loved up

Well, it's new years eve...a special day for us since we found out I was having twins two years ago today! Boy did life change for us but in such a good way. We've actually spent the day cleaning out clothes, toys and the house to get a nice clean start for the new year and 8 boxes later I think we have made a little dent. So no crafting today but last night I managed to quilt and bind my amy butler LOVE quilt...



I used a charm square pack from fat quarter shop, some white homespun with a little floral pattern on it and the binding I purchased yesterday (which happened to be a perfect combination and hello premade bias binding you make life so easy)....



I went for a more spaced out design with my free motion (thanks emma for the tip) and it made a real difference cutting my quilting time down by half but I really had to focus on not getting too close together.



keira grabbed a nice cuddle under it before bed last night eventhough she prefers her pink quilts.



And this quilt will hang over the couch hiding a few stained spots that have appeared recently (as in stains left by my lovely children!)



So, have a happy new year..............we'll be having a quiet night at home with our favourite takeaway pizza and some champagne (I only get through a few glasses of wine/champagne each year so it's a treat to have a glass tonight ...something happened after the twins and we just don't go together anymore but it's probably a good thing!)

holiday shopping

The nice thing about having retro daddy on holidays is just spending time together....oh and getting some peaceful shopping opportunities! This morning I needed oodles of white fabric for my nicey jane quilt.....I've run out of quilters muslin in the store and the warehouse is closed till the new year so I decided to use white homespun instead. I don't know how it happened but I also came home with this super cute new crochet book.....



and some gorgeous cotton bias binding that was new at spotlight! I think 12m will keep me going for a few quilts....



and after a delicious sushi train lunch (where the twins managed to get through more plates than I did) and ice cream at the new ben & jerry's down in manly (mmmm strawberry shortcake), I was lucky to find a last copy of Interweave Weekend knits which I'd been hunting down for a while...I am totally in love with this little shrug....you know I'll be doing this in pink though, don't you?



and a super cute hand towel amongst other lovely projects in there! I think it's fair to say that this would be decoration only....I can just see someone wiping greasy hands all over it!



and then I came home to some bargain wool I'd found online as ozeyarn closes down....$2 a ball is a nice price to pay and I feel some more granny squares coming on and yes a tutorial too! Pop on over and check out the store...



I hope you all enjoy some holiday shopping too.....plus a big thank you for all your gorgeous comments yesterday! I'll never stop blogging or sharing just because of one person!

squares

Although I've been showing you lots of family photos lately, I have actually been doing some crafty things behind the scenes. First up is crazy mom quilts 'flea market fancy' quilt which I'm making up in nicey jane. I knew I couldn't keep the fabric all nicely folded up for long.....and the colours are just gorgeous especially as pink and green is one of my favourite combinations! Here are the blocks I've done so far......



I have also been clearing out my craft room making space and it feels so good to clear out and make room (for new purchases!!!!!!!). I gathered together all my half used balls of yarn for a spot of crochet. When I don't have the energy to sit and sew at my machine at night, crochet is the perfect 'lie on the couch with your feet up night time activity'.



This is my output from one night on the couch.....miss keira calls them flowers and I'm going to turn these into a super cute and girly cushion for her bed! A little miss can never have too many cushions on her bed!



And thank you for all your lovely comments yesterday. Keira has bounced back as all little ones do.

all stitched up

no, not the sewing with fabric kind...more of the 'keira walking with me at the sales and walks straight into a table display at country road and hits her eyebrow and bleeds everywhere' kind of stitches. What a morning! Who knew that when we set off to check out the sales for a few things we'd end up in the dr's....my darling little keira was so brave getting the anaesthetic and stitch in her eyebrow and we were so lucky to have one of our regular doctors there at the practice to look after her.



