Scrub Stichin Retreat

 Sew Much Fun!!!!!  This was my first time going to any stitching retreat so even more special to be
heading to the Scrub stitchin retreat  in Baradine, NSW……. finally, after only being able to read about it for so many years!  So I’m afraid you’ll have to deal with me telling you all about it!!!  Thanks to Christine from MacDonalds Patch, who had already planned to drive up - I was able to catch a lift with her.  Although we've been corresponding via the blogs since 2010, we had never actually met in person until she turned up in the driveway to stay the night before we set off on our little 2 day road trip!  

Day 1(Tuesday) we left here making our first stop at Junee - checking out the chocolate and liquorice factory  ..... definitely worth a visit

Such a beautiful old building and so interesting inside ..... can you see the large copper mixers there behind the glass ....... and the gardens were just as interesting with so many places to sit and enjoy a drink

How decadent does the "real" hot chocolate look?  And they came with little chocolate covered licorice beside them .....Yum!!!

This was followed by  a very late lunch in Forbes ) before stopping in Dubbo the night.

 a very late lunch in Forbes ) before stopping in Dubbo the night.

(Day 2) We had decided to make our way via Manduran but on arrival we were really only able to get a coffee and the cheese factory was viewed through the window as we decided it wasn’t really  worth waiting for it to open - although we did enjoy a bit of walk and took a couple of photos 

……..so onto Coonabarabran where we found 2 delightful patchwork shops and had quite a bit of fun picking up a few goodies lol  Little did we know that this was to be the "pop up" shop at the retreat - very handy as a few of us ran out of items that were needed and managed to find other "needed" items lol

Finally we arrived in Baradine where Scrub Stichin was being held …….it was just like meeting up with old friends - many bloggers I’ve “ known “ through the blogs over the years but never met in person!  ……. What a fun few days we had!

Wednesday afternoon was dumping our gear into cabins and sewing stuff into the large room that had been beautifully set up together with a goodie bag for everyone with our name tags - then it was off to the local Pub for dinner and finally snap a photo with "Chooky" and a few of the other girls

Looking up the main street of Baradine from the hotel verandah

I know you are hanging out to see what was in the goodie bag ..... A beautiful Mug, handmade items and a specially designed kit by Annie Downs  

From Thursday morning right through to Sunday lunch time there was plenty of food, fun, laughter, sewing, sharing, sunsets, walks and getting to know each other that bit more .......

Nothing better than Scones with Jam and Cream lol ......  We all had been given places to sit  which meant I got to know Trish - such a fabulous lady and she is now a blogger as well! Click on the link to visit her and say hello!

Christine and Janice were on the same section of tables so we had lots of fun and Janice was very patient giving me plenty of ideas and help for upcoming quilts to be made.

On one of our walks checking out the sunsets I met this beautiful boy I knicknamed "BullyBoy" - he came right up to the fence to say hello to me

Christine, myself, Janice and Raewyn   - we thought we had a great sunset till the sky changed and we caught the next pic

Show and Tell was on Saturday arvo before we went for drinks outside - here is Jenny behaving herself  ...... you might catch  a glimpse of her "misbehaving" further down lol

and it was time to get ready for the Star themed dinner ...................

I'm pleased to say that the beanie I made for the swap part was warmly received by Sue and I received a lovely bunch of fabrics I'm looking forward to playing with.  I also received  a prize of some lovely blue fat quarters.......... Sunday morning finally loomed - last minute sewing, and frivolity and a bit of scull duggery to add to the fun as Jen tried to hide some cute little toys that had been made lol ........ 

All up we had 28 girls attend Scrub Stitchin

13 of these are bloggers - with 2 newbies to blogging 

Front Row - Janice (Jannimary), Jenny (Bird on the border), Christine (MacDonalds Patch)

Middle Row: Annette (Jindi's Cottage), Maureen (Pink Sunset Cottage), Me, Trish (Coming Home)

Back Row: Raewyn (Stitching Farm Girl), Chooky (ChookyBlue), Sue (Kiwikids), Betty (Raindbow Connection Quilters), Lianne (Lianee Makes Stuff), Lynda (Heavens to Bettsy)

Raewyn, Myself and Sue just before it was time to say goodbye ........

Thanks Chooky for putting on such a Fabulous Retreat - I loved every minute of it and have soooo many photos!  It was sad to say goodbye to everyone ....... maybe again next year ????

Sunday after lunch - time for Christine and I head off ...... we took the scenic route via a dirt road to hook back onto the Newell Hwy after Coonabarabran 

Stopping at Parkes overnight where we had a nice breakfast before the last leg back to Corowa where Christine stayed the night.  

