April Achievements

How did I go in April?  I seemed to be forever busy doing something but not necessarily items on my goal list.  Time for the wrap up.

Quilty:
1.  Finish piecing "My Garden". Its now or never!  At this stage it is going to be never!!! I got as far as dragging it out of hibernation and putting it in view.
2.  Cut out Spaghetti Junction quilt. This is very achievable.  Achievable, I have learnt, is not necessarily do-able! Cut out what I could but ordered SOME MORE fabric.

3.  Complete block for Trudy's Charity quilt. Once the "vine" is made, this should be quick. Yes, I can say I completed this one and tick as DONE

Prestitched photo

4.  Finish unpicking Teddy Tea Party.........Ugh, might have to set the timer to get this done. I did, I did, I did.....at last I got it unpicked! and no timer necessary, just determination!

a pile of unwanted piping bits

  

Non-Quilty
1.  Lose 2kg this month. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. YES, I CAN!  This did not go my way.....I had issues with the company running my weight loss programme and quit. No weight loss this month and no weight gain either, but need to find another programme....Weight Watchers, here I come.
2.  See a movie. I see the ads on tv and keep saying "oooo, I want to see that" so I SHOULD.  Today would have been ideal but I just don't feel like it.
3. Finish organising pantry. Not a big job.....just need to attach labels and stack everything neatly.  It's getting there but not quite finished.....i forgot how to add text to the labels in my desired font (such a tiny thing to set a bump in the road)

one shelf complete

4. De-clutter bedroom drawer.....purge, purge, purge! Not done yet but boy my wardrobe is looking so much neater and really accessible.

There you go,  not too much achieved from the list of goals but I have a huge pile of crocheted squares which I have been working on

I finished this block (4) of Brick-a-Brac

and also got some more of my BOM blocks ready which I will be focusing on during May

 I am happy!

Linking in with Barbara's April NewFO Challenge


Last chance to be in the draw for the GiveAway drawn tonight.  Good Luck everyone and once again thank you so much for your inspirational comments.

M.I.A or A.W.O.L

Whichever you want to call it, the fact is that I fell off the grid there for awhile. It has been a month where I just needed to hibernate for a bit and reflect on the year that was. Last year around this time I was just returning from an unwanted trip to the UK/Ireland.

 Anyway, I have been keeping busy with stitching, a little crochet and we had a birthday to celelbrate as Miss M turned 22. That was a joyous occassion so I am back on track now.

 I also arrived home yesterday to find another envelope had arrived in the post.  This time it was from Renata at Wish upon a Star . Thank you Renata, I love charm packs and I am certain to find something adorable to make with these.

Couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I had the worst week at work this week. Covering for sick staff and a public holiday thrown in has put my own work far behind so this really perked me up.

I will still be announcing a Giveaway winner for April tomorrow.

 

Another parcel!

A squishy one this time.  Coming home to find a squishy parcel in the mail gives you such a warm fuzzy feeling which really  makes your day. So I now feel like how this guy looks.

 Anyway, time to open the parcel

 This all started with the Blog Hop that happened in March.  I won this gorgeous little pincushion from Turid in Norway.  Her blog is partly bilingual so pop over and have a look.  She makes some lovely quilts. I mean, really, how sweet is this pincushion made out of selvages?

 Even the back is lovely.

Thank you Turid, I love it!

 

Planting Roses

I did myself a favour yesterday and turned OFF the internet so no facebook, bloglovin, Pinterest, words with friends or Mahjong to distract me and concentrated on doing something productive.

In doing so I planted (and by planted I actually mean stitched) some roses in my Edwardian House garden.

 I happily stitched the afternoon away while I caught up with some tv that I had taped over the weekend.

 All the roses have been stitched now.

 Just for fun, I thought I would show the back of the piece.  Not so pretty now, is it?

I am happy to report that after dinner last night, I picked up the stitchery again and "planted" some hollyhocks and primulas.  Just got a few poppies and some ivy to go now then my garden will be complete.

 

Friday Night with Friends

This was my first Friday Night with Friends sew in. Excited much! And then on friday I remembered why it is not such a good idea to sew on Friday nights. After two full days of work, I was exhausted when I came home.  Infact, I had been yawning loudly all day and barely had the energy to drive home.  By the time I sat down to sew, I felt a dreaded headache settling in but I still persisted.

A little hand stitching on Bric-a-Brac to fulfill my obligation and then off to bed for an early night.

Did you do any sewing last night......I hope you were much more productive than I was at Friday night with Friends.  Click on the pic to head over to Cheryls to see who else took part.

 

The Parcel

Out of the blue, I heard a voice yell "Parcel". Who said that? I wasn't home alone but Miss M was sat in the same room and she didn't say anything. Maybe I misheard. Best go and investigate.

