Blogtoberfest day 10

Today was all about the kids going back to school and Toy Soldiers.

 It was a race to get these and another few big boxes of goodies completed in time for the post this afternoon. These Toy Soldiers are marching all the way to Shop Handmade.

I am literally exhausted after completing a huge amount of work over the past three days, now I need to have a coffee, browse a few blogs and think about cleaning the huge mess I've somehow created....... I wish I had a cleaning fairy!

Today is the day!

It might be the first day of spring but it's also my first day back at Shop Handmade after my time away!

I have posted off a few big parcels of goodies so there should be plenty of stock, some familiar items and a new one. So if you are in Canberra and looking for some lovely handmade goodies please call in and have a look around.......it's the kind of place that you won't leave empty handed or disappointed.

 There will be a load of Christmas items posted shortly so keep an eye out for them.

Today I'm working on....

.... another two advent calendars, this time they are done in more boyish colours as my last two had a girly thing going on.

I love the whole process of making these calendars, they are a bit like piecing a quilt together, the only down fall is they are just as time consuming.

I hope you are all enjoying the the sun shiny days we've been having!

Thanks for stopping by.

Red Stitch Designs is now on Facebook.

Where have I been spending my time.....

I never thought I'd say this but I've been having a bit of fun on Facebook lately and been a bit slack on the blogging side of things. I found it a great way to see what was going on  while I was in hospital, have a bit of fun chatting to friends, I guess the fun is still continuing.......sorry blogger I haven't forgotten you I promise!

Apart from Facebook I have been busy sewing up a storm ready for my return to Shop Handmade this week, so excited to be busy and creative again.

 I packed up two huge parcels full of Red Stitch Designs goodness, now working on filling the next few boxes to the brim.

 I've been talking to a few marketing friends about some of the bigger upcoming markets, I'd love to attend a few this season because they are so much fun and you meet the most beautiful people, but because I've had a few months off the sewing machine I'm not sure if I can pull off the amount of stock I think I'll need......but I'm sure going to give it a go, If I can't well that's just the way it is!

I'll try and blog a bit more in the future, so sorry about that!

Thanks for stopping by.

My Creative Week.

I'm having alot of fun sewing and being creative again, and I know these aren't your traditional Christmas colours but I like them, they're a little bit whimsical and fun!

I have so many projects on the go at the moment, things that are bound for Shop Handmade over the next week or so, I have pears half done, owls, cushions, advent calendars, heart ornaments, I also have things on my to do list which might have to wait a while.

 Earlier in the week Megan's school was celebrating Book Week and the kids were allowed to dress up as wither villains or superheros. Megan chose to go as one of The Incredibles!

 She had so much fun with this character and she was even given an award for her efforts!

I hope you are all have a great week, thanks for stopping by.

51 weeks to go!

Yay how exciting only 51 weeks to go until the London Olympics! I was supposed to share this with you a week ago when the Olympics were 1 year away, I mean it should have only taken me a few hours to complete but I ran out of steam part way into it.........so now I'm celebrating 51 weeks!

 I have a style in mind for our new house, a mix of old and new furniture with a few eclectic pieces thrown into the mix.........this cushion fits in perfectly with what I'm after. I love it so much I think I'll make it a Red Stitch Design regular when I'm up and running again.......shouldn't be too much longer.

I just want to give out a huge virtual hug to all of you who have sent me messages of support, they all mean so much and I love and appreciate every single one of them. I knew I had some special people in my life but it took something like breast cancer to realise just how special they all really are.

Love and hugs to everyone!

Taking inspiration.

Last week some time I had a weird dream about how incredibly busy I was with all my Christmas sewing last year and how I vowed to be more prepared this year. I'm thinking it was a message to pull my finger out and squeeze a few Christmas items into my sewing list. I know what you're thinking, she's crazy it's June, who thinks about Christmas in June!

I'm trying to think ahead because I know that our house will almost be finished around this time and my energy is going to be needed else where, packing, cleaning and organising all that stuff we've accumulated over the years, I know that there is going to be limited sewing time!

So because they're so time consuming I made up a few advent calendar bases last week, now all I have to do is come up with a few different colour schemes......some traditional and some a bit whimsical.

I love this little make-up bag I bought Megan last Christmas and I thought I'd take a little inspiration from it for my first calendar. I can't wait to get stuck into it in between orders which are starting to flow again after my short break.

