LOOK WHO'S MOVED INTO MY BIRDHOUSE

Now I know who ate all the peaches on our tree - and I blamed the King Parrots!!  This little cutie has come to live in the birdhouse I have hanging in my big old pine tree.  He loved the Sao bikkies and the nectarine I fed him this afternoon.  The hole in the front used to be round and I've watched it get bigger and bigger over the last few weeks.  I just knew somebody was preparing to move in.  I think he's found a very good  home and because he's adorable and we're prepared to share our garden goodies with him, he's a very lucky possum.

MY PURCHASES AT IPSWICH HANDMADE EXPO

One of my purchases at yesterday's market was this gorgeous fabric covered container.  It's the perfect size to hold all my scissors and rotary cutters.  I bought it from Janie from Handmade at Woolshed Creek. Just love it to bits.  To make it even better, Janie has used some of my favourite Buggy Barn fabrics.  
I'll show you my other beautiful purchase if I can get Milly to sit still long enough to model the skirt I bought from Miriam at Bubba Chenille.  Milly turns 6 just after Christmas and she loved it so much she surely wore it to bed last night.  I'll get a photo of it when I can.  Mind you I think it will be nigh on impossible to remove it from her to get it washed, so it might not be looking as clean as when I bought it yesterday.

HANDMADE EXPO

I've been looking at the weather forecast for Ipswich tomorrow where we'll be at the HANDMADE EXPO and YAY!!!!  we're going to be blessed with a much cooler day.  How good is that.  The weather says 36 for Ipswich today and only 30 for tomorrow.  Still come with your hat, sunscreen lotion and plenty of water, but outside sounds like it will be a much more pleasant place to be than it has been all this week.


IPSWICH TURF CLUB
BRISBANE ROAD
BUNDAMBA
From 8am til 2pm
FREE ENTRY AND FREE PARKING
SATURDAY 12th DECEMBER

CRICKET

I think cricket was invented especially for craft people who only want to "half watch" the game but still keep following what's going on.  If you do happen to miss a crucial run out or classic catch they'll replay it over and over just for those people who were counting stitches or following a pattern and just couldn't look up at the TV just at that exact time.  How considerate is that.  As far as I was concerned yesterday, there was only one place to be.  It was HOT, HOT HOT outside, so my air-con was on full blast and I managed to get a whole heap of this rag rug done while "half watching" the cricket.

BLUE AND BEIGE RAG RUG

I started this one at the beach on the week end and I think I must have been inspired by the sand and the water to choose these blue and beige colours.
I'll be at the Handmade Expo in Ipswich on Saturday.  I'm sharing with Tanya from Tanya's Prim Thyme Designs and you'll find us at the Ipswich Turf Club, Brisbane Road, Bundamba.  We'll be there from 8am until 2pm.  There's free admittance, so bring all your family and friends.  You'll love it and you might even get your Chrissy shopping finished.

A BEACH WEEK END

We've just spent a weekend at the beach to celebrate a couple of significant birthdays in our family (not mine) and so we've eaten lots of icecream, seen lots of sun and surf, got a little sunburn - oops (not too much fortunately), gone for long walks, and had a lovely relaxing time.  I was even given the beautiful red rose one evening when we went out for dinner.  It's perfume is divine.
The best part (for me) was that I was able to get lots of rag rugging done.  Not having to cook and clean certainly makes a big difference.  The two grandkids that were with us were more than happy to spend their time swimming, reading and watching movies.  It's so much easier when they get a bit bigger.   

OUR GARAGE SALE

The garage sale we had today was the best thing we've done for a very long time. I've realised that having a garage sale is a very social thing to do. You know, we got to meet some lovely people. We got to meet people who told us all about their children, people who told us about their dog, their neighbourhood, their garden, their hobbies, their collections, their love of old furniture and all sorts of other things. We had people who wanted to smell my roses and people who wanted to pat my dogs. We had neighbours who popped in for a chat. If you've never had a garage sale, clean out some cupboards, put out a sign and enjoy the day. At the end of the day you'll be tired but happy. You'll also have a little bit extra cash to enjoy something just a tiny bit special.

HOW DOES HE KNOW

How does this little fellow know it's almost Christmas time. You know, left up to me I'd never realise Christmas has come around again so soon if I didn't have a calender. But these little fellows turn up faithfully every year around this time. They're so pretty aren't they. Have they arrived at your place too?

