Christmas Gifts & Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you've gotten off to a good start for the New Year!!

2011 wasn't the greatest year that I've had in my lifetime, it had a few ups and downs, so I am grateful for a new year and new starts, and I can already feel that 2012 is going to be a good one :)

It's been a while since I've blogged, and I've got a fair bit to blog about, but today I wanted to show a couple of Christmas presents.

We didn't get to spend Christmas with my parents this year. They are currently living in Finland, serving a mission for our Church. I wanted to make them something that could possibly fit in their suitcases when they come back home later this year, so I made them a couple of cushion covers from French General's Rouenneries.

.... closer .....

..... CLOSER  :) .....

I have loved making 3D pinwheels, and I don't think this will be the last cushion I make with them.

My Nana is a seamstress and has made me many gorgeous dresses throughout my life, including my wedding dress. Some of the most beautiful things she has made for me was made with silk dupioni, so I thought I'd make Nana a Swoon cushion made with silk dupioni and Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile. I adjusted the size to make it a little smaller at 20 inches.

I love the texture of the silk and how the colours change as the light changes.

Nana's favourite colours are purples and pinks so she really loved it.

Oh and this is some fabric goodness that I got for Christmas.....

.... gorgeous Nani Iro double gauze ... I've got plans for a simple, super soft quilt.

Thanks Mum & Dad!!

Happy New Year!!

I know I'm about 6 days late but I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year. I hope that 2011 is wonderful for you and your family!!

So I thought I'd share a little about what I've been up to of late.........

I went to Sydney for my brother Matthew and his beautiful new wife Freja's wedding!

Even though it rained and stormed that afternoon when they were having photos, they still had big smiles on their faces and their ceremony was very special.

Here are my parents and siblings and I.

& here are some of my handsome (and very cheeky) nephews.
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I was feeling a little under the weather in early December and so I didn't do a whole lot of sewing but I did manage to get a couple of Christmas presents made for family.

My mother-in-law finally received her "Pine For You" Christmas quilt.

Her favourite colour is purple and so she loved this quilt. I had originally started to hand quilt around each tree but I wasn't happy with my stitches (they seemed to not always go through to the back) so I unpicked it and I was happy with simple stitch in the ditch around the blocks and borders.

I was pretty happy with how I pieced the 2 back panels .... the seam is almost invisible.

I have a few other things to show you but I didn't take photos before I gifted them. So I'll ask the new owner to send me some photos so I can share them with you soon.