Well that was Christmas!

Today is New Year's Day and the tidying up and putting away of all things Christmas is almost done. The weather has turned very hot and humid, so we've been a bit lethargic. DsD1 and Dan have been staying with us since Christmas Eve but today they headed off up to Coolum on the Sunshine Coast for a beach holiday. When you live on a cattle property 6 hours drive from Brisbane, with summer temps often in the 40s C ( over 100 degrees F)  a beach holiday must seem like paradise! 😄 
Christmas 2017 was lovely. Most of the family were able to be here for the family dinner on Christmas Eve, with just DsD2, her husband and Anthea  not here as they were having Christmas in NZ with Karl's family. But my nephew and his family were visiting from Sydney so that was a lovely bonus.
You may remember my blog post about the Sunday Stitchers Christmas which was held at Sandi's home. Sandi's decorating for Christmas was just stunning...mine is very, very modest. I tend to decorate little areas and because Anthea wasn't here, I could put out lots of Christmassy knick knacks...although she did come over one afternoon before they left, and loved playing with the knitted Santa and Reindeer in the little chair.

Both granddaughters got a handmade tree decoration from me...I made mini stockings for them but with a few extra things stitched on them compared to the basic ones I make for K4BN...

In 2016 I had made a hexie decoration for Anthea with the middle hexie being a photo of her printed on fabric. So this year I will have 4 to make!
The two babies who entertained us all at 2017's Christmas dinner are cousins...

The little girls weren't too sure about Grandma/Aunty Maria's antlers! Lol

My niece was once again wearing my early 1990s Christmas dress that I gifted to her a few years ago. Her baby brother is now so much taller than her!

Lots of good food; lots of good-natured banter and laughter...

And that was Christmas for 2017. 🎄🎁🎉

Instead of buying you gifts...

'We've decided to all get together and build you and dad a back fence', so said DSD 2 a number of months ago. Despite misgivings from DH that it was an impossible job, the family were undeterred. The 5 daughters and 4 husbands/partners got planning. After all, when one son in law is a builder, another is a landscaper, one is a construction engineer and one is a grazier with a multitude of skills, we must count ourselves fortunate. 
The first working bee was to clear the fence line of saplings etc and try to dig out tree roots. The second working bee was a big one! Our wonderful builder worked out the supplies that would be needed and these were delivered just before our second working bee.

On the day the  girls worked hard...preparing the timber for the posts and the horizontal pieces...

The quickset concrete was amazing and meant a lot of progress could be made in the one day.

There were large trees growing on the fence line but the builder son in law had it all in hand...the fence would be built incorporating those trees.

At the end of the second working bee, the back boundary of our property looked like this...

The third working bee was held last Thursday...DsD2 and her husband were in NZ but DsD1 and Dan who live 6 hours away were staying with us, so Dan had his turn at helping...
Early in the morning DH and Dan laid out the palings ready...

A bit more concreting was done around the base of the fence posts...Dan took charge of that...

DH trimmed some more of the trees...

Adam and Cam started nailing the palings. Adam's work truck had the compressor for the nail gun...

The boys worked quickly...

And then there was the gate...

Ta dah!


And one last photo...the foreman who worked tirelessly to ensure everyone did things correctly.

So our new fence should ensure that grandchildren can't get out on to the road behind our house. And I'm hoping that it discourages the bush turkeys who walk into our yard to trash the veggie patch. They can fly but I've noticed they rarely do; preferring to strut/walk.
What a special Christmas present! But best of all was watching the family all work together. 

A baby shower...

DD1's baby is due January 22 and with lots happening within the family, it was suddenly realised that we were running out of time to have the baby shower. As she is suffering from Gestational Diabetes, DD1 and could be induced earlier during January, it was eventually decided that Dec 23 would have to be the date.
The mother-to- be wanted a low key party rather than the 'big productions' of her sister and stepsister. So just a dozen of us gathered for a relaxed afternoon tea.
The baby is a girl so there was a lot of pink items....

In the next photo DD1 is reading all the messages written on the card sent by her workmates.

Her workmates gave her a box of beautiful items.

Her mother in law gave her a lovely pink and white basket filled with goodies...

Her little sister knows firsthand what a new mother needs...


This is from Grandma Me 😉. I fell in love with that pink Giraffe when I was in Ollies Place, looking for cot sheets, bunny rugs and baby towels...and it came home with me from shopping.

At the same time, I bought some 'Mary Jane' socks which DD1 just loved!

We had some lovely savory food and some freshly baked scones ( made by DD1) for afternoon tea but I didn't take photos of those. Instead took photos of the cake which my friend Gracelyn made...

And DD1 was to get a big surprise. On the Thursday DD2 had tipped us off that the Redsbaby company were having a sale and the pram that DD1 had decided upon was nearly $200 off the normal price. So I ordered it online from the firm in Sydney. I received a tracking number on Friday morning and the advice that the pram would be delivered on Dec 28. Well...amazingly it arrived on Saturday morning, in time for the baby shower.

