Going again....

Exciting news to start my post - the painting is finished in the bedroom and it looks great!! I am so pleased with it. Next up is the carpet being laid on Monday then getting the furniture delivered and the curtains up! Then of course you will have photos and lots of them!!!!

It seems like I have only just got back into posting and almost catching up on my blog reading and now I am heading off on another break.
Aunty Jan passed away last night, she battled so hard, she is now at peace with no more suffering.
I will head off tomorrow morning with Mum. It is a 1000km trip which usually takes us about 12 hours. It is not ideal conditions for travelling, it is forecasted to be 37 degrees with a high fire risk. The funeral will be on Monday and then I will travel home on Tuesday.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, they have brought our family a lot of comfort.

RIP Janice Margaret MacDonald

A Giveaway.....

Head over to 'A little bit of Everything' at http://kerins.blogspot.com/. Kerin has a very generous giveaway going and you have until Sunday to get an entry in. She is giving away a set of 3 ATC's based on the fires and Sam the koala. She is very talented so is one giveaway I would love to win.!

Curtains - tick!

Well after my trip to the hairdressers this morning (oh it is a good feeling to have a color and cut and be tidy again!!) I headed out of town to try and buy new curtains. Think I was surprisingly optimistic!! It proved a little harder than I thought and unfortunately I had to settle for my second choice as I couldn't get the mocha in the correct sizes for the two windows. The only bonus was the blue curtains were very reasonably priced so I figure they don't have to last too many years before I can replace them!

While I was there I picked up a few fat quarters in different navy / taupe combinations, not sure what for yet! Also picked up some brown on sale and a red fabric with a black and white apron print on it that called to me. I have hidden these from SH for the moment as we are meant to be on a 'budget'!!!!

Is this not the cutest kitten??? Peter decided our bed leaning against the wall was a great climbing adventure. I wasn't able to get cross with him!

Back again!

Well it has been far too long between posts! I think most Victorians and in fact Australians felt the same and a little overwhelmed in the last fortnight. Yesterday a national day of mourning was held and although we will never forget the tragedy life has to go on and perhaps by living it to the full and joyfully is the best way we can honor those who lost their lives.
Very exciting news - there is a little redecorating happening at my house at the moment! I am SO excited. Recently we bought ourselves a new bedroom suite which we have been waiting to be made. It should be ready this week. In 20 years of marriage we have never had a new bed! Anyway I decided that I wanted the room painted if we were emptying it and then on Friday I decided it was a good opportunity for new carpet!!! So the painter (we have the best handyman - a retired gentleman that does a great job for cash!) started today, then the carpet will go in early next week and hopefully then the furniture! I am making a dash out of town tomorrow to the closest Spotlight store in the hope I can find new curtains as well. I promise there will be lots of photos next week! The downside of all of this is discovering? that we own a whole lot of 'junk', I cannot believe how much we had in our bedroom. We do not have a large house so am currently sleeping in the passage! in our bed that is leaning against the wall during the day!
Yesterday I actually achieved some sewing but as it is for the very late, long awaited Australia Day giveaways I am sending out I can't show you until it is received. I used a tutorial from a blog and am very pleased with the results. Can't wait to show you.
Aunty Jan is back in hospital again today and things are not going well. I will be thinking a lot of her and Aunty Judy tonight and wishing them the strength they will need to fight this battle.

Time to busy those hands!

I wrote yesterday about a family that had been affected by the bushfires, a family that as a community we were able to put a face to, to hear their story and to do something practical to help as opposed to loading donations of goods on a truck and wondering if they ever found a new home. I was able to busy my mind shopping for this family and feel as though I was actually doing something practical. I knew the new baby needed a quilt and who better to call on than my friend at OzCountryQuiltingMum. I knew Tracey had kept her hands busy on the weekend when the fires were raging and made a quilt that needed a new home. Sure enough I have a future in matchmaking and Tracey visited the new Mum and baby in hospital yesterday. They talked about the loss and about the wonderful patchwork she had in her home even though she was not a sewer herself and an idea was born! We are calling on all quilters out there who would like to help by making a block. We are thinking a sampler quilt, blocks 12 1/2" with seam allowance (so 12" finished), in country style (the lady's favorite), plaids, creams rather than white, burgundy, checks etc. If you would like to help make up your favorite block and get it in the post as soon as you are able. If we receive too many blocks we will make them into other quilts and this family will help us find other recipients in her area that survived. If you can help hop on over to http://ozcountryquiltingmum.blogspot.com/ , let Tracey know then get those fingers busy!!!

