A BIG "WHEW" AFTER A BIG "'OOPS" WITH LUCY

Once again the time has flown by yet I am still trying to finish Little Lucy. I have been stitching each night in an attempt to complete the final round before seeking suitable fabric for the borders and taking a deep breath before I needle turn the top to the borders. Well, I only had about 4 of the antique white pieces left to stitch on when I noticed that one of the pieces I had already done was frayed so badly that it was barely holding together. Hmmm what to do? My whipstitch is really fine , so fine that there is no way to unpick it without fraying the rest of the fabric. Okay, panic set in and I broke out in a hot sweat which was not one of my hot flushes. I decided to put it away for the night. The next evening I decided to be very brave and cut the offending pieces away , 4 in all as they were attached to each other. Now I was left with a ridge on each bit so I tried to cut as much away as possible without poking a big hole in the fabric. I eventually decided to whipstitch slightly under the ridge on that side. I figured if it didn't look right there was nothing I could do about it. However, it looks okay! Yey!

 

Now I just need to fill in those jagged edges between the blocks.

 

Meanwhile I started the EPP for the "Old Time Kaleidoscope" block. However, the fussy cutting of the more detailed fabric is proving to be rather frustrating. Despite following the photo included with the pattern my pieces do not line up properly. Needless to say I have put this aside for a while and may need to send away for more of that fabric to play with. I don't think that it has been a very good stitching week for me.

 

  

 

 

I finished a book in January which is written by an Aussie who is currently writing a sequel. This is her first book and I was rather impressed. It seems that I am accidently discovering a lot of Australian authors.   

 

 

 

I hope you have had a better stitching week than me.

 

Angel Blessings.

 

 

NEW YEAR, NEW QUILT AND NEW PROMISE TO MYSELF.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  It is good to be back blogging again and looking at all your beautiful projects underway. I know that a lot of people are heading over to facebook or instagram but I have neither of those and also prefer the more personalised feel of blogging. It seems that time is not a thing people have much of anymore despite modern technology which is supposed to make things easier for us. All you lovely bloggers inspire and encourage me on many levels, particularly with our craft. Recently, I was inspired to start a new quilt when I saw Michelle's blog.  She started making Anni Downs' "An Angels Story" quilt. I have had the pattern book for years since buying it on sale but have never got around to making it. So, thanks to Michelle I have made a start. Determined to use fabrics from my ever growing stash  I selected brighter colours than my usual Civil War repros. They are mainly tone on tone but I think they will work well. 

 

I have cut out all the fusible applique pieces and placed each individual angel's into zip lock bags.

 

 

Last night I fused some pieces to my first block.

 

 

I completed all the blocks for Anni's "A Gardener's Journal" many years ago and they are still sitting in a box full of other stitcheries I have done for a few more quilts. Oh my! How did that happen? So, I am promising myself that I shall finish that particular quilt this year and maybe a couple of others.

 

Meanwhile, I am on the home stretch with my Little Lucy quilt. I am just putting the final row on now and then I need to work out what border fabric to needle turn it to. I ran out of the antique cream fabric I was using for the last round but fortunately Sandy ( Shiralee Stitches) still had some. Whew! 

 

 

Oh dear! When I was ordering that fabric I couldn't resist buying a block from Sandy's BOM "Old Time Kaleidoscope" , another EPP fussy cut project. That's how I got into my Little Lucy project. I enjoy fussy cutting but sometimes it really challenges me.

 

 

If you wish to start a free BOM pop over to Jenny's blog. I usually do her BOMs each year but this one was previously in her stitchers club which I had purchased and made into individual monthly minis. I loved making them and the designs can be used in many ways.

 

Well, it is that time of year when our beautiful abundance of fruit on our trees becomes Cocky food. I don't mind sharing but the cockatoos strip the trees and virtually take one or 2 pecks from each piece of fruit before dropping it to the ground ( or on the roof). I am pleased that the pretty coloured parrots got a feed of apples before the cockies arrived.

 

 

 

Cheeky Cocky!

 

I hope this year brings you much sewing time and joy.

 

Angel Blessings. 

 

 

  

  

 

 

 

       

CHRISTMAS CHEER, CLEANUP AND FINISHES

 I have just finished packing up all my Christmas decorations. When I take them out each year I love looking at them and remembering who made them for me. The same thing happens when I put them away so it seems to take me ages. I haven't been very productive stitching the past few weeks but I did make some Christmas things for friends which I forgot to take pics of. One thing I did remember to take a pic of was a Christmas mini I made for Barb.

