Quiltarama

And another that I haven't shared yet...

2012-02-11T11:55:00.000+10:30

I was asked by a friend to make quilts for her 2 daughters as Xmas presents. One is very musical and the other is training to be a teacher to work with Indigenous communities in the APY lands. I know that I have shared the musical quilt but haven't posted the finished product for the Indigenous one.

It turned out rather well. I was a bit dubious about it but it came together beautifully and the fabrics, while not exactly my cup of tea, look brilliant together. It's also quite large at around 86" x 68" so tricky to get it all in one shot.

Front

Back

Christmas Table Runner

2012-02-10T10:00:00.000+10:30

Yes I know Christmas was a while ago but I was looking at some downloaded photos and realised I probably hadn't shared this one. I threw it together quite quickly and think I only did the binding the day before Christmas Eve. I'd bought a layer cake of a Kate Spain christmas collection obviously with something in mind, but then I couldn't remember what I had planned, so ended up with this simple layout. Turned out rather nicely, I thought.

Extending the Stash

2012-02-09T12:55:00.001+10:30

I've been very good lately about buying new fabric - having 2 mortgages will do that to you - but when Clare mentioned that she had bought some lovely fabric from Spotlight recently, I thought I would check it out. I was heading down to Victor on the weekend - it was Mr G's weekend to work and I somehow managed to offload Miss R overnight so I was ON MY OWN - so I dropped in at the store in Colonnades. Now, this is not my side of town, but I managed to find my way and not get lost and then had a lovely time browsing.

Some of the fabrics were down to $4/m, some $6/m and some were 30% off. Theresa would be pleased to know that one of those prints is called Feedsack, and I have been more than happy to express my views on feedsack prints (not always complimentary LOL). And I liked that blue floral on the bottom there so much that I bought all that was left on the roll - not quite 2 metres. I tried to get some colours that I don't normally buy, so some lovely yellows and greys and there's also some from the new V&A collection. I've found Spotlight fabric to be a bit meh in the past but the quality has improved dramatically! In fact, looking at this little stash again has made me want to stock up some more....maybe while Miss R is at Scouts????

Buying a new mobile phone

2012-02-05T18:26:00.001+10:30

used to be so straightforward. Just open the box, pop in your SIM card, import your contacts and away you go! Personalise the ring tone and Bob's your uncle. :-)

I just bought a new Android phone. I think that bloody Android is laughing at me.....

Normal Transmission has Resumed

2012-01-31T21:59:00.000+10:30

Yes, summer holidays have come to an end and it's back to the school routine! Which means for me back to 9am-3pm each day. Now while I will miss having a whole day off, I also LOVE bolting out the door at 3pm...or looking at my watch around 2pm and thinking "only an hour to go". And those early starts were killing me.Now I don't mean to give the impression that I hate my job, I just don't particularly love it and don't really miss it when I'm not there. However, having said that, I have come to the conclusion over the past few weeks that it is just as well I do have a job, otherwise I could easily become a recluse and never leave the house! Think I better plan for some volunteer work when I eventually retire.....

The new school year started well, with Miss R finding the remains of what we assume was a sandwich in her lunchbox, left over from last year. Fortunately the 'science experiment' was fully contained in a ziplock bag which went straight in the bin with no need for the Hazmat suits. Seriously thought Miss R was old enough now not to have to check her school bag, but maybe not. Then in our haste to get out of the house, I neglected to change the Havianas I'd slipped on to put up the outdoor blinds (was a bit windy yesterday am) so had to wear them at work all day. Oops! No-one said anything so obviously no-one notices what I wear. Must wear pjs and slippers one day to see if that gets a reaction. (Although I did get several comments the day I wore a dress - I readily admit that I rarely wear frocks these days and I did feel like I should be swishing around singing "I feel pretty, oh so pretty...") But the important thing is that Miss R came home from her first day of Year 8 (high school here in SA) happy and looking forward to the year ahead. Yes! Hopefully the feeling lasts. And I've spent this evening writing all the relevant dates on the calendar - camp, Sports Day, Swimming Carnival etc - and filling out the multitude of forms that need to be completed at the start of the school year.

Anyway, now that we're back to a routine, I hope to be able to get some quilting done. I've been very slack in regards to stitching and have been quite envious of how many projects others seem to have managed (you know who you are!). But I also think I needed this break to refresh and recharge, ready to leap with enthusiasm into my next project! (Have been checking out the Moda Bakeshop and have found quite a bit of inspiration.)