She came walking with Lucy, Bella and Deb and myself before heading back the 3hrs to Melbourne.  I felt like Christine and I had been great friends forever and I enjoyed every minute of our time together - such a great travel companion - Thankyou Christine xo

April Update and Countdown

 In between sorting out things for Dad, I've been trying to stay on track with some projects ......
unfortunately the Number 4 item for Chookshed Stitchers Challenge in March didn't get very far and instead was replaced with me working on a woollen blanket for Mila - its quite some time since I picked up my woollen embroidery threads but I made up a little design - to begin all I knew was that I wanted a Duck in gumboots holding an umbrella .... google gave me a pic which I traced and I then made up the rest as I went ..... Just have the ribbon edging to finish it off which joins the nice bunny flannelette fabric to the back of the wool blanket........ Well before I got this post finished, I managed to finish the binding - but I won't get it delivered now till after the retreat so it will come with me for some show and tell I've just found out we need to take lol ..... how convenient!! I backed it with some lovely  woodlands bunny design flannelette to keep her toasty warm.

I've also been working on a little knitting project which is to be kept secret for a bit longer ........ and I'm packing up projects to take on my very first sewing retreat ....... with the Chookshed Stitchers at Scrub Stitchin in Baradine!  It's about 9 hours drive from here but thankfully Christine is also going and she will be driving from Melbourne up to here on Monday and staying here the night before we head off Tuesday morning on a little Girls Trek making our way to the retreat.  We plan to take our time and are stopping over in Dubbo overnight before heading to the retreat the following mornings.  I'm sure we will be having a few stops along the way to check out various bits and bobs ...... the countdown is on with just 4  make that 2 sleeps before she arrives!!!!  I'm taking my Down the Rabbit Hole Quilt to try getting the quilting done (its Number 9 on my Chookshed challenge list which is the number for April). 

 I have knitting and crochet and other sewing packed up as

well!!! And then it rained yesterday arvo and drizzled today with cooler weather ..... oooohhhhh how my fingers were itching to cast on something ..... so yesterday I went searching for something else to cast on and I decided on this wonderful mosaic shawl ...... I started trying to plan colours yesterday, but this morning on my walk with Lucy and after the heavy rain last night ...... I found my inspiration with the kangaroo standing in the grasses and this flowering native with the wet dry leaves under it and trunk wet from the rain ...... I'm not totally sure if I'll use the yellow or the red (or both) ...... but my itchy fingers have cast on in the green and I'm loving the way it's knitting up with various shades of green showing.  You will have to wait to see the progress till after I get back from Scrub Stitchin (lol - how appropriate for the photos I just put on here!)

But if you keep scrolling you will get to see the yarn I've chosen and the name of the pattern which can be found on Ravelry .... my only concern now, is that I'll be able to put down the needles and pick up the sewing at the retreat lol

 

Sooooo excited for this break away and getting time to just sit and stitch .........  although, little Lucy has not been so keen watching me pack my bags, since she now knows what that means .......

Until my next post,

 take care my friends 

Hugs Sharm xo

Update on Dad

A bit of an update on Dad who had a fall back in mid March and ended up spending 3+ weeks in hospital.  Although he didn't break any bones, at 95 years of age the fall really threw him as he had previously had a few minor falls but this one was quite bad and combined with him having a chest infection.  

The result of being in a hospital bed for 3 weeks and unable to go for walks unless a physio was with him meant that he declined from using a walking stick to the need of a 4wheel walker and somebody with him to assist and give him confidence and directions.  Luckily we were able to take Lucy in for visits which he really enjoyed .......

  He therefore needed to go to respite for 2 weeks - just before Easter it was evident he was not getting back to his independent self and after discussion, he made the decision to go into permanent care.  He was enjoying respite as they had him doing things he wouldn't be doing otherwise .......

 Luckily he made this decision because 2 days later he was back in hospital with another infection and had to spend Easter in hospital, mostly sleeping off the infection.   Yesterday he returned to the Nursing Home which he is really liking.  He has a lovely room with a view over the paddocks which sometimes has the cows wandering past.  As you might guess, this has meant I've been busy trying to get his unit packed up, sorted and furniture moved out of the place ....... a work still in progress, and stuff moved up to his new room.  The care staff and nurses up there have been wonderful and he seems to like having their company and help which is a big bonus!  This is his new room ...... we are in the process of getting it set up to be a bit more personal with some photos and such ..... but it has a little sink, small fridge and cupboards, built in wardrobe and shelves and his own big bathroom.  He feels quite comfortable in it which is the main thing!

 

The Melbourne Getaway ..... 50+F&H

 

I'm behind in my round up of February as I'd planned to wait till after my weekend down in Melbourne which started on the Thursday -2 days prior to the end of Feb.  After managing the 50+ F & H Group (which stood for 50 and over Fit and Healthy - now we are all 60+ lol) of girls for what will be 11 years in August - I organised a full weekend get together based in Melbourne for the Thursday to Sunday!  It took a few months to organise since we have ladies living all over Australia (and a couple that have since moved OS).  Originally I got the group together when I joined Michelle Bridges 12WBT and wondered if I was the only lady over 50 attempting the program??

