Who stole it????

........the time, that is!!!  I know I've been missing for a little bit (and haven't I noticed it!?), but I just looked at my calendar and discovered it's been  over a month since my last post!!!......I'm sure some nasty thief must have come and stolen some of that time away....I couldn't possibly have been gone THAT long!!!!!

Well, I have missed you all, having quite a few things going on here, particularly work obligations that are taking up ALL of my time, with very little left to scratch let alone stitch and a computer that didn't like to work (extemes!!)....so it has been pretty barren here on the crafty scene. 
But my dear lovely bloggy friends didn't forget me and emailed me to check that all was ok.  It gave me the push I needed to get my priorities in order and get back into my blogging.....I have felt a little mmaaaahhhh, and couldn't put my finger on it but when I sat back and put some thought into it, I realised there is so much stress release in stitching, sewing and blogging.........and I'd been missing all three!  Aaaah, I'm so glad I'm back!  I've been popping onto a few blogs to see what you are all up to...just sneaking in to catch up, and boy oh boy...have I got a lot to catch up on......what can happen in a month!!!!!!  I must add that blogland is the most wonderful place, full of the most wonderful, caring people......I love youse all !!!!!

I didn't NOT do any sewing this month.....I squeezed in two things, but only remembered to take a photo of one!!!  Here 'tis:

Can you see my dove orchids flowering???....yes, it did rain soon after!

This was a birthday gift for a non-bloggy friend of mine.  I used a Moda charm squares block and threw in two extra squares from my stash as there just wasn't quite enough!  She said she loved it so much it had prompted her to get back into her stitching which she hasn't done for years.....now that's some compliment!!!

The other item I made was a small wall hanging which I made for a friend who was having a Relay for Life Cancer fundraiser.  I was in such a hurry to get it to her that I forgot to take a photo of it (silly me!!)  She did say she'd take a photo for me but she hasn't sent it to me yet so I can't show you......sorry!!!!

I had a lovely visit the other week as I looked out my window.........

isn't he beautiful??   This kingfisher stayed just long enough for me to take a photo of him and then flew away.....he must have known.....what a profile!!!!!

And I just have to end with a lovely gift one of our friends from Bowen grew for me from a cutting.....

.....isn't she clever?????  It flowered soon after it arrived and is still doing very well.

Well, must prepare the rest of the roast chicken dinner we're making to share with some friends.......wish we had smell-o-puter.......you'd be salivating!!!!......smells yuuuuuuuummmy!
Hubby's made his bewdiful oxtail pasta sauce for spaghetti to accompany our meal, garlic bread and  we're going to finish it off with a choice of chocolate bavarian or fruit salad, followed by a cheese platter!     Oooooooo, I can already feel the bursting seams!!!!!

Great big sugary hugs......(got a lot to catch up on!!)
XX Wendy :O)

Who stole it????

........the time, that is!!!  I know I've been missing for a little bit (and haven't I noticed it!?), but I just looked at my calendar and discovered it's been  over a month since my last post!!!......I'm sure some nasty thief must have come and stolen some of that time away....I couldn't possibly have been gone THAT long!!!!!

Well, I have missed you all, having quite a few things going on here, particularly work obligations that are taking up ALL of my time, with very little left to scratch let alone stitch and a computer that didn't like to work (extemes!!)....so it has been pretty barren here on the crafty scene. 
But my dear lovely bloggy friends didn't forget me and emailed me to check that all was ok.  It gave me the push I needed to get my priorities in order and get back into my blogging.....I have felt a little mmaaaahhhh, and couldn't put my finger on it but when I sat back and put some thought into it, I realised there is so much stress release in stitching, sewing and blogging.........and I'd been missing all three!  Aaaah, I'm so glad I'm back!  I've been popping onto a few blogs to see what you are all up to...just sneaking in to catch up, and boy oh boy...have I got a lot to catch up on......what can happen in a month!!!!!!  I must add that blogland is the most wonderful place, full of the most wonderful, caring people......I love youse all !!!!!

I didn't NOT do any sewing this month.....I squeezed in two things, but only remembered to take a photo of one!!!  Here 'tis:

Can you see my dove orchids flowering???....yes, it did rain soon after!