I guess it had to happen sometime as stitches and broken bones do happen to children and mummy needs to toughen up, I was fighting back the tears myself and in a state of shock!!!! Thankfully the surrounding shoppers were just beautiful giving me tissues, finding retro daddy, offering to get her a cold drink and the store were great too! phew what an ordeal! So after a day of ice cream and being totally spoilt (keira not me), my little miss is back to her normal self! And I hope the next sewing that goes on is of the fabric kind!!!!! Oh and miss keira insisted that dora the dancer be in the photo too!!!!

and anonymous 'susan' not your real name, I've kept your comment in for everyone to read so that you'll stop with the anonymous comments. You might like to change your writing style so as to not give yourself away so easily!

all about family

It's not often we get a picture of our little family together....


or all my guys looking lovely playing together...they sooooooo want a cubby and a dog now!!!!


hope you're having some nice time with your family too! we are!

I want to wish you a merry christmas!

Well christmas is almost over but we had a wonderful day! We always do mass on christmas eve and love the nativity play and carols plus it just gets you in a festive mood. Santa was there for all the children and told keira he'd see her later that night which got her so excited!!!! This morning, as expected, we were all up early for presents............nothing beats happy little children opening presents!



mind you the twins were fascinated by the tree which had been out the back so as to not have all the decorations pulled off.....it's lovely to have it back in the loungeroom again but yes the twins are loving those decorations! All morning Tillie was caught saying 'oohhhhh, wooooooooooooowwwwwww, oooooohhhh' looking at the tree and presents!



lunch was at my sister's new house and gosh I loved not having to host this year!!!!! There was a new cubby to play with and Finn was intent on locking all the girls in there...



all he did was open and shut the door...he is a boy after all



so we took it in turns to supervise and keep the girls safe!!!!!



and when he wasn't in the cubby he was eating, in fact he finished off all the kiddies plates!



So after a day full of presents, family and food (oh lots of food), all my lovelies are now sleeping and have plenty of toys and books to keep them happy for a while! Christmas just gets better as our family and little ones grow! So I hope you all had a wonderful day and Merry Christmas from all of us!


p.s. my parents were snap happy all day so I expect lots more pictures from them of everything that went on today!!!!!!!

almost done

well the shopping has been done, the house is getting cleaned and decluttered before the relatives arrive and the gingerbread house is done....I made this from scratch and next year might get a kit as I spent more time making the gingerbread pieces than I did putting it together and decorating it!!!!!! Thank goodness keira is 3 and thinks it's fabulous!



and the quilt, the quilt is done! well, almost! a few threads to trim, a few sections need a quick fill in and a label needs to be attached but the binding is done and here it is........


and the back where I really need to trim threads and fill in a few spots!!!!



And if you don't come back before christmas then Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a wonderful time with your families, eat lots and be merry! I love Christmas and I'll be back tomorrow night to share pictures of ours!

be the first!

Just in time for christmas.....gorgeous new patterns from Izzy & Ivy Designs and we are the first Australian stockist which is very exciting! These dresses are just perfect for girls and we love that the sizing starts at 1-2 and goes up to a 12-14 in most of their patterns!



They arrived from the states this morning and are going up in the store now.....but leave a comment to go in the draw to win their cute Macy Giggles sundress pattern! Entries close Sunday 10 January 2010!

CLEARANCE SALE

Clearing out before the new stock arrives.............fabric and patterns from $5.95 including postage! Just click here



free fabric will be stuffed in with every order! I need more space!

almost there

Thank you for all the quilt love! I think I'm ahead of schedule now that the quilting is done and I'm ready for binding.....



I do all my sewing at night time when everyone is asleep and am fighting the urge to go and do the binding now.................. but there are lots of things to be done, presents to wrap, food to be baked and bought and of course children to play with!!!!!!

