When??

So how do you know when its all finished and its actually time to go? Is there a magic sign?

Is it....

When the cushions are plumped up and inviting you to stop, to plop down and have a cuppa and crochet a few rows?

(Please note the coolest organic WA vintage map cushion a la My Bearded Pigeon that we will be stitching our route on as we go. Thanks Cath!! LOVE!! XX)

When the craft supplies are sorted and packed?

(Divine The Textured Leaf pin cushion. Thanks Wendy! xx)

When you would be happy if you never saw a muddy puddle or wet chooken again for the rest of your life.

When the business looks like it will run beautifully and is ready to be handed over?

When there is only a small pile of fire wood left?

When the favourite crockery is stacked neatly waiting?

(Most georgeous doily tea towel by FlowerPress. Thanks Susie. x)

When you have farwelled nearly everyone you know? And some more than once.

When you have nothing left to wear because you have packed all your bestie clothes already?

When the coffee machine is in the caravan and it is too cold to hang out in there to make one?

When the bikes are on the back?

When this year's tax is done? Seriously! Eight days into the new financial year!

When Kate dolly is looking oh so lonely and desperate for company. (Dolly from A Little Vintage. Thanks Jennie! x)

**Jennie is having a 25% off sale in her etsy shop here, pop the code JULYSALE4U in the checkout to claim your discount.

When four bed sheets, four doona covers and 13 caravan sized curtains have been sewn.

When the most hoarded, favourite ever piece of fabric in the stash has been cut up and used as a door curtain.

When Nina Bernina has gone off to sewing machine club med for some well deserved pampering.

When the pile of books on the bedside table is diminishing and the pile on the caravan bookshelf is growing?

When you are so over answering the question when are you going??

When the to-do list is looking scarily finishable?

When keys have been cut and the house minders are packed up and ready to come early next week?

Ahhhhhhhh.....

A couple-a thank you's.

Thank you Lou Lou for the wonderful button/magnet/ring package you sent me. I love it all and so do my girls.

Thank you Abby for the Lunch Punch cutters. We just love punching our sandwiches, play dough, cookies and anything else that is flat and sitting on the kitchen bench for long enough.

Thank you Wendy for the most divine pin cushion I have ever seen. Love, love, love, love it. It is gorgeous and pretty but most of all it is huge enough not to get lost under the crap that resides on my sewing table. Thank you also for the pile of pretty pockets. I look forward to sewing them onto my everything but the thread creations and watching them work a bit of their Wendy magic. I am so thrilled to have a little bit of your gorgeous style in my house with me.

Thank you to Kate for the link to the Turkish bread recipe. I have one word for you, YUM!! Actually I have two more MAKE THIS!!

Thank you to Tamara for letting me use the little blurb on the top of my comment form.

And lastly but firstly and hugely, thank you to my wonderful Farmer Boy for taking these pics of my girlies and I on our way to the wedding on Sunday afternoon. They might not look like anything special to you but they are the only photos of all four of us wearing clothes that I sewed. Yep, I was pretty proud that day.

Actually I've got one more. Thank you dear reader for inspiring me, encouraging me, putting up with me, leaving comments for me, reading along with me and traveling along this wonderful and wild journey with me.

Have a fantabulous Tuesday. XX

Giving & receiving.

Today on the last official day of the Great Pin Cushion Swaperama I can't stop thinking about giving and receiving in blogland.

What type of giver are you?

Do you love to send little packages to perfect strangers?

Do you send exactly what is expected or do you like to add in some special little extras like packets of pins, bars of chocolates and other little goodies?

If you were in an op shop and saw something you know your blog friend would love, would you buy it and send it to them?

...I wonder.

And then how are you with receiving?

There are so many giveaways and swaps and competitions and pay it forwards in blogland, how does it make you feel to receive a package in the mail from someone you are never likely to meet in person?

I won the package above full of stunning goodies all adorned with Luisa's fabulous little people in a giveaway at her fashionfuscia blog. What a fantastic and generous prize! Thanks Luisa, I LOVE it all!

I feel happy about winning giveaways because I feel like I give as well as receive in blogland, but I do like to play by the tradition of mentioning it on my blog.