And Cam put it all together.
The next baby shower in the family is for DsD1... it's on January 14. 👶🏼😍    

Secret Santa Swaps continued...

Last post I wrote about the lovely gifts I received in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Swap. I was Michell's SS in this swap and this is what I made her...
The main part of the gift started with some hexies cut out of Christmas fabrics...

And these were made into a drawstring bag...

The lining was also Christmas fabric...

And there were pockets inside the bag too...and in those pockets, I put some decorations which I had knitted or crocheted.

All ready to post...

At our Sunday Stitchers Christmas party we also had Secret Santa. When I wrote the blog post about that amazing day, I couldn't show what I'd made as the recipient couldn't be there on the day; instead receiving it in the following week.
So this is what I made...

Instead of making a cushion with EPP hexies, I made a hexie cushion out of triangles. The pattern is by Liisa from Quilters Corner and I used some sewing themed fabrics.
I'm already picturing this cushion made with Liberty prints...although if I think this through, I've been working on a hexie baby quilt in Liberty for months and haven't made much progress, so maybe best not to start a new project just yet! 😉

Chookyblue's Secret Santa Swap 2017

I've previously written about the lovely decorations that Denice sent me in this Swap, and yesterday I could open the larger gift.
Denice made me a beautiful wallhanging and also a lovely big bag which had a tag attached suggesting that I could perhaps find some yarn to fill the bag...oh yes!!! Lol

And here is the bag made from some very pretty fabric...love those daisies!

And the wall hanging is just stunning! I put it on a hanger for the photo but I need to get a slightly larger hanger out I think. The birds are so beautiful and the stitching is exquisite. All my favourite colours are in this...and I love it so much.

Now the background fabric is pretty special too...here is a close up.

How perfect is that 'music fabric'!
Thank you so much Denice; your gifts have given me so much joy! And now I must sample that maple sugar you popped in the ornament parcel. I put it away until Christmas so it's more than time to open it up! 😉
And thank you to Chooky for once again organising this Swap and also an extra thank you to Denice for giving Chooky a hand this time when it was needed.
PS Earlier this year I was complaining about the fact that the (free) Blogger App I'd been using for years ever since I got an iPad, was crashing every time I typed a few words. And I discovered that Google was no longer providing updates and things looked a bit grim. Well I 'bit the bullet' ( slang for after a lot of procrastination I did something) and purchased a blogging app that would allow me to transfer my blog seamlessly to it. And it worked...until a fortnight ago when it wouldn't even open. I paid just under $3 for it but it only worked for half a year 😕. So I've bought another one and paid $4.49 for it. Fingers crossed it works for a reasonable amount of time. 🤞🤞🤞

Holly's Baptism...

It seems like ages ago I wrote a post about the family heirlooms ( as in a 59 year old gown and petticoat and a 138 year old crocheted bonnet) that Holly would wear for her baptism. Well that all happened on November 11, so no wonder it seems ages ago.

I arrived before everyone else so I could help set up for the ceremony...especially boiling the jug in the vestry so the hot water could be added to the cold tap water in the big brass ewer jug.  Thus the water would be warm for the baby...😊

Pretty soon the 'star' arrived with her mum, dad, one of her godparents and some friends. Holly was just wearing the petticoat at this stage.

I was given the job of dressing  the baby in the gown and putting on the bonnet. Earlier, when DD2 and I were planning the christening and she was checking out the gown and bonnet, I got the distinct impression that she only wanted to borrow the gown. But something made me soak the bonnet a few days before and get to work with the iron on the crocheted flower motifs. And I took it with me to the church that day...and DD2 was very keen for Holly to wear it! Thank goodness I had got it ready and brought it with me.
 

Some photos before the ceremony...

Father B always likes to involve any other children in the congregation in the ceremony and pretty soon Holly's cousins were helping...

Father B is of aboriginal descent and since being in our parish, he has introduced a tradition of taking a newly baptised child around the church as all women and girls reach out and touch the baby gently. It is surprisingly moving.

I particularly wanted to get a photo of Holly with myself and Grandma P...as I have photos of my mother and mother in law holding DD1 at her baptism...

And a lovely photo of Anthea, Holly and DsD2

And one with grandpa!

And DD2's godmother had come along and she and I did a bit of reminiscing of DD2's christening at the same church 33 years ago.

After the ceremony and heaps of photos were taken, everyone headed off to the local hotel where quite a bit of the restaurant had been reserved for a celebratory lunch. Looking at the next photo I can understand Father B's quip about there being more people gathered for Holly's baptism than at the Sunday services. 😉

And DsD2 had made a christening cake ( well 2 actually) for all to share after lunch. 

It was a lovely day and was timed perfectly, as from November 13, I was back temporarily in the workforce,  working for DH on the state election and this time around, I found those 8.30 to 5pm days really tired me out more than ever before. I guess the years are catching up! lol