the week that got away . . .

 Greetings all,

Phew, the week totally got away from me.  Last weekend we went to a family wedding in Sydney, which was an amazing experience - i'd never been to a Macedonian wedding before.  It was so vibrant, full of love & energy, really fun with lots of dancing & fantastic food.  We only had to purchase one new outfit - a dress for our eldest daughter, who would rather be in running shorts & spikes - so when she agreed to a patterned, layered, pink Alannah Hill frock, we were shocked & thrilled.  Needless to say she looked lovely & received lots of comments from family . . . she's quite statuesque & carried herself very well in heels. 

 The children were so well behaved, it was a very long day (midday wedding, 5p.m. reception) but by 10p.m. they were exhausted. We booked a suite at the Shangri-La in advance, so we were able to enjoy the room in the break between wedding & reception, relaxing in the complimentary lounge with cold drinks & afternoon tea . . . it was also a quick escape after a huge Sunday night event.  Amazing views of course!! 

We drove home to Canberra on Monday; the children went to school Tuesday, however my eldest had a moderation day - she stayed home to work on assignments while i ran errands (instead of shopping, crazy right??)  I picked up Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar & am reading it thoroughly before i too, quit sugar.  I volunteered as a time keeper at the primary school swimming carnival Wednesday & came home with a cracking migraine, spending Thursday in a heap . . . all the while watching a debate carrying on my Instagram feed - after posting this image!!  How can decreasing sugar & being educated about fructose hidden in food, be a bad thing??!!  This book is thorough, fact, interesting . . . & so far i haven't seen a negative remark which Sarah hasn't already addressed in the book - so read the book before saying ridiculous things like "Sarah says never ever eat another banana" as she doesn't, she simply explains the fructose levels in fruit & to reduce, be aware.  Sugar is sugar, not good (because it comes in fruit wrapped in fibre) or bad (because it is dressed up in a lolly) . . . your body doesn't care, it just senses sugar.  I'll be sure to write extensively on this topic as i start the detox in a couple of months.  Don't worry, Sarah even requests you don't become "a sugar bore" just clued in & enjoy your own personal journey.

So i spent the rest of the week sipping iced tea (FYI i never sweeten it, or drink caffeine, it's basically pretty water) curled up on the lounge.  Sigh.  

 Have gorgeous weekends everyone, it's my adopted city of Canberra's 100th birthday, so lots of parties, events & fun going on here + a long weekend, so i'm finishing off my studio & shock horror, might even sew a stitch.  I shock myself, it's been 18 months!!  Love Posie

Daily Posie updates are on Instagram, check them out at PosieShoots!!  We now have bunnies.

my Marimekko week & the school year resumes

Greetings all, 

Last Friday i finally made it into the Marimekko store in Sydney, wow, what an experience & boy did i wish it wasn't raining so so hard, as i was head down running, not able to soak up the experience - just the raindrops!!  I mean, look at these racks of print & colour, pattern & fun.  I've been collecting Marimekko fabrics for over a decade, they are sensational, coveted & beautiful to work with.  I'm going to make a glorious family patchwork quilt, two actually.

After cruising the entire store, upstairs & down, i managed to finalise my favourite 10 bolts & chose a shoulder bag in signature print Unikko, which my children can borrow too.  I certainly loved the cushions!!

I have been dreaming up what to make with my new prints, while clearing out my studio all week.  Life is always very different after 7-8 weeks of having my four children home on Summer school holidays, to them suddenly resuming school for the year.  My husband started his new job here in Canberra, a couple of weeks ago, so the house is very quiet, just the chatter of chickens & our puppy to keep me company.

My eldest daughter is now in year 9 & was very keen to get back into school, she is doing a triathlon this weekend to kick start her sports.  She has a variety of subjects, electives & non electives, with up to 10 different teachers.  

Finally, after a few days of a new 'organic' process of the children & teachers moving around the classes to discover what 'feels right' my 3 primary schoolers were advised who their classes & teachers were.  Girl 2 has the same teacher as last year, job sharing with her 4th grade teacher, whom she adored, so that is a nice mix.  These days in small schools, they are often composite classes with job sharing mothers teaching part time - we've experienced it all & while i prefer male teachers (as my husband is away so often) - the job sharing situation is often a really positive as the teachers are always fresh.  

