RSPCA Cupcake Day

Remember these two?

Lucy & Harry are great loves in my life!!!

It's RSPCA Cupcake Day!!!

Dig Deep and give to whomever in your community helps this wonderful group.

Cupcake Day for the RSPCA is the biggest bakeoff in the Southern Hemisphere and involves Cupcake Cooks around Australia baking cupcakes and hosting a Cupcake Party to raise vital funds for the RSPCA. Last year Cupcake Cooks around Australia joined forces to bake thousands of scrumptious cupcakes to help support the services of the RSPCA.

Just by chance, it's also my oldest sister's birthday and she's a breeder of Japanese Spitz. How cool is that?

700

This is my 700th blog post! Woo haa!
It's amazing how they add up.

To be part of a draw surprise
(meaning that I have no idea yet what you might win),
leave me a comment.
There is only a small window of opportunity to win.
I'll pull a name out of the hat in 24 hours' my time.

13th April Update:

Everyone who commented is a winner.
I'll be in contact with the four comment makers in a few days.

Happiness & laughter to one and all,

Felicity

Fabric Covered Box Tutorial

Hi Folks,

It has been a spectacularly busy few weeks, for me. I went over to Brisbane for Felix's baptism, stayed to spend time with the Royal Family & my friend with breast cancer, Terry, and then flew to Sydney with The Youngest Princess to see the Lace, Harry Potter and Picasso Exhibitions and to visit the Rosehill Racecourse Sewing and Craft Fair.

I could write so much about these happenings but I'd never finish this entry. Let's just say that each event was spectactular! I learned a lot, I had a great time with my loved ones and

I bought (amongst other things) my first patchwork project in 30+ years

No sooner had I landed back in Perth than I was off to a fabric covered box workshop run by the Embroiderers' Guild of WA.

Here are some photographs of my humble attempts at making a box.
While it's not perfect, I quite like the outcome.

Practice, practice, practice!

Just as an aside ...

More big things happening in the next two weeks:

There's that big first birthday in a couple of days, my aunt is coming from Brisbane for a visit (and we are going to the Margaret River - home of some spectacular WA vineyards) and Lucy is going to do a happy dance (of sorts).

No expectant mother looks really graceful at this stage of a pregnancy when the temperatures are 40+C


Harry

Happiness & laughter to one and all,

Felicity

Lost (tongue in cheek)

I'm a drama queen! Oh woe is me!
To skip my feable attemps at humour and to read the real news, scroll to *!

Sorry folks,

I'm not stitching anything at the moment, though I have done about three rows of knitting.

I seem to have lost my magnifying glasses, emboidery scissors AND my stitching mojo.

I know that this is careless of me, but I've put all of them down somewhere & cannot remember where. Not that I can see anything once I put it down, these days ...

If I've left them at your house or you find them aimlessly wandering in your neighbourhood, can you send them back to me here asap, please, because I have three shelves of stash waiting at home to be stitched!

"What have you been doing with yourself?" you might ask.

I've been busy.

I've been sulking, moaning and groaning.

I've fogged up every mirror in my house from all the sighing I've done.

I've stopped answering the phone, chatting, reading emails and quaffing red wine. Even shoe shopping with the princesses hasn’t cheered me up.

I've watched 5 seasons each of House M.D. and NCIS. Usually, I rarely watch Tv (by the way, Hugh Laurie is the spitting image of my brother!).

I've been swearing a lot. Lucy, Harry & Gypsy run for cover ever time they hear the phrase “Oh (choose your favourite rude word and insert)!”

The most creative thing I’ve done lately is switched the colour of the pen I use to do maths homework.

Worst of all, I’ve even been tempted to throw away my old cross stitch mags because I can’t stand being reminded of all my unrealised dreams.

*Quite seriously folks, life's pretty good. I've just been busy doing other things: family, studies, etc; and coping with the usual winter bugs (one of which meant that all alcohol was off the menu).

The last week in July, my youngest daughter, aka the Cadet Princess, arrived back in Brisbane after a 6 week work placement in New Zealand. She lives away from home all the year round, but having her overseas (again) made her seem further away than ever.

The last weekend in July was our 3rd annual Christmas-in-July get together with friends and family. The MOTH & I held three separate events: dinner on Saturday night for 12, breakfast for 3 of my siblings and their spouses (three other sibs couldn't make it because they weren't in Brisbane), and lunch for the Royal Family & their partners. Each event was great fun, but a lot of work. By Sunday evening, I was so tired that I was incapable of conjugating a verb! LOL. The MOTH says that he enjoyed the Saturday night do so much that he now wants to make it twice yearly (maniacal laughter from the cook).

Here are a few family pics from Sunday:

The Crown Princess with her Consort


The Cadet Princess & Crown Prince


The Crown Prince with his Birthday Princess


My Living Doll
(the Middle Princess)


and The MOTH & his fat wife
(I'll feel better about this pic in 5 years time, no doubt)

Let's hope you have your mojo safe and well and that it's not off holidaying with mine & that you, too are doing interesting things in other aspects of your lives.

Happiness & laughter to one and all,

Felicity

Happy Dance No 3. 2009

Thank you everyone for your encouraging comments after my last blog entry. They were most appreciated. A hearty thanks too for the blog award from Olenka and for the offer of a chart from Molly in Wales. I was blown away by your generosity. I don't have an email address for either of you to send a thank you note. Could you use my email envelope on the side to send me details of your coordinates, please?

The purpose of this blog entry is to show off my latest finish - Lettres à Mon Chat.

Before you scroll, meet the Blissful stitching team, folks. Never think that cross stitch is a solitary activity here at Castle Bliss. Believe you me, I'm never alone! I have 'helpers' who should be acknowledged. LOL

Gypsy supervises the stitching. She rarely misses a trick (or the chance to wave a paw at a piece of floss).


On the other hand, Lucy & Harry tend to slacken off now and again.
I suspect that Harry stole my magnifying glasses, last week, because The MOTH found them outside on the back veranda with suspicious chew marks and scrapes. How do I know it was him? He looked far more guilty than Lucy. LOL

Details of the work of art


Full blown happy dancing finish!
Click image to enlarge


Lettres à mon Chat
Designed by Isabelle Vautier
Fabric: 28ct Antique White Lugana
Floss: Anchor 1036 (blue) & 1355 (varigated)
Started: 21st May 2009
Finished: 25th June 2009