Thank you Nicola

I came home from work today to find a piece of mail for me (I love mail!), I opened it up and found this very beautiful card from Nicola. Thank you so much Nicola, I am very touched that you took the time to stitch a card to wish us well on our big day.

Of course someone had to get in on the action...



The wedding is only a few days away now, and the rain is pouring down. We are getting married outside, so I am getting disheartened. February is usually hot and dry, and we did not consider Plan B until last week when the rain started. Oh well, fingers crossed.

We've been trying to take it easy in the lead up to the big day, so I got a bit of stitching in over the weekend. I am loving stitching this. I was jumping around a lot with my projects, but I think I'll stick with this.



Thanks for all the comments and your friendship, it means a lot to me! :-)

Have a wonderful week.

A new start

One that doesn't involve a winter theme (that some of you have picked up on... lol). It is Their Song by Blackbird Designs.



This week has been so sad with what has been happening in Australia. As well as the devastation to lives and homes, there is also the wildlife that has suffered.

So in honour of the amazing wildlife Australia has, I thought I would put together a mosaic of some of my Aussie wildlife photos.



Better still, in Australia you can actually get hands on with some of the wildlife!







If you want to help in some way the Red Cross, Salvation Army and Wildlife Victoria are collecting donations.

Also, the lovely Karen from The Stitching Post is collecting donations of fat quarters and skeins of DMC to help the crafters who have lost everything.

Have a great weekend!

Late summer knitting...

What do you do when the temperatures are in the 30 degrees Celsius range? Why start knitting a scarf of course...

I didn't feel like stitching on Thursday night (I had a visit from the frogs), so I picked up my knitting which I started in 2006 - and the frogs visited that too.

I have had this green wool stashed away for six months or more - so I figured it was a good excuse to start something new...



This wool feels so soft and thick(and is a nicer green than the photo lets on too). I can't wait to finish it and for some cold weather to come so I can wear it. There are rumours that tomorrow may go as high as 40 degrees Celsius in Masterton (over the hill from us), so it's gonna be a hot one here too (not scarf-wearing weather at all... lol).

I am not really a knitter - so if anyone knows of any good knitting websites, I would be very interested in improving my skills and knowledge (thanks in advance).

Depending on what hemisphere you are in, I hope you are staying warm/cool and are having a lovely weekend!

Itty bitty jellybeans

I LOVE the Silver Needle. They're speedy, friendly and receiving your order is like receiving a gift.

I got a number of freebies in my latest order too - a colourful pen, a Christmas freebie chart and four tiny (but flavoursome) jellybeans!



If you are in need of some warm fuzzies check out this adorable article about a hot koala and a cold bucket of water.

This weekend is a long weekend, yay! It's off to a good start - we've got no plans (bliss), we've got an offer on our house (yippee) and the weather has warmed up again (wonderful).

P.S. A couple of belated answers to questions left in comments -

Judy commented on the Hokey Pokey Lugana I am stitching Woodland Santa on. She wanted to know what colour Hokey Pokey was, you can see what real Hokey Pokey looks like here.

Also, Leena commented on the red flower in my 3 January post - it is a Pohutukawa (New Zealand's very own Christmas tree). Unfortunately, they only flower for a few weeks - but they are gorgeous while they last.

Thank you Kathy :-)

I am so touched to receive a beautiful embroidered handkerchief and wedding card from my friend Kathy. I knew something was up when she emailed me to ask me what the initial of my new surname would be! :-) I will definitely be carrying this with me on the day as my something blue. Thank you so much Kathy!!



We had our rehearsal on Friday night. It was a lovely warm evening, the garden was looking beautiful and we had a lot of laughs. It's hard to believe it's now less than 3 weeks away (how did that happen!?).

I haven't managed much stitching lately, although Woodland Santa has grown a little...



Have a great week!

