Canberra quilt fair

Today we all went along to the Canberra Craft & Quilt Fair. It was much bigger than I thought, and there were lots of people there! I know the Canberra Quilters have been around for a long time, but I had no idea how 'big' crafting is in Canberra.

It was a gorgeous day and there were some amazing quilts by local and Australian quilters. However, the highlight of the show was the exquisite collection of Japanese quilts. They were just stunning - most of them hand-quilted and many of them also hand-pieced. The artistry was just amazing and the variety of styles, fabrics used and techniques for quilting, appliqueing and embellishing was astounding. Unfortunately photos weren't allowed in the Japanese exhibit, but they were in the general show.

Here are some of my favourites:

Sunshine in the Cherry Orchard - Daphne Mahon


Monolith II - Beth and Trevor Ried (I am such a fan of this husband and wife team's work. Just love it - very modern Australian)

Through the Kosmos II - Rasa Mauragis


Red Wave- Dianne Firth


Knots & Crosses - Mary Donohue


Star of my Universe - Jo Anne Pulko


Autumn Breeze, Winter Sneeze - Helen and Pat Godden


Best of Show - Summer Harvest - Kerry Gavin

It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning, despite me feeling quite crook. I had a little sleep in the afternoon, which did help a bit. It's off to bed early tonight for me!

I like to climb

Apart from her startlingly beautiful blue eyes, do you think there's anything else Romily might have inherited from her father?


(I'll give you a hint - it's not running around in the nuddy! But she does seem to like it!)

Census Night

Tonight, all across Australia, 20 million or so people are ticking boxes and answering questions. Yes, it's Australia's five-yearly stocktake. Who are we? Where do we live? Where do we work? What is our religion? How many bedrooms in our house? I find it quite fascinating what questions are asked. However, what's more revealing are those questions that are not asked. They also tell us a lot about Australia.

For the first time, census respondents had the option of completing the survey online. We chose this option and it was quite easy - not faster - but well done. And it saves the collectors a trip!

Romily was counted in her first census. Awwww!

What a brave little munchkin she is. Carl took her to the doctor's today for her 12-month vaccinations. She had three jabs - one in her left arm and one in each leg. Carl says she was a real little trooper - no tears on the first one (horrible measles jab) and only brief tears for needles two and three. She was happy as a clam by the time she was dressed. She had her daddy to protect her! That, and the prophylactic dose of Panadol! (a brand of paracetamol)

I worked Monday and today, and all is still going well. It's funny how a lot can change in a year but nothing much really changes at all! I honestly feel like I haven't been away. Sad but true. But then I come home to Carl and Romily and work just fades away for another day. I have tomorrow off work and I'm taking Romy to playgroup and then Gymbaroo in the afternoon. A busy day, but a day with my gorgeous, funny daughter.

Presents, cake and friends

What more could a little girl want for her birthday?

Presents


Cake


Friends

Happy Birthday my little darling

Dear Romily, happy first birthday for tomorrow my sweet little friend. I love you so very much.

Love,
Mummy
xxxx

(Here's the cake I made!!)

Okay so it wasn't that bad

Thank you all again for your support. I went to work today and it wasn't as bad as I expected! I was very much missed by my colleagues, several of whom were very excited to have me back on deck.

There's more work than I can poke a stick at and I'm feeling quite keen to sink my teeth into it. The days are going to disappear quite quickly - although not as quickly as when I was at home with Romily.

She had a great day with Carl today, and, apart from a little moping at the top of the stairs after I left this morning, was very happy all day. She even had a 2 1/4 hour sleep - she never did that for me! So, I think she will cope just fine.

I am back in the office tomorrow, and then have Thursday and Friday at home to prepare for Romy's party on Saturday. I'm looking forward to Carl and I toasting the new love of our lives. And helping her to open lots of pressies!

One day to go...

Tomorrow's Monday. My last day before returning to work. I'm starting to feel a little better about it all - thanks everyone for your very supportive words. Ironically, Romily has been a little bugger all day yesterday and today and I was at the end of my tether with her today (Of course Romily still looks like an angel when she's asleep!). I'm almostkindof looking forward to escaping to work each day and leaving Carl to deal with her! She might be getting some more teeth (although it's impossible to see, as she will not open her mouth for me to look in), so that could explain things.

I'm sorry that these posts have turned into 'all about me', but, then again, it is my blog!

