A FINISH AND SOME GIFTS

I have just finished a sew a long on Craft Lovers blog and Decided to make my blocks into this table runner. I think it will come to live in one of my daughters homes as its not really me colour scheme.

I am making Xmas placemats ( will show them when I have finished them) for my youngest daughter as it is her turn to host our Xmas lunch this year and I had some fabric left over. I have made so far 18 coasters and I will be giving them to the St John volunteers of TTgully division at their Xmas dinner as I will be attending it with my DH who is a member. I hope they will like my little gift.

Last year the Quilters Guild of SA issued each member who attended the Xmas breakup with a fat quarter and challenged us to create  something with it. I have made a table centre and fussy cut the snowman print and turned them on point so where ever you view it a snowman is watching you. I also added some snowflake stitcheries and I am pleased with the result. Our Xmas breakup for 2011 is this Thursday and it will be interesting to see what other quilters have made.

Bye for now as I still have 14 more placemats to finish. Jude

A SHORT BREAK

Hi all, Sorry for not posting for so long but I have been very busy. I flew to Sydney to visit my eldest daughter and family and then came home did the washing and went to Stansbury with my middle daughter and her family. We do this every year and it is a great time to relax and recharge ready for Xmas.

 Here are Emma and I trying to cool off in the ocean at Stansbury on the Yorke Peninsular last week.
We had some hot days in the high 30s and some very windy days and a bit of rain thrown in for good luck. We built sand castles, dug holes to sit in, walked for miles finding sea shells and had a great relaxing time. Emma was digging in the sand and was very surprised when she pulled up her spade and it had a sweet little crab on it. One of its brothers bit me on the back of the thigh and for little crabs they certainly can give you a nip.

This is a close up of Emma`s crab. She was so excited and had to run and show Mum her catch of the day. Home again now and must get down to it and sew all my Xmas gifts. Bye for now Jude

HOW MY BLOG NAME CAME TO BE

Hello to everyone and thanks to Dawn for initiating this post on how we name our blogs.
I have sewed for a number of years and then quilting found me and now I am totally addicted.Then Dawn said "Lets set up a blog for you", I didnt know what that was goin to start.Dawn showed me how to set up and operate my blog and said think what I wanted to call it. All sorts of ideas flittered through my head but didnt seem right, then I remembered what my DH had said to some visitors. At that time I did not have a sewing room and my projects and fabrics would be carefully placed around my home for my convenience meaning that most surfaces had some sewing item on them. With nowhere to sit without dislodging  my works my DH said, " just push it onto the floor thats just Judes stuff that she is working on. It stuck in my mind and was just perfect to use as my blog name.
PS I now have a very large sewing room to keep my STUFF in but some still manages to creep out into the family areas, you just cant trust some projects to stay put now can you.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my blog name. now off to read some others.
cheers Jude

MY NEW QUILT AND A GIFT

I cant believe how many UFOs I am completeing plus all of my other sewing commitments.
Here are two more to share with you

I started this replica of a postage stamp quilt about 3 years ago and recently found it in the cupboard and decided it deserved to be completed. It is constructed using assorted scraps cut into 21/2inch squares. There are 30 blocks consisting of 49 of the squares plus double sashing all around, so it is a very large quilt. I origanally wanted it for our caravan, but now its finished and I like it on my bed. Even my DH agrees that it looks right there and brightens the room. I found a vintage sheet at an op shop for just $2.00 and I have used it on the back along with a panel of the 2 1/2 inch squares, sorry forgot to take a photo and my dear friend Dawn quilted it for me on her quilting machine as I could never had done it on my domestic machine.

At Xmas I gave my 3 daughters a flannel quilt as their gift and my SIL Richard asked where was his soft, cuddly quilt. I found another UFO in the cupboard that I had started at least 8 years ago and put aside as I didnt like it. I pulled it apart and remade it using the 16 patch blocks with solid blocks and left overs for the border. I didnt have enough fabric for the back so I sewed more squares and sewed them with the little bit of fabric I had left and was very pleased with how it turned out. Richard now has a two sided quilt and I am pleased with its rebirth. This is the back on first and below is the front.

The front has turned out quite nice and I am glad that it is finally finished. Richard will get it in November along with hes sons and daughters quilt. their birthdays are all within 7 days of each other so we can all celebrate together when we go on holiday at the beach.
Bye for now Jude

A GIFT AND A UFO

My DH`s Aunt Margaret with her new quilt that we gave to her on moving to Adelaide to live.

