Why is my fabric all hairy????

Flamin’ cat!!!!!!

Rosie gets a workout - and some stitchy goodness :o).

I’ve finally had a chance to do a bit of stitching with my gawjus new sewing machine [that’s Rosie to those of you who may not know ;o)]. I have to say she’s an absolute delight to sew on and the quilting …. so smooth and easy. I definitely love her :o). Here’s a simple disappearing 9 patch table runner I made so that I could have a play with the free motion quilting on Rosie … here’s the quilting …

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it’s very different to my old machine (6500P) and a dream to use!! I’ve also made some covered notebooks to be sold on a Christmas stall at the retirement home that my dear friend Valerie volunteers at … These are so easy to whip up and I think they look so much nicer than the plain cardboard covers. I’ve also made some cute little Christmas tree decorations …

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I’m going to try and get some more stitching today but before I go I thought you might like to see some of the lovely stitchy gifts I got for my birthday from some of my very special freinds …

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Thank you dear ones :o) … I feel very lucky - *mwah*!!!

And also this lovely gift made for me by Teresa to remind me of the fabulous holiday we just had with my gawjus DD2 and her partner Luke waaaay over on the other side of the world :o). It not only looks just beautiful but it also smells simply divine ….. Mmmm lovely lavender!! Thank you so much Teresa … I absolutely LOVE it!!!

I’m off to play with Rosie again …………

What a great week it’s been!!!

First of all a great big thank you for all of your wonderful birthday wishes - you're all so lovely and you made me feel so spesh!!! I've had the best birthday ever!!!

Finally I can come clean!! I was sworn to secrecy ….. couldn’t tell a soul!!! My gawjus DD1 Tahlia has been here in Brissy with me all week :o)!!! She had to go to South Australia for work for a week then she flew up to Brisbane for a week which was great cos I got to spend my 50th birthday with her!!! We went to lunch at a lovely restaurant on the bay – and since it was such a lovely day we ate outside :o). But today she headed back to London ….

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no tears though cos she’ll be back with her partner Luke for Christmas ….. YAY!!!!

Well I did manage 2 squeeze in 3 OPAM finishes for October …

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Some little covered notebooks … perfect for gift giving and so easy to put together :o). My first projects on my new Rosie!!

Before I go I thought I’d show you a piccy – since it’s Halloween and all – of my gawjus DIL Alicia (right) and a couple of her friends all dressed up as vampires for a Halloween party prettiest vampires I ever did see ;o).

She’s Here!!!!!!

I got my birthday pressie a day early!!! I’ve been dreaming of this (not so) little darling for a while now :o). ‘Rosie’ - as she shall be known, has now taken up residence in my sewing cave :o). YAY!!!!!!!!!!!

But it was not without hiccups …………………… of course lol!!!

I had plenty of re-arranging to do … goodness, it’s been years since I moved the old Horn cabinet!! I wish I had a bigger cave!! Had to put the table together ….

Got it all done – it took me ages because all the instructions were in Japanese LOL. and then I spotted a problem ………………

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There was absolutely no way Rosie was going to fit in there!!!! I had put together the wrong table!!!!!!!

So back I went to change it for the right one, thankfully Peter put that one together for me at the shop (MUCH quicker than I did mine he he he) so all I had to do was bring it home :o).

And this is how she looks now…

*****sigh***** Isn’t she pretty?!?!!! All threaded and ready to go :o). I won’t show you the rest of my cave …. let’s just say I’ve got a bit lot of tidying up to do he he.

Thank you my darling Husband … I think turning 50 isn’t going to be half as bad as I thought it might be ;o).

I’ve hung my beautiful bunting that Maria made for me above Rosie… – Maria and Trash both gave me some lovely gifts when I met up with them in Bath and now that I’m all unpacked I can show you them ;o). Here’s the snuggly soft scarf Maria knitted for me too… And the beautiful linen hankie that Trash hand embroidered with a “BATH”tub– how wonderfully appropriate!! And the delicious hand made soap that I can’t wait to use…Thank you again my dear bloggy friends :o)!!!

Now that we’re over the jetlag, and the unpacking and washing is all caught up with, life is pretty much back to normal around here ……. and that’s not such a bad thing :o).

