My latest creation...

I've been a busy little beaver when it comes to doing some crocheting lately!  I saw a post on a blog called Attic24, and it was for a striped tote bag, with funky handles with sweet little flower motifs on them, and I decided it was going to be my next project, so I've been working on it ever since.

I get the stops & the starts, and the weekend before last at sewing I took my quilt to pin, but only managed to take a pack of 30 pins - I had thought it was at least 60... so it took me an hour of fluffing around to finish pinning the quilt, then I picked up the bag again. 

Well - before you know it, I had done quite a bit.  In the quiet here last week during all the rain, I did quite a bit more.  When I couldn't sleep at midnight last night, I finished off the flower motifs, today at lunch time I went and picked up the buttons for the centre of the flowers, and then while I was defrosting dinner, I've sat down and finished it all!!! 

Wanna see????

I love how it has a zig zag pattern in it - I used Lily Sugar 'n Cream in Fairy Lights or some other such whimsical name... It did the pattern all by itself!!!

I also need to show you some pictures of some Ginger and other flowers that I took at the Buderim Ginger Factory Ginger Flower & Food Festival on Saturday... absolutely spectacular!!!

Can you see it's tongues poking out???

It was a lovely day, and I got some yummy recipes too - very very easy and delish!  I've tried one of the sweet ones, and I will share them with you soon... 

Isn't mother nature wonderful???

On my mind... the results of my weekend away concentrating on my sewing!

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join, courtesy of Rhonda's Down to Earth Blog. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY. If you're in another country you should join in when you read this, even if it's still Thursday.

To take part, all you have to do is post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Rhonda's blog. Please visit all the blogs that appeal to you and leave a comment. Slow down, take the time to cruise around and enjoy your cyber visits.

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I had such a lovely weekend away with the ladies from sewing group! 



It wasn't all hard work!!!!!



First of all, I made a pair of pants for my good friend Victoria.  She had a stroke several years ago, and it left her with her left arm paralysed and she also needs a stick to walk with.  She has made a miraculous recovery, and now lives on her own with a small amount of community assistance.  Anyway, I was getting some material together to make a pair of pants for myself, and she said that she would like a pair herself, but needed a couple of adjustments to counteract the fact that she only has the use of one arm. 

She’s a purple girl, so purple they were!

They didn’t take anywhere as near as long as I thought they might – so then I faffed around for a bit trying to decide what I was going to do next, and finally I just decided to “get on with it”, so I pulled out the quilt that I started quite a while ago.  I had made the 20 blocks from the centre, and that was as far as I had gotten, so it was time to get on with turning it into a quilt!

I trimmed up the quilts to get them to size – 15 inches square.  Then I put them all out on the floor so that I could look at what they looked like together.  I moved a few around and was happy with the final look, so then I sewed them all together. 

The next step was to cut out the border of raspberry, then the strippy border, and sew them together and onto the quilt – done!

I ran out of time then – I had to come home from the retreat at 1.00 pm because my dear friend’s father died in Sydney and I had a 5.15 pm flight from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney to attend the funeral.  I will continue with my quiltmaking tomorrow at my monthly sewing group meeting, so I have bought a can of adhesive binding spray to hold it all together until I have quilted it.  I’m really looking forward to the next part!!! 

I’m starting to feel a little cramped again at home – it’s time to pick up on the decluttering again and get on with it.  I think that will form part of my activities this weekend.  I’m also coming to the realisation that I need a list of what is in the freezer.  **gulp**

Menu planning and freezer inventories are something that I haven’t done before.  I am now starting to cook up extra meals so that when I go away in November/December, the boys will have food to eat.  The chest freezer is getting a bit full, so I think it might be time to be pulling things out and looking at them and writing down what they are and sorting them into an easy system for the boys to get to the food.  They tend to have boy looks at things rather than girl looks, and overlook the fact that there’s actually heaps of food in the freezer!  I hope this might make it easier – I will have to make sure though that it’s updated as things are taken out!!!

As for the decluttering, there’s a box in the study that I’d like to be rid of.  I think that will be my focus for the weekend also, along with the mandatory bill paying!!!

I am really enjoying slowing down and spending more time doing things for me in my home.  I feel more balanced at work and at home if everything is organised and calm, and I have time for my own creative pursuits.  I seem to be making headway in the “making place for space” in my life, which was the whole idea of the blog – to keep myself accountable!!!

