tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33378609582773550362024-03-14T04:29:29.195+11:00the home of...Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.comBlogger183125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-77685897472378975842016-06-13T16:51:00.000+10:002016-06-13T16:51:09.001+10:0013th June 2016....InspirationSo..I haven't posted for about as long as I haven't touched my sewing machine.<br />
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That is about to change.<br />
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I have a pile of gorgeous flannels on my sewing table, ready to stitch.<br />
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I've worked out why I couldn't access my blog. Fixed that - neo-counter removed and deleted.<br />
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No more excuses.<br />
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Not sure if anyone even follows this anymore.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-color: transparent; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-51925973162699559702012-04-19T21:21:00.001+10:002012-04-19T21:21:40.408+10:00Circle Quilt...borders on<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The next stage of the quilt is finally completed, and not without drama. You know how some quilts just go together with ease....and some just do not?? Well, this one did not. The red spot border went on with ease, and that's where it ended. </div>
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I couldn't tell you how many borders I have cut and sewn. Too many to count. Too many to remember. But first thing to go wrong was I measured once and had to cut twice. First mistake. We all know that we measure twice and cut once....so lots of white homespun is already cut for my next quilt. So a bonus I say.<br />
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In the end I called Martha and we did it together. I had had enough and was ready to throw it out the window! Then yesterday we took a little drive to Warren to drop it off to the quilter....<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-36579963366199360772012-04-13T22:47:00.001+10:002012-04-13T22:47:52.284+10:00Circle Quilt....progress shot<div>
Martha & I have joined forces to make this quilt from the Oops-a-daisy range by Moda. It's not quite finished, as it still needs borders. This would be my fault....I am the slack one. Surprise surprise. I was the big noter who had my circles cut out before Martha, as everything is a race. (I may have sent multiple texts to her bragging) Then I was struck down with a migraine or two, and Martha got to work and got her half of the quilt completed while I was still up to sewing the circles onto the squares....</div>
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Totally unmotivated at this point, I went to visit her, poured some wine, (this however was my undoing) and attempted to sew my first two rows together....hmm, the seams are not matching! Out came the quick unpick....to cut a long story short. The quick unpick came out again, I gave up, had more wine, had a sleep over, the quilt didn't get looked at again until yesterday....<br />
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.....who knows when the borders will go on??!! More photo's soon, Martha has given me a deadline of Wednesday...she is a taskmaster ;-)<br />
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By the way, it's a gift for a friend, who has no internet, so I'm pretty confident she doesn't read our blog.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-33928188018298583562012-04-09T09:30:00.000+10:002012-04-09T09:30:00.139+10:00Graceland....Memphis, Tennessee<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Another highlight of our trip was visiting Graceland. The photos just don't do it justice, as we weren't allowed to use a flash as they damage the furniture and artworks, so all photo's were taken on my iphone minus the flash.</div>
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One thing about Graceland is how well organised it is. People are escorted through in an orderly manor. When you arrive you are given a headset which gives you a guided tour all along the way through the home. The home is magnificent. I loved it.</div>
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This is the first room you see as you enter the front door and is on your right. It is beautiful, and when you consider Elvis lived here in the 70's...he was pretty comfortable for the times.</div>
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I won't show you every room as I took about 70 photo's. It is a large home for the times, and even though every American I spoke to that had been there said to me, they liked it but were surprised at how small it was, I thought it was huge.<br />
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This is the kitchen, nice carpet, and massive. Every appliance known to man. CCTV was had by Elvis even back then, even a microwave-type oven! A dated looking thing that was huge, but the same type of thing. I'm telling you it looked pretty modern compared to kitchens in Australia of the 70's.<br />
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This room was one of my favourites as it was covered floor to ceiling in fabric, and pretty funky fabric at that. It was pleated all over. It was the pool room. Even though the walls, the ceiling, the furniture and everything was covered in the same fabric, it actually worked together in a way only someone like Elvis could do.<br />
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Maybe the splash of red leather chairs just broke up the excessive fabric enough to make it work. I did love this room, as did Elvis apparently. He had plently of parties in this room.<br />
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The lights above the pool table were stained glass. They were gorgeous also.<br />
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Outside the pool room, was the staircase, the walls and ceiling were covered in green pile carpet which leads up to the famous "jungle room". This was unreal. I have never seen anything like it. I just loved it. Are you ready to see it???<br />
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This is the jungle room....it was full of jungle themed items and jungle furniture. It was so amazing. That green pile carpet was just unbelievable and reserved so well. Everything was just as he left it. In the corner of the room was a staircase that lead up to Elvis' private quarters which nobody was allowed to go to. When he was alive, he never took people up there, so to show him respect, nobody is allowed up there now, but family.<br />
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Here is a huge painting of Elvis...oh and me :)<br />
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At the end of the tour, it ends at the cemetry of Elvis and his family. It's a pretty sombre place & you can't help but get emotional.<br />
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Graceland is on our top 10.<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-35215959719104176922012-04-08T22:25:00.001+10:002012-04-08T22:25:42.413+10:00Toadstools & Chickens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This week was Easter week & we had family visiting so I thought I best spruce up the dinner table with a new arrangement....and I purchased these gorgeous red toadstools from a Paper Pear in Wagga Wagga recently but needed them arranged in a pot. I took them down to my local florist so she could whip up some magic and look what a wonderful job she did with them. </div>
