Lights Camera Action! WIGGLES!!

We went to the Wiggles today! Our second concert, we saw them back in September last year. They are such fantastic guys, big fans in our house. It was a bit sad as this was the concert it was announced at that Greg has officially left due to illness and they had video footage of him explaining it all and handing over the yellow skivvy to his replacement.

Milly got a bit alarmed during "Play Your Guitar with Murray" as the giant inflatable balloon of Murray kept falling over as it was being blown up! Grace looked cute as a button in Ingrids top too. Finally got to post a pict for you Ingrid!

Pretty green thread

Well the sewing here is zilch at the moment. And as a result I have a very shinney kitchen and bathroom! Did sandwich together a quilt last night, but no pictures or chat of that...... I did go to Spotlight the other day after work and buy this beautiful green thread though. Multi coloured greens, how pretty is that? To quilt Michelle's bear quilt with. Please note scarey shadow in background! :)

OT - Girls Santa photo!

Well I know, a bit crazy as its not even December yet, but I have had the girls Santa photo taken already! After the disaster last year where Grace just screamed in the car park and Milly wailed on his knee, thought I'd get in early this year. So we have been talking up Santa in our house and yesterday before I started work, thought we'd go visit the jolly man. We were the first ones in the que, he wasn't even there! But shortly arrived walking up the mall, came over to where we were waiting, asked the girls names, said hello to them and bit of chit chat. He then went and sat down on his chair and we approached, Milly has a bit unsure, clung to my leg but Grace suprised me by being as bold as anything and saying "We'd like a fish tank thanks Santa with finding Nemo in it!" They had little showbags with lots of advertising material in it but one little chocolate which they are holding. So that is the reason I got a photo where they aren't crying!

Fabric Retail Therapy

Seems like I haven't brought any fabric for ages! Didn't really mean to buy any yesterday..... Went to my sisters for morning tea and so the girls could play. After she spent the first 20 minutes raving about how beautiful Ingrids Rose Top Grace was wearing, we then just popped into Textile Traders where I picked up the above fabric, for no reason than just because! Was stoked as the one on the left I have been watching on ebay goes for $6US for a fat quarter and I got 2.4 metres for $4 a metre! The strippey ones are just perfect for backing material too, I have the yellow/orange stipes already put away for my current project.

Is it a U or a N???!

More sneek previews! I'm just busting to show a picture of this one, it looks great so far! Totally opposite direction to the teddies of the last quilt.

Have missed posting here in my blog. Bauble writing work is getting in the way. I even dreamed about posting in my blog last night, how sad is that?!

For when I need inspiration.

Okay, look here: quilts by mellicious and also in flickr. Try tags of patchwork, quilts and quilting.

And here: Jan Mullen.

Drool and dream!

What icecream are you? And notes to oneself...

Bit of blog fun hey! Thanks AJ! You Are Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

You are kind, popular, and generous. You tend to be successful at anything you try. A social butterfly, you are great at entertaining a crowd. You are most compatible with strawberry ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

Notes to oneself: corner squares 4 inches square. Triangle squares 4.25 inch square.

Off to eat some icecream now!

Welcome back colour!

Well I have folded up the teddy bear quilt top all ready to quilt over the weekend, and already got stuck into my next project! Am just so excitied to use some bright colour again! It is so much fun in my sewing room/laundry at the moment! This is what my ironing board looks like!

And here is a sneak peak of the actual thing I am working on...

Bears Quilt Top finished!

Well I finished the teddy bears quilt top this afternoon. As I was laying it out on the floor for this pict, Grace says "Gee its really pretty Mummy. Is that for me?" Why does a 3.5 year old think everything is for her?

In hindsight looking at it and maybe being a touch picky, I'm thinking the red in the corner "economy patch" blocks (no idea why they are called that! But thats what the pattern called them!) is a bit over powering? DH thought not last night when it was laid out on the lounge room floor, he loved it. He is a bit baised though!

