Merry Christmas

Well it is 4.00 pm on Christmas Day, and I am sitting in my chair, typing this to wish anyone who visits a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR

I haven't completed any projects for a while, but KEEP WATCHING THIS SPACE. As there will be lots of things coming this way in the new year.

If you are driving during these holidays, take care

See you in the new year xoxoxo

Hi all, I thought I would update my blog, and add a couple of photos. I haven't been on for a while, but now am ready to show some more stuff.
Have been on an emotional rollacoaster over the last stressful months. Began with helping my dad change his accommodation to my sisters house,  his admission to hospital for 4 weeks, the birth of my 5th grand daughter and finally my fathers death, due to lymphoma & luekaemia. I have had very mixed emotions during the last few months, and am now starting to create things again.

New Grand daughter

Dad and Great Grand daughter age 3 wks

Shirt for Grand daughter age 10

                                                 

Tangled Yarn

The culprit of previous photo - 15 months old

My comfy socks are no longer, they were too loose, so I have to remake them

Thank you for *listening*. Keep visiting, as there will be more items, knitted, crocheted & quilted. Not all at once, but definately gradually.
Bye for now

Shows, knitting, new ventures, socks, gloves scarves hats

Well, I have begun knitting with my Alpaca purchases, and it feels so good. The yarn is so soft, and doesn't make me itchy like the pure woollen yarns do. I also feel that I am extremely fortunate with a purchase I made on Friday at the Royal Adelaide Show. It was miserable weather, but the animals were wonderful, especially the goats, alpacas and the reptiles. But, I digress, after communing with the goats and alpacas, I had a conversation with an alpaca owner, and discovered that there were articles of clothing (hats, gloves and scarves, etc) along with yarns and fleeces. I then ventured to the area of sale of these articles, and purchased a hat, scarf and pair of gloves, and then priced a quantity of yarn, for a knitted jacket for myself, and was pleasantly surprised by the cost. So, needless to say iq so purchased the yarn. I had (2 days previous) purchased a small amount of alpaca yarn, to make socks and gloves for my father, and have begun knitting these, and now I want to get these finished, so that I can begin my jacket. If the knitting be ones prolific, I might even begin buying fleece, and spin my own yarn, depends if there is still a spinning wheel within my family. I did take some photos at the show, so if they actually worked, I shall add them to this post later on tomorrow. I arrived home today, after 9 days in Adelaide, so now I will need to do some sorting out, so that I can get back into my sewing room. Well that is all for now, I suppose I should try to get some sleep before the sun comes up again. Blessings to all, and happy creating.

Bits & Bobs for new quilting & knitting projects

Hi all, have just had a lovely day with sister and neice. Firstly stopped in at a lovely shop, NeedleNook, and purchased some supplies to begin making socks and gloves for my ill (but improving) father. Then on to visit daughter, to return misplaced keys, then to visit father in hospital. This photo is showing a much improved (healthwise) man. He has actually filled out, and is able to walk around his room independently. This photo was taken after a very busy morning and afternoon, so he is looking a little tired.

The following photos include fabric purchased about a month ago, for a project that I am gradually formulating. The fabrics include a Geisha panel, Koi panel, and Spring Garden fabric. The knitting supplies include various knitting needles, various pattern books, and the yarn to make the projects. The grey yarn is pure Alpaca, and is for socks and gloves for my father, and the varigated yarn is made of NZ Merino, Alpaca, nylon and possum. Both yarns feel absolutely beautiful.

I am looking forward to starting work on all of these projects, the gloves and socks will be first.

