Australia Day

A quiet Australia Day this year; the weather is less then ideal. Overcast and a bit drizzly. Perfect for having a nosey around in the veggie patch for a bit of a mid-summer update.

The zucchinis are finally flowering, though no fruit yet.

My self-seeded pumpkins are staging a mini takeover of the wood heap.

The butter beans are finally making an appearance.

Beetroot ready to be picked.

A mango tree (!) which appeared in my compost heap (and a self-seeded tomato plant behind it). I'm not so sure it'll survive in Melbourne, but I'm going to give it a go.

Todays bounty of beetroot, red onions and butter beans.

And some yummy bruschetta with homemade parsley pesto and boccocini. I do love homegrown!

Raffle Winner

The raffle has come to a close. Thank you for all your entries, and your donations. We had 25 entries, with donations ranging from $5 through to $1000!

The random number generator has chosen number 5!

Marg said...
Thank you so much for your help, I live in Queensland but wasn't affected by the floods, I think we are all blown away by how generous the quilting community have been.My receipt is #3220416

There will be a wrap-up of our donation totals over on Toni's blog later tonight, so head on over to see all the good work you've done.

And if you were still interested in Schnibbles, you are welcome to 10% off using the code FLOOD10 from now until the end of January.

Raffle - One Day to Go

If you haven't already entered the flood raffle, you have one more day to get your entries in. The raffle closes at Midday tomorrow, 26th January (Australia Day!).

Don't forget to also hop on over to Toni's blog to view the master list of raffles still running.

Rosettes Round 1

I've finally finished putting the first "ring" on the Rosettes blocks. Only one more round to go! These blocks are already made up of around 40 pieces.

They are fiddly! Getting those points to match up is a pain in the you-know-what. It's safe to say there are as many imperfect points as there are perfect, but that's ok.

Just a reminder about the Flood Raffle; the closing date has been extended to next Wednesday (Australia day), and I have't yet had any entries which is a bit disappointing. A single $5 donation could get you a Schnibbles kit worth around $60, so pop on over to have a look.

Raffle - Premiers Flood Relief

With the devastating floods currently occuring in Queensland, the bloggers of Australia are uniting to raise as much money as possible for the Premiers Flood Relief. These auctions and raffles are the brainchild of Toni from Make It Perfect, who will have a list of all the auctions etc on her blog in the coming days.

So here's how we're going to do it. I'm offering up a Schnibbles kit of the winners choice; you will get to choose both the pattern and fabrics from my store. The kit will include the pattern, charm packs, background fabric and binding as per a standard kit. This kit is worth approximately $60.

(just a couple of patterns from which you can choose)

To take part:

• You need to donate $5 to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal.
• You may enter as many times as you like but each entry/donation must have a separate receipt number. (eg: donate $5 ten times if you want to donate $50- then comment ten times with your receipt number, so I can keep track of your entries)
• Once you've donated, come back here and leave a comment with your receipt number.
• Postage within Australia will be paid by me, however if you are from overseas there will be a small contribution required.

You have until midday Wednesday 26th January to enter. Just think about it, your $5 contribution may not seem like much, but every dollar counts. There are estimates that 75% of Queensland is being affected by this flood.

Fandango Stars

I've made a good start on Rosettes, having pieced together the stars that are the centre of each block. I'm really pleased that I went with a cream background, rather than a white, which might have been a bit too stark.

I'm now working on the ribbons for the blocks; if only I didn't need to cut out some 700 2" squares! While I'm doing that, Miss Bella is just "chilling" on my bed...nice for some!

Have you seen the sneak peek of the FQS mystery BOM for 2011? I'm thinking I might sign up for this one, given how much I enjoyed 2009. Which I must quilt one of these days...

Last up, I've put Hunky Dory and Whimsy on sale in my shop, and re-jigged the shipping costs to make them a little friendlier for smaller orders. The link is over to your right.

A Little Fandango

With Central Park shipping soon, it seemed like a good time to finally make something from Fandango; all I needed was a little time, mojo and inspiration. I think I found it!

I rifled through my stash of patterns (or more truthfully, my store's stash of patterns), and decided on Rosettes, by Fig Tree Quilts.

I've cut out most bits, and started piecing. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together, especially as I've chosen to use a single cream background fabric (Bella Solids Fig Tree Cream) rather than the four the pattern calls for.