Quiet Weekend

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. Ours was very quiet except for a spot of babysitting which was very noisy. We are still settling back into the old routine so visits to the rellies and catching up on chores were the go for us. I have felt really renewed since my holiday (except for today when a thumper of a headache has come to keep me company) so I have been drawing and stitching up a storm and even stitched several projects that have been drawn for a very long time. Echoes of "stitch me! stitch me!" saw me doing just that.
So I have a couple of sneakies for you...

and I just loved this little fellow when he emerged from my pencil...

I am very fortunate to belong to a Birthday fat 1/4 group and you can nominate what fabrics are on your wish list. I have had a project in mind for a long time now so I said reds/creams were on my wish list and I was blessed with many gorgeous fabrics in this colour way. So as hard as it has been I have been having a little chop of some of my Birthday fabrics. These are the creams or lighter ones and I still need more ( fabric shopping...such a hardship) and then I have all the reds to chop up.

and also little piles of these too...

Still lots more to go but I am pleased that some of the preparation has been started.
I wish you all a wonderful day....I am off to make better friends with some pain medication and a lovely cup of Lemon & Ginger tea....always makes me feel better.
Oh! One last thing. Thank you to all of you who have given me such lovely feedback about my two new patterns (see previous post) and purchased your very own copies. I am thrilled to say they are flying out the door..... so big hugs (((((o)))))
Blessings Michelle xxx

2 New Patterns

Good morning everyone on this very warm Brisbane morning. Feels like Summer is here already.
As promised I have 2 new patterns that are available for purchase now.
The first is a sweet little tote bag inspired by catching up with blogging friends last year. The little birdie graces my blog header. You may even recall me stitching it. Tea & Stitching with Friends Tote Bag 

It is the perfect little gift to make for a stitching friend or for your self to carry your stitching projects in.
You may purchase it by emailing me at michelleridgway53@hotmail.com for $13.50Aus plus P&H for overseas customers. Postage is free within Australia.
The second pattern is  Christmas Hearts which consists of 4 different little stitchery designs (all of my favs...frosty, gingie, reindeer and sweet birdie) stitched on to a felt heart. You could use them as a Christmas ornie, gift parcel decoration or stitch all 4 and hang them together for a sweet little display.

You can purchase the set for $13.50 Aus plus P&H for overseas customers. Just a reminder if you are an overseas customer I only accept payment via Paypal. Well I do hope you like these latest little offerings. I loved creating them. So if you wish to purchase either just email me.

I have lots more waiting in the wings folks I just need to stitch faster LOL! A holiday is so good for your creativity and getting the juices flowing...or the needle flying.
One thing I am doing at the moment relates to how much fun I had when I created the "B is for..." Hexie table centre ages ago. You all seemed to love it also. as many of you made it.

When I created this table centre I had also drawn up lots of other designs about 10 in all and put them aside to make a quilt of some sort at a later date....well that day has arrived and I am working on it at present. All I can say is it involves redwork and hexies....So stay tuned for that one. I have also had a wonderful time stitching some individual redwork pieces....happy bunny! I will post some sneakies of those later.
I seem to be getting a little pile of stitcheries that need to be assembled.

Before I go I had to put my Nanna hat on and post some recent piccies of my darling Grandies. We could not believe how much they had grown in the 5 weeks we were away. Yes I know that's what they are supposed to do but you really notice it when you haven't seen them for a wee while.
So firstly our gorgeous little girls...
"Miss C"

What a cutie pie!!
"Miss E"

Still has the most amazing hair. Cheeky chops! Now for the boys.
"Master L"

He is a huge Star Wars fan and he was very proud of his efforts assembling these. He also earned the money for them by being our Mail collector when we were away on holidays.
"Master C"

He was thrilled to catch 2 fish when he visited us on holidays and went fishing with Daddy and Grampy. He is Daddy's best little helper in all things....whether Daddy needs help or not lol.
We are so blessed with these beautiful little people I just wanted to share.
That's it for me today.
Thanks for visiting,
Blessings Michelle xxx

Catching up with Spring & a Bit of Excitement

Good morning all and welcome to Monday. I finally got around to changing my mini over to the Spring version. I thought I better to do before Summer is knocking on the door.