Just have to go to SL tomorrow or Friday to get some backing and more wadding. Don't have any in my supplies this big. Then let the quilting beginning!

Now whats next on that list of mine......

Layout of second boarder....

Just had a mental blank. How do you spell boarder? Border? Boarder? Looks weird. Anyway.... I sewed all the 4 patch blocks that will alternate the bear blocks for the second boarder. Here they are all laid out. The 49 square block completed a few weeks back will go in the middle, I have to frame that with a plain colour boarder. Am thinking green or purple? Don't know if this baby is a boy or a girls, so trying to make it gender neutral. It makes it so hard for a quilter when the parents don't find out the sex of their bub! :)

Finished the bears!

Well at last I have finished these 12 bears! All the blanket stitching done, eyes and mouths done by hand. I find it amusing that a few different sized stitches can make the difference between a smiley bear or a bear with a smirk!

I asked Michelle on Friday her EDD, 19th of February. She's working up till the 25th of January. Just writing that in so I have it recorded somewhere as I will forget!

Can cross one thing off my list of to sew projects that I posted awhile back. I was planning on making my neice a bolster out of those Strawberry Shortcake flannels I got from that co op. But the other day when my dearest sister was over, Grace was wearing the comfy pants I made her from the same material, and boy did my sister go on about how ugly the material was! She is never one to mince words! So I thought pfffttttt! Not wasting my time doing that then!

Our new house!

Now I must admit I am not really a Christmassy person, but I think the last month of working in The Christmas Shop at Myers is starting to rub off on me. This was being unpacked on Saturday to go on display and I saw it and it was a case of "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I have to have that!" So here is our new Advent calender! When you open each of the day's doors the figures at the top move around, some background lighting comes on, the little door at the top opens and a boy with a goose pops gently out and of course it plays a tinny Christmas Carol!

Little bit more $$ than your average Advent Calender but I thought, this is the sort of thing that I can hand down to the girls. Our first real Christmas heirloom.

Now to work out what to put in each days door...... Any suggestions?

Grace's First "real" drawing

Bit of excitment in our house yesterday, well for me anyway! Grace, during "quiet time" drew this picture and its her first real picture. She's been drawing people for awhile, well big circle heads with arms and legs sticking straight out of them! But here is her first drawing that says something to us adults.


I asked her to explain it. Its her and her cousin Cate, she is handing Cate a present (as was Cate's birthday's on the weekend) and they are standing on a bed of flowers doing a dance.

Awwwwww! All I hear is how much like DH she is, so chuffed to think maybe, just maybe she'll have her Mum's artistic streak!

Teddy Bear - Work In Progress...... slowly....

Well I seem to have been blanket stitching for days and this is all I have at the moment to show for it! But at least this one is finished, well sort of!

This is how it looks after I have finished the machine stitching. I now have to thread the top thread underneath, knot it and cut it, can't have any stray threads as being a pale yellow they will show up. Have learnt that through experience! Then I have to hand sew an odd single blanket stitch here and there so it looks all even. And then hand stitch the bears face and then I am finished!

The other 11 blocks are in various stages. I have done all the paws and face, just working my way through the clothes now.

I must admit I am finding it hard to find time to get to sew at the moment. Work has been a bit full on this week, 25 hours which doesn't sound like much, but thats a chunk of my Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday gone. Still, its making me appreciate my time at home with the girls and my machine much more.

Happy 2nd birthday Matilda!

Here she is! My baby is two today! I did a search of EB to find her birth story here. I always read it and get teary, even after writing it nearly 2 years ago.

Today we have spent at home. Had Nanny Chook, Grandad, Nanny Biscuit, Nanny and Poppy, Uncle Justin and Catie Rose over for morning tea. Aunty Ad and Oliver and Stu are due after school for more presents, cup cakes and twistees.

*sigh* where did those two years go? If someone said to me, do you want to live them again, exactly the same? I'd say yes in a flash. Happy Birthday Milly. Mummy loves you very much.