SSCS Gift, OPAM finish & Happy New Year.

Above are the gifts I sent to Anne-Mari in Norway as part of the SSCS Swap.  A snowman table runner and some other goodies which included an Anni Downs pattern, The Christmas Goose.  I bought the pattern and handle from Patchwork Plus (an Aussie on-line shop with great service)  in Tassie, and made up the little kit to go with it from my stash.  I added some buttons , small scissors and an Australian calendar.  The table runner has been added to my OPAM list for December.
In closing this post, I would like to wish everyone of my quilting friends a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and hope that 2012  will bring you health, happiness and provide you with lots of time to quilt.........
Till next year........

SSCS Swap Gift

Well Christmas Day is over for another year and as well as my family gifts, I got to open my SSCS  Swap present. THANK YOU Tami from the USA for my lovely bag. It has lots of pockets inside as well as one on the outside and also came with a card wallet. I didn't peek beforehand and I must say it was well worth the wait   I love it especially the little tumbling blocks on the front and I can't wait to fill it with my sewing bits and pieces and take it with me when my quilt group starts back up in a couple of weeks time. 
   

I hope everyone had a.........      VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS      .............and that you got to spend the day with your family as I did.  Thank you to all of my blogging friends for sharing part of your life with me as I do enjoy reading about what you are doing and what you are making and I also like sharing with you what I love doing as well.
Enjoy the rest of the Xmas break...............  

Getting ready for Xmas

Above is the Secret Santa gift I received at my Quilt Group break-up last week.  Lots of lovely Xmas themed goodies which will be put to good use on Christmas Eve when we have our family gathering. I forgot to take a photo of my gift but it was along similar lines with a Xmas mug, a mug rug, some choccies and shortbread biscuits. I'm hoping Xmas Eve will be a nice sunny day so the grand-kids and grown-ups can enjoy a swim in the pool.  We have been swimming most days but I must say the water is still very cool although once the initial shock of that first dive in is over, it is quite pleasant.
I'm afraid I haven't been in my sewing room for well over a week but am hoping to do a bit of stitching next week.    I have only a couple of gifts still to buy and have wrapped most of the other gifts so that part of  Xmas is under control. Beside shopping this week and the usual Xmas clean-up, I took my grandson Jake to the movies.  We saw Puss 'n' Boots in 3D.  We both enjoyed it and ate lots of popcorn and ice-cream while we were there.  This week Tom, Jake's brother is down for 3 weeks.  It will be lovely to catch up with him as I haven't seen him in a while. Scott is on holidays so my Grandma duties will have a well earned break for a couple of weeks.

This is what I have been dabbling with the last couple of weeks.  Hope to finally complete it this week.  Been a while since I have played around with my paints but am enjoying the experience again.  The worst part is cleaning the paint brushes when I'm finished.  The end result will be worth it though and I guess the poor reindeer, gingerbread man and penguin would like it if I finished painting their faces.

Today we are going to my nieces for a family lunch.  I have made a cheese cake to take so hope it tastes okay.  Just have to whip the cream.   Till next time..........

Group Break-up

Just a quick post to show a photo of our group break-up on Monday.  Of course I forgot to take a photo of the lovely food we had to eat or the presents all wrapped in their pretty paper waiting under the Xmas tree to be given out to some very excited ladies.  So here we are after opening our presents, everyone a bit too full to move but feeling very happy and contented.
MERRY CHRISTMAS quilters and stitchers.  See you in the NEW YEAR my friends.

Arrival of SSCS parcel.

Today I received my SSCS parcel from Tami in the USA.  I opened my ornament parcel to find not 1 but 2 ornaments inside. The green ornament is a knitted bell  and the little red one has a cathedral style window on each side with a Santa face peeking out.   It is beautifully made with the tiniest of stitches.  Thank-you Tami, they are both lovely and will be a nice addition to my Christmas tree.  I am really looking forward to opening my other parcel on Xmas morning.
The last few days I have been busy  painting a Christmas Advent Calendar so hope to be back with a photo of that soon. Cheers till then .....

OPAM finishes

I have made another mug rug out of Bliss fabric. Add a festive mug and they make nice Christmas presents as gifts for friends or teachers. 

Yesterday I received an e-mail from my SSCS recipient in Norway.  Ann-Mari has opened the Xmas ornament so I can add it to my OPAM list and show a photo.

This is a little bag I made a while ago.  It's just big enough for your purse, phone and a few odds and ends we always seem to need to take with us when we pop out to the shops.

This photo shows the flap folded up.  The way the bag is made creates pockets on either side.  This pattern was a free one from Spotlight and is very cute and easy to make.
So that makes 3 OPAM finishes for November.

Till next time...........