It's Mine!

good morning..haha! it's just turned into afternoon!

it was such a fresh sunny morning out there

that before sitting down

i just had to peg the washing out on the line to dry

and do a bit more cleaning and sorting.

at the end of winter here in australia

i find the light changes

and all those corners that looked ok in the dimness of winterlight

look musty and dusty in springlight

and need a thorough going over!

yesterday, however,

i made up the second fabric that i bought

in the ty pennington range.

i made two luxury size cushions...

for my house.

these won't be going on madeit!

they will eventually be on the black leather couch

but the light was better here for pictures this morning...

birds & butterflies...

first cushion.

this was the best of the pics on the black couch...

notice all the light at the top of the cushion.

i think they'll look good here though.

birds & butterflies

second cushion...

both backs are very similar...

teamed with plain black kona quilting fabric

and black buttons.

i embroidered different flowery tags in shades of coppery orange

to emphasise the lovely tangerine flowers on the fabric.

stacked on the chinese chest...

 another angle.

i thought i might make up the other more geometric fabric

in a pair of smaller cushions to go with these

on the black couch.

i don't know whether they'll happen straight away though!

any more sunshine

and it'll be more spring cleaning

on my list do do first.

i hope all of you

on the eastern u.s.a coast

are ok after hurricane irene....

and all those around the phillipines

and taiwan

and places in between

are ok too after the typhoon.

stay safe and have a good monday!

naturally Carol xox

My Lacey Grey Creative Space...

good morning!

this is bright and early for me to be here,

but i was filled with energy this morning

&

couldn't wait to get started.

so first thing i took some photos

of my newest little cushion

after seeking the room with the most light,

and that wasn't easy!

reminiscent of moroccan architectural detail

a fine lacey design

in soft grey...

discreetly buttoned up at the back...

closer!

more of

ty pennington's 'impressions'

in pure cotton decor weight fabric

are calling out to be made up...

these two are more in the latte/choc colour theme

but equally beautiful.

i'm joining in with kootoyoo's 'our creative spaces' today...

what's going on in your neck of the woods

this fine thursday?

i can smell spring coming

&

am getting a bit of an urge to do some

reorganising and

dare i say it

a little spring cleaning!

naturally Carol xox

What Do You Think?

good afternoon!

i went into picnik.com last night

&

redid my header.

i'm coming up to a year old here

on the 31st...

so thought i'd do a new look to celebrate...

what do you think?

i hope you'll still find a friend here!

just a few last pics from noosa...

i'm totally in love with the sea

the colours

the dance of the waves on the beach

&

the sounds they make.

the boardwalk...

i almost took pics of peoples' legs

as they walked past..but thought maybe i shouldn't.

snippets of conversations

as they walked past

often amused us....

a late afternoon cappucino

&

we were unwittingly

observers of this wedding photo shoot

before the party was rained on

&

they ran off to get shelter!

and no.. i didn't take photos 

of the cushion today..

so will have to show you tomorrow...

i apologise for my slackness.

have a lovely relaxing evening!

naturally Carol xox 

Home Before the Rain!

morning all!

i'm turning my weekend into a trilogy..haha!

i guess it was a big deal

as i hadn't left our little city

for over a year..

what with my knee probs

and mr w being away working a lot etc etc etc.

sometimes before you know it

time just flies and here you are

just sitting at home.

last weekend broke the drought

&

i'm glad!

sunday morning

was relaxed.

our hotel bed was soft and comfy

and we really didn't have to rush.

the dogs weren't there to beg to be fed

and

we just had to meander downstairs

and across the road to have brekky right by the beach.

so we did.

after brekky we sat by the water

and watched the world go by

&

the storm clouds rolled into the bay...

the sun shone briefly

and some people played...

but already the wind was whipping up!

the clouds were moving in closer...

so after one last look down the beach

we packed up and headed for home...

beating the rain by a few hours!

when we got home

mr w headed off..back to work.

and

what else was there to do

on a wet windy afternoon

but

blog!!

thankful that the rain had held off

&

the sunshine had stayed

for our noosa weekend away...

naturally Carol xox

p.s..have done a little sewing &  will show you a new cushion to start a new

little collection tomorrow!

The Afternoon...

good morning!

on saturday afternoon..

after 'the lunch',

which finished at nearly three...

we crossed the road

and headed for the beach.

noosa beach

is a beautifully calm sheltered beach,

great for swimming

or walking along.

mr w and i

strolled and sat

and talked.

this is some of what we saw...



oh..

and by the way,

we had an encounter

of the famous kind!

we were sitting at a table in the food court

about half an hour before we were due to go to 'the lunch'...

mr w needed a drink..coke zero...not rum and coke...

