Baby Miracle Appeal

Just thought I would draw your attention to the Baby Miracle Appeal

Hope you are all having a good week.

Work stress + home stress = no blogging

Life has been stressful (as the title suggests) since I returned from my holiday to Australia, and I haven't been stitching a great deal - as a result I haven't felt like blogging. So sorry to those who keep visiting and not seeing any new posts. I will elaborate more at a later date.

It hasn't been all bad - my OH opened his own flooring shop this week and it's off to a great start. I'm so proud of him.

Now for a little stitching news-

A little progress has been made on my Long Dog Sampler -



Some stash from a LNS I went to recently. I'd seen this one previously and decided it was too expensive, but with feeling like I have been lately I decided what the heck one day and just went and bought it!! LOL



I bought this cute little JBW chart last week (it's called French Country ABCs). I couldn't wait to make a start on it, it's a fun stitch and won't take forever to finish.



Here's a photo of the stash I bought from the USA just after I came back from Australia. I can't wait to get started on it, although I do keep telling myself it would be better if I got Long Dog finished first - as it stitches up quite quickly and I'm not that far from finishing.



My Aunt's (the one who reads my blog) son made the news this week - you can check out the gruesome details here. Ouch!.

Sorry for the rushed post but I'm off out the door now. I hope you all have a great weekend!

I've been found out....

my Aunt found my blog :0) HI AUNTY!!

No stitching lately... we have house guests (indefinitely), including one boisterous but lovely nine year old. We went to a chocolate factory yesterday, and he bought us all a chocolatey-gift of his own accord. What a sweetie (no pun intended!).

I did squeeze in some online stash shopping though, and eagerly await my loot. No idea when I might get to stitch it, but buying it was fun!

Hope everyone is having a great week... Aunty included :0)

Close your eyes Kiwi readers

what I'm about to write might be highly offensive... I LOVE AUSTRALIA! LOL. It was such a fantastic holiday, that we are already thinking about our next trip (maybe an outback adventure).

An Australian winter sure beats a New Zealand one... the weather was fantastic, even reaching 32 degrees Celsius!

The scenery and the wildlife are the most memorable parts of the trip. I got to cuddle a koala, hold a crocodile and pet a whole lot of kangaroos and wallabies. I have a whole new appreciation for snakes, crocodiles and other less cuddly Australian animals.

Australia Zoo deserves a huge mention. If you are ever near Brisbane it is well worth the entrance fee!

We had an amazing journey on the Skyrail in Cairns. It's a gondola/cable car which glides over the rainforest treetops for 7.5 kilometres - you can look down at the amazing view of the Cairns coast, as well as see cockatoos and Ulysses butterflies flying beneath you - there's even a waterfall to admire. You end up at a small village called Kuranda where you can cuddle koalas, go shopping, walk amongst the butterflies etc. Absolutely awesome.

The shopping in Australia was excellent and we picked up some fantastic souvenirs. We even managed to find a cross stitch shop - so I bought 5 kits (as you do) all of Aussie animals.

It was a tiring holiday - we were busy every day and up with the parrots (who would start well before the sun came up). If any Aussie readers could tell me which bird makes a noise that sounds like someone screaming, I'd be intrigued to know! :0)

More photos of my holiday can be found in my Webshots for those who are interested.

Paradise found...

WOW!! Australia was awesome. More photos to follow, but thought I'd share this amazing oasis - the Millaa Millaa Falls in the Atherton Tablelands (near Cairns in Queensland).



Hope you've all been stitching hard, and I'm looking forward to catching up with everyones blogs this weekend! :0)

Back at the end of August...

Australia, here we come!



Take care, and happy stitching!

Swapsies anyone?

I have a couple of charts I'd be interested in trading -

* Ladybugs and Bumblebees by Country Cottage Needleworks
* Rose Cottage by Elizabeth's Designs

I would quite like to swap for Country Cottage Needleworks, Little House Needleworks, Prairie Schooler or charts on my wishlist.

If you're interested, my email address is in my profile. :0)

UFO bustin'

I finished LHN Bee Pinkeep yesterday. A UFO I started back in January. I intend making it into a pinkeep for one of my sisters.



I bought the latest issue of the UK's Cross Stitcher on Friday. I haven't bought a cross stitch magazine in ages (only two that I can recall this year), but I was very taken with a lot of the designs in this issue. I've already made a start on the freebie Geisha kit.



Hope everyone's having a great weekend!

A small finish

Thanks for all your birthday wishes and comments on my last post! :0)

I have finished my part on Debby's RR for the 'Hello Neighbour RR'. I stitched Rose Cottage by Elizabeth Designs, with a few modifications. As usual it's a poor photo when uploaded, but you can click it for a clearer view.



I haven't done any other stitching, and haven't even used my new sewing machine yet because I've been unwell. I had plenty of time to watch my new DVD set - The Forsyte Saga though (which was fantastic). Hopefully I'll have a more productive stitching/sewing week this week.

Tess has also been sick. Here she was last Tuesday morning creating havoc while I tried to make the bed, by the evening she had completely crashed. They don't know what is wrong with her, but she's showing signs of improvement now which is a relief.



Have a great week everyone.

I turned 30 recently...

and (hhhh-hmmm) 33 even more recently :0) (Sorry to Billy Connolly for pinching his joke!). Yep, it was my birthday yesterday. I can't believe how fast they come around, but hey I don't mind being spoiled and spoiled I was...

I was touched to receive a beautiful fob from Carol in the post for my birthday. Thanks again Carol - you are such a generous person, and a constant source of stitching inspiration. The fob is beautifully stitched and finished, and my Mum and sisters oohed and ahhhhed over it last night when they came around for dinner. I love it!



The spoiling continued... look what my family gave me!



We had a great laugh last night getting it up and going. Now to learn to sew :0)