Clares Place

Work in Progress

2013-05-07T13:02:00.000+10:00

I just wanted to stop by and let you know I am working on some patterns. I must admit it is harder juggling the business with family life. My youngest has so much energy I wish she would give it to me because by the time I am done chasing her around during the day and cleaning up the last mess of an evening I am ready to crash!

Here is a snippet of what I am working on at the moment.

I have a bunch of quilt designs drawn up in my sketch book ready to become patterns if only I can find the time to write them up and test them. Wish me luck ;p

And yes those are the last of the girls Easter eggs I ate :o. Actually the smaller eggs were the girls for the fun of collecting and mums and dads for eating ;D

Easter Morning

2013-04-30T20:50:00.000+10:00

I know this post is late in coming but I just wanted to get it recorded. Given that hubby was away over Easter the girls and I asked my mum if we could sleep over at grandmas house. This then meant letters needed to be written to Easter bunny to let him know where to deliver the eggs prior to going ;p.

It was great to be able to share the excitement of collecting the eggs left by Easter Bunny with mum as it is something she misses out on these days. The girls had a blast and I let them eat as much chocolate as they wanted (and what was left would then be rationed). I was actually surprised to see our eldest princess hand her half eaten egg to her sister saying "I've had enough sugar Sarah can have the rest of my egg". Ah no sorry princess she has enough sugar herself - our littlest princess eats EVERYTHING so adding more chocolate to her stash wasn't an option (the crash would be awful).

During the morning we practiced Chloe's talk for Primary at church on the true meaning of Easter and Chloe also taught grandma and I a song she learnt at school sung to the tune of Humpty Dumpty.
"Easter Friday Jesus has died,
All his friend are sad and they cried.
Easter morning what a surprise!
Jesus has risen,Hooray he's alive"

I hope you all had a fantastic Easter.

Our Easter Friday

2013-04-10T19:52:00.000+10:00

This Easter was not your typical Easter for us as a family because hubby was away from us. He spent the Easter on what us Tasmanians like to call 'the mainland' while we stayed in Tassie.

This year for Easter Friday hubby's side of the family organised a fantastic day at Bakers Beach. I had never been before so when it was suggested that we would be going for a walk and have a BBQ I envisioned I would be trying to carry all the equipment required for the beach along with the picnic gear and possibly the littlest princess (maybe both). This was not the case (although I did carry the littlest princess on our walk as she became exhausted from walking and eventually fell asleep in my arms. The BBQ area was right next to our cars and we had an awesome grassed area to ourselves for most of the time so the kids were able to have a blast collecting the little eggs scattered around on the easter egg hunt.

My mother in law had come prepared with 'minute to win it' games for us all to play most of which I had never seen before but they were loads of fun for adults and kids alike.

There was a marshmallow game where you use chopsticks to transfer as many mini marshmallows as possible from one plate to another in a minute and the winner is the person who has transferred the most marshmallows.

There was a smarties game where you use a straw to suction the smarties up and transfer from one plate to the next finishing by making a smiley face.

A balancing dice game where we needed to balance as many dice as possible on an icy pole stick in your mouth without dropping them.

A knocking down the cup game with the aim being to be the first to knock the cups over in your row using a trunk made from a tennis ball inside a stocking and put on your head.

A biscuit (cookie) game where you had to get the biscuit (cookie) from your forehead to your mouth without using any hands (no photos of this one sorry).

We had so much fun despite the weather becoming quite cool and not making it to the beach. I can see more trips to Bakers Beach in the future :)

Making Easter Bunny Bags (a tutorial)

2013-04-08T16:52:00.000+10:00

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted! I am sorry. It is mostly because life has been kind of ordinary around her with nothing too exciting to share. I have been filled my days mostly doing mum things (I often wonder if you really want to hear or even care about the mundane happenings around here). My littlest princess is very different to her big sister and is certainly keeping me on my toes. She is into all sorts of mischief and can turn the tears on and off in a second! Yeah sometimes it is so much fun being a mum! ;p (It is seriously all worth it and I wouldn't change it for the world!

