sew mama sew fat quarter swap...

Well, I've received all the fat quarters now, and it's time for the big reveal;

from Terri | Terri's Notebook

She included a neat little case, some buttons and some yarn.... I just LOVE the colours and the fat quarter!

from Maren

I just LOVE paisley and red too! I wish we had a Joann's store in NZ - I know I'd spend up large...

from Regan | Stitch In My Side

She wrote me a note all about the fabric, and I just LOVE the red Dia de los Muertos fabric... It's so cool, my 12 year old daughter has her eyes on that one!

from Jacqui | Hazelnuts

These were the first fat quarters I received for the swap, and I love them! I am especially glad to have found Jacqui's blog too! It's a goodie, and to think she lives in the same city as I do...

from Deb | Works in Progress

Deb not only sent me a fat quarter, but she also included some spotty ribbon, which I'm sure I'll put to good use. :)

from Catherine

Gotta love foodie fat quarters, and I now have enough to make a quilt or something. Although a couple of pot holders would probably be better... LOL!

And last but not least, another foodie fat quarter:

from Viv | Highway Cottage

Who doesn't like strawberries, brings me great reminders of summer and Christmas...

I truly loved being a part of this swap and making new friends, and I loving getting to know people through their blogs, if they have them... :) If you're reading this Maren and Catherine and have blogs, please let me know and I'll add your details.

Thanks to all of the people who swapped fabric with me, I think this was the best swap I've ever joined in, as the postage costs were minimal!

I had lots of difficulty photographing the fabric, because I had a little helper:

I kid you not, he climbed up every time I set the next lot of fabric onto the table! He is currently cosying up on my knee whilst I try to type. I guess he want's some attention, huh!

They do say cat's and crafting go together.... ;)

Some matroyshka doll fun...

As I said in yesterday's post, this weekend we are going to be having a houseful of girl fun! Well, actually that's our house all day, every day. There is an overabundance of estrogen in this home with 4 girls and ONE guy! hehehe!

But, I digress, I need to occupy four little 8/9 year old girls on Saturday for a sleepover. I had decided that making little softies was a great idea, but then was left with the "what kind!" thought. I'd always wanted to make a matroyshka doll, and wanted to make something really simple that the girls could "own" for themselves. So without further ado, here she is...

I got Hope and Briahna to make one as well, just to make sure it's not too hard to organise little girls into making them. :)

First, we embroidered their faces, which I think 8-9 year old's would be okay to do themselves. It was Briahna's first time doing backstitch, and I'm so proud of how well she did!

I chose the fabric, and sewed two different kinds to go together, and then I sewed the faces onto the fabric...

I then made a little pattern to cut them out with...

Because I am so protective/possessive of my janome, I'll be doing all the machine sewing ;) But, I figure they'll bore easily anyway and so while I'm sewing up the dolls, Hope will be doing makeovers on the girls!

Aren't they sweet?

I even sewed our names and the date they were made on the back with my fancy dancy sewing machine...



Sew Mama Sew Fat Quarter Swap;
All the kiwi quarters have gone, the international ones will be sent today... The email with all my international swapee's on it got lost in cyberspace, but I'm onto it!

what I sent... (I hope they like batik!)

Blogging Goodness;

Paisley Jade received my parcel, and has posted about it on her blog! I forgot to take photographs of what I sent, but head on over to her blog to check it all out!!!

When I found out about the flannelgraph book review blog her hubby's been organising, I knew I could help them out... Mr Sew Funky works for Manna Christian Stores here in NZ and so we have access to good christian literature. It was nice to pass on the blessing to others by giving some books away.

Kristy also won the fat quarter giveaway I had on here earlier in the month, so what better way than to courier them all to her together.

It actually took a while from conception to giving, but I think they were understanding. Mainly it was because we had to wait for a little while for one particular book I wanted to send - The Pawn. Mr Sew Funky lent it out to a workmate who took a while with it. I just love the title of that book - tickles my sense of humour, to be able to tell people when they ask me what I'm reading, that I'm reading porn... hehehe! ;)

I just love being part of the blogging community, it has allowed me to "meet" such neat people and gives me opportunities to connect with others in a way that I wouldn't otherwise be able to do! :D

What do you think? Has blogging made your life more complete?

And do you like the little dolls we've made?

D.

just something I'm playing around with...

Something that will hopefully stop me losing my embroidery scissors quite so frequently...

I've had these little scissors since I was about 15, and they're still awesome, except that I'm always losing them. I have a real problem with it! I have even had to go out and replace these scissors on a couple of occasions, but these are still my favourite pair.

And so an idea started to form about what I should do about it. It was sparked by a project in a recent handmade magazine. It looks nothing like that project now, it's much more basic and had me practicing my friendship knot bracelet skills from way back. I often wondered if they'd ever come to good use... ;)

It's also a great way to use some of my vintage cotton reels and buttons!

I'm thinking about decorating the reel a little more, what do you think? And if you want me to make a tutorial for these, just leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do...


And on another note;

I got some mail love today...

the stamps I won in Steph's owoh giveaway

and the first of the fat quarter's from the sew mama sew swap...

2 fat quarters from Jacqui a.k.a. hazelnutgirl

Feeling the love here! :D

Swap Alert | Sew Mama Sew Fat Quarter Swap...

Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting a fatquarter swap, and as they say, we all love good mail! So, I decided to sign up and you can too!

All you need to do is send 4 fat's off to 4 different people and you'll recieve 4 back in the post. Sounds good, right? :) And it's an international swap, meaning that little ole me in NZ can join in the fun! YAY!

