Tangy Goodness

I am known for my cupcakes with Lemon Butter and Cream. They are adult indulgences. When I use to take them to the Playgroup Christmas Party they were reserved for the adults the kids didn't see them lol the mum's snapped them all up. I use to use a commercial lemon butter as I found one that was imported from Scotland and it was (I thought) like home made. My local shops stopped stocking it so I had to start making my own.

You may remember I have some girls coming over for a sewing afternoon to celebrate "Girl Night In" and I am making Lemonade Scones but no cupcakes but I thought the lemon butter would go with the scones just as well. I just wish it would make more than one jar.

And now to my fun with Telstra. My phone line has been noisy again so I rang Telstra on Sunday to get it fixed. They said it would be done by the 27th and I laughed. I got a phone message on the 27th to say that it would be fixed by the 28th. I got home on Wednesday to this debacle across my neighbours lawns (plural) but have heard nothing from Telstra till I rang yesterday. Apparently this is the permanent fix for my phone. Although I remonstrated with Telstra (via Bombay) that there is no way that they can consider this a permanent solution I got no where fast. So across two neighbours lawns, gardens and two drive ways we have in effect a telephone extension cord. Now I am sure this is an accident waiting to happen let alone there is no way that I am going to have a phone line for any length of time, kids are going to run through the front yard forget and pull the cord out. But apparently as I have phone service the fault is fixed and the neighbours have speed humps in their drive way. Should be fun when they mow the lawn.

We Survived

Sports day that is. As mentioned yesterday I have had a bit of a tummy upset so today was always going to be a trial. Being on a low/no carb diet it has taken me a couple of days to let it go and just try and eat some dry bickies I have been trying to just do a bit of protein and of course that doesn't work. Last night had some dry bickies with a bit of vegemite and I started to feel human. Today it was water water water, dry bickies, a couple of ice blocks and some lemonade and I managed to stay for the whole day.

It was very hot, especially when we haven't as yet had many hot days so everyone isn't use to it. Both my kids were in their years relay and they ran really well. There was of course plenty of fun activities like the egg (golf ball) and spoon race and rob the nest.

The teachers were great at making sure everyone stayed hydrated and it all ran pretty well this year and they managed to finish a little early yeah. Cold showers all round.

Another Good Day at the Letterbox

I while ago I purchased some watch faces on ebay and payed way to much for them but I just had to have them. Most of the cost involved was in the postage that the seller charged. Since discovering Etsy I have found lots of watch pieces that are way cheaper than bidding with all the lunatics on Ebay (me included). Here is my latest purchase I am sure that I can make some lovely bracelets out of these gems. The beauty of them is that most of them have magnifying glass on the face so this will make anything that is put in them appear bigger than they are. Now I know that I can get a steady supply I will be using these little treasures.

It is Girls Night In (Afternoon In) this weekend and I am really looking forward to catching up with the girls. Hopefully I will be able to face food by Sunday as I have been struck down with a horrible tummy bug the last couple of days but I am feeling almost normal today. Apart from not really liking the sight of food, but I have managed to have lunch so must be on the mend.

What I am Working On

Pat Sloan is having a FUI (finish it up weekend) on her forum. Not that I think that I will be finishing big project up but I have made progress on a couple of smaller ones. I have completed the practice piece from last weeks class into a pillow which my daughter has taken ownership of.

Also I have made some progress on my bags for etsy. I thought that I might show you what they look like so far. They are different from my previous two but are still made from felted wool just the colours are a bit more funky. The majority of the wool is wool blanketing so it has been a bit more difficult to work with this time, especially the handles which have been fun pushing through the machine but the Bernina didn't miss a beat as usual.

You Know When Your Having One of Those Days

Yesterday could best be described as the day from HELL. Not only did I have round 1 and 2 (before and after school) with the mother of girl who for a long time bullied my daughter, but it ended with me knocking the car keys out of my hand and them going down the storm water pipe beside the house.

