Needle Girls Birthday 2026 - Flower Power - De

We decided our Birthday gifts for 2026 would be based on the theme "Flower Power".  To be interpreted any way we like.

My present for Lynda in February was a cute crocheted pot with bunny ears and a flower.  I didn't take photos of that as it wasn't my creation.

March is De's Birthday.

Sometime last year, I purchased some fabric that had "De's Texture Basics" on the selvedge.  It was a great fabric for the placemats I was doing - but the selvedge was also very appealing.  So, I stashed the selvedge away.

Then Maureen bought some fabric that had the word "Daisy" on the selvedge...I had to get some of that!

When I was going through some selvedges for my door stopper boot (future post), I found another perfect selvedge - "Petal Power": and "I think of you every daisy"

I had a blue/yellow daisy fabric and teamed it with the orange daisies and the selvedges and made a bag for De.
The outside

The Inside

That sorted the "Flower" bit and a little bit of "Power" - but then I thought of some Powerade.   As I was about to cover the "ade" part of the bottle, I realised that if I just covered the A - I had "DE" left.  I added a 4 so now the bottle reads "Power for De".

I guess she will get the joke...

Some Placemats

One of my groups is a collection of ladies with very varied craft skills. and we meet in a Co-op shop that is run by a group of very talented crafty people.  Their skills cover not just textile art, but glass fusion, paper, leather, silver....

We meet monthly and usually have a bit of a project where those who know share with those who don't know.  In 2025, at our first meeting, we made some name tags from random pieces of textiles.  

At one session, I showed how I make a couple of my angels, we have had a session on diagonal crochet blocks, one session of scrunching up paper with hand lotion etc...I missed that one sadly.

I also ran a session about making EPP hexie flowers.    A lot of the ladies had done this before.   I took along some fabrics left over after another group that some of us were in stopped, and I took the hexies "papers" and needles and thread.

Once the hexies had been made, I used them to create placemats - the plan being that we would donate them to the Meals on Wheels group in that area.   (Different groupd to my local one.)

I appliqued the flowers to fabric - added wadding , quitled and bound them.   Some of the ladies helped with the hand sewing of the binding of the first lot and then I put on the big girl pants and machine bound some of them - still not my preferred method, but it is a bit quicker...LOL

We have 17 to donate so far......

Here are a few:   

Not great pictures, I just like to record a few to jog my memory later on.

Chookshed Challenge - #8 - February - Trains Trucks & Tractors - Progress

My eldest daughter has two boys (just 7 and 3.5).  They are typical boys - love trucks, construction vehicles, garbage trucks and any sort of vehicle really.

She saw this quilt pattern and thought I could make it for the boys....I am not getting into the "one quilt for two boys" scenario...I've discussed it with her - it will be her issue...LOL).  They don't use quilts on their beds as they live in Townsville.

And in case you want to be enabled....its available here.
Or in your Local Quilt Shop - an Australian Designer (Chris Hill).

Last October, when she was here, she did a quick raid on my fabrics and selected some that she thought would be good.  A starting point at least.

I put this one on my Chookshed Challenge so that I would make a start - probably good it came up early in the year...there is a lot of tracing and cutting before the applique starts..

Like her mother, "Patterns are just a guide" - she wants it narrower - and she doesn't want blocks - she wants rows!  I will make the train the full width of the finished top and put two vehicles on each row for the rest of the top.  We already have a panel to put on the back, so that is my guide for width.

This is my small amount of progress - creating the excavator and train.   I may make all the vehicles before I start putting them on strips for the backgrounds.  Mostly it will be sky and road or grass (for the tractor), or train tracks (thinking black & white stripes).

I plan to add "Townsville branded" garbage and recycling trucks. When I get some photos.

