This week...

It's the last day of April, and I'm struggling to recall what I have done with this month. I had a whole month before me and I......... did very little? Other than spending an awesome week with Ms Loz, April kind of passed by unnoticed.

I did go to AQC and saw lovely quilts like this favourite that I snapped with the old iphone. I want to make something equally eye-catching.

And I did spend a lovely time at the Quilted Crow for a Bonnie Sullivan class. I wonder if those Crow Girls realise what a glorious building they work in? Such a beautiful place!

I went to the Patchwork with Gail B's sale too and bought some lovely fabrics that are screaming out to be sewn. Perhaps I just need to finish something! On to May I think. Onwards and upwards!

American Jane table runners

I have been working on these snowball blocks for what seems like months, and finally this afternoon they are all together. I am working on three table runners at once which means that all three are now ready for basting and then quilting. Hooray! So pleased. Now I am off to deal with the washing. (People here keep insisting on wearing clothes. Clean ones that is. Off to the salt mines laundry!)

My sewing room

 I have been putting the finishing touches to the sewing room this week. (Code for trying to find a home for those last few things that you never have any idea what to do with, but you think you still might need!) You can see tables, shelves, cupboards and chairs under the window. I am hoping to have a couch under the window eventually. Thought I had bought one on Gumtree, but the guy changed his mind and sold it to someone else half an hour before we were due to pick it up. Cause they could come earlier to pick it up. (You made the time dummy!) Anyway, that's my Gumtree rant. I think I have come to the conclusion that Gumtree is for people who can't handle the commitment of eBay and the possibility of bad feedback.

I am so close to having the sewing room done, but still seemingly so far from actually sewing. Hopefully that will be remedied today at some point. I do have something "making" to show you though. Maxim19 (yep, he had a birthday!) has his chain maille set up on the table at the moment. It is four in one chain maille (which means that each ring has four others going through it apparently) and it is absolutely lovely fabric. I've thought previously that a metal outfit would be truly uncomfortable to wear, but I am rethinking that. It would certainly be heavy, but this chain maille is so fluid and almost soft to the touch. Just like fabric really. Expensive fabric.

So after this blog post is published I am off to write a list and then get sewing!

This week

I have been busy this week. I spent the beginning of the week in Tasmania with Granny Loz and the rest of the week in Melbourne with her. We had the best time hanging out and stitching.

Shortly after we got home from Tassie Molly20 went home. (You didn't even know she was visiting, right? She was having a sad time and needed to come home to hang out with her family!) Jetstar must have been involved in a plot to keep Molly here with us. She eventually ended up home, 2 1/2 hours after she was scheduled to arrive there.

Thursday saw Loz and I visiting AQC. We made a day of it and saw so many pretty things and caught up with so many awesome quilty/crafty people. It was a great day!

Friday Loz went home. It was hard to say goodbye to my stitching buddy. We had such an awesome week together! Today I rounded off the week by food shopping. Wonder what next week holds?

Hobart and Crow Central

 I spent last weekend in Hobart at the Quilted Crow for a class with Bonnie Sullivan. Loz and I took the opportunity to meet up and hang out together in Hobart. We had a great weekend, with stitching, sight-seeing, and catching up with friends.

Crow Central

The Quilted Crow is located in an old church, which makes a fantastic backdrop for the shop. It is a stunning building and I couldn't help but take dozens of photos of it's architecture. I didn't manage to get a photo of the project we were making or a photo of my work in progress, but that's a small omission! You can pop over to Loz's blog if you want to see such sensibleness. (Link above) 

The project itself (a table runner) is absolutely beautiful and I have been stitching it all weekend. I am keen to get it finished and on my table! We flew home to Melbourne from Hobart last night and the fun isn't over yet because Loz is hanging out at my place for a while. (We might even be making a trip to AQC later this week.)

For now I am enjoying the cooler weather (turn on the heater and pass the quilt!) and the stitching!

A Day in the Country

 So today I had a day in the country. At Millrose Cottage to be specific. A couple of weeks ago I read about a great class that Jodie Carleton (of ricrac fame) was running at Ballan. The class not only involved the talented Jodie, but also a Gocco Printing machine. Be still my beating heart! I have wanted to use one of those printing machines since the 80's. Jodie was doing a bit of advertising for the class via her blog and I was certain I wanted to go. The only catch? It was a kids class. Cool. I have kids. We would be there! So today my little girl (picklesticks) and I drove to Ballan for a printing class. (After leaving her little girls and boy with their Aunts and Uncles.)

my little girl at work

We had the best time. Jodie was just as lovely as her reputation and the Gocco was every bit as wonderful as I dreamt it would be.

wet prints drying

And Millrose Cottage was lovely too. I got a great book and Jess got some lovely fabric. And we printed stuff! Jodie is a genius and made it so that we each got a piece of everyone's printing. Now I just have to work out what to make with it all!

April

 It's April, which is already rushing away from me! Really I should be spending my days finishing the quilting on this quilt, but...

... for some reason it's just not happening. I have spent today rearranging my sewing room. I shifted rooms last month? I think. Or the month before? And nothing is quite set up properly yet. In fact, I don't actually know where everything is even. The whole thing is just not working so I thought I would rearrange the room and do some tidying. I'm not finished yet, but it's getting late so I'm off to bed. Hopefully I will get a bit closer to finished tomorrow.

I thought I would leave you with a blurry photo of the town hall that Maxim18 built for our Lego village just before Christmas. (I say that as though everyone builds a Lego village for Christmas, complete with a train running through the village. You all do, don't you?) He designed this himself. He's quite brilliant at building Lego structures. This week we have picklesticks and the grandies still with us, but Maxim18, Lily16 and Asher12 are off on a Pioneer Trek which makes the house quite quiet.

Trek is a re-enactment of the pioneers who journeyed west with handcarts in the USA in the 1800's. It involves dressing up (you know my kids love dressing up! Lily16 made her skirt, apron and bonnet.) and a lot of walking, whilst pulling a handcart. This is what they looked like at 6:30am the day they left. I can't wait for them to get home! I think they will be much dirtier, and very tired, but awfully glad to be home with all of our 21st century luxuries. Here they are with the group they went with.

Must get off to bed I think, especially if I'm going to be sorting tomorrow! The sooner I sort, the sooner I can get to that quilting!