Sorry I've got no stitching to show you. It's going to be quite some time before I get time to quilt Romy's quilt. Romily's birthday is on Saturday and we have Carl's father and his ladyfriend arriving on Thursday and my parents arriving on Friday. The party is on Saturday at lunchtime and we're having about 20 people, including a few kids, around. I've got two days of work before then, so it's busy busy busy. And I have to make and decorate the cake on Thursday/Friday. Hopefully after Romily's birthday and our beloved interestate guests have gone, I'll be able to find a bit of time in the evenings to do some sewing.

In the meantime, I'll just have to keep visiting my favourite blogs to get my fill of quilty news!

Winding down

Well I have absolutely nothing of interest to report. Have been busy attending to my mending pile, which has been growing considerably over the past couple of months. Not exactly 'fun' sewing, but at least I have reduced the stack by more than half! I've also been getting papers ready to be filed in our filing cabinet - which I have to empty out first. Gosh we keep so much junk!

Yesterday was a bit of a fizzer too. I was supposed to go to the movies to see Wah Wah, but when I jumped in the car to go - nothing. Flat battery. Dead as. Wonderful. I had to call the roadside assistance people for them to come and fit a new battery. Joy.

Today we've been running errands and this afternoon I have to pull a couple of hundred books out of a bookcase we have downstairs and move the bookcase across and restack it. This will enable me to move the TV along so it's actually centered at the end of our two couches. So now neither of us will get a cricked neck from watching telly! We had to rearrange our furniture to take advantage of the nice outlook into our gorgeous new courtyard! This is a job I've been meaning to do for weeks, but funnily enough keep getting distracted from! I wonder what I've been so busy doing? (Just kidding)

Tomorrow I've got to clean out my car, wash it (I'll go to a carwash - I certainly don't have the energy or motivation to handwash it!) and fill it with petrol. I hand over the keys to Carl on Monday and I'd like it to be in a fit state! I'll then be driving his old Celica to work. It's a 2-door coupe, so certainly not suitable for a baby carseat! Hopefully we'll be getting rid of it as a trade-in on a Renault Megane in the next couple of months. The Celica's 12 years old now and a little less than reliable. I'd be much happier in a new car (and who would not be?!).

Monday is a day for me. Carl has taken over as the primary carer (don't you love that parenting jargon?), so I will try to see that movie and just get myself sorted out for an 8am start in the office on Tuesday. I have to pop into work on Monday afternoon and pick up my car parking pass and swipe card. It's really happening. Poo bum.

For those who asked, I work for an international defence contractor in the marketing communications area. I'm starting in the new position of Organisational Communications Manager upon my return. I've been with the company since July 2004. I work with a lovely bunch of coconuts - I mean - people, so it wont' be that bad!

A little bit teary

Oh I had a teary moment yesterday. Carl and I took Romily to Gymbaroo in the afternoon. It was Carl's first time - and my last. I was a little sad and emotional when it dawned on me that it isn't my full-time job any more to play with Romily and help her learn. I know she's in good hands with Carl, but I think it's a little like being stabbed in the heart having to leave your child with someone else.

I start work next Tuesday. Thank goodness it's only for two days next week. I think that's about all I'll be able to bear.

What a lovely holiday

We're back! We had a lovely time in Queensland, although it was a little cooler than we'd hoped. Our first three days were spent at the delightful Couran Cove Island Resort. What a fantastic, family-friendly place this is. There are so many activities to choose from if you so desire. We, being fairly restricted in what we could do with a nearly one-year-old, spent most of our time strolling along the many walkways around the island. We walked through rainforest, swamps and bushland. The topography of South Stradbroke Island is amazingly varied.

We spotted lots of birds, much to Romily's delight, and just generally soaked up the relaxing resort atmosphere.

After three lovely days, we headed north to Brisbane, which is the capital city of Queensland. We decided to stay in Brisbane rather than head up to the Sunshine Coast (preferred destination of most tourists visiting this part of the world) as we have friends and family living in and around Brisbane and we hadn't seen many of them for a couple of years. It was lovely to catch up with most of them on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the park. The Roma Street Parkland is definitely the most fantastic public gardens I've ever been to. They are very well maintained and just gorgeous. They are apparently the largest sub-tropical city gardens in the world. Who cares? They are very very good!

The only downside of the holiday was the weather. We did get rained on a bit and it was definitely jumper (sweater) weather. Of course, I didn't take a jacket, so I had to buy one! What a shame, eh?

