Read and red.
Actually got to sew today!!
Threw off the post Christmas lethargy and got to work.....if I'm not careful I may do housework!! (No-I did enough of that pre-Christmas and everyone else is on holiday.......)
Made Clare (Dordogne quilter) some red and white blocks for her leukeumia quilts. There should be four but the 4th refused to end up 8 and a half in time for tea so I threw in the towel!! I HAVE to work on baby quilts next as the baby was due today and I don't want these UFO's to carry over to the New Year, so 3 blocks will have to do.

A close up of my Christmas quilting literature for those that were interested.
* 'This old quilt' is really appealing to me with great pics and good short stories about quilting as well. I especially love the beautiful watercolour prints.
* 'Crazy for quilts' had interesting anecdotes and some good pics but finished too soon, I like my pics and reading more balanced so the book lasts longer.
*'Every quilt tells a story' is full of interesting stories about quilting but no real pics and I haven't started the Emilie Richards novel yet but it looks good. The quilting pattern a day calendar is fabulous. I had it last year and everyone loves the 365 pics and instructions for every day of the year. It's good to have a calendar that is a resource you can use for life.

Off for a day at the beach today as the cricket was all over in 3 days, 10th win in a row to us. I prefer my cricket closer but a win is a win. Good for the kids to play with their cousins in the sand.
PS I hadn't actually posted this so I will now. Beautiful day at the beach visiting the family. I'll take some photos when we go back next week to tantalise the poor Northern Winter people!! I checked out Moda's new Sanctuary range at my favourite beautiful quilt shop today, even though I am a big scrap person, I think this is appealing to me, I may have to feed up those chooks to make more egg money!!
Cheers, Tracey

A quiet day. Thank Goodness!
Enjoying a catch-up after the hectic Christmass festivities. The Boxing Day Ashes cricket test is on and I haven't shifted far from that. The kids are very busy in a loungeroom laced with gifts and DVDs so life is good. If it would warm up a little and they could swim and ride their bikes it would be even better! Quite cold and slightly damp here for Christmas.

Had to share a few photos. My girl on Christmas morning with "the best present in my whole life." This little Tabby is suitable named Tabitha. The name is a pure coincedence and occurred because of her love of old bewitched episodes. I have managed to get James Herriot's, "Christmas day Kitten" book from ebay for her as that seems too perfect.
Tabitha has spent an extremely hard few days sleeping on her new mother, being fussed over and practising one of the loudest purrs I have ever heard.

Next is the before and after shots of Millie's dollshouse. I bought the old blue-roofed version from a clearing sale. Very knocked around but I thought it's bones had potential. I know my sister plans to one day have a really good one for her girl so she told me to keep it plain,(unlike the one I did for my daughter with feature walls and quilts on every wall) but thought I could do something in the interim. I think it turned out quite well and little Millie is pictured checking it out on Christmas day. Apparently by later that evening her 3 y.o brother had it full of cars!

Last photo is my little Christmas gift stash. Plenty of quilt books, carefully chosen by me and wrapped by the kids. The cabbage patch doll I've wanted for 20 years and my daughter bought me. A chook beanie kid-the girl again-with her mother's assistance! Same goes for the patchwork and quilting diary etc.etc. My sister was the calendar and the 12th man CD I had been hoping for. So, I was looked after very well. This is the first year I have dealt with my gift illiterate husband like this and just organized myself by myself. It's not quite the same but at least I didn't end up disappointed! I was actually looking forward to it! The hardest thing was not even looking at the quilting books when they arrived, but I have made up for that in the last two days!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I have to go and work on some baby quilts for my niece , some red and white blocks for Clare's leukeumia quilts and start my New year goals for posting in a few days. Cheers, Traceyxx

'Twas the night before the night before Christmas........

And all were sleeping, even hubby on the couch!

Just about organized, a little bit of tidying tomorrow, a touch of cooking and a big night of Sunday School Nativity service tomorrow night and the big day will be here.

