Willowberry Designs ~ Alpaca Softies

Verandah Views

Block 8 - 'Enjoy the Views' is now available for you to download from the link on my (the one that says "Verandah Views - blocks 1 to 8) - click on the link and scroll down to find the pattern download for block 8.  You'll need the free Adobe Reader and it will take a minute or two to open... 

Always busy, busy, busy...  sometimes it's nice to take a break, sit back and enjoy the views - whatever they may be

to the west

down the back stairs

we'll have pretty almond blossoms soon

next month will be the instructions for filler blocks and cornerstones...

Gifts

to me... from Amy... are you ready?...

my new xmas tote bag..... lush linen and figgy pudding featuring an embroidered outer pocket - tactile loveliness

a mini quilt - figgy pudding on a dresden plate...

oh so beautiful and perfect quilty scrolls...

there's more... Fons & Porter 'Quilts from The Henry Ford' (has been on my wish list)... AND a figgy pudding charm square pack... love figgy pudding...

i love stuff... a whole bunch of handy stuff... embroidery needles, 'thread heaven', flower pins, a clover embroidery threader - too cute, weeks dye works embroidery threads...

no, Norm wasn't in the box, he just wanted you to know how excited he was with the whole event...

little chubby cheeks

a button tin... if only you knew how much I love little tins...

perfect for a couple of white choc chunky cherry biccie buttons...

is that it?  yep, thats it... totally spoilt and unashamedly deservingly so :-)

Amy,

you are my best friend ...

Stephanie and Linda - thanks for organising the fun stuff!

Christmas stitchery designs - free pdf download

it doesn't take long to stitch these little lovelies ... just three colours...  red, gold and green

add a couple of yum christmas prints, follow the tutorial on pink penguin's blog here

and morph it all into this... these little baskets are so cute...

here's the pattern - grab it and get started on your chrissy stuff

Download Christmas littlies

I'd love to see your versions so if you make one and post a photo, let us know and we'll all come visiting... put the kettle on, there'll be a few of us :-)

Remember yesterday's doings with the pretty bling things?  I coloured some roses last night...

and stitched up a storm... it's looking pretty darn delicious

Verandah Views block 8 will be here tomorrow night because I'm busy on the 1st August

There's no such thing as too much bling!

Playing....  and creating.... an idea for a new pattern - thanks Shaz! Here are some progress shots

Who loves 'Patisserie'?  That would be moi....

Cheating!!  A diagonal print takes the 'marking' out of cross hatch quilting :-)

Just look at those delicious rosey cream puffs

Today's jobs....

finish 2 customer quilts

play with this pretty bundle of stuff and write a pattern (and prepare a giveaway...)

and add more stuff to this - FUN!  You can check it out but there's still heaps to be added...

here

However, the most exciting news is that a parcel arrived in the mail yesterday

It had THE most delicious assortment of christmas loveliness and I said 'Holy Cow!!'  - actually I said a few other things but 'Holy Cow!!' is the only one I feel I can share :-)

I'll open it for you later.... you'll love it, I promise

seeya later alligators

More quilts - and make a coffee, I've got lots to tell...

Patrina's pretty 'Nest' (it's a freebie pattern from Moda - gotta love freebies)

and just get an eyeful of these desirable objects!  A whole bunch of killer stillettos - the backing is made up of Objects of Desire panels... too gorgeous!

and the closeup quilting... pretty daisies.... I love the back just as much as the front!

A layer cake with a border to let the gorgeous fabrics shine (Clare's quilt)

'Ecology' my newest quilting pattern from Hermione

Snakes by Leonie... with lots of fun quilting craziness

and eyes and tongues

plus 4 little cot quilts for Fresh Hope and I forgot to take a photo.  Tomorrow, I rest

No - tomorrow I get to play with my stuff :-)  Might make a list...

