dog wash day



i can not thank our dog washing lady enough......
every month she comes to the house and takes
(mr) darcy for a bath.
i am so thankful.......
because it means i dont have to do it!
he is a giant bundle of muscle and playfulness...
not to mention fur.
gosh he needs a hair-cut....
stay tuned on that one.

toni & guy

just before christmas i had my hair cut short.....
i had close to 10 inches cut off.....
i knew that it meant serious hair-styling every day.....
so needless to say.....

I HAD TO GO SHOPPING

and i found these guys.......
my new best friends......



i love this stuff....

AUSTRALIA DAY

i love this day....
for so many reasons....
we are blessed with freedom, choice, opportunity and so much more in this country

i love our flag and what it stands for and represents....



i love the fact that we have favorites that are uniquely aussie....



i love that a bloke can have a beer if he wants one...



i love that an almost 12 year old can cook the b.b.q.



i love that we can be at the park and the day is perfect and then a v-line train goes rattling past



i love that it's summer and kids get to eat melted icecream and make a mess and no-one really cares, because it's not that big a deal.....



so, i love australia day.......but this year it has taken on a new significance for me as i think of ex-patriots........and wonder what they miss....and yes, this is directed at you marky,

happy australia day

It's summer......right?






What the fog?
This is what i walked out to see on my run this morning.....
Go figure

SNOW.....
i was talking with a friend in canada,who was telling me about how much snow they had last year and showing me photos.......now this friend is an australian who has lived in canada for the past 30 years, so he has seen some snow.......he also knows the australian landscape and climate well.....i told him that we had snow......

once



one day about 3 years ago we had snow and these are the photos to prove it



pretty sad really.....
but all the same.....
SNOW

HOME.....



it is getting so dry again here......
i like the way the grass dies off from the front of the block and gradually down to the house...

we've had some more rain.....



actually, only a little shower....



but it was enough to get #3 all wet from running around in it.
don't you just love kids?
maybe one day i'll run around in the rain....

current project

#3's firefighter quilt

(or as he puts it, firefighter kilt)

cut all of your squares 5 inches

- this is why i loooove moda charm squares

make your template,

remember it's based on half a 5 in charm square

and cut on the diagonal from different points top and bottom

i didn't want to have to trace my template onto the fabric,

so i cheated and taped the diagonal line onto my cutting mat

just make sure you remember your measurements

mine is cut at 1.5 on the top and 3.5 at the bottom,

measuring from the right hand side of the square

as i'm a lefty

this is how you place the fabric prior to cutting

use your ruler to line up the taped line....

and cut on the line to the right of the tape

and keep cutting until all of your squares are done.

now remember, you need 2 color and 2 plain charm squares

to make one block.....

stay tuned for more

FINISHED

i had planned to post this monday night after i finished it,
but it was so hot here.
yesterday was slightly better, but way too hot to be
playing with quilts.
then this morning, the cool change had hit
and i find #2 snuggled under the new quilt
watching t.v., she was none too happy to have her
photo taken.....
i'm just glad that my new quilt is appreciated

he's home





gosh i missed him.....didn't even mind the smell too much.......
the dirt took a couple of washes to get off......

another finished

i finally finished this one....

well i had finished it ages ago, but i was NEVER

happy with how it looked.....

so it sat folded in my craft room.....

always in the back of my mind, that i HAD

to unpick and re-quilt it....

so i kept putting it off

and starting other projects,

anything to avoid it.

but the day came and i sat

and undid all the work from months ago.....

and now i really like it and i'm happy with it.

(thank you Rachel p.s. i quilt for the inspiration)

current project

i was so anxious for this to arrive, it did after christmas

and it sat for the few days while we were busy making

merry and bright.......

after i had finished the tessellating pinwheel,

i was keen to try another tessellating pattern....

this is my version, with the general,

of a tessellating whirlygiggle....

stay tuned for photos of the finished quilt....

show me the money

Sam got his money for his trip today.......

it is all very exciting -

I think he is almost counting sleeps.

We are still waiting for his race tickets

to arrive in the mail, along with his visa.

He has everything else and then it will be

up, up and away.....

to the U.S.A.

shockingly wicked

I mentioned in an earlier post

about our cat - Lucy and how she likes to

well, ummm h.e.l.p. me when I'm sewing.

I think I would prefer it if she didn't h.e.l.p. so much.....

wouldn't you just love to know
what is going through that cute little cat head of hers?
What could possibly interest her in the box of machine accessories?





And now she hangs her head in shame.....
right in front of me and my beloved sewing machine.

Perhaps I should teach her how to sew......

FINISHED

so this is it,

my tessellating pinwheel or whirlygiggle

I love it.

I am really pleased with the colours - I just loooove Blackbird Designs fabrics.

Gone.....

#1 could hardly contain his excitement this morning as today was the day he had been working towards and waiting for for along time.....his bags were packed and everything was named - including his undies and socks......

he's left for Jamboree, 12 days away from home, camping, meeting new people and experiencing new things. He will be one of 13,000 scouts at Cataract Park in N.S.W.