What's the Christmas routine in our house seems to be of general interest, so here is a run down.-

Christmas Eve service is big in our thriving little rural Lutheran area. In a Church of about 150 adults we have 47 children in the Sunday School.As Superintendents, Robyn and I are in charge of Christmas Eve and we have been practising madly for a few weeks. Last year we did a huge effort with plays off the internet, this year is the straight Nativity. Robyn is on her year about with the other side of the family which puts me in the driving seat tomorrow night. This is my 6th and last as we are handing over the reins. I don't usually start relaxing for Christmas until it is all safely performed and none of the 3 year olds wet themselves while in my care! A lot of the families here have Santa come while at Church, but in the area I grew up in Santa came in the morning and that's what happens here. I think the evening thing had something to do with ensuring everyone gets to Church in the morning! But it's probably more an old Prussian tradition.

Santa gifts are in the santa sacks I've made and anything wrapped is from us. This is great when things have been accidentally seen or one child was with you when you saw a great thing for the other. I am not pedantic about eveyone getting the same number of gifts not the value-they get what they need or grabbed me as suitable. I generally ensure there are the same number of wrapped things under the tree but quilted santa sacks always look full!

I decided to replace Yoda, (I think my BIL just saw a stray) and we will have a cute little tabby kitten under the tree on Christmas morning. She was saved from the vets at the 11th hour today and comes immun., flea treated, vet checked and with a desexing voucher. She is in hiding at my SIL's tonight. All other gifts will pale in comparison. My girl is also getting a little silky chook under the tree as well. Live gifts are big here!

Christmas day will begin early, for us as and the kids as nothing can be opened until we are there as well-I couldn't bear to spend all year finding just the right thing and not see the joy!We then have early Church that at least someone attends and a bit of food preparation. Until 2 years ago we always had to drive the hour to my Mum and Dad's but we have started sharing it and this year it is here. All bring salads, meat and lots of desserts to share. we work all this out ahead. Gifts are a $50 Chris cringle for the adults and the kids get things off everyone. When I was growing up we went to my Dad's family for lunch and there were heaps of us. We had a huge youngies v. oldies cricket game after lunch that everyone played and it was great.

Tea this year will just require us collecting up the next lot of food and walking the 20 metres over to grandma's to catch up with the other side of the family-I love when I am the host! $30 Chris cringle was voted on and decided to be continued this year as usual . (Fot those of you who remember it was a saga!)

So we manage to catch up with all of the family and it is normally a good day. It looks like the weather may be quite cold again for Christmas though after we have been boiling here most of the week. We got a quarter of an inch of rain even, at least in dampened the air, if not the Earth.

I have a few photos to share. I made my sister a big beach bag out of the Moda plastic coated fabric. Great looking stuff but terribly hard to get even the leather needle to make a clean sewing stitch if you have a plastic coated backing as well. I'm hoping she just sees the general bag rather than the topstitching. I made a whole heap of little purses out of the scraps, they have nearly all been distributed today to babysitters and friends teenagers.

Some Christmas decorations I love. This angel I found a year or two ago, I'm sure the patchwork clothing has nothing to do with why she is a favourite!

The little wreath was a gift at my Christmas party. It is just a child's cheap metal bangle with fabric scraps tied around, looks great.

The patchwork chook was a gift from Robyn this year to add to my ever increasing collection.

The last photo is of some of my more eclectic Christmas decorating. We have all the necessities, nativities, santa on a chook, more chooks and Talking Boony and Botham figures in recognition of this year's Ashes cricket series. They talk to each other and tease each other all the time while the cricket is on. Don't ask me how, it's all to do with some kind of radio transmitter, but we love them no matter how they manage to talk!

So I will finish by saying,

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" LOL Traceyxxxx

Only 6 more sleeps!
A dozen mums and associated children due here tomorrow for a pool Christmas party. Should be baking, cleaning and painting Millie's dollshouse but I ended up in town all morning trying for a doctor appointment. This time it is actually the boy! His eye was all swollen closed and red when he woke up, it's some kind of infection of the eyelid-all I know is that everyone up the street gave me funny looks. I'm not sure I'll take him out again until his suspicious face is healed!

