Fabric collage gift tags

 It's that time of year when I endeavour to make some quilty, crafty things for my friends.  I like to make them something and personalize it.  

I made these little gift cards from inspiration from the latest Quilting Arts Gifts and Quilting Arts magazine. I've made a total of 6 so far.

My version is a magpie with berries - yes, I know, you have to use your imagination.  It is my version of a magpie.  

The collage gift cards in the Quilting Arts Gifts are done by Jeanelle McCall and they really took my fancy.  The others in Quilting Arts mag are drawn using a permanent marker and then coloured and embroidered.  They are as equally cutesy and are done by Jane LaFazio.  Her designs are delightful and maybe I will do some of this type as well.  

It is trying to find the time to escape to the sewing room that is difficult.  This weekend has been quite productive but can't show all til after gift giving.

Storm Cells and food

Some storm cells are moving through our district at the moment and we are getting some glorious rain.  Hope it rains all night!

Thank you all for doing the rain dance, it seems to have worked.

I am loving these at the moment.  I made the chinese cabbage salad recipe on the back of the packet and it is yum.  

It is made with chinese wom bok cabbage shredded, flaked almonds and shallots.  You pour over your dressing which is 1/4 cup caster sugar, 1/4 cup white vinegar, 2 teasp sesame oil and 1/4 cup olive oil.  They say 1/2 cup olive oil, but that is too greasy for us.  You stir this over low heat just until the sugar dissolves and let it cool before using over your salad.  Just before eating sprinkle over your fried noodles and you're good to go!

You can also do some little chocolate delights with these too.  

They are also just lovely in your stir fries for a bit of crunch, and you know what? I could just eat them as they are straight out of the packet.  (A little bit naughty...)

It's Hot Hot Hot

It is going to be a scorcher today.  Has it forgotten how to rain?  
This bush seems to love the heat and is flowering profusely at the moment. It is called a plumbago?  I think.  Our tank in the background is thirsty.
 

Isn't this quilt magnificent?  It is queen size and is all hand appliqued, hand embroidered and fully hand quilted. WOW.  It is the work of a lady in our quilt group and it has just won third prize at the Qld Quilters Quilt Show in Brisbane, deservedly so IMO.  You will also see on our blog that she won viewers choice at our recent exhibition with this quilt.

The flowers represented are a native to Australia called Flannel Flowers (common name).
All her work is original and is always hand quilted, because like me, she is not that good of friends with her sewing machine.

Flowers in a drought

It is so dry here at the moment.  We desperately need some spring rain.  There are large cracks appearing in our black soil, you feel like they are going to swallow you up they are growing so huge.
There are grass and bush fires all around Queensland and we pray no lives are lost during what I fear is going to be a savage fire season.
Maybe we all need to do a rain dance.

Some plants are still valiantly flowering in our poor parched garden.

This pink one is a cactus. Maybe the only thing we will be able to grow soon is cactus.  Aren't the colours brilliant?  The flower only stays a couple of days and then it is gone til next year.

This is a bush we call 'yesterday, today and tomorrow'.  The flowers start off a very dark purple, fade a little to a light mauve shade and then fade right out to white.  I don't know the proper name for it, but it is beautifully perfumed as well as being pretty.

Here is something else very pretty.  Our little granddaughter.  She and her mummy and daddy have just spent the week with us while their bathroom was being renovated.  (Thus the lack of posts).
She kept us busy and entertained.

In the Garden

For a little while yesterday morning before it got too hot (we were told to expect around 30 deg C) I ventured into the garden.  This is the most beautiful time of year in Toowoomba.  The scent of roses is in the air and there is much to do in the garden.  It was good to get the warm sun on my arms and back as I worked and got my dose of Vitamin D.

I got some cuttings of the plant pictured above from a friend.  She gave me cuttings of this pink one,  a yellow and a purple.  I have seen them before but don't know their name.  They are a succulent. 

I love getting cuttings from friends.  Each time you go out into the garden you see the plants and it reminds you of your friend.  It is a wonderfully economical way to build up your garden also.

Wish I could spend a whole day in the garden, but unfortunately, if I did so, I fear I would not be able to walk the next day due to having Fibromyalgia.  

This condition has been with me now for some 17 years and I put it down to the after effects of a very bad virus I had back then. Because my children were young, and we were in business their was no time to slow down and recover properly, so I just soldiered on through the pain.  Now. I am still suffering the consequences, so if you ever have a bad virus, listen to your body and REST. Apart from almost daily headaches it does not restrict me UNLESS I overdo it and push my body to places it does not want to go.

Later today, I am off to meet with my little sis down town and get some retail therapy.  (After we do lunch, of course).

Vege Garden and Lack of Sewing

Usually between about 4.00pm and 5.00pm I like to hit the sewing room and do a bit.  For the last couple of days my sewing machine hasn't wanted to play.  It keeps getting loops on the back.  Not lots and lots of loops, just one every now and then.  The thing is, I am doing a chenille bath mat at the moment and I want the back to be 'perfect'.  
I have de-fluffed, oiled, changed needle, changed top tension threading and anything else I can think of.  It is driving me nuts.  Maybe it is time for a new machine!  




Mr Neat has just planted this vege garden.  He assures me he is going to be responsible for watering it.  Usually he plants these things and then has to go away for work for a week or such like and I end up having to do it.  It is also a hassle if you want to go away for a long weekend or something.  Our poor neighbour usually gets landed with the job then.  He could not be talked out of it though.  Do hope it yields better than his last efforts!
Here we have lettuce in the foreground and bok choy behind it.  Behind that capsicum and out of picture we hope to have some cherry tomatoes grown by shoving some bought ones that went a bit soft into the ground.

You call this dust?!!?

This is a view from our property last Saturday when we had a similar, but not so big, dust storm as the previous Wednesday.   There is a hill in the background, I kid you not.  It was like a heavy blanket of fog.  

Whilst I was at the quilt show someone in our household (won't mention any names) left the living room windows open.

Today is the first chance I have had to try and dust every single object in the room and surrounds.  

This is not your ordinary old household dust.  No sirreee.  This is straight from the outback desert sands type dust.  

You wipe the surface of object/furniture, you wipe it again, you wipe it again, moving it from one place to another.  It is really testing my housekeeping prowess and it is really eating into my valuable quilting/sewing time.  Grrrr.

Baby Lili - bub enjoyed the quilt show but was anxious to show us all her new crawling skills.  Very cute to watch, but this new development has had me 'baby proofing' my sewing area in the lounge room before each visit.