Catching up with friends

Like everyone else I have been busy getting ready for Christmas...I have been making Rumballs all week (4 doule batches)......

 finishing off quilts 

having lunches and catching up with friends....

On Wednesday I met up with Heather and Allen, Margaret and her daughter Angie and grandson Charlie for a picnic lunch at Mooloolabah..... 

it was such a beautiful day and we had so much fun that I hardly took any photos......sorry girls....

Margaret showing us her quilt that she is giving to her Aunty

This is Heather challenge piece from our Christmas in July party

my presents from Heather and Allen.....love the 2013 calendar...Thank you

Saturday I had lunch with the Studio Ladies...(sorry lack of photos again)....we met at the Upfront Club in Maleny, had a delicious lunch then meandered over to the shoe shop, had a look at a couple of dress shops and then visited Colin James for some ice cream.......it was a lovely afternoon and was great to catch up everyone.....then Sandra and I enjoyed a glass of wine back at the Studio........

This is Lorraine's challenge piece from the Xmas in July party

On Wednesday night I caught up with Jenny, Jane and Margret for dinner......

A great night had by all 

A delicious meal

and presents from the girls

We have only met 3 times this year and decided that in 2013 we have to get back into meeting every month again.......we alternate whose house we go to.....and they cook the main meal and then the rest of us divide it up so that......someone brings the salad.....someone brings the dessert and someone brings the wine....and then next month it changes....

I must admit that I have missed getting together this year......but it has been a tough year with a damaged knee then an operation, physio and with  my Dad being so sick...... 

My Dad was rushed to hospital yesterday morning after falling out of bed.......he hit his head and they thought he may have broken a hip.....they did a CT Scan yesterday and he has no broken bones.....thanks goodness for that......he will now be spending Christmas in hospital ........I was going to drive up to see Dad today, but he has been sedated so now I will be heading up to see my family on Thursday......Mum is having Xmas with my sister and they will be spending  time with Dad...

On Xmas Eve we are going to Sandra and Bobs place....and as  Jens is working this week,  he and I are having our first Christmas together in 27 yrs......it will feel a little strange but I am looking forward to it....we are visiting other friends in the afternoon who are also having their first Xmas together....then on Boxing Day, Rhonda and Hanno are having their family Xmas gathering......so another feast that day......then on the weekend Jens and I are going to go to Woodford Folk Festival again.....really looking forward to that.....it's going to another very busy week.....

I hope everyone has a very Happy Christmas enjoying their time with family or friends ......... 

Cathy......

Carnarvon Gorge

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog.......following a a few photos showing the beauty of the Gorges

There are walking tracks that are only 500m up to 11 km and you can do a 1 week trek....there is also one that has a 1.000 steps....we left that for another time......hope you enjoy the photos......

Cathy

Rosebed St Gallery

If you are on the Coast and are lost for something to do this weekend......head out to Eudlo, there is a Gallery that has a fabulous display of local artist.......

I was amazed at the variety of crafts.....there was Altered books, metal work silversmith, textile, mini basket weaving,

My friend Jenny from onevintageday.blogspot.com.au/ has some of her work there too (oops I don't know what I have done but I can't seem to get the link to Jenny's blog).......anyway.....the gallery's website is down at the moment......but if you head out that way just park in front of the local store and the gallery is right next door.....then you can walk a block and there is a Cafe called Sweethearts.......

Here is a link to
http://rosebedstgallery.com/small-artworks-from-sunshine-coast-artists/

Cathy

Day 1 of Qld tour

Our first day of travelling we were heading to Chinchilla for the night.......via Kilcoy, Esk, Jondaryan Wool Shed and then Bunya Mountain, through Goombungee, Akland, and  Jandowee......even though we were off the beaten track the roads were good to travel on.......

 so after a night at Chinchilla we headed to Roma......

We stopped to top up our supply's as we were camping at Carnarvon Gorge at Takarakka Bush Resort for 3 nights.......In Roma it was 39 degrees and people everywhere......after talking to a lady in town......it was the biggest Race Day on Roma's Calendar....and they expected over 10,000 people the weekend...... The German visitors were amazed at the wide streets, so we went for a walk around town and found a air-conditioned Cafe to have lunch......and then headed north to Injune.....While driving out of town we drove past the racecourse and saw all the guys and girls dress up in their finery.....and the most beautiful horses

On our way to Carnarvon Gorge we could see storm clouds building up...so it was a race to beat the rain....as there is a big section of dirt road and a couple of little creeks we had to drive through......it's ok if you have a 4WD but the Golf could easily get stuck......but we got there and it didn't matter if it rained then.....

What a beautiful place......it was good to go back and explore the gorges again......Jens, Micheal and Sascha walked the big tracks....that took over 6hrs....Martina and I walked 3 of the smaller tracks over a couple of days.....that added up to about 18km .....it was worth every step.....

