SAL 2013 April finish, a find & a Birthday.

Finally put the finishing touches to my Bon Noel wall hanging last night. I have made mine using a Cottage Garden thread- Blue Wren for the stitchery and some Nancy Halvorsen blue Xmas fabrics. Bought the little blue hanger from The Quilters Angel in Toowoomba and it went with the hanging perfectly so am happy with how it looks.

While I was in Tasmania I helped my FIL by going through some sewing related boxes that had belonged to my Mother-in law.  I sorted some things that could be passed on and cleared out a few things that couldn't. I also found this stash of ric rac and Ken gave it to me to bring  home. I look forward to using it in future projects.  

Last weekend, my Grandson Thomas came for a visit with his Dad so on Friday night we had a birthday tea for him as he turns 11 on Thursday 2 May.  Here he is blowing the candles out on his Freddo Frog Ice-cream cake.  Have a wonderful birthday on Thursday Tom, Grand-ma & Grand-dad love you and miss you lots.
Happy Stitching till next time........   Hugs.........

Colour Swap Parcel

Received an email from Maria last night to say she had received her Colour Swap parcel from me so I can now show what I sent. Maria chose PURPLE for her colour.

Something Edible - Chocolate

Something Smelly - Lavender Sachet and soap.

Something Personal - Initial Mug Rug, Chocolate Biscuits & Coffee Sachets

Something for a room in the house  -  Table Topper

I am very happy that Maria loved the gifts I made for her as much as I enjoyed making them.  I love Cheryll's Swaps and am sure I will be joining in another one soon.
Must now go and finish off my SAL project for this month so I can make the deadline.
Happy Stitching to everyone........

I Xmas Item a Month, Colour Swap Parcel, Purchases.

I am a day late in posting about my 1 Xmas item.  It has been a busy time for me so only a small ornament finished this month. One of a few free stitcheries I found on a blog called Freebies for Crafters hosted by my friend Khris. You can find the pattern under Christmas (Oct 7 2009) and was supplied by Lisa from Button Bliss.

I have also posted my Colour Swap parcel and am hoping it will arrive at its destination today as it didn't have too far to travel. I will then be able to show you what I sent. Below is a photo of the wrapped parcels.

'PURPLE'

I have been a bit naughty of late and  have had a few parcels arrive as well as some purchases I bought while in Tassie.

Fabrics and a pattern from the Frangipani  Patch

I visited the Quilted Crow girls and purchased some Lynette Andersen lovelies. 

These are from the Fat Quarter Shop. Have been waiting for these honeycomb pre-cuts.

The above book was on sale and I have been thinking about buying it for a while so  added it to the above parcel from the FQS.  Not sure when I will ever get to make it.

These were on Want It Need It Quilt. A layer cake of Road 15 newest fabric from Sweetwater and 2 charm packs.

Well that's it for me today except to say yesterday was Anzac Day. A time for all Aussies to reflect and remember what our servicemen fought for so that we all can live freely in this wonderful country of ours.

Our morning tea yesterday. Anzac Biscuits and Coffee.

Well, that's all from me today.  See you next time.   Hugs.......

My Colour Swap Parcel

Well I have at last found time to post about the beautiful parcel that arrived in my letterbox last week.  Of course I forgot to take a photo before I opened it but have photos of the gorgeous contents. My gifts were sent by Christine from MacDonald's Patch. They were beautifully wrapped in blue paper and here they are.

Here they all are together with the card telling me it was Christine who had sent them.

Something Edible.  Not sure I want to eat these, they are so cute, think they should be in a vase.

Something  Smelly.  4 Sachets filled with lavender. 

Something Personal.   2 beautifully covered hangers. 

Something for a Room in your House. A lovely thread holder that also holds your needles and a place to put the one in use. I've just noticed I only have 3 threads in the photo, should be 4, all beautiful blue.  

I know you said you didn't use a lot of blue Christine but you have done an excellent job of my gifts and I thank you so much for making them for me. They will all be put to good use in my home except maybe my blue flowers that may not last too long.
Thank you also to the wonderful Chez who co-ordinates the swaps. Chez has 2 Xmas Swaps coming up so go over and check out her blog, have a look at the swaps, and say Hi.
Must go as I have some hand stitching to finish on my Colour Swap gift using some purple thread. Then off to the Post Office tomorrow. If you are waiting for purple, it could be you!!    Hugs..........

