Purse draw

There can only be one winner....because if I mail out 31 purses my household budget will be blown-and my family have this extremely unreasonable requirement to eat!

I have heaps of great pics to share but such a hard day today-A shrek 3 birthday party at the movies and and going out for tea tonight....plus the unfortunate aftermath of World war 2, sorry, a 7 year old birthday party, that doesn't seem to have magically tidied itself since I collapsed into bed last night. So pics can wait until later....

After printing out 15 pages of comments (who said we weren't passionate about quilt shops!) the lucky commenter is Anne Bebbington at Quilting Bebbs. Drop me an email ,Anne and the purse will be off to England. I sold more yesterday, real money!

Got a fabulous email , with photos of what would happen if women ruled the World. I will share more in coming posts but I thought all you computer girls would see the advantages of this little mouse,

Cheers, Tracey

Keep those comments coming!
Lots of fabulous feedback and some great ideas coming re:Local Quilt shops post.
Purse is only drawn tomorrow so keep the comments coming. Please feel free to link it to your local shop and encourage them to borrow the ideas,
I have to run, a round robin due for quilters, another block to get in the mail and 20 kids here tomorrow for a bonfire birthday party for DS, pray for me that it doesn't rain-14 boys and 6 girls in the house for 3 1/2 hours-arggh!!!
Cheers, Tracey
ps, I don't want to open a quilt shop, you are all far too far away to shop there-- and it would cut into my sewing time! Also the Quilt shop I use is fine, I just feel that a lot of these ideas would really make it a place we all have to visit on a regular basis.

Save the Local Quilt Store!!


Or, how they can save themselves.............


Okay, it is a given, I love to shop and I love a bargain.


I shop in person and I shop online, because both are my right.


I love to see and feel the fabric I am purchasing, I love talking to people who actually know colours and fabrics and getting their feedback-so I love the real quilt shop experience......but they are disappearing, probably because of online shopping and sometimes because people aren't sewing as much anymore. What to do??


Well, here is some advice from a shopper..... (feel free to add, agree or disagree)



1. If I am going to buy something I can possibly get cheaper online it has to be worth it to me, perhaps not financially but mentally. (Retail therapy is a beautiful thing!)
Why do we blog? For feedback and to be a part of a group, work on this in your store.

Therefore, the interaction I will not get online needs to occur, people have to smile and look pleased to see me, even remember my name. They should never be short with me when I ring with a telephone query on fabric availability. In an ideal world they would have coffee and a place to sit down and look at the books. For everyone who doesn't buy one, someone else will and the one who didn't will leave with a welcoming, fun shopping experience. Also if you can sit and have coffee then a wait will not worry you, so staffers can be more relaxed to spend the appropriate amount of time serving/helping you AND therefore make the shopping experience fun!

2. Reward me for shopping with you!


Unknown eBay and fabric shops throw in fat quarters they want to get rid of, why can't you? Especially when I spend $100 for instance! Give me a little card that records purchases and when i get to say, $300, I get free membership in the sample club so my mailout of 10 charm squares a month costs me nothing rather than $40 per year.


Perhaps when I get to $400 I get 10 % off in the next year. Keep me coming back because you realise I am a shopper and I'm better off shopping with you than someone else!!

How about "Fat Friday"? At a free regular coffee and chat (because i will call into something I am not tied down to and perhaps buy something, but am unlikely to pay for something I can do at home) have a fat quarter draw where everyone who purchased something in the past week goes in the draw to win (and has to collect from the store!) if you are present, you win 2 fat quarters! Only costs you a fat quarter or two and a pot of coffee but great for getting people in the door and PR.



3. Send mailouts about your sales./use the internet


Nothing annoys a regular customer more than walking into her LQS the day after the sale finished, especially when she is in the sample club.


4. Have a gimic that is cheap and can't be bought online as cheap, ie, make your scrapbags cheap and good so that people think it is is always worth popping into see what's there.


