Meanderings of a Crazy Quilter aka Jan Quigley

My Little Helper

2012-01-14T13:13:00.001+11:00

I decided to finish cutting out a quilt I started cutting out last year. I stopped off for lunch & came back to this. Zaphod having a little nap.

I love the way he’s using the fabrics as a pillow.

I left him to sleep & later he woke up & helped by holding down the fabric for me, lol. Until he dozed off again.

My 1st Make for 2012

2012-01-11T17:39:00.001+11:00

A gift for my dear friend Helen’s birthday. I pieced it by hand, as it would have been very fiddly to piece by machine & I prefer hand piecing anyway. Helen is a vet so I incorporated quite a few animals into it, plus a few extras. Now we’ve moved to Melbourne I miss Helen’s phone calls, consisting of ‘Is the kettle on, I’m on my way?’ so I had to include the teapots, & the scissors & thimbles are there as Helen is a crafter too.

The project came from this gorgeous book that Emma gave me for Christmas. I also cut some squares to make one for myself.:-)

I have added a pic to the Flickr ‘I Have Pledged a Monthly Make for 2012’ folder. http://www.flickr.com/photos/32055815@N08/6677451441/in/pool-1830444@N20

You can join this group via the link on my blog, (top right). :-)

Summer Mantle

2012-01-11T16:34:00.001+11:00

Ta-da! My first mantel for 2012. I don’t plan to post a heap of mantle shots this year like I did last year, but I’m so pleased with this one I thought I’d share. The picture was my birthday pressie last year & I’d planned for it to go in the bedroom but it looks so good here…….. Btw it’s called, ‘The Sea Hath it’s Pearls.’ We bought the candelabra at our fave vintage shop last week & the cute garland is from Spotlight. They had it with red, pink or cream roses.

We are currently making over our foyer, lounge & dining rooms & I will post pics when they are all done. There has been lot’s of furniture moving, lot’s of cleaning & sorting, & lot’s of huffing & puffing, but it will be all worthwhile.

The Distant Hours

2012-01-05T23:57:00.001+11:00

Hmmm maybe it should be called the lost hours. I was so looking forward to reading another Kate Morton book, I loved The Shifting Fog (House at Riverton) but this is just so tedious. It’s set in 3 different years & each time you feel like something is going to be revealed we change decades. I guess I’ll slog on, I’d hate to give up on the first book of the year, I very rarely don’t finish a book.

Mind you I do have incentive to finish, in the past 2 days I’ve bought 5 more books. Another Marian Keyes ‘The Brightest Star in the Sky,’ 2 Fay Weldon’s, another Katie Fford, lightweight but fun, & PD James Death Comes to Pemberley which sounds fabulous. PD James loves the work of Jane Austen, & as a top crime writer, she has set her murder story in the lives of Mr Darcy & his lovely wife Elizabeth 6 years after their marriage.

Books I read in 2011

2012-01-02T23:19:00.001+11:00

48 books! not bad. Next year I’ll see if I can make 52, one for each week of the year & it would also be 1 for each year of my life. :-)

I enjoyed them all. There were a few I’d read before but not many, most were new reads.

My first book for 2012 is Kate Morton’s ‘The Distant Hours.’

I will continue to blog the books I read this year, I’m really pleased some of you are looking for some of the books I’ve mentioned. This year I’ll also list the author, as it’s not always easy to read the spines in the pics. I tend to pick up books in op shops, the $5 bookshop, Big W & sometimes The Book Depository. They aren’t as cheap as they were now that Amazon bought them out, but there are still bargains & free postage anywhere in the world. I don’t ever pay top dollar for my books, I read too many to be able to justify the expense!

December Books

2011-12-31T21:26:00.001+11:00

A bit if a mixed bunch this month.

I started out with ‘Having the Decorators In,’ the sequel to ‘Having the Builders In,’ that I read last month. I really enjoyed it, it was great picking up with the same characters down the track a bit. It’s a very light-hearted tale with everyday problems of medieval times.

Who Killed Camilla? was a bit too trite & predictable for me.

The Love Knot was another great Charlotte Bingham book. The characters are well rounded & believable. There are three main characters & their stories are all very interesting.

Bridget Jones Diary, what a hoot, just as funny as the film I really enjoyed it. I’ll keep an eye out in the op shops for the sequel.

Ok now Watermelon is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read!! It’s my first Marion Keyes & I’ll definitely be tracking down more. Now the plot really isn’t comedic, the main character Claire has her first baby & the same day her husband leaves her for another woman. Now what is funny, is Claire’s family when she moves back to Ireland to get herself back together. I read in bed last thing at night while dh happily snores away beside me, the problem was I kept exploding with laughter & waking him up lol. Mind you when I read him the funny bits he laughed too. I especially loved that Claire’s mum is a soapy addict & especially loves Aussie soaps. One was referred to as ‘Down Drongo Way’ which sounded remarkably like ‘Home & Away’ to me, lol.

I’m not a fan of Aussie soaps & I remember many years ago when mum used to watch Sons & Daughters, my dad referred to it as Sons & Dickheads, which seemed a much better name to me. I am however totally addicted to Coronation Street.

Yule Pressies–Given & Received

2011-12-28T16:02:00.001+11:00

Pressies I Gave-

I love these multi frames & decided to choose some of my fave Emma photos. They range from 1 month to 18yo, Emma’s Year 12 formal. Now she makes dodging the camera an art form so I rarely get a pic of her, lol. I think she really liked this gift.

Last year, before we moved, I took all our photos out of those awful ‘magnetic’ picture albums. You know the ones where you peel back the plastic & stick the photos to the backing page then lay the plastic back over. Some came out easily, some grrrrrrrrrrrrr, & most still have a sticky residue on the back. So choosing photos meant trawling through 100’s of loose photos, which resulted in a New Year’s Resolution – sort all the photos & get them in new albums.

I spotted this in one of the vintage shops I love & thought that Emma might just like it.

It was a little rickety & the timber brackets just weren’t in the right places for it to open properly. Dh took them all off & replaced them, so now it works quite well. I dragged out my old folk art paints & managed to mix up some paint to match the colour of the box.

I made all the pressies I gave for birthdays this year & had decided not to try & do the same for Christmas but at the last minute I decided to make some mug rugs to pop in with the gifts. They are so quick & easy to make & useful. First up I bought mugs to suit each person, then I made the rugs to match.

For my friend Helen dogs, dogs & dogs.

For Lynne, I always think black & white looks pretty spiffy & Lynne’s pretty spiffy so……..

Now Mum is really a pretty, pastel person but Paul spotted this mug & it’s just perfect. ‘Time for Tea’ with a cup of tea on it, ah made for Mum, the original tea addict. I used to tease her about it but now I can’t live without my tea, so I get it!!!!

For Yun Mi, my nephew’s lovely wife & a total cat lover. Unfortunately her mug was smashed in the post. I wrapped it in the mug rug, bubble wrapped it, tissue wrapped it, xmas paper wrapped it & packed it in a box with all their other gifts & still it arrived in pieces. Fortunately I was able to get another mug the same which I will post this week & keep my fingers crossed!!

Pressies I Received-

Pressies from Emma. A bit of a laugh giving me a cookbook as I don’t cook, but it is absolutely gorgeous with great vintage pics & all the recipes I remember from the 60’s & 70’s & I ‘may’ just be tempted to do some cooking. :-)

The quilting book is magic & I’ve already started one of the projects which will hopefully be finished to be a gift for my friend’s birthday in less than 2 weeks!

Love the Union Jack cat doorstop & the polka dot plates will be great in Lucy our vintage caravan.

Books from Rowan, cool.

Love the felt book from my nephew & his lovely wife & twin pack of novels from my df (dear friend) Lynne.

Pressies from dh. Ah a boxed set of my fave comedy ‘Jam & Jerusalem.’

Yule Greetings! 2011

2011-12-24T16:57:00.001+11:00

Our lovely front doors look so pretty at Christmas.

The Foyer

My more traditional area.

One of my fave things is the 12 days of Christmas folk art wreath that I painted back in the early 90’s.

The Loungeroom

Our Christmas mantle.

The Dining Room

I even made some bunting in our chosen Christmas colours.

Our Lemax village. This year I thought the dumb waiter would make a good spot for the village & it works well.

It’s Christmas Eve & we’re almost ready. Just a few more pressies to wrap, our turkey is in the oven. We have a big baked dinner Christmas Eve & cold turkey, ham & salads for Christmas Day. We’re expecting a nice warm day tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas spent with the people you love to be with. Now we’re in Melbourne our lovely dd Emma spends the day with us. Our day would be perfect if our ds Simon could be here too, but as he lives in Ottawa it’s a bit far to pop over for the day. Maybe next year. :-)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Just in Time!

2011-12-12T18:25:00.001+11:00

My Tis the Season is on the wall!!! I whizzed through the stitcheries in plenty of time but as always I got bogged down with the finishing. My hand quilting is sooooo slow, I’m trying to perfect my big stitch quilting but I feel it’s too small, whereas my normal quilting is too big, lol, & my machine quilting is awful!!!!! But it’s up, & it looks good, so I’m happy with it.

It’s hanging beside the Christmas tree so I couldn’t get a better shot & once it was up I just couldn’t be arsed taking it down again for a photo.

Now you can see why I had the silver ribbon above & below each block, they’re presents & I’ve now added the bows!

I’m hoping the sun will come out tomorrow so I can takes pics of all the decorating I’ve been doing the past 4 days? 5 days, I’ve lost count. I usually knock it over in a day or 2 but I’m just not in the zone so it’s been a bit of a struggle.

I know others are struggling with all the demands of Xmas, it’s just a huge amount of work every year & if you’re not geared it can be a bit of a nightmare.

Well at least the house is done. I’ve written my Xmas letter, I just need to write the cards to put it in. I asked ds Rowan to read it for me to see if it sounded ok. He said, ‘Mum it’s crap, we’re the most boring people, we don’t do anything.’ I said, ‘Yes but everyone who reads it will feel better about their exciting lives & that’s the gift, lol!!!!!’

November Books

2011-12-02T11:24:00.001+11:00

A mix this month.

I have some stuff going on in my life at present that makes it very important that I have time to escape into my books! That’s why I’ve read a few more than usual this month.

The Ruth Rendell, Babes in the Woods, was as good as always. I love the way there is so much going on, including lot’s of Wexford’s home life.

The Ex-Wives was an interesting story as a girl meets an older man & decides to investigate all the women who’ve been in his life before her.

A Change in the Lighting tells of how a woman adapts her life after her husband of over 30 years suddenly leaves her for another woman. It’s interesting to see how she deals with the situation & how the family reacts to the change in circumstances. I like it when books are set in areas I know, & this one is set in Sydney.

Jumping the Queue is a sometimes humerous book that I really enjoyed but I have to admit I didn’t like how it ended.

Having the Builders In is a fun book set in Medieval times & just shows that things haven’t changed when it comes to the reliability of builders, lol. I’m currently reading the sequel, Having the Decorator’s In, & it’s just as good.

I finished something. :-)

2011-11-23T17:27:00.001+11:00

I bought these pine shelves last year so it was time I did something with them.

