Has summer come back?

Here we are in the middle of autumn and it seems like summer is here again! Today 25oC !! Weird - oh well, have to make the best and enjoy before the rains come....and it has just started :((
Since my last blog - gosh that was a while ago! I have been busy doing the usual bits and pieces a quilter and blogger does :) Quilty Gal and myself got invited to Tara's place for a chinwag and sewing day. We had a wonderful day, sharing our likes and dislikes. Claire and I were in awe of the beautiful quilts Tara has made, not to say the least the one on the wall....a Dear Jane quilt! To top it off, Tara had made us a beautiful gift....a belated thank you Tara for a fab day! Hope to have another soon.Last term at The Thursday Crafties, we have been working on a Celtic Knot item. A few of the ladies have finished their pieces - Lorraine decided to make hers into a little footstool (don't think anyone will be allowed put their feet on it though)Margaret had made her Celtic Knot into a lovely cushion - with thoughts of doing another so its not lonely :)Jessie has been working on her project this term, a Rose of Sharon Quilt. Absolutely beautiful job!I am very proud of the work that the ladies do on a Thursday - they are very inspiring and most are happy to give most of the projects a shot. This term we will be working on a Grandmothers Flower Garden friendship quilt. Will keep you posted as we go along.

This next item is something that one of the Thursday ladies has been doing at another workshop, just thought you might like to take a look and see!To top this Thursday off, it was a special birthday for Lorraine! Happy 70th!!!! May you have many more healthy ones. xxMay is the time of the year for the Snobs & Slobs bi-annual trip to Carrackalinga. So the bag was packed.......the car was packed........fabric shopping was done....lunch was had....we arrived (our view from the house).......and the pj's went on!The days were spent as usual....stitching......an embroidery to commemorate the marriage of Will and Kate......the sweat-shop was set to go........the worker put into place........and the product started being churned out........more stitching in another corner of the room....(yes Gail...its your pattern...)....and yet more stitching........Lorraine was let out the sweat-shop to lay out her wares for the evening...(and get tea ready)...we all went for a look......and the nearly finished product was looking good - cant wait to see it finished! Next time we think we might tie Lorraine to the chair then the project will get finished (but then we might not eat?)...some even managed a jig to celebrate....In between the sweat-shop and the meals, Lorraine managed to get quite a bit of quilting done on her Florabunda quilt - beautiful!...my effort was these stitcheries....(pretty pathetic really!)By this time, it was time to leave. We headed off for lunch on the way home to the local gaol......where one managed to get incarcerated!Lunch was at the lovely Normanville Hotel. The lead light windows and doors alone are worth going to see, never mind the food!!!And to end this post, a pic of a beautiful rose that I received from a dear friend - how nice is that?

Cravendale - Cats with Thumbs

Free Hugs, Sondrio, Italy - Just beautiful

Was reading Khristina's blog and just had to re-post!!!

Happy Easter to you all....

The weather has been terrific here this Easter Weekend, except for the nights - they have been rather cool. Since my last post, we have had a couple or so of birthday parties! All been good!!
Blake celebrated his 18th.....One of the Snobs & Slobs - Glenice - had her 70th!!!Cos she is a quilter and sewer, her wonderful daughter Dawn got the theme of sewing happening throughout the room, including these lovely decorated cup cakes with fondant buttons on them.
You might notice in the background there was bobbins of thread and tape measures hanging around the place.
Glenice with her hubby, daughter and grand daughter.
As I mentioned earlier - tis Easter, so Claire and I headed up to the Barossa to stay with Lorraine. On the way there we encountered a rather large loose rabbit in the street. These people were obviously trying to catch said rabbit, but didn't seem like they were having much luck. Fortunately it was the only one we saw on the way out of town!

A craft fair at Angaston was on the days agenda - so off we trotted.....and guess what???? There "just" happened to be a fabric vendor there!! What a surprise that was :) LOL. So of course I made a promise that I wasn't going to purchase any fabric this weekend...............hmmmmm!

Back to Loz's for lunch and of course STITCHING!!!!
We then turned the cement mixer on, plastered our faces, changed our clothes and hit the town! Well, Saltram Wines in Angaston to be exact! Went to see Libby O'Donovan to be exact. What a laugh that was...not exactly as we expected, but thoroughly enjoyable from the beginning to the end of the show.Spent a wonderful night in the Hotel Loz. Woke this morning to a beautiful bright blue sky and Rose banging on the door to be let in.....this pic is nothing like the ones Loz takes of her...couldn't quite get her to keep her head still...LOL

We left mid morning to head home and for me to head off to a family birthday party. You can see that the two children were having a good time...as were the rest of the children (Easter Eggs abounded) and the adults too!

Tomorrow is Anzac Day for us here in Australia. A moment to reflect and remember.

Lest We Forget... 2 all the fallen Soldiers that died for our country I thank you 4 what u did to help build this amazing Nation we call Australia..... To 3000 Soldiers OS now I hope your tour is safe and we as a nation welcome you on your return.. I have total respect for what you do as to take another mans life must be one of the hardest things in the world to live with.. Bless you all..

