It's a finish even if it is small...

So far this year I have managed to finish something each month. The items aren't very big but still need to be finished, and would probably still be unfinished if I didn't have a bit of motivation from the Sew It's Finished blog.
This bag has been sitting in two pieces for probably nearly a year and it was time to finish it. It is made with two triangle shapes which when sewn together make two pockets inside as well. It was a hard one to photograph because it is quite big. I'll probably use it as a project bag rather than a shopping bag becuase it is so roomy.
The pattern is from a local quilt store - The Quilter's Corner and is called The Market Bag.

I know I have been a way for a while - the every day stuff just gets in the way. I have penty to talk about but I thought as I was changing my blog template I would say hello for now and chat properly later.
But while I am here I will introduce you to the love of my daughter's life - Maggie, our dog.

This is the dog who doesn't like having a bath or being in the rain.......but if there is a puddle to jump into she will find it, and want to stay there all day. In this photo she looks all black but she is half border collie ( the other half is labrador) so has a white chest and paws. She is a very much loved member of our family.
Talk soon....

The adventures of Peg and Dale.....

After a long day at Nundle Peg and Dale needed to relax with a hot chocolate. Will they stay awake at Sue Daley's trunk show tonight?

oh dear.....

There are some things that you just hope will never happen.....


And there are some things which I am sure the neighbours at the back ( down the hill) wish would never happen either.

But some things just happen anyway.....

It didn't take long for 36,000 litres to empty out.

I was quietly doing something inside when I heard my husband say...."That wasn't meant to happen."

I agree.

( Thankfully no neighbours or neighbour's houses were harmed during this event.)

Last Day in January - something finished!

One of the lovely things about keeping a blog is that you can put dates to events and remember when things happen. However... there is an embarrassing side as well. I found the first post I made about this project back in December 2007. There is another one a little bit later and then a third one in January 2008. In that one I said I wasn't going to put it away because it won't get finished. Well guess what? It didn't ....until today. I put the last stitch in today. And here is my version of Trees on the Table, designed by Marcie of Patchalot Patterns. You can find the pattern and a gallery here. The lovely thing about this pattern is that it has a variety of different borders. It is just lovely and I am cross with myself for leaving it so long.

I also want to issue a warning about leaving things so long as well. I made the top back then and misplaced it for a while. Then I found it, sandwiched it and did a bit of quilting on it, probably about a year ago although it could be longer. When I got it out to finish I found that there must have been some damp and some of the pins I had left in there ( yes, I know we are told not to do that) looked like this.......

They were hard to remove and one or two just broke when I tried to get them out. In most spots it is okay but there is one which is a problem. These holes are not made by the pin but the corrosion from the pin has eaten the fabric.

So I hope this is giving you a little bit of incentive to get things finished. Not only do you prevent bad things happening over time but you also get to actually use them ( I would have loved to have used this last Christmas).

And finishing also gives a sense of achievment - now I feel all fired up to finish some more of my older projects.

My lovely little wallet...

I apologise to Stacy about the lateness of this blog entry. Before Christmas I won this lovely Little Wallet and pattern (by Valori Wells) from a giveaway on the Circle Retreat Quilter blog. I love that there was not only the pattern but a beautifully made example as well. How lovely is that?

Stacy owns the Circle Retreat in Buderim ( to the north of where I am) and it looks perfect for some time away. Now I just have to find some.... time,that is.......

Camping by the river....

After packing up our camp in the bush we set off further south to Yamba which is on the mouth of the Clarence River. This time we were at a caravan park where the children could spend hours at the provided water park and giant jumping pillow ( meant to take a photo of that).

We had a view of the Clarence River

And a good space to play cricket.

And a perfect place to go kayaking.

There was still no stitching going on but I did find some places to go shopping. So much for trying to keep the spending down in 2012.

Camping by the creek...( no stitching content at all)

In the past post I mentioned that we were going camping. For the first two days of the year we were at Stinson Park at Christmas Creek.

It really is a beautiful place and the creek is so much fun for the kids.

The next photo is looking up the creek to the edges of Lamington National Park and the rugged area you can walk to go to find the Stinson Wreck. Some of the family did a tiny bit of the walk ( it certainly isn't a walk for anybody who isn't experienced at bushwalking).

Now doesn't this look fun?

and here's how my daughter chose to spend her time.

Lucky her.... I took stitching and a book ...... and nothing saw the light of day except when we needed a pair of scissors.

Hopefully I can achieve more now that we are home.