Bec Clarke

2012 Work In Progress Challenge.

2012-01-01T12:40:00.000-08:00

AJ has devised an evil plan to help some of us finish our un-finished projects in our ever increasing Quilting stash.

So far I have only found about 4 quilts that are unfinished but that doesn't count all the fabric that I have chosen patterns for and not even cut up yet.

I have made a new page to showcase my progress but here is the list so far, there are still a few places I have not looked..

1. Flimsy of Basic Ease from Modern Basics Book
2. Flimsy of Posie Patch from Modern Basics which also needs a bit of applique
3. Blocks assembled using Cappuccino Bali Pop, needs to be flimsy'd and finished.
4. Blocks from Carol Doak's 2011 Twisted Myster Paper pieceing, all fabric cut out but only a couple of blocks complete.
5. Fabric cut out for a Star quilt (very old WIP).
6.

Sewing & Reading some more

2011-11-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

I have been sewing for my niece Adelaide. My one and only brother moved home to Australia in August this year. He had been living in the USA for 5 1/2 years. While he was there he met a lovely lady and got married and they now have this little cutie on their hands.

Adelaide is 18 months old, which is really handy as she is almost 1 year exactly behind my Jess so I can send her any lovely clothes that don't fit Jess anymore.

It also means I can quite easily make her cute outfits to wear in a snap.

Not sure why this photo turned itself around when I loaded it up.
It's just a little A-line pinafore with snapped tabs on the shoulders.
Fabric: It's a Hoot

This one is the Same dress but with Buttons on the shoulder tabs.
Fabric: Amy Butler Soul Blossom.
It may be a tad big right now.

An a 3rd dress.
A cute tie neck halter with ruffle around the bottom.
It has elastic around the chest with a slight frill at the top.
Fabric: Amy Butler Soul Blossom.
I think I accidentally made this in Jessie's size so it will go away for next year.

Then there is all the books that I have been reading.
I have been terribly hooked lately and have been going to bed early with the intention of reading for half an hour and going to sleep.
Well 2 hours later I look up at the clock and realise this is not what has happened and the next day I suffer for it.
I just can't seem to help myself when I start reading I can't stop.
To see how busy I've been check out my reading lists on the page tabs up the top. I am up to 98 books all up for the year, I may even have forgotten to put a couple of the list too.

Books and more books

2011-10-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

So what have I been doing?

Not blogging that's for sure.

Trying to keep up with the fabric orders...Bec Clarke Creations

Trying to keep up with the soap orders...Bec's Soap

Sewing...

A flimsy using Amy Butler Love
Pattern from the Book "Modern Basics"

Not quite a flimsy
using a "Spirit" Layer Cake
also from the book "Modern Basics".

Foundation Paper Piecing
I joined a Yahoo Group run by
the most fabulous Carol Doak
We are doing a Mystery at the moment
and it's so much fun.

OK so I am too lazy to go and fix this pic.
the dress Jess is wearing is just an a-line
shift made from an old mens shirt.
It was very easy and she loves
wearing it around the farm.

There is more sewing but I can't find my photo's

And READING!!!!

Go and check out my reading challenge pages
E-Book Challenge
100 Book Challenge

I also just bought these 2 cool books:

My Step-mum had this book when we were kids
She made alot of the cakes out of it for us
when we had our birthday's at Dad's place.
I just hope I can do some of them for my kids.

Everyone is talking about Macarons so I saw this
book and thought I would give them a try.
I have a husband with a sweet tooth so they
should go down alright.

Halloween Quilt

2011-09-18T15:04:00.000-07:00

I just realised that i had not blogged this quilt.

I whipped it up from a layer cake early this year so I could have a sample for a market stall i was doing.

I then ended up selling it at our Football/Netball Club promise auction in August.

I was a bit sad to see it go as I was quite pleased with my first effort at stack and slash that I made up all on my own (well I got the idea from a book but did it my way)

Before quilting

Finished quilt with binding.

I got some Layer Cake squares, piled up 5 at a time and then made a 3" strip in the centre of each of them then I took the strip and cut a 3" square out of each one.

I did this with all 42 squares and that way I could swap every single square around and mix up all the centre squares.

I made the first strip really random so that they are off centre and out of kilter and I think it turned out alright.

One Layer Cake really makes a decent size quilt.

I straight line quilted beside each seam going up and also across. Then I also straight line quilted down the lenght of the centre of each column to give a longer illusion.

Remembering

2011-09-11T14:46:00.001-07:00

I remember!!!

I will never forget.

Terrorism will NEVER win over the Goodness and Courage of the rest of the world.

Busy living liffe

2011-08-22T00:21:00.000-07:00

Once again (if there is anyone left reading this blog this is for you) life has gotten in the way of blogging.

Here is a little pictorial of what we have been up to.

A Quilt for a Queensland Wedding
I am so proud of this quilt, it was tough to finish
in the time that I had available but it's lovely
plus the bride and groom love it.

We live in a lovely valley but this is what happens
when we have a wet Autumn/Winter.
Some days we don't see the sun at all!!!
It's very peaceful and beautiful for a while
but not all day. That's Sam up the track!

I am very happy with how all my fog photo's turned out!!!

We got a new Kitten. His name is Whiskers.
He is very friendly and follows us all
around the farm - seroiusly he comes out into
the paddocks if we are walking around!!!

We also had some beautiful sunny days in the early winter.
The kids love getting out in the Vege garden.
We didn't put any winter vege's in this garden
so lots of fun was had moving dirt around.

We also got a new puppy.
He is going to be a working dog eventually
But for now he is mad and wild and very funny.

Hopefully I will be back a bit sooner with a few more photo's

BLOGGERS QUILT FESTIVAL

2011-05-14T18:28:00.000-07:00

I know I have been a very irregular blogger lately but I always try to have an entry for the Bloggers Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side.

I have made a few quilts this year so far but I am going to blog one that I made late last year for a lovely and very talented quilter in a swap. I was terrified when I found out my swap partner as she is AMAZING at both piecing and quilting but I settled on an idea, a theme, some fabric and went for it.

I used the basic pattern from Ricky Timms Convergance quilts book and it was so much fun.
My Theme was snow as every year Emma and her famliy take trips to the Snowy Mountains and I love to look at the photo's. I machine embroidered some snowflakes and did a Free Motion swirly all over quilting.
On the back was a butterfly fabric that I used in honour of her son who loves having his face painted with butterflies.

Sam turned 4!!!

2011-04-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

I'm a terrible blogger lately and now I'm a terrible mother.

I have been meaning to do this for weeks.

On 6 April 2011 my gorgeous boy turned 4!!! Then a few days later he started going to pre-school for 1 day a week. He is so smart and loving going to school and meeting new kids and people.

So here is Sam, not so long ago on a rainy day.

I have wonderful plans to try for a weekly post soon, sort of a farm/crafting/kids diary as that is mostly what my life is about right now. Netball/Football season has started too so hopefully if I can get my act together will be talking to anyone who is still listening soon.

P.S. go check out the new goodies in my store, just in case you hadn't already.

Bec Clarke Creations

Jessie turns 2

2011-03-19T14:41:00.000-07:00

I am a bit late posting this but life is so flat out at the moment.

The delightful Jessica Grace turned 2 on Thursday - St Patricks Day.

I had to go to Albury to get the car serviced and do a heap of errands so she was at home with Bev my eve wonderful Mother-in-law and Sam.

I have been practicing my digital scrapping and came up with this.

We are going to have a little family get together for both kids in April when Sam turns 4.

She is very strong willed at times and can turn a tantrum and stamp her foot like no-other child I have seen, but for the most part she is funny and very cuddly and I love our little Irish Angel with all my heart.

We apologise for this break in transmission

2011-02-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

Isn't that what they used to say when the TV station went out.

Well now days you don't even get a sorry they just carry on like nothing happneded

BUT

I sincerely apologise for my very long absence.

I have had the most terrible month with my computer.

I got a nasty virus that duplicated all my file folders then hid my originals so I was having an absolute heart attack thinking I had lost everything.

Luckily I did a few searches and found them. I also managed to make a copy of my Outlook email files and was able to restore them once I had my computer back up and running.

To fix the problem however, I had to totally wipe my hard drive and re-boot to factory settings then load up all my documents again etc... etc...

So here I am back, finally and I should have some pictures to show you next week as I have done some sewing of quilts and clothes and all sorts of wonderful things.

I will also have some photo's to show you of my very first Market stall selling fabric.

It is this Sunday 27 Feb in Wagga Wagga, at the Muddi Boutique Markets.

I have to say how impressed I am that we have such a high calibre market in our area (although it is a 1.5 hour drive for me). I have lived in Sydney and Melbourne and I think these markets are worthy of both places. It just goes to show that there is talented people everywhere. We are lucky in our area to have Sari to organise the Muddi markets in Wagga.

If you live or are visiting the area they are happening every 3 months this year so look them up.

Catch you on the other side of Sunday I have to go and practice my songs for this Saturday at Tumbafest

FLOOD RELIEF RAFFLE WINNER

2011-01-26T00:52:00.000-08:00

Well I discussed it with Mr random.org and he came up with a number for me.

I had 108 tickets sold and I was so happy to be able to help in that small way along with donating myself of course.

So who is the winner you ask.

It was random number 22 who is Samelia's Mum. I will be contacting her tonight to tell her the good news. Go and check out her blog, she does the most amazing raw edge applique and has recently done a tutorial on a very cute mug rug.

A huge thank you to Toni of Make It Perfect who organised all the lists for Auctions and Raffles. I can't wait to see how much money was raised.

And lastly a huge thank you to everyone who bid and donated and just got involved in this wonderful online event.

They still have a long way to go for recovery up in Queensland but hopefully our efforts helped a bit.

Please also spare a thought for the town in Victoria who are now suffering flooding.

Our wonderful country really is a mystery to us but it just goes to show, you cannot fight Mother Nature, you can prepare for what you think she may throw your way but you just never know what it's going to be.

CLOSED Thankyou Flood Relief Raffle Quilt

2011-01-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

RAFFLE IS NOW CLOSED, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED A TICKET.
WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED IN A COUPLE OF HOURS.

Welcome to my raffle if you are visiting from the Make it Perfect blog if not then click on the button below anytime after Sunday and there will be a master list of places you can visit and support the Flood Appeal.

It is now quilted and bound and has finished up a nice lap or baby size quilt at 37" square, I have taken this photo on our clothes line which is in front of our vege garden. The second photo is of the back so you can get a clear picture of the quilting. It's basic straight line quilting, it was "organic" with no lines drawn.

I was going to do an Auction but I want 'Everyone' to have a chance to win it.
So...
I will do a raffle.
For every $2 you donate to the QLD FLOOD RELIEF you will get 1 ticket.
For every $5 you will get 3 tickets.

So if you only have $4 then you get 2 tickets
But if you have $10 then you can have 6 tickets and so on.

I haven't been to do a donation to QLD FLOOD RELIEF yet as I have been busy sewing so I don't know if the system gives you a receipt you can send to me but it will probably have to be on an honesty system.

If you have a receipt you can feel free to e-mail it to me: beccaj74 (at) yahoo.com.au

If not I will just have to trust that people are going to be honest when they say they have donated to the cause.

It's simple to enter, leave me a comment here telling me how much you have donated and I will work up a spreadsheet in the order the comments are left and then use good old Random.org to generate numbers at the end of the Raffle which will be Monday 24 January 9am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time.

I will cover the cost of postage anywhere in the World.

I also just found this cute little workshop that is only $5 to join and all money goes to the flood relief.

Kim Archer Smile Workshop

Queensland Flood Relief Auction

2011-01-11T02:48:00.000-08:00

Toni from Make it Perfect is organising a master list of Auctions and Raffles that will be taking place starting Monday 17 January.

I will be taking part and putting something up for people to purchase raffle tickets for.
It will be a quilt made by me, I will have more information on Monday if you want to come and look.
Postage will be included. All ticket purchases are to be made straight to the relief fund, but I will have links and more information in the next few days.
Please visit Toni's blog on Monday and find something to bid on to help the people in the North.
Spread the word and tell everyone, you will get to bid on some fantastic items as well as donating to a wonderful and worthwhile cause.

2 Challenges for 2011

2011-01-07T02:15:00.000-08:00

So last year I overloaded myself with sewing and Quilting challenges and I have made a promise to myself and my family that I would cut back severely on those this year.

Fair enough on everyone, I kind of felt the pressure towards the end of the year.

So the next best thing is READING...

I have just signed up for 2 reading challenges and couldn't be happier.

2 of my Quilting/Blogging friends are also doing the challenge
AJ and Kylie. Kylie has even started a whole new blog devoted to reading...

So here is what I am doing.

2011 - 100+ Book Challenge

2011 E-book Challenge

I read every day, even if it's just 5 mins in bed before crashing each night.
I have always been a prolific reader, even way back in the day of the MS Readathon days in school. People used to get a bit of a shock if they sponsored me per book!!!

I have already read 3 books this year and a half way through my 4th.