Thanks for following.....I hope you are enjoying our trip through Qld.....more tomorrow

Cathy

Our little tour of Qld

We love travelling whether it is in Australia or overseas.  We have been very fortunate to have visited most cities in Australia. We have also traveled to many countries and there are still many places to go to on my/our Bucket List.....Jens and I often talked about a slower,  slightly off the beaten track trip around Central Queensland......but as Jens work involves a lot of driving we just talked about it.....and it was on our Going To Do List.....who wants to drive all week and then go on a driving holiday.......

But.....when Jens cousin and her husband, son and her cousin from Germany decided come over for a holiday....a driving holiday was organized to show them our beautiful State.......so after many weeks of planning the trip through Central Queensland was organized......There were 6 adults and a 3 yr old on this tour as Hanno was to come along also.....Jens was to drive one car and Hanno was taking his car.....so we were all ready to go and at the last minute Hanno was advised by his Doctor not to go.......so this meant that I had to take my car........just as well I had the car serviced a couple of weeks ago......

We were up bright and early on Friday ready to go......I was a little anxious about driving so far.....usually I'm the passenger.....so this time I'm driving and Sasha is the passenger.....which is interesting as I know every little German and Sascha knows very little English.....

Anyway this is the map of our tour.....

and check out the distance we drove in 12 days

It was a great trip....the visitors loved it and are talking about coming back again in a couple of years......

There were so many beautiful places to visit and we did as much as we could in such a very short time.....I will post more photos tomorrow......until then....Cathy

A quick catch up

It's amazing how time gets away......I just read my last post and realized that its nearly 3 months since I have blogged......

In that time I don't feel that I  have really achieved much at all.......although I have been extremely busy......

Jens and I have been to visit my sister and her husband at Airlie Beach for their housewarming party, their birthdays and their wedding anniversary......I made a jelly roll race quilt for them and they loved it...

putting the binding on 

 Mum and Dad flew up with us...we all had a great weekend although Dad struggled with pneumonia again....

My Dad has been in and out of hospital many times in the last 3 months.....which is very stressful for all of us.... at the moment Dad has an ulcer on his leg, even with the Blue Nurses coming and changing his dressing the infection was getting worst and Dad was admitted to hospital again on Saturday.....

So during this stressful time I have been putting my energy into the garden.......after having the house painted I decided to paint the fence

this fence is 8m long

I had a few raised eyebrows and lots of Oh"s from friends ( and hubby) when I told them how I was going to paint the fence.....now that it is done I love it and so does everyone else......

there is still a little more work to be done on this side of the fence

There are a couple more gates and small fences to paint but at the moment its getting too hot to be out painting....this gives me time to spend some time in the Studio to finish a free motion sample......and a couple of other Ufo's...


It feels good to be back blogging...next post I will tell you about the road trip Jens and I have been on with the relatives from Germany......

Cathy

As I sit here on Friday afternoon enjoying a glass of wine, I'm thinking I don't know where it start with all that has happened since my last post in early August......I have had a intensive knee operation that has had me on crutches and yesterday I started my first lot of physio......after that little episode I'm having trouble walking today......it's going to be a long road of recovery......if I damage my knee again it will be a knee replacement next time.......the Doctor didn't want to do that this time because of my (young) age......

Anyway two weeks after my knee op my father made an unexpected visit....it was great to see him......but after traveling he ended up with pneumonia......after a long week of looking after him, he ended up in Emergency and then in Palliative care for another week.....amazingly he recovered and was able to go back home........but has been unwell again and is now in Respite.......and has settled in........my Dad has lung cancer that has traveled to his spine and now to his liver.......he has been a very hard worker all his life and now because of all the pain medication that he has been taking, he is still trying to do the same type of work.......the mind is willing but the body is not........his aim at the moment is to go to a family gathering next weekend......so here is hoping to us all being there together......

And then my FIL ends up in hospital as well....he was using a chain saw and cut his hand and wrist quite badly......Hanno had surgery last Saturday and is now home and doing well......

Through all of this we have had the outside of the house and Studio painted.......it looks great..........just doing some finishing touches and of course tidying up and sorting out.......so that meant no sewing.......Wednesday just gone was the first time I have been in the studio since my last post.......my circle challenge is still a challenge.........anyway.....I made a quilt in May/June as a present for next weekend.....I asked Kaylene to quilt it for me and it looks beautiful......before my operation.... I had planned to finish the quilt while recovering...well that did not happen and so today I have been madly sewing the binding on so that I can hand stitch the back of it, I have a couple of days to finish it now....


Until next time.........Happy stitching.......Cathy

It's been a while since I've written about the TAFA in Caloundra.......at the moment we are doing some challenges......we are having a monthly and bi-annual challenge.......the monthly challenge for August is WORDS.......everyone who was at the meeting had to write one word on  a piece of paper and they were all folded in put into a bucket...then passed around and we had to pick one out...hopefully not your own......so my words for August is "obsession".......OK what am I going to do for this.......well I thought about it and decided to narrow it down to an obsession with textiles....that makes sense....friends were saying I could make something about chocolate....sex....drugs......as these are things that people have obsessions about.......noooo...... textiles sound more interesting to work with....so my obsession at the moment is circles.....when I am machine quilting and have to fill in backgrounds I just love doing pebbles or pearls as some people call them....I think of them as circles.......so this is where I am going to start with my challenge.....my obsession with circles using applique.....stamping.....freemotion quilting.......so I don't have very long to make my piece......as it is due on the 20 Aug and at the moment the painters have the Studio wrapped up and have started painting......by the time they finish I will be able to hobble down to catch up with my projects.......

