It's spring...again!

Do you think you realise you aren't a teenager anymore when you hear yourself sounding like your mother??

"Where has the year gone, where have the weeks gone...where do the days go?" "Time just flies by!" "Soon be Christmas already, where'd that year go?!"

I don't think she had the answers and I sure as heck don't have! Spring is here already, there are many signs in the yard...

baby ducks

baby kangaroos

and bees

but most importantly Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas swap. I missed last years...and believe me, i really missed it. Christmas didn't feel quite the same. I am back for this year, think that will make it 4/5. Seems like the 5th Spring I have spent as a blogger, once again I can feel those quotes of Mum's coming on...


So, what's life thrown since last post....it has finally stopped raining and by working around the clock the past 3 weeks DH has managed to get over 500 acres of crop in, at least 500 acres more to go in, but shearing is approaching rapidly and we may run out of time. It is really too late for the crops we are planting, but you can't give up, we have to hope the rainy conditions may last into summer.




I have therefore been checking sheep and cattle, chasing around after kid's sport and taking all the football club photos...with some paid ones for the local paper! Big news also, was my girl winning Coaches trophy at netball presentation,






My boy and I headed off to Mt Buller for a week on school snow trip,

...and my boy playing on the Melbourne Cricket Ground at half time on AFL match day..




With the local football season coming to a close last weekend, i am very hopeful of lots of sewing. Here are some optimistic recent purchases...can you tell hancock's had free postage???

Little golden book cats, cat fabrics, trains....

I love the black knitting sheep! And the chooks of course.

Of course, the only question now is where to start????

Have a great day, back soon, I promise!

Colourful Fridays...leaves.

A quick post this morning, massive week and today isn't much better. Snatched a few minutes to take some photos for Daisy Quilt's, Colourful friday challenge. today is leaves. A little bleak for good leaves around here, so this was the best that I could do...
The underside of a leaf ...think a young ivy.

More ivy...with some digital enhancing for fun!

Next in the search I found all this growth on what is probably a century old fruit tree. Hidden amongst the lichen are some leaf buds...which hopefully gets this in on a technicality. The lilies are sending out new leaves. And on the final note, we get to Archie and one of the cats...


And that is what i had better do, cheers, Tracey
...just found the typo in the above pic but haven't time to fix it!

It's ugly but has personality....

I LOVE making quilts out of used items. The joy of seeing a heap of old shirts turn into a quilt can't really be described to someone who isn't a quilter. I love finding fabrics from Op shops and rehoming them into a useful item. Of course I also like making extra pretty quilts, with all the latest fabrics that match..but they generally disappear to some raffle donation or baby or niece.

The scrappy quilts tend to stay here, normally because a little bit of extra love has gone into the making. There is a new addition made for my boy's recent birthday. He is a big lover of quilts, always likes to be wrapped warm and cosy and takes a big interest in the construction. He liked the clothes string quilt I made his sister for her birthday last year, and I have been racking my brain to work out what to do for him. Most of his clothes were unispiring to me and were passed to his cousins and my friend's boys. I started collecting up his t-shirts and in June at retreat i got serious!

I cut the front from all the collected t-shirts, then pinned them to a pre-quilted foundation piece. To give stability i crazy (string) pieced parts of his cotton shirts in the corners, using some of his Dad's shirts as well, one he is holding him in as a baby, another he wears in a date photo with me. I found an old football jumper from his team...in it went....his last ribbon from the local show found a spot..and I transferred some favourite sport photos onto fabric as well. A few boy type strips went in for good measure. I did some basic trimming to get at least some of the blocks to the same width and it turned into kind of t-shirt eye-spy! It has a very warm flannel backing and I added a polar fleece cuddle border to the top. Like I said, it is ugly from a purely aesthetic view, but he doesn't think there is anything more beautiful, 'cos it has personality! We have to keep cuddling under it and he keeps explaining to me why his is better than his sister's!

Here is hers, just for the sake of equal parenting. i love hers, it managed to be pretty, but then it didn't have to have star wars and geelong t-shirts in it!


Hope your day is great!

Colourful fridays...(quilty) triangles

Another colourful Friday hosted by Daisy quilts. This week's theme is triangles. I haven't been outside much, far too wet here for wandering around in search of triangles (i might sink!)...so I stuck to inside. Sewing related triangles were the only ones I found. I'm sure when i follow the links to everyone else's photos in a minute i will see great ideas! These traingular chooks (chickens) have always been favourites of mine, therew should be table runners just of them...but whoever gets time for tablerunners for themselves?!

I have made hundreds of these little chooks for school and Church markets, these are the ones the kids wouldn't let do. Triangle beaks!


My daughter made this one...a little differently.

This is in my site heading picture, starting to fade I noticed when i took the photo. it is no wonder it lives on the kitchen couch and wraps at least one family member every day. Was made from my very early stash, 8 years ago, lots of triangles.