It was a lovely way to spend a week. It's so nice to have some family time together where we don't have to worry about cooking, cleaning or any of the many chores that seem to get in the way of living.

Of course I didn't take my sewing with me - and I should have. Poor little Romily came down with croup and was a little miserable for a few days. It was scary the first time she coughed, but I realised pretty quickly what it was. I hope she doesn't have that too often! She's such a little trooper. Even when she's sick she's still pretty happy and very contented to bop around the place. She mastered the art of cruising the furniture while we were away, and also worked on her crawling. She's very good at it now, and is almost preferring to crawl than scoot. She's finally worked out it's faster and loves to play chasey with her dad. He loves it too and so do I, because I can hear both of them laughing together - something to cherish.

Here are some more photos of our holiday. I'll print a couple out and take them into the office next week when I - eeek! - start work on Tuesday...

From this...

This is what we woke up to today...


And this is where we'll be tomorrow...


Let's hope the weather is that good! It's been so cold, wet and windy here for the past few days. Just can't wait to be warm. It won't be hot, but it will be around 23 degrees celcius (around 73 degrees fahrenheit) - at least 10 degrees (50F) warmer than here! Shorts and t-shirts weather :)

We'll be back next Monday!

Fortnight

Judy confessed that she didn't know what a 'fortnight' is. Sorry for using non-international English!!

A fortnight is actually fourteen nights. Two weeks. Yup. It's true. Don't know why Brits and Aussies feel the need to describe half a month that way, but we do.

Fortnight is a contraction of the Old English feowertyneniht, literally fourteen nights. It dates to c. 1000. (www.wordorigins.org)

So now you know!

It's here!

If you haven't visited Hilary Lang at Wee Wonderfuls, I suggest you high-tail it over there. Hilary makes the most exquisite, funky, funny dolls. I am in love with her designs, so I jumped at the chance to buy her Kitty, Bunny and Bear - a 3 in 1 pattern Wee Wonderfuls put-together book.

Oh I have such plans for kitty, bunny and bear! The little book arrived today and it's just wonderful (pun intended!). I'm going to make one for Romy and if that works out okay, I'll make one each for the twins for their birthdays in early September.

My photos don't do the little book any justice - I had to photograph them on an angle to stop the flash glare. Anyway, go buy yourself a copy - there are still some left! (But be quick, as the first print run sold out in days. I was lucky enough to get hold of a copy from the second print run.) I am sure you all need to add more projects to your lists!! :D

Nothing to say ... except hubba hubba

I've been doing absolutely nothing creative - unless you count desktop publishing - to report. I'm the volunteer editor of our local Neighbourhood Watch newsletter and I am also the volunteer editor of the Army Alpine Association newsletter. They both had to be done this week, so I've been busily working away on them. Very boring, but it's good to have them out of the way.

So, it's a slow posting week for me. Oh well, it will be slow posting all the time around here, as we're away on a little interstate holiday next week (to the lovely, warm state of Queensland) and I start work a fortnight after that.

Anyway, I don't have anything interesting to say, so I thought I would just leave you with a little 'hubba hubba' for the evening. For those of you who don't know, this is Josh Holloway, who plays a sleazy conman on the ever-intriguing Lost series. He plays a very bad man, but I've got to tell you I get that little vicarious thrill every time his character chats up one of the ladies on the show!

I am a violet

I am a Violet What Flower Are You?

Like Forestjane, I apparently am a violet. Wouldn't have thought of myself as shy, that's for sure!

Borders are on

I finally got those pants done and in the mail on their way interstate, so today I managed to finish the borders on my quilt top. I had to go back to the shop to get some more of the fabric I used for the sashing, as I decided I wanted another border in the same material. Fortunately they had a little left!


I also chose the backing fabric (a cute patterned flannel) and the wadding. I went for a wool/poly blend, as it's machine washable :)

I am so pleased the quilt top is just about finished. I just have to embroider the kimono ladies and also put in a couple of stitches around the borders where the bobbin skipped. Do any of you lovely ladies have any suggestions as to what could be causing my bobbin thread to skip? It's happening when I'm sewing long distances without stopping (ie the borders), with only two layers of fabric. I can't see any reason why it would skip, other than the bobbin being wound loosely, which, I understand is a common problem for Janome users. I'd love to hear your suggestions.

