Playing the waiting game...

Well I am sitting here catching up on emails and playing the waiting game...lol
DD Brooke is going into hospital today at 11 am to be induced...
Her waters broke last night but according to her nothing has happened yet!! just some small niggly pains......
Am on standby for now as she wants me with her at the end!! not sure about that...lol
I am sure her and Tony can handle it together...lol as long as he doesn't faint or anything.....hehehe
Better go and get some things organised.. will update my blog when I have some news..
Catch ya all later.

Baby Andy

And this little fella is Baby Andy..

I couldn't just have a Baby Annie and Kitty without having Andy!!...

I finished him off last month but have had trouble uploading my pics to my blog.

He has an adorable birthmark on his forehead that is all thanks to Nikayla... she just had to give him a kiss and a cuddle just after I had finished making him and of course her sloppy kiss left this mark on his forehead...lol

Baby Andy
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

Old Thyme annie

Well I have finally finished making something else for ME!!!....

I got her stuffed on

Sunday morning then stained her lunchtime Sunday.. Monday morning I did her face and finished off her clothes last night......

I am actually quite pleased with the way she has turned out..

She is a Make Mine Primitive pattern called Old Thyme Annie.. and once you get into it she doesn't take too long to actually put together..

Old Thyme annie
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

Another Cape I had to make

Another Cape I had to make
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

This is Tahlia in her xmas cape I had to make for the dress up day..lol

She was meant to be dressed as a xmas fairy out of one of her story books.......

It took me a day to make each of these capes for the girls, Tahlia's is an adaptation of Zoe's..

2 girls in their capes

This is the 2 of them posing for pics just before heading off on the bus to school..

they were both pleased with their respective capes and so was I... lol

2 girls in their capes
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

Harry Potter cape

This is Zoe in her Harry Potter cape she needed for a dress up day at school last week...... hence mum to the rescue and this is the result of a day playing with patterns etc...I was actually quiet pleased with the way it turned out and so was Zoe.......lol

Harry Potter cape
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

She is meant to be dressed as one of the girl wizards but I can't remember which one

Some stuff I have been working on...

Thought it about time I put up some pics of some of the stuff I have been working on...
I haven't been doing a real lot as I have been lacking in motivation but some I have managed to finish and some I finished early august.......
Well the thought was there but blogger won't let me upload any pics at the moment so I will add them in later.......lol

Tag Name Game

TAG - NAME GAME

I've been tagged!!!

so if you've been tagged here is what you do.........

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your name.

When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your own name game facts.

At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your name to tag. I am going to cheat here and not pass this on.... most people I know have already been tagged...

My name is:

J - my son has the same initials as me..... Josh

U- I think I have unreal expectations of myself at times...

L- I come from a large family of 4 sisters and 1 bro..

I- Inspiration and motivation are something I am lacking in a lot of the time...

A-I won my age championship for Athletics at high school in Year 7!!

N-at times I have a never die attitude.........

N-I am going to be a 'nanna' (really a gran but nanna fitted the letter better) in 3 weeks time..

E-I am an evening person, don't do mornings real well but I do them......

There is a saying in life......

that when a dog is down you kick it!!!! it is a strange saying but sadly some people live by that saying......
Why do people have to be so hurtful and nasty in what they do in life..... are they so sad in their own lives that they have to make everyone else's around them sad also.... or do they just get a kick out of hurting other people.....
why anyone would get a kick out seeing the pain they cause to others is beyond me..
Why do people have to keep dredging up things that happen in the past, does it give them some joy to see what pain they can cause to others..... do they think at all about what repercussions it has on other people around them, even those that may not seem to be involved but are thru friendships with others...... do they think of what hurt it may cause to others who are innocent bystanders..... i think not.
it is a shame in this day and age with the advancement of technology that some people take advantage of that and use it to detriment...... it is so easy to hide behind a keyboard and attack others they do not know or even to offend them... would they do that if they were face to face with those people........
sadly there are people like this in the world. People who think it is okay to forward on a nasty email instead of using the delete button..... people who think it is okay to be nasty to others, people who continually think it is okay to put other people down for their opinions...
why add to the heartache that is around today by sending on something that is deliberately written to hurt others.....by sendng it on you are as guilty as the original writer of the nastiness and hurt it can cause....
i have had to deal with a lot of heartache and pain in my years but the one thing that still stands out to me is something my grandmother helped me to see.
When i was a little girl and staying with my grandmother she took me to see the disney movie Bambi...... and i can still remember to this day what Thumper's mum said to him.....
'If you have nothing nice to say, you don't say anything at all..'
It made a deep impression on me.......the hurt and pain an innocent thoughtless remark can have on someone.......
this is something i have tried to teach my kids and i have tried to live by myself.....especially since getting thru my teen years....
oh i am the first to admit I was not the nicest person thru my teen years but i did have a sister who had a lot to do with that.....i was not treated the best and retaliated...... something i am not proud of now........but that is in the past.....where it belongs.....
It is so much easier and nicer to always say something nice, it makes your life and that of those around you so much better. Heaven knows it is a hard enough life without adding hatred and nastiness to it........
I have had my fair amount of heartache over the years but one thing it has all taught me is that family and friends are more important than anything material in the world. and sometimes it is more important to have good friends around you than family.......especially when you have a family who are so far apart in thought and ideals......
do people think of what pain the words they speak or write can have on others.....
do people realise that sometimes people walk every day on the edge??
just one bad comment, one snide remark, one stirring comment can be enough to push those people over that edge..
i know i wouldn't like to think that a comment i made was responsible for pushing someone over that edge, being responsible for the one last thing that pushed that someone just that bit too far....