I opened the front door and found a rather large envelope at the front door. Oh, Parcel! all the way from the USA.

Did you follow Blog Hop trail last month? I did and I was lucky enough to win a Snuggle Quilts Pattern book. Deanne from Snuggle Quilts sent me an email to let me know I had won and as it happened, it was my birthday when I got the email.  I have been waiting for this parcel since then so I was really excited that it had arrived.

A quick browse through the book and I knew I would enjoy this one.

But wait,,,,,,there is more. Deanne also included another of her Snuggle Quilt Patterns.

But I got the biggest thrill from the fact that Deanne personally signed the book just for me. How exciting is that??

LOVE IT! Thank you so much Deanne.



 

Drop in for a chat on the Porch

I haven't participated in Patrices chats for a couple of weeks. Not sure why but since it is a glorious day outside and the currawongs are singing a sweet song, why not grab a cuppa and join me for a Chat on the Porch.

Patrice has asked these questions:

What did you do for Easter?
Easter was a quiet one spent at home. We saw each of the three kiddos at certain times throughout the weekend and one even took the long weekend opportunity to move back into the spare room. I don't mind spending the long weekend at home.....most people take the weekend to travel which makes the roads trecherous and forms crowded hot spots.  Not my cuppa tea

 
How bad were you with candy or treats? (On a scale of 1-10. 1 being good, 10 being sugared up)
I consider myself really good this year.....lets say, oh....a 5.  Most years, I would have not been able to stay away from all the chocolate. This year I made a deal with myself....no more than 5 mini easter eggs and only on the Sunday and I stuck to it.

I thought of Wendell when I had one of these chocolate Easter carrots!

What's one of the first things you'd like to do when you have consistent spring temperatures?
Get outside and either read a book or go for a really long walk with the two furbabies.
 

How are you at gift buying?
I love buying gifts for people and hope I make good choices.  I do listen and buy with their wishes in mind but sometimes they don't say anything and I make choices according to their interests and/or needs.

Do you have any projects in mind for the month of April?
I always have project goals for every month.  I list them on my blog every month and there are some quilty goals and some non-quilty goals.  I don't always achieve what I set out to do but I don't berate myself for not doing so

 

Hello April

With March and Easter out of the way and April breezing in, time for me to take stock of what goals to achieve this month.

 I think it might be a good thing to revisit some of the goals I haven't  had a chance to complete yet.

Quilty:
1.  Finish piecing "My Garden". Its now or never!
2.  Cut out Spaghetti Junction quilt. This is very achievable.
3.  Complete block for Trudy's Charity quilt. Once the "vine" is made, this should be quick.
4.  Finish unpicking Teddy Tea Party.........Ugh, might have to set the timer to get this done.

Non-Quilty
1.  Lose 2kg this month. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. YES, I CAN!
2.  See a movie. I see the ads on tv and keep saying "oooo, I want to see that" so I SHOULD
3. Finish organising pantry. Not a big job.....just need to attach labels and stack everything neatly.
4. De-clutter bedroom drawer.....purge, purge, purge!

The photos are from our Easter weekend.

March Wrap Up

Did I achieve many of my goals for March?......Not really, but lets see how I went.

MARCH GOALS

Quilty 
1. Start and complete block for Trudy's Charity quilt. I picked out fabric and a pattern and cut out all the pieces.  The complete date for this project is May 31st so still time to get it finished.

 
2. Accept and make a start on Sally's Millamac Challenge.  The only progress I have made here is to think about what I will make and brainstorm some ideas.  I think I know what I want to do but I missed the first sewing group. Better get a move on ..... due date is end of April. Look out for some wombats, some stacked chickens and Mmmmmm, cake and coffee!

   
 3. Cut out fabric for Chevron Quilt. DONE

4. Finish cutting out fabric for Spagetti Junction (now that the fabric has arrived from FQS) I haven't returned to this project.  The Babushka dolls got all my attention this month.

5.  Make plans to visit the Craft Show with a couple of friends. DONE.  I enjoyed this very much.

Non Quilty
1. De-clutter both handbags (I use separate handbags for work and everyday use) Having a look at my "everyday" handbag, I decided it wasn't worth keeping.....cracked, worn handles....so I bought a new handbag and ditched the old one.  The work handbag is still a mess but I found several old handbags in the closet clean up and cleaned them out to find $40. Might buy a new work handbag instead and ditch the old one.

2. Make Easter decorations - I have been scouring Pinterest for ideas. DONE

  3. Start a "Words with Friends" marathon with two neglected  WWF buddies. DONE. I actually started 3 games and introduced another friend to WWF. She and I are on our second game.

4. Set aside a ME day to do an at home pedicure. ME time always gets put aside for another day.