Signing off for the night

with a few Pics from our afternoon walk around the block a couple of days ago, such glorious weather I just had to share these snaps I took just on sunset. Click here to see the rest of them

hugs

Diana

Way back in Nov

last year we decided to adopt a kitty from the RSPCA, it had been over 18 mths since our 16 yr old miniature poodle Missy had gone to doggy heaven and hubby and I finally felt the time was right to introduce a new pet to our household.

As our Granddaughter Shayna was coming to visit us for a few weeks before Christmas we waited for her to arrive before making any more plans as we knew she would get a thrill helping us to choose a kitten.

After checking the RSPCA web page a few times and making a couple of visits to cuddle and play with the kittens one sweet little fat faced boy decided he would like to come home with us, after testing out a few names the first day we decided to call him" Milo".

Well he is 8 mths old now and has fitted into our home just perfectly. So I thought I'd share a few pics I took today while he was outside in the garden having his morning romp chasing the lizards and butterflies.
He is an inside cat that is allowed out for short periods in the garden to play through the daytime, to keep him safe we make sure he is inside before late afternoon.
Each morning for the last couple of months our neighbours cat "Quinn" who is also an RSPCA kitty, visits us, they are like two kids playing for about an hour each morning.
To view today's pics if you are interested click here.

Oh I know I know....lol

I still have some back tracking to catch up with but had to show off what I have been sewing today.

  This is a bag pattern designed by my friend Khris and like the last one I blogged about (and yep I did sew one up, but it is for a gift so cant show you yet) Khris has done a brilliant job at making it an easy quick project to sew up and so versatile, I have seen some other samples and it looks great no matter what fabric is chosen.

I was able to pull some fabrics from my stash to try this pattern and with these nice bright colors thought that my DGD in Mt Isa would be able to use it when she goes for a sleepover at her friend Maddy's.

hugs

Diana

Hot off the Press

For those crafty girls that read my blog quick zip over to my friend Khris's Blog and check out the new bag Tute she has put up, she's amazing how she just whips up these Tutorials to share with us, I want to try this one out real soon.  Thanks Khris for taking the time to do this one I know how busy you are.

hugs

Diana

Everybody loves a Wedding.....

the next big event in the New Year for us was a nieces wedding, we enjoyed a lovely 4 days away at the Sunshine Coast, the weather held off the forecast of rain until the day after the wedding, so a perfect sunshine day, a bit hot but we all survived and the Bride looked beautiful, if you want to see pics from the special day just click here

Opps Nearly forgot

to show you my last 2 finishes, here is a pic of the quilt I finally finished for DGD no2 ........

and a bag I made for my niece for her 18th Birthday.

hugs

Diana

I figured a new background

for my Blog would be good to start the New year off with, not sure about this one yet though, and yes I do know that the year is slipping by real quick  and I've been really slack with my blogging, I just don't know where the time goes these days, so a quick fill in......just after I left off last time our eldest DGD came for a nice long visit before Christmas. We had 3 wonderful  weeks with her before we had to send her home again, some pics of her visit are here.

We celebrated  Christmas Day at my Sister and Hubby's place, they did a great job of fitting our rather large family in and all had a great day spending a lot of time in the pool as it was a typical hot Aussie Christmas.....Thanks Deb n John for being such great hosts. A few pics shared here. To be continued.........

WooHoo

It's finally finished. Have been working on this bag for a couple of weeks now and pretty happy with how it has turned out, I'm new to the bag making craft and this is only my second one.
Now Shhh.. it's a surprise for Aunty Pam to say thank you for entrusting me with her Mum's Singer Treadle sewing machine which I intend to restore when I get a minute, maybe after Christmas.
Now as Pam doesn't do the Internet bit, I think I am safe showing off some PICS even though she will not receive the bag till Fridays mail.
Now would be a good time I think to get to and do the quilting on Granddaughter No2's quilt that has been sitting around far too long, making the top is no trouble but gee the thought of getting that machine quilting done to my satisfaction is another thing altogether, if I manage to not make too much of a mess with it, I will post pics.
Hugs,
Diana