1. Wave goodbye to the funny little man when he leaves for work at 8am - :-)
2. Eat a muffin - fun
3. Slide down the hallway on the polished floor, in socks - fun
4. Hang out some washing - eewww
5. Make sweet potato and bacon soup for lunch - yum
6. Start quilting 'Verandah Views' - fun
7. Get sidetracked when I spy my sketchpad on the coffee table and stop to sketch up some old ladies in red hats.... - FUN!
8. Say hi to Deb, coming to sew for the day - fun
9. Oh, still in my PJ's - jump in the shower, towel dry, get dressed, dry hair and hope Deb has made herself a cuppa
10. Say hi to Shaz, coming to sew and bringing crusty bread rolls - fun
11. Sew - fun
12. Show off a bit - fun
13. Eat sweet potato and bacon soup with a crusty bread roll - more fun
14. Eat a muffin - fun
15. 4.00pm (ish) Say bye to Shaz and Deb, sewing is over - not fun
16. 5.30pm - perform the decathlon of cleaning before the funny little man walks in at 5.38pm
17. Oops... make that 5.15pm because it's Friday and he'll rush home to make his weekend seem longer...
18. Surprise my man with homemade sweet potato and bacon soup :-)
19. Start stitching my old ladies in red hats - fun
20. 10pm - Shower and bed - apparently there's a chance I could become a pumpkin if I'm not in bed by 10.30, can't risk it.  Pumpkins don't have stitching fingers
21. 1.00am - the creatures in my head will be playing and I'll be needing to crawl out to find that sketchpad...

I read somewhere recently that a 'to do ' list should only have 3 items on it.  Oh paleeese...

I received a delightful email from AnneMarie in Norway.  I made her a bundle of fun Christmas in July stuff and it arrived at her home yesterday

A handy basket (stitchery designs will be free on my blog next week and the tutorial for the basket is on Pink Penguin's blog here)

Look Joy... it's got your name all over it :-)

matching stuff, some bling things for wine glasses, a 'Christmas Treats' pattern

all tucked up inside this christmas sack

 

Have a great Friday

I know I will

I've been thinking....

about next year's free stitchery BOM.  Got the designs all planned - maybe I'll call it 'Sentiments'...

until then, here's what I've been up to

Planting a murraya hedge beside the rose arch (covered to protect it from frost - it's still cold here...)  The funny little man lay the paving under the arch on Saturday.  He went to Bunnings with Bob, his mate.  He wore his flannel shirt.  The one I've asked him not to wear in public.  I stayed home....

filling an old wheelbarrow with some flowers - phlox, petunias and foxgloves... maybe too many in this little barrow.  Who cares!  it will look pretty :-)  The terracotta chook clan approve.  And behind the pencil pines?  Evidence of our overwhelming success at growing winter clover

Finishing Judith's quilt

I wish I could be this spontaneously scrappy.  I've tried and I always end up planning...  How good is that quilting pattern on this 'man' quilt?     'plaza' from Hermione at Lorien Quilting    perfect...

Finishing Leanne's quilt - delectable shabby roses

quilted with ribbon hearty swirls.  Simply edible...

and the backing - never underestimate the simplistic power of a pretty cotton gingham.  Coconut Ice.

Will have more to show tomorrow

cya

 

Bug-A-Licious patterns are going to....

Posted by: Peggy | July 10, 2009 at 09:07 AM

Posted by: Ruth | July 10, 2009 at 12:02 PM

Posted by: Connie | July 16, 2009 at 10:25 PM

Who says the first comment never wins!!  Well done girls, Peggy was the first one to leave a comment and the random man inside my computer gave me number 1 as one of the winners.  And Linda, your poem was fabulous!  Check your emails for a surprise

Ha!  Fun.....  thanks for the great comments, I think Lady Polly and Mademoiselle Celeste are equal favourites.  Poor old Frelly..... maybe if he wore a tuxedo....  He's about to get spectacles so he'll look a little more distinguished soon.  He's very cuddly... for a bumblebee anyway

I'll contact each of you for your postie address and get these guys off to you asap

Madly cold weather this week... and I'm not a good winter warbler.  I prefer to whine and carry on like a pork chop for the months of July and August, then when September arrives I'm happy again :-)

On the busy home front, here's Chriss's lovely quilt - her own design

and the back - I love the diagonal stripe backing fabric.  The borders are quilted with a fancy begonia leaf which echoes the leaf in Roman Holiday in the quilt top - divine...

Peter Rabbit is quilted and the binding is almost done.  Cute bunnies...

Cute binding fabric... ready to fold and stitch

Cute loopy hearts quilted allover and a flannel back... should keep Nana's lap nice and warm :-)

Joy's quilt - one of the donated quilt tops for the Victorian bushfire victims.  This one has gone back to Joy as she knows someone who was personally affected

the back - 'Blossom' quilting pattern

and Natasha's donated quilt top

Simple and the print is so pretty... here's the back, quilted with an allover tulip (it's not quite that lilac in real life!)

As I finish the quilts, I'll send them to Karen at Mrs Martins Quilt Shop in Monbulk, Victoria for distribution

Now, it's 5.00pm.  The funny little man will be home in 38 mins (yep, regular as clockwork).  And I need to do some shopping in Paducah before dinner.  Love online stores...