Girl 3 has the same teacher as last year, if you could imagine Taylor Swift as a teacher . . . complete with guitar, beautiful singing voice & leg warmers, this is it, perfect for our ethereal little sprite, who feeds off a creative teacher.  So those twins are now year 6 & ruling the school, they will receive special Tshirts too & prepare themselves for high school.  

Finally that baby boy of mine is fast approaching his sisters in height, year 4, with a gorgeous young teacher & all his girlfriends from previous, he'll be just right.  While we've attended 9 different pre, primary & high schools as we've moved all over Australia with the Army, it's nice to be settled & know we just have one more new school - when our son commences to high school, as the girls go to a ladies college. 

All by myself . . . the housewife life . . . so what to do with all this new spare time . . . well i've organised 40kg of no-longer-loved fabric for our daughter's ladies college; middle daughter's piano lessons have extended as 'she's a natural'; sorted school stationery; piled up all the excess kitchen pots, pans, microwave, knives, oven mits, cups, bowls, plates, utensils from the bachelor pad for our primary school canteen; spare linen for charity; removed garbage bags of rubbish from my studio; booked hair cuts; organised lunch dates; delivered fresh lunch to my husband; animal entertaining; i resume a Michelle Bridges 12WBT on Monday so doing my fitness tests; hoisting up a new canopy over the chicken coop; housework; groceries; dinner planning & preparation . . . today i'm finally going to do some shopping, swim & run.

 We'll be back in this city next month for a family wedding.  After dining with Kim Pearson here last Friday night, it brought back all the happy memories of spending my 20th birthday at the ANA (now the Shangri-la) & it's where my husband proposed 16 years ago . . . we booked a suite . . . only this time with ajoining room for 4 children!!  That's my Valentine's Day present right there!!  Valet parking & breakfast for 6.  So excited!!  

Have gorgeous weekends, we're off to a triathlon, love Posie

school reunions: do you go . . . will you??

 Greetings all,

I tossed my family in the car on Saturday morning & headed for my home town of Sydney, were i was born, raised, educated & met the love of my life.  Living only 300km away makes trips home easy, it's a very special city, it calls you home.  When you fly in from overseas, over that harbour - the bridge, Opera House, blue water, exceptional city sky line - i cry, i'm coming home.

It was my 20 year school reunion, from Ravenswood School for Girls, Gordon, a typical exclusive North Shore private school with famous, political & wealthy families who live in mansions with a fleet of European cars.  Some of us were further down the wealthy tree though & from big families who pulled resources to cover those exorbitant fees.  Many of us went to University in Sydney, so keeping in touch was easy, but it was the 90's & email wasn't common, social networks didn't exist.  I was married by our 5 year reunion & already had 3 children & a small business by the 10 year mark.  This time round i was expecting much bigger changes.  I was thrilled to recognise & be recognised by almost everyone.  It was like one massive networking party where everyone was the same age, had a similar background/ starting point & now we were catching up after 20 years!!  Yet it felt SO non judgemental.

I asked if we could do a school tour - see where our parent's money had gone - let's just say, wow, enormous architectural award winning buildings connecting the whole school & very sophisticated grounds.  My nieces went there & it's not dissimilar to my eldest daughter's ladies college here, however, to my school friends who hadn't ventured into 'today's modern school' with cafes, barristers, performance auditoriums & flexible learning centres . . . they were amazed!!

The school tour was a fantastic ice breaker, 40 girls came along & lots of the squealing, hugs & chatter started early.  At the reunion venue, another 40 girls joined us, commence more screaming, laughter & sheer joy to see each other.  Everyone was so happy, upbeat & the atmosphere electric.  I made a speech: to recognise how special our year was & i really knew how lucky we were, as the mummy of a high schooler now, we were a fantastic bunch of girls.  My sister had an awful year group, she'd never ever want to attend a reunion.  It was evident with the number of girls who came along, that we thoroughly enjoyed most of our school years.  Some were boarders, others started in preschool - that's a lot of time together!!    

There was a genuine mix of occupations, mothers, business leaders, single girls & most interesting - so many of us have completely changed our paths, due to discovering the real world, or motherhood, or a passion to do something more meaningful.  Remember i was on the path to be a forensic scientist, before it was CSI prime time cool.  Some girls had lost children, divorced, remarried, parents had passed away . . . they were honest & brave.  My parents were over involved in my life - car pooling, parties, sports - so lots of girls asked after them.  I was telling my father today, he remembers ALL of my friends, he was so thrilled they were interested.  They were of course, devastated to hear my mother has Alzheimer's & is a shell of the former loving, home baking, wonderful mother she was.  

