2010 is almost here!

I've already put in my project lists for 2010, but you may have noticed I have a counter of how much I spend on fabric. This year, I have said I am planning to use my fabric stash and scraps and save as much money as I can - to help pay off the swimming pool we recently purchased for my boy's therapy.

So.....

Will be interesting to see what I can do with what I have - and how little I can get away with spending.

I will be forking out for some fabric for 3 quilts - 1 is for my Milly and the other 2 are dear friends who are having babys. But hopefully that will be it.
MIL gave me a Spotlight gift card for Christmas - :) this will help! I also have a $25 gift voucher that I won recently for a quilting store - :) So far all is looking good!! I'll have to keep an eye out on fabric give aways on people's blogs as well!

I'm looking forward to the challenge of penny pinching in 2010!

So here is to a creative, crafty year filled with lots of finished projects and inspiration!

On the 24th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

Another top for yours truly!!



You can't really tell but the straps and neckline are a lovely purple - this tops looks and feels amazing on. :) I like making things for me. :) It makes a nice change. I've found a few tutorials of dresses I like - which I am going to base my next "Me project" on - I want a lovely yummy summer dress.


Car - thankyou so much for inviting me along on the Advent Blog Along. It was very fun! I hope this is an annual thing, because count me in for for '10! I've enjoyed crashing on people's lead up to Christmas. I've also got some cool new blogs to stalk... erm.. I mean follow.

Well, the cover has gone over my machine, which means it's not going to be used for a little while. Christmas celebrations in this house start this morning - with the stockings - then I am going to be setting up for Christmas lunch. Tonight we see the inlaws for more celebrating. Then tomorrow it's a full Christmas lunch here!! I'm off on holiday from the 26th-3rd. So all will be quiet in here. :)

To all who read my blog, and especially the Advent Blog-alongers (Skiplish) - Merry Christmas - may your days be merry and bright!!

On the 23rd day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

.. the long awaited quilted wall hanging for Mum's Christmas present.









I love these buttons!!


and I also whipped up one of these cute little tree decorations:

On the 22nd day of Advent Blog Along my true love gave to me...

.. lots of crafty goodness for yours truly.

Fat quarters for my own quilt from my Mum:



... a closer squizz at them:



Crafty/Quilty magazines:



A sewing book by my MIL:



which comes with this fabric to make the handbag on the cover:



I'm just a bit spoilt aren't I?




Happy birthday to me!

On the 21st Day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

a spring ruffle top for yours truly.

On the 20th day of Advent Blog Along, my true love made for me...

.... actually it was a gift from my SIL and brother for my birthday - which is tomorrow.

I was estatic!
Then as I was looking through all the patterns, I found this one. And this is the PERFECT pattern for my quilt that I am making myself this year.

I never win anything....

....but today my luck changed!!

As part of the Holly Jolly Blog Bingo daily prize, I got given a $25 gift certificate!!! :)

I'm one happy Skipper!

On the 19th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me..

... 1 finished quilting project.

1 half finished top for me.

6 filled silver boxes (for the christmas table)

1 menu for Monday (My birthday)

I will blog properly tomorrow, I promise. I'm kinda busy at the moment so can't talk. Must sew. Must sew.

Penny Pinching begins now..

Today I went to Spotlight... and spent my last lot of money on fabric. In 2010 I will be using stash only, unless it's for the VHC quilts I am making. I will spend money on cottons and perhaps interfacing only - and spend gift vouchers if I get them.

Today I went out with a bang. I bought a few ends of rolls - 26ish meters for 13 bucks! :) I plan on trying to make myself a few bits for the old wardrobe with them. I also want to make a few things for the girls as well.

So from now on, you will see mostly bits that are from my stash. :) Shall be a good challenge I think. I shall enjoy this!

I'll give myself a new topic "Penny Pinching" and show you what I can make with my scraps and odds and ends.

On the 18th day of Advent Blog Along, my true love made for me...

Pictures of a few little projects I've been working on. My big project will be finished today - and tomorrow I'll show it off. :) These are gifts for my Mum - since this is more her style than mine.

The pillowcase:



became a shopping bag:



that is foldable and in it's own little bag:



The other pillowcase:



became an apron:





But for now, I need to move away from my craft room and do some mega cleaning and tidying of the house.

On the 17th????? day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me..

I'm sorry... I'm still reeling from the fact that it's the 17th day of December. 17th of December. Where did THAT month go?? Probably whizzed by because I've been super productive.

So... today I don't have any pictures but I have been very productive I promise. I'll upload the photos tomorrow.

Today I:

1. Baked my annual gingerbread - a specialty of my Little Nan's (Great Grandmother) and I continue it on in her honor.

2. Baked more White Chocolate and Cranberry shortbread.

3. Finished binding the wall hanging - I now am attatching tabs for hanging, and will go down to Bunnings tomorrow for some Dowel.

4. Whipped up a pillow case shopping bag.

5. Made up an apron out of a pillow case.

So a very productive day all around. :)

Now I need to get on with these tabs, because tomorrow morning I am going to abandon the sewing machine and catch up on some much needed housework!

Giveaway!

