Happy New Year!!!

Well I'm a little late to wish you all a happy festive and holiday season but we still have most of 2026 ahead of us, so I'll wish you a Happy New Year instead ♥

There's no big new year resolutions from me, but I do hope to be more bloggy this year - here's hoping that I can make that happen!

My dear Mum passed away just before Christmas (December 20) so it's been an unsettling time for us here lately. She had been in and out of hospital during the year with one infection after another, or too much fluid here or there but her mind was still working well so she enjoyed life until the end. She passed peacefully with my sister at her side. My brother and I had planned to travel down the following day - but sadly we were too late to say good-bye.

Mum at her 88th birthday celebration in October - we broke her out

of hospital for the day.

We had a wonderful celebration of her life on the 27th. It was a lovely family affair with a lot of extended family attending. Although we have a family policy of gate crashing each others' birthdays or celebrations and the core group of us see each other regularly, it was wonderful to catch up with some other cousins and family members who live a little further away. It was interesting how many of the stories and memories that were told overlapped - coffee and baking around the kitchen table for anyone calling in was a common theme.

A rare event, all the grandkids together at Mum's funeral.

And 5 of her Greats.
Only 3 got wet.

My original plan (before the world fell apart) for that lazy time immediately after Christmas and as we rolled into summer holidays was to finish up a couple of projects for myself that I had recently started. 

After spending time 'down the line' with Mum's funeral and doing a few related tasks with my sister, I decided it was still the perfect time to get on with these. 

(I'm sure most of you know how much crafting calms the mind and eases the pain.)

First up was the Sewing Space Station, which is designed as 'the ultimate travel sewing mat)  —

Unroll it to reveal —

A pocketed sewing mat......with a dangle bit and more pockets at the side —

A detachable pouch.

You can see how it works in this photo (unpack the pockets, and use the mat to rest your machine on) —

The pockets are a great size - one of the top ones fits a 6 x 12 ruler, the other fits A4 sized patterns (and a cutting mat if I find one that size!). The pockets at the side hold plenty —

The smaller pocket is designed to fit a specially made pin cushion —

Which is rather a cute design —

(Wonky photos!! I initially overstuffed it, and it wouldn't fit inside the pocket!)

I think I will still use The Pouch That Holds Everything with this mat - it tucks inside nicely when I roll it up, and I have it filled with a bit of anything that comes in handy when I'm sewing away from home —

This was a fun project, quite straight forward, but not a quick one! I started off with my main blue fabrics, and added extras in for a bit of variety. The pattern is by Ali of Arabesque, and the link is *here*.

Having finished that, next up was a project of a completely different kind. 

Yes, a bit of dressmaking —

A friend and I had a sewing day in December and had started dresses for ourselves but I hadn't touched mine since. I understood she had already worn hers so was determined to finish mine!

A quick model for the camera, and a husband who could 

not be bothered taking a photo!

The pattern was *this* one found on Etsy, the Feel Good Dress. A straight forward sew. The fabric is from Spoonflower of a Kiwiana design.

I need to get to bed so will leave this here!

'til next time,

happy stitches,

and a happy and productive 2026!

Raewyn