Saturday 29 November 2008

Chrissy Banner..........

As this weekend we can put up the Christmas Tree I decided it was time for the Chrissy banner.........and I have a Christmas party tonight...........yippee.........the silly season begins.......
My SSCS "Angel" has a few things happening so head over and check it out...........it could be worth it.........

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

nearly all loaded on the sleigh......

Not tooooo many more loads now probably only one more...............Sleigh loads for

Rachel, Karen C, Vanessa, Sandra, Tracey Ba, Anne B, Jenny, Sharon Z, Cheryl T, Caryn, Liz, Karrin, May K, Yvonne, Leanne B...........

Received by Nemo,

Take Care.........Chookyblue..........

PS 2 girls to contact me so they had better bust a move and do it or they will be busted......

PSS now go back and read my last post..............

Friday 28 November 2008

sewing up a storm..........

Stop all the SSCS talk.............

I have a huge announcement.................this afternoon I did some free motion quilting (hope that is what it is called)............I decided to have a go can't be that hard...........I have been putting it off for months and months and months............I had brought a darning foot as I needed that but was tooo scared.............

So I made myself a sewing mat............figured I could cover it up if bad by the machine............well prepare yourself...........here is the mat.....(fabric Autumn Journey).....(still to bind but I was too excited)

closer.........

the worst of it............got a bit lost here......

what about this....................maybe I should have had a few wines first..........you know just to relax a little..........it was fun.........definitely need some more practise.....I would sort of get into a pattern then loose it...........

....but do you have any tips to get it a bit smoother.....

We just keep getting more and more storms.............more days stormy then not........this is yesterday.........most crops in the area have had 3-8 inches of rain in the last 10 days...............gone from great to major disaster..........the mozzies came out yesterday afternoon and I am sure they are the size of elephants and they are everywhere............bring on the insect repellant I say even to hang a load of washing out..........they are REALLY BAD........

and just a little while ago we had this storm............distrupted my post while I went to check where the rain was coming in and we ended up with a gutter leaking in one of the rooms...........bugger............1/2 an inch in 15 mins........

Then there was good mail today...........was wondering if the mail men would come with the rain last night but he did thankfully.........with this little parcel from Cheryl G...........

Coasters a pattern and buttons...........thanks heaps............

Also my Fat Quarter Shop BOM and Country Threads............

Finally I have caught up with my bloglines............it has said "0 new posts".............woo hoo...........not seen that since late Sept when things went pear shape.....

......I sent a few parcels off a few weeks ago but not heard if they have arrived............hope they get there soon.........one was my polkadot and ric rac swap..........not that I have received a parcel there either..............maybe I have been forgotten............

&&&&&

Check this out............there is an project in Homespun this month about Louise -Prairie Mouse........check out these tiny incy wincy dolls in beds she has made.........here, here and here............they are amazing...........

&&&&&

More SSCS postings coming up really soon.............just waiting for a few more emails to confirm postage which most should have been today......I need to hear from four 3 girls and the rest seemed to be right to post by today 28 (I have to remember that Oz is early on in the time line around the world).............

Take care..........Chookyblue..............

PS Ric Rac you can keep your visitor - John............he is charming isn't he..........I reported the blog as a spammer............I feel the same way as Ric Rac.........I do not appreciate inappropriate comments..........

PSS. totally booked in for the Girls Day in the Country 2009...............anyone else going????? Leanne and Rosie do you think you can cope with us again.............

PSS how many posts do you think I have before 400????

More sleigh loads.........

The storms weren't to bad yesterday thank goodness..........a bit more rain for us.....

.....A bit late but Happy Thanksgiving for all my USA readers...........seems to be a family gathering time so enjoy.........

More 2007 prezzies...............

Parcels on the sleigh for Lynda Be, Bec, Jodie B, Trisha, Jacquie, Pamela T, Lyn V, Debbie D, Cheryl T, Jeanne, Bonnie, Anita O, Peg and ME - Chookyblue.........yippee

Received by Lynn M, Cheryl G, Fiona Y, Diane, Odette, Beth D, Christine L, Ralitza, Lise...........

Merry Christmas.............Elf Chookyblue............

Thursday 27 November 2008

Bananas in Pyjamas.......

I have my sister to blame for this..........Fairy Girl wanted Bananas in Pyjamas the other night for tea........she kept telling me I knew what it was and she had it at with my sister..........couldn't really describe it but that's what she wanted...........bookworm finally thought it may be Chicken in Pyjamas................anyway here it is ..........Bananas in Pyjamas aka Chicken Parmigiana

Out taking some pics and look what landed on my sewing..........cute hey and quite the movie star just sat there and very slowly wandered over my sewing.........