Speaking of Spring, a wander around my very neglected garden over the weekend revealed that I had missed some of my old faithfuls coming into bloom. Like for instance all my Azaleas which never let me down. However I was thrilled to see some pretties...my 2 bouganvilleas.

The other one is the most beautiful reddish orange..

Miss Clivia was not to be out done...I always get a thrill to see this one bloom.

Do you have little plants that were given to you by friends as cuttings that when they flower make you happy and bring them to mind...like my 2 geraniums.

I think even a tiny bit of garden can lift your spirits.
Now to all things stitching.
After finishing my little "Frosty" fellow I placed him with his friends while I think of how to assemble them. Stitching him did make me feel all 'Christmasy' in the sewing sense and I felt like I wanted to make a Christmas tote bag so I pulled out my fabrics and chose 2 I liked and then looked through some recent drawings and chose a sweet little birdie. I have taken complete artistic license with this little bird. He is supposed to be a little Robin but we all know they are not all red...more orangey even. So I hope you will forgive me for that....what do you think?

Perhaps I should just call him "Holly Birdie" a new species.
I am now going to wax lyrical so just warning you..
Everyone is so busy these days and also dollars have to go a bit further than they used to, so I am always very grateful, delighted and humbled when you lovely stitchers out there take the time to like my designs enough to then stitch them. When you design it is also like exposing a big part of yourself out there for people to critic. So you can just imagine how I have felt this past weekend when my lovely blogging friends who meet regularly at Millrose Patchwork in Ballan, Victoria for a stitching fun day chose my designs for their swap theme....ooh eee! Very excited!

These are all the projects the girls made...I was so thrilled to see them. I have borrowed these photos from Christine of Macdonald's Patch. Here are all the lovely girls outside the store.

Thank you so much ladies for choosing my designs for your swap, you made my day....can't believe I missed being there by 2 weeks!!! Having visited this gorgeous place so recently I could imagine you all there having fun. So glad you all had a wonderful time. Heartfelt thanks once again xoxoxo
Lunch awaits and a little bit of quiet time in my favourite chair with my needle and thread.
Blessings Michelle xxx

FNSI

I had a lovely night stitching along with everyone. I hope you did too. I did a little sewing on my Dresdens and then decided to swap over to my "Frosty" blocks and see if I could complete the last block.
I almost made it...

I think it was having to stop to break off the bits of chokky and find my mouth without getting any on my sewing that held me up. We had also recorded the last episodes of Broadchurch while we were away and the fact that I was also engrossed in that may have slowed the stitching down...it was a great show.
Yesterday the postie bought me a wee parcel I had ordered from Fee of Fee's Shabby Shack Just in case you are not aware Fee has the best "daily deals" and I quite often cannot resist the gorgeous notions she has..needless to say that is what happened when my eyes fell upon these sweeties..

Gorgeous tiny pearl buttons and look at the dotty red buttons...did I ever tell you I LOVE RED!!!! I wasn't sure if I had mentioned it before lol. I can't wait to find a project to use them on.
That's it from me. Things are getting back to normal around here....jobs to do. I will however be putting my feet up later and visiting everyone to see what they got up to last night (stitching wise of course lol)
Enjoy your weekend.
Blessings Michelle xxx

What to Stitch at FNSI

Not sure what I will stitch tonight but it will probably be in this tin. This is where my Dresden making supplies live.

Because tonight I am joining my blogging friends all around Australia and some even O/S for a stitching evening.

Our hostess is the very lovely Wendy from Sugarlane Quilts You can join us if you like. Just pop on over and sign up. Tomorrow we go and visit and see what everyone has been up too. It's lots of fun.
I like to get a bit organised so I have some energy foods to choose from...

and I am making home made pizza for dinner so that I can settle in very quickly.

