My friend is Back

Yey....Di is home.  Her DH finally brought her back.   I have missed her so much, and this morning she came for coffee.   I celebrated by making her some pikelets with strawberry jam....no cream because neither of us needs it.  I was so excited I forgot to take pics. We talked nonstop for about 2 hours...

Before I went away, I managed to finish off the "butterfly" cushion front.  It is now very different because I did quite a bit of reverse stitching of the flowers.  I had worked them in long and short stitch which I did not like....does anyone else have stitches that have stumped them.   I have two and the other is satin stitch.

The work has been sitting unfinished for almost 3 years now, and I finally bit the bullet and unpicked those damn flowers that were aggravating me.

By this time I was not really in the mood for anything fancy so the flowers are now simple and in soft colours.  I am always pleased to get articles out of the ufo pile.

I spent a week at the farm, just relaxing and doing a bit of gardening.  Himself had let a pumpkin grow wild where the roses are and they were surrounded by weeds and grass.....he insists on throwing the mown grass onto the gardens, and the seeds germinate don't they.

Anyway I cleared round the roses and cut them back, and himself took to the rest of the grass after he had pulled out the pumpkin vine.  Next day he sprayed the weeds so by the time I go back in September they will be waiting for me to dig them out.

The next day, we  were trimming off some shrubs, and himself noticed his arm itchy and it turned out he had collected a tick from when he was pulling out the previous day.  Fortunately we got it out, and after a couple of days his arm went down and the inflammation disappeared.  The property is in a tick area, but this is the first we have ever had.

I was amazed at how the coriander plant has grown....I could never get it to flourish, but it probably did so from lack of care.   The flat parsley is also flourishing, and I was able to use those and other herbs in the cooking.

I dug some of this up and bought it home to pot.

While I was there I replenished his supplies of sausage rolls which he loves for lunch.  I am the sausage roll queen...use the best quality pork sausage mince, and lots of herbs for flavour and they are delicious.

Also replenished a small supply of cooked meals for him as well.  He is 80 next month, and cooking is not his forte.....so I try to do what I can so he can have at least some good meals.

The lavenders are blooming at the moment, and the rosemary bushes are thriving.   My orchard has a lot of bud trails, so hope the flowers are still there when I go back.

The wallabies have been breeding well this year, and there were several does with babies in their pouches.  

This is a photo of "shorty" who has become quite tame.  He lies around the house area of a day, and isn't scared of us at all.

One morning I went for a walk while the dew was still on the grass, and discovered these interesting cobwebs in the garden.

The cobwebs seem to disappear during the day, and they the poor little things have to build them all over again at night.

I have been keeping busy since coming home, working on the fabric pages for my next fabric book.   I will try to have some sneak peak pics ready for my next post. Sorry this has become so long.

Byee I will be back soon!

 

Time is Racing away

Hello all my patient friends.  There is a saying "it is a long way between drinks" well for me it has been a long way between posts.   I keep promising myself to be a better blogger but the days just pass so quickly.

I have only recently returned from two trips away...the first to eldest son on the Gold Coast and the second from a week at "the farm"  Both son and "himself" came and collected me and then returned me home so I did not have to battle with buses and trains which was good.

So firstly the embroidery lessons went well.  The ladies who did the workshop were very keen, and picked up the stitches well.  I was very proud of them.  I am having a break, now because the quilt show is looming and everyone is busy sewing.

However, I have started on an idea for the sampler for the next group with the blessing of my friend Anneliese who has given me permission to use her leaf idea.

I have not finalised what stitches I will share next time, but here is a photo of what I have done with the leaf so far.  The next step will be going through my books and deciding on the stitches.

 

I have not been entirely idle and have made two more lots of green pawpaw chutney.

