Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

Kathleen at Grosgrain is busy with another fabulous giveaway.
Kathleen's sponsor, Susannah from Art Nest, is offering 3 of her gorgeous pincushion rings to 3 lucky readers .
These rings are not only a wonderfully practical sewing accessory, they are also super-duper cute !
They look good enough to eat !
Made of funky fabrics and lush felt , the rings are silver plated, nickel free and size adjustable .

Art Nest Pincushion RingGIVEAWAY!!!!

Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am in love with this dress !
Soft, romantic, whispy, could it be any more perfect ?
Only if Heathcliff came with it !
For a chance to win, pop over to Kathleen's blog ,Grosgrain. second thoughts..just stay here..I want to win, He-He.
Picnic Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Best friends.

So..what to do when your big brother has gone back to school and you do not have a buddy to play hairdressers with ?



Grab a bag of Schmackos and con your other buddy, Buzz, to sit quietly in the one spot for more than 30 seconds so you can brush his " golden rapunzel hair " .
Everything is related back to fairytale princesses when you are 3, did you know ?

Buzzy lives up to his breed's name....he will retrieve a toy and there it will stay in his mouth for the whole day- until food is offered of course !
Today's toy of choice was his Santa toy from this last Christmas...he had been a very good doggy and made it on the nice list .

Please note that choosing clothes was not this Mumma's role this morning.
Asserting her independence, Emily decided that stripes, more stripes and a splash of floral was a great fashion statement.....luckily no need to leave the house today...phew !

puppy love..........


On a crafty note...I would like to introduce you to Pointy Kitty.
Gotta be careful with the eye placement though or she will end up looking like Evil Kitty !
She is fun to make and can be found at her new home...purring...on Emily's pillow.




Like to make one also ? Here is the link at Wee Wonderfuls .

Next on my to do list ( just for the fun of it ) is the oh so cute Ruby doll
Jhoanna,from One Red Robin has some other cute friends to make too !

Must go op-shopping tomorrow...feeling the need...have not been since Monday - which proved fruitless.


Toodles,

x Peta-Jane x

Planning and organising

x PJ x

Giraffes and ballerinas.

I love the arrival of a new baby ...great excuse to make a cutesy quilt !


In this case, baby Eva's mum Mel has a penchant for giraffes so a combination of the giraffe from the Noah's Ark pattern with some vibrant pinwheels and voila !
Mel was so excited to receive this pink quilt from our quilt group..after two boys the colour is a great change from blue and army green .

This weekend was spent indoors escaping the chilly, rainy weather. Emily took to drawing on the magna-doodle ( a hand-me- down toy from her brother which has seen better days ).
I was rather surprised at the detail in this drawing so I HAD to take a photo for the scrapbook...
it is of a ballerina prancing across the dance floor (her words) .
Just too cute and not a bad effort for a 3 yr old.


Funny how girls can be amused for hours drawing and colouring from early in life. The boys that I have known do not seem to be able to sit still as long the girls..too many jumping beans.

Hope you enjoyed your weekend. We did !
x Peta-Jane x

Quick and easy gift.

I came across this photo of the chalkboard fabric message board I had made as a gift for my Secret Santa last Christmas.
It is sewn in the same manner as a large quilt block. Here is the link to the tutorial I used ,( have a look around this blog while you are there it is gorgeous ! ) the only difference is the pocket along the bottom ( the pink fabric) that stores the chalk.
I made a pocket instead of the little holder that way I could use whatever thickness chalk I had at hand.
I happened to have the wire hanger in my stash. The chalkboard fabric was easy to sew with...only piece of advice with this one DO NOT IRON the chalkboard fabric, it melts !

Colourwash wall quilt

There is a large wall in the Chapel at our hospital that is need of something pretty , restful and contemplative for all those that are visiting unwell loved ones.

Our quilt group spent Saturday cutting lots of squares so we could sew them back together into a colourwash background wall hanging.
We plan on then appliqueing silhouettes of a river redgum tree and possibly butterflies...jury is still out on the butterflies.
Still a lot of sewing to go...but it has been fun so far...


x Peta-Jane x

Now I can share...

the photos from the Maker's Swap !