Some people make you sick!

Just read Quilty Gals blog and am going to post her post - in the hope that what has been taken can be returned to the rightful owner!!!

The lovely talented

Nicole

was at AQC promoting her

new book

when this bag was stolen

We are flooding the internet with the picture

hoping to either find the bag

or worry the hell out of the person who took it

to maybe send it back to Nicole......

Go to Nicoles blog to read further about this

& how it has affected her....

Basically it stinks....

GOSH!!!

Where has this year gone already??!!! I cant believe I have been so slack on the blogging side of things :( So, to bring you all up to date, things I have done since the last decent blog.....made a quilt for a friend....
Applied for a new job....and got it! (Well... I didn't really apply for it...my name got put forward...had the interview....and got accepted!!) So it was off to do a Senior First Aid course for two days - very tiring having to concentrate for that length of time at my age! Passed that :) Had a Police Check done...passed that :)) And then it was off to Sydney for 5 days training...and of course...passed that. Was totally exhausted at the end of the 5 days. I had a wonderful time though, meeting up with the other women from all over Australia, we laughed, some cried (she admits to be a sooky la la) and worked hard for a good end result. So you ladies know who you are out there in cyber land - THANK YOU!
So now you're all wondering what my job is....YWCA Encore Facilitator , so if you click the highlighted link you can have a read on what we are about!
Plenty of excitement was had on out 3rd night in the hotel - just about to turn the light out to get some shut-eye and the fire alarm went off. So off we trot from our 6th floor room down the stairs to the street at 10.30ish pm in our nighties and pj's. Gladly it was a false alarm. But we did get some eye candy to make it worthwhile when the firemen arrived :)))))))And of course a visit to Sydney is not complete without going to see the icons of the area. One of our colleagues was from Western Australia and had not been to the big city before. So two of us decided we would take her around a bit and show her the sites. So off we trotted (or walked I should say and stumbled back!) to the Opera House....

...the Harbour Bridge....
....Circular Quay....


.... The Rocks, shopping, dinner and then a trot up Oxford Street. For those that don't know, this is the street where the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is held. We missed it by a week I believe. Our friend was in awe of the whole city and we loved showing her around as best we could.

So then back to a reality check....quilting....always good for the heart and soul I think. Brings you back to grass roots level :)) (Said with a grin) (Cos if you ever get the chance to be in a group, especially ours....you get to discuss ALL sorts of things that go on in this world - and most of them are things most people only think and do not say)

This week I was fortunate though to have two quilting days consecutively --- one with the Snobs & Slobs - of which I took no pics this week. It was a quietish???? meeting as one was on an appointment, one was sick.

Then we had a bit of a blogger get together with Lorraine, Shay, Claire and last but not least Kris. I did take some pics today, as you can see they are not all serious ones! However we did sort the world out - which is something us quilters seem able to do quite easily.



So, now its off to sort some bits and pieces out ready for my day tomorrow - a 2 year old birthday!!!!

This lady is truly awsome! She is blind!!! You just have to watch :)

Gosh....

.....I cant believe that it is February already! So far this year has just flown by and I have done very little in the way of any personal quilting or stitching! Better pull the proverbial finger out I think!!! So having said that, there is not much to show on here today. But taking a step back a month or two, to the Christmas break - Dad, Dad-in-law and myself went to visit some family for an hour or two. There is nothing like little children to make you smile - and we certainly did that in their company. We came out of there with aching faces due to the antics and things they said. Thank you girls for a lovely afternoon!! xx
One of our friends recently turned 50 - much to her disgust I believe - so I made her a quilt. Do you think she liked it?! LOL The pattern is called Trade Winds and was a freebie on the web, easy to do and went together very well.
Last Friday night was spent at a trivia quiz for one of the local Zonta groups. We came equal last (seems to be a trend for us at these nights) but we had a great laugh. Our friend 'Nev the Echidna" is playing Heads and Tails - we didn't win at that either. However I did win a bag (unfortunately I already had three of these in the cupboard at home) and fortunately one of the friends on the table has always wanted one so it got passed down the table to her - so all was happy.
Saturday was spent catching up for lunch with some quilters that Quilty Gal and I have known for a number of years. Great catch up and chat.
Then we toddled off to one of the local beaches for a mooch around a community market. The weather was absolutely beautiful on the beach front. The goods and chattels that were for sale were nice to view too. We managed to find some wonderful tea "Chocolate Marmalade" - no preservatives etc and made by a local company in the Barossa Valley which is great!! Very nice flavour to the tea too!!! Amongst the stall holders there was Leanne and Amanda who had some beautiful bits and bobs for sale. Then we met up with Granny Loz and her friend for a coffee and chat, which was delightful. Always nice to catch up with friends and have a relaxed chat.

So now its back to the grindstone for a few days or so till the weekend rolls around again!!