This is the first lot.  I was a bit afraid of the chillies (6) which was the amount in the recipe.  I added the seeds on only 1-1/2 chillies and it was tasty but no zing so for the second lot I have added the seeds from 3 of the long chillies and I certainly got some Zing.  The first lot I used white wine vinegar, but in the second I used red wine vinegar with a touch of balsamic and it is amazing the difference the darker vinegar made.

My visit to the Gold Coast was to help son look after the pups while his wife was away overseas.  They dont like the pups to be left alone for too long so mum's baby sitting expertise was required.   I did enjoy them they are such lovely "children".   Princess Chloe had an operation to remove a growth on her back paw just before mummy arrived home so I was glad I was there for her.
 
She was very good, for the first couple of days with me, but as soon as DIL came home Chloe started chewing at the socks covering the bandage and then the bandage.  After I had left she even chewed a hole in her leg where the bandage had been.   i cant help wondering whether that was a bit of a tantrum at mummy leaving her and then nanas. Mr. Beau was very sad during this time, because he did not have his friend to frolic with while she was recovering. Bath day came along just before Chloe's visit to the vet and I must say for a few days they smelt lovely.

Chloe loves her bath

Mr Beau does not like it and cant wait for it to finish he watches everything

Beau having a blow dry....not a happy chappy

While I was there I received a voucher from my lovely DIL for a manicure and eyelash tint......wow .....such luxury.  I even took a pic of my pretty nails.  Unfortunately my hands, over 3 weeks later, are,  I am ashamed to say back to what they normally look like. But here is when they were pretty.   I loved the red nail polish but thought I should act my age and settle for the soft pink.

 Cant finish off without two photos of my lovely grandaughters.  They were visiting their Dad who is my youngest, so I had a chance to spend some time with them.

Georgia is 13 and Amber is now 16 so they are growing up quickly.  They are both lovely girls.

Back In The Swing

Well my dear friends "life" has certainly taken me over during these past months, and I have not been able to find the motivation for my blog.  Fortunately all the issues that have reared their ugly heads have subsided for now, and I am beginning to once more feel some normality returning.

During my absence from blogging I had two trips away.  My eldest son came and collected me and took me to theirs for a couple of weeks.   It was a real healing experience and whenever I felt down the pups must have been able to tell because they would come and lie next to me on the bed.  Animals seem to have a sixth sense that some humans dont have.

on Mothers Day I received lovely flowers and cards

At Open Day for the quilt group in February, a couple of ladies asked me if I would be able to show them some stitches so they could expand their knowledge. Well the first class came to fruition 2 weeks ago, with the first small group of 6.  The ladies are all enthusiastic, and I am thoroughly enjoying this.

I worked a little design of fantasy flowers and grasses which gives a number of stitches to learn.  Things were not without their hiccups during the time I was preparing this.  First I managed to slice some skin off the tip of my thumb, then when I washed some marks out of the embroidery a couple of the colours ran.  This meant a quick trip to the shops to buy colour run remover and it all turned out ok in the end.

Bye for now 

The Sun is shining

Yes, for the moment the rain has ceased but there is a cyclone up in the Coral Sea that could either go away from us or then veer back.  Cyclones are unpredictable like that.

To celebrate I decided to do away with my "old lady" nighties and get with the groove.  So I lashed out and bought these new flannel Pj's with new brightly coloured tops as well.

The aqua were not my first choice yesterday when I discovered them.  I had bought a purple pair with pink hearts all over them.   I did try them on when I got home and they were ok, then threw them in a cold wash.  When they were dry  (on the line) I ironed them ready to wear one set to bed.

Well!   Put the purple pair  on and they had shrunk!  !?%&### So today I trekked back down to the shops and exchanged them all for larger sizes.  The new ones are longer so hope if they are going to shrink they shrink to shorter so I dont have to turn up hems.

Anyway if this size works I will be a snug and warm and colourful   when I go to bed.   Keeping my fingers crossed.

This morning I noticed my new little neighbour flitting about and managed to get a pic of her.

