Lest we forget....Anzac Day post

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, originally commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps  (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli during World War I.  It now more broadly commemorates all those who served and died in military operations for their countries.

Dawn Services are held both in Australia and in several other countries.  At almost, if not at all 'official' ceremonies (I'm pretty sure, it would be at all, but am trying to cover my bases here!), the Last Post is played.  The following video is not only of the Last Post being played by a sole trumpet, it also has the words of the odes.



Wikipedia has the following information about the odes, which is taken from the "Ode of Rememberence"


The "Ode of Remembrance" is an ode taken from Laurence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914.

'For The Fallen' plaque with The Rumps promontory beyond

The poet wrote For the Fallen, which has seven stanzas, while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in north Cornwall, UK. A stone plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription:

For the Fallen

Composed on these cliffs 1914

There is also a plaque on the beehive monument on the East Cliff above Portreath in central North Cornwall which cites that as the place where Binyon composed the poem.
The poem honoured the World War I British war dead of that time, and in particular the British Expeditionary Force, which by then already had high casualty rates on the developing Western Front. The poem was published when the Battle of the Marne was foremost in people's minds.

War memorial in ChristChurch Cathedral, Christchurch, NZ

Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (although often just the fourth)^[1] were claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of state.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young.

Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

The phrase Lest we forget is often added as a final line at the end of the ode and repeated in response by those listening, especially in Australia.

The following video is one I found on You Tube that sends a tribute to some of Australia's Fallen Heroes.



I've always loved the following song, it's by Debbie Byrne (think Young Talent Time) and is from an old Aussie movie called "Rebel" and I send it out to all the "Aussie Heroes" who are currently deployed overseas.



To all Defence Force Personnel I thank you for the service you provide to maintain our safety and freedom. 

Don't forget, if you are about to deploy, or you have a loved one who is already deployed, or about to deploy, you can send a request in for a quilt and/or laundry bag to be mailed off to them, by contacting Aussie Hero Quilts founder, Jan-Maree, just click HERE to go visit the AHQ blog and see what you can do to help out too!

Until you're back home on Aussie soil, stay safe.

I'm going to be joining in on the fun, will you be?

Just recently, I popped in to see what was happening over at !Insights from SewCalGal and I noticed she was talking about National Quilt Day, and how she thought it should be International Quilt Day....OMG, how exciting.....SCORE.....I messaged, she messaged, and voila, the day is now extended to a weekend, to incorporate all the different time zones, so we can all be a part of it, and the clever lady made a button, which is over on my side bar.  But if you want to grab your own, click on the button below

If you want to read more about how you can help promote our special day/weekend, then please click HERE.

Have fun, and don't forget to enter her Blog Hop Party giveaway whilst you're there, if you're quick enough that is!

Oooops, I'm not sure what happened, but the buttons weren't linked properly, but they are now.  I've already made a couple of things....what will you be making?

I never knew this.....till today!

Did you know that you can type the following link into the address bar, and it'll show you if any images off your blog have been pinned on Pinterest?

http://pinterest.com/source/your blogname.blogspot.com

Obviously you need to change it slightly once the page opens....but here's what I found had been pinned from my blog....quite interesting as they were not necessarily what I'd have pinned if I was a stranger visiting my blog lol

So there you have it, my little bit of knowledge for today! 

Winners, Winners.....calling all winners.

Having done a quick head count over on FB (some people were unable to leave a comment, I couldn't work out why, so accepted their entries via my plugs for the giveaway on my wall), there were 30 names in the draw for the tablerunner, 22 for the pincushion and 21 for the keyring.....I did use Random.org to do the draw, got all excited and forgot to save the screenshot, then spent about 20 mins, trying to get the same numbers to come up again, but sadly it wouldn't, so you'll have to just take my word for it.

This person had a bit of a shock yesterday, but was an all round hero.....she helped keep a little girl calm, who'd been in a bus accident, that happened out the back of her house, so please, make sure you congratulate CHRIS H who is going to be the owner of the tablerunner.  Congrat's Chris xx

 
Next was the draw for the pincushion, and that goes to ROBIN of RS ISLAND CRAFTS...congratulations Robin xx

Third prize was the keyring/bag tag, and that goes to THE PATCH CRAFT congrat's hun xx

All winners have been emailed (at least they will have once I've published this post) and I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for the entries.  Stay tuned, I'll be hosting more giveaways, and maybe even a sew-a-long a bit later in the year.
 

Happy Birthday to me and to you too!

Purple baloons.....check

Purple, owly birthday cake.....check

I didn't have this on my list for today, but I couldn't resist sharing it anyway lol  It just about sums it up how I feel about my age....they're only numbers really....I doubt I'll ever act my age anyway, so maybe I should stop counting....until my 50th that is....I hope to have a party for that.

I guess you must be wondering if I'm going to leave enough space for the giveaway....well here it is now, in all it's glory.  (I've set this to publish at 2.30am, because I was born at 2.20am, and I figure that by 2.30am, 45 years ago, the cord would've been but and my darling Mum (RIP Jannyman) was probably running around the hospital darning peoples socks or making cups of tea lol....so in honour of the time of my birth, I set it to publish around the same time!)  Please note, that as I was still hand sewing the binding down on the tablerunner at 2.30am, then I had to take pics of the giveaway goodies, I had to postpone the uploading of this post until 3am.

