My 200th Post!

Oh, I know stacks of Girls who talk more than I do - but here we are - 200 Posts in just under a year! I knew it would come around very quickly! A busy, busy day today - sorry - sadly I didn't get my goodies posted as promised, so now it will be next Monday - I am sorry, Girls! It was one of those days where family came first - it always will! As you know, the Sewing Room had to be tidied so I could go away with peace of mind! Above - fancy drinking latte out of this? - very dear friend, Gwen, gave me this gorgeous birthday gift - Phyllis in Canada, I hope you are checking this out! - Phyllis is Gwen's sister! - and while I was unpacking and tidying decided to show you this really cute, gift - thank you, dear Gwen - big hugs♥

This 'the' Sewing Room - is it tidy enough? - I'm glad you can't see around corners - never mind, I'm happy enough with it!

Early tomorrow I take off for Avalon Homestead, possibly 100k trip as I have two Girlfriends to pick up on the way - as DH's car is bigger than mine, that is what I will be driving! He lovingly readied it for me today and tossed in a dirty heap was his travelling quilt!

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Mmmm, I thought - that quilt is really quite lovely! It had a few very grotty marks on it, so out with pre-wash stain remover then into the washing machine - and, look at it now! Perhaps 7 or 8 years ago I bought this kit from Rose Patchwork Cottage, at a show, when I live in Brisbane, Queensland!

Just look at these divine fabrics and appreciate how they have stood the test of time! I will never be blase about my quilts again - no more in the sunshine in the car for this little darling - she'll live in the family room now! Ed wonders what he will do for a travelling quilt - a cheap polar fleece will be the answer and I won't be making it!

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Well, meals are prepared for the family for the next few days - I'm off to bed with an early rise to pack my bag - sewing is packed already! - baby Saskia is settling in beautifully, so let's hope all is well while I'm away - I am so looking forward to this retreat!

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Stay safe and have lots of fun sewing - I will, too - talk to you Friday!

Hugs♥ -

Saskia's Homecoming!

Isn't she beautiful, isn't she lovely! - I'll have you all singing again! This is Saskia -what a delightful ragdoll baby - oh, she is going to be loved soooo much!

Also thought it was about time you saw me with my nowadays hairdo - a la naturale - wish I could say the colour came out of a bottle - prematurely white, of course!

Oh, the little girl is a bit timid in strange surroundings and so much fuss - what a surprise for the family - even Daddy didn't know - strange the things you can buy at Bunnings! That was the little white lie we told the family when we snuck off to collect her - Bunnings is a chain of hardware stores here in Australia - does sell almost anything, but not ragdoll kittens! By the way - Daddy is a real proud father, Danielle was worried he would hit the roof!

While I was at Danielle's thought I'd show you something quilty - a runner made by me, and on it sits a treasure trove of stones collected from all over the world while Danielle was on her travels!

Here's big brother - what a gorgeous creature! He was over visiting, but we put him outside when we brought Saskia in - can't put her in any danger and this guy wasn't too sure about her!

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Well, that's it - enough of the good times - now it's into tidying the sewing room and getting more washing up to date - oh, what we Girls have to do to get away for a few days - only two more sleeps!

Hugs♥

What a Way to Spend a Weekend!

This is all for necessities sake! I'm off on a heavenly retreat early Tuesday morning and must have my house in order before I go. I'm much better than I used to be as a 'neat freak'! Often it gets out of hand the other way, now - I'll blame Quilting and Blogger!

Above - some of my gorgeous Birthday Fat Quarters from Peg, Kris, Dale, Anita, Kate and one from Shari, too - oh, thank you so much Girls! Maree has organized the Swap, thanks, Maree - I am really enjoying it and hope to continue next year - what do you think, Girls? - or do you have other plans, Maree?

Now, to Happy Houses - they are coming in nice and early! These cuties are from Cathy of Highland Quilter - thanks so much, Cathy. I have others, too - this was just the first lot I stumbled across whilst tidying up!