She is a little female wren and her mate is a gorgeous colour blue.  He is too quick for me to be able to get a pic but he looks like the ones we had at serenity below. They have a nest in the shrub the female is sitting on just outside my door.  I cant help wondering if they have followed me here from Serenity.

While checking out the wrens I noticed that the camelias are beginning to flower outside my unit and could not resist picking a couple for a vase on my desk

Have a happy weekend all.

Chloe is Now Famous

Here in Queensland we have a programme in some of the schools called "Story Dogs".  Our Chloe who belongs to DIL and son,  fits the criteria to be a Story Dog (because she is so gentle and intelligent) and recently had her photo in the local paper at the Gold Coast which I would like to share.

She just loves being with the children and seems to know when it is time for her to go to school each Monday.  

This photo  shows her as a picture of innocence....a little different to when she is bounding round the paddocks trying to catch Beau or stalking him.

Beau, who is Chloe's "brother" is always sad and lonely when Chloe goes off to School of a Monday. Here is his Monday face.  The photos are by courtesy of Wag The Dog    You can see some wonderful action photos of them both  there.

Tast 2013 to Stitch 57

At last I have been able to catch up with the Tast Stitches from December.   I have put them onto the one sampler.  They include Berry Stitch, Knotted Cable Chain,  and Arrowhead stitch from 2012.

For 2013 I have now completed the knotted feather stitch, inverted feather stitch, triangular feather stitch, herringbone stitch.. square and laced, buttonhole herringbone, sailors stitch and sailors edge stitch.....phew! that's a lot.    Not a very exciting sampler, but at least I have caught up.

Some of the other stitches which I haven't posted are those completed in 2010 and which are on my  Flicker page.

Sharon Boggon  is amazing how she can find all these new stitches for us to use.  I have not heard of the sailor stitch or sailors edge stitch they are both new to me.   I would love to own a copy of the Batsford Encyclopedia of Stitches, but when I checked out the cost it is way beyond my budget......over $300 au. I saw it for.

If you wish to see Sharon's work, and  the tast stitches go to http://pintangle.com/  

Back to Stitching

When I was asked to take part in the Quilt Group Open Day,(The link will take you to the Toowoomba Quilt Group Blog where you will find lovely examples of the quilts the ladies have made),I was very flattered. 

I don't quilt now myself  but I  was to have a display of my embroidery work, (which you can also see on the Quilt  Group Open Day link, and demonstrate some stitching throughout the day. 

The Club had a very successful day, with lots and lots of visitors.   Our organiser Ineke did a wonderful job with the Club getting a lot of positive feedback.

Needing something to stitch on, I made up a couple of little sample kits to use, and have now been able to finish these.

This first one is demonstrating some Mountmellick style stitching, and the second I have used to show bullions and woven picots which are used a lot in Casalguidi work.   Of course, being me I have not done things in the traditional manner but put  a creative twist to the designs.

The last of the first batch of cushions is ready to post when the rain stops, and now these will all be subjected to being thrown into the washing machine to establish how everything stands up to being laundered in this manner.......fingers crossed!   DIL wants to ensure that they will do what the label says they will do, and we can eliminate using any threads that are not colorfast.

In the photo the G looks crooked but on the piece I could not see that, so in future DIL is going to do the attaching of the letters because she has a better eye for a straight line than I do.  Although I think it would be pretty good if all the letters and hearts were crooked.

When I was stitching last week I was having trouble seeing the work, and not at all at night so on the advice of my good friend Dianne went to the website of The Scissorman and found myself a floor lamp. Check out the website it is very interesting and tempting.

Yesterday this box was left on my doorstep .  Inside was another box

And inside that were the makings of this.

I am so proud of myself I was able to put it together without the help of any man and did not electrocute myself when I plugged it in and turned it on.   No doubt many of you will already have one of these or similar and know what a difference they can make to being able to see your work clearer.   It even comes with a magnifying glass.  Sorry about the poor photo