Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Ten in '10


Confession time here.

My name is Di and I'm addicted to quiltmaking. Actually I'm addicted to quilt starting.
Remember this quilt? And this? There are more, oh dear....

Clearly I need help, and I know I'm not alone here.

Thankfully help is at hand, and I hope I'll soon have some beautiful quilts out of my sewing room and doing what quilts do best - wrapping folk with love.
Won't you join me in Linda's Ten in '10 resolution?





Saturday, December 26, 2009

I'm not saying my sister and I are alike ..


But here we are at last year's family Christmas gathering, neither realising the other had bought the same pink floral skirt to wear on Christmas Day.


And here we are yesterday, with our parents, at this year's Christmas family gathering! At least we're not wearing the same clothes this time, just the same shade of aqua - a colour I haven't worn in years!
[Perhaps we should discuss what we'll be wearing before next Christmas Day..... :-)]




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Feeling merry and bright?

It's a tiny bit late, but somewhere in the world it's still Christmas, and I just couldn't resist posting this link to a very cute animation.

Pour yourself a glass of post-Christmas bubbly and enjoy!




Thursday, December 24, 2009

At last! It’s beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas!

The washing’s been done…

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The gifts are wrapped…

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The tree’s been (expertly) decorated…

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…and I’m off to enjoy Christmas Eve breakfast with my girlfriends.

Happy Christmas, friends - from all the Snippets ‘n’ Scraps!IMG_1569

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Happy Christmas from Chester







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Need a laugh?

Are you (like me) running around like a headless chook, burning the candle at both ends, and wondering when the magic of Christmas will kick in?

Maybe you’ll enjoy these…Wise MenFour_wise_men  Andrew has a good one today too!

Monday, December 21, 2009

From the pulpit to font, those quilts hung everywhere!







Do we look pleased with everyone's magnificent handiwork?

In the end we had 51 brilliant, fun children's quilts to hang, with more on the way next year.

Thank you very much, Stitchin Mission quilters and all our supporters who also made quilts or donated fabric!











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The quilts were all hung on the pillars with care...



















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For places to hang all our quilts we did search...

















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'Twas 5 days before Christmas, and all through the church...

It's time to reveal the beautiful quilts that our Stitchin' Mission beginner quiltmakers have created for the little children at the KU Marcia Burgess Autism Specific Early Learning & Care Centre.
They are on display in St Mark's Anglican Church, Darling Point, Sydney this week at all our Christmas services.
Christmas Eve
11.30pm - Holy Communion
Christmas Day
8.00am - Holy Communion with Choir
9.30am - Family Service
10.30am - Family Service
11.15am - Shortened Holy Communion



















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Sunday, December 20, 2009

Didn’t you have a quilt to finish?

...I hear you asking. 

Well yes, I did have a binding to stitch down on our 50th Stitchin’ Mission quilt by today, so in theory I ought to have been home watching TV and sewing, not hobnobbing with the likes of the Wiggles, Kate Ceberano, Christine Anu and Georgie Parker - but where there’s a will there’s a way. 

20 pre-threaded needles and a booklight later, here I am being oh so industrious at Carols in the Domain.IMG_2583 It’s amazing how much clarity a booklight tucked into one’s waistband can shed on the situation.  I managed to finish just as the fireworks marked the finale!

Carols in the Domain

IMG_2584Every year, on the Saturday immediately before Christmas, 100,000 people converge on an expanse of green grass in central Sydney for a spectacular celebration of the festive season.  They begin to arrive early in the day, laden with picnic baskets and rugs, and trailing little ones eager to get a glimpse of their favourite “soap” star or singer.  Undeterred by hot sun or showers of rain they stake out their patch and happily pass the hours until the spectacular televised concert begins once the sun’s set.

I was there last night, but we enjoyed the Carols under much more comfortable conditions, thanks to my friend Robyn Hobbs, the inspiration behind this event.

For 27 Christmases Robyn (seen here with some familiar faces) has run Carols in the Domain, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Salvation Army, and receiving an official ‘pat on the back’ this year with the award of an Order of Australia.

IMG_2562 Even if watching Carols in the Domain on TV is an annual ritual for you, here’s something you probably don’t know because it never goes to air.

Every year, five minutes before the telecast begins, Robyn walks out onto this stage, IMG_2551

surveys this awesome sea of people as far as the eye can see, IMG_2553 and reminds us all that Jesus is indeed the reason for the season. 

With simple words from the heart she puts Christ into Christmas for 100,000 Sydneysiders. 

Robyn, you’ve earned far more than your Order of Australia!

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Here’s #22 finished

Remember that challenging Stitchin’ Mission flannel quilt I told you about?  Well here it is, all finished and looking appropriately sunny with cute little ladybugs grinning from their daisy seats.

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These tied corners ought to be good enough for the quilt police, don’t you think? IMG_2540Oh, I wish you could feel its soft snuggliness!  I do hope the autistic tot who chooses this one will feel so loved!

Off to finish that binding on #23 before tomorrow.  I may be the only person stitching a quilt at Carols in the Domain tonight!