What a fantastic weekend!

I have had such a wonderful weekend....

here are some photos from the conference centre I escaped to - it is in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges

The centre was surrounded by gardens - several plants were in flower and looked stunning in the early morning light:

The staff were excellent, the food was magnificent and the company inspiring...

what more could a girl ask for?

I did TRUCKLOADS!!!

1. I sewed the quilt top for Rob's 21st together - here is a photo of the top mostly completed - I finished it and piecing the backing fabric together very late on Saturday night, so forgot to get the official "top's finished" photo. Sorry!

Chris has taken it for quilting - she plans to use a gold thread, similar to the one used in the corners of the sashing (that aren't in this picture!) in an oriental design - I can't wait to see it!

2. I made another two gift sewing bags.. if you look closely, you'll see that I still need to do the tidying up and thread the draw strings. One day, I'll make one for myself!

3. I started quilting Steven's quilt - the photo doesn't show the quilting super clearly, but you'll get the idea. Steven made me up a template for the spirals which makes them very efficient to mark.

I took a few items I no longer wanted and sold many of them. That meant I had money to spend on this fabulous new book!

The weather was calm and sunny, and the whole weekend sped by much too quickly!

I will look forward to next year.

A flaunt before I run away.....

I'm off for the weekend, on my quilting weekend (I missed it last year due to Steven's illness) so I thought I'd flaunt before I went. I have lots to show you

The quilt from Penny arrived. It is beautiful, and she has done such a lovely job of its construction and quilting - I need to match her quality of workmanship to finish it off, and then Liam is lucky enough to have been given it - such a wonderfully generous act on Penny's behalf.

• I posted my summertime quilt






• Completed Steven's quilt top - I'm hoping to get some of the quilting done this weekend
  





• Made a special bag for Karen based on Leesa Chandler's "Sip and Sew" kit









• Received the wonderful blue table topper from Sandie (more about her to follow!)











• Sent my friendship bag and a label to Claudia in Milan, Italy
  
  
  
  



• Made a proverb ATC - any guesses what the proverb is?
  
  

  
  

• and lastly (I think) made a couple of quick birthday cards..

OK - I'm off for a lovely weekend.... I hope yours is wonderful!

Late Flaunt - is it still Friday somewhere?

The last fortnight has flown by since my last flaunt, but I actually DO have some completed projects to show you, as well as some "in progress" ones.....

Firstly, here is Julie's completed quilt:

I took this photo very late at night - her photos are MUCH lovelier, so go and have a look. I really enjoy doing the 3D centres - they are SO easy, but add another dimension.

My "In the Good 'Ol Summertime" quilt is now winging its way to Pennsylvania - here it is below:

I have also made progress on Steven's quilt, and I must say, the Curve Master has proven its worth.... the blocks needed a little trimming (due to my dodginess!), but went together beautifully - I'm pleased with the almost continuous appearance of the rivers:

The ochre border has been added.....

but I plan to use Cinzia's suggestion, and am in the process of needleturning the rivers over this border. I will be finishing with a border of the blue, so I'm hoping it will look like all the rivers run into the border, if that makes sense.

I have a mountain of work to do, but want to get the top together by Monday so I can get it machine basted - I'm going to hand quilt using perle cottons. I am hoping to take it away with me on my quilting weekend in two weeks :-)

I also need to get Rob's top together so I can get it quilted. He (unknowingly!) helped me select the backing for it, now I have to prepare and post some labels for the Pommie rellies to write on to go on the back of the quilt. His cousin, Rowena is also now living in England, so I have to make sure they all get a chance to write on them and post them back to me.

Another dream for the holidays is to complete the landscape quilt I designed at my Gloria Loughman weekend in February - I'll see how I go.

Now, off to look at the other flaunters - have a lovely week, won't you!

First flaunt for a while

Sorry - I've been in limbo for the last few weeks, not able to get my head around anything much..... the last year has been so intense and stress filled that I think it is all now hitting me. In one more week, my year 12's will have submitted their major assessment (worth 40% of their final score) and I will be on two weeks 'holiday'..... :-)

I haven't had a chance to do much in recent weeks, and the few chances I've had I've squandered, not able to motivate myself properly, preferring to seep like an ever increasing blob into the couch.

I HAVE made 6 ATC's for my group's Haiku swap, as shown below.....

I've also made some progress on Julie's quilt..... I had planned to machine quilt it, but decided it may look more presentable if I hand quilted it.... don't look too closely at the stitching!

Here is a hint of what the front looks like - the sun was streaming through when Liam and I were photographing it...

I hope to post it next week, fingers crossed!

My plan for the holidays (apart from cross marking SATs, preparing revision work for my year 12's and catching up on corrections) is to get both Steven's and Rob's quilt tops together. I also need to complete the Summer mini quilt which will travel to USA and the friendship bag, which will fly to Italy. I'll keep you posted.

A punctual Friday Flaunt?

Yes, I know..... it's not usual for me to actually be able to show anything on the actual day, but this week - I've managed it!

The curve master arrived, and really IS worth the money - I managed to sew over 30 blocks in a fraction of the time I had expected, due mainly to the fact that you did not need to pin the blocks for them to turn out well.

We laid out most of Steven's quilt blocks in a variety of ways, as shown below. I still need to sew about another 15, which I'm hoping ot do this weekend, as I need some sanity time.

Which one do you prefer??

Layout 1

Layout 2

Layout 3

The five of us have voted here - leave a comment and give me your opinion please!

Friday flaunt and great news!

