So Long, Farewell...

This is what my house currently looks like, I have bruises from tripping over packing boxes. All this will be loaded onto a van on Saturday and whisked away from Pingelly to Ellenbrook - Can't wait :)

My work colleague Jackie, and 'The Kids'

I finished my last day at Mobile day care yesterday, I have been working there since the beginning of the year. I was so nervous about returning to Child care after such a long break, but once I started there was no turning back. Jackie and the children have been a JOY to work with, I will miss them all very much :(

Now for some treasures I have been packing...

Some of my sewing tin collection

The round 'Poppy" covered tin belonged to my Nanna Doris, I remember rummaging through it on Sunday afternoons (when we would go to the Grandparents for lunch after Church). There was always treasure to be found, I still have a lot of her original sewing items - bias binding, spools of cotton, buttons, zips for my Pop's work clothes etc. The other 2 tins are ones I have collected when buying my Arnott's ANZAC biscuits for ANZAC Day (celebrated in Australia & New Zealand on the 25th April).

Yummy Fabric - Mmmm

My friend Kelli is also packing & moving house. She gave me some of her yummy fabric stash that she no longer needed - which I gladly took off her hands. Thank You Kelli, I have plans for this lot :)

One last photo...

Heather Bailey 'Pop Garden'

I picked up this fantastic fabric from my favourite West Australian fabric store - Textile traders - for $5:50 a metre - Bargain!!!

Well that's all folks - for now anyway. I will be going off line from tonight for approximately a week, depending on how long it takes to set up our new Internet account. Cold Turkey again - Argh!

With Love

Janellybelly xx

PS Kylie is looking at putting together a 'knickers' tutorial (see post below). Watch out for it in the future.

PPS *Another Giveaway Alert*, Joy from JoyPatch is having a 'Ric Rac and Roses' Bag Pattern Giveaway - Go for it!

PPPS Friday Morning - My eldest Chicken (Rachel) now has the Pox. She is so sad about missing the last day of term and saying goodbye to her friends :(

One down, many to go...

Well we had a little taste of Spring sunshine and warmer weather in Melbourne and now it's turned cool again, we do need the rain though.   I must admit I was happy for a few cooler nights last week as I finally stitched the binding on my flannel quilt for our bed.  I would have been disappointed if it was too warm to sleep under!




So that was one project finished and many more sitting on the sewing table waiting patiently for me to pick them up and keep working on them.  I really do need at least four or five projects on the go at the one time, when I get bored I just move on to the next project and go back later.  This has prompted me to write a list of projects and stick it up in the sewing room with the idea that next time I'm tempted to start something new I can check the list and choose something that needs finishing first.........well that's the idea!

WIP's




This is a project that comes out each year and I have a burst of energy on, girls knickers!  I could never find any for my wee princess that weren't too skimpy.  So what does a crafty Mum do.....make my own.  They cover a bit more and are a bit more "sensible" for little bottoms!  They also last way longer than the store bought ones.



You may remember my Scrappy Cabins that I've been working on.  Well I decided to sort my scrap box into colours to make finding things a bit easier, that was fun and now I have 22 cabins complete....only 78 to go.  The wee princess has had so much fun helping me choose which fabric to choose next that I think this quilt will have to be for her.




My Mum gave be a bundle of fabric for my birthday this year from the "Mother Goose and Friends" range.  I have 4 of 9 Bears Paw blocks complete, this has come together nicely and I can usually get one block done in an afternoon every other day...



My most recent purchase has been from the Fat Quarter Shop.  A gorgeous range called "Fabulous Fall". My favourite combination of Autumn colours, now I just have to decide what I'm going to do with them...

Did I mention there were 23 projects on the "To do" list and above are only a few of them, hopefully the blog will be incentive enough to get some finished soon!

Katherine, my Mum and I are off to the Stitch In at Glen Harrow in a few weeks, hosted by Rosalie Quinlan and Leanne Beasley.  I am very excited to be going after seeing all the beautiful photo's from last year.  I'm taking my Mum for her Birthday and Katherine arrives home the day before from a 3 week road trip with four children up North through central Australia.  Katherine is REALLY looking forward to it, she'll wash the red dirt off her hands and jump in the car for a day to sit and stitch.
 
I was the very lucky winner of the Nicole Mallalieu Hat Pattern giveaway.  So there's another project that has made it to the top of the list!

I have a night of hand stitching the binding onto my big boys quilt tonight, one way to while away the hours and see who's going to be playing the Cats in the Grand final next weekend.....

Keep smiling
love :)Kylie

My Littlest Chicken has the Pox!

James - 30th June '08

Hi All, I took a break from packing to participate & lead some electives at a conference in Perth on the weekend. Just before I was about to start I received a text message from my DH saying that James had either very bad Mozzie bites or the Chicken Pox - the latter proving to be the case. He is coping quite well with it all. He loves the fact that he will be off school for a week, but hates taking antihistamine - YUCK! Rachel hasn't had them either, so if the timing is right, she will get them on the day we move house (at least she will have them during the 1st week of school holidays & won't miss starting at her new school in 4th term).

Now for some craft!

Pinwheel coffee table Quilt

I made this quilt in my 1st year in Pingelly, it won an award at the local Agricultural Show (I actually won the craft trophy that year *vbg*). It has managed to successfully stay out of a packing box - so far.

The last thing I have sewn, in my craft room, was these

Fabric covered journals

(for some very special crafty ladies!)

I look forward to setting up my new craft studio in our new home - I can't wait ;-)

With Love

Janellybelly

PS Natalie Ross is having a new pattern giveaway on her blog - go for it.

