12 MONTHS SINCE OUR SEA CHANGE MOVE

10 months since my last BLOG, 12 months since we moved!!!!!  You might ask why the long time span between blogs?  We have both been soooooo busy.  I have only just got my sewing room sort of set up, still a lot of tidying up to do, but YES HOORAY, I have started a new quilt with Nancy Halvorsen's latest range of fabrics called BITTERSWEET.  I also am using her GARDEN SONG machine embroidery designs as alternate blocks.  I do not have any of her GARDEN SONG fabric range even though I just love it.  The new BITTERSWEET range is more along the lines of some of her earlier ranges with dark colours.  Here are a couple of photos of what I have been doing.

Over the winter months I have been knitting, nearly finished a lacey 8 ply long line cardigan/jacket, only one front to go.  That is knitted in a new yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills.  You will never guess the colour I chose!!!!!   I am ready to start on a 2ply Haapsalu Shawl.  It is  Estonian lace knitting  I will do the rectangular form with sewn borders, instead of grafted borders.  Check out Haapsalu shawls on GOOGLE if you want to find out what they look like.

Our grandchildren are growing so fast.  Bianka is now 3 and Korban just turned two last week.  I mind them two days a week, but with volunteer work as well, I am kept very, very busy!!! 

Kerry, if you read this, I am sorry it rained on your quilt airing day.  Some of my old favourties went into the Arts and Crafts Quilt show here on OCT long weekend.  Terrible weekend here as well.  I put in 4 quilts, 3 vests and my favourite handbag.  The craft Centre has grown so much during my 8 year absence.  They still only have a quilt show every two years.  They made over $1500 in entry fees and a quilt raffle.

Anyway I need to fly away to dream land soon!!!!

God Bless you all

Maryanne

PS  A special hello to you Tuesday Girls at Nundle, I miss you all!!!

ANOTHER HOME AT LAST & CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

Hello once again to my personal friends and to my Blog Followers as well.  We should be able to start moving in to our home this weekend coming.  It has been just about 2 months since we finally sold our little farmlet in the country and returned to a small coastal village on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.  We have not been very settled during this time, but we found the lovely house pictured and it will suit us quite well.  Enough room and more for the two of us with a little bit extra room for visitors and more importantly room for our little grandchildren to stay over night.

It has been raining here on and off since we came back to the coast.  It seems like the Eastern States are now out of drought and into the flooding part of our weather pattern.  I do feel sorry for those farmers who are trying to harvest their crops at the moment.  

Not much crafting has been accomplished over the past 3 or 4 months, just some knitting and some hand embroidery.  Will set the machines up after the move.  We will take a couple of weeks to move all our stuff from the rented house to our permanent home, but we should be reasonably settled by Christmas.  Apart from the house I have no other photos to share with you.

I wish you all a Happy Christmas season with your families and God's richest Blessings for 2011. 

I have a very significant birthday and wedding anniversary coming up in January.  Where have all those years gone????

MARYANNE

FAREWELL LUNCH

About seven of the Tuesday girls got together on Tuesday 5th October for my last Tuesday with them.  Thanks girls, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I hope you all did too.  Two weeks' ago they presented me with some gorgeous stitcheries that they had done for me as a parting gift.  I just love them all girls and when I get settled again will make a wall hanging to remember you all with.

Today the removalists came and took all of our furniture etc. etc.  That will be delivered to our new rented address on Friday.  DH will be heading off on Friday morning for the 3 hour trip to our destination, but I will still be here for a few days, cleaning etc.  We have a little fridge, the microwave and a couple of foam mattresses to bed down on too, the computer is still with us, minus the printer, and a little TV to watch the Comm. Games with.

Last Friday my 10 year old Tenterfield Terrier Tess bit me on my right wrist.  She had her little head in an empty dog food tin, and I went to take it off her.  Well what a shock to my system; my first ever dog bite, and by my own dog.  I had a tetanus booster 12 months ago, included in our Whooping Cough vaccine but went to the doctor anyway where they cleansed, dressed the punctures and gave me a double whammy script for antibiotics just in case, because it was the long weekend.   Well on Saturday night with much pain, swelling, redness etc., DH went and had the script filled on Sunday morning.   It has improved quite a lot but my whole wrist is still sore, I think from the grip she had on it.  I would hate to be bitten by a larger dog.  I only have narrow wrists!!!

I have not used my sewing machines for over 2 months, a consolation to me is my knitting.   Another 2 ply lace shawl (magenta in colour) is on the way.  I haven't taken a photo of it yet, so sorry, no photos this time!!!

Bye for now and God's richest blessings to you all!!!

Maryanne

GOODBYE MOLLIE

DH and I said goodbye to one of our three lovely Tenterfield Terriers today. She has gone to a new home in Werris Creek. We are moving away from the area and we will be restricted by a much smaller yard, so only two dogs could come with us. The lovely young woman who took Mollie phoned us about an hour later to let us know that they had made it safely to Mollie's new home, where she was settling in with her new family.

