NEARLY XMAS

Its nearly Xmas and I have finished two more gifts but still have two more to sew plus a new bag for myself. Hope i can fit it all in as well as some xmas cooking.

I decided to get little dolly beds for the twins Hayley and Chloe and they came with awfull blanket and thin matress and pillow, so Out came the fabrics and i made new matresses and pillows and a little quilt for each of them. I decided on the same fabrics so there will be no fighting but I did different backings. They look so cute sitting in the spare room and I dont know how i am going to wrap them yet.

My little next door neighbor Jessica is getting a peg bag just like mummies, pegs and a minature wash basket. Her mum mentioned that they were giving Jess a little clothes line for xmas and could I make a peg bag, it was a great idea and I had just the fabric in my stash.

I have to finish a cow for my sister and i also need a new bag so a little bit of time is set aside to do these last two pressies. I wish you all a safe and happy Xmas and hope you all get some lovely gifts. Bye for now, Judy

FLOWERS ON THE FARM

DH and I have just spent four days down at the farm. We went to help celebrate two of my grandkids birthdays and we had a lovely time. Each day we go for long walks around the farm and I thought i would take photoes of the flowers I came across.

These are the pods on the wattle tree and I liked their silver colour, this tree will look great when it bursts into bloom.

This bush was a mass of white flowers and looked pretty spectacular. It is a yucca.

This is the yellow gum flowers and they are very dainty and the tree was just covered in them.

Here we have some blackboys in flower and birds just flock to these to get the nectar. They are very plentiful around the farm and when the blooms die they turn black. this one was about 5 feet tall. Some of them were not as straight as these but they still looked interesting.

The red bottlebrush was really vibrant and was my favourite because of the brilliant colour.

This is the broom bush and grows everywhere and is used for brush fences. The flowers are very small but dainty

This is a gravilea and not yet into full bloom but when it is the bush is a sight to behold. i hope I have spelt it right.

This is the chicory plant and I really liked the blue of the flower but this photo does not do it justice. This plant roots is used as a substitute for coffee and I think its the root that is ground up.

I hope you enjoy these plants like i have and so goodbye for now, Jude

A BIRTHDAY GIFT

Hi all, Ihave been ill again and spent 4 days in bed without even feeling like sewing or blogging but back on track now and hoping to get to all my Xmas sewing and swaps that I must fulfill.
Next week DH and I are going to visit no. 2 daughter and family as my 2 Gchildren both have birthdays.
I had bought this cradle at a Fair for Emma and decided to make a quilt to make it more personal from nan. I found a pattern in a book and down sized it to fit and had it sewed in a few hours and last night I just had to hand sew the binding. I was very pleased at how it turned out and I hope little Emma enjoys playing with it.
This is the quilt and littkle pillow.

I thought I might as well show you the cradle as well and I got it for a bargain price. I cleaned it with detergent and a spray with disinfectant and it looks lovely.

Thats all for now as i have to pick DH up from work as he is on 3 weeks holiday and after the farm visit i hope we can get away for a few days in the caravan. Cheers for now Jude.

A XMAS GIFT AND A TABLE RUNNER

I have just finished a quilt for my twin Gd`s for xmas. It will hang between their beds and I hope they enjoy it for a few years to come .My friend Heather found it in a magazine and told me nd I couldn`t resist making it. It is in Australian Quilters Companion volumes 41 and 42. There is a lot of hand sewing and it uses tecniques I havent used before. it took several weeks to complete and I am very pleased with the end result.


This is the table runner I made yesterday, it is a quick and easy pattern to do. It is a free pattern from Dawn Hay from the Gumtree designers and you can access it from the button on my side bar. ihave several more to make and they will make lovely Xmas pressies.

Sorry for not posting sooner but I have had a few health problems lately and also family down for a visit. Hope to get back sooner and thats it from me for now. Cheers Judy

BIRTHDAY QUILT AND FROSTY FLAKES WALL HANGER

hi all, have been under the weather but feeling better now so decided to show my latest finishes.
This is the quilt I made for my GD`s 4th birthday she is a bright and bubbly little girl and likes flowers so when i saw this pattern I new it would be for her. She will get it next week along with a game of Hungry Hippo, a game her mum played as a child.

I also have finished my Frosty Flakes wall hanger from the free pattern from Dawn Hay Designs and I am very pleased with the results. DH said and where does that one go. i said it only goes up for about 6 weeks for the Xmas period and i will take down a small wall hanging to do so and give it a clean and a rest.

