Bed runner finished

 I finally finished the bed runner for my friends for their wedding pressie.

i chose a Japanese fabric for the backing as I know they love those fabrics and I put in Bali fabrics as they were married unofficially in Bali so thought that they were very apt.

here it is on my bed, which is a futon so not high enough so show how long the runner is.

happy christmas

Of course what do you think I did first thing this morning??  got up at 6am and went for a 64km ride with my training partner of course!!

We had our tinsel on our helmets and were very festive.  We also spotted a lot of wildlife as it was so quiet on the road.

We saw over 20 bunnies, 2 wallabies, several black cockies, lots of random birds and the best one was a massive lyrebird!

for those who don't know about Lyrebirds, they are very shy creatures so you don't see them very often they also can mimic any sound they hear from chainsaws to people laughing... I was soooo excited specially as I had just said to my friend that we just need to see a wombat, echidna, lyrebird, emu and camels to top our morning!

Now onto today's work.... cooking dinner for the family, it will be my first hot dinner that I have cooked down under as I have always done cold buffet but its not stinking hot so a roast it is!

Have a wonderful Christmas day where ever you are and what ever you are doing

I rode with Cadel Evans!

 Last Tuesday night my friends and I went into Fed square and participated in an event called futuride.  All we had to do was to ride a stationary bike for 15 Min's as hard as we could to generate power. 

 This shows a random person waiting beside me to get on the bike.  We received one of these nice jerseys and a pair of riding knicks for nothing!! also hat and drink bottle.  As you can see I was very near the stage and Cadel Evans was riding with us.

 We saw some interesting people at this event!

 We broke 2 world records and received a very nice medal.  We powered over 35,000 lights and generated over 4000 kwatts.  It was a very warm and balmy evening so we got a bit of a sweat happening!

I have nearly finished the wedding pressie... will post pics very soon.

special birthday

18 years ago my little froglet made an early entry into this world.

We celebrated her birthday here at home with her friends and our family on Friday night as today we were off to yet another Judo competition.

Today was the Victorian championships, once again she was up against much higher belts with years of experience.... in fact her coach told me that she was fighting girls that have all  represented Australian levels so he was extremely proud of her, likewise with her team mates who supported her. 

She didn't win her fights but made the other girls work hard for their wins.  She was happy with her efforts and had fun going out there and mauling some biatches as she likes to call it.

happy birthday to a wonderful daughter who has brought me much joy and happiness for the last 18 years, I look forward to many more years of laughter and times together

xxx

sewless saturday

I had a long day on Saturday, I arrived at MSAC (Melbourne sports and Aquatic Centre) at 12noon and didn't leave again until nearly midnight. 

 I attended my first Pan Pacific Brazilian jiu jitsu competition, not as a competitor but as a supporter for my eldest daughter.

 She and her fellow team members all went to war in their weight and belt divisions. The froglet had to win 3 fights to gain the gold.

 In her first fight, she got scratched so she finished off her opponent in under 2 Min's and choked her out to make her tap (she won!).  The second girl was a bit more scary, she was from NZ and also had a Brazilian coach.  She won by an advantage point!  Then in her final fight she choked out her opponent and won the gold.  they were running 3 hours late so by the time we watched the boys fight it was way past my bedtime.

 The noisy one decided that her cat needed a beanie as it was cold!  the dog wasn't impressed when it was her turn lol.

I took some photos of some beautiful lillies that my bestie gave me for looking after her daughter while she went to a wedding.... was such a lovely surprise for doing something that was no hardship.

As for sewing... have been working on a bed runner... still!  and need to make a quilt label.

Have been cleaning up the house for the froglets 18th birthday, I feel old....

special occasions

 So much has happened since my last post.  I made some ninjabread men for the 1st birthday of the girls dojo celebrations.  The froglet competed in another judo competition and has improved.  She didnt get the win she was hoping for but she is fighting girls with years of experience so understands she needs to be patient.  When the win comes it will be so sweet.

The froglet also had her muck up day and formal.  She was the mad march hare and looked amazing, and even more so for her formal.

 my two best friends got married last night.  It was an incredibly moving ceremony and I was asked to do a reading which I was delighted to do.... when my friend appeared in the doorway I was reduced to a blubbering mess and wondered if I would be able to deliver my reading without breaking down.... I managed to do it with only a few blunders, but no one but me knew i had mucked up the words.

now this isnt me but I love the lycra!  my training buddy and I completed our first ever 100km ride in round the bay in a day.  It was a great day weather wise and we were even more delighted when we beat the boys back to Alexandra gardens!

I found another event for us to take part in.  this time we will be riding with Cadel Evans!  and hopefully go into the guiness book of records.

I have some quilting to finish pronto so better get cracking so I can post about the finished article.

royal melbourne show

 I haven't been to the show in over 10 years. So this time it was the noisy ones turn to see what all the hoo har is all about... we caught the train in.

 we saw some interesting animals... the chickens were nice and fluffy.

 was great to see the hounds running with the horses.

 of course no show is complete without the baby animals... it was packed in there, thank goodness it was a no pram area... there was loads of prams outside parked... worse than the car park!

 we went to check out the craft pavilion and I was so disappointed.  I remember when the show was 'the' event of the year to enter... there would be row after row of crafts... but alas it seems no more.

 The amount of quilts entered was very small but they were of very good quality.

