Willowberry Designs ~ Alpaca Softies

Alpaca Softies

My new thing. These little guys are so sweet, soft and cuddly and perfect for the small people in your life

Find them on facebook at Alpaca Softies or click the link below to take you to my fb page

Posted at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Homespun goodness

After a looong absence, I'm here again... doing soft stuff and playing with needle and thread. Feels good!

We've had almost 12 months of getting to know our new habitat and settling in to our new beachy home. My sewing corner is still disorganised with lots of crates and boxes that are yet to be unpacked. That means I occasionally dive into them searching for something I know is there somewhere... and sometimes I find it, sometimes I don't. No worries, that's the way we roll these days :)

A little while ago I created the sweetest baby gift set... Just look at Angelica's little face!

Along with a handy little change quilt and beautiful EPP rattle ball, she is featured in this month's Homespun magazine

It's a bit exciting.... :)

And I'm currently working on my next project for Homespun - you'll see it in the August '14 issue

Posted at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Packing things up

Over the last few months ~ and certainly more so in recent weeks ~ our lives have taken a different path…

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking & talking with my funny little man

The result of all this thinking and talking is that it’s time for me to close a chapter and start a fresh one!

My Willowberry Designs Blog will have no updates for a few months

We’re packing up our house, moving to the beach, building a newbie, buying a tinnie, going fishing/crabbing/pottering around in the waterways and taking long walks on Rainbow Beach soaking up ‘real’ life. Then we might drive off in a van to places we’re yet to discover…

There’s another thing I’m looking forward to. I can’t remember when I last made something just for me, or for one of the herbs, without offering it in some form to others. I want to get back to doing that again… making stuff just for me.. or the herbs :)

So… this is the last time you’ll see me on these pages for a while because it’s nearly Christmas and we’re all full of busy stuff. Then in early 2013 you’ll find me here

or here

I could bang on about how fabulous it’s been, how wonderful the craft world is, how many cyber friends I’ve met and all that guff… but you already know that!

I’ll be around the traps doing things in other places, there’s a gorgeous quilt coming to you in the pages of Homespun in 2013… and you’ll find me for a while on my quilty facebook page but even the dancing needle will be a thing of my past in the near future because we really don’t want to take it with us

Psssst… anybody want to buy a fabulously fun Gammill Longarm Quilting system?

PS.. The dancing needle is now sold and living in it's new home

Seeya

Cheryl xx

Posted at 06:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

Spring showers

It’s a drizzly day today… the gardens always look their best after a bit of rain, especially in Springtime

It’s the perfect day for hiding in the sewing room. The same sewing room that has just had the biggest tidy up you could imagine!

Lots of open bright space, uncluttered, ready for me to make another huge mess ‘creative explosion’

~ Updates ~

Ratty’s all good! I had lots of messages wishing him to be well… he’s our little treasure. He had a night at Dr Larry’s, antibiotics and vitamin gel. Although he didn’t eat while there, he had a nice feed of his favourite chicken when he got home. He had an infection, not sure where, but Dr Larry was pleased to tell us that the blood test results showed Ratty’s kidney function is ‘like a cat half his age'… and ‘he’s in great shape for his age’ - which is 14 years. Phew… big relief for us, he’s our furbie friend and thankfully, he’ll be with us for a while yet :)

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Psssst… Wanna buy a house?

We’re on the move… we’ve decided to sell up and make our dream of moving to the coast a reality. Yep, it’s time to move away from the cold Toowoomba Winters. We’ve engaged an agent and the video/photo shoot was completed yesterday. Hopefully our little home will be on the market by the middle of next week. It’s a wee bit exciting, we’ve already found land at the coast, started designing our next home and sourced a builder. This one (house build number seven…!) will be a bit different for us. A beach house… fresh, open and breezy

This will be our playground and we can’t wait!

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On the ‘crafty’ front, I’ve been busy creating some new bits & pieces and playing with Tilda fabrics. There’s nothing quite like the powdery colours and yum prints. Tilda is Tilda and that is that :)

‘Angelica’ is my first project for the Let’s Stitch a Gift event at QFD Creative. It’s not too late to join up, there’s still heaps of fun to be had, prizes to be won and all of the projects are available until the end of the event. Then there’s the online chat with fellow participants and the designers… that’s fun!

