Diann's Domaine

Pickle School

2011-07-24T19:00:00.000+10:00

I have a new hobby! I went to pickle and jam school a couple of weeks ago and now have a new obsession! 'Cause I need a new obsession! I had the best time and we made green pawpaw chutney, mandarin jam, tomato relish and preserved lemons. It's all been eaten except for the preserved lemons which has to sit and think about itself for another fortnight. But I haven't been idle. I've since made........

Orange and Apricot Marmalade, and

Lemon Butter, and

Raspberry Jam, and

the best tomato sauce in the whole world (or any other big place!). But what would it all be, without.....

a nice warm loaf of homemade wholemeal bread?? The flavours of them all are so far removed from store bought stuff and all taste divine. I've got a few more recipes I want to try and I haven't quite worked out how to tell when the jam is ready. The jam and marmalade above are way overcooked and you need a crow bar to get them out of the jar. My mother says she spread the orange and apricot on pikelets. Now, there's a woman you wouldn't mess with! I was flat out spreading it on cold toast.

Other culinary delights from the kitchen today include a carrot and orange cake, curried vegetable and lentil soup and savoury glazed meatloaf (that just went ding!). I haven't made a meatloaf before and am not sure how well it will go down with Bill the Builder. He has a horror of 'strange' food and I sense meatloaf will classify. He demanded that I quit putting weird sh*t in his food after he discovered a bean in his salad, but that's another story.

I haven't been idle in the sewing room either. Weeellll.....I have a little bit but I've finished the top of Teddy Tea Party. What a slog that was but I'm really pleased with it, especially the mitred corners, thanks to Lynda's tutorials.

That little black body belongs to the gorgeous Belvedere, my sweet boy who I love dearly, but who I shall dong on the head with a heavy spanner if he swings off the end of this again. This quilt will be for Charlotte, my eldest niece. They are all coming down from Townsville for Christmas this year so I need to get it finished before then. It could happen.

I've also done my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler homework from last week. I have tried and tried to upload the photo and it just will not do it. Have no idea why because I took all these photos at the one time and have saved them all in the same place.

I'm off to cheese school next Saturday and am really looking forward to that as well. What a top weekend it has been!

Motoring along nicely!

2011-02-14T09:54:00.000+10:00

Happy Valentine's Day! Now on to the good stuff. Clearly, lists work for me. I think I must be bordering on being a Virgo. I've always loved a good list and my February Focus list is coming along nicely. I've finished another block for Teddy's Tea Party.........

and Churn Dash (block 20) for Farmers Wife Sampler......

which is good because I've also started doing Catalicious by Bronwyn Hayes even though I've really got no business doing that, given my list of UFOs and other projects. I love Bronwyn's work and I love cats. What can I say?

Speaking of cats, I have finally sewn the binding on a cat quilt I started 11 years ago! Yes, I know. Now sewing the binding down has been added to my list and that will mean I only have 32 UFOs!! And speaking of gorgeous critters, these beauties popped in yesterday. How beautiful are they??

The gorgeous Jack

and the mischievous Miss Holly.

It was such a joy to see them. They were on their way back with the caravan after spending the weekend at Pottsville. Jack said he'd been walking, riding his bike, playing his computer games and a whole lot of other things. Holly said she'd been shopping.

I've yanked out another UFO - Vintage Valentine - and have added that to my list. I've done five of the smaller blocks and the large central block so seven smaller blocks to do. I'm aiming to have it finished by 8 May in time for my gorgeous daughter's 40th birthday. It's doable. It's on the list. Also on the list for this week is the two smaller blocks for TTP, two more FWS blocks and the SBS block of the moment, Friendship Star. Oh, and the cat quilt binding. I'll get there. I also think I should get a medal or a prize (preferably cash) because I am using stash on nearly everything. I am SUCH a thrifty quilter!

February Focus

2011-02-13T10:54:00.000+10:00

I decided, since I have the attention span of a gnat, to make February my "Focus" month. Focus on what projects I've got going on and focus on getting them finished. The main one is Teddy Tea Party, which was supposed to be for my niece for Christmas. Still, I never did specify which particular Christmas so it could still happen. Here is Block F.

It will be a pretty little quilt and I was fortunate enough to get some cup and saucer border from Jenny in Bundaberg. For some reason, I am finding all the blanket stitching extremely boring. Not sure why. I usually love to blanket stitch.

This is block 18 of Farmers Wife Sampler and is called A Century of Progress. I unpicked this block and resewed it about 7 times. This is as close as I could get to having the centre points all match up. Not sure what I did wrong. The two halves are terrific.......until I sew them together and then it all goes pear shaped.

This is block 19 Chequerboard. Looks simple but wasn't without issues for me either!

And this is our next Sylvia's Bridal Sampler block, Dutchman's Puzzle. It went together reasonably well. Getting quite the little stack of blocks out in the sewing room now. Will certainly be interesting putting them together. Sizes are variable!

The Good Wife!

2011-01-31T09:08:00.001+10:00

That would be me! Because yesterday, I ironed!! Yep. You heard right. Ironing for me is not just a quick half hour here and there. It is a major project, with the emphasis on major. It involves trashy movies, bottles of bubbles, a take over of the lounge and generally, life as everyone knows it goes on hold. I drag baskets and racks and cords and tables out into the lounge room, close all the windows and put on the fans and aircon (don't want to over heat - still 5,000 degrees here) mix up my special starch brew, pour the bubbles and load up the trashy TV. That of itself wears me out! But it is now done till next time.

