A Little Housekeeping…

New curtains were desperately needed in the over the fence household.

There was the unfortunate Curtain and Candle Catastrophe of Christmas Day (a bit of poetic licence there as technically it was Boxing Day but we were really celebrating Christmas with the MaTH’s side of the family).
Anyway nothing but a pair of curtains was harmed in the making of the catastrophe, but it was curtains for the curtains!
It was a smokin’ hot day.
I’ll get to the point shortly but I’m on fire with the puns.
Enough already!

I shouldn’t make too light of it…I was shocked at how quickly a little flame can take hold, and the Christmas tree was right next to the curtains, which could have led to a much worse scenario.

At least there has been some productive sewing happening.

I still can’t seem to get all of the pins out of the way, whether it’s a quilt block or curtains.

Pencil pleats….

and more pencil pleats…4 drops in all.

The MaTH and I had an Australia Day excursion to Spotlight (I know – imagine getting a husband into Spotlight – the trade off was going to Bunnings first!). I bought new white poles because these gorgeous curtains just do not go with the brown poles that were there before.

With the curtains back up, I'm off to do some fun sewing...this rainy weather is a perfect excuse for staying inside.

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…

AUSTRALIA DAY 2013

Happy Australia Day

Decorating the house…

Baking the pavlova

and a little bit of sewing…

[Block #1 – “Measure Twice” from QuietPlay’s And Sew On…A Paper pieced BoM]

These have to be the best ingredients for a Happy Public Holiday…

Linking up with Link a Finish Friday at Richard Quilts

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…

Plans

At the end of 2012, I realised that I had bought more fabric in that year, than ever before.

I justified these purchases by the number of swap groups I was in, some pretty good deals that were floating around and a vague feeling of “wanting”

I intend to keep joining swaps….after all I think that if it weren't for the deadline of swaps, I wouldn't have even made it to the sewing machine as much as I did last year.

However, I now have a huge stash, lots of books, patterns and bookmarked projects, and it’s about time I committed to using what I have.
The sewing room is tidy.

The stash is neat.

The UFO’s are all in one handy to get at spot.

My mantra for 2013 is going to be:

"No more fabric
No more books
Use what I have"

In the interests of full disclosure, here is the last of the 2012 purchases (um...except there are 2 “reserved” precuts that will ship sometime this year, which might help with the whole withdrawal symptoms bit!)

A glorious FQ bundle of ‘Type’…

A whopping pile of Joel Dewberry…

and some pretty smart reds to fill the hole in my red stash (yes that is exactly how I justified it!)

...finally, a wee case of crafting books that I felt compelled to buy because they look cute and I might one day want to learn bead embroidery, or sashiko, or felting, or...!

I've been slowly adding my computer bookmarks to pinterest…all of my boards are here, and there are a few quilt-a-longs that I'm joining in with, which hopefully will all make a big dent in the fabric hoarding.

I’m looking forward to a very productive 2013.

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…

Bye Bye 2012

The end of the year has come! The sewing room is looking worse for wear and demands a tidy up.
To make me feel better, I’ve snuck in a few finishes for the year…
Emma your block is finally on it’s way.

The demo pouch from SIT 2012 finally has it’s strap

…and I get to start the new year with a walking foot that will do the job properly..

I managed to break off the plastic hook from overuse…that’s a good sign right?

Now the new one runs like a dream and maybe those quilts I’ve put off finishing will get done!
Well I’m off to the best fireworks party for New Years Eve - Sydney Harbour - I’ll be watching from Vaucluse, from my sister place.

photo credit here

so Farewell  2012,

and Welcome 2013

Happy New Year to all and

 thanks for a year of taking a peek over the fence…

HOORAY….

Hope you all had a very Happy Christmas. Our Christmas lasts two days -on Christmas Day we spent the day with my side of the family at my brothers place, and on Boxing Day we hosted the MaTH's side of the family - I've been in a Christmas induced "coma" since!

I am slowly awakening, and what better reason than for some

Celebration and Jubilation

The MISSING POST ITEM finally arrived at Leona’s.

Leona's Blog header

When Leona put up her new blog header I thought it would make a great modern quilt block. It was a bit of fun to make – it just involved a few rectangles and sewing on side strips that were then trimmed at an angle before the next one was added.

It was supposed to arrive in time for her birthday on 23 October – oh well 2 months late….hmmm that reminds me of something that I blogged about halfway through the year.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

merci de prendre un coup d'oeil par dessus la clôture…

Before the neglect....

there were a lot of swap comings and goings...

MODERN SHE MADE SWAP
This was the progress photo and I mailed it off without getting a photo of the mutlicoloured binding…

It was received in 6 DAYS going to SWEDEN (take note Australia Post and USA post…you both took 16 days to get one item to Nevada…18 days to get one to Florida and there is still a parcel missing from October 13 going to Philadelphia!)
Here is the link for the picture that Karin too of finished tablerunner Modern She Made Swap.

This is what arrived for me from Kayla  - an amazing sewing machine mat -that went with me to the GWSMQG sewing Sunday...I didn't misplace any of my sewing implements that day, must have saved me from wasting at least half an hour that is usually spent searching for snips ,pins, cottons, bobbins etc.

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I made two of these sewing caddys for the winners of my Blogtoberfest giveaway:

 

This green colour way went off to Irene, and a pink version went off to Jill…but I don't have a photo - that's the second item in as many weeks that I've sent and not photographed.

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The Scrappy Bits Swap had to be posted by 17 November and this is what I sent off to my partner:


I was really happy with the way it turned out...especially that gorgeous hexagon flower.

This is what came for me from Leona, one of my longest "bloggy" friendships

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A lovely scrappy cotton reel ornament came from Sarah at Happiness Stuff and Nonsense

It is so beautifully made and I love the old wooden cotton reel an lovely embroidery. This will be a real treasure from 2012 to bring out each Christmas.

The ornaments I made, and blogged here, were sent of to Cyndy of Wombat's Picnic

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We are spending Christmas Day at my brothers place and 3 of my siblings will be there with all their families, so we will have a lovely, loud and happy celebration together.

On Boxing Day we will be hosting "Christmas" for my husbands side of the family...there will only be 8 of his 11 siblings - plus families -  there so it will be a louder, but equally happy and lovely celebration together.

I'm off to finish the desserts and crack the whip to get the kids help finish tiding/cleaning the house. Wish me luck!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…