Check it out - Kylie is having a giveaway!

On the 16th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

... no pictures, but I did get my wall hanging mostly bound. I'll finish that up tonight while I watch an old movie. :)

Then I need to work out how to actually hang the thing!!! :S - I have some ideas - but it's just a matter of making it work. If YOU know how to make a wall hanging actually hang - PLEASE let me know. :)

I found this scrappy quilt yesterday and I am liking it alot! Well... not the black, but I can make that any color. If you will take a quick gander at my quilting list for 2010 on the left there - you will see that making a quilt out of scraps is there. I do like THIS quilt and I might make mine based on this design.

What do you think??

On the 15th day of Advent Blog Along, my true love made for me..

... absolutely NOTHING!

I don't have anything to show and tell about today. :(

I tried to free motion quilt the borders of the Christmas gift I am quilting - and I hate my machine for machine quilting. I swear as soon as double income hits this family, I am going to buy a quilting machine with my first few paychecks! :)

So today I am going to have one last crack at it, doing ordinary quilting, and then I'll start binding it. Hopefully will have it finished in the next 2-3 days.

Today however is going to be 37 degrees and not at all quilt friendly. So I may pass on all quilting projects until Thursday which should be cooler and very wet. Perfect day to be quilting.

I was thinking of making myself a new handbag, since my youngest stepped on my last one and ripped the pocket off. :( Also coke zero leaked all over it and I am ready for a change. Perhaps that's what I'll do. Make myself an early birthday pressie.

I'm on the lookout for a new blog template. I don't like this one. I don't like two column templates. I want at least three. :)

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something to show. Sorry it's so boring today.

On the 14th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me....

... a new niece to practice photography.

On the 13th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me..

... a sneak peak at a quilting project I am making someone for Christmas.

On the 12th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me....

A quilted patchwork pillow for a little girl...

Holly Jolly Blog Bingo

Have you signed up yet?
It's not hard - just bingo - but the prizes are amazing and it should be lots of festive fun!!!

Join up here

A 2010 project.

So.
I had a massive surge of irritation.
This usually happens the day before a certain ladies thing arrives.
I was looking around my very messy craft room. I'm a messy creator. I create, and I also create mess, then when the project is done, I clean up and start again.

In my irritation I saw a cardboard box and another small box filled with scraps.

That irritated me. So I tipped Milly's toys out of one of the plastic storage tubs, and nicked another one - and started to sort. Big scraps, little scraps. Flanelette scraps - mate I had heaps of these! Scraps, scraps scraps.

Then I had a brain wave. Because 2010 is going to be a financially horrid year for us, because we are paying for stuff that will help my son, I'm going to use what I already have. I'm going to make a big quilt out of my scrappy bits and pieces. All I'll need to buy will be the wadding. :)

I think I'll enjoy this. :)

So what WAS a burst of PMT, turned out to be a challenge for 2010 that will save money, and keep me busy! I'm looking forward to it!

I'll be posting my project lists for 2010 soon.

On the 11th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me.

A huge slab of rocky road!

On the 10th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me....

White chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread

On the 9th Day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me....

More sneak peaking at embroidery.

On the 8th Day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me....

Salt dough decorations!!!














The kids made these decorations as part of their gift making for teachers and the left overs will go into the gift boxes on the Christmas table for those who attend Christmas here. :) The kids did a lovely job - even Milly who insisted on painting her snowman green. :)

Instructions for Salt Dough Decorations from: TASTE.com.au

On the 7th Day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

Some digi-scrapping...










These are just for the kids albums. I've had a nasty stomach bug and have been stuck in bed - so I did a few pages for the albums. Today the bug hasn't let up much, so I'll be doing more by the looks of it until I have the energy to move to the sewing machine and be able to concentrate.

On the 6th day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me...

A BIG batch of fruit mince slice!!



Yummo.

This slice is one of my christmas baking traditions. I've made this every year for about 8 years and I will continue making it until I no longer can't. It's a very pleasant way to eat fruit mince - I'm not a huge fan of mince pies and christmas pudding, but I do enjoy and love eating fruit mince slice.

On the 5th day of Advent Blog along my true love made for me...

... a gift for a special lady.

On the 4th day of Advent Blog along my true love made for me....

Chopped up fabric for DD's Christmas present.




I'm making this: Personalised Birdie Pillow

On the 3rd day of Advent Blog along my true love made for me...

... a sneak peek at some embroidery.

On the 2nd day of Advent Blog Along, my true love made for me

NINE silver placemats.



These are for my Christmast table, which the theme this year is silver and white. I couldn't find anything that I really wanted for the table to buy - so what I did was I cut up old cereal boxes and covered them with glittery silver wrapping paper. They look perfect!! This year we have to cut down expenses anyway on account for E's therapy costs - so this was a perfect way to do it!

A change for the season

I changed my blog layout. What do you think? I love changing my blog - though I don't like losing my widgets and having to build it all from scratch.

On the first day of Advent Blog Along my true love made for me.....

1 finished quilt!



Here is a close up of the gorgeous fabrics I used.


This quilt is a gift for my DB and SIL's new baby girl that should be born within the next two weeks.