Gawjus Gifties from dear friends!!

Can you believe it’s the last day of 2009!!!??? Oh my goodness that crept up on me LOL. So, before the year has disappeared entirely please indulge me a little while I ‘show off’ a few more lovely pressies from some very spesh people!!

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I can’t believe how lucky I am!!! So many wonderful thoughtful pressies. I’m so grateful to each and every one of my dear, dear friends :o)!! The beautiful bag on the right is a Christmas swap pressie from Dawn, we were swap partners last year and decided to do it again ... what fun!!

I was quite spoilt this Christmas and I just HAVE to show you this pressie … it was from my brother and SIL …… Now they couldn’t have possible known it but I was admiring these gorgeous measuring cups here while blog hopping just before Chrissy and thinking to myself that I just might buy a set after the festivities were all done with. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the wrapping to find the exact same set!!! What an amazing coincidence, and aren’t they SO CUTE??!!!

Another nice surprise was in my mailbox. My Patchwork and Stitching magazine arrived last week and look what’s on page 40!!!! How exciting!!!!!This is a wallhanging pattern of mine, and I just LOVE how they’ve photographed it, doesn’t it look pretty :o)!!??!

Well before I go I’d like to wish you all a very happy new year and I hope that 2010 is a fabulous and stupendous year for all of you!!! I’ll probably sleep through the fireworks he he, I’ll celebrate tomorrow after a good night’s sleep LOL.


PS ….. Thanks so much to all the lovely bloggers who bought my patterns … the “Sale” finishes tonight so I’ll be removing them from the sidebars later this evening, so if you still want one at that special price be quick before they disappear :o)!!

SSCS and other Chrissy goodies!!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!!! Ours was terrific, spending time with family and sharing lots of laughs, creating tomorrow's memories :o). I missed having the older kids here, but I know they had a lovely time with each other in London, so that makes me happy :o)!! I got totally spoilt, I show you some of my goodies in the next post, for now I want to show the SSCS goodies!!!

What a treat it was when I got to open all my gorgeous pressies from Trashie ~ my SSCS swap partner all the way from UK, the absolute other side of the world!!!! I've been reading Trashies blog for a long time now so it was really nice to find out my swap partner was someone I was so familiar with :o)! Here's what she sent me ................... how spoilt am I!!!!??! Do you see those adorable yellow buttons?? They're "Dorset Buttons" and they're little hand crocheted darlings, just exquisite!!! I love this table mat that Trashie made .... my Mum and I were fighting over this one, I won of course LOL!!!.....

This gorgeous reindeer had a candle in his back on Boxing day and he was centre-stage on our lunch table :o)! Don't you love the snuffer??!! I've always wanted one of those!!!!!

Poor Santa sustained some pretty drastic internal injuries on his journey down under .... rest assured though, it didn't affect his deliciousness!!! All good :o)!!! Thank you SO much Trashie, I really love all of my fabulous gifts!! And also huge big thanks to Chookyblue for arranging such a fun swap!!!

Trashie wasn't the only one from UK who was kind enough to send me lovely Pressies!!! Look at this incredibly beautiful scarf that Maria knit(ted??) for me!!! Oh if only you could feel how soft it is, it's to die for!! And I love the colours too!!! Perfect!!! Maria was my Stitcher's Angel partner in 2008!! Maria and I have become great friends and I can't wait to meet up with her when I visit Tahlia in UK next year ... what fun that will be :o)!!And that's not all, Maria also made me this fabulous coffee pot cover, and popped in some delish choccies, a cute coaster for my coffee cup and some pretty tape!! Thank you so much Maria, bless your heart!!!!

I can't believe I forgot to take a piccy of the goodies I sent over to Maria .... but she's emailed me to let me know she liked them, so that's good :o)! If you hurry, you still might be able to enter Maria's 100 post giveaway so pop on over and visit Maria's Blog!!!!

