Last of the September projects.....

It's hard to believe it is already the end of September..... 

Spring has come, Toowoomba (nearest big town) has been bursting with people for the Carnival of Flowers, hayfever has burst forth, so many cute projects to see out in blogland - and my precious computer has been sick for a week....... (have you ever noticed how much housework gets done when the computer/sewing machine is away??)

Thankfully she is well now and these are some of my fun things I have been doing.

Jenny and Wendy hosted a Birdcage Weekend Sew In .....  I used some of my (newly shrunk jumpers) felt to make these fellers......

I cheated with the cage - found an old broken one at the tip and Hubz kindly cut off most of the bars......

Rather fun and something I would never have dreamed of making - so thanks Jenny and Wendy - it's all about motivating us to try out new things. 

I managed to finish this Christmas runner last night - the picture is not too clear but it has Australian flowers - eucalyptus with gum nuts, wattles and warratah and says "Joy to the World, the Lord is come".  I practiced some free motion quilting around the edges and added a free-form warratah.

The design was from an old Hand-made magazine - it will go in with my Early Bird Christmas Gifts hosted by Judith, but it also happens to be a UFO which is now finished.  Joy has been encouraging us to finish off projects this month... 

I'm off HERE and HERE and HERE to see what other people have made.....

Thanks to inspirational people I have managed to get quite a few projects finished off this month - and even one or two new ones!!

Hugz

Preciousness

This is how I am getting to know my only grand-daughter who lives in England.... it is so wonderful to have the technology as I am sure she recognises us - always a smile when she looks at the computer...

what a cute little bundle - I wish I could have a cuddle though!!

I have my 80 blocks for the Jelly Roll Quilt-along stitched and placed out

I want to at least get the top finished then it can lurk in the cupboard for a while as it is a Christmas print and can wait to be finished!

I stitched this block which is off in the post. 

I used a pattern from a BOM set of designs called A Sentimental Journey Through Time. 

Go HERE to visit Raspberry Rabbits - there is always lots of prettiness to see.

Today is the day Clare hosts Tuesday Treasures.

This spoon holder was painted by my eldest grandson and I use it every day.

 Dylan is now 7 and a half!  He is the elder brother of the little princess above. 

His younger brother started proper school yesterday.

I miss those faraway grandies so having little treasures made by them is wonderful.

I am off to made a cuppa then visit HERE to see what other treasures people have.

Hugz

I'm Tickled Pink.............

to have this finished.....

Have a lovely weekend.....

Hugz

A Quilt for Sue

Lizzie, a fellow blogger, has a long-time friend who is desperately ill and

she would like to make her a quilt.

If you would like to find out more visit Lizzie HERE where Lizzie tells us about her friend, what she is wanting to do, and how you can take part with any 'orphan' blocks you may have.

What a wonderful idea to have a quilt made by friends from all over the world.

Hugz

Food, glorious food..........

Once, and only once did Hubz say to me
"This is a nice meal - you must ask my Mum for her recipe....."

{There really should be a book of what should and should not be included in a husband's vocabulary}

However, I had to admit he was right on that occasion

(I repeat the chorus - once, and only once!)

and Mum's Meat Loaf is now the only one I make.

I know my Mom-in-Law reads my blog (she lives in England) so 

"THANKS MOM"

FIONA'S MOM-IN-LAWS FABULOUS MEAT LOAF

500 g sausage meat
500 g mince
2 chopped onions
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp parsley
1 egg
1 Dsp curry
salt and pepper

1. Mix all together (you really need to get your hands dirty here!)
2. Add 1 cup milk and ½ cup water
3. Mix well
4. Bake in a greased loaf tin for 30 minutes at 180° (2 smaller loaf tins - or one large)
5. Whilst baking prepare sauce

Sauce

½ cup water
½ cup tomato sauce
¼ cup Worcester sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp vinegar
25 g margarine

1. Mix and boil for 5 minutes
2. Pour sauce on top and bake for 45 minutes

Serve on a bed or rice with mixed vegetables (or salad)

Go back for seconds.......