I pushed the back off, it was stapled with just a dab of glue so that was easy. I marked the back before I pushed it off but I needn’t have bothered as it has discoloured, so it was easy to see the sections.

A couple of coats of white paint.

I’m not a scrapbooker but I bought a pad of scrapbook paper thinking it might come in handy for something. I cut the paper to size & glued it to the backing with a Blustick.

I’d left the staples in place & the back just pushed straight back onto the shelves.

This cute bunting comes from a blog I follow, lucky I remembered it. I resized it as I wanted it smaller & printed it out.

Here’s the link if you’d like some cute bunting too:

http://allsorts.typepad.com/allsorts/2011/03/download-a-free-printable-to-make-some-weefolk-bunting.html

I glued it to some candlewicking cotton.

I used double sided tape to attach the bunting to the shelves.

I’m not sure what I’ll put in them yet, I’ve hung them on the dining room wall. I’ll be Xmas decorating next week, NEXT WEEK, bloody hell who stole 2011, lol. Yes well I’ll put some Xmassy things in the shelves when I decorate & worry about something more permanent next year.

Lucky Me

2011-11-19T19:34:00.001+11:00

I was chosen by Simone as a winner of some lovely fabrics from:

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/

I especially like the print on the left, it looks very grown up & sophisticated to me, a style I admire but I always feel more comfortable with the pretty, cute stuff like the strawberries on the right.

They also sent me a $5 coupon so I’ll be back choosing something yummy from their lovely range.

I thought I’d throw in a couple of pics of the furry, hairy kids.

Here’s Molly licking an ice cream bowl, I love that she’s too lazy to actually get off the lounge first, lol.

& here’s Zaphod playing hide & seek with Molly. He reminds me of ds #1 when he was little, if he covered his eyes he thought we couldn’t see him.

New Fabric Stockist

2011-11-09T18:16:00.001+11:00

Today I checked out one of the lovely blogs I follow:

http://beachvintage.blogspot.com/

& they have a special offer on. A free grab bag of fabric, all I had to do was visit their new website & choose my fave fabric & blog about it. Easier said than done!!!! I ended up with about half a dozen fabrics on my short list & managed to narrow it down to these:

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/tres-chic-by-waverly-327

I love anything French & this also has a vintage look to it, so win, win!!

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/garden-patchwork-blue-368

This print would make a very yummy bag &

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/soul-blossoms-chartreuse-by-amy-butler-62

very art nouveau!!!!

This is the website, they have some beautiful fabrics & the most importantly the prices are good.

http://www.fabrictraders.com.au/shop/

October Books

2011-11-07T14:13:00.001+11:00

Quite a lot of reading in October, adding up to quite a lot of late nights.

I’ve read the “Doctor’ books quite a few times over the years & they never fail to make me laugh. I had to do a book review when I was at school & whereas the others were reviewing children’s books, I chose Doctor in the House. I read out a section that in retrospect probably was not overly appropriate, but when I read it out to dad, he roared laughing so that was good enough for me.

Mum loved watching Peyton Place so my sister & I had to be in bed before it started. I always wondered what it was about so when I saw the book in my fave vintage shop I knew I had to read it. I really enjoyed it & I’d like to see the original movie rather than the series.

dot.homme was about the new trend of internet dating & was a good fun book with some serious issues too.

I really enjoyed A Crowded Marriage, there were some very funny bits. I woke dh up several times as I burst out laughing as I read it.

My ‘Tis the Season’ top is together!

2011-11-02T13:04:00.001+11:00

I’d hoped/planned to be all finished by the end of October, but I didn’t take into account it was Mum’s birthday on the 27th. This year I set myself a challenge to make everyone’s birthday gifts, so that was my priority.

I did get my top finished & I will be layering it today, unless I decide to change a little stitching. Using different colours has been tricky, as some don’t show up very well. So I’ll be taking a long, hard look, to see if I should use stronger colours on a few things.

I haven’t decided yet how I will be quilting it. It will most likely be a combination of hand & machine quilting. I can’t sit for long at the machine, so I might just machine quilt the edge of the white stitchery squares & then do some big stitch quilting on the borders.

I will be binding it with a red print & I’ll make the binding wider than usual so it becomes a thicker ‘frame.’

Halloween Mantle

2011-10-31T19:09:00.001+11:00

Boo!!!

Happy Halloween everyone. It’s very quiet here as usual, Halloween just hasn’t caught on in Oz, although the shops are stocking more & more Halloween things each year. I think it would be great fun to get dressed up & just enjoy seeing others in their costumes. Two years ago we had our first Halloween party, Harry Potter themed of course & it was great fun. Of course since then we’ve moved & our friends are too far away for a party.

You can see pics of our party here:

http://mollys-meanderings.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

Luckily we have friends in The US, & family & friends in Canada, so we enjoy hearing about their Halloween fun.

We got into the mood decorating our mantle for the occasion. I’ll leave it there until it’s time to decorate for Xmas.

A baby Mandrake.

A little floo powder in case we decide to visit friends later.

Mum’s Birthday Pressies

2011-10-24T15:29:00.001+11:00

Mum loves fuschias & I’d had this pattern tucked away for years. I wasn’t sure what to use it on, but as I’d already made Mum a couple of wall hangings, I decided to make a cushion.

I’d bought the fabrics a couple of years ago with Mum in mind so I finally had a project for them.

I traced the pattern then chose crayons to match the fabrics.

I think she’ll like it.

Mum also likes dolls so I made this one.

Now it’s time to start thinking about making Christmas pressies.

Spring Mantle

2011-10-14T18:36:00.001+11:00

I’m afraid I’ve very late with my Spring mantle!!! But I’ll go with my belief, ‘better late than never.’

I’ve been feeling more fatigued than normal the past month or 2 & when my heart kept racing like I’d run a marathon I knew it was time to get it checked. 3 trips to the Dr this past week, for a cardiogram & blood tests, it seems my iron levels are down again so it’s back on the iron tablets with some Deralin to slow my heart. Oh well hopefully in a month or 2 I’ll be back to my normal fatigue, lol.

My sewing room makeover has taken a back seat this week as I just haven’t been in the zone, physically or mentally, but I did make a little doll yesterday, for Mum’s birthday in a couple of weeks. She just needs some hair & I’ll show you how she turns out. I bought a yummy book this week too, as seen at Attic 24. It has a ripple cushion in it I’d also like to make for Mum. I bought the wool today & will give it a burl!!!

This is the cute book, it has some lovely projects in it I’d like to try. I don’t usually crochet from patterns, I usually just faff about until it looks ok, but these patterns actually look like I could follow them. We shall see.

September Books

2011-10-09T18:00:00.001+11:00

Three books this month.

Pride & Prejudice, again. ‘grin’ Sometimes you just need a Mr Darcy fix.

The Lovely Bones, I’ve never read anything like this, I really enjoyed it.

Cloudstreet, loved it. A true Aussie story of two families, warts & all. It’s set in the 40’s, 50’s & early 60’s. Sad, strange, funny, everything a good book needs.

A big change to my books this month, we moved our Harry Potter shelves from the loungeroom, upstairs to our Harry Potter area.

I brought my cube shelves out of my sewing room to where the HOP shelves were, & packed all my novels into them.

They are two books deep & when we get the time, & energy, we will build platforms to go at the back of each cube to set the back row up higher.

Of course Zaphod had to help with the move.

Bringing the shelves out of the sewing room meant I had to reorganise all the stuff that was in them. Truth is, the sewing room wasn’t working for me, it was just too packed & driving me batty, so I used this as a chance to rethink & reorganise the whole room.

I’ll tell that story with before & after pics in my next post.

I Nearly Forgot!!!

2011-09-21T19:08:00.001+10:00

to show you this cute tea cosy I bought recently.

Yes they are little sandwiches on top.

I do have plans to make some tea cosies & I have been collecting teapots to dress. It was the lovely Alice who whetted my tea cosy appetite.

Alice has some gorgeous, free patterns on her blog.

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/

This pair is so cute, the small one would only hold a mugful.

The last 3 are the tiny little one or two cup pots. My Mum has one but she uses her 4 cup one more often. I used to laugh at Mum’s tea habit but now I too am an addict. Earl Grey for me & my last cup of the day is this:

Smells great & tastes magic. No affils, I wish!!!

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but you can ‘decaf’ teabags. Pour boiling water over the teabag, about 1/3 mugful, jiggle the teabag for 5 seconds or so then pour off this water & then make your tea as normal. Apparently the caffeine is released as soon as the boiling water hits, so by pouring off the first lot you are also discarding the caffeine.

Vintage Finds

2011-09-20T12:24:00.001+10:00

I’ve been scouring vintage/antique shops & the op shops & I’ve found some lovely things over the past few months. Here’s a few…..

This cute patchwork apron includes a lot of vintage fabrics.

A 3m piece of pretty barkcloth. I’m not sure what I’ll do with it yet, cushions, bags, a skirt????

I picture this tin with a big buttery orange cake in it like my Aunty Joyce used to make.

My Mum & Dad had this exact same fan. It will be good in Lucy on a hot day.

I couldn’t resist this pretty mirror.

These canisters were made in the 20’s & are still in excellent condition.

My Mum had this exact same tablecloth!!! It’s probably still buried in her linen press.

Another pretty barkcloth tablecloth I’ve bought a few now.

Samsung are Bastards - Big Whinge with Bad Language

2011-09-19T14:58:00.001+10:00

Emma gave Paul a Samsung telephone for Father’s Day. It was locked to Telstra so she paid to have it unlocked so he could use his current SIM card. It was to be unlocked on Monday, the day after Father’s Day. On Monday Paul put his sim card in & found it wasn’t unlocked but he was able to look at the features of the phone, until it froze. Emma rang to see why it hadn’t been unlocked to be told it would now be done the following Friday. Friday came & went & the middle of the following week they finally provided the unlock code. So Paul put his sim card in to find the phone was still ‘frozen’ so he couldn’t use the unlock code. He rang Telstra, oh you‘ll have to take it to a Telstra shop.

We spent 1 hour in the Telstra shop but they couldn’t unfreeze it, we’d have to take it to a Samsung service centre. Oh how convenient just 40 mins away. So as Paul was working in the area today he took it there. Oh yes we can unlock it but it will cost you $55!!!!!! WTF!!!!!!! So although Paul is a normally a very mild mannered person, he’d had enough. There was a big sign that said “Customer Service’ so he pointed to it & asked does that mean you serve the customer or you tell them to shove it up their arse????? Oh we are here to serve, YEAH for $55!!!!! So he told them they could shove it up their arse. I wish I’d been there.

So the moral of the story is DON’T EVER BUY A SAMSUNG PRODUCT. & as for Telstra. well we already know what a bunch of $@#*%s they are.

Lucy, Diary of a Vintage Caravan

2011-09-18T12:38:00.001+10:00

I tried adding a new page to this blog to document the progress of Lucy our vintage caravan but I couldn’t work out how to add more posts to the page. Eventually I gave up & I’ve started a new blog just for Lucy. I think it will work out better in the long run as those interested in my craft may not be interested in Lucy & vice versa.