Here's what I sent to my SSCS partner Missy in USA ..... Missy emailed me when she opened the decoration, and the Tim Tams were in with that .... according to her email they went down pretty well LOL ;o). Mmmmmmmm ...... Who can resist Tim Tams??? This is the bag I made for Missy ...........Hope you all have a happy healthy and wonderful New Year that is filled with good times!!!

Thank you so much to all the lovely bloggers who've been buying my patterns, I'll leave them up for just a little longer ....... just until the end of 2009 at that price.

Last Christmas Special!!!

This has been such fun to bring you a daily post!!! It's been a nice excuse for me to chat to you each day instead of every few days!!! Thanks to all of you lovely bloggy friends who have been visiting me and commenting on my ramblings .... it's been so wonderful to get to know you a little bit ... what a terrific place blogland is!!!

Well here we are on Christmas Eve .... goodness gracious, where has 2009 gone???? Is it me getting older, is time really going so fast lol??? So here it is, my last Christmas special ... and "special" it is, because this is a quilt that I made for my darling Mum for Christmas a few years ago :o).

This is another lap-size (54" x 62") made pretty much entirely with scraps!! I just found all the 'blues' in my stash that went together (cos my Mum loves blue) and this is what I got. Again I've made it quilt-as-you-go as I find it SO much easier to quilt small sections at a time. Here's the centre panel .... pink hearts :o).................
and the sweet flying geese around the border :o).....................

This is the very last of my JoyPatch PDF specials ... this one is also just $5.00 and will be emailed to you on receipt of payment, just click on BUY NOW, easy peasy :o). I'll only be leaving these specials on my blog for a few days more then they'll be back to normal price of $10.50 each (PDF). So grab a bargain while you can LOL!!!



I'd like to take this moment to wish you all a fabulous Christmas ... I hope you're surrounded by love and happiness at this blessed time of year. I also hope that 2010 brings you all good health and many blessings, and I'll look forward to chatting to you again after Christmas.

Please pop on over to the Among the Gumtrees Blog to see our Christmas greetings to you all :o)!!

Sending HUGE yuletide hugs to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More Christmas Shopping, More Christmas cooking, More Christmas mail and Christmas special No; 6

Oh my goodness, the title of this post is almost as long as the post itself LOL!!!!!

Bear and I had another really lovely day together. We got some last minute Christmas shopping done in the morning, bought some more lights for DH to put up in the pergola [[which he did that afternoon!!! What a Sweety he is :o)!!]]. Also couldn't resist these pretties ....

to sit on the dinner table on Christmas Day :o).

Once we got home it was back to baking Christmas goodies. Is there anything that smells yummier than delicious buttery shortbread baking???!! Mmmmmm, I LOVE that aroma :o)!! And they turned out so well ...........I can say that quite confidently as I was the official taste-tester. YUMMMM!!!!!

We also made these .........These are scrummy ... just melt some dark choccy, pop a glace' cherry in each tiny patty case, then pour the melted chocolate over the cheery into each little cup, then you just pop them into the refrigerator to set. Mmmmm, irresistable :o)!! Today I'm making my special Ice-cream with macadamia nuts, macadamia cookies, red and green licorice and coconut in it. The kids LOVE that ..... and the grown ups too LOL.

I've finished all my Christmas sewing now ... this was the last item to make. Just a pretty journal cover for my gorgeous Mum :o).The "M" is also for "Margaret" .... works for me ;o).

I got a really lovely surprise in the mail yesterday too. I was a lucky winner earlier this year in Sandi's giveaway. She sent me a beautiful handmade stocking - you can see it in the piccy below hanging on our fireplace ready for Santa to visit ;o) ...............

(and it was full of Christmas fat quarters!!!) . And dear Sandi remembered me again this Christmas and she sent me these ....Both of these adorable tree ornaments have my name on them!!!! What an incredibly thoughtful lady you are Sandi!!! Thank you SO much!!!

Okay ... well here's the 6th JoyPatch Christmas special!! Today I've chosen a pattern that pretty much sums up how I feel about housework!! I do it, but I don't like it he he!!! This bag has cute stitcheries on it that say ........

