Giveaway Time...

All I've managed to do this month is go on holidays...what a tough life I am having.

First a weekend at Kangaroo Valley

then a week in Tea Gardens, 

then a 3 night cruise from Sydney to the middle of the ocean and back again.

Australia Day on the Pacific Sun

It's a hard life watching the world sail by!
 I unreservedly take back almost every negative comment I had about going on a cruise.

Rainy start to the 3 day Cruise

Despite the wet weather of the first day...it's a load of fun...most likely becasuse I went with a truly amazing bunch of women, who are all sisters and sisters-in-law.

My Math is one of 11 children (3 girls and 8 boys), so there are 3 sisters and 8 sisters-in-law - we managed to have 8 of the 11 come on the cruise. What a happy, loving, riotously funny, giving and generous group of women.

The wide blue yonder!

Here's a question for all my Australian readers:

Can one have too much of a holiday?

Is it "un-Australian" to want to go back to work??

I've got a few more days to ponder those esoteric questions...

but now you've made it to the best part of this post...

GIVEAWAY TIME

I've made it to 300 posts and 104  followers so I thought I'd reward you all for your tolerance of this rambling blog and run a bit of a giveaway.

The prize will be a sewing kit made to your colour choice.
Here's an example of the ones made for SIT 2011

Also included will be a rainbow charm pack,
of quilt shop quality fabrics, with about 60
5" charm squares. I've been waking up early and cutting out squares,
while all the rest of the household is sleeping in.
It's very therapeutic to do something so practical and repetitive in utter peace and quiet.

some of the charm squares in the giveaway bundle

There are a lot of 'scrap busting' project around on the blogosphere to inspire you - should you be the lucky winner!

What you have to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post - you will have to be a follower - after all it is meant to reward those who stick with the inane as well as the interesting!!!!
2. Comments will close at MIDNIGHT (AustralianEasternDaylightTime) on Monday 20th February. Winner will be announced on Tuesday 21 February.

So there you have it! Good luck to all and...

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

301...

I could be very boring and pragmatic and just number posts from now on, couldn't I?
No...you're right that's beyond boring...

Still enjoying a summer filled with the sound of tennis and cricket and doing...

a bit of this...
Finished the blocks for Sew & Bee Happy and they are winging their way to Cindy in Ireland as we speak...er...read!
You are going to get an overload of photos of both of them...I love them to bits!

 Except for the bit where I found I'd pieced the bird in the cage upside down...

 and I had to perform a little bit of surgery...

 But he's all good now!

This is the 301st post and I am just going to say that in the next post I promise I am putting up a giveaway.

I've been so lazy on holidays that I couldn't even manage to take a picture what I'm giving away....but it will involve a bunch scrap busting rainbow charm squares and a sewing kit like this...

SIT 2011 swap item

as the "goodies"

So next post...after I (somewhat reluctantly) go on a short 3 day cruise with 7 of my Sisters in Law (it's not them,  it's just I'm really not a cruise person), I'll make a proper giveaway post where you can put your name down and everything, like a proper blogger and all! See you in 3 days time! Thanks for being patient and...

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

Fireworks

This is where we sat to watch the NYE Fireworks.

Under the Harbour Bridge, across from the Opera House

I love this city!

I know there are many more spectacular photos of the fireworks around, but I think the MaTH did a pretty good job with these.

We heard, and felt, every bang and boom

and ooohed and aaahhed along with the crowd around us.

Hope your New Year started with a bang!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

Resolutions...or not!

Remember the giveaway post here...when I joined in with the Quilting Gallery's 4th Birthday Blog Hop.
Well for your edification and enjoyment I present

 The Analysis of the Data post!

Yes!... you asked for it...well some did and I thought it was worth running with as well...

The background: to make the comments on the giveaway post a little more interesting, I asked entrants to tell me what resolution they kept or failed to keep in 2011.
As the comments poured in, I thought it would be fun to have a bit of a look at all the reasons people gave, whether they made them, kept them, and why or why not...
Let me say straight off, THANK YOU to all who commented. I couldn't reply to you all, though I did try at first...but you left me with a song in my heart and a goldmine of fun comments. THANK YOU! 

Before I launch into the results, I have to tell you that I worked as a Psychologist, pre-children, and really enjoyed the Uni courses on statistics and scientific method and carried out a few research projects in my time. Now the reason I tell you this is that I had a really hard time not turning this into a mini thesis with and Introduction, Method...aaaarrrggghhhh!!!…don't worry I'm not about to - it would have taken up far too much sewing time...

