A little retail therapy

Today Miss M and I did something we haven't done for ages. Caught a train into the city to go shopping in the Queen Street Mall.

It all started with a pair of shoes (boots to be exact). I found some at work but they did not have my size so one of the staff rang the city store to find the right ones and had them put on hold for me till today.  Last night, after a nine hour day at work, I mentioned it to Miss M and said I would probably call them in the morning to cancel the hold.  She said she needed to go in and would go with me.....Agreed....It's a date!!

I obviously haven't been into the mall for a very long time as I have never seen this new building facade before with 3D butterflies.  Can you make it out?

We did a leisurely stroll up the Mall towards the river going into this shop and that shop, Miss M looking for a new jacket and maybe a skirt, a birthday present for a friend and I was just window shopping.

As we got to the top end of the Mall, I suggested lunch at my favourite coffee place, "Coffee Club" only to find it had moved (who knows where) so I remembered "Cafe 21" at the Treasury Casino, just across the road.  We went in to find they had changed and it was now a fancy noodle bar....mmmmm.....not a worry, there was a similar cafe downstairs called "The Kitchen" where we had a lovely lunch.....

and coffees.  I just loved the ambience of the old building and the food/coffee was very good too.

Then it was off to explore some more and finally ending up at "no other store like" (yes, that is the old phrase, but I like it)

to get my boots which were a terrific bargain by the way.  They were originally $139 but with sale price and my staff discount, I got them for $31.......how's that for a saving!

Most of all, I had a fab day out with my favourite girl, Miss M.
 

Teddy T Party

Wonder what is happening with my Teddy Bear Tea Party Quilt? Here is the scoop....

When last seen, this project was not looking its best and I was feeling really despondent about having to use the seam ripper for a bit of reverse sewing. See here if you missed that post.

One of my goals for April was to get this out of the way for once and for all.  Off came all the sashing and off came all the piping that just wasn't working for me.

Then I carefully pressed all the sashing and using tweezers, I carefully plucked out all those little bits of thread.

ready to be used again as I may not have enough of this fabric to finish the project if I don't re-use this sashing.

Now I am at the stage of sewing all the little peepers on the blocks.  I am doing this block by block, row by row instead of doing all the blocks first then joining the rows.  i am loving the new pink.

Eventually, one whole row is sewn together....OH BOTHER.......I have just spotted another error!!

Happy Birthday Miss M

This post is a bit after the fact, however, it was Miss M's birthday last week and we made tentative plans to get together on Sunday, when everyone had a free day, to celebrate. Initially we were going to go out for dinner but the theme over the last year seems to be afternoon tea and Miss M chose to do this at our favourite spot overlooking the city.

 It was such a beautiful day on Mt Coot-tha that we actually sat in the sunshine. The boys wanted Devonshire teas but Miss M and I indulged in something a little more decadent.

A little Carrot Cake and White Chocolate and Macadamia Mousse

We split both down the middle and had half of each......Yummy!

And this was the scene from our table looking South West.

Later, we thought we better do some walking to overcome such indulgence and drove down to the Botanic Gardens for a walk around.  It is only a few weeks since we were last there but there was so much to photograph.  That will be for another post.
 

Win Win Situation

It feels like a win win situation.  I have requested and been accepted to join two swaps.  One is Christmas in July swap with Cheryll and the other is Fat Quarter Swap.

 I feel like that it is a win for me but what about the win for you?

Time to reveal who is the winner of my Giveaway for April.  Click the pic to find out more about my giveaway.

Click the pic

 Random Generator, please pick a post for this month's draw......

Ooooh, the fourth post of the month was on the 4th of April and it was "The Parcel".  Nine people commented on this post, so Random Number Generator.......do your thing!!

So who was it??

"GILL"

Congratulation Gill, you were the eighth person to comment on this post.

Here is what Gill had to say:

"Congratulations on your win!! What are you going to make first??"

I have emailed you Gill. Please reply with your address and I will get your parcel off to you asap.



 

Come What May

It doesn't matter where you live, I think May is always a lovely time of year. Not too HOT, nor too COLD......just PERFECT!

{if you are looking for the link up to April NewFO, please click here.....I made a booboo!} 

I don't think I did that great in April with the written goal list although I kept busy with off the list projects.  So I am going to keep it simple for May and do the easy stuff.....come what may!

Quilty:
Finish Block 9 of Edwardian House
Finish Block 5 of Bric-a-Brac
Finish Block 3 of Tails of a Feather
Finish Blocks 6 and 7 of Betsy's Closet.

Non Quilty
Get started with Weight Watchers Programme
Make skirt for bowling night (theme still under wraps)
Plant a garden on side of house
Finish labelling linen cupboard

So the non quilty might be a little ambitious.......gardening.....please, I haven't done that for years! but it needs to be done to appease my outdoor view.