I was reunited with my best friend from year 6, now living in Cairns - would you believe we're holidaying in the exact same place at Christmas??  I can't wait to meet her family.  We were inseparable, then she moved & changed schools, we lost contact.  My two best buddies from middle high school abandoned me for Geelong Grammar, i finally saw them again.  Now we were really up to mischief back in year 10, so to find they are mothers, one's a journalist, the other a school teacher (in my brother's suburb!!) i nearly died.  They can still party though!!  I found a few girls were living here in Canberra, alas, lots of girls i adored didn't come, many were overseas.  I was shocked to see one of the most glamorous girls now has a chronic pain condition & has lost her shine.  Still lovely & chatty, has a beautiful family & lives all over the world, but i wanted to talk to her for hours, see if there was anything i could do to help.  Is the biggest female-faux-pas turning up in the same outfit as someone else??  No way.  The girl i've known since preschool & grew up one street away, turned up in the same blouse.  We just laughed & agreed we still had excellent taste!!  A few of us have four children, some have twins, one girl has five children & cleverly scheduled a 'make over' the day of our reunion so she looked a million dollars!!  

I assume things started to get less pretty after 1a.m. when my husband collected me.  I don't drink but apparently i was talking REALLY LOUDLY & didn't take a breath the whole trip home from North Sydney.  My husband was impressed i wasn't carrying my new glittery high heels (thank you Alannah Hill, they were very comfortable!!)  Of course my husband knows most of these girls too, we're onto our 19th year together.  The general consensus was that 10 year gaps are too long, bring on the quarter-of-a-century reunion please.

Now most of the 120 girls from year 12: 1992 are on line, i can hunt them down & catch up.  I was really flattered that so many girls had followed my design career & knew what i was up to.  Is there any better feeling knowing people care about you??

 Waking up on Sunday morning at my childhood family home in St Ives was really special.  It took a while for my husband & i to realise that one of my nieces has pinched my old double bed.  I love that my children can run around the same house & garden that i grew up in, i know all the great hiding places!!  I adore that handsome soldier has been part of my entire adult life too.  We ventured to his parent's place for lunch in Summer Hill.  It's my husband's childhood family home too.  We have moved 6 times since we started a family, thus our desire to settle & give them a place to bring our grandchildren home to.    

Needless to say being up for 20 hours on Saturday left me rather drowsy on Sunday afternoon as we headed home to Canberra.  I filled handsome soldier in on all the finer details of my girlfriends' lives & a few mentioned "your husband is still hot" when they saw him at the school tour.  We genuinely had a blast on Saturday night, it could have gone on for days!!    

So, school reunions, do you/ would you go along??  Is it girl thing??  Most of us have husbands who don't care about school reunions, they keep in touch with who they want to, a small circle of mates.  Clearly i love them & thoroughly enjoyed my years at school.  We know we got lucky with a great group - we were't cliquey & if there were groups, they weren't exclusive & i'd like to think everyone felt accepted.  Love Posie

when i was a little girl, i was a tom boy

Greetings all,

I was a total tom boy growing up, my best friend was the boy one house over & we played for hours in my back garden.  I had huge rocks, climbing trees, a swimming pool & then my dreams came true, my father built me a tree house.  My father was the son of a carpenter & everything he built "would hold the Sydney Harbour Bridge" as he hammered in a zillion nails to all manner of structures.  When my big brothers were little, they had horses, in our back garden, in St Ives!!  Seriously, 4 horses on Sydney's North Shore!!  As a child i played in the barn, clearly zero fear of spiders & let my imagination run wild.  

 Now my tree house looked nothing like these fancy images - the base was the neighbour's old ping pong table - but it had a balcony, ladder, windows & a shingled roof.

 It has a steep stair ladder & was among the Jacaranda trees, you had all manner of exits.  We could reach out & eat Mulberries.  Life was ace.  

 We were even allowed to sleepover in it with friends!!  Bless the 1980's.  My mother would bring midnight snacks & hot chocolates out on a tray like room service!!

