Willowberry Designs ~ Alpaca Softies

The sun is shining today...

Spring hit... then Winter came back for a few days and brought some more beautiful rain...

and that means the wisteria blooms are still hanging around in the breeze :)

The petals flutter like confetti across the lawn... I just LOVE it!

A mad frenzy of girls, chatter, fashion and a few little snacks... we had a Postie Fashions fun time on Saturday and now I'm all sorted for the big trip. 

Sssshhhh... only 32 sleeps...

Sylvie, I'm coming for 3 whole weeks!!  then on to England and Ireland... imagine that...  Ethel's having such a fun time, can't wait to catch up with her when she gets home :)

Our house plans are coming along... still lots of jiggling of room sizes, bathrooms, kitchens and cupboards, sheds, driveways, fences, rainwater tanks... It's like one great big complicated patchwork quilt, maybe it will be nice to leave it all behind for a month or two!

Ina... I got your postcard!  How fab!  Looks just like our Island holiday snapshot from a few years ago

 

 bit disappointed not to see an Alpaca hiding in my letterbox though...

Our little friends popped over for a visit this afternoon, gorgeous little girls with beautiful manners

 

seeya next time

Cheryl xx

Fleur's Boudoir Set

tutorial is now available here (click on the tutorials tab at the top of the page)

Made from the prettiest fabric by Robyn Pandolph ~ Somerset Cottage ~ this gorgeous set will make you feel like the lady of the manor...  Thanks for the opportunity to create this beautiful set Sarah :)

A little bit of coloured deliciousness for each slipper

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Funny little man is tidying, packing and reminiscing while going through the photo albums

Norm and Ratty in 1998 when they first became friends at our last home

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Today I've been finalising my pattern for the Homespun project and writing up the responses to the profile questionnaire.  It's a bit tricky writing stuff to brag about yourself! 

Have a fun day and check out today's quilt

seeya soon

Cheryl xx

I'm in love...

~ with my new Camera ~

and this gorgeous darn thing

~ just the back (yum rouenneries and rural jardin) and a snippet for now :)

the rest will be showing off in Homespun early next year

~ and I'm in love with this delicious invasion of lavender'ish proportions

Mad!  and it needs a bit of a haircut but we'll enjoy it for a few more days yet...

39 sleeps till you'll find us here

  

then here

 

and here

 

~ images are from royaltry free photo sites... by Christmas we'll have our own photos to show off ~

and........

Ethel is checking it out first and letting me know all the best places to visit :)

Funny little man has been counting his pennies and packing his flannie shirts.... sigh.... wonder if I can convince him to leave his uggies at home....

seeya round like a big happy face

Cheryl xx

Catching up

Lots happening... :)

the Craft Fair is in full swing ~ here's a view of the doings as we set up on Friday

Day one is now over and the stall is looking bare!  So we madly packaged more patterns, kits and fabric bundles last night ready to replenish this morning...  good fun :)

Blossie's delish home baked treats have been a big hit ~ gorgeous packaging to tempt

(that's her first customer on the right... looks like she could do with a cupcake or two to fatten her up a bit...)

One word... YUM

flower sugar cookies, triple choc chunks, cookie pops and my fave... biscotti

She's a clever little cookie :)

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September quilt show is up to date again... more gorgeous quilts made by clever people

Remember the bright baby quilt I was making back in June for the gorgeous little Miss Madeleine?

Here she is modelling... only about 3 weeks old when the photos were taken and such a star already... beautiful little cuddle bug :)

 

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I'm working on a couple of secret doings... one for Homespun magazine for publication early next year and the other ~ for Quilt Fabric Delights ~ is also super exciting... stay tuned... but in the meantime, take a peek to see what Leanne has been up to... I'll show you more of mine in a week or so... It's a bit yum :)

Seeya in a day or two

Cheryl xx

Spring into the Country

Yes, it's almost time for the Geham Craft Fair again...

Shaz and I will set up this Friday, volunteer as checkout chicks for a few hours on Saturday morning and then perform miracles as we share hosting duties for our first demonstration together on Saturday afternoon.  I think we might be in for some serious fun...

Miss Felicity Fine Feathers will be making her debut ~ she's a little shy and oh so cute!

Felicity and I are still working on the hand quilting, maybe that will be finished tonight :)

~ bad photo... I dropped the good camera and busted it's nose... this is taken with the compact video camera... not so flash... gotta get a newie in the next day or so ~

Funny little man and I headed to the park for a picnic lunch today and came across these little guys

Mum, Dad and the 12 little fluffy babes... learning how to forage for their supper... so darn gorgeous!

and then in for a swim

the garden is going nuts... delicious, pendulous blooms... and lots more to come

Another beautiful Spring day on the Darling Downs... :)

47 sleeps... but probably only 46 because I don't think we'll be able to sleep the night before we leave...

Sisters :)

Yep, they are special people...

Ready for school ~ January 1970 (I think...)

My big sisters, Bevvy and Nisey... and our little sister Shelley

Socks and sandals... how hilarious!