So the quilt is a coin quilt and I used this book for the pattern but you could do it without a pattern but I'm a beginner and appreciated the directions. I used one jelly roll of Grandmother's Flower Garden and I think I have one jelly roll left and will be getting more in next year if I can (because I want more!). More details coming tomorrow....

sneak peek

on thursday I decided (rather bravely) that I would make keira a quilt for christmas.....by saturday night I was quilting it but I have to say I'm only a third of the way through the quilting so I'll be rushing it over the line for Christmas. Normally I'm baking up a storm in the days before christmas but this is so much better for my waistline....



so here is a sneak peek...it's my first single bed quilt, my first coin quilt and my first jelly roll quilt and I'm loving it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

quick quilt for grandma betty

my grandma betty will love and appreciate anything I make, she is my grandma after all. I wanted to give her something more than chocolates and a nice photo of the family this year and decided a quick charm square lap quilt would be perfect. This is Botany by Moda and is a perfect match for her green velvet couches!



Backed in some beige homespun from my stash and the binding came from my stash too! I just love when you can find everything you need in your stash!!!!! And I've quilted with my improving (but still very much a beginner) free motion quilting!



Another present ticked off the list! Thank goodness because spending half the day at Chatswood Chase with the kids is enough to make you get sewing for everyone!!!

oops... my giveaway winner

sorry! christmas preparations and just getting things done are keeping me busy and I forgot to draw a winner of my quilting giveaway...random.org tells me number 32 which is.....carrose creations well done and I'll be in touch soon.....


and this is Finn at retro daddy's team Christmas party yesterday..... all he wanted to do was make a run for it and escape......and all we did was chase him and bring him back!

Thank you Santa

must put under tree....must not sew with now!!!!!!!!!!! But ohhhhh I had to share......a lovely fat quarter pack of nicey jane....oh we love heather!



and a fat quarter pack of Ginger Blossom by sandi henderson!



And 2 little charm square packs of nicey jane for a nice quilt....and even if I can't start cutting into it at least I can start planning what I'm going to do with it AND justify why I need more!

Bianca Jae's pencil wraps

As some of you know, Bianca is a lovely mummy living in darwin and is on a roll with her pencil wraps! ALL SOLD! THANK YOU LOVELY LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fabulous fairy tale fabric

Oh japanese fairy tale fabric...you just get me every time with your cuteness



I can't keep it all to myself so have been cutting up the older designs which I've kept tucked away....and I've put a few fabric packs together just in time for Christmas!

apple cores

Well the house is starting to look a little more respectable, leaves have been swept, the car has been cleaned, the washing is now under control, the craft room is looking decent again but still needs a bit more work...but I still found some time to cut out apple cores. I am loving my templates and am going to make a lovely cot quilt for tillie this Christmas!



And I'm bringing all my templates and a huge selection of fabrics to the Sew it Together meetup in Melbourne next year, we'll make up some quilt blocks and have some fun during the Saturday crafting session! A little way to say thank you to all my blogging friends! Hope you're trying to make it as it will be a fun girls weekend! I can't wait!

my first market done!

Yay I did it, my first market under my belt! Oh the nerves in the car on the way there but once I saw a few familiar faces I was fine. It was a lovely venue, I had a lovely spot right near the door grabbing everyone as they walked in and to the left which is the path I normally follow when I start at a market!



fabrics to the left on keira's toy stand but there were tears as she drove away leaving it with me! Bianca's pencil rolls were up top and this was before I realised we should open it up to show it off....so cute and I can't believe Bianca even sews the books together!!!!



dresses to the right....I loved all the colours and I had so many lovely comments and buyers which gives you a real buzz. An assortment of lovely handmade was in between....including Katia's cute little cross stitch panels which were popular! It got a little quiet at times but we seemed to keep busy most of the day and for my first market I'm happy. I learnt soooo much!



