I did so much sewing before Christmas that I thought a week at the beach would be an ideal time for break.  

In a moment of craziness I decided to come away without any sewing.  That’s right – no hand sewing, no machine, fabrics or patterns.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  Three days in and I’m starting to feel very, very twitchy… especially as I dropped my Kindle last night and I am now without any reading material.

With the absence of  any real sewing or reading to do I’ve resorted to the best possible alternative – setting some New Year's Sewing Goals by blog hopping!  What would we do without craft blogs? 

Lately, I have been sewing, sewing, sewing my little heart out.  Up early in the morning, forgoing my daytime naps (yes, I am extraordinarily lucky to have a two year old and an almost  four and a half year old that still sleep nearly every day!) and getting to bed late at night.   I really feel like I've hit the peak sewing zone.  I've made lots of goodies that I love (which is something that doesn't always happen round here.)

The problem?

I can't show you any of it ... They're all gifts that are secrets (shhhhhhhhh!)  There's something very frustrating about writing a sewing blog and not being able to share the sewing joy at this time of year.  Argh! I guess I'll have to wait till after the 25th.

In the meantime we have been doing lots of non secret Christmas things too...

Making festive and super-easy napkin rings
 

Learning how to wear party hats in preparation for the big day....

Eating lots of delicious food...

and best of all? Spending lots of time with family and friends celebrating the season!

Merry Christmas -  I hope you are all enjoying this time of year as much as I am!

Well, I have now had a taste of what it is to be blog famous! It was fantastic to get such a wonderful response to our giveaway. It was even better to get all that amazing organisation advice. Now, if I could only fly like the flylady, remember the milk like that app, and have married a tidier husband I would be right!

The comments on our giveaway post are an amazing resource for anyone trying to get their act together. I am planning to collate them into a useful post but you may just have to wait for me to get a bit more organised! (What I really mean is - in the New Year when I have caught up on some sleep after the pre-Christmas sewing and cooking frenzy.)

I want to share a few comments that made me laugh.

Kathy told us:
"I play "Super McCleaning" with my 5 year old (he made up the game)... he changes his name to Max and I'm Roberta and we have a grand time cleaning together."
I can see then racing around the house in extra clean capes, whipping up a cleaning frenzy.

Meghan suggested I marry someone who is organised. Well, anyone who knows him, is aware that organisation is not one of Rob's strengths, but there is too much else I like about him to trade him in.

Cate was concerned that I might think she was a little crazy with this advice:
"I continually talk to myself, telling myself to do it properly, put it in it's right spot, pick it up now- not later"
Interestingly, this is one piece of advice I have already put into action and it seems to be working. So Cate, if you are bonkers, so am I.

Reassuringly I am not alone - it seems lots of people struggle with organisation. Check back in 2012 for that summary post.

And so to the winner.
I was thrilled to find that random.org chose this comment from Kim T

"Oooh, so sorry, organization is not my forte! You'd think it would being a homeschooling mama to 5 littles, but no. In reality, it's discipline I need, not organization. Discipline being doing that which needs to be done, yet no one wants to do it. :)"

As I read through all the comments as they arrived, this is the one that stood out to me. I know all the apps, websites, storage tips, calenders, lists and books that you have encouraged me to try are going to be really helpful, but ultimately I just have to do it.

Thanks Kim T for the reality check! I am not sure when you are going to find the time to sew a dress when you home school 5 little ones, but I hope you enjoy it when you do.

Well, so much for all the words! It's been ages since I have shared a picture of my 3 little ones - so here they are:

We are very excited to be participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. We love giving things away and having new visitors to our blog. But if I am really honest, I  need your help...

Someone needs to benefit from my total lack of organisation and you may be the lucky one!

Every year I make my girls Christmas dresses. This year I decided to pretend that I was a carefully planning, highly organised person and bought this lovely collection to make Pippa her dress in October:

1. The O and S Family Reunion Dress Pattern in size 5-12
2. 1.4 m ( a little over 1.5 yards) of this sweet fabric called Sevenberry
3. A contrasting piece of shot cotton (sorry, I am not sure of  the colour name or manufacturer)
   

I brought my little package home very excited and promptly lost it. I spent the next 6 weeks trying to find it - I pulled out the cupboard under the stairs several times, checked under my bed, checked in the kid's cupboards, in the toy boxes and the shoebox. I have to admit when I need to do a quick tidy up, these are all common places where I shove things. I even thought to look in my sewing room, but no matter how hard I searched, I could not find it anywhere.

I tried to convince myself that maybe I had lost it before I even got home, but deep down inside I knew - it was somewhere in the chaotic black hole I call my home.

I finally gave up, re-bought the pattern and fabric and made dresses for both Pippa and Madeleine.

Pippa's Dress

Madeleine's Dress

I think you know the rest of the story...

Once the dresses were complete, I found the original pattern and fabric tucked into my... hat box.

So, one lucky Sew Mama Sew reader will reap the benefits of my disorganised life. The winner of our giveaway will receive the pattern and fabric. There is enough fabric to make a size 5 (or possibly a size 6 dress) or the shirt version in any size. I love O and S patterns. Every time I use one I learn a new skill. The Family Reunion pattern is no different. I will use the techniques I learned making these dresses to put on all my facings in the future - such a great way to give a lovely finish.

So to participate in this giveaway, you need to help me out.

I must get my life more organised and I have decided that 2012 will be the year to do it.

Please leave a comment with some advice about how you keep your life organised so I can benefit from your wisdom. It could be a tip about cleaning, diaries, weekly planners, storage ideas or even a link to a tutorial - anything that you think will help me get my act together.

The giveaway will be open until December 16 at 5 p.m. PST. A comment will be chosen at random and that lucky person will be the winner. We are happy to post internationally. Please make sure you leave an email address so we can contact you.

Thanks so much for all your help and good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. We will be backlater today to announce the winner!

This is the time of the year when I most productive when it comes to sewing. I am so productive, I feel like I could rule the world (if ruling the world involves cutting up fabric into tiny little pieces and then sewing it all back together again really fast!)

The problem with spending every spare moment making Christmas gifts, is that there is not much time for anything else, including blogging. So I will make this quick.

I loved this tutorial for Where the Orchids Grow so much:

that I made this:

It was fun to make, so I made these too:

Filled with stationary, they made great presents for Madeleine and Pippa's teachers.

I hope they like lime and orange as much as I do!

Make sure you pop by on Tuesday. We are participating in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day and I think you'll like what we have to give away.