More hours in a day please!

Yesterday was one of those days that was just so fun I didn't want it to end! Amy came home, and was just soooooo excited to meet kitty. She just adores her. Last night Amy did let Madaline sleep on her bed though, she doesn't want her to feel left out. What a honey.

While watching the tennis in the afternoon, I made up my last three DJ blocks for this month. The green one at the top is H11 - Piercing Rays. A cute block with many Y-seams. Bottom left is H5 - Michael's Motorcycle. This is the first time I've made this block, it was made by a DJ friend in my other quilt, it was super easy to make. Bottom right is I8 - Pete's Paintbox. Last time I foundation pieced this block in five sections, but this time it was much easier to use freezer paper piecing. This means I've achieved my DJ goal for this month! Yay!

Next on my list of things to do was to make up another batch of preserves. My new(ish) Fowlers Vacola unit can only take 8 jars at one time, so I have to plan a little if I have a lot of fruit. The four jars on the left are ground tomatoes. We have a few tomato plants and I freeze the tomatoes as they ripen and when I have enough, preserve them with a bay leaf and some basil. Super yummy for making pasta.

And on the right some more peaches ... and the tree is still going, so there will probably be more to come. The smaller size 20 jars are one pint, and I've run out of them entirely now, the two in the back are about one litre (which I think is around one quart). I'll have to get busy labelling the jars, or I'm going to get the peaches mixed up with the apricots that I made last month. They look kind of similar.

And last night while I was watching yet more tennis, I started assembling my USA memories quilt. This is going to be a beauty, I can tell!

The block in the centre is by Sue, the two together top left are by Donna and Karen. Top right are blocks by Linda and Lynn. Bottom right is made by Liz and one by me. Bottom right are made by Linda and Gerri. There are still three more blocks that the girls made which will be added to the quilt, and I will make up one more block to even it up.

After working on DJ blocks during the day with tiny pieces, working on this quilt in the evening was so funny. It felt like I was working with huge bedsheet size pieces!

A big HI to Linda and all the Quilt Batts. Thank you so much for making blocks for me, I really love them, and they're just the most wonderful memory of my fabulous trip to the USA.

Heartstrings

Mother Nature is just wonderful sometimes. We have desperately needed rain, and lo and behold, the heavens have opened! And with rain comes wonderful indoor time, and I've taken advantage of that!

Yesterday I made up seven Heartstrings blocks in honour of Nancy's birthday. Happy belated birthday Nancy!. I'll mail them out with my other parcels on Tuesday or Wednesday. I can see how Mary has declared these blocks addictive. I challenge everyone to get involved in the cause, I see so many of you are already. I'm going to put the button in my sidebar, so go check out the Heartstrings site. Thank you so much to ForestJane for making up the button for us all, and also for sharing the cute picture for stash-quilts.

Having some wind and rain also meant that some of our peaches have fallen from the tree. Rather than let them go to waste (we can only eat so many while they're fresh) I've cut them up and bottled them. We'll be able to have yummy peaches for the year to come.

These are Elberta peaches - old fashioned free-stone ones that taste just divine! This is the first year we've had peaches on our tree, as it's just a baby, and believe me, we're thrilled with it.

And here is my final piece of work for the day. One more DJ block. This one is J2 - Picture Perfect. I love this block, and I think it's perfect if I do say so myself. All the little seams line up so nicely. Those little white pieces are 1/4" wide. I have the freezer paper marked and cut up ready for three more blocks, so I may get them done today. I've done my chores this morning, so I have the afternoon to myself.

Because of the rain I haven't ventured far from home this weekend, so I haven't been to the quilt store to pick up the thread for the WTP quilt, I'll do that in the next day or so ... I'm so looking forward to finishing it. Hope you're all having a great weekend!

Blocks blocks blocks!

I got a little bit of stitching done yesterday, gosh I love to piece blocks! I made two more DJ blocks toward my commitment for 8 for the month.

On the left is E12 - Mary Ruth's Corset. Some tiny pieces in the centre there. I really love that purple 30's print. I don't have enough left now for any more DJ blocks, just enough for a couple of 2" squares in my scrap boxes. It's a nice feeling to use something up entirely!

