Saturday, July 12, 2008

300th post

Our close proximity to the coast is fabulous.....95 % of the time! It lets us swim in the summer and enjoy wildlife and crashing surf in the winter. But right now the fact that the coast leads fairly quickly to Antarctica means that it IS FREEZING HERE!!! The windchill is awful and it is well and truly patchwork weather. I feel like laura Ingalls locked away on the prairie...excepting of course, my heated floor, plasma tv and a freezer full of food...to name but a few. Well, okay.... I kind of feel like her-just humour me!

This is my 300th post. Blogging is a little like living near the coast, 95% fabulous and about 5 % not quite as much fun. I am well and truly up for something that is fabulous 95 % the time so that's why I am still here after 300 posts. I love the interaction, and as I have said before, this is the only diary i have ever fully kept. Well, except for in my heyday, between 19 and 22, when I had a lot to write, but that was the heyday-there were instances of more than one boyfriend at a time, a girl has to keep track!!! Don't hold it against me, I am very responsible now!

Well, back to blogging: 'cos i am having fun, you have a chance to share the joy. Drop me a line over the next few days....(before I yell "stop") and you may be lucky enough to score the prize consisting of chook or cow novelty tape measure (you choose which), a charm pack of Lancaster County fabrics, a plastic coated Moda purse made by me and a few of my patchwork cards. You can tell me something you have liked along the 300 or just say "hi". A big hi from me to the many emailers who have been dropping me a line lately, it's great to hear what non-bloggers think-and to mail out the odd card. You are all welcome to enter as well.

On a sewing note, I made a few more shirt blocks and played again at Quilters last night-here are some playing ideas for thei block......

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I decided on this arrangement. I have a few more blocks to make but this is how it looks this sewn together this morning.

Learnt how to make this fabulous little sewing bag last night. I can't wait to try a few out.

Have a great day, Tracey

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44 comments:

  1. chook7/12/2008 4:37 PM

    woo hoo 300 posts yay congrats for you
    I am so glad I found your blog along the way thank you for the inspiration.
    I think I am the first comment

    I would love to be in the draw please
    hugs Beth

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  2. antique quilter7/12/2008 4:44 PM

    congrats on 300 posts, I have enjoyed reading so many of them.
    Love the black with the plaids, can't wait to you finish that one!
    the sewing bag is interesting...would make a nice gift.
    Kathie

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  3. May Kristin7/12/2008 5:36 PM

    A big HAPPY 300th posts blogiversary! It is always fun to see what you are up to! Like the setting you chose for your black and check blocks!
    Good luck with your next 300 posts!
    Take care!

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  4. Unknown7/12/2008 7:17 PM

    Hi Tracey - happy 300 - I've really enjoyed travelling this journey with you, chatting about quilting and comparing notes/exchanging tips on our daughters tummy troubles - here's to 300 more plus! You picked the right arrangement for the black and shirting blocks btw :o)

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  5. Joyce7/12/2008 7:41 PM

    Congratulations on your 300th and many more to come. The sewing bag is unusual. Will there be a tutorial?

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  6. Kerry7/12/2008 8:05 PM

    Hi Tracey,
    congratulations on your 300th post! Yours was one of the first blogs I found and I have enjoyed sharing your craft and visiting with you and your animals ever since.

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  7. Chookyblue......7/12/2008 9:14 PM

    well what did i love about your blog..........hmmm.......where do I start.........we have lots in common....sewing/quilting, farming, cards, blogging.......and if it wasn't for blogging I would have never met you and had a fab day in Melbourne.......buying a ridiculiously big coat hanger........lol.....

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  8. Anita7/12/2008 9:48 PM

    Congrats on your 300th post!
    I love the way you photograph your quilts, on the animals & fences!!

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  9. Cathi7/12/2008 10:42 PM

    Congratulations on 300 posts!
    The sewing bag is really intriguing -- are you going to do a tutorial on that?
    I can't wait to see the black and plaids quilt finished -- love the setting you chose.

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  10. Rose Marie7/12/2008 10:51 PM

    300 posts .... and I have enjoyed reading every one of them! As a city girl, it is always interesting to hear what life is like on a farm.

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  11. Andrea7/12/2008 10:53 PM

    300 comments is a lot of yapping - lol ! I love your quilting but more so I love your blog as it is a glimpse into a lifestyle that is so completely unlike mine. Also your backgrounds for displaying your quilts are always fun and different.