Handmade Ornament Swap; received ornaments

This is the last wee ornament to arrive... Thanks Nikki!

Handmade Ornament Swap; owlaments & stockings winging their way home...

Yay, the little owlaments and stockings I made for the handmade swap are finally on their way to their homes. I say yay, because now I can concentrate on Christmas pressies for family and friends! :D

the wee owlaments & stockings...

the envelopes I made from an old cookbook
I had lying around (inspired by miss smith!)

It was so much fun doing this swap, thanks go out Louise from twenty cent mixture, cos' she did so well organising it all! :)

Handmade Ornament Swap; received ornaments

Wow! I feel so blessed to be a part of this swap!!

Take a look at what I've received so far, my tree is gonna look GOOD this year!

the thoroughly gorgeous robot from miss smith,
he couldn't wait to get out and visit!

I just love the envelope he came in...

then there's the angel from Helen -
she can't wait to climb to the top of my Christmas tree!

and last but not least (because she put in some of my favourite chocolate and BUTTONS!) the wonderful ornament from Jessicah! You know the way to my heart...

Spring Fling Coffee and Yarn Swap; package received

Some of you may have noticed this little picture on my blog over the past couple of months and wondered about it. Well, I LOVE swaps. I love getting packages ready for others and of course receiving something special in the post, though I'm sure my postie doesn't appreciate that as much as me...

Well, this one was all about SPRING, which if you know where I live (New Zealand), you'd know we're heading not for spring but for winter. It was extra fun thinking of spring when it was getting colder outside!

Actually, it turned out both my swapee and swaper partners are Canadian, and I received my parcel TODAY! YAY!

Wanna see what I got? Thanks so much for your generosity Andrea!


I am so excited about the yarn, she put in 4 balls of sugar 'n cream cotton and some really nice merino sock yarn she must've been reading my blog ;). A bag of super nice flavoured coffee beans, a little yarn holder bag thingee, some spring tissues and a cute little lamb magnet which has already been commandeered by my 8 year old!

I'm not sure if my swap partner has received my parcel yet so I won't post about it until I know she received it!

I'm off to try out the new coffee!

Spring Fling Coffee and Yarn Swap

So, I've just finished with one swap and I think I'm ready to begin another. If you, like me, love a good swap - check out this one! :D

I find it funny, being in the southern hemisphere, the idea of doing a spring swap when I am going into autumn, but a swap is a swap and I love to swap!!! :D

Sign ups begin March 20th!

defeat the doledrums dishcloth swap; second weekly topic

Weekly Topic: There are many people who ADORE receiving hand-knit or crochet items; but there are just as many who have no appreciation whatever of how much love, work, and time goes into a hand-made item. Share a story of a hand-made gift you gave to someone and how it worked out - good, bad, or ugly!

I have really only had good feedback... at Christmas I gave dishcloths to friends, teachers, my husbands boss etc. Most people said they wouldn't want to go back to using bought cloths - they liked how the knitted ones worked! :) I can only agree with them - I will never go back to bought now!

defeat the doledrums dishcloth swap; first weekly topic

Weekly Topic: Dishrag. Dishcloth. Face cloth. I've seen folks get all fired up in forums when someone refers to their knit or crochet creation as a dishrag, as that's somehow offensive to them! When you're working on yours, what do you call them? Also, is there a difference between a dishrag and a dishcloth? How bout a facecloth? Are they all really the same thing?

I call them dishcloths - certainly not rags. I think of ripped up material as rags, certainly not something I've spent some creative time completing! Facecloths are softer (or should be) than dishcloths but could be made from the same pattern, in my opinion.

defeat the doledrums dishcloth swap; questionnaire

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both?
both, but i prefer to knit

2. What types of needles do you enjoy using for making dishcloths?
plain jane ordinary ones - I usually use 5 mm bamboo needles

3. What types of cotton do you enjoy using for making dishcloths? Is there any that you've been wanting to try?
I usually use anything I can pick up cheap... ;) I have also used merino wool in some of my cloths and they "felt" really nicely when they are washed, which I like ALOT! I wonder what bamboo yarn knits up into cloths like.

4. What color(s) are your kitchen and bath decorated in (if any)?
kitchen = navy, yellow, turquiose
bathrooms = blues & yellow (and I don't even really like yellow - hehe!)

5. What are your favorite colors for yarns? Least favorite?
I love orange! blues & greens are great too! I'm not a great fan of pink!!!

6. Do you like Winter, or do you count the days until it ends?
I hate winter, I prefer the warmth of summer, just as well I live in the temperate world of NZ!

7. What's your favorite way to brighten your day when you're down in the dumps?
To knit?!?! Actually, I sometimes just need to get out and visit someone, even if it's the last thing I "feel" like doing! Sometimes I just have to forget how I feel and go with what I need!!!

8. What is your favorite treat to indulge in and when your down in the dumps?
Chocolate?!? No, that would be my hubby's indulgence ;)! I like to go out and have a really nice cup of coffee at the local coffee shop!

9. Do you drink coffee? Tea? Cocoa?
All of the above, but coffee more than the rest!

10. If you could take a vacation starting tomorrow and go anywhere for one week and money were no object, where would you go and what would you do?
I would be on a plane to the UK to see my sister and her family - I haven't seen them in around 10 years!

11. Do you have any allergies or aversions your pal should be aware of?
Not really! Can't have mushroom's but I doubt that will come into it! :)

new dishcloth swap...

I'm always up for a good swap - and this one is a goodie! I get to indulge in my latest addiction - knitting dishcloths, and then giving them away... woo hoo! Just click on the image if you want to join in too!