April Wipocalypse

Yes, I know I've missed March's Wipocalypse and Tusal.

Warning - picture heavy.

I joined the Sticklounge Yahoo group in January and I had to pick a project and finish a page by the end of March.  Of course I forgot about this until March. I had fabric and threads ready for my chosen project so after 2 weeks of stitching I finished this in time.



OES page 1 of 20

Old European Sampler, HDF silk threads, 32ct lugana, 2x2. 
A free download of the Sampler can be found here.


I have also been working on my Sweet Flowers SAL.  The next part comes out on Tuesday.  I still have to do the backstitching on part 5, but this section is mostly finished.

Sweet Flowers part 2 and 5

Here is the whole piece.

Sweet Flowers part 1, 2, 5

I was going to try to finish some smaller stitching pieces this year, but I've committed to 2 BAPs which both have deadlines. What was I thinking?


We had brunch at the parents in law today.
I made a raspberry and white chocolate blondie yesterday (kitchen smelled good) and some scones this morning.  Here are some photos of the leftovers.

Raspberry and white chocolate blondie

Scones

This is the only way to eat them - with strawberry jam and whipped cream!

We've had some work done on our roof. Cleaning, broken tiles replaced, ridge capping rebedded and repointed, then finally repainted.  We wanted a lighter colour to reflect more heat, so it still looks odd to us.  We will paint the gutters a dark grey.  It took 2 weeks from start to finish as our roof area is huge and the weather was iffy most days.  Of course we have had glorious weather since it was finished - note the sky in both pictures!  Final cost - around $10K

roof ready for painting

roof repainted

Next is a 5kW solar power system, the deposit is paid and the installers are coming next week for a site inspection.  Hopefully the solar panels will be on the roof and connected to the electricity grid within a few months.


Thanks for looking at my blog.  Happy Easter to those who are celebrating it.

Liebster Blog Award

I was given a blog award by Theresa at http://octoberlace.blogspot.com.au/
Theresa is my godmother on the Sticklounge group.  Thanks Theresa!

Some background: Liebster is a German word, meaning favourite, dearest or beloved and the Liebster is awarded by bloggers to other, newer bloggers, who have fewer than 200 followers, to spread the word and help the new(er)bies gain wider recognition. The award comes with four conditions that each recipient must satisfy when accepting:

1. Choose five up-and-coming blogs (with fewer than 200 followers) to award the Liebster to.
2. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.
3. Post the award on your blog. List the bloggers you are giving the award to with links to their sites. Leave comments on their blogs so they know about the award.
4. Share 5 random facts about yourself that people don't know about you

Here are the bloggers I am passing the award onto.

1. Shaunterria at http://ca11i0pe.blogspot.com.au/  - a new and enthusiastic stitcher.

2. Jo at http://www.boosmummy.com/

3. Shelley at http://shelleysartsyfartsylife.blogspot.com.au/

4.  Libbie at http://andthislittlepig.blogspot.com.au/ because everyone needs cow photos!

5.  Katrien at http://katrienslittlestitches.blogspot.com.au/


5 random facts about me.

1. I grew up in the bush on a cattle station in Central Queensland. Yes, we had a pet kangaroo raised from a joey.
2. Thus, I spent 11 years at boarding school starting at age 6. First year of schooling was by lessons in the mail.
3. I don't drink coffee - can't stand the smell or taste.
4. I have a Science degree with honours in Zoology -managed to get through uni without coffee!
5. I am addicted to reading.

Stitching update coming next.