Angels Come to Play

My SSCS gift has arrived

How exciting....I went to the mail box yesterday and I found my SSCS 2009 gift there.  There were 4 parcels in all...one was a little hand stitched ornament, and the other 3 are my Christmas gifts that I have to wait until Christmas day to open.  Now do you think that I am able to wait until then? Well I cant promise that I wont, you will have to check back later to see if i have been naughty or nice.

Thank you so much Lynn I can't wait until the big day arrives.  This is my cute Christmas ornament

How cute is this and so perfectly stitched, I just love it.  My little teddy "Boonis" who is all dressed up in his Santa suit all ready for Christmas Day has borrowed the ornament as he thinks it is a little pillow.  Boonis is very grateful Lynn.

These are my 3 carefully wapped gifts that are waiting for Christmas Day.....well maybe or maybe not.

I am off to finish dinner for DH who is on the late shift tonight.  I like to wait for him to come home to eat with him.  We are having pasta with homemade tomato sauce with tomatoes picked fresh from my garden this morning.

We are having herbed chicken meat balls with yep... you guessed it fresh herbs from the garden.

The birds have been a bit vicious with my fruit trees this year but thankfully they are staying away from the herbs.

Until next time may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels

Shelley

I am off for a quick break

I am off for a well earned break to Forster, with knitting needles, lots of crafty books, and camera in tow.  My dear hubby is taking me away to one of my favourite places on earth.

I am totally engrossed with knitting at the moment.  There is something safe and comforting about hearing the clikkity clack of those needles.  When I have a creative block I just bring my trusty knitting and just let my thoughts drift away.

Now to my SSCS partner who is porbably wondering if I am ever going to do a post before we have to send off our gifties yes I do exist and I will love anything that I am blessed to receive.  Sincere apologies for the drought of posts since signing up for Chookies SSCS 2009.

I have heaps of things to do before hubby gets home from his shift at work so I best be off and get stuck into it.  No use putting it off any longer.  I am not sure which is the worst part of going away....the packing or unpackin, but I do know that whatever the downfall the trip will be worth it.

Take care until next time...May your Angels Come to Play with My Angels

Shelley

3 Day break coming up Yay

I am so excited with a 3 day break coming up....what shall I do with all that time on my hands???  Maybe a big long sleep in.....what about a bike ride around the lake...take the dogs for a walk.  Well who knows but it will be nice to have some me time.

Oh yes I do recall I promised a little giveaway in my last  post.  Well what about a cute little Melly and Me pattern called Rudy.  He is such a cutie and would make a perfect little decoration to add to your Christmas collection.

 And now for the winner...let me see now.  Oh yes it is Karen Pitt. Karen has only been blogging for a few weeks.  She has a quirky blog and makes me smile.  So congrats to karen.  I will send you an email shortly and get your snail mail address.

 

Well I finished the bag I was telling you about.  Not the best picture but you get the idea.  

So my bedtime draws ever closer and I must yes must get my beauty sleep.

Take care till next time and may your Angels Come to Play with My Angels

Shelley

Belated 1st Bloggy Birthday

My 1st bloggy birthday.  Hip Hip Hooray.  Actually the day passed me by and it wasnt until I popped over to Peg's blog  earlier and she was celebrating her 2nd birthday that I realised my anniversary was in July.  So happy birthday to me.  Maybe I should have a little surprise give away.  Leave a comment and I will russle something up for the lucky recipient.

I had a great morning sewing a gorgeous bag at a class with Monica Poole.  It isn't quite finished yet, I have the zipper to put in.  I so wanted to take it back to class finished but I wanted to learn Monica's techniques on the dreaded zipper so you will all have to wait 2 weeks for the finished project.

The pattern is Monica's "Bon Bon" bag I will show you a sneak peak of the pattern cover.  This has to be one of the easiest bags I have ever made.  Stay tuned for the finished article.  I can tell you that my chosen fabric is black and white with a little bit of red.