ANOTHER RAG RUG

This is my latest rag rug made up from my big basket of rag balls. There's not too much of a dent in the stockpile yet, so that's good. I must say I'm not really an apricot/orange person, but this one I don't mind at all. I'll put it on my website later after I try to get a better photo. Tomorrow we're having a huge garage sale, so today will be mainly sorting and organising for that event. Hopefully our junk will become somebody's goodies in the morning, and we'll have a little more room in our lawn locker. Our mower might even be able to squeeze back in there.

ALL READY FOR MORE RAG RUGS

This is a HUGE basket and I have it full of rag balls. I've done little else every evening for the last 3 weeks other than cut up old sheets, doona covers or whatever I can lay my hands on, and make up rag balls. Must say I could have found much better things to do, but other things don't eventuate into rag rugs. Now I can start the crocheting and that's the best part. And what's more I'm going to show you here every time I get one finished. The basket full of balls looks like it will make dozens of rag rugs, but unfortunately it won't go nearly as far as it looks like it should. They eat up the fabric at an amazing rate. But it's all good because it's all part of my effort to save our planet by recycling and make something good out of something that somebody thought was past its used by date.

I came home from the Gatton Craft show with next to none left, so I've got to get my supply happening again.

MY AFTERNOON VISITORS

This family of owls came to visit and found refuge in our big pine tree this afternoon. They looked perfectly at home sitting up in the tree looking down at me and my dogs and weren't in the least bit worried sitting up high. I often have one come to visit, but having a family of 6 was such a treat. It wasn't a real easy photo shoot, but I managed to get some of them in the picture.

JOURNEY FROM RED ROOSTER FABRICS

These fabrics from Red Rooster Fabrics are just new in and belong to a range called "Journey". I love the tone on tone ones and of course the florals co-ordinate beautifully. Also love the stripe that's part of the range too. You'll find them here and for $12.00m they are excellent value.

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Remembering today the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month.

It's good to remember.

I'm going out later to see if I can find a poppy.

HOMESPUN VOL#10.11

Homespun 10.11 came out last week and on page 79 you'll find Sam's project for Happy Sacks. How I wish now that I had taken photos of them before they went to Homespun because let me tell you they are gorgeous and the photos (even in Homespun) don't do them justice. They are 3 gift bags and while they are designed to hold a gift, they are a complete gift in themselves. There are three in all - Birthday, New Baby and Christmas. I love all three. She is such a clever girl and having her for a daughter-in-law is simply the best.

OPENING NIGHT

We had a wet night tonight for the opening of Christmas in the Country craft show, but let me tell you nobody was complaining about the rain. We drove through a pretty scary downpour on the way there with huge flashes of lightening, and I must admit I did wonder for a while if we'd done the right thing to venture out on such a wild night. The cucumber sandwiches we were served on arrival were very yum and very welcome and although I was tempted with the wine to settle me down, the punch did the trick.

I think everybody enjoyed the evening and most shopping baskets I spotted were filled to overflowing. I know some lucky people will be opening some very special gifts this Christmas.

As usual with our summer storms, not everybody had a lucky spot under a rain cloud. It was disappointing to come home and find that we'd had very little at our place, but I'm sure that those people who got some rain tonight will be very happy and feel very blessed.

CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY

Gatton was 37 °C today, but fortunately the Shire Hall, where you'll find "Christmas in the Country" over the next few days, was air conditioned and a very pleasant place to be. Do you like the Apple Cottage bunting I made this week. The last few letters are hiding a little behind my hangers, but it couldn't be helped. It's a bit of a challenge to get everything displayed on 2 tables, but we did OK. I'm really looking forward to the craft show, and hope to get started on my Christmas shopping.

A REALLY BAD IDEA

We all know what a good idea it is to mulch the garden, especially here in Queensland when we've had such a dry winter and now coming into a dry summer as well. So - my good idea has turned into a really bad idea because I used barley straw. I now have a barley crop over almost my entire garden. I wasn't too worried at first because barley is a winter crop and I thought surely it wouldn't come to anything so late in the season - but I'm seriously wrong. A lot of it is now in shotblade and if I don't get rid of it before it comes into head, I will have barley coming up for many years to come. I'm going to have to resort to Roundup for the bigger areas, but most of it is going to have to come out by hand. Where are those grandkids when you need them...................

NOVEMBER LILLIES

My November Lillies know that November will be here tomorrow and are looking their best for the occasion. They're gorgeous this year, and along with the Jacarandas that are all over town looking magnificent with their purple canopy I'm reminded that the year is coming to a close. I always think of exam time at this time of the year when the Jacarandas flower, but it's nice not to feel the pressure of exams any more.

