Christmas stitching day

We had a lovely day at our second Stitching in July day last weekend. So nice to catch up with all the ladies and to hear all their stories and to see what they have been stitching. Here we are all set up for another great day.

 It was Bernadette's birthday so they had balloons and she and her friends had a lovely time together.

 Lynne and Sammy did a wonderful job of catering, as always. Here they are with an extra helper!

 Morning tea was delicious.

 Lunch was so yummy.

 We even had delicious Christmas cake for afternoon tea.

 Najelle, Terrie and Deanna came along with all the lovely goodies from Hobbysew. They were having quite a nice time in between selling, with their knitting, crocheting, stitching and winding wool.

 Here is Barb with her finished hexi decoration.

 There was some lovely show and tell too.

 Several people finished their tree decorations.

 Last week, Donna brought in her gorgeous felt house which has been beautifully decorated!

Stitching on the Lake

Even though it was freezing (only 9 degrees maximum) in Canberra on Saturday, we had a lovely day of stitching, eating and friendship at our first Stitching on the Lake day. It was a Christmas in July theme so the projects and the food were Christmassy. Lynne and Sammy spoilt us with delicious treats for morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch. Here we are all set up for the day.

 Najelle and Terrie came with a lovely stall to tempt us.

 Lovely to catch up with Sue and Rose, from Melbourne.

 Rose had this great stitching tote with a zipper all the way round. So useful.

 There was so much lovely show and tell! Here are just a few of them. Brenda had her lovely cushion finished in gorgeous colours.

 She had also made up her star into a lovely mat.

 Michelle has been busy too and has finished this gorgeous little stitching bag by Lynette Anderson.

 She also stitched her cushion from one of our retreats in red. Looks wonderful.

 Roni and Barb have been busy making lots of felt birds to create these great cushions.

 There were some finishes on the day too. Two hexi trees were completed and two little felt houses! Well done ladies.

Great work

So much fun catching up with the stitching ladies on Wednesday. Classes started again and there was so much wonderful show and tell. Lynda has been stitching up a storm. She has some babies coming along in her family so she has made some bags and some cute outfits for the little ones.

 She has also stitched this useful zippered pouch.

 Please note that the back in all hexagons!

 I think Lynda is a bit hooked on hexies as she has made some great coasters.

 Marlene has been busy too making things from Natalie Bird's lovely book, Red Home. She didn't need another pin cushion so used the images to make this great door stop.

 She also made this lovely table mat from the same book.

 Great to catch with the evening girls too. Anita has been on holidays and as well as being a tourist she managed to make this special bag using Melba fabrics.

 She also whipped up these great bags. They have no sewing on them!!!! She tells us they are made with special double sided tape! We thought she might have been tricking us!

I am all ready for Stitching on the Lake! So looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow. If you haven't seen the projects, then check here.

Sewing room makeover

Over the last few weeks, everything came out of the sewing room so it could be painted and then get new carpet and new furniture. It was a big effort as there was so much in this little room! I wanted to tidy everything and also try to get rid of a few things like the many magazines that I have collected. We made several visits to Ikea for new cupboards and to Officeworks too. It is so good now and much easier to work in. Here are some photos taken by my resident photographer (who also was the painter, carpet layer and furniture builder!).

Birthday party

We had such fun celebrating Benny and Sammy's birthday at Lollipops on Sunday. It was a great place to have a party as there is so much for the little ones to do. The boys and their guests had a lovely time.