In keeping with our ‘It’s a little bit French’ theme for this year, our February giveaway is a copy of Kaari Meng’s delicious book
The French-Inspired Home
To be in the draw for a copy of Kaari’s book, leave a message on this post
The giveaway will close in one week – Monday 5th March at 7pm my (Qld) time
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My favourite page in this book is p25.. or p47… or maybe p10.. or p……
(I don’t have a favourite… I LOVE the whole book, every single page…)
Seeya
Cheryl xx
Our February project is just delicious…
and sits so prettily with part 1 from January
Option 1 (above) is to make this month’s design into a sweet little doiley, the perfect size to pop under a little vase of lavender
Option 2 (below) is a gorgeous pincushion ~ with a hanging tab/snap. This will go into my ‘Provence’ basket, destined to become part of my studio storage solution
Same design ~ two options
is that just a little bit clever? I've made a few of these pincushions over the years, all with different border designs... some with an edge of chain stitch fencing in the hexie flower. This one has a frill to make it even prettier
And this is the one I made for Fee a couple of years ago in a pincushion swap
Mmmm... rouenneries...
You’ll find the pattern links for our February fun over there on the right ~ look for the ‘It’s a little bit French’ heading under Pages
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Tomorrow we'll kick off our February giveaway!
Seeya
Cheryl xx
Do you snore?
I snore
Sometimes I snore so loudly I wake myself up
(then I have a bit of a giggle and go back to sleep)
FLM says I even puff like a whale but I doubt that… that’s just too silly for words…
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Enough about that… this is what we’ve been doing
FLM’s been in the garden doing things that need to be done in a garden, it’s looking pretty ~ especially the front gardens. The Seaside Daisies along the borders are my faves, although everything is growing well… must be the red soil! Great for gardens but REALLY bad for white socks and furry cat paws…
My absolute favourite of all time ~ wisteria ~ is on it’s way too. I’ll be able to see it flowering from my quilting room
It’ll be a while before it looks like the one at our old place but we’re patient (how pretty is that flower!)
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Quilting…
I think I have to make one like this ~ or I could just keep Bron’s quilt and play dumb when she rings me
It’s made from Pom Pom de Paris by French General… ‘nuff said… Looks nice on my bed doesn’t it…? I might just close the door and pretend I know nothing of it’s whereabouts
This is the one I’m currently working on… it’s stunning! almost finished, I’ll share more photos when it’s back with Sue. It’s taken me right out of my comfort zone but I’m loving it so far. Another day or two and it will be ready
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CATS
Ninja cat, Theo, comes for a visit now and then so he can run around the back yard and hide in the plants (and eat grasshoppers and annoy the bejeezus out of Ratty)
Look at this sweet little guy, so cute, a perfect little furry angel…
Wrong!! He’s not sitting on the floor. He got bored and jumped from the floor to the top of the fridge. Then he discovered the cat cupboard. Perfect size, perfect fit, perfect viewing platform :) crazy cat…
Ratty has stolen one of Theo’s toys and for two & a half minutes each day he becomes a kitten again
Look at that sweet little face… :)
Tomorrow we head down to Brissie so that Rod Stewart can sing to us… I think I need to write that again
ROD STEWART
OMGoodness, ssshhhhhh, we’re going to the Rod Stewart concert
And then on Thursday we’ll head down to Ikea. I'm taking the Treasurer (who has a day off) and has been known to make impulsive purchases.... with only a hint of encouragement from me.....
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Today is the 21st Feb, that means it’s only 4 more days until I share part 2 of our ‘It’s a little bit French’ fun
Snippets…
AND there will be another giveaway commencing on the same day
Seeya, I need to go eat a pancake or two… my imaginary friend has been cooking again. I think I’ll keep her…
Cheryl xx
In the house.. gorgeous.. love them..
Most times they’re nothing special, just a few pickings from the garden, a little bundle of lavender ~ sometimes a bunch of carrot tops with a few weeds from the cow paddock next door does the trick
And if there are no flowers (or flowering weeds) in the garden?
Invent some!
I love this photo from Rosalie’s book ~ ‘A Stitch in Time’
so I danced my hexies out into the garden this morning
cute…
Paper piecing is a great ‘front of the telly’ activity… I started this one last night, have no idea what I’m going to do with it but it’s my first venture into a non hexagon world of paper piecing. This grasshopper has much to learn :)
Fee has a lovely hexie idea for a quick gift ~ here
seeya next time
Cheryl xx
I’ve been patiently waiting now for two weeks for a little replacement part for my longarm machine – not a biggie… just a little one but a very important one!
It arrived on Thursday – yay! and I was able to test it out today on one of my own quilts
A few weeks ago I added the borders and today I quilted it… and I love it!
(and the stitches are perfect… gotta love that)
I thought about doing some heavy custom quilting but in the end I really just wanted to test my machine so I opted for a flowing, feathering edge to edge design. I like the way it brings the plain’ish hexagons to life
And just look at the gorgeous backing fabric… I picked up a bundle of backing fabrics for peanuts a few months ago and this one was just meant to be. Perfect colours, it even has some mini hexagons scattered throughout the bouquets :)
I’ve also been working on the wedding quilt for our niece, just small snips because we want it to be a surprise
I want it to represent the sand, sea and sky.. but in a simple, fresh and uncluttered fashion. And I have an idea for some creative quilting to finish it off, if I don’t run out of time!