Of course I spent up...a pair of sophie's shorts for a friend's little boy (perfect for a little boy and I'm losing interest in sewing before Christmas after my marathon sewing for market), a sweet owl from claire (oh I loved claire's softies), a gorgeous sweetie petites for keira (lisa's package is just cuddly and soft and we will buying up more for presents next year)..........poor little keira has been missing her mummy who goes off sewing every night so I did let her pick what she wanted!



and a darling little headband by katia which keira is loving...in fact she won't put down her owl, sweetie doll or stop wearing her headband so I think she is going to love her mummy doing markets! I loved seeing the smiles when people discovered my cute fabrics and stall. We have agreed on the homefront I can manage one market a month and with some exciting projects in the pipeline for 2010 it will be a great way to get out there a bit more and meet more lovely people.



Thank you to everyone who came and visited and to your lovely wishes (for those who live a bit too far to make it)! I'm soooo exhausted and got a little sleep-in this morning, although apparently I woke up a little bit tired and cranky so a nice strong coffee down at the shops picked me up! Huge thank you to katia who was the perfect stallholder buddy and bianca and amelia for their lovely contributions too (more on that later)! Time to rest up and play shops with keira for a while (her new favourite game)

last chance for a giveaway

I'm so busy and so tired (bed at 1am up at 4.30am with the twins) to draw the giveaway so have extended till sunday when I will be refreshed and ready to draw a winner!!!!! I will officially stop sewing tonight and focus on attaching tags, ironing (oh joy), cutting more clearance fabrics and just getting packed and ready for saturday....yawn, did I say I'm tired???



somehow I forgot to eat lunch and dinner yesterday but made it up for it with lindt balls......the most perfect energy source!!! It's pure evil to put them out on the supermarket shelves and reduce the price by $6 .....they were just calling out my name...Corrie...take me home...you'll love me....Corrie...all 4 boxes of them (mind you I didn't eat all 4 boxes, I'm hoping they'll last till Christmas!). And I share with you our Christmas photo....I didn't expect to be in the photo otherwise would have worn a bit more makeup and glammed up a bit but it's all about my little darlings and they look lovely!

heh big spender

Big spenders at my market stall on saturday (oh gosh this saturday) will be getting one of these lovely tote bags to take their goodies home in....it's called a tokyo tote so its kind of appropriate for my stall! They are made from bamboo and super environmentally friendly, not to mention trendy. When I first saw a pic of them I thought they were actually a proper handbag! you can buy them from this lovely lady here


So sydney ladies I hope you've put my first market in your diaries! Allie's Attic, this saturday, Paddington Town Hall, 10am - 3pm, $2 entry for adults and you'll get a ticket to enter a giveaway for a parcel full of goodies from stallholders. Cash or credit (thank goodness for credit at this time of year!) and I also have a special treat for all my lovely friends, blog readers and customers!! Not to mention the overflowing huuuuge basket full of clearance fabrics as I clear out in preparation for next year's huge fabric deliveries ( and I mean huge)!



Now if you're coming and there is something in particular you want to see just drop me an email! And if I'm looking fat and tired please forgive me....I'm up till 1am most nights drinking coffee and eating chocolate getting ready!!

I heart Christmas!

I really do love Christmas and this is my favourite christmas fabric....michael miller from a couple of years ago at spotlight (of all places). Far too precious to sew for market but I thought a quick top for keira would be nice as she is feeling a little bit upset that the big rack of dresses aren't all for her!



and while keira now stands still for photos, she is rather fond of the goofy face, once the photo is taken she races around to take a look and kills herself laughing at her silly face! hilarious!



And I must put the tree up tonight....I'm normally itching to put it up on the 1st December but we've just been so busy and I'm not prepared to climb into the attic and bring down the tree and decorations...that is strictly for retro daddy! I'm guessing you all have your trees up????

weekend sewing

the sewing continues....I am loving little dresses in festive colours but I won't be loving the ironing that is needed!



and I've been testing out my new applique shapes...this is the large love heart set, so easy and so accurate and I just love this Alexander Henry butterfly fabric.



And a cute apple core waiting to be appliqued! I am itching to start an apple core quilt as soon as I get the chance!



And look what my lovely market helper is making.....soooo cute!!!!