However for those interested in Lucy, here’s the link. I’ve already done a few posts & there is a little doubling up on stuff I’ve posted here.

http://lucycaravan.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think.

It Wasn’t My Fault

2011-09-16T17:50:00.001+10:00

Well it started out innocently enough, we needed to go to Aldi to buy some mince for tea. Well it just so happened there are 2 op shops close to Aldi, so we thought we might as well have a squizz while we’re in the area. Now I had already told myself I needn’t bother looking at the books coz I don’t have room for anymore, & I’ve bought so many lately that are waiting to be read. But then I remembered I’d been on the look out for another Kate Morton book coz I really enjoyed ‘The Shifting Fog,’ so I’d just have a quick look at the books. Yes well how did I know they’d have so many good books, so cheap. I finished reading Pride & Prejudice (again) last night, so I’m spoilt for choice for tonight!!!

Luckily the IKEA catalogue came last week & I saw this great idea.

So I added ‘build bookshelves for over the windows’ to our very long list of things to do. I also want one of these gorgeous lounges, though I don’t have anywhere to put it.

When I told dd Emma we planned to put bookshelves over the windows I said, it’ll be so………………. claustrophobic? was her answer, no the word I was looking for was cozy, lol.

Some Goodies

2011-09-15T17:53:00.001+10:00

I bought this pattern & book recently & I meant to blog about them…….

I do love fairies & mushroom houses so I couldn’t resist this one by Bronwyn Hayes.

Well I did mention I love mushroom houses.

I bought both these & Tis the Season, from Patchwork Plus & I have to say their service & prices are great!!! No affils, just a happy customer.

http://patchworksplus.com.au/

Not sure when I’ll get to make them but in the meantime they are lovely to look at.

2011-09-14T17:29:00.001+10:00

I’d noticed a couple of the lovely ladies whose blogs I follow are singing the praises of Pinterest, so I had to have a look. Oh it’s wonderful!!!! Finally somewhere to store all the fabulous pics I find online. I usually have tons of tabs open, so I can look back at yummy things I’ve found, now I can just add them to my boards. What’s even better is I can go to the Pinterest pic, click on it, & it takes me back to where the pic came from.

I don’t have tons of pics on my boards yet but I’ve only just started. I’ve added a tab to the side which will hopefully take you to my boards so you can have a squizz.

Nar Nar Goon

2011-09-08T13:45:00.001+10:00

I wonder how many of you have heard of Nar Nar Goon, about as many as have heard of Koo Wee Rup, which we drove near to get to Nar Nar Goon, lol.

Sundays these days see us all piling in Emma’s car & going off in search of vintage treasures. Emma read about a place to check out, at yes Nar Nar Goon, so off we went. Well no treasures for us, but the town itself is so cute I just had to share pics of the murals which are on most of the buildings.

August Books

2011-09-08T13:44:00.001+10:00

Bit of a mixed bag. Katie Fforde books are always quite entertaining, a little predictable but that’s ok. The Jane Austen Book Club was good but I need to read it again, I always get a bit lost when there’s a lot of characters, lol. Well Joanna Trollope, as always brilliant. This one got under my skin so much it made me want to slap a couple of the characters, but I think that’s a true success when the characters are so real!!! A real food for thought book.

I’m currently reading Pride & Prejudice again. Only the 2nd time, I was a late comer to Jane Austen, I thought they would be dry & boring & hard to read. How wrong was I????????

Bits & bobs for Lucy the caravan

2011-09-07T15:22:00.001+10:00

I spotted these canisters at my fave vintage shop & they are just perfect for Lucy. They’re just the colours I’m planning to use in her.

I plan to use the 2 beds as lounges as Lucy will mainly be used for day trips. This means I’ll need lots of comfy cushions so I’ve started making some. I’d bought this fabric months ago thinking it would be nice for cushions.

I’d stitched this months ago & finally took time to turn it into a cushion. If you like the design it’s a freebie I found online:

http://www.wikihow.com/Embroider-the-Crinoline-Lady-Motif

I plan to stich it again, only next time I’ll colour it with crayons.

He’s so cute & very quick to stitch. Another online freebie:

http://www.thebabygardner.com/blog/2008/09/free-vintage-embroidery-pattern-courtesy-of-heather-hales/

I’m going to try & keep the put things in Lucy that suit the era she was made so I decided to crochet a dish cloth as I’m sure they didn’t have Chux then.

I found a lovely green ball of cotton on sale. I did a little googling & ended up making up my own design. Very simple really.

Using a 4mm crochet hook I made 40 chain. Skip the 1st 2 chain & do a *half double crochet (hdc) into the 3rd. Continue to work hdc in each chain across the row.
Turn, work 2 chain, then continue with the hdc’s.
This is the pattern.
Keep working until your cloth is square. I then worked a shell pattern around the edge.
Work 5 double crochet into one space, skip 2 spaces, do a single crochet, skip 2 spaces then work 5 dc’s. Continue around all 4 sides.

I hope this makes sense, although I’ve been crocheting on & off for decades my skills are very basic.

*Half Double Crochet

Yarn over hook.
Insert hook in the next stitch to be worked.
Yarn over hook.
Pull yarn through stitch.
Yarn over hook.
Pull yarn through all 3 loops on hook (one half double crochet made).

August Blocks

2011-08-31T14:38:00.001+10:00

Yay my last 2 blocks are finished. I saved the partridge in a pear tree until last as it is my fave block. Now to join them up…………

I have so many things on the go at the moment I’m not sure when I will get to them.

I’ve even been to busy to blog & I have so many things to blog about!!!!!!

I have some very exciting news.

2011-08-18T14:54:00.001+10:00

Guess what we bought???

It’s a little scary at the moment but hopefully it will be very pretty, very soon. It’s been used as a travelling billboard to promote a backpacker hotel in Sydney. A lot of sanding & a few coats of paint & it will be lovely.

I’d already taken down the curtains & started cleaning in this shot.

The top bench lifts up & the towel rail is a handle to pull the front down. There should be a gas stove in there but it’s missing, so we’ll be on the look out for one.

The inside is pretty much original it just needs a damned good scrub!!!!!

I did plan to take lots of before pics but after opening the door & finding it ‘very’ musty I got stuck in opening the windows, getting the cupboards open & pulling out all the drawers to try & freshen it up. I quickly took a few pics then reefed out all the mattresses, which are mouldy underneath, that certainly didn’t help with the smell.

Details: It’s a 14’ Don caravan, which were manufactured in Oakleigh, Melbourne from 1923 to the early 60’s. We believe this one was built in the late 50’s. The interior is a very original & is in very good condition. It was owned by a family in Queensland until a year ago when it was purchased for a hotel promotion. Luckily all the changes are external & easy to rectify.

If you should know anything about Don vans I’d love to hear from you.

Oh & of course she needs a name. The frontrunner at the moment is Lucy for several reasons.

a. I love Lucy. (Lucille Ball)

b. I love the Lucy movie, The Long, Long Trailer

c. Last Saturday was the 100th anniversary of Lucy’s birth.

All name suggestions welcome.

I’m still on the look-out for a little bubble caravan As long as I don’t get carried away & end up with a collection of caravans like I did antique sewing machines, lol.

I’ve bought a few bits & bobs to go in it. I’ll save them for the next post.

July Books

2011-08-04T12:37:00.001+10:00

Three quite different books, all op shop finds.

A Year in Provence was a humourous account of Peter Mayle’s first year living in France, with the trials & tribulations of renovating where time is counted in seasons rather than days, weeks or months.

The Flowers of Ballygrace is a nice story set in Ireland. & The Wimbledon Poisoner was a very humourous account of failed attempts to murder a nagging wife.

My assistant Zaphod

2011-08-03T16:28:00.003+10:00

I decided to trace off the final block in the Tis the Season set this morning. How lucky Zaphod was on hand to help. :-)

Apparently the light box is a nice comfy spot.

July Blocks

2011-08-03T16:09:00.001+10:00

Just a little late, though they were stitched in June. With dd’s birthday at the end of June, & 3 more in July in our home, it’s our ‘busy’ month.

Birthday Report

2011-07-19T14:14:00.001+10:00

Well I did have breakfast in bed.

I did get pressies.

Here’s what was in the b & w paper. I spotted it hiding under a table in the Vintage clothes shop last month. I picked it up, handed it to Paul & said, in true Finding Nemo fashion, ‘mine, mine, mine,’ lol. This is a common phrase is in our home along with, ‘tell ‘em they’re dreamin’ (The Castle) when we think something is too expensive.

Rowan gave me this cute book.

We went to the Vintage Shed & I found some goodies, including this gorgeous print I’ve been wanting for so many years. I first saw it in a photo of a bedroom in a decorating book, it’s called ‘The Sea Hath Pearls’ & it took me a long time to even find that out. I hope to have it on my bedroom wall later today.

I bought the Keep Calm & Carry On sign & hung it in the foyer.

I was well rugged up as the shed is unheated. Note the cute red coat. Mum said buy yourself something nice for your birthday, so I did. I rang & told her what great taste she has, lol.

It was hard to tell how the weather would be, this was the view as we set out, luckily we were heading south towards the blue sky.

The boys.

Me & Rowan. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, after weeks of high winds & tons of rain we scored the best sunny day for a long time. we were able to sit in the sun & have a picnic lunch, a cold wind started up just as we were finishing.

I also checked out a quilt shop which we drove past to get to the Vintage shops & bought a cute print, a piece of wool felt & the new Anni Downs book. I’d seen it online but didn’t really know what was in it. As it turns out some lovely projects so I snapped it up.

Back to check out the Vintage Emporium & I found this gorgeous cardi. I’m keeping my eye out for some nice 40’s – 50’s style clothing so I’m all set when Paul finds a vintage car.

Home & was surprised to find a beautiful flower arrangement waiting for me from dd Emma, complete with Happy Birthday balloon.

Afternoon tea & we all enjoyed some gf chocolate birthday cake.

We even had my fave chicken & pumpkin risotto for tea, yum.

Friday the birthday mood continued as it was Rowan’s 15th birthday.

My Dream Birthday

2011-07-12T17:31:00.001+10:00

It’s my birthday on Thursday & I’d really love to have a great day. My 48th birthday was pretty good, we were house hunting around Berwick & spent the day discovering Olinda & Sassafras. My 49th the boys were in Canada so it was pretty lonesome. Last year, my 50th, Paul was back in Narara organising things for the last trip by the removalists so it was a non-birthday. So maybe 51 will be the year.

So if the fairies are organising this year this is what I’d like.

Breakfast in bed, on a tray, with a flower in a vase. I found this picture online, funny thing, this is the same breakfast bowl I use every day, with cornflakes. They forgot the flower though!!

Pressies, I’ve already picked a few things so I know I’ll be pleased with them.

A day out at my favourite vintage shops, The Vintage Shop & The Vintage Emporium at Tyabb.

With a picnic lunch in our new ‘old’ picnic basket.

& for the first time in a very long time, a birthday cake.

Now as it’s my ‘dream’ birthday, here’s my dream gift.
Pics thanks to the lovely Clare of ‘Polly Dolly Vintage’ one of my fave blogs for allowing me to share these pics. Thanks Clare.