This class is only once a fortnight so it isnt much of a commitment and it is nice to meet up with some new stithcers. The class was held at Blueberries in Wyong.  If you are ever in the area you should make a point of dropping by as this is one of the best quilt shops I have been to.  The owner Jackie is so helpful and, for those of you involved in the Nundle fat 1/4 birthday swap it is where I purchase most of the fabrics I send.

Yipee Chookyblue has started another Secret Santa Christmas Swap.  I have signed up already and cant wait.  I have got my ideas together and I will start stitching this weekend.  I am allowed to give some tiny sneak peaks but that will be all until the swap is complete.  The swap filled up in record time and is now closed.

Until next time stay safe and may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels.

Shelley

2 Posts in 2 Days...what is going on????

I just had to write a quick post to let you all know that Miss Chookyblue made my day.  I popped into the post office on Friday and what did I find there?  A package from Chooky that had SSCS on the back.  Well we all know that Chooky's SSCS has been and gone so I was some what surprised and very eager to get to the bottom of this little mystery.

The package was rather large and I was intrigued to say the least.  When I opened up my parcel I must say that I shed a little tear.  It was a beautiful cushion handstitched with love.

Chooky is very brief when she writes, unlike me, verbose to say the least.  The note read "Sorry you missed out on your SSCS parcel at xmas time.  Enjoy this gift I made for you.  My 1st needleturn project".  Now I dont know about you but I always find it hard to give away the first of any hew projects that I have made.  So I was totally blown away by this.  As you would all know Chooky ran a very successful Christmas swap last year known as SSCS.  Most people did the right thing and sent off their gifts, but for some reason my partner didnt send my gift.  So even though Chooky is a busy person she took time out to surprise me with this very thoughtful gift.  How very lucky am I

BTW she also popped in 4 of her lovelly photographic cards.  Take a moment to check out my treasured cushion from Chooky, I dont think the picture actually does it justice.

THANKYOU, THANKYOU, THANKYOU DEAR SWEET CHOOKY.





So aren't I the lucky one.

Till next time may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels

Shelley

Oh How Exciting...My Christmas in July Swap Gifties Have Arrived

I went to the post office the other day and I was pleasantly surprised to find my secret Christmas in  July swap gifts were there waiting for me.  There was a bulging  parcel just begging to be opened and I was the right person for that task.

My swap partner was Sheri and I have to say she was very generous.  There were 3 fat 1/4's all tied up with a pretty ribbon 

Here they are all tied up




























Aren't they pretty, and they will be just perfect to use in this quilt pattern

Look at all these cute goodies.  A pretty card, a fold up seam ripper that I hope I dont have to use too often, and some clips for binding my future little quilt.






























Look at all the work that has gone into this Tea Towel.  Not sure I want to use it, think I may just display it.

















Sheri has been very busy knitting these face/dish cloths.  I think they are way too nice for dish cloths.  What do you think?










And now for the most gorgeous bag.  I just love, love, love it.  Sheri has been very cute with this bag as the Christmas themed bow/tie can be easily removed and it then becomes perfect for use any time of the year.

























So that is my exciting news.  Sheri must have spent ages on all these gifts.

I would also like to say a big thank you to both Linda and Stephanie for organising the swap.  I know that a lot of effort goes into these swaps and I do appreciate everything that they have done to make this swap so successful.

Till next time may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels

Shelley

Thanks for the inspiration Peg

I would just like to say a big thank you to peg for inspiring me to pick my stitching again.  Peg has been giving me a gentle nudge to get get back into it again and joy of joys I did exactly that the other day and I have really been enjoying it.

I have to get my secret Christmas in July swap giftie finished and with Pegs encouragement I am almost there.  I am not allowed to show you the finished giftie but I am allowed to give some hints.  So with those restraints in mind how does VELVET AND DUPION SILK sound?  Yep that's all the hints you are going to get.  I am almost finished so for once I am right on track with no late nights needed to get it finished.

Speaking of late nights I sorta fibbed coz I will be staying up late for the next 3 weeks watching the Tour de France.  I had a real sportsfest last night as the Tour went till 1.30am and then I tried to stay up for the Wimbeldon final, I managed to last till the end of the 4th set, but I couldnt manage the last 30 games of the 5th.  What a match!!!