Anyway I wanted to share the Easter treats my biggest princess made for her teachers at school and church. She really wanted to give them something after seeing mum give some treats to some lovely friends while VT so I had a little think about what we could give that would be quick and easy to make and made mostly by her with minimal help from me so I decided on these little bunny faces.

How to make the Easter Bunny Bags:
All you need is some small plastic bags, scissors, double sided tape, black and pink buttons, white/cream card, paper squares cut to the size of the plastic bag and a pen or marker.

Trace some 'ears' onto the wrong side of the white/cream card and some smaller ears onto the wrong side of the pink. Give to your child to cut along the lines (it is OK if they can't cut exactly - it adds to the charm). Stick the smaller pink ears onto the cream/white ears using double sided tape.

Draw a rabbit mouth in the center of the page about 1/3 from the bottom of the square paper (I actually had our princess trace over one I did as she kept drawing it too high)

Stick a pink button for the nose at the top of the mouth and the eyes into position using double sided tape.

Fill the bags with treats, seal and stick the ears to the back of the bag using double sided tape.

They are ready to give as gifts. I love how they are each different and a little quirky :)

I hope you all had a fabulous Easter!!! (I will share more photos of our Easter happenings a little later)

Balancing Elephants

2013-03-12T14:00:00.003+11:00

One of my patterns that I love stitching up at the moment is the 'Balancing Elephants' messenger bag.

I think because it is such a wonderful quick sew (by comparrison to quilts)! I have a few elephant panels already traced and because they are nice and small I can take them almost anywhere to sew while I am waiting for Chloe to finish swimming, at the doctors or watching TV (but not during The Block - that gets my undivided attention ;p)

Anyway I just wanted to share my latest made from Emily Taylor's Avignon line of fabric which I got from here. I just love this fabric line! It is bright and I love the citrus colours and the refreshing...blue (surprise surprise hey?!)

I also uses Riley Blake's Mini Pom Pom trim which I got from the same place here.

I love how different the bag looks when sewn in alternate fabrics don't you?! Have you sewn the Balancing Elephants Bag? Do you have any photos you would like to share of this or any of my other patterns? I would love to see them :)

Chloe's Quilt

2013-02-27T12:27:00.005+11:00

Quite some time ago our eldest princess decided she wanted to make a quilt (see here). So after handing her a pile of 5 inch squares to arrange she came up with this.

We pieced it together, her sitting on my lap to take out the pins and me helping her to guide the fabric through the machine.

It then took me quite sometime to get into gear and quilt it! You see I wanted to hand quilt it to make it extra special for her. But there just never seemed the time so while hubby was on Christmas holidays I set myself the goal to do it. Well... on his last day off I picked it up and not too much later it was done! Yippee Yay. I used Perle 5 Cotton to quilt it with to add an extra design element to it. My mum machine bound it so its kinda really special being made by three generations ;p

I have just got to get into gear and put a label on it now (one day). Speaking of which do you label your quilts? It is something all quilters 'should do' to tell the story of the quilt but I have only ever labeled my quilts once before - when it was going as a gift to a friend. This one quilt I want the story to remain with . :)

Side note: Is anyone interested in a tutorial to make it? It is the perfect beginner quilt. I taught my sister in law to make it when she was down over the Christmas break and she did the top in a day and even machine quilted it herself while she was over (she had never made a quilt before)! If I get enough interest I will write a tutorial up for you.


This was a quick on the go photo to show positioning of fabrics for my sister in laws quilt

Happy Sewing!

A Quilt for a Friend

2013-02-19T22:00:00.000+11:00

Recently a friend of mine was given the terrible news that she had cancer.

Knowing it was going to be a long road ahead and how 'sterile' and often cold hospital rooms are my sister, mum and I wanted to make her something that could keep her warm, lift her spirits and let her know we are thinking of her and what better way than with a quilt right?!

