A SNEAK PEEK, THE BIRTHDAY BOY AND MY NEW CUSHION

 Here is a sneak peak at one of the blocks of the quilts I am making for my twin Granddaughters.I am using the Birdie fabric from moda and it is looking great.

 This is Henry my youngest grandson with his mum Leonie ready to blow out his 1st birthday candle. We went to the farm to help him celebrate and also had a great Mothers day bush BBQ with 2 of my DD`s their families and lots of friendly country folk.

 We went for a walk and the girls climbed the sheep loading chute. They are left to right Hayley and Chloe my twin nearly 4yo granddaughters and Emma, Henry`s 3yo sister.

 This is the back of my cushion. I  know it should have been the second of the cushion photos but I always forget which one to upload first.

This is my cushion and it really suits my lounge room sofa. It is made using the fantasy flower die that I bought to use with my GO! cutter from accuquilt . It is a great way to cut applique shapes and get them perfect. Dawn from As Sweet As Cinnamon is an agent to sell both the dies and the GO! cutters.

A WALL HANGING AND MY NEW BABY

In March I attended a quilt sew-in in Hobart, Tasmania with several great designers and we stitched and sewed several items. We also did a lot of sight seeing, shopping and chatter amongst ourselves. It was a really fun time and in 2013 it will be held in Adelaide.

 This wall hanging was taught to us by Designs from Fee and Is one I had to finish aws soon as I could. It now lives on the wall in my lounge room. It is called Plant A Pot of Friendship and Fee taught how to paper piece the border around the pot. I found it a bit challenging but was glad I persisted and finished it.

My new baby is a Janome Horizon and I have had my Ruby for 5 daysnow and she is a dream to use and purs along very quietly.I have started a cushion and small wall hanging and will show you when they are finished. Got to go now as I am going to a quilt show before going to sew more of my Gds quilts at Dawns home, more on that later.
Cheers Jude

FOR MY GRANDSON

My eldest GS came home from school the other day with a note to say that on the last day of term they could come to school in fancy dress but the character had to start with the first letter of their name.
 Sitting at the dinner table my DD thought I had better ring mum and give her time to make something (Leonie couldn`t sew a stitch if her life depended on it), at the same time Charlie said "Lets ring nan, she can make something for me to wear." We thought a clown or a cowboy might be nice and Charlie thought a cake would be good, dont you love em. With a little persausion from dad it was decided the cowboy would be fine. Charlie has jeans, western shirt and boots so it was left to me to finish his outfit. Above is the vest, kerchief and gun holster I have made and the Peacemaker 6 shooter that had belonged to my younger brother. After the parade I will post a photo of Charlie in all his glory.

A TEDDY BEAR GIFT

I have just finished sewing this teddy and his sailor jacket and he is reaching out for me to pick him up, but i must not do it as he has a new home to go to. He is to be a thankyou gift for my DD, Megans neighbour, Natalie as a thankyou for helping my daughter when I cant. It has been a long time since I made a teddy and I enjoyed it so much that I will have to make time to sew some more. Maybe I should make one for each of my 7 grandkids. He is not a toy for little children as he is made from mohair, which is hard to clean and he also has glass eyes that are not recommended for little tots. Got to go now as my tea is bubbling away on the stove and then an early night as tomorrow DH and I are of in the carasvan for a few days.   Jude

A LITTLE BIT OF SEWING

I have returned from Sydney and brought a virus with me. Felt down for a couple of days but better now. My two little girls were very excited to see their Nan and we did some sewing. We hand sewed some little birds in felt and silly me forgot to take a photo. We also made some bracelets and some hanging hearts out of fabric and beads, again forgot to take photos. Lots of playing and reading and playing CATOPOLY, just like monopoly but geared around cats. Also played the card game Go Fish and I could not win a game and this pleased my card playing GD`s very much. Did shopping and went to Darling Harbour for the day, will talk about that later. The girls also each made a placemat for their mum`s Birthday and were very pleased with themselves. We wrapped them and hid them in their bedrooms until the day. I must remember to ring and remind them the night before so they dont forget to give them to mum.

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 Here are Jade and Brooke displaying the placemats.

 Jade has always loved to sew with Nan and misses our sewing lessons since the family moved to NSW for dad`s work. Here she is happily sewing a placemat for her mum`s birthday later this month.

Brooke has only just started to sew and seems to enjoy it. She did lots of practice following lines on paper to learn to sew in straight lines. She picked it up fairly quickly and only needed a little help to turn corners when sewing her placemat. The sewing machine is a baby Elna that I bought and took over for them to practice sewing on. Luckily it was not heavy as I carried it my hand luggage. When I went through the Airport security I was asked what is it and told them it was a little sewing machine for my GDs and they just waved me through. I had been a liitle bit worried as to what I would have done with it if they said I couldnt carry on board. Bye for now Jude

TWO QUICK PROJECTS

 My daughter asked me to make a book bag for Brooke as she starts school this year, this is what I have made her, I hope she likes it. It is a piece of fabric that Dawn had passed on and I thought Brooke would like it with the dogs and angels.

I also thought it was time I covered my 2012 diary and I found this pretty piece in my scrap box. It was leftover from covering a book for Brooke so she will be pleased we both have a book the same. I wont be posting again until I return from my trip to Sydney  and now I am off to cook some more meals to put in the freezer for my dear  Hubby ( dont know why he cant do it hmself each day).
Bye for now Jude.

A WARNING AND OUR NEW BABY

Please be alert at this time of the year for all those little nasties, DH was moving stuff in the shed and came across this little beauty, it was one of the biggest I have seen in a long time. RIP little beastie.

Sorry always put the piccies on the wrong way. This is my kitchen, plenty of cupboards and the stove top has not been used before as it is in perfect condition. the fridge is to the left and the entry is next to it.

Here is my bedroom, finally a bed you can walk around. This makes it easier to make and now I dont have to put up with DH crawling across and treading on my legs when he gets up early to go fishing. Still waiting for a feed of fish but he has caught some squid, yum yum.

An outside view of the van. It is very clean and has been well looked after. I really like the pull down awning on the side, it makes a nice place for a cuppa and pice of cake when you need a rest from all the fishing and sight seeing.

I am off to Sydney next week to visit with Megan, Mark, Jade and Brooke and when I return home  DH and I will be going to Kingston SE for a bit to try out the new van. till then cheerio and all be good. Jude.