I'd just like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of my lovely blog readers concerning my last post........your kind words mean so much XXX

Eisteddfod time again!

It's that time of year again...Eisteddfod. Parents volunteering with costumes, props and practice, it's all good fun for the kids and something which I don't mind helping with when and where I can.

This year Megan is playing a character called Suki in a small play her class is presenting, and on the weekend I had a go at making her her very own kimono. I used a basic dressing gown pattern to get the shape I wanted then made a nice wide stiffened sash. I wanted to go the extra step further and do the big loopy/bow thing on the back but Megan said that it was perfect as it was and no-one was going to see the back anyway!

 If I get the time I think I'll do it when she's not looking!

She looks so cute all dressed up. Now all I have to do is figure out how to do the make-up and hair.

Thanks for stopping by.

Things I'm loving.

Today I thought I would play along with Paisley Jade's " Things I'm Loving " and just share a few snippets of things which make me smile.

Firstly is the fact that I actually got some work done yesterday, it's amazing what you can achieve when your husband takes the kids to school and you can get an early start. I really enjoyed making some more little birds for a few orders I need to get done....I made sure to make an extra for Megan's room this time.

 I'm loving the fact that there is some action out at our block. These big trenches are for power, water and phone. These two little possums are so excited!

 I'm loving the look of my new Home pears!

I love it when I make something for my family ( Lemon butter ) and they totally eat it all in three days. Luckily I have plenty of lemons left and I can make some more!

If you want to join in head on over to Paisley Jade and say hello.

My Creative Space.

Megan's bunting/banner worked out kinda nice, it was super easy to make and even though the fabric colours are not an exact match to the fabric I'm going to use for the doona cover, it's as close as I'm going to get and because it's way up in the air no one will notice.

I've decided to make the pillow shams and back the doona in gingham........I'm hoping I'll find some on my next trip to Tamworth, because as you can see I only have two little scraps draped over the pillow and it's not even 100% cotton. After that I'll be giving that lamp a makeover, the base will be painted white and I haven't decided what to do with the shade yet........any ideas?

 It's so pretty in the morning sun, and so nice to have a change away from the pink and lime she had going on before!

For more creative space head on over to kootoyoo.

Bunting for Megan.

Yesterday I decided that I couldn't stand looking a the mess in the kids bedroom any longer. I went and got a big green garbage bin from outside and wasted no time in filling it with rubbish, useless clutter, broken toys......if it wasn't any good it was destined for the tip. I had a quick tidy of the wardrobes but I need a day with the kids home so I can check sizes.

I was thinking how nice and clean things were looking, wondering how long it would last once they were home, 10 min, 30 min. I thought about some gorgeous fabric I bought well over a year ago, wondering why I never used it like I had intended to in Megan's room. So today I've decided to start with a little bunting using fabric from my stash to match the scallopy looking fabric for the bed.

Megan's going to get a nice surprise when she gets home.

No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth!

I think this is the longest I've gone in a long long time without blogging.....SORRY! I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, but what I can tell you is that I've had something on or something happened ( like no power ) and I've been unable to catch up.

We've been to Weddings, The Great Nundle Dog Race ( more on that one later ), Megan had a Cross Country event, a trip to Maitland to do our house colours.......totally insane I wasn't prepared for that one! Anyway as you can see it's been busy, so much so that for the first time I've been unable to get an order out on time, I have sent an apology and the goodies will be posted on Monday so I hope that my customer is ok with that.

Because there hasn't been much sewing going on in the past few days I wanted to share this picture of Megan. It's not often that this happens, I'm always taking pictures of her and she pulls a silly pose every time, this time I caught her in the early morning light visiting a calf that was injured over the Easter break at my mother's. I love love love this picture! 

I must be off, today because I was so unorganised on Tuesday I have to get a few more sample pots and paint again.......who knew this was going to be so hard!

I'm excited!

I've been looking forward to today, not because Megan goes back to school...... I enjoy having her home, but because once she does I'm making a quick trip to Tamworth to do something VERY EXCITING! Wooohoooo!

I'll be back later with more.

Bye Bye Birdie!

This was hard. How do you pack such delicate little birds without them being crushed? I did the best I could, tried to pack the tissue around them so they'd keep their shape all for their journey to Shop Handmade ( in store today ).