Meet Angelica…

She’s my favourite friend at the moment. I love her :)

There’s more to this story though… there’s more baby stuff to come and this afternoon I’m all in a bind. Yep, handsewing the binding on a teeny little bubby quilt to match Angelica

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Righteo… I’m off to park my butt in my fave chair and fall asleep do some hand sewing. That’s the thing about a cool, drizzly, dull day. It kind of makes you want to catch a mid afternoon nana nap

Nothing wrong with that!

Seeya

Cheryl xx

Posted at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Dot Points...

We've been a little busy here in the Willowberry House in the last few months. Lots of coming and going and some family stuff to enjoy. We're home again - for a few weeks - and it's all systems go in the studio to finish off a couple of new designs for the next big QFD event!

I have been given the sweetest little pack of Tilda fabrics to play with... along with a bundle of 'Curio' by Basic Grey which will be my today job :)

Can you guess?

To read all about Sarah's upcoming online event, click here and here

The Creative site also has links to a gallery of photos from previous events... have a look and be inspired!

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So... why have we been so quiet in this neck of the internet woods? A few dot points might be the easiest way to make short of some long stories!

* Madly quilting in the studio to get a bit ahead

* Helping Moo move into her new surroundings in Ashgrove

* A catchup in Brisbane with two fabulous girls - Joy & Vikki

(bonus was meeting Mr Suds, the kids, Mr JoyPatch & Bear... such a fun day and it really was fabulous to sit and chat with those girls in person rather than on the phone or by email!)

* A quick coffee/catchup with Rach & Shaz

* Spring into the Country at Geham

* A waytooshort trip to the beach at Kingscliff, Ballina & Rainbow Beach

magical colours...

* Catching up with my old boss after 12 years, lots of fun memories there!

* The camping show in Brissie

* Planning the next getaway

and a few more things in the pipeline... So it's been a busy busy time for us but it's been all fun :)

* I might have also accidentally booked flights to Adelaide to catch up with the nutty girls in March 2013... but funny little man doesn't know about that one yet... ssshhhhhh....

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Our Ratty isn't well... he's at the vet overnight for some tests so we're hoping for some happy news tomorrow. He's 14 1/2 years old now, an old man in cat years

We're not ready to say goodbye yet my Rattycat.. you need to get well :)

That's it for now, will catch up again soon but until then you can check on the doings in my quilting room on my 'Hillingdon Creative Quilting' facebook page

here

Seeya

Cheryl xx

Do you think it's time for a new banner with some new photos? Yep, me too....

And you might have also noticed that some links have been returned to the sidebar over on the right. 'It's a Little Bit French', 'Under the Sea' & 'Verandah Views' are back... they're free for your own personal use, grab 'em while you can :)

Posted at 04:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Hello?

Been a bit quiet here lately hasn’t it…

Life has returned to ‘normal’… (whatever that is) and Spring is in full bloom in the gardens

FLM has been busy in the yard, he re-jigged the chookhouse so that the girls have more shade down beside the greenhouse. I love them, our little Milli and Vanilli, they are so gorgeous. Don’t mind a cuddle and give us one egg each every day without fail

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Today is definitely more Summery than Spring’y with the warm winds blowing from the West. I love this time of year… shorts, t/shirts, sandals, salads, iced drinks, BBQs, lots of outside stuff. Gotta love that!

And is there anything nicer than freshly washed linen hanging on the line in the breeze? I don’t think so either :)

Ninja cat likes ‘fresh linen’ day… he helps to make the bed

He’s also one of those rare puss cats that likes to walk on a lead attached to a harness. Makes for a lovely picnic at one of our local parks

I’ve only ever seen two cats do this… Ninja cat (Theo) and Moo’s cat, Willis. Both gorgeous and super intelligent cats

Ratty is getting used to having the toddler around. A few spits, the odd hiss and he saunters off to his own place for time out

Every afternoon we find them together on our bed for their afternoon siesta

Oh for the life of a cat!!

