Quilt group sewing...and snowing!

Off to the School Snow trip tomorrow, 5 days in Mt. Hotham, 10 hours to get there in the bus!! I cannot believe the amount of organising it takes to leave home for that long with only one kid!But I am determined to have the house and life in order before I go, even cleaned the pantry...Dh worried I am pregnant or dying! Think either would be equally traumatic for him!

Think we are all finally on the road to recovery, one sick after the other! My boy, who is never sick, has been home for 10 days, girl about half that time....which probably explains the clean pantry!

The weather hasn't helped, although much of Australia is unseasonably hot, we are having the most rain for about 10 years, a little too much for cropping, but we really shouldn't complain, at least we can shower!

Dh needed me last weekend, (even more than usual!!)was putting out urea fertilizer on his canola and this happened...

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spreader was nicely bogged

I had to help pull him out, well, I drove the green and he the red, then I had to take the red one back across to the gate...luckily you can't hit much in a paddock-that thing is big!! As we drove out of the paddock we said, this crop might be right if we get no more rain this weekend...we then got another 2 1/2 inches!!

Lots of little sewing jobs, these bags for presents...

And then last night we had our stack and whack night at Quilters, got some very different quilts...a few girls were away but the ones who were there produced these-

Kath's blocks...had a real sun, sand and surf feel.

Robyn's quilt top

(heather Bailey's fresh cut)

Christine's Kaffe fasset

and my Heather bailey, with partial sashings...we realised it was 12.30 am!!! Time stands still when you are sewing!

I may drop you a line from my mountain adventure. I have set up an invitation only snow camp blog for all the parents and am taking my laptop and camera to keep them in the loop, I may show you a good photo of me on my b--- as that is where I imagine I will be as I learn to ski!!Any good tips from my overseas friends?

Have a good week...hopefully I will! Tracey

Quilt retreat, Part 2.

I have spent 3 wet and muddy days weaning calves in the yards this week, discovered I do have some muscles in the back of my legs! That mud was very deep by the finish!

I can't do a Pioneer woman and show you a heap of photos of this as I am the cowboy...and I am far too busy pushing bulls and big cow's bottoms out of my face before they decide that kicking me is a good idea, to take any photos! And I also struggle enough to always be in the correct spot and DH wouldn't understand that letting a few calves through was fine in the interests of a good pic for the blog!!
So we will have to stick with more photos from retreat-and a few from the Saturday Quilt group I visited for a few minutes yesterday before catching up with friends to see Mamma Mia. I really enjoyed Mamma Mia-though Pierce should stick to Bond rather than a possible musical career! My girl really loved it-have heard nothing but Abba in the lead up or since! Small aside, I thought I should chat to her about the "3 possible father storyline" before we left. I bought it up and was promptly put back in my place, she looked at me and said, "Mum, I've known all about that for weeks-but I am not going to DO it!!"
Retreat pics....
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Helen's Roman Holiday.

An interesting effect with Chris' Kaffe fassett.

And her other one.

Anne finished this cushion and at Saturday Quilter's yesterday she was working on this one.

One of the Saturday ladies was working on Sunbonnet Sue for her Great niece. The needle turn applique was perfect. She is now hand quilting it.

The Chocolate cat was at the Saturday group, she received this lovely bag in the mail this week.
It's another possible idea for Linda's bag swap.

This is going to be my new pot holder, it is some of the edges I trimmed off my bed quilt, all sewn together-you know I hate waste! I kind of like the effect they give and it's nice and thick.
Off to clean my office benches...oh what unbridled joy!
Have a great day, Tracey

Kids back to school and group quilts.

The babies are back to school today, it is extraordinarily quiet,I don't really like it like that. I am cleaning the whole house. Oh, alright, a girl can have small computer breaks!

I am hoping to get to the sewing room to work on my summer quilt swap, I have this to tempt me...

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Nothing like a good weepy on a cold sewing day.

The draw for my 300th will not be for another day ot two, I am giving all the people who are like me and take a while to get around a chance to catch up. I will definitely do a tutorial of the bag pictured there, just may be a few days away.

I had quilters on Friday night, here is what some of the girls were working on....

Robyn has a weaving unit due for her textile course. You needed to be careful you didn't sit anything down, it could have ended up woven in! I am sure there is some children's story niggling in the back of my head about that....Naughty Amelia Jane is coming to me for some reason!