I didn't have time to make as many as I wanted for the first shipment as we've had visitors for the past three days, which was a nice change I have to say!

 I'm planning on a few more after Easter and before Mother's Day.

 Have you dropped a few hints for Mother's Day yet? Apart from wanting something fluffy to keep my feet warm all I want is time.........time to sit in front of my sewing machine and maybe sew something for myself, or start on a new quilt ( I have a new fabric stash I'm dying to play with ). There wouldn't be any cleaning up, cooking, washing or refereeing a battle between the kids.......just time for mum! Ahhhhhh I'm already excited!

 But for now it's back to reality, a mountain of washing on a rainy day, a house which is desperate need of a vacuum and some pear orders to get started on.

 Once all the pears are done it's back to birds.

The lovely Bethany thinks that a yellow bird would look good and I'd have to agree, so I might give it a go when I have time. What colours would you like to see?

Sorry for the picture overload, they are all so cute and I had to share them all.

One can never have enough cuteness around.

Thanks for stopping by.

I love her!

I had a round three, four and five and this is the end result.....

 Isn't she the sweetest little birdy you've ever seen?

 I'm so attached to her that I almost don't want to put her in a box and send her to her new home.

 But I know where she is going and I know that she'll be treasured and loved by a very special little girl.

 Yes this little bird was a custom order, but I am working on a few more all to be posted to Shop Handmade this week. Remember if you want one and you can't make it to Shop Handmade please send me an email.

 They will all be lovingly handmade and only $24.95.

 I'm more than happy to do custom orders if you have or want a particular colour used......maybe something you've decorated your room with.

That's all I have for today, I'm off to do 6 loads of washing ( how exciting ) finish a few pear orders, and tidy up for visitors tomorrow.

Today I'm grateful for....

Remember this! Well after the gorgeous Rosalind from Grace Designs asking me if I had gone any further with the little birds I thought that a rainy day like today was the perfect time for round three!

And you know what..........I think I've almost got it the way I want. It's amazing how stepping away from something and trying at a later date actually works!

 All I need to do is just tweak my pattern just a little as I'm not completely happy with the shape, but as you can see it's almost there.

 I remember I had a big issue with the legs. Truth be told I think I was over thinking them too much, trying too hard to get them like the real thing........I remember it gave me a migraine and that's when I walked away. Since then I have made countless little owls with wire feet/legs so all I had to do was keep it simple like the owls.......it worked and this time the bird can actually stand alone.

So today I'm grateful for time, grateful for the lovely Rosalind who asked me to revisit the birds, and I'm also grateful for gorgeous rainy days.....the kind of days which inspire me to sit and create. Most of all I'm grateful this time there was no sign of a migraine!

If you wan to join in please visit Maxabella Loves.

While the end of last week was about completing many small orders .......

today was mostly about creating one of my favourites in a few different colours!

I'm totally smitten with the natural on black, it's a nice to change things up a little don't you think!

I'll be sure to take some real nice pictures of them when finished.

Thanks for stopping by.



Special Order.

I finished the custom order of Pirate bunnies which I did a trial run on last week.

I love them all, each has it's own personality!

 Each of them has a girl too!

My weekend was  bit full on, I had loads of orders to finish........I have made a huge dent in my half finished projects and it feels good to have some space on my desk again.

It won't take me long to clutter it all up again, I think I work best when I have a few different things going at once........keeps my mind ticking, and I can switch projects when it suits.

I'm going to take a week off this week ( hence the rush to get everything done ) as my father has an operation tomorrow and I'd like to be there for a bit of support. I'm leaving the kids with Mark so that should result in some messy pony tails for Megan and a few dodgy looking lunch boxes. I don't know why I'm worried about leaving them for a few days, I know things might not be done as would do them but I know they'll survive.

See you later in the week!

Another look at the drink bottle covers!

 Unlike the first glimpse of my drink bottle covers here's a much clearer look.

 See I didn't forget the boy's!

 I've just finished packing this lot up ready for the posting to Shop Handmade in the morning!

Now I need to go and vacuum my house because towelling is so messy to work with when cutting, once it's overlocked it's fine but there is fluff everywhere and it's driving me crazy

Just in case you were wondering, yes I really do own that many drink bottles ( I found 21 to be exact ), they seem to multiply at our house and clutter up my cupboards.......at least when the kids step out with one now it'll look beautiful in it's new cover!