I know the girls from Gatton are busy, busy, busy preparing for another great craft show. Do try to make it if you can. I'm sure you'll not be disappointed. It's on Friday 6th & Saturday 7th November which is only next week. The weather has been lovely too, so I'm hoping it will stay that way. The venue is air-conditioned though, so just in case the hot weather sets in, it will still be comfortable inside.

SUPPORTING "CHRISTMAS IN THE COUNTRY"

What is it about TV reality shows that makes it compulsive viewing for me. I hate them and love them all at the same time. Last night it was "Survivor" and the only good thing I can say is that I had another rag rug finished at the end of it. This one is like Joseph's Coat of Many Colours, but I sure hope I don't end up down a well over it! It will be at "Christmas in the Country" in Gatton on 6th & 7th November. Admission is only $6.00 and if you go, you'll not only be supporting Peace Lutheran Primary School, you'll have a great time and most likely get a good start on your Christmas shopping.

I don't know what kind of lillies these are, but they are gorgeous. Sam brought them for me last week and when she gave them to me they were just buds. Every day we've had another beautiful bloom open up. I love fresh flowers in the house.

MY BROWN RAG RUG STORY

I don't show you every rag rug that I make or boredom would set in pretty quickly, however this is one I particularly want to share. As you know I love the earthy country colours, but each rag rug takes a massive amount of fabric, so just to get the quantity I need, I have to source it from Op Shops or wherever I can find large volumes of fabric for as little cost as possible. It didn't take me long to discover that not too many people buy lovely earthy coloured sheets or doona covers or at least if they do they don't very often donate them to Op Shops when they're finished with them. When I decided to make a brown one, I went through my ever growing basket of fabric scraps and put aside all the ones that had brown tonings, and proceeded to rip them into narrow strips before joining them all together. Now let me tell you this job sounds easy (and it is) and fun, and it is fun too at least for the first half hour, or maybe even for the first 2 hours. Some of them were very small lengths, so I spent a whole day just making my big rag ball before I could even begin the crochet process. I really want to make another rag rug out of my red scraps, but I suspect I'm going to have to do a whole lot of forgetting about how long it takes before I tackle that one. I am going to part with my lovely brown one, (unless of course I get lucky and no one wants to buy it) but this is one that I'm going to have to say a very special good bye to when the time comes.

JUST TESTING

Caught in the act this morning. I know he's been desperately wanting to test out my latest pile of rag rugs, and this morning he couldn't resist any longer. He thinks I've employed him to be my quality control person (yes he thinks he's a person). Lucky for me they passed his inspection, and he assures me he had four clean feet.

I've been rag rugging along every chance I get so I've got some to take to Christmas in the Country Market in Gatton on November 6th & 7th. Liesa from Handmade Heaven in Ipswich also has some for sale in her shop.

THE RIVENDALE COLLECTION

Sally Giblin from The Rivendale Collection has some gorgeous designs and I now have her patterns available on my website. Not only are the designs just adorable she has given them really cool names too. These three are called Flowers & Me, Sugar & Spice and Ric Rac & Blooms. Along with her cushions, I'm having trouble deciding what I want to make first. They'd make excellent gifts with Christmas time not too far away. Check them out here.

DUST

I wonder why I thought that after a dust storm I could simply wipe the dust off all surfaces and that would be the end of all dust in sight. Now I know I thought very wrong. I have wiped with all the latest "you beaut dust clinging" expensive super market wipes you can get only to find that they are next to useless. Obviously they only test them in super clean environments. I have wiped with damp wipes, and rewiped with damp wipes and mopped floors and remopped floors. It seems that every time I dust and wipe and mop that no sooner do I turn around and it's all back again. I do believe that my place would put even Shannon Lush to the test. I don't have her books, but I do hear her on ABC Radio at times, and she makes cleaning actually sound like fun. The fun has worn a bit thin with me at the moment. I'm hoping that the weather man knows what he's talking about when he says there might be a shower of rain later in the week. I'm thinking it might be the only solution.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

I had 2 willing workers turn up at my place this morning. It's quite amazing how highly motivated you can be to do jobs for cash when you have your sights set on Playstation 3. I stupidly thought at first they wanted to help just 'cause they love their Grandma!!! I should have known!! Anyway, they helped me load 7 bales of barley mulch for the garden and Mr Apple now has a very clean and highly polished ute. Maybe next time I'll get lucky and I'll have a clean and polished vehicle as well.

IRIS IN BLOOM

I love it when the irises come out in bloom. This one was waiting for me this morning looking so beautiful and and so proud to be the first of many more. It didn't seem to mind at all that we've had terrible dust and wind this last week. It's like it's just waited for the right moment to display it's gorgeous deep purple apparel.

