and now fire...

Over the weekend we had terrible bushfires here in Perth,

Our home was completely surrounded by black smoke which has finally died down.

65 perth families lost their homes.

Except for some major black smoke which seemed to permeate our home, we are fine...

But my heart is so heavy.

We seem to be having one disaster after another here in Australia...

Again, I ask you to pray.

Hopefully I will be back with some better news soon.

Hugs,

Please pray !

As I sit writing this I am beyond distraught.

Cyclone Yasi, a level 5 cyclone with winds of up to 290kph, is causing complete destruction in the beautiful state of Queensland, Australia.

We have been watching for the past week as this cyclone has gotten closer and closer to our beloved country.

And now it is here..

First the floods in Queensland, and now this...

I don't know what else to do but pray, and ask you all to please pray.

Thank you.

Birthdays and babies ...and Jingle Sax too!

I had my birthday back on the 5th of January and wanted to share some of my lovely pressies with you!

Our kids all put together and got me a gorgeous china cabinet that goes so well with my dining suite!

It was another purchase from Gumtree, our online Australian second hand market.. (just lovin' the Gumtree!)

I had so much fun putting all my crystal and china in it - I didn't realise I had collected so much over the years!

...And my darling Mr Deekie Belle bought me a gorgeous new chandelier to finish off the dining room, I just loooooooove it!!!

Here is a photo of it with the lights turned off so you can get a better idea of the gorgeous toll leaves and flowers!

He got it from a shop on ebay :)!

Let me know if you want the link...

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The Songstress and her hubby only have 2 weeks until their baby girl is due,

We are sooooo excited!! .....and they are sooo cute!

Isn't our little girl glowing!!

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I wanted to share my new design Jingle Sax with you!

Here are two that I made for two precious little customers in England...

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Before I go, I wanted to ask for prayers for the people of Australia.

Our little country has taken such a battering this month,

I am sure you have all heard on the news of the devastating floods in Queensland that have destroyed whole towns, thousands of people lost their homes and belongings and worse, many lost their lives..

Then later that week there were fires that destroyed homes and properties just south of us here in Perth. It was the result of an arsonist..

Then over the past weekend we battened down for a cyclone that was headed towards Perth and the southwest. It seemed to bypass those of us in the city, but there was widespread damage in a few inland rural towns.... Many lost their homes and properties..

Tonight their is another huge cyclone bearing down on Queensland...
Many people have been evaculated, but we are yet to see what destruction this latest one will bring...

If you are someone who prays, then please pray,

and if you don't pray, then please pray anyway!

I know God is listening!

Thanks, and big hugs,

busy weekend..

Mr Deekie Belle and I took the dogs on a lovely 2km bushwalk on Sunday afternoon.

Alora was sick in bed all weekend with a terrible sinus infection poor darling, I spent most of the weekend looking after her and the rest sewing madly so it was nice to have a couple of hours to just enjoy the afternoon with my darling...

As anyone who reads my blog regularly knows, I am a terrible photographer, so I got in a bit of practice, I love the Aussie bush, it can be so dramatic and haunting... I would love to be able to capture it's beauty the way others do...

As we strolled towards home the sky changed colour and I got this nice shot...

Not sure if I mentioned it before but I had a little trouble with two parcels going missing a couple of months back - Australia post still hasn't been able to track them down but I have remade them and they will be off to my gorgeous, very patient clients this week.

One of this things that I find difficult living in Australia is not being able to get my hands on every fabric and ribbon I need at the drop of a hat! My Christmas fabrics and ribbons were very much depleted after my busy 2009 season so had been waiting on some to arrive from the States to finish these orders off...

It's funny really, waiting on fabrics from the US, to make Jingle sox here in Oz, to send back to the US :o)!

Here's my weekend fun!

Two custom orders here, one funky Christmas styles and one sweet pastels

Riley Blake pastels, and glittery organza..

I girly love bows!

sparkly organza... so pretty!

Gorgeous 'funky gift' fabric, have lots of this in stock now!

Love this fabric line up, still waiting on ribbon for bows on the girl's ones - should be here this week - yay! My hubby's fav is the one on the right, I am quite low and that fabric and it is discontinued so if you want it in your Jingle Sox please be quick ;)!
More of this fabric on it's way too! Cute pink snowmen too - yum! I love these colors!

I will draw the Redwork wall hang on Friday so please don't forget to leave a comment to be in the draw, sorry for the delay, been a busy little bee! Back soon with more!

Hugs, Jen xo

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,

My brother-in-law Mark is ex-Aussie military, he retired a few years back as a Colonel.

As is quite often the way with the armed forces he has been stationed all over the world and lived in many countries with my sister and their 2 sons.

What a life they have had - and what a world they have seen!

But one thing about Mark that you need to understand is that he is fiercely patriotic, he loves nothing more than telling everyone he meets what a fantastic country we live in - how Australia is called the lucky country for a reason and my all time favorite, how Western Australia is bigger than Texas!!! (which he made into a t- shirt on his last trip to Houston so he could wear it at his big conference there with all the Texans.... yes, he did!!)

Yes, Mark is the epitome of the Aussie Larrikin, his first stint in the US garnished him so much attention in the officer's club, his peers and their families due to his constant pranks and tricks - Even the wives would comment to my sister as to how 'fun' her life must be, and how she must spend all her time in stitches.... to which my sis responded with her usual answer to that question..

(monotone voice) 'Oh yes, ........he's hilarious **rolls eyes/shakes head**'

(A wife never quite appreciates the constant hilarious capers of their husband ;) )

Anyway, Mark is currently working in Kazakhstan and has been for the past year doing a 6 weeks away, 6 weeks home rotation. A few days before his last fly-out he asked me if I would make each member of his team a coaster with an Aussie Flag on it, that said G'day to each of them.....

Remembering that is is Mark, I had to put our Aussie Call on the back for him!!

Only thing is when I had finished them all I realised that they might mistake Oi, Oi, Oil!!

for Oi, Oi, Oill... hmmmmmmm.....
Hugs
Jen xo

PS - don't forget the JINGLE SOX GIVEAWAY - will be drawn at the end of next week!!

From my front yard....

My darling arrived home from work the other morning just as the sun was rising through the trees after a rainstorm. He quickly snapped these on his phone from the front garden... There are few things as gorgeous as the tranquil beauty of the Aussie bush. I hope you like them...






I have done 20 of my blocks for my first quilt - 16 to go! The pattern is Mod Scallops by Mary Bird using Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric. I can't wait to get it finished!



I will be posting another giveaway tomorrow, so stay tuned and have a great night!
Hugs
Jen