Happy New Year !!!!!!!

Just a quick post to say a hello to all my blogging friends. I can't believe it will be 2010 tomorrow. Time for New Year resolutions. Wonder how many I will keep this year? My record in previous years leaves a bit to be desired so I think I will have to work a bit harder to change this. We had a lovely family Christmas Day and birthday celebration and I hope you did too.

Been very quiet in the quilting department of late but yesterday, Chris and I tried to work out how to use my quilting machine. Watched the DVD about half a dozen times, put my machine on the frame, ready to go and did some adjustments to the roller heights. Am going to have to practise a lot before I am game to try one of my quilt tops of which there are many. Anyway, it was a good start. Saturday is the next step, attaching fabric to the rollers. Will keep you posted.

Anyway, it's time to wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR and to say be safe until I catch up with you in the land of blogging next year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!

Well here it is at last, Christmas Eve. One more sleep till the big guy in the Santa suit arrives. The presents are wrapped and ready to be make there way to our son, Scott's house across the highway where we will have Christmas lunch. He is having the big family gathering this year. I just have to make my coleslaw and curry dip to take so not much preparation to do. Christmas tea will be spent here with Todd(son No 2) & family and my daughter, Kym. We are going to have some seafood and nibblies and spend the rest of the time in the pool I imagine. Should be a lovely day all round.

Today is the start of my husbands Christmas break so he is busy in the yard giving it a tidy up while I am in here playing with the computer. Chris and I are both looking forward to Christmas Day tomorrow as not only do we get to spend it with our family but also we both celebrate our birthdays which makes it extra special.

In closing this post, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that you all have a wonderful time sharing the day with your loved ones : family and friends.........

Xmas Break-up.....

Yesterday was my Quilt Group's Christmas break-up luncheon. Of course, I forgot to take my camera so no piccies. We had a lovely day. We meet at a local church and even though it was very hot, with the fans running flat out, the room was quite cool. Lots of yummy stuff to eat, salads, ham, chicken, prawns, quiche and of course pavlova, cheesecake tarts and home-make ice-cream made by my friend Nancy. Mustn't forget Jan's lovely homemade nibblies beforehand and Viv's punch. By home-time we were all feeling pretty full.
As part of our Xmas festivities, we all brought a small gift along to swap. The photo below is my swap gift which I made last week-end. I got the pattern for the journal from Moda Bakeshop but used some of my Aviary 2" strips instead of 1&1/2" strips used in the tutorial. It was quite easy and quick to make. Looks very neat inside as it is lined. Will definitely be making more of these as they make a lovely gift.
I was so pleased Norma received my Secret Santa gift as yesterday was her first day back after an operation. She has been quilting for many years and so I hope she enjoys recording her quilting journey in her new journal.
Well still not finished the Christmas cards or wrapping the presents or the decorating so best be off as I can't see the elves doing it for me. Till next time........

Time slipping away : Here comes CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Here are my three grandsons : Josh, Jake & Tom with Grandma. My granddaughter was MIA when this photo was taken.

Well I seem to be going round in circles. I am so unorganised this year, gift shopping not finished (hardly even started), cards not written and no thoughts of decorating but time just keeps passing, more quickly with each day. One BIG sigh or maybe two. It may have something to do with my turning 60 on Christmas Day but I think I am cool with that as it is only a number. The kids talked me into having a small luncheon at the RSL club last Saturday, just family & a few old friends. It is always too hard to have something nearer the day as most people have other Christmas festivities to attend. I had a great day and was glad my arm was twisted to have it as my friend of 50 years was there and others I hadn't seen in a while. Chris, my hubby, celebrates his birthday on the same day but his 60th isn't until next year. He doesn't like parties for himself so unsure what will happen when it comes round, perhaps a surprise or maybe not.

The photo below is of my newest finish. A very small container to sit next to the sewing machine so when I cut my threads they have somewhere to go and not on the floor. I found the pattern on the net. It is called a friendship bag and also has a tutorial to go with it. PS I Quilt is the name of the blog. I have the link in my blog list on my sidebar if you are interested in having a look. I'm thinking of making some in xmas fabric and filling them with wrapped sweets as little gifts. The bag also has handles on it if you wish but in this case I left them off.

The following photos are of the stitcheries I am trying to finish that will go on my machine cover and my machine mat. Both projects are waiting for this to be finished before I can proceed. I have been doing it for ages but there is a lot of stitching so I can't be too hard on myself. Leaves and some small flowers to go.

