Gum Valley Patchwork

Oops......

I have been trying all day to insert the photo that I forgot to insert in my post this morning, but alas I just can't get it to work. So next best thing is to include it here....fingers crossed x x x

 

Yeah it worked. It is the table runner for the new Material Girls Club which will hopefully commence in March. I'll keep you all posted.

Linda    :)

Too hot to sew.......

I don’t think so…….Well I didn’t do any sewing on Thursday as I spent the day trying to catch up on some paperwork. I took it all to the shop with me and sat quietly with the air con on. No customers ventured in to the shop….all home in the cool I expect. Yesterday …… after suffering withdrawals….. I headed upstairs (turned the air con on full bore) and made this table runner for the new Material Girls Club, which will start in March (I hope).

I am starting to get my class newsletter organised and hope to get it finalised in the next 2 – 3 weeks.

The cool change arrived late yesterday afternoon and although the house was still hot it did make it a little easier to sleep. The forecast for today is only 28 - which is good.

I had forgotten to post a photo of my finished block of Gail's free Block of the Month. 

I am really happy with it an can't wait for the next one......which is due out next week.

Linda   :)

I hate the heat!

Summer has hit and we are in the midst of a very hot spell weatherwise. The garden has certainly suffered from yesterday's blast but I'm doing my best to keep it going by watering early in the morning and later in the evenings. Water for the garden comes from a dam on our property which fills up quickly over the winter time. I am able to keep the grass green and some parts of the garden watered. Last week I noticed that the Lychnis coronaria (Rose Campion) plants that were growing out in front of the shop were really past their best. The cerise pink flowers were few and they were looking pretty tacky.

As I sat and plotted their demise a blue wren flew into a clump of straggly stems and then out again. Next the male blue wren was in and out. I had my suspicions and yes there was a beautiful nest hidden in amongst the plants.

So my plans to clean up that part of the garden were put on hold as well as any watering – I didn’t want to drown the babies! Yesterday I decided to check out the nest. These little blue wrens grow very quickly and as I was checking the father wren was kicking up an awful din about a metre away. When I checked the plants here was a little baby wren out of the nest and perched on a stem…..very cute. Now that the nest is empty I will be able to clean up the plants and give the garden a good soaking……but not until the heatwave has gone.

Apart from the garden (and me) not relishing in this heat the cows also don't like it. We do our best to keep them cool by making sure that they are in well shaded paddocks on the hot days. I also head to the dairy just before the cows come into the yard at 4.30pm and wet the yard to try and lower the temperature of the concrete. To keep me cool I milk in shorts, t-shirt and thongs. Not a pretty sight but cooler than overalls and rubber boots. I think that I will try and spend most of my time indoors where it will be a bit cooler. Unfortunately we don't have an  air conditioner at home so I'll probably sneek up to the shop (which has air con) and do some 'very urgent and important' sewing work!

I finished my second project for the month of January for the 'One Project a Month Challenge". It is the Daisy Dreams small quilt.

 

It could have done with a bit more quilting but oh well it's done and that's a good feeling.

Linda   :)

Redraw, redraw......

Redraw, redraw....rigged....lol.....although my giveaway was completely and honestly won by Lenora , she has very kindly asked me to do a redraw of my 100^th post giveaway. So to honour her request and be fair I have ‘awarded’ first prize to Tina as her name was second out of the bowl. Now second prize of the charm pack of ‘Tranquility’ fabric has been won by Julz . So re-congratulations to everyone (send me your address Julie and I'll get your parcel to you) and thanks to Lenora for being so generous.

Kez posted a comment on yesterday's post about the little rhyme being from Monty Python......I thought so as my friend also wrote in my autograph book that he was a Monty Python fan!   

Back soon with a garden update.

Linda   :)

Happy Australia Day and the winner is.......

Thank you to everyone who posted a comment on my blog and entered my giveaway to celebrate my 100th post. I have put together 14 'POSH' fat quaters in greens and pinks as well as a couple of extra gifts.

I've also decided to give a second prize - just because I want to and that life is too short to be mean. Second prize is a 'Tranquility' charm pack. Hannah has just cut up all of the names and popped them into a bowl. Now drum roll please..........and the winner is : Lenora . Okay Hannah now for the next prize..............and it's Tina (no blog) . Congratulations to both of you. I know where Lenora lives but if Tina could email me with her address I'll get that charm pack off to you very soon.

I hope that everyone has had a great Australia Day, but before I sign off I will leave you with a little rhyme. A friend wrote this in my autograph book way back in June 1977 and it reads:

This here's the wattle, The emblem of our land. You can stick it in a bottle, You can hold it in your hand.

I'm not sure where it came from or if there are more verses but it's my little contribution to our day.

Linda    :)

Another celebration.....

The past week has been filled with celebrations in our household, and today sees another one…….my 100^th post……..woo hoo! I can’t believe that I’ve reached the magic 100 already but unfortunately the Queen was far too busy to send me a celebratory telegram. The harsh economic crisis has even hit the royal family……….