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They are ceramic, and as I am a sucker for red and white spots....they suit me perfectly!!</div>
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Martha on the other hand had an Easter hat to make, so with the help of my Maddilen and her Claudia, who drew the pattern for the chicken, she whipped up this hat for Jack. What you can't see in this photo is the chicken legs that hang down either side of the hat and are made from brown felt.<br />
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Maybe if I took the photo before pouring the wine you may have seen the legs ;-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-28754393707326259492012-04-08T20:10:00.000+10:002012-04-09T22:12:47.919+10:00Highway 61 to Memphis, Tennessee State 11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On the morning of 7th April after breakfast, we headed North on Highway 61 towards our 11th State, Tennessee. We are heading for Memphis to visit Elvis. This will be a two part post, as Elvis put on a big show. Now, before visiting Memphis, I wasn''t a massive Elvis fan, I appreciated his music and his movies, but let me tell you. I am a fan now. But let me show you about our trip to Memphis.</div>
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Along the way we saw the most random things. We were near this little town of Cary, on Highway 61 when we saw these homes below which were very trashy. I couldn't believe just how bad they were. they looked like something from a movie, I was so busy taking a photo of them as we drove slowly through the town, that as I turned my camera off and looked to the left....well I just couldn't get my camera back on quick enough to photogragh what I saw there. A chain gang. A real life chain gang. I was horrified. Two African American men in shackles, in black and white stripey jail clothes, with hoes, digging weeds, on the side of the road, and being guarded by a policeman with a rifle. I thought it was a joke, surely this couldn't be for real. But it was. There was a jail just behind the men. We kept driving.<br />
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Not far down the road we came across this flag on the side of the road, made from plastic cups simply sitting in chicken wire. Pretty well done.<br />
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By this time of the day I was starving, so we stopped at some little servo and it was scary looking, I was almost a bit too scared to go in. This is what I bought, and oh my goodness, it was so good. It was a dagwood dog, not what the Americans called it, but that's what it was, and it was divine. I wish I got two as it was alot smaller than our dagwood dogs.<br />
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Then we passed the good old golden arches....we didnt stop.<br />
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Yay...another State line. Entering State 11, good old Tennessee!! So where is Keith Urban??? I looked everywhere, but I never did find him....<br />
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Elvis Presley Blvd....well we are heading in the right direction. Now where will we stay? Need to find a motel for the night....<br />
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What a dork...Elvis glasses that were the cheapest plastic I have ever seen. They could have passed for showbag quality, actually no, worse than that, and had a $29.99 price tag. So even I didn't let Robert buy them, I let him play with them only.<br />
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Here is Elvis' white suit. Funny story goes with this. See how its boxed up? Rope along the front? Well, prior to this photo, Robert was doing an Elvis stance in front of the rope for a photo (I have saved you all from viewing that photo!!) and he bumped the rope, over the loud speaker three times came, "please step away from the white suit" very loudly. Everybody in the store stared at us & the guard came straight over to us. Robert jumped, and we giggled. I mean, seriously. The rope is about two feet from the boxed up suit, the store had security guards & cameras. We were no where near the white suit really. It was funny. Nobody else laughed.<br />
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This display, however, we could get close to.<br />
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Me out the front of Graceland. We were going tomorrow. Cannot wait. The rock wall which runs all along the width of the property is signed by people as a memorial to Elvis. It's amazing.<br />
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Oh, and we couldn't go to Memphis without staying here....<br />
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Our room was gorgeous, and all set out with Elvis memorabilia. It was modern and funky, & quite cheap too. It was also situated across the road from Graceland, so was perfect for us. We found a groovy burger bar close by too for dinner. Too convenient really. We finished off the night by heading into Memphis city for a tour of the sights....<br />
I'm pretty excited about checking out the inside of Graceland tomorrow.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-44079781662229327902012-04-07T23:39:00.003+10:002012-04-09T22:15:36.750+10:00Easter weekend sewing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Being such a long weekend this weekend, it is the perfect opportunity to get some sewing done. I have had these cushion inserts in the cupboard for months....5 of them to be exact, just waiting for covers.</div>
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I couldn't decide what design to do, so My first one was just a 14" square edged with 3" borders in small tangerine dots. Hmm....something just didn't quite grab me. I am not in love with it. So, next cushion is different.....</div>
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Like I said, I wasn't happy with the first cushion, I think it was the small dots, so I pulled out my Amy Butler dots. The big ones, and changed the square to a large circle using a dinner plate as a template. Love it. It's perfect. I did raw edge applique but I think I'll do a few more circles on the machine inside and quilt it. I backed the cushion cover with wadding, so it will puff up once I do that. </div>
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Now the back of the cushions....both of the cushions have self covered buttons and matching backs. The backs I do like.<br />
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I think the first cushion may be going to the scrap heap, I just do not like it. I love the circle cushion with the big tangerine dots....looks like I need to make four more :-)<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-29773475039021063502012-04-06T12:30:00.000+10:002012-04-09T22:16:28.412+10:00Hippy night<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Martha had to create an outfit for her daughter Claudia today as her end of term dance was on, and she needed to dress up as a hippy. Lucky for Claudia, the fabrics in the stash included some "hippy" fabrics, and with some jeans cut off, a cool outfit was made in a couple of hours. Headband and all. </div>