Yay, Mari has received her parcel from me- I was starting to worry it had gone AWOL, seemed to take a long time to reach her !

So here are some pics of what was in her parcel.......

A fresh and bright Spring theme tote bag. I quilted the rectangles in the bottom section.



A seminole patchwork jewellery roll, with little zip pockets and a ring holder.



A doggy jumper for Buster...fingers crossed it fits him!


I hope Mari enjoyed receiving her Swap Gift as much as I enjoyed making it for her !

Off to the garden to enjoy the sunshine...and no doubt play in the sandpit....wonder if we are making a castle for Cinderella or Rapunzel today ?

x Peta-Jane x

Dick and Dora, Fluff and Nip

I was thrilled to find a pile of Happy Venture readers at a garage sale today.
These are the books that most Aussie kids learnt to read from in the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Memories of Kindergarten and my teacher Mrs Macauley, came flooding back.
I opened the pages and what do you know...there were Dick, Dora , Fluff and Nip...my long , lost reading buddies...running, skipping, going to the toy shop.Dora giving her rag doll Jane a bath...and then unceremoniously pegging Jane from a tree to dry. Oh, and that naughty Nip, he pulled Jane of that tree and put her in the mud !







Unbelievable , how a silly little book can stir up so many emotions and childhood recollections !
But what lovely memories they are !

x Peta-Jane x

Angels.

Two little angels for two little girls. One for Emily and one to send to Emily's cousin Alycia ...who is also 3 years old. I wonder if these angels are like their new owners? Angels in disguise !

Great finds at the op-shop ....

Some "cute as " Oilily Matroyshka doll cord pants for Emily.



Funky green / blue/ lemon fabric apron....so vintage...made in Australia..
.hhhmm to keep as is or to cut ..????

Not sure of it's intended purpose, but it is Arabia ware made in Finland...very collectable...
I just love the design !

Totally stunning vintage linen tea towel .


Have I ever mentioned that I love op-shops ! ?

A Garden theme swap .

I have just signed up for this swap over at Pennydog Jewellery Blog...
The theme is a Garden swap !!
I think it is a great theme and should be lots of fun. Leaves itself open to lots of possibilities for making something special...why don't you join in too ?

Even our dog likes to smell the flowers !

Pay it forward

I am joining in the Pay It Forward ( PIF ) fun !
I was lucky enough to be one of the first 3 commentors on Nova's blog so now I get to join in.

Want to play too ?? ……. The first 3 bloggers to leave a comment for me on this post will receive a hand made gift mailed to them from me. (Please remember to leave contact details for me to reach you.)
Once you have left your comment do a ‘pay it forward post’ on your blog. Then continue the gift giving to the first three people who comment on your blog…how exciting to think of how a simple idea can grow...
Feel free to copy the PIF image above to add to your blog!

I have noticed that some bloggers who are participating in PIF's are allowing up to one year to complete the PIF. I think I would forget if I had that long up my sleeve to get organised so I will set a time frame of 3 months to have my gift made and posted.

x Peta-Jane x

If only they could talk to us...

This is perhaps one of my favourite photos ever..
( perhaps not so technically correct ! ) and Emily was quite touched by the moment.
Even though our trip to the zoo was 4 months ago, Emily will mention the orang-utans at least once a day......

A busy Easter .... but fun !!

I needed to do some baking for my mother in law's 80th Birthday Party on Easter Saturday.
I have something of a baking ritual happening which involves a bottle of wine and this movie, ( my all time favourite I think ! )
Most people probably listen to music...I listen to this movie..too busy to really watch it as I cook...but I think I know every word by heart.
Besides the trays of apple slice and caramel tartlets, there were 10 dozen mini sausage rolls and 9 dozen mini quiches of assorted varieties..( fetta and semi dried tomato are my personal fave....)


