Back to reality...

Well, a three day talk fest has come to an end, Chookyblue and Fairy Girl are heading back home again. Hopefully the flooding around their place will let them through without too much difficulty. Funny how they were desperate for rain not so long ago, and now they are flooding. We have no control over nature, do we?As long as they are safe as are our other friends coping with some of the worst flooding for thirty years in NSW and Queensland at the moment...thinking of you all. 

We had a busy few days, time was spent catching up with our friend Lea, travelling to Newcastle for a spot of shopping (we have critiqued Newcastle patchwork shops and bought out Smiggle!!!!) and a visit to my Mum, and just some quiet time around here.There was some of this...

and a celebrity snap...

 some repro progress...

and a bright quilt from Lea...

just great to catch up before FG headed back to school! Will wait to hear that they are safely back at Chez Chook....

Cardygirl xx

A little break away...

...with friends miles and miles away from anywhere (it felt like it anyway!).

A couple of days on the farm with just some very dear friends and a herd of cows for company.

Lots of stitching...

walking up hill and down dale...

cow spotting...

and trying to keep Ben out of my stitching!

A really nice time...

drinks at sunset....

 and stitching until the light disappeared...

Cardygirl xx

Hen house fun!

It was so lovely to get away for a few days and enjoy the company of Chookyblue and her family. Whilst I live in a country town, the life of a farming family is very different to mine...but I enjoyed having a taste of her world...now she needs to come and have a sleepover at my place!

There was a bit of friendly banter over taking home the quilt I slept under (really nice!)...

or "borrowing" the lovely sewing bag that Janet made for her (quite serious about that!)...

so I was quite horrified when I opened my sewing bag after returning home and found this little Christmas ornament Chooky was stitching...oops...Cardy might be going CUSTODIAL!!!! I emailed her as I was about to send her some shopping I had done for her...but it was a treaty surprise...phew!

Back to that shopping...Chooky needed some supplies for her SKofW SAL quilt...so Lea and I headed off to Singleton to do her shopping...tough gig, but someone had to do it for her! We had lots of fun, Lea needed supplies to make cot quilts for twin boys which are looking great...

love the monsters!

Here are the cows coming home to Chez Chook after some months grazing along the road...

and visual proof that Countrygirl Cardy knows that a Belted Galloway is not some type of posh trenchcoat!
Cardygirl XX

Ends and beginnings...

The last assignment for this year has been sent off through cyberspace & will hopefully arrive at it's destination. It felt so good to hit that send button & know that I might have some sewing time again. I have so missed stitching & have so many things I want to complete and then some new starts I hope! Yay!

I have been stitching my TTS blocks, I was woefully behind the group but dear Chookyblue gave me a huge kick and now I am shamed into stitching...and enjoying it too. I have six blocks done...six to go!

Dear Anne Heidi had a giveaway on her blog & I was fortunate enough to receive this parcel all the way from Norway... some lovely fabrics, buttons and a sweet felt pincushion kit which I am dying to start. Thankyou!

This was the sweet bag I gave as a gift at the recent 21st...I would have loved this one...a rag basket...someone else thought it was just the right size!

 Sadly we lost our dear dog, Purdey late last week. She was 14 1/2 years old, and such a good girl. We all miss her unconditional love & trust...sad to have to make the decision to ease her distress... but such a loyal friend deserved our compassion. SB was unable to be here, so the VERY best of friends, Lea, came to console and help lay Purdey to rest. Not a nice job to bury a friend, but Lea added her own brand of sunshine on a grey & rainy afternoon. It would have been tough without her.

Cardygirl xx

Flying Cabbages?

Or perhaps Cabbage Geese? However you say it, this little quilt is delightful!

 A surprise from my dear friend Cathy of Cabbage Quilts, this little piece of deliciousness landed at my place this week. Little did I know when I saw it on her blog that it was already on it's way to me! What a wonderful surprise and I just adore it. It will probably live on my mini quilt wall, but at present seems to be following me around the house so I can gaze at it. Thanks Cathy...it is treasured!

Here are some pics of the projects I made last weekend...

a pattern I saw on Molly Flanders and managed to track down (thanks M!)...

more flying geese in a lap quilt for Mum...

beautiful Bliss in a quickie quilt!

It is cool and rainy here...time to clean the pantry & feed my son and some mates from uni.

Hope you are having a good long weekend!

Cardygirl xx

Some fabric play and a nice surprise!

