SSCS 2013 What I sent away...

This is what I sent to Melinda.

The leafy sea dragon is native to the waters of the

south west of Western Australia.

 detail

For some of the quilting I repeated shapes of the

elements of the pattern. I used freezer paper templates.

I enjoyed making this art quilt for Melinda.

I also made this little owl ornament for her.

Yellow HST and Christmas Ornament

My groups' HST swap continues with the colour for January being yellow, which also encompasses shades of gold, brown and orange. I've pulled these fabrics from my stash. Not too sure about some of them, but I will cut my charms and proceed. I'm sure it will all work out. Gotta love scrap quilts!

This is the ornament I made for my SSCS lady, Michelle. She adores gingerbread men. 

If you visit her she is currently doing a tour of all her amazing Christmas decorations. 

Here the gingerbread man is modelling next to a broken iPad.
Mr Fixit is putting on a new glass screen for DD #1.

I've got a turkey to get in to the oven, I think. Gotta check if it's thawed.
My days have been pretty tightly scheduled to fit it* all in.
Still, all good here.

* The day job. The housework. The shopping. The wrapping. The laundry. More day job. More housework. More shopping. Bout of gastro. More day job. More wrapping. More shopping. More laundry. And so on and so forth. Still, gotta' love Christmas! - and catching up with all the rellies is definitely worth it!

SSCS What I Sent

This is the quilt I made for Linda at linsueray.

When looking through Linda's blog to find out a little about her, I discovered that although she lives in the mountains, she really enjoys her trips to the ocean when she's able. I thought a little reminder of the ocean would be good. The birds are sandpipers, not seagulls - lol.

I hope she likes it.

This is the ornament I made.

It looks huge in the photo, but it's not.

Another successful year with Chookyblue's SSCS.

Pop over to her blog as she's posting all the swaps.

SSCS 2011 Received

Once again we've had a lovely swap organised by Chookyblue.

Thank you Chookyblue!!

The lovely lady who made these items is

Cheryl at Polka Dots & Rick Rack.

These gorgeous snowmen holding their Christmas treats... just too cute.

This is as close to a snowman as I'm ever likely to be here in Oz.

This darling notebook is a perfect size for my handbag, sewing bag or next to the computer. Lots of options here! And I love writing things down. The lovely feel of pen on paper... am I the only one?

Look at this tea towel!! Red plaid!! My favourite! And a snowman snow globe. And of course, rick rack trim!!

Thanks Cheryl! This is just too cute.

This gorgeous wool ornament I showed you before, but here he is again.

This is my third year in participating in this swap,

and each time I've had such lovely lovely gifts.

Thanks again Cheryl!!

In other Christmas news, this year I did not set up a big tree.

Here is my Christmas vignette.

Of course every tree needs a star, so I sewed on this delightful ceramic button.

I hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas!

House Ornament

I met today with my lovely quilting friends (a.k.a. Girlfriends).

We had a wonderful lunch and swapped presents.

This is a little house ornament I made as part of my gift.

The back.
I made this from a pattern by Kim at Retro Mama.
I didn't follow the pattern very well,
but I am happy with my result.
You can find the pattern and tutorial here.
I will make more of these,
and may even follow the pattern next time.
Hope your Christmas plans are going well!

SSCS 2011 Received

I participated in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap (SSCS) and I have received my package from the lovely lady who "got" me. Look at that beautiful quilty card! And red spots and yummy rick rack.

Very appropriate!

This is the lovely gift I've received from

Cheryl of Polka Dots and Rick Rack.

This ornament is just too cute!

And the only snowman I am likely to see anytime soon here in Oz!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I appreciate the fine work involved in making something like this. The attention to detail and all the little stitches and special touches. Just too precious. This is one ornament that will live in my sewing room. He's just too adorable to pack away in a box and bring out once a year! Thank you so much Cheryl!!!

Owl Ornament (not mine)

These were created by Jessica Levitt over at juicy bits.
She has kindly shared her pattern here.
It's that time of year. Already.

SSCS Received

I participated in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and Tuesday I received my gift. We are allowed to open the ornament right away and I received two hand made ornaments! These are received from Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog.

.

The heart is made of hand-painted paper and is just wonderfully charming.

Laura did a tutorial on how to make it here.

This little angel is just too perfect. Regular readers of my blog know I just love angels on my tree and I try to get an angel ornament every year. Nothing special enough has come my way this year but now I have this most wonderful angel to add. Thank you so much Laura. It is just right.
Same angel with flash.
My present is safely tucked under my tree until Christmas.
And no peeking!

Ornaments

Bird

Bird and Bells

Bird and Bells and Penguin

One week to Christmas Tree Day...