Birthday treats!

Do breakfasts get any more wonderful?
I am being treated like a princess with gorgeous flowers and my very special present-an iPad mini. Then off to London sightseeing for the day.
Hope you are all enjoying Valentine's day as much as me :)

Loving zips

I was always really scared of working with zips but now I can freely admit-I LOVE them!!!!
Once I put the right attachment on my sewing machine I was whizzing away.
I signed up to take part in the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's monthly Woodland Sampler and I am loving it but I needed a bag to put it in each month while I was waiting for the next pattern to be released. I love block of the month and so this is fantastic for keeping everything safe and sound.



I pulled some fabric out of my stash and an hour later have a small padded bag which fits my embroidery hoop. I added a small pocket to the back of the bag so that I can put my ends which should stop the floss bunnies all over the house.

The perfect Sunday night

I have had a crazy week at work and barely a second to breathe, but I can sit down this evening and relax finally.
Hubby had planned the perfect evening...

Cuddles with this monster in front of the fire...

Lots of this...

And maybe even a chapter or two of this...

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday night x

In my hoop tonight

I am working very hard at my focus projects and enjoying them.

It is nice to work on a project while picturing exactly where it will belong in the house.

As our house is teeny tiny we don't have a lot of wall space but I love to display my work around. Why pay for something mass-produced when I can make something individual and meaningful?

I started working on Leanne's House 'Sew, Laugh, Love' last year and now I have had a move around in my study, I have a small gap where this would hang perfectly. I have put it in my focus box and am working away on it while watching tv in the evenings. Just an hour a day makes me feel happier and is making progress

A little focus needed

I'm sure it is common that most quilters find they have piles and piles of quilts waiting to be finished and I am no different.

My quilting stocks are overwhelmed with pieces that I can't use because part of them is needed in a part finished project. Therefore this year instead of making a New Year resolution, I decided that I needed to focus a bit more on each project and get it finished.

The rules in my house are now... one embroidery project and one quilting project on the go at any one time. Everything else gets packed away.

Hopefully this will lead to me enjoying some more finishes this year.

I started my resolution off last weekend with 2 cushions which were part made for my sewing room sofa. I don't love this sofa at all and am also part way through a wall hanging to brighten up the room and it needed some more colour.

I am pleased to say that after an afternoon of concentrated sewing the cushions were done and stuffed and I am thrilled with them.

My next project is the wall hanging above on the wall above

Where did December go?

I'm not sure what happened to December, but I know it whizzed past in a flash.

We had our windows replaced in our house on the 17th, so Christmas was short and sweet this year. No decorations up until the guys had finished, so our tree had to wait until the 22nd to go up. I hadn't appreciated how few trees are left by then, but luckily we managed a little beauty. It was only 5ft tall and most of that was the top spike, but some fairy lights and baubles later it looked gorgeous.

I had put it up while hubby was at work and had it all ready twinkling in the window when he got home. He was a very happy man as it was a complete surprise to have a tree this year. We then went ice skating in our local park-so much fun!

We had a very relaxed Christmas day at my parent's house, and then went to my in-laws family for the weekend before New Year.

The New Year brought colds and illness to our house and I was asleep at 9:30pm (such a rock-star). Hubby woke me up to see the fireworks and then I went back to bed.

There are many exciting things in the plans for 2013, but more of that to come =)

Tiny touches of Christmas

We are slowly getting ready for Christmas in our house.
As we are having our windows replaced in the week before Christmas (it seemed like a good idea at the time) our main decorating will have to wait until afterwards as it seems silly to add to the chaos, but I have managed to get a few little hints of Christmas out.

I had the day off work today with a cold and I pulled out a little day project that I could do with little concentration and with a lot of enjoyment. It turned out to be a good day for quilting as our boiler broke this morning =( so I tucked up in front of our log burner with Max and we sewed the day away.

It was very productive and Hubby was surprised to see my table mat finished. 

I look forward to putting our tree up in a couple of weeks, but for now these few hints will have to do

Now back to the sewing table... I am still crazily making Christmas presents. Two quilts waiting for binding and one waiting for basting...It's going to be a busy December.