 Having a break from uni work at present, so I have had a little time to play with some ideas from my Brigitte Giblin class. This may be the beginning of a 13panel hexagon quilt...fun playing with vibrant fabrics and ever gorgeous spots...this will be yet another slow play!

Some lovely mail from LeAnn of Sewing Straight Stitches ...we have both been making the Le Petite quilts and enjoying each others interpretations...and I won this fabulous pattern & thread keeper on her giveaway. It flew a long way to meet me & I love it...looking forward to stitching it together.

 Madly packing to leave tomorrow for a weekend with Chookyblue, Kerry, Peg, Dale, Miss Jules and sweet Nicole... here we are last year...now I am running around the house like a confused Masterchef contestant...probably grabbing all the wrong stuff...oh well, it will be fun to get away...see you all soon!

Cardygirl xx

Nundle is where I long to be...

...for at least a couple of weekends each year!

Kerry at The Cottage on the Hill really knows how to throw a great weekend...happy stitching, lots of laughter, great food and a sense of rejuvenation at the end of it all.

Great mysteries of life were explained by Anita...and it was decided that men really should stitch...LOL!

We arrived from several directions on Friday afternoon all with a desire to SEW!

After picking out fabrics & leaving the super organised Kerry to make up our kits, we headed for the famous Nundle pub for dinner...always fun, especially when some of the girls won a meat tray & half a carton of beer in the raffles. Heading back to our cabins by the river we slept in our cosy beds waking to a heavy frost & frozen water pipes...fun!

Bright & early we began stitching...so many different quilts...so much inspiration.

Stitching like mad women we achieved so much in our first day...then off to dinner at the Mount Misery Gold Mine...superb food...super company! 

Smiles and laughter...

new friends sewing together to get projects finished...

stitching into the night...

and remember children ...don't drink & quilt!

More pics of the finished articles tomorrow!

Cardygirl xx

Who, who' s birthday?

One of my longtime stitching buddies had her birthday today...Raelee!

What to make to put a smile on her face?????

DD bought this pattern at Darling Harbour recently & had made it in the smaller sizes in the Japanese fabrics for some of her friends...see them a few posts ago. I was a bit bolder with my fabric choices...and I love how she turned out! Those "Perfect Circles" made great eyes!

Names...we thought...Olive...Octavia...or the teenage male thought Hooters...gotta love them!

Raelee loved her...and that made me smile!

Cardygirl xx

FAR away FUN goes on...

What a great weekend....FABRIC surrounded us...but as the evening wore on we had to resort to sewing by FLOODLIGHT!

Chookyblue was sewing with chenille...you know that meant FLUFF swirling everywhere...

sewers in FLANNELETTE pyjamas seemed to be the rule for most...

they even became the new FASHION for walkers! FUNNY!

A FEW FIZZY drinks and the night was FILLED with the sounds of FAUX ABBA singing & songs from my Ipod...A blast from the past! How FUNNY to see everybody singing along with "Girls on the Avenue"...oh we felt young again! LOL! A FINE time was had by all...except for the FEAR created when a grouchy Yowie FRIGHTENED the late crew! Lucky FAIRYGIRL was safely asleep!

We woke to our FINAL day...finished quilts ready to be FILMED...

Lea's second African quilt...

beautiful repro 9 patch...

sweet chenille...

DD's FIRST quilt top...

We all felt so proud of her!

Final pics & the trip home still to come!

Cardygirl xx

So much FUN!

Wow! What a weekend!

Our retreat weekend was definitely FANTASTIC...we had lots of FUN...and I am feeling FATIGUED.

Some bloggers headed off from our FAR FLUNG homes on FRIDAY...

we braved rain & FAR FROM IDEAL dirt roads to FIND our way to a place about FOUR hours from my home.

FAR away Mt Tenandra was the destination...a FABULOUS old home now used as a B & B.

FOUR pairs of FRIENDS plus one met there for lots of FRIVOLITY

Time to sit, FIND out more about each other...FLAP our gums (cheeky!)...

eat FAR too much FLAVORSOME FOOD...

celebrate special days in FINE style...

 then try to redeem ourselves by going for a FITNESS walk ..

.it was oh so FLAT!

Saw some FURRY friends...

then with FUZZY heads, we stitched for hours...some FORTUNATE, FAST souls even FINISHED a FIRST project! FANTASTIC! Then off to bed, dreaming of FRESH days sewing ahead!

Enough for today...visit Peg & Chookyblue for more FUN pics...more from me tomorrow!

Cardygirl xx