Sharing...

I have been very quiet - I've thought of lots of things to say but just haven't been able to organise myself to write. My friend Dianne complained that she was tired of seeing the frogs in the last post. So... because I haven't loaded the photos I wanted to put here onto the computer I'll show two of her quilts. The bargello is one that she made for her son - I think it was for his 21st birthday.

And the next one is one that she is working on at the moment. It is going to be a lovely quilt.

It's really great to have quilting friends to discuss and share ideas with!

Stashbusting, frogs and a definative moment.

I really thought I was a successful stashbuster. But I find out I need to work more on this principle. I am doing well at low buying ( not quite NO yet) and I am working on the UFOs - these things are all positives but letting go is a difficult thing.

How did I get to this discovery? Well, Colly needed new sheets for rest time at school. We had perfectly good sheets which have been used over the years but they are for small stretcher beds and now they are using mattresses (a bit like yoga mattresses). They are longer and less wide so I though I would just adjust by putting a fancy strip on the top and cutting the sides down. So Colly and I go to investigate the stash...... and found a frog fabric that he wanted. I showed him how I would put the strip at the top. This was not an option in his opinion - he wanted the whole sheet made out of the frog fabric!

Now this where I started to hyperventilate - and where I realised that I have a problem. I didn't have anything planned for this fabric but I still didn't want to let it go. Then it hit me, Colly will use this fabric five days a week for the rest of the year, if I left it in my cupboard it would still be there at the end of the year. So I gave myself a strict talking to and agreed to do it. Maybe this is my first step on controlling my stash, and getting my priorities right.

And here's the end result...

P.S. I still have a little bit left so I can put in in a scrap quilt some day.

The Birthday Week...

Well, on Valentine's Day I turned 50. And it didn't hurt one bit.... Here I am blowing out the candles on my white chocolate mud cake. The following day we went away for a few days which is why I am only catching up with this now. And while we were away we went to Underwater World and I did what all adventurous 50 year olds should do - I got kissed by a seal. I did actually get a photo of the seal ( whose name was Oscar by the way) kissing me but I don't have a scanner on this computer so this will have to do.

( And in case you are wondering about the T-shirt - it is a band shirt. Great band!)

And I even got some quilty gifts which I will share over the next few days. Thanks to everyone who sent me wishes for my birthday too. Hugs.

Six weird things about me

Thanks (I think) to Pam for tagging me for this.

I don’t think that I am weird at all but…

I really don’t like strawberries. I don’t know why, I just don’t like the smell or the taste.

Eeeewwww warning – I can touch my nose with my tongue, but don’t ask for photos. And no, I don’t do imitations of Kiss members.

I asked my daughter about this – she said the weird thing about me was that I was old. (for a mother I think she means )Thanks kid.

I drink tea. It should be made in a pot and preferably from Indian leaves - none of those teabags for me. I have almost given up drinking tea when I go out as even cafes etc use tea bags. In fact there is a family joke that this is the reason my husband and I got together. He said to me something like – we could go out for coffee some time. (What a pickup line!!!) I replied that I drank tea made in a teapot and rarely drank coffee. That is also the way he feels about tea and so that was the moment that he knew I was the one for him. Romantic aren’t we? We still share a pot of tea at least three times a day – breakfast, afternoon tea and after dinner.

My 14 year old son just told me I have a weird taste in movies – but couldn’t explain why. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that I think any movie with Owen Wilson in is not even worth considering. And my favourite movie of all time is The Seven Samurai.

And I know I am not alone in this one – and so it probably isn’t really that weird. I am much, much better at starting things than finishing them. This probably explains why I have so many Works in Progress.

Photograph courtesy of Colly, taken Christmas Day 2006. I also have lots of photos of windows, television aerials,and odd unattached body parts which were taken at the same time.He loves the camera - you can tell, can't you?

First Day of School

There has been a change in the school system this year in our state ( Queensland). Preschool has gone and in its place is prep. The starting age has been raised also by 6 months - the idea is that children will now need to be at least five and a half years old when they start in Year One. What it also means is that Colly has started school ( prep). Here he is on his first day last week - he had tried to give himself a haircut which is why there is a gap at the front. I gave him a better one that afternoon. There is a big smile in this photo but we did leave him screaming at school, knowing very well that a minute after we left he would be alright, and he was. I thought that I would have a lovely week sewing - well, there was the mending..... but I ended up trying to catch up on all the things that I hadn't done while the children were on holidays. I keep dreaming....

