Sunday, November 10, 2013

A child free weekend...

For the first time in I don't know how long it was all about me.  It felt very strange and very unusual and I didn't rest easy.....all weekend I felt like I had forgotten something.

I had a girls weekend away in Canberra at Floriade 2013.  I have been to Canberra so many times for work but only this time as a tourist.  There was so much to see and do and we ran out of time. 

The flowers at Floriade were excellent.

 
 
 
 
And we just loved the gnome display.....there were hundreds of them
 
 
 
 
In amongst touring the galleries we went to the National Arboretum.  It was amazing ...it will be fascinating to go back in 5 years time when the trees have grown some more...it also has one of the best kids playgrounds I have seen.
 

Think we will have to come back and bring all the children as well and maybe even go skiing on the way.....that is if we drive.....and that will take some convincing......but a good three days in the snow skiing could swing it for me.


Tuesday, November 5, 2013

I think we have a solution to the internet problems here

Finally I am back.  We have had some issues with the Internet and I am not sure they are resolved but we are trying something new.  Fingers crossed.

So my absence has been, in part due to Internet and in part due to being very busy.  I have not known which way was up for a while.  Even one of the kiddelinks knew how I felt.


We have been getting some big projects finished around the house .......




We have another one about to start this week or next.  The carport.

I have gotten busy with crochet again.  I have been making some of these.  I have used the patterns from VendulkaM 





I am about to start making Christmas presents.  Thought I might make the teachers the sprocket pillow from cluck cluck sew.

Also been enjoying country life:

Sunrises (because I am awake at dawn - lack of blinds will do that)

 
Bonfire nights (cleaning up all the dead wood that has gathered around the place)

 
 
And all walks up to the top of the hill...all the rain we have been having  it is so very green..won't be like this in January
 
 



Monday, August 12, 2013

Progress

Yippee we now have a home phone...but no Internet...that is still WIP.

So in the mean time when I have not been able to use the Internet from home I have been busy.

I have started some new quilt blocks.


I have been hand quilting.

 
 
I have been putting the binding on this quilt ....
 



I have been making more of these blocks.

 
 


I have also been making a roman blinds for the house.

I have found the fabric for my curtains in the lounge/dining area (photos to follow). This was no easy achievement - as it took hours of pouring over material swatches. I have settled on a white background (no surprises there) and a taupe outline drawing of a flower. It has a Laura Ashley feel to it. Photos to follow soon. I have decided not to make the curtains as I got a good deal with the making part and the thought of actually handling curtains that have 20m of fabric in them was a bit intimidating.....


....and the best bit of all I have now got a sewing room. (part 1..the other half photo didn't work out)



Outside we have planted our orchard (27 fruit trees at this stage)




and we are excavating and making terraces. This will then let me get on and plant up my garden. I have also ordered about 30 standard roses for the terraces and "Kew Gardens"

We also have grass on the croquet lawn (let me just qualify this..I have never and probably will never play Croquet - this was a joke that has stuck. I spent 12 hours raking this area of dirt  -  to make it smooth for the kids to play on..it was so smooth that you could play croquet...hence the name). Now having explained that I can tell you it is no longer smooth. My BAM in his new red toy (tractor) has carved up the area. NOT HAPPY JAN!!!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Using my Stash

As you may know we have moved into our new house AND for the first time ever I have all my sewing "materials" in the one room.  I have never had everything together before as it has been spread all around the house.  ....and I don't quite know how I am going to get any furniture or sewing machine tables in the room with it all.

Sooooo.... I have dived in to my fabric stash (almost literally) and I have collated and assembled all the fabrics I need for six of my next quilts....I will have to buy some background fabric for two of them but that should be it.

Here is the first one that I have started.


My pile of cut pieces

The blocks - I need to make 126 of these - that's 756 of the white kite pieces (can you tell I was once a scientist that loves Maths and Statistics) -  the permutations and combinations (in the mathematical sense as opposed the visual sense) are endless.


This is another hand sewing project (this is the only way I can slow myself down). 

I have also been crocheting some cushions for the couch.  I have finished one front of a cushion


I have nearly finished the second.  This is the Railway lines pattern from Sarah London



And this will be the third - I made this one up....


I will be starting the other quilts soon so I will take more pictures.


Monday, May 27, 2013

What a day

We have officially started a new chapter.  We sold our house in Melbourne on Saturday.  It is such a relief.  With relocating our family twice in 15 months, buying land, building a new house and starting new jobs and schools it has been a very big 18 months.  It all came to a natural completion with the sale of our Melbourne house on Saturday.  It was a very emotional day.  And here on the other side of it I feel nothing but relief and a little sadness of saying goodbye to the house and the garden.




However a new chapter is starting now and therefore a new set of challenges, new garden and new interior designing/furnishing and new projects.  The first of which are new curtains, new tractor and new carport.  We have started the garden.  I have only shown you half the front lawn because that is all there is...we can't do the other half until we sort out the "Telstra issues"......


And yes it is true we have a green patch of grass and lots of dry grass.  We need rain.  This week they say.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Another One...just couldn't resist




Still no Internet....

So this post is bought to you courtesy of someone else's internet connection.  They are even letting me upload pictures.