More severe storm warning today............harvest has turned into a complete disaster for some in our area...........bad rain last week and now hail and more rain last night and the thunder is rumbling right now..........we had nearly another inch last night..........some are hopinh for a hail storm as it would be worth more if insured...........I will take all the rain here as I have no harvest at my place...........very sad for the shire...........so close yet so far..........Helen had some harvesting pics here.........

Warning large hail, heavy rain, damaging winds..........great..............another melt down from Fairy Girl..............we were out last night and she was fine and looking out the window at the lightning and hail and the power flicked on and off several times and no problems.........when we ran to the car and got in she had a complete melt down once in the car...........

Catch you when i'm back..............

Chookyblue............

More 2007 presents.......

Just to get you in the mood.........some more present pics.........

.....okay things are going better here............thanks for the emails of support.........I am feeling better about it all.............i worry about someone missing out - I would feel terrible then..............and thanks for the "emergency elf" offers..........I hope we won't be needing them.........otherwise some people will be named here................

Wonder if the girls remember what they made last year..............these are only pics of present from girls in the swap again this year.............

Parcels on the sleigh for Amanda, Dawn S, Sandi, Deb W, Stephanie, Noemia, Marianne, Lorraine H, Kim, Julie M, Gai, Dale, Brigitte, Kerry, Maree Wa, Fiona B, Trudi, Floss, Becky

parcels received by Betsy and Sherri

Take care..........Elf Chookyblue

Wednesday 26 November 2008

SSCS DEADLINES...........and others........

As some asked for more pics from last year (you can always go back to late Dec early Jan for the 12(?) posts) some more gifts made by the girls who are in the swap for the second year.........beautiful gifts.........

Now allow me to get serious for a minute......

.........all the Swap Mamma's put a lot of time into a swap............it is not something that you do in 5 minutes............AND you all like joining into swaps............BUT after reading some blogs and chatting to some of the organisers lately I know there are quite a few people who are not playing by the rules set by the Swap Mamma's......

.......THE DEADLINES....

.........this is very important.......not only for the parcels to make there way to the receivers but make life EASIER for the Swap Mamma's..........even more important for mine as the idea is to have a present under the tree for Christmas Day..........

If you want people to continue organising swaps play by the rules..........

No more news on Mar but I have organised presents for her reciever and also another girl who needed some help - but these have been in contact to explain situation........

....there are about 60 Santa's to send yet...........maybe a dozen of these have emailed me to let me know when they are posting and why............this is the only polite thing to do if you can't make the deadline...........

I will only run another swap next year if people follow thru this year.............making it a successful swap for 2008.............

Go and read this post here that has a link to a post on Swap Etiquette...........

inbetween the pile of emails I have been receiving I have sewn up a storm..........but as it is all SSCS I can't show you anything.........wonder where it will end up...........off to help Fairy Girl with her swap present..........

.............a worried little Elf Chookyblue

PS thanks for the wonderful messages I am getting about how much fun and excitement people are getting and also how hard it has been for some to post off their parcels as they wanted to keep what they made............makes my day special.......

a couple of girls have opened presents others aren't even game to open the box just incase the temptation gets to great.........that will be me.....leave the box sealed.........lol...place directly under Christmas tree which will be put up this weekend.........

fun, thoughtfulness and happiness.........that's what I want from the swap..........

Tuesday 25 November 2008

More sleigh loads...........more to follow

Here is a picture of some of the 2007 Secret Santa Christmas Swap gifts made by girls who are in the swap for the 2nd year..........wonder what they are making for their SSCS
buddy this year.........let me know if you want to see some more.........

The sleigh has presents for Tami, Paula, Sherri, Elizabeth, Sharon Z, Kate
C, Jo Ch, Lorraine W, Tracey Br, Fiona Y, Margaret, Jodie Jelly Wares,
Linda, Karen Mc, May Britt, Nic, Beth L, Narelle, Trash

Gifts received my Oddbjorg, Cathy P, Jodie Ric Rac, Kris P,

Keep up the emails............we are only just 1/2 way......can I make the
distance........

Elf Chookyblue

PS oh and it is just like Christmas every time I open a photo you Santa's have emailed me and as for the non swap followers I post pics of all the gifts straight after Christmas when I know they have been opened on Christmas day..............all the presents are beautiful................

Monday 24 November 2008

SSCS hurry up..........