And another oldie. This hangs in my kitchen and is tiny. Made from a the small centre verse, a gift from a friend. I look at these traingles and shudder...but still love it. I think i only owned about 10 fabrics then! Do you have favourites like that?

So, step over and enjoy some more colourful Fridays at the linked blog above. Cheers, Tracey

Colourful fridays...red and green

Joining in with Daisy quilt's colourful Fridays today, it is almost too much for me..I can only choose one photo! So this Oriental poppy wins the job.

I love these poppies, have them in all colours around my garden in spring, I love seeing what new variations the bees have assisted in creating. They are my kind of flower, one that comes up itself ..and more of them come when you never tidied your garden after the last lot of flowers! Negligence in this instance, is golden. (Or red...or purple with single petals..or pink and fluffy!)

My boy has been sick with tonsils this week, back ay School today so i have one day to get his quilt finished for his birthday....can't stay, must run!

Well and truly winter.

Cold wet, miserable weather here. I have been working on my boy's t-shirt quilt, should have a finished pic for you in a few days. The only other main finish is this pot holder and bag for the local tea rooms' 7th birthday party. The lovely owner has a party and then closes for a few weeks winter holiday. She always had these ladies as paper serviettes but can't get them anymore, i found the fabric at Hancock's and surprised her.

This quilt is on loan to me from a friend. I am organizing a Church ladies day, the theme is "Finding Jesus in the Everyday" and this quilt is the central image for the advertising. Isn't it amazing, I will be sorry to give it back!! They are tiny little inch blocks!


It is a cold wet winter that is suiting no-one.... except the swans. There is always a silver lining for someone....they have been nesting constantly for 9 months...well, different ones I presume! Making up for many years of drought.

These photos are from sunset tonight, and you will see i found a nice surprise to justify my damp toes...

And then on closer inspection...what have we here?

Aren't they beautiful? I am pretty sure they will be added to the slide show for the Church day. Which is your favourite? I can't decide.
....Have a great day, Tracey

Colourful Friday- blue and orange

Back for a colourful Friday, I love this game, hosted by Daisy Quilts. I have gone back through the archives again for photos that (sometimes loosely) suit the theme. Some are chosen just 'cos they bring back good memories really! Give the pics an airing, I say. Then the last 2 flowers were taken today, turns out I did the Church flowers with orange last Sunday...lucky because flowers are thin on the ground here this winter.The log cabin above was sewn for my "Summer" four season s swap a few years ago.

This was a good-bye gift for a minister's wife.

This is a friend's Bird of paradise, i just love these flowers.

A blue kenworth at sunset, I love harvest time!

A little boy that seems to belong to a world away...he lived in orange and bright colours as they helped me to find him when he escaped...which was often!

Blue with autumn leaves, they grow up far too fast...probably 7 years ago!



Same day, running up our driveway. I loved that bright blue on my girl. As much as I loved orange on her brother.

Poser! The light only does this down our driveway for a few weeks a year.

Dancing the night I got my first digital camera, a little kodak that I thought was marvellous!

Last ones are oriental lilies, (I think) taken today. can you pick a favourite today?

If you follow the link to daisy's blog you can visit all the other blogs who participate today and see their take on orange and blue..it has made me want to make a quilt in that colourway.

Cheers, tracey

Some quilts from quilt retreat.... and winner announced.

Safely home from quilt weekend, so back into normality after 46 hours of patchwork bliss....and two winter ocean swims that seem to have really helped the dermatitis on my hands. I got a few things done, the tops I showed you last post, and also the Madeira throw pictured in the middle of the very sunny picture above, and most of my boy's 11th birthday t-shirt quilt. Can't see them all that well here, I might show some closer pics next post.
Also, forgot to announce that the winner of my week of blogging prize is Quilting fitzy, she will get some fabric, some cards...and hopefully a nice surprise! Perhaps I should hold her to ransom and say she doesn't get her prize until she resumes her blog, I miss her. After all these years of blogging I miss my friends when they disappear...that goes for you too, Dawn formerly of Korea, you make me laugh!

Robyn got her horses together, very fiddly blocks but they look fantastic, her girl will love her horse quilt.

Lise, the Chocolate cat, got her quilt top together. Great colours, her S.I.L should love that.

Janine stitched all weekend on these blocks.

Helen finished hand quilting her first grand-daughter's quilt.

The gorgeous Kerrin is full of energy after her recent health hiccup and finished her quilt top and got it pinned. She should be justifiably proud.

Jane finsished her quilt top, from the Awesome range, I think! Kerrin is helping display it. (Hope that is Jane and not Lise' range, I can't keep up!) Also, Jane informs me I gave her the credit for Lise's stitched apron gift, it was made by Anne.

And here we all are after cleaning up and before a closing lunch down the street. We have booked the same house again for next year and I am looking forward to it already!