The bully round happened because my daughter was invited to the girls birthday and my daughter didn't want to go (personally I was very glad of this and had decided I wasn't going to let her go anyway), I was just going to say we had something on but we got the spanish inquisition and it turns out that I am apparently breaking up a 2 year friendship (mind you it was a friendship that was ok with the other party as long as my daughter did as she was told and handed over the food she bought at the canteen but what does that matter). I don't mind being the baddy my daughter is happy has a lovely group of friends now and is a different girl at home and at school.

While all this was going on I was having problems with my Internet service provider who changed hands and decided my account wasn't one that they could migrate to there new system. Which they told me about on Tuesday evening then switched off service on Wednesday afternoon after giving me 30 minutes notice (well actually no notice because all they said was there would be an outage and then I got a screen telling me I need to transfer my internet connection). A big thank you to Adam Internet for picking up the slack and providing fantastic customer service. Big BOOOO to Bigbutton who has treated a customer who has been loyally with the company for over 10 years as just another number.

And then the Car Key saga: The car was in for a service I forgot about it and didn't ring up until 3pm to see if it was ready, which meant that the kids had to walk with me to the garage to pick it up. That was a fun walk NOT. We finally get home I have the car keys in my hand (minus all the house keys thankfully) I hit my hand on the wall as I get out of the car and next thing I hear clunk, and to my horror the keys have slid down the edge of the down pipe that cover pretty much all of the storm water pipe and fall down in the pipe. To retrieve them my husband had to pull the down pipe off the wall to get them and out got sprayed with debris from the gutters (luckily we had ducked out to ballet so we missed out on the swearing).

I will leave you with a picture of my lovely labels because today is a new day with no mistakes in it and I am very glad to be heading to work for some rest and relaxation LOL. I will fill you in tomorrow where you can get yourself these lovely labels which are going to be stitched into my bag's that I am currently working on.

Don't Look Now

We had a lovely weekend at Hetties with Kellie from Don't Look Now. Lorraine did a wonderful job organising the weekend with lots of helpers, and wonderful food for morning tea and lunch and plenty of tea and coffee made to order. Here is my finished practice piece which I have told my daughter I will make into a pillow for her. I didn't show her the gorgeous bag that each of us received otherwise I am sure she would have claimed ownership of that as well, after seeing the name tag that we received she said that she was going to do sewing when she is bigger.

I bought home with me a couple more of Kellie's patterns. After seeing the quilts in the flesh you just have to have them. The Christmas Tree is just to dye for (and I also bought the fabric to make that one...I think I am going to add some Swarovski crystals to decorate). I also signed up for her stitch along because what the hell another project on the go who's counting. Kellie showed me the blocks for the stitch along and they are beautiful and much bigger than I thought they were in the flesh so very very achievable.

I did get the branches fixed down for the Willow and look forward to completing my version in the next few weeks.

Overpacked?

Here is my pile of stuff sitting at the door waiting for me to head off this morning for Kellie's class. The first picture is hiding my stack of fabric which I have been collecting since I signed up (I might have overdone it a tad lol). Wonder if I packed my machine manual.... I am sure there will be plenty of 440's there anyway and I am sure I'll work it out anyway.

Must remember to pack the panadol because I know the back is not going to last 2 days of sewing. Good job I am booked into the chiropractor on Monday and had a massage on Thursday so at least I am starting out moving really well.

Starting to get really excited about the class now. Better finished getting ready.

Bag to Order

Here is my second bag order and Lorraine loved it. Which I very grateful for as I didn't ask what colour she wanted and just went ahead a made it. I got another order today but I will finish the two half finished bag's to go in my etsy shop before I start on that one and then I probably should make myself one and then the sparkles are expecting one for Christmas..... I see a lot of bags in my future.

Scooters and Bowling and Goodies in the Mail

Someone got a scooter for their birthday and has been traveling quite quickly ever since.