Wonder where this pile will end up............(not mine)

one day left to send off................hurry up Santa's sleigh is waiting...........parcels need to arrive in time for Christmas and last year a few girls hadn't received their parcel by Christmas so I moved the posting deadline back a bit earlier............but I still have HEAPS of girls (and one man) to let me know they have sent there parcels off............


Even got a couple of emails of people wanting to join in next year............well for that to happen this year needs to be a success............

Think I need to take out shares in Australia Post with the bundle I need to send off this week............lol...........thanks to my angel helping me out with a gift......you know who you are...........much appreciated..........
Sleigh now has presents for Lynn E, Missy, Paulette, Nancy S, Valerie, Melinda, Katie, Robyn, Jeanette, Debbie B, Sandi and Tanner
.............Elf Chookyblue............

Sunday 23 November 2008

good mail........

With all the rain last week the mail man didn't visit.........so no mail all week..........when I went into town on Friday there was a pile............parcels, junk mail, letters.............

first up the pincushion BOM..........this month Melly and Me - Sarah was a little late this month as she was waiting for some part of the kit to arrive..........not a problem she sent us an email to let us know about the delay.......love the fabrics.........

and this is the pincushion topper that came this month........I may be in love with these cute things.........

Then Jacquie (Tallgrass Prairie Studio) sent me this little quilt..............it is tiny and so very cute I have loved these since I first saw them on her blog..........

Teodo Appunti Patch sent me some SSCS cards and some xmas fabric........perfect timing as I don't have much I can find and I planned a project on Friday before I got the mail...........saved by the mail...........(by the way her dh thinks she has completely lost the plot finding little birds in fruit scraps but hey I am with her)

see the little angel....cute...

Then a huge apology to Stephanie - Loft Creations for my email..........have you ever sent an email to the wrong person............it's okay she fumbled along with the replies (probably though I had lost the plot) anyway she sent me this wonderful package.........yep more chooks........I love them........I chook bag...(containing football to fill for shot so quite a good size)....see that cute little chicken near the bottom of the bag...........Thank Stephanie.............

this little Bareroots pattern...........cute little chickens.....

and some more chooky fabric...........blue and chooks what more could I ask for..........

Take care til next time...........Chookyblue...........

SSCS ...2 days.......

Excitement is mounting I have received lots of great pics of presents sent..............but there are lots of you to send yet............I see on some of the Aussie girls blogs they are working away on the SSCS gifts..........putting in the final touches...........I am sure it is cause it is so dam cold outside for this time of the year..........you wouldn't think summer is 7 days away.............


Get a wriggle on girls...........the sleigh is waiting for about 100 presents.............make sure you go back a post or 2 and check if your name is on the huge list for sleigh deliveries.............


Presents on the sleigh for Lise, Anita and Gina......


Received by Colleen, Pat and Leanne M...........

One of the girls from the 2007 swap has done a reverse Santa and sent a gift off to her Santa from 2007...........how fun will that be and what a surprise to receive in the mail...........

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Saturday 22 November 2008

Searching for Mar......

If you saw this post at Linda's you will know Mar is unwell........now Mar initially thought she missed out on the SSCS so arranged another swap privately with someone?????? Who are you????

I know who she has in the SSCS so that is fine but Mar is worrying from her hospital bed about both the swaps. You may also be a SSCS person.........

If you are Mar's private christmas swap please email me

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Friday 21 November 2008

Sabotage.........

I am sure this post has been sabotaged............I finally got around to taking some pics..............then the power went off for the day ( yep me and the family at home again due to the rain and NO POWER)..............then when I finally got back onto the computer the email was playing up and as i email all my posts to the blog I couldn't do the post...............

....but you know what it is like when you have no power..............
I had all these plans to do stuff and the power went off and didn't come
back on for most of the day.........yep you guessed it everything I wanted
to do required power.........it will have to go off again to fix it as it is
too wet for the electricity men to get there truck etc into the
area............ so down the creek we went.......a few tyre tubes and a boggie board (great in table drains and creeek as well as the surf)......did I get in.........like hell it wasn't "that" warm.........


But finally the goodies I received in the mail last week when things were pretty hectic...........I brought these lovely fabrics from the Provincial Patch and as one of the early newest customers I received a bonus fat quarter.............thanks heaps Kerri and Julie..........good luck with your new venture...........I can recommend these girls for good services.............they have some beautiful stock in the shop........... nice chat to Kerri............can we that again sometime.............



