Our team finished! ( See previous post)

It was early in the morning when the team started. We had to go to a meeting point and then the team had to be taken by bus to the starting point for 7 am. They were all smiles when I dropped them - I don't think that it had quite sunk in that there was still 100 kilometres to go.

44 kilometres walked ( Third checkpoint and the first one the support crew could access) and it was time for cups of tea and food ( lamb and lentils and lasagne). Everyone's feet were starting to feel it. By this time it was late afternoon and there is still a full night of walking ahead.

There was another big checkpoint stop later in the night where I fed them all up on porridge, and more cups of tea. The support crew ( that's my SIL and myself) had a few hours sleep and then up again to see our team come home.

They took 23 hours and 28 minutes to complete the 100 kms and all four of them finished. They came in 44th. (out of 350 teams, although it isn't a race.)The first team were runners and actually took less than 12 hours to do the same course. Amazing !

With ages ranging from 40 to 64 we are very proud of our team. A lot of teams finished with less than four but I think that everyone who participated should hold their heads up high. One million dollars was raised for Oxfam and all the volunteers and organisers should be congratulated for a great effort in putting on this event.

P.S. No one is discussing doing this again next year........yet.

What I will be doing this Friday....

There has been a lot of posts about going to the Sydney Craft Show and having a blog meet up. I went last year and had a great time and had fully expected to be going again this year. Sometimes though, life doesn't quite always work out the way we hope.

So instead of going to Sydney and having a great time with friends I will be part of a two man support crew for a team doing the Oxfam trailwalker walk in Brisbane. It is a 100 km walk through bush and on fire trails to the west of Brisbane.

http://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/brisbane

My husband Richard (left) and his brother (right) with two friends are doing the walk and are starting at 7 am tomorrow from Mt Glorious and anticipate finishing at Mt Coot-tha 24 hours or less later. My sister-in-law and I will be available during that time to be called on, also we will be at some of the checkpoints with changes of clothes and shoes along with food and anything else they need. We have to have them there to register between 4 and 4.30am so think of me in the dark and cold.

There will be work to be done in the middle of the night too so it could be a full on 24 hours for me too.

You can see their page here....

http://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/brisbane/teams/team/?team_id=12117

These photos were taken on a training walk going up Mt. Maroon - they've done lots of preparation.

 and here's my husband on the top of Mt Maroon.

So while I dream of being in Sydney seeing and doing lots of crafty things and meeting up with bloggy friends,I can't be there.... Hope you all have fun.
Think of me out in the bush in the middle of the night waiting for my team to come in and pass though the checkpoints. Ah, the things we do....

Blog Meeting

It seems some people who shall remain nameless ( in other words - me) are late in posting photos from the Brisbane Blog meet we had a week ago. We had so much fun - there was show and tell with lots of discussions and oohhs and aahhs.

 There was lunch and lots of photos - check out the lower photo - this seems to be what was happening all the time.  We all seem to get on so well., whether longer time friends or new. After all with blogging and patchwork/quilting in common it is a winning combination.  Extra special thanks to Susan for organising the lunch and also to Michelle and Mary for our special gifties.

So Kayly ( my patient travelling companion),Michelle, Teresa, Helen, Marilyn, Noela, Susan, De, Mary and Fiona, can we do it again sometime please?

It's a finish even if it is small...

So far this year I have managed to finish something each month. The items aren't very big but still need to be finished, and would probably still be unfinished if I didn't have a bit of motivation from the Sew It's Finished blog.
This bag has been sitting in two pieces for probably nearly a year and it was time to finish it. It is made with two triangle shapes which when sewn together make two pockets inside as well. It was a hard one to photograph because it is quite big. I'll probably use it as a project bag rather than a shopping bag becuase it is so roomy.
The pattern is from a local quilt store - The Quilter's Corner and is called The Market Bag.

I know I have been a way for a while - the every day stuff just gets in the way. I have penty to talk about but I thought as I was changing my blog template I would say hello for now and chat properly later.
But while I am here I will introduce you to the love of my daughter's life - Maggie, our dog.

This is the dog who doesn't like having a bath or being in the rain.......but if there is a puddle to jump into she will find it, and want to stay there all day. In this photo she looks all black but she is half border collie ( the other half is labrador) so has a white chest and paws. She is a very much loved member of our family.
Talk soon....

The adventures of Peg and Dale.....

After a long day at Nundle Peg and Dale needed to relax with a hot chocolate. Will they stay awake at Sue Daley's trunk show tonight?

oh dear.....

There are some things that you just hope will never happen.....


And there are some things which I am sure the neighbours at the back ( down the hill) wish would never happen either.

But some things just happen anyway.....

It didn't take long for 36,000 litres to empty out.

I was quietly doing something inside when I heard my husband say...."That wasn't meant to happen."

I agree.

( Thankfully no neighbours or neighbour's houses were harmed during this event.)

Last Day in January - something finished!