I have just ordered myself a Kindle from Amazon and cannot wait to get reading on it and be able to carry around stacks of books all in one tiny device.

So I have added a couple of new Pages up the top to keep tabs on my tally.

Watch out!!!

A Few New Things

2010-12-28T19:36:00.000-08:00

I know I have been a very regular blog poster lately, but my internet connection is behaving and I want to do it while I can.

So today I am here to tell you about a couple of things have noticed lately.

1st There will be a blog tour in the new year that sounds quit fun. There is a button over there on the right hand sidebar that will take to you to some more information if you want some great freebies and prizes.

2nd, There are a few other buttons on the sidebar that you may like to investigate.

There is Tea-cup tuesday which is lovely.

The bloggers Quiltapalooza which sounds so fun and is still quite a surprise yet.

There is a Layer Cake Quilt-a-long and a heap of other things.

NOW FOR THE REALLY GOOD BIT...

A Brand new E-Zine that is arriving with the New Year.

It's called The Quilt Pattern Magazine and it sounds wonderful.

Apart from being a monthly magazine with 2 BOMS, lots of other patterns and lots of wonderful information and articles.

The cost is amazing... You can get in now and get a subscription of 13 issues for $11.99 USD.

I don't know about you but I can't find another quilt magazine at that price.

There is a great blog-hop running where you can win a yearly subscription (or your money back if you already have one like me).

Just have a look HERE for the blog hop page with the link to all the people giving away this wonderful prize.

Go here: THE QUILT PATTERN MAGAZINE and look around to see what will be on offer.

Just so you know, I am not being paid or offered anything to do this post. I just though people may want to know. Not that I have that many readers or anything...

Bye

My Favourite Time of Year - The Florin Street Band (Christmas 2010)

2010-12-24T17:14:00.000-08:00

I found this on another blog I read and I just had to share.

Read some of the comments and you will agree, it's a good old fashioned Christmas song about getting together and having a joyous time, not about the commercial side of Christmas.

It's just lovely and I hope you have a listen and it makes your Christmas that little bit nicer.

Merry Christmas to anyone who reads this blog and to all my family and friends.

See what I made

2010-12-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

I have been busy making some thankyou/Christmas gifts for 2 very special girls.

They helped their mum look after my 2 rascals during our local football season this year and I am ever eternally grateful.

I would trust my children with these 2 girls more than I would trust them with some adults. I know some parents wouldn't be too fussed about a 3 and 1yo but I am. There are too many wierdo's out there and just too many things that can happen if you do not watch them.

So after 15 rounds of football where I umpired 2 games per week and even managed to play about 7 or 8 games in between I will be forever grateful that I had a bit of normality to my season and that my children were well cared for.

This is the quilt for Bridget, she is off to Boarding School next year and I hope she will love it enough to take it with her. It ended up about 50" wide x 68" long. I used 12 fat quarters and just a simple stack, slash and shuffle method.

The fabric is "Santorini" by Lila Tueller and was so lovely to work with, I like that the big pieces let the fabrics do their thing.

I quilted it very simply using "organic straight line quilting" as I have seen it names. Simply started in the middle and went straight down without marking a line and just eyeballed it. I was amazed at how straight I can sew when I try hard!!!

CLICK ON ANY PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER!!!

The dress is for Emily. It's a pattern from Ottobre Magazine 6/2009, #32 Jolie. It's actually a winter pattern but I jazzed it up by making it in the lovely "Summer Song" fabric range. I made the yoke in a different fabric and you can't see it very well but there is a small ruffle at the top of the yoke in a yellow version of the mail bodice fabric, the ruffle goes all the way around.

I must have mis-read the instructions somewhere along the way as I got to the neckline and just couldn't figure out what they wanted me to do. I ended up making some binding using the same fabric as the yoke and the neckline worked beautifully.

I cut it out in 152cm height but it will be too big for her this summer unfortunately as she is a petite little thing.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND A SAFE NEW YEAR.

Before I go here is a picture of my kids on Tuesday. It has been the craziest weather lately. Today it's 30 deg and hot. The other day it was snowing on the mountains... go figure.

Oh and I nearly forgot about the "Knights" costume that Sam wanted me to make him the other day. I did a google search and got a pillowcase and was going to do a fancy hem and applique on the front but he was happy with head and arm holes, who am I to complain that I don't have to do more work.

Then there is Jess. I cut this outfit out for her last Christmas but didn't get around to putting it together, thank goodness I cut it out so big as it fits her this year.

The pattern is from Ottobre Mag 3/2009. The dress is #5 Alicia & the pants #2 Cassia. I didn't put elastic in the arms as I thought it was going to be our usual hot christmas. I also omitted the elastic in the shorts lets and opted for the red ruffle instead. This was her modelling the other night before bed, she screamed when I had to take it off. She has had a hair trim since then too and is nice and curly again, not fuzzy.

Then last but definately not least is my gorgeous niece whom I still haven't met because she lives in Baltimore. Isn't she cute. The spitting image of my brother and I don't usuallay say things like that. That's the quilt I made them for their wedding, I am so happy that they seem to use it so much, it's in nearly every photo I see.

Don't Walk & Definately Don't Run!!!

2010-12-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

There is a giveaway but I really, really, really don't want you to enter.

Corrie of Retro mummy Fame who has the Gorgeous Retro mummy shop

is having a super fabulous giveaway but I want to win it so please don't go there!!!

Kaffe Fassett GONE THANK YOU

2010-12-16T15:50:00.000-08:00

***THANK YOU EVERYONE THIS HAS BEEN PURCHASED BY SOMEONE***

I have booked and fully paid for a set to the Kaffe Fasset workshop being held in Canberra on Wednesday 16 Feb 2011.

I just found out this morning that there is a very important personal commitment that is happening around that date that will make it impossible for me to attend the workshop so I would like to try and sell my seat to someone.

Please e-mail me if you would like more details and are interested.

I have already contact Addicted to Fabric in Canberra to make sure this is o.k. and it is, we just need to notify them of the change if one happens. They don't have a wait list but they know I am looking for someone to take my ticket.

Fingers crossed I can find a taker or I am very much out of pocket.

Tea Cup Tuesday

2010-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:00

I saw this recently on this blog:

and just loved it. Plus I need something to motivate my blogging!!!

I know most people think that Tea Cups are a thing of the past but I love them and think they are just beautiful and have decided to participate for a while.

I inherited some lovely tea-cups from my Grandmother, plus my Mother-in-law has a wonderful collection that I will be sharing with you.

I myself just love a cup of tea throughout the day and it feel so much more special if you have it in a pretty china cup.

So here is the first one for you to admire:

This is actually one of a set of 4 that I picked up a yard sale, it doesn't look like much but I love green and I love glass and it's made in france which makes me love it even more.

Here is another one for you for this week

This is part of a massive set of the "Old Country Roses" collection by Royal Albert - Bone China from England.

I inherited this set from my mum who didn't want to cart it around anymore so not it lives with me. I have a teapot, salt & pepper shakers, massive platter and complete 6 piece dining set plus more.

And lastly I thought I would share my latest win!!!

I was lucky enough that the planets aligned one day and the kids were being good for half an hour one Thursday morning and I called into the "Creative Mojo" internet radio show to say hi to Mark Lipinski. I just wanted to say hi and say how much I enjoy the show and would you know it, they were giving away these great mugs to all callers and they sent one all the way to me in Australia.

It's a great show that runs every week, I subscribe to it in my I-tunes podcasts so I can listen to it when I like. There are all sorts of different guests talking about heaps of different things and Mark is just a hoot. Go and check out the blog to see who's on this week:

MARK LIPINSKI'S BLOG

IT'S GIVEAWAY DAY!!!

2010-12-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am not hosting one here on my personal blog.

BUT

You can go here to my shop blog and enter one there.

Then press this button

and go and enter the rest of them, you may have to wait a while for the post to appear at Sew Mama Sew as it's not the 13th in the USA just yet, but I guarantee it will be HUGE and well worth the visit.

ONLINE CLASSES

2010-11-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

I keep asking myself where can I find more hours in the day and never come up with an answer.

But still I find more things that I want to do.

One of those things I just had to do was sign up for the R.A.I.L online class in the Roses On My Table group.

The AMAZING thing about this workshop is that for $35USD you get 12 months of workshops. One new workshop every month AND...

get this...

The videos are downloadable so you can keep them at home and watch them in your own time. There are extra instructions that you can copy and paste into a word document and a great group of people that chat, share and help each other.

I love these as I can save them and then take my time and do them at my own pace but Zinnia is always there to help and offer encouragement too.

I am on my second month now which is a gorgeous Memory Keeper box.

I actually missed the very first month that it was held but it is now available as a separate lesson that I am going to go and purchase. The month just past was gorgeous domino pendants, very elegant and beautiful.

I have to say, after purchasing a few online workshops this year there is only this one and one other that I have been fully satisfied with.

The other ones are classes held by the lovely Mary of Green Paper Packages Blog.

She has held 3 and I have all of them and have learnt so much about collage, colour, design, shape and all the lovely elements associated with paper art, ATC's, collage and much more.

The latest class is Collage Basics with Vintage Paper.

Here too Mary is so very generous with her knowledge and encouragement.

There is always lots of free images to work with and lessons that come in downloadable PDF format so that if you are like me and don't manage your time very well you can do it when you get to it but still learn and watch what others are doing on the flickr group.

So if you want to learn more go and have a look, it will be worth your while.

A Give away but please don't enter!!!

2010-11-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

It's a bit of a conundrum really.

I have to tell you about it to get an entry.

BUT

I don't want you to enter.

Go ahead if you must

The lovely Corrie of Retromummy fame is having a giveaway. She is very generously giving away a whole bundle of Sweet Broderie fabric by Rosalie Quinlan.

Go and enter if you really must but I am going to win. I tell you this.

While you are there go and visit her Retro Mummy Store she has very different fabrics to my store. She has lots of lovely cute Japanese & Lecien fabrics and some gorgeous patterns and magazines. Go on, support a wonderful Australian fabric business visit Retro Mummy today.

5 Years ago today

2010-11-05T02:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it myself but this time 5 years ago we were having our Wedding dinner with our most wonderful familiy and friends.

Less than 6 months later my brother moved to the USA where he promptly met the lady who became is wife 2 years ago in June just past. They also now have a lovely little girl whom they called Adelaide who was born in May this year.

We have a little boy who will be 4 in April and a very strong willed little girl who will be 2 in March.

Time does go by so fast, I don't want it to, I am having too much of a good time.

I hope everyone out there can know the happiness that I do even if it is only for a short time.

Prizes, Pincushions & More

2010-11-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful month in October.

I won this

I entered a competition on the Crafty Mama's blog I was astounded to get the envelope and find not 1 but 5 different lengths of Farbenmix ribbon inside it.

I am truly grateful for this lovely little prize and I suggest you keep an eye on the Crafty Mama's Blog they are always having great giveaways and have some great tips and sewing information.

And this

I have a yearly subscription to a wonderful new e-zine called

Fat Quarterly

They have an excellent blog that you can have a look at and then purchase either single issues or a yearly subscription to the magazine.

Every issue is jam packed with great patterns, interviews and some fantastic giveaway's. I have been a subscriber since issue 1 and always enter the competitions, I was totally blown away to get an e-mail telling me I had won this book from a giveaway in their 2nd issue.

I highly reccommend having a look at their blog even if you don't decide to get the magazine. There is a quilt-a-long that happened a while ago that you can still get the instructions for. They have great interviews, there was one with Denyse Schmidt the other day and regular features with other quilters and designers.

They also gave a free Holiday Special Edition to all subscribers recently which was great.

As for the book that I won, what is not to like. By the wonderful Australian team behind the "Prints Charming" Store it is full of easy lessons and tips on printing your own fabric and then super projects to showcase your or someone else's lovely printed fabric. Over 40 sewing and printing projects that you can do at home.

I received this

I joined in a swap on Flickr. A Mug Rug Swap. I had never heard of one before but it's basically between a coaster and a placemat and is about big enough for a Mug and a small plate.

Things have taken off for the Mug Rug movement since this first swap and you can go and join the group as there will be plenty more swaps I am sure.

This lovely creation was sent to me by the lovely Jodie from the USA, I don't have her blog address handy but it's so cute, it has 3 little cups spelling out the word tea, some extra bits of fabric and a very nice recipe for some almond cookies that my family just loves.

And this

A Pin cushion swap that I joined. It was run by Ellie I was terrified after I signed up for 2 but then I found the funnest pattern that I sent away and I got this very cute little chicken in the mail from Penny at Back Valley Seasons she even included the cute little hand beaded heart that you see pinned to the side of the chook. I have had to hide it from my Mother in law as she is a chook nut.

She included a lovely card that has a Gelatin Mono-print feature on the front which is very clever.

AND this

How cute is this little fellow. A little beetle from the amazing

Diana Trout. He is cute as a button and nice and small, it fits in the palm of my hand. I am using him when I am moving around a bit and need something portable.

I will do a separate post with my offerings later on this week.

I have also just cut a a lovely Bali Pop to make up into the Quilt a long quilt from the Fat Quarterly blog so I will show you that too.