At long last it has finally arrived....

Boy it has only taken 2 months to get here but it has finally arrived!!!!

The kids are as excited, if not more, than us.........lol

Yep we are finally the proud new owners of a Captiva LX...
looks just like this one......hehehe
and it is beautiful to drive....... I just need to get used to it..









It seems as though we are only doing 60kms when in fact we are doing 100.... so will have to watch my speed...lol
We picked it up on Wednesday and have already done over 300 kms in it.......mind you that involved bringing it home and then had to venture to Port Fairy for doctors appointments and then back north to Hamilton for netball training and then finally back home....... hopefully it won't be travelling that much from now on........ but who knows........

hadn't realised it had been so long...

I hadn't realised it had been so long since I last posted... time just seems to be flying past me at the moment.....
Haven't really managed to do much in the line of sewing but have managed to finish off all the towells for embroidery for the footy club and finished off the hats as well... so they are all done for another year......
I have managed to finish off some trousers for Nikayla but she is growing so quickly I now need to go and make some more for her.... have partially finished 6 pairs of pyjama pants for the 4 girls just need to add the elastic and they can have them......lol
One thing I have been doing is knitting...... I have half finished a poncho for Tahlia and also finished one sock for Nikayla... lol I started doing the socks on no. 3 dpns as advised by the lady in the shop!! the pattern called for 2.25 dpns!! I will finish off the other sock and then do a pair for Tahlia on the 2.25s as I feel it would turn out better.....
I thought I would have a hunt through my stash of wool and was quite surprised at the amount I found I had... bit embarassing really..... one good thing is it doesn't go off... lol ...... the younger kids have been asking me to knit them hats with the ear flaps and the plaited bits as they are all the fashion round here now so I thought I would see what wool I had.....
I found a cardigan I had started knitting about 6 or 7 years ago, all it needed was sewing up to finish it off but I think it will be a little small for me now so I might undo it and wash the wool and find another pattern to make with it.......also found a cardigan I had started knitting for Tahlia or Zoe? can't remember which one, but it would fit Nikayla now if I finished it off....... I will think about it.....lol
Think I better just finish off what I have to do first or I will end up with more ufos......lol

Football for Brady has finished for the year with the Grand final being last Sunday and they had their presentation night after the game...... Sadly Brady's team lost by 4 goals on Sunday but they played to the best of their ability. It was a good game to watch.
Lauren has the last round of the season with netball on Saturday, they won't play in the finals so that will be the end of netball for the year for her.... Josh plays Saturday in football too but they still have the finals to go yet.... and that is if he is not working......
Josh is slowly learning about working life....... he may have to work Saturday mornings and miss out on football but I told him that is life......
Then in about 6 weeks time cricket starts for all 3 of them again......lol
Tahlia still has a couple more weeks of her netball to go but that is local and doesn't involve much travelling so is much easier to work in....

I recently upgraded my embroidery software and am anxious to get the time to install it and have a play around with it...... this one comes with a pen and tablet so I can physically draw my own designs into my program now and digitise them...... whereas before you had to do it with your mouse and cursors...... this will simplify things so much more... I can't wait until I actually get the time to have a good play around with it....lol
I think I am past these cold sunless days and am looking forward to bright sunny warm days...... I hate winter as it tends to get me down and I hate not being able to get out and do things and I also hate being cold.....lol
Brooke is going along quite well, haven't actually caught up with her for a week or so but I will.
She only has about 5 weeks to go now I think...... I did the good mum thing and washed some of the baby clothes this week and now just have to do the blankets and pass them on to her....

Nice Matters Award....

Amazing I actually managed to add a pic all on my own!! and what a pic to learn on... lol

thanks Kate for the Nice Matters Award , just wish I could tag you back..