With my sister sussing out her favourite colours and choosing a pattern ('So Sweet) we set to work raiding the fabric stash to make the quilt. While we used the so sweet pattern we did juggle fabric placements for each block in order to get the most from the fabrics we had on hand (we had some larger pieces and some quite small pieces to incorporate). Purple is not a colour I have much of in my stash so we also ordered some stars and chevron from here to help get us through.

Then it was sent to my amazing quilter Sarah who was a powerhouse and got it back to me in a week! AMAZING! We choose the same paisley that Sarah used on the first So Sweet quilt but this time opted for looser quilting so it would be nice and soft to snuggle under when undergoing treatments or feeling low.

My mum machine bound it before we made a quilt label and gifted it to her.

It was so nice to make this quilt together for our dear friend and hope she can feel of our love for her as she faces this trial with positive determination.

Starting School

2013-02-12T21:03:00.002+11:00

Like many other mum's I sent my little (Big) girl off to school for the very first time this week. It was a little scary knowing that she was old enough to go to school but also exciting because I knew she would have a blast and love it!

My princess is a very sociable child and loves to be doing new things and is always on the go so school for her was an exciting journey. We did our best leading up to her going to make suere she knew it was a wonderful and positive place to go where she could learn new things and make new friends. On her first day my mum looked after the baby in the family (although she is not really a baby anymore) so that I could give her the undivided attention she needed when going to school.

Her first day went off so wonderfully smooth (which I think is a big part of why I am so excited for her to go to school - knowing that she will have a great time, make new friends and not be homesick or wanting mum). I am a little sad knowing my baby is all grown up but she has made it much easier on me adjusting to the new routines. To be honest too - it has been the best thing for me as it has forced me to get more organised and try and set better routines at home (and get ontop of the work and housework while I only have one princess to contend with at home ;p).

Australia Day

2013-01-30T10:33:00.001+11:00

This year for Australia Day we decided to do something we dont normally do - go blueberry picking.

The day was mostly overcast - perfect wather to go berry picking in my opinion (not too hot). On the way there Sarah fell asleep (surely it's not comfortable) and we managed to transfer her into her pram without waking her up which meant a relaxing time berry picking for us.

I say this because Sarah is a very active little princess and HATES to be 'trapped' in a pram for more than a few minutes and to be honest a pram doesn't contain her for long. She has worked out how to stand up and step out of the straps - even though they are on the tightest setting! Sarah stayed asleep until we were almost done picking but when she was awake her sister felt she needed some berries (despite the fact that she was told the sign said no eating). When she was told she couldn't have any sarah wasn't impressed!

Chloe had one blueberry in each side of her cheek when I cought her in the above photo :s

After blueberry picking it was off for a picnic lunch of chips and a bike ride.

Along the way we came across a rhino! ;p

Then it was time to go home to bag up the blueberries and finish the day with pancakes topped with yoghurt, blueberries and strawberries (the strawberries were from our local farmers market - they are so delicious!!!)

We had such a great day together as a family! I cant wait to go blueberry picking again next year!

Our Family Favourite No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake

2013-01-21T09:31:00.003+11:00

Those who know me well know I love deserts- in fact I choose a restaurant by its desert menu :s (a little ashamed to admit it!)

One of my favourite desert recipe's has got to be this cheesecake. In fact after having Sarah (15 months ago now) I was so excited to finally be 'alowed' to have some again. You know how it is- you are not allowed to have certain foods while pregnant - and of course those are the foods that you normally wouldn't want much anyway and then when you are able to you are so excited because you can finally have it and then when it comes to it you really don't want them now because you are allowed to OR everything else takes priority you forget to buy the ingredients to make it! Well that is how it has been for me anyway.