Kath has finished one Grandbaby's eyespy wall hanging and is starting on a girly one next. Well, I gave her a few new Stephanie Plum's to read so she may not get anything done for a while, they are addictive!

And Helen has sandwiched her hand dyed half square triangles, aren't they great!

I had better get back to work or I wont get to sewing and watching sob stories, what are you watching as you sew at the moment?

Tracey

Other people's progress.

The shorter autumn days are running away from me. I haven't had a minute to post, meetings and minutes, kids with the flu (ONLY the flu, she says thankfully!!) and buying the farm next door all seem to take precedence. Unfortunately, I can't see it improving for a few weeks but I will do my best. You may have to put up with a few photos from the lambing ewes for a while, but you can cope!
It only seems like yesterday since I was busy with our School Mother's day Market, but it was a whole year and it is once again sucking up a fair bit of my "spare" time. We had a lovely day yesterday, a School mum's craft day for the Mother's day gifts at the market. We scrapbooked gifts and I converted a few scrapbookers with easy instructions for chooks, buckets and bags-they very excitedly went home with something they had actually sewn!

Here are a few of the things that came home with me to be finished off and priced after the day. I made another of the pot holders when I got home, as well as a bucket and bag in corodinating shabby chic pink and gave them to my Saturday Quilter birthday Buddy today.

This is the lovely birthday girl, Ann working on machine quilting her quilt, predominantly Sanctuary? fabrics I think-see why I chose the pinks for her birthday!!!

I think this may be her Roman Holiday charm square work as well.

Jane has been busy making her first stack and whack, I love this altogether, lots of parts jump out at you.

Mirinda was stitching....

As was Janine.

Here is your first portrait of a new blogger, the Chocolate cat, working on her pigs......gorgeous isn't she-now you know!!

And another lovely lady whose name eludes me was making this crossstitch similar to the magazine pic. It will be a needle cushion...gorgeous variegated thread, I almost coveted this....if I was a coveter! I have a feeling I have that mag somewhere in the magazine black hole...now, to find it, then to make it-my poor hands are screaming at me just thinking about it!

Have a great day, hopefully back soon...with something scrappily outside the square I think. I feel like a change.

Straw wife

Hi, been a bit quiet on the blog as the Pea Straw plan is going along with a capital P and I have been carting bales to the stack and to town all week. Allowed myself a little buy up at the Quilt in a Day sale yesterday (thanks?? Kim!) with some of my earnings. I also went to the gym twice but with all that carting I probably needn't have...still not miraculously skinny-why doesn't it work like that!!

I haven't done a lot of sewing, but I have done a lot of book covering. I have a question-who was the sod who invented the silver backed groovy contact for books because it has been driving me crazy-this pile took 5 hours that could have been spent sewing!!
Went to Quilters last night so borrowed all their good show and tell, I am happy to share!!
Robyn had her Thimbleberries back from the Long armer, it is flannel front and back and she is enjoying it during our Summer cold snap.

Kerrin has been working on her Thimbleberries kit, she had a little mishap and had to add in some non-Thimbleberries to cover. She is using her scraps to piece a border that wasn't in the original plan.

Robyn has been spinning and dying yarn. She was using this natty gadget to roll her hanks into a ball-I remember Mum always utilizing our arms to get this done and her balls did not wrap this nicely!

Here is is closer, she spun silk and spun a fine merino fleece, then plyed them together and rainbow dyed them to get this fabulous efffect-see, knitting fans, i may not do much but I appreciate the results!
Off to have date night!!! Better get beautiful! Tracey

It's here!

Finally got a few minutes to clean my house today...and look what I found!
What a temptation-especially after I actually wore my bathers in front of non-related humans at the School swimming sports yesterday! That also resulted in my first blue swimming ribbon in about 25 years....yes we adults really wiped the floor with those 11 year olds!!

But the sports went very well, in 33 degree celcius weather so there was a lot of sunscreen and t-shirt reminding done. DD lasted the day which was great as swimming is her favourite thing.