Ok. I have some Nana duties this afternoon so must dash. I wish you all a safe and wonderful weekend no matter what you do. I hope it is something that really takes your fancy and makes your heart sing.
Blessings Michelle xxx

Home Sweet Home

Well as life will have it all great holidays must come to an end and when we drove up our driveway yesterday we were amazed to see we had driven 4,999 kms on the dot. It was a wonderful time away and I loved catching up with friends along the way. I thought I would show you the stitching I did whilst I was away just so you know I was not completely idle.
When I met my lovely blogging friend Shez from Enjoying Life she was telling me how much she enjoyed using variegated threads and we did a little research and I bought a Country Gardens Thread called "Mistletoe" (very apt for me). Thanks Shez. I wanted to try something a little different for a mini I have designed for my little table topper stand (6 inch x 12 inch size). I must say I really enjoyed using it and I am pleased with the results. I feel as if for certain projects I would definitely use it again.. but I am not ashamed to admit I still love my DMC 816, anyway here is a sneaky.

I also finished 2 more "Frosty" blocks....one to go!

I am really happy with these little "cool" folks. I have also managed to complete all the Dresden blades and I have appliqued 4 on to their background squares. I cannot wait for this quilt to be finished. I just adore these fabrics.

Speaking of fabrics, here is my little collection of reds/creams I picked up along the way on our travels...

and then there were these pretties I collected just because I fell in love with them.

Don't you just love imagining all the possiblities when you have new fabrics. I know I do.
Well I must away. Chaos is in residence at my house with unpacking everywhere as well as new grocery supplies and clean washing to put away....gee I think I need a holiday lol!
It seems so strange that just 2 weeks ago we were a wee bit chilly and here I am as I type this in shorts and tee-shirt and it is 32 degrees. Anyway thanks Country Victoria and NSW for your hospitality and beautiful scenery. We loved every bit of it...even the frozen bits which you tempered with delightful gardens.

Blessings Michelle xxx

Just Relaxing

Happy Sunday everyone. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. I haven't posted for a few days as I thought after my long holiday travel epistles you all deserved a break. Lol!
We are really enjoying the last few days of our holiday and the view isn't too bad either.

What have I been up too? Well a lot of this.....

and this....

Mr R. has been indulging his love of getting a line wet and actually caught a fish worth keeping. I meanwhile have kept myself busy working on my Dresdens...

and devouring several books....

I was a bit cranky however when I discovered that the Nora Roberts trilogy that I had purchased especially for this trip were still on the table at home. The second hand books tables on our travels helped me out though and I picked up several from my favourite Authors.
We have also had visitors. Family came down for the day. Our Grandson was very excited to have caught his first fish (2 actually as he will tell you) with his Dad and Grampy...He will also tell you that "Dad" didn't catch anything only himself and Grampy.

Each day we have had other visitors on the river from this lovely big fellow cruising the rocky edges of the river...he was approximately 3 foot from head to tail. So graceful.

as well as hopeful pelicans looking for an easy dinner.

Each evening we have loved waiting and watching for the visit of several dolphins coming into the river to play. They were too quick for me to snap them but have certainly entertained us. Seeing nature just doing it's thing is always such a privilege and pleasure to encounter.
The sunsets have also been beautiful.

This little spot at Brunswick Heads is as you know one of our favourites places. It is always so lovely to finish our travels here relaxing. Only a little while to go now and then we are off home.
Catch up with you then.
Blessings Michelle xxx

Coffee and Friends

As I said in my last post we were in Bathurst and we have been very pleased to have had beautiful sunny warm weather unlike last year where it was freezing, damp and miserable...so well done Bathurst. It is a really lovely town though. I love all the quaint old houses and lovely heritage buildings.
On Saturday I was very excited as I got to meet our very talented Aussie designer from Frog Cottage Designs Deb Ramsay. A gorgeous girl. We have been blogging friends for ages and often Magazine Buddies (sharing the same issues)but not met in real time. Deb bought her friend Khrissy along who is also a blogger at baisinolil I had not met Khrissy before and it was she who chose our lovely venue "Sweet Caramel" Cafe for Afternoon Tea. Khrissy was also delightful. I felt I had known her for ages and I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon with these lovely ladies...