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I'll be sure to get a photo of Miss Claudia dressed up in her swanky get-up and post that soon. I'm sure she looked the part, and posed accordingly.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-68272863765963426702012-04-06T05:30:00.001+10:002012-04-06T12:49:37.956+10:00Natchez, Mississippi State 10 USA (6/4/11)<br />
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After leaving the last Plantation we kept heading North, as it was now after lunch so we decided to start looking for where we were going to spend the night. We crossed the State line into State number 10, being Mississippi. Yay!! We had already seen quite a bit of the old Mississippi River as it runs through so many states, but now we were actually in the State of Mississippi. So yes, a State line sign photo. (don't actually know what was going on in this photo with me sticking my chest out, or with my wild travel hair???)</div>
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We came across a gorgeous little place called Natchez which is situated on the mighty river itself, and what do you know, we found a gorgeous Plantation Mansion in town called "<a href="http://www.dunleith.com/home.html">Dunleith</a>" which was just lovely, and what do you know...they had a nice room available on the top floor, at the front of the house overlooking the front lawn opening onto the huge balcony.<br />
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Sounds just like me. Look at that bed!! Looks like me :) Ooh and what...$110?? Oh ok...no problem.<br />
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I feel like a queen....velvet curtains....omg! I love this. Wait till you see the balcony....<br />
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Look at this...I don't want to leave!<br />
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Can I buy this??? Can you see me on the verandah?<br />
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Robert, get me some wine, some chocolate. I'm not moving....except I think I need longer legs...</div>
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Heaven...<br />
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So relaxing after a few hours in the car...<br />
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It has some cool history behind it too. The original home actually got struck by lightning, well the chimney did, and the whole home burnt down. Only the outside stairs remain at the side of the house. (Photo above) Then the new house was built and sold, and renamed. You can read about the history and the families<a href="http://www.dunleith.com/history.html"> here.</a><br />
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Ok, Robert is bored, we should go look around Natchez and get a real feed.....<br />
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Look...the Mississippi. A bit blurry, but it's massive.<br />
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It is so wide, and runs so fast. its so loud.<br />
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Across the road, we found a cute little pub serving dinner. Natchez reminded us of Cairns, sitting across from the river, the weather was similar. It felt quite coastal. It was nice there. (Not quite as nice as our balcony) We bought some choccies and took them back to our balcony for dessert....they looked better than they tasted :(<br />
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An older couple insisted on taking our photo when they saw us taking selfies :) We were struggling trying to get the river in as well as our heads. lol<br />
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<a href="http://www.dunleith.com/home.html">Dunleith</a> have a Castle behind it which has a nice restaurant in it too, which is where we had breakfast before heading further North to Memphis.<br />
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And today is our Kelli's birthday......Happy Birthday Miss Kelli xxx<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-34522677520301675572012-04-06T05:30:00.000+10:002012-04-06T05:30:00.848+10:00Houmas House, Darrow, Louisiana (6/4/11)<div>
Ok, so we now have the bug. The Mansion bug. The South is littered with Plantations, that are open for tourists to stay at, to tour through, to gush over, and we were hooked. But, we had just stayed at the biggest and the best in Louisiana, and it was going to take alot to beat it.</div>
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Not far away in Darrow was Houmas House. No where near as big, no intention of staying, we didn't know where we were staying tonight. Maybe a bit further up North, who knows. Hopefully another Mansion though :)</div>
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But we thought we'd check this one out anyway.</div>
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The lawns and grounds were gorgeous. That's one thing I loved, the big lawns and the massive 100 year old trees, the big verandahs. Beautiful.<br />
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Look at those trees, can't you just imagine sitting under them stitching, sipping on tea....or a wine??<br />
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A bit of history into Houmas House....<br />
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Spot me in the tree trunk??<br />
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It was all downhill from there....inside it was all clutter. We could touch everything, which was weird. At Nottoway, we couldn't touch anything, it was all too old. Our tour guide here was the lady in the purple shirt at the piano, she was lovely. But then she began to sing. Sing loudly....<br />
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Very loudly and louder....and said we could sit on the furniture, touch whatever we wanted....unlike other Plantation Mansions in the area...oops, little bit of tension there??? She was quite boistrous, but very friendly. I was a bit frightened of her...<br />
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The tour was ok, but I was keen to leave. It wasn't Nottoway. It was quite gawdy I thought. Not my cup of tea at all. Everything was jam packed in and just mis-matched.<br />
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Back in the car and looking for another one...they are everywhere...but I think Robby is over it.</div>
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I think the dogs in Dior wedding dresses did it......not sure though???</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-88500787055517846282012-04-05T16:30:00.000+10:002012-04-05T16:30:01.606+10:00A little bit of crochet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last year in Nundle some lovely ladies taught Martha & I how to do some crochet. They were extremely patient ladies...especially with me. I seemed to have two left hands. I did however, end up with a beany and a flower in the end. Mind you, the flower was gigantic, but it resembled a flower. The ladies did point out, that flowers aren't perfect in nature, so mine fitted in perfectly with nature. Way too kind I say :)</div>