Once they are in they will look around. You could do this with any number of things, become known as the LQS who has Moda sampler tins the same price as the Internet, people come for them, buy yardage to go with it at your prices. You have beaten the net and not lost anything in the bargain. Advertise this in the national magazines, people want to buy within their community/country-make it the best option!


Be unique, it shouldn't be hard to have a gimic, so what if one thing in your shop sells at wholesale, everything doesn't have to.

5. Get me in the door!

Similar to the "gimic" idea, and the "make me welcome" one but with a twist.

Run info. sessions, eg, mitreing your corners, rotary cutting, setting in triangles, ask and answer time, etc, etc. They may be at normally quiet times, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Have the coffee on, keep it on time, maybe even make them 10 minute sessions. It doesn't have to be big, but get the info. out. Why doesn't my LQS have my email, they should, and every week I should know what's in and what the info. sessions will be on. Auto generated emails cost absolutely nothing and keep everyone up to speed. Chances are, if I call in for mitreing, I will buy something, or get an idea from a quilt display that grows for the next week so i come back again for another look.


That is the general message, we want to shop locally, make it worth our while as retail therapy and keep your business.

Don't get angry and close, think outside the square and get even!!!


~ remember:have quilting money, will spend it somewhere!
I am having my version of "Fat Friday". Add a comment or suggestion to this post and go in the draw to win one of my little Moda purses. Drawn this Friday, Australia time! Cheers, Tracey

As you get older friends don't drop into your lap quite the same as they may once have.

Finding good ones isn't always easy ("imaginary' blogging friends excluded here of course!) About 4 years ago, when my girl was in Kinder, there was this other mother who I really liked, I didn't see much of her but had the feeling we may be kindred spirits if given the chance. Turns out I saw her there for a few months and was just starting to think the tops she was wearing made her look pregnant, when sure enough, I found out she was having a baby.
Now quilts don't normally get made for babies of people I don't know all that well,they may get a bag, a spit blanket,or a name blanket with gingham edging but I enthusiastically threw myself into the task of a quilt and delivered it. You can imagine my surprise when she told me that she made quilts as well! You see, I did know a Kindred spirit!
Our children went on to the same school and all get on very well, we've shared many coffees, swimming lessons, sewing times -and even another baby on her behalf, but now she and her family are relocating to Western Australia.
It all seems to have happened very quickly and suddenly (late yesterday) it was upon me and I hadn't thought of a suitable going away present. They will be renting and have been having a huge clean out so I don't want to add to the shift with unnecessary stuff but I wanted to do something special.
After she had her last baby she gave me this lovely card, that has remained on my mantle.

I thought that surely I could do something with this, so I trimmed and scanned, then printed it onto a prepared calico printing sheet. I then had a good old play around and came up with this

And here is another view....

It's a quilted carry-all that sits under your sewing machine. This one is my idea but I am sure I must have seen one once to have got the general implant in my brain!

If you then fold it in half the tools don't fall out and you can roll it up and take it with you, I sewed a hook of elastic on one side that keeps it altogether. I can give better instructions if anyone wants them.
I'm planning on one for me now, I love the "organizedness" of it, and that my pins can be stuck in the whole quilted surface in front of the machine. You could really make them nice if you had time to plan rather than just sew!
Must run, I have 30 minutes to wrap it, get myself nice and get to their farewell!



The shortest day's sunrise over the mountains

The old and the new

Tractors are a huge part of our lives here. There are a range for different jobs.

When DS was recently doing a project on his late grandfather I had to scan some old photos for him, here is his grandfather digging out our yabby dam back in the 1940's. There is a bucket scoop on a chain dragging out the dirt. Imagine how long that took! When we recently had that dam cleaned out by an excavator during the dry, he dug it twice as deep in around 2 hours!

Screen door recently posted about old machines used as displays and I commented that I could gladly send her some from here but the postage could be a little exorbitant!Here's a little sample of what we could mail, (with the quilt that needs another 6 inches each side for a finish-and wouldn't be in the mailout!)