Anyway I love this recipe for a few reasons- it is SUPER easy to make - there is no baking required and uses one of my favourite fruits- Raspberries (I am a berry girl), it always tastes delicious and best of all you can make it the same day (it takes approx. 3 hours to set).

Enough form me here is the recipe.

No-Bake Raspberry Cheesecake

Base:

1 1/4 cup shortbread/ plain sweet biscuits, crushed
1/2 cup crushed almonds (you could just use more biscuits if there someone has a nut allergy)
100g melted butter

Method:

Mix crumbs and crushed almonds together. Add butter and combine.
Pat into a 20cm cheesecake tin or make individual sized cheesecakes in mini cheesecake tins or silicone muffin trays (divide the base mix evenly - each should have approx 1/2- 1cm base when compacted).
Tips: I often use the bottom of a measuring cup to press the base down and get a smooth finish on top.
if using silicone trays place cling wrap (plastic wrap) into the pan first - this will help you to remove the cheesecake from the tray.

Filling:

1/4cup boiling water
1 heaped tablespoon gelatine
500g cream cheese
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/4 cups cream
2 cups of frozen raspberries plus extra/fresh raspberries to serve.

Method:

Beat Cream cheese until smooth.
Gradually add lemon juice and sugar. Beat for 3 minutes.
In a mug or small bowl sprinkle gelatine over boiling water, stir with a fork to dissolve, allow to cool slightly.
In a separate mixing bowl beat cream until soft peaks form.
Beat a little of the cooled gelatine mixture into the cream cheese mixture, gradually add the remaining amount.
Add (fold in) cream to the cream cheese mixture.
Gently fold in some frozen raspberries (you could use fresh raspberries but they will smash and turn the mixture pink, frozen hold there shape and gives you a burst of raspberry throughout the mix). If using fresh raspberries I recommend pouring some of your cheesecake mix into the tins and sprinkling the berries over, then adding some more cheesecake mixture and more raspberries until the mixture has been used - this will stop the raspberries from getting smashed and turning the mixture pink.
Place in fridge to set for 3 (or more) hours until set.
Tip: If you wish to serve the cheesecake as soon as it is set I recommend topping with the frozen raspberries 1 hour before it is to be served and sprinkling a small amount of caster sugar over the top to help soak up some of the juice.

To Serve:
Top with fresh raspberries and be creative! I also used fresh mint to give it a bit more colour but you could use white chocolate or what ever you think really.

Now go and enjoy! I hope you like the no-bake raspberry cheesecake as much as we do!

Summer Holidays

2013-01-10T20:59:00.000+11:00

I love holidays - especially summer holidays.

We have been been enjoying some beautiful days at the beach and the girls have enjoyed playing with their new sandpit toys they got from Santa (to go with the sandpit we made them - Santa is good like that ;p).

It has been great taking a break from 'work' to spend time with my wonderful family. As a kid my mum went out of her way to take us to as many places as possible during the holidays or even on day trips she recently told me the inspiring words her sister told her after her husband died she said "We have the rest of our lives to be adults but our children only get the chance to be children once!" I think its a great motto so with the new year I have set a 'resolution' to give my kids the best childhood I/we can and do more 'fun things' together.

Just Perfect

2012-12-31T18:58:00.001+11:00

I have been practicing for quite some time to make perfect macaroons and this year I decided to make them for our lovely niece (whos name we drew for the Christmas pressie swap). I was soooooo excited when I saw them cooking in the oven (pretty sure I squeeled). There were no cracks, the 'feet' were forming and they just looked beautiful. When I took them out of the oven I was super excited to see they were just as they should be crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle.

For those of you who have made or even tried to make a macaroon you will understand just what a wonderful thing it is when everything works just as it should (especially given the time they take to make - a bad batch is heartbreaking).

Our recipient loved them. Now I am off to make some more for a spoilt little birthday girl. Fingers crossed they turn out like this batch - wish me luck!

Merry Christmas

2012-12-25T17:39:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas and a happy new year from our family to yours.