 My tree house still lives on, solid as a rock, my children play it when we visit Sydney.  I'm going to be more heart broken than i realise when my parents sell our family home next year.

 One of the best things about planning our own home, is dreaming up things like a tree house for the children or a fancy viewing platform to show off the best views to guests.   

In the latest Smith Journal (Frankie Magazine's brother) they had a great feature on tree houses, ditto google images for tree house eye candy.  When we finally buy land & plan a house, i'm going to do some carpentry courses so i can fiddle around with off cuts & build something amazing.  Don't you love the branchy hand rails??    

I might be lady like now . . . take away the sequins & fluff - give me gum boots & a hand saw - i'm right back to my roots.  I've spent the day gardening (weeding really) & tossing all the off cuts to the chickens & ducks.  I even gave them the leftover roses from our Friday the 13th party, which were gobbled down with gusto.  Can't wait to go out into the chicken run tomorrow & slip over in extremely-organic-poo.  I might sew with precision but i'm very clumsy & a slipper-overer, normally with a public audience.  Have gorgeous weekends everyone.  Love Posie

3000km, 4 children, 4 bikes, 1 mum, 1 dog & a shark!!

Greetings all,

'It's about the journey, not the destination' well, not when the destination is gorgeous & sunny Brisbane in Summer & 2500km of the round trip is in torrential rain.  It was tense!!  All these images are taken in the middle of the day, in Summer, crazy right??!!

 We had 3 weeks of glorious sunshine then 10 days of rain, with more & more rain forecast (poor Queensland) so we left early, as the highways kept closing due to flooding. The children were fantastic, they are great travellers & read, chat, sing & sight see.  Note: they all have a spare seat between them!!  Bringing the dog was the BEST distraction for our 3rd girl who doesn't love car travel, he also made a comfortable cushion.

 This darling puppy spent his 4th birthday looking out the window in the centre row of the car, bless his heart.  He even had a sleepover with his puppy cousins (Boxer dogs Lily & Saffron) on the way home, saved me finding an animal friendly motel.  The children sprayed him with air freshener & he didn't even smell like wet-dog, brilliant!!

 At one stage on the New England Highway, after 100km of pot holes & heinous driving conditions with mist, road works, rain & P platers flying past me . . . there was a sign saying "Warning Oil Spill".  Are you kidding me, what else could you throw at me??!! 

 I stopped by my brother's place for dinner on the way home & his wife presented my son with a helium filled remote controlled shark, LIFE SIZE (almost) & i was just thinking, 1000km to go, now, with a shark floating around the car!! 

 So with all that road side rain, our pit stops were few & short.  Needless to say, we travelled with towels & had the parks to ourselves!!

 We also stopped by my parents new cottage in the country, so cute, look at this view out of their kitchen window onto the side drive.  Leaving busy Sydney was the best decision, the calm has given them a new lease on life.

 Oh hello, i wanted to rip this oven from their cooking nook & take it with me!!  My parents are so happy here, under my doctor brother's care.  They live in a 2 bedroom cosy cottage (which my brother owns & maintains), they walk into town for coffee each day, Dad has lost 15kg & reduced his drugs by 75%, amazing.  Mums seems happy, she's past the horrible Alzheimer's stage & is now very clingy with Dad, which he adores, constantly holding his hand & whispering to him.  57 years of marriage people!! 

I am thrilled to wave the flag for the ACT, as we crossed the border from NSW, we had dry roads & sunshine, it was overcast but finally, unpacking the car in dry weather!!  I was happy to come home to a spotless house, so glad i made the effort, knowing we were going for 5 weeks over Summer . . . our lovely neighbours even parked their uncle's car in our driveway as 'faux inhabitants' & collected our mail (which included a $7.69 fine for using the Go Between Bridge in Brisbane) on our way to South Bank, ooppss.  Love Posie
PS thank you all so much for the girl-power-happy-thoughts & love in my last post, things are still on track (real estate wise) so we're holding our breath.

i'm grateful for . . . 'reconnecting'

Greetings all,

This time of year is always special for we Army wives . . . we have just moved to a new city or stayed put for the year, either way, we start reuniting & reconnecting with dear old friends, neighbours & school mums after a few postings. 

