I know I am a softie!

But how could you leave this beautiful, abandoned baby to risk the elements!!

Home wet, cold and with a splitting headache from a long day in antarctic conditions at the football carnival, but still have to do the jobs...headed out between showers to check my sheep. I have made a conscious decision to walk around one lambing mob so i am combining a job with exercise. Takes me around 40 minutes at a brisk walk to do this one paddock, then I do all the others on the motorbike. I love the walk, especially with the camera, but any day

Archie has been just waving me good-bye from the fence with his ageing body, but came with today...he confuses the heck out of the sheep!

I found this little one just about had it, now I ask you, could you possibly leave it there? No, you couldn't and I can't either!

It has come home to join these two

and this one...

Didn't it have a snug walk home...just keeping it real so you know I am hands on!! (i hate it when my text attaches itself to the pics and goes coloured, can i edit that once it happens??)

The lambs are joining my 7 big babies (to say nothing of the ones in the house!!) These are now 3 weeks old, but still sucking up as much of my quilting time as milk!

Very messy at that they are, as well.

Was talking about the new additions the other day at Bible Study, (but not for Bible study!) most of the other mums are younger than me, still having babies and thus at home for day time Bible study...unlike me who slides in off the motorbike with a lamb rather than a baby on the back!! Something then got us onto James herriot books, I adore James Herriot...funnily enough!! The other girls had seen the BBC shows and read some of the novels but never seen the kid's books of the best stories.

Home to dear Google, I found they were out of print, but thanks to my other friend, dear eBay, these ones are all on their way here. I have some, like the Market square Dog, Bonny's big day and Blossom come home (personal fave!!) but I have wanted the rest...including the Christmas day ketten whose pic didn't want to upload, for ages, and I was very pleased to get them reasonably. I am planning on giving the copies of the ones i already have to the girl who hosts the study, for the sheer fact her enthusiasm means I only ever have to slide in, not clean and host!!

Anyone else seen them? They are truly beautiful..and firmly ensconced in my section of the kid's book library that never gets handed on forever.

My relationship with ebay brings me to another good friend today. I haven't been on Ebay for probably 18 months, but as soon as I got on the other day, twas like I'd never left! From searching for james Herriot I moved to fabric, to interesting quilt tops, to a few favourite authors, and before I knew it my friendship with ebay was refreshed! This hasn't just worked with eBay, reconnected with my lovely friend Suse the last few days, and just like eBay, but much, much nicer, it is just like old times!! Handy that she has kept up via the blog, but just lovely to have a friendship you can recapture so quick! love ya Suse!! And promise to stay in touch!!

Betetr go to bed, still battling to feel warm after today, remember commenters are in the draw..and have a great day! Tracey

Update 3...just!

Okay, will get in by a few minutes to make this a third daily post.

Kids footy and netball team had the bye today, so made a quick dash to my sister's.

She has a beautiful new dog, has been rehomed by the breeder due to circumstances. And boy, has it fallen on its feet, very much adored by her little family. She knew a pup was out of the question at this stage, with the kitten monster still on the loose, so it had to be a grown dog. So well trained, wont even eat until you tell it...perfect! My sister wants me to go on the breeder's list, for when Archie passes on-I can't imagine no Archie, and am just taking him to the vet next week to see what we can do about his arthritis...he is NOT being replaced!

Doesn't the dog look loved by the kitten monster!

Been having a little play with the new florals, and finding them a little tricky, how often matching florals are...to me!! The creative one in me wants to bring in hot pinks and a bit of out there colour, but this is only meant to be a simple, quick play, resulting in a very basic shabby chic baby rug....why am I mucking around with it then!

Pink chenille or white...see why I'd like a hot pink border around each block...they seem lost...but that is the romantic fashion.

I stopped pulling my hair out and just whipped upthis one for a bed, cute, huh.

NO, just jokes, not really, that's Barbie in there!! Sleeping in the Doll's house, she has standards, so got a new quilt, this is it's star quilting below.

Now, you were getting more photos tonight but blogger is playing up and cutting out, so there will be some farm pics tomorrow, got some cuties to show you. I am off to see my boy play in some rep. football matches tomorrow, am taking sewing and the camera, should fill in the day!

Hope your day is great, and remember, a comment in my 7 days of posts, enters you in the comp!

Day 2 of catching up!

Have to share these pics with you! I went to my cousins house on Saturday night for my Uncle's special birthday. My cousin is a quilter..and felter..and cushion maker and doll maker!! She let me steal some photos for you in her lovely house, I love the felted bags, her own designs, other thinks you may pick a designer for...but not these! i just know how you all love MORE inspiration for projects! She even made the hanging tree with her wood router.

And here is a taste of her quilting. Which is your favourite thing?

