And after the sun.....

....even more rain!!!! and cold!!!!! and windy!!!!!!!!!
But never the less, there is nothing we can do so we just have to plod on :)
I have to share this pic of these lovely roses I received last week from a friend of mine. The peachy ones are called Florence, and the green ones are really green!!!! and not dyed.Last weekend was our youngest great nieces birthday, so we all trotted off for some coffee and cake. Happened that the weather was absolutely beautiful, so we sat outside and enjoyed the sun. One of the children there, had her 'baby' with her, so just HAD to take a pic and share it with you all. Sadly she is not as cute as the baby I posted on here last week. But her 'mother' loves her, so I guess that's all that counts!!! LOLSo that you all are not too traumatized after viewing the above pic, I will leave you with another pic of my flowers!

...and here we are again....

two weeks down the track - the machine has had a bit of a workout - just waiting for some more thread to come before I install myself permanently in the studio!!!
In the meanwhile....I have been finishing some little projects off that have been 'sitting' around for a while........so I now have my own dance troupe!!! I am willing to hire them out for shows, parties, anything really :)
I have also finished off some of my crocheting that has been hanging around for a year or two. So now just got a couple of cross stitches to finish and then its on with the quilting!! Yeh!!!
August 8th and 9th is the Annual South Australian Miniature Enthusiast Festival - see poster below for details - come and pay us a visit and see what little things in life we do!! Tis worth the effort.

Finally, time to blog!

Hello Bloggers!! It has been a while since I have managed to blog. As most of you will know by now, we have had a terrible beginning to the year in Australia. Flooding in Queensland with many properties destroyed and then the terrible bush fires in Victoria. Unfortunately many lives have been lost in the fires and many animals gone also. The worst part is that it was not a natural disaster :((( Out of this devastation a picture of love has touched nearly all our hearts. It is of fireman Bob and a wild koala now named Sam (for Samantha). Sam was caught in the fire and has had parts of her body badly burnt. The pic (which I am sure most of you have seen now, as Sam has been shown round the world) is of Bob giving her a drink. Tis amazing to see that a completely wild animal knows when help is at hand is willing to accept the help. She was taken to a rescue home and is being cared for there and is just the cutest thing ever. Certainly pulled my heartstrings for sure!!

The summer for us in South Australia has also seen the hottest ever period since the powers that be started recording the weather here. So since 1887 we have had the hottest summer - over 45oC for several days. The nights weren't much better either which meant we had air conditioning on and then of course the electricity systems were overloaded and some of the areas had to endure blackouts for several hours. It is still rather warm now, but much more sustainable and livable temperatures! Thank goodness :)))

Some of you may know that I started a new career in December....am now training as a Dental Assistant (nurse) and have decided to go to school to get my certificate. So now I have 12 months of study ahead of me....goodness knows how that will go as the old brain hasn't had to work too hard for many years!!!!

Anyway, early in January I bought a pattern for a clown. QuiltyGal and I went to the Spotlight sale (I know, I know, we had vowed not to increase our stash!!) and bought some fabric for said item. Well, it has taken about 4 weeks to nearly finish as I decided to make 3 of them!!! Just got the faces and shoes to paint on them now.

They started off looking like aliens from another world.....but have morphed rather well

The pattern is County Keepsakes - "Bellatrix" by Annie Smith

Well, I guess that's about all for now people....till next time....

Merry Christmas...,.

...to all out there in Blogland, even tho I am a little late in wishing you all. But will be early and wish you all a Happy New Year and may it be a safe and prosperous one for you all.

Well saying that yesterday was Christmas Day, I was allowed to open my SSCS that Chookyblue has very successfully run this year again. So THANKS for that Chookyblue. Below is the pic of my SSCS. I received a lovely quilt of my two cats - goodness only knows how Helena managed that! Some Swedish chocolate, two oldie worldie postcards, two little reindeer and a Swedish Christmas Decoration. So a BIG THANKS to Helena for the lovely gift!!! Looking forward to eating the chocolate later tonight in front of the air conditioner!!!

SW surprised me this year (doesn't happen very often!) but I got a Christmas present!!!!!!!! For those that know SW, you know what I mean, and those that don't know him - he is not a great gift giver :( But.....I got a Giant Big Kid - he is about half my height and weighs a ton. Looks lovely on my bed :)) Along with Sleepy (that's the Giant Big Kid) I also received a gold anklet which is lovely.

The day was spent with family and some friends. We ate, drank and had a lovely relaxing day together. Played on our Wii, which was a good laugh. If you ever get to watch four people playing Wii tennis - sit back and get the tissues ready as its an absolute hysterical thing to watch.

Well, got to go for now - time to celebrate Quilty Gals 50th Birthday!!! She is officially an "Old Fart" now!!! LOL so see you all later.

Well its still raining....

so its a bit of a stay at home day today as it is a bit cold too. Good opportunity to do a bit of blogging. I got a bit of a surprise today - I have won my first award!!!

Kernowitch kindly gave me the award, so thank you Chrissy :)) Now picking another seven might be a bit hard to do!!! But here they are:-
http://ravelly1-quiltzblog.blogspot.com/
http://iwannabecrafty.blogspot.com/
http://fourwisemonkeys.blogspot.com/
http://quiltygal.blogspot.com
http://comfortdolls.blogspot.com/
http://grannyloz.blogspot.com/
http://jennybowker.blogspot.com/
They are not in any particular order or preference, I like them all for various reasons and interest.

