BLESSED SPEEDY

As we get closer to Christmas I feel like Im missing my mum more and more She went to heaven on December 21 so that anniversary is drawing near too - and she LOVED (I really mean it LOVED) Christmas. She loved all the trimmings - brandy custard, egg nog, tinned ham (dont ask!)tinned peas (again dont ask) and the giving and receiving of gifts I do know she is having an awesome time in heaven and wouldnt want me to be sad but its hard Weve also had a couple of days of over 40 degress celsius - so when my farm office work is done Ive been working away at my Chandlers Cottage advent kit Heres days 8 - 14 Day 8 cork and gum keyring Day 9 poinsetta pin cushion Day 10 lace tissue envelope Day 11 christmas journal Day 12 spring flower needle case Day 13 snowflake and star hoop Day 14 nail file cover Im really enjoying these little and achievable projects - many doing things or using products I havent used before Ive also finished another audio book - Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier...

Its advent season! Yes Ive got (cough) three yarn advent kits! But as Ive only really started one and its a work in progress I wont show that to you as yet BUT......I did get the sewing advent kit from Chandlers Cottage and ive been chipping away at the project in it - many are a little out of my comfort zone but many are quick and easy. All area achieveable in an hour or so of working on them Heres day 1 - 7 Day 1 Pentagon christmas ornament Day 2 Embroidered christmas tree ornament Day 3 Luggage tag Day 4 Zipped purse Day 5 Postcard Day 6 Star christmas ornament Day 7 Bookmark Im really happy with them all and the fabrics are gorgeous! No reading finishes this week - sorry!

Summer is almost here and the busyiness doesnt seem to slow down! We are right in the midst of our cow AI program so that means I need to get up super early every morning to see which cows are "heating" which means ready for AI Mum gave me a jacaranda tree 10 years ago and told me it would take 10 years for it flower - she was right! And its really looking great! Gary doesnt like it as he thinks its messy - I just think its beautiful I have made a small bag from a kit I had - its just so cute and perfect for when you only want to take a few things with you Ive finished two books - firstly a physical book - The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley "The Winter Sea" by Susanna Kearsley which is one of my favorite types of novels. It talks about the present time and also in the early 1700's and the links between modern day characters and those from the past. Its a 4 out of 5 star read too! On audio book I finished Son of the Shadows which is book 2 of the SEvenwa...

Ive had a really productive week! Well craft wise Ive had a very productive week! If you are a regular reader or a close friend of mine, you will know that Im "trying" to work my way through the many differnt craft things I have to make up - be they yarn related, fabric related or several other things too! One thing I had been wanting to try - and thank you to my girls for gifting me a candle making kit for my birthday! The kit was to make up 6 candles - three different "flavours" - salty caramel (my fave I think), basil lemon and mandarin and finally aussie bush. Its simply a matter of melting, mixing and pouring and then waiting for 2 weeks for them to cure. Yep the house smells quite lovely atm! I also made a cute zipper pouch thing - and Im not that good with zips but I did it! Its not perfect but its finished so that is what is important isnt it? And also a shawl finish! This one Im counting as a "free" project as the yarn is all leftovers from o...

Im actaully writing this on the day that I should - and what a day its been! Very very dry dusty hot and windy and we thought we might get some rain but of course we didnt! We havent had a good rain for quite some time and are really starting to look for it - even it if it is just to settle the dust. Ive had yet another sort through the various kits etc that I have to do and a few different ones came up to the top - firstly this panel that I turned into a cushion. I made the quilt that this was one of the blocks quite some time ago, and for some reason I ended up with two of this block - it was nice to embroider the centre and to do the dresden blade around the outside (I do have a not very secret love of dresden plate blocks!) I think its turned into quite a nice cushion Ive also been working on several other things that hopefully will be finished shortly and Ill be able to show you but thats the only finish for the week On the reading side of things - I skim read Too Late by Colle...

The weather is crazy - one day 39 degrees the next in the low 20's But I suppose that is november in northern victoria! We are gearing up for our big cow AI (articial insemination) program that starts next week - so from monday there will be lots of looking at our cow collar activity to see whether they are on heat or not - stay tuned! Ive got a new obsession with making bowl covers - the things that you put under your bowl when youve heated the food so you dont get burnt - these ones are for aimee and I think I might make a few for people for Christmas. Ive also finished another beginner embroidery kit from Clever Poppy - this one involving satin stitch which previously I havent been that good but the tutorial was great and I think ive done quite a good job on this one Ive also finished a special baby quilt for someone that my mum held dear I also finished a physical book - The Mallee Girl by Jennifer Scoular. This was a book club read that I really enjoyed Set not that far fr...

