Another day off

Friday I took another roster day to go on a short roadtrip to Berry with Paula - Paula wants to make a candlewick quilt for her mother, so we went to Sew and Tell to buy the variegated thread Paula had in mind to use. We also visited almost every other shop in Berry plus a few shops in Nowra. Lovely day out.

In early May, Elizabeth's best friend from school will be married. Elizabeth and 2 other girls will be bridesmaids and each can wear whatever dress she likes as long as it is black. Elizabeth has been looking for a dress but not found "the one" as yet, so I offered to make her dress. Elizabeth and Matt came down on the weekend so that we could spend some time looking through pattern books to see what is available. She has a few ideas and will talk to Mary, the bride, before we make a start on the dress (probably over Easter).

Saturday night we went out for dinner with a bunch of friends to celebrate a birthday - was so nice having Elizabeth and Matt along.

I can't show the goodies I've been working on lately (at lunchtime or at home) because they're all for swaps, birthday presents etc. "Mother Angel" is something I made in a former life (before patchwork when hardanger and cross stitch ruled my world). I have made a couple of these angels and have patterns and makings for a couple more plus a lovely santa (half done). One of these days I'll go back to this lovely form of stitching.

Roster Days

Since early December, Paula (a friend from work) and I have been planning to go to Canberra to see the Degas exhibition. We both took a roster day and went on Friday (the third last day). It was so good to see these beautiful paintings. I've loved the ballerinas all my life (Mum made me curtains featuring the ballerinas when I was about 9 - Elizabeth has them now).

We visited a couple of patchwork shops and, miraculously, each time I walked out empty-handed. But, I had done a bit of shopping earlier in the week and it arrived this morning. Lila Tueller "Soiree" jelly roll and pink fabric (the green is for the backing). Am planning a quilt for a friend's daughter's 18th birthday in July - I think she'll like this fabric.

In 2006 I took part in a row-by-row round robin with an on-line group - we each made our own log cabin row to set the colours for the rows then each row followed a theme (baskets, stars, houses, applique, paper piecing etc). I hadn't been able to make a decision about the layout then last week realised where this quilt will look wonderful and so called in some help (John) to sort out where each row should sit.

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Also having a roster day today to do some of my secret project and might even get around to sandwiching this quilt.

Visitors

Two weekends ago John's sister, Joanne, visited from Coffs Harbour. John's Mum and Joanne came over for Sunday breakfast and Jenni joined us.


On our way to Sydney yesterday afternoon we passed this fantastic old motorbike - it has a stick for gear changing.

We had dinner with Elizabeth, Matt and Michael at a lovely Hungarian restaurant - delicious. Following on from Sharon's example of photographing food, this is Matt's dinner - feed the man meat.

This afternoon we picked up a new bed for the pink bedroom (Jenni's room when she was a little girl). Love this bed and my "Ruth's Quilt" (designed by Leanne Beasley) really suits it.

"Let Me Be" is together (took this photo at dusk - I have no idea about lighting etc).

I think this quilt will be nice on the new bed when it's finished.

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Stars, Hearts & Birds

Take some simply patched fabrics, trace stars, hearts, birds and wings on the back; add embroidery, buttons and beads

Sew around the traced outlines

Cut out the various shapes and spend an evening with your daughter stuffing these shapes

and we have "Christmas in July", Kookaburra Cottage's contribution to last year's Christmas Club. Next time I'll have to be more choosy when placing the pattern pieces.

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This is the centre panel of "Let Me Be". All the blocks are together. Next step is to make a decision about border fabrics.

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The Old and The New

Many, many moons ago when I was 17, my girlfriend and I painted my bedroom mauve (don't know why I chose mauve because it's never been a colour I've particularly liked). I pestered and pestered my mother to buy me loads of wool to make a crochet bedspread to go with the new decor.

Last Sunday John and I were moving a bed from one room to another. Underneath the bed were a couple of plastic bags containing probably my oldest UFO (or, as much of the bedspread as I'd made all those years ago).

The pattern is somewhere in my sewing room - I have seen it since we moved to this house (19 years ago) but have no idea where. I am hoping it will turn up.

The new is this linen that I've pintucked - it's for a secret little project.

I had decided that March was "no buy" month but was not successful, although these fabrics were bought in February - both florals are for quilt backs ("Vintage Valentine" and "Girls Day Out"). The spot fabric is for another string quilt I have in mind. I fell in love with this doll as soon as I saw the pattern - I love Country Keepsakes designs.

Quilt Soup

"Let Me Be" designed by Quilt Soup Pattern Co. These blocks have been my lunchtime stitching over the last few weeks (2 more to stitch):


and these blocks have been my evening stitching:

This quilt is being made from 75% stash fabrics - mauve is not a colour I use and I needed some more pale greens. Diann (who shall remain blogless) and I bought this pattern from Steph's Patchwork when we visited Moruya in January - that shop is a stitcher's/patchworker's heaven.

Social Weekend

The weekend just gone was pretty busy and very enjoyable. John and I went to an engagement party on Saturday night - one of the Schoolgirls' sons became engaged just before Christmas. Jenni and her boyfriend Ian came after she finished work.

John's sister (Joanne) was visiting from Coffs Harbour and my brother (Paul) was visiting from Brisbane over the weekend. John's Mum, Joanne and Jenni came over for breakfast on Sunday morning then my Mum, Paul and I went out for lunch at a restaurant overlooking Wollongong Harbour - very nice.

I spent a bit of time on the weekend sewing some bright string blocks - it will take a lot of these blocks to make a good sized quilt . Many of the string fabrics are leftover from this quilt: "Sunshine and Stars" designed by Jan Mullen - the pattern was in a very early Quilter's Companion magazine. This quilt was started in 2003 and finished for Lynell's 50th birthday (4 years ago) - she's the Schoolgirl who held the engagement party. The blocks are hand-pieced and the rest is machine sewn. Lynell's maiden name was Bright.


Is there such a thing as leftover leftovers? These "Sunshine and Stars" fabrics were leftover from "Magic Beach", a Chookshed Pattern Co quilt that Jenni started to make when she was 14 or so and had an ocean themed bedroom - she's now 21 and lives away from home. We were talking about "Magic Beach" when she was over for dinner last night - she might even drag it out to applique the last palm tree or two.

Had a lovely "chat" over a few emails with Granny Loz during the last few days. I'm looking forward to meeting her when I go to Day of Inspried Stitches in April.