Have a gorgeous weekend everyone! 

On my mind... a weekend away with my sewing group

This is a Friday photo feature that anyone with a blog can join, courtesy of Rhonda's Down to Earth Blog. It opens the door to us sharing our lives through these photos and gives us all a new way to discover each other, and maybe form new friendships. Your photo should show something at home that you're thinking about TODAY. If you're in another country you should join in when you read this, even if it's still Thursday.

To take part, all you have to do is post a photo on your own blog, write a short caption explaining it, and link it back to Rhonda's blog. Please write a new post, don't link to an older one. When your photo is published, come back and add a comment below, with a link to your blog photo so we can all find you. Please visit all the blogs that appeal to you and leave a comment. Slow down, take the time to cruise around and enjoy your cyber visits.

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A few years ago when I decided I wanted to learn to be more crafty, and in particular I wanted to learn how to sew, I stumbled upon the Australian Sewing Guild's Pomona group and joined up. 

It was a wonderful group of women who have such fantastic knowledge that they are only too happy to share with anyone who wants to learn.  I have certainly benefited from that willingness to share, and I hope I've been able to give a little back to the group in other ways. 

This is our meeting - every month we get together and do stuff - it's a lovely environment together. 
We use our local Lion's Club Den - they are very kind to share it with us.

The lady on the left is the creator of this gorgeous quilt!

The group decided in May that it wasn't getting the value from the Australian Sewing Guild that it wanted, so we have simply formed our own neighbourhood craft/sewing group.  We still pay a fee each year, but it goes to what WE want, rather than what the Tewantin Sewing Guild want and we had to tag along to...

Anyway, so this weekend we are heading off on a retreat, to Tin Can Bay.  A retreat is where you go away for a weekend and you take your sewing/craft/whatever, and you don't have to cook, or clean, or do anything other than your chosen craft, all weekend.  How absolutely decadent will this be!  My wonderful (kind of) sister in law is coming with me, and I think there'll be 6 or 8 of us all up for the weekend - delightful!

I have taken some crochet and some sewing.  I am really enjoying getting into crochet at the moment.  I want to make a new start on a floppy beret cap for a friend, I want to see if I can finish off some more of my milk jug cover (I've packed my glasses for THAT one!!!) and perhaps I'll do some more on the towel toppers that I've recently figured out how to do. 

This is the milk jug cover that I'm making.  I'm a bit further along now than I was when I took this photo! 
I'm using a 0.75 mm hook, and it's size 20 cotton...  I have to wear my glasses when I'm doing this one!

On the sewing front, I have my quilt to get back into, plus I'd like to make some 3/4 pants for my friend Victoria.  She loves purple, so if I could have them done for Christmas for her, that would be just so great!  I promise I'll take some photo's of the weekend and share with you next week...

My crocheting efforts so far...

I went to sewing group yesterday, and it was held at the Pomona Community House - the new shed, "The Lawson Shed"...  it was an expo for Seniors week, which started yesterday. 

There was about 7 of us there and we had one small room, so it was very cosy.  We had all agreed to bring hand work, as there was no way we would all fit in with our machines & cutting tables etc., so I took along my crocheting basket.  I had a really productive day, I finished off my floppy beret, and I also finished off several dishcloths that I have been working on.  I still have a lot of dishcloths to finish off (weaving the thread ends into the weave) but I'm pleased with where I'm at so far...

This is the top of the beret so you can see the design...

I only had a flower pot to put it on so that you can see it!!!!!  It's got angora in it, so it's very soft...

These are the finished dishcloths, and the one that looks purple on the top is pink, but it's a hot mat because it's acrylic...

The unfinished pile with tails sticking out all over the shop!!!

So far today I've been very busy.  I've unloaded the dishwasher, have done another load of washing, cleaned the carpet, dyed my hair, checked the radar and decided that I'll have to hang the 4 loads of wet washing in the garage now because it's going to POUR in an hour or two, made a cuppa, hung said washing out, had a shower to get the dye off the hair, had another cuppa...  all is good!

Breakky shortly and then... ahhhhhh... what will I do today!!!

