More easter sewing

An easter basket for Grandson. Here it is before chocolate. I like it a lot!

Bling, bling baltimore class

Blogger thinks you want to view this photo from this angle. Who am I to disagree. After all, I am only the person who took the photo and prepared it for uploading to blogger. If you can pick up your laptop/monitor and view it the other way I heartily recommend you do so. It just looks so "wrong" from this angle! This is the result of my journey to the Patchwork Apple on Saturday for the Bling Bling Baltimore class taught by Wendy Whellum. She taught us a version of applique called back basting. What did I think of it? In all probability it is a fairly simple method to use. I have never really done much needle turn applique so I don't have very much experience with it. You know me, I'm kind of addicted to my sewing machine. Apparently you can even do the basting bit with your machine. I may give it a try. Just another project started. Am I getting close to the guiness book of records for the most starts in a month?

Cloudy, with rain.........

Woke up this morning to a gloomy day. Never fear, least you think this may become an Eeyore kind of post! I loooooove gloomy days! (I also happen to love Eeyore. I much prefer a sensible, down-to-earth pessimist any day! I'm also quite partial to the anxiety-ridden Piglet. Hmm...... wonder what that says about me?) No sun shining in my eyes as I walked out the door this morning. Lovely. And then, it rained! Just to complete my day! It has been a wonderful day!!!

• I just want to point out here to all those of you who think I may have lost my mind, we don't actually have that many cloudy days here. Mostly the sun shines so brightly that you have to wear protective eyewear (sunglasses!) whenever you venture out. If the sun was hidden from us for long periods of time, I am sure I would miss it. As it is.........
  

This week..........

It's been an interesting week. If you had asked me just how much I get done each week (sewing or otherwise) I would have answered very little. This week I have discovered that is just not true. My back caused me to rest this week and I truly got very little done! Apart from the easter egg decoration from earlier in the week, this is the sum total of my efforts this week.

Block one from Leanne Beasely's Butterfly Garden. It is just together in it's roughest form. I still have applique and embroidery to do on it.

I know, I know! Why am I starting another project? I guess most of you know that I joined Peg and Kris' finishing group OPAM (One Project a Month) and have done very little finishing! I think I probably should have joined a starting group, because I just seem to be just brilliant at that! I guess I just get itchy feet. Or bored. Or I need distracting. Something! In fact I will be starting something else again tomorrow as I'm off to a class at the Patchwork Apple. There's no stopping some of us! It will be fun to go to the patchapple tomorrow cause the lovely Jane has just become a grandmother. Much excitement! You can check out her beautiful new granddaughter by clicking on the link to her blog.

This is just something else I started recently. An easter dress for my own granddaughter. (Must finish it! I heard easter is next week!) She is a month old now. Boy, does time fly! Hope you have a great weekend, and make sure you start something new for me!

Resting . . . . . . sort of.

I couldn't wait till Tuesday to see the physio and found one yesterday. I was so sore afterwards, which is par for the course I think. Today I am resting. Sort of. Saw some eggs like these on the Moda Bakeshop and fell in love. I thought today would be a good day to make some easter goodness. Above is the before shot, and below the after shot. I got the polystyrene eggs from Spotlight a couple of weeks ago and the fabric is "snippets" from my stash. I am excited by the eggs and they are not even dry yet! Off to the physio again tomorrow. Back to more "resting"!

Women and children first!

Mr 15 has been talking about burning this ship for a long time. Last night he actually did it. (Miss 17 took the 2nd and 3rd photos) We all enjoyed the show. The spectacle. It took about 15 minutes to burn.
I have been struggling with back pain for........... well, too long actually. All the smart people I know have been saying for ages, "go get that checked!" Now even I wish that I had heeded their advice. I am in so much pain!!! This has been a very hard weekend. Nothing has been accomplished. My physio appointment is not until Tuesday, if I live that long!!! Hope your weekend was more productive than mine! Have a great week! (One of us needs to!!!)

Duelling Machines

This post was inspired by Miss Mary's post over at White Clover Stitches. Read it here.


So today we have had duelling sewing machines here. That's because we are sewing two shaggy flannel quilts. A manly one. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

and a girly one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yep, Mr 15 and I are sewing quilts together. (He is beating me!) He is making the "manly" quilt for himself and I am making the "girly" quilt just to be companionable. Mr 15 is a great sewer, but hasn't made a quilt before so I thought making a quilt alongside him would be a good way to show him what to do. Of course, he isn't just making a quilt. He is also playing his favourite online game at the same time. (Talk about talent!) What have you been doing today?

Tarts

A bbq tray full of tart slices. Hmm..... This week I am thoroughly sick of pies and tarts. It is such a long term project and today I am over it. I think I really need to finish something. (ANYTHING!) The only problem is that just about everything I am working on at the moment is a long term project. Okay, enough whinging. I guess I will just have to start and finish something small next week! Now, for something cheerful and uplifting. Pop over here to my daughter's blog to see super-cute photos of my grandchildren.

Confessional.........