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  12. Sweet P7/12/2008 11:18 PM

    Happy 300 posts! I love your tales of life on a farm in Australia. I've learned a lot about your country from you. I like all of the arrangements with your blocks. I couldn't choose one if I had to do it. The sewing bag is adorable!

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  13. Anonymous7/13/2008 12:30 AM

    Congratulations on reaching 300 Tracey.. Hmm well let's see, I love your photography skills and the fact that you show much of "home". The fact that you're an Aussie girl has to be a huge plus *s*. Love all your quilting and family/church chatter, keeps everything real. Here's to another 300.

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  14. sewkalico7/13/2008 6:47 AM

    Happy 300! And here's to 300 more! I miss being near the coast... I enjoy your blog, so glad i found it :-)
    That chook tape measure is a hoot with the egg btw!

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  15. Jo-Anne7/13/2008 8:23 AM

    Wow! 300 posts! Good on ya!
    I just love your sweet blog and am so glad to have stumbled across it.
    Having an Aussie mother, I have an affinity to all things Australian. THAT's what I like so much about your blog...and all the adorable animals! :) The quilts are great fun, too!

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  16. Kristie7/13/2008 11:50 AM

    Congratulations!!! I just love reading your blog and hearing about your life! It is so interesting and fun to read! I love all your animals and the way that you photograph your quilts on them! Please put me in for your drawing!!!

    I love your sewing bag! Any hints on how to make that beautiful bag??? :)
    Kristie

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  17. Annie7/13/2008 12:31 PM

    Congrats on 300 posts Tracy - WOW! Love the little sewing basket. I want to make one too. They look great. Is there a tutorial available?? It's freezing here too btw. I thought it was going to snow yesterday it was so cold.

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  18. Anonymous7/13/2008 12:38 PM

    congrats on the 300th post! Just wanted to say that I LOVE all the photos you post!

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  19. Dawn's Daily Journal7/13/2008 12:57 PM

    Hurray for 300 posts!! I love to read all about your life...Australia is so far away and so very different from "here" but incredible the same. Did that make any sense at all???!
    I love the pics too. :)
    dawn

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  20. Lissa Jane7/13/2008 3:27 PM

    Congrats on the 300 posts! I like the final choice you made for laying out those blocks, they are looking great..

    I am about 18kms as the crow flies from the coast and its freezing here too.. I like our weather here about hmmm, half the time! LOL

    take care and snuggle under some quilts to stay warm..

    Lissa
    PS you still looking after Johnny the chooky for me???

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  21. Calidore7/13/2008 4:56 PM

    Yipee - 300 posts and each one better than the last. Well done. Love the sewing bag. Please where did the pattern come from or did you make it up? Ohh and if it helps we are at least five hours from the coast and it's freezing here too. Winds are start from the icy wastes and the wet stuff that is falling could be a hell of a lot heavier for my and the farmers liking. Thank heavens for wood heaters and lots of cups of tea....and wonderful blogs to keep my mind off how cold it is.

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  22. Christine7/13/2008 9:57 PM

    Congratulations on reaching 300 posts. That's an amazing achievement. What a generous giveaway ... those Lancaster charm squares look very appealing.
    I remember your blog as the one with the great photos of farm animals and quilts. Love those calves.
    It's been freezing here too this weekend. We're even closer to Antarctica! A good excuse to stay inside and stitch. Take care.
    Christine

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  23. julieQ7/14/2008 12:23 AM

    Thank you so much for the giveaway!! Congratulations on you milestone, and I love your black and triangle blocks!

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  24. Susie7/14/2008 1:49 AM

    Hi Tracey,
    Congratulations on 300 posts :)
    I always enjoy my visits here. I love the stories of your sheep, chicken and family. Your quilts are lovely too.
    Hope you stay warm.. I'd gladly send you some of our hot sun if I could!
    hugs

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  25. Elaine Adair7/14/2008 2:24 AM

    The shirtings and black is a true example of keep trying things. I 'sorta' didn't like them at first, but the last photo is smashingly good and still a simple arrangement! A lot of us would have quit after the first try! Just like Mom says, "Keep trying"!

    Congrats on the 300ths post - hey, is this still like "Keep trying?" I love to visit and see what's new on the farm.

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  26. Jodie7/14/2008 11:14 AM

    Well Done on reaching 300 posts Tracey!!! I've loved reading about your life since I found your blog just over a year anf a half ago... With not many other aussie 'farm wife' bloggers out there it's great checking in with you to see what's been happening on the farm and compare notes...
    Keep up the great work and I look forward to sharing the next 300+ posts with you..