And Bevvy, me and Shell... a bit more grown up... with our little blonde cousins

(that hair band had an important job to do... it held down my big sticking out ears)

Mum with her sister (and brothers) ~ Mavis, she was always our 'Aunty Bonnie'

Sisters by birth or sisters by choice... and there are quite a few 'virtual' sisters in blogland too! All of the girls in my life are just as special

Shaz are you reading this?  My mad stitching Shaz... always there... always ready with a hug, a silly story and a fabulous 'nickname' for someone we know... always makes me smile :)  Maybe I WILL make tarty lemon cheesecakes for you today...

and then there's Chriss, Debbie, Vikki, Deb, Janie, Ina, Lynda, Linda, Joy ... and so on until I run out of breath... all special 

In the meantime, I'm remaking my 'Girlfriends Tote', this time with the alternate verse

'a sister is a girlfriend by chance'

the original is in rosey lilacs and fresh purple

this time I'm using the Paisley print from 'Eva' ~ on a plum background

I love these beach babes... with their waspy little waists and cute swimming costumes :)

They remind me of the days when my sisters and I were little kids... holidays at the beach, running on the sand, swimming in the ocean, visiting North Keppel Island with old Timmy Walls on his 'Keppel Star' boat, diving in and swimming the last hundred metres to the beach, fishing with our Mum and Dad, catching little sand crabs and tip toeing between the tiny balls of sand they push up from their homes... (my big sisters told me it was little balls of crab 'poo'...)  YIK!  Mustn't stand on those things...

This pattern has been sent all over the place and if you'd like to make your own 'Girlfriends Tote', it's available as a pdf e-Pattern in my Etsy store

Have a fab day... and I hope you find time to tell your 'sister' how special she is...

Seeya one of these tomorrows

Cheryl xx

More green

on the Willow tree

A rainy Father's Day for the funny little man in our part of the world...

~ thanks for being a fun Dad to our three herbs, luvya to bits ~

Perfect for planning over a hot cup of tea :)

What's doin'?

Sold our house

Buying land

Building another

Lots of room for lots of chooks

and a couple of geese

Alpacas  maybe not but don't you love their great big eyes with curly lashes?

will settle for some of these

and a puppy

BIG self contained quilting workroom :)

BIG vegie patch

Stay tuned...

Cheryl xx

thank you... :)

for the lovely messages about Truffle and her underwater friends... they really are a cute little bunch of fun characters aren't they?  Maybe their adventures need to continue ~ not sure how or when ~ but the story shouldn't finish just yet!

The September quilt show is into it's fourth day with Deborah's quilt hanging out for it's public appearance.  There's a bit of a story behind this photo shoot....

FLM ~ 'I'm not in this photo am I?'

Me ~ 'Nooooo, don't worry hon, it's only the quilt....'  {giggle}

FLM ~ 'I heard that giggle!  You're going to cut me out aren't you?'

Me ~ 'Trust me.... Would I do that to you?  You're in your uggies and flannie...'  {giggle}

FLM ~ 'I don't trust you, I know what that giggle means.  I'm outta here'

" 'Trust me' she says... I know what she's going to do..."

" 'You're not in the photo....'  No of course not...."

"If I'm in that photo I'll not help you anymore..."

"No, I don't want a piece of chocolate..."

"Crazy woman...." mumble mumble mumble..... "thinks she can fool me...."

..................... mumble mumble

Under the Sea block 9

Truffle Turtle

is now available for download from the link in the right hand sidebar under Free Downloads and other stuff

~~ If you are experiencing difficulties downloading the file you may need to update your ADOBE reader ~~

Truffle loves her pearls... she's never seen without them :)  And her exquisitely pieced patchwork coat is the envy of all things under the sea because her points match perfectly...

Here she is after colouring and before stitching

I hope you love Truffle as much as I do :)  She's so pretty....

That's all of the blocks now and next month will be the final in this Under the Sea story.  We'll be putting it all together, quilting and binding our little quilt!

seeya

Cheryl xx

Back from hols

Had the best time....  :)

The dining room - just 100 metres from the big old house

the view from the front verandah of the big old house...

Heading off for a spot of beach fishing...  the Wayne, the funny little man, the Nisey

Did some of this...

Caught some of these... (apparently you don't eat these ones when there are Coral Trout and other more delicious ones to be had... we threw him back)

filleting the catch... from the reef off the island

and soaked up lots of this...

aaahhhh.... the serenity....

Now we're home and it's all systems go catching up with everything!

Block 9 of Under the Sea will be a day or two late.... here's a snip to keep you smiling :)

Her name's Truffle ~ she wears pearls and a patchwork coat... she should be here in a day or two...

and over at September Quilt Show we begin our 'Hanging of the Quilts'... a new quilt (or quilts) every day for each day of September

We would love to see your quilts too so please join us!!  You have a couple of options, just send a photo of your quilt with a little bit about yourself (and your quilt) and I'll add it to our Quilt Show blog

~ OR ~

post your photo on your blog and let us know so we can all come visit

email me... hillingdonquilts (at) yahoo.com.au

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Lot's happenin' in the Hillingdon House... stay tuned...

have a great stitchy day

Cheryl xx