Fairy Girls quilt.........

One down 2 to go.......this is Fairy Girls quilt and she is so excited about
it..........I have just finished the binding and went down and pulled her
other quilt of and put this one on her.....she will be so happy when she
wakes in the morning and finds it on her bed..........Carey did a great job
on the quilting and Fairy Girl got the butterflies she wanted............
The other day she said she knows what she is going to make next........a
quilt for "brothy" (book worm)........just let me get over this one I
say.........

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

slight progress...........

Look what I found on my broccoli last night........lucky it was from our own garden........you can't see it here but he has little yellow dots along the side........and he is fairly bright green

I am making a little progress on the binding front...................1st - 1/2 done...........2nd one binding cut and partly sewn on and about 1mt sewn down................3rd quilt need to cut and fold and sew on binding so I can start sewing down........need to get some other work done first before I can get back to this...........

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

Chookyblue.........

PIF received..............

I was so lucky to get Gail Pan for a PIF.........one of our AMAZING aussie designers.........she made me this beautiful bag..........

I LOVE it and I had the perfect clothes on for it today..............red and browns...........yummo.

close up......

and this gorgeous little gift tag...........

Thanks so much Gail I love it all..........

if you don't hear from me don't worry I am on a binding mission.........3 to finish by next Thursday............OMG.............including Fairy girls quilt and she thinks I will have it bound tonight............lol..........takes me a bit longer then that............

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

I just can't stop..........

As if I need to give you another one but this girl made me feel very slack about getting my Nundle sewing complete..........I had better get a move along.........and she is new to blogging so go and welcome her............

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

New cards.........more new blogs.......

I am really sorry but someone asked me about my cards the other day and I just can't find the email................please please email me again..................

here are the latest additions to the range...............(if you go to the label cards(at the bottom of my blog) you will find the others)

I am having so much fun finding new blogs (well new to me) but here are some more NEW ones...........omg the bloglines list is getting out of control.............

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Audrey and Maude...........congrats girls and goodluck.............

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converted another one when in Nundle.................welcome flutter by angel (not sure that is the name we came up with while drinking wine.............lol)

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Now if you are new to blogland you may want to check out this post by Rose Marie telling you how to make yourselves replyable.................very important...............

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And Daisy Chain took up my challenge with the camera and look what she got.............

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if you havn't worked it out I changed my template .............like this one sooo much better............... as they say a change is as good as a holiday...........

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Pincushion Swap………..I have my secret partner………my lips are sealed...........

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

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

More from the woolshed.............

head over to Leanne she took the challenge playing with the settings on the camera...........did anyone else yet? let me know...........

As I have been very slack in the last 3 posts - no pics........here
are some pics I was going to post - "things in the woolshed" taken during
shearing a few weeks ago.......enjoy.............

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

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

update.........

The pincushion swap is now closed.........................50 people ...................20 hours you have to be quick in blogland...........lol...........can't wait to see who my I am making a pincushion for now.........

Also got this pattern recently...............thanks for sending that one out...........just need to get it made up............

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

Pincushion swap.......

Speaking of swaps my friend All Stitched Up is hosting a pincushion swap.............go check it out now..........you must be a blogger...........and I am sure this will fill quickly.............

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

links.........

Well as it turns out there was lots of cooking in blogland over the weekend............ thanks for all the cooking and photo comments ............much appreciated............and I see I have been getting some newer visitors so welcome.....

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......does anyone use the translator on the right????

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.......I need to mention some more blogs to check out............

Blue Shadow Pony.........Farmyards Crafts..............Home Sweet Home................Four Wise Monkeys............

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this blogger has a new camera and she has been playing and this one should have some pics by the weekend with her new camera.........

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Hopefully I will have some sewing to show after the weekend............Fairy Girl has her quilt at the quilters...........she even requested butterflies............I know this lady will work magic...........and I wished I had my camera as this girl has SOME stash.................I am going back to rat thru it some more.............(yes that what she did at my place) but I think I may need to stay for a month............and I got some yummy desert with my coffee...........see you soon

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I have had a few people asking if I was going to run the Secret Santa Christmas Swap................YES I will and I will blog about it in a few months .................not taking name yet........sorry...........but if you are new to my blog there are about 11 posts of all the presents that were swapped.........just go to Dec and Jan...............

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

Cooking & cameras.......

Hi all thanks for the lovely comments on my pics post............I am just a simple camera enthusiast and it is so nice to get comments from people really enjoying what I share..............

BUT yes there is a BUT...............I challenge you to take your camera with you and take some pics ...........look at things you may normally walk past................REALLY look and see what you can find..............use a different settings on your camera.................or take a really different angle................go on give it a try and let me know if you post any pics so I can check them out...........

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what did I do on the weekend...................well as it was cold and miserable (we got none of the rain like they did down south) but it was perfect cooking weather................so I whipped up a batch of Kris Choc Chip biscuits and they are yummo(and make a great BIG batch)...........go on head over and harass her for the recipe............she made some too and in her neck of the wood she is "famous" for them...............go tell her to share the recipe with you..............my kids will love these in their lunch boxes this week..........thanks Kris

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

PS go and check out these scones.........they look great and my post making the scones helped her out...........yippee............