How would you like to win one of the following presents?  There's 3 to choose from

Gift 1 An owl tablerunner

Gift 2 An owl pincushion

Gift 3 An owl key ring/bag tag

(All three gifts were made by me.)

• I'm trying to keep this as simple as I can....all you need to do, is leave a comment saying which of the gifts you'd be happy to receive.  If you don't mind which, then feel free to say so, and you'll get a surprise.

• Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you're one of the 3 lucky winners

• This is not a condition of entry to the giveaway, but if you'd like to share it on your blog, or Facebook wall, then please do so.

I'll draw the winners on Friday, March 1st using random.org.  Good luck

Edit: Forgot to mention, this giveaway is open worldwide!

I got another early present today

As some of you may already know, Sharina and Wayne, my next door neighbours often pop over for coffee, and when Wayne, or Mr B as I usually call him, is away at work, Sharina aka Polly, quite often comes over and we either do sewing or watch 'our' shows together.  As Mr B is heading back up to work (he works at Roxby Downs at the mines on a 12 on 6 off roster) tomorrow, they called in today for a coffee...and BONUS, they came bearing gifts.....donuts....YUMMMM and a Hooty bag of pressies.

Check it all out....so much Hooty stuff hey?  Apologies for sounding corny, but I'll 'owlways' love my goodies....so thank you Mr & Mrs B....love ya's xxx

While they were here, I didn't notice that it's a singing owl (in the green box), I don't know what would've given it away....probably the big white words that say "SINGING OWL", but I didn't notice them....I was too excited....and I thought the batteries were to make the eyes light up (which they do incidentally), so I didn't actually set it up until after they went home.  I did ring them, so they could hear it hoot hooting.  It's a sensor owl and will alert me when people sneek in our front door....if I set it up near there!

Now a close up of the purple ceramic owl, which is actually a hook....it's just perfect...and owl, and in my favourite colour too.

You can't quite make it out in the group shot above, but there's also one of those nylon fold up shopping bags, and you guessed it, it's got "OWLS" all over it....so here's a closer up pic of it.  It's now hanging from my handbag strap!

Thank you again my lovely neighbours.  I'm scoring big time for my birthday this year aren't I?  And it's not even here yet....I doubt I'll get many more pressies, but I'm already spoilt rotten with what I've received so far.

Giveaway happening soon

Yep, it's that time of year again, where I age by 12 months over night lol  On Friday 22nd February, I'll be turning 45, so, like most people, I thought what's a birthday, without a giveaway......so pop back on Friday to see what you can win, just to help me celebrate my special day.

I will just hint and say it'll be something 'Owlie'!

Valentines Tablerunner Swap gift received

Just recently on Facebook, I hosted a Valentines Tablerunner swap, and this is my runner, that I received all the way from USA, from Brooke Gross.  It sure brightens up the kitchen.  Thanks for being my partner Brooke.

I posted a sneak peek at the back of the tablerunner I sent last week, and now I'll show you a pic of the front of it.

Ya gotta love D9P as it's easy to achieve an interesting look, with minimal piecing effort!

Happy Valentines Day

Just wishing you all a Happy Valentines Day.

I hope you have a wonderful day and for those with partners, make sure to tell them you love them, and those who are single....I love ya!

Recently in Facebook, I hosted a swap for a Valentines Tablerunner...and here's a sneak peek at part of the back of the one I've sent to "a recipient" lol

I haven't received mine yet, but will pop a pic up as soon as it arrives.

I do have some show 'n' tell for you....in Vicki T's Craft Forum (link in my side bar) there was a table runner swap, and I participated.  Here's a pic of what I sent to my partner (Lyn-B)

Now, I hope you don't all get jealous (especially any fellow purple people eater fans!) as here's the yummy runner she sent me.

 Isn't it stunning?  I love it, thanks heaps Lyn-B.

OMG OMG OMG!

I got home from quilting today and there was a package awaiting my homecoming......check out the contents.....

I was allowed to open it up early....phew....I think the suspense would've killed me having to wait until next week to open it.  I have kept the cards to open on my birthday....See I can be good at times!

Here's a close up of the major part of the present......

A couple of weeks ago, I caught up with my daughter, and I mentioned to her that if she was thinking of getting me something for my birthday....could she get me a Big W (Similar to Walmart) gift card, so I could put it towards a Galaxy Tab2......well, she went one better, and bought me my 'touch screen' lol

Am I a spoilt tart or what Chris (Diet Coke Rocks)? lol

Hayley (DD) is a very sneaky girl....and was planning it since I mentioned it to her.....and then when she went out shopping for it, they also got me a flash leather 'cinema' case for it and some touch screen protectors...you know, for when you have kids around....she figured that as it was for me, I'd need them....I would be upset, but when you're so excited, it's hard to get upset!

Thank you Hayley, Nic and TaShie, I love my pressie, and now Nanny will be able to walk around and Skype with her gorgeous grand daughter.

