I took part in the Very Berry mini-hoop swap organised by the wonderful Ali of Very Berry Handmade. I haven't done a swap for a really long time and was lured by seeing all the lovely hoops people have made in the previous swaps. 
It was such a delight to open up my package and see the incredible hoop that Danielle @rubysewoh made for me:


Such pretty stitches and in the most gorgeous colours! She was inspired by the amazing Western Australia Sunsets and I am going to be getting a chain so I can wear this piece of art!

My secret partner was Teresa @shirleyrainbow_tb, a very creative lady who does fabulous crochet. I decided to try to create a fragment of a granny blanket with my stitches, and used fabrics and colours I thought she would like:


I really enjoyed making it and was pleased with how the stitches had such a nice texture, which I think captures the idea of crochet at least.

If you love swaps I definitely recommend following Ali @veryberryhandmade and joining in next time! Thanks for hosting such a great swap Ali!


The kids are on their Easter holidays so we spent the best part of last week in Cardiff, visiting my sister and her family. We had SO much fun. Of course I noticed quilty inspiration everywhere...


I have to start printing these kind of pictures out and actually create some patterns!!

It was absolutely glorious weather while we were there, we went to lots of parks and playgrounds:


The main reason for our visit was for my kids to meet their new cousin, my niece baby Ada. This was literally the first time they saw her:


She is such a cutie! Also hard to believe how big all of my kids are now. My eldest girl has managed to lose 3 of her front baby teeth at once 😂

Mark took the older two to watch football with my brother in law while my sister and I took the littles out for a shopping trip. It was a real treat!
Followed by more treats the next day as we went to my brother in laws family's house. His brother's family had come to stay so there was an epic easter egg hunt and lots of laughter, good food and chat.


It was such a lovely break. Of course I did take sewing with me, some was for work (that you will be seeing soon!) and I made more progress on my Mischief Quilt blocks:


In other news I got some new glasses. I'm loving them! They are from Ace & Tate - a recommendation from the lovely Hannah at work. They arrived quickly and are so comfortable. Not quite as big as my last pair of glasses but still nice and big. The colour is amazing too.



Finally I am super excited to be going to The Stitch Gathering organised by myBearpaw, in Edinburgh this October!! I can't wait to meet up with lovely friends and spend the day sewing. If you want a ticket, hurry because places are limited, to book click here.


What have you been up to lately?