Watched Polar Express for the first time yesterday-how fantastic is that show! Kids are now thoroughly convinced that elves are checking on them through CC Tv!

Plenty of photos today. My girl and her Advent calendar, made about 2002. this is one of the highlights of the year here and starts being asked about in about August. Her brother is exactly the same about his and it is doing wonders for his numbers, addition and subtraction as he approaches the big day.

A few decorations.

My girl drew this Angel a few years ago in the fabric pencils, I then backstitched around the edges and turned it into a very special decoration.

The wreath started out as the leftover HST's of a christmas table runner. It got finished, the table runner is one of my rare UFO's. I've left it slightly rough as the ideas just kept popping in my head for how it could look and when I got it to this point it told me it was done!

My little niece finally had her Santa sack finished and took it home yesterday after a visit. I think I like that way of closing them up the best.

Thoroughly enjoying not having to get up for the bus, feeling very rested even with people due over and the house not quite done.-they're all friends, they'll cope with what they are given!

Just a little bit of decorating!

Though not in the house, more like the "backyard". This is what 204 big square bales of canola Hay looks like. Hopefully it is something we will never see again-the most profitable way for farmers to see their canola is as an oilseed coming out the back of their harvester but dry conditions bring new methods in order to get any return.

Santa is right next to a fairly main road and I hope he brings a smile to some of our passing farmers' faces. No patchwork done today as Santa was the #1 priority and a whole family project.

Look at my poor confused silky chook-it reminds me of the ugly duckling story. I wonder if she is curious as to why two of her babies quack or just as happy to get them.

Off to watch my boys who are improving against England in the cricket then off to fire Brigade Christmas party with Santa. It's amazing how early children can get themselves through the shower and ready when there is going to be Santa!

Cold and no power.

As I have stated before, what's going on with the weather? Cold, miserable and ever so slightly wet here today, then no power over tea and only back on just in time for bed. I had to sit in the car to get the Cricket scores so tomorrow some batteries and a portable radio are on the shopping list.

Kids had the neighbors over today. They all get on beautifully if there is not an adult constantly in their face to run to with issues and arguments so I cleaned my sewing room in readiness for the 8 varied sewing jobs that need finishing by Christmas. (while listening to cricket and Australia's attempts to even up the Ashes series by playing poorly... or something like that...) I regularly appeared to hand out food and guidance then went back to cutting out bags and organizing projects into order-a great feeling and I will be mentally right to sew next time.

No new ideas from the organizer because I was tempted away by an old friend. A book that I should probably add to my profile favourites. (And a fabulous mini-series that did not let the book down. What a rarity!) The book is "A Town like Alice" by Neville Shute and if in the U.S it is not quite the icon it may be here please go out and find it as it is a heartwarming read.

It's about WW2 but from a completely different perspective, that of the real captured women who were forced to walk all the war rather than be encamped around Singapore. It is based on these women but fictional in itself. I love it. After reading this I spent a long time acquiring other Neville Shute books. I can never get over how unlikely and often initially unremarkable and even unlikeable his characters are but with his amazing storytelling ability you can't put the stories down and the characters are so rich by the finish. Making us like the unloveable is a real literary feat.

Well, enough book rambling-you probably have all read it!

The picture today is of last year's Birthday buddy present at quilters. My darling friend Robyn made me this and as I haven't photographed anymore Christmas things I thought this may be a nice change. Don't Mums wish sometimes THEY could throw the tantrum! It would be so refreshing!
Have a lovely day, Tracey
ps-second great day for my girl in a row! That's the joy.

Strawberries, Santa Sacks and School holidays.
The babies have just burst from the front door on their way to the bus. There is no better word than burst to describe them this morning, full of life and energy. The big doses of Pro-biotics are starting to get results for my girl and I heard laughing this morning as she got ready and wrote the notes to go on her teachers gifts. She is actually bussing and intending staying the whole day. I have my fingers crossed for a good Summer break.