 In the past week i have met up with one of my favourite mummies from Darwin, her husband has just deployed for Afghanistan; our fantastic old neighbours from Sydney emailed me from Brisbane, they have had twins; my husband's great mate from cadets has moved to Canberra, 27 years of friendship; my darling friend who used to help me cut fabric in the height of my business, rang from Darwin, she just bought a new home; & my darling 3rd girl ALWAYS makes best friends with girls who move interstate or overseas - she's just met up with her 1st grade best friend & when school resumes, her 2nd grade best friend is back from America.  We've also run into other old school friends at the pool.

 While i've been ignoring blogland (sorry, i love you, i'll be back over at your blogs as soon) i've met up with a gorgeous new bunch of bloggers too.  It's always fun to meet people you have had a bloggie relationship with, in the flesh.  My children gasp "oh, not another 'virtual friend' Mum".  Always welcoming when you bump into people in the street (not randomly, but outside the meeting place) & they look at me & the children . . . "you must be Posie".  Hell yeah, you guys are so much fun, in blogs & real life!!

I'll be realistic, not all Army wives are my kind of people.  There are plenty of rough & scary types + the ones who use their husband's rank as some kind of badge of superiority.  Imagine my delight at one particularly awful one dropping the C & F words at a Tupperware party with young children present, yep, she was the demonstrator . . . i am very glad to rid those warthogs from my life.  As i have somehow managed to never attend a single Sergeant's Mess Function (this is highly rare for a Warrant Officer's wife) i tend to make a couple of very good friends each posting & remain in contact with them.  Those ladies know me, i love & adore them, like old school friends, they are not light situational friends, but the real deal & i'm blessed with a dozen of them.  You ladies rock.  I do love not having to start from scratch with 'my story' & they get me, as they're living the same life!!  We've been through cyclones, deployments, childbirth & moves together. 
This week's new KidSpot i'm grateful for 'reconnecting' with some fabulous new/ old ladies in my life, who i have for a couple of borrowed years, i'm so lucky.  Love Posie

home baked . . .

Greetings all,

I know, another food inspired post by Posie, what is going on, she's a designer not a cook!!  Well, influenced by the glamazon whom is Faux Fuchsia, who conincidentally posed the blog influence question today . . . i answered with homemade bread making.  Back in the mid 90s when i was a keen newly wed, i used to bake our bread, from scratch, amazingly non-demanding for two people in the humid tropics of Darwin where dough rises instantly. 

 Fast forward 15 years of marriage & 4 children + freezing-cold-dry-yeast-rising-unfriendly-Canberra . . . Faux Fuchsia bakes her own bread rolls (with a red KitchenAid dough hook i'm guessing) so it brought back my passion & effort. 

 Yes, i was baking boobies, thanks children!!

 Mmmm, with homemade butter to boot, they were delicious.  I'd recommend you eat the day of baking, like they're going to last longer than 5 minutes once they're out of the oven??!!  Are you under the influence of Faux Fuchsia too??

While the buns are in the oven, tee hee, i've been piecing together gazillions of multicoloured strips of fabric for a batch of pencil rolls . . . the Handmade Market is 18 days away, eekk & school holidays too, yahoo.  My darling husband is only here for a few more days sob, in the meantime, suffer more delicious food posts. 
As i've mentioned before, when he's home, every meal is a flavour sensation, he's such a great cook, i can't believe he has to eat ration packs like it's WW2 (when really it's a 21st century war) & he won't buy a BBQ for his bachelor pad in Brisbane, he considers that too moved in, it's nearly 2 years.  He doesn't like seafood so that salmon sensation in the last post was in his absence, as he dashed to Sydney on Sunday.  Last night was BBQ lamb with vegetable perfection, tonight it's that amazing tomato/ yoghurt/ butter marinade chicken he does on the BBQ, then oven, drool. 
I do notice the dramatic increase in time i spend at the sink, washing those too-precious-for-the-dishwasher-kitchen-accessories like the KA food processor/ mixer/ blender/ pots & pans, even the garlic press (i have never proposed to be anything other than a bad cook, i use minced garlic from a jar, shoot me).  I can say that i have never fed my children 2 minute noodles, macaroni cheese or potato bake, ever, not even as a side dish, they would refuse & demand meat.  I don't microwave either, man, they won't eat anything from a frozen box in the oven, i just struggle along cooking from scratch, argh.  They're totally into health.  I'm just waiting for handsome soldier to retire & cook full time.  I'm patient!!  4 more years??
What cooking/ baking/ making in your household??  Love Posie

day trip to Sydney

Greetings all,
'twas a whirlwind Sunday - we headed off to Sydney to visit our families, as we generally do when handsome soldier is home for more than just-a-weekend.  We literally dragged ourselves out of these delicious toasty new bedcovers . . . 

