Peg's Finish Five Challenge.

Peg has asked that we post photo's of our finishes for the Finish Five challenge. So here they are in no particular order. I think I amazed myself here....





1. Cupcake swap for Stina all wrapped and ready to be mailed on Saturday. Sorry I can't show the contents until Stina receives the parcels.

2. Luke's birthday quilt for next year.

3. Four Season's Summer quilt. 4. Table topper, using Darlene's tutorial.
5. Pincushion swap.
6. Six PIF gifts.

Thanks Peg, I would never have had so many finishes without your gentle nudge.

happy Stitching.

Bit's and Bob's

In other words it's a real mixed bag of topics today. Lets start with the lovely parcel that arrived in my mail box this morning all the way from Australia. A couple of weeks ago Leanne made mention of this lovely stitchery on her blog and I immediately asked her where I could buy the pattern from. What a sweetie, no purchase necessary, and look at the lovely fabric and the super cute card she included.

Nanette mentioned in the last week or so that she had purchased this book and when I saw that my book club had it in stock, my thoughts went to Christmas stitching, so it was easy to push that "purchase now" button...
Christine showcased this book last week along with one of the quilts she was in the process of making. Just by chance while I was shopping for fabric on the weekend I found it on special for $5.00. What a bargain and the information in the book was so interesting. Thanks for the little look Christine, I probably would have passed it by if you hadn't shown us.
Just a couple of purchases over the weekend, cute butterflies and little dots. You'll see what they are for within the next couple of weeks.
Now it wouldn't be a "me" post without a little tease photo. so here's a little progress on the bag for the bag swap.
May Britt is celebrating two years of blogging, so pop on over and wish her a happy anniversary and get your name in the draw for her lovely giveaway.

Now it's time I headed back to the sewing room to play with butterflies and dots, then I need to make a start on my sweetie's birthday dinner.

Happy Stitching.

Parcels & Pretty Logs

Earlier in the year both Darlene and Christine had PIF's and as I admire both stitchers work I wanted to join in. I'm pleased to say that my parcels are ready to be mailed out tomorrow to these ladies, Janet, Caryn, Jeanne, Marilyn, Lorraine and Jenny.

While I was wrapping them ready for the mail tomorrow I decided I'd wrap these as well.

Pretty dots and spots ready to be posted here, but not for another week or so.

It was such a good feeling getting swaps and commitments completed that I spent the day in the sewing room yesterday playing with these.

Bright scrappy logs. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, was just enjoying the process, then it hit me yesterday. So I have a plan, which means I need to shop tomorrow, oh darn..... Hopefully I'll have something to show you soon, but now it's time to go back to these lovely logs.

Happy Stitching.

Batting Sale

For those of you, who like me, like to use Warm and White or Warm and Natural batting Hancocks is having a 40% off sale from today until Sunday. Free standard shipping within the US (obviously for online orders) if you use the code EFSDD. Here's the link to the batting. http://www.hancockfabrics.com/category/4004.html

Happy Shopping.

PIF's and Finish Five Challenge Update

Isn't this such a sweet little quilt? It arrived in my letter box this morning, all the way from Arizona. I was one of the very lucky one's who signed up for Darlene's PIF.

Darlene also included this lovely little scissor charm.
These were wrapped up in lovely Christmas paper, Christmas in July....Thank you so much Darlene, as you can see it is now proudly displayed on my sewing room wall.

I decided this morning, before this lovely parcel arrived, that I needed to get into the sewing room and finish off my PIF gifts. What a wonderful surprise I got when I opened up the bag I had everything stored in, to find that they are all done. I just need to get them in the post. Must have been one of those moments I regularly have when I put them all away for when Hollie came home, completely forgot that they were done. So ladies, for those of you who signed up for my PIF I hope to get them in the post soon.

With these items done and marked off my to do list I can mark them off from Peg's challenge along with Stina's cupcake swap items. I've lost count but I think I've completed somewhere around 6 or 7 items. Thanks Peg for the push in the right direction, I know I wouldn't have had these finishes without that gentle push. It's been loads of fun, and the month still has a few days left for more completions.

Happy Stitching.

A Little Look and a little swap housekeeping

I thought I'd get the ball rolling with the bag swap and show just a little of what I've been doing in the evenings.... just a little look. A little blurry and still with the pen marks. I've set up a flickr pool for you to add your photo's, whether it's your fabric choice or progress as you go along. Just remember not to disclose who you're stitching for. We ended up with a total of 90 swappers.. I think I only made 2 boo boos, so considering the number that's not too bad.