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On the creating front…

I designed and made this pretty little quilt for Waterboy and country Princess (a gift for a friend of theirs). How mushy is it! Lots of prettiness and a couple of girly ruffles to boot… reminds me of a yum dessert :)

I’ve been busy trying to catch up on some quilting and doing a bit of stitching at night by the telly. Nothing new though, just a few little hexie coasters and hot pot mats. Photos to come a bit later

AND another of my projects will be featured in Australian Homespun in mid 2013 so stay tuned for details in the next little while. I’m a bit chuffed to be able to share this one… it’s pretty special!

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Other news… I’m heading down to Adelaide for Let’s Get Stitched with the girls (Joy, Dawn, Vicki & Fee) next March

That will be a big event…! Apart from the obvious fun of a 4 day girly/stitching/shopping/eating bonanza, it will be the first time we’ve met in person (apart from the lovely Joy) and I can’t wait!

Flights are booked, deposits paid and now all I have to do is squirrel away some pennies. Icing on the cake will be catching up with the lovely Sarah from Quilt Fabric Delights. Is it too soon to count sleeps? Probably….

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Our next big adventure will be to the beach and the camping/caravan expo in a couple of weeks time. Got some more research to do before the fun of 2013 :)

Seeya,

Cheryl xx

Posted at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Home again

Back in action after a whirlwind holiday to the US

We surprised Moo at LAX, she was expecting one Goss and she got three :)

From Disneyland to the desert, the Grand Canyon, down to San Diego, back to Disneyland (just plain happy fun!), to the beaches, Beverly Hills and Hollywood…

We had such a fabulous time and squeezed so much into our two weeks. Sitting at LAX on the Saturday evening waiting for our flight home and we looked at each other. My funny little man said ‘let’s hire a car and just drive across the States’. We were tempted… I know we’ve only seen a snippet and there’s so much more to see!

Let’s visit New York, Paris, Rome, Venice and more… in just one day. And let’s walk down the street in the 45 degree heat drinking beer from a big plastic cowboy boot… and let’s take a Gondola ride through the watery streets of a pretend Venice while the Gondolier serenades us with Ave Maria… And let’s be mesmerised by the magical dancing fountains at the Bellagio…

What a mad city! And there’s something for everyone

We have so many photos… every day the flm changes the desktop background to a new memory and we live it all over again

Life is returning to normal… whatever that is :)

Our girls relived their ‘wonderful world of disney’ memories. This photo makes me smile!

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Righteo! Enough of the hols, they’re just a fabulous memory now. It’s back to work, back to gardening, feeding the chooks, wrangling the two cats and back to the quilting room

And just in case you haven’t had enough of the ‘It’s a little bit French’ range, there’s a new project of mine in the latest Australian Homespun magazine – The Pink Issue – called Dream a little Dream. It’s a yum bathrobe and matching slipper set and yes, it’s little bit dreamy :)

Seeya,

Cheryl xx

Posted at 09:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Travels

There have been lots of doings since I was last here…

Moo is in the US, thoroughly enjoying her travels and keeping in touch through her travel blog – it feels like we’re right there with her! She’s having a wonderful trip… it’s been in the planning for a long time and I can’t wait to hear all about it when she gets home. From LA to Vegas, San Francisco, across to New York, Washington, down to New Orleans, Memphis and now in Nashville before heading back to LA on Sunday, she’s done some mad stuff, some very brave stuff and some simply awesome stuff! Apart from Pig Crackers, she’s done it all on her own. So proud of our girl!

Blossie leaves on Monday morning to fly over and meet her in LA for the last two weeks of her holiday. I can’t imagine the fun they’ll have in Disneyland…. She’s so excited! She and her little furby ~ aka ninja cat ~ moved in with us last week and we just love having them around

That’s him on the roof of the shed, exploring. That’s why he’s an indoors cat!

Even Ratty is starting to get used to the idea :) Our quiet little house is much more like a home when there’s a kid or two hanging around

Waterboy had his birthday. This little dude who grew up with a permanent cheeky grin and adventurous spirit. Sitting here on his Nana’s knee with his sisters…

He’s all grown up now and has a little family of his own to love and cherish. There’s a lot of room in that big heart of his :)

When we look at the photos of the herbs when they were little we wonder ‘where did those years go!?’