Ingredients for special brew starch. Bill the Builder always freaks out because I use his Grey Goose vodka. He is such a drama queen. He runs around, bellowing "not the Goose! Not the Goose." He is a goose!

Finished till next time! A stack of 4,000 giant shirts with long sleeves, 2,000 table cloths, 6,000 pillow cases, 4,000 tea towels, 5,000 place mats, 10,000 napkins, 80,000 giant t-shirts and a heap of giant trousers! No wonder I'm snookered!! Then, I have to wash the floor with hot water and vinegar to get the starch off the tiled floor so that Bill the Builder doesn't come skidding through and break his neck. I try to iron at least three times a year but sometimes I don't get to it that often.

Bill the Builder was ~~a complete toad~~ less than loving yesterday morning so bought me this lovely bunch of flowers to ~~score points~~ redeem himself because he realized that ~~his life was in danger~~ he hadn't been a nice boy. It worked! They are so cheery!

The weekend wasn't a total write off. I did three more blocks of my Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt. I am really enjoying doing this one and like reading the letters that go with it. I had started following an online group but got behind so just started at block one and am working my way numerically through the book.

This is block 15 Buzzard's Roost. I was really careful with it (the second time I made it) and have got the half square triangles marginally better but they are still not right. This block is wobbly but not as bad as it looks here.

Block 16 Calico Puzzle

Block 17 Cats and Mice

I've got quite a few of the blocks done now. Not sure how I'm going to 'tidy' them up when I come to put it together because the blocks are on point. Oh well. No doubt it will come to me!

Where's the baby?

2011-01-28T08:47:00.000+10:00

Waiting for the gorgeous one to turn up. He's late so any minute now, daughter and sweet one will come screaming up the driveway in a shower of dust and small sparks.

Finished Ducks and Ducklings for SBS yesterday. Note to self - learn how to sew up half square triangles. I've never quite mastered the art of that and it shows! Then I sticky taped my design wall to the back glass doors (not much in the way of walls in u-beaut sewing room. As soon as Bill the Builder sees a wall, he whacks a window in it) and put on all my SBS blocks so far.

It needs some more pink in it, I think. Looks like today is going to be a bit cooler. Thank goodness for that. It has been 5,000 degrees here the last few days. That's hot!

Happy Australia Day!

2011-01-27T08:28:00.000+10:00

What a terrific day we had yesterday! Perfect weather, excellent food and ~~dodgy~~ loving family. Prawns with excellent dipping sauce (made by me, of course), lamb chops (and not just for the girls), snags, lamingtons, pavlova and what Aussie Day celebrations would be complete without these rissoles?? (made by son).

After lunch and a swim in the pool, it was time for the Grand Master (me) to assess and approve all the thongs for the thong throwing competition. Sadly, one pair of thongs had to be disallowed due to the aerodynamic build on the heel which would clearly have given the owner an advantage. Since I was in charge, I was able to allow the owner to borrow an approved thong for throwing, although there was some objections raised by other participants. They were ignored.

The dogs thought the whole thing had been organized for their benefit and one of the thongs met with an untimely end in the jaws of ~~an amazingly stupid~~ a very quick boxer dog. Again, objections were raised but subsequently ignored. What a terrific day we had and what a terrific country we live in. I know that many Australians are having a really tough time of it at the moment, but all in all, we enjoy freedom, democracy and safety in this country. In spite of the bad times, we are very fortunate.

Won't be any more work done on Sylvia's Bridal Sampler for a day or two. Babysitting duties start shortly but here are some more that I've recently finished. The first one is Friendship Quilt.

and this next one is Courthouse Steps. The colours look like they won't fit in but I have quite a few other blocks and they do all go together. The colours in this block are pinker than they appear here. I am doing the quilt in similar colours to the book, but substituting purple for brown. I will put all my blocks onto my design wall to see if how they are working together and post a photo ~~but only if it looks good~~ soon.

This next one is Weathervane, and again, looks like it won't fit it ~~probably won't.~~ but it will be fine. Again, those pieces are pinker than they look. Orange sends me into a frenzy so I tend not to use it.

Next new project is Floral Bouquet from a jelly roll book ~~as soon as all participants can finally make a decision on what fabric to use~~. Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

Sun safe and totally gorgeous!

It's a long time between drinks, Barbie!

2011-01-25T21:13:00.000+10:00

Well, after a long absence, here I am again! And what a time it has been....

Our wonderful children and their spouses organized a surprise 40th wedding anniversary party for us. We had absolutely no idea! And what a fabulous night it was. Lynda and John came up from Wollongong, even though Lynda had come up for a visit only three weeks earlier. The kids even rounded up my bridesmaids, who flew down from Townsville, as well as Bill's best man.

It was a truly fabulous night and we had a wonderful time. Check the gorgeous ruby earrings that Bill gave me to celebrate. I love them and he gave me the matching pendant for Christmas.

Don't what was happening there, but Lynda was amused. I'm trying to protect the grandbaby so it obviously wasn't good! Lynda, John and the bridesmaids all came back to our place and stayed for a few days. Just wonderful! Soon after, it was Christmas - another fabulous few days.