This finally finished UFO was one that was on the net as a sew a long, and I liked it as it looks crisp and clean with the white fabric and was the first quilt I have done using all white borders.I gave Margaret the choice of this one or the one from my previous post and she liked both but settled on this as it suited her bedroom colours.
I am off to Sydney next week to visit my DD and family as I miss them since they moved, and as it is school holidays over there I get to spend more time with my 2 little GD`s.
Now off to do my next UFO and will blog again when I get home.
 Cheers Jude.

ANOTHER UFO COMPLETED

I have finished another UFO and I quilted it on my domestic machine and did scrolly things on the border. I still need more practice but am pleased with what I have done. I found another 2 UFOs in the cupboard and have added them to my list to finish by the end of the year. I only have to finish the  hand sewing on my next quilt and thats another one to my total for this year. My DH said to me the other day what about your AFO?...I looked at him blankly and asked what he meant and he replied..ANTICIPATED FINISHED OBJECTS, I guess he has seen the long list of things i wish to do before my eyesight fails and I cant sew anymore. I didnt realise he was that interested in what I was creating. Well cheers for now Jude. 

TWO MORE GIFTS FINISHED

I have been busy completing UFOs, sewing birthday and Xmas gifts and doing some secret Santa challenges. I had made this year the one to do those UFOs and have surprised myself by completing so many. My friend Dawn from AS SWEET AS CINNAMON has helped by machine quilting the quilts at a very reasonable price. I have two sitting in the sewing room that Dawn has quilted over the past two weeks waiting for me to finish the binding and one more ready to take to her next week that has been in my cupboard for about three years. Then I will see how many more there are hiding around in the house. Do your quilts hide from you like mine do? Well their time is up, so look out quilts I will find you.

This is a note book I have done for my little neighbor next door for her 6th birthday and we went over and had songs and cake for afternoon tea.

This quilt that was hiding from me for so long is a birthday gift for my eldest grandson Charlie. He will be 5yo in November the day after his sister Emma turns 3yo and they both will get their first quilt from Nan. I showed Emma`s in my last post. Time to go now to seek out those othr quilts.
cheers Jude.

TWO FINISHES PLUS AN OLDER ONE

This quilt was in the making for at least 2 years and I finally got the inspiration to finish it. I also needed to get it done by November for my GD Emmas 3rd birthday. It is called Truly Scrupmsious by Cinderberry Stitches and Emma will love it as she likes her possessions to be pretty.

This one is Tis The Season and is a quilt I have done from a SAL organised bt Chookyblue. It was an easy quilt to stitch and I chose to do it in a hand dyed varigated red/ green thread with a little bit of gold thread sewn on each block to give it a bit of contrast. I quilted it on my machine and I think I need a bit more practice before I get all my stitching lines straight.

This quilt as yet I dont know who will be its owner I made a couple of years ago and got my friend Dawn to quilt it for me on her quilting frame. It is a pattern called Turning 20 and uses 20 fat quarters that are cut in the same way and then reassembled using pieces from each pile. A very quick way of doing a quilt.

Cheers for now Jude

SOME PRETTY FLOWERS

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately and some I will share as soon as I can charge the camera, others I cant as they are secret Santa gifts. I had my DD and her family visit at the weekend and my dear twin GD`s gave me some lovely daffodils. They had been to visit friends in the Adelaide Hills and they had a field full of these beautiful blooms. Lucky me to get a bunch and they reminded me of my maternal Grandfather who used to grow them in his garden and give bunches to my Mother. So it was nice to recieve them and to bring back memories of my Granddad.

EARLY XMAS GIFTS

I have just sewed some cushion covers for my sister using a quilt from Ikea and had lots of the quilt leftover, I didn`t want to waste it so I have decided to make place mats for my DDs for Xmas. I made up a couple for DH and myself to use from scraps in my stash but I need to get a xmas charm pack (or 2) to make up my DDs. Will go shopping and show you all when I have finished them. Bye for now Jude

LOTS OF QUILTING FINISHED

hi all , been very busy lately but finally have time to do some blogging. I have also been doing some sewinf for charity and had lots of visitors, Back on track now and I hope to blog more regularly. Sorry I posted my photos in the wrong order, hope you can still enjoy looking at my latest creations.

The quilt is 98 inches square and I had to split the wide backing to make it big enough to quilt so I added some leftover pieces of fabric to make the right size and was pleased at how it looked. My friend Dawn quilted the centre on her quilting machine and then I straight stitched around the borders.

Close up of the sawtooth blocks used.

I made this quilt for my eldest daughter Megan and hubby Mark for a going away gift. Mark was promoted and they are moving to Richmond air base NSW in 3 days. I am happy for his promotion but sad as my girls will now be living 16 hours away by road and I wont be able to do crafty things with them as often as I do now. Guess I will be getting lots of frequent flyer points now. I made pillow cases to go with it and was very pleased with the final look. Megan was blown away by the gift and Marks reaction.. Oh another blanket, men have no idea do they. Little Brooke said ..It`s wonderful Nan and Jade thought it was lovely and now Mum could have a nice bed like Nanny.

