a little side tracked with finishing this scrappin page.

Now that it is done I will have to stop procrastinating and just go for it. You see I have this inkling to be a bit more adventurous and instead of just doing the Stitch in the Ditch version I would love to FMQ (free motion quilt for those who aren't quilters) it, but alas I lack confidence in that area of quilting and do not want to stuff it up, so I guess tomorrow instead of just walking past it as it sits on the table looking at me I best put my big girl panties on and just deal with it, or it will be next Christmas before DD gets to put it on her bed. :-).

hugs,

Diana

I enjoy sewing Healing Heart Blocks

knowing that they are going to be made into a quilt, to be given to somebody that needs an extra hug at a time in their life when things are extra tough, as well as being able to wrap the quilt around them and feel the love and friendship we offer we hope it reminds them they are not alone and others are thinking of them when they can't be with them to help share in their time of grief or hardship.

and these 6 blocks I have just finished will be added to other blocks to make three Healing Heart Quilts for Aussie flood victims who are friends and family of members of the "CRAFT" yahoo group I belong to. 

I will post pics when the completed quilts are done.

In the meantime below is a pic of a Healing Hearts Quilt that was made for a group member who recently lost her Mum, it was put together by Marilyn and she's done a fabulous job on behalf of all the members.

Since I have been talking about these special quilts and their purpose I'm going to pop up some pics of some of the other Healing Heart Quilts that have been given to members over time. How talented the ladies are, who give their time and skill to put together hearts of all shapes and sizes into the quilts on behalf of all the group members, there was also a baby quilt made for a young members first bub. 

Pop over here to my Picasa Albums to see them.

hugs,

Diana

What do you do

on a really hot day in the Queensland outback town of Mt Isa.......pack up the kids and dogs and the 4 wheelers and head for the river of course....

 

more pics HERE

On a more serious note I am guessing that most like me, have been watching the TV and seeing all the devastation that the floods have caused in QLD and now also NSW and Vic.
I found it hard to pull myself away from watching as it got worse and worse and then as the cleanup began it brought tears to my eyes and made my heart swell with pride seeing how many willing people answered the Premier's call for help with the massive task of clearing out the mess and helping to get families back into their homes.
There is lots of ways the rest of us who cant physically be there to lend a hand can help out, I have seen many blogs and websites offering so many helpful ideas as well as the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal. 
In case you are still deciding how you would like to do your little bit I would like to guide you over to two of my friends blogs, Khristina and Lucky where they are providing a few different avenues for you to consider.

And from me personally I would like to say a big thank you to all those who have got in and got dirty to help those in need, you have my utmost admiration and Thank You for making me so proud to be an Aussie.

hugs

Diana

A great big

to all my family and friends......

May this new year bring many opportunities your way, to explore every joy of life and may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm, turning all your dreams into reality and all your efforts into great achievements.
   I have been busy with family visiting for the Christmas period so have not had time to do any  blogging but thought I'd pop a few pics up to share with you that have been taken over the last few weeks. Jump over here to my Picasa Album to check them out.
No craftin' happening at the moment but have heaps to get busy with in a couple of weeks.
I'm looking forward to getting a few projects finished early in the new year.

hugs
Diana

My November item

for Amanda's Christmas in July Challenge is done. I made a very simple Pinwheel table runner from fabrics that I had in my stash which was my challenge to myself throughout the 6 mths. They really are getting a bit outdated now, but I am happy to have finally used a little bit of them up.
The runner was fun to make as I tried out something new to me, well actually two things.
I haven't done  lot of HST's but decided to try out this Tutorial and it works brilliantly, and for the other new to me technique I just had to try out this clever idea Here, really love how this works and will definitely be using this method on a quilt in the future. Can you see the cute little bit of piping in the binding? Click on the pic to make it bigger.
Don't you just love the www with all these great tutorials out there.

Thanks Amanda for hosting the challenge, it has been so much fun.

Well that's all folks, onto other things now, I have lots of projects planned for in the New Year, but before that happens I am looking forward to having our DGD and our DS and family arriving soon to stay with us for some family time over the Christmas period.

hugs,

Diana

Whoppee Doo.....want to see something special

 

well all you Quilter's out there just need to jump on over to "HERE" to see how the "CRAFT" group surprised the socks off our "fearless leader" as I call her, lol. Not easy keeping a secret from this girl. 

You will never meet a more generous, caring, sharing person than our Khris so we thought it was about time that we let her know how thankful we all are for her Friendship.

The girls in the group made some hearts, donated fabric and money towards this Gift of Friendship and Khris's right hand moderator Sharon from New Zealand was the clever chicky who did all the hard work designing it, sewing it all together as well as the fantastic quilting, no easy task when you work full time with a heavy workload with long days, the rest of us will be forever grateful for the brilliant job she has done on our behalf, she put her hand up for this job with only 3 other quilts under her belt. Thank you so much Sharon.