BLOGGERS QUILT FESTIVAL

2010-10-29T16:35:00.000-07:00

Hello and welcome to my not so regular blog posting.

This is my 3rd year of entering a quilt in Amy's Bloggers Quilt festival.

Every year there is some wonderful quilts to be seen, and often lovely stories to go with them.

It also means that every year my blog reading list gets a bit longer.

So... here is my entry for this year.

I only finished this quilt last night, it is a gift for my cousin who is turning 21 next week but his party is tonight and I wanted to have it done.

He is a Carlton Football Club Fan (Australian Rules football) so I made it all in Navy & White.

The pattern is a free one that i got from Anina at Twiddletails she ran a Quilt-a-long a while back and i saved all the information and then made the quilt just now.

The instructions were very easy to follow but I didn't want to just cut out 1 square at a time and do it in a week by week format so I put all the information in a spreadsheet and added them all up and cut it all out at once. Thank goodness for spreadsheet, the maths nearly did my head in even with the help.

I am quite happy with the result. Some of my pinwheels are a bit wonky but the majority of them are just great. I did rush a little as I had a tight deadline.

As for quilting I was quite stuck but then I stuck with simple and did a straight line down the middle of each sashing strip. Then I had an idea that I wasn't sure would work. My lovely Janome MC11000SE has a stippling feature so I simply did one spot of stippling in the centre of each block. I was worried it would look strange and to some it may but I think it's a different way to use a stipple, kind of making a feature out it and it adds a strange depth to the pinwheels.

The label is also done on my machine using the letters from the Monograming function.

All up the quilt finished up at about 48" x 62", it is 100% cotton front, batting and backing. The front is simple homespun and the backing is a Michael Miller called Western Bandana in Denim, that is also used for the Binding.

Thank you to anyone who has visited I am doing my best to go and see some lovely quilts also.

NEXT Google Reader Simplified

2010-10-03T02:04:00.000-07:00

I have a whole stack of blogs on my Google reader.
I sometimes have trouble keeping up with my reading.
Due to my dodgy internet connection I also find that I don't leave alot of comments as it is a slow painful process most days.

However,

I was reading on a blog recently that there is a new way to access your blogs through the Google reader but you actually get to see the complete blog page each time and it is so much easier to access the comment form from there.

As a result I am a very happy blog reader and am able to show a bit more "Love" to all the wonderful bloggers that I love to read.

This is just one blog that gives great instructions on how to use the "Google Next" feature.

GOOGLE NEXT INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE SWEET LIFE

September Catch Up

2010-09-27T14:14:00.001-07:00

OMG as they say, I can't believe that it has been 6 weeks since I did a blog post.

I don't know where time has gone either, that's scary.

I have been super busy though. We had to go to Sydney for DH to have another operation on his eye, hopefully this is the last one though. It's very frustrating for him.

I have been doing some sewing and this is my finished projects for the month.

This is a little cushion that I made for my cousin's baby who was born in January.

This is the other side of the cushion. The stitchery reads "I don't mind being sweet and small, one day I'll wake up big and tall". It's so appropriate as my cousin is 6'4" tall and very big and strong. I got the stitchery from this wonderful blog: Mrs Moen
she has lots of lovely free patterns and stuff.

This is a little "Mug Rug" that I have made to send away for a swap. I made a different one first but I can't find the picture.

Now to make matters worse I have signed up for 4 more swaps, something I said I wouldn't do this year after overloading at the start of the year.

I have also been getting plenty of new fabric so have a look here, I should have it all loaded up by tomorrow.

CRAFTUMI

2010-08-18T22:28:00.000-07:00

No not some strange new language.

A fantastic new place for Aussie craft suppliers to sell their Supplies and Tools.

They can be commercially purchased supplies or handmade supplies but you can sell them here as long as you are in Australia.
Purchases can be made from within Australia or from International buyers too.

It is actually designed by the "Made It" crew who do a wonderful job of getting Aussie Handcrafted items on the web.

So go and take a look and support Australia a wee bit more.

CRAFTUMI

Terriffic Tuesday

2010-08-16T18:44:00.001-07:00

Feeding Cows in the fog

It's green alright, we have had heaps and heaps of rain but it's too cold for the grass to grow

We have 2 tiny Poddy Lambs right now.
They are only 4 days old.
My mother-in-law makes the coats!!!

Adelaide's quilt is finished.

I machine embroidered it using a lovely butterfly alphabet.

I made it using a "Funny Babies" charm pack and the pale pink around the fabric is Polar Fleece.

It looks and feels pretty good, especially for a baby but I will neve be doing that again. It was a nightmare to sew and I am so proud that most of my points line up.

The pattern is acutally a Table Runner pattern that I lengthened and put 2 side by side.

It is from a book by Heather Mulder Petersen in her book "On the Run"

AND.... Drumroll please....

Here are 2 sneak peaks of my very first ever Mixed media canvas. I will show the completed thing at the end of the month after it has been in a small local Art Exhibition that is on in 2 weeks.

3 July Finishes

2010-07-29T03:34:00.001-07:00

Here are just a couple of things that I managed to get finished this month.

I have plenty more in the works but time is not my friend right now unfortunately.

This one is a winner all round.
"Pleated Pouch" from a wonderful tutorial here
It's so cute and ends up about 7" x 5".

This is my "Pleats" piece for the Monthly Challenge over here and it also is a "finish"

This is a bit wonky as I did it in a hurry, it's a camera case that I made for my new Camera. It is really a phone pouch and it's a bit roomy but I needed something quickly and had this cut out.

Next time I will try add a layer of stiff interfacing and some more layers of batting to keep my camera safe.

This next item is a small quilt about 50" square. I made it using 1 Honeybun. It was originally a pattern for a Jellly Roll but I just did it using the smaller strips instead.
I made this quilt for our Football Clubs annual Promise Auction. I was so pleased that this quilt made $90. My best yet.

This is the front and the back of the quilt, I am really pleased with how it turned out

This is a close up of the quilting from the back.
I did a free-motion continuous spiral that goes all over the quilt except for the borders.
Some are big and some are small. Some are not so even but I am getting much better at the free-motion quilting.

A catch up

2010-07-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

I have been flat out lately so much has been happening.

I had 3 wins of wonderful prizes.
I won a yummy Flutterby charm pack from Ryan Walsh I can't wait to look through my patterns and use this.
I won a beautiful piece of sun dyed fabric from Delia which will be very carefully planned into something special
AND
I won a lovely book from Angela which is just very special as she originally won it from the author and it is signed too. It is really lovely of Angela to share the love once she was finished with this book and I will make sure that I do the same.

I received some amazing fabric that I have listed on my OTHER BLOG and in MY ETSY STORE

We had a couple of sunny days when the kids and I could get outside on the lovely green grass that we have at home.
This is how farm kids play...

Sam on his bouncy ball with the Rams looking on in surprise.

Jess with the kids best friend, Sophie is the most gentle kind dog you could ever imagine, she's not real good with the sheep or cattle but you could trust her with the kids lives.
And yes I do dress her like a boy on the farm because we have so many clothes from Sam that I am not going to ruin new good clothes.

This one because he is just quite angelic when he wants to be.

We have also had a stack of rain, which is good, it's still a bit cold for it to have any effect on making the grass grow and there is just mud everywhere but it's lovely

Visiting Cows

Let's take a walk Soph...

We have lots of lovely little lambs...very cute

Then on Saturday this happened. I was happy to be asked to play my 3rd game of netball for this season when they managed to find a fill in umpire for me but then I go and do this...
I don't think it's broken, I had some x-rays yesterday and am off to the doc tomorrow to find out what's up but I will need at least one weekend off.
Such a bummer, my umpiring is going really well and I was going to get to play some more games before the end of the season.
Now I think I will stick to umpiring for the rest of this year.

June finishes

2010-06-30T15:43:00.001-07:00

I only just got my new camera in time. Will post more about that later.
Here is what I got finished this month.

I needed a new bag for my portable projects so I made a drawstring bag with 2 sections, it is pretty big it holds my medium stitchery thread box and lots of scrap fabric.

The pink thing is a swap item that I forgot to take a finished photo of before it went to the USA. It was sent about 3 weeks ago and is about 10" x 12".

Then there is 2 pairs of PJ pants for Sam

This is a lovely little bag that I made for myself with some lovely music FQ's that I got a couple of years ago, it's pretty big, about 18" wide and 12" high with 3 pockets inside and a padded shoulder strap.

And don't forget the Football Quilt

Adelaide and her Daddy

2010-06-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

I can't take photos a the moment because I need a new camera.

BUT

This is my brother James and his gorgeous new little girl Adelaide...

She is 1 month old today!!!

Fathers Day

2010-06-20T22:10:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it's not here in Australia at this time.
BUT
It is in the USA.

Where my lovey brother is celebrating his first fathers day with his gorgeous 1month old daughter Adelaide.

I have some photo's of the 2 of them somewhere in my old computer which is not playing ball right now but I have something really beautiful that I was just reading that I think everyone should read.

It is written by a dad who sounds very much like my lovely husband is with our children and I am 100% positive that my brother James will be just the same with his daughter.

READ THIS

it's just beautiful.

Back later with photo's and things when I have a new camera that will work.

1st Finish for June

2010-06-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

This is a project that I started on less than 2 weeks ago. It has a bit of a back story so please read on.

A lovely man who plays football with my husband had a motorbike accident on Sunday 23 May and was airlifted to Melbourne. For a few days it was touch and go as to if he would walk again as he had broken his neck right up at the base of his skull.

We were all very relieved to hear that his spinal cord was o.k. and he was even allowed to go home within a week.

BUT, they cannot operate in case they paralyse him.

SO he has to wear a neck brace full time for the next 3-4 months until the bones heal.

I saw him yesterday and he is very sore and tired and it will take a while for his neck to heal even after the brace comes off as his muscles will be wasted.

BUT he is walking, talking and alive and may even play football again.

When I heard about his accident I just had to do something for him so I designed this:

Don't mind the scribble it's me doing my numbers. Quilting is really good math practice.

And turned it into this:

The Blue side is our club colours (AFL Kangaroos) with his number and some signatures of the players.

The Red and Black is his favourite AFL team Essendon.

It is 60" square and I am so proud of it.

You may ask why I wanted to make a man a quilt, well he has been a very loyal player for a few years. He has done more than he has to for the club and mostly he is a really nice guy. I would do it for others if I needed to try and give them some comfort.

FINISHES FOR MAY

2010-05-31T15:49:00.003-07:00

I have been very slack and forgot to post my finishes for the last few months.
But here is what I got done in May!!!
Just 2 small projects, I think there was a 3rd but I forgot to take a photo.

A place mat for the flickr placemat swap.

A little bag with some hadn stitching and some prarie points that I gave away on the recent giveaway day.

HUUUUUGE APOLOGIES to the monthly finish organisers for forgetting to write to them over the past few months about my non-attending, but I am back on track now and will not be that slack again.

I AM AN AUNTY!!!!

2010-05-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

Introducing

ADELAIDE ROE (surname left off deliberately)

Who was born in Baltimore USA on 24 May 2010

Isn't she cute!!!
This will be winging its way to her in August when my mum goes to visit.
It will be put together by then though, this is just a sneak peak.

SMS Giveaway Winner

2010-05-23T17:44:00.000-07:00

Now I notified the winner on the weekend but it has taken me all this time to get the parcel of goods together and take a photo.
The winner of my Sew Mamma Sew giveaway is......

SARA

She has a lovely blog so please go and say hello, she has some really cute cows too...

Here is a picture of what I will be sending to Sara. It's a terrible photo I know bit I was having camera issues that I wasn't patient enough to fix this morning.

There is an Australian Craft Mag, they little bag and some yummy fabric.

Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and entered my giveaway.

Dont' forget that I have another blog here where I will showing all the goodies that I am now selling, there is new fabric arriving soon and I will be previewing everything and taking orders at the blog or you can wait for it to be listed in my Etsy store.

BLOGGERS QUILT FESTIVAL

2010-05-21T03:24:00.000-07:00

It is the 3rd Bloggers quilt festival
and I have chosen a quilt very dear to my heart to share with you.

This is a quilt that I made for my Dear little boy Sam.

This is Sam when he had just turned 2.

I specifically purchased a "Silly Safari" Jelly Roll to make him a quilt for when he went into a single bed.
I used a pattern from a Jelly Roll book and I was worried that it was too bright and wouldn't promote a restful sleep so I surrounded it with the medium blue sashing and the dark blue borders and backing.
Now some of you may be thinking that the borders are so big and it looks a little odd but it fits so perfectly on his bed. The coloured bit sits perfectly on the top of the bed and the dark blue provides a perfect amount of overhand so that it covers him totally even when he rolls around (which he tends to do alot).

I was quite heavily pregnant when I was making this quilt as Sam was 2 in April 09 and Jess was born March 09 and I wanted to get it done before I went to hospital.
The quilting is very simple. I quilted in the ditch around the log cabins and then some wavy FMQ on the large borders. It's not the best FMQ and I have learnt alot since then but he loved it and he moved into his "Big Bed" in February 2009 without a whimper.