A time for prayer....

A lot has been written by other bloggers about the devastating bushfires that have occurred in my home state of Victoria. It is so so hard to comprehend the numbers of lives lost and homes destroyed. The sheer number of people now homeless and without a possession to their name other than the clothes on their back. I have not felt like posting this last few days and I am sure I am not the only one. Every time you hear the radio or turn the tv on there is another horror story. In yesterdays paper a 12 year old girl lost her parents and younger sister and is now in the Childrens hospital with burns. My family will donate to the Red Cross Bushfire appeal, at this stage this is the most useful way of helping but I am sure in the months to come there will be the opportunity to help in other ways. Yesterday I was able to busy my hands and make a difference to someone. We are quite a distance from the main devastation but in our hospital (where I work in reception) we have a family affected by the fires. The husband, wife and son had been here visiting the husbands father who is in hospital dying under palliative care at the moment. While they were here they lost their house to the fire on Saturday, in fact every house in their street is gone and at least 9 of their neighbors are missing presumed dead. On Sunday the wife went into labor and delivered a little baby girl 3 weeks early. I went shopping yesterday and filled a bag with some baby clothes and towel, some toys ,a book and shirt for the son, a magazine, hand cream and the like for the new mother and a lotto ticket for the family - they could certainly use some luck at the moment! It was only a small thing but may just let them know that people are thinking of them. A local friend from blogging land is giving a quilt.
It is a time of counting our blessings and giving thanks for our family , friends and our homes. Another reminder to make the most of each and every day..... It is also a time to say Thank you to the CFA staff and volunteers that have left their families and have put their lives on the line to fight this fire and pray that they return home safely.
Thank you to everyone around the world who is thinking of us Aussies at the moment.

How cute is this??

How cute is this?? It is a small tin suitcase measuring about 10cm x 5cm. While we were in Melbourne we had to visit Haighs chocolate shop (essential!!) and I fell in love with this. It was filled with 'speckles' (round chocolate buttons covered with 100's & 1000's). I had to do quite a bit of fast talking to convince SH it was absolutely imperative I had it , that no it wouldn't join our house of hoarding chaos and I would in fact think of a use for it!!!!!!! The chocolate was consumed last night so now to put it to work!! Thought it might be the right size to carry threads for a small stitching project.

Our own milestone....

Yesterday SH and I celebrated a milestone of our own - our 20th wedding anniversary! Wow! We didn't do anything special to celebrate but rather reflected on that day all those years ago and the years that have passed. I love SH now just as much as I did then......

On another note my mother officially has far too much time on her hands!! Don't think I have mentioned before but both Jess and Marty (our dog and cat who passed away last year) had their own pieced quilts - Marty's with applique too!! ( I might add now I don't have my own quilt!!) This week she has presented Peter with a welcome to the family present apologising all the while that she only had time to make him a small toy!! This photo is not good - sorry but it is a little felt ball appliqued with a cats face with a tad of embroidery on it!! It is from a pattern Mum bought last year from Hatched & Patched. Not sure that I can give it to Peter to be destroyed!!!!!

Elephants - tick!

Well there has actually been some stitching today!!! After realising just how behind I was with Lynette Anderson's 'Noah's Ark' BOM I set myself the challenge of at least finishing one block today. The elephants are complete and I even made a start on the giraffes!! This is a project I would really like to complete so I will be concentrating on it. I haven't added any of the borders yet, thought I would wait until the stitching is finished.

I have redrawn my Australia Day giveaway and this time there is 2 winners as both the 'horsey' one and HS wanted to draw it. So the winners are Laila and Anita (bed of roses). I will shoot you both an email soon so you can forward me your snail mail addresses. Laila has been very lucky lately winning a few giveaways while I think this is Anitas first win. I hope they will not be disappointed with their parcels!!

A new blog!

I am very excited as someone I feel very lucky to call a friend and who is so inspiring when it comes to stitching has started a blog of her own so please call by and say hi to Sylvia....http://sylviastitch.blogspot.com/

I haven't heard from the winner of my Australia Day giveaway - what a pain to have a blocked profile, no reply, and then not revisit and get in touch - so in frustration I am redrawing the winner tomorrow (I have some quirky and fun Aussie themed bits & pieces to giveaway), if anyone else would like to put their name into the draw tonight go for it!!!