A "blink of an eye" kind of week

Hello dear friends & readers,

The past week has gone by in the blink of an eye ... somewhere in the midst of it all we welcomed December in . . . 

Early last week I had the loveliest group bring their lunch to eat & enjoy

After the most awful cold winds & nasty weather ... we actually managed a nice sunny day

They laid out the most beautiful spread on my decking table (AND invited me to join them) ...
 its always a good sign that they are enjoying their visit when they are reluctant to move onto their next destination

They were such a lovely group of ladies ... "a coffee & craft group" from Hamilton

Then the next really lovely visit I had was from fellow blogger Sue - we had met up once before & judging by the amount of talking that went on, we will surely be meeting up again!!

Sue never arrives empty handed & this is the assortment of treasures she bought in the boot of her car

. . . all gifted to "yours truely" . . .

Sue is a real Op Shop Queen & the wooden pieces were Op Shop finds, while the gorgeous candy coloured blanket remnants were leftovers from a "coat of many colours" Sue is currently making herself using thrifted wool blankets

Just mouthwatering colours   :-)
Thank you SO much Sue ... you can read Sue's post about her visit here & she even managed a great photo of little Madam Jinxy (up a tree no less!!!!)

I had been requested to make up another 8 hanging baskets for  local Bar & Eatery "The Redoubt" ... the last order I did for them was way back in May

A mixture of Lobelia, geraniums & cascading petunias to tolerate the hot dry winds they get where they hang

While in Mitre 10 choosing the plants my favourite garden centre assistant Wendy, asked me if I had any of my Mums knitted girl gollies left ... she would like 2 please.  
Oh I am sure there are some girls left in the basket I assured her . . .

Oh dear . . . 5 mustard coloured boys, no girls !!!! What to do ???
A quick phone call to Mum who assured me that NO she couldn't possibly manage to knit me two before christmas 
. . .  forced me put my thinking cap on . . .

I chose the 2 with the longest/wooliest hair ... & gathered up a length of fabric into a "skirt" then added a bow in the same fabric to their hair (Oh & stitched a small bee button to their jackets)
Wendy was just delighted & about now the 2 girls are winging their way to Australia for christmas stockings.

My friend Lois who frequently gets me to do bits & pieces for her, dropped off this bag of oddments quite sometime ago.  It had been weighing on my mind that I needed to get it sorted for her

That is actually her wedding dress to the left ... I havent even touched that part of the order yet.

The roll cushion needed to be recovered in the green stripe fabric, the cream wool cross stitch cushion needed to be taken apart, a good soak to clean it, then a new inner & new backing made for it. 

The delicate crinolene lady china cup had a hairline crack so I turned it into a pincushion for Lois

The wedding dress is to be used to dress a doll (as yet unmade) ... but that may have to be a project for next year
 I feel.


This "always kiss me goodnight heart" was an order for a "new baby boy who has everything" gift

I had a couple of these in the Cottage but nothing in suitable colours for a new baby boy ... so I made this one up especially for the customer.
The pattern is called Sentimental Hearts by Laurel Hermon & is torn out of a very old Homespun Magazine

I have sold these in the past to be given to new babys & always think what a beautiful gift they make for the baby who has everything.


Before I go make a cuppa I would love to share a few more photos from Kayne & Nicoles recent wedding - they loaded some to my computer over the weekend

Precious Little Karma

Beautiful Nicole

As the weather was so bad they took them down to the wine cellars to take some photos

. . .  my 2 boys & I  . . .

This last one is one of my absolute favourites - just a random snap of Kayne sharing a laugh with Nicoles Dad & the 2 grandads ... love it.

Thanks for staying with me through a photo heavy post dear readers
I hope the coming week is good to you all & you are managing the lead up to christmas okay - the next couple of weeks can be a busy time so try to remember to take some time out to "smell the roses" along the way . . .

Just as little Madam Jinxy is doing   . . .   !!!!!!

with much love & friendship to you all
Julie x0x0x