Reading...

I have powered through my last few books, unable to put them down as they made for great or compelling reading...

Today whilst the sick one snuggled and slept on me I began this. It is such a pretty book to look at and after a few hours reading today, I am thoroughly enjoying it..

Sleeping Beauty

The Kindness of Fellow Quilters...

A couple of weeks ago I celebrated my birthday. Over at EB Newbie Quilters, we have done an FQ swap for the past couple of years. In my haste to pack up in readiness for the renovation I totally forgot to take a photo of all the beautiful fabrics I received. Thanks ladies for the lovely FQ's, they will all be wonderful when I get back on track with my Dear Jane...bring on my sewing room, I say!!!

I was also sent some lovely extras, chokkies, hand made cards, pretty little pink scissors, gorgeous little "business type" cards which I guess are for scrap booking but I am going to use them as gift tags and for my art journal. The beautiful Nic sent these absolutely divine little dolls for my girls - they are already well loved, taken to bed each night and we have already have lots of fun playing with them. Thanks Nic for such a special gift, it is truly appreciated, and you are a very clever girl!

Finito

Feels good to finally complete another quilt, it has been some time! Thanks again to the talented Emma from Sampaguita Quilts for the beautiful quilting. Once this house reno is completed I WILL do a machine quilting course, I must!!!



The Horn cabinet will be packed up this week, I need to sandwich and quilt a quilt to get the binding done as well as get the bindings on 2 other quilts. I had hoped to get it done the past couple of days but with one of the princesses with a tummy bug that idea was shut down pretty quickly.

A packing weekend then a sewing Monday and Tuesday is the plan..but we will see!

Life is full of....

boxes and trips out west at the moment...

My beloved Nanny has been very sick, in and out of intensive care. Then last Thursday she suffered a massive stroke. There have been a lot of journeys out to where she lives, 3 hours away. It is exhausting but worth the effort to spend precious moments with her. She has responded well to the stroke treatment so we are hoping the prognosis will be positive as time moves forward...and if it is not then I pray for it to be quick and painless.

The other crazy element of my life is our renovation. The building is due to commence at the end of this month. ARGH! I thought I was prepared and organised for this to start, but when you get down to the nitty gritty there is so much to do...

We are all plodding along, making the most of family time, special moments and packing and sleeping as time permits.

No quilting whatsoever though, sadly! I hope to indulge this week sometime!

Fathers Day...

A celebration of my husband, my best friend and fantastic daddy to our 2 angels.

A Joyous Morning!

Nearly every morning I awake somewhere between 5.30 and 6am and go for a walk with my pooch. I love this start to the day, the fresh air, the solitude, it really sets me up for a great day, and I can feel the difference in myself, and the dog, when I don't do it. I was delighted that this morning it was finally warm enough to wear just a long sleeve tee, without a jacket. Spring has well and truly sprung and I love that! We got caught in a massive down pour and got drenched but this morning even that didn't dampen (ha) my spirits.

As I do every morning, I logged into the council website to check the status of our DA. A long 77 days ago, we submitted our plans into council. Imagine my ecstatic whoop of delight when this morning, dripping wet, I logged into the council website and saw that our plans have been approved and a letter is on the way to us!

So soon, our dream home will be a reality. It will be hell on earth to get there as we are living through the build but it will be more than worth it in the end!

Book Week

We all love books in our house, no one more so than our beautiful girl Zoe. She was very excited to be able to dress up for Book Week at school yesterday. Before we decided on the final ensemble we went through a number of books, and a number of costumes before she finally decided on an old favourite "Meg and Mog".

Happiness is...

knowing that you are going to have time today for the pile of fabric/quilts that are sat on top of your sewing cabinet!!



Late last week Mum's quilt arrived back from the amazing talented Emma - see her great pics of the quilting here . I was absolutely delighted with the quilting, and can't wait for Mason's quilt to arrive back as well.

Today I will make and attach the binding, finally make and attach the binding to Ciára's monster quilt, sew the backing for Jack's quilt and hopefully some other cutting that needs to be done. Need to get started on my mother in laws quilt to take to Ireland with us in December! Might even do a few more blocks of Zoe's buddy's quilt!

First of all though, an hour sorting out the toy room. We are getting ready for our renovations. We expect to be out of council by the end of the month so I am spending some time each day sorting out and clearing out and packing up!

I'm Reading...

Tragic I know but I just can't turn down an autobiography, about anyone!!!

Grandparents are Special Gifts

My grandparents live 3 hours west from us, this only happened fairly recently - about 18 months ago. I still struggle with not seeing them on a fortnightly basis as I used to and I really miss them. On Sunday we headed off nice and early to go and catch up and have lunch with them. My beloved Nanny is the most amazing women, so upbeat and positive. It is sad that she is starting to really age and lose her memory ... but for 85 and my Pop is 91, I think they are looking pretty good. It is well worth the trip every time we go. I have been blessed to have had my Nanny for so long, I am about to turn 37...but even more blessed to have had the special relationship that we have shared. I love that my girls have been able to spend so much time with their GrandNan and GrandPop. I hope they still have a few years left in them yet!

