At last I can tell you!!!

Ages ago I wrote a post about a secret project I was invited to take part in. The post included a photo that showed nothing really...

But I did include a photo of the thread I was using...lovely Cottage Garden Pansy...

I can now reveal that myself and a heap of other bloggers from both Australia and overseas were making blocks for a quilt to celebrate Sheryl Scholte's ( Shez) 60th birthday. Fiona from Bubz Rugz was the organiser and Fee chose the Polaroid Block for the design. ( Shez loves taking photos so this choice was very apt. ) 

Here's my block...the border around the 5 inch square is white...the greenish tinge is from the ruler the block is sitting on. 

All the blocks were posted to Fiona, who took on the huge task of joining all the blocks and then quilting it. Backing, sashing and wadding were donated by some lovely ladies in this group. Communication during the project was via a closed Facebook group...we were so sneaky! 

From Fiona, the quilt was passed on to Michelle Ridgeway who did the binding and then delivered the completed quilt to Shez in person. And that handover was today. We were able to watch via a live stream set up by Karen Saw...clever girl!!!

I've brazenly stolen photos from the Facebook site so you can see the quilt at the various stages...

Flimsy...

Pinned ready for quilting.

A closeup of the quilting...

Closeup of the binding...

The label made by Michelle...

Wrapped up...

Parcel disguised as some 'Show and Tell'...

Shez on the left, admiring her new quilt. Holding the quilt on the right is Michelle and Karen is just behind the quilt. 

It is an amazing quilt; each block is so unique and all were stitched with love for our special friend Shez! 

My former student and friend, Olga...

Last year I wrote about Olga and her battle with ovarian cancer. Since early last year she has endured 3 different courses of chemo treatments and surgery, always maintaining such a positive attitude. Last year I wrote a post about Olga and how I had knitted her a lightweight throw out of soft mohair, which was my way of saying, 'my thoughts and prayers are with you as you travel on this journey'.

When Olga was well enough, she organised a 'photo shoot' to show her with the throw. (near Devonport)

The treatments appeared to work and later in the year, Olga travelled from her home in Tasmania to Queensland to stay with family for a short holiday and to catch up with old friends.  DH and I met her at her brother's house at Maroochydore and took her to lunch. DH had never met her before and he was very impressed with her calm dignity and positiveness as we discussed her illness and her plans for the future. It was a wonderful few hours that we spent with her.

With the beautiful Maroochydore Beach in the background; Olga is wearing her chemo beanie  which had been an essential wardrobe item last winter in Tassie.

I treasure these photos

Olga maintains a Facebook Page to keep friends and family informed of her progress, treatments and thoughts and dreams and I was saddened to read this post last week.. I've used the colour teal for the font. This is the 'colour that has been allocated' to Ovarian cancer.

'This is probably the hardest post I have had to write so far, but I have come this far, and I need to see this through to the end. I saw the oncologist today and the news was bad. This chemo is not working. There is no new cancer, but what was there is growing and I have been taken off the chemo. I have no options left in Tasmania and Victoria. The oncologist has hooked me up with an oncologist in Queensland and they are looking into a clinical trial for me. I need to get up there as soon as possible because they wont look at me if I start to get too sick. We hope to leave Tasmania Easter Monday or as soon as possible after that. The oncologist has no idea how long I have left, but I am still going to fight this, and hope to be around for a long time. I know some of you wont have words for this, and I totally understand. Sometimes I think I have the easy job. I get to say what is happening. I doubt I would know what to say if it was happening to someone else. I bought a bottle of champagne today, and we are going to sit back and drink that tonight, and talk. Will keep you all posted. Have a great night everyone. Take care. Xx'

We don't know yet whether Olga will be accepted into the program here in Queensland, we can but hope. I have a request...please keep Olga in your thoughts and prayers.  

You just never know where love is 'lurking'...

One of the local radio stations is running a competition to coincide with Valentine's Day. People are asked to send in 'how they met' stories. Once I entered a similar competition, telling the story of how Mr Next Stage and I met. The company running the competition liked my story so invited us to 'tell our story' on A Current Affair. We were also offered a chance to feature in a Valentine's Day feature in the Courier Mail. The short story is that we declined both offers; the reason being that you just never know how the 'story' will go and we had to consider our families and their reactions.

But you've probably guessed that that introduction was all about that I'm ready to share our story here on the blog. It is 11 years ago now, this very month.