I have started a new project for the twins for Xmas and i am loving it. It has some techniques that I havent used before and when finished i will give you a peek. Gotta go now as its time for morning tea . Bye Judy

A SHORT BREAK AND SOME CUTIES

Last week DH and I visited Victor Harbor for a short break with DD`s family. We took our twin GD`s for a stroll along the beachfront, did some shopping, lots of talking and playing games with the girls and plenty of sight seeing.

Here is a view across to granite island. It was a little cold but we still enjoyed our walk.

We watched a handler hitch uo Carmen to the tram to begin the daily tours over to the island.

We wore the girls out running along the beach and playing in the playground and they fell asleep on the way home .
I cant tell which is Chloe or hayley as they are very alike.

This is Emma my youngest GD who has been in Adelaide for a couple of days. She really loved her fairy costume and wanted to wear the wings all day. She ran around saying "I pretty" and was very cute.

She also wanted everyone to see her wings. Must go now as i am going to the Quilters Guild meeting tonight. bye for now.

A LIBRARY BAG AND SOME QUILTS

The library bag.

A busy week sewing to finish some quilts and a library bag for my GS who is starting kindy next term. Leonie my DD rang to ask where she would buy a library bag for Charlie as she had not seen them in the shops, Dah dont I sew, oh she forgot or this was a backway sneaky idea for me to offer to make one. I did and was happy to do so.

This morning at 8AM Charlie rang to thank me for his bag and said he really liked the cars and he also had to tell me he was going to the sheep yards to help dad and hoped I had had a good nights sleep as Papas snores and he might keep me awake.

Here is one of the 3 quilts I have finished and will be xmas gifts for my 3 DDs. They are flannel and a very simple 4 patch square next to a solid square and they have turned out very nice in my opinion.

This is the back and I had some left over squares and wanted to use them up and make the backs a little bit more interesting. I hope they like them to snuggle into when they watch TV next winter.

I wanted to show you this quilt as well. I initially made it for my GD but after I put it on the spare bed I couldnt take it off, so now all the Gkids get to sleep under it when they visit. It is Teddies garden By Libby Richardson and I really like doing stitcheries.

Bye for now and happy stitching.

BUSY BUSY BUSY

Hi all, sorry for not blogging sooner but I have ben very busy doing Xmas sewing. I had several gifts to make for my Tuesday sewing groups secret santa and I am glad they are finished and wrapped ready for opening at our Xmas party. In all we had 12 gifts to either buy or make following the 12 days of Xmas song. We could interpret each number how we wanted, wether we chose the theme of the song or used the number and added that amount of small gifts to the pressie. i made most and hope the recipients are going to like them. I also have been sewing flannel quilts for my 3 DDs for Xmas that have been in my ufo box for a coupkle of years. last but not least I have been making my second oldest GD a quilt for her 4th birthday coming up in October. I hope they dont check out my blog and get a peek of their gifts.


This is a little peek of Brookes Birthday quilt and it is very bright for a bubbly little girl.

Here are 2 of the flannel quilts finished and the last one is pinned and ready to quilt after finishing the birthday quilt.

I also have been enjoying doing Dawn`s free Frosty Flakes wall hanger and now only 2 more to go before assembling. well thats all for now as the GGs will be here shortly and I have to pack away the birthday quilt, i will try to get back soon with some more updates. Cheers Judy.

HEXIES AND A SEWING LESSON

I`m in a swap on HANDMADE magazine and I have recieved my blue and yellow hexie from Dawn and finished my hexie for miss nance and I must remember to mail it tomorrow.This will be an ongoing swap and I1m hoping to get enough to make a lap quilt.The hexie below is the third in Dawns free block of the week and I am really liking doing this as I can finish my hexie in a couple of hours, so thanks Dawn.

I am teaching my 5 yo GD to sew and today we made a bookmark for her to give mum for Xmas.

Here she is sewing around the edges on one end of her bookmark and as she is left handed it is a bit difficult for me to show her how to hold it as I am right handed.

Here Jade proudly shows off her finished bookmark and I hope her Mum doesn`t take a peek at my blog and spoil the surprise. Next week we will make one for her Dad.

