Santa's Almost Here...

And I have been busy doing all sorts of wonderful things! I have been to Sydney cruising the Harbour on a yacht at sunset! It was so beautiful and I got to see The Opera House, one of my favourite architectural pieces of all time, from the water:

 
Of course that meant seeing the Sydney Harbour Bridge as well:

 
And some of the most beautiful places to live on the water:

 
Back home to reality, and my favourite place to be, in my Greenhouse! I came home to discover the carrots bursting out of the soil:

 
And strawberries kissed by the sun:

 
Of course while I was away I was stitching too:

 
I also finished a wonderful project, a Prep quilt. It never ceases to amaze me just how talented Prep kids are. I did this project along with their amazing Art Teacher, Helen. It was fun working together to get this completed for the kids. A big THANKYOU to Melinda from 'Around The Block Quilting' who quilted it just perfectly:

 
You have to love the spaceship:

 
Back very soon,

Leanne Beasley xxx

I Have Been...

Quilting my quilt....(and writing the patterns!)(the pink thread is basting)...

 

Playing with my nephew in the park...

 
 Watching the strawberries grow in my greenhouse...

 
And discovering new little flowers in my garden...

 
And working on an exciting new concept that I cannot wait to share with you (I am sure this photo will throw you, but you will see this beautiful china again)...

And getting the Christmas decorations out...

 
I love December...

Leanne Beasley xxx 

What have you been doing in December?

December Arrives...

I love December! The anticipation of many celebrations in the next few weeks, all leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This will be a particularly special Christmas Season in my home because both hubby and I have spent much of the year travelling, and so time together with our girls will be even more precious than usual. There could be no better gift.

I am enjoying hand quilting 'Down In The Garden' and it's just as well because I had a little accident while cleaning out gutters in a storm last week and damaged my knee quite badly! (Thanks to Mum and Rosie who have been driving me around!). The silver lining is sitting and quilting:

  
I have had lots of emails about what threads I have used in 'Down In The Garden'. So in answer, here they are. I used DMC stranded cottons: 844, 996, 321, 602, 604, 701, 703, 472, and 744. I also used Cottage Garden Threads 602 Larkspur:

 
Gail introduced me to Cottage Garden Threads varigated hand dyed yummy deliciousness just as I was starting to complete the stitchery on 'Down In The Garden'. The Larkspur was the perfect blend of colours to finish off my palette:

 
You can see it here in one of the blocks. Some of the daisy petals and the circles are done using Larkspur thread:

Of course my latest addiction is Cosmo stranded cottons. I know many of you out there are just as addicted as me. I would have liked to stitch 'Down In The Garden' using these equivalents: 895, 2412, 346, 504, 501, 274, 272, 270, 143 and still used the Cottage Garden Threads 602. There just wasn't the stock in Australia at the time:

 
I hope this answers some of your questions!

Leanne Beasley xxx

P.S. If you are after purchasing Cottage Garden Threads online (or would just like a peek at the entire yummy range head over to The Thread Studio). If you are a retailer looking to stock Cottage Garden Threads you can contact Pam on [email protected] or (03) 5668 1513.