Here is Hannes in his elf costume. He looked totally hilarious in it and really played the part. All the grandbabies came over to decorate the tree and a good time was had by all.

What a wonderful December we had! The New Year is well underway and I have to thank Lynda for motivating me (again!). We've restarted the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler Blocks and have already made quite a little stash.

This block has the perculiar name of 54-40 or Fight and it came together fairly well for me.

and this is Anvil. For some reason, the sample in the book was made with a central square but Lynda and I decided that this wasn't the essence of the block and we settled for foundation piecing.

and this is Album 2. They're not quite as wonky as they look and I'm really pleased with them so far. Even the dreaded Tennessee which I had a go at and it turned out! I couldn't believe it. I was ready to ~~hurl myself off a cliff~~ ~~seek professional help~~ ~~blow up the sewing room~~ give up on doing that particular block and decided to give it one more try. Was so chuffed when it turned out. Here it is.

And now it's Australia Day tomorrow. Off out to our son's place for prawns, lamingtons, lamb chops, snags and a swim. Need to go and wrap the prizes for the thong throwing competition. Actually, I expect to win because I have a pair of sparkly thongs; first pair I have had since I've been a grown up! Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

There's been a change in plans Barbie..........

2010-10-05T09:41:00.000+10:00

I've spent the last couple of days making ~~really slow~~ great progress on Lily's quilt. With encouragement and phone tutoring from Lynda, I did away with the original 9 patch blocks on the quilt and replaced it with double Irish Chain.

I had to do a bit of deconstructing and reconstructing ~~which I hate with a passion~~ which I don't mind and have two more rows to sew together and add on.

I had to redo this squirrel (in the top right hand corner in the first photo) because I hadn't centred it properly and when I put the border on, the tail was in the border seam. Tried not to let it bug me and leave it there but.....nah. It bugged me. I used this design twice. Just reversed it and changed the colours.

The embroideries are a mixture from the Sue Box designs 'Timeless Teddies' and 'Woodland Treasures'. I love her designs. They always stitch out beautifully and have excellent detail. I'm really pleased with the way the quilt is turning out. It's looking really pretty and will be a nice size when it's finished. My SIL has an obsession with washing which is the reason I've only done machine embroidery. Hopefully this quilt will hold up a bit better than the hand embroidered 'Little Chicken Feather' that I made for my other niece and which gets washed at least once a week. Yeeks!

Happy birthday.....

2010-09-28T10:15:00.001+10:00

Yesterday, my baby turned 37! Yeeks! We celebrated with home made pizzas and lots of lounging around. What a great day!

I bought him a sweet little bonsai for his front verandah

and a good time was had by all.

The other good news is that I have finally finished the quilt I made for my gorgeous DIL. I took this photo of it while it was hanging on the line (the quilt hanger had gone to work) so it looks a lot dodgier than it is (I swear!!)

I did the quilting while I was in Kingaroy and am really chuffed with it.

Close up

and closer up.....photos are not great. It's quite overcast today, but you get the general idea. I took a photo of the back so you could be totally amazed and impressed with my quilting, but it didn't turn out.

This was a new sashing design I tried and I was really pleased with it. I did the roses in all the corner stones and leaves in between. Now I need to get going on quilting the tops I've made for Mum and my baby son for Christmas.....oh yes.....and finish the Irish Chain for niece Lily.....oh.....and Teddy Tea Party for niece Charlotte. Heaps of time. There's lots of sleeps till Christmas......isn't there??

Honey....I'm home

2010-09-20T10:53:00.000+10:00

Blimey! Is it really so long since I last posted?? Life and all its complications got in the road of my stitching and I lost my mojo! But Lynda was right all the time. My mojo was sitting on Marion's back verandah all the time!

My gorgeous daughter shouted me three fabulous days at one of my favouritest places in the whole world (or any other big place). The Quilters Rest at Kingaroy, run by the wonderful Marion and Alan. Ang decided I needed a break away. I don't think it was because I was sitting on the floor in the corner of the lounge, drooling and jabbering, but I could be wrong. So I set sail on Friday afternoon, armed with a heap of stuff and a vat of wine and after a lovely drive up, arrived in time to have a cup of coffee and the best banana cake I've ever eaten. There were five other ladies already there and had been partying since the day before. I finally quilted Little Chicken Feather for my beautiful grandson and finished the binding on Sunday. Here 'tis.....

I also quilted another quilt for my gorgeous daughter-in-law (still to finish binding, so photo to come) for her birthday next month. Was really chuffed with the quilting. I used the new Pfaff 18" quilting machine and I must say, the big throat area really made the job quick. The quilt above is 65" x 72" and it was done in about three hours (allowing for regular injections of red wine). I just did a loose meander on this one. I do love doing feathers though and learned the fast and easy way (which I am heavily into) from this book.

As I was getting ready to pack up and come home on the Monday, I received the dreadful news that the river was up over the guide rails and I would not be able to leave that day. You can imagine how I felt about having to stay longer but I put on a brave face and proceeded to make two long strips of this...

which will be teamed with this.....

to make this.

I bought all the fabric as listed for the pictured quilt and am marginally disappointed that the fabric is quite a bit brighter than shown in the magazine. However, I still like it and will be making it while my embroidery machine chugs along on some Sue Box embroideries. I am making a quilt for my newest niece, Lily and have done these so far...

