Hello from Queensland

Hello from my little dot on the map in country Queensland. An empty nester living on a small cattle property and working part time off-farm. Once upon a time I had a lot more time for my love of many things craft and sewing ... now it's just squeezed in.

Groups like the Stitch-A-Long family keep me moving forward instead of getting stuck in procrastination world.  I have only participated once before with Nature's Journey which is a finished flimsy awaiting quilting. I also made Tis The Season the year after it ran here.

This year I challenged myself to stitch Michelle's Calendar Bears by stitching one each month. April was a bit shakey being finished in May and now  after a relaxing Mother's Day, I can share a finished Mumma Bear and cubs for May.

Here she is with her calendar friends.

Now to get into town to add some fabrics ready for A Holly Cottage Christmas. I am looking forward to stitching along with friends and hope I can "squeeze" enough sewing time into my days. 

Introduction: Susan at DesertSky Quilts

I'll plunge in with an intro. I live in Tennessee in the USA, and that means I'm a state away from the Atlantic, and about halfway up the coast. Alas, we have many rivers, and the Great Smoky Mountains, but no ocean beaches! Here's a picture that shows why they are called the Smokies - that's early morning fog coming up.
 

  I'm a widow (7 years), a retired teacher, and a quilter for more years than some of you have lived. LOL I piece, applique, embroider, crazy quilt, and mix them all together, sometimes. I can't pick a favorite. I have several of Michelle's patterns, but I didn't have this book, so I ordered it and it just arrived at the beginning of the week. I have enjoyed looking over it. I doubt I get anything made before we start the stocking, though.

Here's a picture of me with my younger son (see mention below photo) at his work Christmas Party in 2015.

I haven't yet chosen fabrics. I have to find the box with the Christmas fabrics in it. My stash has been displaced by my younger son moving in. The older one already lived here. Both of them are dealing with life issues, and no, not here to take care of me. LOL

Many things are crammed in the last small room I have, so finding them may be problematic. I might be FORCED to go out and buy new ones! The shop hop here in East Tennessee is coming up the first week of June. Very timely, if I have to buy fabric!

Since there are already several varieties of Susan in the labels, I'm using dezertsuz, which is my e-mail addy. I'm looking forward to getting to know you all through your stitching and blogging here. Thanks for letting me join!

Introduction from Hungary

Dear Ladies,

This is my first post here and my first SAL with Chookyblue and Susan!

My name is Maja, I am from Budapest, capital of Hungary, Mid-Eastern Europe.  I have been around this SAL blog for years, but never arrived in time to be able to sign up, but this new year's eve, I kept my wand at the ready;-)

I am a cross stitch designer, I blog at www.thesnowflowerdiaries.blogspot.hu  I began this guilty pleasure only in 2011, but I have been sewing since childhood, I am also addicted to fabrics, threads, scissors and buttons, chocolate and hooked nosed Severus Snape:-)  

I have three small children I love very much and a law office.

I would not dare to risk the feeling of Chookyblue's whip on my poor back months before the bikini season hits Europe, so I had finished the homework for January, stitching the free pattern from Anni Downs with good, old DMC am sewing a wallhanging.

I love Anni's works and style, I am so happy to be here with you!:-) I had ordered my pattern and going to a secret fabric hunt on Tuesday, woohoo:-)

Greetings from Hungary,

Maja
The Snowflower Diaries

Introduction

Hi my name is Joan and I am new blogger from Ontario, Canada.  I have decided to sign up for the 2015 Stitch-A-Long, Nature's Journey with my daughter Lori of Lolastitchida and my granddaughter, Emily of stitch1-purl1,  So excited to get started! I have started the January stitchery to keep me going until the pattern is released for the stitch-a-long.

Greetings from Norway!

Wow, I'm so happy there's a SAL now in 2015. I remember stumbling upon this blog/SAL back in 2013, wishing so badly that I'd known about it and had been able to join (I ended up making the quilt Tis the Season the year after - unfortunately, I'm feeling very unhappy about the finished quilt, so I might actually make another one). I added the blog to my feed-list, and you can just imagine my surprise and happiness when Chooky made the announcement a few weeks ago.

I should probably tell you a little about my self. My name is Tonje (but I use my blogging name/nickname - Nemo - on many occasions) and I live in Norway with my boyfriend (also known as Hubby) and our almost five year old son. I've been following Chooky's blog since 2007, when she first started to run the Secret Santa Christmas Swap, and have been a participant of that swap ever since. This will be my first SAL - and I'm really excited! (At the same time I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up with you guys, seeing as our family will be extended to four members some time in late February/early March, but I will do my best - and I do hope she'll be a better sleeper than her brother was..) Also joining the SAL is my mother Laila, but I'm sure she'll write her own introduction a little later.

I've made a few (made? more like started..) projects designed by Anni Downs, I attended a class she taught here in Oslo last May (still haven't completed that table runner, though..) and I've been working on a couple of her stitcheries/smaller projects these past few weeks. I actually started the Christmas stitchery (the project for January) two days before the announcement came, and have a pretty good idea where I want to go with that. I'm very curious to see what you guys will be making using the same stitchery - and I'm also excited to see the colours and variations that will appear when we all start the big project.

This is going to be so much fun!