This quilt also won 1st place in it's category at our local show, don't get too excited it's a very small show but it wasn't the only quilt in it's category so I was happy, I got the news in hospital after having Jess so it was a celebration all around.

So that's my quilt, thank you to anyone who stops by and I hope you enjoy the rest of the festival.

Anyone who is waiting to hear about my SMS Giveaway's please stay tuned, I am waiting for the kids to wake up so I can get all the goodies together and take a photo.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED

2010-05-16T15:12:00.000-07:00

***NOW CLOSED***

THANKYOU FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL 131 COMMENTS WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON!!

I have decided to do another giveaway here on my personal blog.

There are heaps of giveaway's happening in blogland this week just visit here here or here at SEW MAMMA SEW

It's very simple to enter my draw.

Leave me a comment, just say hi whatever you want to say and you are entered. One entry per person and I must have a way to contact you, either through your blog or leave me an e-mail address or check back here after 11am Friday 21 May Australian Eastern Time.

COME ON WE ARE SO NEARY THERE, I HAVE SO MUCH STUFF TO GIVEAWAY!!!

What can you win???
This

Or this

A full 1/2 metre of quilting weight cotton. Just so you can get a perspective on the size of the flowers the piece there is folded up to about 15cm square.

More Fabric, for every 50 people that comment I will add another item to the list. I will update with new photo's as we reach a milestone.

We are getting close to 50 people (I changed it from 100 to 50) I want to giveaway more fabric.

So here is the 2nd piece. It is a whole 1/4 metre of quilting weight fabric in a lovely pale lavender with little flowers all over it.

WE DID IT 50 PEOPLE, SO HERE'S ANOTHER BIT OF FABRIC...

ONE PERSON WINS THE LOT DON'T FORGET AND I AM GOING THROUGH MY GOODIES AND THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME, PATTERNS AND MAGAZINES!!!.

PLUS go here for my other giveaway

DO YOU EQ???

2010-04-29T00:17:00.001-07:00

I don't but I may have to start

A brand new version of Electric Quilt Software is coming out soon and I will have to get myself a copy.
There is so much you can do with EQ that your quilt designing and colour choosing will be a breeze.

You can design new blocks, put old blocks together, work out how much fabric you need. See what what your colour scheme looks like.

Basically one big design wall for your quilting pleasure.

It comes with everything you need to get started, just install it into your computer and and the world is your quilting oyster.

For more information you can go here or here.

My First Sponsored Giveaway (Australia only sorry)

2010-04-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe my eyes when I received an e-mail from the lovely Maree at Buyster Lighting.

She approached me asking if I would like to tell people about their store and offered a donation for a giveaway on my blog.

Of course I said yes!!!So all the lovely people out there who read my blog can have a chance to win a $50 voucher to spend in their table lamp section

You may like something traditional
You may want something to jazz up a little girls roomMaybe you are a fan of flowers
Perhaps your decor has an Asian ThemeOr just like a funky Noodle LampYou can find plenty of great products for $50 and under in this section or you may want to go a little crazy use it towards something really decadent.

Either way you will find something that is sure to suit you and your home.

I have had a look at the selection of lights over at Buyster Lighting and they have some beautiful things. They are an Australian company with fast delivery all over Australia for in-stock items. They also offer free delivery insurance on all orders with a...

check this out...

"NO QUESTIONS" 30 DAY RETURN POLICY.
How often do you see that???

So, if you think you would like to be in the draw I have a couple of ways for you to enter.

1. Just leave me comment telling me what your favourite time of day is (just to make it interesting to read them all).

2. For 2 extra entries... yes 2... blog about this giveaway, don't forget to tell people it's for Australia entries only. I know some people find this painful to do but I know that I don't have a very big following and I want more people to know about the lovely Maree and Buyster Lighting.
Then come back here and leave another comment telling me you have done it.

3. You can tweet about it too if you like for another 1 entry and then leave a comment with a link to the tweet.

4. You can also brag about it on facebook for an entry and come back with the link to let me know.

5. If you can think of any other way to spread the word I would like to know. Come back and let me know and I will give 3 extra entries to any other creative form of word spreading.

That's it folks.
Get busy and tell everyone you know.

I will close entries on Tuesday 11 May at 10.30am AEST. I will then have a winner drawn by 6pm that same day.

A Whole Month and more

2010-04-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

I know that there are not many people who read my blog, but I like to try and keep it up to date. Lately there have been a few issues affecting my ability to do that, computer and Internet service issues

I am hoping that these issues are now all behind me and that I can go back to at lease every fortnight, if I am lucky I would love to do weekly but that may be pushing it.

So much has been happening. Here are some photo's

I have been sewing... goodness me.

This was for a "Winter Time" theme swap with the Quilting Gallery

There is more sewing but I can't find my photo's right now.

I have done a market stall and it was quite successful see my post here: MarketStallPost

Sam turned 3 on April 6 - where does time go? I wish it would slow down so I can enjoy the ride.

What is this???
4 inches of hair...

I had a haircut... at home... with some help from my husband...

I got to be an angel...
I was pleased to be asked to make a quilt for a lady who didn't receive one in a swap that I was part of last year. You may be asking what it is??? Well it's my first representational quilt. I didn't know what to do, the lady has recently moved to Australia and lives just north of Sydney and I came across the "Jacob's Ladder" block in a magazine and had an epiphany.

So a bit of tweaking and I make a kind of Sydney quilt. The yellow at the bottom represents the sand of the Sydney beaches, the light blue is the water, the grey is the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the dark blue is the night sky.

You can't really see it but I have quilted the bridge very linear with straight lines following the diagonals, and the water is done in some swirly quilting.

I hope she likes it. I hope she uses it as a runner or a mat for something at least.

I received 2 lovely swap items...

A fabulous sewing machine cover which is just beautiful, it has a pocket up one end and fits over my machine so wonderfully.

And this lovley creation from that same "Winter Time" theme swap. It is a little wren in the snow and is from Nanette in The Netherlands. I was very remiss and forgot to let her know that I received it but that is all fixed up now.

I joined a club, it's so fantastic, the lady is so very generous you can join anytime. It's only $8 per month including postage with a pattern by post and a newsletter by e-mail that also has patterns in it. Go and check it out here: http://pacificpatchwork.typepad.com/quilt_happy_quilt_often/all-about-the-block-party-club.html

AND we have had rain. We have had more rain in the 3 1/2 months of 2010 than in our whole annual rainfall in the last 3 or 4 years. Sometimes it has been a bit too much all at once but we won't look a gift horse in the mouth. But still we need a bit more now before Winter comes along and the ground cools down. The cows don't know when to stop eating...

FINALLY... MY BABY BROTHER IS ABOUT TO BECOME A DAD.

remember this post from almost 2 years ago: http://becclarke.blogspot.com/2008/07/wedding-rings-other-things.html

Well Mary is 8 months pregnant (and I am sure she is just beautiful) and I will be an aunt next month.

I have several fabric collections picked out from my stash ready to make the quilt to send over with our mum when she visits them in August.

Our Little Irish Girl turns 1

2010-03-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

Hopefully people actually read my blog occasionally so firstly please accept my apologies for a prolonged absense. We go a new internet service which then promptly dies 1 week after installation and it took almost 4 weeks to get a new modem.

Secondly this post is almost 1 week late, mostly due to the above problem but also due to having to get my computer fully wiped and re-loaded, it is now running like a dream and other than having to re-install all my programs and things it's just great.

So we are here to celebrate the following event...

On Wednesday 17 March 2010 Jessica Grace Clarke turned 1.

Yes she is a little Irish girl, I didn't even realise when we picked her name during the day after she was born that it's quite an Irish name. It's quite fitting really, I have 1/4 Irish blood in me from my lovely Nan.

My lovely Nan passed away just 2 months agao at the ripe age of 98, she was a wonderful lady who had an amazing life but it is a small blessing that she is now gone to meet my Pop.

Back to Jess.

It was a big day for all. Mum was visiting and we rushed down to Rutherglen for her to have a job interview (hopefully she will be only 2 hrs away soon instead of 12).

Then we rushed back to Albury for Hi-5. I bought the tickets ages ago, more for Sam as he loves them and we watch them on TV but it was nice that it fell on Jess' birthday. As usual I forgot to take the Camera with me but it was a great show. I even had fun and I think mum did too.

Sam was a bit overwhelmed I think with all the kids screaming and the music was quite loud but he warmed up and even went up the front for a Hi-5 from them at the end.

Jess snuggled up to my neck for a quick 1/2 hr power nap and then had a lovely time standing up on my lap dancing, singing and clapping.

We were all very tired by the end of the 1 3/4 hr drive home so it was straight in the bath, dinner and bed.

Here is my little girl fresh out of the bath that night on her lovely quilt that she got from my lovely friends Helen, AJ & Adds .

She has 6 teeth now (every one has been a nightmare). She says Dad, Mum, Ta and some other stuff that I can't understand. She is a champion crawler so isn't walking on her own yet as crawling is just too efficient but she walks around the furniture and likes to stand up on her own so it won't be long before I am chasing both of them.

She loves Sam so much. When he isn't pushing her away from the toys they get along famously and he can be so cute with her and really does love her, all except for her sloppy kisses that she gives with an open mouth and her tongue hanging out.

Back later with more information there is lots to tell but I just had to get this important post done.

January Finishes

2010-01-31T00:55:00.000-08:00

Only 2 this month but more to come next month.
This was for the Quilting Gallery Fall Quilt Swap, it went to france. It measures 16" square and is hand embroidered in a simple backstitch on Linen then 2 borders. The outer border is some really nice fabric with faint leaves on it, I have done some Free Motion leaves on top of this one and it looks really good.

This one was a Swap Till You Drop swap for January, the them..."Rainbow" of course. it's a small stitcher about 10" x 9" and is done in back stitch and daisy stitch on muslin and then I have quilted around the green border with one of the fancy stitches on my machine.

How lucky am I

2010-01-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

I was so surprised to get a parcel the other day.
It was from Jo in Tasmania.
My parcel contained this amazing piece of work.

A lovely little bucket bag and a needle case. It is hand embroidered in amazing small even stitches and the saying on the bag is:

"In my heart there lives a joyful song, the road to a friend's house is never long"

I feel very lucky, I have never met Jo, I participated in the Advent swap she organised last year and I wrote to give her some feedback and she sent me this.

I really enjoyed the swap and will be hoping that it runs again this year.

While I am here I just got pointed to this blog: WorldsBiggestHexagonQuilt it is amazing and I can't wait to see the finished quilt, it's going the rock the world record off it's socks.

Big Update

2010-01-26T20:09:00.000-08:00

I have been a terrible blogger, I have the photo's all ready to go but forget to do the blog post so this is a catch up for anyone that is interested, hopefully there is at lease one person.

1ST

Our little girl is 10 months old.

Here is the late photo of her on her gorgeous quilt made by my wonderful online quilting friends.

2ND

and this is very remiss of me. I won some amazing fat quarters late last year from Twiddletails. Anita had a giveaway on her blog of her new fabric line and I as the lucky winner of one of the packs. Isn't it lovely, the colours are beautiful and the fabric is lovely quality.

Then I was lucky enough to win $25 to spend at the Etsy store This&ThatfromJapan. Where I got these beautiful fabrics. I did spend a bit more than that but not much and they are such lovely fabrics to look at and to feel. 3rd

I went to Albury on Sunday (out of the blue). I don't get there very often and a Sunday is not usually very good as not much is open. It takes about 1.5 hrs to get there so you want to make sure the trip is worth while.. But... Husband had to meet some people who were buying an old car that his Grandad left him and I had to meet him to bring him home. Would you believe it that across the road there was a lady having a yard sale.

Look what I got. (ignore the blue mug and other miscellaneous items in the background)

5 x Orange and 1 brown pyrex ramekin

A beautiful set of Teacups and Saucers in blue glass that are made in France

3 x handmade dishes that have a strange signature on the bottom that husband and I are trying to decipher.

2 x smaller yellow and 2 x larger beige ramekins

This is the whole lot. I got all that and 6 books for $21, how can you beat that. The kids love their new dinner dishes.

LASTLY

I was a bit naughty and did a bit of online shopping.

First off from the ever lovely Retromummy she has a lovely collection of fabrics, books and patterns, prices are good and postage in Australia is free.

And I also went a bit nuts at FreshFabricsAustralia on Etsy Amber has a wonderful collection of fabrics and is always quite competative considering how expensive it can be to get some of the popular fabrics here in Australia. I don't have a photo but go and check out her store, she is lovely and will do great prices and good postage too.

So that's about it, except to say a HUGE...

CONGRATULATIONS
to my cousin Peter and his lovely wife Lucy, on Sunday 17 January they had a little baby boy and have named him Archie.
I am already working on something special for him and he will get a quilt in a year or 2 also.