I started 'chain' stitching for my Jelly Roll Quilt- thought it would make pretty bunting ..

Cheryll, who is a very sweet bloggy friend has joined in too and it is such fun to compare progress notes with her even though she is so many miles away

(instructions for this quilt are provided by Fat Quarterly)

Hugz

Tuesday Treasure #8

The Setting:

1979.  A brutal civil war in the African bush, strict sanctions, petrol rationing - 600kilometres away from the capital city  a dashing young man is billotted out to 'brightlight' (stay overnight as protection) to an elderly couple living in an isolated farm house. The elderly couple are in the process of being moved into the nearest village for their protection as their neighbouring daughter and son-in-law in hospital have been recently evacuated following a horrific land-mine blast, set by one of their trusted farmworkers. 

The young man supports the elderly couple as they move, and befriends the family once they are back out of hospital - he soon becomes a 'war adopted' part of the family as he is far from his hometown.  He soon catches the eye of a young nurse, the daughter of the land-mine couple who visits every few months from the city.

Because of the distances involved and severe petrol rationing, the only travel to and from the village was on certain days in protected and heavily guarded vehicle convoys.  As a result only monthly 'dates' were possible and within a year they held their wedding!  The night before the wedding they watched through the regular glows, and listened to the booms of a nearby estate being mortar bombed.  Many of the wedding guests had holsters and weapons, hidden carefully but held nearby incase of an attack. 

The occasion:

The wedding was idyllic, all the local people threw themselved into celebrating a wedding after many, many sad funerals in the district. The brides mother made the dress, the butcher iced the cake, all the local gardeners decorated the church with jasmine and sweatpeas and the couple was surrounded by friends and family.  

The dress:

The brides wedding dress had a train which had originally been over the skirt of her mothers wedding dress (1952).  Beautiful lace (even if there were a few extra lacy holes made by moths over the years of storage).  It had been carefully washed in rice water and sewn with soft ribbons down the centre. 

A young girl in awe of that handsome young soldier forestry man.

.............. truth be told 32 year later I still am!

Yes, this is my wedding dress (and no - I can't fit in it anymore!)

I'd love to do something with the lace but don't know what.

Pop on over to Clare's Tuesday Treasure to see what other people have to share...........

Hope you enjoyed reading about my Treasure(s) today

(well Hubz is a treasure too I guess!)

Hugz

My 'Bouquet' is finished...........

Jenny of Elefantz shared her beautiful 'Bouquet' as a BOM this year. 

As I have never done a wall hanging or pretty rose stitchery it was perfect for me to challenge myself with. 

I have been sitting with it for a few weeks now and joined in with Joys challenge (Finishing Stitches) to finish those UFO's and blocks.

I have shown the blocks previously in detail HERE

and the quilting HERE

I love the simple but eloquent words Jenny has included

The 'Bouquet' wall hanger provides lovely art for my spare bedroom.

Thanks Jenny for the inspiration

and thanks Joy for the motivation to get this finished

Now to the next one....... and to find a treasure for tommorrows Treasure Tuesday with Clare

Hugz

A couple of 'Firsts' and some 'progress'

This is my first ever win on a give-away, which also happens to be my first ever parcel from America!!

A set of Perfect Circles and a Fat Quarter of Fabric

Thanks to Cori from 'Creativity Amongst Chaos'.  If you haven't visited Cori before it is worth a trip - she has the cutest designs and works with lovely happy colours......  Pop in over HERE and tell her I say hi .....  I love the turquoise and orange in the fabric..... Thanks Cori.

And this was my first ever outing to the ballet....

A special friend bought tickets and took me out for a treat to the Nutcracker Suite performed by the Imperial Russian Ballet company.