I know I've been absent for a while, but I'm planning on being a more regular poster again....and have some craft stuff planned for you soon, such as tutorials that I owe some of you and other show and tell.
 

Till next time, keep smiling

Craft Forum Advent Swap 2012

Well I didn't mean to quite leave it so long between posts...but here I am, here you are and it's now been almost a month since I last bored you to tears!

Some how, somewhere, I've managed to lose the following things, if you see them, please kick their butts and send them back to me please:

1. My get up and go....got up and went a few weeks ago, and hasn't come home since
2. About 3 or 4 weeks of sewing time...few reasons this occurred, but now am soooo far behind it's just not funny
3. My elusive lottery win....29th December is a good return date (Our next big lottery in Australia....would be so nice to win even a share, not greedy enough to want it all.....although...hmmmmm, no Naomi, greed is not good)

Thanks to anyone able to help me with any of the above......muchly appreciated if you can help me!

Moving along, I signed up for an Advent swap this year, my first one, so hopefully my swap partner isn't too disappointed with what I sent her....and I'll have to wait for a pic from her, because I sent mine late, and she had to play catch up yesterday of opening up the first 5 days....and as I wasn't feeling very well yesterday...I didn't actually start opening mine till today.  So, here's what was inside the Express Post bag she sent to me.

Now my dear Mum always used to tell me that if I guessed what one of my presents was, I wasn't allowed to have it....but with #25 from Kaz....all I'll say is, I believe we both had the same idea for that gift, just I had to re-think mine almost at the last minute, so didn't do one!  You'll have to wait for Christmas Day to find out what it was though as I'm a good girl (hey, don't knock it, or mock me, I'm usually evil!)

So, today I got to open not one, not two, but 6 packages....oh what fun I had trying to pace myself so I could stop and take pics of each one before unwrapping the next lol

Day 1. Coffee mug and an assortment of tea bags....yummmm

Day 2. A packet of Dark Choccy Tim Tams...oh oh, she said everything edible was healthy and good for me....although the Tim Tams are Dark Chocolate ones, but I think the healthy part is only if you eat one....who eats just one Tim Tam? lol

Day 3.  Reel of red ribbon

Day 4. A Cute Rabbit phone charm, bag dangle, nawww, it's soooo cute hey?

Day 5. Some trimmings and some Hersheys Kisses....is it sad that I never tried these when I went to USA, yet I knew what they were, straight away, without reading the little tags on them? lol

Day 6.  The last one I could legally open today.....A great Cross Stitch Book...there's heaps and heaps in here to stitch!

Thank you so much thus far Kaz., hope you like your gifts.

Come back tomorrow to see what Day 7 is.

Dear Santa...a Craft Fair outcome!

Dear Santa,

Yesterday I went to the Adelaide Craft Fair and fell in love, and was wondering if you could help me out?  It'll only cost about $25,000 all up, but think of how much fun I could have lol

Yes people, I saw and fell in love with this little baby.....it's a LA Quilting machine (Long Arm) and even though I'd need another room on the house, that's just a small detail right??? lol

It's approx $14,000 for the machine and the quilting frame, and another $12,500 for the computerised bit (sorry, can't remember the technical term for it!) but with the add on computer, it becomes automated and you can load it up and it'll quilt whilst you start sewing the next quilt top...how cool is that?  I think it's just what a girl could want....so if anyone has a lazy $50,000 lying around the place and want it put to good use, please email me lol

Now, for what purchases found their way into my bag yesterday.  I shopped around and bought a few things here, and a few things there....handing out Aussie Hero Quilts business cards as I went.

A nice selection of fat quarters, some destined to become parts of Aussie Hero Quilts, some are for quilts I hope to sell and some are going to become Owl Softies.  I got some great Nurse themed fabric by Loralie Designs from this seller.  All their FQ's are $3.50 each and they had a fantastic array to choose from....and I thought to ask if they were show special prices or if they're the same price in store...and guess what peoples, that's the regular price....all their bolted fabrics are $14 a metre, and I think she said they had over 2,000 bolts to choose from...Quilters Nirvana huh?  They are situated on Canterbury Road, Bayswater VIC so if you're passing by, I recommend you drop in and have a look....feel free to buy me pressies lol

You didn't think I'd just bought fabric did you?  Ha ha, tricked you, I got other 'stuff' as well, some retractable tape measures, some tape measure ribbon, a 28mm rotary cutter with 3 blades, and some nifty little embroidery (very sharp and pointed) scissors...in purple of course (1 pair is mine!), which you can see below

But wait, there's more, I also got 3 patterns.  Gotta love the Owl Parliament one hey?

I had to take a 2nd pic of this one, not just because it's owly, but because you couldn't see it because of flash glare in the top pic.....how cool, and it's by an Aussie Designer from over on Kangaroo Island....cool huh?  I've got to get me a roll or a few packages of Applique stuff (vliesofix or similar) and I want to make one of these.....maybe not in those colours, but you'll have to wait and see what colours I decide on.

My feet and back are still sore today, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day out, but might wait a couple of years before attending again (gotta use up some of what I've got, to make room for more right?).  Hope you're having a wonderful weekend.