I made 3 hexie decorations and a pin cushion but cannot show them to you. I also crocheted another pot holder which seem to be rather popular. I was so pleased to have finished reading a book. This one is written by another Australian author. I seem to be finding a lot of Aussie authors lately.

 

I had another HUGE clean up in my sewing room. I had 11 containers of mags which I got rid of. I only kept my good ones, Simply Vintage and another couple of American titles. I went back to clean up more things off the floor and guess what I found? More mags! I think they must have been put there by elves. Now I need to find a place for all these mag containers plus 1. 

 

 

 

Our family had Christmas Day on Boxing Day this year as this was the only day we could all get together. As family grows each have other commitments to share Christmas with others so we alternate each year. Of course, this year was rather special being my munchkin's first Christmas, He is 10 months old. He had such fun and so did we. Here he is helping his mum open his present from us.

 

 

 

We gave him a wooden balance bike which can later be changed to 2 wheels. His daddy put it together for him.

 

 

Boy! He was off like a rocket once he was shown what to do. ( He's wearing a cute foxie beanie that one of his aunties gave him.)

 

 

Now, I have decided to complete blogging about my travels today as I want to finish up before the New Year. So, if you are bored and rolling your eyes at the mention of this it is time to blog hop.

 

On the 30th June, 2015 we visited Hampton Court Palace and then went to Madam Touseaud's waxworks museum. Here I am talking to Michael Jackson. (I have tried to put it vertical but the computer is not cooperating.)

 

 

The fab 4 were there too.

 

 

We experienced a 4D Super Hero Adventure which was rather fun. and then went on to visit Baker St so my daughter could take a pic of Sherlock's front door. We then had dinner at a pub and returned to our sauna hotel room where we packed our suitcases and carry on bags ready for departure the next evening. So, on 1st July, 2015 we experience 34 degrees C in London on our final day. After breakfast we paid 1Pound per piece for our luggage to be stored after checking out of the hotel. No real security for that either. We caught the train a couple of times to see Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

The original theatre was burned down and this one is a reproduction.

 

 

The stage. Plays are still done there and it has been a long tradition that if the audience puts anything on the stage ( e.g as they stand and lean up against the stage with a drink and put it down), it becomes the property of the actors. There used to be saw dust on the floor originally as it was so crowded that people could not get to the loo! Yep, you read that correctly. Ewew!  Too much information?

 

 

 

 

After that we headed for the Old Operating Theatre where we saw some rather gruesome looking surgical instruments and how the operating theatre actually looked. Terrifying for the patient!  You can see where all the students looked down onto the operating table. That's why it is called a theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

Having been a Childbirth Educator and birth helper I was very interested in the obstetric things on display. 

 

 

This is a  Ribes Bag made from coated fabric which was filled with water to induce labour with a hose attached! And I thought syntocinon drips were bad enough!

 

 

They used snail water and many herbs and potions.

 

 

 

We then had a quick lunch and headed back to the hotel foyer to put bandaids on our feet, cool down and fill in time before our shuttle arrived, (an hour late), to take us to Heathrow airport. We got there on time but had to rush to the boarding gate due to lack of gate info until the last minute. Our plane took off at 10.20PM  stopping over at Hong Kong airport for a few hours before heading back home to Tullamarine. Thus endeth our big adventure, one I shall probably never experience again but I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to travel with my youngest daughter.

 

Thankyou for coming on the journey with me and may the New Year ahead bring you much joy and good health.

 

Angel Blessings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Yep, it's that time again when tourists start to come down for the holidays and I have to remember to allow at least 10 minutes longer to get to my local shops etc. The parties will start and the illegal fireworks will scare the pants off of me throughout the night but as locals we just have to put up with it all. Ah well, at least we shall enjoy our munchkin's first Christmas. I finally got some parcels posted and I have received a couple in the mail which I have opened before Christmas Day. This little owl orni was a pleasant surprise inside a card from Shez. I love how she makes her ornis and particularly love this little cross stitched owl.

 

 

Beautiful Barb sent me this gorgeous parcel.

 

 

See the Theodora Cleave button ? It is an angel. Inside I found these...

 

 

Thankyou so much Shez and Barb for these beautiful gifts.

I always enjoy displaying Christmas decorations that have been made by my friends. ( The stars are ones I made).

 

 

Sue made me this pincushion last Christmas. 

 

 

The round felt deco is what I made last year. The other 3 are from Barb over the years.

 

 

I added another reindeer to my collection this year.

 

 

 

OPAM will be a problem as I forgot to take pics of gifts I made for people. So, if you have received a handmade gift from me can you please send me a pic????? LOL ( I have a pic of yours Barb.)