&

mr kevin rudd

{australia's current foreign minister

& ex prime minister}

just appeared in front of us,

walking through with two of his kids.

i looked up

saw him and my eyes just locked with his for a second

while i recognised who he was...

then he lifted his hand and gave a bit of  a wave

and said 'hi, how are you?'

we just nodded

and he walked past

as another table crowded with youths

yelled out to him..'hello, mr rudd'.

he looked healthy and his white hair shone,

he wore his customary blue shirt and cream chinos...

he was taller than i had expected

and had more of a presence about him

than i thought he would have.

in fact

he looked just as though

he had stepped out of my tv

into my real life...

then back out again..lol!

isn't life

serendipitous???

naturally Carol xox

The Lunch...

hi!

just got back from our weekend noosa break

&

our very important

meet the parents of the bride lunch...

{mr w and i are the parents of the groom}.

we went to cato's...

it was a beautiful sunny day.

this is ella...

she is adorable...

{she is the daughter of the bride-to-be's brother}

she was tired from exploring the eumundi markets in the morning,

but after her mum took her out for a bit of a break

she settled down again and was very well behaved.

the lunch was a great success.

mr s is marrying into a wonderful family

who are close and friendly

and welcomed us with open arms...

we feel privileged to be part of their lives now!

hasting street

i was amused, delighted and proud

to discover that my son

had asked for their daughter's hand in marriage

in mandarin {chinese}...

miss a's parents were very touched by the gesture too.

i'll show you some beach pics

and tell you about the rest tomorrow!

naturally Carol xox

Purple Flower Power in Noosa!

good day!

this morning

these came in the post

fresh from cam @ curlypops!

thanks cam for sending my purple brooch so promptly

&

for the little green owly mirror too!

i loved your package wrapped with hot pink yarn and sequins

arriving early this morning

just in time

for a very important weekend.

my eldest son is getting married at the end of the year...

new year's eve to be precise.

he is to marry a beautiful taiwanese girl

whose parents are here in australia at the moment.

tomorrow

we are lunching together...

at a lovely hotel in noosa

&

meeting each other for the very first time!

mr w and i are spending the

night there too

and making it into a weekend away...

a little bit of luxury.

so

we're hoping

for good outcomes

all around!

wishing you all a great weekend too...

naturally Carol xox

ps..i'll be the one wearing ms curlypop's purple brooch!

Spot!

good afternoon!

no

the weather hasn't improved...

but,

just like my gorgeous friend kim commented...

after

a moment of introspection

it's a good idea

to think some good positives

&

get on with it!

so after getting out of the house today

&

enjoying a delicious kebab for lunch
with mr t for company...

 i came home
&

 decided on a little project just for fun

&

made "spot"!

'spot'

was made from cath kidston's book 'sew!'

{he is otherwise known as the stanley toy}

but

i always wanted a dog called 'spot'..hehe!

i think i was meant to attach the ears after the body was sewn up..

but i didn't

so his ears stood up on end!

so

i had to put a few stitches behind his ears

to make them flat...

he's the only one in the family whose had plastic surgery.

here he is again...

just hanging around the kitchen,

like most dogs.

just pop over to 'kootoyoo'

for other crafty fun!

i hope your thursday turns into fun...

naturally Carol xox

Restless...

hi!

today i feel like the weather looks!

restless.

yesterday was glorious..warm sunshine..blue skies.

today there was blue sky and black thunderclouds bobbing around!

&

i know just what that feels like.

inside i'm restless...

i want to make something different

but i'm just not sure where to start

or

what to start with.

some areas of my life feel like this

&

i feel like a glass half empty girl!

but you know that ain't half bad.

sometimes i even like to be a 'glass fully empty' girl..

just so that i can examine the glass

of my life

and see what it really is.

am i genuine?

do i truly believe in what i'm doing?

have i integrity in what i'm doing?

do i need to change anything in my life right now?

am i moving into a new season?

or need a tweak here and there?

or just take a nanna nap from the usual?

oh, yes...

sometimes i am an introspective soul!

but

that's how i get to know myself.

then

i can allow myself to be filled up again...

renewed

and refreshed

and enjoy 

 all those things that make life full and abundant

and amazing!

are you ever restless?

do you feel that you know yourself well?

do you like what you see..on the inside?

just pondering...

naturally Carol xox

Much to Twitter About...

good morning!

today is a bright and beautiful monday morning..

and this twitter has just come from my sewing space...

so much tweeting going on!

little jenny wren is hopping about...

in amongst the

blue zinnias on the black couch!