Woodland Santa

I was going through my stash and magazines and nothing was calling to me for January, for the 2009 Christmas Challenge. So I went into my.... brace yourselves people... WIP/UFO basket for the second time this year, and pulled out Woodland Santa by The Prairie Schooler.



He is being stitched on 32 count Hokey Pokey Lugana by CountryStitch. I do wonder if the fabric count is labelled incorrectly though, as I had to stitch it in one strand because two was far too thick.

I don't know if I will finish it before the end of January, things are busy right now with the wedding just four weeks away, our house on the market, the breathless cat (who I can't find to give her, her tablet) and life in general. I'll give it my best shot though. I have some nice fabric that I was sent in an exchange which I think I will use to finish this into a small cushion (now that my sewing machine is a little less scarey to me, lol).

Have a great weekend!

Five addictions and a cat with asthma

I have been tagged by Tanya to list five addictions.

1. cats... I love all cats. My own cats, neighbourhood cats, animal rescue cats, manky cats, feral cats, big cats, wild cats... life would be no fun without them. I have three, and if it weren't for the vet bills I would without a doubt have more

2. collecting vintage postcards (mostly of people, but also of places in England I have been to)

3. cross stitch, and collecting cross stitch stash (sshh, don't tell the husband-to-be but I ordered some more today)... you wouldn't have guessed that was one of my addictions, would you?

4. taking photographs - this addiction started young (I was probably about 8). I frame scenes in my mind, and I start getting antsy if I see a photo opportunity but there is nowhere to stop and take a photo!

5. England - I can't get enough of it. My Dad, sister and I might be visiting later this year - and it is mine and OH's dream to retire to an English country cottage

This time I'll tag -

Jayne
CarolR
Sam
Hazel
Dianne

Did you know that cats can get asthma? Today my cat Tess was diagnosed with it.

Yesterday she was wretching a lot and we thought it might be a furball, but her breathing was very noisy (I was indoors and could hear her breathing and she outside a few metres away). So off to the vets she went this afternoon and the diagnosis was made. She's on a course of steroids, and we will always have to keep them handy in case it flares up.

Of course we feel bad now - we used to sometimes hear her heavy breathing and think how cute the snuffly noises were when she was sleeping. It was probably the asthma!

Here's an old photo of my girl...



Hang in there folks, it's nearly Friday!

Damask Roses WIP

I worked on Damask Roses last week, and have some noticeable progress.



It's good to have such a relaxing hobby, as last week was eventful for all the wrong reasons!

I have an exchange I have been putting off finishing because it requires me getting the sewing machine out. Today is our regional anniversary day, and OH is out making changes at his shop, so I might just pull it out and get it finished up. Wish me luck!

Another finish

Last night I finished up on CarolR's Quaker Friendship RR. The fabric and thread were great to work with.



Aww, thanks Daniela for the blog award. I don't usually pass them on because there are so many wonderful blogs out there that I don't want anyone to feel left out. But this time I will play along and pass the award to the following lovely ladies -



1. Kathy
2. Judy
3. CindyF
4. Margaret
5. Tanya

I'm off to pull my threads so I can start back on Damask Roses. Hope you have a good week.

Genealogical shenanigans

My wedding sampler is now done. Yay! It was a fun stitch. The chart is all packaged, stamped and ready to be sent off to Jayne. I'll look forward to seeing hers finished later in the year too.



Here is a (terrible) photo of Autumn Splendour, which I also finished earlier in the week. This chart is off in the mail to Tanya.



Kathy and Beatrice invited me to join the Mirabilia SAL. I thought it would spur me on to finish Damask Roses which I started in 2006. I shouldn't need spurring on, it is such a beautiful design. I don't remember the last time I stitched on her, so I am quite excited to be getting back to it.



We were recently tracked down by some relations (some from England and some from New Zealand), and last night they came for a visit. I am very interested in my genealogy, so it was great fun.



They picked the hottest day to come for a visit too, it reached about 32 degrees Celsius yesterday. I like it warm, but not that warm!

Yay, it's the weekend. Enjoy yours!