One of the lovely things about keeping a blog is that you can put dates to events and remember when things happen. However... there is an embarrassing side as well. I found the first post I made about this project back in December 2007. There is another one a little bit later and then a third one in January 2008. In that one I said I wasn't going to put it away because it won't get finished. Well guess what? It didn't ....until today. I put the last stitch in today. And here is my version of Trees on the Table, designed by Marcie of Patchalot Patterns. You can find the pattern and a gallery here. The lovely thing about this pattern is that it has a variety of different borders. It is just lovely and I am cross with myself for leaving it so long.

I also want to issue a warning about leaving things so long as well. I made the top back then and misplaced it for a while. Then I found it, sandwiched it and did a bit of quilting on it, probably about a year ago although it could be longer. When I got it out to finish I found that there must have been some damp and some of the pins I had left in there ( yes, I know we are told not to do that) looked like this.......

They were hard to remove and one or two just broke when I tried to get them out. In most spots it is okay but there is one which is a problem. These holes are not made by the pin but the corrosion from the pin has eaten the fabric.

So I hope this is giving you a little bit of incentive to get things finished. Not only do you prevent bad things happening over time but you also get to actually use them ( I would have loved to have used this last Christmas).

And finishing also gives a sense of achievment - now I feel all fired up to finish some more of my older projects.

My lovely little wallet...

I apologise to Stacy about the lateness of this blog entry. Before Christmas I won this lovely Little Wallet and pattern (by Valori Wells) from a giveaway on the Circle Retreat Quilter blog. I love that there was not only the pattern but a beautifully made example as well. How lovely is that?

Stacy owns the Circle Retreat in Buderim ( to the north of where I am) and it looks perfect for some time away. Now I just have to find some.... time,that is.......

Camping by the river....

After packing up our camp in the bush we set off further south to Yamba which is on the mouth of the Clarence River. This time we were at a caravan park where the children could spend hours at the provided water park and giant jumping pillow ( meant to take a photo of that).

We had a view of the Clarence River

And a good space to play cricket.

And a perfect place to go kayaking.

There was still no stitching going on but I did find some places to go shopping. So much for trying to keep the spending down in 2012.

Camping by the creek...( no stitching content at all)

In the past post I mentioned that we were going camping. For the first two days of the year we were at Stinson Park at Christmas Creek.

It really is a beautiful place and the creek is so much fun for the kids.

The next photo is looking up the creek to the edges of Lamington National Park and the rugged area you can walk to go to find the Stinson Wreck. Some of the family did a tiny bit of the walk ( it certainly isn't a walk for anybody who isn't experienced at bushwalking).

Now doesn't this look fun?

and here's how my daughter chose to spend her time.

Lucky her.... I took stitching and a book ...... and nothing saw the light of day except when we needed a pair of scissors.

Hopefully I can achieve more now that we are home.

SSCS and 2012...

Happy New Year! Here's a wish that 2012 brings you everything you hope for.

My eyelids are drooping as it is now New Year's Day where I live. I should be in bed but I need to post this because we are going camping for the next four days and I won't really have internet access. (I might try again with my phone though).

The photo below shows what I received from Gracie in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap. The main present was a cushion with a beautifully stitched cactus on it from Arizona. Now I've seen this type of cactus in real life and I don't think I would want to decorate one of them, so this must surely be the next best thing. There were some useful things as well - some needles and cottons, some pretty tissues and a chocolate Santa which of course is very necessary.

At the back of the picture you can see a pretty shopping bag - I think Gracie must have been stalking me as I remember saying that I liked shopping bags a few months ago. Thank you so much, Gracie. I loved everything you sent.

And talking of bags, here is what I sent to Ulla. I fell in love with this bag pattern when I bought it back in March from Anni Downs. When I cut this one out I cut out a second set of strips so I can make one for myself. Ulla likes knitting and I thought it might be a great bag to hold whatever she is working on. 

I sent a few extra little goodies as well.

Thank you to Gracie for your gifts and thank you to Chookyblue for running the swap for another year. Check out her blog ( if you haven't already) and see all the wonderful gifts which were travelling around the world.

Summer and Winter...

My Secret Santa Christmas Swap parcel has arrived over at Ulla's house safely and she has been able to open the decorations I made. ( The pattern is Mini Merry Stockings from The Birdhouse)

Here's the photo I took before I sent them - hanging on a bright green tree in my garden. Very Summery!

 And I borrowed this photo from Ulla's blog showing them hanging in a very different tree. Having only seen snow four times in my life I can only imagine what it would be like to have Christmas in Winter.

Tahks you Ulla for putting this on your blog - I have just loved seeing it.

Stitching by the pool...

For the next week (and maybe more) I will be spending two hours a day at the pool with Colly doing some swimming training.

I've picked a project to work on - it's actually one I was working on waiting at piano lessons. I wonder how far I will progress this week?

I am also trying blogging from my phone. I am not sure how the picture placement will work out. But anything is worth trying.