Back Home from Tassie.

Firstly I would like to thank everyone who left a comment on my last post wishing us a lovely holiday. I appreciate you taking the time to do so.  Had limited access to the net so mainly used it to catch up on e-mails and blog posts. Have been on the computer today to try and catch up on what has been happening while I have been away.  This old fellow has been sticking to me like glue all day, nice to know I was missed by someone. This is my cat Oscar sitting on my feet while I'm writing this post.

We had a wonderful time in Tasmania visiting Chris's family.  We stayed with my FIL in Rosetta in Hobart. The house overlooks the Derwent and has a wonderful view but for some reason I can't find the photo I'm sure I took of it.
Just so happened the V8's  were racing at Symmons Plains on the first weekend.

I got time to do some stitching in between races.

We stayed  in Launceston overnight and visited Cataract Gorge the next day as well as The Automotive Museum.  I know, more car stuff.

The rest of the time we spent with family and friends. My FIL took us to the Mona Museum, quite a strange place with unusual exhibits. Here is my hubby and his Dad in front of one of the outside displays.

I did get plenty of time to stitch though and here are the stitcheries for my April SAL project.

I stitched them in a variegated blue Cottage Garden thread called Blue Wren. Also did a bit of secret Xmas and Colour Swap stitching which I will show you at a later date.
I bought a few things at the couple of quilt shops I got to visit and will show them next time. So till then Happy Stitching...............

On Holiday in Tassie

Well here we are visiting my father-in-law in Tassie.  We arrived on Thursday and have been trying to get the mobile Wi-Fi we got from my son to work. Had it working for a little while but the battery is not charging when plugged into the laptop so will see if we can solve that problem by getting an USB charger today.
We are having breaky at McDonalds and using their free Wi-Fi this morning hence this post. We are in Launceston as yesterday we attended the V8 racing at Symmonds Plains so only a short run to our overnight accommodation from there. I've found a quilt shop in the city so will try to check it out this morning before we do some sight seeing.
On Saturday we went to the Salamanca Markets which I always try to get to when we are here. I bought a warm woollen hat and a cardigan as the mornings and nights are cool although the days have been beautiful.
I am getting some stitching done which is great as I have lots of finishes due at the end of the month.
Better go now. Hope I will be able to post again.  Till then Happy Stitching............

Hot Rod Heaven, OPAM finish.

My husband, Chris,  has been in hot rod heaven for the last 5 days. He loves all things hot rod and always enjoys any event where he can spend time talking with his mates and checking out cars.  This weekend, the Nationals were on at Parklands Showgrounds at Southport on the Gold Coast in Queensland. Saturday and Sunday were Public Days, so all the entrants had their cars on show on the oval. Chris and I spent all one morning checking out the cars as he is in the process of building our second one so we especially wanted to check out the Tudors.  We now have a better idea as to how we want ours to look when it is finally finished. Below is how it looks today.

Our Model A Tudor. An original steel car built in 1928.

This is were Chris is at.  New chassis getting built.

We made lots of decisions on how it should look so will be interesting to see if we stick with them as building progresses.
Here are a few photos.

  Got to watch the Trotting as a race meeting was on when we arrived.   The kids were covered with their own mini rods on display. Free rides as well.  Food Stalls.  Cars on the oval.  Cruising on the Trotting Track.

The winning car, bottom left. Can you guess what colour our new car might be ?  Just love that red.

To finish, a Show and Shine at Coolangatta and a walk on the beach.

Finally, here is what I sent Kali in the Let's Celebrate Swap. My last OPAM finish for March.

Thanks to my friend Michelle Ridgway of RagTag Stitchin for her wonderful bunny design.  When I saw it in one of my current magazines, I knew I had to stitch it and am so pleased with how it turned out. So that makes 7 finishes for March.
If you have made it through to the end, Thank you. I didn't get a chance to reply to all your lovely comments on my previous post so many thanks. I can assure you I had the very best time.  I also got to see my family as they came down to the coast to share lunch with us on Saturday.
Well must go, till next time Happy Stitching  ............