Christmas Hexies

I'm loving Lynette Andersons' 2015 Christmas range and have decided to make a table centre piece.

I have used EPP iron on 1 1/2" Hexies from hugs'n kisses...these are amazing!!! No removing papers, just iron then glue stick the seams and Hexies are ready to sew. Yay! The interfacing like fabric that they are made from semi-dissolves when washed...winning :)

So many things I want to make...have a great week xo Suze.

Hi There

Isn't this year flying by? Have been doing a little bit of sewing...these little make up bags were a pleasure to make...my zippers were interesting, can't remember the last zipper I sewed.

Miracle Makeup Bag pattern by Hatched and Patched

Finished off this little cutie...it's a pattern from Annie @ Hatched and Patched. I loved it so much that I made another...lol. 

But wait...there's more!

Need to get cracking on my stitch along as well....considering taking it to Bathurst. Can't wait to catch up with my fellow blogger and stitching friends!

Wild flowers...had some more rain this weekend, so hoping for more!

Bear boy...hasn't been well..love him to bits xoxo

Hope it's a GOOD week xo Suze. 

Stitch along update

A couple of days late, but here it is. Final appliqué block :) needs a press, excuse the wrinkles! 

Have a great week. Cheers, Suze x

Caught up!

As promised from last post....drumroll please...here are my May AND June blocks!!! Yay. I'm also happy to say that I have started stitching July...BOOM! lol.



May blocks, favourite is bottom rhs bee/bug ;)



June blocks, favourite is top lhs branch with leaves ;)

Have a great week my stitch along friends...I'm looking forward to a wonderful weekend celebrating a gorgeous girls 21st birthday and catching up with Kate...send me warm vibes- it's going to be freezing!!!!! Xo Suze. 

Natures Journey Catch-up

Hello to my stitchalong friends...a bit of an update for you all, and to keep Chookys whip away...lol!!



March blocks...

I'm getting better as I go along with this needle turn technique, or so I thought 'til I got to the points on the pieced block!!!
 

Loving this pear block :)

The next lot are the April blocks...the diamond star block was a challenge, my centre is not as tidy as I'd like!

April....

Probably my favourite block so far... 

Have a lovely day!! Cool one here have had around 3" of rain this month everything is beautifully green and muddy!! Better than the red dust though :) Will update with next two months blocks this week...Cheers, Suze.

Natures Journey February

Hi...this is the first post that I have done with my Natures Journey blocks. I am using my stash fabrics and a few extras thrown in from friends...I am using the iron on applique paper, sewline glue pen and my stylus to turn the seams under and then a dab of Roxanne Glue to hold in place while I needle turn applique. Some of the edges are not the smoothest....lol, but I'm improving! I have kept the blocks on one large background piece to make it easier to do the blanket stitch borders....mine are a bit different to Annies pattern...I have done the stitch like a traditional blanket stitch.

My favourite block is this one with red hearts...I'm waiting on my "Perfect Circle" templates to arrive to finish off with the circle in the middle. Annie had them in a previous email, and I decided they would make my life much easier as I'm not so good with those tiny curves!

This is the stitchery that was optional for January. I have not made it into anything yet...keep changing my mind. It will come in useful for a Christmas gift, I'm sure. Can you believe it's March tomorrow??

 

Enjoy your weekend...Suze. x

Girl Kringle 2014

My family has a Christmas tradition.....we call it "Girl Kringle". Each year we each have to make and exchange one gift ( my Mum, three sisters and my daughter )...it is one of my favourite parts of Christmas Day. We have been doing this for around ten years....its beautiful. For 2014 I had my youngest sister, Shell....we start planning early in the year, Pinterest boards are very handy..lol! I decided to do a colour wash of 1" hexies ( these are from Hugs and Kisses, THANKYOU Helen for including me in your blog post :)  ) they are made of iron on "interfacing-like" paper that washes out later...that's right...they don't have to be removed...WINNING!!! I made the hexies, hand stitched them together and then did a raw edge applique design with my sewing machine, then backed and framed it in a 14" hoop.

Shells' 2014 Girl Kringle

I received these gorgeous oven mits from shell, I LOVE them...so retro! She patchworked them and included some sashiko stitching.  So pretty!

My 2014 Girl Kringle from Shell

This year other gifts made were: a felt lap top computer bag, a terrarium and crocheted doily, cooks apron and head scarf, a teddy bear shaped wheat bag. Looking forward to 2015...better get planning...Suze x

Cobar Retreat

Well...what I wonderful weekend! Good friends, stitching, wine and dine, laughter and rain!!!! What more could a girl ask for?



Cobar Retreat Crew....."Selfie" ;)  Kate, Me, Lois ( my Mumma ), Kylie and ( front) Chooky and Caz ( my sister ).

A spur of the moment blog/phone conversation turned into a fun couple of days.  I just love the friendships I've made through blogging, quilting and craft! It's heart warming....and inspiring. This is a picture from Friday's "stitching session" .

