And here's how the fabric stash turned out

It does look very pretty and neat but I'm still in two minds as to whether it was worth it.

Someone must have cut down a tree

Because now we actually have sea views from the kitchen window! Not just sea glimpses (if you stand on tippy toes).

And yes, it's a great view of the neighbours roof. Men were traipsing around on it a few weeks ago, with much measuring going on, so we're pretty certain some solar panels are going to appear on there at some stage.

The Face of Misery

Poor old Anzac had a trip to the vet today. And the poor old Visa hasn't recovered yet either. But at least the Visa card doesn't have to have a bucket on its head for the NEXT 10 DAYS. Once Anzac gets over the grogginess, he ain't gonna be happy.

We noticed a couple of days ago that he seemed to be licking his left paw a lot and when I finally got a chance to have a good look, I could see blood, so off we went to the vet. He'd ripped his dew claw, and as he'd done the same thing about 12 months ago (which also involved expensive surgery) the vet suggested we have them removed permanently. Anzac doesn't co-operate at the vet's - he's a very anxious dog and I have the bruised cheekbone to prove it - so he was booked in for today to have the works - both dew claws removed, vaccinations, teeth cleaned and nails clipped, all while under full anesthesia.

He only has one paw bandaged though as that one was oozing a little blood. The vet has used internal stitches so Anzac won't have to go back to have them removed BUT if he manages to pull them out, then it's back under the anesthesia to have them put back in. So the bucket stays ON!

School Reunion

I have my school reunion coming up next month - 30 years since I did Year 12 (or Matric as it was known then). I've been to reunions in the past, but I really don't keep in touch with any old school friends, apart from the occasional comment on Facebook. So I think I will ignore this one.....it was interesting to see what people were doing after 10 years but I can't really sustain the interest after 30 years.

Have you been to a school reunion? Was once enough?

(Funny story - I was chatting with R's psychologist about the social side of school life, and commented about a couple of girls I went to school with who completely intimidated me. Now, the psychologist is completely cool and together and the last person I would imagine being intimidated by anyone, but she confessed that there was a mother at her kid's school that she found completely intimidating - until she had to work with her on a committee and found she wasn't as bad as she thought. The mother? One of the aforementioned girls I went to school with!!)

Tidying up the Fabric Stash

A while ago, I saw this really neat idea on someone's blog which made her fabric stash look really tidy. I've been keeping my fabric stash in a big plastic tub but had moved it to my 'quilting shelves'. I wasn't happy though as it just looked really messy.....

Before:

(is it just me, or does that shelf looks like it's bowed???)

She had used sheets of plastic cardboard (can't remember the name of the stuff but you get it from hardware stores) to wrap her fabric around and stack it neatly. I found her by clicking on a link from someone's blog, and naturally I can't find it again to give her credit but I gave it a go and this is the result (although I got bored and haven't finished yet).

After:

It certainly looks a lot tidier but I'm in 2 minds as to whether it's worth it. I guess once it's done, it will be quick & easy to maintain.

And here's a sneak peak at the Indigenous Quilt.....just have to stitch the binding down and it is done. A few puckers on the back where I didn't stretch the backing enough, but I have to remember that only *I* see the imperfections....I hope....

Secret Santa

Yes I know it's a little early but my thoughts this morning have turned to Christmas already. I was thinking about the projects I have to finish by Dec 25 you see. I work in a team of 8 people, and 5 of us have school aged children. Only 2 can be on leave at the same time, so you can imagine that the school holidays are hotly contested! This year I got totally discouraged over the typical bunfight (it never seemed to be this difficult in the other team....much better communication, you knew what your team members had planned and there was always a bit of give and take) so I offered to work 3 full days (rather than 5 short days) each week, take 1 day as flex and the other as annual leave. I'll be doing this from early Dec to end Jan, although I do have the days between Xmas & New Year off as well. So I realised this morning that this means that I'll be working on Xmas Eve (which I haven't done for years and years and years) and so will be guilted into participating in the Secret Santa exchange.

So, I'm on the lookout for a simple project that I can make that won't be too geeky or home-made. I was thinking of a "Mug Rug" (mainly because I really don't see the point of them, so it will be a little geeky chic, maybe???) or maybe one of these Fabric Trays to sit on the desk and hold pencils. I don't know who the recipient will be, so it will have to be gender neutral (even though more girls than guys). So if you see a cute & easy project that you think is suitable, send it my way please. Otherwise I'll be gift wrapping a box of Ferroro Rochers on Dec 23rd.....

School Holidays

Where does the time go? Into the second week of school holidays already. Mr G stayed home with Miss R last week and from what I can gather, they had a particularly lazy week. I've been home with her today and how fast did the day zip by?? A day at work never goes this quickly.

Yesterday I took Miss R and 2 girlfriends to see Monte Carlo at the movies. The blonde girl really reminded me of a young Toni Collette (and I've just realised that her father is David Cassidy...wow!). Selena Gomez....meh..... but the girls seemed to enjoy it and let's face it, I'm not the target audience. (We've also been to see Footloose and that was much, much better....)

Today we managed to get to Ikea where we had lunch but they no longer serve hollandaise sauce with the salmon so I doubt I'll ever eat there again - save my money and just get the $1 hotdogs instead. I also took Miss R to a local beautician to get her eyebrows waxed and decided to get mine done as well. First time I have ever had them done professionally, and for $5....maybe not the last. I also managed to mop the floors and have marked quilting lines on the Indigenous quilt and right now, am trying to find enough motivation to go cook dinner. Time wasting on the computer sounds like a lot more fun though.

And finally, the holiday house is going really, really well so far. We've had 3 groups stay and all have given us some really lovely comments about the house and presentation. Each has left the house in good/great condition but it's taking about 2hrs to clean & tidy ready for the next guests. (I'm possibly being too fastidious.) I think we're going to have to hire a cleaner after all - maybe just do it ourselves once a month to make sure it's up to scratch. For Oct - Jan, we're averaging about a 48% occupancy, which I know won't last over the winter months, but I can dream, can't I??

Was going to add a picture here, but for some reason I can't get it to upload....

Finally some photos

Here's the quilt I made for my aunt for Xmas. The front is all 2 1/2" squares and all from scraps (apart from a small amount of cream material). Mr G was holding it up for me but his arms weren't quite wide enough....I haven't measured it properly now it's finished but it's huge - roughly 2m x 2m.

The red panels in the back and the binding is an Ikea fabric which echoes the swirly pattern. I'm really happy with how this turned out - hopefully Auntie S will be too.

And here's the Music Quilt in all its glory.....the back is just as nice as the front. I planned it so precisely that there is no wasted fabric....I used every scrap! (Well not quite that well planned, more a fluke really....) The hardest part of the quilting process is, for me, getting the back lined up with the front. This is not quite centred enough for my liking but it looks ok. I kinda made this one up as I went along and it showed - not so much in the finished product but definitely in the amount of angst in putting it all together!