One Project A Month

2010-01-08T01:06:00.000-08:00

Once again I have decided to join up for this little challenge. I don't know if I would call it a challenge, it's more group motivation.
You just finish what you can during the month and then get all proud and let them know about it and you can even win a few prizes along the way.
I enjoyed it last year as I really had no idea how much I was getting done before I started keeping track.
This year the lovely hosts are Kris and Peg. So if you are interested rush over to one of their blogs to sign up as places are limited.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FINISHES

2009-12-31T13:30:00.001-08:00

A VERY QUICK HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.

We were in bed by 10pm, that's what happens when you have a very active 2.5year old and a teething 9 month old.

this month I was quite productive in my finishes so here they are:

A mini quilt made out of a favourite old t-shirt. You can't really see the swirly quilting but I was pretty pleased with how it turned out.
A note book/diary cover to fit any A5 book for my cousin Kate, it has her name embroidered on the spine on the front.
A Zippered pouch/pencil case for my cousin's eldest son.
A Zippered pouch/pencil case for my cousin's youngest son.

One for my nephew Jack

One for my niece Gaby

One for my nephew James

A Table runner that went to Italy for Valentina for the Avent Swap.

There was another table runner but I must have accidentally deleted the photo but it was a christmas one for another swap and it went to Xena

A Merry Clarke Christmas

2009-12-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

Well the big day has come and gone.

The kids did very well but thank goodness not too well.

Jess scored some beautiful clothes in some larger sizes (thank goodness) along with some toys, books and other great gifts.

Sam got a couple of wonderful trucks, some books and so much great stuff.

Here is just a couple of quick photo's, it all happened too fast to get many photo's.
Jess is wishing she got a big yellow truck too. Her grandma Clarke got her the pretty pink dress with matching bloomers. Sam just couldn't share on Christmas day and I can't really blame him, another day maybe.

Here is Sam in the middle of 2 of my cousins children. Ben on the left and Oliver on they right. They had come down to the farm for christmas from Sydney. It was a massive family affair at my aunts place just up the road, but I was too busy trying eat my lunch in between chasing Sam and soothing Jess. I think it was a bit too much for both of them and we had to go home for them to have a sleep in the afternoon before we headed over to Husbands family at Cudgewa for dinner in the evening.

Ho Ho Ho, Christmas Swap time

2009-12-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

I have been a very lucky girl.
I have been participating in 2 Christmas swaps.
This first one is one from the Essential Baby Crafty Folks.

My lovely partner is ANNA who has the lovely little TillyTom Store on Made it.
She sent me the most amazing parcel containing the following:

Some lovely handmade coasters, a lovely roll of 2.5 inch strips in the Moda Cherry Fabrics, and this next bit is the best, some of her handmade hairclips, a lovley fabric covered button and one of her handmade drawing wallets they are really cute and only measure about 5 x 7 inches when closed up.
You can see here the drawing wallet is opened up and it has a little plain notepad and some lovely twistable crayons in it. You can get them at her store they would make a wonderful gift, it's not too late...

THIS NEXT BIT IS ALSO VERY EXCITING...

For the past 21 days I have been opening presents from my Avent Swap that was so thoughfully organised by Fiona.

My swap partner was the lovely Valentina from Italy and she has sent me the most wonderful box of goodies.

Here is a photo of SOME of them, I say some because the chocolates are all in the fridge as they would be melted if they weren't but they are the good ones. My husband is just beside himself, he loves chocolate and I have had to have stern words with him about not touching them.

Some lovely fat quarters of fabric. Some with bears and squares, some with holly for christmas, just lovley Some very cute star stickers that Sam is just aching to try out and some yummy drinking chocolate that I am keeping until Winter because I love a Hot Choc in the Winter, this pic also has the latest batch of gormet chocolates, I swear she must think i need fattening up...

This is a misture of a lovley pencil for tracing onto fabric, A gorgeous rubber stamp, some quilling paper, and the little flower basket thing actually opens up to have some sewing needles inside would you believe, very cute.
Next we have some very cute gingham ribbon, some embroidery thread in a very pretty peach colour and some cute as can be wooden pegs with sheep and flowers on them.This is a little bell that is painted green and has white snowflakes on it. Sam and Jess just love it, we don't have a tree this year but it will definately be on one next year. And last for today the most enormous tea towel I have ever seen. That is sam holding it up for me, he did a wonderful job, he is only 2 1/2 and is about 3ft 2in and had to hold it above his head. It is a map of Italy and has all the different pasta's all over it in the regions that they come from. It also has some yummy looking pasta sauce recipes on it that I will make once I have translated them. I will be back in a few days with the rest of the presents.

SEWING GIVEAWAY WINNER

2009-12-09T18:32:00.001-08:00

Well after much deliberation by my very careful husband he has nominated:
SARAH
Sarah doesn't have a blog yet as she is a very new sewer, here is what she said.

"My stash is small but growing. I only learnt to use my sewing machine 2 weeks ago and I'm having a ball! My fav colour is green."

I am about to contact Sarah by e-mail so hopefully I will hear back from her very soon.

Thank you to everyone who has visited, I had a ball looking at everyon's blogs and reading the comments.

Maybe I will see everyone next time, if I am able I will throw in some of my handmade soap next time, it was a bit hard at this time of year with christmas orders I am out of stock.

GIVEAWAY WINNER

2009-12-07T19:58:00.001-08:00

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and entered my giveaway's.
I didin't get as many as last time which is fine as it was easier for my poor husband to pick a winner, well he had trouble picking so he just did the old draw a name out of a hat.
SO.....
The winner of the Knitting pack is....
Kate
who wrote
"I am mainly into crochet but I do love to knit too. These wooly crafts are the best as they are portable. I can crochet/knit in the doctor's waiting room, while my kids are in the bath, by the fire at night...you get the picture."

AND
The winner of the Sewing pack is...

Well husband likes to take his time about these things but I will be posting that tonight.

Congratulations Kate.
I will send you out an e-mail and wait to hear from you. If I don't hear from you 5 days from today I will re-draw the winners.
Just so you know there will be a little surprise in your parcel.

GIVEAWAY DAY SEWING SUPPLIES

2009-12-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

COMMENTS NOW CLOSED
~~Welcome to Giveaway Day~~

Click to see the rest of the giveaways

I am having 2 little giveaway's this year.

AND I AM SORRY BUT I CAN ONLY POST TO AUSTRALIA

This is a selection of fabrics from my stash. I will be going through and finding a few more things as the next few days goes by but for now this is the start.
The smallest piece is not quite a Fat quarter. The largest pices is nearly 1m.

**THERE WILL BE MORE FABRIC, I HAVE A VERY LARGE STASH AND SOME EXCELLENT LARGER SCRAPS**

To win please leave a short comment telling me how big your stash is and what your favourite colour is.

I will be reading all the comments and I will let my husband choose the winner.

I will close entries at 9am 7 December 2009.

DON'T FORGET, AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY AND PLEASE MAKE SURE I CAN CONTACT YOU THROUGH YOUR BLOG OR ELSE LEAVE ME YOUR E-MAIL OR CHECK BACK HERE ON 8 DECEMBER.

GIVEAWAY DAY KNITTING SUPPLIES

2009-12-01T11:45:00.001-08:00

COMMENTS NOW CLOSED
~~Welcome to Giveaway day~~

Click to see the rest of the giveaways

I am having 2 little giveaway's this year.

AND I AM SORRY BUT I CAN ONLY POST TO AUSTRALIA

This page is for some Knitting goodies and there is a separate post for the Sewing supplies.

Here is a picture of the knitting goodies.

On the right is a book by Cleckheaton that I purchased some years ago, it has 9 knits for 8 ply yarn.
On the right is a book that I was lucky enough to get in a box of goodies from a Garage Sale, it is by Patons and has lovely sections on how to knit and crochet and some great vintage patterns. This one is a collectors item and I could sell it on e-bay, but I thought someone here would appreciate it.
Down the bottom is a large selectin of needles that came with the vintage book. There is a heap of double pointed needles and other regular needles in a variety of sizes. I am also currently going through my stuff to see if there is anything else I can put in, some wool possibly.
This is all for one person.
All you have to do is leave me a message telling me what you love about knitting.
I want this to go to someone who loves to knit not just someone who is entering just for the sake of it.
I will be reading all the comments and I will let my husband choose the winner.

I will close entries at 9am 7 December 2009.

DON'T FORGET, AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY AND PLEASE MAKE SURE I CAN CONTACT YOU THROUGH YOUR BLOG OR ELSE LEAVE ME YOUR E-MAIL OR CHECK BACK HERE ON 7 DECEMBER.

Finished in November

2009-11-29T14:15:00.000-08:00

I actually remembered to take some photos of my finished projects this month, well I missed a couple but here is the ones I have.
A little purse that I had been asked to make some time ago.

Another little purse for another person

And another purse just for the sake of it, it's quicker to make them in a production line.

2 little doll quilts that measure about 13" x 20" that I made for a doll quilt swap for 2 little girls.

A little quilt that I made for a swap that I made and sent the clock mechanism to go with it.

I hope I am not too late posting this entry.

8 Month update

2009-11-17T16:37:00.000-08:00

I was extremely remiss last month and did not update a photo of Jess on her quilt.
It was a terrible month for me, Sam was sick with a tummy bug for 10 days and Jess had a cold for about the same time straight after he got better.
So now, just when things were going well and she was sleeping from 7pm to 5am she now wakes up 3 or 4 times a night. It doesn't help that the teeth are finally coming through, the first one broke the gum on Sunday and is here to stay.
We have had some ridiculously hot weather for late spring, the days have been mid to late 30's and until last week this was the only way for the kids to stay cool.

I have now invested in a clamshell and they just love it. I can sit on the verandah in a chair behind Jess and catch her if she topples over but I can still read a book and it's very pleasant as Sam is very kind and splashes my feet for me.

We have our all the way around verandah now and in the afternoon the eastern side is full shade and gets a lovely breeze sometimes so it's just bliss for all of us.

And here is the picture of Jess on her quilt, she has grown so much and is quite the character.

She sits up realy well now, she can't get herself up but is getting there. She isn't crawling yet but I expect it won't be long as she rolls herself to wherever she wants to go and gets up on her hands and knees and rocks alot. She also seems to like the push up position... don't know what that's all about.

Finally my pics have uploaded so that's it.

Doll quilt swap for Jess

2009-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

I was lucky enough to receive a parcel in the mail this week and today (Saturday) was opening day.

The lovely TINA (sorry can't find her blog addy ATM) made this little Doll Quilt for Jess. It is so very cute with pinks, browns and greens that are put together so well. There is a Matroyshka doll that is puffed up a little and the detail on the doll is quilted. There is also some quilting on the background that has a flower and a heart.

I got some wonderful extra's with a new un-picker (needed), some buttons, ribbon, a very cute little pin cushion and 2 panels with such funny sayings on them.

Jess loves it already as you can see by the photo, Sam got one 2 years ago and now they both have a lovely little quilt for the toys.

I would show you a picture of the one that I made and sent away but as per usual I forgot to take one, so hopefully I can get one off the person when it is opened.
As per usualy my postie stuffed me up and didn't take it when it was in our box so it won't get there until Monday and I am highly embarrassed but thank goodness it went on Friday, now it just has to not get lost.

Swaps and Wins October was good to me...

2009-11-01T18:14:00.000-08:00

This first quilt is an absolute work of art. It was sent to me from the USA.
It depicts the ocean and a sunrise in Carolina. She based it on a photo that a friend of hers took. You can see a copy of the photo in the 2nd picture that she put on the label on the back of the quilt.

This quilt is a little swap received from The Netherlands. It is really cute with 4 little mushrooms. It also had a lovely piece of paisley fabric and some Ric Rac and some little pegs with cute birds on them. I love the whole thing...

This is also sooo cute. It is from Sandy in Buenos Aires. She put a lovely little applique bird on a branch in some very accurate squares. There is also a lovley piece of butterly fabric and some ribbon, I am too lucky.

This last picture is of 2 things that I won in October, the item on the left is a little Techie bag, well it's actually bigger than I thought it would be. It's so beautifully made and would carry a camera and some extra items or some toiletries for a night away. It is a lovley giveaway that I won during the Bloggers Autumn Quilt Festival and it comes from Terri at Patchwork Trails on Etsy.

The 2nd item is the red thing on the top right. It's a handcarved stamp by Ruthie Powers at Next Signal Designs/ She had a giveaway on her blog that I was lucky enough to win.

Finished in October

2009-11-01T01:48:00.001-07:00

I have been doing quite a bit lately but only small projects.
Here are 3 that I was lucky enough to get finished in October.
This is one I have been working on for a swap but decided to go in a different direction so it is mine until I find a home worthy. It is approx 23" x 15".
This was one I sent away for a Summer theme swap. The recipient sent me a lovley thank you so it seemed to be well received. I strip pieced the back ground and appliqued some items that looked very summery like surfboards, cocktail drinks and I Quilted the background blue in waves because it was supposed to be the sea. It is approx 22" x 15"
This is one that I also made for a mini swap. I love making flying geese and the background is randomly quilted. It is only 12" x 10".

