A hole in the house.. with some plants and other stuff thrown in!

I haven't gotten back into a lot of sewing since Christmas. I'm actually enjoying the break and not having anything that I HAVE to make and doing some cross stitch instead. I've been planning out Abi's quilt as well for our swap and nearly ready to start cutting and sewing :)
Its been HOT this past week which makes tracking out to the shed to sew a bit of a turn off. I'm going to spend some time out there when it cools down a bit painting and decorating. Kev got the reno bug and decided to knock a hole in our back wall.....

He's installing a new glass sliding door that will overlook a deck and our garden...(both of which are non exsistent yet so we have a view of the ugly patio that we plan on pulling down soon too) Then we can see all our trees at least.

I did pull out the sewing machine the other day for a few hours to make some plushies for my brother who turned 33 on the 29th.
He plays a computer game called Plants V's Zombies (I've had hours of fun playing the game myself) ...and he asked me months ago if I could have a go at making some of the characters for him. !

This was the best pic I could find to give you all an idea. I made him the StarFruit that is in the 2nd row from bottom 2nd across and the Jalapeno in the same row 4 across.............


I also made him a Lily Pad that gets used in the pool to sit the plants on that attack the zombies.......Did I mention the game is fun and addictive!



We took the 'plants' over to him on Wednesday and he pulled them out of the box and said 'Sweeeet' He's a man of few words.....but later that night I logged onto facebook and he has uploaded a pic of his new plants with the caption "Awesome handmade gifts from my awesome sister" So I'm pretty sure he liked them ;)
There are HEAPS more plants to make as there are 3 different types..the day ones in the pic above, night plants and water plants. Then there are the zombies! I don't think I'll ever make them ALL but they were fun to try to bring to life and of course the kids all want some now so more plants and zombies to come in the future.

Now that Christmas is over I can show you what I sent to the Netherlands in Chookyblues SSCS swap.
I sent this sewing bag to Judith that I covered with a fairytale scene using Sue Box embroideries done on my embroidery machine.





I ABSOLUTELY love these embroideries and hope Judith enjoys them too.



I also sent her this paper bag album decorated in Christmas papers and embellishments to put her holiday snaps in...........



Some of the inside pages........





The pockets have some pages that can be used to add more photos or journalling......



I got to spend my voucher the other day YAY! Was a hard decision to make with SO many gorgeous cross stitcheries I wanted to bring home. I've discovered that cross stitching is not a cheap hobby! This is what I got with my voucher (and NO change either ;) ).......



This is the cross stitch I'll be attempting. I can't resist a faery! There are a few more gorgeous faeries in this collection too :D


I'm working on a small Tinkerbell cross stitch at the moment before I start this one though to get the feel for it... so as soon as I get this little lady who cuddling up to my arm off to bed I'm going to get back into it.
A quiet night planned for New Year's Eve tonight drinking some Baileys and chicken and salads for tea so no having to cook...thank the gods for that cause its 40 degrees out there today! Might con the hubby into a game of Scrabble to while away some time before the countdown.

Have a happy and safe New Year's Eve whatever you plan tonight. Hope 2011 is a great year for all.