Grown up kids make our world go round…

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On the crafty front, July was a busy month with lots of new stuff happening. Christmas in July at Quilt Fabric Delights was a whole bunch of fun, games and great new projects… a lot of the projects have been released as patterns. If you pop over to Sarah’s site and scroll through a bit, you’ll find some gorgeous new patterns available for purchase

I’m making one of Gail’s designs (pardon the photo, it’s from my phone)

Gail’s original is done in redwork, I added the green and french blue to pick up the colours in the border fabrics (French General… of course :) and I’ll bind it with the plain faded red. It’s the cutest little design!

I’ve been busy in the quilting studio working on customer quilts so there’s not been a whole lot of new stuff happening in my crafty world. We’re heading off to Sydney on Monday morning for a couple of weeks and the quilty doings have been a priority

At the moment I’m working on the last one… for Judy… it’s gorgeous and full of feathery delights

and it will be finished tomorrow…

then I’ll start packing…

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As if we didn’t already know it… cat’s really know how to sleep don’t they?!

Ratty’s always been a basket case

and Theo loves our sunny tv room in the afternoons – check it out, body on one footrest and head gently resting on the other

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One more thing before I go…

‘It’s a little bit French’ range has been one of the most popular designs I’ve done to date. In keeping with the French theme ~ and still with a little bouquet of lavender ~ I have a simply romantic project in the September (pink) issue of Australian Homespun… I love it… and I can’t wait to see how the very clever stylists create the scene for my ‘Dream a little Dream’ project. It’s a bit different but just delicious!

Seeya,

I’ll be missing for a bit but I’ll have limited internet access so will update when I can

Cheryl xx

Posted at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Busy times... but good times :)

July is always a busy month in our house

Tax time… blah…

Waterboy’s birthday! That’s next weekend so we’ll see the little family again :)

Had a lovely day out with them last Saturday ~ went for an early morning drive to the bayside suburb of Redcliffe near Brissie. Such a gorgeous day and so warm down there by the ocean. They bought a new car and I got to ride shotgun with Country Princess on the way home. Nice!

We stopped at a great country pub for lunch on the way. Nice again! Before we knew it we were home to the cold, dreary Toowoomba weather… I long for sunshine and warmth

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Doings from my room ~ not much this week, a couple of customer quilts and a bit of preparation for another project

I love this quilt… such happy colours… a mini meander, a flowing leaf and some ditch quilting. Judy’s going to finish it with some raw edge applique

Yummy quilt…

Gen’s quilt ~ all finished with the binding machined on ready for her to hand sew

You’ll find more of my quilty doings on facebook here

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Moo has started her big holiday in the US ~ we said our teary goodbyes on Friday morning. Blossie flies over in three weeks time to meet her in LA, she’s so excited! A week in California and finishing it off with a week in Hawaii... lucky girls!

Here they are at the departure gate ~ gorgeous things. I’m the Mum, a bias opinion comes with the territory :)

I had a message from Moo yesterday in Las Vegas, it read

‘Hi Ma! I put my ‘big girl pants’ on and ventured out for dinner on my own. Tacos and Tequilas. And yes, I’m having a marguerita’

She’s set up a blog to record her travels, you’ll find it here

This is Manda’s travel wallet…(and her glitter toenails, and her ‘whiteberry’)… the script on the front reads

‘Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference’

That’s our girl to a ‘T’

Have fun Moo! Lots of piccies for us!

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I’ve had a few emails about the sweet little crocheted keeper I use to hide my tape measure

I don’t crochet, I bought this one from an Aussie patchwork store but I’m not sure if they have them now. My very clever crocheting friend ~ Debbie ~ borrowed mine and made one for herself, just by looking at it. I’m in awe…

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Big week this week… Blossie is moving out of her unit and back home for a bit. We’re looking forward to having our littlest gosling home again, even if it’s only for a short while. Tuesday is moving day!

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I’ve pinched a couple of photos from Sarah’s blog to show you what the Christmas in July girls are being treated to..