This is Clare’s gorgeous caravan, ‘Polly Dolly’ & I’d love to have one just like it.

It’s just so cute & cosy, I love it!!!

More pics of Polly Dolly:

http://pollydollyvintage.blogspot.com/p/my-vintage-caravan.html

Polly Dolly Vintage blog:

http://pollydollyvintage.blogspot.com/

So if anyone knows of an old, unwanted caravan for sale, around 10’ – 11’ long, please let me know. I’d give her a very good home.

Good Advice

2011-07-12T16:56:00.001+10:00

I just visited a blog I follow & found some very good advice for quiltmaking. Please take time to read it, you may learn something. I did. Rule 2 spoke to me big time.

http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/

Rule 1 ‘Make quilts that you love.’
This was one I’d really tried to get across to my students, back when I taught.

There’s absolutely no point spending a lot of money, and much more importantly, a lot of time, working on a quilt you don’t love. I specialized in teaching beginners so they were often choosing the fabrics for their first quilt. It can be very daunting!!! In the first lesson I’d go out into the shop with the students while they chose their fabrics. They’d bring a few fabrics back to me to see if I liked them. First up, I had to get across to them, it didn’t really matter if I liked them, did they like them?
Well…… it will match my bedroom.
Do you love the colours in your bedroom?
No, but…….
Lol.
Put those fabrics back & go & choose one fabric that you just love.

Off they’d go & back they’d come hugging that one fabric & grinning. Now I knew we were on the right track. Then we’d work on choosing fabrics to go with the ‘chosen’ one. Suddenly it would all become easy to them & you could feel their energy & impatience as they were busting to get stuck into their quilt.

So don’t ever make a quilt to match a room you don’t love!!! Make the quilt you love, then choose a colour that will make a great background for your quilt & paint the room!!!

Remember that quilt is with you for life, you will repaint, you will move, it’s constant, a room often isn’t.

My Dear Jane hasn’t progressed much. I’m flat out with my year of making gifts so maybe next year. I know I’ll never go off it as it’s made in 30’s prints, which I love.

Choose fabrics that make you smile.

This was a very fun project for ds Simon. He has a Hawaiian shirt collection so I simply picked my brightest fabrics for the shirts. The Canadian prints were sent to me by generous quilters.

It can be a challenge making something for someone else but it’s fun working out their fave colours & finding fabrics that are just right.

Today’s Op Shop Finds

2011-07-09T20:57:00.001+10:00

There were two reasons I wanted to head over to Carrum Downs today, first I wanted to check out the only listed stockist within coo-ee of Mollie Makes & second I wanted to check out a couple of nearby op shops.

First stop the newsagent who had the best range of craft mags I’ve seen in a very long time, but no Mollie Makes. I asked & they did get it in but had sold the two copies they’d received. The next issue is due in a couple of weeks so I put my name down for one.

Next stop Salvos where I found a nice little tray to replace the one Paul broke. He’s going to fix it but 2 years on…………

Vinnies came up trumps. I walked in the door & saw this cute little coffee set just waiting for me. No we don’t drink short, black coffees but it’s so cute.

I always check out the books & found a few great ones. Love the Judith Baker Montano one, originally $49.95 now $2!!!
I have a couple of cushions on the go so a book that makes finishing off easy is a good thing.
I’d already read a Geraldine O’Neill book, The Grace Girls, & loved it so I’m sure this will be a good one too.
I didn’t even realise Muriel’s wedding was a book, I love the film so look forward to reading the book.

Now for the icing on the cake. How gorgeous is this??? We keep talking about going for a picnic & we sometimes do, but this will make them much more special. Dh is on the look-out for a vintage car & I’m on the look-out for a vintage caravan so this will go well with both.

Winter Mantle

2011-07-08T23:24:00.001+10:00

Although I actually did the mantle on June 1st, our first day of Winter, it’s taken me all this time to take a pic. I did plan to tweak it & add some silver bits & bobs from our Xmas things, but I just didn’t get there.

Another June pressie

2011-07-07T16:30:00.001+10:00

I made this beanie for my nephew Shayn. He liked it as it wasn’t ‘itchy.’

I’ve made this same pattern several times & it’s a lovely chunky rib, & very warm & comfy. The pattern calls for Caressa used double (7 ply), but as it’s no longer available I used Inca single (14 ply), & it worked well.

6 months of making all gifts has gone well. June/July is a little busy with 5 family birthdays falling in a 5 week period. One is mine, & although I did start something for myself, it won’t be finished but I don’t mind.

It will eventually be a rectangular cushion. I’ve realised there are 2 red spots in a row so I’ll move one.

I have also just started on a fairy garden which I may make some progress on before my birthday, if the boys help.

June Books

2011-07-06T16:33:00.000+10:00

Only 2 this month but they were both over 500 pages. I loved the Chocolate Girls & the sequel was good, but a little depressing.

Colourful Friday–Red & Green

2011-07-01T15:40:00.001+10:00

Don’t you love it when you sit there racking your brains & the answer is right under your nose. Red & green, red & green, what will I put????? Then I glanced over at the dressing table & there it is, the absolutely gorgeous duchess set I bought at an antique shop, a couple of weeks ago.

Isn’t it just yummy???

If you look closely you will see dirty splodges on 2 of them. No they weren’t there when I bought them, here’s the culprit.

Zaphod, he thought he’d make a cute ornament.

I think nature was having a laugh when they made this little boy black & white. Black yes, would have been perfect, but white???? Of all the cats I’ve had over the years he is the grubbiest of the lot!!! A close 2nd was Tabatha who loved to take dust baths & would start out grey & turn brown.

Check out the other Colourful Friday bloggers with Robyn over at Daisy Quilts:

http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/

June Tis the Season Blocks

2011-06-30T17:01:00.001+10:00

Just scraping in by the skin of my teeth.

They have been stitched for a while but I’ve been flat chat making birthday gifts & I’ve done hardly any blogging of late. My July blocks are already done but I’ll post them in July.

There has been an issue with these 2 blocks with the contrast, so many light things on the light background. They are a bit easier to see in ‘real life’ but I may restitch the mice in a darker grey.

Emma’s Birthday

2011-06-27T16:43:00.001+10:00

I’ve been busy the past few weeks making a lap quilt for Emma for her birthday. She came down yesterday & we had a great day.

You may notice a theme here, Emma loves green.

The quilt, it’s lap size, 48” x 60”. I stippled the blocks & hand quilted the circle section using ‘big stitch quilting’ & candlewicking cotton. I’m a convert, love it, much easier than trying to get tiny stitches & I really love the look of it.

I found this pretty border online, added my message & printed it out.
I love quilts with legs!!

The cake!!! I made it & dh decorated it, pretty spiffy.
Yes Emma loves cats, she doesn’t have one as her partner is allergic.

& the gorgeous birthday girl.

I’m not sure if Zaphod was guarding the pressies or
thought he was one, lol.

I haven’t run off & joined the circus.

2011-06-21T16:54:00.001+10:00

I did plan to blog my vintage shop finds of last week, but I couldn’t find the #@*!ing camera. This week, I found said camera, had some more vintage finds, but just don’t have time to do a proper blog. I’m flat chat trying to get some birthday goodies finished.

Photos next week……

The Non-Positive Side of Coeliac Disease

2011-06-07T22:43:00.001+10:00

Tonight I received an email from the Coeliac Society, in it was a request for people with Coeliac Disease to do a survey. A psychology student is doing a paper & trying to show the positive side of having Coeliac Disease. Hahahaha good luck with that one. I did the survey hoping I would be given the opportunity to describe what it’s like to have Coeliac Disease, but no it was just 4 pages of sometimes repetitive questions where I could answer ‘never’ through to ‘often’. You know those ones where you have to have an opinion & then rate it.

Now I have to say there is 1 positive thing about having CD & that would be that if you stick to the diet you tend to eat a very healthy range of foods & I’m all for that, but the negatives far outweigh the positive. After all I could eat a healthy range of foods & not have CD.

The negatives, well let’s go back to my diagnosis in January 1985. I’d had classic CD symptoms all my life but no Dr ever suspected. I’d been diagnosed with gastro enteritis so many times it was ridiculous. Anyway I’d gone to this gastroenterologist with problems after the birth of dd Emma. Turned out I had a duodenal ulcer, it responded well to treatment but on a follow up appointment he asked other questions & I described the symptoms I’d had forever. He said he’d check my ulcer had healed & performed another endoscopy. He also checked for CD, but I didn’t know that. Next appointment he said, ‘Well I’ve worked out what is wrong with you, you have Coeliac Disease.’ Great, what is CD coz I’ve never heard of it. He wrote it down, drew a little diagram of my small intestine, told me to join the CD Society, get some gluten free food from the health food shop & pushed me out the door.

I went to the health food shop & they sold me some of those big round thick rice cakes that catch fire in the toaster in 2.3 nanoseconds if you try to freshen them up. They told me I could eat peanut butter. So I lived on peanut butter on rice cakes until I got some info from the CD Society. I stuck to my gluten free diet for months & then had a follow up endoscopy to see if my intestine had healed. It had, so I had CD. I wasn’t upset, hell I was so relieved to have a diagnosis after so many years of suffering & illness, & I was so relieved to not have the horrendous stomach aches.

But then you realise that life has to change, big time. I love cakes, where some people go on pub crawls, my Mum, sister & I used to go on cake shop crawls, I kid you not. We also used to go to lovely little coffee shops & treat ourselves to something yummy. No more. Not possible. I had an Italian neighbour who made the best pizza in the world & would invite me in to lunch sometimes, no more. In fact eating out anywhere, ever, was over.

Imagine looking in the window, knowing that you can never eat any of these cakes. It SUCKS!!!

Over the years people have become aware of CD & that’s a good thing because you don’t have to explain why you can’t eat the yummy thing they are offering, but it also means you sit there with nothing, trying to look as though it doesn’t matter & you really don’t mind. The when they know you can’t eat the food they hold the plate out to you & say “You can’t eat this can you?’ GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR I went to two Christmas parties just last year, one was bring a plate affair & there wasn’t a single thing on the table that I could eat. I took my own food as always, but you feel very alone sitting there with a dry old gluten free sandwich when everyone else is tucking into some really yummy Christmas food. The second was a sit down luncheon where I was told there would be food for me. Of all the food on the table, the only thing I could eat was the strawberries that had been put out as a garnish!!!

If you like eating out, going to people’s homes for meals & just socializing in general then it’s hard. Over the years we’ve had people for meals but are never invited back, the old' ‘too hard’ thing. Food is such a huge thing in our lives, how many cooking shows are there now? Foxtel even has a cooking channel!!! Whenever we socialize it all revolves around food. Friends drift away coz you can’t go for coffee anymore (I’m also lactose intolerant & allergic to caffeine), you can’t do lunch. Yes I know some places offer gluten free these days but you have to be very careful. I’ve asked about GF food & they’ll say there’s only a little flour in it, it’s ok. No it’s not, not even a little bit. A Coeliac Society newsletter a few years back said that Muffin Break were now selling a range of GF muffins. I’ve never had a muffin, they came in after I was diagnosed so I was excited about that. I went to Muffin Break & saw lots of great looking muffins but which were GF? I asked, ‘Oh I think it’s those & those.’ ‘Does anybody actually know??’ No it seems no one was absolutely sure which ones, so I gave it a miss. You sometimes see a GF friand in the case with all the tasty cakes. I tried one once. Just a stodgy little lump of yuck.

