in case of flu....

progress

"Once Upon a Time" is 1/3 on the way now - so much fun to do!

This will be a bedspread for Turtle's bed. I started quilting it with cotton perle last night, but I'm feeling a little uncertain about the effect. It's possible that using the ecru colour was too contrasting. I'm wondering whether to unpick it and start again with a quilting cotton.

poetry

Homework time can be a painful event in our house with 2 boys who would rather do pretty much anything else than sit down for yet more writing and maths after a day at school. But every term there is a project that is a little more exciting. This term Doodlebug has to compile a poetry anthology of 14 different poems - 2 of which he has to write himself. The poems should represent a wide variety of styles and he needs to illustrate them.

This has been enjoyable - at least for me! Doodlebug needs a little encouragement to sit down and type the poems out, but we've had some fun selecting poems. I knew all those poetry books I had on the shelf would come in handy one day! My job was to help Doodlbug find some poems, I'd read some out and we'd discuss their meaning and he would pick his favourites. Doodlebug surprised me with his understanding and insight into meanings.
I'm not much of a poetry expert when it comes to the different styles, so Doodlebug and I have been learning together.

I thought I'd share some of the poems he's picked here. The first one is a sonnet. It was hard to find one that wasn't a "mushy lovey one", but we managed:


Sonnet XCIV

They that have power to hurt and will do none,
That do not do the thing they most do show,
Who, moving others, are themselves as stone,
They rightly do inherit Heaven’s graces,
And husband nature’s riches from expense;
They are the lords and owners of their faces,
Others but stewards of their excellence.
The summer’s flower with base infection meet,
The basest weed outbraves his dignity:
For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds:
Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

William Shakespeare

Spotted in the top bunk this evening.......

I came home from my shift this evening and found this bundle of boys, blankets, doonas, pillows and cuddly toys in the top bunk. Times like this I wish that time would stand still. No...not just because they are asleep and therefore not up to their usual mischief (but that's a good reason too!). They still have a bit of "little boys" left in them..... and much as I look forward to a little maturity (oh, how I look forward to that!), I know I will miss this stage of their life.

Thoughtful Friday

"From there to here and here to there,

funny things are everywhere"

- dr Seuss

Once Upon a Time

Here's the first block of "Once Upon a Time", a BOM by Melly & Me. This is the Hansel and Gretel block completed and I am now working on Jack and the beanstalk. I love the candy colours and the combination of patchwork and embroidery... I get 2 fixes in one project!

I am getting the blocks from Under the Mulberry Tree this time and they are far more reliable than The Other Online Shop I have been getting Butterly Garden from.

Thoughtful Friday

"If nature has made you a giver, your hands are born open, and so is your heart.

And though there may be times when your hands are empty,

your heart is always full, and you can give things out of that"

- Frances Hodgson Burnett

nighttime reading

Doodlebug has discovered the joy of reading by torchlight in bed. Last week for a evening bushwalk with the cubscouts, he was given this headlamp and it's perfect.... both hands are left free to hold the book, turn pages etc.

March Finishes

March was a busy month with work, and the urge or energy to blog was not there..... however, the creative drive was, and quilting was done. Here are my March finishes:

Kaffe Fassett's Garden Rainbow quilt is now complete and it makes me feel cheerful just to look at it. This is the first time I have sent a quilt off to be done professionally quilted, and Adri with her long arm quilter did a fantastic job on it. The original pattern recommended quilting in the ditch with crosshatching of the squares, but I think this pattern of big swirls/curls worked beautifully.

The backing fabric was fun to choose..... although it would have been cheaper to get a backing fabric, I thought that something this vibrant on the front deserved something more to complement it even if that backing will be largely unseen..

The other finish was this cushion to go with the I Spy quilt finished last month. I am feeling incredibly guilty for still not organising the Silent Auction I have planned. Of course, as "luck" would have it, the quilt had something spilled on it while sitting around waiting to be auctioned off..... I'll have to see if the little splodge of red comes off before I decide what to do. But..... the pencil rolls will be up for sale/auctioning by the end of this week. Still interested?

After all, the bushfire appeal is still needing funds and the rebuilding will be going on for a long time!

Thoughtful Friday

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all"

- Maya Angelou

Thoughtful Friday

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass,

it’s about learning to dance in the rain"

February Finishes (and challenge progress)

Silent Auction/Bushfire Fundraiser pencil rolls

This was a quick finish..... Little Possum decorated this tote in pre-school, and it was never

used as a library bag because the sentimental mother here wanted to preserve LP's cute little handprints for posterity. It sat on a shelf in LP's closet until the mental lightbulb went off, and bag became cushion simply by turning the handles into ties. Almost too easy to count as a finish?