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Anyway, as summer came along, I gave up on the crochet. Now it's heading to the cooler weather. Well, it's meant to be, Maddilen decided she wanted a purple beany for winter. So out came the crochet hook. I had kinda forgotten how to do it, but after pulling it apart three or four times, some help from Martha, a quick email to RetroMummy, and another beany was created.</div>
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So, I got my confidence back....bought a book on crochet, and wondered just how hard these granny squares could be. Or how hard reading a pattern could actually be. Ha. That should be a capital HA!!</div>
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Well, I did manage to get something that kind of looks like a granny square.....</div>
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Now, I know you are wondering why there is a white blob in my granny square. Well, the wool is actually a variagated wool, but for some reason, the colour only changed in that one spot. You can kinda see a blue spot in there too, in little spots....kinda.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-26678604124791290862012-04-05T05:30:00.000+10:002012-04-05T05:30:00.605+10:00Nottoway Plantation, White Castle, Louisiana USA (5/4/11)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
One of my absolute favourite places was this. We stumbled across this mansion, like so many places in America, just stumbled across them. We were driving along and saw a sign for the <a href="http://www.nottoway.com/">Nottoway Mansion</a>. Well, I'm a sucker for a nice house, and I just had to take a look. Well, we ended up staying the night. We were both in love with the place, and next time we go to America, we will definitely stay in the Mansion for more than a night. There are alot of photos but you will be amazed. It is actually owned now by a Sydney man and has so much history. It's well worth a visit. I could live in it. I love it.</div>
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<a href="http://www.nottoway.com/">Nottoway Plantation</a> is in White Castle Louisiana which is kind of in between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Now, originally we were heading straight to New Orleans, but as the tornado warnings were pretty high in New Orleans we were told to stick close by here or to head North, so we avoided New Orleans for now, and didn't end up getting there.<br />
You can actually read all about its history<a href="http://www.nottoway.com/html/nottoway-plantation-history.htm"> here</a>. It's quite interesting to read about the family and the history of the home. I wish I had bought the book now. Roberts sister has been there apparently. We didn't know that at the time.<br />
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The mansion itself has been restored to its original glory and you can stay in it. It was actually completed in 1859 and has 64 rooms in the main mansion. They also have cottages on the property which are gorgeous, that is where we stayed. The rooms are ultra modern and roomy. They have their own kitchens, and are quite grand. We had a little balcony with rocking chairs, gorgeous gardens and all. <br />
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The restaurant in the Mansion was one of the best meals we had in all of America. The service was lovely, the food was to die for, the wine was lovely. I could honestly just stay there for a month. This is where I first ate grits. I did have grits elsewhere, but they were not nice anywhere else but here.<br />
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Check this out....what a front door and verandah?? Can you even see me?? Did you know why these mansions had two sets of stairs, one on either side of the house? One side was for the men, and one for the daughters of the house, as young men were not allowed to see the ankles of the daughters of the house before they were married, so the fathers of the house had two sets of stairs built....<br />
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If you stand on the balcony, and stand looking toward where I took the photo from, the Mississippi River runs right along there across the front of the house. Its magical & loud.<br />
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Nottoway was owned by the Randolf Family who are buried on the property. We actually met a lovely couple in the Randolf Cemetry and chatted for quite a while. They were as fascinated by life in Australia as we were by life in America and how different things are.<br />
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This was taken from the Cemetry. the lights you can see are the restaurant. back when the Randolfs owned the home, the restaurant was a bowling alley for the children.<br />
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The following photo's are courtesy of The Nottoway website as we weren't allowed to take photo's with a flash inside the restored home, as the flash slowly deteriorates the fabrics and artworks that are originals.<br />
So, I borrowed them from <a href="http://www.nottoway.com/">http://www.nottoway.com/</a><br />
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This is Mrs Randolfs Parlour<br />
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sitting room....<br />
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The dining room.....<br />
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The music room.....<br />
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The sitting/reading room...<br />
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This room was absolutley amazing. The White Ballroom. Everything was white &/or gold. The floor, the walls, the furniture. It was glorious. If you want a better look, go to the website. Its amazing. I wanted to stay in there, but as its a tour, you only get a certain amount of time in there. Its glorious.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YdQDXoCpOn8/T3cRg0Fd_kI/AAAAAAAAA4g/Cu51GuU4cpk/s1600/White-ballroom-1-900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YdQDXoCpOn8/T3cRg0Fd_kI/AAAAAAAAA4g/Cu51GuU4cpk/s320/White-ballroom-1-900.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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They hold heaps of weddings in here, and I can see why. It's mezmerizing. The pictures just don't show it like it is in real life. I just wanted to stay there. It's magical and romantic. The floor is so shiny, glossy. I just love it.<br />
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Cannot wait to go back here!!</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-31865373767709985052012-04-04T22:36:00.001+10:002012-04-04T22:37:09.820+10:00Fabric deliveries at my door...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I apologise for boring you with all my recent blog posts about my trip to the USA, they are purely for my reference as I don't want to forget what we did and where we went.....that is, if I have any readers left, as I have been slack with the old posting of late. I will try to be better, and as I had a couple of deliveries this week, I do have something other than me to post about.</div>
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Firstly, some flannels Terrain by Kate Spain, which are for my sister. She wants a shaggy quilt for mothers day, and I am to make it....so I have a time limit. That should get me going. Well it's a long weekend, so I should get that started....</div>