Which would you choose???

There are a lot of GF foods in the supermarket now, trouble is most of them are very high fat & I’ve had to incorporate low-fat into the equation after a nasty bout of pancreatitis a while back. No known cause, but staying low-fat would be the way to go I was told. At least I didn’t have to cut out alcohol, I don’t drink, lol. Of course you have to pay 2 – 3 times more for GF foods than ordinary. A nice loaf of bread $2 odd or a GF loaf of bread that could be used in place of a brick, same weight & texture, probably not as tasty will set you back $5 - $6.

If you see one of these little bricks of bread in your supermarket, pick it up, feel the weight, give it a squeeze, well try & give it a squeeze.

Now having had my big whinge I have to say that having CD is a pain in the bum, literally, if you don’t stick to the diet, but in the scheme of things if you had to have a permanent health problem, there is a hell of a lot worse. If you stick to the diet you’re ok. It’s the way it impacts on your lifestyle that is the hard part. It’s definitely added to my agoraphobia.

SO if you have a friend or relative with CD or any allergy for that matter, please make the effort to find out what they can eat & try to have something when you ask them around. You have no idea the effect it will have on them. When I taught patchwork one of my students brought me a GF birthday cake she’d made for me. It was the first birthday cake I’d had in years & I was so touched that she’d gone to this trouble.

Snuggly

2011-06-05T16:38:00.001+10:00

It’s cold & very windy here today, Molly has the right idea.

I’m under the quilt with her.

We Revamped the Pantry

2011-06-04T17:46:00.001+10:00

Our last kitchen was brilliant coz we designed it to suit us. Now this kitchen is a much nicer looking kitchen, but it’s smaller & the pantry has been a challenge since day 1. Firstly it’s a triangle??? & secondly they just didn’t use the space to the best advantage. Last week I’d had enough, & announced the pantry was the next project, so that’s where some pine & a tin of paint came in.

Before: what a mess!!!!!

Then you look to your left & see… a blank wall. There’s only a couple of inches behind the door frame but enough space to put a shallow shelf that will hold tons of stuff.

Such fun living off the dining room table for a week.

The old shelves with a lick of paint, finally banishing the one very poorly applied coat of ‘builders’ paint.

The new shelves in place.

After: all sorted. Woohoo, spiffy.

btw the blue looks quite sedate in the pics, it’s really quite bright, a little brighter than I intended, but it’s certainly a huge improvement.

One more project to tick off the list. What will be next??????

May Books

2011-06-04T13:10:00.001+10:00

I’d wanted to read Where the Heart is for a long time, after seeing the movie. Yes it’s the one where the girl lives in Wal-Mart, great book & the movie was very close to the book which I always love.

Murder on the Leviathan was different, translated from Russian, our hero is Poirot like. A whodunnit that had me guessing till the end.

The Chestnut Tree, set in WW2, telling it like it was, how lives were changed, happy, sad, some romance, a good read.

Winter Solstice, now I bought the dvd for this a few weeks ago, & I thought the story sounded familiar, but when I looked, I didn’t have the book, I must have borrowed it from the library. The next week, while browsing the books in an op shop, what do I find??? Winter Solstice, great timing, now I’ve reread the book, I’ll watch the film. I really enjoyed the book but it ends too soon. I googled to see if there was a sequel, there is & there isn’t. There isn’t a sequel for the book, but there is one for the film, called, wait for it, ‘Summer Solstice.’ So I’ll keep an eye out for it.

Colourful Friday–flowers

2011-06-03T13:53:00.001+10:00

I wasn’t sure how I’d go finding flowers in the garden the 3rd day of Winter but I did quite well, I think. These are all in the front garden.

We put some little lavenders in a few months back & they’re all doing well. This is the pick.

There are roses all along the front garage wall which is nice for the neighbours but we rarely see them. They were an overgrown mess when we moved in but after I gave them a brutal prune they’ve all done well.We also planted camellias along the front fence line, we’ll add more & hopefully end up with a hedge of them. They are still quite small but all have been flowering.

To check out others posting their Colourful Friday flowers:

http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/

It had to happen

2011-05-30T17:47:00.001+10:00

I had to go back & check out the cheap bookshop again. This time was much better as it wasn’t crowded & I was able to have a really good look. Mind you my knees weren’t overly impressed with all the bending & crouching that had to be done to look at all the interesting books. Getting old sucks, but the alternative is far worse…….

Do you ever scan a shelf of books & have the horrible feeling that you’re passing by the most wonderful book in the world??? Just what is it that makes you pick up a book & read the blurb? For me it’s the picture on the cover, then I check the author. The title isn’t overly important, often it gives no clue to the plot of the book, so I bypass it. I quickly scan the blurb & if it seems interesting I read it properly. As to plot, I do love a good murder mystery, I also like books set in wartime England, as several of these books are.

I don’t mind a bit of romance but I need there to be more happening than that. Some of these are romances I guess but it’s the era they’re set in that interests me. I’ve never read a Mills & Boon & I never will, just not my thing.

I love really big, fat books, you can really get into them. Best of all you can lose yourself in a book, if life’s a bit sucky you can stick your head in a book & blot it all out. I also sleep better if I read last thing at night, I tend to think about the book as I’m dozing rather than going over & over something negative as I have a habit of doing.

I’ve thought about the electronic readers & they would be good if I travelled, but given the fact that I’m at home, there’s nothing nicer than the feeling of a book in your hands. Sometimes I need to flip back to check something I’ve read & I think that would be trickier on a reader.

Anyway here’s today’s treasures……………

& this one caught my eye just as I was leaving. Who wouldn’t want to be ‘Gorgeously Green’, mind you not if it meant I was Kermit the frog!!!!

I now officially have enough books, & enough craft projects to keep me going for some time, so I’m planning on hibernating.

Is it Just Me?

2011-05-29T23:54:00.001+10:00

that has trouble with those little ‘word verification’ boxes? You know, those random mixes of letters & numbers that are supposed to weed out the non-humans. My brain always wants to turn the mixed up letters into a word & I really have to concentrate to get it right. Perhaps I’m not human that’s why it fools me.

A Booklover’s Dream

2011-05-27T20:17:00.001+10:00

I called into the shopping centre today & spotted something that made my heart beat faster. A bookshop with nearly every book $5!!! The only exception was a small table of books near the door for $10.

I spent about 45mins browsing & ended up with 4 books & a boxed set of cards. I plan to go back soon for another look, as they have more pallets to unpack. They say people don’t read anymore, but the shop was packed. They also had a limited range of random dvd’s for $5. Rowan was rapt to find a Rush dvd & a John Lennon dvd.

The 2nd pic is a box of cards. You get 20 cards & envelopes, (2 of each design.) They had several different themes of cards. All $5 a box.

Rowan & I both wanted the Crime Investigation book. Today he received his Year 10 selection handbook for next year. One elective he hopes to take is Forensic Science. They didn’t have interesting subjects like that when I was at school. I hated school & the subjects were so boring. I only enjoyed sewing, no surprise :-), & English, though our novels were awful. Cry the Beloved Country, Lord of the Flies, Among the Trumpets. Probably brilliant books, but not to a teenage girl. These days they tend to get choices, as it should be.

Colourful Fridays–Sunsets

2011-05-27T11:41:00.000+10:00

Well I’ve came up empty handed with this one as far as photographing a sunset as we’ve been overcast & rainy all week here. I had it all planned too, we get a great view of the sunset from our upstairs bathroom window, but the weather didn’t co-operate.

Still, not to be beaten, I will post ‘my’ sunset.

I designed & taught this years ago.

All Finished, All Good

2011-05-26T22:26:00.001+10:00

Home from the colonoscopy, HUGE sigh of relief to have it over. I hadn’t been to this facility before but I have to say they were very nice & professional. I didn’t take anything to do, as I thought I would pretty much go straight in, but they were running late so I sat & twiddled my thumbs for a while. Once the process started it was all good & fast. I told the anaesthesiologist I had a rotten headache & he put a drip in to rehydrate me, which was very nice of him. I remember the needle going in with the sedative but not coming out, lol.

I got a report as I left, 1 small, 3mm, polyp removed, results next week. & the best part, I don’t need another colonoscopy for 5 years. YAY!!!!!!

I waited for Paul to come pick me up & a young girl, I say girl but she told me she’s 41, rushed over & sat next to me. Basically she was terrified & wanted some reassurance which I was happy to give. We sat & talked for about 20 mins, long after Paul arrived & I think she felt a bit better. She gave me a big hug as I left so I hope I helped. I hope her test went well.

I don’t like posting without pics, but don’t panic I won’t show you the colour photos they gave me of my colon lol, but something much nicer.

Here’s Molly getting her last clip, she’s due for another. Zaphod had to supervise the whole exercise & enjoyed grabbing the hair as it blew away. Molly quite enjoys being clipped, but she doesn’t like me scissoring around her toes as she’s ticklish.

Jelly for Breakfast Anyone?

2011-05-25T13:26:00.001+10:00

No it wouldn’t be my first choice either, but jelly for breakfast can only mean one thing to me, prep day for a colonoscopy.

Oh the joy, a day of clear fluids + litres of laxatives. On the upside it’s a routine colonoscopy, I had one 7 years ago & 4 years ago & it’s time for another. With a family history of bowel cancer, a miserable day of prep & a procedure you have no memory of, are well worth the effort when you consider the alternative. But still, on that miserable day of prep, I have to remind myself of this, often.

I thought about working on my current quilt, but I’m too distracted & would probably make mistakes with the cutting, so I’ll stick to embroidery & TV.

Oh & did I mention the other fun aspect? HUNGER, by the time I have the test I won’t have eaten for over 36 hours.

The first time I had the test I only thought of sweet clear fluids so by the end of it, ugh. The next time I had the bright idea to stir some MIghtymite (gluten free vegemite) into boiling water to drink & it was yummy. But the truth is after all the fluids you just feel waterlogged.

Roll on Friday!!!!!

This is an email I received some years ago & it says it all & is seriously funny.

