lzilulu's stuff......

.....scratching the stitch itch...

'morning chickadees....

am pleased to announce to myself and other interested people...i have scratched my stitch itch for the first time since the mad rush that was Christmas....what a bummer that i have to return to work next week!!

bernie bernina and i got up close and personal with each other yesterday...have been itching to stitch some more wonky log cabin blocks. i found a great tutorial here before Christmas. after using it for the Christmas tree skirt, i just KNEW i wanted to use the block for my "fresh and white" project...so, i did some stash scavenging and came up with the following blocks.....my "guidelines to self" included.......

• red/white spot for all centres
• white for all outer logs
• palette of red, aqua, pink, white with just a smidgen of that gorgeous "apple-y" green.......

...this is what they look like so far....

....yep, i'm loving it.....

to all my shed ladies who read this blog...and i know there are a few of you, because i ram it down your necks notify you of updates on a regular basis...are you ready to scratch your stitch itch yet??? how about we start the new year with a weekend workshop?? let's meet on Sat Sun 24th/25th january 2009?? yes, i know it's the australia day long weekend....but isn't it a good ole' aussie tradition to get together with your mates and do something you REALLY love????....pencil it into your diaries and i'll check with mr lzilulu...just in case he wants to whisk me away to the bahamas (LIKELY STORY!!)...so now you want a theme for the workshop???....how 'bout we embrace another aussie tradition and call it "anything goes"??? ALL blog readers are welcome....just rsvp in the comments section or shoot me an email...let's see how many real and how many virtual attendees i get....

must away...off to my lqs to add to my stash of reds....and try not to let too much else fall into the basket!!...well she is having a summer sale so what's a girl to do..... shop for groceries or shop for fabric??...tough decision......

'til next time, take care and be kind to each other....sloppystuff lzilulu xox

...more goodies

....was reading Susan's blog this morning and her reference to coffee fabric reminded me of this gift i received for Christmas....

...isn't it cute??...although i'm not ADDICTED to coffee i do like an occasional skinny-chino with a dash of hazelnut syrup, so i have put the appropriate amount of coins in it.....just in case.......

another Chrissy gift was a necklace made by one of my three very talented sisters...using some favourite to me vintage buttons.....

yes, i know i said it is a necklace, but really, i prefer to wear it as a bracelet...think it has something to do with not wanting to suffocate all those scrumptious buttons in my more than ample *gulp* cleavage.........

you know the drill...until next time...take care and be kind to each other.....sloppystuff...lzilulu xox

...lots of goodies...

'morning chickadees

remember "way back when" i was bribing pleading with you all to leave my blog via this blog so that i could win some of Emma's goodies???....remember?....oh!well! even if you don't, i do! apparently i was going really well with my scheming plan and it looked like i was going to be the greedy winner....until i was pipped at the post by someone else. i took my loss with the appropriate fair sportsmanship but luckily for me Emma thought otherwise and she bundled up some goodies and sent them to me...TRUE STORY!!....yep, there really are some generous people out there in blogland......

the parcel arrived in the pre-Christmas rush that usually happens around the world......i DID rip it open at the post office and was gobsmacked....but...i didn't want the contents to get mixed up with all the other Chrissy goodies...you know that "day after Christmas" feeling of "*&^% who gave me that and what goes with what??".....so i re-wrapped it and put it in a safe place to re-savour at a quieter time...well, that time came a few days ago, and i was able to drool over each and every one and re-purpose them all......

i warned you about their cuteness didn't i????..........

...the hanging heart ( with pretty smelly stuff inside) found a home here...

...yes, not far from the shoes!!

the hanging bunny has settled into her new home not far away, hanging on the bed-head in our pink/green bedroom...the bed-head is an old gate that my father in law made for his sheep yards MANY years ago...but i digress!!

am not sure if the cupcake is SUPPOSED to be a pin/needle keeper, BUT it works for me.....

.....amongst all the mess that would be my sewing area!!

...and the boob pin??? well, it gets LOTS of exposure....

....so, Emma, thank you sooo much for your generosity..... i feel extremely fortunate....