Things I have learned from having a Holiday Rental

2012-01-24T12:11:00.001+10:30

People are strange. (Actually I already knew this, it has just been reinforced.)

People have different standards of cleanliness. We've had both extremes - the ones that treated it like a hotel and just picked up their personal belongings and walked out the door, and the ones that have left it absolutely spotless AND left a bottle of bubbly in the fridge as a thank you. (No, no, *I* should be thanking YOU.)

Generally speaking, when people say they are bringing their well behaved pets, they really do have well behaved pets. Apart from recent evidence of a digger, and the ones mentioned previously that didn't bother picking up after their Shetland pony, there hasn't really been any evidence that a dog has been there....no scratch marks on furniture, no smells. Mr G was right, people who love their pets enough to bring them on holiday really do look after them (and their rental accommodation) well.

People really do appreciate the little touches, like toilet paper and Glad Wrap. Before we started this venture, we sought advice from a workmate who has a holiday rental in a nearby seaside town. He doesn't leave ANYTHING in the pantry and thinks we're mad for keeping the basics - oil, butter, foil, glad wrap, coffe, milo, soap, toilet paper, paper towel. Well apart from the fact that I can't be bothered carrying those things back and forth whenever we want to stay, I just think it's helpful when you first arrive somewhere to be able to have a cup of coffee and write your shopping list. And we've had several comments from guests letting us know that they appreciated how well stocked the kitchen was, so I really think it pays off. (This will, of course, be confirmed when we get some repeat bookings.)

Some people really don't understand the difference between rubbish and recycling. (The number of discarded nappies I've had to pull out of the recycling bin.....shudder!)

Driving back and forwards to do the cleaning really is tiring BUT I know how I want the house presented and I'm not convinced anyone else (including Mr G at times) will leave it to the same standard. Maybe I just need to let go a little......I mean it's not 5 star and we're not charging 5 star prices. (No, nup, don't think I can do it....)

We are going to have to think about scheduling 'unavailable' times so we can get down there to do maintenance and gardening. Yes, I know we'll have plenty of opportunity over winter but that doesn't help to establish a low maintenance garden over a hot summer.

Sometimes Mr G does know what he's talking about. I was very dubious about the whole "holiday rental" thing but we've been fully booked since the week before Christmas, our occupancy hasn't fallen below 30% since we started in October and we've made enough money to cover the mortgage & costs to the end of April. Projecting a loss of only around $8k for this financial year (and we will hopefully get more bookings between now and end of June so that figure will change). Mind you, I might change my mind if we ever get the tenants from hell!

School Holidays

2012-01-20T20:44:00.000+10:30

Previous years, the summer school holidays seem to go by really quickly but this year it seems that Miss R has been home forever. I think the difference is that she is old enough to be more independent and so I'm not constantly arranging to drop her here there and everywhere to be looked after by someone. It's always a bunfight to get time off in school holidays, so this year I arranged to work 3 x 8hr days and take the remaining 2 days as flex/annual leave (I normally work school hours ie 6hrs/day). It's actually worked out really well and I'm hoping that I can continue this arrangement in the future. The days I've worked have been busy, but it's also great knowing that the reward is 2 days off - I really miss having days off during the week but life has been easier for after school activities & supervising homework if I'm home at a reasonable hour, so I'll be going back to that for school terms. As goodness know, Miss R cannot organise her way out of a paperbag, so leaving her to do homework unsupervised?? A recipe for disaster, given that she's starting Year 8 this year.

So we've been having a relaxing time, not doing too much, spending far too much time online but still managing to get some sewing done. I've made a couple more of these little purses to give away (do you know, I've made about 15 of these and have given every single one away....and taken no photos!), my scrappy quilt top is finished and in a month or so when the weather starts to cool, I'll start turning all my quilt tops into finished quilts. Right now I can't bear the thought of quilting them.....just too hot. (When I start a quilt, I like to finish it, but am having to compromise for now.)

Here's how the scrap vomit top turned out.The solid colour is called Turquoise, but when I started putting the blocks together, all I could see was Port Power teal....

Now as it happens, Mr G's mother was a one-eyed Port Power fan and his aunt (who lived next door) is the same. So I made the top smaller so it's lap size and will put that aside for her for Xmas. We usually buy her a small gift but she absolutely spoils Miss R so I hope she will appreciate this. However, it has made only a tiny, tiny dent in my scraps so I will continue to churn some more blocks out - just with a different solid colour! Months ago I made some scrappy string blocks so will use some of them for the back - I don't think it will look too scrappy, will it??

