Hi-de-Hi!!

Hi-de-Hi!
How are you all... long time no post for little ole me... but now I'm back.

It is so long since I have done a post that I can't even remember what I haven't told you and have told you all.....

So what have we been doing.. not a lot!
But we did go to Hong Kong for a nice week's holiday at the beginning of August.  How nice was that?!  We had a wonderful time and managed to not get lost on the MTR!  Didn't even spend too much money for a change!  And guess what - I managed to find some crafty stuff in a wedding shop.  No stitching stash, only card making stash - but stash is stash!  Especially as I was able to locate the really long corsage pins that I have been looking for!  These ones have lovely beads on top in red, purple and green.  All ready for me to add my extra little touch!

Corsage pins (lots of corsage pins), iPad covers, small paper flowers,
pin cushions, coin purses and beaded flowers

We found the great Chinese people pin cushions in the Stanley Street markets and bought some - but I never saw them again the whole time we were wandering around!  So next trip to Hong Kong it will be back to Stanley Street to buy some more - I love them and they make such great pressies!

And happy dance - I even managed to stitch on board the plane!  Yes, Security allowed me to take my embroidery needle on the plane, no questions asked... so I stitched all the way there while watching movies and most of the way back home again.  I decided to use the flight as an opportunity to start my Winter "Cool Cat" for the MS Lovers Blog SAL that I am miserably behind in....

MS Cool Cat - Winter
Started and stitched on flight to Hong Kong and return to Perth

The ORT's had their own little bag to travel in, and I even managed to work out how to use the thread cutter that I have had in my sewing basket for many a year.... me being a scissor person just never got the hang of the thread cutter, but out of necessity I have now learnt how to use it properly!

I have managed to get a bit more done on Winter Kitty in the week since being back home, but not a real lot... I came back from holidays with a touch of the flu which has upset my joints and my hands so most evenings I have vegged out on the couch in front of the Olympics!  I did manage to get a card made yesterday but I will leave that creation to the next post.

Now I realised early this week that I didn't do a IHSW report before going away - but I guess when you don't stitch anything you don't have anything to report!  But fingers crossed it will be a different story this weekend...

Before I go I have to leave you with a couple of photos... the first is a photo of one of the "28" parrots that come into our backyard every day.  They used to come and visit our apple trees when we had fruit, but now that the fruit has all finished we have started leaving them apples to eat in a couple of tubs.  The cats love watching the parrots fly down and eat the apples.  A couple of the birds take the apple back up into the tree, others eat them on the lawn or perch in the strawberry bed tank... and this one decided to perch on "Phil's" butt!

"28" enjoying a nice fresh piece of apple

The photo isn't the best as I took it through the kitchen window and hence through the cat netting... but I think you can get the gist of what you are looking at!  Do you see those nasturtiums - they have spread all over the raised area of the backyard - which is great as they are keeping the weeds down!

And finally, what I know you have been waiting for - a new puppy photo.  These photo's were taken the weekend before we went away.  We will be bringing our new little girl home on 1st September at this stage. The final contender for the name this week is "Mitzi".

Isn't she just adorable, and so tiny!

Well me lovelies, it is time for me to sign off and go to bed....
So til next time when I will have a TUSAL update, and hopefully an IHSW update, for you as well, happy stitching!

Purffect Partners

Hello again.... It's Sunday afternoon and I have been fiddling around doing some blog stalking, updating my photo album on FB, and now I thought I'd do a quick post to show you my latest little finish, and also what I have added to my stash!

Last Saturday hubby and I went off the Craft and Quilt Fair.  We try to go every year when it's on as it really is our only chance to see all the wonderful crafting ideas that are out there in one spot, especially the quilting stuff for hubby.  This once a year treat always comes to town around hubby's birthday so he gets to spend up big, and he also gets to choose his own pressie.... This year was no exception - the credit card got a workout as hubby spent lots of $$ on quilting stash... Meeza was very good in comparison!  Hubby could have spent more... I saw him drooling over the Husqvarna Viking sewing machines!!  Last time he drooled over a Husqvarna it was a ride on lawn mower and we bought it!!!  This time we were good and kept the credit card in our pockets...  By the way - I never did get to use the Husqvanrna lawn mower - I used to do my mowing on the old green Victor ride one!  It was much safer coz when I ran into things it didn't matter with the old one!!!  But that's another story...

Anyway, I digress... as is my want to do!!!

At the show I did buy three new kits to add to the ever increasing stash in the drawer!  I bought two Dimension kits - "Maggie the Messmaker" and "Kitty Litter".  That was going to be all until I saw the "Colours Down Under" stall and drooled over a finished and framed Chatelaine Designs "Taj Mahal Mandala Garden".

I have followed Joyce's stitching of the Taj Mahal on her blog Random Ramblings and thought that the design was stunning.  And then to see it in real life and up close.... wow!  So I decided to buy a small Mandala... or rather a chart pack of 3 small ones and at some stage over the next 12 months I will give one of them a go.....  So watch this space!

Latest addition to the stash drawer!

As you know I have recently been stitching a number of quilt squares for Quilts 4 Kids so I haven't stitched much of anything else of late!  After finishing my last quilt square, I decided to stitch something small, or even finish off a small UFO (of which there are many to choose from) before carrying on with my Margaret Sherry Culinary Cats.  So I went through the basket of UFO's and had a quick look at all the freebies in the box.. and what did I decide to finish... well another Margaret Sherry design!  Just to warm me up for my culinary cats!

I can't remember when I started stitching the "Purrfect Partners" cats.  They came as a freebie with Cross Stitcher issue 196, February 2008 but I do know that I didn't start them that long ago!  I think I started them around this time last year and for some reason put them away... as you do!  So I decided that they would be my next finish! I finished off the last of the backstitch this morning while waiting for my brother and his family to come and visit.

Purrfect Partners - Margaret Sherry

Cross Stitcher, Issue 196

 

Purrfect Partners finished 29 May 2011
No longer a 2010 UFO!

Another 2011 finish to add to the list.... now I will go back to my MS Culinary Cats and work on them for the next couple of weeks and get them finished off. 

Just before I go....  what else does a dog and cat do on a very windy and cold winter's afternoon while mum is playing on the computer???

They cuddle up together! 

Daisy to Oscar - you do know this is my bed, don't you???

I had to take a photo of Oscar and Daisy asleep together as this is quite a rare occurrence.  Whenever the boys try to sleep with Daisy she gets jittery and moves away... but this time she obviously decided that sleep was what she wanted and if she had to share with the cat... well so be it!!!

Daisy - Oh blow it... I will just ignore you - you are not there!
I don't see you.....

Purrfect Partners indeed!

Til next time, happy stitching!