Telstra Telstra Telstra....words really escape me.....lets just say that if any other business in Australia operated in this manner they would be broke.

So onto more pleasant things....On Saturday 6th April  I spent the day with Corliss from Threadbare Quilters in Castlemaine.  It was excellent.  I did an applique master class and met so many new people...some locals and some not so locals (Bairnsdale) and some interstate (Adelaide). 


I was in gadget heaven...more on that later.  I did four classes during the day.  There were four fabulous teachers: DI FORD,  MARGARET MCDONALD, WENDY WHELLUM and  ROBYN FALLOON

All teaching four different techniques: Needle Turn, Broderie Perse, Back Basting and Reverse Appliqué and lets not forget all the tips, techniques and tools to enhance my stitching. We each got a kit for each technique  and we were able to shop for all the different gadgets....It was an amazing day.   This is my finished Broderie Perse sample (none of the others are finished yet.) 


Di Ford's new book was just released. Look at Threadbare's blog for all the details about what inside...but I will be getting myself a copy. Of all the techniques I fell in love with Broderie Perse, Back Basting and Reverse Appliqué......and gadgets....there were so many ....the reservoir pen, best press, perfect circles, timbles, needles and more......



 I have been trying to do some more of my candlewicking blocks and I have completed two more.  I am half way through all those blocks so I will keep plodding  away at it.



And my beautiful girl turned 7 years old on Sunday.  Here is the cake I made her below.  The hardest bit about making the cake was locating the Strawberry Shortcake doll in her bedroom...that took two hours.


Monday, March 18, 2013

Frantic

We are moving house at the moment...no computers and no Internet.  Telstra is being an absolute joy to work with getting the phone line installed.  Before we started this I thought that trying to get a phone line installed would not be straight forward as nothing with Telstra ever is.  And they have not let me down...It is 3 weeks now that we have been in negotiation for an essential service - as per legislation (...see I even now this now). 

So this post comes via someones else's Internet connection.

We are busy shifting furniture and moving boxes, boxes and more boxes. We also have a requirement from local council to have a total of 100m3 of garden beds planted up with 150 plants by the end of March (comes of having a sewage treatment tank as opposed to a septic tank). 

I still have been managing to sew and crochet.  I have finished all my blocks for the Georgetown Turn Around and am now working on sewing them into the background.  I have also been crocheting cushions for the teachers at school for Easter presents (as opposed to buying Easter eggs).  I will have photos soon (well when Telstra decide to connect our phone that is).

In the meantime I have this.


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Finished - Finally

No not the house.  This is much better.  My Crochet rug.

19 x 20 = 380 granny squares (but whose counting)

and

9 months work (off and on)

It feels very good

Monday, February 18, 2013

I've been reading

I have nearly finished the crochet rug.  Just stitching in the ends of wool.  It is a long job but there are 400 blocks...half way there at the moment
 
Since I have nearly finished this I am looking for my next project and have a thing for circles at the moment...you would think that the George Town Turnaround would have put me off?
 
I saw this book and all the different circles that it has on offer and have not been able to put it down.....all those blue tags are pages of inspiration. 

 

I also have bought this book recently and there a block in here I am going to have a go at.....it is an excellent book.  I generally tend not to like modern blocks but this book grabbed my attention.  Will show you the block when I make one up as I think I might be adapting it.  Again the yellow tags are the blocks I like.... never is it simple....I just love everything.


Monday, February 4, 2013

Can you believe there is just a month to go?

The house is nearly done.  I can't believe how fast it has happened.  They are right now doing the "final fit out" and the "making good".  I just love the terminology.  I am right up with all the terms now.  "first fix", "rough in", "fit off", "making good" etc.....

Here is the bathroom...they are "making good" the tiling issues - can you spot them (its a bit like where's wally)


Here's the ensuite - BAM is very happy - a room with a view!!!

 
The view from the back veranda - or "al fresco" as the Building Practitioners like to call it..have to excuse the builders rubble.
 



What do you think of the colour of the external spotlights...we wanted white or cream...lets see if they will "make good" this one.


About a week to go

I have been very busy working on the Crocheted blanket for our bed and I have about a weeks work to go.  Here it is at the moment...its getting rather heavy


And here is part of it all stitched together. 



I am on the last twenty blocks now!!! Yeah

Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Boys have Started School

Tears

....there were tears....all mine

 
 


Australia Day 2013

 
Ice Cream in Castlemaine, then in Flora Hill - dinner with Friends - 32 degrees, JJJ Hottest 100, BBQ sausages and steak, potato salad, watermelon, backyard cricket, sprinkler dashes, cuddles of the new baby guinea pigs, a "chardy" and a red.  That's how we spent Saturday.  Well that was after I had the hairdressers, Big W, Safeway, and washing......

The rest of the long weekend was spent with Family (extended) and then blobbing around home.

Craft well I am nearly finished the crocheted bed spread....I am on the home straight now.

Planning my next project -  another hand piecing project....and I might also attempt some raw edge applique.

I have purchased material to make curtains for the Laundry.  Problem is the repeat runs the wrong way so this material can only be for short windows.....why would you do that?  I saw it but I just had to have it ....might be cushion covers yet!.


My fabric club arrived


I am making the felt butterfly hanging for Missy E.  I just have to go to the "S" shop before I can start.