 

On a sweet tweet note I tried to take a pic of the 4 little baby swallows that hatched a couple of weeks ago and were ready to fly off. Each year they nest in one of our carport beams. 2 are bobbing down between the others. The neighbour's cat has been eagerly watching them so they are lucky to have survived. She was even caught sitting on the car roof to get closer!!!

 

 

May you all have a very happy and safe Christmas shared with your loved ones.

 

Angel Blessings.

SNEEZING, HOT AND FRUSTRATED

Oh my! I have been quite a sight the past few days with swollen eyelids, runny nose and itchy ears. It all started with a sore throat I developed after sitting in front of a fan trying to get some stitching done in the heat. I got rid of the bad throat only to break out in hay fever so badly that I couldn't stitch. Prior to that I was trying to complete the 2nd last block of Jenny's free BOM but I still haven't managed to finish it. Sorry about the creases. I just took it out of the hoop for a pic.

 

 

I am feeling so much better today but it is still too hot for me to stitch or crochet. We are seriously looking into getting some air con now. Since my last post I have made some progress with the first crocheted octagon. Still some more rows to do which shall magically transform the circle into an octagon. ( Well, I certainly hope so).

 

There are 9 granny squares in this blanket but I can only do them up to a certain row before something goes wrong. So, I have crocheted 7 of the granny squares as far as I can go before everything falls in a heap.

 

 

The other 2 need to be un pulled, I have tried several times to work the pattern out and I end up with the right amount of stitches but something is definitely not right. Things start to go wrong when I crochet those big crosses despite counting all the stitches and inserting the hook into the right one. I am getting splinters from scratching my head so much.  

 

 

Ah well. when the weather cools down a bit I shall keep making the octagons. I am hoping for a light bulb moment to happen so I can get on with those squares.

 

The one thing I have completed is another pot holder.

 

 

I have also finished another book which is the latest and final book in this particular series. Phillipa Gregory has started writing a whole new series which I am looking forward to reading.

 

 

It is so nice to have visited some of the places she writes about. One of them being Hampton Court Palace which I have yearned to see for well over 40 years. On the 30th June, 2015 we spent our 2nd last day in London. It was 29 degrees C when we boarded a train to Hampton Court station and walked to Hampton Court Palace. It was a long long path to the entrance.

 

 

 

Once through the main entrance there were other courtyards. This the Clock Court where the most beautiful clock sits high above. Unfortunately, you can't see how beautiful it is but it is rather decorative and also indicates the time of high tide which was useful for those travelling on the river in barges such as Henry V111 and his court.

 

 

 

The Great Hall where they held huge banquets . There are carved and painted "eavesdroppers" in the wooden roof. These were built under HenryV111's orders to remind all at court that everything said could be overheard. Clever! The walls are lined with large tapestries which were first hung in the 1530's.

 

 

 

Amazing ceilings throughout.

 

 

 

You know that you are in a palace when you see HUGE fireplaces.

 ( That's my daughter standing in front of it).

 

 

It's blurry but this is where King Henry V111 and Kateryn Parr knelt in the chapel to be married. She was his 6th and last wife and the only one who survived after his death. Whew! Was she the lucky one!

 

 

The Chapel Royal is in the gallery hall lined with several paintings. This is the famous iconic one that Henry V111 commissioned to make himself appear large and regal despite his ailing health and morbid obesity.

 

 

The chapel has the most ornate ceiling painted blue with silver stars. Unfortunately, the photo is not on the computer. It was this hall where Catherine Howard, his 5th wife, discovered that she was charged with adultery and ran along the hall in search of Henry in the chapel to plead her innocence. They say that several people have seen her ghost still running along the hall.

 

The kitchens.

 

 

 

 

Big vats of stewed meats. Ewwwww.

 

When one needs to serve wine with 600 meals twice a day, you need a big wine cellar.

 

 

Of course there were many other royals who lived in the palace long after Henry V111.

Anne Boleyn's apartments eventually became Queen Caroline's and this was her State Bed almost 2 centuries after Anne had lived there. 

 

 

Her private bed chamber. No idea why she had 2 beds.

 

 

The Queen's Privy Chamber.

 

 

Well, I think that is enough overload of my pics and history lesson for today. Yep, I can see you all rolling your eyes. We did a lot more that day, Madam Touseaud's Waxworks and Baker St. Thanks you so much for stopping by again. I hope you are enjoying stitching in air conditioning unlike me LOL.  

 

Angel Blessings.