Success....Xmas!

Well, it's done! Xmas that is, after a very rocky start. A little over a week ago there were no presents bought, food planned or prepared and panic had set in.
First thing sorted was this.........a shopping marathon!



Presents for everyone!
Then I got my head around the first family feast.....everyone seemed happy!



Chaos reigned for a few hours but in a fun way. Even the dog felt the effects!




No sooner had we recovered from all that, then there was the second family feast!



More fun and games.......especially with big boys pretending to be small boys, much to the delight of the real small boys.



It was a wonderful Xmas, filled with family, food and fun.
Hope yours was too!
Merry Xmas!

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Xmas is coming......Yikes!

How come when I have more available time than I have ever had before to get organised for Xmas, I am in complete chaos?
Why is it I know more about what to buy my sewing buddies than my own children?
Xmas has completely overwhelmed me this year. With barely a week to go I have only a few presents under the tree and no ideas on how to fill the space!
Thirty six family members are arriving at my house in three days to celebrate and be fed....... I haven't started cooking! I am worried!
Don't get me wrong.....I have managed to shop.......for me! I went to buy a small extension table for my machine for Santa to give me for Xmas and came home with this......



There is still a perspex insert to go in to fill the gap and a small chest of drawers under, but, I am pretty happy with it! Thanks Santa!
Of course, bringing this home necessitated a big clean up and re shuffle of the sewing room. So, while the rest of the rest of the house is a mess, the sewing space with the old table repurposed for cutting, is looking inviting!



MUST FOCUS........COOKING AND SHOPPING, COOKING AND SHOPPING!

I have been put to shame by some....in a lovely way! One of my "evil fabric sister" friends made me this lovely tree skirt. It did help to fill the "bareness" under the tree!



I love it!
No sewing has been done by me for weeks but I have had a few little fabric splurges. Kaffe is on my mind as I am going to one of his workshops early next year. We are doing a colour workshop based on his quilt, "Big Bang".



I have been playing with a few combos.....






The second one looks promising......
But I need to FOCUS.....XMAS IS COMING......MUST SHOP!
Happy stitching!

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Lapping up the Luxury!

No sewing done at all! That is my only complaint. Why no sewing? I was too busy doing this......



and this.......



and this..........



Lots of this.......



and this......


Far too busy to sew!
Happy Stitching

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A Week with some Surprises!

This last week I took my elderly parents away for a little holiday. They are 88 and 89 years old so the pace is slow. We rented a little waterfront villa near Port Macquarie and settled in. Not much happened! They will take short walks but they like to snooze and read. I did manage to cajole them into a river cruise, and while the weather was wet, wet, wet at home, we had blue skies.



I settled in for the week and made a little progress on my Amitie BOM and Lucy Boston blocks.
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I was glad to get home to the quiet after a week away. Both Mum and Dad are a little deaf, you see, so they have the TV UP REALLY LOUD ALL THE TIME, speak LOUDLY to each other and everything is REPEATED LOUDLY OFTEN. They can't hear what they are doing either so doors are BANGED and drawers CRASHED. Our little villa was also close to a main road and the traffic NOISE drove me to distraction, but of that, they were blissfully unaware, both my discomfort and the traffic.
I think they had a good time.....so job well done!
Upon arrival at home I was excited to find that the postman had left me two long awaited deliveries!
This is my first instalment of the "Charmed 2" club from The Quilted Crow. It did not disappoint! The little hand stitched charms are lovely with more to come over the next year!




The other parcel was from Quiltmania. Somehow, I had missed renewing my subscription so had missed quite a few issues. They were very obligingly sending me all the issues I missed as well as my new subscription. The parcel was a bit tatty but I could see this sticker.......so all must be good. Right?



It was good. The girls at Quiltmania had sent me a few issues extra and free, as well as a shopping bag.




But wait there was more! Can you see the brown thing around the bottom magazine?

WARNING: DO NOT ZOOM IN ON THE NEXT PICTURE IF YOU ARE AT ALL OFFENDED BY BAD LANGUAGE!!!!!

I got this, too! A wallet. Lucky me!!!!!!!




Really Quiltmania!!!! (Or could it be a bored repacker person at Australia Post)!
You could be offended but, for me, it made me laugh, too funny!
Just wondering now to whom I can regift this delightful item!!!!!!!
Happy Stitching!
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A Weekend Away

Last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to a sewing retreat with a lovely bunch of ladies. We headed off on Friday to a farmstay near Dungog in the Hunter Valley. First stop for me was the town's patchwork shop then lunch at the local pub before heading off the beaten track to Main Creek. The weather was hot, my car was telling me 44 deg when we left town, not the most perfect weather for stitching, but what a difference a day can make!
We settled in to our little house quite quickly, then off to the big farmhouse where the sewing room was set up......and blissfully air conditioned! Thus began an intensive three day sewathon and eatathon, with a lot of laughter thrown in!
As the weather turned stormy, rainy and cool, perfect for sewing, Cathie was the first to finish a quilt top......a lovely I spy quilt for a soon to be born grandson!



Debbie T. turned this.......


into this work of art, with still more to go.