I best be off to get my Christmas giftie finished.

Til next time may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels

Shelley

The last few days

I bet you can't guess where I went on Tuesday evening.  Give in?  Well I went to see the most amazing show ever, ever.  Who do you think it was.....PINK.  What a star and she is so talented.

My daughter wanted to go and see her and asked if I would like a ticket for my Christmas present.  I wasn't so convinced but as no-one else wanted to go with her I thought why not spend a night one on one with her.  As the days drew closer to the event I was getting more reluctant by the hour.  Whilst I knew and like a lot of her music I was thinking what would an old bag like me want to go and see PINK.

I am so glad that I did.  I still cant get the show out of my head.  I even went online yesterday to see if I could buy some tickets.  Sadly she is totally sold out.  I tried Newcastle. Canberra, Sydney and Wollongong.  I will be 1st in line when she comes out here next time.

I made a promise to Peg today that I would pick up a needle and thread and do some stitching so as soon as I finish this post that is exactly what I am going to do.  I have a Christmas in July secret swap to finish.

So with stitching in mind and a happy heart off I go skipping my way to my studio.  The happiest place on earth for me.

Thanks for dropping by and until next time may your Angels Come to Play with my Angels.

Shelley

A little ray of sunshine.

Thank goodness for some sunshine today, gosh that rain hasn't let up for weeks now.  I know that you farmers love it but my ground is so sodden, I cant walk anywhere with out a squelch...squelch under my feet.  When I put the chooks to bet at night the gooey mud almost sucks my gumboots off my feet. 

Now I know you will get a laugh out of this and at the risk of taking the you know what out of myself but in the interests of a bit of a laugh I will tell you what happened the other night.  Hubby is away for a few days and he usually puts the chooks to bed.  I forgot a to go down at 5pm...I had a little nanna nap and dozed right through.  The chooks actually slipped my mind until about 11pm....I rushed straight down to their run to shut the gate and keep the foxes out.  I guess I rushed just a little too much as I slipped in the gooey mud and landed flat on m behind.  I was up to my armpits in mud.  OMG it was ugly.

I had the PJ's on as I had spent the day in bed reading my fav book.  It was a really indulgent day as I haven't done that in over 20 years.  I sure came back to reality in 1 great big thud.  I can laugh now but it wasn't at all funny then.  I sure did smell as I was covered in a mixture of chook poo, mud and grass clippings.  Not a pretty site.

I bet you are wondering what book could have kept her reading all day like that.  As I am dyslexic I dont read all that much so it is amazing that I even read a book at all.  But then this book was special.  My daughters and I have been bitten (so to speak) by the "Twilignt" bug.  The girls had read all 4 books in the series but there was no way I was ever taking on a book with over 400 pages in it.  I would get them to tell me parts from it and I loved hearing their excerpts.  We had all seen the movie but they said the books were better.

Anyway they took it on them selves and gave me a copy for Mother's day.  Hmm how nice I thought...that will look lovelly sitting on my bedside table.  And it did for a while.  The girls kept asking where was I upto.  I had the book for a few weeks but didnt even turn a page.  Finally Jess said that it was an easy read and the words were large so why not just give the 1st chapter a try.

Well I did and would you believe I have now read all 4 books.  The last one Breaking Dawn is 756 pages long and I finished it in 4 days.  Hence the day spent in bed.

For those of you interested my daughter and if she got the job.  She got to the last interview and it was down to her and one other and sadly she missed out.  I guess in one way it was sorta a good thing as she would have dropped a huge amount in salary as well as having to buy a new car and pay tolls and fuel.  At the moment she can walk to work.  But that didnt stop her being sad.

A few weeks after missing out on the job her cat that she rescued got very sick.  He had renal failure and other complications and they were presented with a vet bill for over $5000.  I know what you are thinking re the money thing but they dont have any kids and she loves her animals.  So there you go.  He is still having ongoing care and will cost a bit to keep him healthy but he is now doing very well.

