A new ripple cushion

Well I just started this last night while watching some tv.  I haven't finished my other ripple blanket yet but not too much to do.  I just felt like having something small to do instead of a hot blanket sitting on my knee.  I am trying out this pattern from my book . It is a cushion  and shouldn't take too long at all.  It is really easy to do once you get the first row sorted....just repeat the same row  pattern  for the whole thing.   As you can see the ripple blanket is in the bag on the floor just sitting!
I just found out I won a prize in konda's fqsqal.  I'm not sure which prize I have won ...will just wait and see what the mail man brings me in the next week or two.  This is the 2nd lucky prize I have won in her qals.

a new ripple cushion so far

the ripple blanket 

the ripple cushion so far

I have to get down to the library as our printer is stuffed buggered and get the next pattern so I can catch up again!  It's hard to do once you fall behind a little.There is 2 blocks i have to make so that's four now as I am doing 2 quilts in this one. I just found a lovely 'sparkle punch star quilt' over at this blog to make which would be a good way to use up scraps too. Take a look and you might be inspired too.

2012..back to work.

Well we had a lovely break at xmas at my  mums place.  We took the puppy,  'chippy'  .She behaved herself and has really grown too.  My mum would love another dog but has been told 'No'  , she still has her dog  'freddie'  he is almost 16 years old and going deaf and blind too.  here is a pic of  freddie sharing his bed with my cheecky dog...she invited herself!   Freddie can't play and she was tugging on his legs to try and get him to play!...poor freddie.

'I can fit in here too!

'love'

'move over freddie'

I finished another pretty bauble while i was here.  I  never took any stitching with me although I took my crochet to do and did a few more rows of the 'ripple blanket' . It was really 'muggy' for a few days was actually to hot to do crocheting.  The beading was good to do though.  I must take some more pics of the ripple soon.  I should have that finished well before winter. (i remember saying hat about a blanket last year!)

my 2nd beaded bauble.

Here is a pic of chippy having an afternoon 'snooze' on the couch! (my sisters quilt she made for mum last year)

chippy snoozing with her bunny !

chippy having   another afternoon snooze.  Lazy dog!

I ate too much as usual and now i need  to go on ww diet and try to lose about 10 kgs. Weather that happens is another story!  ...not if i keep eating cream puffs!

cream puffs!..mmmm

My son , Conor, let off his fireworks on New Years eve and some other crackers he had put aside , made lots of noise !

The weather here has been really stink too !  Have hardly seen the sun, we have had heaps of rain and our tanks are overflowing which is not the norm fo this time  of year,...it is usually the other way around.  My back yard is a 'mud' hole and the chooks have eaten everything  green!  lol!  Everything sees to be late this year in the garden.  Hope it dries up soon!

a rainbow

storm clouds

Here is pic of my mums african violet...she said she has never had so many flowers on it at one time!
that's all for now .

mum's african violet.

sscs prezzy

Here is what was in my other half of the   parcel from kate webster,  she was my swap partner in sscs 2011  . a really neat wallhanging ...thankyou kate it's  really neat! love the colours you have used ...they will go well on the wall!  I really love the cat with one eye or he could be winking?  cute!

a really cute wallhanging from Kate

I hope my swap partner liked what i sent her......  Thanks again to chookybluewho made this a fun swap.

cute wee cat '.

chippy with her yummy xmas cracker!

Our puppy enjoyed her xmas present too...can you guess what it is?? .....A rawhide chewbar full of tasty morsals only a dog would enjoy!

I unwrapped my own prezzy!

block 5

Block5-chey's quilt

block 5
Originally uploaded by susanriddell33

This is block 5-chey's quilt. I've used his star sign in the centre. The pic has come out a bit dark as to in real life colour. It was anice easy one too. Now on with the next blocks....

Block 6-FQSQAL

Block 6-catherdral windows of fqsqal

This block is called 'cathedral windows' . It goes together so easily, it almost makes itself!  I loved doing this one!  I have top stiched the window in green contrast on the orange. I might do the pieced center on my other block of this . This one is one square as the other is 4 squares stitched together. If you look on konda's blog you will see it. here is my pic it has come out a bit darker than in real life. This is for chey's quilt.  I have yet to do my one and the next one is due tommorrow!

