What I Gave

I’ve showed you the lovely gifts I received, but not those I sent.

My SSCS partner was Caro in the Netherlands.  I had fun making a table runner using the Lil Twister Ruler and fabrics from Anni Downs’ range.

I’m really happy with the way it turned out and think I may have to make another one for us, as Mick really liked it.

The other gift I sent across the waves was to Lou on the Isle of Man.  I figured you can never have enough little pouches for storing sewing bits and bobs, especially when you will have to be packing everything up for a big move.  They were fun to make.  Of course, tea and Tim Tams never go astray.

I’ve really enjoyed making my handmade gifts this year.

I’ll have to come up with some fresh ideas for next year.

What Lovely Gifts

One of the highlights of Christmas day is receiving lovely handmade gifts. This year I once again joined in Chooky’s Secret Santa Christmas Swap and was thrilled with the gift that came across the ditch from Lyn.

She couldn’t have chosen anything better.  I love table runners and had only commented to Mick the day before that I needed another Christmas table runner.

Lyn must by psychic.

The fabric is great, Christmassy, but not too much so, if you get my drift.

Thanks Lyn and thanks Chooky and Googy Girl for getting us all organised.

The other lovely gift I received came in the post from Lou on the Isle of Man.  It was a brown paper package tied up with string and I forgot to take a photo of it.  I was hoping it may be filled with my favourite things……..OK, enough of the corney jokes.

Well, it was!

Inside was a little box.

This is what was in the box.

But there’s more……..

Lots of my favourite things……buttons, and more buttons, ribbon, a little cross stitch kit, scissors, a seam ripper, poppy thimble and poppy day badge.  It was amazing how much she fitted into the box.  It was loads of fun opening it all.  Thanks so much Lou.

While I’m at it, I’ll show you a couple of my special decorations that are new this year.

Firstly the little wreath from Lou’s box of goodies.

Then the bauble she made from Christmas cards.  A great way of upcycling and pretty to boot.

I bought this little birdy when I was visiting Lou earlier this year.  There are  couple of rather tasty shops just up the road from where she lives.  I have a feeling that some of my gifties came from one of them.)

I’ve saved the best till last.  This was a gift from Lou when we visited her earlier in the year. It is just gorgeous. A truly beautiful interpretation of the Legs of Man.

Merry Christmas

After a couple of rather chaotic weeks leading up to Christmas the day has arrived. 

We had a very enjoyable day with family and the weather was cool, with gentle rain.  Quite a contrast to earlier in the week when the temperature reached the high 30s each day. Of course, we ate far too much and have lots of leftovers for the next few days.

I have received some lovely  gifts which I will share shortly.

My little tree was covered with hand made ornaments and others that have been special gifts.  I think I may have to invest in a larger tree next year to accommodate the growing collection.  All have such wonderful meaning.

Our mantle piece looked lovely and festive.  The house is a sweet advent calendar sent by our good friend Lou from the Isle of Man.  It is a lovely addition to our Christmas.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas with those you love.

Santa Has Landed

Mick called me at work this afternoon to tell me that a “Squishy Parcel” had arrived for me.  He wouldn’t tell me where it was from except that it was from “an island”.  I had to come home to find out more. That’s one way to get me to leave work on time.

My parcel was posted by Lyn on the south island of New Zealand.  I’ve never received mail from NZ before.   Likewise, I hadn’t discovered Lyn’s blog previously, so will have fun doing some reading.

Anyway, now for the big reveal, or should I say small reveal.

Isn’t the ornament gorgeous.  It is hanging on my pantry door until I put the tree up. The fabric is cute and the choccies were yummy. (Note the past tense, they are gone now.)  Now I have to be strong and not touch the other present till the big day.

Thanks Chooky and Googy for arranging the SSCS swap.  It’s been great to be involved again this year.

Safe Arrival

I’m pleased to be able to advise that the parcel I sent all the way to Caro in the Netherlands for Chooky’s Secret Santa Christmas Swap has arrived safe and sound.  Phew!  We always send them off on a wing and a prayer.