Khrissy, Deb and yours truly. Want to see the decadence that came our way???

We got to recline on lovely red velvet chairs or a linen chaise lounge with beautiful cushions. It was a beautiful setting and I particularly loved the quotes upon the walls..

The afternoon just flew with lots of chatting and laughing and discussing all things fabric and stitching. Thanks so much Khrissy...great choice! Deb travelled a few kilometres from her home to meet me in town which I so appreciated. Loved it girls!!! Thanks you so much.
We had a bit of a drive today. I am always the same. I get to a certain point travelling and even though I have had a wonderful time I need to be with in striking distance of home. So we are heading for the coast and my favourite landscape of all the ocean. Yay!
I have been admiring the cherry trees along our journey and had to snap this one where he had lunch today.

I don't see them at home in the sub-tropics so can't get enough of them...so pretty!

The blossoms were full of very busy little bees buzzing away and beautiful butterflies landing on the blooms. Very nice to see nature going about it's work.
Well that is all for today folks. I have some nice stitching to go and  relax with. I will show you my efforts when I get home... at the moment the pieces have more crinkles than my chocolate wrappers when I am done with them....bit of a press required. I do hope you have all enjoyed your weekend.
Blessings Michelle xxx

Mr R's Spiritual Home

Yesterday we arrived in "Boy Heaven".....give you a clue.

and maybe this...

I was left on the corner as Mr R. made a bee line for Mt Panorama to do a few laps. He says the Commodore just automatically heads for the place...hhmmm!
Anyway was I distressed. Not a jot, because on that corner happens to be "The Homepatch". I had a lovely time and made a donation and came away with some lovely bits and bobs and more red/cream fabric for my new 'in my head red/cream quilt'. Both of us were very happy little campers when we got home.
Today we set out for The Blue Mountains, a spot I have always loved. However today I had a goal in mind. The goal being to visit Rick Rutherford's Country Shoppe at Badgery House in Lawson.

If like me you were a huge fan of Australian Country Collections and Rick Rutherford's Country Magazines (I have the very first issues and the very first issue of Homespun Magazine too. Also Rick's work) you would have been as excited as I was to meet Rick instore. It is jam packed with gorgeousness in each of the specially themed rooms with (be still my beating heart...a year round Christmas Room!!) A very sweet little Irish Santa from Jim shore's collection has come home with me. Which ever country flavour you fancy it is there for you. Beautiful china, linen, homewares, teddies, collectables, gift ideas...the list goes on.
Rick was very gracious, generous with his time and as charming and fun as I knew he would be.
I was so thrilled to have a piccie together.

Rick also has another store in Leura, also in the Blue Mountains and a huge webshop and online Country Magazine at www.rickrutherford.com Thanks Rick. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.
We then took ourselves off to play tourist and visit the iconic 3 Sisters at Echo Point at Katoomba. I never tire of looking at this vista even though today was a little hazy due to pre fire season burnoffs.

Aren't they something..

The whole vista from this vantage point is awe inspiring.

So of course another tourist shot...

and another..
I look very happy don't I? I had a great day and just after this photo I managed to fall off the path on the way back up, flat on my face (and that is hard for me to do lol) So I have a sore knee, shoulder and hands and my pride is quite a bit dented. Mr. R. helped me see the funny side and I now have a new nickname "Splat Ridgway". Lots of very kind people showed all manner of concern for my welfare which was very nice and gives you comfort in this harsh old world of ours.
Before 'the incident' Mr R. was very taken with this Harley Davidson motorcycle valued at $250,000 and known as the  "Indigenious Dreamtime Chopper" crated by Snake Charmer Choppers. Every aspect of the bike has a particular meaning...

Ok that's it from me. Hot shower and menthol rub for me folks.
Blessings Michelle xxx