I can't wait - the first thing I want to share with you is that the PET scan Steven had was negative, meaning there was no evidence of cancer in it - the relief is massive, but I suppose we have to get used to this roller coaster of events, as we can no longer naively think that all is well - that is the unfortunate legacy of cancer......We want to get on with our lives, and after a year of Steven suffering massive pain and still suffering damage from the tumour and chemotherapy drugs, we need to refocus and start enjoying life! The oncologist still needs to clarify what is causing the symptoms Steven has been experiencing, but the clear scan is a great start.

This last week, I made a few cards - not sewing, but very therapeutic and more achievable than some other things at the moment. Work pressures combined with worrying about Steven have made it impossible for my brain to function properly, and I find that the card making doesn't cause as much brain strain as some other things.

I also finally managed to complete a few ATC's - the theme was 'something old, something new'...

the 'something old' was the hand dyed fabric. The 'something new' were the lovely white flowers I bought up at 'Patchwork Teahouse' a few weeks ago.

I have received the circle foot, so hope to spend some time getting used to it over the weekend and then doing some more of the blocks for Steven's quilt. I'll let you know how I go.

Un Friday update

(Well, if it is good enough for Pooh Bear to have unbirthdays, doesn’t that mean I can have Un Fridays??)
I wanted to show you what I have started:

I have become increasingly disturbed that I have not ever made a quilt for Steven….. somehow, it had never happened. If he has to endure more chemotherapy, I want him to have something made specially for him there when he has the treatments, as he is usually in hospital for at least one day each time.
He had admired “Summer Palace” done in aboriginal fabric at the Point Nepean Quilt Show earlier in the year, when he made his first day trip after his chemotherapy. This was what led me to organise Rob’s quilt (posted about recently.)
So, last Saturday, we went to Lilly Patches in Boronia – they have the most wonderful range of aboriginal fabric, and were really patient and helpful.
Steven discovered a really interesting pattern called “Murrumbidgee Dreaming” and selected all the fabrics himself – the lapis blue Jinny Beyer fabric is to be the river running through the blocks, as well as the main border. The deep ochre Jinny Beyer fabric will be the inner border and possibly the binding.
I have attempted four blocks so far – the original pattern needs 25 blocks, but we decided to make it larger. I have cut out about 50 blocks, and am planning to use 48, so there is room for flexibility.

I am not convinced they are as good as I can get them, even though they seem to match up well when laid out together………..so I have ordered a special foot that it is claimed will make curved piecing a breeze. As soon as it arrives, I will try some more and let you know the result.

An update on Steven – he had his PET scan on Thursday, now we wait until next Thursday to get the verdict from the oncologist.
Have a lovely week, and try to make the most of every day!

Friday flaunt

I have nothing to show personally - sewing and relaxation have ground to a halt, partly due to being back at school, but mainly due to trying to come to terms with Steven possibly needing more chemo - we will know more when he has another PET scan in early August.

I would, however, like to show you some fabulous things Steven has made for me recently.

My Year 12 students have to photograph their completed food items as part of their SAT. The better quality the photos, the better they can show their achievements. Usually, schools use foamcore sheets held together with velcro. Steven decided this was too shabby, so he designed and built this fabulous portable photo box. Above is what it looks like when packed up......

and here it is all ready to make their food look as beautiful as possible. He has an amazing brain and never ceases to amaze me!

If you look back at this post:

http://alstreasures.blogspot.com/2009/03/small-steps-forward.html

you'll notice the lovely sewing box Steven made me to add to my collection.

He decided he wanted to try a special way of labelling it, so has been playing around with sandblasting initials into a brass disc he cut.

When I arrived home from work one afternoon this week, he had succeeded in inserting it in the top if the box:

he had also created one for Lana's sewing box:

I am so lucky to have him in my life - keep your fingers crossed for him please.

Karma Award

I was lucky enough to receive this award from Penny, my special Canadian friend. She is an amazing lady, and I'm proud to be part of her life.


Now, the big decision - who to give the award to.... I need to acknowledge two people who have been true and faithful friends, giving laughs in the good times and support in the bad times.

Firstly, Karen.... she doesn't have a blog, but has become a very special part of our lives - thank you for being such a gentle, funny and inspirational invividual, you darling girl!

Secondly, Julie. Thank you for everything, you clever lady. Your great sense of humour, inspiring work and constant support have been greatly appreciated.

I also want to award the lovely Helen Stubbings. Without Helen organising the fabulous Stitcher's Angel swap last year, I never would have met Karen. Helen is an amazing lady, who is creative, genuinely caring and is always attempting to make the world a better place. She is also a fabulous teacher, being highly organised, professional and supportive of her students.

While I would dearly love to be part of the Stitcher's Angel Swap again this year, we have had disturbing news from Steven's oncologist, so I need to focus on home for a while. Join in, though, as you may be lucky enough to meet a special person like Karen!

Friday Show and Tell

Yes, I know..... I am supposed to be showing you what I have been working on this week.... the problem is, I am making another Springtime mini quilt for Julie and if I post a picture of it, she will get a sneak peek. Now we can't have that, can we!!! The truth is, I fell in love with the one she made, and talked her into doing a swap.

What I CAN show you, however, is the fantastic quilt Penny sent me for the Springtime Swap. She is an amazingly talented lady, having hand painted the ginko leaves and other fabric. It is a beautiful piece and I am a very lucky woman! It is wonderful corresponding with someone on the other side of the world.

I can also show you the fabrics I started cutting up tonight for Rob's 21st quilt.

I am making him "Summer Palace" by Leesa Chandler. Rob's favourite colours are red and black (Go Bombers!) We've added some gold fabrics as well. I'm hoping by getting it organised now, I can have it completed for his birthday in December. I'll keep you posted.