And another view...

All of these machines are piled here waiting to be picked up as part of a metal fundraising activity for the local football club. Nothing he's had longer than about 15 years is allowed around here (in regards machinery-hopefully not wives.) So there is no chance of being allowed to put this in my roundabout as a display!

I hate to think about the older singer sewing machines and other treasures that were buried in a big hole before my time!

And now to the new purchase, we have gone to the red brand from the green one due to a very favourable deal. This tractor has to be able to pull the air seeder whereas the smaller ones do the front end loader work. 245 horse power, quiite a change from the earlier one his dad would have used. I wonder what he would say!

Ds was very excited when he got home from School to the new toy.

The men needed to stand around and look at engines. Utes seemed to arrive from everywhere!

I made sure I made some educated sounding noises but really was more interested in the fact that this was a much better colour for making matching quilts! The JD green is shocking! Have a great day, Tracey

Day off

The day off yesterday was great, we found fabulous accommodation here for our August quilting retreat, we had lunch at a beautiful restaurant/gallery overlooking a huge rough sea (remember it is Winter here-and v.cold!)

and then managed to fit in a facial for me and massage for Robyn before a quick shop at the LQS opposite-a very restoring day. So cold with the winds coming staight off the sea, definitely straight from Antarctica! We didn't do a lot of messing around outside the car when we were checking out the alternatives! So you are not over burdened with photos, I will make sure I take more in August-promise!

Saturday Quilters tomorrow, we are putting together out Bingo boards into a quilt. The square in a square is my idea for bringing them all together, hopefully tomorrow we will get it to the flimsy stage. Then we will decide on a good cause, I think we may be building homes in Asia through one of the Churches.

Our Friday night quilters have this quilt on the go as well, (I have just realised it should be the other way as the basket of flowers are looking decidedly odd!) I just need to add another row of that blue around the edge to the flying geese and I think we will then call it quits, someone will appreciate and /or make money from it in our community.

Found this doll picture today when I was organizing. This is a mermaid I made up for DD's birthday last year, she has feather wool as hair and sequined fabric for her tail; Anne Cordelia , the redhead, was made for DD's little red headed friend. She has fabulous bumpy wool as hair. I keep meaning to make Anne Cordelia for myself but there is always a list of other priorities. Who is going to be the first to locate the origin of hername I wonder?

Have a great weekend... or Friday, whatever comes to you first! Tracey

Trip away

Okay so the photo uploading component of blogger has now gone on strike so this fabulously exciting weeded roundabout looks like it is it!

Well, it actually is quite exciting because it is done, one chore down! My boy and I had a lovely afternoon on this. The dog chased a mouse the entire time and managed to squash anything that was good and dig a huge hole under one of those rocks. I am a great believer in making stuff out of scraps so i proceeded to plant succulents in the hole!!

Oh, we've decided to work again so here are the new succulents!

Melbourne was fine, slight meltdown by the girl when she found out that she had to have a general (probably in the next month) to put the camera in and have a good old look round...but the gift shop seemed to calm her down!

I didn't get any fabric shopping in, just a good lot of organizing shopping, have been busily organizing drawers since I got back. DD has been very miserable, I think the trip wore her out.

I am having a day off today, about to head off to port Fairy with my friend Robyn...officially to organize the accommodation for Quilter's retreat in August but I'm working on that taking 15 minutes, then shop, lunch and massage???

I might take the camera and do the "hey I have a blog and people want to know about Port Fairy" thing!

Cheers, Tracey

So much to post about and so little time!

Have been absent getting the place in order to disappear to Melbourne for a few days, DD on the improve and very excited about Melbourne with Mum.

Cleaned out the car and decided a little more organisation was in order with the door storage. It was crammed full of pens, unpicks, choc papers (jolly kids!!) important stuff and my personalized stationary.

(shocking house light colour, apologies!)

