Grow Your Own Blog Giveaway...

On January 25, I joined in the Grow Your Own Blog Party and I have so enjoyed visiting 'new' blogs and it's also been wonderful having bloggers from all around the world visiting my blog. I had a Giveaway to coincide with the GYBP...a fabric square of Gerhard Hillmann's, featuring gum leaves and gum nuts and blossoms...very Australian. 

The Draw for the Giveaways is today! So once again I used the online Random Number Generator...

Congratulations to Maria in Western Australia. ( her lovely blog is here...

http://maria-lifeontheblock.blogspot.com.au)

And a big thank you to everyone who visited my blog and left a comment on the GYBP post. 

Grow Your Own Blog party

Once again I'm joining in this event which is hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full. The idea is that each blogger writes a post introducing themselves; their interests, reasons for blogging etc.

I am a retired primary (elementary) school teacher, who loves to knit, stitch, garden, read and travel. I am Australian and live in Queensland, a state on the east coast. I have a 'blended family' of a lovely DH, 2 daughters and 3 stepdaughters. DH and I are 'empty nesters' now but over the years, all of these young adults  have lived with us at one time or another.

When I retired I joined a knitting group that provides knitted, crocheted and sewn items to the needy in the community. Believe me, it is not just the homeless who are needy. Originally I knitted beanies, children's jumpers, throws etc for the group,but over the last few years I have volunteered to join up some of the thousands of squares that are donated to the group each year. This certainly keeps me busy! The photo shows a number of blankets made with donated squares that I've joined...

I also knit throws that I give away as gifts, or to groups to sell or raffle to raise funds. I try to do a few of these each year.

The photo above shows me working one evening on one of my 'signature' projects, a garter stitch chevron/ripple throw, using a variety of yarns. 

A throw knitted in mohair yarns for my DD2 to celebrate her 30th birthday...

Like a lot of crafters, I have far too much fabric and yarn in my stash...but I still find more that I 'can't do without' and purchase more :-) Like this Christmas fabric that friends were using last year...couldn't find any in Aussie stores, but finally tracked some down in an Etsy store in the US!

I enjoy blogging and even though there is no real theme to what I write about, I share my everyday adventures in living life to the full. 

Over the years, for me, 'writing' was all about the academic aspects of writing ....I wrote to inform...I wrote to persuade, but I rarely had the chance to write to entertain. With the latter role, I can be relaxed in both the style and the language used and that's what my blog has mainly become...to entertain but with some elements of 'informing'.
Last year I wrote posts while we travelled in the UK, France and Hong Kong.

A beautiful scene taken from high on the hill in Whitby, UK...

With my DH after the Dawn Service on ANZAC Day at the Australian War Memorial outside Villers Bretonneux, France...

The view from the window of our hotel room in Hong Kong...a quite swanky hotel overlooking some not quite so salubrious apartment blocks.

Later this year, we are planning to visit Canada, where DsD3 is living and working for 2 years.

My stepdaughter took this very Australian 'onesie' to Canada...oh and the neck support cushion! Lol

Many years ago I loved to embroider but had not worked on any such projects for quite a while. Through blogging, I have signed up for swaps that required stitching and once again I've discovered how much I enjoy it. 

I stitched this mini quilt in a Summer themed swap...

I have also 're-ignited' my love for English paper piecing (EPP) and always try to have a project on the go using that technique.

A Christmas 'ornie' made with small hexies...

A Dillybag (designer is Judy Newman) was a favourite project last year...also hexies!

 The next photo shows my current EPP project, a cushion cover for a friend's mother who is celebrating her 90th birthday. I still have a long way to go with this project!

As well as chronicling our travels, I also write about changes to the suburb that I live in. As the city grows, single houses in my suburb are being replaced by multiple townhouses...I have it all documented if it's in my street! lol

I could go on and on, but just one more thing about me...I love purple! :-)

Regular readers would know that I have just passed the 1000 posts' milestone, so somehow I've found lots to write about over the years:-).

In conjunction with the Grow Your Own Blog Party, I am having another small (but very nice) Giveaway. It's one of Gerhard's lovely fabric patches. 