GEHAM MARKET WEEKEND

My camera was never in the right place at the right time on the weekend, so there's no pictures. I do need to tell you though that the Geham market was excellent. It was a credit to the girls on the organising committee, right through to the young school students who served the coffee and did endless errands so cheerfully. I decided I could use a few of them at my place! Everyone was friendly and helpful, and I'm sure all who went thoroughly enjoyed it.

A very big THANKYOU to everyone who supported me, from those who wished me "good luck" to those who purchased from my stall. I can hardly wait for next year.

SETTING UP FOR THE WEEK END MARKET

This is our little corner of the shed for the weekend market at Geham. I always find setting up a little daunting, but having Sam come and help this morning actually made it quite fun.

MY ESCAPING MRS CLYDE

Mrs Clyde took it into her head to explore the world a little bit further than she should have on Sunday morning. It seemed at one stage the whole neighbourhood was out searching for one elusive cockatiel, but it was several hours later we heard the familiar chirping in a tree across the road. She obviously realised her escapade was a little more daunting than she'd anticipated and I think she was more than happy to retreat back to the more familiar surroundings of her cage. I decided I'd have to cut her wing in case she tried her tricks again, but I don't really know if what I've done is the right thing or not. I just cut the long feathers of one wing, so I'm hoping it will prevent it happening again. She's used to coming and going in and out of her cage as she pleases, but we were a little careless with leaving the doors open now the warmer weather has arrived.

FAMILY OF DOLLS

Sam has been making rag dolls to send to an orphanage in Indonesia but they're so cute, I've persuaded her to bring them to the Geham market first. She will have to top up her supply for the orphanage after the market, but she's stuffed so many legs, arms and bodies, I think she'll be able to make them in her sleep now. She couldn't find a pattern she was happy with, so she just made one up. Milly helped her name each doll and they all have their own individual name tag. If some of the names are a little bizarre, it's because Milly, who is 5, has a fairly vivid imagination.

Sam has also made up some gorgeous aprons for the market. I don't have a photo of those ones, so you'll just have to come to Geham to see them. It's really close now. Not much more than a week away on 19th & 20th September, and it's just a short drive north of Toowoomba on the road to Crow's Nest.

CHLOE'S CHICKENS

The chickens in this nest are all made by Chloe and they're going to the market at Geham on 19th & 20th September. Chloe is my 11 year old grand daughter and she's such a clever little crafter. She's filled them with lavender so the perfume is divine. I can highly recommend the market at Geham if you can possibly get there. You'll find it at the school about 20 minutes drive north of Toowoomba. It's on Carnival of Flowers weekend, so there's heaps of other things to do and see around the area that weekend.

NEW RASANT THREADS

My range of Rasant Threads has grown with the addition of dark grey. It's so good to add to the colour range, be it all so slowly, but we're getting there. I now have natural, beige, brown, dark blue, yellow, black, light and dark grey, dark red and forest green. I love Rasant thread and my machine loves it too. It comes in 1000m spools, so it lasts for such a long time. I had my sewing machine serviced not so long ago and the repair man confirmed my belief that this thread is one of the best. He loves it too. I was so pleased to hear it come from someone who works with machines all the time. You'll find them here under "Needful Things" if you look on my website.

A NOT SO GOOD HAIRCUT

The hot weather has arrived early, so it was time to get rid of all that hair. The clippers went flat before we were quite finished, so tomorrow we'll have another go to finish it off. He doesn't mind that he looks quite odd, and he loves it that he's nice and cool.

STOCKED UP ON QUILT HANGERS

I have just unpacked a supply of quilt hangers. These are so good for smaller projects and are such an affordable and effective way to display projects. The wire slides out of the end so you can slip the dowel into a rod pocket on the back of your work. You'll find them here on my website.

RECYCLED FABRIC BAG

Just take a look at this gorgeous bag that my sister has made. She took my crochet rag rug idea and adapted it into a bag and then she added the gorgeous fabric flowers that she made. I love it but I know I'd have to stand in the queue to get her to make one for me, so I might just have to make one for myself.

COUNTRY CHECKS

I finally found some gorgeous country check fabrics and they arrived yesterday. These traditional basic country checks seem to be getting harder to find every day. At the moment I've just got these three, but because I love them so much, I'll be getting more of their range in future. You'll find them here on my website.