So I am on my last day of official "own time" for 7 weeks but as DD has been home most of the last 7 it hasn't all been what I like to do anyway. Maybe next year all those half days will be spent happily sewing. We live in hope! But I'm already going on the School board, up in the PTFA and will probably end up Church ladies President today at Christmas break-up so am not envisioning a life of unadulterated leisure in 07, but I wouldn't like that anyway.

Guess what I am sitting eating for breakfast? Strawberries, and not those artificial, water pumped, picked green ones from the supermarket either! On Monday we had to travel to a different coastal town to catch the Paediatrician before Christmas. On the way out they have a Strawberry farm where you can pick your own for $5 a kilo!! The photo is what 1 and a half kilos of beautiful strawberries look like... there should probably be another quarter kilo but I think they were our pay for picking them ourselves! I felt sorry for the people, there was so much overcooked fruit on the plants from the boiling weekend. So I bought a bottle of their strawberry liqueur wine...just to help them out you understand.

The santa sacks are something I usually do a few of every year. The ones pictured were a paid job-amazing! I have since altered the top slightly so it is more of a draw string arrangement. I have my niece's here as I made it "just" for her first Christmas last year and need to add it's finishing touches. I'll post a pic when it's done. My kids have them too, from my first year of sewing/quilting. I wont show you them, but they are now as much loved a tradition as everything else about Christmas. Santa presents are in the stack and anything outside, eg bikes are from us. Very handy when you know the kids have glimpsed a present pre-Christmas because then it's just from us.

Joy in daily living today.
-happy, smiling kids.
-a lunch out
-house spring cleaned yesterday
-hatching chickens that are just too cute when they are coming out of their shells.
-good food to eat.

Finally in the spirit...

With the hub away we spent a very hard day of Sunday School Nativity play practise, swimming, Christmas decorating, swimming, eating Advent lollies and ...more swimming. Still 34 degrees celcius here so not much energy for anything else.

Sorted through some decorations.

Another very early quilt is the backdrop for this nativity scene. I did not not knit this woollen Nativity scene. I was mad keen on doing one last year then I took my husband up to harvest in a little drought strapped town and found this in the window of one of their few shops for $9! I was so pleased I even paid $10-just for the knitting anguish it saved me...and for the fact the kids would have been grown up before I worked out the instructions-instructions (and knitting )are not really my thing!

Next we have my best book, and probably one of my best Christmas memories. It is fairly old, a lot older than me and my older brother so I'm not sure where it came from but it was REALLY Christmas when I had this read to me or read this on Christmas Eve. I managed to find a fairly good old copy for my sister last year, that was so I didn't feel so bad for pilfering this from Mum and Dad's. I have started the same reading tradition here, but it comes out with the Christmas decorations and we read it regularly for the few weeks before Christmas. A book with beautiful illustrations that send you to bed even at 37 with dreams of sugar plums dancing in your head should not be kept just for Christmas Eve.

We had a lovely time on the couch tonight reading all the Christmas books. I'm actually starting to get in the mood.

Must have missed scanning in the santa sack pictures so that will be next post. These are some of my little gift bags. I quite often put my baby and little people presents in these. They last very well and every little person I know likes to carry treasure in a bag. (And a lot of the big people I know as well-me included!)

Showcase Sunday.

Hub has headed off to car racing today so I have leisure to post. We had an absolute scorcher of a day again yesterday-40 degrees celcius which is well over 100 fahrenheit. Fortunately no fires around here, but plenty in other parts of the state. I had to help the Church Ladies with afternoon tea for a wedding and that hall sure warmed up! I ended up just running around with jug after jug of ice water-needless to say we didn't make many coffees!
I was very pleased to come home and hop straight in the pool.

The paediatrician appointment turned into a full day as we managed to get a late afternoon ultrasound. We see him again tomorrow for the results but many indicators seem to be pointing to something like irritable bowel from all the antibiotics for the giardia-you just can't win!
Anyway I am starting to feel less like it may be life threatening so I may even get in the mood to fully decorate the house for Christmas today.