As a side note, I have long thought that it would be handy to have a light box that I could iron on....Sometimes when I move my carefully placed pieces to the ironing board/mat, they move, even if I use one of those silicone mats.
I recently purchased a cheap A4 sized light box as the A3 one is sometimes too big for the space I am working in (and I can take it to retreats without too much hassle)....and recently Aldi had a pack of 2 glass cutting boards.
I have been able to construct these pieces using the cutting board over the light box and feel happy to leave the iron there long enough to fix the bits in place....I wouldn't leave it too long, but it's enough so that the pieces don't move.   The packaging does say not to use it on a direct heat source...so I best be a bit careful!

Thanks Deana for continuing the Chookshed Challenge for 2026.  It really helps me make sure I do what ever it is that I should be doing, and it binds the whole Chooky tribe together.

Still not getting my comments to emails, so I can't reply to everyone, though I am trying!!!   (Yes, my husband will say very trying.)

Birthday Flowers - January

During December, I worked on a Cross Stitch SAL - the design was a mystery, and there were 80 stitches to do each day....Easy Peasy ...kind of...in December?? When life is already busy enough??

I didn't get around to finishing it off for Christmas 2025 -
The last pattern arrived on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve,..LOL

BUT to continue the saga

A few of us (De & Helen) were doing the same project...you know...."enablers" both of them!
AND the designer (Anna) offers a yearly membership which includes free patterns and also three of her "for sale" patterns for free.  So, I signed up for a year.

In 2026, the monthly project is Birthday Flowers.  I have finished January - a bit late....of course....

Helen purchased some stretchy frames from that place overseas ...and kindly gave De & me one each - and then kindly framed mine - just to show how easy it was...LOL   (not really).


Anna's designs can be found here.

or her facebook group is  Artmishka Cross Stitch. Designer Anna Gutova.
Just in case you are tempted....(don't blame me though)

Sunday Stitchers - Challenge #5 - Temperature Tree

Early January 2025, I decided to make a Temperature Tree in Cross Stitch after seeing this pattern.

Designed by Sarah Huges for Stitchin' Mommy.
Available on Etsy.

Friend De also wanted to do it  . . . and after my blog post, a number of people hopped on board the Temperature Tree bus.
I created a Facebook Messenger group so we could all share our progress, ask questions etc...and complain about temperatures....LOL
We had members in Far North Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, New Zealand and also Denice in Michigan, USA.  (Of course, hers was so different !)

De found a blank calendar that I used to record the temperatures and generally I tried to work on it for FNwF and FNSI....(well, I tried...)

I planned around our maximums going from 15 to 34.

AI tells me:

Brisbane experiences a warm subtropical climate with average 

annual daily maximum temperatures generally 

ranging between 21C in July to 30C in January & February.

Just goes to show you cannot always believe AI!!!

2025 gave us a COLD (for Brisbane) maximum of 17 in June and a VERY HIGH maximum of 39 in October.....I had to find more colours for 35, 36 and I had to group 37 and above.

Most people added a legend to show what colour represented what temperature, so  I did that too.

I decided to add fabric borders 

Strictly speaking, this was meant to be the January project for Sunday Stitchers....but.... "extenuating circumstances" prevented that happening. . . . .

NOTE: Comments are not coming to my email at the moment, so my replies may be delayed or they may look a bit weird compared to normal....

Sunday Stitchers - Project Challenge - #7 - Blue & Silver Tree Skirt

The February Challenge Number for Sunday Stitchers was #7 - to finish one of the tree skirts I made here. (March 2025...not too long ago!)

This is for a small white tree, so I made it about 22" in diameter.

I have a red & green one to finish too....that is in my Chookshed Challenge List...LOL

Chookshed Challenge - # 3 -January

Running very late.   Without going into detail, life here has been a bit chaotic - since late December - and I am claiming "extenuating circumstances" for the delay.

Last December at our SHLIMS Christmas meeting - Sue gave us each a mug with our initial on it.  Someone suggested we bring the mugs each month and that it would be good to have a mug bag to put it in.

The mug:

So, of course, mine needed to be matchy-matchy and the mug bag was created.
I had a friend digitise an "S" to match the logo on the mug.   And of course, a coaster was needed.

