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Stitched Sunday

Starting next Sunday and then every Sunday after that there will be a blog post with a new stitch, tip or tutorial on stitching and embroidery. Helen ( from Hugs and Kisses) will start right at the beginning – so if you haven't stitched before then there is no better place to start, and if you already stitch, well then, there may be some tips and tricks that you might learn-you never know! So head over and read the blog entry for June 20 - and a list of what you will need will be posted later this week.  It sounds interesting!

A small project finished

It was good to sit down and sew on my machine the other day and finish a little project- a set of four mugrugs for my mum, just plain really.  They have winged their way to Oz already.  I hope she likes them as I used some squares that were left over from a quilt that I made for her last year and the colours match other things that she has in her lounge.  This is my first finish for the month.  Everything else I have been working on is not so easy or quick to finish as they are part of longer term projects and involve handstitching.

Relaxing Long Weekend

Here in NZ it has been the Queen's Birthday Weekend, so the three day weekend has been very welcome- for those of you in NSW I know that it's your turn next weekend, so I hope you enjoy the extra day too.   
The days have been sunny down here in the South ( I won't say warm as we managed to hit a high of 13C today)  A bit of rain the other night but otherwise dry during the day.
So what have I been up to?  
Well the sewing machine has been humming away today with a project in progress-  
I have been relaxing and reading a book or two which arrived recently
One about food and the other about bags, which I have seen mentioned on a few other blogs.

Talking to mum last night she said how she has enjoyed watching Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Dinners on TV- so I have ordered the book for her, and myself as well ( I found the best price last night on Amazon UK and if you spent over 25 pound then postage was free if all went to the one address)- so what was a girl to do but order 2 copies - my daughters will bring mine back from Sydney after their visit with Mum.
 Have a great week and enjoy your stitching!

How lucky are you feeling??

If you get the Homespun Magazine you may have seen the new Stitch-a-Long quilt designed by Lenna Green from Stitching Cow.  The first block was in Homespun Magazine Vol 12:4 and the other designs so far are available for FREE here on the website for the Magazine.  
You will be also be able to see the quilt when you take a look at the Stitching Cow website.
Now here is the fabulous part of this blog..

To celebrate the launch of this free Stitch-a-Long quilt, which she has designed, Lenna is having a giveaway of a kit for this beautiful quilt.  To find out more about this giveaway visit Lenna's blog and then help to spread the word. 

Red sky in the morning...

...usually brings the response 'shepherd's warning' but it was not a day like that today.   As the sun rose over the top of the hill this morning the sky had a pinkish hue to it.  So here are a couple of shots, from my back deck, of the cloud formations this morning.   

Looking towards the west the clouds were thinner and stretched out across the sky.  

While in this shot towards the north the clouds were much larger and the sun's rays were hitting the underside of this cloud.  

Just relaxing with a new book

Just taking time to relax and read a new book which arrived in the mail this week.  After seeing it out there in blogland I went ahead and ordered it for myself.  I have just been reading Jenny of Elefantz blog and she has started to make the first mini quilt from the book.  She has also set herself the challenge to work her way through the others over the course of the year.  If anyone else, who has the book, is interested in joining her on this adventure then she has invited you to leave a comment on her post from yesterday.

Lots of thinking, not much sewing!

The daylight hours are getting shorter and it has been a week with little action on the crafting front.  Lots of plans for projects going on in my head ( insert 'daydreaming' here as a more likely scenario).   The last leaves are holding on in some of the trees in the garden- a strong wind and the last ones on the Golden Elm will fall I'm sure.

The blossom tree has one leaf still hanging in there and its pre winter flourish of blossom is starting- NOTE the lovely blue sky that we have today!!  If I seem obsessed with nice, clear days then maybe it is because everything seems so much brighter when the sun is shining and as winter approaches who doesn't want to see the sun??

Last year I made a shaggy quilt for Mum and then thought for something different that I would make another quilt but piece the squares  this time- well I have got the top pieced together- now all I have to do is quilt it- (the shaggy one was so much quicker!)  I took the photo outside on the clothesline and the sun was shining at the back of it.

Looking forward to the State Of Origin this week and keeping my fingers crossed for a NSW win- it's about time for a win for my old home state!!!