Northern Lights are returning to Adelaide!

Just cruising around blogland and discovered this exciting news on Michelle Hill's blog. It's old news, but new to me. I went to see Northern Lights last time and truly loved it! We were in the throes of a heatwave at the time and it was just wonderful sitting on the grass late in the evening watching the lights. Can't wait! Apparently there will be even more in 2010. Wow.

Getting the hang of it, I think!

The title of this post could refer to lots of things. Not sure if Mr 9 is getting the hang of drumming (Slightly unconventional stick holding!) but he is passing on his wisdom to grandson nevertheless. (You can see grandson's sweet face in the bottom right hand corner of the photo.) When Mr 9 finishes bashing away, grandson takes over. (Usually with a more conventional style of stick holding!)

These are some of the nine patches I have been working on. I was thinking that I must be getting the hang of blogging again, but realised that's not strictly true because I am still taking photos in the middle of the night! These are for a swap. I will send mine off and get the same number back, but they will all be different and viola! A scrap quilt! (I think that's how it works!)

This is the quilt I have been practicing my free motion quilting on. It's not a big quilt, but I am only halfway through it! Kellie must be a very good concentrator. It seems to take much more concentration than I have energy for! I really do love the result though. I love quilts that are heavily quilted and this one just feels lovely. My stitch length is dreadful, but I'm sure that will improve with practice! Mr 9 was touching the quilt today and said that it felt really good. "Now I see why you sit there for so long sewing and pulling all those faces." Yes, apparently I am an animated quilter! So much so that my Bradley had to take a video yesterday of my facial expressions for the Paton family video vault! Oh well, if I can't entertain my posterity what's the point? So, what will I be sewing tomorrow? Finishing off the nine patches, some more quilting practice, and maybe playing with some split nine patches too. Maybe I'll even remember to take photos in the daylight! Maybe.

Mystery indulgence class

Saturday I went to the Patchwork Apple for a mystery indulgence class. Classes two weekends in a row! It didn't go unnoticed by Mr 9 I can tell you. I had a wonderful time. We got to stitch/embellish fabric for a cushion. Sara (the teacher) said we would be looking at fabric in a different way. I thought it was a great idea. There are so many beautiful fabrics around at the moment that demand you just look at them! Some (like this fabric I chose) are just too lovely to cut into. I decided to highlight the bird with stitching and beading. It's a little hard to see from my photos (that's what you get for taking photos in the middle of the night!) but I think it's looking great. It really was a great day and I got to hang out with Lorraine again and meet a bunch of other stitchers too! Don't know yet what I will do with it. Maybe not a cushion. Cushions have a hard life at my house! Grandson piles them up and then throws himself on them! That's called a snuggle buggle at our house. You need lots of cushions and some rugs as well and then you snuggle, a lot! I can't see a beaded cushion being very snuggly. Mrs 25 was the inventor of the snuggle buggle at our house so it's little wonder that grandson is such a devotee since his Mum is the inventor!

I am looking forward to this week of sewing. I am free motion quilting a quilt and making some nine patches for the nine patch swap. Photos to come!

My week has wings!

This week has just flown by! My Bradley spent this week in Townsville for work so it meant I had to be two parents instead of one which makes me so much busier. (I don't know how single parents do it!) Our new place (kind of not that new anymore after four months!) has a courtyard and now that our thoughts are turning to spring (it's warming up here) we are thinking about the courtyard! I am sitting outside under our new shade. My laptop is on the new table and I am contemplating just where to put the bbqs! (You know me, always feeding the 5000 so I have to have more than one bbq!)

A couple of months ago I joined a quilting group at the patchwork apple and yesterday managed to finish my Rosalie Quinlan Redwork Christmas BOM month 7 whilst there! I thought I was never going to finish that one! I was on a roll. Don't know what happened, but I obviously fell off the roll and I thought I would never finish number 7. I just have 8 and 9 to do now. Not sure if I will finish it for this Christmas, but there's always next year! I have a lot of Christmas projects rushing around in my head. I really want to have a handmade Christmas this year. I've been trying to think how I would have felt about that if my mother did that when I was a child and I realised that she did. She often made our gifts and I loved them all. We live in such a brand new, shiny, disposable, status symbol kind of world that I would like to remove that from our Christmas if I can. Too much emphasis is on what we've got and what we're getting, rather than what we are. So, on with the sewing!

