please bear with us…..

I’m in the process of finalising the “Year of  Blooms” pattern now and finished quilting it yesterday….so I guess you could say it was my first UFO finish of the year!!!!!?????

Once I have the pattern all written up (which should be today or tomorrow if there are no interruptions………listening, family?????), I will get it out to those of you with December finishes, along with the December block!

Keep up the good work with all the finishes…  if you’re anything like me, your UFO pile is growing instead of shrinking…..*eek*

We’re onto a new year so we’ll be offering a new gift each month for those of you with finishes…..but you’ll just have to wait and see what that one is!!!! 

In the meantime….

Sew many hugs xo :o)

Wendy & Dawn

October finishes tally

A busy month last month and another slow release from me…sorry ladies!!!!

but here’s the block our finishers will receive today…..

A beautiful fruit bowl of marigolds, formally known as the Calendula.

And our finishes this month??? another wonderful tally of 30…..I’m guessing everyone’s preparing their creations for Christmas swaps and gifts so a little down from other months but still has us on track to reach our goal of 500 finishes this year!!!!  Woohoo!!!!

The tally takes us to a total of 443 finishes, leaving us with 57 to achieve our goal….just 29 per month…….

can we do it girls????

YES WE CAN!!!!  Go on…..reach for the stars!!!!

xo sew many hugs

Wendy & Dawn :o)

Tickled Pink

Ok….one UFO off my list…..AT LAST!!!!

here she is…..my ‘Tickled Pink’ cushion.  You can read more about it  HERE  

Very nice to have something ‘girly’ in a house full of males!

Honestly, I’m tickled pink!  But why does it always take so long to get around to them??? (UFO’s I mean!)

Hope you had a finish over the weekend too!

Sugary hugs xox :o)

A reminder to post your finishes for the end of the month….

Hi girls,

I know both Dawn and I have been rather quiet on the blog of late….I know Dawn’s been caught up with her treatment and some well-needed R & R, and I’ve just been in de-clutter mode, along with catching up on designs…two very full-on tasks for me. But we have been keeping an eye on all your finishes from the wings, and you girls just keep on inspiring us, more and more every month…the UFO’s you’re getting finished are phenomenal!!!  Well done!

And I’m pleased to say, Dawn’s doing well and I’ve managed to finish both designs for August and September.

You’ll remember that I had to modify the August block due to copyright issues that never even crossed my mind when I was drawing it up…..I thought an Aussie symbol was something that belonged to us all??….but no…..when it was checked, I was not given permission to use the rising sun badge on the stitchery……so…….note to self:  when designing, rule #1 – always consider if any part of your design could be a potential copyright issue.

But modifications were made, and now it is ‘slightly’ different…. (after restitching the whole block with some invaluable advice from a gorgeous friend)

…but still portraying the same feelings, I hope!

And September’s block is just a cutie…..

….and will get you practicing your satin stitch…..

…but I’m sure you’ll still love it, and you’ll all be experts when you’re done!

So both blocks will go out tomorrow to those that had finishes in August and/or September….a gentle reminder then…..if you want the September block (August finishes have already already  been tallied, ready to go up on the blog tomorrow), make sure you have posted at least one of your UFO finishes for the month on this blog so I can count it in the tally by 5pm tomorrow afternoon, Nth Queensland, Oz-time.

Can’t wait to see them all *wink*

Sew Many hugs xo :o)

 

August’s BOM delay

Hi Girls,

I know some of you are eagerly awaiting the next BOM block for your finishes after seeing sneaky peeks of a matching applique pattern on my blog……and yes, the stitchery  IS finished and ready to go…….however, it has been brought to my attention that it may have some copyright issues…..as being an Aussie slouch hat, I’ve incorporated the Rising Sun Badge which may be a ‘no-no’!  *eek*

Just seeking clarification on it before I send it out to those of you with finishes.  As soon as I’ve heard, if I have to, I’ll make modifications and it will be on its way to you!

In the meantime,

sew many hugs

Happiness is….

This has been a loooong time coming and so Happiness is……….??!!! 

This wall hanging started out as some lucky purchases I stumbled upon last year at my local charity store.  I had  seen some mini kits for each of the stitcheries and thought, I can’t live without these at $1 each, so of course, they came home with me to live in the K.A.R.T.S drawer, forever and ever, AMEN! 

But, I found my will, and started stitching them up, one by one, during the year.

and they were coming out pretty nicely, which spurred me on….

…and with a few design touches of my own……

…..and some hand quilting….

this li’l ol’ UFO is now finished!!!!!!