If you were in the pincushion swap and 1. haven't received your parcel, or 2. haven't received a thank you, can you please email me and let me know.
As there have been just a couple of hiccups with the last swap I'm going to ask that you to let me know when, 1.you've received your bag from your partner, and 2. when you've sent a thank you and 3. when you've received a thank you. My thought is that a thank you should be sent, before you blog about your parcel. If I keep a record of these details we can see if the emails are getting sucked into that vacuum in space.

Happy Stitching.

Two more swappers needed, Fun Tutorial and a Giveaway

It seems that a swappers email got sucked into cyberspace and she's missed out on the swap. I don't like to think that someone who wanted to join in, has to sit on the sideline, so now I need 2 more ladies to join the swap today. EDIT: Thank you to the ladies who helped me out here and joined the swap. It is now closed, and all swap partner emails have been sent out. If you haven't yet received yours, check your spam folder, still no joy, then shoot me an email and I'll re-send it to you.

Because I've had so many emails and comments over the last few days I hope you will all accept my thank you for your kind words here and let me make a fresh start on replies from today.

There's been some changes happening in the allstitchedup home over the weekend. Miss Hollie has moved out, and moved in with a group of friends not far from home. I understand her need to spread her wings, especially after spending two plus years in a very strict boarding school. So things are much quieter, and tidier...lol... I now have all my sewing things back into the sewing room and out of the living room and bedroom.

While I was blog reading last night I noticed that Lisa, one of the lovely swappers from the pincushion swap has done a terrific tutorial for a covered tape measure. Pop on over and say hello to Lisa and take a look. She's done a whizz bang job with the photo's and directions.

I finally put the last stitch into the cupcake swap item last week and have it ready to mail, but I know Stina wants me to wait a little longer. It's such a nice feeling having it completed before the deadline, there's nothing worse than feeling like you have to rush to get something finished. So I suppose you'd like another peek.

Once it's been mailed and received than I can show you what I've been teasing you with, but I don't want to spoil the surprise for Stina.

I decided to have a play last week with the charms I ordered and this is part of the pile so far.
I've come to a screeching halt as I ran out of background fabric, so I'll need to shop, oh darn that'll be hard....

I also completed the last of the little nine patches for the swap I've been doing with Bren, so these will get mailed out next weekend. We're now trying to decide on what block to use as the alternate block and think we'll swap those for the next few months.

I've also made a start on the bag for the swap, but I can't show you that just yet.

Now to the giveaway, if you jump on over to here and enter you may just be the lucky winner.

Happy Stitching and thanks so much for sticking with me through all the swap posts.

Bag Swappers

All the emails have been sent with your partners details. If I've matched you up with someone you swapped with in the pincushion swap, I'm sorry. Trying to get all my ducks in a row with 86 swappers was a challenge to say the least.
If your email didn't contain colour preferences, that means your partner didn't give me any. The due date to mail is September 12th. Please DON'T mail prior to September 1st.
Feel free to email your partner using ANOTHER email address and please don't let them know who you are. Remember this is a secret swap.
Above all enjoy the swap.

Happy Stitching.

Bag Swap Closed

We have 86 swappers from around the globe. I'll send out emails on Monday. Thank you to everyone who signed up. As there were so many of you I haven't been able to reply to each email, so please check the side bar to make sure your name is there as a swapper. If it isn't please email me before Monday morning so I can add it before I send out partner details.

Happy Swapping

Scraps Galore!!!

Oh I do like my postman, he leaves such lovely parcels and boxes at my front door for me. Today was no exception. Nicole had a scrap giveaway on Monday, a huge basket overflowing with beautiful scraps and off cuts from her quilting. I was one of the very blessed winners. Look at these beauties, from simple plaids to pretty pastels to rich and vibrant shades. She also included a lovely Roman Holiday charm pack.

Thank you so much Nicole, there are many of these that will be going into a new project that I was collecting fabrics for. If you're not a regular visitor to Nicole's blog, then pop on over and check out all her beautiful finishes and read about the antics of her Ozzie.

Happy Stitching.

Pincushion and Bag Swap Update

The bag swap will close in 24 hours, so you have until 8.30 pm Saturday evening US time. We are up to 77 swappers and I think it's time to close it. So if you've been sitting on the fence wondering about whether you'd like to join in, now is the time to jump in . Please check the side bar to make sure your name is there as a bag swapper. If I've missed your email or it's gone into cyberspace please shoot me another one with "Bag Swap" in the subject line.
Once I have the last of the names I'll let you all know via another post that it's closed. I'll start sending out emails with your partners details. I hope to have this completed by Monday afternoon.
I've had a couple of swappers email me to find out whether their partner has received their pincushion yet. Ladies please remember that these are gifts and a thank you is not only good manners it is necessary to be included in future swaps.

Happy Swapping.