The pink and cream 9 patches are not as dark as they appear in this photo so I am going to redo them, probably whack a pale green border around this lot and then maybe slip into a 2 1/2" square frenzy to make it bigger......or not. I also prepped three applique blocks of Teddlywinks Tea Party for my other niece, Charlotte, and have started on those as well. So it is all systems 'go' in this neck of the woods and today is cold, wet and dark........perfect for stitching!

Happy holidays....

2010-07-06T09:55:00.000+10:00

School holidays with the grandbabies.....

Very unflattering photo!

Lots of chores over the school holidays. The veggie garden has been dug over, seeds planted and straw piled on top. The grandbabies are learning how to grow their own food and even have their own chook house. They have five chickens and they are going to sell the eggs at school (to help pay for their chickens!). So far, three eggs and the grandbabies are just delighted! They had a sleepover at Grandma's house on Sunday night and then we all went to the movies to see "Toy Story 3" on Monday. Maccas for lunch (Grandma eats healthy) and then to the playground. What a great day!

Managed to get my SBS blocks done. This is 'Contrary Wife' and it went together quite quickly. Not like.......

'Laurel Wreath' which was a nightmare!! I had to use lots of steam pressing to get this one looking half-way reasonable, and like 'New Mexico', this block is as done as it's going to be! I was going to paper piece it but that all went pear shaped so I unpicked it all and started again with the sewing machine. How come the photos of the good blocks look dodgy and the photos of the dodgy blocks look OK?? I got all organized and sorted out my Syvlia's Bridal Sampler fabrics into one bag, along with the templates and the book and sorted all the Farmer's Wife Sampler fabrics and fixings into another bag. Now they are starting to look like two separate projects. The blocks were all starting to look like each other and in fact, I think I'll shift a couple of SBS blocks into the FWS bag.

Colds and man flu seem to have left us (thank the Lord!) and we have sunshine again. Yay for sunshine! I spent a few days last week sulking about the cold, dark days. There's something not right about having to have the house lights on in the middle of the day. Not good for my little psyche. And speaking of things not being right, hubby bought a packet of home brand biscuits from Woolies the other day. Guess where they were made? India!!! What is THAT about? I binned them. Is it really cheaper for Woolies to have biscuits made in India? Are there no biscuit makers in Australia? And what about all the foreign pork coming into Australia? Who knew? It will go nicely with the garlic from China. Remember? The people who brought you melamine in milk? Grrrr....... Off to do more sulking!

My life.....

2010-06-30T09:49:00.000+10:00

has been looking like this for the past two weeks. What a nightmare! I only had a cold but hubby had Man Flu and we all know what that means!

So there hasn't been a lot of anything much happening around our way. Just lots of moaningand snorting and stuff. But I did manage to finish my next wonky block for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler.

This block is called "Providence". One thing about so many pieces in a small block, you can certainly see how accurate (or otherwise!) your measuring is! I made it with templates and I reckon that's for the birds. On having a closer look at some of the blocks in this quilt, it's certainly not the quick and simple project I thought it was!

I am still learning to knit and bought this gorgeous book at Spotlight at their sale, along with the wool to make this jumper. It's in shades of cream, pale blue and olivey-brown and sounds diabolical but is looking quite nice now that it's knitted up. So far, so good with the pattern (I think). I've nearly finished the back. The book has quite a few patterns that are marked as being 'easy' so I thought it was a good place to start. Time will tell! Will keep on with the beanies too. I bought a heap of multicoloured wool to do them, including some stuff from Lincraft in Toowoomba called Tasman Sport and it is in sports colours. Haven't tried that yet. I'm trying to be disciplined and finish one thing at a time. Ha! I don't have a good track record in that department!

And I've made a start on the zig zag quilt. Took me a while to get my head around putting this one together, let me tell you! And there'll be lots of pinning going on too. I seem to spend a lot of my life zigging when I should be zagging so I'll need to keep my (befuddled) wits about me with this one! And last, but certainly not least..........

ta dah!!!! I've finished the giant beanie! It's not as wonky as it looks here and I'm really quite pleased with the way it turned out. The reason I started knitting beanies was that I wanted to learn how to knit. My mother is a fabulous knitter and she is teaching me. My dear friend Lynda has also been encouraging me and giving me handy hints and even bought me.........

this gorgeous sock kit at the Sydney Quilt Show. How lucky am I and how gorgeous is that wool?? I love it. There is a lot more vibrant purple in the skein than is showing up here. I am so enjoying the knitting and would like to make at least one thing for each of my beautiful grandbabies.

Welcome to the world, baby Lily. My newest niece was born in Townsville yesterday at 2.05pm. Everyone is well, thank goodness. Can't wait to see her!

A fabulous weekend......

2010-06-15T12:00:00.000+10:00

Who doesn't love a good road trip, especially with good friends?? Maurice was delighted to have his buddy Merc travel north to go on a road trip with him. There was some dispute as to who should drive.......

but it was quickly decided who was NOT driving! However, Merc and Maurice seemed happy enough with the decision.

