Longest, no wait a minute, Shortest Day SAL...

On Friday (22nd June - a day late due to a too busy day on the 21st), I stitched on The Ice Skaters for the Down Under version of the Longest Day SAL run by Jo from Serendipitous Stitching.  Unfortunately, I didn't get as much stitching done as I would have liked on the Friday either as TraderVic whisked me off to choose ovens and cook tops for the Back House (you can read all about Grand Designs Eaglemont here, if you are curious as to what I am talking about) but more about that in my next Grand Designs Eaglemont update.  You have come for the stitching, so here it is:

Before pic:

Progress pic:

Unfortunately, I have a busy weekend coming up - more cupboards to go through and boxes to pack today, Aqua aerobics and then off to dinner with friends in St Kilda and then to see Paul Capsis at the Memo Hall.  And then, tomorrow, we are doing the Shortest Lunch in the Yarra Valley all day!  So, I am not expecting much stitching to get done at all until mid next week sometime.

But, I am not complaining - it  is all part of the fun of life!

hugs, 

P.S. To all of my Girl's Nest Giveaway #6 Winners, I am still packing and writing up labels - hope to get them posted off very soon.

For all my quilter friends out there....

.... you may find this article fascinating - just click on the quilt below....

hugs, 

June FNSI and IHSW....

Wow! The months whizz by and here we are, nearly halfway through the year!  Where does the time go?  Who knows?

What I do know is that it is time for my June FNSI and IHSW reports. 

Click on the logo below to find out all about FNSI.

if you would like to find out more about IHSW, please click on Hermie below:

                                  

It is such a lovely idea - to be stitching with other like-minded people from all over the globe, no matter the time zone, all weekend long - bliss!  In fact, any stitching time is great, isn't it?

Well, this weekend it was all about The Ice Skaters, the piece that has become my current obsession - to the detriment of all other stitching and my other SAL blogs - but what the hey?  I am absolutely having a ball stitching this piece and that is what it is all about, isn't it?

Before pic:

FNSI progress pic:

 UPDATED: To see what all the other FNSIers got up to in June, please click on this link:  JUNE FNSI.

IHSW progress pics:

I am loving every minute of stitching this piece.  I just love the way the figures of the ice skaters are emerging from my needle.

UPDATED: To see what all the other IHSWers got up to in June, please click on this link:  JUNE IHSW

I am off to Traralgon for work tomorrow - so about five hours stitching on the train - woo hoo!  I wonder how much progress I can make in that amount of time?

hugs, 

 

Gifted Gorgeousness_June Update

Click on the pic above to find out what Gifted Gorgeousness is all about whilst meanwhile I will show you my very scant June GG.....

As I have been obsessed with stitching on The Ice Skaters the past few weeks, I have not stitched much on Three Little Kittens.  This is actually where I was up to a month ago!

Click here to see all of the other gorgeous Gifted Gorgeousness.

hugs, 

P.S. Please don't forget to check on my Winners post to see if you are a Girl's Nest Giveaway #6 winner. Just click on the image below.  I have yet to hear from three of the winners - Joy from Days filled with Joy, JHM from Needleworkers Samplings and Tiffany from Tiffstitches A Blog, I have contacted all three in the best way that I can (not everyone has an email listed on their profile) but if anyone has better contact with them, I would appreciate you letting them know that they are winners.

GRAND DESIGNS EAGLEMONT: THE TWO HOUSE PROJECT_BACK HOUSE_Mid-JUNE UPDATE

A lot has been happening over the past couple of weeks with our Back House project, so I thought that it was time for another update.

TraderVic and I got very excited when four builders turned up early in the week and they all worked like Trojans and lots of progress was made!

A number of people have asked about the construction techniques and materials that we use here in Australia.  

Well, here goes with a bit of a potted history with the disclaimer that I don't know a lot about building - lol!

In the very early days of the colony, the houses were literally just slab and bark huts with a stone chimney and, of course, as the pioneers spread out from Sydney Cove, this is what people first built across the country, using the materials at hand. As their families grew, they would just add an extra room on the back.

As time went by and the wealthy landowners (known as Squatters) built themselves fancier homes they would build in local stone or even, sometimes imported the materials from England.

Such as Werribee Mansion built in the 1870s in the Italianate style.

Earlier than this, though, the discovery of Gold in 1851 brought wealth to a lot of country towns and Melbourne became known as Marvellous Melbourne  and eventually many beautiful homes and public buildings were built in brick and stone.