Very talented. I also have the beautiful bunch of flowers school gave me for market organizing to share, and a great present from them...a bobbin saver! Don't you love it when people know just what you need??!! thank goodness no chocolates!! Though we did get a lovely slice filled morning tea!

Better run to the bus...this daily blogging is hard to fit in...more tomorrow..and remeber all commenters for the week fo in the draw!

A hectic month...but a blogging week to come!

Another month where i intended to blog more...and actually it was less!! But today is the first of 7 days of blogging, i am going to bring you up to speed on some sewing, some patchwork, some family news, lots of new photos, some new animals around the place ..and a bit of life in general. unfortunately for those with a love of gossip...no, I don't have a secret love child i am about to reveal! Sorry, my life hasn't been quite that exciting the past month...unlike some others! For a start, from Shabby Fabrics, "Delilah", by Grand Reveval. I think Grand Reveival did the Barefoot roses range as well, a range I never tire of and have used in so many quilts. Of course, now I need to sew it, not look at it and fondle it lovingly...who will be Delilah worthy I wonder??

In the past month my girl was confirmed into our church after 12 months instruction. Had 45 here for sit down lunch last Sunday after the service. This is her cake, made by a very good friend of mine, was chocolate and caramel cake inside, delicious!

And here is my little church adult and myself. How did she get so close to my height already!!

School market was the week before. As long time readers know, i co-ordinate this event. Did a very rough time tally, because a friend insisted, and I put in somewhere in excess of 180 hours. Including making the above raffle prize from my Roman Holiday stash. (With its happy recipient) Well worth it, this year's was amazing! I did my first one 5 years ago, we made $5000 and were excited, by last year we were upto $9000 profit and this year close to $14,500!!! From a 4 hour school market. We had shifted venues and the entire town came, we worked out it averages $1.30 from every town resident, and we never asked the businesses for one dollar or one donation-proud of that!!

Berst thing about the market, I was too busy to eat and lost 5 kgs in the 3 weeks leading up to it, 4 1/2 of which have remained off. Feel like I should be paying to be in charge!

Here are some of my jams and pickles...thanks to everyone who helped me with fig recipes.

I have lots more to show, but you had better tune in tomorrow. Anyone who comments during catch-up week will go in the draw for a few prizes...not just from Tracey's Country Cards, but including!! And anyone who comments on every post will get extra entries.

This last photo is me releasing a green balloon on Kael's funeral day. Friends released green balloons all over the world in his memory. I was very emotional about the fact they draped kael's coffin with his leukeumia quilt from me, they removed it and have kept it as a lasting reminder.

If it was a tough day for me 1000's of kms away, i can't imagine how the family did it.

Hope your day is great, Tracey

It's hard work being a a cat! Take 2..hopefully with pics!

Hmm, why would blogger steal the photos, how odd! We'll try again!

Magnum, "oh fertile one!" has just had her 3rd lot of kittens in 7 months, we keep missing the window for the snip! She gets pregnant too quickly.

Anyway, these are her new babies, I want one of these for a card, which is your favourite?

And if a catchy caption comes to mind, well I'm always very appreciative of those! There's even Mother's day coming up, if any appropriate ones jump out at you there.

Have a great day, Tarcey

It isn't all happy endings..

Sad news this week, the little boy who received the Quilt for Leukeumia quilt back in September passed away. I have been fortunate to be a part of his family's struggles since September by way of Facebook, and I can only pray that it is never anything that I have to face first hand.I am also very thankful that I could help to bring comfort and support to this great little boy. Cancer is a terrible thing, and medical research in this country needs to be gaining more money, not potentially be cut in half as is currently suggested. No-one should have to watch their little boy suffer like that. As they say, what a wonderful thing it will be when we need to have cake stalls to fund a war and hospitals and schools get all they need.

On a lighter note, and mainly because I don't want to leave all sad and political, fruit's in!! I have made my first batch of Clare's fig and walnut chutney (with home grown figs and walnuts)....looked BAD prior to cooking...slightly offputting, but beautiful after, haven't got a pic, I'll take one the next batch. I did it in the slowcooker, worked a treat!

This is my Mother-in-Law's ripe tomato chutney potion!! It is my family's favourite thing and pressure is always on for it to be good. A 6 hour cook, boiled down even darker than this third pic and is beautiful. Gotta love the smell.

Back soon, more stuff cooking. Hug your babies tight, love Tracey

Real love...or a great scratching post!

Archie and Shaggy spend every day like this, hard to get photos...the glass distorts them and if I go outside they both run to me. But I had to share these few I took.

Any good ideas for a suitable caption???

Archie waiting patiently for Shaggy to return!!

Quilts and walnuts and calves...

