Where did the time go?

This last week has disappeared..... weather has cooled and it is really great to want to have a quilt on at night again....

The binding for postcards is finished … and it is labelled (I am not a good labeller but this is a gift one)

I sewed this with the No Fuss Stitch-a-long and I just love it.... I used flannels (front and back) for mine and it's lovely and warm....

A loose meander for quilting...…  YAY for a UFO finish

On Monday Hubz had business in Brisbane and dropped me off to have a playdate with Michelle, it's been a long time in betwixt playdates.

Michelle spoilt me with gifts.... a lovely covered coathanger and beautiful liberty fabric as well as some pretty silicone cream holders and of course one of her very special hand made cards (which will go in a frame) 

I also got a ginormous bag of I spy fabrics... no escuse for not getting on and making it now!

There was also a rail for hanging quilts.... I need to get that up and find a good size quilt to go in it...

Being a road trip passenger I got another blue penguin jumper finished and the next one started.  

with the cooler weather I pulled out a bag of wool that I had been gifted …. to find this label on it.... I guess it has been languishing a while.  I am going to use up these masculine colours and crochet squares to make Hubz a rug.. they are nice for on laps in winter....

Another pretty Field Journal picture has been stitched....

… but now I have put them away (very hard to do that) to work on this UFO stitchery.  All that there had been done a few years ago... preprinted stitchery designed by the late Rosalie Dekker.  It was a set for a quilt but I have been making individual items

I took it to sew at a friends house... but her cat was having none of it! I am allergic to cats (not badly just get itchy sneezy) so lucky I had some antihistamines in my bag... she was too sweet to ignore!

Big win this week!

In this fast paced world we live in... how is it that TP is a win??? hahaha...

A belated birthday present of these very pretty flowers have brightened up my home.

Righto, Gotto Go.... the morning light has risen and there is coffee to be drunk.....

FNWF

Thank you so much Cheryll for hosting us.... as usual I had a double date sewing with blog friends and then a small group of us at The Quilters Angel...

I did some sewing of tumblers in the day....

These will be little quilts as you can see....

I will square them up after quilting....

Last night with the girls I started sewing down the binding of my flannel postcards quilt.... since there were not many of us I was able to put the heavy quilt on the table and sew away..... almost done so it will be finished by next week....

I have a young man visiting this weekend, footy game this morning then a bit of shopping for essentials like icecream, biscuits and lollies!!!    Toilet paper craziness continues (I have enough for a couple of weeks so not needing but I am just amazed that it is being stockpiled!!  (clearly rumours have scared the #@&* out of people!)  There are reports of brawls in the supermarkets where people are fighting over it!

Righto, Gotto Go..... stitching to do.... movies to watch (Widgets choice is SpongeBob today!  Hope you have a lovely stitchy weekend....

Postcard flimsy.....

I already had some of the blocks sewn together.....

so it didn't take too long to join the rest and we have a finished flimsy.... it is 60 x 70" and fits nicely over my queen size bed

some wideback flannel has been ordered - and then I want to quilt loosely so it will be a soft and snuggly quilt for using in a cold climate....

One of my friends moved to Brisbane a little while ago and I was able to visit her last week.  I had this lovely piece of fabric which seemed perfect for a new home so I made up this little zippy box bag.

I'm not sure if it was my pattern reading skills but it was very fiddly putting in the zip.  I love the look so I will have a search and see if I can find an easier pattern to follow.  I like the quilted look (its not obvious but I used a stipple all over and a firm iron on bag wadding)

Another little Wings block is done.... the ladybirds are sweet 

I have been doing Jane's sampler course on facebook.  Each block has one more piece than the one before to make it increasingly difficult.

The last block in the series is the 12 piece woven block....

The next step will be the sashing.  I laid out my blocks together.... and found some light cream fabric to use for next time...

It has been a fun project to do... and it will be a sweet mini quilt at the end of it all....

Righto, Gotto Go..... Sunday morning coffee to be had.....

Out and About.....

The big garden competition is on during carnival time and Hubz and I went to walk around the Grand Champion...

The roadside was stunning ….

Inside was an explosion of colour….. 

Lots of lovely plants ….. 

These roses were huge.... like the size of a hand huge!

I loved this idea for a border using concrete bricks and filling them with succulents.... 

I am hoping Hubz might take up this idea....

.. and I just looooved this art piece outside the front door..... 

I was also hoping Hubz might take up this idea... (I got a weird look from him at the suggestion!)

WE also went to a winning Rural Garden.... again lots of colour (outside the garden area is just brown dirt - they have bore water and have struggled more this year of course)

A lot of building up to get height and walkways....

We spotted this King parrot just watching the goings on... there was lots of lovely bird sounds in this garden...

We spent ages in this shadehouse/fernery.... we want lots of green in ours one day!! 

Lots of ideas for Hubz to take up!!  Haha... the to do list is growing!! 

During the week I was lucky enough to catch up with Marilyn (Mardi Meanderings blog) who has moved to Toowoomba now.  We did the quilt shows and embroidery show and maybe had a couple of cups of tea and slices also.... so fun 

The embroidery show was just amazing and we spent a few hours there... no photo's allowed but a huge range of embroidery types and incredible 3D work and pulled thread and cross stitch.... really a highlight of the week.  They only put it on every 2 years.

There were 2 main quilt shows, to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed, but it is always great to see them and I very much appreciate the work that goes into getting them together.

I have carried on with hand sewing in the evenings and happy to say I have now done all the hand stitching for my postcards quilt..... just need to cut more fabric and make up more blocks

Another project is already prepared for stitching ….. but first I will work on Wings

A pretty little recent purchase is this needle-minder…. it's a good size and has a pin on the back.

Great for those times when sewing and putting down the needle.... I so often 'forget' where I put mine!

Righto, Gotto Go....  off to prepare a block from Wings to do some needleturn this evening....

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the gardens

School's out....

Carnival is in....

Spring holiday around here is busy busy busy....  last weekends lovely stitching and this weekend is gardens...

 Although there is still a horrible drought the flower festival brings in a lot of income for the city so water is pumped in ...

 

These poppies were outside the Information Centre... of course our local bees are very happy at this time of year

They also had these lovely beds of pansies....

Meantime my lovely stitching cushion has had to be retired.....

you can see why …. it's very tired and most of the stitching is no longer there!

This cushion was made in a round robin stitch-a-long that I did many years ago.... and made lifelong friends as a result

Note to the lovers of EPP - the hexagons have held up very well!

In my own garden the Dendrodiums (spelling) are looking wonderful... such a lovely show - well done to Hubz the gardener

Hubz had some business in Brisbane so I was able to hitch a ride and go and spend a few hours with Michelle...  here we are in front of some of her wonderful art

Car journeys have meant some knitting has been done and a second penguin jumper is completed

… and whilst I was with Michelle, and of course many other evenings I have been working on getting more postcards stitched

I only have 4 more to stitch.... but of course lots of blocks to put together

My son and his youngest daughter are coming to visit in November.... little Miss 4 nearly 5 Grandiegirl has not been before and she (with help from her Mum) made up this lovely date caterpillar.  She can tear off a circle every day to see how many more sleeps to go.

I'm a bit excited!  It's almost 3 years since a cuddle.

Righto, Gotto Go... cuppa time.  Hubz and I visited more places today so I need to sort some pictures.