I've used the photo from the NaturesFaceArt website so that I didn't have to take the patch out of its packaging. The design features masses of gum blossoms, framed by gum leaves with a beautiful butterfly in the centre. Gerhard's patches are suitable for all kinds of projects, especially patchwork. To enter, just leave a comment on this post...

Vicki, the organiser of the Grow Your Own Blog party has requested that all bloggers who run a Giveaway in conjunction with their post, that February 15 is the date to draw the winner's name. So lots of time for people to visit and leave a comment. 

The Winners...

Firstly thank to everyone who left a comment...using the custom random number generator, these are the winners...

The pattern was won by Kerrie a.k.a. Creations 1. Congratulations Kerrie!

 The Christmas decoration is heading back to the UK as Una won her. Congratulations Una!

The fabric square was won by Maureen Clare; congratulations Maureen, I'm sure you will have lots of fun using Gerhard's beautiful design.

The Patons Lace yarn was won by Lyn...enjoy, Lyn :-)

 And lastly the winner of the Art Cards by Susan, is Lin from France! Congratulations Lin...you will have a little bit of Australia over there in France.

Now if all the winners could email me with their mailing addresses, I will organise to send your prizes on to you.
Thank again, everyone who visited and commented.
Now, along with the Grow Your Blog Party post coming up on January 25, I will have another Giveaway, so stay tuned as they say! 

Christmas came to Alderley yesterday...and Day 2 Giveaway.

Last post I wrote about the 'Christmas Lunch' yesterday, and showed a photo of the gift I wrapped up for the Secret Santa gift giving.

The gifts piled up on the small table yesterday...

 After I wrote that post I had a text from one of the ladies who had gone down with  food poisoning from a prepackage meal she and her DH had had the night before. The poor darling needed someone to collect the dessert she had made and also the gift she had for Secret Santa. So I did that for her and couldn't help noticing what she had bought as a gift...it was unwrapped but in a gift bag...I could see it and rather liked it. The system we use is that everyone draws a number and the gifts are chosen in the order starting at #1. I drew #8 which meant that someone else with a lower number would probably select the gift I had my eye on! Lol. 

Choosing gifts had started but no unwrapping until everyone had a gift...

I watched the pile of gifts decrease in size...the gift bag was still there...oh, I thought #7 may have taken it...

Then it was my turn...and the gift bag was still there...and I grabbed it! Lol

This was what was in it...a lantern with a round candle...just perfect for our large veranda! I was thrilled!

We all loved our gifts as a lot of thought had gone in to each and every one.

Now for the Giveaway for today...a bit more of Christmas! Today's item is one of the series of felt decorations sold throughout the UK. Some readers might remember how I had bought the rest of Henry viii wives during our holiday last year. Somehow I had ended up with 2 Kateryn Parr decorations...

So if you would like this beautifully dressed lady for your tree next Christmas, just leave a comment on this post. All 5 Giveaways will be drawn on Monday, January 19 at 7pm EST (Australia). 

Good luck...

Christmas????? And the first Giveaway...

You all thought Christmas was well and truly over didn't you? Well not quite in my little corner of Suburbia. One of the groups that I belong to,The Newmarket Mums, had originally planned to have our Christmas get together for 2014 on November 30. A few of us couldn't make it on that date, so the group tried rescheduling on various dates in December, but again so many of us had other commitments. Eventually we settled on January 11 to have our Christmas party!   

So this morning I wrapped up my Secret Santa gift and made a salad...

I wrote on the gift card with my 'old' style of handwriting...I'd better explain that statement! In the 1980s, Queensland changed the style of handwriting taught in schools. I had to learn to write all over again so I could use the new handwriting in my classroom. Most people my age use the old cursive style so the newer script style stands out and my Secret Santa status would be unmasked! Lol. 

Originally I was bringing a potato salad but apparently someone was bringing potato bake so I was asked to change what I made...so tomato, red onion, boccocini and basil salad, like my dad used to make, is my contribution to the meal.

MY GIVEAWAY STARTS TODAY...

Now the details of the Giveaway to celebrate reaching 1000 posts.  On each of the next 5 days I will have a small Giveaway which is open to any readers of my blog,no matter where they live. To enter just leave a comment. I will draw each of the 5 on Monday, January 19. 

#1 is this table runner from my LQS...The Quilters Corner...

Good luck and thank you to all those readers who have visited my blog over all these years. 