It's Thursday Lunchtime...

on a cold and windy, but sunny day. Zoe woke with high temp, rosy cheeks and complaining of a headache. I am still under the weather with my cold and cough and Ciára has a cough. Even though it is a day care day for Ciára, at 8am I announced a PJ Day and we were staying in for the day.

So whilst they have been doing this throughout the morning...




I have been doing this...


It is destined for my BIL's son who is due next month. A simple stitch in the ditch and some hand quilting will finish it off.

The rest of the afternoon will be spent giving cuddles, maybe a snooze and hopefully some more time on the buddy's quilt!

Excitement is...

forgetting that your new clock is being delivered and the door bell going and the delivery man standing there in the pouring rain with a HUGE big box just for you!

I was recently in Adelaide visiting one of my great friends. She took me to a fabulous interior design store, Update Interiors.

I fell in love with this clock. I had to have it. We tried to source it in Sydney, but in the end it was shipped up from Adelaide. The lovely Liz, proprietor of Update gave me a generous discount to help with the shipping costs. I am so glad we decided to get it as it would have been one of those "Why didn't I get it when I saw it" stories.

It is 92cm in diameter and looks huge, and when the house renovation is done, it will go in the family room. Until then, it will go back in it's box for safe keeping until it's special piece of wall is ready for it! Now we just need council to get a wriggle on with our approval!



Not a great photo, as I just popped it onto the dining room table to make sure it was all ok and in working order!

Such a sticky beak...

...and oh so handsome!

Things That Make Me happy...

So my poor little blog doesn't get too neglected, once a week I am going to post one thing that makes me happy. There are so many things in my life that give me a little kick and make me feel grateful that I could do this every day...but with the daily responsibilities of life this is not realisitic but on a weekly basis....very doable!!! I should be going for months!

On Friday night our dear friends Mel, Jon and Finn came for dinner. Mel knows my favourite flowers and gave me a lovely big bunch. I didn't take a photo of these beautiful friends (who make me happy) but here is a photo of one of my life's happy moments - the beautiful tiger lily, ah the sweet smell in my family room right now gives me a lift everytime I am in there!

Today...

A few pages of journalling, both of the arty and the non-arty kind, in this fabulous journal...


I finished "Mason's Journey" quilt top for my step sisters little man who was born in late June. It will now go off to the talented Emma to be quilted.



And some cutting for a quilt for Zoe's buddy at school. Zoe asked if I would make her a quilt to say thanks for "being the bestest buddy ever". This kit was sat there staring at me so thought it just perfect for her Year 6 mate. I will get stuck into putting it together tonight after the kids are asleep.

Something to Live Life By...

"Act as if failure is impossible, and your success will be assured. Wipe out every thought of your not achieving your objectives, be brave and set no limits on the workings of your imagination. Never be a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future...and you will see that nothing can stop you
~Anonymous

Just Finished...

Just What I Needed...

With Dave away last week, a night out with 4 great ladies, yummy Japanese dinner, girly giggles, a couple of glasses of plum wine and a chick flick was just what was needed for my sanity and my soul! Nothing beats a girls night out!

Dreaming...My Dream home in the Making!

For 13 long months we made plans - meeting after meeting with the designer and architect, conversation after conversation between Dave and I, always looking for ideas and inspiration on the internet, in real estate guides, in the local newspapers. I dreamed of my dream home's layout and structure. Then in May, we had it! We were happy! Off to council, we went. An hour and half later we left, disappointed, we had been unable to lodge. Our local council had brought in new guidelines with regards to water retention - a whole 10,000 litres of it. So back to the drawing board, we engaged an engineer and then 3 weeks later our DA was finally lodged into council. It was advertised on their website, council received a submission (read objection) from a neighbour BUT it is now out of our hands - I thought I would be stressed about it, we have a tricky block in that it is sloping so with the amount of excavation we need to do we have really pushed the limits within some of the guidleines! I really do just feel what will be, will be and we can worry about it if and when we need to.

In the mean time, I have been playing with ideas for all the pretty things.

This has been taking up some time and I am really enjoying it. I can really picture my home, my dream home and I can't wait for it to come to fruition!

None left

Unless I have emailed you, there is no fabric left.

Thanks to those taking it of my hands!

Free to Good Home - Just Pay Postage!

I am clearing out my stash in readiness for our renovation.

There is 4 large storage containers of various FQ's, scraps, cross stitches and some yardage. Loads of "designer" and excellent quality fabrics as I buy all my fabric at my local quilt shop.

If you are happy to pay postage (can fill prepaid satchels) let me know and you are welcome to it all. Otherwise it is all going to Vinnies.

I am just finally being realistic and need to move them on to where they will be loved and used and not taking up valuable storage space.