On the right is H4 - Abbey's Eyes. How much do I love this block! So much - seriously! This one I could imagine making a whole quilt from. I have actually made a change from the block in the book ... can you see what I've made differently? I've added a seam down the centre of the white arrow points. It just makes it so much easier to set that diamond in when there's that seam join there to manipulate. Y seams can be tricky things, but this block is a joy to put together.

And here are some blocks I put together for Clare. They're all bagged up now and ready to go. I'm so happy to be involved in her Quilts 4 Leukaemia project. What a worthy cause!

Today I will make up the blocks for Nancy. I will love making up the Heartstrings blocks. In my stash I have these 10" squares of some unusual fabric that I had planned to use for backs. These days I use Bonnie Hunter's technique with the 10.5" backing squares, so the 10" squares have sat around with nothing to do. And then this project came up ... it's just serendipity, I'll use the 10" squares as the base fabric. I may just get addicted to these blocks and make myself a quilt using this technique too ... a project for another rainy day.

Have a great weekend everyone ... it's raining here ... much needed rain.

Shopping trip and stuff ...

I was soooo strong! Can you belive that faced with all the gorgeous fabrics at the the quilt store in the Barossa, I managed to stick with my fabric diet! I'll be honest, I wasn't really all that tempted by the fabric. I don't have a particular project I'm shopping for right now, and because fabric is so expensive here, I find it hard to impulse buy.

Lorraine, her daughter and I travelled to the quilt store together, and afterward we came back here for a 'play-date'. She wanted to see some of my quilts, and Jasmine wanted to meet kitty. When Lorraine came into my sewing room she told me she could really understand why I didn't want to buy any more fabric right now. So I feel totally justified in being on my 'low fiber diet', and in a way worried about my stash status ... I didn't think it was THAT bad ... Of course, I'm probably just in denial *lol*!

I did buy the things you see in the picture ... a cute pattern by Kaye England, some Marti Michell templates and the second workbook, and a little more freezer paper. The freezer paper I have been working with is quite old, and I think may have lost a little of it's 'stick'. I thought if I tried some new stuff I could see if I'm expecting too much of the paper, or if it's actually old and needs to be thrown away. Can you believe that this tiny haul still cost $80.00! Quilting can be an expensive hobby ... but gosh I love it!

When I was in Paducah last year I met Marti Michell in person and she was just so lovely ... I actually had planned to find her booth because I wanted her Double Wedding Ring templates and the KaleidoRule. I ended up buying heaps of stuff. I really like the basic templates too, and plan to use them to help Amy learn more about quilting. The way the pieces cut out, it will be so helpful when she's using more interesting shapes.

And for our latest kitty fix, here she is asleep on the top of the lounge in the family room. Marty crept up on her with the camera, and she was so tired that she didn't even stir. This is the lounge which is right by my laptop, and she often comes and sits here by me when I'm at the computer.

She's a very sociable little person, and likes to be wherever we are. If she finds herself in a room where we're not, she lets out just one little meow for us to come find her.

And this I have to share ... last night I came sooooo close to finishing quilting the Winnie the Pooh Quilt. I had about the equivalent of 3 blocks left to quilt ... and I ran out of the variegated thread I'm using on the top! This quilt is challenging me in every way, it's almost like it doesn't want to be finished. I should be able to get some more thread tomorrow ... so hopefully I'll have a finish on the weekend!

I have a friend coming over for lunch today, and this morning if I have the chance, I'm going to put a couple of blocks together for Clare and Nancy. Certainly if I don't get them done this morning I'll do them this evening. How fun! Have a great day everyone x o x

USA Memories

Last year I was lucky enough to visit with my friend Linda in the USA. We were chatting on the phone this one day and discussing her upcoming trip to Paducah. I don't remember exactly how the conversation went, but one of us must have said "Why don't you (or I) come along?". And that's how it began. We travelled with some members of Linda's quilt group, and what a wonderful time it was.

For a special surprise, Linda made up some memory blocks for me, and so did Donna, Karen, Liz, Gerri, Lynn, Sue, Nancy and Kate. This month I plan to make up a quilt top with those blocks. I've made up a sweet setting with an applique block surrounded by blocks set on point. I started cutting up fabrics last night. I'll keep you posted.