These are the little bags I made for our twin GD`s for their 3rd birthday and they were thrilled with them even though they wore them as backpacks. I guess I will be making backpacks for Xmas.

I was making book covers for gifts for my DD to give to the GD`s teachers as they are leaving the state, the girls asked me if they could have one as well. So being a good Nan I have made them one each and added their names and used fabrics that they asked for. I am pleased with them and hope Jade and Brooke will like them.

i put the pi

LOTS OF SEWING TO DO

These fabrics are going to be used to make little gifts for mt twin granddaughters, will show you them when done.

Here is a sneak peak of the quilt I am making for my DD and her husband. He is in the RAAF and has been transfered to Richmond base and it is very cold there so I thought it would be a great going away gift for them. I hope she likes the colours. I only have to get the backing ready and then my good friend Dawn is going to qulit it as it is 96 inches square and I couldn`t handle a quilt that size on my machine.

I am also working on a secret santa and a couple of fat quarter challenges, so plenty to keep me going. I have also volunteered to quilt a charity quilt for th SA Quilters Guild plus any other thing that crops up.

I have to go now as DH is getting hungry and I better get his tea ready, cheers for now Jude

MY NEW GRANDSON

I have not blogged for a little while as I have been busy sewing secret assignments and helping to care for my grandchildren. I was down at the farm helping my SIL care for the children while mum was in hospital recovering from the difficult birth of her latest child. It is a boy, Henry Samuel at 9pound 2 ounces and very cute as well. Above is the before photo of my daughter. She is not a big girl but tends to have large babies. Henry was the heaviest followed by Charlie at 9 pound and then Emma at 81/2 pound if I remember correctly.

Emma having a cuddle with Henry and not yet realising that he is comning home to stay.

Proud big brother Charlie with his new brother and wants to know when they can play tractors together.

Me, the proud Nanny with little Henry. He is so cute. It was lovely to care for my grandkids but I am glad that I am home now and can get back into doing the normal things in my life, like sewing and stitching and cleaning(who put that word in) and just doing nothing if I so desire. I found that being a mum even for a short time is very tiring for an old girl like me.

Cheers for now Jude

GIFTS AND SOFTIES

Recently DH and I went to an auction and picked up this Tonka truck for just $4.00. Our GS Charlie, loves all trucks , tractors etc so he will be recieving this when he visits. Apart from the stickers peeling off the truck is in very good condition. Charlie will be here on Thursday along with his Mum and sister. We get time to play together while Mum goes to the obstertrition ( hope this is spelt right) and when they go to bed my daughter and I can settle down for a good old chinwag. The truck will join his ever growing collection. A little boy can never have too many trucks now can he.

Now being a kind Nan I couldnt give to one child with out the other so this afternoon I made Emma a hand bag that she can take shopping when they go to town. It is a pattern from Melly and Me and one I enjoy sewing. Emma is going to like this I`m sure.

I have also been sewing lots of soft toys. I made chickens, dogs, pigs, horses,elephants, whales, Platypus, giraffes and others. Some are going to my friend Lucky as she sews and collects them from other sewers to give to blood clinics to give to the children who have to have blood tests etc. The others are going to Bordertown hospital to give out to the sick kids who have to spend time away from their families. A new friend can be a great comfort to a child in hospital. Well better go now as the dishes wont wash themselves and DH is asleep in his chair watching TV so he wont do them either.

Cheers for now Jude

EARLY XMAS

I went to a local craft shop to learn quilt as you go and I was disappointed as I knew more than the teacher. She did not know how to do a more advanced way of doing the quilt as you go method. I was given a magazine and told that is what you will make. It was a nice table runner but the pattern was not what I wanted, as it was the sandwich method to put together. I was told to sew 1 section to the pellon and backing, sew the next stip onto this and flip the second piece back and keep doing this till the strips were gone. I know this is this the simplest form of quilt as you go but again not what I wanted. My friend Dawn will now help me to achieve my goal. The finished table runner is pretty and I added stars and raw edged them and then shadow quilted around them to fill the space, I also added shadow stars to the bigger areas so the runner would sit right on the table. I wont be going there again for lessons.

I have finished 1 of the March stitch-a- longs in the new colours to replace the red ones i made into a wall hanging and have 2 more to go.