And I made some more Jam Drops this morning... yu-um

 My rear end will soon be the size of a small country  -  I promise

See ya - have credit card... must shop

sometimes it's not about the sewing or quilting

A friend's coming over.  Nothing in the pantry.  Well, nothing delicious anyway.  Situation dangerous....  Time for the Blossie's secret jam drop biccies (cookies, biscuits etc depending on where you live...)

I don't play favourites, I like 'em both

rich raspberry ponds in the middle

gooey lemon butter creeping out.  are the onlookers in the background scared?

None of that nonsense making perfectly rounded balls either, I like the blobby chunks with crunchy peaks and pointy bits

Here you go...

Jam Drops - preheat your oven to 175C or 350F

Cream 4 oz of butter and 4 oz sugar - really cream it till it's almost white.  Add an egg (fresh, straight from the chook.  Or, fresh, straight from the carton :-)  Beat it, just beat it.  Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract - much nicer than imitation vanilla essence.  Beat it.  This stuff needs to be all sifted together - 8 oz flour, 1 tblsp baking powder, a pinch of salt.  Gradually fold it all in but don't beat it to death.

Plop spoonful sized blobs onto baking paper on a biscuit tray, make a thumb print sized well in the centre and ooze in some lemon butter and raspberry jam - not too much or it'll trickle over the sides while they bake, like an annoyed volcano.  Bake for about 12 - 15 mins or until they are just the right shade of DMC 738 Very Light Tan.  You'll end up with 2 dozen medium or 16 large cookies.  Let them cool before you attack because the goo will be hot for a while.  If you want to make them like Lady Polly, roll the dough into little balls and make a jam hollow with the end of a wooden spoon.  Very civilised.....

Serve with a generous helping of friends :-)

Busy... but I had to show you this

Hmmm, contemplation.... and a little procrastination.... socks and rubber thongs help.... and eventually that pile of timber ends up looking like....

This!

Clever funny little man.... :-)

One more thing before I go.  This is about to flap it's wings across a couple of oceans

my feline friend is tagging along to keep an eye on things.  He's got the show all wrapped up

And another thing before I go.  Hands up if you like surprises

ME TOO!!!  There's one coming

It's got nothing to do with these little fabric hills, I just like this photo

Gotta go finish Jan's quilt, cya

OH, and Bug-A-Licious pattern giveaway closes Friday :-) leave a message on the previous post :-)

One more thing (sorry, can't help it...)  Is this Foggy Willow Downs?  Maybe it is....

Bug-A-Licious Pattern Giveaway

Patterns are written, covers are printed and it's time for another giveaway :-)

If you'd like to win one of three Bug-A-Licious No. 1 patterns, leave a message telling us which one is your favourite.  Here's a reminder....

Sir Alphonse D'Arbignon is a retired surgeon who NEVER takes his boots off... not even for bed.  He's courting Mademoiselle Celeste Bouquet and likes to wear a bow tie to match her evening gowns.  This makes Celeste giggle behind her hand

Mademoiselle Celeste Bouquet collects diamond tiaras and has a somewhat shady past.  One day in Foggy Willow Downs there was a sprinkling of twinkles and when the sparkles settled, there she was!  The village whisperers say she bears an uncanny resemblance to a fading hollywood star (it must be said, the village whisperers are NEVER wrong)

Captain Frelly B. Dingle plays vigoro.  In fact, he's the captain of his local vigoro team.  A like-able chap, he uses wax to create the most unusual hairstyles and the girls all swarm.  But his heart belongs to only one....  They (being the village whisperers) say he has a secret piece of body art declaring his undying love for the Lady Polly Flotsam but I've never seen it

Lady Polly Flotsam likes to adorn herself with ruffles and faux flowers and is never seen without a parasol.  She immerses herself in her daily routine of hosting high tea gatherings for important wives in the gardens of her country estate.  She's very good at Petit Fours.  Twice divorced, Lady Polly prefers not to seek the company of the male folk in the hamlet

For more close up photos check out this post and scroll past the quilts

The giveaway closes at midday on Friday 17th (my time) - good luck!

Bug-A-Licious patterns are now available in my Etsy store

have a lovely stitchy day.... and Bug-A-Licous No. 2 is on the drawing board - can't wait to introduce you to Theodorus Smarmy-pants.  He's such a gigolo!  A little on the thin side, but then most praying mantis are....