The Stitches and Caft Show

On Friday my sister Sandra and I headed down to Brisbane to the Stitches and Craft Show that was on at the Convention Centre.

 

We'd never been before and decided to do something different and head into the city for a look.

 

Being a stitches and craft show it obviously has lots of stalls of all things stitchy and crafty.  That means fabric for quilting, scrapbooking, beading, yarn, books, trims and heaps more for your crafting needs.

 

There were also some displays from quilters, the lace guild, tapestries, embroidery and my favourite section which was outfits made by high school students.

 

Some of these were awesome including the music inspired dress below.

 

 

There are some very talented teenagers out there I can tell you.

 

 



 

Sorry but it wasn't easy getting photos and in some areas no photos were allowed to be taken at all.

 

 

The skirt on the one below was hand felted and other material joined in with the felt then sewn together.  They certainly make my sewing efforts look pretty feeble.

 

 

I was very interested in the beautiful skeins of wool to be found but I have to admit there weren't too many stalls with yarn. 

There were a few stalls with lots of gorgeous trim but I was a bit overwhelmed by the sheer quantities that I ended up not even bothering to get any.

 



 

Anyone want some Washi tape?

 

One of my favourite stalls was Miss Rose, Sister Violet which was full of very girly lace trim and goodies.  Much of it was vintage or vintage inspired and I adored the vintage lace outfits they had there. 

 

 

The lace was just beautiful.

 



 

I did find something that my little boy would absolutely love.  A quilt that seems to be made just for him.  I may have to try and source this awesome material and make something for him.

 

 

There was plenty of other things to look at but as I said, you couldn't take a lot of photos and what I did take wasn't very good quality.  One of my favourite stalls where no photos could be taken was full of handmade and handpainted porcelain buttons.  They were absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't work out what I really wanted to buy so I left with their brochure knowing that I can shop online.  If you like buttons then head over to CheraBella Buttons for a looksy.

 

There were also lots of workshops going on around the place too.  Some were free and others you paid for but you could have a go at nearly any kind of craft you wanted.

 

I didn't come away empty handed either.  I just had to buy some gorgeously soft skeins of yarn.  It's 40% silk and 60% mohair and I know is going to be a delight to work with.  Now I just have to find the perfect project to show off the colour and justify the expense!

 

 

 

On a whim I also bought some wool so I can do some felting.  I've wanted to have a go at this for awhile and now I've got some wool so I can get started (knowing me it won't be straight away!)

 

 



 

 

It was a lovely day out although I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of people there and also everything that was on offer. 

 

The best thing about the whole day was that I got to spend it with my sister and that it always something to celebrate and enjoy.

 

xx Susan

46 Years!

Happy Anniversary to my parents.

 

 

46 Years married.  Now that's an achievement!

 

Love you both.

 

xx Susie

Camping at Charlie Moreland

I've really been wanting to get away from things lately. With all the rain recently we've been pretty well housebound and as it was forcast for a fine weekend, I decided that we'd go away.

 

The only problem was hubby was working for the full weekend and I'd never been camping on my own with the kids.  Time to bite the bullet and give it a go on my own.

 

Charlie Moreland camp ground is in the Imbil State Forest near Kenilworth and only an hours drive from our house so I decided that it would be a great place to go to test out camping with the kids on my own.  We often go over for picnics but hadn't camped there before.

 

As soon as we arrived it was time to set the tent up.  I wasn't bringing the camper trailer for one night, mainly because I can't hook it onto the ute and also it's just too big for me to put up on my own.

 

The tent it was and I had a couple of little helpers wanting to do the fun things like bang the pegs in. (Lucky I took two hammers with me).

 

 

After setting the tent up we headed down to the creek to do some exploring.  The kids were really keen for a swim and came so close to going in with their clothes on but I talked them into having lunch first then swim afterwards.

 

Back to camp it was for some lunch then blowing up the air beds which was a challenge.  We don't use the airbeds when we go away with the camper trailer so these hadn't been used for awhile. 

 

They also weren't in their usual spot in the house with the good pump and after much searching I found them tossed on the ground at the back of the shed minus the good pump.  I searched everywhere through our very cluttered shed and no good pump was to be found, only a little crappy one which was better than nothing.

 

Unfortunately the little crappy one was very crappy as it took forever to pump the beds up.  Little Miss R's bed also needs a different attachment which my good pump has so she ended up sharing my double mattress.

 

 

Anyway, the afternoon was hot (well into the 30 degrees celcius and quite humid) so it was back to the creek for a swim.

 

It was FREEZING but that didn't stop the kids and plenty of other campers from going in.

 

The camp ground has only been open for not quite two weeks after the recent rain.  You can see in the next picture some almost horizontal trees coming out of the rocks on the other side of the creek.  That's from where the water rushed through when it was flooded.