Debbie C. finished this show stopper, one of the most intricate quilts I have ever seen in real life, done as only Debbie can do, perfectly!



While all this awesomeness was happening, I was beavering away at some blocks from the Amitie BOM that have been giving me grief.



and Tiffany was beavering away at some lovely star blocks to be made into a new quilt for her bed.



It is amazing that anything at all was achieved, because if we weren't fronting up to eat Marion's amazing lunches and dinners (and morning and afternoon teas), we were crying with laughter at each others stories. Tiff caused quite a hooha with stories of her younger and wilder days.
The buzz word for the weekend was awesome......and we all know who that is.....she who completed almost three quilt tops in the weekend, she who cooked for us, she who cleaned machines for those with fluffy bits, she who bought me a cup of tea in bed, she who always knew the best way to do things...



Cristie........Awesome.....LOL!
Thanks for a great weekend ,girls!
Happy Stitching!




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Stitching Soirée

One of the lovely things that I have managed to organise this year has been a casual sit and sew evening at my house each month. The boys disappear for the evening and the girls get to spend a whole evening doing what girls do best......talking and stitching.



No. 1 son calls us a "quilting coven". Is he implying we are all witches?
Last Wednesday saw Wendy working wonders with wool......


Sue was working on little sparkles of colour.........



Chris was whipping up wheels of reproduction sunbursts.......



And others just turned up for the tea and cakes......you know who you are!



My potholder quilt is growing. I had to do a few rows to see if it was going to work and I think it will be ok! It is super easy and not very challenging, but I think will look quite pretty as it grows.



Then there are these two girls, Googy and Cardy..........just needed to get your smiling faces in there.


Happy Stitching!


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The Quiet Time.....after!

Well the deed is done! Princess walked down the aisle with her Top Gear Dad. It was beautiful.....what else can a mother say.



We had a glorious afternoon and everything went according to plan. All the girls looked stunning. I only have a happy snap at this stage but you will get the idea.



Flowers were the focus of the venue decoration and they arrived by the bucket loads. My house is now filled with their fragrance. They are gorgeous!







It has suddenly gone quiet, after being busy making, making, making for the past several months. So what do you do in a quiet time.......mmmmmm, let me think......I know.......start a new project. My fat quarter win is becoming a pot holder quilt, of sorts. You might call it a quilt-as-you-go cathedral window quilt.




I will keep you posted.....more wedding photos to come!
Happy Stitching!

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A win, a lose and a sneak peek!

This week has seen anxiety levels on the rise. Princess's wedding is this Saturday, and although I know it's all organised and under control, I can't stop myself having little bouts of anxiety about things maybe forgotten or overlooked. For the most part, I am excited and looking forward to the day. It should be a pretty, romantic day for her......here is a sneak peek but don't tell her I posted this before the day!



We are hoping for beautiful weather but at the same time praying for rain. The second reason anxiety levels are on the rise are the bushfires raging quite close by. We live in a bushland block and on Thursday a fire started not too far from our house. It was out of control for many hours and with erratic winds was going in all directions. We were constantly vigilant for ash and embers coming our way.....it's still burning but under control. Here is a picture taken by our local newspaper. These firemen are standing on the walking track that is my daily walk!



Then finally, a nice surprise! I won a prize.......21 fat quarters and a pattern pack. Thank you Sue Daley designs....I am delighted.



Happy Stitching!

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One year on.........

Well, it has been a while, a year full of highs and lows. The lows have predominantly been associated with learning to care for very elderly parents, who have never really needed help but have now had one health tumble after another. All a part of life, I know, but a bit harder than I expected.
Best way to cope, count the highs! It has been a joy to watch our Princess prepare for her garden wedding due to take place in two weeks time. Her happiness bubbles out around her. Earlier this year, Revhead and her bought their first home and she promptly moved out of mine.....a high for her but a low for me. I missed her, until I realised she was home every second day. She does live very close by!!!
Another high was a great holiday in Vietnam, our second visit but still fun. I really loved our resort stay at the end......sunning, swimming, sleeping and reading.....bliss.




Another high each month is my Book Club......I arranged for all the pals I miss from work to join me in reading a book and meeting for lunch on a regular basis. We have a blast, not much intellectual analysis of the chosen tome is undertaken, but we never stop talking and all enjoy the eating!!
A surprising high has been a gym class undertaken several times a week. Who'd ya
thought!!!!! Nice people and a coffee group after have widened my social scene.
A constant high this year has been my quilting hobby. A couple of monthly stitching groups, Friday fortnight girls, Saturday ladies and those handful of close stitching buddies new friends and old ( you know who you are!) that kept me looking forward to fun in my week, thank you!
Sooooo, my first full year of retirement wasn't exactly as I expected but it is still all good.....less travel than we planned but time for more social pursuits and to give to those that need it.
On a quilty note, Novocastrian Quilters held their annual exhibition this weekend. I had a quilt entered in the nine patch challenge.



The quilts entered were varied and all wonderful.






Lots of people worked hard to make it all a success.



Well done everyone!
Happy Stitching!
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