BLOGGER QUILT FESTIVAL

2009-10-09T15:32:00.000-07:00

Come one come all and have a look at the most fantastic list of quilting the world has ever seen....
Did I get your attention.
Amy aka parkcitygirl is hosting the Fall Quilt Festival 2009. A wonderful collection of quilts on blogs from all over the world. Anyone is eligible to enter so go and have a look, or if you don't want to enter just go and browse through the list of entrants, it will blow your mind.
Click here:

My entry is this wonderful Double Wedding Ring quilt that I made for my brother when we went over to Baltimore USA for his wedding in June 2008. He and the lovely Mary tell me they treasure it and are using it as I have asked them to. I always get cranky when my quilts don't get used.
I used 2 Moda Shangri-La Jelly rolls for the rings and quilters muslin for the background, it was professionaly quilted and then I did the binding during the evenings in our Hotel room in the 2 weeks before the wedding.
The photo is a little odd as I had to take it on the floor of the Hotel room. But the 2nd photo is the best, they unwrapped it specially at their reception so I could take a photo of them in their quilt and their wedding finery.

So head over to have a look at some of the entries, its so worth the time and there are some great sponsors that have donated prizes.

6 Month Upadate

2009-09-28T23:06:00.000-07:00

It's a bit overdue. I have had the pictures sitting in the Camera for a week or 2 but here they are.

It's just incredible how time goes way too fast.

I want it to slow down so I can enjoy this, but I don't think it's going to do that.

Jess decided to learn how to roll onto her tummy.

But wasn't very impressed when I dashed off to get the camera and she hadn't figured out how to get back over yet.

Look at how much she has grown since we first received this quilt from my lovely quilting friends. Look HERE to see her 6 months ago.
This is just to show our lovely green grassat the moment, we went up the paddock and saw the men this day while they were up in the sheep yards. The paddocks are all lovely and green with a bit of grass and the Dams are all full, we have had a excellent lateWinter/early spring for rain and we are hoping for a bit more before the really hot weather gets here.

Swapping & Thrifty goodness

2009-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

First off today we will start with the thrifty goodnes I found while in town on Monday.
A rare trip to Albury with Sam staying home with my lovely Mother in law and Jess having a nice sleep in the pram mean that I got time to look around a couple of thrift shops.
Who would have thought that one of them was having a $2 sale, not per item but per bag. The lady even packed it for me way better than I would have.
So I got some great pillowcases, some lovely fabric with circles on it (already in use for a new quilt), and the pink thing on the right is a really cute tablecloth.
The second photo is also stuff that she managed to fit in the bag, 3 100% wool jumpers. The one on the far right is 100% Alpaca...soooooo soft.... and the striped one is lambswool.
It was just my lucky day I guess.

The next 2 quilts are of swap quilts I have just received.

The first one is tiny, only about 12" big, it is from Swap Till You Drop in Flickr

The theme for August was buildings or houses, mine is on it's way to Dave and Suzi today.

It's so cute there are 2 little tents and outside them is a Doll and a rabbit, it's just lovely.

This next one is truly a work of art.

It was from the Quilting GallerySpring Blooms Swap my partner was Lilliana.
It is a full size mini at 24". I don't know if you can see it in the photo but the top right hand corner is a blue winged butterfly, it is 3D with the body of the butterfly being stuffed and squishy. The bottom left hand corner has a lovely yellow flower that is also dimensional and a bit puffy. The centre is cut out with a beaded lattice running through it with butterflies fussy cut and stuck onto the lattice.

These next 2 are from me to 2 other people. One of them is for Suzi who sent me the lovely little tent one above from the Swap till you drop flickr group, the other one is for a lovely lady called Ana from Portugal who is my partner in the Crafternoon Tea swap flickr group for September.

This one is 2 little houses that are only about 6" and a little pouch/purse
The next one is a little house that is about 12" square.
I had so much fun making these little houses. I found them in a book that I bought, it's Japanese but the diagrams are really easy to understand and all I have to do is trace out the templace and go from there.

Not too much else is happening. Busy on the farm with shearing coming up in the next few weeks if we can get some shearers, they are pretty scarce these days even though the money is really good if you can do a good job.

We have had some horrible winds with 100km/hr and over, luckily none of our trees have come down and our new house and verandah are still standing.

Our boys play in the preliminary final Aussie Rules football this Saturday so we will all have our fingers crossed to be going to a Grand Final game next weekend, it will be the first one in mega-years and will probably be husbands last chance at a 1st grade final game so keep the boys in your thoughts.

Bye for now.

Lucky in every way today.

2009-08-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

I have lots of photos today.
The first is of my latest win in blogland.
I couldn't believe it... I won a beautiful set of Heather Bailey fabrics, a Heather Bailey Pattern for a baby stacking game, a raggedy flower pattern and a lovely handmade pincushion. I just can't believe my luck.

Then these are the best photo's of all. I took some pictures of Jess and Sam today on our new finally finished deck that took 6 months to build, it was such a beautiful sunny day.
Jess turned 5 months yesterday and I cannot believe how time flies and how fast they grow.

One of her favourite pasttimes is sucking on her fingers.

And then there's spending time with her big brother.

She just has to see him and she smiles and laughs.

Sam loves to hold her hand and put on different hats to make her laugh.

Weekly Update

2009-08-10T23:04:00.000-07:00

It has been an eventful week. I had to go to Albury last monday for some more Moles to be taken off my back, I am pretty sure that all is well though.
Thursday I went to Canberra to the Craft & Quilt fair. Jess had to come with me of course because she is still on "Mummy's Milk" but she was such an angel. We drove the 1.5 hrs to Tumut and caught the bus the rest of the way (2hrs more) which was great as I got to have a sleep on the way. I had a wonderful time, took in a couple of talks, learnt a great deal and spent all the money that I'd saved especially for this trip.
Now for these 2 photo's.

This is Sam inside his new Cubby House that my mum had someone build for him. It's like a little house and is even almost exactly the same colours as our new house. A few of our neighbours saw it go past on the truck when it came home and they all thought it may be for Marcus when he is in the "Dog House" well you never know I guess. Jess is there too in her farm pram. It's nice and green at the moment cause we have had a bit of rain the last few months. We still need heaps more rain before summer but here's hoping it keeps coming. Our water tanks are full and the Dams are looking good at least.

And this pic is Jess sleeping right now as I type, I wanted to get one of her sucking her fingers but she dropped them before I could get the camera out. She has no idea what to do with a dummy but loves her fingers, oh well whatever helps soothe I guess.

Now an update on other things...

Water only challenge has been good a bit hard to remember when I go to my inlaws for morning tea each day so I have left strict instructions with Bev to just give me a cup of hot water. A few people have said that they couldn't do it, don't worry I may not make it yet. The good thing is I don't drink alcohol at all and I rarely keep softdrink in the house. I do however love a coke every now and then so Iwill miss that on occasions I am sure.

Soap sales have skyrocketed all of a sudden with a new wholesale order so I really have to get stuck into production, and with Christmas coming up it's a busy time of year judging on last year.

I am in a couple of swaps which is forcing me to make time to be creative, I am in the process of making a house mini quilt (max 15"), a summer quilt (max 24"), a friendship bag and collecting goodies for an avent swap.

The quilt that I finished last month for the Footy club auction sold quite well so I was happy with that.

Nothing else to report really, just trying to keep up with housework and get some creativity done everyday. I'd rather be sewing really...

A new challenge

2009-08-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

I have set myself a new challenge.

At first I didn't thing that it would be too hard as I don't drink alcohol at all and not too much soft drink or cordial either.

But.

Occasionally I love a good coke or a lemonade and I have the best homemade lemon cordial recipe from my mother in law.

Oh well.

I have signed up for the challenge before it's too late.

I found it here at Belinda we are joining in with Daharja

Are you game???

Inspired by the good people of Bundanoon, who have banned bottled water from their town, I'm going to do The WATER challenge.

THE RULES:

The Water Challenge is simple.For one year, starting on August 3rd, I can drink only water.

I am giving up
Fizzy drinks
Teas and coffees (coffee is easy, I don't drink it anyway)
Juices
All alcohol
All cordials and drink flavourings
All bottled water (except in my own, re-usable water bottle)
All milks - except on my cereal, and then in only enough of a portion to wet the food appropriately
Anything else not specifically included in this list that is not tap water or rain water.In other words, I'm on tap water for a year.

Medicines are excepted, of course. So if I need a medicine, and it is in liquid form, that's fine. That's also just common-sense.

Soup is excepted. Soups are not a drink, and are not part of the Challenge.

Also, if I get really sick to the point where I am in need of vitamin C in juice form or my medical professional recommends I drink something other than water, I'll do as recommended. I'm not a twit.

Why?

Because I'm sick of doing the talk but not the walk.

I'm sick of whinging about bottled water (which I do) yet still buying the odd juice or soft drink, figuring that it's okay to use a single-use bottle because it's flavoured instead of just water.

Fact is, it's not.

I'm adding tea and coffee to the list of contraband, simply because I want to get used to drinking water and water only, and I won't do that if I replace all the other rubbish with tea, even if it is herbal tea.

Plain water was good enough for my grandparents. It was good enough for people all throughout history. It is good enough for every other animal on the planet. It should be good enough for me.

Just in the Nick of Time

2009-07-31T05:28:00.001-07:00

It's the 31 July here in Australia and I have a few finished things that I cannot post yet as they are secret swaps and I don't want to ruin the surprise.

However,

here is one that I have had the quilt top made for about 2 years now and I finished it off tonight with a simple polar fleece backing and some simple lines of quilting. The Polar fleece has cute little green frogs on it.

Our AFL football club is having our annual promise Auction tomorrow night after the game and I am donating this to help raise funds.

Last year and the year before my quilt made over $30, which doesn't sound like much but they are only lap size quilts and I used scraps and assorted odds to make them.

4 months already

2009-07-24T15:10:00.000-07:00

I have been very slack this week. I totally forgot to do this last friday.

Jess turned 4 months last friday and oh my goodness she has grown so much.
I tried to put her in the Bassinnette the other day for a little day sleep and she pretty much fits end to end, so I have to put her in the big cot for her day sleeps from now on. I have been using the bassinnette just during the day as it is out in the loungeroom next to the computer and I can hear her if she wakes up.

Here she is one her lovely quilt that we have actually been using on really cold nights, which we have had a few this month. It's so hard being a mum, you never stop worrying, I know this is not really a topic that people talk about but I constantly worry about SIDS. It's super cold here at night right now and I refuse to have a heater in the bedroom cause it's just not do-able to warm up that end of the house. So we have to have a few layers on us and the kids. They both wear sleeping bags and then we have to put a few blankets on. So I just worry and every time I get up I check them. Sam is a heavy breather so I can still just stand at the door to his room and lisen but Jess is so quiet and doesn't move all night so when I want to check I have to put my finger under her nose.

I know it's silly but I worry about things that you can't see or do anything about. So I will keep checkin for many months to come.

Enough of the morbid stuff. The farm is great. We have had some rain and things are green. We have had some lovely winter days too. On Wednesday it was so hot that I almost put a t-shirt on. The verandah is finished and we spend the afternoons out in the sun, Sam drives his truck around and I usually read or play too.

That's it for now.

More lovely prizes and Swap Goodness

2009-07-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

Oh me oh my what a lucky girl am I!!!

These are the last 2 items from my spectacular Winning month in June.
I won a giveaway from Aussie Handmade Giveaway which was a voucher to spend at the Rainbow Revolution shop. I of course couldn't resist spending more and bought this lovely Bamboo/Cotton Wrap which is hand dyed in a lovely purply/pinky combination.
On the right is the "Material Obsession" Book that I won from Jackie at Canton Village Quiltworks, I have long admired this book and nearly bought a copy once or twice but thank goodness I didn't. It is such a lovley read. The projects are beautiful and the instructions and easy to follow, I cannot recommend it enough. Even my husband had a flick through and admired it.

The lovley little quilt that you see below is made by Nannette from Salt Lake City in the USA. She is my swap partner in the "Swap Till You Drop" Group on Flickr for the July swap and it is a lovley little quilt measuring 15inches, A matching pin cushion and a roll of Chenille Blooming Bias.

This quilt is absolutely amazing considering that it was done very quickly we only got each other as partners on the 7th July and it takes 7-10 days for her mail to get to me, you do the maths...
All the detail that you see is appliqued, the vines, flowers, cat, stars. There is also alot of quilting of different varieties on the roof, the background and the lower bit below the house. You can have a closer look in my Flickr Photos

I just love it and will be making sure it is hung on my wall for people to see.
Now I just have to finish mine to send to her by the 31 July, I have it nearly done, just a few more finishing touches.
Thank you Nannette, I love it and am so glad that I got you for my first S.T.U.D. partner.

Winning in June, Shopping and Thrift finds

2009-07-11T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well I had a lovely June, there were a few giveaway's happening and I won about 3 or 4. I have been very remiss in not blogging them sooner but I wanted to wait until I had a couple so here they are.
From left to right
1. A lovely set of Fat Quarters in the Fig & Plum range from the lovely blog Patches Indooroopilly

2. A very cute pincushion from the lovely Erica

3. A very cute little kit of hexagons from Lovely Lorraine

There are also 2 more that I have yet to blog but I am waiting on one to arrive so will post them later.