No sewing....just pics............

Enjoyed playing with the picture pile collages the other day so here are some more.......

.......While unloading the fire wood little fellow turned up..............it's he cute.............

some autumn colour again.................

pods on a tree.............just LOVE the colours in these even prettier for real

playing around..........

seed pods.........

this is esp for Jodie as she loves my pics of umbrella grass and YES i still have it blowing around the place...........the pic on the right it umbrella grass all caught up in the crepe myrtle which is showing up even more now as the leaves have all dropped off...........I must admit it was pretty with the sun shining thru late in the afternoon...............

Happy Independence Day for all my Norwegian friends...............hope you have fun with all your celebrations................

Take care til next post.............................

Little Bluebirds BOM

Forgot to show you a pic of this great BOM that Janelle Wind is just releasing................thanks Janelle for the pic..........i missed taking one when I got to see this quilt in Nundle as I was to busy fondling it...............it really is sooo pretty and will be available as a BOM from Kerry - Cottage on the Hill email kerry(at)cottageonthehill(dot)com(dot)au

take care...........

bits and pieces........

Hang with me here this posts has lots of bits and pieces.......I have been very busy with work but had a little holiday tonight at Old Bar Beach and then I went to Boomer Beach check them out great shots girls..............feeling so relaxed.......lol.........

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After I showed my cooking family heirlooms last post Jo pulled out some family heirlooms - some sewing and a jug............check them out well worth it and let us know if you have some and do a post..............would love to see what treasures people have.............

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got myself into trouble in a good way and got blammed for someone shopping..........hmmmmmm.......what can I say "guilty"........yippee but Kris has taken up the 2008 Challenge with me thru Cottage on the Hill

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sign up for the Cyber Stitching at Mrs Martins it is open until the 31st May..............the stitching day is the 21st June.........pattern from Gail Pan and and Anni Downs including Anni's new book are included plus other goodies ........

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here is a pick of one of the blocks I have made for an online group siggy swap..........

I am trying to not buy so many magazines but when they put issues out like these I just can't resist.........Country Threads stitchery edition and Homespun has an article about Leannes trip to Norway and it is really weird reading the article about your bloggy friends (normal names used) ........and yes Stina you are there in the pic..........and you feel like you "really know them" my Norway bloggers are very special............

Also Leanne is having a giveaway with the "Chooky" patterns we had a Nundle so if you loved them and I know you all did head over and enter the draw........

Finding some autumn pics in the garden............Fairy Girl also made a fairy ring I just had to take a photo.............most of the garden beds are still covered in that horrible umbrella grass but I think it is heading towards the end........the autumn colours are just beautiful.............

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

PS thanks to the lurkers who have left some comments lately but I don't get your email address when you comment so you can go to my profile and email me if you want...........Helen from down south email me ..........

Do we have smelly internet..............

We I wished we did right now............cause these scones smell devine..................I can't give you the exact recipe but it includes SR flour, cream, milk, pinch of salt and some bicard soda............

(for those that regular read my blog - yes I did use the correct flour)

combine ingredients until you get the "right consistency" yep now your asking what is the "right consistency" well keep looking..................this isn't...............

............getting closer..............

this is pretty right now.............

then you have to knead the dough and roll out on a floured surface.............(using my newest family heirloom)............(ask "bookworm" to now take the pics as you have flour everywhere).......

then cut them out with my mystery item..............my other family heirloom.............this is the scone cutter that my Nan used as long as I can remember (much safer then the glass I use).........

.............we have been sorting things out at my grandparents house (remember my Pop died last month) and Mum put these aside for me knowing I LOVE cooking..............they are very precious to me.............so today we had to make some scones...........the kids love it when I make them..........they love to help also

now they are cooked.................

just perfect..............

and ready for me to eat.............

sorry must rush off and eat them..........when my city friends come to visit soon I will make some more.............gosh that will have to be a big batch.............

...........take care til next post.............

what is this??????????

Ok so I am cheating I know what it is but let’s see who else does……it is a personal treasure………so what is it?????????

…………Take care til next time……………

11275...........

.............That's some serious number of comments on Confessions of a Pioneer Woman website..............she is having a giveaway and I went to comment and that's how many she had when I went to leave mine..........it is a very serious giveaway.............a digital SLR camera and printer...........not that she needs anymore people to leave a comment but you may well be in with a chance she will use the random number generator thingy............
but make sure you tell me if you win............goodluck

lots of treasures..........

okay so finally I am back longer then I planned but I am here.................stuffed up on one of my links at the beginning but here it is...........again sorry but it is worth a look I promise.............

this is the winner of my last post..............a new blogger to me..........email me you snail mail address...........thanks to all the lurkers for coming out of the closet...............it is nice to know someone is reading out there......I really appreciate people taking the time to comment..........

.............................

looks like a few people are going to do the Cyber Stitching and/or the 2008 Challenge ( see my last post)

.................................

I still have HEAPS of stitching to do on the girls projects...............I only got one heart needleturned.............and not even a chook stitched but I did chat to a few people and check out what my firends were up to also.........but now i have some night time sewing to do...........

shopping............signed by Rosie........