I know things disappear from there when I open the door in the wind so I devised this to fit exactly. It is the Maison Noel range and my usual favourite plastic coated fabric. I have been actually selling some of these purses, especially the ones in Faded Memories. They are very popular. I added a pen/ unpick/noteholder to the front and a zip section for the important things. Looks far better than the before pic (which I fortunately never took!) The quilt looking thing is my personalized notecards, gotta love the internet!

Added this little bag to the collection to keep some more sewing notions together in my bag while I am away, in case i am very bored in waiting rooms.

Have you posted a pic of the little bags you keep for your notions (not necessarily the needle holders.)

Haven't finished my niece's Doll quilt yet, got distracted and cut up the op shop felt hat and made this, once again dodgy light but I can't wait until a.m. so it will have to do.

I'll take another one of the whole thing as it came fairly cute! The base blanket is a big cotton weave blanket I bought at a op shop and cut up into useable pieces.

I was able to do my chores in a bit more sunshine and snapped you some photos of the lambs playing 3 Billy Goat's gruff over hubby's new bridge. I love how I can get these photos now, once I would have had to be so close that they all would have run away!

The view back towards home (which is always the best view....)

Anyone know of any Beatles fabric, I have done music things for a favourite BIL but Beatles are his favourite, especially Paul!

Just thought I would finish off with these two, now who needs George Clooney's genetics!!!

Remind me I owe you a pic of DH's new toy when next I post...believe me, there wont be anything being said about my purchases here for a while (not that he generally does...perhaps just the odd raised eyebrow, especially when he calls in for a chat in the studio!) Cheers, tracey

Feeling energetic?
Well this will get you up and going for the day, you have hopped out of bed, dragged on clothes, conned an almost 7 year old into wearing a tie,-but not managed to get him into a jumper even though it is about 3 degrees outside. You've optimistically packed it into his bag along with his lunch and reader, listened to your daughter moan a little about her tummy, had a coffee and the rest of DS' breakfast then headed out to do your chores..........
Notice how I keep saying "your chores? Well that's because today you can have a little virtual tour, a taste of my morning jobs around the place...and for those of you who regularly ask for more farm pics, there are a few of those as well.

Start by heading for the lambs, notice roundabout and wonder why it is that weeds grow so well and don't need loving care and attention-while plants do. Realise weeding should be on today's chores but...did I mention it was 3 degrees!

Add excitement to your day by making the lambs share one bottle to finish their feed, always a guaranteed laugh! Is that a kiss?

Walk back past sewing room and gaze longingly, also note the amount of stuff dumped at the door during house rejuvenation and add another chore to the "to do later" list. Wonder why the chore list grows like the weeds.

Now, you had thought that these chores were easy, but here is where the huge ethical and moral decisions start occurring. See that Clothes line, the 2 loads of washing in the basket could go there and no carbon would be added to the ozone but your fingers would freeze and they probably wouldn't dry and you would be putting them in the drier tonight anyway OR you could save time and put them straight in the drier and just decide to plant more trees at the end of the winter to make up for it. (More chores!)

Stash non-recyclable rubbish in bins for DH to take to Transfer station when they start to overflow!

Put recycling in it's containers in the shed and find a little surprise. This chook has had her photo in before, she was one of the very early chickens when I began posting and now 7 or 8 months later she is sitting on her own babies.

Empty the food scraps (hypothetically for the chooks) and then enjoy watching to see who gets them, the chooks or Archie.

This is Archie winning.

This is Detente, the gobbler is a little like a world political leader, easier not messed with!

A quick walk around the ewes lambing in the close paddocks. Hope you packed your coat and het, how about your birthing gloves?! (I was picking mushrooms in this swamp 2 weeks ago, now it is very wet, I am hoping I will be showing you swans on it soon. )

Head down to the Spring paddock. Notice the tracks? Sheep like to follow the same paths all the time, and often the same leaders.