And here's my tidy office corner where I sit and chat so much - naughty Blogger lives here, too, as you can see! This is where the weekend's tidy-up started - papers all organized and in plastic sheet protectors - Giveaways organized - bills paid! Oh, just too good - off to the shop to get some dinner now and buy a folder for my Blogland tutorials and other trivia - some icecream for the Littlies, who will be here soon - then hopefully off to do some tidying in the sewing room!

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I hope you are managing to get more sewing done than what I have - at least I have attended to a few necessities!

Happy Weekend - hugs♥

A Girl is Allowed to Change Her Mind!

One wonders - does Lurline have too much time on her hands? - I wish! Anyhow, I am pretty happy with this change of heart - still Pinwheels for my Rainbow Quilt Swap Block! Saw the block and loved it and thought 'Oh, that is so much easier than making 45 Pinwheels!' - now I have only 9 to make - they are 6" square - 1 per 12" block! Would not have a clue what the block is called - if anyone can enlighten me, please do!

One Pinwheel Block and 4 surrounding blocks - I guess this is how it is done - works for me, and I really like the block, so that's it!

Also, I have been playing with Birdie-Birdie modification - body and tail all in one - I like her! Hopefully tomorrow she will have wings and a nest!

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I haven't forgotten about the Pinwheel Mini-tutorial I promised - all pics have been taken and quite a few hints to pass on to make perfect pinwheels!

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The Littlies are coming to me tomorrow afternoon to sleep over for the night - Mum and Dad out partying - good on them - we are all here for a good time, not a long time!

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Then Sunday, we collect baby Saskia, the new member to our family - a Ragdoll Kitten! No, she won't be living with me - she will belong to Danielle, Adrian, Heidi and Byron! Though I wish she was mine!

Happy weekend everyone - hugs♥

PS - still have lots of Birthday Fat Quarters to show - thank you to those Girls - also, Happy Houses are arriving, thank your to those Girls!

Pinwheels and Birdies!

Here's my block for the Rainbow Quilt Swap! I did have a lovely productive day yesterday - shame it was marred by tearing my left index finger on the needle of the sewing machine - you see, the needle went into my fingertip and this Little Black duck pulled it away in pain, ripping it quite badly - same poor finger I sliced with the rotary cutter quite a few years ago, now - patchwork and quilting are hazardous , you know - oh, well - another lesson learned!

Anyhow - I'm happy with the way the fabrics worked in the block I have chosen to do for the Rainbow Quilt Swap! I will post a mini-tutorial, maybe tomorrow, for the girls who have problems achieving perfect pinwheels - well, is anything perfect? I think I am the only Australian in our group, I think the other girls are mainly from the USA - I have to be a good ambassador for our country, you know! Another 8 blocks to go!

Above, Birdie 1 - as per Melly & Me's pattern!

Above, Birdie 2 - as per modification by Lurline, note the new tail - oh, have I done the right thing? - please tell me your preference!!!

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Micki - it is your turn to pick for my Giveaway - the bird or the bag! Rumie chose the dilly-bag and Natima the runner!

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Blogger is still being very naughty - we have a shutdown this afternoon, so maybe a lot of little glitches will be ironed out - hope so! I shouldn't whinge - aren't we so lucky to have Blogland?

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Must away - I'm supposed to be at my local patchwork group - late again!

Have a happy day - hugs♥

PS - for those who don't know - please don't get ovewhelmed with little red hearts between paragraphs - they are there to trick Blogger into paragraph line-spacing!

The Winners Are ... !!!

Oh, my goodness - this has been an ordeal! Thank you Mildred for your help!

100 - could be Rumi of Lucky Frog or Natima of Not Just Nat! I had to try to think about consecutive daily Commenters and I really must get this done - so Rumi you choose first and then Natima, please! Do you know what I mean, some gorgeous girls commented on consecutive days and I loved that, thanks, but it caused a bit of confusion! Okay? - the judges decision is final!

27 -Micki from Ireland!

53 - Karen from Messy Karen!

Soooo - I now have four people - in the choices, I will include my Happy Bag above ( a bit of a story to that!) - please go back on older Posts and the girls choose in that order - so that's the Runner, the Dilly-bag, the Birdie and the Happy Bag! Just tell me choices 1 - 2 - 3 and 4! Oh, what a schmozzle - thank goodness, this is all coming to a close and my normal life will resume - no more birthdays for another year!