On the 14th of this month ( a Valentine's baby) I turn the grand old age of 50. I really don't see this as a milestone or anything to bother about - I know I'm too bah humbug! But I don't feel 50 - after all I am the mother of a 4 year old. ( and yes, I have been described as Colly's grandmother by people who don't know and look at my grey hair etc.) I have mixed feelings about this birthday - probably because other people are placing a bigger importance on it than I am. But I won't say no to being spoiled for a few hours, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for some quilty gifts - even if I have to buy them myself.

From the past...

My mother is moving in the next few months and has over 40 years of 'Stuff' to go through. This is probably a nightmare time for me because she will be trying to pass it all on to me ( after all it is treasure to her). Unfortunately my house is overflowing and I don't know how much I can take. But here is something that is one of my treasures.....

To be honest I can't remember details but I think I must have been given this in the early 60's, probably by my grandmother. I do remember however the frustrations I had because it sews a chain stitich ( no bobbin) and therefore I would make something and if I didn't end it off properly ( and what little girl pays attention to those sorts of details) the whole thing would unravel. This probably also explains why it is still is good condition - I simply stopped using it and it was packed away in the cupboard for over 40 years. Colly thought it was fun though to use with just paper and made patterns. I love the concentration in his face. Of course they want fabric to try but that would mean that I would actually have to plan something for them to do....

It is really hot and sticky here today - I am thinking of putting the airconditioning on and making something. But it is too hot to think and I feel if I start something, no matter how small it is I will mess it up. Maybe it shows that sometimes it is nice to have something small cut out and ready to go. Maybe when the house has cooled down I will feel differently. Sounds like a plan....

more sand...

I've only seen snow three times in my life ( once in Japan, once in Switzerland and once here on a short skiing holiday) so all the photos I see on blogs showing snow amazes me. On the other hand I have seen lots of sand - and here's some more.... This is from another day trip two days ago. This time we went south - to Northern New South Wales ( this is just a bit further south than the Gold Coast).This is one of my favourite places, Cabarita Beach.
The family had fun - you can see them walking along to the swimming section of the beach in the first photo. The second photo shows the beach looking north.

And here is something strange about me - I do not like to swim. The water is just never warm enough for me.

Is this comet some secret?

I spend too much time on the computer and I am a master of collecting useless information. I always surprise my family with something or other that means nothing but sure peps up the conversation. So.... why wasn't I told about this comet ? I mean, I love these sorts of things. I only found out about it by reading an Australian quilting list. So of course I had to research it. How did it arrive without me knowing? I looked last night but there was too many clouds but tonight - WOW! Our house faces west from the top of a hill so once I found it it was so clear. The moon is just a little slither too and was setting, and with Venus ( evening star) shining as well it was magical. My daughter was rapt - she says she has been wishing to see a comet since she saw a shooting star two years ago. I wanted to try to put a photo in here - I used the tripod but the camera just doesn't have the power to get a good shot.
This is a link ( with more links) to an Australian blog which shows photos.
All I can say is - why wasn't I told?

It's a quilting desert...

Nope, still no sewing....

However I have been thinking about it. I have received some nice squishy parcels in the mail which have certainly got me thinking about what I want to do next. I was getting stuck because I was thinking QUILT and I have so many that I want to make. But it all seemed a bit daunting when I have so many things I should be doing. (Craft and non craft related.) So nothing was getting done at all. With a change of thinking I have come to realise that I don't need to do a big project to be creative. I will have more chance of finishing something small as a stepping stone to getting back into some sort of routine. I am not even going to dig out a UFO at this stage. I need to get back into crafting with no pressure except the enjoyment I get.
I did splash out and buy myself a new foot for my sewing machine - but I haven't got to test it yet, and that will probably be a good topic for another post sometime.

There have been a few blogs where people have been doing personality types ( basically the Meyers Briggs test) I did this again when I saw the posts. I originally did the full test in about 1989. I've done it again about three times since then, and each time the result has been the same. And even when I did it again just now I am still an INFP. And an interesting thing is that my husband is one also. He had done the test as a work thing before we even started going out together so we have not influenced each other.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Kim at A peach in Stitches ( sorry there is no link because I can't get it to work at the moment) has started a no buying fabric thing this month. I have started to give this some thought but it hasn't really been an issue for me this month with not doing any patchwork. I know I should do it but until I get back into my routine ( school goes back on January 29th) I haven't really felt the need to shop anyway. Maybe next month.....

Oh, and yes, they are my footprints in the sand, taken when we went to Rainbow Beach last week.

Why no sewing gets done....

It's summer school holidays here and there is always something to do with the time. Yesterday we went to Rainbow Beach, which is a little town south of Fraser Island. You can read more about it here. I don't know if it is the best page to refer to but it mentions the sands and the sand blow nearby we visited. Below is the beach at Rainbow Beach itself - this is where the four wheel drives can access the beach.