Bag Swap Closing, Few Suggestions and Thoughts

I'll be closing the swap on Sunday evening as we are up to 54 swappers already. There are a number of new to me bloggers who have signed up for this swap. Check the side bar and pay them a visit. One lady started a blog so that she could join in on the swap. I'll take some time over the next few days and visit those of you who are new to me. Please also check the side bar to make sure your name is there for the swap. If you don't see your name please send me an email and let me know.
Many have said they have the perfect pattern that they want to use, and others have said they have the perfect fabrics. Please don't start stitching until you have received your partners details. This makes it so much easier for me to match you up with someone, if I'm not trying to match two different swappers with different fabric/colour preferences.
I know there are a number who haven't ventured into bag making before. There are so many different patterns and styles to choose from. My suggestion for those of you who haven't done much bag making, would be to choose a fairly simple pattern and jazz it up with either applique, embroidery or embellishments. The pattern itself doesn't need to be complicated. If anyone needs help please don't hesitate to ask, there are so many experienced stitcher's amongst us, I'm sure someone will have an answer for you.

As there are so many of you I've set up a spread sheet....lol... Yes I know... My husband would tell you I'm the organisation queen (I try real hard to organise him as well). Just a couple of things to remember.

1. Please keep your partners details somewhere safe.
2. When you are ready to mail your parcel to your partner, please send me an email so I can let them know to expect their parcel.
3. When you mail your parcel, remember to include in your parcel, your name, email address and blog address.
4. When you receive an email from me letting you know your parcel is on the way, PLEASE reply.
5. Once you have received your parcel please let me know by email so I can mark it off the list as being received.
6. THE most important, please use your manners and send a private email to your partner thanking them for their time and talents. Leaving a general thank you on your blog or theirs just doesn't cut it.

Again I will try and match you up so that you are mailing to an overseas destination, and for those of you who were in the pincushion swap, I'll do my best to give you each a different partner.

Happy Swapping.

Swaps, Bits and Pieces another pincushion photo

I'll start with another pincushion photo. This came in over the weekend. It's so pretty.

Yum Rocky Road, lucky swap partner who received this parcel.
Edit:

Marica very kindly made a logo for the bag swappers, feel free to add it to your blog. Thank you so much Marcia, that was so thoughtful of you.

Wow, what an amazing response to the bag swap. Already we have 37 swappers signed up. One of the swappers (sorry can't remember who it was) asked for some inspiration for patterns. As I'm an Aussie through and through I'll give you links to the Aussie designers. So here we go:

http://cinderberrystitches.typepad.com/cinderberrystitches/

http://gailpandesigns.typepad.com/my_weblog/

http://leanneshouse.typepad.com/leanneshouse/

http://lynetteandersondesigns.typepad.com/lynette_anderson_designs/

http://marglowdesigns.typepad.com/marg_low_designs/

http://mellyandme.typepad.com/melly_me/

http://natalierossinstitches.typepad.com/natalie_ross_in_stitches/

http://rosaliequinlandesigns.typepad.com/rosaliequinlandesigns/

http://thejanellewindcollection.typepad.com/the_janelle_wind_collecti/

http://willowvalleystore.typepad.com/willowvalleystore/

If you need a store in the US that carries these designers patterns then I'd suggest you go here:
http://www.treasuredthreadsonline.com/quiltshop/ Shannon will help you, and if she doesn't have it in stock she is always willing to get a pattern for you.

If anyone needs help just shoot me an email. I've spent the best part of the morning adding names to the side bar for the swap and copying details into a Word document, pheew, that's done until the next wave of swappers hits my in box. If you have signed up for the swap and you don't see your name please let me know and I'll make sure I add it.

I spent a little time on the weekend working on the last item for the cupcake swap. This swap certainly has been a load of fun. I'm wondering if I should give another little peek!! So here you are Stina, another little tease, just for you!!I'm doing my best to answer all the emails, if I haven't gotten to yours yet please know I'm working on it.

Paula very sweetly gave me this award yesterday, thank you Paula.

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.

2. Link to the person you received your award from.

3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4. Put links of those blogs on yours.

5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you have nominated.

Loulee gave me this award some time ago, sorry it's taken so long Loulee.

The Arte y Pico Award.

Pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.


As I'm not very good at picking blogs for these types of awards (I hate to leave people out) consider yourself awarded and feel free to take the graphics and rules.



Happy Stitching

Swap Anyone!!!