Then...

I won this lovely cushion pattern from the most beautiful blog you have ever seen. Kellie is a very talented Aussie who makes the most lovely patterns and quilts and cushions and I was a lucky winner on her blog, here is what I won. A beautiful cushion pattern. She is a bit of pioneer in easy ways to do lovely applique.

While I was there I decided to order a couple of her current patterns which you can see below. There are also 2 new ones that I have pre-ordered, check out her blog and her shop and I will be checking out her classes if they should ever come to my area.

Then I was a bit naughty and went shopping on Etsy at Fresh Fabrics and bought all these lovely Fat Quarters, there are 20 in total but they were so cheap and lovely and I now own some Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler and Momo.

And last but not least I always enjoy a good thrift store and I found these lovely items in my local St Vinnies. A nice big bit of fabric that will look sooo cute in a pinafore on Jess in year or 2. a Lovely little girls pattern and a nice big double bed sheet that will look wonderful as a quilt backing.

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Oh I nearly forgot. I also love this store: Karaku on Etsy. I bought some lovely Cotton & Linen offcuts and a couple of bits of fabric to use as applique and panels.

Swap Quilt complte

2009-06-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

I actually finished this the other day but have not had time to blog it.
It is a mini quilt measuring 20 x 21 inches, that I did for an international swap and it is currently winging its way to the USA. The theme was "Spring Blooms" and I found a lovely free pattern here: Dontlooknow
and thought that i would use it for my quilt. I am not very good at making up my own patterns yet but I did change it a little by adding a couple of tulips and my quilting is just basic contour quilting following some of the lines and patterns made by the applique.

She makes the loveliest patterns and some ladies I know are lucky enough to be going to a workshop with her soon, I don't live close enough but I will be keeping my eye out for one in the future near me.

Anyway, I howe my recipient likes this little offering. My swapee is a wonderful quilter and this is not up to her standard by any means but I made it with love and I had a wonderful time doing some techniques that I have only learnt this last year, I think it looks great so hopefully she does too.

3 Months already

2009-06-18T18:09:00.001-07:00

My oh my how time flies. It has been 3 months since we had Jess and already I can't think of how life was without her.

Jess and Sam on their lovely EB Aunties Quilt click on the Jess label on the sidebar to see how much she has grown every month.

Sam is a pretty good big brother for a 2 year old, he just wants to play, but he loves to hold her hand and if she cries he asks if she's o.k. It's really very cute.

Speaking of Sam he can be very 2 at the moment but we still love him and it really must be hard not being able to do everything you want and not understanding why.

Everything else here on the farm is great, not enough rain as usual but we had a little in the Autumn which will hopefully keep us going for a while. Husband is doing well and their football (AFL) team has actually won lots of games this year and we are hoping they make it into the finals and he is playing really well too, I am not playing netball this year but am working on my Umpiring which I am loving.

I nearly forgot, I got a lovely parcel in the mail today it contained 6 beautiful coasters and a lovely bag to keep them in from my swap partner in Texas USA.

Thanks for visiting

SEWN GIVEAWAY WINNER

2009-06-08T02:15:00.000-07:00

It's over finally, the SEWN giveaway is finished and I have used the ever so popular random number generator to pick a winner who is
....
....
....

Becanne

CONGRATULATIONS.

Thank you to everyone who visited and entered, I have had a wonderful time visiting all the other blogs and my blog following list is just getting ridiculous.

Don't forget I am participating in a Pay It Forward and I have one space left to make something for someone just click here: PAY IT FORWARD

AND THE WINNER IS...

2009-05-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

Well after a bit of fussing around in excel cause I don't know how to make blogger number my comments, I managed to transfer all the comments over and number them and random org has generated the following winners of my "Sew Mamma Sew" giveaway.

In first place: Luke & Pamela
from Michigan in the USA. Also a bit exciting.

In second place: Junebug

Pamela will get to choose her large and small pendants first then Junebug will get a go.

That was so much fun. I really appreciate all the wonderful comments that I have received during the giveaway and hope that some of you will stop by to visit again sometime.

Also her is a pic of a quilt that i have nearly finished for my cousins 21st birthday. He is an Essendon fan (Australian football) and is turning 21. The back will have the black with a red sash like their uniforms.

Finished Project for May

2009-05-29T02:19:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I would get anything done this month but Ta Daaaah!!!

Here is my creation.

A "Mei Tai" for me to carry Jess in.

I found a heap of different websites that give patterns and instructions and I just fused a couple together and went for it, I put a pleat in the bottom cause I felt that it was too wide for little Jesss' hips and now it is perfect. The fabric is a FQ that I got on Ebay and the inside is a lovely Jade green with the Hot Pink straps.

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY GIVEAWAY!!!

I still have one open to Australian Residents a couple of posts below this one.

NOW CLOSED GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-05-26T04:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to yet another giveaway.

SEW,MAMMA,SEW is having their 2nd giveaway day.

It was great fun the first time around and I was even lucky enough to win a prize. I also gave away some of my lovely handmade soap to 1 winner.

This time I am going to open my giveaway up to anyone in the world. There will be 2 prizes of my newest creations.

1st prize: 1 large Pendant & 1 small Pendant of your choice from my "Bec Clarke Creations" Blog

2nd prize: 1 small Pendant of your choice from my "Bec Clarke Creations" Blog

I will be adding more Pendants over the next few days there are lots of new squares and some rectangles that I am in the process of photographing so you don't have to decide right now, wait until you hear from me if you are the lucky random winner.

Anyone is welcome to enter, there is only 1 condition, I must be able to contact you. Either through your blog, leave me your e-mail address or follow my blog so that when I announce the winner you can contact me. I must hear back from you within 48 hrs of the drawing or the 2nd place person becomes first and a new 2nd place gets drawn. Winners will be drawn on 31 May Australian (Sydney Time).
DON'T FORGET my other giveaway which you can read about here:
Sewn Giveaway

And my pay it forward which is still lacking a couple of participants, go and have a look and see if it is your cup of tea
Pay If Forward

2 Months already!!!

2009-05-16T02:59:00.000-07:00

Just a little post about our prescious little girl. On 17 May (tomorrow for us) she will be 2 months old already. My how time flies.

Here she is on the very special quilt made by my lovely internet quilting friends. I am going to try and remember to do this every month for at least the first year, I have seen it done by other people and it really gives you perspective on how much they grow in such a short period. I didn't do it with Sam as I didn't know about it and I only just made him his first quilt when he went in to his "Big Bed" but here he is with Jess today.

By the way, Jess is wearing the cutest little outfit knitted for her by my very clever step-mum. There is a cute little pair of yellow booties and pants and a little cardi in yellows, blues and purples. Everyone commented at football today and she was toasty warm too.

Don't forget about the giveaway that I am participating in and the Pay it forward too. Just see the 2 posts below this one for more details.

All Sewn Up - GIVEAWAY

2009-05-10T19:30:00.001-07:00

I am joining in the party!!!

A new website totally dedicated to sewers is about to be launched and they are having a big party. People who have blogs are invited to have giveaways to celebrate and I have decided to join in and offer some goodies to giveaway.

NOTE: AUSTRALIAN PARTICIPANTS ONLY
sorry about that but postage outside the country is ridiculous for what i am giving away.

Now down to business. What will you win off me and how will you win it.
WHAT YOU WILL WIN
1. 2 x Bars of my handmade soap, you pick the sort that you would like, just visit my soap blog and let me know.

2. 1 x of my hand decorated pendants which can also be seen over on the soap blog, if you have a colour preference I have plenty others here at home that I can make up to suit you, otherwise just pick one of the available ones on the blog.

HOW TO WIN IT.
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me which soap you would like to win and your favourite colour for the pendant.
2. Tell your friends.
That's it!!! Draw takes place on 8 June at 10am EST sharp.

I am also still looking for more people for my Pay It Forward so feel free to have a look and join in.
GOOD LUCK

Paying it Forward

2009-04-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

I am jumping on the bandwagon and doing something nice for strangers.

I found my idea here: Marianne's Art Blog

I am entering into the following contract with the first 5 people who comment and then commit to do the same on their blog.
Just read below and if you feel up to the task copy the following into your blog and leave me a comment. I am willing to post overseas (I am in Australia), but remember you must committ on your blog to do the same to others.

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make. Whatcha get is whatcha get.
2. What I create will be just for you, with love.
3. It’ll be done this year (2009).
4. I will not give you any clue what it’s going to be. It will be something made in the real world and not something cyber. It may be weird or beautiful. Or it may be monstrous and annoying. Heck, I might bake something for you and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that’s for sure!
5. I reserve the right to do something strange.
6. In return, all you need to do is post this text on your blog and make 5 things for the first 5 to respond to your blog post.
7. Send your mailing address - after I contact you.

Welcome to everyone. I will however, make an effort to do something that you like based on what I see on your blog, BUT there is no guarantees.
Bec

April Finished Project

2009-04-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well I am hoping that this counts. I have had this litte jewellery making kit at home for a while and finally got around to making them up. It wasn't too hard, just a bit fiddly, decorating them and then glueing on the bail (silver thing).

A beautiful present for Jessica

2009-04-13T20:16:00.001-07:00

This is a HUGE thank you to 3 lovely ladies that I know through an online quilting group that I am a part of.

This just came in the mail for Jess and it is from 3 of her "EB Aunties".

Helen AJ Adds

You are just the loveliest. She loves it already.

Jessica Grace Clarke 17 March 2009

2009-03-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

Here she is the new addition to our family.

Miss Jessica Grace Clarke born 10.30am Tuesday 17 March 2009.

Now that's got to be lucky, St Patrick's Day...

Finished Project for March

2009-03-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

Yay, just in time to go to hospital and have a baby. I have finished Sam's quilt that I have been working on since late last year.

Here are some pictures of the quilt and it's owner with his very photogenic poses.

I had a Jelly Roll that I purchased specifically for making his quilt and it is a simple Log Cabin type block that I put sashing around. It wasn't quite big enough to drape over the edges of a single bed so I added quite a large navy border and I was worried about how it would looke especially when I had to make the border wider on the top than the sides but after quilting and binding I think it looks great.

For the quilting I did a simple stitch in the ditch around each square and did some free motion waves around the whole border. It was only my 2nd attempt at freemotion and I am in love with it, I have got my machine all worked out and will be doing much more of it in the future.

I am also really happy with the fact that I had enough Jelly Roll left over to use as the binding, you can't see it much in the pictures but boy it really finishes the quilt off.

IT'S RAINING IT'S POURING

2009-03-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

OK well maybe not pouring... but it did for a while. We have had 20mm of rain in the last 24hrs.

Some people that stumble across this blog may ask why all the fuss over a bit of rain. Well just take a look at the ground in the background of the pictures and you may see why.

We have been in a drought pretty much for the past 7 years. There has been the occasional good fall of rain in either Spring or Autumn, BUT, there has not been a good spring AND autumn for a long long time.

Now, I haven't even lived here that long but my lovely husband can remember when it started and for so long now the ground has been getting drier, the undergrounds springs have been running less and less and the Dams just don't get full when it rains.

So what's the big deal about 20ml you ask. I am not sure but it is still raining and it has probably been about 6 months since we saw that much rain in one go so I think I am allowed to get a bit excited. As you can see from the photo's it rained so hard at one stage that the creek out the back of our house is almost a raging torrent (sorry bit of exaggeration there but it's about a foot deep now and I haven't seen it run like that for a couple of years.

Now all that needs to happen is it needs to keep raining for a day or so nice and gently as it is now and we will be very happy.

LATER THAT DAY
We had a massive storm last night and more rain, all up we have had 41mm of rain. Woo hoo.

I am a very lucky girl

2009-03-10T19:51:00.000-07:00

I have been very remiss in not blogging this before today but things have been getting on top of me as I try to prepare for this new baby this is about to arrive.

Back on about the 6 Feb I was notified that I was the lucky winner of a giveaway at
Selina's Blog. Selina was generous enough to take part in "The Great Stash Busting Giveaway" organised by I'm a Ginger Monkdy. I couldn't believe my luck when I got an e-mail from Selina saying I had won her giveaway. I was a totally random winner but that makes it all the more lucky because as you can see from the picture below I am now the proud owner of some lovely vintage Chenille and some cute flannel and cupcake fabric. If I have a baby girl it will be used for her, otherwise maybe for me???

Then, would you believe it, I get an e-mail from Kristen at Sewmammasew saying I had won one of their fabric packs. I don't even remember entering any of the competitions there but I must have because they arrived today. I couldn't believe it that I have won a green FQ pack. Green is my favourite colour and they will make a lovely quilt when I can find the perfect project. I have never made myself a quilt, everyone else has one but I think these fabrics will be just right for one for me.