How lucky am I

last week my darlin' hubby took me away for a few days of R & R, I think I could get to like this empty nest part of our lives :-).
We didn't go very far just 2 hrs down the road to a seaside village called Hervey Bay, actually it's a combination of small villages dotted along a headland and a very pretty bay.
The whale watching season is finished for the year so most of the tourist's had gone home, well till Christmas time at least, it was a very quiet, relaxed few days.
I thought I would share a few pics of where we stayed and oh my gosh they had just the best Patchwork Shop there so I had to go check it out didn't I and I happened to find a Scrapping shop as well, lol. If you would like to see a few pics Click Here to view.
I think we might make this an annual event, next time we hope to travel a little further down the coast where you can hand feed Dolphins, now that's pretty cool and will be something to look forward to. My sister Ree assures me there is also a great little place that serves fantastic brekky's as well so I think we should go visit sooner rather than later, oh well 12 mths isn't that long really.
Now that I am all refreshed it's time to get back to some crafting....... Hugs Diana

A good week

is one where we receive lots of pics of our 3 grandchildren. With them living so far away we like nothing better than seeing weekly pics of them. A much better week is if we get the opportunity to see them on the web cam. lol.
Click here to see the latest.
Hugs,
Diana

Not a lot of Craftin'

going on here at the moment, I have lots planned but it's just not happening yet, may get to start on a few things tomorrow. Last week I did get around to making a needle case and pincushion for a niece who is doing a little bit of crafting. She is sewing together some cute little felt hearts for some of her friends for Christmas gifts and she is such a sweetie she gave me one of her samples as a gift.
So I had been wondering what I could do for her in return and realised that if she was going to be a serious crafter she would need some tools of the trade. I think she will like these as they are pink and purple with sparkles and butterflies, what more could a 11 yr old girl want for her Sewing Box.

ps. a tutorial for the needle case is a freebie available here from a friends blog, thanks heaps Khris.

It's always nice to..........

spend time with Friends, and this past week we have shared lots of fun and laughter with our friends Deanna and Doug from Townsville who were neighbours of ours in Ayr before we moved home. We haven't seen each other since my daughter's wedding 2 yrs ago so it was great to have time to relax and catch up.

We went for some nice walks and went out for lunch at the local Tavern and we also enjoyed a few liqueurs and a lot of laughs playing the card game 500. This was a favourite pastime with 4 other friends when we all lived in the same street for years so bought back lots of great memories for us all.

Cheers,

Diana

Pics from Mt Isa

After showing off Harrison's swimming skills, I thought I would also pop up some new pics of our Granddaughters Shayna and Monique from Mt Isa that arrived in my inbox this afternoon. Click on their names to view.
Hugs,
Diana

Harrison's first swimming lesson.......

Couldn't resist sharing this UTube of our Grandson Harrison having his first swimming lesson with his Dad. Click on his name to view.
Hugs,
Diana

Here we go.......

A couple of pics of the friendship gifts and swap goodies I received from the girls at the retreat, I was very spoilt and love them all.

From Khris I received some special goodies... Covered address book, card holder and notebook and a little emergency kit bag made from the cutest band-aid fabric already stocked with Panadol, hand cleanser etc.
Naomi was a sweetie and gave me as a gift, a sweet little bag that I had put an order in for her to make me for my MP3 player, a perfect fit. Look at my parliment of Owls from Khris and Naomi, how cute are they?

Sharon gave me a couple of her very special doll faces and some pencils for me to use so I can practice my doll face drawing and from Anita I received a gorgeous pack of Moda squares and some patterns, one that I had been eyeing off since I first saw it advertised, a raggedy pattern that is just so cute.

Maree made us all a sticky note holder and Marg gave us each a bag of little tricks with cute sayings inside. My secret sister swap partner Cath, gave me a raggedy doll she had made from one of her patterns, fabric, pattern n thread.

Also had lots of laughter and fun in a pattern swap game that Khris had us playing and was able to add a few new patterns to my pattern collection, a girl can never have too many patterns, lol.

So now you can all see why I think I was so very spoilt, how lucky am I to have such generous friends.

Thank you girls.

Hugs,
Diana

It's way time..........

that I caught you up on how the CRAFT retreat went.........

