Christmas Part Two

Yesterday we visited my Brother and Sister in law who live by the coast. My Mum is also staying so got to visit her also. My little Brother is a wonderful cook and he spoilt us and prepared lunch.....delicious curried prawns and rice.....so tasty!

My niece was also visting.

She lives in NSW so it was lovely to catch up and for me to hand over in person a quilt I had made for her. This girl has a beautiful heart and she loved her quilt. That's little Honey trying to get in on the act and wondering what all the excitement was about!

It was made up of 2 years worth of Rainbow Scrap Challenge blocks and whilst I was assembling it I knew it was meant for her.

It was beautifully quilted by my friend FIONA of Bubz Rugz

It was a day of surprise gifts. My Brother also handcrafts cigar box guitars. My Hubby had admired his work so much. So the other surprise of the day was my Brother had made him his very own.....

I think you can see by the grin on his dial just how much it meant to him....He was absolutely rapt! I foresee a whole lot of twanging happening around here!

Yours truly and my Sister in law.....

We finished our day with a lovely beach walk.....soft cool breeze, sand between my toes, the smell and sound of the ocean.....Devine! Thanks family xxx

Rest day today....time for a cuppa and a rum ball or two.
Namaste and Blessings Michelle xxx

Christmas Part One

Good morning. I hope you enjoyed Christmas in a way special to you.
I had a lovely relaxed time with my family. Lots of all our favourite people and treats we all enjoy. No. 1 son wrangled his new BBQ with delicious results. The day was quite mild for us so we set up outside. The table looked lovely....until the bon bons were systematically destroyed lol! Strangely the little people were always the winners!

Happy noisy kids...Charlotte showing off her lovely Christmas deco from friend Shez and bonbon inspired reindeer cuteness lol!

Love and hugs from the littlest to the oldest.

Stylish hats, silly tee shirt and crazy dog!

Pool fun....Grampy secretly wanted to try out that unicorn.....

So for me the day was full of....

Namaste and Blessings Michelle xxx

Winding Down

I wanted to share a few last memories.......my Sunday Stitchers Secret Santa. The lovely Inca...

And delightful Cheryl with my gift...

Susan joined a stitch a long  making my Holly Cottage Christmas quilt this year. Susan also did her own version to suit the recipient of the quilt.....which I think is wonderful! Susan bought the finished quilt for show and tell last week....love it!

Apart from some "closer to the day" baking, and a spot of gift wrapping I am pretty much in relaxed mode.
The stockings are hung...

Santa's resting without his  coat for the big day....well it's been a tad hot here lately!

Here in Australia at Christmas time there isn't a hint of snow but the Frangapani is flowering and the smell is Devine.....

There is a sprinkling of orchids in the tree beside the front door...

And delicious Summer strawberries beginning to ripen...

Mama possum is trying hard to get cool and sleep under the house...

There are blue skies above and very warm weather ahead.....looking forward to  our Christmas traditions.....Carols and cutting the ham.....time to spend with family......these are a few snapshots of my Australian Christmas.
As someone wise said "It's not what's under your Christmas tree but Who is around it That matters" I wish you love around yours. If it is a difficult time for you I wish you peace of mind until life regains balance.
This will be my last post until after Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you and your family and friends.

Namaste and Blessings Michelle xxx

Oops!

Early this week my trusty tablet leapt out of my hands and smashed onto the tiles where I was having lunch....

We have experienced so much together lol! Santa's little elf could not stand the miserable face and so I now have a new tablet friend but alas it is taking a little while to get used to its own ways of doing things. Hence I am a bit behind in posting and sharing.
Beautiful mail has come to me.
From my dear friend Fiona....A lovely card and gorgeous ornie....so beautifully stitched.

And bright and early this morning from friend Karen, a beautiful card and the sweetest pear ornie....love it! Love the card too.

Thanks so much ladies......straight on the tree lol!
I have been drawing rather than stitching but I have a special project I want done for just after Christmas. A quilt for my dear niece....A girl who has overcome a fair few obstacles to forge on and succeed. She is almost through her nursing degree and she is always supportive and encouraging of my handiwork....She doesn't read my blog so my secret is safe.
So binding is being stitched on under the aircon...

A little sneaky of one of the blocks.....beautifully quilted by FIONA of BUBZRUGZ

I will share when I am done as it deserves lots more photos.

My Christmas wish has been granted early.....our Son has another clear scan under his belt and is now finished 2 years of immunotherapy for stage 4 Melanoma which had progressed to his lung....It has been very gruelling for him and for us......It is awful seeing your child go through something like this....We are very proud of his courage....and we feel very blessed that he is fortunate to have had success with this treatment.
One very happy Mama here. So he has his treasured yellow card.....scans every 12 weeks still and we pray for continued good health.

I think that's me all caught up now. It's going to be a very warm day today so after a trip to the trusty hairdresser I think I am going to be relaxing with my binding in the aircon.
Enjoy your day.

Namaste and Blessings Michelle xxx

Sunday Stitchers Christmas Party

Last Sunday was our last meeting for the year and we had a great day....loads of fun and a delicious lunch. Everything looked lovely and festive.

Sandi out did her creative self with these wonderful Christmas frames for piccie taking...

We all had a go......my turn along with festive elves Marilyn and Alison.

Sandi also organised some games....one was gathering decos and trim and decorating a Christmas Tree, wrapping a ball all with a time limit....My partners in crime...
Noreen and Teresa....

Our poor wee tree was suffering from heavy star syndrome which gave us all a giggle! Our beautiful tree is the one under the hearts.

We also made a cute little Hot Chocolate ornie....

Really, really spoilt with lots of lovely gifts.

Our Secret Santa was a kind of a challenge. We each popped a favourite fat quarter in a brown paper bag, a wish list could be added and we each drew out a bag.
My lovely Secret Santa was Inca. On my wish list was a 12 inch mini quilt for my bedroom little hanger......I love what Inca made.

It looks so nice on its hanger...

I was making for Cheryl and to say that I was alarmed when I saw her fat quarter is an understatement lol! No wish list and fabric right out of my comfort zone arrrghh!
The fabric....

I decided on a wall hanging and some applique to calm my nerves. I chose a selection of black and white print as the background to highlight the main fabric.

The remainder I used for a border. Thankfully Cheryl was very happy....phew!
Amongst all the excitement we had 2 birthday girls, Noela and Helen.

We finished off with lovely warm Pud and custard....thank you Susan.
Thanks to Alison for all her hard work and Sandi for her creative generosity and Inca for my lovely gift and all the girls for a great year.

Namaste and Blessings Michelle xx