So I have lots of lovely fabric just waiting to be used. A huge thank you to Selina and the Sewmamasew crew for my lovely prizes.
I am now officially on a fabric ban. My poor husband just looks in the spare room and shakes his head. I don't have as much as some people but our spare room is not very big and I really have to get it organised this month before my mum comes to stay.

Finished Project for Feb

2009-02-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

I didn't think I would get anything done as I was hoping to have a quilt finished but then I remembered I had been wearing this dress for a week and it got cut out last year and I finished it in the middle of the month. I look terrible as DH took this late last night and I am 8.5mths pregnant so I feel like a whale but never mind, you get the idea.

Family & Creative update

2009-02-01T15:34:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update as I have been my usual slack self at giving the world our latest.

Some photo's for you
This is a quilt that I am making for Sam's first big bed. It will end up big enough to cover a single bed. It is quite bright at the moment so I am hoping to find some border options to calm it down a bit. If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to leave me a comment.

This next photo is just a beautiful flower that has popped out near one of our gates. It is an absolute miracle as it has only been watered by our very sporadic rain that we have had over the last 24 months but the plant is fresh and as you can see it has lovely flowers. I am hoping to try a new art quilt technique with the photo's I have taken.

And lastly what would a blog post be without a photo of my 2 beloved boys. I was outside hanging out the washing and Sam was digging in the sand with his little shovel. Marcus was about and came to take Sam off my hands for 1/2 hr and I could not resist this photo. Some quick stats for everyone. Sam will be 2 on 6 April, upon measuring him yesterday we discovered that he is already 90.5cm high (that's 3 feet pretty much) with another 2 months to go before we can do a estimate of what his finished height will be. For those that do not know apparently you measure them at 2 years old and then double it and that is around about what they will end up.

WISP Finished

2009-01-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

I have officially finished my first project for the year and now qualifiy for the first month of the year long challenge that I am participating in. See the sidebar on your left.

I cut these out last year when I was making the curtains for our windows and didn't get around to putting them together. So I think that counted as a WISP (Work in Slow Progress)

Just in case you are wondering what they are: DOORSTOPS. ..

I have made them out of leftover curtian fabric and I made one for the hallway, main bed and Sam's bedroom doors as these are the ones that tend to slam shut in the wind.

I got the idea from this tutorial: http://allittook.blogspot.com/2008/01/pryamid-door-stop-tutorial.html
It was quite easy, except that I forgot to put the little pick up thingy on the top but I don't need it. I will just kick them out of the way.
So, hopefully this is a worthy entry for my first month. I have about another 6 or more things on the go that I will be trying to get at least one finished each month to qualify for the WISP challenge and also to help me with my pile of procrastination projects.

ON A FAMILY NOTE:
Everyone here is well, Sam is growing and a real little character now. New baby only has 10 wks until it is due. Marcus is off fishing today, hopefully he will get a few more days in before the baby is born as I think I will need his help quite a bit once it comes along. I worry about poor Sam and how he will cope at having to share me after all this time.
I have been very busy tidying up the spare room so that if we have visitors they can sleep in there instead of in the Lounge room.
Oh and very exciting news. I have had my very first Wholesale order for Soap. I am a bit excited, also a bit worried. It is getting quite busy and I am trying to keep my stocks up so I can have a month or so off when bub comes.
Later.

Ending Procrastination

2009-01-04T15:16:00.000-08:00

Yes I admit it, I am a procrastinator in alot of things that I need to do every day.
I don't usually make a New Year's resolution but thins year I am making one.
I will make a very concerted effort to end my procrastination. To do this I am putting in place a number of projects.

1. Last year I bought and read this book: "Speed Cleaning" by
Shannon Lush. She has a number of books out and I have found them all quite interesting and helpful. I am doing my best to follow a routine based around her theory and am finding that it is very helpful and I am having to spend less time on the housework. I promised myself that I would do this as we have moved into our new house and it will be hopefully easier to maintain a new house if I keep up with my routine. I also love the way she uses alot of natural alternatives in her books.

2. I have joined a group of bloggers that will hopefully help me get in a little more creativity each month. It is very low stress with no real deadlines except that I want to get at least 1 project finished each month. It can me as small or large as I like and I really believe that I can do this. Information can be found here: Monthly Challenge
I have added a picture link on my sidebar to remind me and let everyone know that I am taking this very seriously.

Now I am also hoping that these 2 things will help me feel a bit more organised after I come out of hospital from having our next baby at the end of March.

So ,yes, as a friend told me recently, I do like to keep busy. I do also have my soap business that is going really well but I am trying to get heaps of stock built up so that I can have a few months off once bub comes along.

Now all I have to do is figure out which one of the many UFO's I am going to do for January. Probably Sam's quilt as I want it finished to put in the local show at Jingellic and Tumbarumba.

Merry Christmas Update

2008-12-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

As per usual I have been a very slack blogger. I have an excellent excuse though... in between having a very active toddler, a thriving soap business and a few other things I haven't had time to think about blogging.

Firstly I have some pictures of Sam that were taken this month. The first one is very cute and the picture I put on the 2 christmas cards that I sent out. Yes that's right I only sent 2 out this year, sorry everyone. I didn't even pose him for this, he just decided to get the hat out of his toybox one day and I managed to get some cute pictures.

The 2nd and 3rd picture is Sam with Marcus and I in the Shearing shed. We did a bit of shearing at the start of the month. Sam loves to visit the shearers and try to sweep the floor.

The last is something that happened when we had a super hot day a few weeks ago. I put some water in a bucket thinking he may just stand in it and get cool but I ended up having to take all his clothes off as all he wanted to do was sit in the bucket. I don't know how he fit in it but he managed and was quite happy to stay squashed up in the water for about 40 mins. He is just like me in that respect, loves the water.

So I am sorry to everyone that didn't get a christmas card. I know that I am slack but I am thinking of everyone and hoping that you are all safe and well.

Have a very wonderful Christmas and safe New Year.

Doll quilt swap

2008-11-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

The quilt that I made for the Essential Baby Doll Quilt Swap #2 has finally arrived at its destination.

So... now I can put up a picture of it for everyone to see.

The quilt was made for Adds who is a very talented quilter. She requested something to put on the wall next to her sewing machine. I hope that this met her colour requirements also. The embroidered words read: "Choosing & Cutting, Piecing & Stitching, Tacking & Quilting, Binding & Dreaming". It measures approx 16" square and has some pretty ribbon to use to hang it.

Doll Quilt Swap

2008-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

I am sooooo lucky, I was allowed to open my parcel this morning for my
Essential Baby Quilters Doll Quilt Swap #2 and inside was this lovely creation from the very talented AJ . By the way this picture does not do it justice at all.

It also included 2 pieces of fabric from the Amy Butler collection. I have never owned a piece of Amy Butler but have always looked and admired from afar so I feel like christmas has come early today.
The quilt has a beautiful folded fabric effect in the centre of the squares and the quilting is lovely curves to match the folding. The Fabrics are a bit more green that can be seen in the picture and the colours are just perfect.
I cannot thank AJ enough for all the hard work that must have gone into this quilt.

Now that it is Friday I would love to show a picture of the one that I sent to Adds but I am not sure if she has recieved it yet so I will wait until I am sure she has.

Sneak Peak

2008-10-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

This is a quick look at a project that will be in the post by Friday.

I have been working on it for about a month and only have to quilt and bind it then post it to the (hopefully) happy receiver.

I also still have to give it a wash to get rid of the pencil marks.

I know I am not the best blogger but I am just so busy at the moment with heaps of soap orders and looking after a very active toddler. I will try to be better, I truly will but with another baby due on 25 March I may also just stay the same...

Sam Loves Mum's Custard

2008-09-21T14:28:00.000-07:00

I have been very slack once again and not updated my blog for absolutely ages. As I have not been doing much sewing I have decided to show a photo or our little - or not so little anymore- guy.

Here is Sam enjoying my home made custard, it is my Mother in law's recipe and he just loves it.

And just because we love him so much here is another one, he is just obsessed with hats and sunglasses, which we think is a good thing with summer coming up. We just laugh and laugh.

Another lovely wedding

2008-08-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

Well once again I have not been sewing as have been extremely busy looking after Sam and Marcus, but, last Saturday we went to another wonderful Wedding.

We made a dash up to Sydney to go to my cousin Peter's wedding. It was yet another beautiful ceremony and very fun reception. The bride looked absolutely radiant and big Pete looked very handsome as per usual. The DJ was really good and we danced the night away and everyone had a great time until we got kicked out at closing time.

This is Peter and Lucy taking over from the DJ.

16 Months on 6 August 2008

2008-08-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do this update while my internet connection is working well.

Tomorrow is 6 August and our little guy will be 16 months old. How amazing that it has gone this quickly. He is walking, running, making lots of animal noises and starting to say some words.
Here is a list: Go, No (of course), Up, Oh Dear, Bath, Car, Dad, Mum, Yum, Pa (Grandpa), and this is the strange one he says Ratbag, it's really funny. He is very independent and likes to feed himself as you can see above, he does a pretty good job really.

We had some lovely rain in July and there was actually puddles for a week so one day when Sam and I went out walking he discovered them, boy did he have a great time.

As for us Marcus is busy feeding the Sheep and Cows. I am busy looking after the Ratbag and trying to get a bit of sewing done.

Half my stuff is over at our new house which we should move into next week so I am just preparing for a colourwash hexagon quilt that I have decided to make with a heap of charm squares that I had left over. The squares are 4" and the hexagons will be 3" and there will be about 100 of them or so of all colours and I will be hand piecing them.

Table Runner Swap received

2008-07-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

I just got this most beautiful creation in the mail. I am a very lucky girl.

Thank you to the very talented Kylie for this lovely Table Runner, the colours a so soft and pretty and will go very nicely on the timber table that we will be using when we get into our new house, and the Prarie Points are very cute. It is beautifully madea and it will be on our new table all the time.

Late Birthday Fat Quarter Swap Picture

2008-07-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to be part of an online quilting group on the EB Website. About 15 of us have organised a Fat Quarter swap this year and what happens is that on your birthday you get 1 fat quarter from each of the others. We had the opportunity to give suggestions as to what fabric we would like and some people are generous enough to throw in a few extras as well.

Here is a picture of my lovely loot. It is a bit late, my birthday was on 5 June but they didn't all come in time and we went on holdays a few days after that anyway.

Thank you to all the lovely girls. If you wish to know more about the lovely ladies, please visit their blogs, you will find they are a very kind and talented bunch.
http://joystitch.blogspot.com/
http://the-humming-cat.blogspot.com/
http://sampaguitaquilts.blogspot.com/
http://www.gomama-sewing.blogspot.com/
http://patchwork-of-mini-grey.blogspot.com/
http://pugglelogic.blogspot.com/
http://www.waterfallcascade.blogspot.com/
http://craftedbykylie.blogspot.com/
http://kyliesstitchnsew.blogspot.com/
http://ajsantics.blogspot.com/
http://www.snailblazer.blogspot.com/
http://xenabonjovi.blogspot.com/
http://mandsnest.blogspot.com/
There is also 1 more, Cylie. I can't seem to locate her blog at the moment but will update when I do.

Wedding Rings & other things

2008-07-04T16:32:00.001-07:00

Well the big trip to the USA is over and we had a lovely time.

My little brother is now married to the most beautiful (inside and out) lady called Mary.

We spent 2 weeks in the very hot and steamy Baltimore before the wedding and it was just lovely to see my little Bro after 2 years and to get to know Mary. We shopped alot, Marcus and James went Fly fishing and we did alot of walking. We have all come back with a bit of a tan, including Sam who has the brownest legs.

We got to meet all of Mary's family and close friends as well as alot of the wonderful friends James has made since he moved there. Mary has a wonderful circle of family and friends that have welcomed James with open arms and we have no doubts that he will be well cared for as long as he remains so far from home. They were very welcoming to all our family, they entertained and fed us very well. A special thank you to Mary's parents and The "Versace" family (ha ha ha), who put on a couple of special dinners for the whole tribe.

It was also time to catch up with 3 of James's oldest friends. Dane who he has been friends with for 20 yrs was his best man, he now lives in the US and has a wife who is expecting their first child. Mark who he has known for about the same amount of time and his wonderful girlfriend Rosie who we all shall miss but especially Sam and Dan who he has known for almost as long. They all came to share in the celebration and it was made all the more special because of it.

Then there was all the family, Mum and her 3 sisters, Uncle Big B, Dad & Sonia. It was just a rocking time had with all the gang there.

I am sure that James's family (especially his Aunts) will be the talk of the town for quite some time.

The wedding ceremony was the nicest I have ever been to (except for my own of course). It was a full Catholic ceremony in an old church that has been restored to all it's glory. I have never enjoyed a church service more.

I was in absolute raptures when all of a sudden lifting the roof off with the hymns there was a quartet of singers up in the balcony with the pipe organ.

The wedding present that I made for them was a huge success. A queen size Double Wedding ring quilt made using 2 Moda Jelly Rolls. It took me 6 months with a bit of blood, sweat & tears (no exaggeration).

The Happy couple on their wedding day in all their finery and their quilt.

Bec Clarke

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