Baby Quilt for Willow

Yes, the finishes are coming thick & fast at the moment!

This one is for my cousin who became Dad to baby Willow about a month ago.

Started with 5" squares, added a couple of borders (I like the picture frame effect) and used another Ikea print on the back. The binding is from Prints Charming at Spotlight but I was a little disappointed with the quality. Perfectly fine for binding though!

Now on to my next project......some scrappy string quilt squares, me thinks!

New Vespa

Latest addition to the family.

Because this happened to the other one...

Yes, Mr G was involved in a nasty accident and knocked off his Vespa on his way home from work. A car coming out of a side street failed to give way and Mr G rode straight into him - only doing 40kph thank goodness or it would have been a lot worse! As it was - 4 broken ribs, broken bones in his hand/wrist and a concussion, a week in hospital, 4 weeks off work and a graduated return to work. He's still a long way from mended; still sleeps a lot, tires easily and is vague (or vaguer than usual). Won't be back at work full time for at least another 4-6 weeks.

The red Vespa was written off but he has bought it back from the insurance company as the engine was rebuilt less than 12mths ago so was worth a lot more to him. He'll transfer it to the new Vespa as, despite all this, he still loves riding and doesn't want to give it up.

Crazy man!!

Finally! A finish for 2013!

It's been a long time between posts because I haven't had anything worth showing off. But I've finally finished 2 quilts that have taken a loooong time. They've actually been finished for a few weeks but I haven't had the right conditions to take photos.

I've made these quilts as a huge THANK YOU for 2 teachers Miss R had last year that really understood her and her learning needs. Miss R has struggled with understanding numbers and maths concepts from the very beginning. We've spent a small fortune on Maths tutors since about Year 3, with marginal success. She just didn't GET it. Times tables were a huge struggle and even simple addition and subtraction were tricky (and still are sometimes). She would get it at the time but couldn't seem to retain it for the next time.....very frustrating. She had a really good teacher in Year 7 that made numbers fun (and relevant) and she slowly started to grasp these concepts. But last year - WOW! It was like the penny finally dropped, the blinkers fell off, she had the lightbulb moment....think of a cliche and it add it here. She improved enormously, to the point where she is doing NAPLAN this year without a qualm. (She may not be up to standard but the important thing here is SHE THINKS SHE CAN DO IT. Two years ago she was just too anxious to even try.)

So here's a numeracy themed quilt for Ms S....with my eternal gratitude. I just hopes she gets her as a Maths teacher again in the Senior School.

Black, red & grey

even the back has a numeracy theme

The other quilt is for her Science teacher. Ms M is an absolute sweetheart who appears to be rather stern initially but is so caring. I absolutely hope that she is in her Care Group for Year 12. She understood Miss R's learning needs completely and would break down tasks into manageable chunks so that R could organise herself and (most importantly) achieve. She would email me almost every week so I knew where/what/why Miss R was doing and add my own gentle reminders. (And no, that wasn't always received graciously.) Again, R is so much more confident this year because of the excellent work Ms M did last year. So this beautiful specimen is for her.....I particularly like the back although you can see that I didn't centre it very well.

Very happy with how both these turned out. It's Learning Reviews next week so we'll be taking that opportunity to deliver them, with thanks.

AJ2013

You may recall that 3 years ago my little Scout headed off for a huge adventure - AJ2010 in Sydney. Fast forward 3 years and my taller-than-me Scout has just come home from AJ2013 in Maryborough in Queensland.

Once again, she had a blast. I am in awe at the dedication of ALL leaders (not just from our Scout Hall) who give their time and their holidays to make sure 11,500 scouts have a simply amazing time. And the activities and the entertainment were simply amazing - Timomatic, Reece Mastin, Josh Thomas, Cosentino, Jessica Mauboy, Justice Crew.....we really got value for money!

She came home absolutely filthy and some of her clothes are currently in the washing machine for the second time. It was hot, the humidity was unbearable at times (especially when you are not used to it) but she wouldn't have missed a second. She talked non-stop from the moment we picked her up from the airport to the moment she crashed on the couch - and slept for 4hrs.

For 10 days I was glued to Facebook, getting updates from 2 pages - the SA contingent and the AJ2013 page. My Scout didn't feature but it was lovely to know what type of activities she was participating in. I did get a couple of phone calls, and 2 emails (that told me very little but at least I knew she was still alive).

Her troop was made up of Scouts from her own group + 2 others. She has made firm friends with girls from the other groups which I hope will continue. She has been independent and learned to fend for herself and I really hope that will continue too!

This year she moves up to the next section, Venturers. She has been looking forward to it for the last few months but now it is tinged with sadness as she leaves her good friends behind. A few will join her during the course of the year though, so that will be something to look forward to.


I know I have said it before, but Scouts has been terrific for my daughter. I would recommend it to anyone.