.

Friday....stitching session may have had some Pimms added to the punch!

I promise I did do some hexies before this happened!! While we were there Kylie and I received a call from Chooky saying she was on her way west! Yeeha! So plans were made and "wa-la" Cobar Retreat was planned:)  Kate and I had planned a sewing day on Sunday while she was in town for a family catch-up....and it grew! What a great day.

Whips were cracked and this is what I stared with...a mud map was made and stitching began! All while sitting out on our back patio watching some of the 57mls of rain we got this weekend shower down...heaven!!! Will take a pic of some finished strips tomorrow with some better light (sorry Chooky)...I've already received a text message asking for updates! We all stitched, it was lovely...thanks Chooky for helping me to get this happening again! 

SKoW...my applique blocks.....just waiting to be stitched together!

 Sometimes the best weekends are unplanned and just "work out" this one was great...hope yours was too. Thankyou to my family and friends...I love you guys. Suze x

Christmas Presents

Happy New Year!!  Hoping 2015 is kind and good to us all. I wanted to share with you the gifts that I received and sent in Chookyblues Christmas Swap. I love participating in this swap, it truly makes my Christmas...I love the spirit and happiness it brings...all over the world- amazing! I received from Noemia in Portugal, some very lovely gifts. A hand towel, apron, soaps, chocolate with a picture of her home town, fabric and four Christmas placemats. Thankyou Noemia...I am looking forward to using these next Christmas:)

 

 

I sent to Carol, in America. I love doing stitcheries and had noticed some redwork on Carols' blog. A friend had recently given me this pattern...I changed it a bit..lol and made this. I love the border fabric, it's from Annie Downs 2014 Christmas range....my favourite designer!! Added one of my favourite books too, sharing the Australian love...Natalie Bird, "Red Home"...I hope Carol loves it!

 

 

Stay cool...very warm here....Suze x 

Christmas Eve Greetings

Happy Christmas Eve! I cannot believe just how quickly this year has gone...I have picked up another two days a week work plus the occasional Saturday, so I'm adjusting to having to be more organised and needing to go to bed earlier!! Lol....which unfortunately cuts into my blog reading and online time... I know I need to get my priorities right- who needs sleep???

I have been lucky enough to have participated in Chookyblues' Christmas Swap again this year. I received this gorgeous ornament from Noemia in Portugal! I can't wait to open the rest of the gifts you sent me...I've already tried the chocolate... :) Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas, especially to Chooky for organising again, Noemia who I received from and to Carol, who I sent to.

Merry Christmas!! Love Suze.

 

My cute ornament from Noemia.

Long weekend :)

Hi...hope you all enjoyed this long weekend, well in NSW, anyway! Weather has been nice although warming up a bit today. Great for the garden, watering and mulching done here. Have some beautiful Iris flowers out at the moment and the citrus blossom is very fragrant.

We have some new neighbours, too! These little guys have moved in with their Mum and Dad into out Little Gem Magnolia tree. Triplets!!! Willy wagtails have given up on building in our garage ( with persuasion ) and moved into the tree. The cat is much happier as her food is in the garage and they kept dive  bombing her when she went to eat! She isn't interested in them at all but they harass her terribly...lol. 

Have been doing a few hexies again, love doing them but they take a fair bit of prep! This is an old Moda print by Aneela Hoey called Walk In The Woods. I cut them out if a jelly roll and I'm using the iron on templates that wash away when completed.

I have stared planning some Christmas pressie making, too. Plan on making a few Euro cushions/covers  for nieces and nephews...will need to hurry up! Have a great week xo Suze.

Sewing and Gardening

Hi there, just a quick post with a little bit of what has been happening here. The weather has been beautiful, spring is so pretty....such a shame it doesn't last long! Summer seems to kick in a bit too early for me!!

Peach blossom in our orchard...very happy bees here!

Paper daisies, my favourite wildflower :)

A bag that I just completed, pattern by The Home Patch.

Pretty colours in the above pic, I was happy with how this bag came together...

Have a lovely day ;) xo Suze.

Hey there...

Hi!! I have returned from a bit of a lul...have been getting back to it....slowly:)  Hope everyone out there in Blogland is well and happy....all good here at our house....here is a little bit of what I've been doing...



Made these hexies to add to a quilt for a very special lady in Broken Hill, she loves "brights".



This is the first block from a quilt that I've started a quilting class at CQS. Its called 'round and round' by Thimbleblossom. I'm using a lighter weight denim for the background, loving it ;)

 

 

This is a 'jelly roll quilt' that I made for my niece Xanthes' 2nd birthday. It was a fun and fast quilt to make and I backed it in flannel so it's nice and snuggly.

 

We have been enjoying the beautiful days here in the garden...have been pruning fruit trees and planting some veges in large pots. Hope to soften the cement-like dirt that's out in the orchard so that we can have more few fresh veges....bring on the rain this week!! We, like so many others have had little or no rain for many weeks, lucky for us we get town water out here. Thinking of so many family and friends that don't have that luxury...so we need to start rain dancing!! 

