Stacked Coins Quilt Underway

So my house is trashed and I really need to get on top of the washing so I can start packing for our holiday, but this quilt wont let me...
I cut all the pieces over the weekend and sewed it together today - naughty! I just couldn't wait see how it was going to look. It's done now so I can get back to what I am meant to be doing. I am really happy with it, other than being a bit loud, I am hoping white sashing and borders will calm it down.

Thank you to everyone who gave me some more ideas about where to go in Melbourne. Can anyone recommend a good Italian restaurant, now I know there a lot, but I am sure there are some favourites...

Melbournette's Please Help Me

So I am off to Melbourne this weekend for a long weekend - yippee! I have never been to Melbourne before and I am soo excited. I have been pretty calm about it because I had horrible thoughts of not getting Baby J's passport in time, especially when I made a mistake on his form and it was sent back to me. But it's in my hot hand now and we're off...well first thing Friday morning we're off...

I have four days, four glorious days with my husband and Baby J in Melbourne. So they mustn't be wasted! My older two are going on their own little holiday with their grandparents (my in laws), who have booked a resort in Taupo and plan to take them skiing - how amazing is that! What memories they will have. So everyone is happy, no guilty feelings about leaving them behind.

OK, so enough blahhing on..

Melbounette's out there, please help with a plan of attack! What am I going to do? The very kind Corrie has started my list for me:

Craftie Shops:
Amitie - Bentleigh
Wool Baa - Albert Park
Clegs - City
Kimono House - City
A button shop - in the city - does anyone know about this one?

Food:
Make sure you visit the cake shops on Ackland St and St Kilda
Soulmama in St Kilda

Any recommendations on shopping, eating and things to do greatly appreciated - thanks ladies!

Meet My Matryoshka

Meet my matryoshka, isn't she sweet?

But what is she for?
She's my daughters hot water bottle cover! OK so maybe a little over the top I have to admit.
But once I had finished my sons hot water bottle cover and was trying to decide what to do for my daughter, I just kept seeing a matryoshka. So here she is!

Thank you everyone who gave me wonderful feedback on my fabric choices for my sons quilt - I really appreciate it! I have decided to go with all the fabrics (which is probably best, considering I bought them all for this project). And I have taken the wise advice of Kate and will start off using a pattern to make a stacked coin quilt. I am hoping for that "pop" everyone is talking about, which hopefully I'll get using the red fabrics and white borders. I'll get on to it tonight. Please leave me a comment if you know of any good tutorials.

What Do You Think?

So I want to finally make my first quilt, but I am not particularly sure about my fabric, I love these two, but as for the rest it certainly isn't my first choice, but all you can readily get your hands on in NZ. So I figure I should just make it!
I plan to make it a scrap looking quilt out of randomly placed squares and rectangles, so there's my first question, will that work?
And I am not sure what colour combination to do either...
1. Do I just stick with my two main fabrics, plus some blue?
2. Or do I use reds and blues?
3. Or does this look better? Just the cowboy fabric with plain reds and blues?

Geppers guys, I really do need your help here. Otherwise I will be going around in circles for days, weeks, years and it will never get done! Please help me!

My Creative Space...

I have quite a pile of things to do sitting on my dining table. I just can't bring myself to do anything. So I thought I would post about it, it's always such a motivator knowing my blogging friends are waiting to see some progress.
So here is my Baby Matryoshka, she has sat there on top of my sewing machine watching me, waiting for her mama! My daughter is also waiting...
Mama is half way there, can you see her? I just keep running into design problems, and having to rethink how I am going to do her.
I bet you can't guess what she is going to be for!

Check out more creative spaces at Kootoyoo...

Polka Dot Swap Update

Hello ladies, I have emailed everyone their swap partner details.
If you didn't receive an email - please contact me ASAP (I hope I haven't missed anyone out!)
So...let the fun begin!

PS one of our fellow swappers has a patchwork tote giveaway at the moment. Go check it out at Serendipity Design

Finally Something Productive!

So I have been pretty preoccupied organising my polka dot swap. But in the weekend (which was mud) I made something that I have been wanting to do for ages.
It's the little needle book in the the Cath Kidston Make! book - so here it is - finally!
And as for the mud weekend - we were all happily drinking our fix of choice at a cafe in the mall when my husband got a call, an on call, call! My heart sank! I then spent the next while by myself drinking my hot chocolate, when my husband came back and told me we had to go...he ended up working 22 hours straight...needless to say...I had a mud weekend. I hate being on my own, when I say on my own, without my hubby!
The only thing to ease the blow were these lovely cookie cutters I bought before the "call", but they weren't that great company on Saturday night!
And this fabulous set of five plastic hearts, that clip into each other. I'm slowly getting prepared for the cake extravaganza ahead of me.

Sign Ups Are Now Closed

Sign ups are now closed - thank you everyone who is participating!
I'll be in touch with you all by this Wednesday to give you the details of your swap partners...it's going to be so much fun!
Click here for more details.