Colonoscopy Journal:

I called my friend Andy, a gastroenterologist, to make an appointment for a colonoscopy.
A few days later, in his office, Andy showed me a color diagram of the colon, a lengthy organ that appears to go all over the place, at one point passing briefly through Minneapolis . Then Andy explained the colonoscopy procedure to me in a thorough, reassuring and patient manner.
I nodded thoughtfully, but I didn't really hear anything he said, because my brain was shrieking, 'HE'S GOING TO STICK A TUBE 17,000 FEET UP YOUR BEHIND!'
I left Andy's office with some written instructions, and a prescription for a product called 'MoviPrep,' which comes in a box large enough to hold a microwave oven. I will discuss MoviPrep in detail later; for now suffice it to say that we must never allow it to fall into the hands of America 's enemies.
I spent the next several days productively sitting around being nervous.
Then, on the day before my colonoscopy, I began my preparation. In accordance with my instructions, I didn't eat any solid food that day; all I had was chicken broth, which is basically water, only with less flavor.
Then, in the evening, I took the MoviPrep. You mix two packets of powder together in a one-liter plastic jug, then you fill it with lukewarm water. (For those unfamiliar with the metric system, a liter is about 32 gallons). Then you have to drink the whole jug. This takes about an hour, because MoviPrep tastes - and here I am being kind - like a mixture of goat spit and urinal cleanser, with just a hint of lemon..
The instructions for MoviPrep, clearly written by somebody with a great sense of humor, state that after you drink it, 'a loose, watery bowel movement may result.'
This is kind of like saying that after you jump off your roof, you may experience contact with the ground.
MoviPrep is a nuclear laxative. I don't want to be too graphic, here, but, have you ever seen a space-shuttle launch? This is pretty much the MoviPrep experience, with you as the shuttle. There are times when you wish the commode had a seat belt. You spend several hours pretty much confined to the bathroom, spurting violently. You eliminate everything. And then, when you figure you must be totally empty, you have to drink another liter of MoviPrep, at which point, as far as I can tell, your bowels travel into the future and start eliminating food that you have not even eaten yet.
After an action-packed evening, I finally got to sleep.
The next morning my wife drove me to the clinic. I was very nervous. Not only was I worried about the procedure, but I had been experiencing occasional return bouts of MoviPrep spurtage. I was thinking, 'What if I spurt on Andy?' How do you apologize to a friend for something like that? Flowers would not be enough.
At the clinic I had to sign many forms acknowledging that I understood and totally agreed with whatever the heck the forms said. Then they led me to a room full of other colonoscopy people, where I went inside a little curtained space and took off my clothes and put on one of those hospital garments designed by sadist perverts, the kind that, when you put it on, makes you feel even more naked than when you are actually naked..
Then a nurse named Eddie put a little needle in a vein in my left hand. Ordinarily I would have fainted, but Eddie was very good, and I was already lying down. Eddie also told me that some people put vodka in their MoviPrep.
At first I was ticked off that I hadn't thought of this, but then I pondered what would happen if you got yourself too tipsy to make it to the bathroom, so you were staggering around in full Fire Hose Mode. You would have no choice but to burn your house.
When everything was ready, Eddie wheeled me into the procedure room, where Andy was waiting with a nurse and an anesthesiologist. I did not see the 17,000-foot tube, but I knew Andy had it hidden around there somewhere. I was seriously nervous at this point.
Andy had me roll over on my left side, and the anesthesiologist began hooking something up to the needle in my hand.
There was music playing in the room, and I realized that the song was 'Dancing Queen' by ABBA. I remarked to Andy that, of all the songs that could be playing during this particular procedure, 'Dancing Queen' had to be the least appropriate.
'You want me to turn it up?' said Andy, from somewhere behind me.
'Ha ha,' I said. And then it was time, the moment I had been dreading for more than a decade. If you are squeamish, prepare yourself, because I am going to tell you, in explicit detail, exactly what it was like.
I have no idea. Really. I slept through it. One moment, ABBA was yelling 'Dancing Queen, feel the beat of the tambourine,' and the next moment, I was back in the other room, waking up in a very mellow mood.
Andy was looking down at me and asking me how I felt. I felt excellent. I felt even more excellent when Andy told me that It was all over, and that my colon had passed with flying colors. I have never been prouder of an internal organ.
On the subject of Colonoscopies....
Colonoscopies are no joke, but these comments during the exam were quite humorous..... A physician claimed that the following are actual comments made by his patients (predominately male) while he was performing their colonoscopies:
1. 'Take it easy, Doc. You're boldly going where no man has gone before!'
2. 'Find Amelia Earhart yet?'
3. 'Can you hear me NOW?'
4. 'Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?'
5. 'You know, in Arkansas , we're now legally married.'
6. 'Any sign of the trapped miners, Chief?'
7. 'You put your left hand in, you take your left hand out...'
8. 'Hey! Now I know how a Muppet feels!'
9. 'If your hand doesn't fit, you must quit!'
10. 'Hey Doc, let me know if you find my dignity.'
11. 'You used to be an executive at Enron, didn't you?'
12. 'God, now I know why I am not gay.'
And the best one of all:
13. 'Could you write a note for my wife saying that my head is not up there?'

Tis the Season May blocks

2011-05-25T12:41:00.001+10:00

I’ve been working on these blocks in between the pressies I’ve been making.

Update of the Definition of Confident

2011-05-19T21:08:00.001+10:00

Well we quickly established that knitting is like riding a bike & Rowan did remember how to do it. He also managed to add an extra stitch after just 3 rows, as you do.

Teaching someone else to knit was a bit of a challenge, especially as the girl he was teaching was left handed, but they muddled on & survived the experience.

Eurovision Song Contest

Eurovision is VERY popular in our house. Rowan & I count down the months to Eurovision & sit glued to both semi-finals, & the final. We record it on Tevo & watch it over & over. I would have to say this year was not as good as last year, just not as many great songs, but we both absolutely loved the Irish entry Lipstick by Jedward. Just brilliant!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXouSYabDig

Cannot get over their energy!!!!

Mother’s Day Gifts

2011-05-18T18:07:00.001+10:00

I realised I hadn’t posted pics of the things I made Mum for Mother’s day so here they are.

Mum loves dolls & golliwogs & when I saw some on a stall I thought what a perfect gift for Mum. Of course I also heard her voice in my head saying, ‘You could make that.’ Lol it was a running gag in our house whenever we’d see something we liked Mum would say, ‘I could make that’ & sure enough she could & did. Luckily I inherited the ‘make it’ gene.

I actually had the pattern for the doll. I’d bought it years ago & never used it. Mind you I will never use it again, it would have to be the worst pattern I’ve ever used!!!! Thanks god my basic drafting skills from high school 30+ years ago came back to me & I was able to sort it.

The little golliwog is actually adapted from a gnome pattern. I simply changed the colours, added hair instead of a pointy hat, a felt mouth & some ‘noisy’ eyes. When my 2 oldest kids were young I made them both a fabric goose. I asked them what eyes they would like & Simon said, ‘Not the noisy eyes.’ Took me a while to work out he meant jiggle eyes, as opposed to non-jiggle, which of course were ‘quiet eyes.

Now I realise that these aren’t considered ‘politically correct’ to some people, but I figure my Mum is 81, she loves them & is probably beyond being corrupted, lol.

She tells me they are good company, they sit on the lounge with her. She said they don’t talk much but like watching tv. No she hasn’t lost the plot she just has a good sense of fun & just like me she quickly bonds to dolls, teddies & the like.

I also knitted her a blue snowball scarf. Mum is a very prolific knitter & crocherer but it’s always for friends, family or charity & never for her.

Definition of Confident

2011-05-17T21:10:00.000+10:00

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

The Definition of Confident

Rowan mentioned in passing that this Thursday the kids will either be teaching or learning something new at school. Sounds cool, suggested things to teach or learn, knitting, sewing, crochet etc.

Today Rowan tells me he’s signed up to ‘teach’ knitting. Well he did learn to knit at the Voldemort School, no that’s not right, he did learn to knit at the schoolthatwillnotbenamed, but this was 7 years ago. Proficient is not a word I would use to describe his knitting at the time. He did produce a dirty cream article that he told me ‘It’s a sheep Mummy, can’t you tell???’ Of course I could tell, especially after he told me.

Then we get to the best bit, so Mum can you teach me to knit after school tomorrow, Wednesday, so I’m ready to teach on Thursday.

Yeah we’ll see how we go. Pity I don’t drink, I think a glass of something may be the best way to start the lesson.

I’m a Bag Lady & I’m Having a Whinge. :-)

2011-05-15T15:59:00.001+10:00

I’ve been buying & making bags forever & have quite a collection, the problem has been how to store them all. I’ve been using a hat stand the past few years, which is good, but only holds a selection.

Browsing the Aldi catalogue the other day, as you do, I spotted these yummy cube shelves.

I have a large set in my sewing room & I just love them so when I spotted these at Aldi. I was racking my brains to work out
a) where I could fit a set
b) what I’d put in them

I worked out I could fit a set in the storage area under the stairs. Now Harry (Potter) has his own room it’s used for storage.

Then I had the brainwave I could put my bags in them, well some of my bags. I sort my bags into Summer & Winter so hopefully I could fit 1 season in them.

Ta-da!!!

Here they are, all packed up ready to slide in under the stairs. I managed to fit 2 bags in some cubes. I couldn’t fit all my Winter bags in, but I put all my favourites in here & doubt I’d use the others. I’ll put the one I’m using on top. I packed all the Summer bags away as I’m sure Winter is here with the temps we’ve had this past week. A top of 7C on Wednesday, brrrrr!!!!

I didn’t stop there, I moved all my Summer clothes upstairs to the spare wardrobes & brought down all the Winter ones. I also sorted my hats & scarves & they look great on the hat stand.

Now the Whinge

Weight gain cause by my Fibromyalgia medication mean a lot of my stuff doesn’t fit. I’ve looked in the shops but still haven’t found a pair of trousers/jeans that actually come up to my hips. I don’t have one of those tattoos above my butt & have no intention of getting one, I also don’t plan on wearing a thong, so I don’t need trousers that barely cover my bum! I want some that come up high enough to keep my lower back covered & warm. Is that too much to ask??? As for finding the right size!!! in Australia, where there are no ‘size guidelines, it’s a lottery. Every shop you walk into is a whole new set of sizes. They may say 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 etc but a 10 in one shop, is a 14 in another. Oh but then we have the small, medium, large, ex-large system, which is just as unreliable. I have clothes in my wardrobe 8, 9 (jeans), 12, 14 & 16 & they all fit. I’m a size 9 jeans at Rivers but a 12 at Target. I also range from small to ex-large. Gone are the days when you could buy anything without trying it on. You find something you like, then you have to take it in 3 sizes in the hope one will fit. Oh & what’s with the skinny arms! A 12 body fits but you need a 14 or 16 so the sleeves fit.

So is it just me with the weirdest figure in the world or are others having the same issues???

Happy Mother’s Day

2011-05-08T19:17:00.001+10:00

I hope all you Mum’s are having a great day. Emma came down & cooked brekkies. It was the first time, in a very long time, I’ve had breakfast in bed.

Just a mini mantle for Mother’s Day, I’m just not ready to pack up the street party yet.

Pressie time next & I was spoilt.

All the essentials of Mum’s Day, new jammies & slippers, a couple of dvd’s & a book.

Emma gave me this. :-)))

I love Lego & I love Medieval. Creationary is like Pictionary, though instead of drawing the words, you have to build them out of Lego. Fun stuff. My attempts were pretty bad, they actually laughed at my banana, lol, but how good is Emma’s penguin & Rowan’s bunny?

Lucky Zaphod was there to make sure the box didn’t blow away. :-)

The icing on the cake was a ‘Happy Mother’s Day, I miss you,’ from ds Simon in Canada. :-)))Also a Happy Mother’s Day from my nephew.