I will sign off from my newsy update as I wouldnt want you all to get bored.  I am back for the long run.

Thanks to all of those lovelly people who emaild me making sure I was OK.  Expecially the nundle chicks...you are all truely awesome.

Till next time...

May you Angels Come to Play with my Angels

Shelley

Where has she been? You might well ask.

It has been ages since my last post.....at the risk of boring you with the details I have been suffering from laryngitis.  Not that should stop me from posting but I just haven't felt up to it.  I have also had some tax deadlines.  This is not my favourite task in the world and I always seem to put it off.  There is only 1 thing worse than doing tax and that is going to the dentist.  I would rather be sitting at my machines or just enjoying life in general.  Oh well such is life.

Now for the exciting stuff...what's been happening.

I have been spending some quality with my 2 daughters.  They are both grown up and married to wonderful husbands.  The 3 of us are all mad Twilight fans and have been to see the movie many times.  The girls are up to 7 times each and I have been 3 times.  Not quite as addicted as the girls.  For Mother's Day the girls gave me the 1st book, DVD and a CD of the music.  They have also given me earlier a Twilight key ring and a book mark.  So now I am all set with the Twilight paraphernalia....and loving the fun with the girls.

My eldest daughter has been working with her current company for 10 years and is getting a little restless.  The company is about to move in the next 6ish months and that is going to be a real drag for her.  She oversaw their last move and it really took its toll on her.  She simply doesnt want to be involved in this one.  The stupid questions that have been sent to her re the move are:
There is no DJ's or Myer nearby.....what will we do?
What sort of tea and coffee will be served?  They have even named the brands that they want.
I wont have a view from my desk what will I look at all day?

Hello......what about we are in the middle of a financial crisis and you are lucky to have a job.

Anyway she applied for her dream job in Oct last year, when the financial crisis was starting to bite.  They said that her interest in the job had been noted but at this time they had filled the position internally.  Well guess what.  They contacted her last week saying that they would like to interview her.  How exciting is that?  Her sister has been doing mock interviews with her and she has been practising big time.  Remember this is her dream job of all time.  I cant tell you anything about the job at this stage as it is quite high profile and hush hush.  The interview is Friday so I will let you know how it goes.  Please keep your collective fingers crossed for her.

I had a wonderful ANZAC day, I watched the March and cried as usual.  Then I took off for a day out with my eldest daughter.  We went to an art exhibition of an old flame of mine.  It was at a gallery in Newtown.  Then we stopped off at a park in Glebe and had a picnic lunch.  I made the most divine pumpkin and fetta quiche.  My daughter is a vegetarian and I dont mind leaving meat off the menu.  Even my husband loved it and he doesnt like pumpkin. 

If you would like the recipe let me know, it's just perfect for your vego friends.

So the exhibition was great and my X flame is quite famous for his ceramics, I had wanted to see his work for ages and it was worth it.  Now, now I only went to see his exhibition and nothing else.

There were other exhibits there as well and I purchased this gorgeous tea cup.  I dont drink tea but I do love all the goodies that go with it.  Nice cups and saucers, tea pots and of course afternoon tea treats.  Yummo.

My camera is upstairs so I will post you a pic next time.

Then off to the Botanic Gardens for a botanical art exhibition.  Really exquisite work.  There was even an herbarium sample that Sir Joeseph Banks had collected over 200 years ago.

After that we went to the Art Gallery of NSW for the Archibald prize exhibition.  Some of the work was a bit strange and then others were just brilliant.  My favourite was the painting of the little boy who palyed Nulla in Australia.  It was breathing taking.  Even at his tender young age he has experienced so much.  He has suffered and has survuved lukemia and got to act in a great movie along with some other great Australian stars.  You may have guessed that I have recently watched the movie and I loved it.

I guess it is back to the tax for me for now.

I promise to blog more often or else I will have chooky and a few others to answer to.

Thanks for all your kind emails checking on my well being, they have all been very much appreciated.  chookyblue , judith,  clare, Jo jo,

fiona and there were lots more very kind and caring people.

Till next time may your Angels Come to Play with My Angels.

Shelley