I know many people who talk very disparagingly about others finding partners on the internet...some people get quite heated when discussing this subject...but that's how we met. It was not a dating site I must point out.
One day DD2 suggested I join a site called Schoolfriends.com.au. I was not really interested but had a bit of a look at the site and found some  classmates and some former students who had registered with the site. Suddenly I was very interested and sent messages to these people. I had a wonderful time catching up with all these people. A few weeks later, I even found an 'old boyfriend' from school days. We sent so many emails in just a short space of time and we organised for a phone call. Hah hah...nup! that wasn't ever going to work! lol

A little while later I saw a familiar name on the site...would he remember me? I was 2 years younger than him in a school of over 900 students...When I was in Grade 6, I thought he was pretty special. Throwing caution to the wind, I decided to send him a message to say hello. After all we went to the same school, I taught 2 of his daughters when I was on a contract to their school, my DD1 went to high school with 2 of his daughters and finally, his cousin had been my friend for nearly 30 years. So our paths had wound around close to each other for a while. He didn't remember me but wrote back filling me in on what his daughters were doing then. He also said that he was single again, like so many people . Romance was the fartherest thing from my mind...but when he found out that I loved theatre, we'd found a common bond. He asked me out...

This is us at our school's 100 years celebratory dinner. Our music teacher is sitting behind me.

He took me to a performance at the  Arts Theatre and we talked in the courtyard before the show and then at intermission. He was so easy to talk to and with. The next time we went out it was my 'shout'. I initiated that outing because I found as the weeks went on since the theatre outing, that he was starting to intrigue me. We went to Earth and Sea restaurant...we talked and talked...we had so much in common...then we noticed we were the only ones in the restaurant and that the staff had been putting the chairs up on the tables... (I must add that on a Sunday night this place is closed by 9.30 at the latest, so it wasn't that late! lol)

Not long after we met, I went along to a family celebration for the  DH's brother when he turned 55.  He's the one in the middle. This was the first time I'd met his family. My future SIL, Mary, in red, 'told me to run while I still had the chance'...I think she was joking! 

Yep! Something had happened that night... and the rest is history. This history included challenges caused by children and various insecurities...but we faced all that together. We met in the February and later in the year, my new special friend went to PNG for a tour of duty. I house sat for him, taking care of the pets, the house, day to day issues with children etc...and when he came home...DD2 and I stayed. I'm still here! lol

When the future DH came home from PNG, I arranged for a former colleague, Kevin, to take me out to the airport in his beautifully restored 1929 Buick and back home again of course...it was quite a surprise for the  DH!

 DH loved my nephews as much as I did...when possible, he would watch them play football.

 When I first met him, he would not miss golf on Sunday for anything...and I accepted that and just did what I wanted to do. But then, the odd Sunday he didn't play but instead joined in what I was doing either on my own or with the girls...
That's why one Sunday before he went to PNG, he went up to Warwick with DD2 and I for a baptism. DD2 was the godmother for her friend's baby.

 Yep! I reckoned he was (and is!) the one.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Three girls and a quilt show...

I often write posts about 'my old schoolfriends' and this weekend, there was a quilt show for a patchwork group that one of my former school mates belongs to. Three of us decided to support Jan and her fellow quilters, by attending the show yesterday morning. We had a wonderful time looking at all the beautiful quilts, and as photos were allowed, we took quite a few photos too! The first photo that I tried to take, my camera didn't seem to want to turn on...then I remembered...the battery was still at home in the charger. I'd forgotten to put it back in the camera. Luckily my phone takes quite good photos :-)

The battery still in the charger at home  :-( 

My friends Val (closest to camera) and Jane...

Suzan Saliba

Another one of Suzan's works...


There were a number of local patchwork shops represented , which were selling lots of goodies such as fabrics, kits, patterns and other patchwork accessories 

Some of the handbag patterns that were for sale...

Another pattern for sale was this baby donut :_)

This was a 'Cathedral Window' quilt just near the entry

Two friends (and fellow bloggers) were also at the show, Cheryl and  Lynda

This was one of the two quilts that our friend Jan entered into the show, 'Florabunda'; it is magnificent!

Jan's second quilt

My friend Jane took a closeup of the label on Jan's 'Florabunda' quilt giving details of the  pattern designer and the  who did the quilting (Suzan Saliba)

Close-ups of Jan's second quilt

Val, Jan and I in front of Suzan Saliba's stall

Val and I in front of the grevillias in the carpark 

Our entry also entitled us to refreshments in a lovely undercover area to one side of the hall. Whom should I meet there (no pics) but my SIL and BIL and Judie Bellingham...(Judie is the organiser of Sisters of Stitch, a quilter and a quilting judge to name just a few of her roles)
And if you want a read about another's visit to the same show, read about the Sunshine Linus group's bus trip here