Machine cover and tape border stitcheries below. The same material will be used for the mat and cover as used in the thread catcher. Debbie Mumm fabric, not sure of the name but have had it for years. The pattern is by Bareroots.

I have a couple of other things I'm working on but can't show pictures just yet. Someone might be looking. Well that's about it for today. See you next time.................

Giveaway at Sugar Spun Quilts

Head on over to this blog, Sugar Spun Quilts. Vicki is giving away lots of prizes, 5 in all to celebrate her 405th blog post. Make Life Sweet jelly roll, 3 lots of fat quarters & charm squares plus yardage make up the giveaways. Drawn on 5th December. I would love to win the Sweetwater jelly roll. I have some of their Authentic fabric line and it is just lovely. Just click on Sugar Spun Quilts and the link should take you to the website. Have fun and good luck if you enter.........

At last. a finish...

Here is my Verandah Views hanging finished. I am really pleased with how it looks. Thank-you to Cheryl from Willowberry Designs for this wonderful BOM design given freely on her blog . I have had many friends comment on how lovely the stitchery designs are. I used Aviary fabric from one of my favourite fabric designers 'Three Sisters' and I think it compliments the stitcheries perfectly. I will have to find a special place to hang this.

I have also finished Block 11 of A Tisket A Tasket from Bunny Hill. Only one more to go. Below is a stained glass block that I completed a few weeks ago. I forgot to take a photo but was able to get one last week at quilting group. Everyone at my group did one and they will be put into a quilt by one of our members, Robyn who taught us how to do the stained glass technique. Not sure at this stage what will be done with the quilt but a decision will be made when it is complete. My block is of Sturt's Desert Pea. Each block is of an Australian native flower. They should look lovely together. This block was quite a challenge as it had many little pieces. Sorry about the block looking creased, should have pressed it before taking the photo.

Well, must get back to it as I have lots of things on the go at present. See you next time........

My quilting room

Here are photos of my quilting room. It is almost a year since half the garage was transformed and I transferred all my quilty bits from the house to my new blue room (hence the name for my blog was born). What a marathon that was. It was hard to believe all the things I had accumulated since quilting became my passion but it did give me a chance to discover things I had forgotten I had bought and tucked away for when I had time to do them. Of course, even in retirement, there is still never enough time.

This is my John Watts quilter which I have been looking at and pondering over for almost a year. I have about 6 quilt tops to finish but keep putting it off. I am going to have to bite the bullet soon and just use it for the purpose intended and not as a storage area for unfinished projects.

Oh how I love my new Bernina. Had it for a while before I used it, how silly was that. I just love the needle down function, blanket stitch and the fact that I can sew at half speed which makes it so much easier when you are stitching fiddley things like quarter inch bias tape.

I have been busy working on my projects but haven't got much to show at present. As you can see in the photo above, I am quilting my Verandah Views quilt and just have to add the binding to that. If you read my previous post, I went with the red border for A Christmas Wish and it is in the handquilting stage.

The computer is doing funny things so will close this now so I don't lose this post but be back soon with more finishes, I hope. Cheers for now...........

What to Do?

I can't believe I haven't blogged for so long. Time just seems to be slipping away as we get closer to December. Need to start Christmas shopping soon as usually by this time of the year, I have most of it done. Trying to think of what to buy is the hardest thing for me this year, I don't know why, just seem to be out of ideas. Hopefully, I will get inspiration soon.......

I've been working on A Christmas Wish BOM by Gail Pan this past week. Have finally stitched all the 2&1/2 inch squares around the blocks and am about to add my last border. I have 2 choices of material, either a red floral or a plainer green stripe, both already used in the quilt. I thought I would go with the red and bind with the green but now, I'm not sure. Laying it out on the bed makes me think the red is just too much and when asked, my hubby said he thinks so to. 'Too busy' were his exact words. Below are the photos I took of the top laid out on both fabrics. I think I'm leaning towards the green. Watch for an update or if you have an opinion, leave a comment which will be most welcome.

Here is my Bunny Hill finish for October just in time for November's to arrive. Halloween seems to be catching on here more every year. My grandson Josh had a couple of friends over to his place and by the looks of the photos (sorry I don't have any) had a pretty scarey time. I could only recognize him by his red hair stitcking out from his mask. Good costume Josh.

This photo is of my grand-daughter having her first driving lesson with my son. She drove up from the Gold Coast. It took me back to when my boys first started to drive. Not a pleasant experience for me as I was quite nervous sitting beside them. Luckily we all survived, me especially. When it came the time for my daughter to get her licence, she opted for an automatic one and I had a manual car so no lessons from me. Phew!!!!!

