More about the Sunday Stitchers' Christmas...

In the last post I wrote about the Secret Santa gifts that we exchanged yesterday. 

We meet these days at the community centre in Coomera; it's nice and spacious accomodation there.

Looks like everyone but Cheryl has just left their stitching and 'up and left!'...

No, we have just moved to another part of this large room!

So what is everyone standing around and looking at?

Not 'what', but 'who'; Noela and Helen!

Each month the 'birthday girls' receive a fat quarter from all of us. And these ladies are the December Birthday girls. 

The morning just flew and it wasn't long until it was lunch...and what a spread that was!

And best of all, I ate a small helping of 'regular food'...no puréed stuff at all! I had some zucchini slice, potato bake, potato salad and a tiny piece of chicken...it all tasted (and looked) wonderful! And then I had some cake with custard ( the diet sheet says cake is okay as long as it's covered with custard so it's moist)...magnifique!! Lol

As well as the Secret Santa gifts, there were some extra gifts given out; some very generous ladies had made gifts for all of us...

One of these gifts was a 'cutlery roll'...

which unrolled to become a place mat...

But wait there's more...here's a closer look at the cutlery...

Yes we all had our names on the handles...how special is that!

So what a wonderful day we all had being spoiled, eating lovely food and being part of such a wonderful group of ladies. 

The first Secret Santa gift for 2015...

Today was the Sunday Stitchers Christmas get together and of course this included the handing over of the gifts we had been making for the Secret Santa partners that each of us were allocated.

As we arrived we put all these gifts on one of the tables...

This was exciting!

My Secret Santa was Maureen...I loved my gifts!

When I opened the parcel, the beautiful table centre was wrapped up in that cute 'reindeer' towel...

A closer look at the lovely stitching...

Now I was Secret Santa for Inca. Way back in early October, I started her gift. It was the first knitting project that I started this year...

I took some photos last week after I had finally neatened all the 'ends', but the colours are more vibrant in real life.

As I usually do with a throw I've made to give away,I folded it up and used some of the pretty ribbon that I buy from Fantazia in South Tweed...

So that's the first Secret Santa exchange for this year!

The Christmas Craft Markets

Today was the annual Christmas Craft Markets in our parish. As well as various stall holders who pay a small fee for a place at the markets, we also have a few parish stalls where items are sold to raise money (much needed funds) for our church. 

Because I'm still recuperating I was excused from actively helping this year, so was able to 'swan around' as a guest! 

I saw this on one of the parish stalls...

I was immediately entranced! The price tag was $18 with funds going to the Parish...so it was a done deal as far as I was concerned...and the money was handed over and it was mine. 

A few more purchases...

A wreath made with 'scarf yarn'. I've bought one of these from this stall holder before...

A 'burp' towel bought from another stall holder. Nearly every baby in 'my circle' has 'spat up' on one of these lovely towels draped over a mum or dad's shoulder. This one is for DH's grandchild arriving in early February. 

A bag?

Open it up and there are little dolls inside.

The idea is for the children to use the dolls to tell a story...

Good for travelling. Over the years I bought a few items from this stall holder and all items were loved by parents and children alike. 

So that was my Saturday morning.

There's a rumour...

Must be that time of year...I've been busy stitching...

On looking at our dining room table DH just had to remark, 'There's a rumour that there is a table under there'...

This comment made me think of a cartoon I remember having seen once but had had no luck finding it again. This time I thought I'd try Pinterest, and I found that cartoon straight away. 

I still love it! Lol

Our dining room table is only used for eating at, in the coldest weather. The table is very handy for cutting out and stitching is easier there as a power point  is close by to the table, so my Daylight lamp complete with magnifier can be close too. And in the day time the window lets in lots of natural light. 

Unlike the family in the cartoon, our 'alternative' table is quite a big one!!!

So why was DH 'having a dig at me'???? Lol

That dining table is nearly cleared now and craft items have been returned to where they are kept ready for next time. The large boxes underneath the window are DH's btw! 

I cleared it this morning as I want to spread out my latest knitted finish so I can weave in ends and check it all over using the Daylight. That project will be unveiled in a few days after it has been given away.

It's a 'wrap'!

The interval, Monday to Thursday this week was the posting date for Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap.

On Monday, I was still putting the finishing touches on the gifts that I made my partner but eventually all was stitched up and wrapped ready to go...

One big parcel and one little one containing the Christmas ornament...all ready for the 'trip' overseas. And what is quite exciting is that somewhere, someone has made something for me too! I love Chooky's swap as participants are always matched with a partner from another country. Unlike the last few years this is basically the only Christmas swap I've joined. 

( I'll reveal what is in the smaller parcel in a few weeks as participants are able to open the ornament parcel straight away. The main gift is opened on Christmas Day or whatever day is traditionally present opening day) 

Friday Night Sew In...

Last night I joined in the November FNSI, hosted by Wendy over at Sugarlane Quilts.

I worked on secret sewing again...

I finally finished 'Stage 1' of this project; a strip of fabric made of hexagons...

This will form part of a drawstring bag...for a fellow knitter perhaps??

The pattern is by Judy Newman and I enthusiastically follow her instructions for joining all those hexies...no papers, no tiny over stitches...just running stitch. It's quicker than the normal EPP.

A little peep at the back...

Also last night I worked on my stitching project which will be incorporated into this drawstring bag...and now I only have one tiny section to stitch and I'm finished that 'Stage 1'...yay!!!