RAG RUGS IN COUNTRY SAMPLER MAGAZINE

Country Sampler is one of my "must have" magazines. I love all the decorating ideas and tips, and confirms my belief that country decorating is still my absolute favourite. I think the anticipation of reading it cover to cover is just as much fun for me as the actual reading of it. I love to have some leisurely time along with a coffee to enjoy it. I've had the latest edition for a few weeks now, but because I hadn't found the time I like to enjoy it, it's been waiting patiently unopened for me. I was so excited last night when I took it to bed with me to find crocheted rag rugs featured for having "that true country look and vintage appeal". I know I've been "on about" my rag rugs a bit lately, but just had to share what I had found. Since we lost Rick Rutherford's magazine some time ago, I don't know of another Australian equivalent to this American magazine. Hopefully one day we'll have as much Australian patriotism found in an Australian magazine as we find American patriotism in Country Sampler.

RAG RUGS AT HANDMADE HEAVEN

My Rag Rugs now have a new home. You'll find them in a little corner to the entrance of Handmade Heaven in Ipswich. Liesa's shop is looking gorgeous as she has a range of beautiful handmade items in there. It's a lovely visit if you're looking for a gift for a special person or just to want to appreciate all the different works of many talented crafters. Liesa is such a sweetie too, so pop in and say Hi to her.

FRESH BROCCOLI

We'll be having fresh broccoli straight from my vege garden for dinner tonight. Seems like it's dead easy to grow, so next year I'll be making sure I plant heaps more.

SALE FABRICS

These fabrics are not new, but they are so pretty aren't they. I am still finding fabrics that have never been listed on my website, and these were a few I found yesterday. Some are from Poetry Collection and some are Faded Memories. They were originally used when I made my first Milly's Quilt. They're now in my "Sale Fabric" section if you want to have a look.

THE DREADED EXERCISE MACHINE

At the moment this "thing" is totally alien to me, but in time it is going to become my friend.

It's supposed to be able to do something about the overeating and underexercising that has been happening at my place over the last few months when food has become my close companion while the weather has been cooler. At the moment, I HATE this "thing", otherwise known as a Crosstrainer, but I know in time I will LOVE it. I don't like exercise, but I also don't like being fat and if anyone has a better solution to the 3 letter "F" word, please let me know. This morning, I had my appointment with my daughter and owner of the dreaded machine and she is going to be my taskmaster and keep me on the straight and narrow. All I managed was 8 minutes and here I am 2 hours later and I'm still trying to stand upright on my legs. How embarrassing!! I will let you know how I progress. Anyone care to join me?

CABIN IN THE WOODS

I don't know who designed this quilt pattern. I just remember that it came out of a book I borrowed from my daughter some time ago and the pattern is called "Cabin in the Woods". Scrappy quilts are my favourite, and I made this one entirely from my scrap pile. I had it quilted by Rosalie from Rose Quilting on her amazing quilting machine, and this morning I took some time to bind it. It's going to replace the existing quilt on our bed which is (was) a one piece cloth all hand quilted. I'm afraid that one is going to have to go to the happy place where worn out quilts have to go. I'm not even game to wash it one more time as I know it just wouldn't survive. Maybe Bonny might like it in her kennel?

CARAMEL SHORTBREAD

I've been eyeing off this Caramel Shortbread recipe from Lucy's blog at Attic24 for the last few days and this morning my sweet tooth got the better of me. I just had to try out the recipe, and our morning tea was all I hoped it would be (except of course for the calories, but we won't spoil it by talking about them). If you want to make it too, go to Lucy's blog, Attic24 and follow her recipe from a few posts back. She's also got some gorgeous granny squares so it's worth going there just to have a look at them.

ALL ABOUT FLOWERS

Isn't it nearly always the way that things take longer to do than you expect? Writing patterns is certainly no exception, but it's done. Sam has finished the pattern for "All About Flowers" and it's now available. It's on our website and you'll find it here. Sam has used needle turn applique, but when I make mine I'm going to blanket stitch the applique by hand. The first quilt I ever made was entirely needle turn applique and I think I did enough needle turn to last me for the rest of my life, and besides that I'm totally addicted to blanket stitch applique. I love it and I can do it at night when I'm watching TV - that is, of course, when I'm not crocheting rag rugs.

JUMPERS AND JAZZ FESTIVAL

I have been all consumed these last few weeks making up rag rugs to take to Jumpers and Jazz on Saturday. The weather man is predicting a frosty morning, but looks like the day will warm up nicely to a high of 17 degrees.   That sounds like a perfect day to me.

SPECIAL MEMORIES

Remember all the little bits and pieces of artwork that our kids did when they were little? Matt made me this little trinket box when he was in primary school and he's nearly 35 now.  He was in about Grade 5 I think.  It was such a big secret that he had for weeks before he presented it to me and I clearly remember the big day that I got it as a gift.  I so wish I had kept more of their work as the memories are so precious.