So in pictures here’s the graph of the answers to the post question:
GRAPH #1 
These were the categories that I took out of all the answers. Many had to be grouped together because this was getting to be bigger than BenHur and remember I want to get back to sewing!!!
The first three listed below are items only mentioned once in any of the replies - I should resolve to do the 'snip loose threads as I go' it would save a lot of "grrr-ing" at the end of projects!



So by far, most people (excuse me - I mean my readers!) don’t make New Years Resolutions.
The next most made resolution involves getting fit/losing weight/eating more healthily.
I was glad to see that the third most frequent resolutions have to do with quilting/sewing; including finishing specific projects or UFO’s (some a few yrs - or more - old) *coughs*, taming and organising fabric stashes and sewing areas. For some that was setting up their sewing area for the first time. PIGS are Projects In Grocery Sacks...I love that name)
[The reasons that fade to dots are: tame/sort/use fabrics or organise/tidy up sewing room,  and
be a better mother/wife/daughter/take care of self & manage own time- my graph skills are rusty as...]

RESULTS: (sorry couldn't help myself - it's like being on automatic!)
Ok enough of looking at the types of resolutions…how did we go at keeping those we made…
GRAPH #2 [The raw data people - like you really needed to know that!]

So the way to read this is

 the bars in blue show the number of resolutions that were KEPT

The bars in red are those that were PARTLY KEPT, either till part way through year, or slower than the person wanted.

eg the reader who wanted to read 52 books in the year only made it to 43

 – I say only with total awe in my voice!

The numbers in green are the one's that WEREN'T FOLLOWED through *sigh*,

and

The purple are those who were brave enough to propose a resolution, or continue with one, into 2012!

(disclaimer: I think the numbers tally, but there were multiple answers and multiple reasons - which just shows how lovely bloggers are to take the time to make considered and careful replies - so forgive the odd miscalculation...not thesis...remember)

GRAPH #3

DISCUSSION: (oops it happened again...)
Ok, so what does it all mean...(and note that in the above graph #3 "resolution not done" doesn't mean that it was a total failure, as it may have been partly done - (or in the case of don't make resolutions is that "not done" 'cause they weren't made or "not done" cause they didn't make any LOL- {see Graph #2})

* Don't make resolutions and you'll never, ever  have to worry about breaking them, remembering what they are, or feeling like a failure...

* You are more likely to keep a resolution that involves your hobby.
* You will be 100% successful if you choose to start, or better, your blogging skills
* The next most successful resolution was to improve your quilting skills - almost 90% of those were kept!
* Other successful resolutions were to finish a specific projects (just under 70%) and UFO's (50%) were finished. 
* You will also be quite successful if you plan to tidy/tame/sort/ fabrics or sewing area - about 45% followed through and of those that didn't, over 50% did at some stage, but it got messy again as they worked on projects - I'd call that a win!

*You are less likely to keep a resolution based on "getting fit/losing weight/ eating healthily" - that's not to say that you won't...but it seems to be one of the hardest to stick to...

Ok now we come to the bit where I put in some fun anecdotal information that came out of the data!
*  write it down - then you won't forget it
*  Projects In Grocery Bags - well I laughed and then frantically tried to put my projects into anything but!
*  someone found that making mid year resolutions worked better for them!
*  Dont make resolutions, set yourself A GOAL OR A PRIORITY...it sounds better and isn't limited to a specific year!

Ok that's it...I'm cured of ever wanting to make another resolution...THE END...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL...

Your comments on here

Your blogs I've read

have made this a fun year, 

No looking BACK for me...

It's all FORWARD into 2012,

with a smile on my face, 

a bazillion projects in my head

and a sewing room beckoning...

thanks for taking a peek over the fence in 2011

PS Just in case there is someone out there who feels the urge, there really is no need to critique this (pseudo) scientific study. If I ever put it into the Journal of Social Psychology, then you can tear it to shreds! OK? Good!

A Happy Win & Rainbow Charms

During Blogtoberfest I entered a giveaway 

at Everyone Deserves a Quilt *. My parcel from has Joanne arrived!

In it was some lovely fabric, a great pattern and these nifty binding clips.

Can't wait to try these clips - of course that means I actually have to make something that requires binding...

Thanks so much Joanne for picking me!

*if Australia ever decides to include a Bill of Rights  in the Constitution, I'm thinking this wording should be Right #1

RAINBOW CHARM SWAP

I've joined another swap...a fabric sharing swap. 16 of us are a sending off 80 x 5" squares. The colours we were allocated are based on this colour wheel...

picture thieved from here

Here are fabrics I chose and am sending off to Sharon - Lillabelle Lane - to sort and send me back a whole lotta charm goodness.