A magical evening and a special treat

Such a lot of first ever happiness

but I did manage to make a little bit of progress

I have cut up my Jelly Roll  for the Quiltalong hosted by Fat Quarterly, so now I am  ready to start pieceing next week

and I have done some stitching on my Quilt as You Go UFO that I am determined to do for Finishing Stitches hosted by Joy's Quilts.  Joy does some lovely stitching and has some great stories - pop on over HERE and join us if you need some motivation to get those blocks and quilt projects finished!

In the meantime, I have some practicing to do....

Have a wonderful weekend

Hugz

Some Food, and a Stitching Start and Finish

There is something about fresh lavender .......

that is just so soothing........

another easy peasy yummy tummy recipe

Zucchini Bake

425 g zucchini unpeeled and coarsely grated OR  mixed vegetables - chopped, grated, or small (like peas and corn) I use whatever I have at the time!

1 large finely chopped onion

2 or 3 finely chopped rashers of bacon (optional) - OR mushrooms etc

1 cup grated cheese

1 cup self raising flour

½ cup oil

5 eggs lightly beaten

Salt and pepper

1 clove garlic

Chilli to taste (optional)

1. Combine ingredients and season with salt and pepper

2. Pour into well greased dish (16 x 26com)

3. Bake in moderate oven for 30 – 60 minutes until browned and set

4. Serve with salad and sweet chilli sauce

This week I did finish off a Daisy Do block

Jenny has these as a BOM
and I have accepted Joys challenge to finish blocks!

By the way Jenny has a birthday sale going on over HERE  I love her patterns

I recently joined up with
Fat Quarterly who are hosting a Quiltalong

I have had this pretty Jelly Roll lurking in my cupboard

It is Christmas fabric and I needed some motivation to get it done for this Christmas (which is now not so far away!)

On Monday we started the cutting

and next week we will be piecing!

You can use Fat Quarters or a Jelly Roll

I'd better go and finish off cutting up my strips

Hugz

Tuesday Treasure #7

Tuesday Treasure is a blogfun activity hosted by Clare and this week I am continuing with my 'tea' theme of yesterday.

This is a silver bowl which I inherited from my mum - there was two of them and my eldest brother has this one's older brother!

Mum always used these at Christmas and filled them with special chocolates and nuts.

I use this all the time - it is our sugar bowl and I love it very much.

I did do a bit of a 'silver-polish' yesterday so she is looking especially pretty

She matches well with the teapot.... and the pretty cups

(pity I don't take sugar in my tea!)

Hope you have a wonderful treasure filled Tuesday

Come join us HERE

Hugz

Anyone for tea?

I always enjoy taking time to sit down for a cuppa

once in a while the 'fancy' set comes out

Mum used to use this at bridge parties

it is so delicate and pretty one can't help feeling just a little bit very special when drinking out of these cups

my lovely silver teapot which I received as a 21st birthday present

part of the family silver

it's my only teapot so it does get used

(got a polish especially for the photo shoot! and she does come up beautifully)

or maybe a mug. 

One Christmas I was given an assortment of loose teas and this lovely little tea leaf holder - ideal for quickly making that special cuppa in a mug....

can you tell I like my tea in prettiness?

this mug was a gift too

loose tea

this is a lovely flowery fragrant one

especially pleasant on hot days

or a bag

Rooibos is a South African tea

an aquired taste and there is different flavours

it is caffeine free and safe to use during pregnancy

(in case there is anyone pregnant reading my blog???)

high in antioxidants

and low in tannin

it is said it relieves the feeling of nausea too

where to keep it - special containers or stay in the box...

this is my everyday tea caddy

I don't have any of that tea left....

but you really could make two great cups of tea with one bag....

..........................................

as for stitching

I have another border ready to put on this.....

sneak peak is all you get to see

it's for DD in England

but the colours are clear

Special thoughts for lots of people

Hurricane Earl over in the USA

Floods in Victoria, Australia

Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand

Keep safe everyone

and have a wonderful week

Hugz