Where do the weeks disappear to? We had a great weekend away in Adelaide a few weeks ago, (Holdens won.) The only trouble was coming back to the cars after the race and we were one short!! Luckily ours was back at the holiday park, but it meant we bought a few extra dejected passengers home. Sad when you work your whole life for something good and others see it as a reason to steal. They've had no news so insurance is stepping in.

I finished another quilt...amazingly! I did most of the top last year at quilt retreat, an old friend wanted a quilt recently and this fit the bill, I finished it off to suit her and added a free pieced version of her daughter's name to the back as a surprise. It was made from a batik scrapbag from hancocks, I love the colour effect.

I have just about worked out a walnut routine, has been a lot of trial and error, i have a great husking machine...want to see?

Efficient, green energy...and cute as well!

He just loves pounding those walnuts and we have fun doing it together...think the finished product looks fine, I am freezing them all for Claire's fig and walnut chutney. The figs are late, probably the tricky season, just starting to ripen this week..and no chutney from them, they've all been eaten by me.

We are still trying to get the linseed off, one paddock done yesterday, it would be VERY nice to get the harvest finsished. It should all be getting worked up for the new planting now!

The agronomists are all doom and gloom about all the greenery and weeds the rain have caused, it is going to cost a fortune to spray it,.. and then hopefully it will burn. The agronomists say if we can't burn we can't crop. That would get getting serious!

Dh hurt his back the day after we came home from Adelaide, it's finally coming good but I have had to help him mark the calves that are being born every day...that involves an identification tag in one ear (see here on the left) and a number in the other if it's a girl, as this one is. If it's a boy it gets a ring on it's nether regions...none of which hurts the calf. I wish I had photos of me running across the paddocks to get the active ones...and turning them over to mark. The funnist bit is me attempting to lok nonchalant in front of Dh and act like the little blighters aren't hard to hold!But they are very cute!

Taking my girl to her school deb ball tomorrow night, a lot of friend's kids are in it-and a lot of her school frinds will be there, have to dress up...lets just say she is much more enthusiastic about this than me....but at least I'm happier than I would have been 8 kgs ago!!

Better run, I have a market to prepare for in the morning, hope you are great and bloggers, hope to visit!

Burning, birthday... and bieber!

Trying to get my house organized enough to disappear for school adventure camp with my daughter for the next few days, then be back home only a night before heading off to Adelaide for my annual dose of fuel injection...the Clipsal V8 supercar races.
A note to card order people, markets had really lowered my stocks, the card business has been crazy, new stocks arriving this week and al cards will be delivered asap.
We have had a few warm days so all the cereal grains are harvested, only the linseed to come. We have started burning the stubbles. We try not to burn much anymore but given the wet seasonal conditions it is the only way to get rid of the rubbishy weeds, fungi and secondary growth in the paddocks.

Darling daughter is now a teenager, had a dozen girls over for a party, they had to make their own cupcakes, decorate cupcakes and gluten free pavlovas (I'm an equal opportunity party holder!) and her birthday cake...also pin the hair on a bald Justin Bieber!

The highlight was the chocolate fondue fountain, we only get it out a few times a year, always makes me feel like the Vicar of Dibley!! It really should be illegal.

I'll leave you with a rose from this week, the roses are loving this wet summer/autumn. Better run, have to clean out the car to get kids in....heaven help me!

One quilt done!

It's 11 pm here, I am waiting for 6 slabs of apple strudel to be cool enough to freeze and 3 egg and bacon pies to come out of the oven....and I draw the line at the "Embarrasing bodies" show the TV is offering, so i finally have a minute to blog.

Emma's 'Quilts for Leukeumia' quilt is all finished and mailed. I photographed it in my favourite March light, which probably makes it a touch on the orange side, but I don't think that matters. It was all foundation pieced on a thick wadding, so tying it was quite enough quilting. Has a fabulous red and white spot backing and I, of course, would have loved it here! But that's the fun of quilting. I know a little 4 year old in New Zealand needs it more than me, and of course my name is NOT Emma!.My darling Archie dog helped as always... you get a rare pic of me here...a la naturale! Well, not THAT natural, (you aren't being punished!) i mean, in farmwife mode. Arch is 8 and starting to have a few morning arthritis issues, I hate seeing that, it reminds me he can't keep me company and scare the foxes away from all my free ranging chooks for ever.Look at him begging for a scratch.

Had 2 warm days this week so managed to get a bit more crop off, now we only have a little barley and a lot of linseed to battle for. All good fun. Better run now, oven is going off...thanks to all my walnut helpers, have realy appreciated the continuing advice, struggling to get good ones, today was about my best result. i don't think I will be getting rich from walnut farming! Have a great day, Tracey