Willowberry Designs ~ Alpaca Softies

Just quickly

I know.. twice in one day.. but I had to show off :)

We're finished.  Our little (very top heavy) christmas house is all done.  Way too pretty to be eaten

 'shrooms... of the special kind

Have a fabulous Christmas... I know we will!

Cheryl xx

Little houses made of ticky tacky...

Today is Gingerbread House day

Just waiting for the snow to start falling...

Funny Little Man was whipping the egg whites for the royal icing this morning

when he asked me what I loved most about Christmas...

EVERYTHING!

Christmas cards in the mail..

Sparkly, over-the-top christmas decorations...

Cinnamon scented votive candles...

Gathering the supplies for Christmas lunch...

Family...

Christmas carols ~ on the radio, in the shopping malls, in my home...

Backyard cricket...

Gifts for the big herbs to say thank you for filling our lives with love...

Gingerbread houses...

Silent Night, Holy Night...

Mum's fruit cake recipe...

Family...

Reindeer...

Reindeer antlers for Lily... (we're driving the Christmas Lights tonight ~ Lily will be suitably adorned...)

Trifle for dessert on Christmas day...

Family...

Filling the house with Christmas flavour...

Listening to FLM as he learns to play 'Song of Joy' on the guitar...

Trifle for lunch on Boxing day...

Family...

Fresh ham & eggs for breakfast every day... for at least a week...

Memories of Christmas' past...

When I was ten, Santa left a brand new pushbike under the tree for me.  That was the best thing ever.  It was blue.  It had straight handlebars like a boys bike.  I loved that bike

That bike and I went for miles... and miles.  On weekends, we'd leave in the mornings and wouldn't return until mid afternoon.  Or later.  Must have worried the life out of Mum :)

but I digress...

Pea & ham soup in January...

and most of all... Family...

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And the baubles?  Just kept on stitchin' and made 6 different colours

Now the fridge has a garland of baubly bunting

Deb called in this morning and said

'Only you would have a baubly bunting on your fridge!'

Yeah, probably... :)

I love Christmas

Sparkly Baubles to hang from the tree...

The little weeny stockings are done... and I enjoyed making them so much I just couldn't stop :)

So we now have Beautiful Baubles

a hint of colour shading to add some character

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Maybe a traditional palette of happy red/green/gold is more to your liking?

tiny little knots of shimmering gold and silver

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Or this one... a fresh, crisp pink/lime/silvery icicle on white

I can't decide.. I love them all :)

Make some for yourself... Merry Christmas xxx

Download Beautiful baubles

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A few tips

Fuse a square of freezer paper to the wrong side of your fabric before tracing the design.  Works a treat in keeping the fabric stable and if you're planning on adding some colour with pencils, leave it in place until you've finished colouring.  Peel it off then fuse your stabiliser ready for stitching

~ the colouring on my vintage bauble, a hint of rust, brown and pale yellow/green ~

and the traditional bauble ~ red, green and yellow

~ Mark the crosses and fleur-des-lys with just one dot, use the photo as a guide when you stitch

don't be afraid to add colour... this is the perfect project to practice your colour shading skills!  the more stitching you add, the more the colour hides in the background...

Right at this very minute I think my fave is the vintage bauble... but that's only right at this very minute

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You know those gifts you receive that seem to be such a great idea at the time... then you shove them in the cupboard and forget about them?  Like the donut maker... the hotdog machine... the foot spa... the ice cream maker...

Well, I dragged the freezer part of the ice cream maker out from the cupboard the other day and shoved it in the freezer.  Today I pulled it from the freezer and whirled around the kitchen for a couple of hours pretending to be a 1950's housewife.  I even pinned my hair up.  Should have popped an apron on... Can you see me?  Flitting around like a little bird in a red polka dot dress, fitted bodice, full skirt, manicured nails, perfectly painted face, not a hair out of place?

Nope...

I was in my fave denim skirt, just above the knee.  It was a bit cool after lunch so I threw on my flannie jammie shirt.  And I totally rocked my charcoal crocs.  Actually they're Rivers croc lookalikes, perfect footwear for quilting days... and ice cream making days.  Rivers - that makes them ok ... I didn't wear socks with them today... but sometimes I do :)

Oh, and my hair was pinned up with a peg... just the fringe because that's the bit that really gives me the irrits

Anyways, today - while in my flannie jammie shirt - I made Mango/Passionfruit ice cream from this Magazine

Vol 14 No 6

(the recipe has been blurred to protect the innocent - but you'll just have to trust me when I say.. 'It's a lick the bowl fabulous ice cream recipe')

and now it's time to dive into the ice cream bowl

Go away, I don't share this stuff... :)

Cheryl xx

I'll be back sometime during the evening of 23rd December to let you know whose name I pulled from the pink bucket for the giveaway here.  Leave your message on that post so I can throw you in the pink bucket too...

