three and six

Miss Ashley turned three yesterday! I can't believe how quickly the time has passed and how much she has grown up in the past few months. She always loved her dummy as a baby and when she turned 2, we took it away from her as she hardly spoke at all and we were getting a little worried. Now she is 3 and a little miss chatterbox who always has something to say!

I took these cupcakes to kindy for Ash and her friends (I didn't bake them), they are from babycakes where they make delicious baby cupcakes. The cupcakes themselves are yummy in many different flavours, but the little ones still ended up just licking the icing off anyway!

I've been tagged by Ali , here are six weird things about me.....
- I love doing laundry. I won't let anyone touch the laundry as I love to sort, hang and fold the washing almost each day!
- I love green thai curry that my husband makes, and can it eat it for breakfast.
- I can't go to sleep in an unmade bed. Even if I am going to bed in 5 minutes, I have to make the bed before I get in.
- I don't like animals without legs. Snails and worms terrify me!
- The toilet paper roll has to have the paper hanging over the top, if it isn't, I turn it around.
- I can't wear the colour white. I have white tops but if I put them on, I change my mind as I feel like a lightbulb.

Most people I know have already been tagged so feel free to join in!

starting again

Thank-you for all your suggestions and comments on making a quilt label. They are a big help and I am going to give them a try as they all sound like great ideas......I will let you know how I go! I started on another quilt a few weeks ago, with applique which is something I haven't tried before. I've done my first square and only have 35 more to go! Not sure how long this will take me as it is fiddly and trickier than a straight running stitch (which is why I like my square patches).

all finished

My very first quilt is finally finished! It's all stitched, hand quilted and binding has been done. I thought it would just take a couple of months to complete but it took a whole 6 months (and it's only a cot sized quilt)! I've learnt a lot, mainly that these things take time and I've really enjoyed making it. Now it is all bundled up and ready to be sent to it's new home. The only thing is, I haven't been able to find any quilt labels that I like. I'm looking for something simple, does anyone have any ideas?

small things

This is a small drawstring pouch I made for a friend with a little present tucked inside and a small vintage button on the front. We had a fun Christmas with Josh and Ash, watching them unwrap their pressies from Santa and sharing Christmas dinner with family. This Christmas has been a special one for us, it has made us realise how important family is and to remember our loved ones. I hope you have also had a lovely Christmas.

happy christmas

Happy Happy Christmas! We have three birthdays in December and one in January for our family so it's always a busy time of the year for us. I hope you have a safe and happy holiday with your loved ones!

postcards in the mail...

(top row: from jenn, buttered parsnips, dani, and lily; bottom row: from beate, beki,alina and michelle.) Thank-you!
I'm off to pick up the kids now......have a wonderful weekend everyone!

tagged

When I read Ali's post yesterday I almost fell off my chair when she tagged me! Thanks Ali, here goes......

4 jobs I've had

sales assistant in a book/stationery store

customer service in a bank

worked in a finance company

and now working in aged care.

4 movies I could watch over and over

pride and prejudice (any version!)

chocolat

any james bond movie

4 places I have lived (apart from where I am now)

herdecke, germany - born there and stayed till i was 2

mackay, queensland - where we first arrived in australia

sydney - where i have been for years and years!

4 TV shows I love

greys anatomy

amazing race

law and order

(why do I keep getting stuck at 3?!)

4 places I have been for a vacation

Prague - so beautiful, loved it.

Paris - so romantic.

Malaysia - so much to eat.

Korea - where my family is from.

4 websites I visit daily

bloglines

flickr

ebay

4 favourite foods

chocolate

any dessert with apple and/or rhubarb

pasta that my husband cooks (he's the chef in our house, I can't cook)

japanese

4 places I would rather be

Tokyo, Japan - to visit a friend and shop!

Somewhere on the coast of Italy - relaxing in a small village near the water

Las Vegas - don't mind trying out my luck!

Thailand - to explore

4 people I am tagging

Nic (sweet little treat)

Laura (no appropriate behavior)

Joyce (slateblu)

(3 again!)

busy postman

This wonderful apron book arrived at our house recently and I have been flicking through it's pages ever since trying to decide on a favourite. I love aprons but haven't tried to make one yet......it is on a long list of things that I would love to try and make but the project just seems too hard.

(isbn: 4579108035)

I also received a lovely swap package from Maitreya....thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!

summer

Blooming natives in our backyard.....I think they are a type of eucalyptus tree?

I also received a postcard yesterday as part of the postcard swap....thank-you, I love the tree!

swap fever

I have finally managed to finish off my ornaments for the holiday swap. It feels like it has taken me forever, but I am glad they are done now and on their way to their new homes!