I do have to make dinner for the boys tonight, they are out at the muster and I'm going out to get Henrik and have dinner out there. He'll go to school Monday/Tuesday, then we'll head out for a week on Tuesday.  It's going to POUR soon - so won't be going anywhere near the place till the rain's gone.  I am looking forward to a few days chilling out though!!!

Deciding how to organise things...

I have discovered a challenge while I've been doing this decluttering, and that is HOW to organise things when I am putting them back.

Take my craft and sewing for example.  I have stuff everywhere!!!  I had been operating out of my sewing trolley which housed my sewing machine, plus every other thing that I had in the way of craft and sewing.  When we changed around the bedrooms and I got some space that was going to be mine, I started organising the things that I had.  I sorted all my fabric, and I put all my fabric stash into a plastic tub and I did the same with some other "like" things...

Fast forward 3 months, and now I'm starting to put things back in the sewing area again.  I have decided that the best way to tackle sorting and organising the craft and sewing things is to collect it all in one place, then sort like with like, then look at how I will store things.  I have a small set of drawers that I will put things like needles, pins etc. in (probably in little baskets so they don't all roll around too) and I have some plastic drawers that I may also use.  The tubs are a good thing for me - they have lids, and I bought some extra ones from Ikea that are smaller in size but taller so they take up less floor space.  They also have lids.

I think that for me, this style of organising works best.  Get it all together and then sort it out, then store it.  Only store what you will use!  Chuck stuff you won't use!

Do you have any other strategies that you use? 

And the rain tumbles down...

So I've made 1 1/2 more dishcloths....  drank some more wine, watched some more TV, and generally "chilled out". 

What on earth am I going to do with all these dishcloths & heat mats?  I'd better either get using them, or get selling them!!!!

Audit's okay - just tiring.  It's pouring with rain, and we had such a wind storm last night that it woke me up...  I'm feeling quite relaxed with all this being away from home stuff - I am missing out on feeling like I have to do the washing, the cleaning, the dishes etc.

I'm missing not having a kitten or two in the bed though!!!

Wednesday... hump day!!!

Last night was fun!!!

14 firemen and associated other persons arrived at work with 3 big trucks, lots of lights & we assisted them with a training exercise.  I was the “owner occupier” for the night, and so I got to have a lot of fun playing a person who basically hindered a rescue & fire fighting exercise with silly questions & play acting.   I was in my element!!!  I think some of the watchers were having a giggle when I asked if the bloke who was laying down that had been covered up with a tarp was okay as he was my husband.  I said “thank you for covering him up – he must have been cold.  Is he going to be okay???” (he was actually simulated as being dead...)

Anyway, a fun night at work! Not very often that happens!!!

Didn’t get anything done at home because I didn’t get home till after 10.00 pm...  basically chucked my uniform in the wash and headed to bed!  Oh... we did watch the end of Top Gear – they were riding motor bikes through Vietnam.  Seeing as Gai and I are going to Vietnam later in the year, I thought it was a must.  Absolutely hilarious!!!

I’ve signed up to do a dishcloth swap on the Down to Earth blog.  Argh!!!  I have managed to crochet myself just one dishcloth so far, and I’m part the way through another one, but haven’t put it to use yet.   I suppose that’s a good thing, so that if push comes to shove, I can give away the one that I have done.  I’m heading off to sewing guild on Saturday, I might take my crochet hooks, my book and some yarn and spend some time having a bit of a create there!!!  I need to have a good think about it and see what I can do – I want to make sure that I don’t send something that isn’t any good!!!  Oh, the pressure!!!

Poopy bum chicken is now turning into fluffy bum properly, and “Spot with the allergy to fleas who god knows how she got a flea because she’s an inside cat” is also improving.  She’s such a delicate little thing...  Thank goodness – I hope that’s the end of vet trips for a while!  Ken heads off to work tonight, and I am joining a Biggest Loser club in town.  Well, it started last night but I’m starting tonight due to the fire issue last night.  Maybe I’ll find my mojo there!!!

I've also registered for the Sparkle Connection workshop with Tracy.  For anyone who's interested, here's her website.  http://www.sparkleconnection.com/  I'm doing the Introduction to Life Sparkle in Brisbane in May - I'm really looking forward to it.  She also has courses running in Melbourne and Adelaide, so think about it if you live in that area, she's very good at what she does!!!!