Oh, and thank you Mildred, please send me your address and I will send a little gift to you for your much appreciated participation - I know I can always rely upon you!

This has been great fun for me - thank you to all who participated - thank you to all of you who helped me celebrate, Birthday, Posts, and Blogoversary - wow, I bet you are saying 'I hope she has nothing else to celebrate!' Winners - congratulations - please get in touch with me with your snail-mail addresses!

Hugs♥

Three Numbers, Please, Mildred!

Mildred nearly always is the first to Comment on my Posts - so we should hear from her soon!
Would you kindly pick 3 numbers between 1 and 146, Mildred - I will count from the top down on 2 Posts and we will have my Giveaway winners!

Hope this works quickly as I have a few things to do today, so I'm told! It should be a lot quicker than writing out 146 names and drawing them out of the hat!

Hugs♥


PS - this is getting funny! Where are you Mildred?

PPS - this is all too silly - Mildred has chosen 27 53 100 - have to pop out now, so will sort it out later today, thanks Mildred!!!

Gallivantour - Travel Around Australia!

Oh, just browsing and came across a Post - these wonderful folks are at Ceduna (sort of Nullabor Plains, Australia!) - if you feel like gaining knowledge of our wonderful country, please follow Gallivantour, Jan and Bill! They are two of the nicest people you would ever meet and have started a 3 year trip around Australia! Tell Jan I sent you and I'm sure she will become a Follower of yours - when she has time!

Here's their rig - not bad, own shower, toilet, washing machine, granite benches in the kitchen - shame they have to rough it (lol)!

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Don't miss this opportunity - even if you check in from time to time or become a Follower! A great way to see lots of Australia for free!

I was fortunate enough to have their company in a group of 8 of us who went to the USA for 4 weeks in Oct/Nov 2007 - here's a pic I took of them outside a fabric store (of course!) in Intercourse, near Lancaster - Bill didn't venture inside, but what a darling for putting up with 7 females! - oh, what a wonderful trip - we will all remember it forever!

Hugs♥

Beautiful Birthday Flowers!

My goodness - I don't think I can stand another day of this - I'll have to give up quilting if things don't settle down! Must say I had a wonderful day/evening with Danielle and family yesterday and look at the glorious flowers - for those of you who haven't seen those big roundish ones at the bottom - they are Proteas - I thought they were native to Australia, but they aren't, so maybe a lot of you have seen them. I am so thrilled with this variety as they will last a long time and the weather is lovely and cool, too - just perfect! Byron slept over and is in here watching tele with me - I feel like the luckiest Nanny in the world!

One of my Ikea purchases - really nice soup bowls for winter, just the perfect shape and size! I think I have been very creative - I'm going to make some fun, wacky bags, so I bought two doona covers in cotton - they have wacky little characters on them so will be perfect and Danielle will use the pillowcases to make cubby-house curtains! They are hidden away at her place as DH keeps reminding me we are in a recession? I need to stock up just in case! Will show you when I have smuggled them in!

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I have tried to get my email replies up to date - maybe I have doubled up in some cases - tonight I will draw the lucky people, I will make contact tomorrow, all being well. Thank you all who participated and good luck wishes to you!

Hugs♥

PS - Whoohoo! I have beaten Blogger and found way to insert a line space to break up paragraphs, see the little heart - any symbol would work! It's a shame I don't put more of that brain strain to practical purposes, isnt it?

A Fun Day Friday!

I received a lovely package I have been anxiously awaiting - okay, keep your cotton-pickin' eyes off these, they're mine! Gorgeous, gorgeous little squares I have ordered from Nanette, and how cute is this little pot-holder! One day I am going to make a Lurline Quilt from Nanette fabrics - oops, no - I am going to make a Nanette Quilt, but just for me!

My birthday shopping - from left to right: Fabrics for Wacky Bags, Fabrics for Happy House Swap, Flanelettes for a Raggy Quilt for Mum for winter, A Gorgeous Fun Fabric, the Yellow, because I like it and a few pieces of haberdashery and crochet cotton!