This was a birthday gift for a non-bloggy friend of mine.  I used a Moda charm squares block and threw in two extra squares from my stash as there just wasn't quite enough!  She said she loved it so much it had prompted her to get back into her stitching which she hasn't done for years.....now that's some compliment!!!

The other item I made was a small wall hanging which I made for a friend who was having a Relay for Life Cancer fundraiser.  I was in such a hurry to get it to her that I forgot to take a photo of it (silly me!!)  She did say she'd take a photo for me but she hasn't sent it to me yet so I can't show you......sorry!!!!

I had a lovely visit the other week as I looked out my window.........

isn't he beautiful??   This kingfisher stayed just long enough for me to take a photo of him and then flew away.....he must have known.....what a profile!!!!!

And I just have to end with a lovely gift one of our friends from Bowen grew for me from a cutting.....

.....isn't she clever?????  It flowered soon after it arrived and is still doing very well.

Well, must prepare the rest of the roast chicken dinner we're making to share with some friends.......wish we had smell-o-puter.......you'd be salivating!!!!......smells yuuuuuuuummmy!
Hubby's made his bewdiful oxtail pasta sauce for spaghetti to accompany our meal, garlic bread and  we're going to finish it off with a choice of chocolate bavarian or fruit salad, followed by a cheese platter!     Oooooooo, I can already feel the bursting seams!!!!!

Great big sugary hugs......(got a lot to catch up on!!)
XX Wendy :O)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

....a million times, Thank you!
Your prayers worked, and although Ului was upgraded to a category 3 cyclone before it reached land, it didn't do too much damaged, thank God!!!!
We had barely a stir, at midnight the wind was just moving the treetops at our place.  We were a bit tense though because despite all best efforts to report their movements, cyclones do tend to have a mind of their own and at the last minute can zip to wherever they want!!!  However Ului looked like the veritable tourist and wanted to visit Airlie Beach.....who wouldn't this time of year!!!  Such a beautiful resort town, a drop off point for the wonderful sandy islands of the Whitsundays!!!!

                     Before:

Hayman Island, where winds reached 202km/hr (sorry for the sketchy photo:O( )

and After:

(photos courtesy of ABC online)

But he was like the nasty visitor who leaves scuff marks on the carpet and spits food all over the table, Ului was not the 'nicest' visitor to the tourist resort....however, there have been worse!!!

We are about an hour and a half north of Airlie so, being on the northside of the 'blow', we didn't get any rain and very little wind...well, nothing out of the ordinary for a typical blowy day!

And again, thank you, thank you, thank you again for all your prayers because, despite the havoc that he wreaked, there was not a single injury or death ....it wasn't too bad in the big scheme of things!!!!

To take my mind off it, I worked on my Baseco Mahal Kita bag...you know, the one Dawn Hay designed and is selling to fundraise for the less than fortunate people of Manila who have nothing of their own and scrounge off the rubbish dumps.   You can get your's here, but here's my finished version in Aster Manor by Moda (I decided to change it from my previous fabrics because they were a bit pale for me with my reputation as a 'grub' hee hee.  I'm always the one to spill something if I'm wearing white and my husband always says to visitors, "You can dress her up, but you can't take her out"....ah well, c'est la vie!!!)

The button I used was a pretty ceramic one I picked up on Ebay last year....just waiting for the right project!!!!

So that's one more to add to my OPAM challenge for March and one to add to Jenny's 5" Charm Challenge for March too!!  Yippee!!!!

Last weekend, I spent at a workshop with Robyn Ginn.  We learned the skills to do the Scattered FabricTiles project that was featured in Patchwork & Quilting Applique Special Vol 18 No 1. 

Totally oblivious to what this workshop involved, we all came armed with mountains of fabric and our sewing machines to discover it was all hand applique and embroidery!! 

It was a very short time before we got over the initial shock as Robyn talked about her quilting journey and spent time with each of us teaching us her design....we had such a great time, the weekend was over far too soon!

Here's Robyn talking with Patti and Chris

She is a remarkable lady and has such a positive outlook! I can’t wait till we have her back again, although it may take me that long to finish this design!!!!.....I’m a little slow on the hand stitching!  (And I forgot to take photos of what I'd done, so that will have to come next time!)