I LOVE MY KIDS!!!!!!

April Books & a Busy Week

2011-05-07T13:41:00.001+10:00

I did quite a bit of reading in April which meant some very late nights. I only read when I go to bed & if it’s a real page turner it makes for a very late night. All but the Muriel Spark were picked up in op shops. I was going to say, I wish I’d thought of buying books there years ago, but probably it’s better I didn’t or it would have meant yet another truckload when we moved down last year!!!

They were all very good, but I especially loved ‘The Shifting Fog’ by Kate Morton.

Busy Week

Once I finished the miniature street party scene it was back to finishing off the pressies I was making for Mother’s Day so I could post them. This will be the first time in 50 years I won’t be spending Mother’s Day with Mum. It’s a bit hard to now we live 1000kms away, on the up side, this will be the first Mother’s Day in 8 years I’ll spend with dd Emma .

Mum had cataract surgery this week & the surgeon is pleased with how it went. It will be a while before Mum can tell if it’s made an improvement. She also has Macular Degeneration & this was her ‘worst’ eye. She will have the other one done next month. I posted her pressies off Tuesday afternoon & then it was time to get stuck into cleaning up the disaster area being creative makes.

Wednesday I woke up actually looking forward to getting all the bits & bobs sorted & put away so I could start on the next pressie, then I stretched, big mistake. I managed to pull a muscle in my upper back. OUCH! Extreme pain in my back, up my neck into my head & down the back of both arms, oh joy!!! As if I don’t have enough pain with the Fibromyalgia. :-( Heat packs & Panadol, & the pain had eased off by night so I tidied the sewing room. Woke up Thursday & it was bad again, more Panadol & I could do some cleaning. Friday I did the smart thing & googled ‘pulled muscle upper back,’ I had to laugh as it referred to all sort of exercise & sports induced injuries rather than an injury caused by stretching in bed, lol. Ice they said, why didn’t I think of that???? So I grabbed the ice pack & used it on & off through the day, it really helped, that’s why I’ve got it back on now.

I didn’t waste my time though, I finished knitting a scarf for Emma, knitted one for Rowan & did some of my Tis the Season stitchery. Hopefully my back will be ok by Monday so I can get stuck into the next pressie which is a BIG project.

BTW the scarves are knitted with Snowball Yarn from Lincraft. I tried similiar yarn from other shops but this is by far the best. The scarves are so quick & easy to make, just 10 stitches per row on 4mm needles. You knit 2 stitches between each pom pom & before you know it you have a scarf. These scarves were done with 2 balls, but one ball makes a nice scarf too that just crosses over in front, rather than wrapping around.

Royal Wedding mantle

2011-04-29T12:52:00.001+10:00

Well this has definitely been my most ambitious mantlepiece to date & definitely the most fun to do. I’m ‘really’ pleased with it because it’s cute & because it’s reawakened my love of miniatures.

I’m not quite sure when the street party idea popped into my head, but once it did I knew that’s what I had to do. Everything is done 1/12th scale & what I didn’t already have, I made.

Here it is the night before the wedding, bunting & lights in place.

The day of the wedding & it comes alive!!!!

Pinky sent me this cute little mug years ago, it usually lives in my miniature quilt shop. I must post pics of that one day.

& the beanie bear Royal couple. Something tells me ds will think they will make a nice addition to his beanie bear collection. I don’t think so. :-))))

The car is from dh’s collection & I picked the cute teapot in an op shop a few weeks ago. In fact that’s where the street party idea might have come from…….

Anzac Day

2011-04-25T22:08:00.001+10:00

My Dad

Dad joined the army during WW2 when he was 16yo. They finally worked out he was too young, after he’d seen plenty of active service, & sent him home. On his 18th birthday he joined the Air Force (RAAF). This picture was taken in the 60’s when he was a Squadron Leader in the RAAF. He’s actually using a car phone, petty cool for the 60’s. Dad always marched on Anzac Day, had a few beers & played 2-up. He passed away in 1987.

Lest We Forget.

Pinky’s Gift

2011-04-25T18:53:00.001+10:00

I really enjoyed making this little wallhanging for my friend ‘Pinky.’ We met online 14 years ago on a quilt list & just clicked, it was her off the wall sense of humour that grabbed me. :-) Pinky then started a new list where we can talk about anything, my kind of quilt list!!!! Pinky lives in the US so chances are we won’t actually meet, but we will continue to ‘have a laugh.’

Luckily, the conversation turned to favourite pies on our list recently, & Pinky mentioned a love of chocolate meringue pie so I included some & the sweet peas are April’s birthflower.

I asked Pinky for her fave colours & she said, anything, so I used all my current fave fabrics & colours. :-)

Easter/Eostre Mantle

2011-04-24T13:52:00.001+10:00

Dd Emma gave us all lovely Easter goody bags, lots of ‘loverly’ chockie & my bag also had the beautiful red velvet rose in it. :-)

I think it will come in very handy for my next mantle.

An Unexpected Grand Day Out

2011-04-21T11:54:00.001+10:00

Friday night I had a phone call from my friend Lynne, ‘Would I like to go to the Australian Quilt Convention in the city the next day?’ I knew the show was on but had ruled it out as too far away, ugh I hate agoraphobia!!!! Anyway Lynne wasn’t going until midday, which is far more doable than early morning for me, so I said I’d think about it. I woke up the next morning & thought bugger it, I’m going!!!!

I drove up to Lynne’s & her dh drove us into town & dropped us at the door. First up I couldn’t believe how gorgeous the building is.

I took lots of pics of the quilts & here are a few of my faves. I hope the owners don’t mind me sharing them.

I loved this quilt & took close-ups to see the detail.

What a work of art!!!

I guess our veggie patch triggered my appreciation of this lovely quilt.

As always I was drawn to the pictorial quilts. There were also some beautiful quilts with pictorial blocks but I couldn’t do them justice showing a tiny pic.

Of course Lynne & I also forced ourselves to look at all the quilt vendors. :-)))))

I’ve been drawn to the ‘Bliss’ range of fabrics. I’ve seen quite a few projects using them on other blogs & I really, really wanted some so I was on the look-out. I asked at a couple of likely stands but they’d sold-out, then I got lucky. A lovely 10 pack of fq’s & a jelly roll.

Plus this yummy little charm pack.

I also bought this beautiful book I’d seen online, & I managed to pick up a couple of Quilting Arts specials at bargain prices. All in all a great day.

Thanks Lynne :-)))

Goodies

2011-04-12T17:41:00.001+10:00

The other day I was surfing around looking for something, I can’t even remember what, when I came across a cute idea for hanging necklaces. It was quite small & actually had the word ‘Necklaces’ cut out of wood. Way too much work so I needed to come up with something that would suit my needs & be quick & easy, so thinking cap on, & I came up with this.

A scrap of pine, painted, with lot’s of nails 1” apart.

I also decided to hang my earrings & bangles on it. I hung them all in colour order, to make life easy, (& because I’m anal, lol), with the earrings to match the necklace hanging above, & voila!!

In the words of Sooty ‘Easy peasy lemon squeezy!!!’

It also looks really pretty as an ‘art’ work. :-))

Op Shop Find

We’ve been checking out the local op shops so ds Rowan can look for records to add to his collection. Of course while I’m there I usually find a treasure. :-)

I nearly always find a book or 3 to add to my collection & quite often a pretty glass dish or bowl. We were just leaving the Salvos the other day when i spotted this.

Dh was suitably unimpressed, lol, but even he had to admit it was quite nice after I washed it. It was a bit dull but it turned out it was really dirty & after a gentle handwash it came to life.

I’d recently thought I’d like to start collecting knitting needles so I’d been keeping an eye out for some in the op shops. I hadn’t had much luck then a friend posted a gorgeous pic on her facebook page of her knitting needle collection all beautifully displayed in her antique (electric) jug collection. This spurred me on & I picked up a few needles. I mentioned my latest interest to Mum & she said she had some knitting needles a friend had given her & she’d send them down. WOW!!! look what arrived!!!!

This certainly kick starts my collection. Note the gorgeous bundle of tortoiseshell needles!!! Now I need to find some pretty containers to store them in. Maybe some fabric covered tins would be nice………….

I put the rubber bands on to sort them into colours but I won’t leave them on as they’d deteriorate & stick to the needles.

April Blocks finished

2011-04-12T12:29:00.001+10:00

I love stitching the blocks for this project, it’s just lucky I have so many things on the go or I would have kept going & finished them all. :-)

You can check out all the others working on Tis the Season wall hanging here:
http://stitch-a-long.blogspot.com/

Veggie Patch Update

2011-04-11T12:33:00.001+10:00

Everything is doing well in our veggie garden.

Carrots & onions,

silverbeet & beetroot,

& cauliflowers.

A little hard to see the leeks,

& more caulies with a random tomato that came up in the front yard.

& my lovely polyanthus are doing well &

my first flower!!!

We planted broad beans, garlic & peas last week.

Colourful Friday - Hexagons

2011-04-08T15:08:00.001+10:00

One of the many Kaffe Fassett hexagons I’ve hand pieced for my 50th birthday quilt. Ok so I turned 50 last July, I didn’t factor in moving interstate when I set my deadline. :-)

I’ve made quite a few.

I tried, unsuccessfully, to work out how many I‘ll need. They will have aqua triangles between them.

A Sashiko table centrepiece I designed & taught.

Stained glass hexagon I also designed & taught.
Christmas deckies, I designed & taught. I also made them for a Christmas swap. I also popped some in with my Christmas cards for Christmas 2009. My first hexagon bag made with lovely Japanese fabrics.

The hexagon bag I made for Mum’s birthday last year.

I started another one a couple of years ago that I really must finish!!!

I made these so many years ago to be appliquéd to a double bed quilt that is sitting waiting to be finished……………….

The printed hexagons were to make a quilt for my doll house, you can tell how small they are by the size of the cotton reel. I gave up & I couldn’t find the few hexies I actually made.

The hexies I added to the Stitching Round the Block round robin I was in.

Well I ended up with far more hexagons that I’d expected!!!

If you’d like to see some incredible hexagons click here:

http://www.venusdehilo.com/2011/03/a-year-of-hexies/

Please check out the other ladies joining in for Colourful Friday here:

http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/

Mornington

2011-04-06T18:02:00.001+10:00

We spent the day in Mornington today. We checked out the weekly markets & just some, of the gorgeous shops. It was a beautiful warm, sunny day, as there were so few of these in Summer it was lovely to get one in Autumn.

We parked down near the water to have lunch & spotted this. The bathing huts are gorgeous. I love the way the vine grows over the front of this shop.

I’m currently planning my ‘Royal Wedding’ mantel display & I managed to find something today that will look wonderful. :-)

Should we have called him Jimmy?

2011-04-05T20:47:00.001+10:00

How grubby can one little cat get while playing under the house?

A friend suggested I throw him in the washing machine with some OMO on the gentle cycle, lol. Luckily I didn’t have to as his face was magically clean a little later, I think Molly must have given him a bath.

