Weekend fun

 It's been a fun couple of days. The Friday ladies visited the Owlery and we had a lovely afternoon stitching, knitting, quilting, and laughing. These ladies don't do things by half, they brought cake, freshly baked cookies, chocolates, tea and coffee, and we sure did justice to all of that. I was nearly finished with this panel of my Scandinavian Rose quilt, and completed it yesterday at Alleyne's place, where went for sit n sew. Only two more panels to go!
Alleyne kindly gave me this adorable owl door hanger for the Owlery. Those birds are taking over! Sweet little owls though.

 This week I also received my long-awaited Graphics 45 Ladies Diary paper pack, and I'm just blown away by how gorgeous it is! I got a shadowbox from Kaisercraft last week, and one of the projects I envisage using this paper for is the shadowbox. And lots of cards, of course.
The kangaroo is Ernie, a young-ish male who's been hanging around our place a lot recently. He has a small harem of three ladies and a couple of joeys, but they are not always with him. He seems to like it here. He's a lazy thing, doesn't move very much or very fast, usually lying down and grazing on one side, then turns over

and grazes on the other side. Not a bad life.

Bits & bobs

Have been in the Owlery a few times this week. First, I needed to make a get well card for a family member who broke her leg skating on a frozen lake in Germany! Very adventurous for an over-70yo.
I quite enjoyed making this one, very different for me. Must push those limits.
Then I finally started on a new project, with the cute cat fabrics Tracee, Sue, and Marg gave me for my birthday last year. I cut the triangles on the Accuquilt Go, which took all of half an hour. I got a whole section done yesterday, and a kind friend cut some strips out for me (my shoulder is playing up

 again). But I noticed that I gave her the wrong measurements, so I'll have to re-cut - ugh! AND will lose quite a bit of fabric. Donna and cutting do not go well together.
I so enjoyed the cooler weather yesterday, but this afternoon it's quite warm again, and I'm very lethargic.
The warmer weather brings the parrots to the back yard, cockatoos, corellas, galahs all congregate in our yard. Our apple trees were a big drawcard this week, attracting the cockies. They had a feast with the semi-ripe apples. I wondered whether the birds get a tummy ache from the unripe fruit too. Hmm.

Hello 2017!

 Happy New Year! January is already half way gone, and I've only had to write '2017' once this year! Got it right, too. Hope it's a better one than 2016, I plan to focus on good things, such as friends, family, Sherman, travel, craft, good books, creativity, and health. My aim is to lose 5kg by mid-year. Should be doable.
Sherman is sitting here helping me with 'Quilting Cats' membership applications. It's a hard task, and I'm afraid he's fallen asleep on the job. Although the purr motor is still going.

 The new year has begun quietly, and I'm happy about that. I'm just in the process of taking the tree down and putting the Xmas decos away. How boring does the house look!
The sales are on everywhere, and although I usually don't care much about that, I was tempted by some bargains I found for card making. This mag had a whole lot of common sentiments for cards, which is really useful, and comes just in time for me to make a get well card for someone.
Then I got the Merry Mice stamps, which will be a delight to work with for my next batch of Christmas cards.

The Tim Holtz stencil will be handy in combination with a large pinetree stamp I have.
Spotlight in DFO had a heap of Kaisercraft items on sale, so I invested in some paper. Can't wait to get my paper pad "Ladies' Diary" from Graphics45. I will be busy!
I spent last weekend watching a movie marathon on SBS On Demand, called "Crimes of Passion". A very slick Swedish production, set in the 1950s. Amazing fashions, cars, and very authentic sets. Even remembered some of the props from the early 60s. Does that make me old?!

I must say, SBS online has a wonderful array of series and movies to watch, all for free. They've got a slew of films with Mats Mikkelsen, one of my favourite actors. Another marathon....
The Owlery is seeing good use this week. Hope to welcome a few quilters this evening, tomorrow a friend is coming for sewing, and on Friday the ladies are coming for an afternoon of fun and sewing. Bring it on!