Quilty Content

Finally! I have some quilty stuff to show you all; took me long enough!!

Mostly, what I’ve done is to do with the Challenge that Peg set where you make a list of 5 things that you want to do in July.

Although, I do have to ask….

When a girl has enough quilts started and planned to last her to the next millenium what is she to do? Well, the right answer is that she starts a new project!

This one is a wallhanging pattern from the latest edition of Quilter’s Companion made and designed by Two Lime Leaves and I’ve wanted to make it since I saw it on her blog. I bought the magazine on Friday, daydreamed about starting it, made a side trip to Patchwork by the Sea for some fabric on the way home from the Baby Shower on the way home and to the Surprise 30th Birthday Party.

Seriously considered ditching the party so that I could start it, but then went under duress!

So, I’ve been working on it today along with Memories of Spring…

But here’s a progress pic to start with for the wall hanging – Berries for Breakfast it’s called…

So, when it’s done I thought that I’d machine stitch the main bits in place and then learn how to hand quilt and then hand quilt around the applique, put the swirls in and the kriss crosses on the border squares.

I’ve also finished appliquéing on the butterflies on Memories of Spring (thank god!) and it looks just gorgeous (pic at the top of the post). I’m glad I took the time out to do the applique. So it is now all bundled up with backing fabric and wadding ready to go to the quilt shop for Tazzie to work her magic on it

It’s funny. I got my Mum to hold up my quilts this weekend (she was down for the weekend to spend time with Grandma) and she couldn’t get over the fact that you aren’t supposed to peak your face over the top of the quilt!!

Here she is!!

This quilt is the one that I finished for the Baby Shower this weekend. My friend loved it and was happy to learn that I can squiggle quilt quilts as she apparently has one that she’d like done…

One of my Mum’s friends caught up with her this weekend as well and she is apparently turning 60 next year, so before she came over I warned Mum that she better not promise her a quilt for her birthday! Mum’s terrible for doing that. However, I have now said that as long as she pays for it all and chooses an easy pattern I’ll do it.

Our next door neighbour – the one that has been looking after me and Grandma these past few weeks – has her birthday on Monday so yesterday I gave her Heart Love as a present for her birthday as well as to say thank you.

And last but not least I’ve also managed to find time to finish the borders for Blue Pinwheels. It is looking really pretty. Thanks for all the help and suggestions for the borders! Mum likes it but did suggest that I give it to my brother so that he had a matching lap quilt. He then turned around at that suggestion, scoffed and went: “A lap quilt, am I 90?” He’s a shocker!! So I’ve bought some wadding and will quilt it perhaps in August.

Ok, ok, enough rambling.

To finish though, I’ll post my 5 in July list and update it:

1. Memories of Spring (applique 3 butterflies) – done
2. Easy Double 4 Patch (finish hand binding) – done
3. Blue Pinwheels (attach borders to flimsy stage) – done
4. Asian Pinwheels (finish hand binding)
5. Green Ladybirds (attach binding – machine & hand) – done

Unfortunately, it’s back to work tomorrow but I do hope everyone had a good weekend

A Day In My Life: 16 July 2008

Ok, so I’m backdating this one too!! I am such a slacker…..

8.30am – wake up. why is it that when I’m on holidays or have the time to sleep in it’s the last thing that I do?? Go to the computer and read some blogs and emails.

9.00am – go to the study where my spin bike is and try to learn the 4th track for tonight. Manage to do 3 tracks before I get side tracked.

9.20am – gma isn’t feeling well as she couldn’t get to sleep so took one too many sleeping pills and now she isn’t feeling well. Make her breakfast and also make mine. Read a few more blogs.

10.30am – finish reading blogs – oops, I really did mean to learn my song! Oh well, later today… Get off the couch and have a shower.

11.40am – finish getting ready and leave home for my Bowen Therapy appointment.

12.00noon – arrive for my Bowen Therapy appointment and look forward to being out of pain from where I overdid it at the gym on Wednesday.

12.45pm – ahhh much better! Ok, off to Arndale for a coffee

13.30pm – back home with my coffee. Decide to make spaghetti bolognese for lunch and then when I get home later tonight after the gym I’ll toast my ham and cheese sandwhich then.

14.30pm – finish making the spaghetti and eating it. It was yummy! Decide to kill half hour on the computer.

15.00pm – ok, now I really have to learn my song! Change into my gym clothes, get my ipod ready and hop onto the bike.

15.20pm – ack, am sick of learning the song. Think I’ve done enough to get through tonight. Get back onto the computer and internet. Think that this week isn’t happening the way that I thought it would. Waaaaayyyy too much computer time!

16.40pm – leave home for my PT appointment. Wish people knew how to merge and drive at the speed limit.

17.20pm – arrive at the PT studio. I was hoping to get there sooner so I could go over my song some more but peak hour traffic put an end to that idea. Sit and talk to a female PT that is there that I get along with.

17.30pm – start my training session. Lots of stairs, pull ups and push ups. Feel absolutely exhausted, most of which is due to my Bowen appointment earlier in the day. Make a mental note to change next months appointment to a Thursday!

18.30pm – finish my session, make a call to my bowen therapist to change my appointment, leave a message. Get in the car and head to my RPM class.