Each of them were packaged in a little bag to keep them safe during their journey!

I also signed up for the postcard swap - I don't think I will sign up for more than one swap at a time in the future, it was hard work trying to come up with an idea for the postcards. I just drew a blank and had no idea what to make! As you can see, I kept up with the tree theme........

They were posted off this morning too! Now for a cup of tea........

run, run, run

We spent the morning baking gingerbread men.....some were covered in blue and orange sprinkles with hundreds and thousands but they didn't last long enough for me to take a picture!

what a bird!

It's late, I should be asleep but hubby is away overseas on a business trip and I can't seem to sleep so I thought I would do a quick post to show you what arrived in the mail.

A lovely felt bird from Frances, as part of the holiday ornament swap. It's so cute, beautiful stitching and beads and a wonderful card to go with it. Thank-you so much, it's going straight onto our tree!

packaged surprise

This wonderful swap surprise arrived from Ali yesterday, full of goodness! Thanks Ali for your thoughtful package, especially the buttoned up gingerbread man, cute fabrics, great magazine, groovy gloves and Christmas goodies!

The lights have already found themselves a home........thank-you!

oh christmas tree

Christmas trees for the ornament swap! They are backed with felt and stuffed a little for shape, the only thing is I forgot to add some ribbon so that they can be hung up on the tree! I managed to find an eyelet thingy that will hopefully solve the problem.....just waiting for hubby to get home so that he can help me work out how it is done.

Hopefully I can package them up and send them off before the fast approaching deadline. Then get a speedy start on the postcard swap!

a little bribe

I couldn't resist, I had to visit my favourite fabric store yesterday. I have almost finished the quilting on the baby quilt I am working on so am looking for a different project that involves applique as I haven't tried it before. I took Josh and Ash with me, armed with lollipops for bribery and we lasted a whole 15 minutes in the store before they got bored and restless. Just enough time for me to grab a pattern and some fabrics to start me off! I found a nice summery pattern and floral fabrics in the hope that I will have it finished by the time summer rolls around.


This swap package of fabric, buttons and yummy chocolate arrived yesterday from Laura. Thank-you so much! I love red and love chocolate!

See how perfectly they are folded? Can't wait to use these red fabrics!

WIP

I started on some Christmas bits and pieces last night while watching tv and came up with some shapes for decorations. Not sure what to do next but at least it's a start!

We also had Josh's orientation day for school yesterday. He is starting next year and I can't believe it. I have been counting down the days for him to start school and now that it is just a few months away, I think I will be one of those mums fighting back the tears on the first day! Now there are new things to worry about.....will he be happy at school or will he make good friends? I have a feeling it is harder on the mums and dads than it is for the kids!

the saga continues....

I think it has been a few months now since I started on my first quilt (baby size of course!). Little did I know then, that I would still be working on it now, with no end in sight. Patchwork class was last night and it took me an hour to sandwich the quilt together. I then started on the actual hand quilting and managed a total of about 10cms. Can you see it?

It was tough, a lot harder than my practice piece. So I decided to pack it up and try again over the weekend.

Some new spring clothes for Ashley.....

A pretty t-shirt from one of my favourite places where I can always find something nice!

quilt again

Another baby quilt top finished. Classes start again this week so hopefully I will get started on the actual quilting as I need to get them finished soon!

Next on the list is a boy quilt. I think I will try something different to squares, not sure what though.

just around the corner

I have started on some Christmas stockings. It's my favourite holiday season, especially since we had two little ones that look forward to visits from Santa! I used a canvas lining to try and give it more shape as I wasn't too keen on using batting in case it turned into an oven mit kind of stocking.


Surprise flowers also arrived yesterday (thank-you!). The orange ones are called pincushions, how sweet is that?!

catch up time

We've had a busy week! We had some close friends stay with us and they brought along their new little bub Megan who is only a few months old. Josh and Ash adored having her stay with us and so did we, it's so funny how quickly we forget how small babies are and how nice it is to hold them! We spent a perfect spring day at the Wharf where we caught up and ate a yummy lunch.



Our friends asked whether there was anything we wanted from Japan. Where do I start!!?! They arrived with a pile of craft books (thank-you, thankyou!) which I'd like to share, as they are difficult to get a hold of around here. Anyone interested in a little swap for a japanese craft book? (if you have anything you would like to swap for a craft book, please let me know!) I have a few to swap and some that I will try and sell on-line.
*thanks, I have enough swap partners now - will be packaging them and sending them off soon, looking forward to swapping!
They left this morning after spending the week with us and the house feels so empty now - we miss them already!
After they left, Josh said, "mummy, why don't you eat lots and lots so that your tummy can grow really big and you can have a baby too!!"
Umm, I'll try Josh!