 

April Achievements

How did I go in April?  I seemed to be forever busy doing something but not necessarily items on my goal list.  Time for the wrap up.

Quilty:
1.  Finish piecing "My Garden". Its now or never!  At this stage it is going to be never!!! I got as far as dragging it out of hibernation and putting it in view.
2.  Cut out Spaghetti Junction quilt. This is very achievable.  Achievable, I have learnt, is not necessarily do-able! Cut out what I could but ordered SOME MORE fabric.

3.  Complete block for Trudy's Charity quilt. Once the "vine" is made, this should be quick. Yes, I can say I completed this one and tick as DONE

Prestitched photo

4.  Finish unpicking Teddy Tea Party.........Ugh, might have to set the timer to get this done. I did, I did, I did.....at last I got it unpicked! and no timer necessary, just determination!

a pile of unwanted piping bits

  

Non-Quilty
1.  Lose 2kg this month. Yes, I can. Yes, I can. YES, I CAN!  This did not go my way.....I had issues with the company running my weight loss programme and quit. No weight loss this month and no weight gain either, but need to find another programme....Weight Watchers, here I come.
2.  See a movie. I see the ads on tv and keep saying "oooo, I want to see that" so I SHOULD.  Today would have been ideal but I just don't feel like it.
3. Finish organising pantry. Not a big job.....just need to attach labels and stack everything neatly.  It's getting there but not quite finished.....i forgot how to add text to the labels in my desired font (such a tiny thing to set a bump in the road)

one shelf complete

4. De-clutter bedroom drawer.....purge, purge, purge! Not done yet but boy my wardrobe is looking so much neater and really accessible.

There you go,  not too much achieved from the list of goals but I have a huge pile of crocheted squares which I have been working on

I finished this block (4) of Brick-a-Brac

and also got some more of my BOM blocks ready which I will be focusing on during May

 I am happy!

Linking in with Barbara's April NewFO Challenge


Last chance to be in the draw for the GiveAway drawn tonight.  Good Luck everyone and once again thank you so much for your inspirational comments.

M.I.A or A.W.O.L

Whichever you want to call it, the fact is that I fell off the grid there for awhile. It has been a month where I just needed to hibernate for a bit and reflect on the year that was. Last year around this time I was just returning from an unwanted trip to the UK/Ireland.

 Anyway, I have been keeping busy with stitching, a little crochet and we had a birthday to celelbrate as Miss M turned 22. That was a joyous occassion so I am back on track now.

 I also arrived home yesterday to find another envelope had arrived in the post.  This time it was from Renata at Wish upon a Star . Thank you Renata, I love charm packs and I am certain to find something adorable to make with these.

Couldn't have come at a better time for me.  I had the worst week at work this week. Covering for sick staff and a public holiday thrown in has put my own work far behind so this really perked me up.

I will still be announcing a Giveaway winner for April tomorrow.

 

Another parcel!

A squishy one this time.  Coming home to find a squishy parcel in the mail gives you such a warm fuzzy feeling which really  makes your day. So I now feel like how this guy looks.

 Anyway, time to open the parcel

 This all started with the Blog Hop that happened in March.  I won this gorgeous little pincushion from Turid in Norway.  Her blog is partly bilingual so pop over and have a look.  She makes some lovely quilts. I mean, really, how sweet is this pincushion made out of selvages?

 Even the back is lovely.

Thank you Turid, I love it!

 

Planting Roses

I did myself a favour yesterday and turned OFF the internet so no facebook, bloglovin, Pinterest, words with friends or Mahjong to distract me and concentrated on doing something productive.

In doing so I planted (and by planted I actually mean stitched) some roses in my Edwardian House garden.

 I happily stitched the afternoon away while I caught up with some tv that I had taped over the weekend.

 All the roses have been stitched now.

 Just for fun, I thought I would show the back of the piece.  Not so pretty now, is it?

I am happy to report that after dinner last night, I picked up the stitchery again and "planted" some hollyhocks and primulas.  Just got a few poppies and some ivy to go now then my garden will be complete.

 

Friday Night with Friends

This was my first Friday Night with Friends sew in. Excited much! And then on friday I remembered why it is not such a good idea to sew on Friday nights. After two full days of work, I was exhausted when I came home.  Infact, I had been yawning loudly all day and barely had the energy to drive home.  By the time I sat down to sew, I felt a dreaded headache settling in but I still persisted.

A little hand stitching on Bric-a-Brac to fulfill my obligation and then off to bed for an early night.

Did you do any sewing last night......I hope you were much more productive than I was at Friday night with Friends.  Click on the pic to head over to Cheryls to see who else took part.