18.50pm – arrive at the gym for the RPM class. Help move a bike for me up onto the stage, set my bike up. Feel really nervous cause 1. I’m in front of people and 2. I don’t feel that I’ve learnt the songs enough. I know them enough that I’ll be ok but I still feel that I could have done more.

19.50pm – well, it went well I feel. I did muck up on the choerey however, it was still a good workout. The instructor whose class I’m sharing says that I did well but I need to learn how to talk from my stomach and not my throat so that I sound louder and so I don’t seem so out of breath! Feel happy that I’m doing this and that I’m not getting in my own way and quitting.

20.00pm – start to drive home. Talk to my Dad on the way who makes sure that I’ve heard about Nanna – she’s 94, lives in a nursing home and is my Dad’s Mum, not the one that I live with – she has an infection and has been moved to the Repat Hospital here in Adelaide. They are giving her antibiotics but Dad feels that she may not live much longer. I feel bad that I haven’t visited her lately and tell him that I’ll visit on the weekend. He tells me not to bother unless she is better as she won’t recognise me. Ring Mum and let her know. Mum suggests that we make a quick visit on Sunday when she’s down.

20.30pm – arrive home and don’t feel like eating so just grab some cruskits with peanut butter and a cup of milo. Sit on the couch and watch TV with Gma.

21.30pm – gma decides to go to bed early so I move to the sewing room as I feel like doing some sewing. Start doing some piecing on my next doll quilt and also the other ladybird baby quilt.

22.00pm – turn off the machine and decide to do some binding on the baby quilt that is for the baby shower this Sunday.

22.30pm – bed time! Perhaps I’ll get more done tomorrow?

Everything But…

Do you ever have those days/weeks/months where you have a gazzillion things that need to be done and yet you do everything but?

Yeah me too!

Grandma came home on Sunday and so I’ve taken the week off work to keep her company and look after her.

Sunday night I thought I’d try to make roast pork but when I took it out at the time the packet told me to it wasn’t really cooked and neither were the veges

So we ate what was ok to eat and then I ditched the left over veges and gave the rest of the pork to my next door neighbour for her dog. Although apparently her husband has told that she better not dare give it to the dog as he wants it!! She’ll be recooking it later today apparently

I did a little bit of sewing yesterday and now have borders on the quilt from the previous post. It’s ended up at 47′ x 51.5′ which I’m a bit intimidated about quilting but I’m sure once I’ve got it up and running it will be fine. I’ll post a pic later. I might put finishing that quilt on my list for August.

I’ve also signed up to do a TAFE subject externally before I go back in August. I figure I’ve got a week off, I may as well get another subject out of the way. Just looking at it it just seems to be 2 reports so it doesn’t seem all that hard.

Although, I would rather do anything but write reports. I’m a numbers girl through and through.

Anyways, I better be off. I’ve got tracks to learn for RPM tomorrow night, breakfast to make, weights to do and a shower to have.

I hope everyone has a great day!

Border Help

So I’ve finally had time to do some sewing!

In keeping with doing my 5 projects before the end of July I have been sewing all my blue pinwheels together.  It is now up to the border stage.

And this is where I need some advice please.

I thought that I’d do it in the same blues as Asian Pinwheels, however the first blue just seems to meld in with the pinwheels.

So I did some experimenting and although I do think 5 borders is just OTT I’m thinking of keeping the first 3 borders.  The dark blue, beige and then the slightly lighter blue and will probably bind it in the last blue.

What do you guys think?

I have finished binding my Easy Double 4 Patch, yet another great scrap quilt pattern by Mary.  I gave it to my Acupuncturist who has started up a charity called Little Treasures.  It was just a small quilt and finished at 37′ square.

I think it turned out cute and I’ll be making more out of my scraps when I can find the time!

Still Here!

Phew.

It has been a long week and the next couple of weeks look to be just as or even busier.

Grandma went into hospital on Monday morning for her hip replacement and at this stage 5 days later she is doing really well.  I think the doctors are just a bit surprised at how well she is recovering.  She has also dropped most of her pain pills.  I’m so proud of her.

Tuesday I taught 3 tracks of rpm and I’m really happy with how that went so now I’m going to concentrate on that more so than pump.

Wednesday I slept in, visited Grandma, went to the gym and made a not the apple crumble which is basically apple crumble but I was too tired to turn the oven on and make the crumble.  So I guess essentially I had stewed apples   They are yum!

On Wednesday I also gave my accupuncturist the quilt that I had made for his charity which he seemed to like.  When I get time I’ll try to make a few more for him.

Thursday I went to work and then skipped the gym as I was exhausted and came home and sat on the couch and watched tv.  I also trolled through a few job agency sites looking for a new job.

Then today I went to work, then the gym, then visited Grandma, came home, did the washing, had a frozen dinner that didn’t even come close to filling me up and looked for some more jobs.

I’m now looking at the big pile of clean and dirty dishes trying to work out if I should be lazy and leave them to tomorrow or just do them now.

I haven’t really had time to do any quilting.  I do take Green Ladybirds to the hospital with me and do the hand binding but at home I’ve refound my cross stitch so I’ve been doing that.  I’m hoping on Sunday when I have a bit of spare time to do some quilting then.

Hope everyone’s week went well and the weekend is just what you need