I hope to get my quilt 'sandwiched' tomorrow. Then I can actually start quilting. I won't bore you with progress photos though. :)

Haven't been quilting...

...but I have been sewing!

I am making some very cute pants for my nephews for their birthday, as well as for one of the babies in my mothers' group. We're doing a kind of secret santa birthday thing, so each of the babies gets one present from the group for his/her birthday. The baby I'm getting a present for will also receive a very cute Australian board book (you know, the indestructible kind they make for babies!).

Anyway, I made a prototype pair of pants for Romily. They are very baggy, black and furry. And very cute to boot!



Here she is. And check out that crawling action!

Might get my borders on my quilt on Sunday. We have friends coming over tomorrow, so I doubt I'll get anything much done sewing-wise tomorrow. Plus I have to finish those pants for the baby in my group, as his birthday is coming up in a couple of weeks and I need to send it interstate.

Thanks for the thumbs up on my decision to hand-stitch the quilt. I may even make a start one of these days :)

Sashing's done!

Woohoo. The sashing is on, looks great, and I didn't cut off too many points on my blocks. Clap on the back to me. I am so happy with how this quilt is shaping up. Thank you all for your very kind (too kind) praise and encouragement. I am enjoying the creative process very much, but I must confess I had no idea how much work goes into one of these babies. No wonder you all take so much pride in your quilts (finished and unfinished!).

I have made the momentous decision to hand quilt this one. I know it will take a lot longer by hand, but I think there are several reasons that have convinced me:
a) I prefer the look of hand-sewn stitches
b) I can do it at night in front of the tv when Romily is asleep, sitting next to Carl.
c) It gets me away from the machine, which is a magnet for Romy when she's awake.
d) I don't have to find a way to support it while I try to roll it for turning while machine sewing
e) I feel like it!!

I've chosen a gold coloured cotton thread. It's turned into quite a gold quilt, but I like that because the colours in the fabrics are very rich and the gold brings them all together.

I measured up Romily's cot tonight, so I know I need to add about 10 inches around. I'll do a 4-inch border in the floral fabric and then another 1 1/2 inch border in the burgundy/marrone fabric. Haven't decided on binding or backing fabric yet. I'll make that decision once I see what the whole quilt top looks like once the borders are on.

Sneak peek

I laid out all the blocks to see what the quilt might look like. Ooooh it looks good! One of the blocks (bottom centre) is going to disappear a little bit against the sashing I've chosen, but it was incredibly difficult to choose fabric that would go with all of the fabrics I've worked with. I'm happy with my selection (made with the very patient help and assistance of my teacher who came to my rescue when I was tearing my hair out) and hope to get the sashing sewn to all the blocks by my final class tomorrow night. We're learning how to make the quilt sandwich and we will discuss quilting techniques. All right!

Wacko!

Well the blocks are all finished. Woohoo. I can't believe it. It's very exciting, as now I can put the top together and then the fun stuff starts. Right?

My two kimono ladies are unfortunately more uniquely individual than I might have expected, but I figure by the time the blocks are all stitched together with the sashing any differences between them will be far less obvious. They're pretty good I suppose for an absolute beginner. As I began putting them together I did realise that I'd probably made them a little more difficult than they really had needed to be. But I did learn a lot, which is the whole point of doing a sampler quilt. Anyway, I have attached pictures of the last two blocks for your perusal. Bear in mind that I'm yet to embroider the chopstick 'thingies' they have in their hair and I'll probably embroider eyes, noses and mouths on their faces too.



I have decided not to fix the wonky pagoda. This is my first ever quilt and none of them should be perfect - they are made by human beings after all. I've enjoyed doing the blocks, but I'm sure glad to have finished them. Although, I think I will have to unpick the seams on one of my tree blocks and let them out slightly - it's come up 1/4 of an inch shorter than all the other blocks, which are pretty much all 6 1/2 inches. I should be able to ease the seams a little and scrounge that extra quarter inch. Then all I have to do is measure out the sashing and sew it all together!! I'm going to use a dark fabric with gold flecks through it for the sashing, with an outer border of one of the floral fabrics I've used in the blocks. Better measure up Romily's cot before I get too excited and start cutting the fabrics!

Thanks again to all of you for your encouragement. It means a lot to me :)

Your wish is my command

Laura, just for you here is a new photo of Romily! She just loves her books and Spot is a big favourite. Here she is in a dress! It was my husband's farewell from his work colleagues at a restaurant yesterday, so I thought she should dress up for the occasion!