I know there are some regular readers of this blog who have been wondering just how I can afford to buy all the quilting fabric I buy. (Don't be shy, you've all had this question in your head. I can tell.) Well, since this is the confessional post, I will tell you. I don't buy my children any clothes. Well, just one outfit per child and the rest of the money I should spend on clothes goes straight to my fabric purchasing account. Those of you who are observant will have noticed this for yourselves. If you doubt the truth of this, just scan my last few posts. Look out for Mr 9. He is wearing the same outfit in every single post!!! I discovered this last night as grandson and I lay on my bed reading my blog. (Grandson is one of my blog's biggest fans. He loves looking at photos of himself, his sister, and his aunts and uncles.) I called Mr 9 in to show him and he said, "Yeah, of course! It's my favourite!" Okay, so he does have more than one outfit. I just wish he didn't, cause he never wears the others!!! More confessions follow.

• I am quilting grandson's quilt (see photo above). I have been working on this quilt for more than two years. His newborn sister already has her quilt. He is still waiting.

• I often blog about "pies and tarts". This is a misnomer. At best I could blog about pies and tart because I have only finished one tart, and that was quite recently. Here it is appliqued to the quilt. Mostly when I talk about "pies and tarts" I just mean pies.

Okay, enough confessing for today! I'm off to work on my pies.

Grandson helps!

Still working on pies. Yesterday grandson came over to help me. He discovered my leather thimble and it suddenly became the tickle thimble with both him and Mr 9 being ticklers and tickled. Ahh..... I love the sound of applique pins in the morning!

Round and round the tree!

Granddaughter was blessed this weekend. We took the opportunity to get together at a nearby park. Grandson had a wonderful time! (Granddaughter just slept! She's like that.) He played chasey around a tree. My niece and nephew helped him chase Mr 9. (Notice that grandson and my niece are matching! Almost as if there had been a phone conference before they left home in an effort to co-ordinate their outfits!!! Not that anyone here ever does that!!!) Much squealing with delight and surprise and a lot of play acting on everybody's behalf. Great afternoon!

Pies and Tarts

This weeks pies and tarts. I am humming along now with the pies. I have a system and stitching them together now seems easier than ever before. I stitch them whenever I watch tv or have to leave the house and wait. I am about halfway through month 3. (I pick up month 5 some time in March) Behind still, but plodding along. I have put one tart together to get some feeling for how they go. Quick! Very quick compared to the pies! A weeks worth of stitching!

Ooops!

Spent today sewing. I was determined to finish round 2 on the paper bag swap I have had hanging around all month. And I did it. Not only finished it, but delivered it to the patchwork apple as well! Of course, in my hurry, I forgot to take a photo. I figured that my bin was the only proof that some creating had gone on here! I wasn't terribly happy with what I had done, but am focusing on round three. Onward and upward!

Being an uncle when you are still a kid. (It's great!)

We had the joy of spending the day with Mrs 25 and her family this week. We took a vote. Granddaughter is the most beautiful baby in the world. Mr 9, Mr 15 and Miss 13 are all madly in love with her. Miss 17 is just as head over heels, but I didn't manage to snap her. They all vote that being an uncle and aunt is the best ever.

Of course, this new arrival hasn't dampened our enthusiasm for Grandson. He is a walking, talking genius! Every time we get to spend time with him he does something new that amazes us. We all play and play and play when he comes over. He makes sure of it! And he loves his new sister with a passion. Being a grandmother is pretty darn good too! (For those of you who have asked, my Bradley and I are Ma and Pa to our grandchildren. We tossed around all sorts of ideas, but decided to make ourselves Ma and Pa. Possibly after Ma and Pa Kettle - we do have a lot of children. Or maybe after the Larkins. (Ma and Pop) Who doesn't love "The Darling Buds of May"? Right now grandson calls us both Ma. We are an interchangeable unit obviously. I like being considered to be the same as my Bradley!) So, indulge me and look at these photos of my children admiring my child's child!

Northern Lights

Previous readers of this blog will know that I was a huge fan of Northern Lights last time around. (Two years ago during the Adelaide Festival) Well, it's back. It started last Friday and this year it runs until April 11, so I will be going again for sure. My son-in-law's sister (aren't by marriage relationships funny! I'm not related to her at all, but feel compelled to mention the relationship!) said that this year's Northern Lights was waaaaay better than the last one. I was skeptical. I was truly in love with it last time. How could it be waaaay better? It was! Some of the pictures were a little flowery, but I got over that. Didn't have time to see it all last night, but I can go often. So, here are my least blurry photos.

March. Autumn even.

March today. Autumn today. So glad we are heading away from summer and towards cooler weather. I have lots to do this month. Here's my March list.

• organise cupboards
• paper bag swap
• pies and tarts
• new block of the month
• practice machine quilting
• Miss 23's quilt
• class at the Patchwork Apple

Hardly looks long at all! Might do them all tomorrow before lunch I think! Oh! Something I didn't put on the list, going to see Northern lights. Can't wait! Photos to come. . . . . . . .