Meeting each of the arrivals

 I had 107 other ladies join the facebook group I set up ..... slowly over the years the group has grown smaller, however the core group (I made it a closed group) have seen members go through Fires, Floods, Death of Spouses and sadly we have also lost a couple to sickness.  Ladies came from Qld, SA, Tas, Vic and NSW flying and training it in from various towns - We had a ball!!!  I did things I don't usually do when down in Melbourne (although I may just do some of them again lol) - It was a fabulous group of women, many meeting face to face for the first time, but just picking up like we have for the past 10 years!!!  I had some drink holders made to commemorate the event and one of the other girls (Chris) had made each of us a Mug rug   ....... and right at the end on the last day at breakfast they presented me with an amazing gift and a letter from Michelle Bridges - what a group!!!  Enjoy the photos - there a few lol!

Six of us arrived on the Thursday and after making sure we met each lady and dropped off the bags
at the hotel - Thankfully I'd booked us into the Southern Cross Hotel which is very close to the train station and where the sky bus arrives from the airport! Stacey met us to help us initially get orientated with the free tram area and to visit some of the shops ..... including the leggo shop which has the life size tram made from Leggo bricks that you can hop into to!! How cool is it lol

After a time of shopping, lunch at the old post office building and farewell to Stacey it was time to take a walk over the river and work out dinner and decide who was wanting to go to the sky deck at Eureka Tower.....

3 of us ended up going up the tower ..... Helen from SA and Kayleen from Townsville were super keen, so I tagged along with them and I'm really pleased I did!  The building is amazing as is the 360 degree views!  I loved the Bees featured on the outside of it as well ....... you can see them on the white section in this photo, but I needed to take a closer photo!

Then we decided to step out on the outside area which is caged and also has a double door to create a

managed air vacume between the inside and outside of the building.  It was super windy up there and we were laughing trying to get a photo without hair blowing in our faces lol  They have an area up there where you can purchase drinks and a bit of food - we decided to get a coffee and sat to watch the sun going down ..... unfortunately my phone didn't work taking those photos but it was amazing watching the sun disappearing from that height!   As soon as it was down we made the walk back to the hotel, stopping on the bridge over the Yarra to take a couple of photos with the night lights behind us ..... a lovely end to our first day!

Friday morning - another beautiful day for all the interstate visitors saw the other 4 ladies arrive at
various times throughout the day ...... Friday morning saw most of us head to the Southwharf DFO for various goodies and then after lunch we had 8 of us head off to the Botanical Gardens for the bus tour which was a bit of fun! (the other 2 ladies weren't scheduled to arrive until later in the arvo). We opted for a maxi taxi over there and decided to walk back to the City since most wanted to see Federation Square and the Iconic Flinders Street Railway Station.  We made quite the impact with the large group of us all walking along (continually counting heads to make sure nobody got lost lol)

Love this photo ....Helen, Me in the front taking the "selfie" with Bron on my other side in the white cap ; behind her right to left is Chris, Margaret, Sue and Anne in the Blue with Kayleen out the back.

Walking back past the Shrine and meeting up with the last 2 ladies for drinks and dinner.

Myself, Chris, Helen and Margaret in Fed Square

Saturday arrived and after breakfast at Federation square

 we decided to break into smaller groups for some city shopping/exploring .... another great photo on the way to breakfast with (Front to back) Anne, Helen, Chris, Julia and Kayleen checking out the artwork

We discovered a number of us shared a love of  various types of sewing and craftwork ..... we stopped in at Tessuti Fabrics and ended up in there for over an hour lol before heading the Yarn shop (which also had material which I may have purchased  some batiks for a jewel quilt after seeing the top that Helen had brought to show us all ........ I'll share it in another post ....... 

 before we knew it, it was time to meet back at Fed square for a 2hour cruise up and down the Yarra River

We all thoroughly enjoyed having the time to just sit and enjoy the relaxing ride up the river with drinks available if you wanted them and great commentry along the way!  I had no idea there were soooo many very old bridges across the Yarra and it was interesting learning so much about it! We had allowed for the 2 hour cruise ...... we hadn't allowed for it to run over time by over half an hour lol and you should have seen us rushing off that boat and almost running to try getting a tram - ensuring we had all 10 of us together - working out where we were gettting off and racing back to the hotel so we could quickly get changed ready for the big highlight ..... the Shows!

  

4 were going to Rocky Horror Show and the other 6 heading to Grease.  Since they were being shown in theatres not far from each other, Julia (who lives in Melbourne) had been great in organising the shows and dinner booking so we could all eat together, then head to the shows and meet back up afterwards!  The Spagettii Tree was the dinner venue and it was fabulous!

And just like that it was Sunday morning - our last breakfast before we all began heading off to our various buses and trains to head home!  What a fabulous time we had - and the girls surprised me Sunday morning with a little presentation ....... they had been in contact with Michelle Bridges (12WBT and also was on "The Biggest Looser") and she had written a letter to me thanking me for all the support I had shown this group of women over the past 10 + years and after discovering some of the things we had been doing for each other after being part of 12WBT she was inspired by us!  The girls had also been in touch with the rest of the group (all those unable to make the trip down) and I was given a $250 gift card to use for whatever I might decide to use it on!!!!  To say I was blown away was an understatement!  Thankyou to all who took part and a massive thankyou to the 9 ladies who met up with me for a weekend we will never forget!!!