Lynda and I did a little bit of shopping on Saturday and I bought this selection to make the Kaffe Fasset quilt. Sewco had a 25% off sale so it was a bargain, particularly since I also had some gift vouchers. This is going to be a lovely bright quilt and will be quick to make. The patches are quite large. I haven't decided on border fabrics yet and the pansey fabric isn't a definite either. It turned a bit blue when put with the other fabrics. It's actually quite purple looking when it's on its own. Still thinking on that one.

We all left on Sunday and headed north west. Called into Highlands, where we bought some hand made chocolates and other goodies. I picked up this little bundle to go with my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, but am now thinking I will keep it for The Farmer's Wife Sampler.

The colours are way nicer than they are showing here. The browns are cocoa brown and the green is a lovely dusky green. We stayed in Toowoomba on Sunday night, had an extremely yummy breakfast there on Monday morning and then did a spot more retail therapy. Called into Lincraft - what a fabulous range they had there. Then on to Smiggle where I couldn't let this gorgeous little selection go by!

A purple electronic sharpener, two purple suede pencils, two purple ink pens, a purple pig eraser and a gorgeous slim line purple pen. Love it! John also bought an electronic sharpener and we had a fat time together when we got home, sharpening pencils!

We set sail for home and called into Rudd's Pub for lunch. Got home Sunday evening and had toasted sandwiches for dinner - very casual! Lynda, John and Merc packed up and headed south this morning, so the party is over for me......but what a fabulous weekend! And what about.........

my excellent pink beanie!! Complete with (sparse) pom pom. There were a few snide remarks about my pom pom so I'll need to sharpen up my pom pom skills! Do they hold pom pom classes anywhere?? I made it on a pom pom maker but am thinking I need to try again with the cardboard. I did make one of the cardboard but went skew whiff somewhere and when I cut it apart, I ended up with a handful of chopped up wool! Gads! Which is why I bought the pom pom maker.

Another Christmas finish......

2010-06-10T10:23:00.000+10:00

Ooops! Not a great photo! This is the little pin cushion I made for the mini-gift in my Early Bird Christmas Crafting. I am so happy with it. I got the pattern from here and as a very beginner, it took me a while to get the hang of it but then it was very easy. The photo shows more of my flowers than the pin cushion, but you get the general idea. It didn't take me very long to make it and I'm going to make one for myself as well. I love it! So that is two gifts ready for Christmas. Cannot believe it! I am becoming hooked on knitting and crocheting but Lynda says I have to back off a bit or I will be in strife with another stash - i.e. wool! I am also knitting a pair of slipper socks and another beanie.

And speaking of flowers, this gorgeous rose was waiting for me this morning. It is just beautiful and gets bigger and bigger as it opens up. The perfume is so strong that it will waft into the lounge room occasionally. How special is that?

Hmmmm......Now what in the world could this little stash be for???? It is going to be my next project for my Christmas Crafting! The embroidery was done on my 300E and turned out perfectly. I was so happy with it. Can't wait to sew this one up. I love the colours and it turns out that the pink fabric is a perfect match for the embroidery, even though it doesn't really look like it here.

Totally excited about my visitors who will turn up some time tomorrow! Yaahh!! It is still cold here so we'll have jail food for dinner. I am thinking stew and sticky date pud (not in the same bowl though!). Saturday we'll visit some patchwork shops and maybe go to the movies. Sunday and Monday will see us road tripping! What an excellent way to spend a long weekend. Better go buy some food to feed the hungry travellers and then put the fire hose though the house!

A Christmas Finish.....

2010-06-07T12:55:00.000+10:00

Yeeha! Magoo might not qualify for a mini-gift but he certainly qualifies for Early Bird Christmas Crafting because he is a Christmas present for The Sweet One. It is a Melly and Me pattern that I bought ages ago a little while back and was going to make him for last Christmas. It was a total pain in the butt a tad cumbersome to blanket stitch his eyes on, after the head was attached and stuffed. If I made him again, I would put the eyes on first. Here is Magoo, relaxing in the garden. One of his friends drives around in a little black Merc but Magoo figures he might as well become used to an uncomfortable life. I am really chuffed to get this done and feel quite motivated for keep going on my Christmas craft.

What a busy weekend! I also got the Diamond Friendship block for Sylvia's Bridal Sampler done. It is block N-10 in the quilt and after the nightmare of New Mexico, it was very encouraging to be able to do this block. Clearly my pressing skills are a tad minimal but we can do that later. Just wondering whether I should make another 'announcement' to Lynda, since she has also done her block. Hmm...methinks I will leave it for a bit. I know she is madly packing for the road trip.

Tadaaah! Here is the beginnings of my second funny hat excellent beanie! I decided not to put the pom pom on the navy beanie but will definitely putting one on this. I am really enjoying the knitting, something I never thought I'd say. So that was how I spent my weekend and most of today.

I guess I better get out of my jammies now and do a quick whip around before Bill the Builder descends on me! Time flies when you've having fun!

Hmmm....

2010-06-05T16:57:00.001+10:00

Was trying to put Dawn Hay Designs on my blog and couldn't get it to appear. Guess why? Because Dawn's blog is now called "As Sweet as Cinnamon", that's why! What a lovely blog. Go check it out!

To pom or not to pom...