I managed to work my scanner out today-(pretty much) so I have a few pre-digital photos for you. The first is from Christmas a few years ago, it is a quilted map of our farm buildings and different paddock layouts, made for my boy. As usual I would do it differently now-I think it was one of my first 5 quilts and I had to make it up but he still loves it and plays with it.

The next quilt was for baby George's sister when she was born. I absolutely love the novelty print/panel and I continually kick myself that I didn't just buy 10 metres the day I saw it as it sold out within a week. It does not look like this anymore! it was used constantly from the first day and washed most weeks-it is a pale shade of itself but was at least loved and used.

The final one is the hand dyed fabrics we did as a quilting group. This was for another of George's sisters, the hot pink sashings were added. I really liked how this turned out and so did George's trendy Mum. I think I have shown my log cabin up the top before.

Kids last few days of school this week. Class parties are tomorrow, my girl will miss hers due to her appointment but she said, "my health is more important than a party" to the receptionists! Probably very true but she sounded like a little old lady! They have rotating Christmas craft activities in the morning, I may snap a few shots for some good ideas. I'm making angels if I get organized today and cut everything out-my most hated part!

Oh, the hint from "The 15 minute organizer" for today. "Plan a weekly menu and base your shopping list on those menus and add to your staples when they're low, try to have everything on the list so you don't go back for single items." Such a good theory and I usually get all motivated in the new year and work it all out....then things start to slip!
Have a good weekend, tracey

Hold that kitten!

We may have had Yoda's first sighting since going missing a fortnight ago. Just as the daughter is choosing names for a potential kitten, BIL reports that a cat closely resembling the fugitive's description was seen running across our road and up our drive late at night a few days ago. Hmmm it is starting to look a little like the good side (Yoda) was overpowered and banished by the dark side (General Grievous). We will just see how tough General grievous is after his little imminent operation! Revenge for Yoda will be sweet but perhaps only last until we can catch him long enough for his own little cosmetic procedure!

First pic is of a little box of fun I picked up for a few dollars. It's about 70 basted hexagons and I thought it may be a good start for a Grandmother's flower garden, unfortunately they are all slightly irregular hexagons so I have just had a little play and am thinking of ideas for them.

The next is what happens when you stand beside a pool all day in your thongs (or flip-flops?)Looks like I still have them on. From now on I'll remember the sunscreen should go everywhere!




Last picture is courtesy of my quilting friend, Chris.
She has used a variety of hand dyed fabrics and quite a simple block design to create a stunninf feature quilt. She purchased some of the fabrics and some were a result of a group dying day lead by Sue. I'll have to dig up a pre-digital pic of a quilt I made from the hand-dyed as well. I had been meaning to draw the block layout and she kindly let me photograph it and share it with you. Chris thinks it was an Australian P&Q magazine that the idea was in.

Today's handy idea from "the 15 minute organizer", buy a timer and time jobs, especially those you hate. Then you may find it's only a 3 minute job that you are stewing over and putting off. Also profit from the precious minutes wasted while you wait for someone or something-you can achieve a lot in a few minutes. Maybe I'll start cleaning the office while waiting for Blogger to upload photos because that seems to take longer and longer!

Off to paediatrician tomorrow, hope we start getting somewhere.

Joy in daily living today-
-Australia's amazing win against England in the second cricket test. right down to the wire!
-swimming sports organized and over.
-Books for babies program officially launched and on- the- go now.
-possible action for my girl
-3 clucky chooks that should bring Christmas chickens.

A beautiful day for a swimming carnival.

Just home from another Primary School Swim carnival-my 10th in charge. I'll be pushing for long service leave soon!

The kids' House won by 1 and a half points which is quite significant as Hub took my girl in to compete, her first and two seconds put in 7 points, without which they would have lost. She put in for her team even with a sore tummy. Everyone had fun and all contributed so it was great.

I am reading a great book at the moment and to make sure I finish it I am going to share something new from it for the next few posts.

