Monday, March 28, 2011

Stitching progress

Finally, I have time to post again! I have come home today after a delightful weekend away at the Bay with some very special friends....again! I am so lucky to have so many lovely friends. My Bible study ladies have a retreat every year at the coast and it is always great fun. Lots of yummy food, laughs, swims (for the brave ones as it was cool out), relaxing, chatting and some great stitching time. Sadly, I forgot my camera but will try and get some of the others' photos to share with you. While away the previous weekend, I had almost finished the first block of the "My Town" BOM from the Homespun magazine. Here it is just about finished. There are just a few stitches to do as one of the threads ran out.
It was easy to stitch on my Vignette blocks while we all chatted. It is almost done!
Just before I went away, the next block of "In My Garden" came in the post. I hope to start it soon.
I also couldn't resist getting the "Christmas Fun" BOM by Lynette Anderson. I enjoyed stitching the My Garden one so ordered this one too. Oh dear...I do have a lot to keep up with this year.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Lovely break in warm Queensland

We headed off on Saturday for a 4 night family break on the Gold Coast. We haven't had a family holiday for quite some time so it was lovely to have this time with the kids.We had three apartments near the beach and had a great time. We had some delicious meals.... pancakes for breakfast, Mexican, Thai and some delicious meals at one of the surf clubs. It was very relaxing though we did walk a bit as we were about 2 kms from Broadbeach and the same from Surfers. We had rainy weather for the first days but then were so lucky with the next two days. Here is the misty beach. I had a wild, very rough swim in the lovely warm water and the boys went down and enjoyed the surf a few times.
Here is the view from the balcony. This is the rainy view.
Here is the almost sunny one.
The complex had a great pool and the water was a perfect temperature. It was also quite warm so a swim was lovely.
Some of us went to Movie World where there were lots of rides and some shows. It was a very hot day but we had a good time. Some of us, not me, went on the big scary rides.

I did go on this one and also the Wild West ride where you get rather wet! It was quite nice to be wet when it was so hot.
Nice to be home again though it is quite a bit cooler. Didn't get much stitching done while I was away but did enjoy reading a couple of books.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Couldn't resist

I know!!! I should be binding my Gardener's Journal quilt and doing lots of other things but as I am at home today it was just too tempting! I just HAD to fuse this lovely block from the My Town BOM in the Homespun magazine. I have changed the fabrics a little but am using mostly the Wild Rose fabrics as I do love them. Just a little hint, make sure you trace as many of the details as you can (like on the windows, the sign and on the notice board) before you fuse them to your background. It is too hard to see them afterwards. You still need to draw some of the details freehand as it is tricky to see through the fabrics.
Thought I would share a couple of better photos of the Vignette stitching progress.

Sue brought in this delightful stitchery on Wednesday night. How lovely are these ballerinas. She is making a cushion for her niece who loves ballet.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Slow progress and a wonderful quilt

Sorry about this picture! It is very hard to get a long skinny picture like this. This is my progress on the Vignette blocks 2 and 3. I decided to stitch it first on a long piece rather than joining it in the middle. There is a lot of stitching but I do enjoy it. A bit worried about stitching 4 of these though for the side borders of the quilt. It will look lovely. Thankfully there are 3 months between magazines!
I also managed to do the last block of the "My Garden BOM" and will leave the finishing till next month. Too much stitching, above, to do.
Paddy also picked up her wonderful owl quilt from Robyn. It is so beautiful and Robyn has done a great job of the quilting.

Robyn also showed us her beautiful needleturn applique that she is working on. It is a lovely quilt by Blackbird Designs. It is all so motivating and there aren't enough hours in the day!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Tis the Season blocks done and Gardener's journal is quilted

So excited to show you my first three blocks of Tis the Season. I am pleased they are ready in plenty of time though I really enjoyed stitching them. Using one colour is so easy. I am using red fabrics from my stash to piece this quilt. I have a large stash of reds and really didn't need to buy any more!


I also went to Robyn, my lovely quilter, to pick up my Gardener's journal quilt this week too. Now it needs a little hand quilting in the stitcheries and then binding and the label and it will be finished.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Show and Tell and Canberra's light show

Margot had finished her pencil case last week and here it is. She used music fabric instead of ticking to form the stitching lines and the pencil case looks lovely.

Judy has made another special gift for her coming grandchild. She has stitched the front and then made it onto a box to put baby necessities into. 
We headed out on Saturday night to check out some of the buildings in Canberra that are being lit up over this Canberra day weekend. They were really wonderful to see. Hubby took his tripod and good camera amd managed to take some wonderful photos. The first three are the front of the library. Hard to believe that this is just the front of a building.


Old Parliament house looked really fabulous especially with the reflections in the pond. There were about 6 different colours/themes on each building. 


Friday, March 11, 2011

In My Garden, block 1, a label and the new Homespun

So exciting to be able to share block 1 of  the "In My Garden" BOM. I just love the way it has turned out even with all the needle turning! I must admit I really enjoyed making this block and am looking forward to the next one. I do love being up to date!
I was also working on a label for my Crazy Christmas quilt and can now put it in the 'Finished list'! Hurray!
Sadly, (not really) the new Homespun came this week with the "Our Town" BOM in it. Block one is so lovely and is designed by Anni Downs, whose designs I love to stitch.
So so tempted! I haven't the correct background fabric and am hoping Hobbysew might get it in! Might just have to find a different one to use so I can start NOW.
The other tempting thing about this project is that is uses "Wild Rose" by Blackbird Designs and I do love this range. We have it at Hobbysew and I have been collecting a little stash of it....just because!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Last week's show and tell

It is Wednesday again and with all the excitement of going away last weekend, I haven't posted all the lovely show and tell from last week. Gwen has made a beautiful hardanger outfit for this lovely painted porcelain doll.
Paddy came to class with her pencil case all finished. Looks great, Paddy.

In the evening, Sally had her lovely candlewicked bag to show us. 
Judy is looking forward to meeting her new grandchild soon and has made a fabric change mat, nappy bag,
a gorgeous little "dummy" bag,
and a lovely bag to hold all the baby essentials. What a lovely gift, Judy. These patterns are in the Winsome Baby book by Nancy Halverson.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Absolutely spoilt!

I have just been away with some very special friends for my "significant" birthday. It is hard to believe that I am soon to be turning 60 but it is great fun to celebrate. Fiona, Karen, Barbie, Lynda, Di and Maree organised the most wonderful weekend away for me at Mollymook. We stayed in a lovely house and this was the view from the balcony.
This wasn't our pool but the one at Bannisters resort which is nearby. The girls took me to lunch there and it was wonderful. Bannister's is Rick Stein's restaurant and it was fabulous.
The food and the view were really wonderful. But the best part was sharing this lovely lunch with such special friends.
Here we are about to share these amazing dessert platters. Heavenly!
Check out these wonderful desserts. There was even a candle to blow out.

My dear friends also surprised me with this wonderful gift. They had made me a lovely quilt. It is so beautiful and will certainly keep me warm in our cool Canberra winters.

Thank you, dear friends, for a wonderful celebration.