Well the first afternoon most of us were too tired from travelling to do too much except relax and enjoy a cuppa and chat. Some of the girls had met before but a few of us had only spoken on the phone or on-line.
For me, it was just like we had all known each other before instead of meeting for the first time.
Some were brave enough to have a swim in the pool, even though it was hot and muggy the water was a bit nippy, but a glass of Bannrock and some nibbles soon warmed us up while we waited for dinner, all that gasbagging makes you hungry, lol.
The girls who had bought their machines were already sewing up a storm and I am hoping they have some pics of their new creations as I didn't get any on the last day before they packed up.
The next day started off well with a few of the girls driving into Ipswich to a local market to check out the goodies...... Anita scored a couple of nice things and so did Helena.
Naomi and I stayed behind and looked through some crochet patterns on my laptop. BUT we did get to enjoy the yummy Jam n Cream scones served for morning tea.
Then Naomi was kind enough to try to teach me how to do a crocheted flower while a few others had their machines whizzing away in the sewing room.
By the time the girls came back from the markets it was lunch time and the wind had come up, blowing a gale and it was starting to get a bit dusty and smoky as well.
Because the weather was so terrible for the rest of the day most of us just stayed stayed inside our Cabins as we were starting to get sore throats (yes maybe a little from talking too much, but the dust in the air sure didn't help) watery eyes and dry lips and mouths, it was awful outside so Naomi got stuck into showing the girls how to start off the crochet rug they wanted to learn. Khris and Naomi also got some hexagons cut out ready to make some coasters for their market stall.
Sharon and Naomi braved the cool water in the pool again later on for a dip to soak poor Sharon's sore swollen ankles, the heat from the day before had really made her a bit ill (poor girl was suffering from the heat as she had flown in from NZ where the temps were heaps lower) so she just relaxed with her feet up on the lounge for awhile before tea time and we fitted in a couple of party games (thanks Khris) that were a bit of a giggle, and some lucky ones won some goodies.
Then we grabbed a bottle of our favorite red and took it down to enjoy with our night meal, well some of us did, not all, as some don't partake but they didn't mind the rest of us enjoying a glass.
That night we sat around and chatted some more while stitching and crocheting and the next morning after a terrible sleepless night from the howling wind and no water in our cabin for showers till the kind man came and sorted it for us we just relaxed some more with a cuppa as the wind was still blowing a gale and it was too horrible to sit outside.
Some of the girls went down to the main Lodge for morning tea but Khris and I ate Marg's slice instead and Sharon kept Khris company while I jumped in for a late shower before lunch.
The food and accommodation were all just fabulous, our lovely hostess Wendy and her family looked after us all so well, we all said we would go back again.
Before we knew it it was time to pack up and think about getting on our way home, it was such a great time getting to know all the girls and the time went so quick, we didn't get to go for a walk as the weather was shocking after the first afternoon, but it didn't faze us, we were very happy just chilling out and talking and crafting so it didn't upset us too much except for a few sneezes and sore throats, from the dust I mean, lol.
Helena had the right idea as you can see by the pic, lol.
It was such fun swapping gifts, sharing some great laughs and chatting about our different crafts we like to do. I am so glad that I was able to go and meet the girls, it was wonderful to have the chance to cement our on-line friendships that we have made by chatting on the CRAFT group and I really hope we can do it all again sometime real soon.
Hugs,
Diana
ps. Don't forget to jump over to my Picasa Album to see the pics from the retreat.

Woo Hoo, I'm so excited..........

Tomorrow I leave for a 2 day Retreat to meet up with some of my On-line CRAFT friends, I am so looking forward to meeting them and relaxing around the pool with a glass of Banrock, watching the sun set after a day of talking craft and maybe learning a new one...... it doesnt get much better......... good company, no cooking, no dishes, no housework for two whole days, stay tuned, will have pics to show when I return.

We were asked to make a Secret Sister gift to take along, I cant show you what I made till after the event, so here's a little sneak peek till the owner has received her gift and I can show you all. Bye.... back in a few days.

Old Doilies

I found this bottle of stuff called "Stiffy"by Plaid at Spotlight the other week and had a brilliant idea of how to put some of the old doilies I have collected to good use, it works a treat, just got to find some different shapes to drape them over now for a bit of variety.

Happy 21st Matt

Just had to embarrass my nephew by putting his birthday pic up on my blog, lol. We had a great night Matt, thanks for inviting us.

OMGosh

I can't believe it's so long since I updated here. It's been a busy time with our train trip to Cairns early in August, we arrived in time for our son's 37th birthday.

We had a wonderful time and got to spend some quality time with our new grandson Harrison, check out his pic, isn't he a cutie.

He and his Mum are in Melbourne visiting with his other Nan n Pop this week so I bet he is getting spoilt to bits. lol