Find a pair of Brolgas on the new crop coming up next to the wetlands. We gladly share the crop with these wild dancing, funny talking giants. Don't go to close, we want them to stay.

Some wheat poking it's head out as we go past. Remember to check how it is going so you can give a report that sounds educated and observant over coffee with the DH later! Then flatten the batteries on the camera (it can take over 300 shots and be left on a bit!!) and head back home to start the real chores!

So, why doesn't Tracey get more done....well I don't know the answer either!

My kingdom for the perfect container!

I LOVE plastic containers, actually, I will rephrase, I am crazy about anything that holds Stuff....have been since I was tiny, love all kinds of bags, trinket boxes, storage boxes, even painted styrofoam boxes! Chests really light my fire and a wooden crate...I can hardly breathe!

This week's evidence for the prosecution: because, if you are cleaning off your benches and trying to be better organized (witness Marty Robbins singing "that's the story of my life") then you have to have pretty little boxes to put the stuff in from now on.

I even labelled them, I started well, "General receipts", then "Important" and then fell to that bottom one that you can just see the sticker to, yes, you are correct, it says "Stuff". Now which do you think has the most in it already! The theory is then that it all goes from there to the office files. Another good theory!

When we go to Melbourne next week I have Howards Storage world and Ikea at the top of the list! Not sure they are the top of my daughters though but for the sake of the perfect container sacrifices sometimes need to be made! I love finding new and exciting ways to make better use of space. But maybe after the purging that has gone on here this week I mightn't need any more containers....NAH, I'm going anyway.

I wonder what a psychologist says about women who are always looking for the perfect container?

My Junior psychologist theory is that it is an entrenched desire to be completely organized and therefore some kind of hypothetical "Good" housekeeper.

Another great theory, (if I do say so myself!) but what a pity I can't stick to it-you see so many more exciting things (read quilting here!) occur on such a regular basis that my house is only ever completely tidy for about an hour...and you can guarantee not one person will visit during that hour...and that DH wont call in for a coffee...and it will be like a tree falling in a forest that no-one heard-did it really happen?!

Enough organization, DD home fairly ordinary today so I only managed a little patchy play; a doll's quilt in specified (pale) colours. If you look hard enough you are meant to be able to read Millie in free-pieced letters. It still needs another row of checkerboard and to have the strips sewn together, then I think 2 hours or more work will probably be sufficient. much bigger jobs to finish. Have a great day, Tracey

Had a great laugh netsurfing this morning
-hadn't had a 'coffee' with Kim for a few days so I had a little bit of catching up to do. (Obviously "K" is a long way alphabetically down my favourites and I never got that far during my rewards for eliminating piles of clutter)
I quite often think the same as Kim but I really agreed with her today.
She had been tagged for a '5 Things To do' list meme. To say that she slightly changed the emphasis would be putting it mildly! Click on her name for the link but I will add my part by saying that I would swap Hugh Grant from 5 up to 2, other than that we are in complete agreement!

A month or two ago Kim queried who we would iron our sheets for, once again George Clooney was number 1. I even suggested I would iron my stomach flat for him!
Now all of this is of course purely hypothetical, both Kim and I are married to precious gorgeous men who cope beautifully with quilting purcheses, quilting talk, quilting groups and just quilting in general. Imagine trying to train another one into that way of thinking...or any of our ways of thinking !! How would George or Hugh cope when we turned up on their arm at the Cannes Film festival with our little black dresses covered with white quilting thread...and when they took us to Paris fashion week we would be looking for outfits made of cotton so we could cut them up later!

No, even though George needs to settle down and transfer the genetics for those eyes and THAT naughty little smile, and Hugh needs someone to make overcoming his fear of commitment worthwhile....alas, I cannot volunteer! I think I will still sleep perfectly well tonight on that decision -but have I really been fair to them!?!