During the time of Federation (1901) and into the 1920s many homes were solid brick construction though not all, weather board construction was popular, too as it was a cheaper option.  Much of Australia has a mild climate, so solid brick homes are not always necessary nor are basements or pitched roofs (no snow), although most homes here have pitched roofs as we cannot get over our English roots.

In the period between the two world wars, the California bungalow style swept much of Australia - we have a similar climate to California and people wanted a more modern and less formal style of living.

These were mostly weatherboard construction.

Post World War II, there was a baby boom and large housing estates were built with largely brick veneer construction during the 1960s and 70s.

This is the style of home that I grew up in, considered quite a modest style these days.

Today, homes are being constructed in a variety of styles and materials ranging from traditional (Georgian two-storey homes were all the rage several years back, for example) to cutting edge.

Our back house is going to be constructed by light-weight materials - color bond steel and concrete sheeting with the big steel beams giving the support that is needed for the two floors.  The framework has been constructed off site and then delivered as large pieces that just need to be put up.

The color bond will be black like this home below.

This is a very popular option for modern, architect designed homes at the moment.

Our front house (which will eventually be our forever home) will be brick and rendered concrete sheets, with a 1930s Art Deco twist, as that suits the area that we live in. Although it won't be a full waterfall Art Deco home like the one below.

I hope that you have enjoyed my very potted history of home building in Australia!

Now, just for those who are wondering what on earth I am talking about with my Grand Designs, here is some background:

As I have mentioned to you all previously, TraderVic are embarking upon a major building project - we are building two brand new homes on our very large block here in Eaglemont.  This will eventually necessitate pulling down our family home and replacing it with a brand new "dream" home for TraderVic and I.  This will be the Front House.  As our block is so large, we are also building another home in the back yard whilst still living in the original house.  This is called the Back House and is being built first.  I am hoping to document this grand adventure every week. I hope that you enjoy sharing this journey with me.

If you want to read previous posts on Grand Designs Eaglemont: The Two House Project, please click on the link/s below:

 BACK HOUSE_WEEK ONE....

Back House_Week Two ....

Back House_Week Three....

Back House_Week Four

Back House_Weeks Five and Six

Back House_May update

hugs, 

P.S. Please don't forget to check on my Winners post to see if you are a Girl's Nest Giveaway #6 winner. Just click on the image below.  I have yet to hear from three of the winners - Joy from Days filled with Joy, JHM from Needleworkers Samplings and Tiffany from Tiffstitches A Blog, I have contacted all three in the best way that I can (not everyone has an email listed on their profile) but if anyone has better contact with them, I would appreciate you letting them know that they are winners.

It is TUSAL time!

Here is my TUSAL report for June....

Here are my ORTs for the month - home ORTs on the left and travel ORTs on the right.

... and here is my YTD.

My June Orts are sitting on my current stitching obsession - The Ice Skaters, which is getting  a lot of love at the moment and is really taking shape nicely.

If you want to see the TUSAL reports of others you can find them on Daffycat's blog here and on the FB group here. 

.... and if you are wondering what on earth I am talking about, please click on the pic below.

hugs, 

P.S. Please don't forget to check on my Winners post to see if you are a Girl's Nest Giveaway #6 winner. Just click on the image below.  I have only heard from a few of the winners and as I have been so busy with work trips, I am behind on emailing people, so you may be one of the winners - worth checking out, anyway.

Lilydale Lake: a magical place ...

... on a foggy winter morning that is.  The last two weekends I have gone for a walk around Lilydale Lake; the first with my Saturday morning walking group and the other with my dear friend, Marie in lieu of our usual walk around Princes Park in Carlton.

It was the first time I had ever been there (or even knew that there was a lake there) and it was absolutely stunning, especially in the early morning mist. It was so magical that I half expected the Lady of the Lake to thrust Excalibur out of the water!

 There was a wealth of bird life and a myriad of great photo opportunities but I will let the photos speak for themselves......

My friend, Robyn and I on my first walk time visiting the lake.

A cormorant drying its wings.

A Jenny Wren

There was a model yacht competition taking place on my first walk.

There is even a beach for toddlers to have a splash in the water on the long, hot days of summer.

A pelican in flight.

A shag on a rock

Marie taking a photo.

 Altogether, a wonderful place to take a walk - so very beautiful and lots to see.

hugs, 

P.S. Please don't forget to check on my Winners post to see if you are a Girl's Nest Giveaway #6 winner. Just click on the image below.  I have only heard from a few of the winners and as I have been so busy with work trips, I am behind on emailing people, so you may be one of the winners - worth checking out, anyway.