This is the little ornament I made this year.

You can pop over to Caro’s blog and have a bit of a look a around.  She does lots of interesting sewing and visits amazing places.  I’ve really enjoyed discovering her blog.

I’m now eager to receive the gift winging its way over here.  Such a fun part of the lead up to Christmas.

Secret Santa on its Way

Once again I’ve joined in Chookyblue’s Secret Santa Christmas Swap.

Unfortunately, I missed getting it finished for Friday’s mail but it is ready to wing its way to somewhere tomorrow morning.

It’s been fun participating in the swap again this year. I just wish that I was delivering the parcel in person.  Wouldn’t that be fun.

A Sneak Peek – James May Sidecar

Remember when we were back on the Isle of Man.  Well, there is lots that I never got around to adding to my blog, so I’ll just occasionally add another little tit bit.

If any of you are familiar with the TV show “Top Gear” you will know of James May.  He has made a separate show on his own called James May’s Toy Story.  We saw a few episodes.  One was making a full scale Airfix model aeroplane, one was running model railway trains along the length of a disused railway line and another was building a bridge across a canal in Liverpool that would support a man made out of Meccano.

Well, he was at it again on the Isle of Man, making an episode for his Christmas special.  This time it was a motorcycle with sidecar made out of Meccano and he and his mate Oz Clarke were to do a lap of the TT Course – thirty seven and three quarter miles. 

There was quite a bit of hype leading up to the start, which was at the end of a day’s racing.  We waited patiently at our spot beside the track for him to appear, but gave up, deciding instead to drive back along the course towards the start line and see if we came across him.

We finally found him, just around the corner from the start line.  To our surprise, we were able to get quite close and take some great photos.  In typical Isle of Man fashion, there was no keeping the public out of the way.

The bike is a true work of art.

It is powered by 90, yes, 90, little Meccano electric motors.

There was also a battery kit from a golf cart to help up the hills.

Look at the work in the wheels.

And the front view.

He was a very brave man hopping in that sidecar, relying only on the little pieces to support him.

And off they go, down Bray Hill.  I hoped their brakes were good.

As we were heading back home we saw them still in Douglas, pulled up by their support van.  We hoped that there weren’t any major dramas.

Over the next couple of day people were ringing into the radio station giving updates on where they had seen the bike on its way around the course.  It took about 3 days to complete, but yes, they did make it all the way around and there was a big cheer for them at the finish line on the final day’s racing, just before the racing began.

I do hope they show the episode out here some time and that we don’t miss it.

What a Wonderful Day

Yesterday, it was great to catch up with lots of ladies here in Bathurst for a blog get together, organised by Chooky.

The first stop was Fabric and Trim, but I skipped that, as I knew the shop was quite small.  The second stop was at Anni’s, so this is where I met up with all the girls.  Some I had met before, some I have only known through their blogs and some were new to me.  It is wonderful how the common thread of blogging has brought us all together.

We all had a great time browsing at Anni’s.  Here is Kylie, Chooky and Beryl (Anita’s aunt visiting from the UK).

Susan, Jan and Fiona were quite happy chatting while waiting their turn to be served.

Peg and Dale turned up for the day and kept an eye on Anni and Chooky.

While Khrissy waited for Chooky to finish her shopping and talking she had a chat to the girls.

After we had spent all our money, we adjourned to Crago Mill Cafe for lunch.  Mmmm.   Mmmmmm.  Some lovely things came out of the kitchen.

 

We also had the chance to have a wander around the new antique shop on site.  I was rather taken with this wash stand, as it was similar to one that has just found it’s way to our place.

There was lots of chatting and we had a little swap, “Make it, Bake it or Fake it”.

I was lucky enough to receive some sweet chilli sauce made by the lovely Kate, via Suze, beautifully presented with star and berries.

My gift was received by Anita.