…and yes, Kris, I did say Hi from you, and Robyn got a wistful look in her eye and told me lovely stories about the two of you!!!!!  Happy bearday, my beary lovely bloggy friend! XOXOXOXO...one of each for each decade!!!!!

Have a veeeery lovely week everyone...may the power of prayer be with each and every one of you!

XX sugary hugs

Wendy :O)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

....a million times, Thank you!
Your prayers worked, and although Ului was upgraded to a category 3 cyclone before it reached land, it didn't do too much damaged, thank God!!!!
We had barely a stir, at midnight the wind was just moving the treetops at our place.  We were a bit tense though because despite all best efforts to report their movements, cyclones do tend to have a mind of their own and at the last minute can zip to wherever they want!!!  However Ului looked like the veritable tourist and wanted to visit Airlie Beach.....who wouldn't this time of year!!!  Such a beautiful resort town, a drop off point for the wonderful sandy islands of the Whitsundays!!!!

                     Before:

Hayman Island, where winds reached 202km/hr (sorry for the sketchy photo:O( )

and After:

(photos courtesy of ABC online)

But he was like the nasty visitor who leaves scuff marks on the carpet and spits food all over the table, Ului was not the 'nicest' visitor to the tourist resort....however, there have been worse!!!

We are about an hour and a half north of Airlie so, being on the northside of the 'blow', we didn't get any rain and very little wind...well, nothing out of the ordinary for a typical blowy day!

And again, thank you, thank you, thank you again for all your prayers because, despite the havoc that he wreaked, there was not a single injury or death ....it wasn't too bad in the big scheme of things!!!!

To take my mind off it, I worked on my Baseco Mahal Kita bag...you know, the one Dawn Hay designed and is selling to fundraise for the less than fortunate people of Manila who have nothing of their own and scrounge off the rubbish dumps.   You can get your's here, but here's my finished version in Aster Manor by Moda (I decided to change it from my previous fabrics because they were a bit pale for me with my reputation as a 'grub' hee hee.  I'm always the one to spill something if I'm wearing white and my husband always says to visitors, "You can dress her up, but you can't take her out"....ah well, c'est la vie!!!)

The button I used was a pretty ceramic one I picked up on Ebay last year....just waiting for the right project!!!!

So that's one more to add to my OPAM challenge for March and one to add to Jenny's 5" Charm Challenge for March too!!  Yippee!!!!

Last weekend, I spent at a workshop with Robyn Ginn.  We learned the skills to do the Scattered FabricTiles project that was featured in Patchwork & Quilting Applique Special Vol 18 No 1. 

Totally oblivious to what this workshop involved, we all came armed with mountains of fabric and our sewing machines to discover it was all hand applique and embroidery!! 

It was a very short time before we got over the initial shock as Robyn talked about her quilting journey and spent time with each of us teaching us her design....we had such a great time, the weekend was over far too soon!

Here's Robyn talking with Patti and Chris

She is a remarkable lady and has such a positive outlook! I can’t wait till we have her back again, although it may take me that long to finish this design!!!!.....I’m a little slow on the hand stitching!  (And I forgot to take photos of what I'd done, so that will have to come next time!)

…and yes, Kris, I did say Hi from you, and Robyn got a wistful look in her eye and told me lovely stories about the two of you!!!!!  Happy bearday, my beary lovely bloggy friend! XOXOXOXO...one of each for each decade!!!!!

Have a veeeery lovely week everyone...may the power of prayer be with each and every one of you!

XX sugary hugs

Wendy :O)

Preparations for Ului

Sorry I've been missing again......so much to do around here with the impending cyclone Ului aiming straight at us (according to all the news reports to date!)  Not much time to report on crafty issues...that will have to wait!  A cyclone watch has been put in place for areas between Cardwell and Yeppoon........

Fingers crossed it will change direction and head back out to sea but it's not looking promising!

Tomorrow at work we are going to move everything from near windows, turn all electrical items off and move books and bookshelves away from beneath windows....our school is an old wooden one that has withstood cyclones before, but the windows are a bit ratchity and I'm sure it wouldn't take much of a blow to break the latches and take all our schoolwork with it!!!

