A bag for Adele

I am soon to become a great aunt which fills me with excitement. I am very close to my nieces so we are all eagerly awaiting the arrive of ????????. Adele is due in April so not long now.
I made a bag for Adele to carry everything around in.



There is lots of room inside and if needed I expect you could put the baby in there.



I have to thank my beautiful assistant Gemma for her help with this pic LOL.
I think there is room for a baby in there.



For those who are interested the pattern is "Maxi Stable Tote Bag" by Village Quilt Shop and it is available in 3 sizes all separate patterns this is the Maxi.
Lorraine always has them in stock.

My World # 8 Blyth

I went to visit a friend on her farm near Blyth through the week.







For more My World Tuesday picture have a look here.

My World Tuesday # 7

I live in South Australia the driest state on the driest continent, as I have said before we have been in drought conditions for a few years now.

While I was driving to work on Thursday I heard on the radio that they didn't think the Popeye would be running on the weekend.
This is what happens when you pull the plug out and forget to put it back in.
This is the Popeye.

During the night there had been a malfunction of the weir and the River Torrens had emptied. The River Torrens runs through the middle of Adelaide from the hills to the sea.









This is the fountain along with assorted rubbish.



This was the fountain back in September last year.

This gives some idea how much water washed out to sea, this is the boarding platform for the Popeye.



Not only is it a tragedy that all that water ended up on our metropolitan beaches but soon it will be a horrible smelly mess. They do not know how they will refill it as water is something we don't have an abundant supply of.
They have found submerged cars.



However these 2 birds didn't seem to mind the extra perches the rubbish provided.

If you want to have a look at what is happening in other peoples world head over here.

Giving & Receiving

I received the most wonderful parcel in the post last week all the way from England.
I helped Lesley name P45 and for that I won a prize. LUCKY ME.

It was wrapped so beautifully and I don't think it had been looked at by customs. I think the trick there is....... although we all love chocolate do not send it internationally. The photo isn't great as when I got home from work it was late and I couldn't wait to open it so used the flash on my camera something I rarely do.

I got a really funky pin cushion with the most beautiful old button in the middle. A handmade card and envelope I love this idea of making envelopes out of old magazines.

Best of all I got this lovely bag which is now in use. Several friends have said they like my new bag and it looks like my kind of bag...... thank you Lesley I love my prize.

Finally I have sent this little girl off to the Toy Society for the Bushfire Appeal.

The bushfires have impacted on so many people it is hard to deal with even though most of us are not that close. I am feeling guilty that my life hasn't changed at all I have given money and sent a doll, there is not much more that can be done.......... we can not go and help or lend a shoulder to cry on I suppose we can just keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts.

Aprons

My friend sent me this email it made me smile so I thought I would share it.

REMEMBER making an apron in Home Ec? Read below: The History of 'APRONS' I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath,because she only had a few,it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears. From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds. When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes. Send this to those who would know (and love) the story about Grandma's aprons. REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw. They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron.

My World Tuesday # 6

Thankfully my world has not been ravaged by the horrific bushfires that have caused so much death and destruction in Victoria and the horrendous floods in Queensland. My thoughts go out to those who have loss everything and more so to those who have lost a loved one.

Quite often when I drive to work I see this fellow or his friends waddling along the side of the road picking at the grass. I thought I would go for a walk on Sunday morning and see if I could find them. Here he is walking along the top of the sails at the Adelaide Oval.

Then he was off.







Shortly after his mate flew into a tree nearby.



Then he was off.
They are such noisy birds, squawking as they fly over head..



If you want to see what others are doing in their world head over here.

A few things

I have finished stitching this block from the recent Homespun. It is a shop sample for Hettie's Patch. Lorraine is waiting for the fabric used in the original quilt to arrive so I used fabrics from the shop. If you don't want to make the whole quilt this block would be great as a cushion cover or my choice would be............... framed as a gift for a friend. If it wasn't a stitching friend you could just change the wording it is such a lovely block.

I have also bought a couple of panels not sure what I will do with them but I love them. I'm a bit of a sucker for Peter Rabbit.

I also love these Flower Fairies, isn't she sweet.

One thing I have had for ages but find I use more and more is this, it doesn't have a name. As my old eyes are failing me I decided to make a pin cushion for my sewing machine needles. You know when you change the needle and you don't want to put a used one back in the packet. This way I don't have to ask a child to read the incredible small number on the needle. Once upon a time my eyes could focus close enough to read the numbers myself now I would need 10 foot long arms to be able to read it. I was rather pleased with myself when I thought of this.

My World Tuesday # 5

IT'S HOT

but I am not allowed to complain(that was for Granny Loz) as I whinge about the cold all winter long.
I had intended to show something other than water pictures but when we have had a week of Temperatures in the 40C range water is a good thing.
At 7am when I go for my walk there is lots of activity on the lake.





some more serious than others.....I think the wind drag on the coxes hat might be a down fall.





now you know why the cox has to be small.
Gemma coxed while she was at school she was perfect for the job small and bossy as Lucas would say.



This girls eight rowed towards me without much gusto......... well it was hot



they turned the boat towards the edge of the lake and.........
some laid down



others examined their blisters



soon I thought they might all lay down



we are in drought conditions here in South Australia up until a couple of years ago this overflow always had water in it with ducks and water birds enjoying it....... now it is dry.



trees are dying.



this week has even tested my good old aggies soon all my garden will be a big brown patch of dirt.



If you would like to travel around the world without leaving your chair head over here.