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This one is for me. Well it started as two flannel quilts, one for my sister and and for me. Then my sister changed her mind and decided she like the Kate Spain better, so guess what?? I get two flannel quilts....oh damn. Do I sound sad?? Hahaha...no I'm not. It just means I get to have one in both loungerooms! Because you know what happens in this house everytime I make a new quilt. Everybody wants my new one, and I don't get to enjoy it. Well not this time. I get one, and everybody else can fight over the other one....or I might sell one....who knows.<br />
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Anyway, this gorgeous flannel fabric is Anna Maria Horner, LouLou Flannels. I am addicted to her flannels, and I made one last winter too. Its my favourite quilt.<br />
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I won't mention that I also have the LouLou range in cottons either, just waiting to be sewn....<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-2934221411338557532012-04-04T05:30:00.000+10:002012-04-04T05:30:02.230+10:00Louisiana State 9 USA (4/4/11)<div>
Heading out of Texas, we crossed the State line into our 9th US State and into the lovely Louisiana. </div>
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Oh how I have wanted to get here! Here is our famous State line photo. Now before this photo, you drive over a five mile bridge from Texas. But if you remember, when we arrived in Texas, we flew into Texas, so we missed getting a photo of the "Texas" sign. So when we got to the other side of the five mile long bridge, I made Robert drive back to get a photo of the "Texas" photo. Of course this meant we had to drive, 5miles back to get the "Texas" sign photo, then another five miles back past this sign again....he was happy. Not. But hey, I had to get the photo.</div>
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Now, all Robby wanted to do while down in Louisiana...(say it with the Southern twang) was go on a "Swamp People" tour. Great. I was going to get eaten by gators. I managed to survive the horrific plane ride over the Grand Canyon, now I was gonna get eaten by gators. Gee....what next???<br />
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After, we were driving through back roads of some town to get to a tour, of streets that looked liked scenes from the movie Deliverance. I swore I wasn't ever going to make it out alive. We actually took a wrong turn, realised we were actually driving on the wrong side of the road for the USA, (which could have been a real disaster if we had met another car on the road) and missed our air boat tour. Oh what a shame....we missed it. ;-)<br />
Then a man comes along, a good samaritan, offering a tour for $50 as he sees that we have just missed our boat. Me being paranoid, thinking he is going to kidnap us and tie us up and feed us to the gators instead...declines. Robert, jumps up with the $50 and pays. I freak. Robert is as excited as a kid in a lolly shop. I am sweating like a pig in you know what.<br />
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Then I realise we are not the only dopey people on the tour....there are about 7 other people going on the boat...phew. We are not gator food today...hopefully.<br />
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I am right up the front, on the edge of the air boat. Just like on the tv show, Swamp People. Yes, these people talk just like the tv show. We went were the tv show goes. It was cool. But scary. All that went thru my mind was, "Will I live through this??" Now as I was right up the front and on the edge, the boat had no sides. I said to the guide, "so these gators, don't jump up on the boat like crocs in Australia??"<br />
"Oh no, they're docile" he said.....I had my doubts. They jump up on docks and land....why not boats to eat Aussies???<br />
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The scenery was beautiful and peaceful...our boat just flew over those green bits. It was scary.<br />
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This is the five mile bridge we drove over...see how long it is. We drove over it three times :)))<br />
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See the gator? He was close to our boat, it was scary, but she just sat there. Apparently in the same area each day. Used to tourists apparently. yeah right. Then she would just disappear under the water....<br />
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Here is another one....<br />
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This one was bigger and we got the boat quite close to this one and he kept going under the water and popping up again somewhere else. freaky. I kept my feet up and moved closer to Robert.<br />
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He was keeping his eyes on us...and I on him. I wasn't so happy to be sitting on the edge of the boat at this point.<br />
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Glad to be off the boat and back on dry land....Robert wanted to go again!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-65341074621950554262012-04-03T05:30:00.000+10:002012-04-03T05:30:01.116+10:00Houston Texas 2011 (3/4/11)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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This is Houston. Check out those four lanes of traffic. This is when I told Robert I wanted to find the famous "Houston Shopping Outlets" </div>
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"Robert, they are meant to be huge!!" I said</div>
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"I can't come here and not go to them!"</div>
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"How hard can they be to find?? Seriously"</div>
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"Look!! Sam Houston Tollway....snap that for my sister....they must be around here somewhere...."</div>
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"Hmmm....look at this road....what does the gps say??"</div>
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"There is too much concrete.....the gps says nothing!!! This is worse than LA!!!" </div>
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I don't see any outlets.....</div>
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So we go one way.....and under, and over....and back again.</div>
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So I decide to take photos of trucks.....nobody drives cars, or sedans in Texas. Well, they are few and far between. Everybody drives trucks, so we feel very small in our sedan. Look how wide they are. </div>
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Still no outlets....</div>
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We finally found the outlets after Robby went into a little store and asked somebody....it was about 45 miles down the road...oops, a fair little hike from our motel and.....</div>
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....after a day of shopping all around Houston at the Outlets which, let me tell you,are nothing like Outlet stores here in Australia. They are AMAZING! They are like real stores, but at bargain prices. Everything is tidy, organised, and they have every size. I had a ball, and bought way too many things.