I got some great mail from Paradise........she sent me a belated birthday present and a PIF ...............not sure which is which as I opened them to quickly but I love it all.........this pillow is Leanne Beasley design from "Girls Day in the Country"....and you know how much I love chooks especially blue ones...............



continuing on from the chooky theme this bag has chooks printed all aver it............and a little sunglasses case inside too..........



then some fab fat quarters...............I am sooooo spoilt....................and my fav colour...........



this is what the sky has looked like most of the week............very very very unusual for my part of the world..............so I enjoy it while I can BUT could not live with it all the time.............give me the sun...........



and while I was trying to take the pics above this little bug ran across the table............so colourful and bright and hard to catch as it would not stay still.......


Now an update on the SSCS..............parcels have been received by Levin and Karol Ann (who is have a huge problem not opening her present............lol............)

Santas sleigh now has parcels flying overseas for ........

Cindy, Helena, Ruth, Narelle, Renee, Lurline, Odette, Judith, Jodie Ric Rac, Lynn M, Cheryl G, Vickie, Helz, Dawn J, Kris P, Carole, Beth D, Christine L, Donna B, Anne Marie, Kathleen, Ralitza, Sonia, Cheri............that's 46 out of 156........

Don't forget to email me when you receive as some of the girls have only included their mailing address and hidden details in there presents............4 more sleeps for the posting deadline............have fun...........I must go and do some more sewing now............an extra parcel to make..........

.........take care til next time.............
.......Chookyblue..........
PS receiving no mail for a week I have a backlog of parcels arrived...........thanks girls you know who you are.........pics coming soon...........and I got my Pincushion BOM
also going to post some pics here now

Wednesday 19 November 2008

91ml.........yippee........

it's raining and raining and raining and raining................2inchs (50ml) while I was at work yesterday...........took twice as long to get home after work.............the car is covered in mud..........but once home before I went to bed we had another 1 1/2 inchs...........not much over night so the total is 365 points(91ml).........fantastic start to summer for us here with no crop but if you are still harvesting and most in our area are only 1/2 way thru (like dh's harvest contracting job) there will be downgrades of grain etc now...............they are also forecasting wet weather for a few days so it will be awhile before harvest can resume...............I have a day off today and I am not going to battle the road and get bogged..........and we still have more rain forecast so will see what happens with that..............

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Monday 17 November 2008

catching up.........

Now where was I ...............heading to the markets...............yes well they were great markets.............plus a few special orders which is wonderful........

was having a lovely afternoon after the markets (it was pretty warm in the morning) enjoyed lunch with some family.........casually headed home thought "great a nice quite arvo" (home phone it is "out" again) So i was sitting out in the garden in the perfect spot where you can get mobile reception trying to avoid the "ant hightway" just near my feet and reporting the home phone out (which take 10 MINUTES - great service - NOT) when dh rings the mobile and asks do you want to go and pick up a part - can't really say no so DRAG the kids out of the pool and head off for a nice drive...............4 hours later arrive home with 2 kids asleep at 10pm - boy were they going to be "foul" on Sunday..............He told me the silos looked great in town under lights...............here the best he could do with his mobile

Also the silos did another record the other day................in a 23 hour period they received 19,300 tonnes of wheat. Last year the total harvest for the area was 33,000 tonnes.............pretty amazing...........

Sunday I had plans for a nice quite day and the kids were not tooo bad.............but my neighrbour came down just before lunch and we enjoyed some wine and nibbles then coffee and some chocolate all the way from Finland (she LOVES my blog friends) and the day was totally written off.............it was cloudy and we had no idea of the time but we chatted and had a good catch up..............we have not had a day like this for ages...............

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

SSCS

Monika, Ranette Susana and Marica have received parcels and are very excited..........

The sleigh is now delivering to Leanne M, Levin, Cathy, Yvonne L, Diane, Nemo, Mar and Sheila

.........take care til next time.............
.......Chookyblue..........

Friday 14 November 2008

new cards

These are some of the new cards.........I am totally smitten with succulents at the moment...........


lots of new cards lately..........markets tomorrow.....
........these are available on Etsy in my shop.............my cards are also available locally in the Australia Post Shop.........hopefully they will go well there...........
.....also got some calendars.........they look great........these are the pics on the calendars below..........each month has a different photo and the dates have nice big boxes to write in...........the calendars will be in the shop very soon.............

If you are feeling lucky head to this blog.................it is worth your time.............




Take care til next time..............Chookyblue............

Thursday 13 November 2008

Harvest in town............

