HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY WEEKEND

I joined in with Anthea with her Australia Day swap. Yes, we were only supposed to send 5 gifts but as mine were so small I spelt out the word AUSTRALIA...
It's all in a bit of fun..
My partner was Anthea, herself... ( oh boy, I have a standard to keep)
https://hibiscus-stitches.blogspot.com.au
So this is what I sent...

An AUSSIE APRON..... 

UFO... Un identified object... UTENSIL

It's actually a ladle/poon clip. 

Clip it on to your saucepan and slip the handle of your stiring utensil in it.

Star whisk

 Thimbles.. Every sewers needs at some point in their sewing life.. 

Ruler & Rotary 

Australian card 

Lollies

Ice tray.   

 Australian stubby holder 

 All laid out in order to spell AUSTRALIA 

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY 

I have done some sewing...

And I have 2 finishes...

I have been sewing the Little Letters quilts from.

http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com.au/search?q=Little+letters&updated-max=2014-09-17T08:00:00-07:00&max-results=20&start=25&by-date=false

Here they are finished.

2 quilts done in 2 sizes ready for my quilt group to sew along with me to do some more..

Here is the green quilt done with alternating solid squares just to make the quilt a little bigger.

I am very happy with it..

 Oh so pretty, I love the backing...

This was taken about 8pm because it has been so hot here. 

The lighting isn't the best but it is all I have.

 And the 2 rolled up so pretty.

 Little Letters by Temecula Quilt Company.

http://temeculaquiltco.blogspot.com.au

A happy weekend away with my Husband and brother....

Wow... Spur of the moment hubby and I decided we needed some time for us. So, I get some time off work, pack a bag, make a few phone calls, jump on the bike and we are off.

We leave home at 7am & 30+ deg.. head for Wagga Wagga. Stop for lunch and a cold beer. Hours of riding in 40 deg heat. It's now 38 at 2pm.
And the best part was meeting my brother and catching up for the next few days together. Just to be out in the open air, on the bike, with my husband and brother. What is better than that.

Another hours ride we stop at Tumut, NSW.. 661kms today.

A bed, Thai dinner, a beer and a good sleep.

The rain set in for the night but slows for the day. 

Over the mountains and through Mt. Kosciusko National Park.
Mt Kosciusko National Park.
We stop at an emergency hut for a break.

Then off to my friends house.. Di, you are wonderful.
Merrimbula. NSW... East coast of Australia..
Total now is 1005kms.
Look at the view..

What about a walk along the beach..

 


Out for dinner, a good sleep, then head off again..
Oh no it's raining..
Visit the inlaws and dry off.
Then a long ride to the bottom of Victoria and head for Portsea.
The ferry is here.

Relax... leaving Portsea...

Heading for Queescliff.

Total trip now.
1671kms..

After a good nights sleep we head off home.. and a little bit of shopping on the way.

I have finally found the way to Brim..
Seeing these silos painted in person is amazing.
We will be coming back here for a closer look.
They aren't that far from home.

 Aren't these paintings amazing..

Total for our 4 days was 2328kms.
So glad to get into our shower and bed...
Work tomorrow.

It will be a little while before I'm ready to head off on the bike again...

Australia Day swap 2018

Well I joined in with this years swap for Australia Day 2018 swap over at https://hibiscus-stitches.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/australia-day-swap-for-2018-sign-up-here.html

My partner was Lyn, who unfortunately doesn't have a blog...
But these are the lovely gifts she sent me.

 What a great selection

Stitchery frames. These will be fun to use as a little project..

Have to get my thinking cap on...

 Soap

 Tea strainer.

Utensils 

 Threads

 Australia Day items

An Aussie Hero thankyou.

This is the reason I make and send off these quilts.

Dear Jo, 
Wow, the words 'thank you' just don't seem nearly enough. 

On opening the box today I felt so honoured and very blessed to have received such an amazing quilt and laundry bag. It is everything I could have hoped for and more. I absolutely love it and will treasure it forever. I cannot wait to take them home to show my husband and children. I Skyped home straight away to show them, because I was so excited. I have also shown all of my colleagues. I am working with a number of people from other nations, who were all amazed and some even quite envious. :)

Thank you also for the gorgeous handmade Christmas decoration, which I look forward to proudly displaying back home on the tree next year. This year though I will place it above my bed, while I will use the others to decorate my office. Thanks also for the fantails I will enjoy them as will my work buddies, and we will also enjoy guessing the celebrity too. 

Thank you for making these amazing quilts and laundry bags for those of us lucky enough to be serving our country. Words can not express our gratitude and how much it means. Your son would be very proud. 

Yes you not only brightened my day, but my week and my month. I also love the photo on the card. It did bring a smile to my face. There is also a drive on the way to Dubbo from Canberra where there is this kind of paddock art,  and it is really a lot of fun. What a great idea to turn it into a card.

I wish you and yours a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic 
2018. Mine will be very different this year, maybe there will be snow. 

Thank you again, from a very happy and proud owner of an amazing hero quilt. You are a very clever lady. 

Warmest regards, 
Nadine

We are the ones to thank all our service men and women.

The rest of the family

My husbands son & daughter hadn't seen each other for a few years. Let alone all their children meeting for the first time... They had a special get together on New Year's Eve... Their step brothers wedding.

3 little cousins meeting for the first time..

 My step daughter and her daughter, 13 and my step son and his 2 little girls..

SQUARED AWAY 2018...

Oh yes I have started a new project.

What can I say. Happy New Year, Happy New Project..

I have been following both Mari  & Angela's blogs for a while now. They do some great sewing.

The 2 of them have teamed up this year with a Mystery rainbow Sampler for the year.

I have weakened and decided to join in. I'm not sure if I'll stick to Angela's colours for any of the blocks but I have planned to sew along with a colourway. Red, Grey & cream. Christmas theme.

I got all these fabrics on special for $2.50 per metre. I have quite a few of these colours so I'm sure I'll have enough to complete a quilt. 

I'm not sure if I will make the quilt bigger or smaller or what/who it will be for.

Let's hope I keep on with it and get it finished.

All the pieces cut ready to sew.

3 Blocks completed.

Now I'll be waiting for next months block..

If you want to read about the basics you need to look at this post.

http://academicquilter.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/squared-away-2018-bom.html

http://academicquilter.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/squared-away-block-1.html

http://superscrappy.blogspot.com.au/2018/01/rsc18-first-scraphappy-saturday.html

An Aussie quilt is on its way....

What more can I say but FOOD & WINE is a favourite of mine. This was my latest request for an Aussie Hero quilt.
Given that I live in an area that has lots of wineries it was fun to do. I found a great tea towel and used this as the centre of my quilt. I loved the fabric and wanted to keep it big.
Yes it was an easy quilt...

 Look at the difference in colour. The above was taken inside and below was outside.

Here is the back of the quilt. Some sweet treats. It's a little bit of food.

And here is the laundry bag..

I rented my own label but the fabric didn't pick up straight away.

The printing is missing at the start.

Rather than wasting the label I sewed some tone on tone to the side.

Then filled in the rest of the writing.