Closing the Stable Door...

... After the horse has bolted!

I like that saying.

It means that even though Christmas is over

I am still blogging Christmas stuff

and doing Christmas crafting LOL.

I was sent these beautiful snowmen for our tree:

They were beautifully hand-crafted

by Kandy.

Thank you Kandy!!

DS1 complained that Santa wouldn't be able to read

his name on the old name tag that hung on his stocking,

so last night I embroidered the boy's names on their stockings...

I just found a font in 'Word' that I liked...

and tried my best to embroider it.

This year I joined the BQL Sewing Santa Swap

again and received a cushion

with my name machine-embroidered on it.

When DH saw it he said,

'Wow, someone's got a fancy embroiderery machine'.

They sure have!

Thanks Mary!

And my little poppet is 10 weeks old today!

The time is flying by far too fast!!!!!!

Let's hope 2012 goes much more slowly!

SSCS Gifts Sent

Here is the SSCS gift I made for Janice in Australia...

A folded hexagon bag with every single stitch hand sewn.

I do love my hand sewing!

I attached the handles with ribbon and buttons (also by hand!)

And here is the decoration I made Janice:

A felt heart with buttons hand sewn on ;)

Thank you to Chookyblue for organising the

Secret Santa Christmas Swap (SSCS)!

SSCS Gifts Received

Sadly, it seems that my shiny new camera

seems to have fallen off Santa's sleigh

somewhere between here and the North pole

so I soldiered on with the old camera

so that I could at least say a very big thank you to Fee

from Designs by Fee in Australia,

(And of course, thank you to Chookyblue

for arranging this swap for another year!) 

Abby was very impressed with my gifts! :

A beautiful wall-hanging...

A simply stunning table-runner

with yo-yo's...

A lovely decoupage notebook
and a hexagon needlebook in rose fabrics...

A perfect combination of hexagons and roses!

Thank you Fee, you made the most perfect presents!!

Belated Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas!

Our stockings were up and filled by Santa!!

(I have made most of these stockings over the years,

but I did buy the one on the right with the heart

(and the small pink felt one for baby) ) -

I am just waiting for my 'main' Christmas present to arrive -

DH has bought me a camera

and as soon as I get my grubby paws on it,

I'll blog my super SSCS gifts -

believe me, the pictures will be worth waiting for...

In the meantime, here's a shot of what the old camera does:

i.e. the flash doesn't always work,

but I guess that's good for hiding all our

country cottage clutter ;o)

And a parting shot from a week ago...:

It's only taken him 8 and a half weeks to hold his sister,

but at last we are there!

The Bear Neccessities

I've not been very creative lately,

however, I did manage a few simple bears...

They are the first two easy bears from this book:

In 2012 I'll be giving an informal workshop
for some of the local ladies in the village
on very very simple bear making
(no joints, no separate limbs...!).

I also have plans to make at least one of the more advanced bears

that I have made before for Baby-Kalico ...

But those jointed bears will have to wait

as I have other more precious things

to spend my limited time on:

Seasons Greetings to one and all,

May 2012 be inspirational, creative,

but most importantly

May it be filled with love!

Good friends, Quilt Memories...

It's nice when you find a memory

in a box full of photos and general 'stuff''...

Not only did my dear friend Birgit send me this postcard....

But Birgit also sent me this beautifully pieced

red and cream heart block...

(which became the centre...)

And they both evolved into this quilt:

So although, I have not finished sorting the box of 'stuff'

that I was supposed to sort out,

I did enjoy a trip down Memory Lane!

Thanks Birgit!!

Wordless Wednesday

Ooh, Ooh, Christmas is coming!

A very BIG thank you to my Secret Santa

from chookyblue's SSCS!

Wow! What a gorgeous Christmas decoration,

which makes me quite excited about what may be in the parcel!!!!

When the envelope arrived, I stashed it straight away

from myself and temptation

and only after an email from Chookyblue did I remember

to open it for the decoration.

This is the decoration that I sent my partner...

(something secret on the back!)

And this is baby-Kalico!

Sorry, but my days are just filled with magic moments,

precious little smiles, smelly nappies

(and hardly a moment for myself!)

But 'me' time will come later,

now it's definitely baby time!!!

Baby Blog

Besides making a few Secret Santa

and other Christmassy things,

which are not blog-able at the moment,

I really am not up to much 

other than loving this precious little girl

that has come to live at our house!

Now that she is slighly less sleepy,

I have been able to lay her on the quilt

I made for her and let her look at the toys

hanging from the baby-gym.

Slowly she is starting to notice things around her,

but it's very tiring ;o)

(For both of us LOL)

Andrea's quilt is used daily and so is a little blanket that Vicky knitted.

She is one lucky little baby to have so many handmade items!

She's still very little and so I've not managed to get her to model

some of the beautiful knitted jumpers she's received.

I can already see her growing quickly

and wish it wouldn't happen so dang fast!!

3 Weeks Old Today!

Wordless Wednesday - Nice Knitting!

Hat & booties from Vicky C

Detail of Kitty hat!
- Thank you Vicky!

Lovely and soft Lilac cardi from Joyce (no Blog)
- Thank you Joyce!

Abby catching a few zzz's on Granny's knitting and Toby's quilt

Baby Quilt by Mummy (& Kandy)

At last the binding is on the quilt

that I made for Baby-Kalico.

Kandy very kindly quilted it for me.

Thank you Kandy!

(Kitty inspection)

And here is Baby-Kalico!

There will probably be lots of baby photos on the blog for a while

as I spend most of my time with her and very little time sewing

(hence the binding taking me an awfully long time...)

Coming soon: I hope to blog some of the lovely knitted items,

that have come through the mail for Baby-Kalico,

which will be all the rage this winter!

A Good Reason Not to Sew...

Thank You from Baby-Kalico!

Thank you to everyone for all the lovely messages

and kind comments about our little girl

(or my new sewing companion as I like to think of her!)

An extra special thanks to Andrea (Welsh Quilter)

 for this really beautiful hexagon quilt

that she made for Baby-Kalico.

It is so beautiful and I confess I did shed a little tear (or two)

upon opening the parcel today.

There was also a beautiful knitted cardigan in the parcel,

which I'll photograph on her when she's awake!

Thank you Andrea for your very generous and beautiful gift.

And thank you to everyone for making my little baby

feel so welcome to the world!

Her Royal Highness (HRH) Has Arrived!

Harriet Rose H. born 22nd October 2011.

6Lbs,8oz

After several hospital delays (and a protest on my part LOL),

I was induced 'properly' and in just over 3and a half hours

we held our little baby in our arms.

I am very happy to be home with all my boys

and my little girl at last!