And then there are the random gifts, the just becauses.

The lovely Deb was at a garage sale recently when she spotted the yellow pot holder and knew that it had to come across the ocean to live with my pot holder collection. Before she sent it, she gathered all the amazing goodies in the above photo to keep it company.

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you I was overwhelmed and even a bit teary when I opened this package. What an wonderful and kind and generous thing to do. Thanks Deb.

One of the most amazing side effects of recording my crafty creations on my blog, has been the incredible friendships I have made. But one of the most unexpected lessons I am learning is how to say 'thank you' without feeling like I am always obliged to give something in return.

I got a gift in the mail from someone today who asked me not to mention it on my blog (hope this doesn't count) and not to give her anything in return.

That's a hard one.

Its fascinating isn't it?!

So where do you sit in this whole bloggy give and get adventure?

And before I leave you let me just say a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you swappers out there for your kindness and thoughtfulness and generosity. Its been fun!

I hope you have a great weekend. XX

Pin cushion stuff.

So there's three days to go til the end of the mega pin cushion swaperama.

120 pin cushions are wizzing their way across the globe.

Have you sent yours off yet?

Have you put some photos on the flickr page?

Have you received yours in the mail?

Have you posted it on your blog?

Are you using it?

Do you love it?

Please tell me I'm dying to know.

How divine is this pin cushion that Sarah made for me?!!

She made it out of the goodness of her heart, I'm not even in the swap.

How ace is she!

Thanks so much Sarah, you have made my day.

I love, love, love love it.

I hope you love the pin cushion you receive as much as I love Sarah's.

Happy swapping. XX

Guess whose pin cushion.

Well here we are about 10 days into the pin cushion swap.

Pin cushions have started popping up in people's letterboxes.

Photos have started being posted to flickr.

Little hints of ideas here and there.

So I thought, in order to keep us excited about the whole pin cushion thing, we'd play a bit of a game.

So this is how its going to work;

• Below are the gorgeous faces of 10 bloggers labelled A through to J.
• Underneath them are the pictures of their pin cushions labelled 1 through to 10 in random order.
• I'd like you to try to match the blogger (letter) with her pin cushion (number). Please note, these pin cushions are not part of the swap.
• A guess could look like this; A5 or E2 etc

Top line from Left to right;

A)Wendy - The Textured Leaf, B)Jo - Violet and Rose, C)Jennie - Posie Patchwork, D)Selina - Selina's Vintage, E)Deb - Works in Progress.

Bottom line from left to right;

F)Claire - Baby Boudoir, G)Jess - Teddy Bear Wednesday, H)Andi - Patch Andi, I)Linda - 2 Pink Possum Lane, J)Meagan - Ecomilf.

Top row left to right; pin cushions 1-5.

Bottom row left to right; pin cushions 6-10.

So leave a comment with your 10 guesses and let the games begin.

Oh and a prize? Hmmmm...let me think about it...or leave a comment if you would like to donate one. Maybe its just the glory.

I'll let you know the answers next week some time....Have fun!

Thanks heaps Andi for helping me put this together. XX

Swap stuff!

Whew, I have 2 more emails to send out and then the final swap tally will be 119 pin cushion swappers.

Apart from the 2 swappers without blogs, all the participating blogs with their links have been added to my sidebar.

The wonderful Kate from One Flew Over has set us up a flickr page, so don't forget to take some pics of your pin cushion before you send it and post them here.

Cath from Chunky Chooky wants some heart topped pins. Does anybody know where she can get some?

Miss Jane wants to know what the best stuffing for pin cushions is. Can anybody give her some advice please.

And of course, the gorgeous pin cushion in this post, as well as the binding and hairclips were made by Julie in a little private swap we've got going on. Thanks Julie. I LOVE it all.

Pincushion swap update!

The view from the kitchen window.

The view on the table in front of me.

To be completely honest I was expecting between 20 and 30 sign ups, so 108 is slightly overwhelming for a disorganised person like me.

I have written your names and details on little bits of paper and then made groups with the little bits of paper, kind of like a wedding table arrangement.