....my recent blogging hiatus was due in LARGE part by my "pissed-offness" with Typepad...it was just taking tooo long to write posts, the photos tooo long to upload and then it crashed before publishing just one time too many......BUT.....windows live writer is my new bestest friend and the blog mojo is well and truly alive and well...and i still get to keep my typepad account so i'm definitely a happy camper!!

until next time, take care and be kind to each other.....

sloppystuff  lzilulu  xox

thanks to sheryl no blog....yet!....

many thanks to sheryl....who REALLY should start a blog...surely she could find the time between caring for her husband and four little ones...the youngest being only five weeks old! and churning out some awesome needlework!.....oops, i got a bit sidetracked there...anyway, thank you sheryl for pointing me in the direction of here, so i can thank this very clever lady for the Christmas tree skirt tutorial. i STRONGLY suspect that the same lady has influenced me re the desire to create my fresh/white quilt.......

sloppystuff  lzilulu   xox

...just a little sewing

i de-christmassed the house yesterday and took the opportunity to take a photo of the new Christmas tree skirt i made JUST in time for this Christmas just gone.......

.....i really like the wonky log cabin block....and the bright fabrics....and the white....am keen to do a small quilt using the same ideas...

i need to thank someone in blogland for the tutorial for the tree skirt.....BUT....at the moment i can't think who it is *sorry*...perhaps some of you can help me here!!

am off to the shed to get some crafting happening....is horribly hot here today so the air conditioner will be working overtime!

talk to you soon, sloppystuff lzilulu  xox

.....adit to shoes post

"gabbie no blog yet" left me a comment exclaiming "what, no shoes at the back door?".........well, she's shamed me into just one more photo....

...also in the photo is an old rusty iron bedhead....a snake killer...a driza-bone...a stockwhip.....and flo's entrance to her abode......

talk to you soon....

lzilulu  xox

....shoes, shoes and more shoes....

'morning chickadees...yes i'm back again and so soon after the last post. am using windows live writer and gee it is soooo much easier and quicker than typepad......

kerry had a post the other day about the number of shoes she had...this struck a chord with me and i grabbed my camera straight away to take pictures of the "abandoned" pairs of shoes throughout the house....

......these were in the bedroom *gulp*

....outside the bedroom door.....

....in the family room.......

i then made myself a coffee and set about counting all my shoes but i'm sure you will agree that the project was far too daunting and i just gave up.....

.....well, mr lzilulu does own two pairs so don't be too tough on me.....

...off to do some sorting and de-cluttering...think i'll start with the shoes....

until next time take care and be kind to each other

sloppytuff  lzilulu  xox

....oops, missing in action....

'morning chickadees.......long time no talk......life has sort of got in the way of pleasurable pursuits such as blogging......

....but....

...after checking my stats and realising that an average of 17 people visit my "almost defunct" blog every day, i feel i'm letting 17 people down EVERY day by not posting...and you know how good us women are at taking guilt trips don't you?????...so i'm off to a fresh new year start and will be up and running with more posts very soon.......

until then, take care and be kind to each other

sloppystuff  lzilulu  xox

flo's woes............

'noon chickadees....omg! am i ever loving this windows live writer!!...trust me, i won't bore you with too many more posts but must tell you the story of flo's woes.....

we "dog-sat" a gorgeous little boy called oscar over the Christmas period. we loved every minute of it but he managed to turn our whole world a little topsy turvy........

......as you can see, he is VERY endearing......

.......there was mutual love between he and the two girls (flo, and rae the cattle dog)...they played together without any hassles.....the exuberance of the three of them together caused the chooks to stop laying.....mr lzilulu loved him because he did little tricks for him eg rolling over every time he said "bang"......

...and only resumed a standing stance after a gentle tummy rub from mr lzilulu.....and no, he would not do the trick for me....but i still loved him because....well, because he loved us, that's why!!

.....flo became very withdrawn after he left......off her food and generally "not her usual self".......we persevered for a couple of days thinking it may have been from too much Christmas ham....but when i realized she had a raised temperature my "worry wart mother persona" took over and off to the vet we went......$65 later we weren't really any the wiser, the vet couldn't really find anything wrong with her but due to the fever and "slightly red tonsils" we left the surgery with some antibiotics and orders to return in three days if there was no change....

...she remained withdrawn, sooky, off her food and showed little improvement over two days despite antibiotics.......

.....then she started some bizarre for her behaviour...she started gathering her soft toys and became very possessive of them....

....she'd hide with them in unusual spots...

.....then the lightbulb moment happened.....a quick phonecall to the vet and a few chuckles later all was confirmed...our poor flo was lovesick and probably going through a "phantom whelp"............

...now that she is improving and we are seeing more of the "old flo" we are having some serious laughing sessions about it all......

......we have questioned the paternity....this one is probably fairly obvious....mr lzilulu is SURE he saw Santa in the neighbourhood recently...

....but...this one???.....we both agree that flo DEFINITELY has some explaining to do............

until next time chickadees, take care and be kind to each other...planning some time in "the shed" tomorrow so may even have a crafty post to do then...

sloppystuff  lzi  xox