Thank you all for your encouragement on my applique. And special thanks to Judy for her excellent tips on how to press applique - no my teacher didn't tell us that!

My two kimono ladies are coming along quite well. The first is complete and the second about one third done. We are having friends round for dinner tonight, so I won't be able to finish today, but should finish the last block tomorrow. Thank goodness. Then I'll be able to put the top together and see what it really looks like. I can't wait to see it all together either!

I'm still here!

I have been busily cutting and stitching away on my applique blocks. This is the first - a pagoda house that I designed myself. I haven't ironed it yet, so it's a bit scrunched, but you get the picture. My stitching is okay, which will no doubt get better with practice. One of my angles is pretty wonky and I haven't decided whether to fix it yet! The anal retentive in me says yes, the fledgling maverick says NO!

I have two more to go and then all blocks are finished and I can begin putting the quilt top together. So I won't be on here until those other two blocks are done!!

Anne good luck to England against Portugal!

Out of the cup; but no shame

The Socceroos are out of the World Cup after a last-minute goal to the Italians in the first knock-out round. Australia had its chances against the many-times world champions, but couldn't convert.

While it was a heart-stopping, and for some heartbreaking, way to go out, our Aussie boys can hold their heads high - they outperformed themselves and exceeded almost everyone's expectations.

Well done lads!

Anne, what a shame we won't meet in the finals!!

Our Nicole gets hitched

'Our Nicole', or Nicole Kidman to non-Australians, has done it. She's tied the knot with country music star Keith Urban in a clifftop twilight ceremony in Sydney last night - now that's a very straightforward and effective way to put the Tom Years behind her!

She looked beautiful, of course, and Keith looked pretty happy with himself. Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a round of applause for the Kurbans!

Congratulations Nicole. May this marriage bring you more happiness in one year than you knew in 10 with Tom (of TomKat fame).

Go the Socceroos

Australia's new heroes, the Socceroos are through to the World Cup final 16 for the first time in the competition's history. Just making it to the World Cup was a triumph that hadn't been achieved since 1974!

Of course Australians, who insist on calling the sport 'soccer' (to differentiate it from the other different football codes played here and beloved by thousands), are now instant experts on the game. People have been getting up at all hours of the night to watch the matches and so far have been rewarded with some remarkable moments.

The Socceroos are playing Italy in a knock-out game in the next round. They have a pretty good chance against a side dogged by claims of corruption and match-fixing. Let's hope they win!

And for Anne, let's hope we colonials make it through to the finals and play England for the cup. Now that would be worth getting up in the wee hours!

Australian quilts on display

The Sydney Quilt Show was held last week and unfortunately I couldn't see my way clear to make it the 300km to Sydney.

Judging from the photos on the Quilters' Guild of NSW website, there were some pretty impressive quilts on display.

I have to say I have a real 'thing' for the art and pictorial quilts (here and here, and here and here). As you can see from the image I've posted (Floriade by Margo Hardie was named Best of Show), 'traditional' quilts are still the winners in the eyes of the judges.

The Canberra Quilt Show is on in August - I'll defintely get along to that one!

I applied myself...

Okay so it's not the prettiest heart you've ever seen, but not too too bad for my first effort at needleturn applique.

We learnt how to do the freezerpaper method and it was good. I like it and think I'll use this method for my quilt, as I like the hidden stitching.

Our teacher also showed us the method using double-sided iron-on fusing. I'm not so crash hot on this method as you have to blanket or feather stitch around the appliqued piece. I like that look for naive or country stuff, but not for my sampler quilt, if you know what I mean. I like the clean lines of the needleturn.

Anyway, it was fun, not too hard but certainly challenging enough to make me value the hard work I put in! And I like that you can pack up a small bit of work and take it anywhere with you and do some stitching when you can snatch 5 minutes of free time. Suits my lifestyle!

Modern applique

I borrowed this book from the local library, as I wanted to get a sneak peak into what we'll be doing in class tomorrow night. Bear in mind that this Australian applique book is now 15 years old when you read the following, which had me laughing out loud:

'What you will find in this book is far removed from the traditional craft of applique, which for years was closely associated with patchwork and quilting. These older crafts, while relaxing and enjoyable, are really for those with time to spare. Today's life-style does not always allow many of us to spend a great deal of time decorating our clothes and home. Fashions change too quickly and time is so precous that when something comes along that allows you to express your own creative streak, yet offers no pinning. no long hours or preoation, and definite no hand sewing, it's got to be a winner.'