The book is called, "The 15-minute organizer" by Emilie Barnes. I checked the copyright and it says you are allowed to quote for purposes of review so we will call this a review.
My next door neighbor (with 7 kids under 12) bought it in the hope it would give her more ideas on time maximisation. She hadn't had time to read it yet when I found it on her table so I borrowed it and have now bought a copy as it fitted in beautifully with my new"do it now" program.

It has nice short chapters and ranges through heaps of time saving and whipping your house into shape categories. Today's big point is "Don't put it down, put it away." This is not my strong point. I'm more likely to do a big put away later, than as I go. So that will be my training exercise today. It's all aimed at de-cluttering. Well, I will only go so far as I love to have my stuff around me, it's cosy. Minimalisation is not my style!

The kids only have 5 days of School left before their 7 week summer break,- or in my girl's case it will be more like a 14 week Summer break! The teacher who has taught one or the other of my children for the last 3 years is moving on so I thought it was a good time to post the quilt we made for her when she got married 2 years ago this weekend. Another Mum, Sue and I put it all together-the other class parents all put in a few dollars to cover expenses. She loves it and treats it like gold. We will miss her.
Have a great day.

More on the quilting lunch.

A few more pictures today from our lunch.
Today you get to see as many of our Cris cringle pics as I can upload. (I think I have managed 6!)

First is Kerrin with her gift-from me. 'Kerrin's creations' is a binder cover, with paper and plastic pockets so she can store her notes and ideas. Kerrin is our learner quilter who is catching the bug very quickly! Country Threads is an Australian Quilt magazine I love so she got the diary. I know I am getting the Aust. Patchwork and Quilting diary from my little girl for Christmas.




Second is Kath, the lucky recipient of this great calendar from Kerrin.
Third is Robyn, our resident quilter and fibre artist with her candle holders from Helen.
















Fourth is Chris with her stitchery and Bible verse from Ruth.



Fifth is Helen with her Christmas stitchery from Robyn.



















....The sixth gift of Christmas my good friend Sue gave to me...is a fabulous Christmas panel with coordinating fabric I am holding up the top. MMMMmmm, if this week wasn't looking so busy,that would be a quilt by the weekend, I love it!!



*Just a little note, Robyn and I both had to get to 10.30 Church for the Sunday School Nativity practice half way through-we were both madly sewing late and only snuck in the back just in time for the children to head to Sunday School. But we still managed to hand over completed gifts at 1.30 pm!

Daughter update: Nothing in the tests so we are off to the paediatrician in a local town on Wednesday to look into it further. She's quite miserable again and after I picked her up early from School today she asked me whether I would rather her with a sick tummy or another girl who's tummy was fine. I wonder if she can begin to understand what a 'no contest' that is...but it still breaks my heart.
She had to be at School this morning as, during one of her infrequent School visits this term, she designed a Water safety poster that was entered in a town competition with other Schools and she won a section so the man in charge was coming to Assembly with a news photographer. I was in on the secret, as Kath , the quilter, is also her very understanding teacher. But DD
wasn't to know so it all ended up a bit like hard work!

My 2000th hit in the 5 weeks I have been blogging so I'll share 5 things about me you probably don't know-
1. I talk to the TV, especially when people are about to do something stupid or embarrass themselves. Drives hub crazy-"it's only TV!"
2. I have cricket on every TV and every radio in the vicinity when it is the season.
3. My perfect retirement would be spent travelling around the World on Australian cricket tours. (Robyn's coming with)
4. I have successfully matchmade two couples who are still married.
5. I travelled to Russia with Uni in 1990 and changed my path in life.
Have a great day.

The Christmas Break-up you have when you have no intention of breaking up!

Just home from a wonderful afternoon at Quilter's. We ate great food, exchanged our Chris Cringle presents, said good-bye to two dear friends and generally talked our heads off! The funny thing is we fully intend catching up over the summer break as we couldn't go 2 months without quilting-so I should just call it a Quilter's lunch.

I took photos of everything and I will post as many as possible today and any that wont load can go on tomorrow.

The first photo is of our entire group, at Chris' home.( Now, my darling Quilting girls, I confessed about my blog today, so you can look at these photos and then forget I ever told you!! )






Sue (aqua top) and Ruth (black cardigan) are both moving to new pastures so we made them the 'Fruits of the Spirit' wallhangings I told you about a few posts ago.