I’m so tempted to take my finished hexie flowers out into the garden for a bit of photo fun… maybe tomorrow :)
Seeya next time
Cheryl xx
With a ‘little bit french’ flavour… Cute!
And here’s how
Take a few of these… I used 3/4” papers
Pair them up and remove the papers
Add a slightly smaller hexie of batting to the inside of each one
Make a twisted cord using stranded cottons, crochet cottons, specialty threads… or make 23 :)
(Ensure that the ginger cream puff is supervising ~ if you don’t have one, borrow the neighbour’s)
Force the pairs into a tango with the twisted cord between them… slip stitch them together ‘till death do they part…
Add one of these… or a button
And before you know it…
your jug will be half full!
~ Some of these are destined for faraway places ~
Remember, part 2 of our ‘It’s a little bit French’ fun will be here on February 25th
Au revoir… :)
Cheryl xx
March is going to be a month full of family stuff ~ Waterboy and his Country Princess are heading off on an overseas holiday, there’s a birthday or two or seven, our niece’s wedding at Kingscliffe (It’s been a while since we had a family wedding.. it will be a big familly catchup on that weekend!) and we’ll be packing for a cruise with Nisey & the Wayne… Plus a secret… LOADS of fun coming up!
This bunch of galahs gather along the back fence almost every afternoon
and then they were gone :)
remember my tiny pink feather? It came from one of those crazy galahs…
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The sun came out today for the first time in over a week
The chook house dried out and the washing danced in the sunshine
And Blossie arrived with Theo, a loaf of sour dough bread (to dunk in our pumpkin soup), ‘Valentine’s Day’ dvd and some raspberry filled white choc lamingtons. She’s a fabulous little cook, much better in the kitchen than me. And I love that…
I made a tote a while ago.. I was going through some craft magazines looking for a fun garden design to suit my stash of ‘Sunkissed’ fabrics
I found this one… but I can’t remember which magazine and I can’t remember who designed it!
The happy flowers are perfect with the Sunkissed range. I’m going to search for that magazine so I can tell you where to find the design, it’s so sweet ~ and I made a tab from one of the prints as a reminder. Sunshiny days are kind of nice
My sunshine tote is just the right size for toting around a medium sized box of cornflakes… if I wanted to tote a box of cornflakes
Seeya!
Cheryl xx
today I caved… I pulled the moda tape bow undone on my Etchings jelly roll and before I knew it, I’d made a star
there was lots of ‘oh yum’ going on
and the odd moment of euphoria when the points all played nicely ~ I’m making a pattern by Pam & Nicky Lintott from their book ‘Jelly Roll Quilts’… check with your local patchwork store, they’d probably order one in for you if they don’t have it in stock
This range ~ ‘Etchings’ by 3 sisters ~ is so damned gorgeous… the fabric is soft and beautiful, the prints are perfect, the colours make your eyes melt
I’m going to love this quilt…
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I’m also working on a project which will be published in Homespun magazine later in the year. It is one of my most favourite designs yet… full of flourishy goodness. It’s progressing beautifully and will dance most elegantly with our collection of lavender delights in the ‘It’s a little bit French’ range. You’ll love it… I promise ~ and I’ll share more when I can
Seeya next time ~ and thanks for the messages of support ~ time to move on, there’s stitching to be done! :)
Cheryl xx
We baked madeleines yesterday
and they worked
and they're gone...
the end
The original post has been removed by me
I wrote it as a reminder to people out there that the stuff I create is mine, covered by copyright... a reminder that even an idea, when copied, should bear a reference - in writing - to the original source
It's the polite thing to do
I removed the original post because it had the desired result :)
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You might remember this from October last year
As a thank you to everyone ~ for lots of reasons ~ there’s a special on in my Etsy store
‘Simple Stitches’ & a BONUS!
The simplicity of this stitching set… that’s what I love
‘Simple Stitches’ is available as a pdf pattern for $4 from my Willowberry Etsy Store
When you purchase ‘Simple Stitches’, you’ll receive a bonus ‘Pin Pillows’ pdf
ssshhh…. that’s 2 patterns for $4! Just tell him you spent it on milk and bread… :)
Pin Pillows is a set of four delicious mini pillows ~ use them as a pincushion (if you can bear to poke them with pins) or to decorate your home, or as a mushy gift for a friend
This special offer is valid until the end of February 2012!
Click here and go check ‘em out… :)
The ‘Simple Stitches’ set includes a needle book, thimble pip and small tote ~ just the right size for your stitching supplies for a morning stitchalong with friends
simple ~ and a great little project to use up your leftover jelly roll (2 1/2”) strips!
Little bit of piecing, little bit of hand quilting, some simple stitching and some pretty shell buttons
perfect…
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Remember ‘Laugh, Dream, Create’?
I really love the original ~ so soft, stitched with muted naturals and faded pastels… all on natural coloured linen
I reduced it, changed the colour palette and re-worked it on soft seeded muslin
and I LOVE this one too!
Just a few stranded cotton colours to check and the pattern will be ready ~ stay tuned, when it’s ready I’ll tell you where you can find it
righteo… all caught up now :) I’m off to stitch a bit more french stuff… with pearls, silk ribbons, teeny buttons
Seeya next time,
Cheryl xx
