An Exquisite "Surprise" Prize...

We had a big roll up on Friday night with our monthly virtual Sew In, with 38 joining in.  What fun we had, and lots of lovelies created on the night too!  You can pop back here to catch up if you missed out.  The links are live and you can visit lots of wonderful bloggers with LOADS of inspiration.

Before I share who Mr RNG chose as this month's winner, (I actually think you're all winners and I'd love to be able to give you all a prize!!!!)  I promised I'd show you the "Surprise Prize" for the first month of 2017.....
Ta dah.........

and it's true.....the photos really don't do it justice.  These are two gorgeous half yard pieces of a discontinued range of fabric called 'Rock Candy' by Blank Quilting .  One is a rusty tone with gold textured highlights and the other is a rich chocolate brown with opulent bronze textures.  Both are exquisite and will be a valuable addition to the winner's stockpile.

Speaking of a winner.......Mr RNG has drawn a number and when I looked at who it was, I thought, even though I'd had this fabric picked earlier this week, he must have glanced into his crystal ball because it's as if he'd known.......it will be in great hands, that I'm sure!

Congratulations go to :

❀❀❀ PEG of Happy in Quilting ❀❀❀

If you know Peg, you will know how prolific a quilter and stitcher she is.  I'm sure she'll put this prize to great use!

Thank you to everyone for joining in this month.....I'm so looking forward to February FNSI already.  Mark it in your diaries, it's  February 17 (which also happens to be my big brother's birthday!).....might have to have a special prize next month!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

My FNSI efforts....

More progress on my cross-stitched find on Friday night with all my friends at our first-for-2017 monthly virtual stitchy get-together.

I managed to get a little birdy finished, some flowers and the rest of the lattice-work (well, my Friday night DID extend into the weekend, I must admit! After a rather strenuous Thursday gardening and mowing session where I 'thought' I'd blown up the mower and I suffered a little heatstroke, I needed to spread it out a little)  A good stitchy rest over the weekend helped enormously and I'm all good now.

 I just love this find.....mind you, there's as much reverse stitching in counted cross stitch as there is in stitchery!  Particularly when you're doing one colour at a time!  Or is it just me??? I wonder!

But I do think it's worth it!  Don't you?

I didn't get to Val Laird's BOM block as my printer needed new ink and won't run with even one colour missing....I keep forgetting it when I go into town, so that's on tomorrow's list of things to do.....as is drawing this month's winner of FNSI.  Have you had a chance to catch up with what everyone got up to?  Pop back here and browse through the blogs....some gorgeous stuff happening on Friday nights, that's for sure!

I"m off for an exercise test tomorrow to check my ticker can keep up with me!  (Phew, after Thursday, I'm not so sure...mind you it was in the high 30 degrees C.)  I'll post a winner later on in the early evening, when I get home.  Make sure you've got your FNSI post up on your blogs to make it valid.....and the prize is......

you'll just have to wait and see! *wink* It'll be worth it.......promise!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

First FNSI for 2017

Yep, it's that time......this Friday is our first FNSI for 2017...and I can't wait!

I've got a few things lined up to get started for my night.....the first is something I can slow stitch in front of the tv, whilst I catch up with some Friday Night TV watching.

It's the first block of Val Laird's free BOM "Hand-Picked Wardrobe".  It's adorable...and you can sew along too.  Pop on over HERE and find out more about it.



Then I might continue with some more of my cross stitch find.  I have made some more progress  with the addition of the centre bird but it's slow going.

I know a lot of you are prettying up your blogs for the new year and I'd be honoured if you added my FNSI button to your sidebar so that we can have more and more people joining in on all the fun in 2017.

 Just right click on it and Save Image as or Copy Image over to your site with a link back to my blog.

Don't forget to link up below and share with your friends so that we can have a really productive night.  I'm so looking forward to it.....and you know, there'll always be a prize for one lucky joiner-innerer! *wink*

xox Sugary hugs :o)

Crafty fun to be had by all

It has been a hectic week with not much crafty business going on in Sugarlane.

However, Sunday was hubby's birthday so we spent the night celebrating with family and friends...and there WAS lots of raucous laughter and joking around.

The cake was a beauty, baked by my fabulous mother-in-law.....she really is the best cook!
This was a masterchef-eat-your-heart-out creation....crafted beautifully - a monster, 6-inch high, light-as-air, chocolate cake with swirly butter-choc icing (is it obvious what hubby's favourite cake is and why I've put on 25kg since I've been married?)

There is a little left though....stored in the fridge for sharing with coffee during the week.    Monday was a rest day with hubby, who took the day off before returning to work up in the bush on Tuesday morning. Partway through the day I had a harried call asking for help......supplies were needed up at the property, so I did some quick emergency shopping, loaded the car, drove the hour up and had a quick bite to eat before heading home again.  Yep, a crafty plan by my hubby, but the drive is always fun and I enjoy spending time with him, however limited.

Wednesday I accompanied my 'baby' to Townsville to purchase his very first 'good' car.  He had been craftily researching for quite a while and decided it was time.  Our appointment to test drive was at 9am so, with a number of roadworks on the way, we left at 7.15am.   It was quite strange driving up in this 20 year old beast.....

and returning that afternoon in this one year old beastess.......