We hope you have a fantastic time with family and friends, keep safe and don't eat too much ;p.

Carnival Winner

2012-12-18T20:19:00.003+11:00

I am back to announce the winner of the Carnival Quilt Pattern! Yay!

And random.org has chosen lucky number 5!

Congratulations hueisei! I will be in contact shortly.

I wish everyone a happy and safe Christmas!

Carnival... A new pattern + giveaway

2012-12-10T20:46:00.000+11:00

Sorry for not posting sooner - we had a crazy busy weekend (I should expect that this time of the year) and today my eldest has a nasty itchy rash all over her arms and a little on her legs which the doctor says is from the grass :s poor thing.

So anyway today I am super excited to share to share my other pattern that I released at the quilt market. This was one of the patterns that I had sketched out into my books waiting for the perfect fabric (and time) to make the quilt and write the pattern - for me the latter takes so much longer than the making of the quilt (or maybe it is because that is the not so fun part)!

When designing this quilt I really wanted to incorporate elements that would keep little hands busy and little bodies still if but for a short while.

I particularly wanted to make a modern quilt that would be a reasonably quick sew for a new arrival and something for a boy (although it can be made in girl fabrics too!). When Choosing the fabric I couldn't go past the Pieces of Hope fabric by Riley Blake Designs. Did you know that it was designed to raise awareness for Autism and a significant portion of the sales of this fabric line is donated to Autism Speaks. If you are after some it can be purchased from here in Australia.

Let your little one explore and enjoy this fantastic cot quilt, featuring tabs that can be fastened with 1 ½” buttons, Velcro or left plain. This feature is sure to keep little fingers busy and become a favourite to boot! If using fabric covered buttons you can further transform this quilt by fussy cutting your chosen fabric! The fun pinwheels and easy piecing makes this quilt a pleasure to sew and the sensory elements are sure to make it a hit with the little ones in your life!

This quilt has been well traveled even making its way to Houston on the Riley Blake booth (wow right?!) Check out Jina's blog (she is super sweet) to get a fantastic tour of the Riley Blake booth.

And my wonderful mum tested the pattern, making it up in some of our older Riley Blake fabrics from their All Star and All Star 2 collections (these fabric lines have been so popular they have made a third called Super Star available here).

I love the Aqua and red. She used some cute Riley Blake Matte buttons which are a perfect match!

Both Carnival quilts were quilted by the lovely Sarah Fraser of Patchworks Plus (she did an awesome job as always!)

Now who would like to win a copy of the 'Carnival' quilt pattern?! Leave a comment on this post to be in the draw to win your very own copy of 'Carnival'. The giveaway is open to everyone and the winner will be drawn in a weeks time. Just be sure to leave your email so I have a way of contacting you!

If you would like to purchase a Clares Place pattern contact your local quilt store and ask them to get one (or more) in for you. If you are interested in stocking Clares Place patterns in your store please contact my distributor Creative Abundance

Website: www.creativeabundance.com.au
Email: nel@creativeabundance.com.au

Balancing Elephants Giveaway - A Winner!

2012-12-07T17:34:00.000+11:00

Today my little princess helped me draw the winner of the Balancing Elephants messenger bag pattern. Thank you to everyone who entered the draw. I wish I could give you all a copy of this pattern but only have one spare sorry!

Drumroll ...

And the winner is...

Congratulations Shez I will send you an email shortly.

Check back tomorrow for another givaway

All the Best

Quilt Market Recap Part 2

2012-12-04T20:52:00.000+11:00

As Promised I am back to give you a tour of some of the things you could see at AQM but mostly of the Creative Abundance booth that Clares Place was part of this year (because I thought I had more photos than I actually did of the show :s ).

This is hubby and I at the 'Clares Place' part of the booth. See more photos of my booth (and Riley Blake's booth) here or on the Riley Blake blog here.