Yep……another UFO done….which makes number 5 for this year….a little slack, but it’s a finish, so……..that IS what Happiness is!!!!!

Sugary Hugs :o) xox

Blocks have been sent

OK, our free Block of the Month blocks have been sent out to our lucky finishers for May….check your inbox if you had a finish in May and let me know if it didn’t arrive and I’ll check into it!

We had thirty-eight finishes this past month…..not the top score, but a great score nonetheless so well done to all who managed a finish in May.

If you check in our sidebar, you’ll see this takes our total to  278 finishes which leaves 222 to reach our goal of 500 by the end of the year!!!…..well on track if we do 37 per month for the rest of 2013……can we do it????

YES WE CAN!!!!!

I did notice however, it was a bit trickier to tally this month as I wasn’t sure whether all our finishers were UFOs or new finishes……

Just a couple of notes…….

1. Sew It’s Finished is a blog for finishing off UFOs from previous year(s)…..doesn’t matter how old they are, but they need to be from 2012 or before
2. Soooo, if you blog about a finish, could you please note how old it is (if any of yours are like mine, they could have been around when the dinosaurs roamed, so a roundabout figure will do!!!)
3. We don’t mind looking at new finishes, in fact it’s very inspiring,  but  please just make a quickie post and direct us to your blogs to read more about them…that way we can focus on congratulating getting those cobwebbed projects out and in the open and we’ll direct readers to your personal blogs as well!
4. Please also remember to add labels to your post as to what number finish it is,  how many you’ve done so far and your name  and any other relevant information such as type of project, whether it’s a bag, or table runner or a designer name , for example.  If you don’t know how to do this, when you write your post you’ll see the  labels (circled) on the sidebar…..you can write your own in the box or add ones from the arrowed list by clicking on them.    Then click on the ‘done’ box at the bottom and that’s it….they’ll be added to your post.

So let’s see how many we can kick over for June……30 days……can we make 60 finishes??????   We’ve done it before……let’s …….

REACH FOR THE STARS!!!!

xox

Dawn & Wendy :O)

May’s BOM

Ok, I hope you’ve got your post up for your May finishes, because I’m off to finish cooking dinner then I’m counting and emailing the May Block of the Month to all our finishers……which I’m a little bit partial to….seeing as it’s my birthday month too!!!!  hee hee

A bit hard to see but here is a close up…..

Hope you like it!……make sure you’ve got your post up…..they’ll be sent out shortly!

xox sew many hugs

Wendy :O)

My oh my, I have an April finish!!!!!

…and the worst thing is, I finished it a couple of weeks ago, and I just haven’t gotten around to posting about it!!!

This is a mystery quilt I made in an online forum from the Quilt Pattern Magazine, which I subscribe to….it’s A Winter Mystery Quilt, but even living in the tropical north of Australia, my mind reads ‘Christmas”……subliminal brainwashing perhaps????

Well, I started this last year with the intent on having it done for Christmas, but……………….  well, you know the rest?   It got to the part where you had to use the blocks to design your own pattern and well…….I just kept those little bitty blocks in their crisp plastic packets didn’t I????

I finally got up the nerve to tackle the designing process and here is the result….

Finally I get to show you a finish of my own!

Sugary hugs xox :O)

March Count is Complete.....

and again you continue to amaze me!!!!

25 ladies had finishes for March with a total of .....wait for it.........

 

SIXTY-ONE  (yep, that's 6-1)  FINISHES!!!!!!!

 

blowing me away.....every month...you gals are IN-CRED-I-BLE!!!!

such inspiration....

I've even got a finish for April.....which I must get around to posting about!!! LOL

I've counted right up to Kathleen's post on April 1 (our time), only because it was still March in the US of A.....lucky!!!!!!!!!

 

and  had a giggle with Cathy's post following Kathleen's, only because my hubby has been reminding me to take his 'new' work jeans hems up since last year and now he's resorted to putting them on the end of the couch to remind me to take them up for him.   Each day they've been moved a step closer and closer to my sewing machine....do you think he's trying to give me a 'subtle' hint???

 

I'm sorry Susan, I only saw your comment after I was doing the count......missed this one...must've slipped through the cracks, but there ya go.....sixty one finishes for March....that's about 2 a day!!!!

 

Which also means

our total tally is now  184 finishes to date for 2013

leaving 315 to reach our target of 500 for 2013

that means 35/ month to reach our goal which we're eeeeasily achieving so far!

 

and to boost you girls even more......that means were over 1/3 of the way to achieving our target......and that also means we are well above target!  wheeeeeeeeeeee........