 

I keep a separate bag for each of the groups I go to - it's a handy place to put things I need to remember to take....and I didn't have a SHLIMS bag.
Now I do:

A while back, I thought it would be fun to add a tag to each bag. The bags are all different, and I don't really need an identifier on each one, but I made these for the other bags.

Too many groups??? Yes, you are right - in fact, there is one more, so I will make a tag for that the next time I am in machine embroidery mode.

Now I'd best get on with my February challenge project...trying to catch up!

A Little January Finish

January has been a bit chaotic here...But I do have a little finish before the end of the month.

Our Needle Girls group decided we needed to choose a word for the year....We did this before in 2024.   That year I chose "Focus" - to try to keep me on track....Too many new projects that my enabling friends find for me....

So, after consulting my spreadsheet of 2025 projects, a lot of which I didn't get finished, I decided the word for this year should be . . .

 

It's hung on the wall near my machine and laptop....I can't miss it!

Christmas Traditions & Greetings

It's that busy time of the year....Some of us are well prepared - some of us excel under pressure!  (that would be me???...LOL)

Tradition 1 - Each year, I make these snow globe ornaments for my daughters for their children. 

Tradition 2 - I make angels.  I started this tradition in 2002.  You can see them all here.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
I hope you can share it with the people who mean a lot to you, family or friends.

Thanks for reading my blog this year.

My apologies to those whose blogs I usually read...

Life has been busy!!! And I will catch up over Christmas.

Christmas Celebrations

Now that the Birthday Celebrations are over, the Christmas ones are happening.

This is a ridiculously long post - it is really for me so I can look back ..so skip over it if you like.........

Definitely a First World Problem!!!

Loose Threads

We meet the first Saturday of the month - this month was changed to Sunday, so I could go to Helen's 80 Birthday party.

We agreed to do a Secret Santa Swap to about $15 value.

My present was a small dish, loaded with a small Christmas cake, chocolates, a Christmas tree decoration, a Scratchie, a puzzle book and some tea bags - it went to Rachel.
I forgot to take a picture.

I received Maureen's gift - a lovely tray, a string bag, and a crochet tree decoration - it's a granny square made into a tree....very clever!

We went out for lunch to a local Thai restaurant.

Queensland Quilters Night Group

Our present swap was a placemat.  I made this one...It IS a repeat of one I've made twice before - but it's a different group, so all good.

I received this one - just love the tiny trees!

We had a few games - including Pass the Parcel and I scored this orange fat quarter - a great present as my orange stash is quite small.

Machine Embroidery Group

I meet with a group of ladies each month who mostly do machine embroidery.  I don't do much of it - but I have been able to pick up a few tips & tricks and they are all very generous with their time answering any questions I have.  Ocassionally people bring in stuff to offload and I have collected threads and organza during the year.

This year I made some decorations on the embroidery machine - for example, the stocking below - and discovered how much easier it is to stitch on organza and use a soldering iron to clean up the edges...I get a MUCH better result than using WSS.

We met for a Christmas lunch - we don't do any Secret Santa stuff - but we have a destash table - so you can take along things you no longer want and you are free to take as much of anything as you like - the only stipulation being that you must take home anything that no one else wants.

Needle Girls

Always OTT and a lot of fun!

We had decided that our gift to each person was to be 5 things - based on the words in "Twas the Night Before Christmas".

I gave:

Stocking decoration
Image of creatures on PVC and a Panda Pencil...(a panda is a creature  . . .)
Cherries (I really wanted Sugar Plums, but I was told the stone fruit season was a bit late this year, so not a lot of plums about)
"Little House" - a small container of pins
"And to All a Good Night.." liquid soap...a very lucky find!