It was a little knitted wash cloth and soap.  Fun to make.

Of course, no get together is complete without show and tell. I missed the start, (too busy talking).  These three were all made by Michelle from The Home Patch.  Just beautiful.

By then the afternoon was slipping away and everyone had to be on their way to the various parts of the state.

Peg and Dale said bye to their namesakes.  Who knows where they will turn up next.

The day passed so very quickly and was thoroughly enjoyable.  Now we will have to wait till Nundle in March to catch up again.  Thanks for a great day, ladies.

Annual Day Visiting the Gardens

My friend and I had our annual day out a week or so back, visiting the open gardens.  I was a bit worried that I would have to stand her up this year, but at the last minute I cancelled my other plans.  I couldn’t miss out on our special day.  How would we get by without catching up on all the gossip?

I’ve shared our special day before, in 2012 here and here, in 2011 here,  in 2010 here,  and in 2009 here.  We’ve been making this a play date for probably 20 years now.

Anyway, to this year…..

First of all, I sent Mick off on his own.  It was the Motorcycle Awareness Week get together at Wellington on Sunday and he went up there to catch up with some friends from Coonamble.

Now, to our day out….

Quite a few gardens were open for the first time, or hadn’t been open for quite a few years. There was a great variety and the weather couldn’t have been better.

“Daleba” was a stunning native garden.  I don’t think I have ever seen such vibrant bottle brushes, in quite a few different colours.

They also had some wonderful sculptures.

“Winter Rose Cottage” was a leafy suburban garden.  I loved the creative recycling for the strawberries.  Very appropriate for car mad Bathurst.

“Harvey’s Garden” had a lovely vege garden.   It has been open on several occasions, but not for a while.

Next was “Bremar”, which was open for the first time.  It had several quite different sections.

The owners’ grandkids were well catered for with lots of different play areas.  This was my favourite.  Apparently it was bought as a kit down the mountains.

 
“Benning” is a relatively new garden, with lovely big beds and sweeping lawns.  It will be interesting to follow its progress as it matures.

The next garden we visited was “Cathie’s Garden”, a real cottagey garden.  There was next to no lawn.  The cottage was hiding behind the garden.

Out  in the back garden there was a delightful studio.  I had to go straight up there and check it out.

What do you think?  Can you see sewing machines, cutting tables, lots of fabric and quilting books? Isn’t the light just wonderful.  I could spend hours up there.

Cathie is certainly talented and  has created a wonderful haven for herself.

Next on the list was “Mt Tamar”, which was open last year.  It is a lovely country garden, but this year there are a couple of new features created by the owner.  Apparently the eagle was only completed a couple of days before the open weekend.  He is rather stunning.

Our final garden was “Brindabella”.  I was looking forward to seeing this one, as I’ve admired the house, as being a comfortable looking place.

This was truly gorgeous.  Water is obviously no object, as there were lovely, lush lawns.  So much work has been done in the few years they have owned the property. All the gardens were full and everything looked so very healthy.

The main feature was the walled kitchen garden. This lovely little building is actually the sheds.  A garden shed on one side and potting shed on the other, with a breezeway between.  It is constructed from recycled sandstock bricks.

I loved the way the specially marked bricks were featured.

Now to the garden….

It was still a bit early for a lot of plantings, but it was so very well set up.  The steel structure at the back had passionfruit growing up the wall and citrus trees in front.  There is an automated cover that comes across the framework to protect the plants from our harsh frosts.

One corner featured a glass house and another had a shade house.

The kitchen garden extended beyond the walled garden as well, with berries and espaliered fruit trees. 

You don’t get much better than this.  I really love visiting gardens like this one, as kitchen gardens are my favourites.  However, I’m extremely lazy with my own.  Maybe, when I retire mine will look a bit more like this……then I’d be wishing my life away.

It is a great day out visiting all the wonderful gardens around our city.  You don’t realise what dedicated people there are around us, creating their own piece of heaven.

Bring on next year.