Here are Sue and Ruth with their gifts.
We each did one or two blocks and surrounded them with a red type fabric then sewed them together last weekend.








Sue has actually been gone for a few months; a new love, new life and job in Melbourne, but she had to come back for this farewell. She has been getting a few good ideas on her travels and bought us all some little departing gifts. These were far too cute not to post. They are all quite simple, inexpensive ideas that looked fabulous.

In case it's hard to see, there are little Christmas cookie cutters with fabric folded in them, Christmas candle holders with rolled fabric poking out of the candle holes, little treasure boxes with folded fabric inside, little Santas and stockings filled with rolled fabric and bead containers filled with fabric. they all looked fabulous and would not be difficult for any of us to make. She said you can get an amazing amount of fabric folded in these gifts. Mine are the candle holders. Sue was also my Chris cringle and I got some wonderful christmas fabrics but I will not test blogger by trying for a 6th photo today.

Some updates.

- more test results due for my girl again tomorrow. She has had a reasonable weekend and enjoyed her afternoon at the babysitter today.

-Yoda the cat has still not returned and it is looking serious-which means talk of a kitten has begun. Oh no, not again!

-Gratitudes is fully finished, all tied. I think I may add a bit of machine to help the tying hold-it's very big.

Joy in daily living today-

*my wonderful friends.

*a good weekend for my girl

*hub due back tomorrow already

*a quilt finished, tied and bound.

Cheers, Tracey

Thank You!

I thought this blogging was great for my patchwork motivation but you are also proving amazingly good for the soul!

The encouraging words were great after a restless night spent trying to sleep on my girl's floor. She slept well and coped ok with the double blood tests. Some results are in this afternoon, 95% likely it's not appendix but as you know appendix rows it's own boat. The UTI and Coeliac tests are due tomorrow and full stools to be done as well. So it's all well and truly being looked into. Hub due home later tonight, he's definitely rushing back but not admitting it! I told him it's probably just a UTI but he's still keen to see her.

Anyway, all your nice words definitely mean you need some photos.

Here is my Gratitudes, attached to the 'wall of wonder' that is now doubling as the basting/tying wall. This is an idea I had to save by back-and knees-I'll be able to tell you soon if it actually works! My builder made it for me when he did the studio. Gratitudes is heading for the 2.5 metre square size-perfect for my bed. The borders are different to Judy's and a bit hard to see. I'll show another photo when it's tied.

A couple of cute little farming photos, feel free to jump straight to the cushion if you so desire.
I was hoping to get photos of the hatching process for you but the slight health crisis altered those plans. Anyway here the little turkeys are still wet. This is the 8 under a nice reliable clucky chook. Turkeys are unreliable sitters and ordinary mothers usually so I thought I took all the eggs off the savage beast but when I noticed she was still sitting a few days later I checked and saw she still had 2. They have hatched as well but I can't get anywhere near them without losing a limb!


The last photo is my cushion that I made for a play with some of my Moda bed quilt scraps. I'm playing with a few rose ideas and this was an offshoot of that. It's kind of a log cabin come crazy patchwork hybrid-I think it will look alright on the bed when the quilt is finished. I have made 3 different tops for this, I'm thinking of framing the other two, they look quite arty.

I think some r&r is in order, A double end of season episode of ER is on tonight and I think something happens to Luka-I like him so hopefullty they don't leave me dangling. I will be asking for info tomorrow if they do! Cheers, tracey

Should never have mentioned the tummy pains.....

Just home from Emergency and having a small stiff drink while I post. The tummy pains came back with a vengeance tonight so I have been in Emergency with my girl for the 2 and a half hours. It is either now a totally- un-related -to -the -last -6 -weeks- of -tummy- pains urinary tract infection or appendix that have taken 6 weeks to cook.