Obviously the author thought that patchwork and quiltig were dying arts, not realising that we clever women would find ways to modernise these arts as she had modernised applique.

Caretenaemia and toothiepegs

For the past couple of months I have been a little worried about Romily. SHe has had a yellow tinge to the skin around her nose and top lip. I thought it might just have been that she has quite a bit of pumpkin and carrot in her diet, but when my dentist asked if it was jaundice I began to worry.

I rang the government health info line (which was surprisingly good and surprisingly helpful) and we worked out that it wasn't jaundice (no yellowing of the eyes or tongue). After putting me on hold for a minute while he conferred with his colleagues, the nice nurse said there was a condition not uncommon in infants called caretenaemia. It's totally benign and doesn't require any treatment and usually disappears by the time the child is two or three. Basically the yellow colouring is caused by the body struggling to get rid of the beta-carotene and vitamin A found in many fruits and vegetables, including, of course, carrots. I could try to take carrots, pumpkin, mangoes, paw paw, pineapple, tomatoes, dairy, leafy greens, etc out of her diet, but what would she eat?

I am not at all concerned about a yellow moosh, so we won't be making any changes. She'll grow out of it eventually. I am just glad it's nothing serious.

What is serious is Romy's top gum! Four teeth came through within a week - three of them within 24 hours. She now has her two top front teeth and two top incisors. These make an interesting addition to the bottom two. The right incisor is much further down than the other three top teeth, which makes her look a little like a pirate!

An orange pirate!!!!!!

She is being very good despite the obvious discomfort. She's still a happy little bubba and with the help of baby paracetamol, is coming through it all like a little trooper. Bless :)

Good moon rising

I cracked it! After several attempts at the first patch, I finally managed to sew the curved seam of this four-patch block called moon rising over mountain (or some such thing). Mind you, mine looks more like a sun, but you get the picture.

This was a fun block to make, but I can see why lots of quilters avoid curved seams like the plague. Or do large ones that can be done on the machine and whose curves aren't too tight - much easier to sew! While it doesn't look it in the photo, the block is actually even and measures 6 1/2 inches - as it's supposed to! Amazing. :)

I am supposed to do another block for Tuesday, but it's one I won't actually be using in my quilt, as I am doing an applique house instead of a patched house. We haven't done our applique class yet, so there's no way I'm attempting it yet!!

As my theme is Japanese/oriental, I'm doing a pagoda house instead of the country barn number provided by the teacher. I'm going to do the provided house in el cheapo materials as a lesson in how to construct the block, but I don't know if I'll get it done tomorrow or worry about it later. We'll see how tomorrow pans out.

I had a great birthday yesterday - thank you all for your well wishes. I even had a sleep-in this morning (on my birthday weekend). Aaah bliss. I love it when my birthday falls on or adjacent to a weekend - I can milk the special treatment for a couple of days!!

Dananananana they say it's your birthday

And it's my birthday too yeah. Aah the Beatles, get that song in my head every June 16. Yep, it's my birthday. I am 35 years old. How did this happen? Lord knows, but I can't believe I'm 40 in five years.

I have many things to be thankful for on my birthday. My husband, my angel daughter, my parents, my brothers, my lovely sister-in-law and my four gorgeous nephews. My health, my career, my holiday and travel memories, and, of course, my blogging buddies.

To celebrate my birthday I took Romily along to the movies this morning to see Stick It. It was a great girlie flick and I actually enjoyed it very much. Romily was beautifully behaved and even eventually fell asleep in my arms - for the first time since she was a little baby. What a great way to spend the day. I have more beautiful yellow lillies from my husband, so the house looks marvellous (despite the piles of stuff everywhere!), we're having lamb roast and red wine for dinner, followed by chocolate in front of the telly watching the first episode in the new season of Silent Witness. It doesn't really get any better than that. (Okay, so it does - a weekend in Chamonix in the French Alps would be all right I suppose!!!!)

And Carl doesn't know it yet, but he's looking after Romy all day tomorrow so I can get my blocks done for my sampler quilt in time for class on Tuesday night. We're learning applique, which is exciting, as I know I don't know how to do it yet!

So I won't be posting over the weekend - must get my stitching done! Catch you all on Monday.