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Then it was time to party with John Mellencamp!!!!!!</div>
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Now first off we got dropped off at the concert and I had little flats on. Hmm, then everyone else had boots on. Nobody wears flats in texas to a concert. We are in Texas you know, everyone wears boots. So then we caught another taxi back to the motel so I could get my boots on. Plus I was cold....more to the point.<br />
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Then after the concert, we were lucky enough to meet the band. Robert & I have been fans of Mellencamp for years. Our first conversation when we met was about John Mellencamp, so it was pretty cool to actually meet members of the band on our trip. The photo below is us with Miriam Sturm who has been with him for years and plays on all his albums. She was lovely.<br />
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This guy loved us Aussies and has also been with John Mellencamp for a long time, Mike Wanchic is his lead guitarist, also a pretty cool guy.<br />
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We had a great night, well worth the trip to Houston.<br />
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So after a little sleep in, in our groovy motel room, brekky with bagels, coffee, fruit and yogurt. Off we go in our hire car to our next State.....Louisana. Looking forward to that.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-90958950690894757312012-04-02T05:30:00.000+10:002012-04-02T05:30:02.230+10:00Houston, Texas. USA State 8 (2/4/11)<div>
Our next journey was a flight from Rapid City, South Dakota over many states to a short stop over in Dallas, Texas while we jumped on another plane for a short flight to Houston, Texas. Now, I have always wanted to go to Houston, for no real reason other than my maiden name is Houston, my sisters name is Sam Houston, my dad loved everything "American" & "Houston-ified" and the fact that dad has passed and he never did get to go to Houston, and he wanted to go ever-so-bad. </div>
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We also, just happened to have tickets to see John Mellencamp in concert in Houston, so we were very excited. The only down side was, we hadn't booked any accomodation in Houston, just like everywhere else on our trip. (except for our first week of course) so as every other night we were just "winging it" </div>
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We had had such good luck with motels so far, we couldn't see any point in booking ahead this time either.</div>
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When we caught the shuttle from the airport to the hire car depot, the driver told us there was a huge premier league basketball competition on in Houston that week so we would have no chance getting a room. Ooops, maybe our luck was going to change, we best get a nice car as we may be sleeping in it.</div>
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As it turned out, our handy little Hertz Nav man lead us to the closest motel, in I went and we got the last room for around USD$95 per night, expensive compared to what we had been paying but look at the room! It was huge, and hilarious!!! </div>
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Everything is painted on, the pillars, the curtains....<br />
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....the pots, the flowers, the blue sky...not Roberts head though!!<br />
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And mirrors everywhere. Even a huge spa bath, all you can eat breakfast, unlimited internet, 100's of tv channels and a king bed All for USD$95 per night. We stayed for two nights :)<br />
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Oh, and it was clean, the bed was comfy as. You don't get motels like these in Australia for so cheap! Look at that blue sky!!</div>
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See you at the concert tomorrow :)</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-88636095245130645602012-04-01T12:49:00.000+10:002012-04-01T12:49:00.218+10:00Rapid City, South Dakota State 7<div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So we left Spearfish and drove a bit over an hour to Rapid City, all excited to see Mt Rushmore, only to discover there was another monument in Rapid City that no-one told us about. Crazy horse. Crazy Horse is going to be bigger than Mt Rushmore, and isn't finished as yet, is also in the Black Hills and has been going since 1951 by sculptor artist Korczak Ziolkowski<span style="line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">, </span>who has since passed away, so the monument is now being finished by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, who hope to have it finished by 2020.</span></span></div>
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In the town centre of Rapid City, on every street corner they have statues of every past President of the USA, and you can get a map from any store and go on a treasure hunt to go and find them all. We declined the offer, but did take a photo of JFK below...<br />
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On our way to Mount Rushmore I spotted Thimble Cottage, hehe, will be back here this afternoon!!<br />
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Mount Rushmore! This is absolutely massive....the photo's just don't show just how huge they are, and to think Crazy Horse is going to be bigger, just blows me away. Cannot wait to see Crazy Horse.<br />
Do you know who each head is?? I'll tell you, cause I had no idea before I went there....my cousin hadn't even heard of Mount Rushmore before I made here google it!! Shame on you!!!<br />
From left to right, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, & Abraham Lincoln.<br />
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These four represent the first 130 years of the United States of America :)<br />
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Now if you look closely you can see that Roosevelt has lines under his eyes, these are his glasses. Quite clever hey?<br />
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Here is a shot of the Crazy Horse, now to put the size in perspective, one head of Mount Rushmore can fit in that hole apparently. Now to see what the final product will look like, there is another photo below showing the white sculpture of the Indian "Crazy Horse" with the finished measurements. Huge.<br />
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There is also a massive Indian museum there which is interesting if you are into Indians, which I am. See me in the teepee??<br />
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This is what Crazy Horse will look like when its finished, and in the back ground you can see the carving. They do tours up there. We couldn't go up this day, as they were blasting, but some days you can go right up the top.<br />
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On our back the store was still open...lucky me, poor Robby.<br />
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They have so many rooms in this store that they have Christmas rooms on display all year round....<br />
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After we checked into our motel for the night, I realised I had left my medication in the fridge at the last motel...yes the one in Spearfish. 6 weeks of medication that I couldn't get in USA, so we had to drive back to Spearfish before dinner. A quick call to the motel, and yes, they had kept it in the fridge for me, as it had my name all over it. Phew. Lucky we hadn't flown to another State, or I wouldn't be happy. </div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-46599150409260269942012-03-31T11:52:00.000+11:002012-03-31T11:52:11.681+11:00Revisiting USA...Spearfish, South Dakota State 7Well, hello again!<br />
