One from the road :)

Just popping in to wish you all peace, prosperity and lots of good times in 2012!

I'm enjoying an unexpected holiday and will be back to normal blogging very soon.


So all the best for the New Year and I'll be home before you know it!

Until then...

TTFN xxx

December Daily Days 10, 11 and 12

I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

Another 3 days of December completed, and since I only document up to the 24th of December, that makes me about halfway! WOOHOOOOO!

Day 10 was another night of fun and friendship with our "3 of Us" get-together, this month at my house. I can't say I got much sewing done, but Tracey and Linda both completed their Sweetwater Label Crew Christmas banner.

For the record though....

...mine is now finished and adding some festive cheer to my kitchen cabinet :)

Day 11 was the end of a very busy week, and after some morning shopping and a Netball wind-up party, we dragged out a mattress and some pillows, and relaxed with a DVD.

On Day 12 I documented my new sparkly baubles :)

Hope you are having a great day...not many sleeps to go!

TTFN xxx

December Daily Days 7 , 8 and 9

You could be forgiven for thinking I had abandoned my December Daily album...and I'm almost ashamed to admit that the thought had crossed my mind :) December has been crazy-busy around here (as it probably has been at your house too!)and I really haven't had the time or the energy to keep things as up-to-date as I would like.

However, thankfully, I have been keeping up with my photo taking (well, almost) so I'm hoping to catch up in the next couple of days.

Wish me luck.

Day 7 included a visit to the K-Mart Wishing Tree...

...I kept the brochure to explain what it's all about.

I'm hoping to make placing a gift under the tree an annual tradition, and documenting it can serve as a gentle reminder for next year.

Day 8 is Lydia's Senior Book Award Assembly...the photos I took weren't great, but that's all a part of life, isn't it?

Day 9 was a catch-up day for me (and a day off...YAY!), and a chance to get some presents wrapped and under our Christmas Tree.

Still lots of days to document...better get into it!

TTFN xxx

Thought for the day...Christmas Edition

This is about where I'm at right now...LOL

I've officially started my Christmas holidays this afternoon, so I'm hoping to "get my Christmas on" in the next couple of days. Christmas wrapping, Christmas posting, Christmas entertaining, Christmas baking, Christmas menu planning....oh, and I probably should think about those Christmas cards...oops!

How are you tracking with your Christmas preparations?

TTFN xxx

Twinkle

Sometimes it really is the smallest things that bring the most pleasure :)

I love looking at all the Christmas ideas floating around blogland, in magazines and on Pinterest, and this year I had convinced myself that I would decorate our Christmas tree entirely in white. Can you imagine it? Heavenly :)

Trouble is, as soon as the tree decorations came out, I was reminded a) how much I love traditional red and green and b) how many memories are tied up in my childrens hand made artwork that always adorns our tree. I realised that a designer-look tree might be some years away yet :)

I had some leftover gold twinkle baubles from another project, so put them to work on the tiny little tree that sits on the bookcase just outside my bedroom door. I attached them with white satin ribbons, added some white accessories, and VOILA!

For the bargain price of 90 cents,I have a white Christmas tree all of my very own :) ...the whole pack of coloured baubles only cost me $2.80.

Love an extra bit of Christmas twinkle.

TTFN xxx

December Daily Days 5 and 6

More December days documented :)

I was hoping to catch up with my album today, but got caught up with my gift wrapping instead...just a little more present shopping to do and I can start thinking about the food....which is the fun bit!

Day 6 is a little story about a new advent activity we are doing this year.

I gift wrapped all of our Christmas books (and added a couple to make enough) and put a number on each of them, thinking that we would count down with a book each night...simple, right?

Well, no actually, because I wasn't here on the 1st night (I was at a meeting) and the whole concept of counting down...which you would think my kids would have well-and-truly down pat by now...got kind of mixed up. I didn't cotton on to this until Day 4 , when I went looking for Book 21 and came across Book 24. And Book 1. And a couple of other numbers that didn't make sense LOL. The last few nights we've tried to get a new system going, but I relented and made new numbered stars this morning :)

Never leave the 7 year old in charge of the advents!