 

 

I took my chair and book down to the beach next to the creek to watch the kids swim and play and listened to the sounds of the bell birds in the trees.  They had so much fun, especially as there were a heap of other kids there for them to play with as well.



 

After a couple of hours down at the swimming hole it was back to camp and time to say hello to some visitors.

 

 

 

There are plenty of goanna's around the camp ground so it's advisable to keep your tent closed at all times, you certainly don't want one of these fellas in with you!

 

Goanna's aren't the only animals though as there's plenty of scrub turkeys and pademelon wallabies around the place.

 



 

After an afternoon snack we decided to go for a walk as there a a few bush walks around the area.  Unfortunately after the recent rains you can't get to the other side of the creek where the walks are so we just explored along another stretch of the creek.

 

 

The camp ground down near the creek was a lot busier than up the back where we were.  I liked our spot better, not only was it on top of the hill but we were pretty well on our own which suits us.

 

This part of the creek was full of trees and debris which came down in the foods and has ended up making a mess of the creek.  That's mother nature for you.

 

We found a great spot to spend some time at.  I sat on a log and watched the water flow around the rocks.

 

 

As you can see from the next picture, this is where you usually cross to the walks on the other side but it's impossible to get there.  We stayed around this spot as there was plenty to keep the kids occupied (sticks and rocks!)

 

I did some more water watching.

The kidlettes did plenty of rock throwing.

 

 



 

..and all three of us collected some sticks to see how far they could go down the creek and the rapids.  Most got caught in the debris but some did float further down.

Back at camp I tried to get a fire going but I'm not really that great at fire making. 

 

It did go for a good while though and the kids were happy with that.

 

 

 

After a cool and uncomfortable night (my airbed has a hole in it so Little Miss R and I spent the night flat on the hard ground), it was lovely to wake to the sounds of the bell birds.  (click on the link to hear what they sound like).

 

 



 

After breaky and much needed cups of tea we decided it was going to be another beautiful day so the kids wanted to go back to the creek. 

We half packed up the camp before heading down to the causeway where some other kids were hunting for yabbies.

 



My kids joined in the search before having another swim then heading back to the camp to finish packing up.

 

 



It had it's moments but I proved that I could go away camping with the kids on my own and stay sane as well as enjoying myself.

 

 

Charlie Moorland camp site is run by the National Parks and wildlife and here in Queensland you need to pre-book your camp site through the National Parks website or via phone.

 

It really is a beautiful spot and at only $5.45 per person it's certainly a bargain. 

 

On the way home we called into the awesome playground in Kenilworth.

 

 



There's so many fun things for big kids and little kids and is always a popular place.

 

 



 

Now I've just got to finish unpacking all the camp stuff and start thinking about where we're going next.  I think hubby is a bit jealous that we went without him so I might have to think about where we can go when he's home for a full weekend next.  It may be somewhere near a beach so he can do some fishing...

 

xx Susan

Yay! It's finally finished

This blanket has really been annoying me lately. I can't put my finger on why really but I've not been liking it very much.

 

 

I'm just happy that I've finally finished it and am able to start some new projects. 

 

It will certainly be nice to snuggle under on the lounge on those cold winter nights.

 

 

I think one of the reasons I didn't have a love affair with this blanket while making it is because so many people seem to be making similar ones.  I saw a picture AGES ago of one like it and thought it looked great which is why I decided to give it a go.

 

Once I was about halfway through I then realised that there were so many people in blogland making a similar one and my interest went downhill fast.

 

 

It's finished though with a thin border in purple, pink and blue.  That's the only colour yarn I had left that would make it around the whole blanket.  I think the narrow basic border looks better than a wide fancy one anyway.

 

 

Unfortunately I did the border from the wrong side and didn't notice until I was halfway through working the blue.  As it had taken hours to do until then there was no way I was pulling it apart and starting the border again.

 

 

 

It is growing on me and I'm sure I'll love snuggling under it, that's if I can get it off the kidlettes as they're already fighting over it.

 

 

So another big project is down and I've started a new one of course but much smaller than a blanket.  I'll show you when I've done a bit more.

 

xx Susan

Girl's lunch

It's that time of year again, my friend Jodi's birthday. We celebrated a week late this year because my sister Sandra had her Danish visitors staying and I also need hubby home so he can look after the kids.

 

The last couple of years we've gone out at night (fantastic Mexican and Margarita's last year and great Italian the year before).

 

This year we were ladies who lunch.

 

 Driving to Mooloolaba was a bit of a wet trip for my sister Sandra and myself.  We really did need a snorkel and flippers to get there as the rain was torrential.

 

 

 

We browsed some of the shops along the Esplanade first after we met up with Jodi and Kris and I got some inspiration for my next crochet projects. 

 

Aren't they absolutely gorgeous! 