 

YOU GO GIRLS!!!!!!!

 

So ....I will be sending out freebies to those 21 lucky ladies.......(which I will do shortly).......but as a sneaky peek....here it is.......

 

Daffodils for our March Birthdays......hope you like it!

 

I'm off to post out these designs....and to create some new ones!!! 

Keep on Stitching....

xox

Wendy & Dawn :O)



Housekeeping

A reminder as I've only had a handful of replies....just in case you missed it! ;o)

Hi ladies,  this is for those of you who are members of our blog, not just followers!!!),
for ease of organising our blog, would you please be able to send the following info back to me at my (Wendy’s) email address?
Blog name : eg....As Sweet as Cinnamon
Blog Address: eg. ..... http://dawnhaydesigns.blogspot.com
Your contact name (eg. Dawn) You may wish to keep this private and not referred to on
the blog..that’s fine, just let us know....just helps us in the count each month!)
4. Preferred email contact: this is so we can send goodies out to you, like the BOM we did last
year!
5. where you are situated......town, state, country please.....just gives us an idea of the spread
of our blog and also an understanding of your needs

1. town
2. state
3. country

thanks so much....this helps us make our blog even better for you!
email by reply to wbert4(at)gmail(dot)com
Sew many hugs
Wendy and Dawn :O)

HOLEY GUACAMOLE…WHAT A START TO THE YEAR!!!!

Oh My Goodness…what can I say!!!….Wowza, you girls are

A-MAAAAAAAAY-ZING!!!

If you could only see me….I’m doing backflips, frontflips, doing it gangnam style and breakdancing all at the same time….well….in my head anyway!!!! 

Why, you may well ask??? 

Can you believe a whopping 75 finishes for the month of January????!!!!   That’s right…..SEVENTY-FIVE……..three score and fifteen….wooohooooooooo!

Yes I know…I did give you extra time, because I was away…and this was an additional 16 items but still…..my jaw is dragging on the ground….literally!!!!!    When I forecast 500 finishes for the year….I really was thinking 12 full months but I think we’ll do that in about 7????

So….let’s see……a predicted 500 finishes less the 75 completed already…that leaves 425.  Given 11 months to go, thats about 39 finishes a month….I think we’ll do it, no problems….considering there are 45 of us so far…..one each a month will get us there, eeeeeasy!

Oh girls…..I’m speaking for Dawn and myself, we’re just like proud clucky little mother hens…..so proud of you all!!!! 

And because I’m brimming with absolute joy…..I’m sending each and every one of you the first month’s block of the month pattern….just because!!! 

But don’t expect it to be a regular thing….I’m caught up in the moment now….each month, you are going to have to have at least one finish of a UFO project you’ve started or have fully organised from before Dec 31 2012 to get the next block…or you miss out!

Remember, February’s a short month so get stitching and rip out your UFO’s (metaphorically!!!! )  and let’s see how many we can do this month!

Sew Many Hugs xox

Wendy and Dawn :O)

Some good news and some bad news

Some good news and some bad news….which do you want first?

Ok…some good news……

I have the pattern all ready to send out to all of our January finishers, with requirements, cutting instructions, assembly instructions for one of the blocks and the stitchery design to get you going, but…..

some bad news……..

I can’t do the monthly tally nor email it to you until next Wednesday because life’s just getting in the way again and I’m testing your flexibility!!!!!  LOL   We have to fly to Brisbane tomorrow early, as my son has a procedure on his eye at the hospital tomorrow afternoon.  We wont be coming home till next Tuesday evening as they will be checking his progress Tuesday morning….it’ll will give me some mother-son time and some Wendy-stitching-catch-up time too, but that just means you’ll have to wait…..SORRY!!!!!

but still, some good news comes out of any bad…………

it DOES give you a few more days to get your first month finishes in, if you haven’t already done so….We’ll tally up on Wednesday, so if you’ve got your post up of your January finishes before then, you’ll get your Free January BOM block….If you’ve already got January finishes though, and you post about a February finish in that time, don’t worry….you’ll still get counted in February’s finishes so you’ll still get the Free February BOM block at the end of the month!!!  Confused?????  I hope not! 

Just remember….February is a short month, so make sure you’ve got a little finish organised for Feb. so you don’t miss out! *wink*

Sew many hugs

Wendy :O) xox

two in one month??….unbelievable!

Is it new Year Resolutions, boredom or finally some organisation taking hold?????  I have my SECOND UFO finished for the month of January!!!  Hard to believe but true!!!!

