When Janellybelly met A Spoonful of Sugar

These creative hands belong to the lovely Lisa from A Spoonful of Sugar. We met up yesterday at Dome in Hillarys for a coffee, a chat & a fabric exchange - which lasted for 2 hours, 2 tall latte's and a Florentine! It was so much fun to meet a fellow blogger in person :) The book she is holding up is a new cookbook called Du Jour, and features quite a few of Lisa's recipes. The book, & her recipes, are just delicious.

 

My 'Santa is Watching' pattern, that I won from the lovely Evonne at Hilltop House, arrived yesterday. The parcel also included some lovely Christmas gift tags and a handmade card. Thank you ever so much Evonne, & get well soon!

 

Another Prezzie!

This gorgeous Raggedy towel & card came from the lovely Bev at Kainga Happenings. She popped in to see me at my new workplace, but we just missed each other by a few minutes - Oh well, next time Bev! Thank you so much for my prezzie.

 

Speaking of my new job, I am loving it! The only downside is that I seem to be spending my money on fabric as fast as I'm earning it - what a delightful problem to have :)

 

With Love

 

 

High Tea Anyone?

 

I have arrived home from a delightful afternoon of High Tea at Leaf Tea Merchants in Mt Lawley - to celebrate Traceylea's birthday. I promise you - I made sure I held my pinky finger up every time I drank my Earl Grey tea :)

 

Before we left to go to Leaf, Traceylea proudly showed us her completed sampler quilt - 3 years in the making. Well done babe!

 

I have my trial day at Textile Traders tomorrow. I thought I'd show you one of the reasons why I love shopping there.

'Farmers Market' fabric by Sandi Henderson of Portabellopixie for $8:79 AUD a metre (after 20% off with TT Customer Reward Card). Lisa from A Spoonful of Sugar put me onto this amazing discovery.

 

Happy Day's

 

With Love

 

 

UPDATE - I had a great morning at TT, and I have a casual job - YAY!

It's my turn to 'Pay It Forward'.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first 3 people to sign up for the 'Pay It Forward' with Maree @ Farmyard Crafts. Now its my turn to do the same!

So, how does this work? Well, for the first 3 people who will post a comment to this post, I will make you a lovely handmade gift each. But, you have to have a blog yourself, and be willing to pass the 'Pay It Forward' concept on. So you will then have to put it on your blog and make three gifts for other people. Let's spread some happiness and have some fun! So the rules state that I have 365 days (ample time!) to make a gift in. I'm more than happy to send something internationally - so everyone can be involved!!

What better way for everyone to join hands around the globe and share our crafty goodness!!!

So, who wants Janellybelly to make them something - then you go and make something for 3 other people? 3 spots are taken - Dee from The Cackle Queen Club, Shawna from Nuts To You and Terri from Clay Hill Farm (Shawna still has 2 spots available for her PIF).

Some other news... Today I went for an interview at Textile Traders - a fantastic fabric and haberdashery chain of stores here in WA. I have a trial day on Monday (to see if I like the job), if all goes well, then I will have the opportunity to do some relief work/possible part time work. I am very excited to say the least!

With Love

A Quilter's Journey...

Some time ago after a conversation about quilt labels and journals Katherine presented me with a notebook.  It was for journaling about the quilts that I have made, recording who they were for and why, the fabrics and designs used, so that one day someone who may be interested will know the story behind the quilt.

Every quilt has a story.  It's important to make a note of it's story.  Well finally I am up to date with my quilt journal.  It's certainly not fancy in a scrap booking kind of way, just a photo and some thoughts and details.



I've made a nice quilted cover for it and it's got lot's of pages yet to fill :)



Just as important are the quilt labels sewn onto the back of a quilt, they may take a little time to do but are worth it in the end, a special message for the receiver of the quilt you have lovingly made for them.



I love to hold something in my hands that may have been stitched decades ago and wonder about the hands that made it, who it was for and why.   Maybe one day someone might wonder about their great great grandmother who stitched that well worn cosy quilt laying across the end of their bed, a gift of warmth from one generation to the next.