"Dusting :o( Ironing :o( Washing :o( ~ I'd rather be Quilting :o)"

and on the other side ...

"Sweeping :o( Cleaning :o( Cooking :o( ~ I'd rather be Quilting :o)"

So if you're like me and would rather be stitching than doing your chores, then this bag has to be on your "to do" list lol!!! It's nice and roomy, 15" x 13" with pockets inside for your phone and other little items you'd like to keep within easy reach. Nice long handles too so you can sling it over your shoulder. And just like the others, this PDF pattern is just $5.00!!! I can email the pattern to you as soon as payment is received, no postage costs and no waiting :o)!!!!

Well I'd better go and wake Bear, she's off to do her Christmas shopping today!!

Some stitching, Some Christmas munchies and Christmas Special No: 5!!!

First the stitching!! This very festive and easy peasy table topper was a doddle to make, it really was!!! All it is is 36 charms squares all sewn together .... pre-quilted calico on the back, cross hatch quilted and throw the binding on!!!

This was really fun to make ~ probably because it was so simple, and I think it looks brilliant :o)!! I might make another one for using during the rest the year .... I know I have plenty of charms to choose from. Simply can't resist those cute little packs lol.

We made such a mess in the kitchen yesterday he he ... we had melted chocolate, M&Ms and wafers all over the place ... but we had a LOT of fun too!! Bear's friend Sam came over and we all made little Christmas Cottages. This is Sam and me hard at work ........ This is how the girls cleaned up the mess!!!!!and very YUMMY mess it was too ...... so I'm told LOL!!!!! Hmm, funny, no leftovers!!!???!

Now of course you're all dying to see our masterpieces I'm sure .......... ta daaaaaaaaa..........For anyone who's in the business of making "Edible Christmas Cottages" .... please don't fret, as you can see in the above piccy ~ we are NO threat to your livlihood LOL!!! Poor Bear's cottage collapsed (it's the middle one), it's now a Christmas Teepee lol!!! We had loads of fun though :o).

Now for another JoyPatch Christmas Special ... this time I've picked a quilt-as-you-go quilt that I've made several times. It's made using a jelly roll and charm squares and it really does go together quickly. The first one I made for my DH but it's spent most of it's life so far as a sample in patchwork stores (sorry hon!!!) ... I really must make him another he he he!! This next one was made for my DS and DIL when they got married. I put a border on it to make it a bit bigger ......And this last one was made using the "Aviary" range of fabrics (from Moda) as I wanted to see it in more feminine colours ... this one's my favourite I think :o)!!This quilt is 61" x 63" (without a border) and you can make it with 1 jelly roll and 45 charms plus extra yardage for front and back sashings and binding (1 & 3/4m) and the diamond strips background (1m) and of course your backing and batting. In fact, because each strip is backed separately you can use up a lot of fabrics from your stash and make it totally reversible!!!

I will email this PDF pattern to you on receipt of payment so there's NO POSTAGE to pay!!! Like the other specials, this pattern is just $5.00, but only for a short time :o)!!

Would you believe I'm off to do MORE Christmas shopping today!!!??!

"Harley Lolly Drop" and Christmas Special No: 4!!!!

Every year in our neighbourhood a lovely group of Harley Davidson owners ride down our street and into the local park giving out lollies to the local children. It's become such a fun tradition in our house that we make sure we're at home for it!!! You can hear the rumble as they come down the street and it's such fun to see the littlies getting all excited!!!Then just as the last of them were coming through ... who should we spy but Norm, our accountant!!! Now that's a side of Norm we didn't know ;o)!!! Doncha love his bike!!??! We were lucky to have a bit of rain over the weekend so while we were waiting for the Harleys to come through Bear thought it would be fun to shake the tree her friend Nadia was standing under ....... she's a ratbag is our Bear lol!!!!!! ;o)

In the afternoon Bear and I decided to do a bit of Christmas cooking, we made some yummy 'white Christmas' .... do you love our 'oh so natural' poses for the camera ............???