Edited to add the name of the design. It is Rosalie Quinlan's Christmas Treasures Wreath.

SSCS

My parcel has arrived from a faraway place but there is no place to put it yet as we haven't done any Christmas decorating yet. The school holidays have just started so I am sure something will happen in the next few days. But until then I will just have to keep my parcel safe.

And here is my ornament which I was allowed to open. As there is no tree yet I went to the garden to photograph it. We've had a bit of rain lately so there are some raindrops in the photo. Isn't it pretty? I can't wait to put it on my tree with the ornaments from past years.

Giveaway Draw

The draw has been done - I just found it was too hard to fight with the kids for the computer on the weekend to post before today.

Here is my Trusty Helper...all ready to go...

 The first name is out....

And the people who will be receiving the giggle buttons are

Debra 

and Lois.

I'll be contacting you to let you know and to get your addresses.

I just wish I had enough for everyone who commented. Thanks for visiting. 

A little giveaway...

Have you visited Red Brolly lately and seen the free Christmas sampler she has on offer. There is a bigger photo here of the finished item.

Cute, isn't it?

Did you notice the two Giggle Buttons included in the stitchery?

My plan when I went to the Craft Show was to buy a set of buttons for myself and also one set as a giveaway. I mentioned it to the lovely Kez and she gave me a set to use for the giveaway. How fabulous is that? I decided that I would still buy a set to give away and so now I have two sets to share with two lovely blog readers.

Just leave a comment before next Friday night Australian time and I will announce the results on Saturday next week. It couldn't be easier.

Thanks to the wonderful Kez and Dan from Giggle Buttons for the opportunity to do this.

 And here are the buttons. Aren't they sweet ?

Good luck!


I am happy to post worldwide.

Craft show...

On Wednesday Kayly and I went to the Stitches and craft Show ( Brisbane). We had a long day and when I went to visit Kayly today it seems that she might just be spreading rumours about me being a shopoholic. She says I was still shopping at closing time. Aren't friends supposed to support you and keep your secrets? To be fair, I was still shopping at closing time but that was because I had just found some felted wool pieces I wanted. I actually achieved what I wanted at the show - I got a pet mesh bag kit which I wanted to make for summer. Of course there was the felted wool and a pattern from The Birdhouse for making a pincushion. I did get some small kits which I haven't shown because they are for secret gifties - and that was also something I had planned to look out for.

 Interestingly a large pile of fat quarters jumped into my hands near the end of the day as well - I just liked them and they are the sort of fabric I like to use for smaller projects - bags, purses and sewing accessories.
We did go and have a good look at the Queensland Quilters show which was packed with beautiful quilts, giving us lots of ideas. If you have the time check it out - although the photographs don't look nearly as good as the real thing.
The next two pictures ( taken with permission) are of part of the stand from Giggle Buttons. They are working with Red Brolly as well so the display was very impressive. I also had a chat with Joy here - we always seem to find each other at Craft shows.

Come back and visit me tomorrow as I am going to talk about a little something I bought at the show and will be sharing.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap (2)

I guess I should show the things I made for Lida. I feel a bit silly because when I photographed them before I wrapped them I only took photos of the things I made - but not of everything else. You might have to visit this post of Lida's to see the other things I sent. Lida normally writes in Dutch but she has provided some English as well on this post which is nice.


F = Four Fat Quarters

R= Ribbons

I = Images ( Calendar of Queensland)

E = Embroidery Threads ( some of my favourite Cottage Garden Threads)

N = Needle Book ( and Needles) - a design by Rosalie Quinlan

D= Drawstring Bag

S = Stork Scissors and Scissor case.

The Something Extra parcel contained a Humbug Bag - Lida had admired them on my blog and so I included one for her.

I hope you enjoy everything Lida. It was fun making things for you !

F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap

I am catching up a bit with things I want to post. This post is about the F.R.I.E.N.D.S swap run by Khris of Sew Prim Khris. The idea was to send things which start with the letters in the word FRIENDS.

I had just arrived home from retreat ( that's still another story to come) and the parcel was waiting for me - of course I ripped it open straight away.Well, I did say hello to my family first....

My swap partner was Lida from The Netherlands, which is why this parcel is full of lovely blue and white goodies. The photos aren't the best because I took them at night as soon as I opened them. You might like to look at better ones on Lida's blog at this post.

 The card with the clogs had all the items written down so using Lida's words here what I received.

 F = for Feathered Friends and Flowers!  ( A lovely panel)

 R= for Ribbons in Blue and Green ( My favourite colours)

 I = for in a book very handy!

 E= for Empty but you may fill it yourself ! ( a fabric covered heart box)

 N= for Needles and Pins! ( Beautiful!)

 D = Dutch Shopping bag! (How did she know I love shopping bags!)

 S= for Snowy Cushion Cover! ( I can't wait to use this for Christmas)

Thank you so much Lida for all the lovely beautiful things - I love them all!