We have lots of talented ladies in our group and one of them Pam made a great bag for the quilt to be posted in, so Khris received 2 lovely surprises, thank you Pam on behalf of all of us girls.

Now don't forget, pop on over to Khris's blog and check out this OOAK quilt in all it's glory.

All is right with the world when you have such great family and friends like I am blessed with.

hugs
Diana

Loved this poem

that I found over at Vicki's and thought I might share it here for the Quilters that read my blog, guessing they are true words for a lot of us. Hands up if you can relate, lol.

                                                                                

A Quilter is:
 

Someone who assiduously clips coupons and hunts for bargains at the supermarket,  

but buys untold yards of fabric, regardless of price.
 

Someone who pays to have the ironing done, 

but thinks nothing of standing for hours pressing twenty yards of fabric for a quilt.
 

Someone who sees life through the eye of a needle, and that is a very special thing.
 

Someone who is bored silly hearing about other people's dumb hobbies, such as sky-diving, motor cycling or stamp collecting, 

but constantly fascinates everyone she comes in contact with by sharing her quilts and  quilting experiences.
 

Someone who has not been able to balance her check book since March 1979,  

but can figure the yardage requirements for a Log Cabin Quilt and have just enough left over for a pin cushion.
 

Someone who enjoys sewing a quilt, 

but hides the mending until the garments are either outgrown or out of style. 

Someone who cannot see cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, dust balls under the bed or a sink full of dirty dishes, 

but can thread a size 10 needle in the dark.

Anonymous

hugs,

Diana

Awww we only have one more

Christmas Challenge to do before all the fun is over, this month I made some star coasters to co-ordinate with my runner and table centre, quick and easy but will come in handy when we get the wine glasses out for a Christmas drink, well I guess we could use them for a cuppa as well, lol.

Will now need to put the thinking cap on for the last month's challenge...... Mmm now what else can I make that will fit in with all the other bits, oh I think I have an idea forming but I best go check out  Amanda's blog to make sure I am within the criteria for the month.

My little finish this past week

isn't he just gorgeous with those big blue eyes, enough to melt any Nana's heart.

Now I need to get back to the quilt I am working on for DD but I am having trouble staying focused cause any time soon the post man is going to bringing me one of these and I am just a little bit excited...

 

I have already bought a couple of embossing plates so I can jump right in when it arrives, don't you just love having a new toy to play with for your crafting, it truly keeps you motivated.

hugs

Diana

Wish we had Smell a Blog

my Jasmine is flowering and smells sooo good, I have kept it contained in a pot so it doesn't take over the fence between us and the back neighbors but I'm tempted to let it when it looks and smells so yummy at this time of the year.

Not a lot of crafting happened this week, I did start another scrapping page, but am at the stage where I don't know what to do next so while waiting for inspiration to hit me I used some paper scraps up and made these cards, 

can see I have a long way to go before anybody receives a home made card from me, lol, I will keep practicing.

It's a bit like patchwork being able to use up the scraps, and I have finally run out of blue n red scraps for my string quilt so  even though it will just end up being a floor rug for the Grandchildren or the back seat of the car it is a good feeling finally using up the scraps I have been hoarding for all these years.

I have to put the blocks away now till in the New Year when I will add some sashing to finish them. Meanwhile I need to get busy with some Christmas sewing.

hugs

Diana

Twinkle is her name

and she is my entrant for September in Amanda's Christmas Challenge, click here if you want to see the other clever ladies entrants.

Taking photo's at night doesn't do the subject justice with the shadows but she looks pretty cute in the real, hubby reckons she is modeled on our youngest DGD, there is a bit of resemblance don't you think.

hugs Diana

A little Scrapping

was all I got finished this week, but I'm happy with the end result. I'm not a fancy scrapper, I tend to keep my pages simple. Tomorrow I will choose the pics for my next page, I like to have an on-going page to play with in between my other crafting, think it's because I have such a short attention span, lol.

hugs Diana

Beginning to wonder

if I will ever find the Inspiration to turn this into something that will resemble a Christmas doll. What do YOU think, is it possible?
hugs
Diana

I Spy with my Little Eye

one naughty puddy cat who found a new spot to have a quick snooze.

I was searching for an old photo to scan and when I returned from scanning found Milo had made himself very comfortable, he was not happy when I shifted him out to tidy up. lol.

hugs

Diana

Latest Creation

Well now that the big 3-0 Birthday is over and DD has received her gifts I can show you a pic of the bag I made for her with fabrics she chose from Khristina's Oziton Fabric shop she was really happy with the end result so of course that made me feel good too.

