A bit of stitching, gorgeous smocking and the grandies..

In between secret stitching, I have been continuing to work slowly on Scandinavian Rose. Here is another block stitched.

 I also had fun stitching another little bug rattle by Melly and Me.

 At lunch on Wednesday, Barbara brought in these amazing dresses and tops which her very clever mum stitched in the 50s! Her dear Mum passed away last year in her 90s and had these beautifully stored and labelled for us to see. They are just so lovely.

 Our little miss is on the move!!!! Alice is crawling and so nothing is safe anymore. She is only 8 months and her Mummy didn't even move until she was 1.

 The little men are on the move! Sammy can manage this amazing big climbing equipment at the arboretum. Benny wasn't too sure.

Thankfully Mum was there to save the day.

Nature's Journey

My month 1 of the Nature's Journey stitch-a-long is completed. It was fun to do these in between secret stitching!

A little stitching and my blog book

I have been stitching a little lately in between all the sadness of the past week. Mostly it is secret stitching for our Stitching on the lake days on 28 March and 11 April. There are still places on both days so email me if you are interested in coming. I did enjoy stitching these hexies in Japanese yarn dyed fabrics recently.

 I was very pleased to finally receive my 2014 blog book. I ordered it in early January and this time it went back to the US and had to be sent again. It is fun to see all the stitching, holidays, grandies and bits and pieces shared over the year.

 We had class again this week and Sue has been busy making this lovely bright quilt for her new grandchild who will be here soon.

 Lynn came into the shop recently and showed me these wonderful purses which her sister bought her in Japan. They are just so beautifully made.

Sad times

Last week was a very sad one for our family. Our dear Pa (my father-in-law) died peacefully on Monday. He had become very frail and had been in hospital and spent the last days in a very kind nursing home. Even though it was expected it was still very sad for us all as we will miss him so much. Pa was such a special man. He lived a very happy life even with quite difficult health issues and we were so fortunate to have him in our lives for so long. He will be missed by our dear Ma, his 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 14 (with 3 more on the way) great, grandchildren and all the many in-laws. He has been like a father to me for all the 42 years that I have known him.
The funeral was held last Wednesday and Bruce, Paul, Janelle and Deirdre did an amazing job organising a wonderful service which celebrated Pa's life.

Sydney and some stitching

Things have been a bit busy and sad here as our Pa (Bruce's Dad) is getting very frail. We have been to Sydney twice last week to see him and Ma and to help the family with some decisions. Pa is now in a nursing home near their home which is wonderful for Ma. This home is so much nicer than hospital for Pa as there isn't much now that can be done to help him other than to make him comfortable. He has had much illness in his life and has made it to 87 (on Sunday) and we love him so much and don't want him to suffer.

 Had to find some easy stitching to take in the car so worked on this block for little Alice. It is a Melly and Me design.

 This is another Melly design and I have had it for ages and stitched it on the way home yesterday.

 I also have done the little blocks from the first month of the Stitch-a-long which is the Nature's Journey quilt by Anni Downs.

 Classes started this week and it was lovely to catch up with all the ladies. Colleen had finished her beautiful bag.

 Jane is still using up her Indigo fabrics and made this useful bag with hexagons and stitching.