2010-06-04T11:34:00.001+10:00

Still Life with Beanie

.....that is the question. Mum says to definitely pom, Paul said no, Lynda said yes and Angela just laughed. The pattern doesn't have a pom pom on it but Mum and Lynda say it ain't a beanie if it ain't pommed. I think I'll have to go with the experts. This beanie is going to be donated to a wonderful group called Knitting for Brisbane's Needy. The group is run by a lovely lady, Karen, and everyone knits, crochets or sews items to be donated. The items are given away to people in need and in this cooler weather, there is a great demand for the items. I can think of little worse than being homeless and cold. How can this happen in a country like Australia?

While The Sweet One and I were wandering around Lincraft in a daze yesterday, I spotted this book on sale. Is that a sign or what?? Naturally, I bought it and have been munching Mint Slice biscuits and leafing through it. From the little I know, it seems to be really good. It has a pattern for what they say is a simple baby jacket, so I am going to have a crack at that, after I finish my next beanie (already started!) The Sweet One asked me if I was going to make another funny hat, but I'm not going to dwell on that. He's 2 1/2. What would he know?

I girded my loins and attacked my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler block, New Mexico. What a freaking nightmare that was! I unpicked it three times and it still looks a bit dodgy but that is the finished article, let me tell you. The cream and brown bits are foundation pieced so explain to me how they could possibly turn out wonky????? Wonky they are but let me tell you, wonky they are staying! I ain't unpicking it again!

I was thinking of mowing the lawn next, but then I thought I should attack the massive amount of ironing but now I'm overwhelmed by all that so I think I'll just sew. It's a beautiful day!

Sewing room revisited...

2010-06-03T09:33:00.001+10:00

This is looking from the carport door, into the room. The beautiful cabinet on the left was made by my son for my birthday and it is to hold all my cones of embroidery thread. It is to go on a wall, if ever when I work out where to put it. The TV in front of the bookcase is to be dumped, as is the old sideboard and stereo system beside the laundry door (LHS). I really like the sideboard, but it needs a lot of restoring and I don't have anywhere to put it anyway....so she's gorn!

The cupboards under this window hold most of my papercraft stuff (excluding scrapbook stuff) and the big cupboard to the right of that has (carefully labelled!) storage boxes, stabilizers, fabric and stuff like that.

This is the doover and behind that are my embroidery machine, my computer that holds my embroidery designs and the fabric cupboard (also made by my son). The cupboards that they sit on hold cones of embroidery thread (till I can move them to the other cupboard) a box of tops to be quilted, hundreds a couple of UFOs and some scrapbooking stuff. The trollys just to the right of the fabric cupboard are my sewing trolly and my scrapbooking trolly.

And this is my sewing area with two tables behind it. I use the tables for cutting. I don't know why, but the whole setup is marginally inconvenient so I haven't hung up any of my dollies or my clock or anything. Bill the Builder will have a total meltdown something to say if I start whacking nails into the wall and then need to yank them out again. The cone cupboard is a hell of a lot somewhat larger than I expected so I have a quandry with placing that as well.

These whopping great goofy boots have found their way into my room. I suspect the Imelda of the building world Bill the Builder was staking a small claim. Said boots have since been removed! The floor isn't as diabolical as it looks, although it is just polished concrete. It is easy to vacuum and I just do it as part of my normal vacuuming. I still have a whopping great cupboard in the laundry full of stuff and haven't quite worked out where I'm going to relocate that too, although most of it should probably go to Vinnies or the dump. In the unlikely event When the sideboard goes, I'll put a low level bookcase there to hold my pattern books, embroidery disks and stuff like that. At the moment, it is also in the laundry cupboard. Suggestions welcome!

But what about................

my excellent beanie!! It's finished now except I don't know how to get it off the needle so am speeding over to Mum's soon for beanie removing lessons. I am so chuffed with it. Mum was quite vicious somewhat puzzled about my design feature down the bottom but I thought it looked OK. Besides, I wasn't about to pull it out.

Still wet here. Hope the weather improves before Lynda and John get here.

Christmas is coming....

2010-06-02T10:16:00.001+10:00

and it's not that far away!! Here is a dodgy photo of the front of my Early Bird Christmas Crafting journal. It is made up of some test stitching I did on my Janome 300E and some Christmas blocks that a forum friend and I swapped some years back.

And here is an even dodgier one of the back. I've written up my lists and am ready to go. This is going to be the Christmas where I am organized and ready! No more sewing labels on Boxing Day, no more yank-backs! I will be ready.

Cold, dark and overcast here today so it'll be jail food for dinner tonight. It's perfect stitching weather too. I am going to do some work on my Sylvia's Bridal Sampler, mainly resew a squiffy block I made. This one turned out OK although the colours are better than they show in this photo.

This is Yankee Puzzle and is block I-9 in the quilt. The one I have to resew is New Mexico. I've unpicked it three times now. It's a pretty block but has nightmare measurements like 15/16ths! Who dreams up blocks with those measurements?? I didn't have a 15/16ths measurer so did it by eye, which clearly was not an accurate measurement! It was really wonky but showed up as even wonkier in the photo so couldn't possibly post that. Might have to extend the deadline on this one!

Flowers for me from Paulie. What a nice boy he is! They were to thank me for looking after The Sweet One while he and Ang went to the movies. Aren't they just beautiful? Pity they smell like cat pee (the flowers, not Ang and Paulie!). Oh well. I'll just burn more incense.

And the high spot is that the knitting is coming along nicely! Still struggling with the needle in the sleeve issue but we'll get there.

