Weird Plant in my garden

I have no idea what this weird plant is - I call it an octopus plant, because its long green legs come climbing over the fence from my neighbour's place. It is some type of cactus I imagine, as it has little spikes on it and rubbery green skin. But at this time of year it also grows these weird long hairy things then all of a sudden these amazing flowers burst out of the end of them.

The octopus plant lives amongst my passionfruit vine which has flowered for the first time this year. It is covered in fruit and I can't wait for them to ripen!

So today I have been working on Christmas presents. Firstly, these two little bags (pattern in the latest Homespun):

I love the effect of the shabby roses on them. And then this little Christmas decoration:

Fabulous Dishcloths

If you think you might be in a Christmas Swap with me then it is probably a good idea to stop reading my blog now. I'm going to be occupied with all things Christmas for the next month or so and I if I can't show some of the gifts I am making then I will have nothing to blog about. So you have been warned!

I bought these gorgeous dishcloths from my talented friend Julie for stocking fillers. They're knitted with that super thick, super soft Sugar & Cream cotton by the feel of them. They are so thick and soft. I actually wouldn't waste them on dishes. I'd use it as a flannel or face washer, they feel so good!

Christmas Mice and Dog Bibs

I have finally managed to get a little sewing done .... I need to do lots more and very quickly if I am going to be ready for Christmas!

Yesterday was taken up mainly with doggy dramas. The pups had their annual vaccinations yesterday but Sugar had a severe allergic reaction to one of the injections and had to be rushed back the vet for an antihistimine injection and a medical checkup. She is all recovered now, though, thank goodness.

In between giving Sugar lots of cuddles, I managed to make this Christmas Mouse from Homespun No 66. I still need to search the garage for some fishing line for her whiskers. I have attached a loop to her back so she can be hung from the tree.

I was looking at www.freepatterns.com for some Christmas inspiration and found these cute dog bib patterns (that is, bibs with dogs on them, not bibs for dogs) and just had to make a couple.

There was also a cat bib, but I am a dog person and I also thought the dog pattern was cuter.

Catching Up

Well, it has been a little while between posts so I thought I had better catch up.

Firstly, pop over to Lzilulu's blog for a link to a great giveaway. I'm not linking directly from here and you'll see why when you read more about it! Good luck Lzi!

Secondly, I've been in contact wih my Fiona Marie swap partner and she seems like so much fun, and very talented too. She coordinated and wrote the patterns for a year-long bag swap for the British Quilt List. You can see some of the amazing creations here: http://bqlbagblog.blogspot.com/

I'm hoping to get stuck into making things for all of the Christmas swaps I am in this weekend, fingers crossed. Somehow I injured my neck and shoulder last Sunday so have been in a lot of pain all week and not able to do much. The first couple of days it was so bad I stayed in bed trying not to move. It got a bit better but going back to work and being on a computer all day hasn't helped and it is still sore and stiff. But if I manage to get even a little bit of sewing done this weekend, it will be better than none.

Jeremy's Ride

Forgot to say, Jeremy finished his ride from Sydney to Wollongong. He said he will be sending out a thank you email with details of his epic journey to everyone who sponsored him, probably tonight. He didn't get home til about 8pm last night and was too tired. Note: it didn't take him that long to ride the event, it took him that long to get the provided transport back to Sydney, wait 2 hours for the truck with their bikes on it to turn up, and then drive the hour home.

Weekend works

I managed to get a little bit of sewing done on the weekend for the first time in ages, despite having piles of housework and lawns to attend to.

First, I quilted the gorgeous little cot quilt top I won from Toni. I was a bit scared of ruining it, so I just quilted in the ditch around all the blocks and the borders. I was going to stipple in the large border but wasn't sure if I had enough pink thread to finish it so didn't. Since then, I actually found another reel of pink quilting thread hiding in the mess that is my sewing room so I could go back and do it. But I am thinking of quitting while I'm ahead. So that is one Christmas present finished ..... a zillion to go! Thanks Toni!

I also made a couple of pillow slips from some Amy Butler fabric. I originally bought this fabric with the intention of making a skirt or something. But after pondering it for a bit, I realised that I'm not really a bright colour person and I would probably never wear anything I made from this. Also, I always seem to be short on pillow slips. I don't know where they go. Maybe the same place socks go. Or maybe just at the back of my very disorderly linen cupboard! Whatever - the point is I could use some spare pillowslips so I made these from the fabric instead. And they actually kind of "go" with several of my sheet sets.

Then I started a little Christmas stitchery. It didn't photograph well:

And his eyes are a bit creepy!

And lastly, I started playing with a YoYo maker I bought ages ago but never got around to trying out. And you know what, it does make suffolk puffs or yoyos much easier to make! I am using a charm square pack from Moda's Harvest Home which are just the right size for my YoYo maker, so I have quite a few more to make. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them but I have a matching Jelly Roll, so that should widen the possibilities.