 I was then extremely disappointed to find that some quilts were displayed over the top of each other, like HELLO?? I tell you what, if my quilt was displayed like this I would have hit the roof and demanded it to be hung correctly and by itself.  In fact I can say I was quite disgusted to see this.

 I saw my friend Viv, show her gorgeous cavalier, Dexter... he didn't win this section but he worked very well and looked very smart, Viv also scrubbed up very nicely!

 Do you remember the cupie dolls??!!  I was going to buy one but one look from my 14year old stopped me cold in my tracks.

 There was a pet pavilion, filled with... pets!!  dogs, cats, bunnies.... I think we spent an hour with the kitties.. this little sweetie is a Devon Rex, she is only  months old and has the BIGGEST green eyes.  I don't have to convince the noisy one to get one any more lol.

 Afghan hounds!  They are beautiful dogs... when they were being shown it was outside and the breeze made their coats ripple, I'm sure their owners hated the wind but I thought it looked great.

The rides are getting bigger and scarier...I'm lucky that the noisy one doesn't like them either!  And the cost!  I would have had to sell my first born to afford them!

We didn't get any show bags either as the queue to get into that pavilion was a mile long, no jokes it would have taken us over 30mins to get in to buy one Bertie beetle bag... that was all I wanted... so I didn't get any!

Would I go again?  not for another 10 years heheheh.  It was good to go, but I wont be rushing back soon.

doing the ton

 So today I received my riders kit for round the bay in a day.  this year I'm doing the 100km ride.

 This is the jersey that we are all being asked to wear this year.... all good and well if its over 25 degrees!!  but at 6am in the morning its usually rather chilly and everyone is layered up with thin layers of Lycra.

Last week I rode a very satisfying 60km up to Whittlesea and did the Humevale road which is a nice 7km hill climb up the mountain.

I also got to lay out all the bits of the double wedding ring to see if I have to cut any more out.  I'm really happy with the look of it.

Another busy weekend

It was the swim clubs annual Invitational yesterday down at our pool.  We work hard for months to make sure the meet goes swimmingly (LOL pardon the pun). It did.  Although we lost the cup to another local club we had some great times done by the kids and I think we made a little money.

 I had to buy some new runners, my pretty but very comfortable rainbow NB weren't giving me the support they used to.  So I did my research online and found the next editions... not quite as colourful but still pretty.  Then I had to find the suckers......  I lucked in when I walked into my local athletes foot and found them ON SALE!!  bargain.  They are a bit brighter than the photo shows them too.

 Poor cookie, Milly and Lilly curled up together and he got hissed at!  He was mewing at me here, telling me he wanted in.

 He has found he likes heights.  But has a little trouble getting down.  He holds his paw out to me when he is ready to come down.... he wants to use me as a human ladder but I wont let him.

Heres a shot of the froglet doing some freestyle.... She was knackered, did 9 events yesterday and the noisy one did 7 events.  Both of the girls got bronze in their fly which was great as it was one of their last events of the day and they were spent.

Not much time to sew... I'm now putting the binding onto the baby quilt so will actually have this quilt finished either before the baby is born or just after for a change!!

things in life

 The Froglet has been doing Vis Com as one of her year 12 subjects. Lots and lots of work involved here. hours in fact.  This was the package she presented to her teacher for the end of first semester.  She had to design the entire package, make it and have the folio work to go with it.
She got an excellent report for all her subjects and passed them all.

 It was the fisherman's and my 22nd wedding anniversary last month, I though he might have forgotten it, but he truly surprised me with a beautiful box of flowers.  I love Lily's they smell Divine.

Little Milly is growing bigger, but not that big LOL.  She loves to sit on my knee or right beside me whenever she can, unless she is chasing the cats lol.

hand piecing

 Today I managed to squeeze in a pump class before I had to take the froglet to work.  Then the fisherman and I had a very late breakfast at a local Deganis.

 This arvo I managed to sit and defrost for a few hours (we sat outside to eat as someone has a bad habit that isn't allowed indoors).  While I sat, I sewed some melons onto a middle.

 I'm happy the way the DDW is coming together.... if I keep this up I will have to think seriously about how I am going to quilt it!

 Here is a pic of some lovely chooky fabric my friend Melody bought for me recently, I have a stash of chooky fabrics but this one would be great for applique..... I have an idea in mind......

The very first quilt that I totally hand pieced was from a quilters companion magazine, called a country sampler.  Now some samplers look really nasty if you know what I mean.  But this one caught my eye and I straightaway thought of my chooky fabrics.

I have finished piecing it and in fact I have been hand quilting it for some time but its been folded up and in the "to do pile" for too long...... The weather is perfect for hand quilting and perhaps its time to finish it up. 

Maybe I might even enter it in the next quilt show our guild has!

baby quilts

 I was recently lucky enough to win a charm pack at my guilds sewing day for a door prize.  As soon as I opened up my prize and saw what I had won, I knew exactly who I was going to be the recipient.

 My mum often ropes me in to making her quilts to give to cousins and people she knows who are having babies.  I don't mind making these quilts as I enjoy sewing, but I must admit I don't like deadlines and often put off finishing the quilts till the last minute.

 I have made the top and have the batting and backing ready and I have about 4 weeks until the baby is due.

The weather here has been rather beastly, perfect for sitting inside and sewing up a storm.