 & into this icey car.

 My husband changed the oil on Saturday afternoon & left the car outside the garage.  Brrrr.  He's used to Brisbane's lows of 15C overnight, we're more like -5C!!

 I was organised with car craft.  Inspired to try hexagons in the school holidays, so i made up my own method & pressed these hexagons on Saturday night to stitch together in the car.

 First stop, my parents in St Ives.  Our eldest daughter chose to interview Grandad for an Integrated Humanities assignment.  He ticked all the boxes . . . born in the depression; decorated military war history; & a sharp memory - questions included "who is the oldest family member you can remember".  I found out so much more about his life, my ancestry & his grandfathers.  Our children were on the edge of their seats listening to his stories, including one which, let's just say didn't end well for the kittens the family cat kept having.  Very graphic & my father doesn't come with a PG warning. 

 We named our first born after my father & he always says "i have 14 grandchildren but number 8 is named after me".  They have a very special bond. 
 

 Is there a fence my children won't try to climb or a hill they can resist rolling down??

Then we headed to the cemetery to lay flowers at the tombstone of my mother-in-law.  The children hadn't done this for a while & had a good look around her neighbours graves.   

 We had lunch & spent the afternoon with my father-in-law in Summer Hill, various family members popped in, then we headed for Bowral.  It was getting late & i was feeling very run down, so we had a quick visit with my sister & her family.  She presented us with eggs from her chickens & snacks to sustain the last 200km of our trip home to Canberra. 

By the time we got home it was after 7p.m. & simple 'farm fresh' fried eggs made for a suitable dinner, then i raced my husband back into our new bedlinen for a good night's sleep.  Sure it was a long trip of 700km in 12 hours but, we sang, laughed & danced in the car.  The children read books, played games & were all round fabulous.  Ah, here's to a beautiful week of sub zero evenings, cross country trials & lots of sewing for a Sunday market.  Love Posie

Sew it Together Sydney - fancy an autographed copy of Handmade Living??

Greetings all,
Bit of a community announcement here today . . . anyone going to SIT in Sydney next weekend who fancies an autographed copy of Handmade Living - let me know.  Only $41.50 including processing fee or $46.50 including Express postage (i can post to anyone, anywhere, you don't have to be an SIT girl). 

Your copy will be autographed by the Handmade founder, Handmade Living author, official contributors & designers too.  I can deliver them to SIT on Saturday where you can collect more signatures from more designers in the book who are also SIT attendees.  Because i'm all about freebies & bonuses . . . + a fabric bundle from my stash to say thanks for your order!!

 I'll have copies for sale at SIT on Saturday 11.45a.m.-12.30p.m. too. at the Menzies Hotel.

 All pre-orders can be autographed to YOU or anyone you are buying a copy for!!

 Why not treat yourself or those you love to an early Mother's Day gift you'll truly enjoy??

This thoughtful book has photography tips & a jewellery section, things to make for children & recipes to try - all for the love of Handmade, it not just sewing, it's a whole way of life.

 It's filled with How To projects from paper & sewing to wool & chocolate.

 The illustrations are simply beautiful.

 The How To projects are actually ones you'll want to try for your own home & inspire special gifts from the heart.

 Activity & party ideas to do with your children.

 Even a double page spread on how to create your own day spa at home!!

 To original recipes & blends of chai tea to crochet & how to cover a lampshade!!

So what are you waiting for??  Grab copies for you, your sisters, girlfriends, mummies, daughters, neighbours & friends, you won't be disappointed with what fills the pages in this amazing publication.  Projects & ideas you will use over & over, tips on how to live a Handmade lifestyle & best of all, new crafty tricks to try.
Just leave a comment here with your email & i'll follow up.  International orders welcome too, don't want you missing out!!  You can pre-pay with Visa or MasterCard, PayPal or EFT on line before the day & i'll deliver or post, which ever suits you. 
Thanks so much, i can't express how much you'll enjoy this all-in-one amazing more-than-just-a-craft book.  Love Posie