Our local shire council has opened up the rubbish dump for everyone to take their loose timber and iron and is encouraging everyone to clear their yards of any debris that could become airborne and have their cylcone packs ready - batteries, candles, radio, canned food and milk, water etc etc.  The shops were buzzing this afternoon with many things selling out quickly.  Our rural fire brigade and State Emergency Service have been put on watch and text messages have been sent to all members to be prepared.

Despite all this, we really don't know if it will hit us.....these wild winds do tend to have a mind of their own!!!!  ....but if it goes as predicted, it looks like we will be locked inside Saturday night/Sunday morning!  Hopefully we'll have some good news before then!

Please send all  prayers and good wishes our way to at least keep everyone safe, while nature takes its course!   I know I will be!!!

Sugary hugs
XX Wendy :O)

Preparations for Ului

Sorry I've been missing again......so much to do around here with the impending cyclone Ului aiming straight at us (according to all the news reports to date!)  Not much time to report on crafty issues...that will have to wait!  A cyclone watch has been put in place for areas between Cardwell and Yeppoon........

Fingers crossed it will change direction and head back out to sea but it's not looking promising!

Tomorrow at work we are going to move everything from near windows, turn all electrical items off and move books and bookshelves away from beneath windows....our school is an old wooden one that has withstood cyclones before, but the windows are a bit ratchity and I'm sure it wouldn't take much of a blow to break the latches and take all our schoolwork with it!!!

Our local shire council has opened up the rubbish dump for everyone to take their loose timber and iron and is encouraging everyone to clear their yards of any debris that could become airborne and have their cylcone packs ready - batteries, candles, radio, canned food and milk, water etc etc.  The shops were buzzing this afternoon with many things selling out quickly.  Our rural fire brigade and State Emergency Service have been put on watch and text messages have been sent to all members to be prepared.

Despite all this, we really don't know if it will hit us.....these wild winds do tend to have a mind of their own!!!!  ....but if it goes as predicted, it looks like we will be locked inside Saturday night/Sunday morning!  Hopefully we'll have some good news before then!

Please send all  prayers and good wishes our way to at least keep everyone safe, while nature takes its course!   I know I will be!!!

Sugary hugs
XX Wendy :O)

So much for big plans and a giveaway!!

Well, this weekend all good plans were laid to rest as our visitors decided that it was high time they spent a little more time with us, so......not only were they here Friday night, but they're staying till tomorrow morning, after which they begin their long 8 hour drive home.

Now, I'm not complaining....it was wonderful to spend time with them and catch up on all that's been happening, but I was itching to get stuck into the Baseco bag that the lovely Dawn has designed to help those less fortunate in Manila and I had planned to get it finished by today..........no chance!!!  I did get the stitchery part done though, and figure out what fabric I was going to use...it's from the Old Primrose Mill range by Moda.  I bought a Moda Scrap Bag ages ago and was just waiting for the right project....I think this is just perfect!

 

  

I did HAVE to finish something for my friend, Erin’s birthday tomorrow so I do have my first OPAM finish for March….Yippee!!!  I do hope she likes it…her family breeds birds so I thought a bird nesting on her fence would be appropriate!!??

 

Do you think she’ll like it??

I thought I’d get started on Vicki’s Flirty Flowers (I love that name!!) block for March whilst our visitors went to a family barbeque this afternoon and manages to sneak this in….

it’s not nearly finished yet as it has to be stitched down and embellished but at least it’s started!  Don’t forget to go and visit Vicki here and wish her a happy birthday.  Her blog has turned two and there’s a giveaway to be had….it closes on March 11 so....you know what to do!!

  

As you know we’ve had quite a bit of rain but it has been clear for the past few days, which has brought out the insects, which in turn has brought out these critters…………..

I’ve just discovered macro on my camera and thought I’d get a shot of these fellows on my window…aren’t they cute?   However they are very messy so I don’t love them quite as much as one little chap on my grade one playground duty!   Each Friday the children run up to me to tell me he has ANOTHER green frog and is chasing the girls with it!!!!.....aaaaaaah,  young love!!!

When we had a break in the rain last week, I thought I’d go out and snap a couple of photos and try the macro and super macro modes out in my garden.  Now I’m not the greatest photographer but am I loving all these nifty little gadgets on my camera??!!!!!

I even snapped this little guy on my potted lilies……..

And this little critter……well he just makes me smile!!!!!

Sugary hugs to all

XX Wendy :O)