While down in Eastleigh we were out and spotted some of these creatures wondering around the countryside! There was many different breeds in the area, but we chose these ones.

Once you have caught them, you cook them and eat them :))
Hastings was a short three night visit. Played on the 2p slot machines and came away with 15 little prizes! Wooo hooo Visited with SW's oldest living aunt - if she is still with us in December she will be 98 years old!! Not a bad innings. We visited and stayed with other relations there - great to catch up with them again. Went out to Icklesham for a lovely meal on the last night there, little country pub which served the most fabulous smoked haddock mornay. Jenny and Rob came with us to enjoy the food.
We then stopped off on the way back north to see another of SW's cousins and have a cuppa with her. Then on to a place called Wendy near Royston in Cambridge to visit a miniature shop called Maple Street. Of course I managed to buy a couple or three things there. We were then ready to head right back up north to our base point and take a breather for a day or two before the next leg of the trip starts.
While blogging I spotted a little PG Tips fellow sitting on the shelf next to Tipsy Jock (I bought him last time we were in the UK) So I thought he might like to get on the blog and have a look around the world!

>

Its finally Saturday...

....and what a week it has been!
Rather a busy one to say the least.
Worked of course (that's where I go to get paid
at least!)
Then Wednesday night was the 25th Birthday
for the Encore Program which is run by the
YWCA. These are some of the wonderful ladies who attended the dinner, as usual we all had a great laugh, and talked and ate and talked and ate!!!

Thursday was an interesting day. DH and I had to deliver our Tudor house that is going into the SAME Festival in August. I had not met the lady of the house before...and what was supposed to be a half hour visit turned in to 2 1/2 hours!! Dillis is the lady and she belongs to a Historical Costume Group in Adelaide. Well.....she makes all her beautiful costumes including hats, reticules, parasols and under garments!!! These cover periods such as the Victorian era, Napoleonic era, Edwardian and Medieval eras!!
I was sooooo enthralled by her work. She often goes with her group to Government House for various events and they walk around the gardens and play croquet! So if you are ever in the area you might just see some of the people there. She has in her collection a wonderful "Wedding Ring Shawl" - it is a shawl that is made of silk and is as fine as a cobweb and when you hold it in the centre, you can pull it through a wedding ring it is that fine!!!! This is a photo of the shawl - it is black and is kept in acid free paper. Unfortunately it is so old that it is started to break up in some spots.


The gold one on the right is also a very old silk shawl, but this one is still able to be worn as its not as old as the black one. So thank you Dillis for a lovely afternoon :))

Then it was off to Strathalbyn and a visit to one of our favourite shops - Dollhouse Essentials - where Greg and Linda showcase the Strathalbyn House of Miniatures. This is a trip worth doing if you are in that neck of the woods.

The house on the right has been converted into
an antique dealers with some wonderful items

for sale. There are many more houses on display

and you can spend hours just perusing and

amusing at what there is in miniature!!

This week I received my Cupcake swap :))) Thank

you Rachel for the lovely gift, Cupcake is so cute

(that'swhat I have decided to call her)and looking

forward to trying the tea :))

So....today being Saturday, tis washing do :((( but

am hoping to carry on from yesterdays sewing and get a bit more done - two down, one to go!!! Then it will be a major tidy up before holidays!!!! YEH (Then when I come back from hols, DH is going to make me a new cupboard to go in the sewing room) Got to be happy about that one !!!! Hope you all have a good weekend.....

Sunday...

Was wondering what to do while waiting for Quilty Gal to meet me as we were going to Hetties Patch for a Big Morning Tea....so thought I would make a quilt!!! Its for a 4 poster bed as you can see. Managed to finish it by machine quilting it :)

But before you get too frustrated....its only 1/12th size :))))

Got to make the pillows next, might do that tonight.

Went off to Hetties Patch, lovely to meet with the other bloggers Lorraine, Levin and Emily, Leanne and of course all the other lovely ladies (and one man!!) that were there. So thanks to Quilty Gal for inviting me along :) Managed to be very good in the spending department, saving for an overseas wedding trip now you know!

While I am tonight, thought I would introduce you to some of my family.

This is my daughter Victoria. She was born May 2004 during a weekend trip to Victor Harbour with the "Slobs and Snobs" . Hence why she is called Victoria. She is a good child, never makes a noise, doesnt eat much and sleeps a lot. For her birthday this year she got some new Cat slippers and a new dress :))) She is an only child so I find that the Grandparents spoil her a bit....but hey, thats what children are for!

Here we have Victorias father - altho he says he knows nothing about it (how she came to be that is) and vows not to pay towards her upkeep....but I manage to sneak her cost of living into the weekly budget!!!!

We have my male cat Tiger on the left. He weighs in at just on 8kg. He is not fat just big!!! His sister Rose, on the right, is smaller than him but is still just over 5kg. They are part moggy and part persian so I guess its the moggy side thats the big side????

Am off now to watch Dr Who and have a cuppa (hot chocolate of course!!!)

Thanks for a great day folks....