Happy Birthday!

Mr 8 became Mr 9 today. (Technically, he turns 9 in a few minutes. He was born late in the evening on October 21.) Here he is with Mr 20's girl on the left and Miss 19 on the right. (He picked his best people to sit next to!) What's more fun than blowing out your candles? Lighting them yourself! He had a wonderful evening with all his brothers and sisters (and in-laws and his nephew). Time flies, doesn't it? Seems just like the other day that Mr 9 was born. He was the latest baby I ever had. He was 5 days late which seemed like forever to me! He was 11 pounds and 4 ounces (one of the big ones) and so very, very sweet. At 9 he is a laugh/riot. I guess growing up in a household of teenagers and adults sharpens your sense of humour. Happy Birthday my ashman!

Don't Look Now at Hettie's Patch!

Just setting the scene for you here. While I am writing this post Miss 23 is playing the piano in the background. I love to hear the piano! All of our girls can play (wish I could!) and the boys know the basics too. So I am having a lovely relaxed day which is perfect for this post!

This past weekend I attended a workshop run by Kellie (Don't Look Now) at Hettie's Patch. Kellie does such beautiful work! Go take a look if you are not familiar with it. Everyone had the best time and we all produced some great work! Thanks to Kellie, Lorraine, Leanne, Karen and Kate who worked so hard to give us an excellent workshop. If you ever have an opportunity to do a class with Kellie, don't hesitate. She is a great teacher with so many hints and tips that I found really valuable.

We had the opportunity to watch and listen to Kellie.............

..........and then it was down to work! At some stages during the day it was so quiet in the workroom! Just the hum of sewing machines. Of course, it wasn't that often, but we were all really inspired by Kellie's work!

This was my result. I love it, and whilst my work is not at Kellie's standard, I can see that if I practiced I would improve! I feel like I have the techniques I need to know to be successful. I think I will turn this practise piece into a pillow cover and I am going to practice on a couple of quilts this week to keep my momentum going!

Yesterday I drew this froggie on some calico. She sure is happy! She is based on one of Bronwyn Hayes' frogs from her "Chicken Little Feather" book. (Sweet book with lots of patterns and stitcheries for babies! You should rush out and buy it!) I have been thinking about things to make for babies cause Mrs 25 is pregnant and I am going to be a grandmother again. (You know you're old when you're a grandmother. You know you're really old when you are two grandmothers!) The frog's dress might give you a clue as to whether we think this baby is a girl or a boy! I think she will end up on the front of a bib!

Busy, busy!

So, I have been busy. One of the things I have been busy with is sewing machine shopping. My Bradley and I traveled far and wide in the search for a new machine for Rosemary Hill. (Yes! Despite our recent move we still live at Rosemary Hill. I have planted the requisite rosemary bush and am sticking with the "Hill" despite the fact that we now live on the plains! For those of you who don't know our city, suffice it to say that we now live close to an airport so it must be flat!) I checked out all the beautiful piecing/quilting machines that are on the market. (Gosh there's a lot these days!) Some were just perfect, except for the price! Others were just perfect, except for the colour! (Hey! We quilters are very sensitive to colour. I couldn't look at that colour every day!) It was a very confusing business. In the end I chose the Janome 6600.
Isn't it pretty! It has all sorts of features that I am really enjoying. Like a knee lift (new for me). And it sounds so pretty when I sew. Members of my family come to listen to it when I sew!

One of the reasons I went with the Janome was because my previous machine was a Janome and it was familiar. So, now that I have the new machine I must get sewing!

October?

This year really is zooming by. It is school holidays here (we're halfway through two weeks of holidays). This is what Miss 17 wore to school on casual day during the last week of term. For most kids casual day signifies a day to get out of school uniform. For Miss 17 it is a costume opportunity. She went as Wally from the "Where's Wally" books. (Waldo in the US I think) She spent the day being "found" by everyone at school! I have been busy continuing to get organised and just being busy. I have been watching re-runs of "Project Runway" on Foxtel. Not re-runs to me though, because I have never seen them before. I looooove "Project Runway"! Foxtel is partway through season 5. I find them all so inspiring. Not sure if I love the show so much cause I just like seeing people sew (What??? Sewing is my best!) or whether I just enjoy creativity - even vicariously! The show makes me think I can design clothes, so it definitely is inspiring! I have a day of sewing ahead so I must get to it!