Well, that is all from me this time. Great to see the rain here in Queensland, just need a bit more. bye for now..........

Back Home from Quilt Camp

We had a great time on our weekend at Boonah, a rural area about an hour away from home. We stayed at a place called The Outlook which has a lovely big room where we can set up our machines and just sew. Even though we did our own cooking, we still had plenty of time to devote to our projects as we were only rostered on to prepare one meal and cleaning up afterwards was a combined effort and completed in no time.
As you can see by the photos below, I managed to get a fair bit done amid all the eating, laughing, talking and joke telling. My daughter's quilt top now has the borders on it with of course, the quilting still to come. I am quite happy with how it turned out as it is the first time I have made a quilt without using some sort of pattern so it was a bit of trial and error at times. My Verandah Views wall hanging is ready to quilt and I also got a fair bit of A Christmas Wish stitched together but forgot to take a photo so next time I am in my quilting room, I will take one.

Kym's Quilt - Sophistikitties.
Verandah Views.
By the time I got home, I was pretty tired but I just love going, it is such a fun weekend. Our next one is in March, I'm planning already.........

Getting ready for Boonah Camp / Oscar

This little fellow is my cat Oscar. He is usually perched on my knee helping me with my stitching but last night he decided he was just tooooo tired to help so he sat on the arm of the chair, covered his eyes and slept. I must say, I got a lot more stitching done then I usually do. We inherited him as a kitten after some kind soul threw him out of their car as they were driving along the highway and he just happened to sail over my son's car bonnet. He luckily survived his ordeal and has turned out to be lovely natured puss.

I am getting quite excited as this week-end is our quilting camp at Boonah, the second for the year. Eleven of us will head off on Friday morning for the 3 day camp. I have a few things on the go so will just take them along to try and finish some off. I have completed the stitchery on my Mistletoe Madness quilt top so hope to get this basted together ready to begin hand quilting when I get back. I also have more borders to go on Kym's quilt, A Christmas Wish quilt and my Beach Days quilt (photos in previous posts) so am sure this will be enough to keep me busy. I always think I will get such a lot done but we usually do more talking and laughing than anything else so in the long run, we all come home feeling great and that's really what matters.

OPAM Prize!!!

Yesterday, I received the above parcel in the post from Kris of Tagalong Teddies. My name was picked as the winner for the September draw. How exciting!!!!!! I had had a very busy weekend looking after my darling energetic grandsons and so this was just the pick-me-up I needed. The picture above is what I received. A pattern by Candlelght Creations, a notepad, a sharpie pen and an angel wooden tag . Thanks Kris and May Britt for organizing this. It has definitely helped me in trying to decrease my long list of wisps. Still have a long way to go though, just have to stop starting new projects if that's possible.

Slow start but getting there at last....

Well finally I have some enthusiasm back and have been working on several projects at the same time. Below is my Giggle Button Project for August. Stitching all done, just need to decide how to finish it off. May just go with what Sonya did and add a felt backing. Of course haven't the right colour in my stash so may require a trip to my local quilt shop. Used Derwent pencils to colour the flowers and leaves and waterproofed them with fabric medium.
Finished off my last block for A Christmas Wish. Have cut out the small squares for the sashing and have been trying to work out where they need to go. This is always a task that takes me such a long time. Does everyone else have this same problem? Luckily, I could purchase, from Honeysuckle Cottage, some more Holly Go Lightly fabric so I can add the final border and binding using the same fabric as in the rest of the quilt. It was on special too so how good was that? Below is the middle section of my Beach Days quilt. I started this on the Tamborine Quilt Camp after I had finished the Mistletoe Madness quilt top. Only managed to get a few of the rows completed at camp. This quilt has borders on either side of the middle panel so shouldn't take too long to complete. The pattern is by Camille Roskelly of ThimbleBlossoms and is called Mama's Boy. I am going to make mine a little bigger than the pattern, so hopefully I will have enough fabric. I really love these fabrics as they remind me of summer and the beach.

I've also been stitching the holly & berries as well as Merry Christmas in each of the borders of Mistletoe Madness. I'm then going to quilt it with perle cotton. That may take a while but I do enjoy hand quilting.

Of course, the 9th Bunny Hill block is completed as well. Just in time for the next one. I did have a photo but accidentally deleted it when I tried to move it up, so will add it to my next post. Bye for now.........

Quilt Photos

I had forgotten that I said I would post some photos of the quilts the ladies at the Tamborine Quilt Camp brought for show and tell so here are a few. The above quilt is the one that one first prize for the Think Pink Challenge. Some very talented girls in this group........