Fabulous weekend

2010-05-30T17:30:00.002+10:00

I love the Gold Coast! So close to home, so beautiful and so affordable. Angela and Paul gave Bill the Builder a weekend at the Gold Coast for his birthday. Naturally, I had to go too! We stayed at the Holiday Inn and it was just fabulous! This was the night view from our room on the 20th floor. It was pouring rain when we woke up on Saturday morning, so we didn't leave until later....................

............which was a good thing because I had to make my block of the week for the Sylvia's Bridal Sampler.

BOW 1 Ladies' Aid Album Block F~8

How would that have looked if I was in charge of choosing the blocks and setting deadlines and all sorts of other official stuff, and then I didn't get done in time??? Ooowaah! It wouldn't have been good at all! And now to announce (don't you just love announcing??) BOW 2 to everyone ie Lynda. Lynda has already done her block for the week.

Lynda says this photo doesn't show the colours very well. I think it will be just amazing to compare our different colours with the same blocks as we get further along. We were planning on putting the quilt together when we go to Kingaroy in April next year but that means 14 blocks a month and we just aren't up to it yet!

Here is where we are going in April next year. I am going to be the guest speaker! Gads! It is an open day and all funds raised go to really worthwhile charities. There are all sorts of demonstrations and it is a fabulous day. If anyone is in the region, make sure you head on out. Food is fabulous too!

I have to go now. I have to 'announce' the block(s) for next week. There are two because they are easy and somebody got a jump start on me!

Let's have a fantastic week!

PS - I knitted three more rows of my beanie!!

Who's been sleeping in my bed.......

2010-05-28T18:35:00.002+10:00

Every Friday, I look after this gorgeous little package! He is grandbaby number 3 - aka The Sweet One. We have a wonderful time together - lots of goofing off! Today, we cleaned the car, did some washing, chased Barney No Friends, had a loooong nap and watched Madagascar. It was a full day!

Snappy dresser!

My friend Lynda and I had a really ~~stupid~~ great idea. We are going to start making the blocks in Sylvia's Bridal Sampler. Each Monday, I will choose a block (two if it's a really easy block) and we both have to have it made by the following Sunday. We figure we should have them all finished by about 2020! We are both working on ~~heaps~~ a couple of projects but ~~if ever~~ once we've got those finished, it will be full steam ahead. Bill the Builder and I are going to the Gold Coast for the weekend at daybreak tomorrow so I'll need to get my skates on.

P.S. I knitted another row on my beanie!

Learning to Knit

2010-05-27T15:20:00.000+10:00

My mother is teaching me to knit. It's not panning out too well, let me tell you.This is eventually going to be a beanie but it sure is hard going! The needles Mum gave me were too short so I bought longer ones. Now the ends stick down into the sleeves of my jammies. When I reported this to Mum, she gave me a stunned look and said "how the hell do you manage that?" which I tend to feel is not what an encouraging teacher would say. Sometimes, I think Dr. Spock would have a field day with my mother.

It's been a while......

2010-05-27T13:20:00.003+10:00

After much nagging from someone who shall remain nameless (but whose initials are Lynda), I am back in blogland! I have found so many new blogs and I get such pleasure from reading them, that I've been shamed into resurrecting my own blog.

It has been a busy few months - some birthdays, a trip to the USA, a scrapbook retreat, a Christmas, a road trip down south, some more birthdays, a quilt retreat and another scrapbook retreat.

I am now unemployed and only just starting to get used to that and enjoy it properly. It is a learned skill, just as being employed is a learned skill. I thought I'd have a lot more time for quilting, sewing, reading and the other good things in life but it seems like I have less! Note to self - get a grip and get organized!

I embroidered a set of 7 "Days of the Week" tea towels for Angela's birthday (yes, she did want them!) and they turned out really well. Bought cotton/linen blend towels from here which were just a treat to embroider. Service was amazing and the towels arrived the next day! Then I used designs from Embroidery Library. They turned out beautifully and Ang was delighted. The last scrapbook retreat was also part of her gift.

Our trip to the States was just fabulous! San Francisco, New York, Boston, Washington, Los Angeles and heaps of other places because Bill the Builder is obsessed about car hire and we always do a lot of driving around. This results in nasty slurs against my navigational abilities, even though we had the trusty Tom Tom on board. We were driving from Washington back to New York, hopefully via Philidelphia but ended up alarmingly close to Canada!! MUCH abuse as we got further and further away from New York!

Oooops! Turned out I had left the "no toll roads" option on and all roads from Washington to New York must have been tolls! We chose "no tolls" so that we could see something of the countryside. It was a fabulous holiday and we are thinking of going again around the same time this year.

Bill the Builder says I have to get a job if I want to go anywhere, but I think..................naaah!

Further along than it looks...

2009-07-27T17:41:00.006+10:00

Well, the plasterer did his thing all day Friday (I am assuming, since I was at work and he was here) and the plastering is finished and sanded. Boy is it sanded!! There was plaster dust over everything. What a mess. But at least it's done and ready for the electrician and paint. It doesn't look like much, but Bill the Builder and I worked all weekend, cleaning and sorting and cleaning and throwing out and cleaning....

Not sure when the electrician is coming. Hopefully this week. Bill the Builder has cut out for power points and it's all ready to go. What a nightmare job it all was and with very little to see for it.