We made tray after tray of gourmet sandwiches on the morning which seemed to disappear as soon as they were placed on the table ( always a good sign ) The party was a success. We hosted an afternoon tea party with 60 guests and the birthday girl, Betty, was thrilled to see so many people there.The rain storm politely stayed away until the last guest had departed and the garden was cleared of any party evidence..then the heavens opened up with some lovely soaking rain .
I had made a quilt for Betty and she loved it ( and I loved that I managed to quilt it in time and that I did not have puckers !!)
Sorry, the quilt photo is rough, but it was the only one I have yet.



Easter Bunny found his way to our home...here is Emily following his trail of footprints ....and her sweet pink bunny dressing gown !



Hope you had a lovely Easter break,
x Peta-Jane x

I love the postman....

because he delivered my lovely swap parcel from Mari !!
( ok, so the postman love thing is in a fatherly kind of way...he is nearly 60 !! )
Look what was in the bundle of yummy handmade goodness from Mari...

a crochet soap holder for the shower...a lovely soft cotton with a gentle abrasiveness ( yes I have tried it already and it is great )
some yummy mint lollies...there were 3 ,but I did have to taste test you know !!

and inside the box with the sweet logo sticker on the front, were 3 (WOW) pairs of handmade earrings....I adore them all...but I think my favourite pair are the stone set in the photo centre.
Thank you Mari...!

I have thoroughly enjoyed participating in this Maker's Swap....I hope the postie soon delivers my parcel to Mari...then I can share my photos of what I made for her !

A great blog and a great giveaway !

If you are looking for some stitching inspiration pop over to Stitches and Scissors, Darci has some lovely completed projects to show you...and my fave is this gorgeous pink and green quilt !
Darci is having a giveway so even more reason to pop over !
Thanks Darci for the chance to win the gorgeous fabrics !

Swap,lucky me and fairies in my garden!

I have been busy getting my swap gift completed for the Maker's Swap that was orgainsed by the evervescant Miya. Miya has paired us with a swap buddy and mine is Mari from Kentucky, US.
I must admit , when I peeked at Mari's shops on Artfire and Etsy , I suddenly became very nervous trying to decide on what I could make for her , that would not look too poorly in comparison to the stunning jewellery that she makes. ( I knew I should not have looked !!)
We were all supposed to have our swaps posted by 1st April, but mine is a tad late and will be sent this afternoon. Fingers crossed Mari likes it!.

I discovered the lovely blog of Gail Pan Designs who has some gorgeous quilt and stitchery designs and was lucky enough to be the winner of her giveaway !
Do pop over to her blog and have a look, Gail has a sweet freebie BOM Christmas quilt stitchery that would be easy to make and be a great gift for someone special this Christmas.

Yesterday was a lovely warm Autumn day and Emily pottered around in the sandpit then had a wee rest underneath the rose bushes.
When I approached her she asked me to "sshh"and "be quiet please Mummy...you might scare the fairies !! " .
I hid back around the corner and listened to her having the sweetest little conversation with her fairy friends !
Oh, to be 3 again !!

Swap fabrics and quilting frustration

I have been missing in action on this blog for a few weeks...our household have been unwell with various ailments...but now it is catch up time.
Firstly , I wanted to share with you the lovely fabrics I received in the Sew Mama Sew fat quarter swap.
The lovely Nova sent the Amy Butler Pink Lotus fabric. The check red was from Anna, who was very naughty and also sent another "cute as "fabric (featuring funky dressmakers mannequins) just because I commented on her new shop...
The cute pussycat and mouse fabric was from Laura in St Lois, it is a Richloom print and will work wonderfully in a kid's quilt I have planned.
This was the first swap I have participated in and it was so much fun. Thanks girls !

I am becoming very frustrated in my attempts to quilt this gift for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday , which needs to be completed by Easter Saturday...I have puckers !

I pondered how to quilt this one for some time...decided on a diagonal pattern...( tried the stipple thing..but then unpicked it ! )..it is 75" square and difficult to manouver on my little machine..I am really wishing I had a spare $200 to send it to a long arm quilter......could be cheaper than the cost of a hair transplant..which is what I will need after I have pulled all mine out over this one !