"I'm injured"

On Wednesday evening I burnt my hand . I was cooking chips in a chip pot of oil and it was turned off and pushed to the side but was still in my way and i pushed it and hot oil splashed out the side of the pot and got me!  Boy did that hurt!  I shoved my hand under the cold tap and had it there for about 4 or 5 minutes . Our water is  really cold as it is in  a tank and my hand was getting so cold from the water  i had to take it out...then i put it back .....so painful!  The next morning there was a big blister and i was trying not to bang it but yes... I banged it and popped the blister...It looks sore but is ok now except the centre where the blister  bit is....I will live and won't do that again in hurry!

my "fryed' hand.

On Tuesday my sister Pam and her daughter and grand kids came to NZ to do a surprise afternoon tea for my mum who turned 80 on 13th dec.  We took her to a hall up the rd and had her friends meet us there and try to surprise her.  She got  surprised and really enjoyed herself.  She doesn't really bother to celebrate big '0' birthdays or anything much.  I made the cake and ended up doing a fruit cake which i have made before...it is actully my christmas cake recipe i make out of the edmonds  cook book. It was nice and moist not dry like i thought it would be as i cooked it in the wrong size tin! If i had left it in the oven for the full time i think it would be dry though,  So when i make our one today i think i will make the same size and cut down the time...  In the last year she has had about 6 of her close friends die. So it was a good turnout for her.

this is the cake i made for mum...very plain and simple but very yummy!

I made a beaded bauble and showed everyone and miss Tallulah thought it was pretty enough to hang from her ear lol! I am going to make some more of these hopefully over the xmas break.  There was a drama when i was making this but will tell you about that another time.

Do you like my lovely earring?

 ...don't know if i will be back here till after xmas so I hope everyone has a great xmas .

"I got mail"

my sscs prezzy

Just after I posted my last post I told you I was hoping for my sscs swap  parcel  to arrive ...and it has!  I opened it and this is what was inside...

A lovely wall hanging ,love it thank you kate. It's so cute!   Kate was my swap partner this year SSCS SWAP 2011  organised by Chookyblue. She does such a great job too...thanks Donna.
 I have temporarily pegged  it this hanger but will adjust it so it fits.  It is already up on the wall.  She also made some lovely handstitched name tags with all our names on too i have just got them hanging on the side for now. .."Don't they look great"

a close up of some beautiful stitching.

a lovely wall xmas wall hanging

There is also a small pack of peppermint candy canes for us to nibble on but ii forgot to take a pic. (sorry)  I must get the tree up this weekend so i can put the other prezzy under it.

Block 4 FQSQAL

Last weekend I managed to do one of the blocks in the FQSQAL . This is block 4-quilt 2. I had abit of a problem cutting the squares...i kept reading the instructions wrong and cut the wrong fabrics, not once but two times!. got there in the end. Now i just have to do the same block for chey's quilt....i hope i don't muck stuff  it up !  At least the  current one is an easy one.

block 4-quilt 2

Last weekend I made some hummus, really yummy too.!  Then i was wanting to try out a cake recipe . It is called 'the ultimate chocolate cake from Annabel Laingbine, she has heaps of cook books .  It is a really large cake and you whizz it up in the food processor ...so really quick to mix, then cook in the oven for an hour. I sliced it in two and put strawberry jam in the middle.  It's ok but i thought it lacked chocolate....There is only about a quarter left! the boys have eaten it. Conor came out and had a midnight feast as i found half a piece in the fridge...his eyes were bigger than his belly!...

My piece of chocky cake...it was yummy!  Whoops my pic  has gone sideways ,sorry i don't know how to turn it around.

Then I made a batch of mustard pickle.  It makes quite a few jars and fairly cheap to make too, we love pickle.!  It will make nice gifts to give friends for xmas . I will dress the jars up a bit with some decorated lids and try and get the old label off as it is still on one jar.

my mustard pickle.

I bought a string of solar xmas tree lights so i could hang them in the garden  ..they go quite well ..the pic is not great..but that's just me i'm not good at taking photos but you get the general idea

The solar lights in the tree...it's so dark you can't see the tree!

.
Now i am waiting for my SSCS parcel to arrive...it's not here yet.  Maybe tomorrow afternoon it will find me. well I'm off to do some rippling.....but first I shall eat that piece of cake on the plate !! mmmmm !