Far bigger excitement here today than just finding the beautiful and scrumptious Aero bars, my SSCS came....and all the way from about the polar opposite area to here-Iceland!
I had noticed on my Statcounter that I was getting visits from Iceland...never twigging that it was Godrun. Now if I could only work out who visits me from Alaska and that little Island off Africa...speak now, you fascinate me. As a Northern Exposure devotee, I really love Alaska.....not just John Corbett.
So Thank you in anticipation Godrun, as I regularly lurk on your blog and know your talentsI am very excited about my gift!

I had to take it out of the envelope as it was almost out itself..only held in by a bit of bubble wrap. The actual parcel is still intact and the kids and I put the tree up tonight just so it could go under.

I promised you Chris' second Kaffe Fassett effort, also from Kaffe's book, and as I have been busy it is about the only quilting I can show. Next week should be all go again here. Not tomorrow though, I have an 800 km round trip to see someone new about DD's tum.
I was very impressed with these triangles, no flying geese seam. There would have been if I was doing it! Chris worked it all out very well....I don't think I am that patient.
Have a lovely weekend, Tracey

Blog v. kids movies!



The televisions have been commandeered by the Junior members of the house tonight.



School holiday movies, in Madagascar and Looney Tunes Back in Action are on and DH is off looking at a truck...so I have tip toed off to the computer. Felt like a change from cooking as well....4 slabs of Hedgehog today, 150 ANZAC biscuits, 200 sausage rolls, pinwheels that weren't the sewing kind and mini quiches are now all safely packed away in the freezer, but no sewing of my own to share. The down side to being organized for shearing.


I forgot to post this photo from our last quilting meeting.



It is another of our strips of friendship that we did a few years ago in the group. You gave a theme and then the rest of the group added appropriate strips a/c to general instructions, eg, 6 inch and must include applique, or a home,hearts, squares, etc.The owner then put them together, added borders etc. Helen had hers professionally quilted locally and was very happy with it. Bet you can't guess her theme!


At our last quilt meeting I emptied out a bag of flannels I thought may be good for a shaggy and discovered close to a finished quilt top! Cool surprise, I think I must have been making it about the time I shifted into the sewing room so it got put in a bag and forgotten, it took a little bit of fun to work out but I think I was aiming for something like this-
It needs putting together, so has gone on the "when I have finished current projects" list. I wonder why that never gets any shorter?! I really love the panel in the centre, so it will definitely be finished. Have a great weekend, Tracey
Above picture is some more of my succulents.

A few quilts for you and more "fun" for me!

Great feedback from you about my Autumn swap, thanks! Loved all the comments from "new" visitors as well. Will probably get some time to work on it again in the next day or two ...but that is it's own story.....

Had tired children yesterday, I took them down to my parent's for belated father's day celebrations and it really seemed to tire them out. Great, I thought, early to bed for them and I may get to spend some time with their father, but as regular readers know, I should never makeplans!

It is 7 pm here right now and I think I may have managed an hours sleep somewhere in the night, between wetting facewashers, trying to tip panadol down a recalcitrant 7 year old's throat, holding the bucket and dealing with the "sand" and the "sand band" that was at some imaginary place a delirious 9 year old went to when her temp. hit 40 degrees...think that was around 2.35 am!!

They are both very flat today, general reports seem to be that this awful flu can last up to 3 weeks and keep coming back. Oh well, DD did manage a nearly 4 days of school this week!

Needless to say, romance is a long way down the list!! And the only sewing today was a lightweight nighty for a hot daughter.

I can't ever remember signing on for 12 months of daughter's chronic tummy pain, then the chesty flu, then the temperature flu, but obviously next time I will have to take a more careful peek at the fine print! No, really, they will be fine,.... and the good news is that I took some pics for you at Quilters.

Robyn has finished her kit, I think it is the Vintage Holiday range. Used 5(?) inch squares and jelly rolls.

Helen got her son's back form the Australian version of the longarmer. Cross hatching in the squares and something else was in the rest! It is flannels.

Thought you may like this wall hanging that Helen received from her group when she left Queensland years ago.

And finally, Robyn was Kerrin's birthday buddy and as Robyn had the enforced 2 weeks in the house with her kid's flu, she whipped up these beautiful angels. Had to get a photo for you (remember if you click on the pics they enlarge)-no idea on pattern details but could probably get them if there is interest...now, off to dose kids and go to bed! Tracey