Who Broke The Laptop?

Oh no! Did you touch Daddy's birthday cake Little Miss B?
"Nope! I'm not sure. I'm sure I didn't. I was just looking."
That's the culprit there! Lurking behind the cake in pink. She was absolutely infatuated with it! She kept asking "does he have a nose?" So I put it up really really high!
I am having a play with fondant cakes at the moment, this one is my second attempt in order to get ready for all three of my kids birthdays which are six weeks within each other. I usually just buy their cakes but I feel up to the challenge this year. My husband loves banana cake and looked quite guttered when I told him I wanted to practice my mud cake, so I compromised with the bottom of the cake being banana and top piece mud. He also wasn't sure about a guy asleep with his mouth open, on a sofa with a laptop on his lap...he thought a young fit footballer would have been more appropriate!

Happy Birthday to my darling husband! Thank you for being the awesome husband and father you are!

Three more days left to sign up for the Polka Dot Swap! Don't miss out - it's going to rock! See below for details.

It's A Polka Dot Swap!

Signs up are now closed!

It’s a polka dot swap! I have made up a little package to make it all the more exciting to receive your box of goodies from your swap partner. Sign ups close on Sunday 14 June!

The Swap:

• You are to make anything you want out of fabric but you must include some polka dot fabric
• Three pieces of scrap fabric (no smaller than approx 20 x 20cm), one must include polka dots in it
• Plus one other item that has polka dots in it

You are welcome to add anything else you wish. Don’t forget to have a nosey at your swap partner’s blog to see what they are into and like.

The Details:
Anyone with a blog may join this swap
International swappers welcome
Please don’t sign up if you wont follow through - we don't want any sad faces in the midst of our swap
Your swap should have at least a $20.00 NZD value before shipping
Sign ups close on Sunday 14 June
I will contact you with your partner details by Wednesday 17 June
Swap packages must be posted by Wednesday 15 July (that gives you four weeks)

Sign Up Now!
Email me at polkadotdaze@xtra.co.nz with the following:
Name
Postage address
Email address
Blog name
Can I list your blog on my sidebar?
Are you willing to ship internationally or would you prefer I try to find someone from your country to partner you with?

Any questions email me or leave a comment!

Taking Votes for My Swap Idea

OK - now I think this sounds like a fabulous idea, but maybe you don't, so I thought if you could just send me a quick comment on what you would prefer to do.

Guys I have removed the options as some people are getting a bit confused, Cheers!

I'll also add a couple more things to include like scraps and buttons...

Let me know what you think and I'll try and have all the details and rules sorted out and posted by tomorrow night - exciting!

Gingerbread Hearts

Little Miss B has been asking all week if we can make cookies, and this morning when she found the cookie cutters I could tell I wasn't going to be able to put it off any longer. So here's my favourite gingerbread recipe, it always turns out really yummy!
This is what happens if you leave a nearly three year old unattended while you run around looking for a camera.

That's better!

Yummy Gingerbread
350g plain flour
1-2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g butter or margarine
175g brown sugar
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup

Put the flour, ginger and soda into a bowl and rub in the butter.
Rub in the sugar.
Stir/rub in the syrup and egg to make a firm dough.
Roll out to about 5mm thick and cut to whatever shape you want.
Bake at 190°C on greased baking trays for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
Leave to firm up for a couple of minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool.

Swap Update
So I have decided I will organise a swap, although I did think more people would be interested. I suppose it doesn't matter if you have 2, 4 or 100 people. I will try and work out a few guidelines this weekend...

Do You Want To Do A Swap?

I keep seeing people in blogland doing swaps, but I always miss out on joining in. They look like so much fun! How exciting making up a little package for your swap partner and in return them sending you one to. Soo....I was wondering if any of you lovely ladies would be interested in a swap if I organise it?

If you're thinking "YES, count me in!" then please help me out by commenting on this post with the following:

• What theme should we have?
• How long do you think you need to get organised?
• How do I match people up?
  
• What should be the rules for a swap?
• Anything else you think may help me organise one.

Basically if you're interested let me know and help me out with a few ideas on how to organise it...please :)

Look What I Got In The Mail...

It's the loveliest little badge by Snapdragon's Garden. Jane was giving them away if you promised to take a photo of it for her and she was kind enough to send me one all the way to from the UK to NZ!
Isn't it sweet? I plan to take some nice pics this weekend. Thank you Jane - I love it!

Chocolate Merino Set Done!

Yay - I did it - everything I wanted to sew in merino is now done! I have to say I am pretty chuffed with myself for not leaving the fabric folded neatly in my fabric box for the whole of winter!
Now I want to design and make some merino pyjamas for Baby J - it seems funny that he wears merino all day then just cotton pyjamas (with a wool vest) for bed! I am thinking of trying to do some funky applique on them, and if they go well making some for my nephews first birthday.

PS The princess dress went well and is finished, but didn't fit Little Miss B, so I lent it to a friend who was also going to the show. Will post a photo later this week.