Photo from Cindy of Riley Blake Designs

Okay so at the Creative Abundance booth you could find plenty of eye candy from all of our designers. Creative Abundance also welcomed two 'new' designers Matching Pegs and Two Brown Birds (I know I am new to Creative Abundance but they are a bit newer than me):

So First Two Brown Birds

She makes cute travel toys for kids and that beautiful quilt to the right. You can see more photos over on Fionas blog

Next up is Matching Pegs By Claire She has a good mix of stitchery, quilts, cushions and toys. I love the tent! Check out her blog for some more great photos.

Simone of May Blossoms has beautiful creations made from felt. Her work is gorgeous! I love the little pirate he is too cute - Do you think I should make him for my girls?!

Jody from Ric raC is lots of fun - she tells it how it is and is a fantastic story teller (just like on her blog)! If you haven't seen her work before it is a-m-a-z-i-n-g! I need a cute pincushion and am thinking either the hedgehogs or owl would be cute - or even the rino. There is so much to choose from!

Rosalie Quinlan mostly designs beautiful stitcheries within her Rosalie Quinlan Designs label but also designs beautiful softie patterns with her Sister Melly for Melly and Me.

Melly is the main designer behind Melly and Me and had many of her cute softies at show for us to admire. She is one busy lady writing patterns for Melly and Me and Sew Little and this year has recently been married and is set to move house.

Toni from Make it Prefect was not at show this year due to a family wedding but had some of her gorgeous clothing on display for us to admire.

Nel and Erica worked hard all show processing orders (so glad I didn't have to do that this year)

Now I must note many of the designers were actually at quilt market I was just silly and didn't get photos of them (we really should have got a group photo! Mental note for next year).

I also managed to capture a photo of Gail Pan Designs booth. Can you believe she set up the morning of the show?! Crazy (I don't think I could do that!) but her booth looks fantastic!!!

I also caught up with the lovely Katherine of FD Textiles.

And the Riley Blake Booth

I hope this gives you a good little taster of what you could see if you were there.

Stay tuned for the Balancing Elephants Pattern Giveaway result and another giveaway coming soon!

Balancing Elephants Pattern + Giveaway.

2012-11-29T14:24:00.005+11:00

At the Australian Quilt market I had two new patterns so showcase. Today I would like to tell you a about the 'Balancing Elephants' bag pattern which includes three variations on a messenger style bag.

For this bag I wanted something that was the perfect size for Chloe to tote her drink and a small lunch box in for nursery and it took a little bit of playing around to get the perfect size but all the trials (and there were quite a few) were totally worth it!

Inspired by the lyrics to the popular children’s song ‘Elephants Balancing’ this child’s stylish messenger bag is suitable for both girls and boys.

The pattern includes three possible looks, making it a handy and versatile pattern. If you are looking for a quick project to sew for a child’s gift, this bag is for you!

The bag measures 10 1/2" (26.5cm) wide x 8" (20cm) tall, plus handles and will even fit an IPAD. If you wanted to use this for an adult you could easily lengthen the strap to suit.

Cover photos are something I really struggle with and many times I finish a 'photo shoot' and review the photos only to find not one suitable photo for a cover. This photo shoot actually turned out OK (I was surprised!) I actually had photos to choose from - quite a novelty for me!

I wanted to have a photo of Chloe wearing 'Balancing Elephants' to show the scale of the bag and also a photo or two showing each individual style. After the photos were taken I put them together for the final cover image and emailed family and friends to find out their favourite and we decided on the photo below.

This bag is really such a fun sew and with Christmas right around the corner you could make them as gifts for family and friends.

Fabrics:

Bag Option 1 - Pieces of hope by RBD (2012 collection) for Riley Blake Designs.

Denim from FD Textiles.

Bag Option 2 - Bohemian Festival by Lila Tuller (2012 collection) for Riley Blake Designs.

Bag Option 3 - Delighted by the Quilted Fish (2011 collection) for Riley Blake Designs.