 We had to wait around most of the day whilst paint protection, window tinting and interior protection was done, as was the mountain of paperwork!  We made the exciting trip home at 4, chattering madly all the way.  Unfortunately, going through the roadworks, a truck passing in the opposite direction threw a stone and it chipped the windscreen, ever so small, but it was NOT welcomed, I can assure you.  All and still, it was a fun day to share with my boy.

Today was work. So a super busy day at Lifeline was had, and the humidity was a killer.  We're having a bit of a heatwave at the moment with lows circling around us and monsoonal troughs lingering northwards bringing wet weather and HEAT!  I'm grateful for air- conditioning, that's for sure.  But even though it's hot, we always manage to have a load of fun....and today was load day, so I got to play in all the crafty stuff!

 The mailman decided to deliver some happy mail too, which is never ending crafty fun.....

a prize I'd won in a Facebook competition held by Stitches of Love, a mother-daughter team sharing quilty love.  It's a gorgeous Holly Horse mug rug kit....I can see this being a lovely gift for a horsey friend.    

My other surprise mail was my monthly subscription to FatQuarterShop's  #sewsampler quilting box

I love receiving these as there's always stuff in there we can't get easily in Australia (well I can't in regional Australia anyway!).   It's like Christmas every month.

Tomorrow is definitely a stay-at-home day.....there's cleaning to be done, and I have a little stitcher's keeper to complete!   Yep, you guessed it, play time......what fun I'm going to have!

Hope your week has allowed you to include some crafty fun,too, whether it's in the craft room or not, there's fun to be had everywhere!

xox sugary hugs :o)

Friday Night With Friends at Cheryll's Place

I was determined to get the stitchery for my Let's Get Stitched Kris Kringle gift underway before the last minute (as is the usual case).....so Friday afternoon I had a look on my Pinterest pages and got some inspiration.
Because the theme for LGS this year is Christmas, I went for a wintery look, something that's atypical in the north of the country  but that one day, I long to experience.

Believe it or not, I finished it!

  I'm really so happy with how it turned out in  its variegated Threadworx Christmas colours.....

Now to stitch it up into it's little Stitcher's Keeper, designed by the wonderful Fee.
 That's on the agenda for this week....along with a couple of other stitchy projects!

Thank you to the lovely Cheryll for hosting us on Friday night...it's not too late to pop over to Chez's place to see what everyone else got up to...we certainly had some fun!

xox Sugary hugs :o)

I resolve to.........

I didn't add the pictures from my holiday that I thought I would....some I added to facebook, but I'll get to it.

I've decided this year, to be kind to me.   These past few days since New Year's have all been quiet contemplation.....not so much new year's resolutions but just an awareness of what I need.

You see, every year I make resolutions, like most people I guess, and every year I hear the same words echo in my head.........failed, failure, useless, can't, hope, might, never, wouldn't, shouldn't,......and although I consider myself a fairly 'glass-half-full' kinda person, this was a bit of an eye-opener for me - I'm really positive to others, but so hard on myself.

So, instead of the 'lose-30kg-in-6-months' diet I plan EVERY year, I'm learning about why I sabotage myself when I do lose weight and try to understand why I have the mental thumbscrews on so tight.

The 'I-will-have-this-house-neat-as-a-pin' regime I start off with gusto EVERY year, I'm planning to do one or two jobs each day, and be satisfied with doing those well, knowing I'll get there in the end.

And the 'get-rid-of-all-those-ufo's-in-my-craftroom' resolution I have EVERY year, well I know that's not going to happen, so I'm not going to beat myself over the head and I'll just plod along, being happy that they are getting done, one step at a time.

I'm going to BE KIND TO ME in 2017.    I figure if I'm kind to me, then the flow on effect will be amazing!

I've known for a while I have food issues.......I grew up in a time when 'you can't leave the table until everything on that plate is finished' or 'think about all the starving kids in Africa', and never mind the 'there'll be no dessert until you eat everything on that plate', or 'you'll go to bed without any dinner then' was commonplace.   Hence, 40+ years on, I have issues.....well, really I've had them all along but I'm aware of them now and where they stemmed from, but they're so deep-seated....how do I address them, where do I start?

Starting off the year with my usual New Year's ideas in quiet contemplation, I stumbled upon a great website called the DailyOM.  (*no affiliate links here, folks...just love the content so I have to share - although if there was a kick-back..... :o) )

I've started three of them.......
Emotional Freedom from Food,  A Year to Clear What's Holding You Back, and Clear Your Home, Clear Your Life.  There are hundreds more, so I'm sure these are going to be my 'go-to' this year for that quiet 'tap on the shoulder......Wendy, really?!' moment.

I'm making a point to 'be kind to me'.  What about your craft room you might ask?

Well, I'm starting off the year with Cheryll tomorrow night with Friday Night With Friends.   If you want to join in, pop on over to Cheryll's place and link up.  The light is always on and the friendship is truly warmer than our Queensland summer days!

And that's just the start. I'm planning on spending more time stitching with the people who make me laugh, cry, swoon, love - people who make me happy.   Want to join me?

xox Sugary hugs :o)