Day 7 was a rainy, stormy day and I unexpectedly came home from work early. The photo is the park across the road from our house. The "lake" only appears after long periods of rain, and the ducks from the other lakes in the park all flock to the "new" lake. Watching the rain and the ducks, in an unexpected little pocket of time all to myself, was the highlight of my day :)

That's all for now...

TTFN xxx

December Daily Days 3 and 4

A couple more pages to show you today... still not quite managing to keep up :) Maybe tomorrow?

Day 3 saw my hubby and I off to his work Christmas party at Ascot Racecourse. I think the highlight of the day was watching him stagger in the door quite a few hours after me...the kids thought it was hilarious that Daddy got a bit tipsy! Tis the season...LOL!

Day 4 was our local Carols by Candlelight...

...have to say it was a little disappointing, so I chose not to journal too much. We are hoping to attend the BIG Carols in Perth City a bit closer to Christmas, so there is more caroling in our future :)

Have a great day, and thanks so much for visiting! If you are doing December Daily this year, please leave a comment so I can take a peek at yours ;)

TTFN xxx

December Daily... Days 1 and 2.

I thought it was about time I started sharing some of my December Daily pages...not that I'm up-to-date or anything like that LOL...but I have made a start :)

Day 1 was all about the Advent Calendars...as always on December 1. (I ended up changing the design of my filler pages from the one I showed you earlier)

The card in the middle contains lots of journaling about my thoughts on Christmas so far...not really for public viewing, but recorded. It's a bit of a joke, actually, since on December 1st I was feeling anything BUT calm.

I'm hoping to focus on just one story each day, whether it be Christmas related or not, so Day 2 is all about Merryn discovering her first wobbly tooth.

I love recording these little snippets of daily life, which makes me think I'm going to LOVE Project Life :)

That's it so far. I've printed out some more photos for the next few days of pages, and have been writing my journaling each night, so check back again soon!

TTFN xx

EXCITING!

There are so so many things I should be blogging about today....like Farmers Wife Friday blocks, or advent calendars that we are working through each day (there are a few LOL), or completed blocks from A Family Gathering, or even 4 days worth of December Daily pages...but my exciting news of the day is THIS...

...WOOOHOOOOOOOOO! After months of waiting, and anticipating, and more waiting, my Project Life kit for 2012 arrived on my doorstep this morning! WOOOHOOOOOO!

Please excuse my lack of hair product/makeup/jewellery etc LOL..I was just out of the shower when my doorbell rang, and I HAD to stop everything to open my parcels.

My husband was on hand to take the photo, and casually mentioned that he wished that something he bought me could cause as much excitement!

Excited? Oooooh yes...VERY excited!

Are you doing Project Life next year?

TTFN xxx

December Daily...a start!

I woke up this morning faced with that horrible question...which direction do I run in first? It's almost December, my to-do list is out of control, the diary is filling up fast, and I'm feeling the time slipping away!

I pondered the situation over some chocolate and a cup of tea (as you do), and decided that I had to

a) breathe
b) write a new list and
c) pick one thing off that list and make a start!

I picked the one thing that was bothering me the most (after choosing to ignore the laundry) and that thing was December Daily. I always do December Daily. It wouldn't be December without December Daily. But without a cover, or a theme, or a size, or even a clue how I was going to attack it this year, December Daily was looking a bit grim.

I went to the stash...

...and found some old 8x8 page protectors that needed using up. I based the size of the album on that! I thought I was going to do a classic white album this year...but the red polkadots took over :) They do that a lot.

So with the cover started...it's just paper at the moment, no chipboard yet...I started some interior pages. Just the basics, but a start, nevertheless.

Simple, but workable.

And all of a sudden, the panic is starting to subside.

Thank goodness...it's not even December yet!

TTFN xxx

Bliss...the Photo Shoot!

A photo shoot can only mean one thing...

...my Bliss quilt is officially finished! WOOOHOOOOOOOO!

I may or may not have gone a little crazy on the photos....

