My Favourite Thing Made by...Somebody Else.

Georgia - My needlebook, made by none other than Ms Windmill herself. :-) It's filled with needles, safety pins, sewing pins, bit of thread. I love it, and use it all the time.

Nicole - Well that's a coincidence because I chose a bag made by Ms. Wombat! I use it all the time and it desperately needs a wash I just noticed. Don't pay attention to the terribly neglected garden featured in the background. There are major changes planned and hopefully it will look better in a couple of months :)

Something Arty/Decorative in My House

Georgia - An odd angle of a painting done by my sister. I took it this way so that you could see the beads that are stitched onto it. This is her website - http://artbycarlaadams.com/index2.php#/home/

Nicole- I love my ceramic Polar Bear, he fits right in with all of our other stuff and furniture from the 1930's.  I bought him at the Norwegian Salvation Army Shop. :)

Breakfast time

Georgia - Toast with vegemite (yum!), coffee still to come, and because it's school holidays at the moment I have some time to actually *sit* and enjoy with a book. :-)

I have to admit that I cheated and took this photo yesterday because my in-laws are visiting this weekend, and they would have thought I was a lunatic if I got the camera out and took a photo of my breakfast this morning. ;-)

Nicole - Well I didn't cheat but I forgot to take a photo! Luckily I'm a lazy housewife and there was still something left to photograph.  ;) I had a slice of bread with Chocolate Sprinkels (called 'Hagelslag' which means 'Hail Sprinkels' ) and a coffee. In the Netherlands you can buy lots of types of  chocolate or sugar-y sprinklets like these for your bread. 

Favourite thing made by...me!

Georgia - An old photo because I've given the quilt away. I made this one for Mum's 60th birthday last year. Making the quilt top was super quick and easy. The quilting took an eternity, and an awful lot of thread! I love it, and I've been madly collecting some more Nani Iro fabric to make one for MYSELF.

Nicole - It was hard to decide, not sure if I had any real favourites and wondering if I maybe should have chosen something I embroidered or had drawn. I chose this quilt because it turned out quite well, considering my lack of expertise and proper quilting tools. I used a not very accurate cardboard template for the squares *shivers* because I didn't have a quilt ruler at the time. And no rotary cutter either. I was also under the impression then that I had to iron the 1/4 of an inch seam allowance to the back of the fabric squares.

In my neighbourhood...

Georgia - ... somebody has this trompe l'oeil painted on a garden wall, and according to two little girls that I know, it's where all imaginary friends live. Magical!

Nicole - o.k. I confess, I saw Georgia's photo before I had made mine and I thought this made a 'nice' contrast to the pretty trompe d'oeil . I didn't even have to leave the house for it (but I did open the front door).

Something that means a lot to me

Georgia - These pearl earrings belonged to my youngest sister, Zoë. She died in an accident in 2001, less than 2 weeks after her 20th birthday. I wore these on my wedding day, as did my other two sisters. They're not only for special occasions though - I wear them a lot. :-)

and... HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICOLE!!!

♪ ♫ ♪ Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Dear Nicole,

Happy Birthday to Yooou! ♪ ♫ ♪

Nicole - I had the hardest time to think of a thing that has special meaning to me. I guess that is not a  bad thing? If I would have to mention one thing it would be my special teddy. My parents gave this bear when I was 2. :)

In my hoop

Georgia - I seem to have lost my embroidery mojo lately, but I did start this a couple of nights ago. A very sweet little pattern - can't remember who designed it though. ;-)

 Nicole - It's such a dark rainy day here so the picture is not very good, sorry about that!. Anyway this is the Fish & Bird embroidery I'm working on. I use the wood grain print on the fabric to 'make waves' and 'clouds'. Lot's of filling to do but I'm not in a hurry :)