Now who would like to win a copy of the 'Balancing Elephants' messenger bag pattern?! Leave a comment on this post to be in the draw to win your very own copy of 'Balancing Elephants'. The giveaway is open to everyone and the winner will be drawn in a weeks time. Just be sure to leave your email so I have a way of contacting you!

Australian Quilt Market

2012-11-27T20:09:00.000+11:00

Well what an amazing weekend I have had! For the past little while I have been sewing samples and writing/editing patterns to be released at the Australian Quilt Market in Melbourne. I must admit I was especially excited to attend this year as I am feeling more comfortable doing the whole market thing and given that I was sharing a booth with my pattern distributor the wonderful Creative Abundance team meant I didn't have a whole booth to fill (although I could easily do that with the size of my quilts ;p) and I didn't have to process all the orders meaning less work for me, yeah! Hubby even decided to surprise be by coming too so we could have some time together for a change. He was also the muscle helping to construct shelves and hang my quilts for display.

The other SUPER EXCITING part for me was knowing that the lovely Cindy from Riley Blake Designs and her beautiful daughter Riley would be in attendance. (You might remember six months earlier I met Bret from Riley Blake at AQM Sydney?) I was terribly nervous to meet them both (I'm sure they could tell in my voice) but they are so incredibly sweet and friendly!

It was wonderful to be able to show them some of the things I have created with their beautiful fabrics and be able to get to know them a better. Check out their booth - all you would expect from Riley Blake Designs - Fabulous!

Now every pattern designer has their favourite fabrics and products to use but for me I LOVE Riley Blake fabrics (they kinda got me hooked on All Star at the beginning). I love the quality, feel, designs and colours of their materials which is why many of my designs are made using their fabrics including my latest designs. I can't recommend them enough!

At Quilt Market I released two new patterns which I will spotlight in the next few days: Carnival made from the Pieces of Hope fabric range by The RBD Designers which also has been to the American Trade show with the Riley Blake crew (still spinning from the thought that they used my quilt in their beautiful displays).

And Balancing Elephants, which is a childrens messenger bag, which includes three variations all using Riley Blake fabrics and Sew Together Ric Rac.

It was a great show and I was able to meet all the Creative Abundance crew Jodie from Ric raC, Claire from Matching Pegs, Rosalie Quinlan from Rosalie Quinlan Designs, Melly from Melly and Me, Simone of May Blossoms and Fiona from Two Brown Birds). I will give you a tour around out booth later too! I was also able to catch up with other lovely friends like Gail Pan, Sue Daley, Katherine from F.D Textiles, Lenora Jenkins, Nikki Tervo and very briefly Natalie Lymer.

I had a blast though was glad to return to my two sick babies who were being lovingly cared for by my wonderful mum - thanks heaps mum!

Trick or Treat

2012-11-09T12:21:00.002+11:00

Halloween is not really big here in our part of the world and those who decorate their houses or go trick or treating is few and far between. This year one of the mums living in our street organised a trick or treat night for the kids. She letter dropped every house inviting them to participate by providing treats for the children a few weeks in advance and a reminder a few days before hand. For those who didn’t want to participate they just had to leave a sign out the front so we knew not to knock. All children interested in participating were to meet with their parent(s) at the bottom of the street and we all set off together.

The girls had a blast and almost every house in the street participated. Some even dressed up for the kids too!

It was such a lovely night and I am hoping the tradition will continue for our street.

Bird Watching

2012-10-31T20:23:00.000+11:00

The other week our family decided to head to Tamar Island for a 'bird watching' walk.

Sarah had the best seat - pushed the whole way, watching all the goings on and fed biscuits on demand. Oh the life of a baby :)

Chloe was so excited to see all the birds and enjoy nature.

She thought the reeds made great fishing rods (and also found them great for tickling us with).

It was a beautiful day and fantastic walk - the perfect combo for a family day out.