Well, ok….it was an easy one…..but aren’t most of our UFOs easy ones to finish??  a bit of binding here, a few stitches there?

Mine was a small and simple kit I’ve had cut out for about 5 years, just sitting patiently there waiting for me to do it……and you know….it only took about an hour all up!

….and now I have a great little thread bin to sit beside me at the sewing machine…..too easy!  Don’t know why I didn’t do it earlier!!!???!!!   mmmmmmm!!!!!

Sew many hugs xox

Wendy :O)

Mid-month ideas and encouragement…..

I’m loving all your enthusiasm and watching lists go up, inspiring one another and seeing finishes appear already!!!  Wow….when Dawn and I first started this blog, that was the whole intent ….but we never thought it would grow so big!!!!

Now I’ve noticed some of you are getting a little disheartened with all your UFO listing, but you know, we’re not alone!  I’ve been hopping about in Blogland and there are quite a few others who have the same problem and are offering some useful tips…….

  Pat’s first post is HERE and helps out with ‘The Sort”!!!  Sorting out those UFOs is such a daunting task, and even though a lot of us have listed them down, Pat goes through where to start once you’ve sorted them….I’m going to have a play with my list over the weekend!!!!

Another blogger who has some fab ideas for busting through that UFO pile is Patchwork Posse aka Becky Jorgensen.     Becky’s having a 52 UFO quilt block  pick up on her blog, so every week there will be a tutorial, a hint or some inspiration on how to use up those UFO blocks that gather up in your pile that you don’t know what to do with!

She’s adding each week’s link HERE so you won’t need to go searching!  Just be careful not to ADD to your UFO stash!!! LOL

Another idea Dawn and I have come up with to spur you along, is to continue our Block of the Month for all those ‘good little finishers’……so, each month, if you have a finish posted by the last day of the month, once we’ve done our tally up,  we will send you a free block pattern  in our block of the month.  After twelve months, you’ll have the whole pattern and finishing instructions AND a ufo to start you off the following year!!!! hehehe….see…..method in our madness….you’ll NEED to keep with us then!!!! LOL

What is that I hear??? You want a sneak preview and some hints???

mmmmmmmmm……… let’s just say there’s some piecing and  some stitcheries and it’s ‘blooming’ wonderful, if I do say so myself!!!! *wink wink*……  But you’ll have to wait for more details closer to the end of the month……I’ll just keep you guessing for now!!!!!

So, on with the UFO busting……..

sew many hugs

Wendy :O) and Dawn xo

 

Airing my dirty laundry……eek!!!!!!

Ok girls…..you thought you had it bad!!!!!

I’ve just gone through all (that I can find!!) of my UFO’s and K.A.R.T.S (Kitted and ready to start) from pre-2013…….  and myyyyyyyy goodness….didn’t some surprises lay in wait…..Now I’m absolutely positive they breed behind closed doors!!!!!

I can’t possibly list them all here but  you can see my list of UFO's HERE and my K.A.R.T.S. list HERE

Needless to say this summary will have your heart racing, as it did mine……..

Are you ready????

OK……

I’m game if you are…….

Here goes…….

I have twenty-eight UFO’s in waiting

AND…..

Wait for it……

fifty-nine K'.A.R.T.S. I’ve had since before New Years Day 2013!!!!

I  TOLD  you they breed!!!!

That makes 87 unfinished projects laying in waiting in my house alone!  Make you feel better!!!???  Now you know why Dawn and I were keen to start this blog together……now you’ve really got your work cut out for you…..you have to get me off my butt and keep me on task to get rid of at least SOME of these…..because if not, by 2014 they will have bred to well over 100!!! aaaaaaaaargh!

Hope that’s made you’re weekend…..I’m off to stitch!

Sew many hugs xo

Wendy :O)

 

my first finish for 2013….I can’t believe it!!!!

I picked up this flimsy at my local Lifeline store last year and it’s been sitting there waiting for a ‘friend’.

It was my boss’s 50th birthday over the weekend, and she’s a fanatical dog-lover, so this li’l flimsy found a pal!!!! All it needed was a border, sandwiching, quilting and binding and shazzaaaam! Done!

d’awwwww,  aren’t these puppies soooo cute????

Now I just have to organise my list!!!… yeowwwww…that’s gonna hurt….and it’s going to take soooooooooome time!  But I’ll get there.

And, I’ve got a design swirling around in my head for a BOM for 2013….still pulling it together but that will be on it’s way soon!

sew many sugary sweet hugs xox   :O)