I got a special block written for a friend doing the 365day challenge.........she just loves it..............Leanne also signed my book for me...........

a bonus pattern from Rosie............love it

my roll of fabric I won............

had to buy this...............

and this collection..............

and more again............

finally I have one of my very own Cinderberry Stitches patterns..............

and I will have a play with this sometime soon.............(oh by the way does anyone have some extra time they can give me)

ok so this is the final post about the Girls Day in the Country..............how many sleeps until the next one Kerry??????

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

Some inspiration.........

Check out this amazing quilt and here is another one......

....if you want to do some cyber stitching with Mrs Martins check this out here..........should be heaps of fun.........the date for the cyber stitching is the 21st June but I am busy so will do mine on the 22nd June.........I see some others have signed up......

Now for the 2008 Challenge Pack.....Cottage on the Hill...........are you up for a challenge..............this is the kit...........(this can be as easy or hard as you want to make it)........

this is the pack opened out.................

the details.............

• the pack includes fabric, buttons, ric rac, braid and thread
• you must use at least 80% of all the fabric, ric rac and braid and all the buttons
• you can include other fabrics or embellishments if you wish
• the challenge must have machine or hand piece patchwork
• must have some sort of hand stitching
• some sort of applique
• at least 5 circles - these must be made from fabrics or thread from within the kit.
• you must email a photo to The Cottage by the closing date.
• (closing date to be confirmed but you should have about 3 months at this stage if not a little more)

if you are interested go here..............and say you want to do the 2008 Challenge................there is a prize..........need to check that one out but it will be good.................

addition email kerry(at)cottageonthehill(dot)com(dot)au subject 2008 Challenge

come on set your self a challenge I am.................hmmmmm..........now what am I going to do........I will get back to you............

Oh and if you have made it this far..................I am going to do a little giveaway..............need to pull some lurkers out of the closet (esp the ones I met on the weekend).............and I know I have had heaps of extra visitors so come on show you face..........oh well at least comment and make sure I can get back to you if you win...............I will do the draw next post so who knows if that will be today or tomorrow or next week but I have not shown you all my goodies from Nundle so I can't hold off tooooo long..............see you in the comments.............

.................take care until next time...................

the bloggers.............

missing are Relle's Place and Kerry.................

make sure you read the earlier post..............still more to come..............

Girls Day in the Country...........

What a huge weekend......early friday morning Jelly Wares swung by my place and we threw the gear in and off we went......after hours of chatting we finally arrived in Nundle...(I don't think either of us drew breath during the trip)...........the occassion Girls Day in the Country..........going to the amazing day organised by Kerry Swain of Cottage On the Hill - tutored
for the day by the wonderful Leanne Beasley and Rosalie Quilan and meeting
up with the bloggy crew........Bloom, Day Day's Blog, Happy in Quilting,
Jelly Wares, Riley's Rambles, Dragonfly Crafts, Lzilulu's Stuff, The Janelle Wind Collection, Living in Paradise, Relle's Place, Gai D (belongs to this club scroll down on the right find the labels and the link for Gai D) and of course ME.......

Leanne, Kerry and Rosie.........

Leanne's project.............a stitchery project........designed especially with me in mind............yes this is true she said it on the day..............I feel extremely special to inspire someone to create a special "Chooky" project - mind you she can't call me anything other then my blog name...........I do love it though........

We could choose to make our project in 5-6 different colourways and of course I choose "blue"...........

.................here is Rosie's project........needle turn applique............as I had never done this before I chose to work on this first.............I managed to get one heart stitched on (a small one) and all my applique cut out and stuck onto the fabric..........I think I could find myself doing more of this..........I usually do blanket stitch............

Rosie, Leanne and Kerry...........

working hard on projects and getting the girls to sign books etc...........they are so kind and patient with everyone.........shared themselves around with all the stitches...........

The group bloggy pic should be here but wait for the next post...............

After the great day we dined out on the balcony of the hotel.........we couldn't fit downstairs (to many people dining at the hotel) and we had enjoyed our drinks up there the night before so decided to sit out there again..............our group started at about 11 in the morning and by the time we ordered I think there was about 25 of us together...........Rosie and Leanne and Janelle joined us for tea and some other lurkers............(they had better comment here)

...................now Nundle can get pretty cold in winter and it was an open balcony and it was colder then Friday night............you think these girls would own a warm quilt don't you..............lol...........

we ended up with all the blankets etc from the rooms out on the verendah wrapped around everyone keeping them warm..........but it was worth it was had a great time..........that is until we had eaten and decided we could all fit down in the bar and moved into the warmth..............

we looked cold didn't we..............lol

Now once we moved downstair this is the only pic I can display but can you guess who some of the girls are that were singing and dancing and generally have an absolute ball..................

the best part is Leanne and Rosie are coming back again next year.......................woohoo.............

......................now for the shopping, my sewing and more stay tuned.............oh and I nearly forgot I have a very special treat for a friend..............

............Fairy girl says my voice sounds different tonight............I think it is due to all the chatting............lol...........I am exhausted.............goodnight.............
..............take care...........