If you didn’t get the ‘Jimmy’ reference, it was Jimmy Cagney in ‘Angels with Dirty Faces,’ a 1938 gangster film. It was a little before my time.

Zaphod

2011-04-04T22:54:00.001+10:00

Zaphod is rather partial to watching a bit of tele. He made himself at home the other night on the lounge. If he doesn’t like the show he just rolls over & goes to sleep.The other afternoon I decided to finally iron my pile of patchwork fabrics. I went off for some water to refill the iron & came back to find my ironing board had been highjacked. It seems he likes the old ‘Doctor in the House’ movie too. Another of his tricks, drinking from the kitchen tap. We had another cat, Moppet, who loved to do this also.

Another Birthday Gift Finished :-)

2011-04-02T18:58:00.001+11:00

I started out thinking I’d embroider a cute cup & saucer on a mug rug & a bit like Topsy the idea grew. A little still life that then needed some flowers. I had a light bulb moment when I thought to use Lynne’s Birth flowers in the vase. So instead of a mug rug it’s a wall hanging.

I’m really pleased with it & I plan a few more similiar projects, which will probably lead to a new range of patterns.

Due to my usual issues with procrastination, although I finished this in time for Lynne’s birthday, I didn’t manage to get it to her on time!!! Luckily she was working nearby today so was able to drop in for a cuppa & I gave her her pressie. I even did some baking, a lovely English teacake & a gf date loaf for me.

March Books

2011-04-01T14:31:00.001+11:00

I’m halfway through The Red Dahlia so it will stretch over March/April.

I had expected the Joyce Grenfell book to be very funny but it wasn’t, however it was a very interesting account of Joyce’s life from early childhood until the end of WW2 following her personal life & the beginning & growth of her career.

Espresso Tales, the 2nd book in the ‘44 Scotland Street’ series, was just as entertaining as the first.

Day 4 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week

2011-03-31T20:07:00.001+11:00

Day Four: 31st March. Where are they now?

Whatever happened to your __________?

Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity.

I knitted this jumper for myself back in the 80’s. Little did I know I would add an “R” ot it & that my ds would be wearing it at our ‘Dinner at the Weasley’s Anniversary’ evening in 2009.

Day 3 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week

2011-03-30T19:54:00.001+11:00

Day Three: 30th March. Tidy mind, tidy stitches.

How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised?

Tips: Many people use their blogs partly as an organisational tool – logging and cataloguing projects and newly attained skills, projects and modifications. Did you bare this in mind when you began blogging?The top container is full of lovely 16 ply wool in luscious colours from Rowan’s days at the Steiner school.

The bottom one is full of lovely wool oddballs. I just can’t resist the basket of oddballs on sale. ;-)More ‘on sale’ stuff. When I taught at Spotlight I had to walk past the sale tables as I arrived & left, & I could never resist the wool sales.Odd balls of novelty yarns.My knitting needles & crochet hooks, I have quite a collection!!!

Ooooh what are we looking at here mum???
My fave bamboo needles. This lovely chest holds a cardi that only needs to be sewn together, mind you when I looked at it recently I don’t think it will fit. Also my wip freeform knitting & crochet, plus all the yummy blue, green & purple yarns.Another ufo, ‘Harry Potter,’ of course stored in a Harry Potter bag. :-) Another ufo which i will get back to soon & stored in this fabulous bag my dear friend Helen brought back from Germany for me. My high school German tells me it’s saying what a dear friend I am, roflol!!!!

I started blogging to keep track of what I was doing, to motivate me to finish things & to have a record of what I’d done. I purposely keep my blog ‘positive.’ Not that I have a problem with people who don’t, I just sometimes use it to cheer myself up so if I added in the bad stuff it wouldn’t work. I hope that makes sense.

My little photographic assistant. As soon as the camera appears, so does he. :-)

A little blurry, well he was trying to smooge the camera, lol.

Day 2 Knitting & Crochet Blog Week

2011-03-29T19:37:00.001+11:00

Day Two: 29th March. Skill + 1UP

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

Well I had knitted & crocheted before but I hadn’t done any for years. Thanks to blogging, & the discovery of some fabulous blogs, my love of knitting & especially crocheting have resurfaced.

These are some of the blogs that have inspired me:

http://attic24.typepad.com/weblog/

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/

http://theflowerbed-shr.blogspot.com/

http://byelizabethcat.blogspot.com/

I’ve tried out a few crocheted hexagons & flowers & also made a ‘Lucy’ bag. It’s not great but I plan to make another & hopefully it will be more successful.

I didn’t know you could crochet cables & I’ve never heard of entrelac so no, no feet have been put into either area, lol.

I’m feeling a little out of my depth having joined in on this. I checked out other bloggers involved & they’ve done some incredible stuff, mine is ‘very’ basic. Oh well I’ll pull out some of the things I’ve made over the years & put up some pics during the week & maybe next year I’ll be able to look back & see that my knowledge & skills have grown. :-)))

Our new Veggie Patch

2011-03-29T16:04:00.001+11:00

Take 1 underutilised deck that gets hopefully enough sun.

Add some raised beds, 3 cubic metres of soil, some seeds & seedlings & hopefully we’ll end up with a veggie patch.

The seedlings in the pots are polyanthus. I’ve seen so many this year on people’s blogs, brightening up the winter months, I couldn’t wait to go out & get some.

Less than a week after planting, the lettuce is up.

Knitting & Crochet Blog Week

2011-03-28T23:08:00.001+11:00

I only discovered this event last night but I’m going to jump in. :-)

Here is the link if you’d like to jump in too:

http://eskimimiknits.com/knitting-and-crochet-blog-week-2011/

Each day for a week the idea is to blog about an aspect of knitting/crochet as suggested by the organizers.

Here are today’s guidelines:

Day One: 28th March. A Tale of Two Yarns.
Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them.

A yarn I love, well that would have to be any good quality 100% wool yarn, 8 ply. Although I learnt to knit & crochet over 40 years ago my knitting & crocheting has always been basic so I haven’t tried out tons of yarns.

Here is the stash I’ve built up for this Winter to make a granny rug. Of course Zaphod had to check it out.

Here are my everyday wools in the colours I love at the moment. I’ll be using these to make a tea cosy for my Mum for Mother’s Day.

A yarn that didn’t work for me would have to be Feathers, now I had no trouble knitting a scarf with it, but as soon as I tried to make a Christmas stocking & had to increase & decrease I totally lost the plot. It’s very hard to undo & once I’d gone wrong somewhere it all got too hard & got put aside.

I had to grab a pic of a ball of Feathers off the internet as I gave my ufo away.

I’m also not fussed on acrylic yarns, my experience in the past when knitting jumpers is that they pill & stretch out of shape. I notice a lot of people are using them now so they may well have improved. I’d be keen to hear if that’s the case.

February Books

2011-03-28T13:11:00.001+11:00

I thought I’d posted this already!! Oh well better late then never. :-) Not many read this month. I did ration myself a little with Harp in the South & Poor Man’s Orange, to make them last longer. I love these books. I also watched the dvd’s for the books. The acting is brilliant & the storyline closely follows the books.

Yay, my March blocks are finished.

2011-03-27T16:06:00.001+11:00

Whoa two posts today!!!

Well I stopped blog surfing & shut myself in my sewing room with my music & here finally are blocks 1 & 2 finished.

I’ve also posted my blogs on the Stitch-A-Long blog.

http://stitch-a-long.blogspot.com/

Procrastination

2011-03-27T12:24:00.001+11:00

While checking out one my fave blogs this morning I saw the heading ‘Do You Procrastinate?’ Lol, procrastination is my middle name!!!!

This was the comment I posted on Carole’s blog:

‘Me too, hands waving in the air. I've lost track of the number of projects I have on the go. In fact I should be working on a particular project right now but it's so nice to sit with a cup of tea & browse my fave blogs. :-) I find my procrastination often stems from 'having to make a decision' on the project I'm working on. So rather than bite the bullet & make the decision I start tidying or vacuuming or blog surfing...... I made a gift for a friend's birthday last week & still just have to post it, but of course I'm waiting for a sunny day to photograph it first. & so it goes on. I'd love to change, I've tried to change, but I think I simply have the procrastination gene & I have to accept it.’

I will never stop procrastinating but I could really push myself harder because hand in hand with procrastination is guilt. A really crappy soul destroying emotion that I’m also gold medal standard at.

So as far as unfinished, unstarted projects go I need to write a list of the things that I really need, & want to work on.

Right now I need to post the pressie I made for my friend Lynne. I need to make & post a pressie for my friend Pinky, I need to make & post Mum’s Mother’s Day pressie so it’s there in time for Mother’s Day. I plan on making this for her.

http://crochethealingandraymond.wordpress.com/2010/11/16/fancy-a-cuppa-granny/

I just love it, Mum has been a tea addict for as long as I can remember & she still makes real tea in a teapot. I used to tease her about her love of tea but guess what, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree & I’m now a tea addict too. I’ve even bought a teapot at the op shop so I know what size to make it.

I’m currently working on the Tis the Season Stitch-a-long but rather than just do it in red & white I decided to throw in other colours.

Now of course I’m dithering around unable to decide on borders for the blocks. Luckily Emma was here yesterday so I asked her opinion. She came up with a whole new layout idea for the blocks so I will go with her design. Today I will be making decisions on borders & I will be sewing them onto the blocks!!!

Next I think I’ll take some pics of my ufo’s & put them down the side of my blog so I’m reminded & hopefully motivated to work on them. But of course I’ll have to wait for a sunny day to photograph them. :-)))

Red Hill Show 2011

2011-03-26T21:53:00.001+11:00

We actually went out today & Paul actually remembered the camera. :-)

Dd Emma drove down & we all headed down to the Red Hill Show.

Don’t you just love alpacas???

There was a stall in the alpaca shed with a group of spinners. I learnt to spin way back in the 70’s & have been thinking I’d like to take it up again, I still have my spinning wheel. I got talking to a couple of the ladies, they were very friendly, & would you believe it, they have a spinning group that meets every Wednesday in the suburb I live in!!! I predict some spinning in my future. :-)

It’s been so long since I went to a show. We used to go to heaps when I was a kid. My sister bred & showed Irish Setters so there was a show most weekends. Goulburn, Gunning, Tarago, Canberra, Queanbeyan, anywhere within coo-ee of Goulburn. I loved looking at all the exhibits, especially the craft & the flowers. I’ve never put anything in a show but I would love to.

How cute are these bear cupcakes?

I loved these pretty flower cupcakes.

These hydrangeas were stunning!!! They were huge, easily as big as my head. The bottom one goes from pinky mauve on the left through to purpley mauve on the right. Her badge says Super Quilter, I love the quilting hoop tucked under her arm.

Silly me I forgot to take a note of the maker of the craft things I’m showing. I haven’t shown other people’s work before & I hope the makers won’t mind me sharing their beautiful work.

Note the cute little seal peaking round the corner. I saw his quilt & was immediately reminded of this pic Emma sent me of her partner.

Yes he’d just had an ice cream, lol. Loved the pony in the zebra suit. :-) This funny little pig was having a lovely time foraging all around the animal pen.