This is the sand blow. The access is at the top which is nice for slow people like myself. There isn't any climbing. But this is what the kids did when they saw it.

And if you climb up the sides it's lots of fun too. I think Colly came home with about half of the sand in his pockets.

Look Mum - isn't this a great sandpit!!!

Happy New Year !!!

Best wishes to everyone for 2007. New Year's Eve has also passed and now we are two days into 2007. I haven't really set any resolutions or goals although there are things which I want to continue from last year. However ..... I WILL do more sewing than I did last year.( That couldn't be too hard as I didn't do as much as I had planned). I haven't done anything for about a month due to the holiday season. Now I need to make a few lists and get going.

Hmm, maybe I will also plan to keep my blog up to date too... can't be too hard, can it?

Christmas Past

Here's a picture of one happy boy on Christmas morning. Santa brought the microphone but the guitar ( yes, it's real ) is from the family. There is good reason for this - if Colly has his own guitar then hopefully he will leave Daddy's guitars alone. Here's fingers crossed.

Christmas was the usual family thing - too much food and merriment but we can all relax again for another few months ( and hopefully be more organized next year.)

Merry Christmas to All!!

It is just a little while after midnight here. Santa has visited and filled all the sacks. I am just waiting for my Christmas pudding to finish cooking and then like all good children I will be tucked up in bed, dreaming of Christmas things. I'll probably be up way too early thanks to two small excited children and one over-eager 14 year old. On in the early hours of Christmas morning I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season.

changing to beta

I finally changed over to beta and so far haven't really had a chance to see what is different. I'll check it later when I don't have children wanting to use the computer. I guess I'll find out soon enough if there are any problems.

I was looking through some old photos and found this one of Christmas morning two years ago, before everything was opened. Phil, of course, was excited to receive new socks from Santa. I wanted to get a new tree this year as this one in now probably nearly 20 years old - but somehow this week I needed to buy a new microwave oven ( the old one died on Monday) and a new vacuum cleaner. Hopefully we can pick up something in the after Christmas sales.

Somehow December and Christmas have left me behind. I have been doing no crafty things and unfortunately I haven't decorated for Christmas. The picture above shows the only thing so far that relates to the season in our house. This goes back quite a few years - it is a printed panel and was one of my hand quilting efforts. You can't see it in the photo but there are holly leaves in the border and it is quilted on the outlines in the picture.

Life just has been busy. Here in Australia it is the end of the school year and now we have our summer break until the end of January. This year I have one son who has finished high school and we are waiting to learn what his university options are. At the other end of the age scale my four year old has finished kindergarten with his final break up party today.

Hopefully tomorrow we will make a start on the decorating. I have done some shopping so am not stressing about that. I doubt if there will be much done in the craft area until after Christmas. But I can always have fun dreaming....

What's in the box?

Unfortunately this is not mine, even though my children wish it was. I borrowed it to take some photographs for reference and ideas and thought I would share. It was made for my friend Dianne who made the nine patch quilt I have previously posted about.

Just a peek....




Fully open....
Some close ups...


And Colly's four year old hand showing how small the items are. The photos on the wall of actual family photographs. The stockings and presents are named and if you look on the right wall there are some little bolts of fabric, scissors and a pincushion.


My children have loved looking at this - maybe we can start work on our own this Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving...

Just thought I would say Happy Thanksgiving to people in the States. Warm wishes to you all.

The bags are finished...

Just thought I would post the bags all done, complete with cord. I am very happy with them. I can see lots of uses for them. And it means I actually finished something..... Anyone who knows me knows that I am much, much better at starting things than finishing.

Thank you May Britt....

May Britt posted a tutorial for her little bags on her blog and I thought I would try them. There were two main reasons ( apart from the fact that they just looked like fun). Firstly I need a secret santa gift for my craft group's Christmas party next week. I know it seems early but it keeps December free for other things. And secondly, I need all the practice I can get using my Bernina BSR. These pieces are perfect for trying it out. When I went looking for fabric to use I found a bag of Christmas scraps and decided that I would make scrappy bags. I am almost finished them and I found everything I needed in my stash. Now all they need is cord but I thought I would post pictures so you can see what they look like. They are very easy to make and something that would be a great idea for Christmas. Thank you May Britt.

I knew this one already...

Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

I don't usually do these things but I have always loved Pooh and his friends. For years now we have known which family member is which. My 17 year old son has always been Eeyore, my 14 is Tigger, 8 year old Panda is Piglet and 4 year old Colly is Roo, following in Tigger's footsteps. And as for me, I have always been Kanga. So when I did this one - how did they know? I think my husband is Rabbit - but I don't tell him that.