I decided that seeing as this time last year I was in the States, I had better finish my blog story about our trip before I forget where we went and what we did.<br />
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I left off in June last year...yes, June last year was my last blog post about our trip, in State 6, Wyoming. Well we continued North through Wyoming on a journey towards Devils Tower which is from a movie...those of you who know my husband, know that he is a movie buff. What he doesn't know about movies, actors, directors and movie soundtracks isn't worth knowing, I'm telling you he would give Bill Collins a run for his money. So, the whole trip through Wyoming was to go searching for Devils Tower, which is from some movie, and yes, to buy the hat, the magnet, the shot glass and whatever else he could get to show off to his movie buff brothers who are just as knowlegable as he about everything to do with movies. Drives me nuts....anyway, it was like a scene from a movie, through the misty fog for miles we could see this mountain emerging, he was so excited "there it is!!"<br />
Then we had to climb up as close as we could without "permits" for photo's. Once again, I will only show a minimal amount of photos of this mountain of dirt....<br />
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The hat....<br />
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As close as I would allow myself to get....<br />
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The road below....the final shot before leaving. See the empty carpark?? Obviously a popular tourist site!<br />
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Well Spearfish is in South Dakota, on the border of Wyoming, near the famous Sturgis, which if you are into Harley Davidsons, you will know Sturgis, (they have a big rally there) and it was basically a stopover town after our huge day at Devils Tower) But, it was sometimes in these little stopover towns that we found some interesting things.<br />
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Firstly, we had an awesome meal for dinner, ribs to die for. The Americans serve the biggest meals for the lowest price and served a huge basket of crackers and bread, Robert was in heaven.<br />
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But the best find was a little patchwork store, Dakota Quilt Company....I just needed to find the photo of me with my purchases. Yes, it was cold. This is now our 7th State of our trip.<br />
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We left Spearfish and headed to Rapid City....<br />
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-274769516599892082012-01-18T07:30:00.000+11:002012-01-18T07:30:02.593+11:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This chair and a couple of others that match sit under my pergola by the pool. They had white covers which didn't stay white for long, with kids, and the cat, who has long black fur, the white cushions were sending me slowly insane. Something had to be done. Along came Amy Butlers Home Decor fabric range called Love. </div>
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Now, I have had the fabric since it came out. So quite a while. I took one of the covers off one of the cushions. Yes that was fun. Then I put it back on. That was even more fun. It didn't quite go back on as easy as it came off. With that a few more months went by, cursing the cat and his black fur. Then, I packed up my metres of "Love" fabric, my cushions, and headed off to see my friend Kat, who sews for a living. She sews everyday for money. Me however, does not. I sew because I "love" it. I knew if I sewed these cushions I would no longer "love" the "Love" fabric nor sewing. So, it was worth paying Kat to sew them for me.</div>
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And what a job she did. I am so in love with these cushions, I sit on them everyday. I swear, if I see my cat on them, it best run fast..... :-) </div>
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I can, and will make the matching cushions to go on the chairs. I can cope with cushions. If you live locally and want Kats number, message me, or call into my bakery, her cards are there!</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-91060809016463419452012-01-17T07:30:00.000+11:002012-01-17T07:30:00.837+11:00Jelly Roll Quilt<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I made this quilt for a friend just before Christmas to give to her daughter. The range is Sophie by Moda and is a nice bright range for little girls. It was a nice quick quilt to make, and I love working with girly fabrics.</div>
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There is a little peeper in there too in a matching blue fabric. Its a little hard to see in this picture, and is also backed in a fabric from the same range.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrQCLrwQl6I/Tw7LHpRbjjI/AAAAAAAAAwY/GO41WGB443A/s1600/IMG_3509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xrQCLrwQl6I/Tw7LHpRbjjI/AAAAAAAAAwY/GO41WGB443A/s640/IMG_3509.JPG" width="476" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-35936856588865978482012-01-16T07:30:00.000+11:002012-01-16T07:30:01.348+11:00PJ Shorts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Martha hates to have left over fabric in her stash, it drives her nuts. Unlike me who has fabric squeezing out the windows and doors of my house, Martha does not. She uses everything wisely....I wish I was like that!</div>
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So, along come some pyjama shorts for Miss Claudia with some cute ric-rac detail.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7d_RlLD_J48/Tw7JABy63MI/AAAAAAAAAwI/eR6eF-11AuA/s1600/IMG_2964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7d_RlLD_J48/Tw7JABy63MI/AAAAAAAAAwI/eR6eF-11AuA/s320/IMG_2964.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
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I wouldn't mind a pair myself...with a bit of extra length, dont think I have the legs for short shorts ;-)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmzesIGDqQQ/Tw7JBKtxDwI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/PQCynZxpqto/s1600/IMG_2965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pmzesIGDqQQ/Tw7JBKtxDwI/AAAAAAAAAwQ/PQCynZxpqto/s320/IMG_2965.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
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Love them, so cute.</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-42938616288489833722012-01-15T07:30:00.000+11:002012-01-15T07:30:01.649+11:00Scissors!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Its amazing what you find on your computer when you go through your files. Yesterday I told you the story about my drowning iphone. Well, I must have uploaded photos before I decide to teach it to swim, as I found photos of what I sent to my swap partner Peta. </div>