This is the Silent Auction I Spy quilt (just missing a little bit of handquilting in this photo....)

LP is wondering who might want it...

Work in Progress - the Kaffe Fassett Garden Rainbow Quilt....

Note the gap in the lavender/purple row? This is where I had bought the wrong amount of fabric and was left short of fabric for the last 6 1/2 inch block of Lavender Haze Stripe fabric. I was short by a mere inch an a half..... how annoying is that? I am now eagerly awaiting the arrival of some more fabric so I can finish the quilttop. Hopefully a March finish

I now have enough stars to start putting rows together as I go along. I still have another 100 or so stars to finish, but it's progressing. The quilt is 15 rows wide. It is all handpieced and it will take another good while to complete..... hopefully by the end of the year!

Thoughtful Friday

"People are like stained-glass windows.

They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in

their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within"

Elizabeth Kübler-Ross

fairies in my garden

Little Possum had a friend over for a play yesterday and the 2 little fairies had a lovely time in their own little Fairyland. There was glittery fairydust everywhere and the girls enjoyed their afternoon tea of apple-cinnamon muffins and hot cross buns on a special fairy tea-set.

master and apprentice

Padawan Doodlebug had to pass the next stage of his apprenticeship with Jedi Geek master MOTH teaching him how to build his own lightsaber computer. After a trip to Geek Heaven Computer Parts store to buy the necessary parts, they sat themselves down in the middle of the kitchen for this most important Rite of Passage. It was hard to tell who enjoyed it the most, but at the end of it the kids have a working computer and Doodlebug has earned his very own polyester shirt complete with pocket protector.

The decision to build a new computer was made mostly because the kids insist on using ours complaining that theirs is too slow...... spoilt, they are :) In my day I was lucky to have a stick to scratch in the dirt with for entertainment. OK, I admit that's a slight exaggeration...

(On a completely different topic I can report furious activity on the quilting front.... The promised auction quilt has had a couple of re-pick moments but is progressing beautifully)

silent auction update

I had hoped yesterday to have my items finished, photographed and on the blog ready for the silent auction to start.... but I'm not quite there yet.
I can tell you what some of the items will be, though:


I have made some more pencil rolls like these




Remember this? "I Spy" was lost and FOUND!!
Since I had given up on on getting it back, and that it's reappearance this week was a complete surprise, I have decided that fate has intervened :) I completed the last block and assembled the quilt top yesterday, and will start quilting it tomorrow.

I'll also have some patterns and other smaller items.

While I was sewing yesterday I was listening to ABC radio where they were having a special appeals day not just for the bushfire victims but also for those affected by the floods in Queensland. I was happy to hear about the opening of hearts and wallets all over Australia. The ingenious ways money is being raised by young and old. In times of great tragedy, despite difficult economic times, compassion and generosity prevail.

Thoughtful Friday

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow"

- Mary Anne Radmacher

bushfire appeal

There's been a long break in my blogging. The last week has been introspective as my heart goes out to the victims of the Victorian bushfire and as I count my blessings.

How to help? I have donated cash to the Australian Red Cross appeal, and will put the binding on this quilt

It was always intended as a charity quilt, but just hasn't found a cause yet - I think I just found one.

Next Fri (20th) Woolworths is having a special trading day where 100% of the profits will be donated to the Bushfire appeal.

Silent (quilty) auctions are cropping up:

Handmade Helps Out
Melly and Me
Maree (On my Verandah)

I will be adding to it so come back tomorrow to see my auction items. All proceeds will go to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

this little piggy came to stay.........

I have this bundle of fabrics sitting on my desk between my keyboard and my screen at the moment..... just so that I can just admire them and stroke them once in a while (it's a quilter thing, ok?) . They arrived in the post this week, and I am just waiting for 3 more fabrics to join my rainbow. Eventually this little piggy will settle on our bed looking like this:

This is Kaffe Fassett's Garden Rainbow Quilt.

January finish

January was going to be the month of "I spy" quilt and Checks and Planes quilt.... but "I spy" became "I lost" (I never did recover the bag) and my areoplane quilt is not quite ready for take off. But I did manage this baby quilt..... an easy tie job.

The Texas stars are progressing nicely too, so the challenge is looking promising for later in the year.