Oh Happy Day!

On Saturday  I tagged along with Helen to a Christmas Gathering organised by Lillian of Esmes

Helen was tutor for the day and had some lovely projects to share.

and Lillian did too

I even ran into some friends, Val (no blog) 

and Kathy from Sew Happy House 

It was a lovely surprise to see them both there and getting to spend the day stitching and chatting with them.

I also met Edwina, no picture but there's one on Kathy's blog, she's a lovely lady too but then all stitchers are lovely!

Also on display was Esme's finished Quilt Aid, simply gorgeous. The photos don't show this quilt any justice but believe me the Ruby fabrics were perfect for this years them "Whimsy and Wonder"

Check out the Quilt Aid website for more info and designs by the other shops in Australia, UK & the US!

The B's have it! Basketball, Buttons and Book!

I've been trying all week to get on to do this blog post, life is a bit hectic at the moment. My workplace is going through a restructure and my manager has decided he's leaving :-( and I've been a taxi service while my son goes back and forth to school and Basketball games.

They won their division, my son is the tall one. At 14 he's nearly reached his Dad's height of 6'5", he passed me inches ago!

So what's been happening on the craft front, well lots of secret squirrel stuff for xmassy swaps so I can't show anything there. I did participate in a Swap run by Button Floozies, we had to alter an altoid tin and fill it with buttons. My swap partner was Mary and this is the tin I received, packed to the brim, full of a fabulous mixture!

Love the bling buttons and those raggedy anne buttons. Thank-you Mary!

I also won this lovely book from Christine at Once Upon a Quilt

and look at this goregous project inside, plus there are some other lovelies too.

Thank-you Christine!!

Now if you've read this far this is a sneak peak of the tin I've sent Mary as she has not received it yet.

1500+

I think the majority of my blog readers also follow Elefantz but in case you've not heard Jenny is celebrating 1500+ followers with a giveaway. So head on over there by clicking on the picture below, you have until the 20th October to be in the draw!!

Swap FRIENDS

Fridays, how many times do you want to hear how much I love Fridays???

Well today is one of those Fabulous Fridays where I popped home during my lunch break to find a big red parcel sitting on my doorstop.

Yiippee it was my FRIENDS Swap gifties from Kymberly!

Kymberly has filled the parcel with the most thoughtful pressies, here's a looksie:

 

Gorgeous organiser!

sweets and scissor fob!

ribbons and threads!

companion, I needed a little 1 " ruler!!

fabulous roll of reds and whites! Yummy!

project book, some cuties in here that will be must makes!

and some Mary K samples, lovely!!

Told you it was a generous parcel.

Thank-you Kymberly for being such a fabulous swap partner

and to our lovely host Khris for organising a great swap!

Kymberly has received my parcel so keep an eye out for a post on what I sent.

Happy Friday!!

Midnight Madness

We were woken from our sleep to find a bright orange glow filling our bedroom window. Outside was a car on fire burning furiously. Hubby called the fire brigade and then went outside to investigate. It was right next to a power pole that had also caught on fire so he grabbed a neighbours hose to stop it from getting badly damaged. At one stage he was concerned that the car may have struck the pole and there may be an occupant inside, thankfully that was not the case. There was no huge explosion just lots of popping and banging. We were amazed that we hadn't woken sooner or that the dog had heard nothing!

It didn't take long for fire and police to arrive and they dosed the flames out very quickly.

The neighbours had also come out to investigate, one had to move her car as it was parked closely by.

And this is what remains of the Nissan 300 ZX. Police told us that it had been stolen only 1 hour before it had been torched. I feel sorry for the owner of this vehicle as it looked like it was a loved car.

The power pole held up, Aurora came out last night to check that it didn't need stabilising.

We were back in bed by 12:30 but it took us awhile to drift off back to sleep.

Update: A workmate knew the fellow who owned this car and you wouldn't believe it but it was owned by a policeman who had just parked the car near a favourite running spot and came back to find it gone.

Lilly Pilly

Dawn from As Sweet as Cinnamon has asked the question, What's your Blog Name and Why Did We Choose It?

I started my blog back in January 2008 and my early followers will remember me as Jo in TAS. I didn't give my name alot of thought back then, it said nothing about me other than where I lived. I was so eager to start blogging that the name was probably the last thing I thought of, I just wanted to join in and be a part of the blogoverse.

So jump forward to 2010 and it was time for a change. I wanted to pick a title that was easy to remember and that was Australian. My garden contains many Lilly Pilly shrubs and even when I lived in Queensland Lilly Pillys where our plants of choice, we even had one that was shaped like a xmas tree and we adorned it with lights at xmas time. They're my favourite shrub and I love the name so Lilly Pilly was born.

Mail and More Mojo

Look at this lovely that arrived in my mail!

This beautiful wall hanging was designed and stitched by Shell of The Rasberry Rabbits and I was extremely lucky to win in in her 800th follower giveaway.

This picture doesn't show it any justice as Shell's stitching is so fine, far superior to anything I've stitched. Inside the stitcheries is all hand coloured...stunning!

Thank-you so much Shell!

If you'd like to make this head on over to Shell's to puchase a pattern.

As promised I did finish the Angel Sewing Tote, it was so easy to put together and the zip was a sinch

Inside is a little zipper pouch and another pouch with a scissor keep. It's a decent size too and perfect for taking away on a retreat.

This little bag is most likely destined for a future swap partner, not sure who might get it but I'm sure it will be a hit!

PS Chooky, don't ask about the GJ, no progress today!