The weather was so good yesterday that I did about 5 loads of washing - one load was dry by the time the next was ready to hang out. Must have been in a bit of a spring cleaning mood as I decided to wash the cushion covers in the lounge, and thought I'd wash a few quilts at the same time. Naturally the red from the covers ran......one quilt was fine but the other 2 showed signs of 'pink'....but not all the white turned pink so it was very selective. Today I managed to find some colour run remover and it has worked a treat, so lesson learned the hard way! Wash the reds together! (I usually do but was being complacent.)

Neo had a trip to the vet yesterday to have his teeth cleaned. He has absolutely shocking teeth, despite us giving him 'crunchy' dog food, bones, Dentastix etc and so he ended up having 4 teeth removed. He had the same procedure done about 12 months ago where he also had 2-3 teeth removed...vet said this was most unusual. Not much else we can do though, so looks like he'll be costing us a small fortune each year until there are no teeth left!! We've been assured that dogs can survive very well without any teeth - good news as I'm definitely not forking out for doggie dentures!

Well, this has turned into a bit of a novel so will leave it there for now.....

More 2 1/2" squares

2012-01-08T18:47:00.000+10:30

Ever since I started quilting a few years ago (June long weekend 2009), I've been cutting my scraps into 2 1/2" squares with the idea that one day I'll make a scrappy quilt. I used a lot of them when I made the Triple Celtic Ring quilt for my aunt....

and a couple of days ago I stumbled on inspiration for another.

So yesterday and today has been busy cutting scraps into 2 1/2" squares....

and I can't wait to get started on piecing the blocks.

The sad thing is, I probably have enough scraps to make about 6 of these quilts. :-)

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T17:45:00.000+10:30

I do so love these lazy days between Xmas & New Year. Usually we take the opportunity to tackle a largish project at home, but this year I am suffering from a major bout of 'can't-be-bothered-itis' so we've barely left the house. Miss R has been at a friend's for the last few days so I was going to take the opportunity to go to the movies but ........didn't happen.

So what have I done? Well, yesterday I watched the entire 4th season of Mad Men (can't wait for season 5!!). I've also wasted an extraordinary amount of time playing on the Acer tablet I indulged in for Xmas (checking Facebook 15 times an hour does not make it any more interesting) but I have managed to start cutting out fabric for a new quilting project. I do have a couple of others in construction phase but too, too hot for anything but piecing. Actually too hot for anything really. (And why is NYE always so hot???)

I'm also slowly attempting to transfer everything from the ancient desktop computer to the newer Windows 7 laptop but it's not going smoothly. I've discovered that the versions of Microsoft Office and Outlook on the laptop are trial versions only. I've bought a version of Office but it's the student version and doesn't have Outlook. Ok, maybe I can live with only using Gmail & Google calendars....nope, not the same. So still struggling with "what to do??" on that - buying Microsoft Outlook is quite expensive although it has been suggested that I can get an Academic version cheaper. More research involved....do you see why I said I'm SLOWLY doing this? At this rate, I might be able to retire the desktop by NEXT Christmas....

Anyway, I wish you all the very best for 2012. I hope it is a good one for you - I know many people will not be sad to see the back of 2011 but it hasn't been that bad for us (2005/2006 & 2008 were much, much worse). The holiday house is going well so far, but I'll save that for another post. And Mum bought us all XLotto tickets for tonight so there's always a possibility of a FANTASTIC new year!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T21:11:00.000+10:30

I know, I haven't blogged for so long! I have had a few things to say but never got around to posting. Right now we're having a tiny family crisis with a very sick family member living interstate. So I'll just wish whoever is reading a very Merry Christmas and I'll be back in the new year sometime.

I'll leave you with this picture of the baby quilt I made for my cousin. She had a little girl a couple of days ago - nearly 9lb! - and hopes to be home on Saturday afternoon. So welcome to the world Baby Abigail.

Disappointed

2011-11-07T21:35:00.000+10:30

I had a lovely day yesterday at the Quilt Fair with Theresa and Clare. I bought some fat quarters for my beach themed quilt I'll be making for the holiday house, some new blades and enjoyed checking out the quilts on display. I was quite keen to look at handbag patterns as I have a bit of a handbag fetish and it would be nice to whip up a handbag to match an outfit, as well as great for Christmas presents. So I looked at a few different stalls and bought 2 different patterns.