Bren said it is slower this way but I don't do spreadsheets and excel and stuff.

Thanks so much for all your comments and emails of support and encouragement. Thanks for the offers of help and presents too. Can anyone pick up my girls from school in an hour and make dinner for my family?

I am slowly getting there and should be finished emailing you your partner's details by tonight or tomorrow morning.

And then....let the swaps begin. XX

Button up baby!

Look at the gorgeous button Kellie made!

Feel free to copy it and display it on the sidebar of your blog.

Do this by going into your dashboard, then edit layout, then add a gadget, then scroll down and choose picture, copy Kellie's button in and then the link to this post.

Simple pimple?!

Sign ups are open until Monday morning and then I will begin the mammoth task of pairing you up and sending out the emails. Whew, wish me luck!

I thought I'd leave you with a pic of me and my farmer boy taken by the wonderful Ro. Did you notice Bren's tree t'shirt? Watch out, this pic might be appearing in your favourite glossy mag in the next couple of months.

I hope you have a great weekend. We've got a 60th, a farmers' market and our farm stall. Fun!

Let's get swapping! CLOSED!!

Thanks so much for all your wonderful supportive comments yesterday. Blogland is so wonderful at making me feel normal in my chaos, or at least helping me see the humor in it.

Thanks also for your swaperama interest. A little part of me was nervous that I would set it all up and no one would want to play with me.

So let's talk about the swap.

Each participant will sew, patchwork, crochet or knit one pincushion for their swap partner.

The pin cushion can be any dimension and size you want, but please try to make it as gorgeous as you possibly can.

There are zillions of pin cushion patterns and tutorials on the internet, ask Mr Google and see for yourself. Some of my favourites are Leonie's, Leah's, Spud and Chloe's and Lion Brand's.

Check out your swap partner's blog. See what sort of colors and style they use and then make a pin cushion that you think they would love. Please don't let them know that you are making their pin cushion though. Let it be a wonderful surprise when your package arrives.

If you would like to add a little something like chocolate or a packet of pins that is entirely up to you.

Sooooooooo, if this little pin cushion swap appeals to you, please leave me a comment on this post.

After you have left me a comment, please write me an email to foxslane@gmail.com and let me know;

1. your postal address.
2. Your blog address.
3. any specifics you might have e.g. a favourite colour, a preference for where you post to..

Just to make it clear, I need you to comment AND email me. That way I will have all of your details and am less likely to leave you out.

I will leave the entries open until Monday when I will email you your partner's details. Your pin cushion must be in the post no later than the 16th of April (one month from Tuesday).

If anyone has any idea how to make one of those sidebar buttons that people can display PLEASE contact me.

I am aiming to have links to all the participating blogs on my sidebar when we get going so we can all check out the wonderful pin cushions as they start to arrive.

I think I have covered everything, please let me know if I have missed out on anything.

Swap ya soon. XX

Entries for this swap are CLOSED!!

Pincushions & toothfairies.

The apple pin cushion I won at the wonderful craftapalooza blog arrived yesterday. I'm so excited I just love it. Indi is more excited by the envelope it came in with all those stamps to add to her collection.

The big news at our house is that Jazzy lost her first tooth! Being the second child she has been waiting for this moment for a very, very long time.

She was very lucky to get a visit last night from the very same tooth fairy that visited me and my sisters when we were little. This tooth fairy leaves a gold coin, a poem describing how the tooth came to fall out and always signs her notes the same way.

Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray,
To Jazzy's house I have flown today.

Her first loose tooth she wibbled and wobbled,
Until in class a strawberry she gobbled.

Her tooth fell out sooner not later,
And Mrs C stuck it on a piece of paper.

Down I have flown to pick it up,
From that piece of paper inside a cup.

Now I'll leave you some money and this little tune,
Brush your teeth well and I'll see you real soon.

Love the T.F.

XX

My softie for Mirabel is coming along slowly and steadily. I love how the pattern I am using is made in one piece rather than bits to be sewn together at the end.

It's non stop tea parties here at the moment. Not a lot of washing up though.

I hope you are having a lovely day.