Speaking of ironing my tummy flat-I have actually discovered that I have some stomach muscles. In the spirit of health, fitness and organisation I am currently on, I have done Pilates TWO whole times in the last 3 days-and doesn't my abdomen know it! The hard thing will be doing it again tonight and not getting put off and out of the mood.
Need to run now, I'm cleaning out more cupboards and expected to cook an evening meal (how rude.) I would love a comment on the To do list-or who you may iron your tummy flat for !!! Tracey

Getting sorted.

DH is getting seriously worried! The bedroom is covered with every paper and box that had been dumped in the office and he has seen me sorting through individual files! I'm getting through so much that soon the floor is going to be able to be seen, and then the only clutter will be the books I got from the Library, 'Let go of Clutter' and 'I hate filing' to provide the impetus. (Oh, and the Stephanie Laurens historical romance because a girl needs rewards!)

Another reward system I am using today is not Aero bars, (because I have a little Cyber fitness challenge going with another blogger and there is fabric involved for prizes) but allowing myself time to read and comment on one blog after each pile is organized! Much less fattening!

The big reward should be a few hours in the sewing room this afternoon, so I will run now and come back in an hour or two with progress! (Hmmm, haven't got to the sewing room yet but have started on the office drawers!)

Here is a pic of DN from yesterday, I was right away from her, as she doesn't really like her pic taken, and thought it came up ok.

Above is another interesting op shop find this week. It is a wool felted hat, and just my colours. I have no intention of wearing it, i am going to cut it up and use it in something, I see lovely flowers! I do a bit of wool felting and can see that this took a lot of effort, just a pity it is so not me when put on my head! have a great weekend, we are on Queen's birthday holiday here so a long weekend. Tracey

The paparazzi have arrived....

-and just about mastered the software, how to email, how to up and down load and almost how to take perfect close-ups..... so the quilts, chooks, lambs, plants and children on this farm should be very afraid!

Think I had better read that manual!! But definitely getting close, where's the Macro button!

DH was sick of it 15 minutes after it arrived-"stop taking my photo!" he demanded in his best celebrity style! Note how I didn't say his best Paris hilton style. She never says no to a photo, ...(and how about a little aside-I, too would have a nervie in jail, Paris....I can't even bear to watch Prison Break, let alone be in there, therefore I am very careful that I pay my registration and DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!!Because the rules apply to both rich and poor. )

I am very hard at work at present...I have spent hours on the camera and occasionally throwing around food or drink as my kids have report writing day and my sister's littlies are here as well. I think I may need a lie down..."oh DD, get your cousin another drink please...and can you change a nappy?"

The answer to that is unfortunately no, so I had better go and pay some attention to the little darlings. See you soon with some quilting. (The Mo-jo is definitely back, I stayed up until midnight and cleaned all the clutter off my benches and cleaned all the kitchen cupboards out last night-the revamp is on!) tracey

How does the Olympus SP550 sound?
It has 18x optical zoom and takes a fantastic close up as well, I think I love it!
Anyone know or think otherwise?
I made an absolute idiot of myself testing all the cameras out while I killed a few hours in town when DD got in some School this afternoon. That is the biggest pain about living 30 kms from town, you can't just drop and run!
I swapped the camera for my purse and took it out on the street to test it, I zoomed in, took the flowers in the pots abd did a lot of distance shots- people were looking at me very strangely!
I have to kill an entire day tomorrow (DD is attempting to perform with her choir at the Eisteddfod) and think I may get the camera, so speak now or forever hold your peace!
We have our Children's hospital appointment, Monday week, (I went private to shorten the wait) it's 6 pm so looks like DD and I will get 2 days in the city, hope she's up to shopping...now where is that old stroller??....
Must run, am missing Prison Break quality(?) time! Tracey

The angels are warming up....

A few weeks ago, when I wasn't coping well with DD's moaning and pains, especially being woken with them, I suggested that instead of telling me she felt bad and sick all the time, perhaps we could try something like "the angels are singing today' or, the more common, 'the angels aren't singing today.'

She has embraced this and my daily reports sound much nicer.