    Jodie :)

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  27. Carol7/14/2008 11:57 AM

    Happy blog birthday on the 300 posts Tracey. I for one am glad I stumbled on your blog when I did, plus so glad I've gotten to meet you in real life too.

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  28. Patti7/14/2008 12:36 PM

    Congratulations on your prolific blogging persona - I've enjoyed every post. It's so much fun to learn what is similar and what is different in Australia from where I live - and quilt. And I so love your farm pictures!

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  29. quiltmom anna7/14/2008 2:51 PM

    Hi Tracey,
    Congratulations on your 300th post.
    I have been to visit your site a number of times- I enjoy seeing what you are doing in the land down under- Your photos are wonderful... Thanks for sharing!
    Regards from a Western Canadian Quilter,
    Anna

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  30. anne7/14/2008 5:23 PM

    300 posts, congrats, that is a great blogging achievement. Well done. Love the shirt quilt look forward to seeing a finished piccie one day. Happy stitching

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  31. Anne Ida7/14/2008 10:13 PM

    Congratulations on your 300th post!!! Keep 'em coming, please! :o)

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  32. Cornfield Quilter7/14/2008 11:22 PM

    Congrats on 300 posts! I have been readying your blog along with all the "Maverick" blogs for quite a while now and really enjoy them all. I love how you drape your animals with quilts and have cards out of them, so clever!
    Congrats and again and may you have 300 more. :D

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  33. Libby7/15/2008 12:04 AM

    Congrats on 300 posts! I always enjoy stopping by to see what's going on in your neck of the woods *s* Love those plaids!

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  34. Helen7/15/2008 12:09 AM

    Hi Tracey, long time lurker, first time poster! LOL Happy 300th post!

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  35. Needled Mom7/15/2008 2:59 AM

    Congratulations on your 300th post. There are many reasons to keep coming back to your blog - great photos, terrific quilt works, wonderful family stories and interesting farm memories being made. Keep it up.

    I love the setting that you settled on, but they all looked pretty neat.

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  36. Quilting_Basket_Case7/15/2008 3:13 AM

    Hi! I enjoyed looking at your blog. I'm new to the world of blogs and have just begun my own blog. I too am from a rural area in Mississippi and I have taught high school and college students since 1984. I have two teenagers who keep me very busy and love to sew and quilt every chance I get.

    Keep up the good work!

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  37. Sew Create It - Jane7/15/2008 4:59 AM

    Congrats on 300 posts...and raise a glass to the next 300! I love visiting your blog, seeing your fab pictures and life in Oz.

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  38. Chocolate Cat7/15/2008 5:35 AM

    300 Posts - thats pretty impressive! Always love reading to check what you're up to and often have a laugh. Am able to blame you for my demise to blogging and internet fabric shopping!! and I can also thank your blog for our peastraw!!

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  39. QuiltingFitzy7/15/2008 10:30 AM

    I read almost every darn day, whether you post a new post or not! Your blog is "just...REAL". You are who you are, I love it.

    Congrats on your 300 posts!

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  40. Nancy Near Philadelphia7/15/2008 10:28 PM

    I'd love to enter your drawing, Tracey.

    In the first picture of the triangles, the arrangement made me think of a bunch of wild, crazy sailboats.

    nancy, near philadelphia

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  41. McIrish Annie7/15/2008 10:46 PM

    Wowww!! 300 YOU ARE A CHATTY GIRL!~ What I love most about your blog is that you are on the other side of the world yet we do lots of the same things. Raise kids, keep house (on occasion) and quilt. I love all the pictures you post and the chatty way you write! Tracey, here's to another 300!! Congrats!

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  42. Anonymous7/16/2008 4:53 AM

    Hi Tracey,
    Congratulations on your 300th posts. I really liked your post on the seals. We are planning to go to Scotland in September and I am being told that there is a chance we would get to see seals or even dolphins. Would like that.
    Love your little sewing bag - how about a tutorial on that?
    Have a nice day,
    Ineke

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  43. Liz7/16/2008 11:02 AM

    Hi Tracey,
    Wow and congratulations on your
    300th post.
    Love reading about your country life, your op shop finds and quilt making adventures. Thanks for sharing all the lovely quilts and animal photos and down-to-earth warm hearted stories, and unusual quirky tidbits.
    Thanks also for your kind words and help when I started blogging this year.
    Looking forward to reading the next 300.
    Kind regards from Liz

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  44. Malagueta7/21/2008 8:11 AM

    Love the play with the plaids!!

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Thanks for finding the time to comment, I'll try hard to get back to you!! Sorry, have had to add word verification step due to comment spam!