Getting ready for......

The big day.    Table is set for Christmas Day lunch 

 The tree is twinkling away with presents underneath

And the secret sewing has been completed, wrapped and under the tree (ssssssssshhhhh don't tell hubs but they are new sleep pants for him)

Finally I wish you all a happy and safe Christmas no matter how you celebrate and a peaceful 2026.

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all

Too hot to handle

 

Apart from going for my early morning swim and hanging out washing I did not put my nose outside the door yesterday as the temperature climbed rapidly and reached 42 celcius by 12 midday.  It was a good day to make an early start on FNSI and some secret Christmas sewing.

As well as add to my pile of RSC strips for next year.

I am pleased to report that hubs is home from hospital and all is well.  No further treatment is needed. 

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all 

Meeting up with......

 Janice and Michael 

Janice and I have had a couple of "false starts" at trying to meet up in person over the past few years but there has always been something that has cropped up that has precluded this from happening.   But it finally  happened on Monday.    Janice and Michael caught the very early train down to Sydney and we met up outside the Queen Victoria building.   After their early start and  3 hour journey it was time to "refuel" .

Janice and Michael decided to go with the french toast topped with mascapone and fruits of the forest

I opted for the banana and walnut bread - it was the most delicious I had ever eaten

We all washed it down with a coffee.  The object of the day was to meet up and of course do a walking tour of Sydney checking out the various Christmas decorations and arcades.  A photo of the three of us taken in front of the Christmas tree in the Queen Victoria building.  

We slowly made our way down through the City via arcades and shopping malls ending up at Circular Quay where Janice and Michael were meeting up with two other bloggers for lunch.  This was where  I caught the ferry back to Manly  as I was unable to stay any longer as hubs is in hospital and there was talk of him coming home that afternoon.....which did not eventuate. 

This pavement art caught my eye as I was walking from the ferry to the bus stop at Manly wharf

It was lovely to finally meet up with Janice and Michael and we hope to make arrangements in the future to meet up again.

Back in the sewing room some of the scraps that were leftovers from this year's RSC were gathered together and a start was made on cutting them up into 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" strips in preparation for next year's RSC.   There are a couple of ideas on how to put them together.

Time to head off and make a start on the day.  Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all 

RSC Challenge 2025 and FNwF

As this post is being typed I am feeling very smug with myself.   All items on the to do list have now been ticked off and the sewing room is still tidy!!!!  The last thing to be ticked off the list was getting the potato chip RSC colour blocks sewn together, backed and quilted.  By taking part in the challenge every month 12 blocks were made and 4 were used per quilt to make up 3 small donation quilts. Most of the fabrics were novelty prints and hopefully the recipients will have fun looking for various objects.  Each of the 4 blocks were 16" finished.    Here is the result.

Quilt no 1

Quilt No 2

Quilt No 3

All 3 together

These blocks are very easy and quick to make as there are no seams to match up when joining them together.   They are certainly very addictive.

Thanks go to Angela from So Scrappy for organising such a fun challenge.   It is amazing what comes out of left over scraps.   Now to think what to do next year when joining in again.

When joining in with FNwF 2 heat packs were made for Christmas presents.  

Don't forget to go over to Cheryll's blog so that you can see what other FNwF crafters achieved last night.   

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all 

Oh Christmas Tree

The City is all decked out for Christmas.    Sparkly trees appear right throughout the City.

Lights are strung across streets.   These would be very pretty at nighttime.

When walking down George Street towards Circular Quay these hanging bird cages caught my attention

And being curious I had to go down the laneway to see what it was all about.  (Excuse the finger in the photo)

My attention was also caught by this colourful wall inside a building.

Well that was my day exploring the City all dressed up for Christmas.  

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all 

Mother Nature

Can create exquisite creatures such as this butterfly which was spotted on the balcony table and thought at first glance to be a leaf which was destined to be swept off  into the bin.  Just as my hand was about do this dastardly act I saw it for what it was.  The smallest and prettiest butterfly I have ever seen.

 After a while it closed its wings up and a $2.00 coin was put beside it to give a comparison of its tiny size.    

Then on the other hand Mother Nature can be very destructive which has been proven over the last week as a series of violent storms have rolled in.   The one that hit Sydney Wednesday lunchtime was very short but very severe with lashing rain, hail and gale force winds.   It brought down many trees, ripped roofs of houses and buildings, caused flash flooding and resulted in the death of a person.  We were lucky that there was no damage where we are but it did bring down quite a few large tree branches over the driveway and down across  one of the garden areas.  It was scary watching the trees bending in such strong winds and then hearing the crack as the branches broke and crashed down.  

The ground staff got onto it pretty quickly and had it all cleared up within a couple of hours with the help of chainsaws.

Once the drama of the storm was over time to head into the sewing room and get on with tidying up.  The top of the fabric box now looks like this

The pile of fabric is off the floor

As are the piles of fabric that were sitting on top of the sewing machine and tables

Just do not ask to look behind the cupboard doors....but then again that is what cupboard doors are for!!!!!

At the beginning of the month I had rounded up quite a few balls of yarn that were various shades of purple - to honour the jacaranda tree - and knit them up into beanies.   Done.

When down at the library the other day I grabbed a pile of books which will make good holiday reading.   The top one is our current book club book.  

All that is left on my sewing room list to tick off before Christmas is to finish off the 2 potato chip block quilts.    Good progress is being made on these.  

Back soon and in the meantime 

Happy sewing all

    

Ticking off goals and FNSI

In my last post a list of goals for the rest of the month was made - namely filling an order for a drawstring bag.  Done

Making a start on cutting out fabrics for future small quilts.  Started

Just as I was cutting my way through various piles another friend donated this bundle to the cause

They have been stored away for another cutting session.  

Tidying up the sewing room.   No tick against this one....as you can see fabric is on the floor, on top of a storage box as well as all over my machine and sewing tables.   A tidy room in my next post....we will see. 

Last but not least is getting the three small potato chip blocks quilted which will hopefully be finished off by the end of the month.   

When joining in with FNSI last night another purple beanie was started.

That was my week in the sewing room.  

Back soon and in the meantime

Happy sewing all