This post is taking a while - I've just been on the phone to Linda for almost one hour! There is always just so much to talk about. We've been planning what projects we'll work on together this year. We'll resurrect some blocks we started a couple of years ago, and also perhaps begin work on the Civil War Diary Quilt. Our friend Donna is starting it, so what a fun project for the three of us to work on together!

But back to the pictures ... I made two DJ blocks recently - on the left, M11 - Rickshaw, and on the right, M2 - Duff's Bluff. M11 has not gone together as nicely as I'd like, but I'm going to put it with the other blocks and decide later if I'll make it again. I figure that by the end of 169 blocks I'll settle for it. M2 was super easy to make and I love the way it has come out.

A big thank you to Hanne (edit: oops that should have been May Britt - sorry hon), she sent me a link to determine the boy/girl status of kitty. It's a girl! We can now narrow down the list of names. I have a feeling we're also stalling a little on the name so that Amy may have her own input when she gets home. She called yesterday and I didn't mention the kitty, I really want her to be surprised when she comes home!

I have a day to myself today, I would like to sew sew sew ... but I have a feeling I may get sidetracked with housework. Tomorrow I am going on a visit to a quilt store in the Barossa with my friend Lorraine. I wonder if I'll be able to keep strong on my fabric diet ... patterns, books, notions and threads are fair game ... I'll let you know!

Cute hat!

This morning I finished the last stitches of the watermelon hat. I'm something of a novice knitter, and I am obviously someone who doesn't follow patterns to the letter, as my version bears little resemblance to the one that Yarn Harlot knitted. Having said that, I'm still thrilled with the result.

The original pattern had the 'seeds' stitched with a duplicate stitch. I had seen some socks with beading on the Yarn Harlot's blog, and thought it would be fun to do some beading, so prior to commencing with the pink wool, I threaded a whole pile of beads onto the wool and away I went with the knitting. The beads shouldn't be able to come off unless the hat is all unravelled. My MIL saw the hat earlier today and thinks it's mighty cute. She's a great knitter, so I feel like the hat has been given the seal of approval! A fun knit, and one that didn't take too long ... strike another of the list!

Here is our darling little (and still unnamed) kitty. Marty did a little research today on kitty's ginger status ... we had been told by two people that if it's ginger, it's a boy. After 'googling' it, we've discovered that ginger boy cats outnumber the girls 3 to 1. It's this whole chromosome thing ... so while we're happy for the kitty to be of either sex, we still kind of think it's a girl.

It's been a long time since Madaline was a kitty, and I'd forgotten how much time kittens can spend sleeping. This little fur-person goes from bouncing and bounding around the house to sleeping in what seems like a heartbeat. We've had no little accidents either ... this is one very civilised kitty. MIL is thinking she may get in touch with the friends we got her from and adopt one of the brothers or sisters. That would be so nice.

Inspired by Bonnie

Have you read Bonnie's post about her progress taming her stash? She's just so inspiring! I have been plugging away at UFO's these past few months, and trying really hard to use up my scraps, and felt like I was getting nowhere. My storage system isn't so great though, so even if I was making progress I probably wouldn't be able to see it.

I've taken heart from Bonnie's success, and I'm going to keep on working the scraps and the stash.

Thank you so much to Kim from 'A Peach in Stitches' for creating this neat button to help keep us on track. She sure is one talented girl.


Badge from A Peach in Stitches

Be sure to visit her site if you'd like to use the button, as she's kindly provided the code for us there.

Tiny fur-person

Here we have the newest member of our family. A so far unnamed (and we think a girl) ginger kitty. She arrived last night, and so far has been just a joy. I expected some fretting last night, but she was really just fine. Amy is away with my parents at the beach house and has no idea of her arrival (we were keeping it as a surprise), so imagine how thrilled she'll be when she gets home. Cam of course is loving her to bits ... hopefully not literally! More pictures after I've emptied the camera ... I'm using the phone right now.

And here is the watermelon hat I've started for my SIL's baby which is due in April. This one is coming out a bit bigger than I hoped, so next month I'll make one smaller for a newbie baby. The fun just never stops! Have a great weekend everyone!