Today I was able to go for a walk and I decided that those Angels may not be singing the Hallelujah Chorus just yet but I can faintly hear them warming up in the wings!

The blood tests have all come back fine so there are no nasties that may have been brewing since last November. I didn't think I was terribly worried about this but 3 people I know have vividly died in my dreams in the 3 nights preceding the results. One was a 2 year old child of a friend, who I was in charge of and drowned in the bath! I woke in a cold sweat and rang her first thing in the morning to tell her not to trust his big sister to watch him in the bath!

Anyway last night's sleep was blissfully death free and today I actually took a walk and wondered why I don't manage it more. It was a sunny winter's morning after rain and I remembered how much my head clears and my perspective improves during a walk. It used to be when I made all my financial decisions-when I could see the forest from the trees! Today I planned quilts and the Bible Study I had to lead at Ladies fellowship.

My head was so cleared that I finished the hot pink floral when I got back, DD was busy making pancakes which is hopefully another indicator that she is improving, so I got to go to the sewing room.

I thought I would let the other improver show you the completed quilt. (Actually trying to eat it I think!)

'Thistle' the lamb, after a week of what seemed like a permanent neurological disorder, has decided to retain his feet and his balance and is now walking again. He is living proof that there is still room for Charlotte's web farming...and If I wanted to get political, which I don't, he is also proof that we should never give up on our lesser abled in general. (Thistle is on the left. Check out those wrinkles on Spring!Far right)

They were so excited about the quilt, look at the little tail going crazy on Spring!

I worked out that this whole quilt cost me less than $10! Fabulous old fashioned quilting. I wonder what the owner of that skirt would say if she saw it now, or the donator of the bedspread on the back! A good reminder that our trash can be very useful as someone else's treasure.

On that note I will upload you two more pictures.-

Thses are my latest op shop purchases. I had DD at school for an hour and felt like retail therapy that wouldn't blow the budget. Look what I found.

Mint condition butter coloured chenille. (2) I shared one out at Quilters on Friday night, it's thick and perfect. The two plaids are a huge green never used cotton lounge cover. Looks like you could back 2 single quilts with it. The blue is another barely used couch cover, lovely and bright.

The last photo is of a piece of some kind of woollen material, yell out if you have seen it before. It reminded me of a quilt, so I bought it, but am fascinated to know what it's meant to be!

Probably half a metre x nearly a metre long.

So things are going along ok here, I think I may be getting my mo-jo back (apologies to Austin Powers and please don't tell me that has different connotations in the US!!!) and hopefully DD is close to a bit of School. Thanks for the lovely comments, Cheers, Tracey

Blogging gets more answers!
A short post this morning,we are about to race out the door. DD is trying School for an hour, it's music and choir and she is desperate to sing at the Eisteddfod next week so we are having a try.
Mainly posting to say 'Thank you' to all the lovely bloggers out there who have been concerned about her tummy over the past 8 months, but especially to Quilting Bebbs who has been dealing with a similar situation in her famuily and very kindly emailed me a few pages of information.
I took all of this with me to the Doctor yesterday and we have started on some of the remedies already last night. We are also to go to the Royal Children's to a specialist and had all her bloods done again, to double check that something hasn't reared it's ugly head since November when that was last looked at. At least this doctor didn't just go mad at me and say "She should be at School more, Mum!"
The blood test was an absolute parenting nightmare, last time they couldn't get a vein so it took a couple of goes and cost me a Polly pocket. This time I marched her straight there with no time to think but she went white at the door and started crying and screaming. Said she needed time to get used to the idea and we would come back tomorrow, oh sure, stressing overnight always helps these situations! So that wasn't on the cards, I, the parent who doesn't "do" needles or blood, was the parent who had to go through this for the second time! Between a couple of nurses and me they got the blood. The nurse even told me I did well...I was quite proud!
Anyway, here's hoping we get to the bottom of it, and thanks again! tracey