What happened

Do you remember our gingerbread houses from last year.


Well all I can say about this years tradition is "What happened?."

It started off so well.....

then there was a lot of this required

Then disaster struck both the girls and the boys creations.

Conclusion...something went fatally wrong with the glue (oops icing)

Christmas Craft

As we have just moved I did not have the energy to get out the boxes (yes that is right.... boxes) of Christmas decorations...so the "littles" and Auntie Kate and I set out in making the decorations.  We used paper and felt.

We decided that poinsettias was the theme.  So we had a Poinsettia plant as the centre piece of the table and made some felt poinsettia's for the table and the tree. 

We used the pattern from the Christmas edition of Family circle

Next Auntie Kate made some felt decorations.

Even my "littles" made felt decorations

And to finish off various paper chains and paper Christmas shapes like stars and trees and candy canes to yield the finished product.  (excuse the freezer - we are lacking room these days).

We've moved

Earlier this year we decided to do a big move to the country and therefore bought 16 acres of sheep grazing land in the states north near apple and wine country.  We are going to build our house this year.  So in the last month I have been busily packing up the house and moving it approx 150km north.

How did it go?  I was very stressed (in terms of stress my Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale score was/is 177 which suggests  Risk of illness is moderate).  Well not sure about the resulting score and what it means.... but on moving day I the biggest headache that would not respond to any medication...I even got the big guns out.  Anyhow what stressed me out the most was watching the guys helping us pack put my Georgetown circles in a box (I hadn't packed this as I was working on it at night when I got a chance).  Forget the crystal cabinet, TV and my Villeroy and Boch tea set...I just panicked about my sewing and my cameras.

We have moved in to our rental house and this will be our home for the next year.  There is not enough storage and we will be living out of boxes this year ..but what an incentive to get our house built.

I start my new job next week and the boys start at their new childcare on the same day.

The "Littles" are growing so fast.  We can now walk around our new neighbourhood as a family with the dogs and the best bit is that the streets are very quiet...good for wondering children and dogs

Technical Issues

A lot of you have told me that you are having trouble leaving comments.  So I have just had a look at the settings of this blog and I think I have made some changes that should let people comment.  So have a go and let me know if it still isn't working

 

Pressure Cookers

I've just bought a pressure cooker.  I have never used one and have the memory of my father making caramel and blowing up the pressure cooker in our kitchen when I was in primary school. 

I bought the 10L Tefal Clipso.  I am a bit nervous.  Think I might start with something easy like Risotto.  Any one know any good recipes?

All things Red

Since I can remember my favourite colour has been red.  Well I have gone a bit crazy in the red department lately.  Red purse, red handbag, red shoes, red diary and my red iPhone.   To cut a long story short I had to urgently get a new phone yesterday.  An hour and a half later I left the telstra shop with this new phone.  Since I have got it home I have just looked at it and answered it when it has rang....I don't really have the energy to try and work out how to drive it yet.

Its that crazy time of year again.  Dance concerts,

birthday parties,

 The "Small" boys 4th birthday - I had to make two rocket cakes evidently rockets fly better when they are blue or green

 Christmas parties,

end of year parties and all the orientation activities for my children...next year the "smalls" are all having a new adventure.  The boys to kinder and my beautiful girl starts school.  Where has all that time gone.  I do admit to wishing a lot of the time away went the boys were babies and really hard work....but now  I want it back.

I have been cleaning and I have been getting organised.  I have put in the one spot all my fabric.  It is really scary.  Even if I spend every waking moment before I die fabricating all this material I will still have a mountain left over.  Only one solution for it I will have to be buried in it.



floor to ceiling and three rows deep



I ordered some new patterns from Don't Look Now (after all I have all this fabric to use).  I was so excited to get them in the mail yesterday.

I have finished the pillow for my good friends nephew

 

I picked some flowers from the garden as they were just perfect

Raw edge applique

I am fast becoming addicted to raw edge applique.  When I first started quilting (about 8 yrs ago) I hated applique and I was only into machine piecing.  The quilts go together so quick.  However I have ended up with a mountain of quilts some of which I don't really like any more.

Now I have less time than ever before and you would think that I would have suck to machine piecing due to the speed..no I decided to hand sew and applique....so quilts are very slow to finish these days.

However in the interests of feeling productive I have discovered raw edge applique for pillows.  I think I have made five now and this is the sixth one.  It is a gift for a friends nephew whose name happens to be Jamie.  Here's a sneak peak.  I still have to spray baste and sew the edges of the applique and quilt the pillow top.

I have also made some more circles for the Georgetown Turnaround quilt I've been working one.  I just loved playing with all the colours to make the large circles.  I've now only to pick the colours for the small circles....oh and piece everything together of course.

A five year old's art work

In order to spring clean I had he throw away a lot of E's artwork but not before taking some pictures and storing it for later on.

Here is one of her brothers attempts.

The Garden In Bloom

We got home from our holiday and the garden was brimming with flowers......And I especially love all the David Austin Roses

 

 

 

                                             

And then I was having a spring clean and I have piles of art work....so out with the digital camera and the wheelie bin (I kept the best ones for the scrap book).  Next year I will have double the amount (thank goodness for the digital camera.)

  

   



Where have I been?

Port Douglas

 

Cairns

 

Everyone had lots of fun....

 

However we had lots of trouble with the internet connection  so no blogging whilst away and no reading of my favourite blogs either...however I was busy sewing.....

So what have I been sewing?

More Wheels.....

 


More Hexagons....

you will all be pleased to know that I have finished all the extra blocks....I did do a little happy dance when I finished the last one.

 

And Finally....what does your pin cushion look like?

It has been said that mine is a little bit obsessive and some people go to great lengths to mix up my colours when I leave the room :-)