We also ventured to Woodville Bowl for a Bowling Party with 10 kids in tow. It all went off without a hitch and I managed not to lose track of all 10 kids for the 3 hours that we were there. Probably the last weekend of the school holidays wasn't a good time to have the party but it was his actual birthday so thought it would be fun to have it then as it was megga crowded.

I placed an order with Material Obsession on Thursday and got it today which I thought was pretty good. The fabric's are reds and pinks that I thought might be good for my Don't Look Now Class on the weekend and they will be perfect (add them to the gigantic crate of fabrics that I have to take with me just in case).

I also received today this book which I am sure the Sparkle Girls will enjoy pouring over on Wednesday night.

Work has finally calmed down and I managed to get through the 3 months worth of filing that has been piling up today so I feel so much better.

Leanne picked up her bag yesterday, she has an outing tomorrow and wants to use it. I have another bag finished will post pictures soon and that goes to it's new home tomorrow this one is blue with a hot pink flower. The other bags for etsy are still a work in progress, I need to get to the dye pot to dye the wool for the base and side again it just didn't come out right. I am please to say that I am up to date with my birthday swaps and have one ready to go again this week (just one more for the year in December). I suppose soon I will have start stitching Xmas pressies for the girls (might start early this year.. Now there's a plan ... but will I do it?). Better be off time to pick up kiddies from school.

Last Day of the School Holidays

Not that I have been counting them or anything ... lol....

Had a bit of a sleep in this morning didn't get out of bed till 8.45 which was very nice and very needed. Hubby said why don't we go and have breakfast somewhere and was ready before he could change his mind. We went to the Grange Kiosk (which for all you South Australian's is where Kim Dillon talks to Keith Conlon about his favourite spots in SA on the SA Shorts Ads). It was perfect weather not too cool, and the
meal was pretty good though I did a double take when I paid for it. Oh well it is the last day of the holidays and the day before No 1 Son's birthday. The kids had pancakes and we had egg's and bacon on toast (hubby decided to go for the big breakfast) we didn't need to eat much for the rest of the day.

We then headed down to the beach for some sand castle building ... I can't decide who likes building the sandcastles my husband all the kids as the both pretty much left him to it I suspect the later.

They then took pleasure in destroying the castle. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the big birthday tomorrow.

A Hideous Couple of Days

Well the sewing machine has been off for a clean and service ready for Don't Look Now in a couple of weeks. Otto says it is as good as a new one and as the 440 hasn't missed a beat since I have had it I am glad. The lollies have been bought for the lolly bags for my son's birthday next weekend and if I feel up to it I might start dividing them up this afternoon.

Yesterday I started tidying up my sewing room a little and this morning I couldn't find something (typical). There is still a bit to go. You might notice on my Etsy shop I have put up for sale some fabric which I don't love anymore. It was from my brief floral faze which has long since departed so if you are into florals have a look, you just might pick up a bargain.

All through this activity I have been battling a sinus headache which reached a peak friday night into a migraine (after we got home from a loud party for a friend of my husband) then again last night. Last night I wasn't much use to anyone so I put myself to bed at 6.30 and slept off the worst of it, today while feeling slightly hungover at least most of the pain has gone so maybe the saline solution is finally working (the things a girl will do to avoid antibiotics).

The worst of it is I have lost an hour with the start of daylight savings but at least I will feel like staying up a bit late and might actually see the end of Midsommer Murders tonight (I have fallen asleep two weeks in a row just as it was all revealed .... bummer.

New Bag Design

You will know from my previous posts that I have been gathering wool and felting and dyeing it. I have also been developing a design for a bag using the wool. There are 3 sizes and I will eventually have them for sale on my Etsy Site as soon as I can get some made to sell. As soon as I showed them to people I got orders which is ok, but doesn't get my etsy site stocked. Here is the first one that I have made for Leanne, I have another one in blue's nearly finished for Lorraine. And I am working on a couple of funky coloured ones for Etsy which will be a little different (no applique but with a little different decoration).

And my Inspiration Necklace is already sold so that doesn't get to Etsy either. But I will be making some more (hopefully on the weekend) and the will go up soon.