 

Nice to be back...have a great day..xo Suze.

Hello 2014

Hello...Happy New Year!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, too. Ours was great, we were lucky enough to have my other two sisters come home with their families to have Christmas at mum and dads. Kate spent Christmas and new year home...and Stephen had two siblings here, too. So it was a very hectic, crazy, wonderful couple of weeks.

 

Did I mention that Ethan turned 18 early January???....nothing like your baby turning 18 to make you feel 90! Lol...

E with Xanthe, his god-daughter

Chookys' SSCS was a highlight of my Christmas day...I have so enjoyed participating in this swap again this year.  Anne Heidi  from Norway seemed very happy with the gifts that I sent. Below are two pics that I took at home before I sent them.

Annie Downs fabric bunting/swag

Tea towel and Koala ornament

I was lucky enough to receive my gifts from Satu, who comes from Finland...Thankyou again Satu....I love my gifts!!!!!!!! Pictured below are: 2x pot holders made with Nancy Halvorsen fabrics and backed with felted wool ( woven and felted by Satu ), a wooden "pot watcher" that vents a saucepan lid- made from local timber, some Nancy H angel fabric pieces, a beautiful piece of fabric from a Finnish designer that has my favourite flower on it and also a cute little mug rug made with the same fabric. So generous, Satu.....I loved all of it!!

Have a good week all....special thanks to Satu and to Anne Heidi....also to Chooky and Googy. xo

SSCS is here

I received my SSCS parcel this week...yay!! I get such a kick out of this....even the two ladies at our local post office were excited for me as I had told them about our swap when I sent my parcel off a couple of weeks ago!! Thankyou, Satu- from Finland, for my card and beautiful ornament...I love it and can't wait to open my gift on Christmas Day.



All the way from Finland!!

The gorgeous ornament on our tree :)  Thankyou Satu!!

I also heard from Anne Heidi, my swap receiver in Denmark, to say she had her parcels and opened the ornament gift.

 

The SSCS parcels I sent to Anne Heidi

The snowmen ornaments on Anne Heidi's tree ( picture from Anne Heidi's blog, thankyou )...they are cute!!

A HUGE "Thankyou" also to Chooky for organizing us again, also Googygirl for helping!! This is my second year participating in this swap and I love it...it just makes Christmas feel "Christmasier" ( lol, I made that word up.... ).

.....it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas xo Suze.

Good friends

Last week I was lucky enough to catch up with a wonderful group of ladies. The wonderful Chooky organized to get us together for a delightful gathering in Bathurst, NSW. I traveled to Orange ( about 5 hour drive ) and picked up my bestie, Kate and we headed to Bathurst for a "warm-up" for Saturday:) We had a great evening- thankyou Julia, aka little chicken, for inviting us to your home for nibbles, dinner and drinks....and laughs... It was very enjoyable!!

On Saturday we met up at The Home Patch, a truly beautiful shop, shopped up a storm and then went to lunch at the Crago Mill in Bathurst. It is a converted mill that now has an antique shop and café enclosed inside this massive old building. Plenty of lovely food, drinks and laughs and good company was shared. We exchanged gifts in the bake it, make it or fake it present swap- thankyou Dale, my biccies  were yummy! A few quilts and crafty items were also displayed for show and tell...

Susan from Thimblestitch showed us this amazing quilt!!! Love it!!

This huge divine quilt was shown by Michelle..wow!

Annie, modelling Susans' hexagon bag/purse...we all wanted this one:)

And the last photo, taken when I got home on Sunday evening...ahh a cuppa tea and one of Dales' White Chocolate and Cranberry biscuits- yum. Had a great time, met some lovely people and enjoyed the company of such an amazing bunch of ladies. Can't wait to see you all again...xo Suze.


Holidays, hexies and home :)

It has been a hectic couple of weeks here, but very enjoyable! Beautiful warm weather has meant that a few family barbecues, a birthday or two and scone morning teas have been happening at our place. Our yard is looking a treat after some rain a couple of weeks ago, it's amazing what rain water does for the garden versus "town" water! SLB loves his lawn...

Back yard, the roses in the background smell divine...

Have been doing a little bit of hexie prep for the a hexagon quilt I plan to make...should be completed by Christmas...2018! I love this fabric range it's called "A Walk in the Woods" by Aneela Hoey. The hexies are 1"....



So organised...colour coded bags...;)

SLB and I recently celebrated 20 years of wedded bliss....wow! Where did those 20 years go? A couple of beautiful kids added to the mix= time flies when you're having fun! A quick trip to the Gold Coast last week for a dew days was a nice way to celebrate...minus kids!!  Nb- the house and the kids both survived....



Our view..26th floor @ Peppers tower 2. Two days in a row we had whales about 200m from the beach!! Magic....

So...back to reality....and the washing! Have a great week peeps❤ Suze