I'm on target to have these items completed and in the mail early this coming week; all ready to head off to my swap buddy.
Here is the link to Wendy's post where FNSI ers signed up to join in...you will be able to see what other bloggers achieved by using the links in the sign up widget. I can guarantee you will see some amazing projects.

Guilty...

In the last day or so I've had a craving. After a number of years of avoiding sugar ( on medical advice) and therefore avoiding chocolate, I just wanted a Lindt ball. I figured that the chocolate would melt in my mouth so there would be no problems for the oesophagus. 

So today whilst grocery shopping, I succumbed and bought some chocolate...Lindt balls of course...

A few hours later, I ate one...

And it was delicious! ( just don't tell my cardiologist! Lol)

Oh what a feeling...!

Yesterday reminded me of that old Toyota ad...but it wasn't a car that gave me the 'Oh what a feeling' moment. It was  just how things had gone during the day that promoted a feeling of achievement and well-being. 

It all started with breakfast...for 10 days it had been natural unflavoured yogurt with store bought fruit purée. Given the okay from the Specialist on Thursday, commencing on the weekend, I could start to eat a larger variety of foods...yes Free Fluid Diet has ended!!! 

So I started with puréed rolled oats,yoghurt and some mango and blueberries that I had puréed. Just a small helping, but so nice!!

On the previous diet, I was allowed to eat eggs by having them in an Egg Flip, but as I left the sugar out of the mix, they were just okay...

But yesterday I could start eating soft scrambled egg...so I did! With mashed avocado.

Pre operation, I would often have sourdough toast with avocado for breakfast, but bread is off the menu for a good while apparently. But the egg and avo yesterday morning was wonderful, even without the toast!

For dinner I had a small bowl of puréed vegies instead of that thin soup I've been eating.

Best of all, I had no discomfort at all during the day, after eating the more solid food. I've been so fortunate that I haven't had any trouble swallowing either, which can be a problem after this op. 

Remember the granny squares I was working on when I came home from hospital? 

Well yesterday all the squares became a small blanket...another one for K4BN.

All finished; even the ends are woven in. Eleven of the squares are leftovers from my previous finish...

3 squares are donated ones that I've enlarged and the other 16 are ones I've made from scratch using up my yarn scraps. So another feeling of achievement!

Today I have some stitching planned, so I must stop procrastinating and get started on that! 

My new teacosy...

I have a friend called Jenny whom I met through the knitting group, K4BN. Jenny is not just a knitter and crocheter, she also creates beautiful knitting patterns...quite a variety of designs too. For most of the raffles that K4BN runs to raise much needed funds, Jenny has usually donated one of her lovely cat tea cosies. These tea cosies are very popular prizes and I know that I always hoped to win one...but no, it didn't ever happen :-(. 

So earlier this year I commissioned Jenny to make me 2 cosies; one for me and one as a gift for my neighbour. Jenny had met my cat Eduardo and jokingly suggested that I might like an Eduardo cosy...and I thought that sounded fun. The other cosy would be a 'marmalade' cat. I said that there was no hurry for the tea cosies as I knew Jen had lots of other commitments. 

As we don't live close to each other, Jen asked for photos and descriptions of Ed so she could get his markings as accurate as possible...these were the 4 photos she worked from...

And yesterday my cosies arrived...

This is the 'Sleeping Cat' cosy and this one even has Eddie's striped tabby tail. And I am so thrilled with this! 

This is the other cosy I ordered...

I know my neighbour will love it...in our street she's known as the 'cat lady' as she has a few cats! 

Here's a link to Jenny's blog...in particular this link will take you to a post with a pattern for another version of the cat cosy...

http://justjen-knitsandstitches.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/share-kitty.html

It is easy to navigate the blog and check out more of Jen's creations using the same link. 

Spring in my garden...

I wrote this post before I went to hospital for my op. I figure it's about time that I publish it :-). There's no mention of my veggie garden beds because they have unfortunately been the focus of attention to 2 female bush turkeys, who took it upon themselves to visit every day and dig over and re-dig the 3 beds. I admitted defeat...no home-grown herbs and summer vegetables this year. Strangely these birds have no interest in the shrubs and small trees, so there is still some garden to look at! lol


Here in the southern hemisphere, we are in the second month of Spring. Admittedly though, here in Queensland, the difference in weather between the different seasons is only slight. Many of the shrubs and trees in the garden started flowering in winter as it was quite warm this year!

The dianella is flowering; after the flowers there will be berries of the most brilliant blue.

 Here's a better photo than mine...from the web...

This year the garden has had to look after itself, so these 'old favourites' in the collage have done a pretty good job staying alive and then flowering...

I was a bit slow getting a photo of the brunfelsia. It's also known as the Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant as the flowers start as a mid purple, fade to a mauve and finally they fade to white. The photo shows mainly the 'white stage'.

Along the back boundary of our yard we have some self sown (volunteer) trees that burst into flower each Spring and bring an extraordinary number of bees. When the blossoms are out there are so many bees that I can hear the humming/buzzing from the house!

One of my daylilies...

In the next collage there is a photo of a hippeastrum; out of all my 'hippies' only 2 flowered this year :-(

This plant was a cutting from a friend which has done very well looking after itself. This photo was taken a week or so after we trimmed it; it rewarded us with a lot of new flowers.

Another favourite which is thriving with no help from me!

The frangapani is not only getting new leaves shooting but a few flowers too. 

Some birds enjoying the nectar in the grevillea flowers...

And flowers are still on the jacaranda....

I've done some dividing up of my bromeliad plants and have planted these in the few areas where the plants didn't do so well being neglected. Good old 'broms' will soon fill in any gaps.