...and my neighbours (and several passers-by) may or may not think I have lost my mind :)

But I really don't care...it's not every day that you finish a quilt :)

And by finish, I mean it even has a quilt label! I cheated a bit, and made it out of some leftover pieces from the quilt...ties it in to the front, don't you think?

This quilt is just for me, despite the many attempts by my girls to claim it as their own. For now, it will sit on my bed...or my lounge chair...or wherever I can look at it the best :)

Sigh...I love my Bliss quilt.

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday - The Friendship Edition

Hello, Happy Thanksgiving (for those of you who celebrate) and welcome to another edition of Farmers Wife Friday!

I am thrilled to announce that my printer is now fixed (thank you Leisa xxx) and I am back to normal programming...and even on time this week :)

My blocks this week are all about Friendship, which seems sort of appropriate on Thanksgiving, because I am so so thankful for my friends...my in-real-life friends, my childhood friends, my oldest and dearest friends, my blogging friends, my online friends. You enrich my life in so many ways, and I would be lost without you!

So without further ado, we have Block 39, Friendship...

...as you can see, I'm going with the same-print/different colourway thing again this week :)

Block 40 is called Friendship Block...

The two of them together (with a tease of the quilting pattern on my Bliss quilt...it's yummy!)

I have quite a nice little stack of blocks now...I could look at them all day, really :)

But NO...there is binding to be sewn on...dreaded binding...blah! Have I mentioned before how much I dislike sewing binding on? Especially on really hot days. Anyhoo...back to it...

TTFN xxx

Polka-dottie :)

It could be that my polkadot radar is on very high alert lately...or maybe I've been in the shops a little more than usual (it is nearly Christmas, after all)...but I'm finding it almost impossible to come home from shopping without a new addition to my polkadot collection!

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I spied this classic water jug in Myer recently...

...even better, it's part of a whole collection of polkadot loveliness! There are dinner plates and dessert plates, cups and saucers and teapots, in purple and red and green and yellow...sigh :)

Then there's the oversized teacup and saucer plant pot...

...oh so cute! I found it at my local Thingz store :)

And I can never leave Typo without a bag in my hand :) They have all sorts of polkadots happening, from i-Pad sleeves to mushrooms to giftwrap to paper lanterns. Heaven.

A little something to note: these polkadottie goodies were taken outside for photographic purposes only :) My husband has forbidden me from extending the polkadot theme into his outdoor domain...I wonder why? LOL

TTFN xxx

Simple mathematics :)

You know what I'm thinking?

Moda + Christmas = FUN!

Go here for details.

There's always something new and exciting to keep our fingers busy, isn't there?

TTFN xxx

Some More of My Favourite Things :)

There is probably nothing more addictive for me than working on a new project (other than chocolate, of course!)

The colours and patterns are all new, and there is still that little buzz of excitement I get when I pull them out of my work basket :)

Of course, all this "playing with new things" means that my other projects can be a little neglected.

Luckily, our Stitch-a-Long group has a work plan...a plan of attack. This means that, now that my blue jeans and my suitcase blocks are complete, I have to put this little project away until the end of December...

...which can only be a good thing for my to-do list :)

TTFN xxx

A Day in the Hills.

Lots to love about today :)

I picked up my two quilts...A Gardeners Journal and Bliss...from the quilters, and am thrilled with them! I'll be sure to show you when the binding and quilt labels go on.


The quilter lives quite a long way from my house, so I took the family (plus an extra child) with me, along with a picnic lunch and my camera...

We found some waterfalls, had a little nature walk and paddled our feet in crisp, clear streams.

We climbed trees, in spite of wearing pretty dresses :) ...and were thankful that Daddy was there to help us down!

We found the most awesome fish, and divine roses, and inspiring gardens, thanks to some quick texting to a friend with local knowledge (thanks E!)

We drank iced chocolates, laughed lots, and explored another part of our beautiful city.

Lots to love about a lazy Sunday!

TTFN xxx

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday - The Re-do Edition

I've been mucking around with my Farmers Wife blocks since...well...Friday :) It's been one of those little exercises in frustration rather than joy this week, where points didn't want to match up and colours didn't look right.

