belated birthday gift

This is the beautiful belated birthday gift my in laws had made for me. Each charm letter represents the initial of the first name of one of my sister inlaws, brother inlaws, neices or nephews. The heart represents my mother inlaw who I love dearly but she sadly passed away a year ago. Isnt it stunning.

Levi

Today I had to have my beautiful little dog Levi put to sleep. I took her to the vet thinking she had teeth problems that had become infected and it turned out she had a tumor. She turned 12 this month and I know I have done the right thing and not let her suffer but it is such a hard experience to go through. She really has been the sweetest girl and I am going to miss her terribly.

My 50th

These are a few of the photos from my 50th birthday. I have never felt so loved and special, even after my sister inlaw dress me in bunny ears and tail. I had an amazing night with family and friends who travelled from all over Australia.
My boys Roland and Scott did a fabulous job and worked extremely hard to make this the night of nights. The pictures above are the venue, my gold chain from the Flanagans that has a photo of my 2 boys lasered on it and the last ones are some of my family and some of the special kids in my life.
My two special boys, Kadyn and Kane helped me cut the cake.
My very good friend Annie Dejong made my signature bear which has travelled to Brisbane to have Chrissy sign it.
Chelsea did a great job of the delicious cake.
I received many other well wishes from family and friends that were unable to be with me but were definately in my heart.
Roland my son flew from Adelaide to Darwin with adopted son John then drove to TC with my other son Scott, Mum travelled from Mackay,sister Pat and husband Heinie flew from Melbourne to Alice Springs then drove 515 kls to TC, brother David and wife Beth drove from Mackay, Aunty Dot and Uncle Jim drove from Mooroopna, Aunty Marian, Uncle Fred and Catherine drove from Jimboomba, The Henwood family from James Town, Russell, Zoe my adopted daughter and Kane the adopted son from Brisbane, Trish and Charlie from Borroloola, Penny, Eden and baby Kiari drove from Darwin. Of the 6 kids that I refer to as my children 5 were able to attend. There was also a number of local friends who attended to make it a perfect night. Naturally there were those that couldnt make it and I missed having them with me. Chrissy, Beau, the Green family, Yvonne, Patrick just to name a few.
One huge highlight was my very first card from my English Aunts, Uncles and cousins.

Tennant Creek Show

This is a couple of photos of entries from the Tennant Creek show. The purple quilt is the one I made for my sister inlaw and it won Champion exhibit in needle work and also needle work best sewing....yes i am still feeling very pleased with myself. The red quilt I actually sold to a lady for what is was worth. I am absolutely soaring...........Also pictured are some of my pen and oil paintings. It was a great compliment to sell the quilt and also get the champion exhibit. I also had a very high offer on the purple quilt but would not sell as it was a present. Do I have a big head. Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

inexpensive place mats

I made these two simple inexpensive place mats today. The pink one is simply some wrapping paper with the childs photo place in the centre and the motor bike is a peice of fabric. I have then laminated them. The only caution I would add is to not add layers as if wont laminate if it is to thick.

table runner for my new/old buffet

I finished quilting this table runner tonight and have decided it will look lovely on my new/old buffett that my friends have given me. I still need to do the binding before I can use it though. Maybe tomoorow.

Finishing projects

This is three of the 4 paintings I finished today and a place mat that I made for a friends daughter.

frogs, frogs and more frogs

As I am currently on 3 weeks holidays, I am taking the opportunity to practise my folk art. I decided not to go away but stay home and do some craft and gardening. I spent 2 full days working on these frogs and Im really please with the results. The set of three I have completed two sets as I wanted one for myself and one for my sister inlaw Robyn. The pattern came from Wendy Groves in Mandurah WA. The frogs get mounted to the wall and look stunning. Well at least Wendys did ggg

cannot decide which way to do the quilt

I cannot decide which lay out to chose for this quilt for my sister inlaw Carol. I have made it up to 4 panels and keep playing with the layout. I have recently done a red around the world so Im keen to do a different one. The above 4 pictures are my choices.

I have been busy just not at taking photos

These are the some of the projects I have been working on over the last few months. The first is a quilt that my sister inlaw Robyn asked me to make for her sister and my sister inlaw Carol. It is showing a little blue in the photo when the fabric is actually purple. I have decided to do a couple of quilts using the round the world techniques, however each one will have a different lay out and colour way. I have completed a red one that can be seen in earlier photos. Photo number 2 are the finished fabric bowls that I am putting away for birthday and christmas presents. The last photo is of some pen and ink drawings I am working on. I will publish close ups when they are finished. I also have some embroidery on the go. I must say I like having several different projects on the go at once. It allows me the freedom to relax and enjoy all my favorite crafts.

pay it forward

Pay It Forward From madquilters blog.
I just had to join!
The first three people to comment on this post will receive a gift from me, sometime within the next 365 days.Who knows when it will turn up, or what it will be, but rest assured, it will arrive. All you have to do is promise to make the same declaration on your blog, and send out gifts to three of your lovely readers. Easy Peasy.

christmas

I bought the little santa sign after christmas last year and personalised it with my godsons, his sister and brothers names. They loved helping santa out.

The number 20 is my practise folk art peice which is my house number.

This unicorn quilt I made for my sister inlaw Linda a few years ago, however I have only just got around to taking this photo. Unfortunately I didnt set the date on my camera and all my photos turned out with a 2005 date.

saving a lost litten

this cute little kitten is staying with me why I find her a new home. I have tried to find the owners but no one has responded to my notices left around town. She is the sweetest little thing. As you can see, she loves my sewing box and bra, my little dog wants to mother her, but my poor godson doesnt know what she is and is very wary of going near her.

folk art lessons

I have always want to have professional lessons in decorative painting and folkart. Whilst I was in WA I was able to spend the day with Artist/teacher Wendy Groves..She is amazing. This is my first peice that I did after spending the day with Wendy. Mind you I have dabbled for years and tried to paint from books. Wendy has made it all make sense. Now I just have to practise, practise, practise

Aquarium

These are some of the photos I took when holidaying in Western Australia. These are from the Aquarium at Perth. the colours are amazing. I forgot to reset the date when the batteries went flat so all my recent photos had a 2005 date on them. A lesson well learnt. Sadly my mother inlaw passed away whilst I was in Western Australia and I returned home.