The quilt above is one started at the camp. Don't you just love the red,white and black theme.

Below an Oriental themed one. This quilter also had another one which was amazing but my photo wasn't very good as the oriental fabrics were very dark.

This was absolutely fantastic, so life like.

Challenge quilt using three colours.

One can only aspire to quilt like this..... one day in the not too distant future, I hope.

Time for Action!!! Check out Among the Gum Trees

I haven't done much in the last two weeks and I feel like I need to get back into my quilting room and start getting some of my WISPs completed. After the Tamborine quilt camp, I have been at a standstill and have found it hard to get myself motivated. I have been helping a little with my grandsons, mainly school picking up duties but that is not really a good enough excuse so maybe tomorrow will be the day for action (let's hope so).

This morning, I went to my local quilt shop Homespun & Beautiful and had a lesson on Needleturn Applique given by Helen who is just wonderful at it and not a bad teacher either. Check out her beautiful quilt on her blog (need to go back to July blog entry) which she won first prize for at the Mt Gravatt Show. After a bit of tuition and plenty of helpful tips, I feel quite confident that I will be able to manage the needleturn Quilt Aid blocks that I have been putting off doing. A big 'THANKYOU' Helen. I so enjoyed the morning.

Please check out my sidebar and click on Among the Gum Trees button. It should take you to their blog. Nine designers who have combined to provide free patterns for everyone to download starting with Christmas ones. Read all about it and when the free patterns start. They are also giving away prizes, just have to visit their blogs and leave a comment.

Well, just a short blog this time. Hopefully I will be back soon with photos of works in progress.

Great Weekend; Great Camp

I had a wonderful time at the Beaudesert Quilters 'Think Pink Cancer Awareness Camp' last weekend. From the moment I walked through the door it was lots of fun. Pink everywhere as you can see by the photos below. Everyone was given a material name tag to wear, mine had a pink cupcake and bright pink ric rac on it. Most of the ladies wore something pink in keeping with the theme.

The photo above is of our High Tea table on Saturday afternoon. Lots of goodies to eat in all shades of pink.

The photo below is of the challenge items everyone made. The requirements for this challenge were very easy as you only had to have pink in whatever you made. The items were varied : quilts, bags, dolls, clothing including a child's dress and matching bag and a decorated bra, a hat, a quilted cutting mat bag, a scarf, embroidered pin cushion, place mats and table toppers. There were 3 prizes. These were given to a quilt, the quilted cutting mat bag and an absolutely beautiful pincushion.

This was the raffle table. 4 pink bags containing prizes. Also guess how many buttons in the bottle, all pink of course. I was way out. In the end when counted there were over 1500 buttons in that jar. Who would have thought that?

Here are the pink raffle bags and the dining tables with there pretty pink place mats, each had a paper heart with our names on with a different quilting quote on each and of course 2 dollies keeping a watch over the proceedings. It was lovely as we got to take the placemats home with us as a reminder.

I managed to get a lot of sewing done in between eating and making new friends. The quilt top below is called Mistletoe Maddess and is made using Mistletoe Manor fabric range by 3 Sisters one of my favourites. The centre is made using charm squares and the outer triangle are made by making 2 squares and cutting them to make 4 triangles. Quite easy really. I have to add some stitching to the cream border namely Merry Christmas on each side and some holly and berries in each corner, then it will be ready to baste and quilt.

I also picked up lots of tips with everyone sharing quilt block designs they were working on and quick ways of doing things which included how to make hexagon blocks by using template plastic instead of paper, quick material scrap bins and lots more. I can't wait to go again. I have a few more piccies to show but will leave them till next time.

Camp : Here I Come!!!

Well, here I am getting ready for my quilting camp at Tamborine Mountain starting on Thursday. Where did last week go? I had intended to be sooooo organised for this camp but here I am at the last minute trying to get everything done. Still need to finish cutting out the quilt tops I intend to take to sew (nearly there) and still stitching a table runner which I may not finish in time (for the challenge project). I have the pink bag I made but thought this might fit the theme a bit better. The picture above is the place mat I have completed to match the cup, saucer and plate which I will use for our High Tea on Saturday afternoon. I have had the light pink material used for the background for about 30 odd years. I used to make fabric picture frames for gifts way back when and I bought the fabric for that. Little did I know that I would use it again so many years later and that it would match the tea set perfectly. Luckily I was a bit of a fabric junkie back then although not quite as bad as I am now. I am starting to get quite excited about the camp now and am looking forward to a few days of uninterrupted sewing. Hoping I can get at least one quilt top done and pick up some helpful tips from other quilters along the way. The camp has lots of things happening over the 4 days so if I want a break from the machine there will be other things to see and do. Well, must get going or I'll never get finished. Will take lots of photos to show when I get back. Cheers for now..........

