More Christmas stitching..............

Housework took a holiday this weekend......I sent it away while I did other things!.....I am sure it will be back soon .....! Yesterday morning I braved the weather (two weeks ago we were dealing with 42C - yesterday it was cold, wet and very windy!).......and drove to the Patchwork Apple..........I had to pick up an empty paper bag!! I have joined in the paper bag swap being run by Jane and I guess technically the bag wasn't empty....there were instructions in it.......I have no idea what I am going to do yet....maybe some applique....maybe a stichery......I will have to give it some more thought......!

I stitched this table runner yesterday and finished quilting it today.......it was made using In the Pink II fabric - not my usual colours but I was happy with the way it turned out.....

I bought the "Joy to the World" pattern a couple of years ago and finally got around to starting it tonight........I found the stripe for the "baubles" at Jane's yesterday (well I had to buy something after driving all that way!) and it works perfectly........some machine stitching around the letters and a couple of borders and it will be done.....would be nice to stay home from work tomorrow and do that ..... but I am sure it will still be there waiting for me when I next get the chance to stitch......the background in the pattern is pieced with different beige fabrics...I took a shortcut and used one piece of fabric......

Time I was in bed......early start tomorrow......first workout for the week.......I have managed to shed 4.8kg (10lb) during the past couple of months....a little slower than I had hoped but still movement in the right direction!

'Til next time....................Lorraine

SSCS 2009 ......done and dusted!

I made it to the post office at lunch time to post off my swap parcel to ...............?? I hope Chookyblue has had loads of emails telling her that all the parcels are on their way....and is breathing a little easier tonight....

Last week I ordered Life is Beautiful, the new BOM from Helen Stubbings, and it arrived today.....the presentation is fabulous.....the instructions and stitchery patterns are in the form of a journal.....you can find out more here......... so Merry Christmas to me!

Check it out on Helen's blog......I love stitcheries so this project is perfect....!! I am thinking of using some new hand dyed threads from Cottage Garden Threads I found at Quilt Fabric Delights.........I will be ordering some as soon as Sarah gets some stock in.......they look interesting.....!

I was pleased with the parcel I sent off to my swap partner.....no sneak peeks......I will post some pics after Christmas.....and thanks to Chookyblue for organising the swap once again......!

'Til next time.................Lorraine

Christmas is coming...........

......faster than I can deal with!! November......well that is disappearing at a ridiculously fast rate and will soon be but a memory!......I have thought about decorating.....and it has remained just that ...a thought....the pageant has come and gone....(there is a large Christmas pageant in Adelaide in early November each year when Santa arrives to spend the time up until Christmas in the "magic cave" in a department store in the city.....and when Santa arrives in Adelaide it is time for me to put up the tree and start to decorate for Christmas......)...but he has been there for a week already so I thought today I would make a start.........

.......what do you think! watch this space! LOL....................

'Til next time............Lorraine

Looking for some good things....................

........about the heatwave..............there has to be something..............and I have come up with a couple of things.......

1) it means you can stay indoors the entire weekend - or if you have to get out.......go for a drive in the air conditioned car to an air conditioned quilt shop!

2) it also means you can get the housework done early (if you must!) and spend the rest of the day stitching (once the sewing machine and other necessary items have been moved into the airconditioned dining room) - otherwise give the housework a miss and just sew!

3) and......hot flushes.... you don't notice them - you are just hot all the time......

4)......great chance to catch up on some blog reading...................and I am struggling to find anything else....................!!

Time I was getting upstairs to bring down some sewing paraphenalia .......the dining room is about to be taken over!! Whatever the weather where you are - I hope you have a great weekend......!

'Til next time..................Lorraine

Secret Stitching......

Sunday was spent in the sewing room.......working on secret Santa stuff.......it felt good! I can't show you what I have been working on ...but I will share a couple of pics I took last Friday night - I had a seminar in the city on Thursday and Friday and rather than come home on Friday night the Prince came to the city and we went to the quilt/craft show on Saturday.......it is his birthday today so that was his birthday outing...LOLOL......

There was a great sunset with a jet trail cutting thru it.........

While I was waiting for the Prince to arrive I opened a bottle of "bubbly"....this was mineral water...but it made for some good pics!

We had a leisurely start to the day on Saturday ......watching the rowers on the lake while we had breakfast ........then it was off to the quilt show...........I bought a few patterns and a Sew-Ezy portable sewing table.....this is in preparation for the summer when I will be moving my sewing machine downstairs where the air con is.....and with temps expected to be in the high 30's all week I think I might be sewing downstairs sooner rather than later........! It's a bit early to be this hot ....but not much one can do about the weather....!!

'Til next time.......................Lorraine

The Prince returns!

Thanks everyone for your good wishes! The Prince is home and feeling a lot better now that the blood pressure is under control....wish I could say the same for him...! Three days languishing in hospital with nothing to do was just about too much for him..LOL....so since he has been home he has been finding things to do!......I thought I had pretty much everything done but he has still managed to find stuff! It is wonderful to have him home!

'til next time..............Lorraine

Be Careful What You Wish For!

Who hasn't wished for some extra stitching time......? I know I have..........yesterday I found myself with 12 hours of extra stitching time........but the circumstances were not exactly fun! I had an appointment yesterday morning and on the off chance I would have to wait I threw my little stitching-on-the-go bag into my handbag and off we (the Prince and I) went.............the Prince had been suffering from a headache for three days....I had been nagging him to see someone about it...(that wasn't what caused his headache!!) and after my appointment he was still in a lot of pain so we went to the emergency department of a large hospital about an hour away from home...........................we got there at midday and I left at midnight leaving the Prince hooked up to drips etc to try to bring down his blood pressure....(and no.....it wasn't bought on by seeing my credit card bill!) we had quite a long wait to see the doctor......but once we got in they were certainly very thorough with their investigations......all seems to be ok...the headache has gone.....but they are still monitoring his blood pressure so he is still there.......hopefully to be released tomorrow!

So I had plenty of time to stitch to help pass the time while we sat in the waiting room.........

This is a Kathy Schmitz design and is easy to take along when you go out as it is stitched in one colour (black) so no need to change thread colours........I am a big fan of Kathy's patterns.

Chelsea was pleased to see me home last night and raced past me looking for the Prince......she was most upset when she realised I was on my own....and has been looking for him ever since......she has settled down a bit today but I am sure she will be thrilled to see him home tomorrow........as will I!!

A burst of hot weather has fried a lot of the blossoms and flowers in the garden......we are set for another hot one tomorrow....yikes......hopefully not a sign of a long hot summer!! .....we have a couple more months of Spring yet!

'til next time.........................Lorraine