Before I begin, let me just say a huge THANK YOU to all the wonderful swappers from the pincushion swap. The response to the swap was awesome and the creations were just wonderful. I hope that some of you have new friendships from that swap, and to top it all of you were all a wonderful group of ladies to swap with. Hats off to all of you for making it such a fun and successful swap.
So are you ready for another swap? Now we've seen pincushions, cupcakes, and aprons, so this is going to be different. Bags and buckets, but I’m not talking grocery bags and laundry buckets. How about stitching bags and buckets? We all love to have pretty and useful stitching bags/buckets to either hold or carry our handwork in and there are so many beautiful designs and patterns available. I’m not talking about your basic draw string bag or basic two sided tote. I’m talking about beautiful creations with either applique, embroidery or piecing involved, something you would be proud to give, proud to own yourself. Before you think I'm not a bag maker and think this swap isn't for you.You DO NOT need to be a seamstress or bag maker extraordinaire. Bag making is no different from making a quilt, there are cutting direction and step by step instructions to follow. As long as you do one step at a time, and don't look at the last step first you won't have any problems. If you're still not sure, I'll offer to help you as much as I can. I have free long distance within the USA and very cheap rates to Australia. If you live outside either of these two countries, I'll do my best to help you via email or through a chat mode.
Margaret has very kindly allowed me to borrow some of her photo’s from her blog, so let me give you some examples of what I’m talking about with a few of my own ideas thrown in for good measure.

So here’s how it will work.
This swap will be open to international swappers, so please be prepared to swap with someone overseas. I’ll try and match up as I did in the previous swap, so that you get someone from another country, depending on the number who sign up, makes it so much more interesting and fun, plus it’s a great way of making new friends.
It will again be a secret swap, makes for more interest, trying to guess who your partner is.
You need to have an active blog, (please don’t email me and ask if you can join in if you don’t have a blog). This would be a wonderful opportunity to start a blog.
You need to have an email attached to your blog address so that I can keep in contact with you. PLEASE make sure you do NOT have your settings at No Reply. If you’re not sure how to change it then pop on over to Donna's blog and read this post.
A thank you is a must. Please take the time and write your swap partner a thank you once you have received your parcel. A simple thank you on your blog just doesn’t cut it.
Swap on time, if you have a problem please let me know so I can let your partner know there will be a little delay. We all know how life sometimes gets in the way of our plans.
One of the swappers from the pincushion swap emailed me to let me know that her partner had set up a special email account so that she could keep in contact with her, without giving away her identity, what a clever idea. So, you may be interested in that.
You are more than welcome to include other items in your parcel, but it is NOT a requirement for the swap.
Please include in your parcel, your name, email address and your blog address. This saves me a lot of time forwarding this information onto your partner and allows your partner to let you know the parcel has arrived safely and offer her thanks.
Once you have received your parcel, please email me so I can mark it off against your name, this way I can keep track of the parcels.

Bag/Bucket are to be made with 100% pre-washed quality fabric.
Embellish to your hearts content, but please no glue.

As in the last swap, if you sign up and do not fulfil your swap you will be named publicly.
Dates
Sign up until July 31st (or until I close it)
As soon as all the names have been collected I’ll email your partner details.
Mailing date September 12th.
Sign up
Email me directly at lindaronne@yahoo.com with "bag swap" in the subject line by the deadline. If you leave a comment here on the blog asking to be include, please then send an email with your details.

Include the following information in the email.
1 Full name
2. Mailing address
3. Blog address
4. Email address (if different)
5. Your colour preferences (if any)

Remember when mailing overseas to limit the amount on the customs slip, and to mark it as a gift.
As your names come in I’ll add it to the sidebar, so if you’ve signed up but don’t see your name please shoot me an email and let me know.
When you are ready to mail your parcel to your partner please email me and let me know, (including her details) so I can let your partner know to expect a parcel. Then feel free to upload your photo to the flickr group (which will be set up).
When you receive an email from me notifying you that a parcel is on it’s way to your mail box, please be polite and respond to that email. This saves me a load of time.

If I've forgotten something that you think is important please send an email and I'll add it to the guidelines.

Above all have fun, you have all proved that swaps are fun and successful.

Happy Swapping.

Congratulations!!!!

Congratulations to all the pincushion swappers, I can now say that the swap is officially closed. All the pincushions have been sent out, some have been received and some are still in the air on their way to their new homes. I've tried to visit your blogs to check whether you've received your parcel. Please remember to send a personal thank you to your partner. We only had one hiccup where a swapper had to re-stuff her pincushion... Amazing considering there were 50 swappers. Thank you to ALL of you for making this such a fun and successful swap.

Happy Stitching.

More Pincushion Photo's

More photo's have come in for you to feast on. There have been quite a few comments and emails thanking me for the swap. I feel I need to thank ALL of the wonderful ladies who joined in on this swap, without you and your contribution it wouldn't have been the success that it was. So thank you ladies, you've made some of the best pincushions I've seen, and your generosity to share with your partners is just amazing.