I think she rang us because DH was quite upset as Mollie was going. Mollie is 2 1/2 years old and in the background you can just see her mum, Tess who was 10 in August. Mollie is a gift for the 8 year old daughter in the new family. Mollie is very energetic, Miss Personality Plus, very affectionate and I am sure her new little owner will love Mollie to bits.

Tears are coming to my eyes as I look at her photo now. We will remember her with much affection.

Now it is back to the big slog of packing.

This will probably be the last blog before we move, but I will keep in touch.

God Bless, until next time

Maryanne

DAFFODILS

Hello everyone again.

This is my third Blog in 10 DAYS, an all time record. Spring is finally in the air. Just wanted to show you my Tete a Tete Daffodils. Check the size of each Daffi. I have put one of DH's beer bottle tops in the top photo as a comparison. The Daffodils are just soooooo cute. My elder son gave me the top pot last year and in late Autumn I planted my own, some in an old pot that used to live under someone's bed once. (Please excuse the spilt coffee mark on the table near the pot.)

More rain this week; and our little property is lovely and green with a full dam down the front. I think it will be the best summer season we have experienced in the past 8 years.

No more news this time. For our overseas bloggers, we have a Federal Election when we are all voting to see whether we return a Labor Government or a change to a Coalition Government of the Liberal/National Party. Two hours to go until polling closes at 6 pm. We have heard nothing but ads. for voting for weeks now. We have been told to expect a cliff-hanger of a result - let's see what happens. DH and I voted about lunch time, so it's over and done with.

Cheerio until next time!

MARYANNE

HEXAGONS

Back of quilt

HELLO ALL,

This week I have read quite a few Blogs and they have included the wonderful hexagon, and the many ways to use them.

I started this quilt more than 10 years ago and I am still not finished. Each hexagon's finished size is 6" across the centre, point to point. The cream centres are machine embroidered with 2 different Janome designs, and then hand quilted with either a heart or a circle to match the shapes of the machine embroidery. I used a wool batting in between the backing fabric and the top fabrics, so each hexagon is done in the quilt as you go method (easy to take some to make whilst travelling or visiting family.)

Please take a closer look at the photos to see what I did!!

We are moving within the next 3 months and I am in the process of sorting out my craft room. What will go into storage??? What will I take to have something to do whilst renting, before we buy another property??? What can I do without for 6 months??? NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING.

DH showed me an OBITUARY in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald. it reads in precis:- "The domestic arts were (woman's name) passion. She was a prolific knitter, crocheter and seamstress and would spend hours in wool and pattern shops going through patterns and buying wool or fabric.........Only too aware of the true retail price, she bought loads, especially expensive angoras, alpacas and mohair......When she died she had about 100 kilos of wool stockpiled and it has been donated to Wrap With Love......Buttons were another weakness. She died with probably 50,000 neatly put away in all manner of toffee, chocolate and biscuit tins. Some were still on their hand-sewn cards with the price in shillings and pence. She also gathered knitting patterns. Some 2000 have found their way to the Knitters' Guild Library and a few hundred to the Powerhouse Museum". This obit. was written, lovingly, by one of her four sons. Her husband gets a mention too, he predeceased her and here is a bit about his collection. "He had at least one of every timber, steel, plumbing, electrical, automotive or bicycle tool known to man. He had screws, bolts, nails, washers, nuts, wire, rivets, cable, glues and string, all neatly categorised." "But the house is empty now, for the first time in 55 years."

This brought tears to my eyes and I wonder if one of my children will write lovingly about my collection of fabrics, yarns etc. one day after I have left this earth!!!

I will close now on that note. May God bless you and keep you safe until next time.


MARYANNE

KNITTING AGAIN

Hello again,

 I have been cleaning out my craft room and found some unfinished knitting. I finished off the magenta coloured lace knitting scarf, embroidered the mauve beret that I had previously knitted and started something new, the multi pastel coloured shawl. The yarn for the shawl is Colinette Tagaletti, a merino wool and nylon tape yarn. I haven't knitted with a tape yarn before, it twists a lot. I have included a lace pattern, but that is very hard to see, a bit like a feather and fan pattern. I just love the colour. I am knitting it on a size 8 mm circular knitting needle.  I am also continuing to knit my  10ply  cardigan or jacket out of Colinette Iona yarn.  The combination of this yarn is mainly wool, little bit of mohair and little bit of silk.  It is in Florentina colourway which is a rich variegated jewell colurs.  These Colinette yarns are made in Wales UK and imported by Sarah Durant of Victoria.  They are quite expensive but I think they are just so luxurious.  Check out both the Colinette yarn website and Sarah Durant website.  Only trouble is both of these yarns have been discontinued, but Sarah Durant still has some supplies of both.  If you love knitting socks, check out the Jitterbug range as well.  All of Colinette yarns are hand-dyed. 

It is very difficult deciding what fabric and yarn I will need over the next 6 months.
We think we have sold our property, and are looking forward to living closer to our children and grandchildren. Our granddaughter will be two in September and our grandson will be 1 in October. Gee time seems to fly by.

Will finish off now, so until next time, may God bless you all!!!

Maryanne