Blessings to all, and happy creating

The best laid plans of mice & men

Hi all, 

Well I had a lovely afternoon, of knitting and project preparing, planned for my Sunday afternoon. The morning was spent visiting relatives, and taking 3 of my gd's for their weekly treat (if the parents think they have behaved well enough), then to home to relax. My plans were changed, due to a daughter being admitted to hospital for rest & some tests. So had a great afternoon with youngest GD. Daughter is due to have baby in about weeks, and was a little ill, she is due to be discharged today. She is well, all this was precautionary, only
We are now watching cartoons, while waiting for daughter to call. Then it will be knitting or sewing this afternoon.
Well that is all for now, thanks for reading my little notes

Crocheted Rug - UFO

I began this blanket 4 years ago, but didn't really like it, so put it away. Youngest daughtermoved to Adelaide for Uni, so have now finished it for her. It's pretty basic, but it is now finished.



Upgrading & rejuvenating

Hi all,
Have had a frustrating few days over the last few weeks. First had arranged for plumber to replace existing shower with a more user friendly one, and secondly, to replace all pipes from house to septic tank (not really a topic for quilting blog, maybe will change name to life blog). Plumber visited to assess & make quote, and didn't return for a fortnight. Shower base replaced on the Friday, hubby & I attempted to put remainder of shower together - Base was 100mm larger than ordered - so contacted retail company, requested remainder of shower be replaced for components to fit base, at no extra cost to us. This was accepted - now waiting for remainder of shower cubicle to arrive. Plumbers supposed to return on following Monday - no show!  Contacted company & advised that workers were off sick. Work began, & completed, on Tuesday, now we have a dust bowl  in the back yard & the dirt ends up in the house - yay. Anyway, enough rambling, onto something more interesting - making quilts

Blessings to All

Japanese Quilt

Well, I am slowly getting back into my quilting and other things, after very intermitent work. About 12 months ago, I purchased a beautiful Japanese Quilt Kit. put it aside until I thought I had enough experience and expertise to produce perfect work, but then I decided that it would be ok to start making the blocks, as long as I took it slowly and checked everything for each block many times. I began the first block within a few weeks of purchasing the kit, and have now almost completed this first block, but it is so pretty that I am putting a photo on my blog now. The only part not finished, is the moss at the base of the tree.
So, here is the block that I am very proud of - I thought that I would make a mess of it. Now I can begin the second block. Sorry about the sideways photo, but I don't know how to make it turn

The blocks will be posted as they are finished, then the quilt when it has been completed.

I have set myself a challenge to complete a project every 2 months. I was going to make it every month, but that sounded too close - I will see how it goes.

Blessings to all

Give away at LeKaQuilt

Hi everyone, drop over to lekaquilt for a very nice give away, it finishes in August

Almost Wedding Ring Quilt Workshop

This is the pride of my quilting accomplishments. I began this as a rank beginner, in July last year, and finally finished it in June, this year. I was very nervous about attempting this quilt, as it takes me a little while to get the concept of some things (which makes me a little slower at getting things done). On the first day of the workshop, I was so stressed by the whole thing, that I almost did not complete the workshop, but one of the other ladies gave me a bit of moral support & I completed the workshop. I am so proud of the fact that I completed the remainder of the work on the quilt, with very little assistance from anyone else. My grand-daughter loves the quilt - it was supposed to be for her 9th birthday, in October 2010, but she has got it now and it has pride of place on her bed.
In this quilt, I have also learnt how to do freehand quilting, and have also been able to add little pictures into the stitching. Unfortunately, I have not taken the photo in a way that will make this feature visible, so I cannot show off that little bit. I will be continuing to practice this skill, as I like the way it looks on the quilt.
Well, that is all for this small feature, so until next time, happy sewing and many blessings

Christmas Table Runner

Hi all, since my last post, I experienced some interesting turns. Firstly, I decided that it was time to retire, and let the yongsters step up to a higher level of responsibility - so now I can sew or quilt whenever I want. The second turn was a car crash - I escaped with no injuries, but the car was written off, so now I have a beautiful new car. On to the photo, this is a challenge for thguid that I attend, and it s a Christmas table runner. My daughter says it looks good, so I am trusting her judgement.

That's all for this post, but I hope to have more projects finished.

This I via mobile phone, so I will probably need to edit when I have internet back on track