Completed projects and Sydney recommendations

I want to show you a couple of things I've been up to....

My only sister, Cyn and I spent some time together Friday working on the "Hanging Garden" quilt top. We had planned on working out the pattern and possibly getting a little of the top together, but we became so enthralled with the pattern that we just HAD to continue and see what it looked like. This is the end result...

Sorry about the dodginess of the picture... every time Liam and I ventured out to take a picture, it suddenly became windy! I decided after trying for two days to just give it a go, and this is what we ended up with.

 I will put up a better picture when I am able to achieve it (it's the perfectionist in me... sorry!)

This is a fabulous pattern - the more we did, the more we liked it. It also goes together quite quickly and could be used successfully for either jelly rolls or scrappy strips, which is what we used. I really enjoyed spending some quality time with Cyn - it is something we have not been able to do

 for a couple of years at least.

I also managed to create some ATC's for our bi monthly swap.... can you pick the theme?

I really enjoyed making these... if you want to know anything more about them, you need to have a guess at the theme, okay? Give me some feedback so I know what you enjoy about my posts. :)

ALSO: Steven and I bought some very cheap flights for a weekend in Sydney, but we need somewhere reasonably priced and clean to stay... can you recommend anywhere to us please?

What should we make sure we see while we are there for out day and a half? I can't wait to read your suggestions!

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!

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.

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.

May and June finished projects

Life has been a little hectic, so I neglected to post completed work for the last two months. To get myself up to date, I'll do a combined post, I've decided!My gorgeous friend, Karen, sent me a "Recipe for Friendship" charm square pack as a surprise. I decided to create a little bag for each of us, based on a bag my mate Judy had. They were relatively quick to make and turned out quite successfully, I think!

Over the last few months, I've made a few cards......

While I don't have time to make special gifts for friends' birthdays, I like to at least give them a hand made card. Some of these designs have been provided by very talented people like Diane and others from their blogs. I enjoy setting up my Cricut and Cuttlebug and seeing what is created.

I completed my offering for Spring Blooms........

And some ATCs:
I created the first one for my groups "What colour are you today" swap in May, just after Steven received his PET scan results - he is in remission, but there is a likelihood that the cancer may recur. This may help explain the mix of colours and emotions stamped on it.



June's swap title was "In the middle of......." Well, it HAD to be reports, didn't it!




The last ATC was a set of "Noughts and Crosses" I made for the June no theme swap. I received amazing cards back in return!



I have a nasty feeling that I have forgotten something.... never mind - if I think of it, I'll post later.

April's projects

I told you I had a few things to finish off this month.....

Firstly, I finally had a chance to add the binding to the mystery Mayhem quilt top I made in January.

Secondly, I made a strip pieced QAYG quilt to donate to the bushfire collection. Marilyn at Patchwork Teahouse in Warburton helped me out with the lovely purple sashing fabric, which Steven and I thought added more interest to the end result - what do you think? I am trying to finish off a different quilt to donate also, and then if I can manage it, I want to do another strip pieced one using black as the sashing and binding, suitable for a male. Hopefully next month!

Next is a little Easter gift for my lovely stitcher friend Karen.......

I hand painted the pink sections on the butterflies before I stitched them. The fabric on the bottom is a lovely Lakehouse butterfly fabric, so she can use it either way. (How is it working out, Karen??)

Now, for the ATC's I made this month.....

These "Friendship Fans" ATC's are needleturned and then accents are stitched with gold thread.

The three "April Showers" ATC's are made with my hand dyed fabric. They are buttonhole stitched, then the black accents are stitched. Special glitter I use on my cards has been added to give a flower centre and to signify the raindrops. I enjoyed sitting down and creating them.

The last set of ATC' s was the nine I made for the Haiku swap. You may recognise the photo I used on the front?? I printed them onto fabric, machine stitched some of the branches and added some dew drop with the glitter in the places they actually occured when the original photo was taken.

That's enough for now - the challenge is certainly inspiring me to complete something each month - I am amazing myself how much I am actually able to achieve in the limited time I have available. How have you progressed this month?

March Projects

I have SO many items very close to finished, but with the pressures of work, few have managed to be completed this month.


My only achievement is the 9 themed ATC's I managed to create for this month's challenge - this was what I wanted the assistance and inspiration for in my last post........







Thank you all for your suggestions - I now want to create a larger project, as so many qualities listed were important ones to attempt to emulate.

To create the ATC's, I painted a piece of fabric with blue and pink paint, (which merged into mauve at about the centre of each ATC) and salted it, causing the ripples and interesting effects. The words were then stitched and the sparkly trim added after that.
What do you think?

I'm really enjoying creating the ATC'S!


One project I was hoping to complete this month, but will be included in next month's tally is this strip pieced quilt:

I just have to complete hand sewing the binding, and then I will drop it in to Sandra at Sandlyn House. For many years, there has been an annual retreat to Marysville, and while I couldn't attend last year due to Steven's illness, I have many happy memories of a previous weekend retreat the year before. Sandra will pass it through to her friends to brighten the life ofone resident affected by the fires. I'm also hoping to make a masculine version, but I will see how I go.