Ship Stitching

Before we went away, I prepped a few blocks for stitching - just in case I had some free time while babysitting etc. I completed three of the blocks, and not because I was always too busy, but more that I seemed to always find different things to do.

These are two of the blocks I finished up:

The third block is also an applique block, and I've hidden it away amongst my hand sewing things, I'm sure I'll find it soon!

Here's a new picture of Rowley, as he seems to be the thing that's occupying most of my time at the moment:

I just want to boop that nose all day long. Well, not really - he requires quite a bit of supervision when he's inside. While he's exploring he's starting to chew on things a bit, those puppy teeth must be annoying him now. We start puppy school tomorrow, which is going to be beneficial for this puppy newbie.

I'm going to finish up quickly here now with a picture of where I'm at with Lily Rosenberry. I've put a few stitches in this week. Right now I'm in a race to see if I can finish this post before the battery gives out on my laptop. So, I'll chatter soon lovely friends!

Puppies are delightful time wasters!

So, I asked the hubster this week if he had any idea how busy a puppy would keep me. He said yes, but I'm not sure I believe him. Wow, they're such delightful time wasters :-) Little Rowley has gone from a shy little guy to a ball of energy resembling a baby shark! He's grown so much already too, and he moves so fast I haven't managed to take any good pictures of him, hopefully next week.

Stitching time has been scarce, and I'm kind of not feeling like it anyway, so I've only really put a few hand quilting stitches into Lily Rosenberry.

It's definitely not going to be finished any time soon, but every stitch is one stitch closer to completion right?

And I painted up some more coloured Elf heads for the mmmCrafts Twas the Night elves ornament pattern. Some for stock, and some to go to a new home. I love that they've been so well received in my Etsy store.

Last week I also promised to share some more holiday snaps etc. First up the items I purchased at the quilt store while were in Kona:

I was absolutely happy to purchase some souvenir style fabric, and given our location, I was thrilled to buy some Hawaiian applique patterns - a kit, a book, and a pattern. They'll go on the long list of things to do, but when I finally get to them it will be a wonderful reminder of our trip.

We stayed in the Hilton Gardens Hotel Waikiki Beach. We didn't do bunches of research about our hotel, and hadn't specifically asked for a view, so we were pleasantly surprised when we were able to see the beach from our suite. It was a great place to stay, we had a two bedroom suite with a lounge, little kitchen area and huge bathroom. We were so very lucky.

It was absolutely on our bucket list to visit Pearl Harbour, and I'm so glad I've checked it off my list of things to do in this life. There really aren't words to adequately describe the memorial, and it's hard to imagine the chaos and horror endured all those years ago.

This far away picture is of the Hula Kahiko dancer statues outside the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Our tour guide pointed them out to us, and I found them fascinating. Also, aren't the tropical gardens just lovely. There were so many things to see, and I just wasn't fast enough with my camera. I feel like there will be another trip to Hawaii in our future, we just didn't have enough time to see all the things we wanted.

So that's all I'll share for today - I'm catching up with Amy on Sunday, so I'll check her phone and see if she has any pictures to share with me - she's always so much better getting the happy snaps. Hope you all have a great weekend, and I'll chatter soon! xox

A month disappeared, just like that!

Hello friends, I know it's been a while since I checked in. I promise I have a really good reason. I've been off on holidays again, it's naughty that I didn't tell you all about it, but there are folks that say it's not a great idea to advertise when you're not going to be around. So I took that advice, even though my boys were still at home, you just never know who's reading along - best to play it safe.

Anyway, that out of the way, I'll fill you in. I went on yet another cruise - how lucky am I? This time it was like a girls trip with my Dad along as chaperone. My Mum, myself, Amy, Mary and Dad spent a night in Brisbane before cruising for 17 nights to Hawaii, then some time in Hawaii before flying back to Sydney and then home. We were away for just over three weeks, and we had a wonderful time.

Our chariot for the journey. We had adjoining balcony cabins, which was just wonderful.

I always love the art and sculptures on board, this piece was just mesmerising. We saw it every day when we walked by to have breakfast in the 270 lounge.

Our first island visit was Papeete in Tahiti, we spent a little time shopping, and then we caught a local cab looking for a nice beach and were recommended to Parc Vaira'i. This was a revelation, not busy at all (places can be super busy when a cruise ship comes in) and we had a lovely time in the warm water.

Our next stop for two days was Moorea in Tahiti:

Here we tendered ashore, and organised a tour with Captain Taina - on the way to a private island and beach we swam with stingrays and sharks. It was an amazing experience. I will confess that while I was the second person from our boat into the water, when those stingrays came near me, I was out of there! I don't mind admitting I was first back in the boat! Amy did so much better than me, she's so brave, and even came back for another go the second day we were in Moorea. 

Back again at sea, our next stop was in Kona Hawaii where I managed to find a quilt store:

I was fascinated to find they had a fabric cutting machine. I'd never seen such a thing before!

The store is called Quilt Passions, I did a little shopping with a local theme. I haven't remembered to take pictures of my purchases, so I'll save that for next time.

Our final stop on the cruise was in Honolulu Hawaii, where we spent time shopping and being tourists. Though I've been to the USA many times, I've never been to Hawaii, and I loved it! I'll share some more pictures next week, I haven't downloaded very many from the cloud yet, and even though we've been home for a week now, I just don't seem to be able to get back into normal life yet!

After we got home from the big trip, I had another exciting thing waiting for me. On Friday we went and picked up a new member for our family:

Meet little Rowley! He's a Rough Collie (like Lassie but our sweet baby is a tri-colour). In this picture he's 11 weeks old on the day we collected him.

This pic is from just a couple of days ago - he's starting to settle in. He's such a sweet boy! For the first couple of days he was so nervous and trembly, but now he's doing zoomies in the yard, running off with shoes when I'm not looking and generally stealing our hearts!

I'm having to remember to keep our bedroom and the sewing room doors shut, not sure what he's capable of as a little puppy with baby shark teeth! This is going to be a fun adventure as he grows - I'm sure you'll be seeing more of him!

So, I've filled you in on the last month - I promise to share some more photos next week - there are so many! Hopefully I will find some sewing mojo and have some stitching to share with you also - chatter soon! xox