Antibiotics now, full blood tests and Doctor appointment tomorrow and straight to the Emergency tonight if there is a deterioration. Why is it Murphy's law that the minute hub is away everything packs up here? Yesterday the 3 year old Fisher and Paykel washing machine blew up and blew the house power, I fixed that then my iron blew up in my hand and flamed at me, that blew the house power, I fixed that, now the daughter is threatening to blow up! I'm very hopeful it's the UTI but am about to clean the house that has been neglected while madly finishing quilts, then I'm going to get together my hand work bag....just in case! here's that picture of my girl and me I tried for last week. Have a great day. Tracey

As many turkeys leave us.......

I can actually hear my 10 little turkeys peeping in their shells tonight. Tomorrow, bar a thunderstorm (that kills them in their shells) or foxes getting the mothers, I should have little turkeys. I do not have the poultry equivalent of green fingers with Turkeys, I never seem to be able to get the little ones to adulthood. Hub thinks I am a sucker for punishment that I continue to keep them but I have always appreciated a challenge-or I would never have married him!

I am thinking I really need to have a little "post notes" piece of paper around the house for all the times I think, " could blog about that," because later when I sit at the computer I have forgotten!

It is well past midnight here, I have been putting Gratitudes together while hub is away again. I don't sleep that fabulously well when he is not here, so I normally get lots of sewing done. When he usually goes for up to a month I get a lot done but he gets home and my eyes are hanging out of my head with fatigue!

I was very naughty on Friday, I made a lovely little bag for an 8 year old's birthday and forgot to take a photo! I also spent yesterday at a Christening (for baby George, whose whole family loves his blanket) then had to dash to a quilting friends to try to put together 2 farewell gifts for our 2 quilt group members moving to new areas. I will definitely take a camera to our Chris Cringle dinner on Sunday to get a photo of these-Fruits of the Spirit stitcheries.

Pleased I didn't go to hard to get Gratitudes finished tonight as Blogger once again will not let me put up photos. I may try again tomorrow. Oops. just tried again and it's let me, I must have smiled nicely! This is my version of Underground railroad, copied from a picture. It is a metre by a metre as making it larger started showing some of the transgressions that come from having to make it up as you go along! I like it so it has stayed. It's made out of Sheridan sheeting remnants with an old eiderdown as backing and wadding. The whole thing cost me $1!.
Have a great day-oh, and the Quilt cleaned up quite well, thanks to all who were concerned... I didn't try too hard to get off the last little mark-that is so it pricks my memory in the old people's home in 50 years when I have dementia like my Nana!

Gratitudes should be the next post if daughter's tummy isn't troubling her tomorrow!

A chocolate Crisis!
Last night's sleepover turned out very well for the Mother/Daughter relationship...but not quite so well for the old bed quilt.

As the photo (hopefully) shows there was a little bit of a tragedy with some chocolate truffles. I'm not sure what is sadder-the empty box or the melted choc on the quilt. Two chocs must have slipped out of the box ...and in the dark and drama of the Little House on the Prairie episode where their baby boy dies and Laura runs away to the mountain to offer herself as a swap......it melted on the quilt! I have left it until today to scrape off dry and I am about to start working on it so all the evidence is cleared up before the boys get home!!

The quilt was one of my first and seams seem to come apart everytime I wash it. That's why it is about to be replaced by my Gratitudes and/or the pink and Green Moda you all helped me with. The maroon is the leftover hem of my curtains, the cream is an old Laura Ashley dress and I only bought the black. I've given you a bigger shot to look at my indiscretions!

When we went to the Agricultural Show last week we also visited my 91 year old Grandma in her hostel that is close by. She has dementia and luckily recognised us enough for the kids to be happy. They were selling these cute little button dolls there to raise money and I thought they were so cute they deserved a post.

The quail are continuing along happily as you can see by the little egg, but all is not so well with Yoda the cat. After being introduced to the World on the Net last week he must have decided to retire from the limelight-the paparazzi was proving too much and he has disappeared. We have searched all morning with no luck but I am still hopeful it's just because we hadn't gotten around to that little cosmetic procedure Tomcats require and he will come back after he has found love!

Have a great weekend.Tracey