After the lovely warm weather in Queensland it was a huge shock to come home - and the morning after I got back it was 2 degrees! Heck! But all systems go on the farm - we had our heifer AI (artifical inseminsation) program done and fingers crossed they are all in calf - if not the herefords bulls will help out! (Well they better) I had a huge quilting finished - the Out On The Patio Quilt designed by Louise Papas and the I got the kit for it from Amitie Ive never done foundation piecing by folding freezer paper and I loved it - I also did what Ive never done before when making a quilt - I made up all the units for all the blocks and then joined them together. Made the joining together a pretty quick process. And I just love the colours in this one - its now hanging above our bed as a "bedhead" I also finished an audiobook series - another dystopia one by an author Ive listened to before - The Complete Disruption Trilogy by R.E. McDermott. This wasnt as good as the other s...

A week away in Queensland with super cute Ollie and of course Sarah and Jessie the dog. Unforunately I didnt get to see Kris as he was working away and Evie was at school but stil managed to have a super fun time - which was of course way too short! I spoilt myself and stayed the night before my flight at the Park Royal Motel at the airport - highly recommend! Yes a bit pricey and fancy but it felt very luxurious and made the 7am flight in the morning very achieveable Cue the cute photos from queensland! Nothing really finished craft wise but I did finish a physical book - Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly This was almost like reading an Indiana Jones story! Lots of adventures and quests to locate the seven wonders of the ancient world I enjoyed it but it really went on too long - too many quests and almost unachievable and unbelievable things happened Gary read this and loved it and thought I would too - well it did have the pyramids in it and Egypt so that part was a win! An...

As a family we dont do things by halves and myself and my 3 girls share the same two days for birthdays - Aimee and Sarah on the 16th of October and myself and Megan on the 17th of October For our birthdays, Gary took Megan and I to the Cataline Museum at Lake Boga. Never been there before and its a pretty well set up and interactive place. Lots to learn about not just Catalinas but the war too as well as an amazing silo art painting On the craft side of things I made some placemats for our dining table from some super cute cow material a friend sent me which suits us well I think!

Ive had a very special finish and its a quilt that I love, I wish I didnt have to make but Im so glad that I have When mum went to heaven, the online quilting group that I am a member of - Southern Cross Quilters had the members make me heart blocks in rememberance of my dear mum. I asked for rainbow colours for the hearts as one of mums favorite songs was Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This is the result and its it lovely..... Its taken me a while to be able to sew them together and to quilt and bind it - I needed to wait for the right time Yes it was sad but also so very healing and it is one very special quilt that will hold a very special place in my heart Thank you to each and every one of the SCQuilters who made me a block Your love shines through Also PS the fabric I used as the borders and the backing fabrics were mums as was the label panel - that felt right

Whoops! I forgot to do a blog post last week - did you miss me LOL Ive therefore got plenty to show you and to talk about, but firstly on the farm, weve been busy making silage and have one cow left to calve! Everywhere else seems to be getting good rain unfortunatley we have not- thank the Lord for irrigation! Excitingly Aimee and I got to the the Pharoah exhibiton at the National Gallery in Melbourne! Words cannot describe how amazing it was - to be able to see these ancient artificats is something I never thought I would do - yes still want to go to Egypt......................... So onto what Ive finished over the last two weeks - I finished a pair of socks - the pattern is String of Lights and I used some gorgeous yarn from Natural Fibre Arts And a hat with yarn that has been in my stash forever and Ive gone to gift/sell it many times but havent Its The verdant gryphon codex and the pattern is classic ribbed hat I also finished the mini quilt which I started a week or two ago!...

Cold cold mornings, super wind days quite often but occasionally a bit of sunshine! Almost 4 seasons in one day - but we cant seem to be able to attract any rain (which we wouldnt mind, thank you very much) The days seem to roll one day into the next and to be honest some days I dont know what ive done all day - but im sure Ive done something Oddly, this weeks finishes are sort of a bit about mum Firstly and embroidery that I was going to make for mum to hang in her room - sadly she didnt get to enjoy it and Im sure she would have loved it Its another kit from Clever Poppy - and I love her designs, so simple but really effective And on the reading front I finished a book, that Aimees dr (who is someone I made friends with on one of the consumer advisorys I was on) leant to me to read. To be honest when I first saw it I thought this is definately not for me, but I bravely started reading it and I really enjoyed it. Its written by a palliative care doctor who tells the story of many ...

Weve had some super cold mornings the last few days, I think Winter is trying to have a last go! It was 1.2 degrees this morning but feels like minus 2.5 the wind was bitter We have also had some nice sunny days as well which has been nice - however the wood heater is still going as its so nice in the mornings to stand in front of it and get warm! Hope you are keeping warm and cosy too! I dont have any finishes to show you but I thought Id show you a few things in process that I have been working on Firstly the beach walk blanket which I am crocheting - each little block is pretty quick to make but I feel like it takes twice as long to weave in the ends Theres still lots of rounds and blocks to go but I am enjoying it and try to do a bit on it each week ! Ive also been working on the Out on the Patio quilt and am doing things a little differently than I usually do - Im making all the "parts" first ready to join them into blocks and Im quite enjoying doing it this way. I o...