Good Mail

I don't know about you, but for me, there's a few different types of mail-junk, bad/boring, and good. As I've shown previously, each month I get two fat quarters of fabric from a swap partner as part of the Fat Quarter Swap, which means I get at least one lot of good mail each month. This month my swap partner was Arlene and our theme this month was 'lucky dip'. These are the fat quarters I received-they will be great additions to my stash!

The other 'good mail' I received recently was a prize I won on Samelias Mum blog. I was thrilled to win as I love a good period drama/crime and this series was a favourite. I've also been enjoying 'Call the Midwife', 'The Dr Blake Mysteries' and of course 'Downton Abbey'.

In other news, Ron had his softball club presentation last night, and won 'best team man' for his team. We have two weeks of school holidays now-we don't have anything specific planned, but will be out and about although Ron and I will still be working.

I have finished all the stitchery parts of my wall hanging, so I'm now onto the construction phase. I also finished the hand quilting on this jellyroll quilt (finally).

I don't have anything planned for at least tomorrow (although that could change) so I'm hoping to get some crafting done in between the usual tasks.

February catch up (better late than never)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Now that Google Reader is on the way out, I'm using Bloglovin' to keep track of blogs I follow. It's a bit different, but not so you can't work out what you're doing. I've had to put that link at the top of my post to claim my blog with Bloglovin' apparently, although I'm not entirely sure what that means...

Family wise we are doing OK. We are trialling Open Access College for our daughter which is basically schooling online with lessons live via the Internet. Year 12 continues for our son-I think the formal is next term?! Time really does fly! Ron won his softball grand final last weekend in a close (8-7) match. I am still getting some work shifts at the weekends (to fit in with being there for Caitlin) which I am still enjoying-we have some systems changes coming up in a few months so that should be interesting.

Craft wise, February was not particularly productive. Until we got things settled with school, things were very disrupted and I found it hard to get much done. I decided to use my 'pass' for the Stitch-A-Long for February but am planning to finish the bag in my own time. I also didn't complete my planned motif for the cross stitch SAL but I'm planning to catch up with that too. We are heading away to the Riverland for Easter as usual, so I'm hoping to get some crafting done then, although as it's not part of the school holidays, we won't be there for long.

I've got pictures of the FQ swaps I received last month and this month. Firstly, for February from Heather-you can see on her blog what I sent her, as I never remember to take a photo before I post.

My swap partner for March was Claire and it was a purple extravaganza!

 I think my next post will be after Easter-hope you get a nice break (if you can) and stay safe!

Stash enhancement & general catch up

Firstly, thanks for everyone's comments. There has been some progress on the health front for my daughter, but it does seem slow some days, and we are still working out the best plan of attack.

Just a quick catchup post today so that I get back into the habit of blogging.  I picked up a couple of fat quarter bundles the other day from Spotlight-Sarah Fielke's new range called 'On the Pond'. I don't have specific plans yet for them, but I coincidentally received a few more of the same range from a swap so I may grab a couple more so I can make a good sized quilt.

We had some cooler weather a few weeks ago (I think one morning I even put the heater on-in February!-in Adelaide!) and consequently got my hand-quilting out, and am almost done. I don't have any pictures at this stage, but will try and finish it up on the next cool day, and then take one. Then it will be the binding, and finished-hooray!

I'm at various stages with my stitch-a-longs so I'll wait until I finish February's progress before I post pictures of those.

And to finish, here's another picture of the new kitten, Archie.

I finish something, and a weather report

 

I finished something! I need to start using my sewing machine on a regular basis, as I need the practice to improve my skills. This pattern is called 'Little Wallet' by Valori Wells Designs (I bought it from Ballarat Patchwork) and it turned out well-even for a novice like me. I used fabric from my stash and even used some vintage snaps I picked up somewhere. The pictures aren't the best, but winter really isn't the best for taking photos, and I invariably decide to take pictures when it's dark! I have other small patterns stashed away, as well as ones earmarked on the Internet, and I plan to start trying them out on a regular basis.

Today was strange weather, with the temperature up here getting to over 20C, before thunderstorms, rain and hail moved in. I managed to get into the garden before the weather changed (and the temperature dropped 10C).

A 'helper' in the garden

The change moving in

I have other WIPs on the go, but I'll update those another day when I can get better photos-and maybe have another finish to report. I'm enjoying watching the Tour de France, although I usually watch a lot of it the next day when I watch my recording. We've had a fairly quiet school holidays-only a few days to go, and Caitlin and I are planning to head to the city tomorrow. 

Stash Enhancement and November Goals

Well, the craft fair is over for another year!  I had a great time working there, as well as shopping there ;)  I also loved the quilt exhibition-no photos were allowed but I got lots of inspiration from seeing the quilts.  Here's a picture of some of my stash enhancement efforts:

I picked up a couple of other things (thimble, hexagon papers, small couple of kits) on some of the other days, but no cross stitch or knitting as I have more than enough stash in those crafts!  Some of these purchases I have plans for, and some are waiting for inspiration.

I mentioned in October that I wanted to set myself some goals for November, and even though it's over a week into the month, I'm still going to set some, just for some focus.  I have an exam on the 22nd, so that will be a priority, but I will still be making time for some craft.

November Craft Goals

1. Finish stitcheries for my 'Tis The Season' quilt
2. (Re)start this cross stitch 
3. Finish knitting second sock of pair for Caitlin
4. Start my Favourite Things blocks (maybe 2?)
5. Dig out some finished cross stitch Christmas ornaments & make them up as ornaments
6. Sew/piece quilt top using jelly roll from craft fair
7. Sew up one of the small kits/patterns from craft fair   

Also a few family updates-Ron is participating in 'Movember'-I'll upload some pictures soon. I think he's going for something like this ;) (this is actually pretty close to what he's started-not sure it'll be quite as bushy....)
 

After enrolling Caitlin in the same high school as Luke for next year (it was her second choice), she was offered a place yesterday in her first choice.  We thought it might cause a bit of a dilemma as it is the school a lot of her friends will attend, but she has stuck with the same school as Luke as she feels it will be better for her academically.  We're proud of her mature decision making, and relieved it didn't cause too much anguish!