 Oops the inside pic was taken before I sewed the lining and added the base, oh well you get the general idea, threads n all.

Now the weather man has forecast a wet weekend so my plans for finishing off some planting and mulching in the garden might have to wait for a few days but I have plenty of sewing to keep me busy while I wait for the sun to shine again. Hopefully I will get the last 6 blocks of my String Quilt finished and then onto my doll that is awaiting a face and some clothes for this months item in the Christmas in July Challenge over at Amanda's Blog.

hugs

Diana

I had so much fun

this weekend, it was Father's Day here in Oz, so besides making sure DH was well fed (kids you owe me big time) with bacon n eggs for brekky, chicken salad for lunch and prawns and scallops and salad for dinner because it was his special day, (Luv you Hon you're the best), I had a couple of busy days sewing.

First up I spent Saturday making a gift for a family member who has a big 30th birthday coming up (shh it's my daughter but I don't want anybody to know I have a 30yr old it makes me feel ancient) and I can't share a pic with you yet as that would spoil the surprise.

And today I had a great time sewing up some scraps into the beginnings of a String Quilt in the company of some of the ladies from the "CRAFT" group. We had a Quilt-a-Long and what was pretty cool was we were able to have a video conference call where we could all see each other and chat as we were busily sewing up our strips. There was Sharon from NZ and Kath and Wilma from the U.S. and Khris in Adelaide, we were all able to hook in and show how we were progressing during the day, a few of the other girls also popped in to chat via messaging, isn't the Internet just the greatest. A few of the other members who couldn't access the video call also joined in the sew-in, Marilyn made a beautiful charity quilt with a jelly roll, and Deanna was sewing madly on a quilt as well. I am looking forward to seeing all the end results. Can't wait till we do it again next month when we all meet up to practice making HST's.

Here you can see my scraps I have been hoarding for 15 years or more cut into strips and my 9 blocks I got finished today, they are going to make a great scrap quilt when I get a few more done through the week. I am using the QAYG method and so far am loving it as the blocks are already quilted, will see if it is as easy to do the sashings when I go to put them together, fingers crossed.

hugs

Diana

August -Christmas in July Challenge

all finished made it by the skin of my teeth as usual. This month the challenge from Amanda was to make a Table Center decoration/centerpiece. Well I had grand plans of making a Fabric Christmas tree, have wanted to make one of these for ages, I found a pattern on one of my many trips to the local Op Shops searching for vintage crafting supplies, couldn't believe my luck, and had tucked it away safely with the million other patterns I own, thought... finally the perfect time to make use of that pattern. Well I had it all spread out on the table with my fabrics choices but for the one minute I turned my back to check on dinner cooking one naughty puddy cat had pulled the pattern down and had a game with it, it was a tissue pattern so you can imagine the end result, so then onto plan B... checked out the blocks in EQ and found one that I thought would be easy using the PP technique, it did eventually get done but with a few nasty words in the process. Pheew such a long post about such a little thing, it is about 12' diameter and fits just nicely in the centre of my table, will pop my wire glitter Christmas Tree and some little Christmas wrapped boxes around the base come December.

Next month is a doll, now that should be easy peasy hey!

Also popping up a pic of an Armchair Sewing Organizer and Coasters I made for my friend Sharon in New Zealand.
Sharon and I have known each other from the Yahoo "Craft" group for about 4 yrs now and we had a great time meeting in person at the "Craft" Retreat last year. Sharon's hubby and his son spent the night with us a few weeks ago while on a visit from over the ditch to spend some time with family, so I grabbed the chance to send a little something over to Sharon free of postage costs (gosh it is getting expensive to send overseas) made her these couple of goodies to match her Crafting Studio. I am sooo jealous of her "Studio".

 

Local Quilt Show

These two lovely ladies from my local Quilt Shop were busy selling all their goodies at the Bundaberg Quilt Show, I imagine they were pretty tired after the 3 days were over. 
If you would like to view a small cross section of Quilts that were on display at the quilt show. Click here. There was so much eye candy it was impossible to take photos of them all and it certainly keeps the creative spirit alive viewing such great works of art, thank you ladies for a lovely morning out.

hugs 

Diana

A treat for all my Crafty Pals

Pop on over to my friend Khris's Freebies for Crafters Blog or her personal Blog and see what the clever girl has been up to, she has designed the most gorgeous Sewing Accessories Set, but best of all....... the Australian Craft Magazine "HOMESPUN" has used her designs for this months Project on their Web page at Complete Craft.

Woo Hoo Khristina, so pretty, well done mate and Congratulations.

hugs

Diana