Tiny...and a Winner!!

One of the Brisbane newspapers has a photographic competition each week with the winning photo on the set topic published each Saturday in the magazine which is inside the paper that day. I doubt that I would ever enter this competition but I thought that I would share some photos that I think could illustrate 'Tiny'. 

Two weeks ago a friend gave birth to her 4th child, a little girl called Mykayla. I posted off a gift and card...

A bunny and a bunny rug both made by Val who has a stall at the Stafford Heights markets...

 The bunny was so soft and had a rattle sewn inside him...he was about 10inches or 25 cm long...

My friend took a photo of baby Mykayla lying beside the bunny...this little lady was just over 5lbs at birth so at just under 2 weeks old, she does look tiny!

My other 'tiny' happened one day while DH and I were driving home along the main road which goes to our suburb...I spotted something tiny in the ute in front of us...

It's a little hard to see...but there was the tiniest little dog, possibly a miniature fox terrier, tied by a lead, to the tray of the ute...

It looked so funny as tradies (tradesmen) are renowned for having dogs tied to the back tray of their utes and these dogs often go to work with the tradie...but the dogs are usually at least medium size...like these ones. (these pics came from the internet)

Maybe that 'tiny' dog in my photo might grow big one day...but somehow I don't think so!

Now for the bag Giveaway...

Number 2 is the winner, so congratulations to Dorothy; I will get your prize posted off to you...thank you to all who took the time to leave a comment. 

Dorothy said...

I'm always intrigued by your interesting posts. Wish I had your 'get-up-and-go'... perhaps age has caught up with me. Anyway, that California exhibition looks fascinating and like you said, some of the exhibits could probably be still seen in some homes nowadays. Interesting chair - reminded me of a ship for some reason ?? Congratulations on your 800th post and please, please include me in the draw for your giveaway. Love animal print fabric and that picture on it cracks me up. xox

February 4, 2014 at 3:56 AM 

Some finishes and some more Knit and Natters...

A few posts ago I wrote about being in the mood to join knitted and crocheted squares into blankets for Knitting for Brisbane's Needy. I'm now almost finished #8 and even though there are still some bags of donated squares 'lurking' in my house, I will most probably move on to some other projects as soon as this 8th blanket is finished.

Thank you to those who commented on the rather striking colour schemes of those blankets posted previously, but really the credit must go to the lovely Glenda at Sisters of stitch. Blanket #7 was not colour coordinated by any means...this blanket used an array of odd squares donated from a variety of sources. The criterion for the use of squares in that blanket was size...any ones that were a similar size were used! Angela asked how I join squares. I mostly join squares using double crochet these days as it's quicker than mattress stitch and also quicker than a former technique I used on  (wonky edged) knitted squares where I did a row of double crochet around the edges of the squares and then whipstitched the squares together. 

So here is a photo of blanket number 7...a mismatch of squares but it will still keep someone warm this coming winter....

There were some knitted flowers in one bag of squares so I sewed them on this blanket to add a little interest :-)

On Monday I was finally able to take some finished items to hand in at the Scarborough Knit and Natter. Mitzi Micra's little boot/trunk was filled with the 7 finished blankets...

Completed blankets piled up on my lounge last Sunday night :-)

At the Knit and Natter, 'my' blankets joined a whole lot of other rugs that were handed in..

As usual the ladies who come to the Scarborough K & N had been very busy and there were bags and bags of items brought along to hand in, including some lovely indigenous jumpers...

And Robyn who held up everyone's items for Show and Tell was kept busy as some 'ends' not woven in were found in some of the items...yours truly had 2 ends left hanging despite checking over the 7 blankets the night before! 

Robyn weaving in an end on a beautiful scarf!

That was Monday...on Tuesday morning I went to the Paddington Knit and Natter at Knitch...a delightful store. 

Shelly, one of our members brought along a bag of Pookies that she had knitted for the Summer Challenge...

Gorgeous little Pookies!

And I handed in that chevron/ripple stitch  throw that I had been working on for the Mothers' Day Raffle.

All ready for a new home in early May.

Just a reminder of my Giveaway to celebrate 800+ blog posts. To be in the draw just leave a comment on this post here.  Draw will be on February 15

Tote bag from California Design Shop at QAG...