Forgot a photo - but here is the stocking 

I received:
From De

Fabric with mouse images
Cherry  notepad and note book
Packet of Jelly and a bowl

Sleigh with a sack full of toys

Sugar Plum Passion hand cream

From Helen

House container
Plum jam
wooden creature  - a dinosaur
Stocking of chocolates
Saint Nicholas Cherry scented hand sanitiser

From Lynda

Bowl with Fruit Jelly/s
an Elf in a small box
Cherry liqueur chocolates
Plate with a House - the plate is called Night Before
Sewing machine with a lustre
"And to all a Good Night" cross stitch pattern

From Sandi

Fly swatter
Plate with Saint Nicholas
Mouse pincushion kit (to be finished by our November retreat)
Reindeer coaster (and I have a mug that matches)

Jar of Oregano - full of dry leaves

Sunday Stitchers

We had our normal bonbon swap.  5 items.  Fat Quarter, Decoration, Personal Pamper item, Edible Treat and a Surprise - I included a Scratchie.

It went to Hilda...I hope she won some money . . . 

I received a bonbon from Chris

We also had to gift one person a Christmas box with 5 items in it - to match the word SANTA.
I bought for De and included:

Sweetheart Sprinkles
Apple hand sanitiser
NotePad - from Anni Downs
Treats - Random lollies...(De understood the "random" concept)
Aquelle paints - and a pad of black paper for her to paint on...maybe a bit of an odd selection...but two A's was challenging.....LOL ...and I like to be a bit random too.

I received my box from Deb and it included:

Shoe/Slipper case with some quilty tools
Beeswax Soap bag  - including the soap
Artificial plant
Nougat
Tree  decoration
Apple  magnet
Licquorce All sorts

I was very spoilt!!!

There was the usual array of small gifts from each person.

Alison - fabric star

Chris - home-made cookie - and tree decoration

De - glass ornament with bell

Deb - personalised notebook

Helen - rocking horse and chocolate

Hilda - Santa Claus ornament

Lynda - House decoration and Merry Christmas peg

Maria - Ferrer Rocher chocolates and a $1 scratchie

Michelle - Santa hat with chocolate and chuppa chup

Sandi - handmade cards

Sue - Fabric ornament

We each bring food:- morning tea & nibbles

Lunch - cold meat, salads and bread

Dessert - our traditional Coles Luxury pudding & Pauls custard

And some Clodhoppers (White chocolate, Crispex, Almonds, Cranberries & cinnamon)

Scattered Arts Sunday Social Group

We met at Pera Palace at Wynnum - a lovely place to visit - beautiful decor and lovely food.
We had coffee (and maybe some cake) and some of us stayed for lunch.

We had decided to swap a Christmas decoration.
I made a small machine embroidery tree ornament.

I received an angel 

Very appropriate for me!

SHLIMS

The last sewing group Christmas get-together

We all bought food to share.

Last year we had made bags for each person, and this year we needed to fill that persons bag with a decoration and a decorated face washer and any other gift.

I bought these cute little plates 

and an angel decoration,

I added a small flower motif to white face washers

Trying to fit a nice thick and fluffy face washer and other gifts in a bag that only just measures 5 x 7 is a challenge!!!

Gifts I received. . .

From Hilda

a knitted face cloth, a couple of tea towels, one made into a hanging towel,
a mini fan, a teddy and a Santa bag,
a round Santa container with wonder clips, & some chocolates

From Louise

beige face cloth with fabric decoration, some handmade gift tags,
a mini jar of tomato sauce,
a diary, a candy cane pen and a kit kat

From Maureen

a soft pink face cloth with crochet edge, two house coasters, a sewing machine pin,
a blue bird decoration, a mini note pad, and a cross-stitched mini hanging (with SEW)

From Sue

a brown face cloth with hand stitching of my name, a Cotaage Garden Thread,
a gingerbread house decoration, a coffee mug with S,
purple fabric, small scissors and a needle minder.

Oh My Gosh...it's been a fun filled, busy time in December...still family Christmas stuff to go!

It's been a great year with all my sewing groups and I am very glad that I have so many groups with such varied skills.

Merry Christmas to you...and thanks for reading & sometimes commenting on my blog.