Hello there lovely readers!

Sorry for the long time between drinks - so to speak!
Jo and I have been away on our once a year sewing retreat with all the lovely gals from the FQ sewing posse! We had a lovely time walking, talking enjoying the peace and shopping for antiques in the beautiful riverside village of Mannum. 5 days and four nights without one kid mess to clean up or a single load of washing to be done - heaven!!

Our goodies have been selling quite well at Belli Bliss in Unley and we are now back to the machines to make some more.Of course, the little booties in the picture aren't the new stock, just wait until you see the yummy new colours!

Anyway off to see my lovely beautician for the last time for a few months(she is having bubs no.3) and then to Jo's to sew Yippee !!

Have a wonderful day :)

kx

How did you go?

Well, how did you go with my little challenge last time? What did you achieve in your seven hours? I had an interesting time, and an unexpected outcome from mine...
I completely quilted my little "Space Bubbles" quilt. I machine quilted in the ditch, and also hand quilted all of the red dotty squares with red perle, and made & put on the binding too. Plus I managed to do a lot more hand quilting on my big Hidden Stars quilt. So I would say I managed to cram a fair bit in to my extra 7 hours, and now I can't complain of having too little time!
The other thing I notived was that I really got out of the habit of going on the computer in the evenings. I know we all have to stay connected in this day & age, but I really didn't miss out on a lot, and felt so much better in myself for having achieved my goals for the week. Plus, I am sure I slept better for having not been over-stimulated by technology before trying to settle down to sleep. Don't get me wrong, I love checking out the internet, and seeing what the rest of the world is up to. But I think I may be a little less "plugged-in", and a little more attatched to my needle & thread from now on...at least for a couple of nights a week. What about you? And the lovely Kylie, I am especially interested in your take on this, since I know you are a technology addict!
Keep warm, Jo xx

Monday-itis

I have it in a massive dose, the sort of Monday-itis that makes you wish it was over already.
Monday for me is always kind of hectic, trying to catch up after a weekend of people messing up the house( renovating or playing with toys) , starting the massive pile of washing that grew in the last three days, reading with a few kids from Hannah's class because I have the time (allegedly!), getting small children to after school activities and trying to get ready for work tomorrow.
If I had to look at my Monday to-do list the things I missed were not the most important, but the most fun.
I am yet again in a cafe drinking another late evening beverage waiting again, this time though I have miss 6 with me and it is a bit more interesting.
So back to the Monday-itis, it isn't that bad really I just wish I could squish all the boring stuff into a small hour and hack out a large chunk of time to sew and sing and dance while no-one watches ( bet you couldn't guess that about me! I love to dance around the house like a lunatic to daggy music in my pj's). Oh well tomorrow is another day and truly I am so grateful for the happy busy life I have I think I might have blogged my blues away :)
Hope you are all enjoying Jo's challenge- I am going to give it a go - no promises though I am a screen addict!
Kylie xx

Dropped technology

Well, an interesting thing happened to me this week, and it also ties in with our very common theme of time! My trusty laptop, which is getting elderly & a bit senile, was ok, but it's power cable wasn't. It now only runs for about 40 minutes, so running it without the power plugged in isn't an option. My husband & I debated whether or not we should bother with a new power cable, or get a new computer, but I am really not interested in getting a new one at the moment. So we ordered a new power cable, and waited for it to arrive. So all this week, I have pretty much been sans my computer. I looked on Facebook a couple of times, but couldn't access my emails. And I found I had so much more time to sew! Often, I sit on the sofa, typing away instead of sewing. But it really proved to me that all the "time" I have been seeking was actually here, being frittered away! Well, not all the time I want, but at least a fair amount.
So I have a little challenge for you next week...can you give up an hour a day on the computer, and trade it for an hour of sewing time? What could you achieve in the extra 7 HOURS (!) you will have available to you?  I would particularly love to see photos of what you make, or just a description.
Turn off the computer and get sewing!!
Jo xx

Finally got some time!

Well, I am really pleased to report that I finally got time to do some sewing for me! I have some cute retro kids fabric, and it was making me twitchy, not being able to start sewing with it! Anyway, once my latest skirt was finished and delivered, it was all systems go. The quilt top is just simple squares, but it looks great, and was fun to piece. I also had a go at making baby bibs, very fiddly, but it worked out well.
It got me thinking about my favourite thing to sew: quilts. Well, I really like piecing tops best, and hand quilting & piecing, with machine quilting quite a bit behind! What about you? What is your favourite thing? Quilts? Clothes? Small things? And what do you do with all your creations...keep them? Sell them? Give them away?
So as far as time to sew goes, how did you make it work? Did you clear a bit of time recently? I think it's helpful to think of the bigger picture, too. Sometimes, we seem to have no time at all to sew, or do what we love, but we have to believe that in a little while, we'll have more time, and it will happen for us. Hard to think of while we're in the middle of a busy patch! So, I hope that you enjoy your sewing when you can, or if you are too busy, that time becomes available to you soon!
Jo xx

I made some time !

I did it! I really did I made some time in my day to tidy up my sewing space and do some sewing - yippee!!!
How are you all going with your time to sew ?

Mothers' Day

Almost the most special day of the year...well, for all the mums out there, it should be! I lost my own darling mum over 16 years ago, and I still miss her, especially since the birth of my children, but I love to spoil her mum, my super-special grandma. I had a bit of a dilemma about what to get her this year. I often get her a book, of course, and she loves soaps and hand creams, but I was a bit luke-warm about all those options...(do you know where this is heading yet?!?)
I only had my brainwave yesterday, and of course, it was MAKE HER SOMETHING! It is a bit shocking that it took me so long, but in my defence, I have been flat out finishing off my commissioned quilt (check out our Facebook page to see the finished quilt), and my brain has only be focussed on that. I needed something that was quick and easy to make, that she would like and use, and would be something suitable for a gift. So eventually, I decided on a placemat. It was simple to make, just 5 jelly roll strips in Maison de Garance by French General. I used 1 1/4 extra jelly roll strips for the binding, and quilted it simply in a cross-hatch pattern. I'm giving the placemat to her tomorrow, so let's hope she likes it!
Happy Mothers' Day to all the mums our there, if you are lucky enough to still have yours, make sure you spoli her and let her know how much she means to you! I'll blog next week about how the placemat was received!
Jo xx