I started off doing Block 27 Darting Birds. The colours looked great, but after putting the 52 pieces together, I realized that some of the points weren't so great. That was Friday, and other more exciting things beckoned (like shopping at IKEA, and having a crafty catchup with Linda and Tracey) so my blocks were abandoned.

Saturday dawned, and I started off with Block 50 Honey's Choice...

I was inspired by Kristyne over at Pretty By Hand with my colour choices...she's been making a couple of blocks with the same pattern in different colourways, and they look awesome! I had to add a piece of Rose Parade in the centre, just to tie in with the rest of my blocks :)

I showed my blocks to the girls on Friday night, and they agreed that my blocks-with-white were MUCH nicer than my blocks-without-white. So rather than persevere with my Darting Birds (which still didn't want to play nice!)I remade Block 29 Economy...

This one is MUCH MUCH nicer than the original...which even Linda suggested that I bin!

I probably should try to make a few catch-up blocks during the week, but time is a bit limited...and the quilter rang last night to tell me that she has finished , not one, but TWO quilts for me! WOOHOOOOOO...I see some binding in my future :)

TTFN xxx

About Christmas cards...

I've made a little start on my Christmas cards...and I'm feeling pretty happy about that :) I actually considered not making them at all this year, but my sense of tradition took over once more (such a sucker for tradition!)

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know I usually make a couple of different types of cards for Christmas...a newsletter card for friends and relatives in far-off places (usually with a photo enclosed) , and a normal card for those that are close by. I started with the newsletter card...

Making the sample is probably the hardest part...so many decisions! After that, it's easy to create a production line, crank up the printer, and whip them out. Sounds easy, huh?

So, what I really want to know is...do you send out Christmas cards? Do you wait until you receive a card from someone before you send them one back? And do you continue to send people cards, even if they never ever send you one? Burning questions, I know...would love to hear your thoughts :)

TTFN xxx

Pretty potholders

My desk was in need of a tidy...badly in need of a tidy. It was getting to the point where I couldn't find my double-sided tape. Or my scissors. Or my sewing machine :)

So rather than just shift unfinished projects around (as I normally do), I decided this morning to go for a finish...and my eyes landed on a
Label Crew project that has been taking up desk space for months!

I started these potholders a few months back at a "3 Of US" crafty evening, and they have occupied a space on my desk ever since.

That happens quite a lot around here :)

They are designed as a gift set, complete with banner, which is rather cute. I'm thinking they might make a nice Christmas gift for a teacher, wrapped with some other kitchen-type goodies, like tea towels. Or jams. Or utensils.

Or not :)

They do match my teapot quite nicely, don't they? hee hee

TTFN xxx

A lovely distraction :)

There are so many things I should have been doing today...boring things like mopping floors and doing laundry...but I chose to play with my Some Kind of Wonderful quilt instead :)

I didn't plan for it to take all day, but cutting little 1 1/2 inch squares of each and every fabric took some time (what a shame!)

And there was a little embroidery to finish off too. I decided to go with blanket stitch for this quilt for a couple of reasons...I love the texture, I love matching thread colours, and I can do it neatly (unlike needleturn, which I am not so good at!)

I've thrown some blue fabric in there, because I really want my blue jean block (coming up next) to have blue jeans :)

Just a couple more blocks to go, and I've done the first row...which is due to be finished by the end of December. Love that feeling of being up-to-date...at least with one of my projects, anyway :)

The funny thing about housework...it will still be there tomorrow :)

TTFN xxx

Farmers Wife Friday

Here they are...and on time this week!

First up is Block 48 Homeward Bound...

...I'm still out of sequence due to printer problems, but grateful that I can still make blocks with the templates I have :)

Block 46 is called Hill & Valley...

...a rather strange looking block, don't you think?

You may also notice that I'm back to using white background fabrics again. I've always said the ones with white are my favourites, and I'm now thinking maybe I should use white in all my blocks...LOL...what do you think? Maybe I should lay them all out and have another look? The indecision that I'm experiencing with this quilt is slowly doing my head in!

Have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for visiting :)

TTFN xxx