Christmas

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We were blessed with TWO Christmas Day's this year - the first with Stu's family in the City and the second with mine in the 'Bridge. Beautiful food, fantastic company, and we were all spoilt rotten - although the youngest member of our family did rather well, I have to say! Still, he will be helping me to write thank-you cards sometime in the next few weeks - a very important task - and seemed to enjoy giving presents as much as receiving them which still makes me smile. And we FINALLY have our calm and settled little boy back - yay! And more big news that I am FINALLY able to share - my little sister is having a baby in June too! Yippee! We were running neck and neck with our dates but her recent trip to the midwife confirms that she is 16 weeks along and due a week before me...too exciting!

And can I share one family tradition that I love? My family draws names out of the hat each Christmas for the following Christmas - and each person then has 12 months to MAKE a present for their recipient, from the whole family (and yes, you can MAKE the money to buy a present if you're really stuck!). This year, we made a family photograph for my Dad (which has yet to be taken and framed - but we couldn't take it without my parents!) and bought a facial for my sister, and we received a basket of homemade and specialty goodies (made by Mum) and a whole sheep for the freezer (made by Dad - who's a sheep farmer!). Spoilt!

Other handmade gifts this year included:

A bag for my SIL, Pippa, which includes my first attempt at putting in a zip:

The handles and decorative detailing on this bag which Harri made AGES ago but has never finished:

So, my sewing plans for the holidays and beyond?

1. Cut out and piece BabyHill's quilt.
2. Tidy my quilt stash.
3. Cut out and sew my Amy Butler Overnight Travel Bag.
   
4. Nappy Bags x4 (one each for my sister and I, one for a commission, and one that's still a secret...)
   

That should keep me busy for a while!

'Tis The Season!

My Chocolate, Prune, Fig and Port Christmas Cake: Made in November, complete with a wooden spoon and a set of family wishes. Will try a bite this afternoon and let you know the verdict! As a rule I LOATHE Christmas cake, but add chocolate and I can very easily make an exception...

Our new favourite dessert: Apple tarte tartin. Simple AND delicious. Thank you Donna Hay!

Bitty Booties for Baby Charlotte: Happy Christmas, beautiful girl! More hand-made presents to post after Christmas (obviously) although, to be honest, I didn't get as many things made as I had hoped to. What WAS fun though was the Christmas Cooking Class attended by my sister, my sister-in-law and I a few weeks ago. Wayne is a fantastic chef and teacher and the recipes are inspired and divine...with the entire menu, including my contribution of the summer tomato tarts, a couscous/roast vegetable/feta salad, and strawberry and mascapone tarts, to be featured at the G-family Christmas Feast at Honeysuckle Cottage on Boxing Day. Stu and I have always taken turn about with our presence on Christmas Day and, this year, we're with his family for "the day" and mine for "the day after".

The big news in our house this year? Not our new baby, but the fact that Santa will actually arrive down our chimney tomorrow night AND that he will be bringing presents. While I am usually not the biggest fan of the stress and expectation associated with Christmas, there is something to be said for seeing the season through the eyes of a three year old - who is just as excited about giving the other gifts under the tree, as he is about receiving his own.

Perfect.

And may your holidays be perfect too.

Merry Christmas. xx

Time to tell: All is well

Finally, an explanation for my tiredness, my complete lack of sewing, and my awful and irregular updates.

Stu and I will be adding to our little family sometime in June next year.

And no, we're not getting a dog.

My Best Friend's Wedding

This past weeked I had the absolute pleasure of being Best Woman at one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been to. Jewels and the G-Man were married in the City on Saturday evening and while I know that a TEAM of support people and IMMENSE amounts of hard work and acute attention to detail made this wedding possible, it certainly paid off. The Bride looked divine, the Best Women looked stunning (of course), the ceremony was perfect, the weather held, the fireworks were spectacular (thanks to Christmas in the Park!), the food was amazing (gourmet fish and chips!) and we danced all night. Those flowers? Peonies. Hundreds of pink and white peonies flown in from the South especially for the grand occasion. My bouquet was so heavy I could barely hold it up.

Glorious.

Congratulations, you two. You are perfect for each other. And as the Best Man said, "May your love be modern enough to last the times yet traditional enough to last forever".

Glorious.

Arrivals

1. December. Holy shirt-tales Batman, where has this year gone!? [Please do not tell me how many sleeps there are until Christmas, I may implode...]

2. Summer is finally here! Today is simply glorious in the City Of Sails, the most amazing and perfect first summer's weekend day...about time too! CeeJae and I abandoned a sleeping Daddy early this morning (who was out until all hours watching bad 8o's videos!) and headed out to the park, before breakfasting on pancakes and other kinds of yumminess at our favourite local cafe, Frolic. Perfect.

3. Marsy's little parcel of goodies have arrived! I made her a bag for leaving a comment on my blog and parceled it up with a little scrap and button bag and a classic children's book (My Cat Likes To Hide in Boxes!) for her daughter. The nine-patch on the front is actually the American vintage patch that Marsy sent me as part of our magazine swap...it somehow seemed fitting for it to be returned to her in this way. The pattern in a ElleMae-Amy Butler Nappy Bag hybrid and the interior is striped, spotted, and floral flannels. Soft and pretty.

4. Jewels arrives in the City on Monday for her wedding to the G-Man next Saturday. I am really looking forward to her arrival as we have lots of fun and girly things planned for next week (I have a few days off), including a cocktail celebration hen's night and pedicures!

5. A pretty new Rosalie Quinlan bag pattern for a special Christmas present - I'm not at all keen on the paisley but I love the style and have a few Amy Butler's which will be perfect for both bag and recipient. Still, while I refuse to acknowledge the number of sleeps until Christmas, I am well aware that I had better get off the computer and get sewing!