A XMAS GIFT AND THE FIRST 2 FROSTY FLAKES BOM

I have made this for my DD for xmas and will lay it over a red or green cloth to make it stand out. It is from a free pattern from dawn hay designsand I just extended it for the size of my DDs table and having made it for Xmas I added holly leaves/ berries instead of the flowers and I hope she will like it.

This is block 1 and 2 from dawnhayfree BOM Xmas snowflakes and I love them. I went for all blue as I wanted it to remind me of cold winter Xmases in Europe unloke our hot sweaty ones here. Thanks to Dawn for such a lovely project to be completed in just 9 weeks, plenty of time before Xmas so no pressure.

THE SHEARERS AND A BABY QUILT.

A quick trip to the farm for a rest for me (lol as two of my Gchildren live there) and for DH to help our SIL around the farm tidying up the chemicals shed.

This picture is out of order it should be the last one as it shows the men grading the wool and pulling of the daggy bits.

This is the shearers working hard to get the job done. I don`t think I could bend over all day doing this job. It must be hard on your back.

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The shearer in the middle is wearing a special back sling and it helps to take the pressure off your back when you have to be bent over all day. This is not a job I would like to be doing.

And this is a quilt for a new baby Lucy Rose who is a welcome addition to friends of my DD.I hope to visit tomorrow if I can finish the binding tonight. The pattern is from Dawn Hay Designs and is apattern she sells and donates the monies to charity for the children of Baseco.

OUR TWINS TURN 2 YO

Our adorable twin have recently turned 2YO and came for a sleepover at nannies and we had a special lunch together.This is mum with Chloe ( I think) and she has really enjoyed her lunch.

I hope this is Hayley, but I may be wrong as they are very much alike. They are lovely little girls but get into a lot of mischief and I think this is because they lead each other astray.

This is Papa reading a book and tthey love to read and are always bringing books or puzzles for you to help them with. We had a great couple of days together and then off they went back home to see daddy.

FINISHED AT LAST

I finally have delved into my UFO box and finished 2 projects and I still have about 6 more to go.


This one is from Xmas 2009. It was a sew along from Gail Pan and I had finished the stitcheries but couldn`t decide on how to finish. I decided to add an extra border and add some more words explaining that it was what I wanted at Xmas time and then I just sewed on and it was finished.

This is a doily that I started at a workshop nearly 2 years ago. It is Butterflies and Blossoms by Leanne Beasley and was easy to do except for adding the ricrac, I didn`t have the right size ricrac and it was hard to get it on where you could see it on the border. Much reverse sewing to get it right and it still is not even all the way around. But I guess a bloind man would be happy to see it.

FEEDING TIME

I recently visited my daughter and family at the farm. At this time of year they are well and truly into lambing and calving and there is always an orphan or two or they may have been rejected by their mums. For whatever reason the babies end up back at the house ready to be hand raised by willing children with mums help.

Here is my GS feeding a lamb and he wouldn`t smile for Nan so I took the photo anyway. They can drink a full bottle of special lamb milk in a minute or two and still want more.


My GD also wants to feed the orphans but she is too little to hold the heavy bottle of milk so she pretends after they have eaten.

The calf gets fed from a trough with attached nipple because he is too strong for the kids and would knock them over trying to get to the milk. He gets the formula made specially for cows.

Then its back to the house to do the washing up and little Emmas bucket is nearly as big as she is.

A BIRHDAY PRESENT AND MY NEW BABY

My twin GD`s turned 2 yo yesterday and I had bought them a "Megasketcher' each as they liked playing with them at a friends home. I also sewed them a baby bunting blanket/sleeping bag for their dolls as last time i was there i spent a lot of time wrapping their dollies in baby blankets. So now I`m hoping they can do it for themselves.
At the weekend I bought myself a new laptop, I have been checking them out for sometime and asking the IT guy at DH`s work what he thinks of the brand I like. With his guidance and help from the guys at the computer store I settled on a Toshiba and now I have to learn all the new things on it and where they are located.

MY CUSHION

I finally decided to bite the bullet and finish the cushion that I started with Kellie. It was a bit daunting and some of my free motion quilting is a bit wonky but I kept going until it was done. Then another 20 minutes later and the cushion was together and then only the binding to go. I couldnt remember how to finish the binding so I had to wait until Tuesday and get help from Dawn. I joined the ends and finished the binding over a chat and a coffee, put the insert in and I was pleased with my efforts. I will need more practise before I attempt my next project using raw edge applique and free motion quilting.