Ekka Trip & BOM's Nearly There!

Above Verandah Views. Below A Christmas Wish with 1 block to go. The red fabric on top is for the last block.

Block 8 completed.

Here are a couple of photos of A Christmas Wish BOM and Verandah Views BOM. I have the sashing on all the blocks and are up to date. Only 1 more month of blocks then borders and they will be finished. Looking really good even if I do say so myself. I have used Aviary material for VV's and Holly Go Lightly for A Christmas Wish. It will be lovely to see these when they are completed.

Here is Jake in the animal nursery with a calf who looks like he's trying to get away from him. This was taken yesterday when I went with my son and grandsons to the Brisbane Ekka. We went in by train which worked out quite well. The boys started eating the minute we hit the station with Jake tucking into a chocolate chip cookie purchased from the vending machine. We all had a great day enjoying a variety of foods including a dagwood dog and a strawberry icecream which are usual Ekka fare. The boys had some rides including the chairlift which is to be dismantled later this year due to the area being redeveloped. They played some games and won the usual stuffed toys. They checked out the animal nursery and of course bought some sample bags to take home. As everyone was quite tired by days end, we decided to forgo the fireworks and head on home before dark. Boy, did I sleep well last night with no waking up till morning.

Here we are at the train. Oh, I really hate photos. I looked tired even before we got there!

Below, the boys on their way to sideshow alley.

Tomorrow, Chris is off to the Nostalgic Drags at Willowbank and I am going to have a quilting day. Need to get my projects for the quilting camp ready as only 2 weeks to go............

And still more BOM finishes

Well here I am again with 2 more block finishes. Block 8 of Verandah Views and Block 8 of A Tisket A Tasket. Just have to add borders to Verandah Views Blocks 7 and 8 and will be up to date with both these ones. The stitching on Block 8 A Christmas Wish is also nearly completed and then I will be really up to date with these three BOM's.

Last week my Giggle Button Club pattern and buttons arrived and it is a very pretty stitchery. This time Sonya included a transfer of the pattern so it was great to be able to use that instead of having to trace the pattern onto my fabric. I have used my Derwent pencils to colour some of the flowers and sealed them with some fabric medium. It is already to stitch but I must admit, I still haven't got around to stitching the needlecase one I received in June so a bit of work to do there.

I also started to stitch the borders on Kym's quilt and had put the first one on when my machine decided to play up. When I turned it on to do the second side, it decided to start on its own and stitch really fast. Before I could quickly turn it off, the needle had broken. I gave it a good clean but it still did the same thing afterwards so I will have to take it to be looked at. Luckily I have another machine, a Bernina, but have not used it much as I tend to stick with my old familiar one so will have to get out my book and do a bit of practise as I have the 'Think Pink' camp coming up in a few weeks and plan to do a fair bit of machine work while I am there.

Anyway must go now as my hubby has the day off today (for show day holiday here in Brisbane) and he and I are going to spend some time together by going out for lunch. Our first date for a while. How exciting!!!!!!!

Catching Up Slowly!

Above are 2 more blocks of my BOM's finished. A Christmas Wish Block 7 and Verandah Views Block 7. I have almost completed Block 8 of VV as well. I am slowly catching up but still have a way to go. While watching TV the other night, my hubby asked me if I was back to doing the ordinary stuff now? It made me have a bit of a laugh as most nights when I look over at him he is sitting beside me having a snooze so I guess he does take notice of what I am doing sometimes. I suppose I was a bit stressed when I was trying to get Deb's quilt done and he is just happy to have things (me in particular) back to normal till the next time.

Yesterday was my group day. A wonderful day as always catching up with some lovely ladies who have become great friends. We are all working on a Stained Glass window block to put into a quilt. The blocks all contain Australian native flowers. My block is Sturt's Desert Pea. I have traced the design on my background and now have to add the fabric, then the black bias. Robyn, one of our ladies, has done a class so is helping us through the ins and outs of how to apply the bias tape to the block. We are all enjoying learning this new technique.

I was lucky enough to win a pattern from Gail Pan on her blog last week. It arrived in the post yesterday. The pattern is called Buttons and Bows. How exciting is that? Thanks Gail.......