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Now, I didn't accidently forget to wrap a strip of fabric, that's just hiding her address obviously ;-) My swap partner Peta was from Perth, and I made a little fold up type needle case with a pair of scissors and a matching fabric fob.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L24Ie1Ocgx8/Tw7GBjfdk2I/AAAAAAAAAvw/TJmQrKCBl3I/s1600/IMG_3085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L24Ie1Ocgx8/Tw7GBjfdk2I/AAAAAAAAAvw/TJmQrKCBl3I/s320/IMG_3085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The scissors have their own little spot to sit, and the other side has two spots that can hold needles or pins.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5RC9KOT-x5s/Tw7GScoO5NI/AAAAAAAAAv4/Mbr3V-4c9EU/s1600/IMG_3086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5RC9KOT-x5s/Tw7GScoO5NI/AAAAAAAAAv4/Mbr3V-4c9EU/s320/IMG_3086.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also put in a Christmas pattern of Anni Downs. I hope Peta loved her parcel as much as I loved making it.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eErEKAPVnhw/Tw7GgyMgDQI/AAAAAAAAAwA/LHfSMmQGT7Y/s1600/IMG_3087.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eErEKAPVnhw/Tw7GgyMgDQI/AAAAAAAAAwA/LHfSMmQGT7Y/s320/IMG_3087.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-80155352580504205822012-01-14T07:30:00.000+11:002012-01-14T07:30:01.540+11:00Needle Case Swap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last year Martha & I joined a swap. It was Marthas very first swap. Now I know I am very late posting photos of our swap, for which I deeply apologise. But there is a funny story to go with that.</div>
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I take most of my photos on my iphone. (Because I am such a great photographer, I need all the editing help I can get, and the iphone has some great editing apps) </div>
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Anyway, I was out scooping the pool of all the leaves with the phone in the bra part of my swimmers, as you do. The pool was looking good. All leaf free. The wind comes up and blew a leaf onto the water, so I lean over and get it. Plop goes the iphone onto the pool step. Oh jeepers. That cannot be good for the phone.</div>
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Who would have thought iphones cannot swim.....</div>
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Photo's of needle swaps cannot be retrieved from drowned iphones.....</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9M-SbDVfQaU/Tw6-CQ4SPpI/AAAAAAAAAuw/ixms6SqxHNA/s1600/IMG_2950.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9M-SbDVfQaU/Tw6-CQ4SPpI/AAAAAAAAAuw/ixms6SqxHNA/s200/IMG_2950.JPG" width="149" /></a></div>
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So this is what Martha received from her lovely partner. A little pouch to hold it all in!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J7710-4iJj0/Tw6-P0IIKOI/AAAAAAAAAu4/wTtHDQhOEeM/s1600/IMG_2951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J7710-4iJj0/Tw6-P0IIKOI/AAAAAAAAAu4/wTtHDQhOEeM/s320/IMG_2951.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A scissor holder, a pin cushion and a needle case. It even has her name on it!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pi6T6VWaCFc/Tw6-fYVA2II/AAAAAAAAAvA/ZeM4y8BvCVc/s1600/IMG_2952.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pi6T6VWaCFc/Tw6-fYVA2II/AAAAAAAAAvA/ZeM4y8BvCVc/s320/IMG_2952.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The scissor holder is embroidered also and it all matches and fits into the pouch to take away on retreats. Very handy and in fabrics that Martha loves.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8SUkV9i3KMA/Tw6-v530wJI/AAAAAAAAAvI/ioz5HGcFbUk/s1600/IMG_2953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8SUkV9i3KMA/Tw6-v530wJI/AAAAAAAAAvI/ioz5HGcFbUk/s320/IMG_2953.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The sad thing is, that with the unfortunate demise of my iphone, I lost the photos of the gifts that we made for our swap partners...and their details. Its very sad how much information I had on that phone. Lucky for me I had the phone insured and Optus replaced it immediately. So once again I am snapping photos on my new iphone....just not cleaning the pool with it in my swimmers, and its not allowed to go swimming this summer!!</div>
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(PS...just have to find the photos of my gorgeous gift now on the computer!!)</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-47837513797801720032012-01-13T09:00:00.000+11:002012-01-13T09:00:04.780+11:00Aunt Grace is done<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Last month I showed you my 1930's Aunt Grace quilt that I was sending off to the quilter, well here it is, back from the quilter, all bound and labelled.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-czoSSSFSaI4/Tw65Ky6-_OI/AAAAAAAAAuo/h5au1qZ_bGk/s1600/410860_10150478194251547_689371546_8708027_1402202972_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-czoSSSFSaI4/Tw65Ky6-_OI/AAAAAAAAAuo/h5au1qZ_bGk/s320/410860_10150478194251547_689371546_8708027_1402202972_o.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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I officially love it even more. But it was never for me. It was always for my gorgeous cousin Kelli. I started making it for her on a night I knew she was going through something really personal & tough. That is the date I put on the label. Its significant. I knew a quilt would cheer her up when I gave it to her. It wont take away the pain, but I knew how much she would love it. I knew how much I would love to give it to her & how much I would enjoy seeing her smile. She has a gorgeous smile. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvUT1TwuYwA/Tw63gaAqb1I/AAAAAAAAAug/ZpDB91BuVqI/s1600/383833_10150477974501547_689371546_8707541_1824673010_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvUT1TwuYwA/Tw63gaAqb1I/AAAAAAAAAug/ZpDB91BuVqI/s320/383833_10150477974501547_689371546_8707541_1824673010_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I gave Kelli her Circle of Love quilt tonight. As predicted, she loves it. She was very excited & so was I. </div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337860958277355036.post-37916349055631674422012-01-12T21:34:00.000+11:002012-01-12T21:34:25.739+11:00Hello there everybody!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Firstly, Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a wonderful New Year. I sure did. My family & I spent Christmas & the New Year at the lovely Nelson Bay and went to the beach lots and lots, ate seafood, and relaxed all the time. It was oh so lovely.</div>
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We are, however, back to realty this week, but I am enjoying being back in my own bed, and back to my sewing machine. Oh how I missed that machine.</div>
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Martha has been busy over the Christmas holidays and whipped this quilt up from start to finish in four days. Now that includes sending it off to the quilter! That is an amazing turnaround for us country people, and let me tell you, Martha & I are not sharing our professional quilter with anybody. She is brilliant, wonderfully talented & super fast. We don't want her getting super busy, as we might have to wait longer than a week for our quilts, and that would be terrible for us! Hahaha. </div>
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I love the colours in this quilt, and the contrast with the white borders. The fabrics are Riley Blake I believe. I could be wrong, as I haven't asked Martha....she would be tucked up in bed by now, so I can't check. So please correct me if I am wrong.</div>
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This one is a gift for a friend of Marthas...I wonder if she checks this blog??? I don't think so :)</div>
<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/291/B0FC814E238CE628F76E73947EFCE373.png" style="background: transparent; border: none;" /></a>Princess Marthahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06312103354994587236noreply@blogger.com2