The next thing I want to do is measure everything. One of the reasons I started this blog is that I searched the net for ideas for setting up a room like this and couldn't find anything useful. I will do a floor plan of everything I want to do in this room, with measurements of the room and measurements of what I need to fit in here.

I want to be able to quilt on the doover without banging my hip on the cutting table and I want to be able to use my hot glue gun without getting third degree burns. Well, I'll probably still get third degree burns but I want it to be because I am careless and not because of lack of useable facilities. Yes, there is a difference.

Here's what I want to put in there: my quilting doover and be able to use it with ease, a cutting table that I can walk all the way round and will take a quilt that will fit on the doover, my embroidery machine with room to set up the pattern on one side and all the cottons on the other side, my sewing machine with room to put the pieces on one side and the finished blocks on the other side, my ironing board and iron close to the sewing machine, my fabric cupboards, plenty of book shelves, a rod to hold my roll of batting, my design wall (thank you Miss Lynda), enough bench space to do scrap booking and card making, something workable to hold all my embroidery discs as well as paper patterns including pattern books but separate to all my magazines and some kind of rod system to hold all my 2 1/2" strips (because I have become obsessed with 2 1/2" squares but that might pass soon because of the quilt centre I have just finished for my gorgeous DIL), proper storage for WIPs including tops that are yet to be quilted.

I'm still getting my head around everything that I actually want in there. I want to get it as right as I can first time round and if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them. I am thinking that tomorrow I will shove everything out of the way so that I can quilt a top I've made for my daughter's friend. Did I mention that I've four quilts to be finished for handover by the end of September?

Oooh....off for a glass of red to soothe my shattered nerves!

Moving right along....

2009-07-23T09:21:00.009+10:00

Last night, Bill the Builder and his trusty slave (that would be me) replaced all the cornice in the soon-to-be-but-not-soon-enough quilting room. Bill the Builder started barking orders at the slave until the slave stomped off in a sulk and poured a glass of red wine.

The slave soon returned after being fortified by a particularly snappy little red, which warmed the slave's tummy (and personality). My quilting doover is under those blue and white sheets on the left.Bill the Builder says he is very keen to have this project finished because he is fed up with all the mess. Clearly, he is a neat freak and I think I can prove this theory with the next picture. It is the front and one bay of his shed.

It is a four bay shed, with a huge skillion to the front and a smaller one to the back. He has oozed out of the shed in both directions and has started planning where he is going to put the camping gear in the new room. As if THAT is going to happen! That wooden sign above the door reads "Old Ba#%$^ds Shed". I bought it for him. I am SUCH a good wife.

This morning at daybreak (actually, an hour before daybreak) the plasterer turned up again. He is plastering away out there now and I'm thinking I should rush out with coffee or something, to keep him alert and plastering. Oooh, I do hope he can finish it today.

It's a challenge!

2009-07-21T09:04:00.013+10:00

This is Barney No Friends, Bill's psychologically damaged cat, soaking up a few rays and getting sun energy to power him through whatever nasty plans he has for today. Following are the "before" photos of my soon-to-be-and-well-deserved new sewing and quilting room. Bill the Builder is going to convert the carport into a lovely, dust-free and well lit room for me. At the moment, everything is pulled away from the walls to have the plastering done.
These two sets of cupboards are out on the driveway and hold all my clothes sewing stuff (don't do that anymore) and my papercraft stuff. That is Barney No Friends striking a pose in front of them because he thinks everything is about him......and it's not.

This is what the carport currently looks like. Urkle!! Everything is pulled away from the walls so that the plasterer can do his thing. Hopefully, he will finish this coming Thursday. And then what I have to do, is fit this (in current small sewing room)

and this (one door of three door cupboard in laundry)

and this (cupboard with fabric and thread in current sewing room and recently tidied up by dear friend, Miss Lynda, but since messed up again by me)

and this (one side of current small sewing room)

and this (cutting and embroidery table in current small,unworkable sewing room)

and this (other side of current small, uncomfortable, unworkable, de-motivating sewing room, including built-in wardrobe full of plastic tubs of fabric, UFOs and stuff)

all back into the remodelled carport! It's not as bad as it looks........actually, it's worse than it looks!! But I shall do as my mother is always advising and "haul myself up by my own bootstraps" and "gird my loins" and get on with it. Oh, hang on. I don't HAVE any bootstraps! Perhaps I shall just get on with it.

I've finally done it!

2009-07-20T14:09:00.001+10:00

After much thought, I've finally decided to set up a blog! So far, it has been relatively easy, considering that I am a card-carrying techno-wimp. One of the main reasons for my blog is to document the progress on converting the carport to a u-beaut sewing and quilting room for me! At the moment, it is a disaster area because everything had to be pulled away from the walls so that they could be sheeted, plastered and painted.

I had to bite the bullet and turf out some things (this is also a work in progress). So far, I have closed my eyes and thrown out the two years of Better Homes and Gardens which went back to 1981. It wasn't easy. Then I started on ancient copies of Australian Country Craft and Decorating, some so old they didn't have the separate pattern sheet! I've taken out the patterns that I like (and I might get round to doing) and put them in plastic sleeves. Then I threw the magazines out!

Most of the plastering is done and is scheduled to be finished on Thursday. Here's hoping!