Might even be a couple of kits by the time I go through it all.

Due to time constraints it will be a "lucky dip", I can assure you though you will not be disappointed!

Flick me an email to kayscha@hotmail.com if you are interested.

What's Happening in My World?

A New Arrival

My step sister and her partner welcomed little Mason Graham Geoffrey into the world yesterday afternoon. They are located in Melbourne and I can't wait to get down there and meet the little man! They are relocating back to Sydney in the not too distant future and I can't wait!

I predicted a boy so was delighted when he popped out as I had already started work on this - a kit from Fat Quarter Shop - "Road Trip". A cute little quilt that I hope she will use in the pram.

I did it!

OK so it might just be the top, but at least Mum will know it is on the way to her, sometime soon! Seriously I need quilting opinions....

Please excuse the photos, I am tired and was trying to take the pics before the dog got his big clod hoppers onto it!

A Productive Day.

The house is tidy, dinner is simmering away on the stove top, Zeus has been across to the park for a run and a quick walk around the block,the washing is folded and has been put away, half hour helping out in Zoe's classroom this morning, the swimming bag is packed for lessons this afternoon and some sewing on Mum's 60th birthday quilt. Yikes, it is her birthday tomorrow. After a workout tonight, I plan to finish the top off so I can wrap it and give it to her tomorrow night (before quickly snatching it back so it can be finished). I think all will be forgiven when we tell her that my sister and I are taking her our for a meal and to see WICKED in a couple of weeks time!

I am not sure on this quilt, Mum will love the fabrics but I am not so keen on them myself, except for the butterfly print which I think is very pretty.. The question of quilting, do I get it professionally done or hand quilt it? Opinions please! I had thought about trying FMQ out for the first time but I am not feeling brave enough yet!

It has been a day filled with domesticity and I have loved it. I intend to be this organised more often!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

3 fine days in 2 1/2 weeks and we are over it....

Dr Harry 's latest house call.

We adore Zeus, he is an integral part of our family, he is our 3rd child. We have spent many precious moments with him since he joined our family 2 years ago.

When he was about 3-4 months old, he started to chase his tail. Compulsively, obsessively. We thought it was silly puppy behaviour and that he would just grow out of it. He didn't. He has ruined our backyard, the grass is all churned up. It is like he goes into a trance and we can't break it. He only does it in our backyard and a friends backyard. He does not do it when is on a lead, walking, at the dog park, with other dogs.

He gets plenty of exercise and we have a very bushy backyard, he has a huge amount of interaction with the family, and he spends a great deal of time inside. He is a German Shepherd and with all those listed things, he should not get bored.
His tail chasing is not about boredom, it is something in his brain that is now hard wired.

We have tried many things to help Zeus stop. Citrus sprays, more exercise, treasure hunts, professional training, it all got very hard, time consuming and frustrating. In the end we thought it was just something he was always going to do. We are about to do a home renovation and I complained that we would never have a decent backyard whilst we had Zeus. I had a real love/hate relationship with him for weeks. I knew we had to do something.

In the end, I emailed Dr Harry of Better Homes and Gardens.

Yesterday Dr Harry paid us a house call. I was a nervous wreck. The man himself and the whole crew were just a delight. They made it very easy to enjoy the whole process. Zeus didn't get stage fright (or star struck) and went round and round and they were able to get the fottage they needed. I was so relieved to see that Dr Harry was more concerned about Zeus and his behaviour than just making good TV. He gave us much of time off camera, he answered our many questions. He was fabulous with the kids. We all went to the park across the road so they could see and film Zeus' normal behaviour as opposed to his abnormal behaviour.

Sadly Zeus needs to go on drugs for about 6 months to rewire his brain. We were already doing all the right things for him but now we just need to ramp up the intensity. Our boy should be "fixed" in the not too distant future. We look forward to the day that we can utilise our back yard for all of us. We look forward to our beautiful boy having normal behaviour at all times.

Now...the embarassing opart is that we will be on TV in the next 6-8 weeks....

I LOVE Suprises.

Last Friday my lovely husband returned from a 10 day business trip. I have been wishing for a DSLR for a couple of years now so imagine my suprise when out of the suitcase came this little baby, plus a camera bag, and a 32GB memoray card. That memory will allow for some serious photo taking!!

I am absolutely delighted. I have the best husband in the world!

My Boy...

Dull and Dreary

We have only 2 days of sunshine in the past 2 weeks - starting to feel soggy and a little bit of cabin fever. I am missing my morning walks with the dog - we are doing a quick one around the block so he can stretch his legs...only taking about 20 minutes at a time, usually we walk for 40-60 minutes every morning!

This is the view from my study just now, the rain has stopped but it has been intermittent and very heavy all day. Sigh!

Today was spent being domesticated, cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, washing and tidying. 10 minutes on the sofa to read my book though was required. I have had a lifelong love of Olivia Newton john, so when I saw this book I had to grab it and I am enjoying it.