have a lovely monday

all you gorgeous people!

if you missed out on the giveaway last week

don't despair...

there will be another at the end of the month

there being my first blogging anniversary to celebrate!

naturally Carol xox

Slow Cookin' Sunday...

hi there!

it has been a four-in-one season day today..

in fact the morning started off foggy,

then the sun came out and warmed us all up,

but that was followed by black clouds

and at the moment its raining!

i went to church this morning..

this always starts the day off just right ..for me.

at church i got talking to a young woman

with a baby about casseroles..and

only just having made one myself last week

that i enjoyed i offered to show her how.

mrs z, her husband mr d and baby j

are word game addicts and had been puzzling over a few missing answers

to their puzzles,

so we worked them out together over a cuppa

at my house.

then we got working in the kitchen

creating this slow cooker casserole...

pretty much the basic formula.

well now, dinner is made,

company enjoyed,

time for a movie

&

play time with the dogs...

and that's a good slow cooked sunday...

gratefully enjoyed!

{pop over to maxabellas for some more grateful...}

naturally Carol xox



The Winners Are Picked!

good morning!

thank you to all of my followers who participated in the giveaway

running here this week!

please forgive me for not showing the random number generator...

it is my fault

as i was so eager to pick the second winner after seeing the first,

i forgot to save a pic of the first,

so didn't bother getting a pic of the second

as it would have been a bit weird to have one

without the other.

i hope that makes sense to you???

here are the winners...

mindy

@

'in the loop'

her choices were

'island girl'

&

'scootin' 'n' scarves'

the second winner is...

sue

@

'astrachic'

her choices are the two purple paisley cushion covers...

mindy and sue

congratulations!

as soon as you email me your addresses these will be winging their way to you!

thank you to all of you for following this little blog of mine

&

journeying with me through thick and thin...

{though hopefully getting thinner!!! lol}

have a great day & a lovely weekend ...

i'm going to show you a few newies later!

{they'll be in my madeit shop today}

naturally Carol xox

Blue Zinnia!

good afternoon!

just made...

"blue zinnia"

see yesterdays post for details of my giveaway

if you're interested.

a week ago

i was interrupted by a health scare...

it is good to be around

today!

i am thankful

more than ever

for

life!

live life to the fullest this tuesday...

naturally Carol xox

A Gift...

good morning!

at seven o'clock this morning

i went to let the dogs outside

and saw this amazing rainbow!

rainbows are a reminder of a promise kept...

and my promise to you..

my followers,

was to host a giveaway

when you reached 200 strong.

so as a heartfelt thank you

to all of you,

who at the moment number 201...

here is how we are going to play

my giveaway game....

this is for my followers exclusively...

go to my 'madeit' site....

and pick out your two favourite items,

then make a comment on this post.

the random number generator will pick out

2 winners

who will win

2 items each, the same or similar, to those items you've picked out!

this giveaway will close sometime on friday 12th august

and i will notify the winners by email

and on this blog.

enjoy yourselves..

i hope you find something you like.

you are my pot of gold...

thank you so much for your friendship

your care and concern

your loyalty

&

for being your delightful, insightful, creative selves!

all followers

new and older

...good luck!

have a marvellous monday ...

naturally Carol xox

Taking Time to Celebrate...

good evening!

my friend ada turned eighty this week

and yesterday her daughter brought together a room full of her friends

and we had afternoon tea.

ada is the first person in her eighties who i call a friend

my dad is eighty

but he's my dad..that's different.

when i first moved to this city

i went out on a ladies supper evening to a local cafe with a group of women,

and ada and i just connected.

it was like talking to my mum and my grandma and a very good friend

all at the same time.

this is how a lot of girls dressed in the forties

when ada would have been a teenager...

but i think in rural queensland

a lot more of them would have been doing this...

i remember ada telling me that

when she was about twelve or so

her family was so poor

she had to cartloads of wood

and sell them to save enough money

to buy her underwear...

'cos her family couldn't afford it.

i can't even imagine being that poor.

fortunately today

ada is not that poor anymore

and lives a comfortable life

gardening, sewing and enjoying her family,

loving God

and has many friends.

her birthday afternoon tea was special

and had a kind of grace and elegance

not often seen.

her daughter brought a lavender coloured cake

up all the way from melbourne...

we had canapes, punch and birthday cake,

made speeches up

about how we knew her..

and celebrated by singing her favourite songs together.

thank you ada

for showing me

a different era of life and a slower

more caring way of living!

happy 8oth birthday ada..

i hope your 80's rock..gently!

happy birthday to all you august babes out there too!

naturally Carol xox