I got myself to the Post Office - left, promises for Kathie, right - my Easter Swap Gift! They should be on the big bird to the USA now!

I have tried to reply to a lot of Comments re my Three Celebrations - sorry, I haven't got to everyone - I need to tidy up my email box or it will overflow - everyone who has commented will be in the draw late tomorrow - the response has been overwhelming - I just love being in Blogland, full of beautiful people! I'm looking forward to spending more time Visiting and Commenting on others Blogs!

The family is dragging me off to Ikea shortly, little ones, too - should be fun, so I'm off to shower and get ready! I still have lots to talk about, but will try to keep quiet for a while! Have some Happy Houses and more fabrics to show you!

Hugs♥

About the Book - Australian Quilts!

We'll get this out of the way first - wasn't happy with the proportion or something about my Angel Quilt, so here's the revamped version - now all pinned and ready for quilting, so that's it! with a bit of luck, I may get if finished to put into our QuiltWest Ehibition mid May - it will make me get it finished, won't it? - I'm not too serious about exhibiting quilts these days - all for a bit of fun and it is nice for the association and the public to have lot of quilts on display!


Now - the book! That is The Fabric of Society by Annette Gero and Kim McLean - a wonderful book on Australian Quilts - I posted about it on 13 March and dear friend Karen loaned me the book to take some pics - so pardon the quality and thanks Karen! Some may find this a little boring, but I am sure most quilters are a little interested in the history of quilts - if not put your hand up and you may leave the room!

Below, Elizabeth Hardy's Frame Quilt with broderie perse, 1830 - great hexagon medallion and pattern is in book!

Below here we have the Wesleyan Commemorative Quilt 1893, with handmade lace border - I think it's home could now be Gympie, Queensland.

A lace border today - everything old is new again! My attempt on my repro of the Sarah Evans quilt - a lovely story of a great friendship with Christine of Once Upon a Quilt ... !

This is the original Sarah Evans Quilt - Kim has a wonderful pattern in the book - she calls her quilt 'Old Brights'.

Here is a pic of my part of Kim's quilt 'Old Brights' - I was fortunate enough to do a workshop with her on the Gold Coast quite a few years ago!

As you can see, 1806!

Below - one of our most beautiful quilts - the Dancing Dollies Coverlet 1830 - this has always been my favourite, check out my Header! I have noted this pattern is in the book, too!

Auntie Green's Floral Applique, below, 1860 - a renowned Australian modern day quilter, Judy Day has reproduced this quilt!

Only one more to go - Mary Tolman's Hexagon Quilt - this may be an inspiration to our Hexie Girls!

Wow - that was all a bit exhausting to keep in it's right order - I think it makes sense! Oh, just a couple of things the book can be ordered at www.annettergero.com/ - I think it costs around $120 and Kathie has told me postage to the USA is $40 - I assume that is AU$ - if so, that's not bad as it is a really big, heavy book - one day it will become a priority on my list, I am sure!

I'm off on a very overdue trip to the post office (shame on me!) and then I'm carrying on to spend some birthday money - whoopee!

Happy weekend everyonge - hugs♥

My Birthday - Many Thanks!

Wow, if this is birthdays, I don't mind growing old! Over 100 wonderful greetings - I will never be able to answer them all individually, but will try! Early morning gorgeous gifts - dear friend Robin and just look at these gorgeous Kaffe Fasset fat quarters beautifully wrapped and ribboned in his fabric, too, from Kate! Oh, I could chat about wonderful sentiments forever - tonight I just intend indulging myself with peace and happiness - thank you dear friends for making my day so special! I have decided to gift my runner, dilly-bag and little birdie also to well wishers - I can feel I will make lots more birdies and have something really special in mind for my PIFers, so all will go to Three Celebrations Comments!

Maybe not the best angle - here is a pic at 7:10 this evening of my Angel Quilt that I pieced together today - I have shown pics of WIP recently - you will see better shots later - all in repro fabrics - I think I am going to enjoy completing it!

Off to watch a tele show on Australian serial killers, then off to bed!

Hugs♥