The TAFA group had a felting class with Jo and they made hats.......here are a couple of photo of their finished pieces.......

The other photos are of Liz who makes beautiful clothing.......

from hand dyed the silk fabric and has hand stitches the whole piece.......I think it looks great......but Liz is a little unsure about wearing it herself.......

Happy Stitching - - - - -

Cathy

Well I'm up and about.....slowly does it........off the crutches and limping around.......last Friday I had a knee operation........they were just going to have a look but decided to fix it up the best they could.....because next time it will be a knee replacement.........after I heard the Doctor say that they scraped the underneath of my knee cap I didn't hear anything else he said........got home early Friday afternoon and pretty well stayed in bed until Tuesday afternoon......they only time I was out of bed was to go to the loo and have a sponge bath......Jens and I ate breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed the whole weekend...... Jens did a great job looking after me, considering he had the worst case of gout in his left knee.......we were both full of pain killers for a couple of days...lucky Jens could get out of bed to cook and make cups of coffee for me and bring me anything else I wanted.......I had a couple of falls on the crutches....lucky I was near the bed when I fell....the other time was not so bad.......have been doing my exercises and can lift my leg straight and up and hold it for 20 seconds......still can't bend it very much though.......after I see the Doctor in 2 weeks I will be able to start physio....yesterday after helping change the sheets I spent spent the rest of the day in front of telly doing some applique and I cooked some rissoles for dinner....Jens did the veges and served.......I might have over done it a bit as I slept for 9 hrs last night........I'm taking it much easier today.....went out side to catch a little sunshine and have a look at the gardens.....the weather is beautiful here at the moment.....bright sunny days and cool overnight temps around 7 - 21.......can't complain about that........so much has happened in the last 2 weeks....will tell you about it all over the next few posts.......until then....happy stitching.......Cathy

A big thank you to my friends for such a great day

Just after Easter, I thought that it would be a good idea to have a Xmas in July party just for something different........as there are just so many party in December........I had also organized to have the outside of the Studio painted in June and it would be nice fresh and clean........well... we have had so much rain the painter is about 2 months behind in his work and I am about the same.......the idea of digging around looking for Xmas decorations was not so appealing at the beginning of this month....so I sent out a email saying how disorganized I was and we would have a social day instead.......the ladies came along and we all had a lovely day even the sun came out for a little while

Joan, Barb, Ellen and myself

Margaret

 all the ladies bought a small plate of food to share....we had home made Sushi, meat ball, chicken salad sandwiches, homemade cakes, slices and quiche and a little vino...it was a little feast

some of the yummy food for lunch

Lynne and June

Pat and Patsy

Margret

Heather and Margaret

and the ladies bought along some show and tell.......

 

Patsy showing her cushion top to Barb

June, Lynne and myself showing off our applique

   

Lynne's thangle star quilt top

this a the backing for Lynne's star quilt

Barb's wall hanging of her beautiful Geisha Girl there are so many different techniques in this piece

Patsy showing her Bargello table runner

 

Margaret showing her convergence quilt with the under water scene and mermaids

Sandra with her ( wip) wall hanging from the Helen Godden workshop....this piece is called Princess Sea-anna

Joan showing her beautiful work

Ellen bought along her felting to show us....

Margret and Joan looking at another piece of Joan's work.....

Ladies looking Sandra's piece with the African animals on it

Kaylene checking out her photos

Jens set up a small table for the ladies to have a go at doing a jigsaw that I bought last year when we were on holidays in the USA......a couple of the ladies were hooked...it was amazing how much they did........there are 1000 pieces and finished it is 16" x 11"........

The day was also a way of starting another challenge for those who wanted to........it is a silly game that we played.....it like musical chairs.....but you have a piece of ugly fabric......and everyone's idea of ugly is different....anyway.....we stand in a circle and when the music starts you pass your fabric around until the music stops..........then we snip the fabric and then rip it in half........you then keep one piece and get ready to pass the other piece around...and keep repeating this so that you end up with 7 different pieces of fabric ranging from a half meter to a square about 4''sq....... we then have 12 months to make something with these fabrics.....where you can add one more piece of fabric......you can dye, paint, stamp your fabric and add as much embellishment to it as you like..... 

these are the fabrics for our new challenge.......they are not as scary as last time....

Heather's piece from the Xmas 2010 challenge

Sandra's piece from the 2010 Xmas challenge

these are some of the challenge fabric from 2010

I hope everyone has had a great weekend with their family and friends

Cathy xo