A quick trip to Rotorua

On the weekend I decided to drive up to Rotorua to meet up with family who were visiting Rotorua too.

The weekend passed in a blur, but I remember the log cabins we stayed in
with their moss and lichen covered roofs.

And I remember the plop of the boiling mud as it made interesting patterns in the mud pools. I could have watched them for ages, even tho the smell of sulphur was pretty darn strong!

But most of all I remember having a number of leisurely soaks in one of these hot thermal pools.

Heavenly!
Did you manage to do anything heavenly this weekend??

Carole :)

The great Hex swap comes to a close

You'll remember these gorgeous little hexes from a few posts back,

well now they've been finished. Yay!

They were a QB5 group swap. 6" hexes all about ourselves,

(of course everyone was waiting on me this time, as I was 'tail end charlie')

This is my hex, of course you know I'm going to use fabric and stitching!

I made 2 hexes :)

Then we have Miss Patty, gorgeous work in monotones. Thanks Patty!

And the next hex was made by the young Nathalie :)

I think we're two of a kind, I adore clutter!!! Thanks Nathalie I love it!

Then we have a hex by the Miss Linda who is looking pretty model like in her 

gorgeous evening wear :) I'm loving it! Thanks Linda!

And lastly here's the hex made by Margaret, and I love the bright sunny colours,

thanks Margaret!

I love all the photos of us too. I have punched holes in them and they now make up a book :)

If I hadn't put names to them, 

would you have guessed who they belonged to?

Have a fun weekend!

Carole :)

scratching my head...

Have you ever had one of those moments when you scratch your head and wonder why you bought that?

Well I've just had one :)

So... I have a lovely fat quarter of red batik fabric and this lovely little snowman stamp

to give away to one of my lovely blog friends.

They are both brand new and I will post them off to one person drawn from the names of those who leave a comment on my blog between now and next Friday.

So, hope you have a lovely day,

Carole :)

Just had to show you this...

The girls who are doing my free motion stitching class, 'The road to my house'

are half way through the class and creating some lovely mini blocks.

I had to share this pic with you (and with Jen's approval)

I was very impressed, I think she's doing a wonderful job and I can't wait to see her project finished!

Thanks for letting me share your pic Jen!

Carole :)

Did you notice...

...that one of the changes was because I have my website up and running?

click on the pic to take a look...let me know what you think  :)

Carole :)

hundreds and thousands

A couple of years ago I was told I should have a business card.

Mmmm, a good idea. So I hunted the country for the best deal, as you do. 

And found a fabulous one up in Hamilton. 

So I ordered a bulk number of cards for next to nothing. But 2 years later they don't say everything I want them to say, so I figured I needed to make some changes.

so....

now I'm up with the play a little better.

And I have some cards to hand out at the next craft market.

Hope your week is off to a great start,

Carole :)

something different

I thought I might have a go at embellishing myself -well why not I embellish everything else.

So I made myself this fabric choker from scraps in my sewing room.

The first day I wore it as a choker.

The second day I wore it as a headband.

And then I made a pin to go with it :)

Very pretty. Very easy. 

And altho it looks old and shabby, it is made from everything new.

I have been asked to teach a one day class and have been trying to think of something easy and fun for the girls to make. What do you think? Any good?

Have you tried embellishing yourself lately?

Carole :)

One person's junk is another person's.....

TREASURE!

Not, of course, do I want you to get the wrong idea. 

I don't spend a lot of time treasure hunting. Maybe I should spend more time hunting out treasures.

But I recently found these two treasures for $5.00 each framed nicely behind glass.

They are beautifully stitched in a single colour thread on what looks like very fine linen.

I've found a lovely spot to hang them too.

I love them.

Have you found anything exciting lately?

Carole :)

Cocktails and Craft

If any of you happen to be in Palmy on the evening of 11 November,

you can find me here with some lovely gift ideas for Christmas!

If you'd like a ticket, let me know!

stitching like crazy

I've been very good....

I hope you've achieved something exciting over the weekend?

Carole :)

It's very stressful here at the moment...

Look at all that wide open space. Wouldn't you just think it would make you feel free and wonderful and thankful?

Ha! Well it doesn't!

It has in fact, just the opposite affect. Because if you look carefully, you can just catch a glimpse of a Plover.

He made lots of noise when I neared the fence which was a dead giveaway that there were some baby birds somewhere close by. I climbed over the fence and took a look. 

Yep, sure enough there where three all huddled together on there own while mum and dad Plover dive-bombed me and screamed obscenities at me in bird language.

I rushed inside to find my camera and after approximately five minutes I returned to the very same spot.

I couldn't find the chicks, they were nowhere to be found. 

Mmmm, I would need to watch carefully where I was walking.

I found the nest.

And then I thought I found something...

I turned the flash on, so you could see more clearly,

AH HA!

Chick number one. Then slowly, one by one, I found them all

carefully hidden, sitting very quiet and still

And then I couldn't help myself...I had to have a wee cuddle :)

Little balls of downy fluff

And then I put them back amongst the grasses for their mother to fuss over.

They blend in well don't they?

So of course, you can understand why I'm so anxious at the moment, with all manner of babies all over the place. 

And two of these.

However, I would like to say, that the whole Plover family were seen for quite a few after and all 3 children were happily running around scouting for food.

Phew, thank goodness :)

Carole :)

Has anyone read this book?

I'm thinking of ordering this book - has anyone read it?