How lovely it was.....

Such a lovely break in the warm tropics playing with young Jack (and his dad who happens to be a wonderful son)....

the funeral for my nephew Chris was held during this time

very sad to be away from family

we have booked tickets and will be visiting them all in October

will plant a tree

gone but never forgotten

morning walks  

beautiful beaches

making turtle tracks .......

helping Nana sort (?????) the yarn ....

artwork and pelicans at the esplanade 

early morning chats on Nana's bed with the lovely doona cover....

being woken up by the kookaburra's....

buying new curtains for Jacks room....

mending Jacks rugby ball.....

loving the texture of the paper bark trees

sunrise on the early flight home.....

where some fun post was awaiting

will show you next time.....

Righto, Gotto Go.... why didn't the cleaning fairy take advantage of me not being here? - she could've done so much!!!! ....

Nana duties.....

Some things going in the post.....

Cathy's parcel for the Secret Santa Swap...... late for August but early for September....

and including an 'open today' little thing....

I had a couple of swap comittments for August..... my chook fairy light came to inspect....

this is a Fathers Day mini quilt going to the person written on the label ....

and this is my Once A Season Swap for Spring ... this one is going to a different person as you can see by the label ....

I am off to Tropical North Queensland for 10 days.... I HAVE to help with Nana duties.... tough gig...

I'll be playing with Jack

I will be taking a bloggy break - not sure about connection etc there but if possible I will show you some photographs of extensive beaches and warm ocean waves and beautiful forests.....

of course I will take some stitching to do - incase I have time!

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There is a bit of bushland above our house.... this time of year it is a cheerful sight....

The wattles are just lovely.... look at these little balls of yellow fluff

(I don't even care that they give me the sneezes) 

The lavender is looking wonderful too.... lots of bees in there

Righto, Gotto Go.... must find those shorts and sleeveless tops to pack.....  see ya in a couple of weeks

Birdie Stitches.....

Last year I made up the top of this very cute quilt designed by Little Miss Shabby ...

 I used a charm pack of Rural Jardin and had a piece for the border and binding... I bought the red sashing separately .....

Stitcheries were done using 6 threads.... quite hard on the fingers but I did like the effect...

My aloes in the garden are looking stunning at the moment.....

I didn't want to quilt over the stitcheries so I let my feathers flow over onto the unstitched areas of the blocks and the border ...

the cream thread softened the very bold red I had used for the sashing....

I haven't quilted such a large amount of feathers before.... I rather like it....

The posts showing the individual stitcheries I did in detail can all be found HERE and the patterns are still available on LMS page HERE

Another UFO finished .... yay

You know by now I am reasonably environmentally conscious.... there is a very good reason why....

Righto, Gotto Go..... I'm off to find some of that stuff I pay carbon tax for......

Date Loaf and Christmas cards .......

This is a favourite recipe... I remember my mum making these and they would disappear very quickly....  as with all my favourite recipes it is easy peasy...... and yummy scrummy .....

DATE LOAF

500g dates
250g pecan nuts (I often use walnuts or macademia or sunflower - depends what's in the pantry!)
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar (I use less - 1 1/2 cups is plenty)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tsp salt
2 well beaten eggs
2 cups boiling water

• Preheat oven to 180C
• Chop dates small (remove seeds if necessary)
• Put dates in bowl with boiling water, soda, salt and nuts
• Stand for 10 minutes and add sugar, eggs and lastly flour
• Mix well
• Bake in 2 small loaf tins for 1 hour

I like it best the next day when the flavours have set but it's hard to wait that long!!  Thinly sliced with a spread of real butter...... mmmmm

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A squishy arrived this week for me.....

Susan sent me this piece of Japanese style fabric.... it's just lovely.... and is perfect for my quilt.... (though I won't be slicing it for a while... it deserves some stroking and petting !!!)  

thanks Susan..... I love it.......... a pretty card with a lovely message .... 

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I've had a box with 1" red strips hanging around
and I felt like some 'not too much thinking about' sewing

 strip, stitch, slice, stitch.... a bit of left over wadding and some stipple quilting.....

cut out triangles, get an old needle on the machine and stitch to card

add some stars and angels.....

just gotta love a red patchwork Christmas tree.....

those cards are 3" by 4" so rather cute.....

Righto, Gotto Go......  I don't think an explanation is needed...... 

PS....... I did binding yesterday ...... hmmmmmm .... about as yummy as date loaf......

Solace in Stitching.....

Thank you so much for all the wonderful messages I received after my last sad post..... I just can't tell you how meaningful they were and how special your love and friendship is.... a couple of you that sent messages were no reply and I couldn't find an email address so I apologise for not responding... your condolences were so kind....

I am spending quiet days at home ...... having a bit of a cleaning frenzy

skype is wonderful and our different time zones mean we are awake when the other is not able to sleep

..... finding peace in evenings ....

... finishing off some secret swap projects....

... watching buds open  (I just love yellow flowers)

..... smiling at the antics of the galahs.....

......and feathering madly .....

Our Chris is no longer with us in person, but so many things make me think of him, and I can almost hear him laugh when I do silly things in my daze...... like put underwear in the dishcloth drawer!

your thoughts, and prayers and love are so valued... especially for his immediate family... thank you....

Righto, Gotto Go..... coffee, coffee, coffee.........

Sadness .....

Today I am using my blog for a very personal tribute ....

Our nephew passed away this week - a young man with such a kind heart

Christopher David (Sos) 31.03.1991 - 01.08.2012

geography dictates that we aren't able to be with the family at this time

but of course our hearts and thoughts and prayers are constantly with them all

Our lives go on without you

But nothing is the same
We have to hide our heartache
When someone speaks your name
Sad are the hearts that love you
Silent are the tears that fall
Living without you is the hardest part of all
You did so many things for us
Your heart was so kind and true
And when we needed someone
We could always count on you
The special years will not return
When we are all together
But with the love in our hearts
You walk with us forever

Author Unknown

 ..... Overwhelmingly sad .....

goodbye July and HELLO August ....

July is done....

I finished off a few projects .....

(8 for OPAM and 2 were UFO's)

Christmas Mug Rug, StitchALong friendship cushion,

Apple Core baby quilts, flower bouquet cushion, 

Angel Candle-mat,  Glasses case, Santa Sack

The last few evenings I have been blanket stitching my fusion blanket blocks
tutorial from HERE

and a bit of crochet on them

I am making 30 blocks altogether

but now I need to give it a break and stitch a gift ...

or two .....

I love receiving hand made items.... and I get a lot of enjoyment out of making them

it's great to see that hand made clothes are becoming more popular

are you in a swap?  maybe one of these is for you?

Sue is holding a Cushion Swap - registration over HERE if you are interested
I'm still debating with myself!

Righto, Gotta Go... those gifts aren't going to sew themselves