Just in case I decide to do something dumb, like clean the house all week... have a Merry and Safe Christmas... eat way too much of the good stuff, spoil your loved ones and just chill out.. we will!

More Christmas stitching...

Blossie and Moo... if you're out there, close your eyes now...

Tiny little stockings for beautiful girls

Just a few more stitches then I'll put them together

If you haven't done so yet, there's a giveaway here

and there might be a xmas surprise in the next few days too... :)

Seeya

Cheryl xx

Christmas Stitching

Using one of Bronwyn Hayes designs, only I changed it a little :)  I added holly leaves instead of flowers around the border.  I think it's from Bronwyn's 'Wish' Quilt which was in Homespun Magazine a couple of years ago and I stitched it on hankie number 87 from Mum's vast stash...

Today I'll finish the holly and stars and it will become a little table centre

I'm also feeling the urge to create a couple of mini xmas stockings for my girls... just weeny little ones... just right for hiding pretty shiny things from the jewellery store... yep, I think that might be this afternoon's job!

Seeya, I'm off to ask Michael Buble to croon to me while I finish a couple of baby quilts for Lorna... photos next time :)

Cheryl xx

ps... check the link on the right under 'PAGES' for any giveaways happening, the current one closes on December 23rd '11

Homespun Summertime and some giveaways!

It's full of fabulous summer projects... and this is mine :)

A lovely set to keep your precious bits n pieces safe!  The sunglasses pouch and camera/phone wallet are both quick projects, there's still time to make a set and gift to a friend or family member for Christmas...

Now for the fun part :) 

I'm giving away a little bundle of fabrics to make this gorgeous set!  They'll vary just a little from the originals but will include the blue 'sandcastle' fabric

For the pattern and instructions, you'll need the Homespun Summertime Edition which should be available any day now from your local news stand

If you'd like to be in the draw, which will close on December 23rd (my time)... leave a comment on this post telling us what makes your Summertime happy

I'll post this bundle to anywhere in the world - even Cyprus... Sue are you listening?  :).... so leave your message to be in the draw

Summertime for me is long warm days, the smell of freshly cut grass, sunshine at the beach, washing flapping around in the breezes, sunflowers, beach fishing when we were little, island holidays with family when the kids were young ... so many things that make you feel alive, it's such a vibrant time of year!

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This issue is full of fun, fresh, summery ideas including a beautiful quilt by Cath of Willow Valley Store

Homespun have the most fabulous giveaways and this issue is no different.  There are some great fabric packs to be won, along with some of my patterns!

Pin Pillows is one of my most popular patterns and there are ten to be won, pick up your copy and find out how :)

This post has some yummy pics of my pin pillows....

seeya

Cheryl xx

 

Counting down to Christmas day

After a quick trip up to Townsville to visit with family and meet some new little people (and six little fat puppies) we're getting back into the groove of Christmas preparations

The twins... Jakob and Jhye.  Gorgeous little giggling, pooping, smiling, wriggling 8 month old boys.  I was chatting to my sister last night (their Nana) and she told me they're now on the move... Jakob's crawling everywhere and Jhye's doing the commando wriggle in his wake.  No rest for the Mummy and Daddy now!

Double trouble?  Never!  These little guys make life twice the fun :)

and then there are the puppies.... just 4 days old when we met them

Six cute little fat slugs... 3 boys and 3 girls...

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Been busy making things...

For a new baby girl - simple, just a cute print for the centre and framed with a 2 1/2" border of tiny baby footprints

add a patchwork ball...

and a bunny with long floppy ears - she's still under construction, I'll add her face, whiskers and bob tail this afternoon :)

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And next year's plan is under way... 2011 was a busy year in the Willowberry world so we decided not to run a monthly program.  The plan for 2012 is to have a new design each month for ten months, starting in January

Here are some snips to get us in the groove...

So, as you can see I'm using a soft palette of colours - mostly from my stash - and there's a fair bit of embroidery/stitchery going on as well.  A little bit of english paper piecing, some quilt as you go, some applique, free motion quilting and some traditional patchwork blocks as well

Does it sound interesting?  The best thing about my plan for next year is that each month's 'part' of the whole design can be used as a stand alone mini project.  And there'll be something for everyone! 

In the Summertime edition of Homespun I have a sweet little project and I think you're going to love it

To make my project, you'll need some of this...

the blue woven is like 'sandcastle' and is from the Lily & Will range by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda and the two prints are from Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda... deliciousness

Righteo... I think we're all caught up now :)  It's a busy time isn't it... the build up to Christmas and we LOVE every minute of it!  The living room is full of Christmas gorgeousness, the tree is overloaded with sparkly-ness and Michael Buble croons to us through the day.  Even the ninja cat is in the groove...

Tomorrow we're off to Brissie for a visit with family then I might be able to talk my funny little man into driving past Ikea.  Just driving past, we won't stop... I promise...

Seeya

Cheryl xx