Okay now I have to tag 5 more.hmmmm

1st would have to be my sis Megs of pints palette, who does a wonderful job with her painting and has 2 beautiful kids who we miss very much.. http://pintspalette.blogspot.com/

2nd would have to be my other sis Tikki of Tikki's~fabric addict, who is another amazing achiever. She is also mum to our gorgeous niece Lily who we also miss seeing very much..

http://tikkifabricaddict.blogspot.com/

3rd would have to be Khris of Sew Prim. who does amazing work with all types of cloth dolls.. and is a very good friend of mine... http://sewprimfriends.blogspot.com/

4th probably already had one of these sent to her but she deserves another..lol

Anita of Anita's Ramblings.. http://rileysrambles.blogspot.com/

5th goes to ......... will have to think on this and let you know.... cos everyone has already been tagged.... lol

These 4 ladies need to now copy and paste the award to their blog and nominate 5 more people..

machine embroidered logo

Thought i had better put up a pic of some of my work i do........ I digitise the designs on my computer program and then transfer them to my machine..

machine embroidered logo
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

this is one of my embroidered logos I have digitized and embroider..... I also have to sew the pockets on the shirts of any life members for this club..lol

This is one of the ongoing jobs that i have... I have been doing this design on their shirts for around 4 years now and also digitise and embroider any sponsors' logos they get then they are also embroidered onto the cricket shirts or onto badges to go on the sleeves.. keeps me rather busy come September and all thru the cricket season till the end of March. lol

I will have a go at digitizing almost anything, i enjoy playing around with my programs and seeing what i can come up with and with the advance in technology it is getting easier all the time to do more fancy things...... mind you it is rather expensive to set up but it is worth it if you are serious about digitizing and machine embroidery.. i think i have upgraded my computer program at least twice and my embroidery sewing machines are ones that are always up to date.. via the internet...lol so i always have the most up to date machines.. all at no extra cost to me...... well worth the extra money it costs at the start to get one of these machines.....plus you can also use them as sewing machines and they are excellent sewing.....

i have been busy sewing up clothes for my kids recently, surprisingly some of my kids will still wear handmade clothes........ and also if i want i can add embroidery to them and no one knows if they are designer made or home made..... cuts the cost of clothing in half at least...... although fabric is starting to cost more nowadays..... i also like to embellish the smaller kids clothing with ribbons and ricrac which seems to be the trend along with the embroidered pics....

will post some pics of some of the things i have been doing when i get a chance to take some pics....

only 8 weeks to go....

spoke with oldest dd last night to check up on her... she had a scan yesterday to check on the growth of bubs..
both are doing well and bubs is growing fine.. looks as though it will only be a small bub which is not a worry..
haven't ultrasounds come a long way...... she said yesterday you could see the tufts of hair on the baby's head in the scan??? isn't it amazing..
apparently this bub is going to have a bit of hair and she still has 8 weeks to go....
Brooke was born with a head full of hair and dark.... looks like bubs might take after mum, as dad is fair and was blonde as a child.....
we are all starting to get really excited here and can't wait.....hehehe
it sure has gone really quickly and i still have heaps to do for them before bubs comes along..
best my butt into gear......

fruitful day today...

i feel as though i have actually achieved something today.....
lol no sewing but close.....
i rearranged my sewing room!!!
i have 2 embroidery/sewing machines now and as i only had one desk set up as a workstation i desparately needed somewhere else to set up my other machine....
then i could be sewing while embroiderying or even embroidering on both machines...
have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out a way i could do it until today the lightbulb went on up there........lol
i have had 2 desks all this time and never clicked......lol
so today i moved the other desk closer to the powerpoint, which meant a lot of moving of other stuff and relocating of bits and bobs........ but it is now done and much cleaner too i must add... and all i need to do now is put a few small things away and i am in business..
Funnily enough i never found anything to throw out though....... does this mean i am a hoarder or just that i treasure every little bit of fabric and thread i own.....lol
so now i am going off to my sewing room to play.......
well to finish sewing the girls pyjamas and trousers i have been making.... then i might have a play around with one of the dolls i am also making at the moment........
i think i have way too many things on the go at the same time....... lol

another month gone......

oh can someone please tell me where another month has gone to....
i just seem to be hanging in by the seat of my pants lately.... i don't think i will ever catch up on everything I have to do.......
Exciting news for us last week....
my second eldest was offered an apprenticeship!! He has been doing a school based apprenticeship and after a few hiccups......lol like his first employer going bankrupt... and him having to find another school based apprenticeship.....
his current employer offered him a full time apprenticeship last Wednesday and he needed an answer by Thursday........ so after a lot of umming and ahhing we decided to let him take it....
If he had waited and finished Year 11 the apprenticeship wouldn't have been there......so we really had no choice.......
spoke with his teachers and they told us we have done the right thing as it is getting really hard to get apprenticeships now.... so that makes me feel better knowing i think we have done the right thing by him...
so he has 2 weeks holidays and then starts full time work......
Kids have such big dreams when they first enter the work force... listening to him saying what he is going to do and how much he is going to save etc... lol ..... if only......
time will tell if he enjoys it but it will be a lot different from school that is for sure....

