Willowberry Designs ~ Alpaca Softies

I love stuff

Teresa from the USA sent a flimsie with a bundle of stuff and included this pincushion - too cute!

 

and this is the result of a swap with my new friend Shirlee who is also from the USA

I love people

   

Look at this divine paisley... in my fave colours.... and that gorgeous avocado green... and the delicate florals... perfect choice... I can't stop looking at them... beautiful things

 

Might be just right for this thing I scribbled a few months ago

 

one more sleep till Block 3 and holidays 

I love holidays  :-)

have fun gathering your stuff today...

Cheryl xx

Two posts in one day but it's important....

because I'm going on holidays!  Just for a week at the beach.... to sit on a balcony and sit and sit and sit.... to watch the ocean come and go.... and maybe take a quiet stroll on a quiet sandy beach with my quiet man who I adore.... the same one who said 'please don't take any stitching'....

Hhhmmmm.... a whole 8 days without stitching - how rude!!  Maybe I'll get up in the middle of the night and do some secret stuff.... Do you think he'd divorce me?  How will I cope without stitching for a WHOLE 8 DAYS!!!  Maybe I'll do some in the car while he drives the four hours there and four hours back again.... 

Anyway, Madamoiselle Celeste Bouquet is feeling rather naked without her little pearls of backstitch.  It's just not acceptable....  So I'll be taking her along for the ride, I think she'll like the beach  :-)

 

and the other important thing is that there's only 4 more sleeps until I show you 'Bed n Breakfast' - it's block 3  :-)

The Flimsies are arriving

  So far, 11 quilt tops have been promised and they are starting to arrive at my quilting studio...

This one from Natasha in NZ

from Evelyne in Belguim

 

from Joy in Victoria, Australia

   

from Lisa in Queensland Australia

from Kymberly in USA

 

and this one arrived yesterday from Teresa in the USA.  Teresa followed the Great Summer Mystery Quilt with Helen at Hugs n Kisses and this is her version...

 

I'll add more photos as they are finished... thanks girls, absolutely tops!

I'm going to have a lovely quilty day today,

Cheryl xx

Friendly neighbours are soooo important

This little guy came to visit yesterday

 

and he brought some magpie mates... hiding in the shadows, all five of them

 

and the littlest member of the gang, clickety clicking his way around the yard

The birdsong choir assemble every day and belt out their tunes, they have so much fun!  The King Parrot heard that sunflower was on the menu and dropped in for lunch...

One more photo of our backyard friends....

Mum and joey were regular visitors to the little pond in the backyard of our last home.  Soooo glad I'm not a mother wallaby carrying that huge baby around in my front pouch.  Imagine the stretch marks!!

have a fun stitching day...

Cheryl xx

The donated 'flimsies' are starting to arrive, FABULOUS!!!  To follow the progress, there's a separate page on the top right of my sidebar

Look over there....

c

To find out what's happening with the quilts for the Aussie bush fire victims....

have a lovely stitchy day :-)   Cheryl xx

Sir Alphonse D'Arbignon

NEVER takes his boots off..... not even for bed!  (He once ate belly button fluff because someone told him it was fairy floss.  How silly.........)

 

Madamoiselle Celeste is never too far away

Lady Polly Flotsam

Adorns herself with ruffles and faux flowers....

 

What's a girl to do?

When she can't sleep (yep, it's 1:30am), the gorgeous lump of sleeping beautifulness beside her is snoring out Beethoven's 5th symphony and the little fantasy creatures inside her head just won't stop playing.....

She must arise and put pen to paper.  And pencil to sketchpad.....

Sir Alphonse D'arbignon, the retired surgeon who NEVER takes his boots off, has been courting a young lady.  I think her name begins with the letter C and ends in 'eleste' ......

 

Madamoiselle Celeste Bouquet is a beauty therapist.  Can't you tell?  It makes her giggle to see Alphonse wearing a bow tie to match her gown.

 

AND she owns 784 tiaras!  Can you imagine?  Lady Polly Flotsam, recently divorced, borrowed a beautiful tiara once....

 

She had to give it back.  Her head isn't as big as Celeste's and anyway, she's more a 'lacy ruffly' kind of girl.  Every Thursday at 2.30pm she hosts a High Tea for important wives..... They gather in the gardens of her country estate, sipping chammomile tea with their pinky fingers pointing up, nibbling on petite fours and cucumber sandwiches.... It's a necessary thing to do when you're an important wife...  But Polly has a secret admirer.... 

  

Captain Frelly Dingle isn't a real captain.  In fact, he's only the captain of his vigoro team.  Look at that hair!  Apparently he uses wax to make it look that way and the girls swarm around him.  But Frelly's a one bug bee.  They say he has a little piece of body art that proclaims his undying love for Lady Polly Flotsam but I've never seen it...

OK you bunch of bugs, now that you're inside the computer let me get some sleep!

Aussie Bushfire Tragedy - how can I help?

Today is a day full of emotions ..... sadness, helplessness, anger and pride just to name a few...  - anger at the brainless arsonists who are lighting the fires, can you believe it?  Some of the fires have been deliberately lit.  And an overwhelming feeling of pride at the job our firefighters are doing to try and minimise the destruction.  Right now, they are the world's bravest heroes.

While the weekend events slowly unfolded on my TV yesterday, I watched with disbelief the pictures of destruction as the monster fires consumed everything in their path.  I can't begin to imagine the horror of experiencing something like that.  But what can I do to help?  I can't come down and fight the fire or bring back loved ones or rebuild your houses.... but I can give.....

     

the quilt back - pretty green dyed quilters muslin

 

1.  I made this quilt in early 2007 and it's one of my favourites.  Pretty and fresh and quilted with a happy allover swirly pattern that reminds me of a fresh breeze.  I call it Spring Ruffles and I'm offering it for sale to the highest bidder with all proceeds going to the Aust Bushfire Appeal.  If you love it and would like to have it, or if you'd simply like to help out and then receive the quilt as a bonus, send me an email directly with your offer.  Open now and closes on Sunday 22nd February 2009 at 12 noon Queensland time.

2.  So many families have lost everything, most have only the clothes they were wearing when they fled their homes.  If you have a finished quilt top you would like to donate, send it to me for finishing.  I will supply the backing and wadding then quilt and bind it and forward it to the relevant charity in the affected areas - probably the Salvos or similar.  If there are 4 quilt tops donated I'll endeavour to finish one a week for the next 4 - 6 weeks - again, email me directly with your details.

we can help.....

Complete thread list for 'Verandah Views'

Now that all 9 stitcheries - download the free patterns here - are finished (in my house anyway) I can tell you the DMC threads you'll need to complete all of the embroidery.  The descriptions have been added to make it easier for you to substitute for some that you may already have in your stash.  So click here and scroll down to the list

Does your thread stash look like this..... how do you find the end?

or this......