A Peek into my Sketchbook

2012-10-22T20:20:00.000+11:00

My sketchbooks are filled with rough sketches of elements and designs that may or may not eventually become patterns. Often I sketch out a design and later add or borrow elements from another design in my books until I come up with something I am completely happy with. This was the case for my latest cot quilt design. As you can see from my original sketch I am not fussy with how I write, what I write with or how neat the design is - it is more about getting the idea down. Later I either add to it or draw it up on graph paper to scale to work out the proportions and fine tune everything to get the final design.

This design has been made up in the adorable 'Pieces of Hope' fabric line by Riley Blake. It was designed to raise awareness for Autism and a significant portion of the sales of this fabric line is donated to Autism Speaks. If you are lucky enough to stop by the Riley Blake booth at Houston Quilt Market you will be able to see the final design 'Carnival' made up in the flesh.

As for the pattern - it will be out shortly. I have a few small changes to be made after getting it back from my pattern testers and then it is good to go to the printer, just in time for Melbourne Quilt Market.

Kitchen Hutch Makeover

2012-10-17T21:40:00.001+11:00

Recently I was lucky enough to score an old kitchen hutch from one of my lovely sisters in law. I had been looking out for one for a little while now to keep my sewing supplies and display some sewing machines I have been collecting.

As you can see it was in need of a little makeover.

After a little sand (which hubby kindly did for me) I gave it a few coats of paint, added some cute handles and it was ready to fill.

For those wondering I painted the hutch with Dulux Poolside in half strength (the outside photo shows the colour at its best). I painted the back and interior of the hutch white so that the items displayed could really shine.

I added some golfball resin handles to add a bit of glam (they took me a whole day searching in town to find - problems of living in a small 'city').

This kitchen hutch is my new favourite piece of furniture so I have put it in the hallway to admire as I walk past. It gives such a lovely pop of colour and brightens my day.

What do you think? Do you prefer it before or after the new coat of paint? What colour would you have choosen to paint it?

Painting in the Sun

2012-10-07T20:31:00.001+11:00

Sometimes when I have quite a bit of work to do (housework or quilting/pattern writing) I try and find activities for my girls to do that will hopefully hold their attention for 1/2 hour or if I'm super lucky an hour or more. So the other day was one of those days I had pattern editing to do so set up the painting easel outside and foolishly thought to myself "that gives me 1/2 hour at least as we haven't had the paint out for a little while". Well was I wrong? Heck yes! just after setting up the computer and opening the document I hear a rustling at the back door - it sounded like the littlest one so I go and check it out to find paint smeared across the back door, floor, laundry walls, deck and the of course all over her!

It was a mess (but her cheeky smile was so cute don't you agree?) so I did what all mothers do, took her outside again, took some photos, cleaned up the mess on her and everywhere else had a play with the girls - moved the easel to the grass and thought "That should give me a little time".

Went to the computer, opened the document start checking the first measurement to hear the littlest one getting upset. So I get up to see what was happening and find them painting the slide and swings, and Chloe had also painted her sister all over including the bottom of her nappy - Nice.

No worries I get the hose out and clean off the girls (and everything else) again play with them a bit and go inside to 'work' again and yes you guessed it left them to it for one last time (I know stupid right) same thing happened I finally packed up the paint.

(Paint mixed with sunscreen - looks good don't you think?!)

Although I got very little work done that day I did spend a lovely day outside cleaning up the girls, playing with paint and water and creating memories of fun times together. It was so worth it!

1 Year Older

2012-10-03T19:53:00.001+10:00

I can't believe how fast the time is flying by! Yesterday was my baby's 1st birthday! Wow where did that year go?! I decided to have a computer free day (I should do it more often) and just enjoy the sunshine and time with my two beautiful girls. To start the girls enjoyed a special birthday treat - apples and homemade chocolate chip biscuits (cookies) for breakfast. Playing with the new leggo was a must.

followed by playing outside in the beautiful sunshine and picnics on the deck.

It was bliss!