Home at last and catching up

Hello everyone …… didja miss me lol???? It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted cos it was such a busy holiday and as I’ve mentioned before … not so reliable innernets, and even when we had it I didn’t have enough time to do a proper post!! I’m going to try and catch up on what you’ve all been up to over the next couple of days too.

Here’s a couple more piccies from the hol :o). First up is Bear outside an English phone box, she LOVED these… only trouble with this one was she couldn’t get inside, no matter how hard she tried… must have been just for show lol. We travelled up to the Lake District – oh how incredibly beautiful it is up there, we got to visit Beatrix Potter’s ‘Hill Top’ Cottage…  unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take any piccies inside but it’s fascinating because it’s just as she left it, right down to her hat and shoes. They have some of her books open at the pages where she’s used parts of the house to illustrate her stories. I really enjoyed the tour, I’m a big fan ;o)!! After our fill of BP we were a bit peckish and we found this gawjus cafe’ – just chockers with Cath Kidston and crafty goodness. You can see by the smile on my dial I was in heaven he he…. I think it must have been a bit breezy that day judging by my ‘windswept and interesting’ look ;o). My DH didn’t seem to be quite as comfortable surrounded by all the girly frills and stuff he he he bless him, he’s such a tolerant man :o).

Today the plan is to catch up with a few dear friends then I’m off to one of my favourite places to hopefully buy my new sewing machine!!! How exciting!!!

I love Bath!!!

That’s Bath the city … in the UK!!! Not necessarily the bath TUB … although I must admit I don’t mind a nice luxurious soak from time to time too :o). I think Bath must be one of the prettiest towns … we really enjoyed it :o).

We’re back in the UK after an idyllic week in South of France … oh how beautiful it is there!!! We’ve just spent the weekend in Surrey with Luke and Tahlia then we hired a car and went to Bath, where I finally got to meet Maria and Trash and we had an absolutely FABULOUS day together – Darryl, Jess and I had our very own tour guides too ;o)!! We saw the wonderful historical sites … and of course, the favourite shops too!!! Got me some delish Cath Kidston goodies as you’ll see if you visit either Trash or Maria’s blogs lol, and Maria also showed me where to find her local patchwork store which sadly was closed cos it was Sunday, but - I did manage to get back there on Monday and buy me some Tilda goodies – among other things :o). Here’s a piccy of the store … “Country Threads”, I had a lovely time browsing/shopping in there :o)!! Did you notice the people there on the right of the piccie??That’s Maria and Trash pressing their noses against the window of a shop they hadn’t noticed before … a new wool store :o)!!!! There were even a couple of lolly (candy/sweety) stores to be found too, yummm!!! Thanks so much Maria and Trash for such a fabulous day!!! I felt like I had known these two gawjus ladies forever and the time we had together ended much too soon ;o).

After a super time in Bath we drove on to the town where I was born. It was a weird feeling being there again after more than 30 years!!

We’re up in the Lake District now …. visiting Beatrix Potter’s ‘Hill Top’ cottage is high on the agenda ;o)!!! I’ll be back when I can, til then …….

Not a Patchwork shop to be seen!!!

Well we’ve just spent the past week in the South of France….. oh what a beautiful part of the world it is!!! We’ve been truly blessed with the most wonderful weather – although I think that will change once we get back to London, I hear it’s a bit dismal over there at the moment.

Went to Monte Carlo yesterday, I’ve never seen so many red Ferarris all in one place lol, seemed every time I turned around there was another one. Wow!!!! Here’s one outside the Casino in Monaco … it was surrounded by lots of equally flash cars I can assure you …… Tahlia and Luke went into the Casino for a flutter so we walked around and explored … Darryl asked me what I wanted for my 50th birthday – which isn’t too far away – and I showed him this in the Cartier window … Somehow I don’t think I’m gonna be finding that wrapped up for me he he he …. all diamonds and rubies – isn’t it incredible!!??!! It was great fun looking in all the famous designer’s store windows :o)!!

Haven’t found one patchwork shop yet … hoping to when we start our trip up to Cumbria next week. We’re travelling from Surrey – to Bath (seeyasoon Maria & Trash!!!!!!) – then North to the Lake district, so if anyone has any favourite stores in those areas I’d LOVE to hear where they are :o)!!!

Still hit and miss with the innernets so I’m finding it really hard to reply to comments … but THANK YOU  to everyone who’s left a comment, I LOVE to read what you have to say :o)!!! I’ll post again soon if I can … til then ……..