 

I'll be trawling Ravelry today for some patterns but if I can't find what I want then I can probably work out a pattern easily enough.  I want to be able to tweak it easily too so I can make adult size ones as I REALLY, REALLY want one of these hats for myself.

 

 



 

The cafe's along the Esplanade were so unbelievably busy due to it being Saturday and pouring rain.  People were everywhere which was a bit overwhelming so we were lucky we spied a restaurant in the back street which looked nice.

 

What a find!!!!!

 

It was one of the best meals we've EVER had and the service was just fantastic.

 

I had intended to take photos of my meals but I'd finished them before I remembered so you just get the empty oyster shells to gaze at.  (Oysters Kilpatrick but made with Chorizo instead of bacon.  Oh yum, yum, yum!)

 

Jodi and Kris shared some bread with Pistachio dukkah which was really good too (I just had to have a taste) and my sister had the most divine Pate I've ever tasted in my life.  (Yes I had a taste of that too).

 

I think all other pate will pale in comparison to what we had it was just so good.

 

 

Our main meals were equally, if not more awesome than the entree's.  I continued on with my seafood theme and ordered the scollaps.  I wish I'd taken a photo first because they were presented really well and looked so cute.

 

The scollaps were sitting on a bed of roasted capsicum, chorizo and tomato based sauce with a parmesan biscuit thingy on top (I'm certainly no culinary expert).

 



 

It was so unbelievably beautiful. 

 

Sandy had Red Harissa chicken with pearl cous cous which was so beyond divine.  I nearly chose this meal too but I'm glad I ordered the scollaps, especially as I got to share my sister's meal so I ended up enjoying the chicken too.

 

Jodi and Kris both ordered the Seafood Paella which looked so amazing and both of them were in raptures over it and said it was the best they had ever eaten.

 

Then to top it off we even got free desserts so Sticky Date Pudding, Cheesecake and Creme Brulee's were ordered and devoured as they were pretty amazing too.

 

So lunch was pretty amazing with lots of wonderful chatting helped along by wine and cocktails.

 

Then it was time for a bit more of a wander before braving the weather and driving home (thank you Sandy for being driver as I really enjoyed my wine!).

 

Snorkels and flippers were thrown out the window and we contemplated converting the car to a submarine.  We made it home safely though and guess what?  It's STILL RAINING.

 

 

xx Susan

 

 

BTW if you want to know where we ate it's called The Lounge Bar and Dining.  It's on First Avenue in the Cilento Building at Mooloolaba and I highly recommend it for the most awesome food and fantastic service. 

 

I just googled and found their website so click on the link and check out the menu.  Yum, yum, yum. 

More rain..

Yes the rain is still about. Gympie (about an hour's drive north of us) is completely cut off again and if it stays like that for another day then hubby won't be able to get home from work.  Actually there's plenty of roads between here and Blackwater that are cut off so here's hoping the creeks go down so he can get home.

 

While the kidlettes are at school I've been getting a little bit more of the house in order, not much though.  I've found that I'm very easily sidetracked and more so when I'm supposed to be doing housework.

 

On a bright note, my blanket is all joined together and I'm just working on the border so NEARLY THERE!!!!!  Woohoo!

 

 

Rainy days are just right for soup.  I've been eating plenty of it lately from either out of a can or homemade.

 

Yesterday I made the yummiest chicken and vege soup with some potatoes, carrots, zucchini, garlic, onion, red lentils, chicken stock and of course some left over roast chicken.  There wasn't much left so I picked the carcass clean and bunged it in the pot with the veges and it is certainly DELICIOUS. 

 

Just perfect for a cooler, rainy day.  Plus I also have plenty left over for today and have frozen some too.  Bonus.

 

 

Of course on rainy days it just happens to completely bucket down when you have to pick the kids up from school.  Even with umbrellas we got pretty wet so once we got home and dry, I decided to make some pikelets for afternoon tea.

 



 

I remember my Mum used to make pikelets for us on rainy days after school.  The kids decided they want it every day but that certainly won't be happening!

 

 

Unfortunately I started to get a bit of a sore throat and leaky nose during the day so all I wanted was a good night's sleep to hopefully stop the dreaded lurgy getting to me.

 

Did that happen? 

 

NO!!!

 

The bloody dog whinged and cried all night keeping me awake and then my girl spent half the night being sick. 

 

She's home from school today so I think we both might crash in the lounge in front of the box and a few good movies.  We might watch girly movies that we don't get to watch when Master M and Daddy are here so I can see The Secret Garden and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness on the horizon.

 

Yes, my girl absolutely loves The Inn of the Sixth Happiness with Ingrid Bergman which is wonderful because it's one of my all time favourite movies.

 

Hope you are all having a great week, I'm going to consult the boss about what to watch then make a little nest for myself.

 

Chicken soup for lunch anyone?

 

xx Susan