Cheers for now jude

A LITTLE BIT OF SEWING

Sorry for not blogging sooner but I have been busy with family visiting and also going away to mind grandkids while mum and dad were at a wedding. I have managed to do a little sewing as well. I had made Brooke a cushion for her going away gift and when my DD saw it she said it was lovely but Brooke really loved purple. So being a nan I thought it was only right and proper to make another in her favourite colour. Luckily I have a neighbour with a DD also named Brooke so she will be the recipient of the first pillow.

I am also doing a stitch along on the net and decided to do it in reds, but then I saw another done in a lovely two coloured thread of red and green and thought I would do mine in that. My good friend Dawn ordered the thread for me (I still dont feel confident to order things on line)and I have made my original blocks into a wall hanging that will become a xmas gift for one of my DDs. I like how it has turned out and will now have to make a couple more. Now I will have to redo the first three blocks in the green/red cotton as well as this months blocks. As I love stitching this will be a labour of love and not a chore.

Cheers Jude

GRAND DAUGHTERS AND SOME BLOCKS

My two eldest GDs came over for a visit and they looked so cute I just had to take a photo to share. Jade the eldest brought her reading book and we had a reading session followed by writing out the new words in her book. I enjoyed doing this and it brought back memories of doing the same for her mum and aunties when they were little girls. Then I had to sign her diary to let the the teacher know that she had done her homework.
Jade always looks out for her sister Brooke and I hope this continues throughout life.

Here is block one from the chookyblue stitch-a-long and you can check it out from the button on my side bar.

Block two and I think the little birds are so cute. Now waiting for March to do the next blocks.

SOME BLOCKS AND A UFO FINISHED

I am doing a couple of sew alongs on the net and I find them quick and easy to do. I sew the blocks during the day and sit at night and do the embroidery as I find it very relaxing.

This is block 2 from Dawns free block of the month and I can hardly wait till next month to see what i will be sewing for block 3.

These two blocks are from a BOM from a forum that I have joined and were very easy and fast to do. I did the cutting and sewing in a couple of hours and the hand stitching that night while watching TV.

This is a UFO I found in the cupboard and decided to finish so it could go on display. The frame is a little small but I will swap it over when I find a bigger one.

GIRLS DAY OUT

DH and I have just spent 3 lovely days at Victor Harbor visiting our DD and her family. The weather was much cooler than in Adelaide and we even had some rain but it did not spoil the fun and games we all enjoyed together. We went for walks along the foreshore and paddled our feet in the water and looked at lots of shells and seaweed as well as visiting the tram horses, which they must do every time the go for a walk to the beach. We also went to Busy Bugs and had a fun morning doing lots of activities. There is a gym trail and that was very popular especially jumping into the ballpit at the end, Dancing and singing, colouring in, kitchen play, trampolining and outdoor activities. The girls did it all with Nan following right behind. Then to the toy library to get 3 new toys for a couple of weeks then home for lunch and a sleep.

This is Hayley having fun in one of the many ride ons in the out door area.

This is Chloe on the slippery dip and she really enjoys it.

Here is Hayley on the trampoline and she is a little daredevil and jumps and bounces as high as she can with a big grin on her face.

Here1s Chloe having a little rest while doing the gym trail.

After lunch we went for a drive to Port Elliot and a a lovely afternoon tea at a local cafe. We shared some muffins and they were the lightest, tastiest muffins I have ever had, the coffee and milkshakes were yummy as well. Then it was back to Victor to get daddy and papa some dinner. We were tired but had a lovely girls day out.
I am now worn out from writing so off to watch some TV if I can find anything to watch and hopefully an early night.

Cheers Judy

A WIN AND SOME FRESH PRODUCE

Hi everyone I am having a great Australia Day. This morning I was looking at the blogs I follow and couldn`t believe my eyes when I clicked on to Among The Gumtrees site. They had the winner drawn for the SPRINGTIME patterns posted and I had won it. I had a follow up E-mail from jenny informing me I was the winner and my prize would arrive in a week or so, I am very excited and already thinking what fabric I will use to do the quilt in. I will let you know when I have decided.


DH and I then had to pick our cucumbers and Zucchini. We picked14 cucumbers and gave some to our neighbors and daughters and the rest I have preserved into bread and butter cucumbers ready for winter lunches. The zucchinis will be made into a vegie slice and frozen for when I dont feel like cooking, some will also be roasted tonight with my huge leg of lamb.

Todays haul of cucumbers. We picked a similar amount on Sunday so our plants are doing well.

Here are the cucumbers I preserved on Monday and they are very tasty.

Todays zucchinis, only a few but plenty more on the bushes.

DH bought home a load of satsuma plums and so far I have made 51/2 kilos into jam
and hopefully tomorrow I will make the spicy plum sauce that I use as a marinade on chicken and beef.

Well thats it for now except to wish all Aussies a happy Australia Day.

Cheers Judy