Tell me that you recognised my colours as violet, red-violet, red-orange, green and blue-green! I did spend a great deal of time choosing the fabric...just to get it completely right of course...no  obsessing went on...ok maybe just a little!

Really, I can't believe how easy it was to slice and dice the required number of squares.

I keep asking myself why can't I do this with fabric I already have?...and then create all those quilts that, in my imagination, I am furiously turning out?

Let's see what I can do when that package bursting with colour arrives and school holidays start...maybe a combination of time and effort might actually work!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

MPAY...Favourite clothing

This week's MPAY "My favourite piece of clothing"

I could do a long post on my least favourite clothing and I would start of ranting about how hard it is to find something for a 12 yr old that doesn't make her look like she just stepped out of a...well let's not go there!

This is the 'not rant' part:  I love this little dress...

given to Miss Bee for her birthday

It is simple, modest, has a little bit of lace that makes it "in fashion" for her...(she keeps eyeing off her older sisters lacy dresses...and their platform shoes...)

It's a great length, cool and it looks lovely on her . Even better it was a 12th birthday present from her (almost) 21yr old sister...the ultimate seal of approval for a young lady!

 So this is My favourite piece of clothing... thank you Just Jeans for selling things I'm happy to put my little girl in!

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

The gall….

I’ve had a bit of a quiet time this week. One of my less useful organs (apparently we humans can manage quite well without this one) had the gall to cause trouble. So long and farewell organ!
As I’ve said, more times than the family can bear, the only lifting I’ll be doing for a few days is the sewing machine’s presser foot!

So here is the result of some convalescing:
I can finally say that I am using some some of the rust I won, in Shruti's Bella Parade paired with a book print for the Princess, who could also be know as The BookWorm.

A little too late I rememered that I don’t do french seams so well 

nothing a little ripper couldn't fix.

Order of constructions leaves a bit to be desired too!

See how those nice trimmed points, to make a box base, are protruding alien-like out of the middle of the bag? That was the only way I could anchor them together...a step I should have done before I sewed the bag and lining together.

Perhaps my brain is still slightly anaesthetised!

I gave it to her without handles sewn on, just so I could get the placement right ( I did not) want another session with the unpicker!

Finally, today the third youngest, aka the fourth eldest, aka the Princess, aka the BookWorm turned 18…oh the shock of it all.
She came into a noisy household to become the fourth child under 5 and took it in her stride with a placid and gentle disposition.
Now, her HSC exams are behind her and the whole world is in front of her, and she is taking it in her stride, with a similar placid, but a heck of a lot more confident, disposition.

There are now technically 5…five…adults living in this house…recipe for disaster?...we shall wait and see…

thanks for taking a peek over the fence…

*snort*...Blogtoberfest Day 29

Mary Poppins: Some people laugh through their noses Sounding something like this "Mmm..." Some people laugh through their teeth goodness sake Hissing and fizzing like snakes Bert: Some laugh too fast Some only blast - ha! Others, they twitter like birds Then there's the kind What can't make up their mind Uncle Albert: When things strike me as funny I can't hide it inside And squeak - as the squeakelers do I've got to let go with a ho-ho-ho... And a ha-ha-ha...too!

lyrics from "I love to Laugh" Sherman and Sherman

I love blogging. I get to say what's in my head and I don't get to see the eye rolling, hear the tsk-ing of certain family members who believe Mothers should be seen and not heard!

But the best part is reading comments that lead to a quick snort of laughter, or a head thrown back laugh, when that comment 'resonates' with me.

Take my post about the camera, I just about fell off my chair when I read Tanya finds photos of inside her son's noses!..."some only blast - ha!"


or the wry and absurd humour of Jackie who has gracioiusly conceded that I own 2 more magazines than her..."hissing and fizzing like snakes"


or Linda admitted - just like me - she doesn't mind a quick peek at the way a room is arranged even if it's through an uncurtained window at night!- "I've got to let go with a ho-ho-ho"

There are many reasons for having a blog, but I reckon the wonderful humour generated by all my quilting and sewing bloggy friends is about the best there is!

thanks for laughing taking a peek over the fence...

Creative Spaces...Blogtoberfest Day 27

Today's Creative Space is all about drinking tea and looking through magazines...checking out some really creative ideas...because I don't have any of my own right now...

Of course it's not like I don't have enough to look through already either...

More Creative Spaces

More Blogtoberfest Bloggers

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...

Wondering...Blogtoberfest Day 26

I sometimes

 wonder

 who borrowed

my camera 

and what mischief  

they've been up to... 

Does this happen to your camera too?

thanks for taking a peek over the fence...