Planning the Boy's 3rd Birthday

Well their birthday is fast approaching and I am starting to ask what they would like for their birthday.  Jamie says "Nana Barb"  (who is actually his nana...v.cute) and Nicky wants Ben 10 shoes (because his sister had some).

I have also started to ask them what cake they would each like.  They are saying good things like chocolate...so the next step is to show them pictures of cakes I can make (this is the key point here as I learnt the hard way with Eloise that making a spiny dinosaur on my first attempt at cake decorating was a bit ambitious).

Start of the weekend

Been a very big week this week. I was working till 2am each night on a project for work. So needless to say I feel a bit "depleted" now.  The project has advanced to the next stage and will be back with me in a weeks time so more late nights then.

In the mean time I need to make the aprons and the decorations for my party.  Hopefully I will get most of these things completed this week.  I cut all the fabric last night and tonight I will be sitting at the Bernina (if all goes well) sewing sewing sewing.

I have managed to get some quilting done this week though. My giant dahlia quilt is almost finished. I am just adding the binding now.  Here is a sneak peak at the centre of the quilt

I also finished Eloise's snow ball blanket. The wool is a bit tricky to knit with but the blanket is very warm. I have made two of these now and everyone loves them.....I will make the boys one each next winter.

Two weeks ago I went and saw Eat Pray Love.    I loved it ...there were, as Oprah would say"lots of Ah ha moments for me". 

I now am going to read the book (in all my spare time that I have).  However I had a real time of it trying to buy it.  I went to a "major" book seller and was astounded to hear them say they had no stock and I had to order it.  So here I am in disbelief that this chain store could be so bad at inventory management.  It was the opening week of the movie.  I never shop at these stores as they are too expensive and can usually find it elsewhere (on line) cheaper but it was an opportunistic purchase as I raced buy with three kids in tow.  They did me a favour and I sourced it elsewhere and paid half the price they would have charged me and I didn't have to wait for it.  When are these book stores going to work out that their business model is dead.  I used to always shop in them now I never do.

On trying new things, I have a chicken noodle salad that I will be trying this weekend and some enchilada's.  Since the warm weather hit I have been on a salad craze.  Beef noodle salad, chicken noodle salad, spinach leaf salads.  I just love salads right now.

I also  aim to get all my recipes organised this weekend ..well at least stage one which is to get them all in the same spot instead of spread all over the house in various folders.  I cant help myself and collect recipes from magazines I read.  I rip them out and they end up in piles.  Well the piles are going and the folders are here.

Making Aprons

I just love the colour red and I love polka dots. So I am attempting to make an apron.  If all goes well I will be making quite a few as presents.  Evidently you can make the apron in an hour.  So using my rule of thumb I will double the time recommended...(I am the one who always makes the big mistake).  I thought I would also use some blue polka dots....So here goes.....

I've got a tissue paper obsession

I have just been reminded about tissue paper crafts.  So much so that I spent yesterday hunting for the colours I wanted for decorations for my up coming "significant" birthday. 

I have not yet mastered the art of it so here are a few sneaky looks at my efforts to date.  All will be revealed when I can stop accidental ripping them.

I've also finished collecting the materials for my bunting. So now I have to get busy and make all those hundreds of little triangles.

 

So there will be very little quilting over the next few weeks.  My list of things to do before my birthday has stopped fitting on to the one page.



The flowers are here

My favourite time of year.  All the flowers are starting to come out. All the smells.  Boronia at the front door Jasmine on the side fence, Jonquils at the mail box, Daphne outside my bedroom window and the best is yet to come ....all my roses.  David Austin's Evelyn, Ambridge line the drive way.  A great smell when arriving home at dusk. 

Went to the park on the weekend and all the daisies were blooming in the grass.  Just had to get a photo before the council mowed them all away.

Hopefully this weekend I can get restarted on my next quilting project.  Snippets to come.

And Bingo Was His Name O....

This is the song that has been stuck in my head for days now.  The kids are singing it constantly.  Everything and everyone is called Bingo.  Well at least it is helping them spell.

Cooking cooking and more cooking....that is what my creative side is doing at the moment.  Cooked Cinnamon scrolls, Strawberry cupcakes, Corn and capsicum fritters (which the kids hated) and Chicken Enchiladas. 

Today is a quiet day... had to do some shopping.  Bought 3 boxes of huggies....I cant wait till I have no nappies left in the house.  4.5 years and counting.  The boys still run away from the toilet...they are not having a thing to do with it.

Finishing another quilt as well.  I have to get it done for another milestone birthday.  I have a few weeks left.

And last night burnt the midnight oil till 2.30am working.  Got to earn the money to fund my projects.  Though there is no drought of projects around here. 

I also needed to get some basting spray the other day and I ran into the shop to get the one item.....on the way to the cash register I managed to accidentally scoop up these great fabrics.  Have no idea what I will be doing with them.  But you cant have too much fabric.  As Kaye would say "They were talking to me".  (very loudly in fact).

Got to go the babies are waking up.

Just Been inspired

I've not quite got this posting thing under control yet. But I have just been inspired by reading this great blog by Liss http://www.frillsinthehills.com/ .

We've been busy fixing the house. After four years of neglect since the advent of children we've not done too much maintenance. Leaky roof, nil insulation, peeling paint and lifting grout etc the list goes on. So my beautiful attractive man (BAM) has taken three weeks long service leave and has been working through my to do list (double column- A4 page). He has not spent much time on the ground as he has either been on the roof, in the roof, on the scaffold etc. I think he is secretly glad these was not happening in January as was the original plan.

I've been madly making quilts for friends who are achieving milestones:


birth of new babies,

Significant birthdays....(which are not 21)

 

Or just cause my daughter begged to have a green dinosaur quilt (do you know how hard it was to find this fabric?)

                                 

And then just cause I wanted to.....Thanks to Emma at Ballarat Patchwork www.ballaratpatchwork.com.au  for forcing me to part with my money and 6 months of time to make this :-)