Teapot tablerunner

Teapot tablerunner
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

another of my likes is teapots/cups..
I made this table runner a while back and changed the applique to my liking....

I would really like to use it as a banner on my blog but for some reason i can't work out how to upload my pics to my blog....... lol

i have to upload them to flicker first then blog them........ oh it would be so easy if i could just upload straight to here..

i am sure it is something simple i need to turn on or off on my settings :-(( but this will have to do for now.........

Foundation pieced bags

Foundation pieced bags
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

Now these i have made quite a few of...
these are one of the easiest bags to make..... they are foundation pieced together and are very quick to make......

I have an order for one in reds like the one in the pic that i must get to and make pronto... or my sis won't like me very much...lol

a pair of friends

this pair of friends i made back in 2005 for a friend..

might think about making some for myself one day... i quite like the mammies and the prim dolls now.... i am currently working on a pattern from 'Make mine Primitive' that is a prim raggedy annie......Old thyme annie is her name..

she is currently awaiting stuffing and colouring....lol

I have an array of different styles of dolls i have made over the years and i don't usually tend to stick to one style until recently. i have become more interested in the aged look of the prim dolls.....something about them seems to catch my eye and i am finding my tastes changing towards them..

DSC01013
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

xmas decoration

this is another of my recently finished projects..

it is a star xmas decoration but has had pipberries added to the striped pocket since i took this pic which makes it look finished off..

xmas decoration
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

baby annie and kitty

these little dolls are from a pattern by 'Angels in Disguise'.

I have made a little baby andy to go with them but have no pic of him as yet. i was really pleased with the faces on these 2 as it was the first time I'd attempted to paint faces....

they only stand about 10inches high so are only a little doll but still cute i think

baby annie and kitty
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

sticky fingers

this is the adorable Nikayla..... my youngest. she is now just over 16 months and full of cheek as the pic shows

sticky fingers
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

she is very helpful when it comes to helping me out with my sewing..........NOT.... she quite enjoys pulling out all my fabric and helping unpack all my bits and bobs....

Thursday night i sat down with the older kids to make a polar fleece blanket and she came and popped herself in the middle of the fabric so we couldn't do anything...... after much kicking and screaming she finally did move and went and had a lie down...

when she awoke she found the fabric had turned into a nice pooh bear blanket for her to cuddle up with..........hehehe will pop up a pic when the lighting is better for a photo

Marilyn's bag 2

Marilyn's bag 2
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

this is the back view of the bag I made Marilyn. the pieces with the ladies are actually pockets and there is another on the other side panel.

this was a fun bag to make as i played around with different styles to come up with the finished product.

Marilyn's bag

Marilyn's bag
Originally uploaded by ginger & coffee dreams

Finally i have worked out a way to upload photos to my blog!! lol

this is a pic of a bag I made for a friend... i designed and embroidered the design on the front pocket, the bag is a design of my own also........

i very rarely use a pattern nowadays when i am making bags.......i just seem to put them together as they go.....lol

sorry that the pic is not very clear will have to look into this uploading problem a bit more...

wow where has the last month gone

well who can tell me where the last month has gone........ cos i have no idea...
with school holidays being upon us and almost finished it has made life hard here but only 2 more sleeps and the kids go back to school and i can go back to sanity...... LOL
i have not achieved a lot over the last month in the way of sewing or embroidery sadly.
of course i have managed to do the usual towells etc that i have to do weekly but other than that i have not really got much done.....
i have managed to finish off a little boy doll that just needed his face painted and have finished off a doll bag holder..... although i really don't like her face she will have to do for now.....
If only i could work out how to upload pics here i would be able to put up some pics so you would know what i am talking about......lol

First up

Okay where do I start...lol

i have been thinking of doing one of these for a long time but never really got around to it.

So here goes...

Have been sewing for a long time now and have slowly broadened my skills and about 5 years ago purchased my first embroidery machine, which I have had a lot of fun playing with..

My dh I think was the first one to dob me in to friends on what I could do with my machine and I guess it all stemmed from there..

I, along with a dear friend, have taught ourselves how to use our machines and our computer programs...

I now digitise and embroider mostly my own designs and do a lot of commission work but also still dabble in my love of patchwork and bags...
I am busy doing hats and towels and of course lots of shirts... along with looking after my tribe..