This is more like what it was really like though ..... I tried to explain to Bear that we lick the bowl AFTER it's been emptied [[[sigh]]]!!!!!!!! By the way, do you like our lovely aprons??? These were the ones I won at Buderim Patchwork's giveaway a little while ago, aren't they fabulous!!!!!

Ok .... so here's the Christmas special for day 4. I've chosen one of my latest patterns as there were so many of you who liked it :o). This is my "Under Lock and Key" block-keeper. It's 15 1/2" x 15 1/2" with an applique'd and stitcheried (gosh is that really a word lol) front. The little verse stitched on the front around the heart says "My blocks are under lock and key to keep them clean and wrinkle free!"I've stitched a cute set of keys on the front too ... if you need the keys as well I still have a limited amount of sets left for only $5.50 per set (there are 3 keys on a ring per set), so just email me if you'd like those too. The PDF pattern is just $5.00 and will be emailed to you as soon as payment is received, so you don't pay postage :o)!!!

I've been making a very festive and very simple table-topper ... just need to stitch on the binding ~ I'll show you that tomorrow :o)!!!

So until then .........................................

Christmas Special No: 3!!!

Here's a really quick and easy one to make ..... AND (I love this part!!!) IT'S REVERSIBLE!!!!! Now that's like having 2 quilts in one isn't it ;o)??? And to make it even EASIER ... it's quilt-as-you-go!!!!!
I call this one "Slice 'n' Dice", cos that's pretty much how you make it ... I reckon you could make this entire quilt in a weekend, easy peasy LOL. Here's the back .....
Or ...... maybe the back is the front and the front is the back LOL!!!???? Here's one I did in some gorgeous 'Peter Rabbit' fabrics, great for a baby ;o).....
and the back too of course ...................


This is a great lap size quilt - in fact I reckon you could probably fit TWO kiddies under this one while they're watching TV lol, and it only takes 12 fat quarters to make it (plus some extra for the borders and sashings)!! The finished quilt measures 48" x 65".

So if you'd like to grab this pattern CHEAP!!!!!!! Just go to the side bar, it's there along with the other two Chrissy Specials ~ and click on Buy it Now :o).

It's day 20 on the Christmas Countdown at Among The Gumtrees, pop on over and see what we've got for you today ........ it's a bit of a guessing game ha ha ha (or should that read 'ho ho ho')???

Did you find me???????

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!

JoyPatch Christmas Special No: 2!!

How's all your Chrissy shopping going??? Have you finished it yet??? I had a MOST successful day yesterday, big relief. One of the pressies I've had my eye on for my gawjus Bear had been sold and I had no idea what to get as an alternative .... but yesterday there it was, when I least expected it. It's like it was meant to be. I wish I could tell you more but I'm pretty sure Bear likes to have a peek at my blog every now and then and I don't want to spoil any surprises ;o).

Here's JoyPatch "Christmas Special" number 2 ~ "Handy Box Bag". I love this bag!! It folds down flat when it's not being used, but when you do need to fill it it'll stand up straight for you to put all your bits and bobs in ... and it holds LOTS of bits and bobs LOL!!!The reason it stands up so nice and straight for you is because I used "bag weight batting" instead of my usual favourite, cotton batting. It's a bit stiffer and it's fabulous for a firm sided bag, I think I'll be using it again ;o). It's 10 1/2" square with nice long handles for over your shoulders ... and you have 3 pockets on the inside and 1 lovely big button down one on the outside.
I'll be popping a different pattern on to my sidebar right up until Christmas, they're all PDF so I can email the pattern to you straight away with NO POSTAGE, YAY!!! They're all gonna be just $5 each!!!! That's less than half price!!!
So be sure to pop in each day to see which one's next on my sidebar :o)!!! And while you're at it, check out the fun Christmas links on our Among the Gumtrees blog too :o)!!!