I have really enjoyed being part of blogland and the friendship it brings from far and wide. To help me (and you) celebrate my milestone I would like to have a giveaway. Now I haven’t had one of these before but I will put together a nice pack of goodies from the shop to send off to some lucky person. Just leave a comment and say hi…….nothing tricky or complicated about that. So even if you have been a lurker and haven’t taken the plunge to post a comment here’s your chance – who knows you might even enjoy it! You have until Sunday evening and I will announce the winner on the 26^th January - Australia Day.

Linda   :)

Happy Birthday Emma

This time last week I was writing all about Hannah turning 18. Today is our other daughter’s turn. Emma celebrates her 21^st birthday today. A milestone indeed as when she was 2 years 11 months she nearly drowned in one of our farm dams. It was dreadful experience - especially as I was 8 months pregnant with Hannah. Russell pulled her from the water – blue in the face but luckily still breathing. If it wasn’t for Spike (our Staffordshire Bull Terrier) Russell would not have noticed her in the water. Now as I don’t want Emma to feel neglected here are some photos of her…….(excluding her year 12 photo as she has warned me to never ever show it to anyone!)

Cute kindergarten photo

Now here's one of her pretending to work really hard -

it was a posed up photo for the newspaper when she got dux in year 12

And just because it's a funny photo - one of her acting the goat when I was trying to take a photo of the shop as it was being built.......

What a dag....lol

Anyway to help celebrate both Hannah's 18th and Emma's 21st we had a party last night. It was

a great night spent with family and friends with lots of food and fun – no gate crashers, no fights, and no excessively drunk people – but I do think that I am getting past staying up late. Lister (our Staffie) and Ollie (Emma's Maltese) took some time out for a rest on one of our lounge chairs

Lister was terrified of the party poppers as they sounded just like a shotgun, so being inside was the best place for him.

Quite a few stayed the night and there were ‘dead’ bodies everywhere this morning. They gradually appeared and consumed breakfast before deciding to head to the beach at Peterborough for a swim.

The house is now quiet again as Hannah has returned to Colac for work tomorrow and Emma headed back to Melbourne. A huge pile of sheets and towells cover the laundry floor - but that will wait for tomorrow as it well past my bedtime.

Linda   :) 

Summer has hit

Summer has arrived and she is making up for all of those cool days we have been having. It is meant to reach 35 today and is well on the way to reaching that. I don’t really like the heat and have spent most of the day inside where it is reasonably cool (but I’m not looking forward to cow time – I think that it will be shorts and thongs in the dairy this afternoon). I have finished off the photo boards for Hannah’s party. It has been great fun looking out all of those snapshots from the last 18 years. Many happy memories of her younger years and not as many grey hairs for me back then either.

I have finished my Daisy Dreams quilt / wall hanging for May  & Kris's ‘One Project a Month’ Challenge and also my first block in Gail's new BOM. I was going to post some photos of them but my computer is not in a co-operative mood this afternoon….must not like the heat also. Will show you all soon. I can tell you that I am really pleased with my BoM and can’t wait for the next one.

Linda   :)

Happy Birthday Hannah

Eighteen years ago today I was lying back in a hospital bed gazing at our new baby daughter. Hannah Victoria White was born at 1.32pm – a respectable time to be born according to Russell….between milkings and not in the middle of the night! I have been sorting out some photos for a photo board for the upcoming party next weekend and honestly I think that she was born with a smile on her face. I can only find one photo where she’s not smiling. It was one that I took after she had been crying for some time and I decided to photograph her in this less than happy state (actually screaming her lungs out) so that on her 18^th I could show everyone. After all it is one of our duties as parents of teenagers to embarrass them. And as I take my role of parenting very ‘seriously’ I had to put a notice and photo in our local newspaper alerting the whole district that Hannah was turning 18. This was the photo…….

Hannah was quite relieved that it was her cute kindergarten photo and not the 'naked in the back porch wearing only yellow rubber boots' photo. I'm keeping that one for another day......lol

Here's another one of her taken at her deb about 18 months ago.

 

Still smiling....

Hannah starts her new job tomorrow and is excited and nervous but I'm sure that she will do well. (Good luck Hannah....love Mum & Dad)

Linda    :)

Special Offers

The weather has turned quite cool again here today. We certainly haven’t seen any hot weather this summer – it hasn’t been over 30 degrees celcius and we haven’t had a Total Fire Ban day yet. Mind you I’m not complaining ……. as the cows, my garden and I don’t like the heat that much.

If you are interested in a free BOM head over to Gail's blog and check out her Christmas stitchery project. I’ve downloaded my copy and am going to trace it off today.

Also if you have any quilt tops that need quilting then head over to Clever Ducks Quilting . Wendy and Margaret have got a special offer at the moment. Any quilt tops delivered to them by 28^th February 2009 for quilting will receive a 10% discount. Don’t forget that they can also tack quilts ready for hand quilting or even sew on your binding on for you. All you have to do then is to hand sew it down. What a great way to get those projects finished ....especially if you have joined May & Kris's One Project a Month Challenge.

Linda    :)