May your journey hold many warm hugs

Basket of Babushka's for Baby Shower

I have always been quite fond of alliteration :)

I made this basket of Babushka's/Matryoshka's for my friend Leanne's Baby shower. They are from a Melly and Me pattern called 'Nesting Nellie And Her Girls', featured in Australian Homespun Magazine No. 64 (Vol 9.9). Incidentally, my DH bought me this magazine from the newsagents, he saw 'Melly and Me' and 'Rosalie Quinlan' written on the front of the magazine and came home with it saying "aren't these the designers you like?" He really gets it!

 

I thought the girls would look lovely presented in a Pink Penguin fabric basket. I was in a bit of a rush, and didn't read the instructions properly, so the handles are a tad long - Oops :) (Read ALL instructions carefully before starting...)

 

 

I made them to match this baby quilt that Traceylea made for Leanne, great job TJ!

 

 

And here is the 'Mummy to be' - Leanne. Her belly is covered with stickers, these are the guests baby name suggestions - she has quite a few to go on :) We look forward to meeting Junior very soon.

 

With Love

Janellybelly xx

 

A beautiful sunny giveaway day!

Ever wondered what over 170 little bits of paper in a short and sassy bag look like??

My wee butterfly Princess, freshly returned from a fairy party had the honour of delving into the bag and choosing our WINNER!!!




Let's hear a cheer for Terri from Clay Hill Farm.

Janelle and I have been totally overwhelmed by the wonderful response to our giveaway.  Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, posting about it on your own blogs and being so encouraging.  We have both been the very lucky winners of giveaways and know how exciting it is to be a part of a fabulous community of crafty sisters.

Check back soon and see what lovely combination Terri has chosen for her bag and pop over and check out her blog too.

I'm sorry that I couldn't make all of you your own special short and sassy bag, there were some great fabric choices and combinations suggested, we may just have to start our own etsy shop sometime soon! Maybe when the Aussie Dollar improves!...

See you in the land of Blog,
Love

It's a Giveaway....your choice!

Time for another giveaway we say!

I had such fun making the gorgeous Short and Sassy Pleated Bag by artsy-crafty babe that I would love to make you one of your very own.

However, there is a catch, I couldn't make a decision which fabric to choose?  I procrastinated for at least a few hours this morning while I pottered around tidying the house, should I go for the orange funky with a nice black top and handle or the green stripe and spotty top, maybe a denim one, the black one with the pomegranate design would look great, I love the little white bunnies on the beige, maybe the little Japanese girls, or a beachy pink stripe might be nice too.......oh I just can't decide.



So it's your choice!  Leave a comment and let me know which one you would choose.  If you're the lucky winner I will custom make you a short and sassy of your very own.  If none of these fabrics appeal just tell me what your choice of colours would be and I'll go with that!  Now that's pretty simple isn't it!  I'll also throw in a few surprises for the lucky winner, it'll be just like Christmas, hang on, it nearly is Christmas!

Mention our giveaway with a link on your Blog and we'll add an extra entry for you in the draw.

We'll draw the winner Sunday lunchtime the 9th Nov, so go on, don't be shy, you've got to be in it to win it!

My Good Little Samaritans

Rachel and James have just had the Joy of putting together a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan's Purse. There shoeboxes will be travelling to Thailand & distributed to children in need.

 

Winners are Grinners...

Kylie and I have been very lucky ladies lately, I won these fabulous scraps and printed stationary from Hollabee (see below) and Kylie won a day for 2 at Sewjourn. We will be sharing the love with our own giveaway VERY SOON!

 

 

Now that I have my sewing mojo back, I have been a busy girl. I whipped up these Pleated Beauty bags (pattern by Amy Karol) for some friends - they chose their own combination of fabrics/colours to suit their own style & personality. I love them both.

 

 

 

My DH spent this lovely spring day at the Red Bull Air Race on the foreshore of the Swan River, in Perth. He went to pit lane to meet the pilots (and get autographs for the kids), & take a FEW photos of the planes. He has come home with a huge grin & a sore neck! Just to please him, I'll post a photo here.

 

 

Hope you are having a fantastic weekend

 

With Love

Janellybelly xx