Here is a run down of the silos in town............mostly wheat is grown in our area...........34 deg cel today good harvest weather........town is a hive of activity.............trucks in and out everywhere.........headers (harvest machines) moving thru............the other day I saw a massive field bin....(storage bin used on the farm)

this is the start of the line up of trucks...........(hope your watching AC)

then around the corner and way back further.............2-3 wide lined up here...........lots lined up........must be about 100 trucks around the silo area.................

they are all waiting to come here..........first stop is to get the grain tested..............

Then they drive onto the weigh bridge to be weigh............and told where to go........

..........there are several piles of grain dumps............some grain was here before they started............

there are trucks moving around out there everywhere so I had to be careful where I got..............not get in the road............

these grain augers are amazing...........very big.........

unloading wheat into a bunker..............all gets tarps over it when not in use.............here it looks like a sand pile..............

I think there are 5 bunker dumps they are putting the wheat into..............

We'll see how much this one grows during harvest...............

I won the battle with the mice also............yippee................

take care til next time............Chookyblue.............

PS lots to show and tell you about but I need to take some more pics ..........

Tuesday 11 November 2008

dh gone stripping..........

Now if you are thinking naughty things stop right there.............lol.............Ric Rac get your mind out of the gutter...........Oz Country Quilting Mum knows what I am talking about............it is that time of the year when harvest of the crops is starting in our area............we don't have much but dh is contract harvesting for others...........not hot enough to work til midnight yet but they tell me once everyone got going this arvo after the rain the line up at the silos was pretty bad..........I will be checking it out tomorrow...........when harvest cranks up the silos can run 24 hours a day but that has not happened for a few years.............drought kind of kills that......

.........overloaded with work at the moment...........computer programmers have alot to answer for some times.............and I must go and finish my polkadot swap or miss red geranium will be hunting me down.........lol............

Unreal sunset tonight...........the colours were totally amazing........better then usual and that can be pretty good............also got some great mail from Paradise...........pics to come............

SSCS mail.................

Betsy, Pat, Tammy and Oddbjorg better keep an eye out for the SSCS mail.............

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Monday 10 November 2008

SSCS parcels........

Thanks for all the comments/ideas on the Swap ettiquette post...........

Wonder where this will turn up.........you sure can't miss it is from the
SSCS..........you have til the 25th Nov to post.......... Don't forget to
email me a picture and let me know when you post your parcel..........
If you are worried about your parcel email me a pic and I can check it
out..........I am sure you will be fine as all the others have been... you may be nervous if this is your first swap but you will be fine.......any
postage questions look here........

These people should look out for mail............Monika, Susana, Colleen,
Marica, Rhonda


.........take care til next time.............
.......Chookyblue..........

Thursday 6 November 2008

Swap etiquette..........

Found this post "Swap Etiquette" on Calimity Kim...........a fair bit to read thru but worth the read - even the comments................whats important to you in a swap?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

.....I am planning my parcel for my SSCS partner and one thing is for sure she is overseas.........so my questions is

"what would be your favourite tidbit/extra to include in your parcel from Australia".......

...wonder who will get there wish................my lips are sealed but I am very excited about my SSCS partner..........as there are about 56 SSCS from Oz other aussies may peek here to see what you wrote so overseas girls tell us what you like..........give us ideas.........

.........take care til next time.....Chookyblue.........

Wednesday 5 November 2008

updates and invasions...........

Thanks for all the lovely comments on my garden.............I must say I have lots of bouganvilleas and they give such value in my hot dry climate.............outside is looking good .............inside I am battling a mouse plague...............I had a small invasion a week to 10 days ago but since Sunday afternoon I have caught 25 .......yep you read that right............they have moved on in..........the site of us chasing one around the kitchen with the brooms the other night would have made funniest home videos I am sure............today we pulled out the big guns so hopefully that will be the end of that...........I am not scared of them but they are such a filthy little animal..............enough of that on to the good stuff...............

A few people asked what range these fabrics were from............ Woodland Bloom by Lila Tueller for MODA (right) floral says pattern no 16010 and the (left)spot says Pattern no 16012

Anni Downs - Hatched and Patched's new book "The world as it should be" (I showed the kits here) is now available on her website..............click here and scroll down.........retails $21.80AUD.........also kits should be available any day or so .........email and annoy Pete (Anni's dh) if you can't find them on the website............

edit: no need to hassle Pete the kits are now up on the same spot as the book.............

.........take care til next time.............
.......Chookyblue.......

... if you want to see where fairies live head over here..........I believe in fairies..........do you?