What a wonderful day yesterday was – and in not one but two different ways. The first one was due to the weather … I actually sat at the computer on Monday night/Tuesday morning in 3/4 pants and singlet top and felt a bit goosebumpy due to the cold draft from the windows … you have no idea just how amazing that felt after the oppressive heat we’ve been having! I absolutely refused to put more clothes on, and succumbed to the blissful chill … heavenly? You betcha it was! 😉 (and it’s OK, Bea, I really was joking about the snow LOL).
The drop in temperature made it a bit more conducive to stitching, and I finally pulled my needles out of storage and put them to good use – managed to get a start made into my very first charity quilt square for 
Emily … even though I haven’t heard back from the organisation yet, I’m still going ahead and starting it – if it doesn’t get used for Emily, it’ll be used for someone else 🙂 With Emily in mind I’ve changed the flower colours on this first one as she loves pinks/purples – I also figure if I’m going to stitch both flowers/butterflies for her quilt, at least changing the colours around will make them look quite different. Sorry for the appalling scan, but I can’t be bothered unrolling the scroll bars, and the fabric isn’t sitting flat on the scanner – I’ll post a piccie properly when it’s finished … you’ll just have a short wait before that happens LOL.
What was the other reason for a heavenly day, I hear you ask? Well, even if you’re not asking, I’m going to share it anyway 😉 Yesterday was the day I got to meet some fellow bloggers … in the flesh, so to speak! You have no idea how wonderful it was to meet two lovely ladies who share the same love of stitching and crafts! I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, blogging has been a real life line to me in a lot of ways – it’s helped make me more open to starting new friendships, and becoming passionate about my craft again. To say I’ve lived in Melbourne for 2 1/2 years now, this is the first time I’ve got to ‘know’ some fellow stitchers – and they couldn’t be nicer! So, I’d like to personally thank Sharon and Gina for being such wonderful company, and making it a day to treasure 🙂
Sharon very gracefully invited us to her home, where I immediately felt comfortable – we were then treated to a scrummy lunch, and wonderful conversation, and we got to play ‘show and tell’ a little bit with pieces both Sharon and Gina were working on (including the infamous CQ square from Sharon’s blog), which was a highlight for me, as I love to see other stitchers pieces (plus I took my wee basket of pincushions etc and a couple of other finished pieces to share). You never know when you ‘meet’ people on the internet, what they’re really like … and although the ladies probably wouldn’t have guessed, I’m really really shy so it takes a lot of plucking up courage to go out and meet people – but I felt at ease straight away, and I hope this will be the start of a regular catch up 🙂
Another highlight for me was poring through the wonderful Australian XS books they’d put to one side for me, knowing I’d been searching for Aussie animals for a charity quilt square I’d like to stitch – it was better than going to the local library … that was sheer joy in itself. Anyway, I want to say thanks ladies from the bottom of my heart – it was a wonderful day!! :))) I loved seeing your stitching, hearing your stories, and sharing a little bit of you both (as well as meeting DH and E).
I also got treated by Sharon to a wee birthday gift as well, but I’ve been very very good and haven’t opened it yet (although it smells scrummy!) … I told Mum she has to hide it in her bedroom until she flies home so it will remain a nice surprise on the day itself. At least there’s only two weeks left before I can rip it open :)) I think self-discipline must come with age, as it’s only now that I’m starting to be able to follow it haha (Mum wanted to give me my birthday $ last week, but I said I wanted it closer to my birthday so it has more meaning … crikey, I really MUST be getting old – when I was ‘young’ I would’ve had it spent in 5 minutes flat LOL).
The funny thing is that for 1 1/2 years Sharon and I lived in the same neighbourhood … in fact, within walking distance … and we didn’t know it! And it took a blog with some ‘local’ photos to strike a chord of familiarity, and the rest is history 🙂 And Gina is a member of the Embroiderers Guild, so hopefully we’ll be able to hook up for some guidance group meetings at the same time – it will be wonderful having a “friendly face” to help me meet my goal of attending some groups in 2006 :))
As for today, I had another 6am start, so a bit tired seeing as I got to bed a bit later than normal last night … so tonight, while it’s still nice and cool, I hope to get a bit more of the charity square stitched – then we have to get ready for Fraze’s visit and sleep over tomorrow night … along with another friend who’s popping by as well – what a wonderful social week this is turning out to be! 🙂
Wow, I have to say I have been right royally spoilt rotten by fellow bloggers … my mail box had a lovely gift in it from Carol for my birthday – a Tacky Bob, which I was about to buy for myself in a couple of weeks from Stitching Bits & Bobs with my birthday money – I reckon this is one of the most useful stitching tools I’ve come across for those of us who use beads … just awesome – can’t wait to use it! And that’s not all – Carol also sent me a chart called “Be Kind to Birds” by Sunflower Samplings, as it reminded her of me with my fascination of the local birdlife (the feathered kind!) … thank you, Carol, from the bottom of my heart – you’re very thoughtful, and generous! :)) (I’m now rushing off to check my supply of GAST threads for it LOL).
And seeing as I opened Carol’s gift, the curiosity got the better of me today too – I finally opened Sharon‘s birthday gift for me … I’ve been smelling it for the last two days, as Mum had put in my room while our Canadian visitors used the spare bedroom, and was determined not to open it until my actual birthday … but … I weakened and succumbed 🙂 Thank you so much Sharon for the most wonderful smelling soap – I’m not sure if you realised it, but Frangipani is one of my most favourite flowers in the whole world! Thank you so much, too, for your generous gift – you’re a real sweetheart :))) And you have to congratulate Erin on that gorgeous artwork!! (yup, I did notice that little copyright name!)
We then headed back towards the river and walked around Southbank – we had a special treat in store for us, as it was Chinese New Year, and there was a big demonstration/celebration taking place.
We had time for a leisurely coffee, before hitting the pavements again, this time heading for a short walk to Queen Victoria gardens.
After that we called it a day, and headed back home on the train and had scrummy fish and chips for dinner (very decadent, for us!). All in all, a really wonderful day out 🙂
Feather Stitching 