'I'm Back', plus some Special Friends

My DH has fixed the computer - Hooray! I have been going through serious computer and Internet withdrawals, its not good to go cold turkey from the Internet like that *vbg* Moving on...

I have mentioned lately that we have been packing our house, "Why?" you ask. We will be moving in 3 weeks time - from Pingelly (2 hours South East of Perth, WA), our home for the past 4&3/4 years, to Ellenbrook - in the Northern Suburbs of Perth. We are excited about the move, but sad to say goodbye to such precious friends - I would like to introduce some of them to you.

Renee, Leigh & Monique (aka 'Mog')

These girls have made my life in Pingelly so special. We have laughed, cried, shopped, talked, shared cuppa's & great food, and crafted together. This particular photo was taken at a special sewing day in November 2007, we made a 'chemo' quilt for my dear SIL Sue - who was battling cancer at the time. We worked together to produce this...

Sue's disappearing 9 patch quilt

This was Sue's first hand made quilt, and she loved it. Sadly, Sue passed away in April of this year. She leaves behind her beloved husband Mike and her 2 precious sons Jonathan and Daniel - we miss her very much.

I wanted to honour these precious girlfriends for their hard work, and for the Joy that the quilt brought to Sue. I love you all very much!

OK, now I need the tissues...

Wishing you all fantastic weekend, shared with Family and Friends. I am off to pack another box (& another, & another etc.)

With Love

Janellybelly xx

Bits and Pieces...

Well it's been nearly a week since we drew our giveaway, Janelle's bag is on it's way to New Jersey USA, I know you'll enjoy it Nise.

So what's been happening around here?  A few bit's and pieces.



I started the week with the new Ikea catalogue, a nice cuppa and a 5 minute chocolate cake that Janelle told me I had to try, who am I to argue!



The finished project that I showed you a sneak peek of a while back is almost finished.  It's a beautiful stitchery project Janelle and I started while she was over in Melbourne back in July.   I haven't decided if it's going to be a wall hanging or I may frame it??



It is taken from the book "Gift" by Rosalie Quinlan, a beautiful book that Katherine and I were privileged to attend the launch of recently.  Janelle and I both have a signed copy and it is full of gorgeous projects to try.



The other little project that I've been working on lately are Sock Monkeys, they are so much fun and really quick and easy to make.  I now find myself looking at socks in a whole new light.  While lazing on the couch in my jammies and socks the other night  my DH came by and commented "Oooh look, sock monkeys in their natural habitat", smarty pants.

 

Some time ago I purchased a pattern by Indygo Junction for this gorgeous yo yo puppy.  She was supposed to be a gift for my new niece (sorry Jasmine) but I just couldn't part with her.  I will have to have another go at this and maybe get one done by Christmas...

There's lot's of other little and big projects on the go here at the moment, they'll have to wait until next time...

Have a great weekend everyone, isn't the sunshine today absolutely marvelous, it really is nearly Spring, Yeah!

Love :)Kylie

Technorati Tags: sock monkeys,Indygo Junction

We have a Winner!

Howdy all, well there has been much excitement here drawing our very first giveaway!
Janelle's computer officially turned up it's toes today so I'm it for a while till she get's back online.

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on our blog, it is so much fun hearing from you all.

We printed off all the names and put them in the handy dandy tupperware bowl........

 

The wee Princess got the fun job of mixing them up and drawing one out.........




Our lucky winner is Nise!

Please email us via the "contact us" link on the sidebar with your snail mail address and Janelle's beautiful bag will be on it's way to your place very soon.  We have had so much fun running this giveaway that I'm sure it won't be long before we have another one so keep popping back to check what we're up to.

Till then, keep smiling
Love :)Kylie

What's in a name?

When Janelle suggested we start a blog together that was the easy part, the next bit, deciding on a name was the hard part!!

Our DH's suggested many interesting and varied ideas these were just a few, "Frayed at the Edges", "Coming apart at the Seams", "I sew did not", "Sew what?" etc

Then I stumbled across this poem which captured the special bond we have and spoke into the unique situation we find ourselves in so many miles apart.

 

Friendship Tapestry

 
So often when I think of you and all the times we shared,
My heart is filled with thankfulness to have a friend who cared,
to listen to me tell of joys and trials.
Your being there has been enough to change my tears to smiles.

The subtle love between two friends is so hard to define.
It is not a square or circle or even a straight line.
It's somehow like a tapestry with colours soft and bold,
Yet, deep within the weaving there are tiny threads of gold.

 
Yes, rare and oh so lovely are friendships' threads of gold.
For they will last a lifetime, when my story's told
Someone will hold my tapestry and turn it towards the light,
and tiny points, those threads of gold, will gleam and shine so bright.

 
And they may think , it's just a thread like green or red or blue
Perhaps they'll never ever know that golden thread was you.
But I've been thinking lately how you've touched my life just so
Of how you are so dear to me , I wanted you to know
That even if you're next to me or though we're miles apart,
Your golden thread of friendship still will weave within my heart..

Anonymous
 

And so "Threads of Friendship" it just had to be :)

 

 

Don't forget to leave a comment on the GIVEAWAY POST below, we will draw a winner on Saturday and one lucky person will be the proud owner of a Janellybelly bag of their very own, and no, my Mum doesn't own a miniature poodle, just in case you were wondering!  A note to our Anonymous commenter, please post a new comment and choose Name/URL and we'll be able to identify you if you win!!

 

Love :)Kylie