I wanted to get all I needed from the first stall so I could go home and get started but she had sold out of the important stuff - the bag wadding and the clasp - but I could order it online. Great, just have to add postage. The next one I bought, I decided to buy as the kit, so I knew that everything I needed was included. I also made a point of asking whether the instructions were easy to follow as I can sew, but had never made a handbag before. I needed to buy the wadding seperately but assumed that everything else was there so I could rush home and get that bag started!!

However, I found that I needed fusible webbing, which wasn't included. And the instructions are dreadful - no pictures to show the steps involved. I do know how to read and follow a pattern, but I've had to read each step over and over to try and work out what needs to be done, and I'm convinced that steps are missing. Trying to work out how to attach the base has me quite baffled, as nowhere does it indicate how it gets turned right side out. I've given up and am making it up as I go along! Haven't quite worked out how to attach the lining yet but I'll cobble something together.

So all in all, I'm feeling terribly ripped off....and I can't even show you a picture of progress to date as I'm STILL having trouble uploading pictures to Blogger!

And here's how the fabric stash turned out

2011-10-30T13:37:00.000+10:30

It does look very pretty and neat but I'm still in two minds as to whether it was worth it.

Someone must have cut down a tree

2011-10-29T09:31:00.000+10:30

Because now we actually have sea views from the kitchen window! Not just sea glimpses (if you stand on tippy toes).

And yes, it's a great view of the neighbours roof. Men were traipsing around on it a few weeks ago, with much measuring going on, so we're pretty certain some solar panels are going to appear on there at some stage.

The Face of Misery

2011-10-28T21:58:00.000+10:30

Poor old Anzac had a trip to the vet today. And the poor old Visa hasn't recovered yet either. But at least the Visa card doesn't have to have a bucket on its head for the NEXT 10 DAYS. Once Anzac gets over the grogginess, he ain't gonna be happy.

We noticed a couple of days ago that he seemed to be licking his left paw a lot and when I finally got a chance to have a good look, I could see blood, so off we went to the vet. He'd ripped his dew claw, and as he'd done the same thing about 12 months ago (which also involved expensive surgery) the vet suggested we have them removed permanently. Anzac doesn't co-operate at the vet's - he's a very anxious dog and I have the bruised cheekbone to prove it - so he was booked in for today to have the works - both dew claws removed, vaccinations, teeth cleaned and nails clipped, all while under full anesthesia.

He only has one paw bandaged though as that one was oozing a little blood. The vet has used internal stitches so Anzac won't have to go back to have them removed BUT if he manages to pull them out, then it's back under the anesthesia to have them put back in. So the bucket stays ON!

School Reunion

2011-10-18T21:00:00.000+10:30

I have my school reunion coming up next month - 30 years since I did Year 12 (or Matric as it was known then). I've been to reunions in the past, but I really don't keep in touch with any old school friends, apart from the occasional comment on Facebook. So I think I will ignore this one.....it was interesting to see what people were doing after 10 years but I can't really sustain the interest after 30 years.

Have you been to a school reunion? Was once enough?

(Funny story - I was chatting with R's psychologist about the social side of school life, and commented about a couple of girls I went to school with who completely intimidated me. Now, the psychologist is completely cool and together and the last person I would imagine being intimidated by anyone, but she confessed that there was a mother at her kid's school that she found completely intimidating - until she had to work with her on a committee and found she wasn't as bad as she thought. The mother? One of the aforementioned girls I went to school with!!)

Tidying up the Fabric Stash

2011-10-16T21:13:00.000+10:30

A while ago, I saw this really neat idea on someone's blog which made her fabric stash look really tidy. I've been keeping my fabric stash in a big plastic tub but had moved it to my 'quilting shelves'. I wasn't happy though as it just looked really messy.....

Before:

(is it just me, or does that shelf looks like it's bowed???)

She had used sheets of plastic cardboard (can't remember the name of the stuff but you get it from hardware stores) to wrap her fabric around and stack it neatly. I found her by clicking on a link from someone's blog, and naturally I can't find it again to give her credit but I gave it a go and this is the result (although I got bored and haven't finished yet).

After:

It certainly looks a lot tidier but I'm in 2 minds as to whether it's worth it. I guess once it's done, it will be quick & easy to maintain.

And here's a sneak peak at the Indigenous Quilt.....just have to stitch the binding down and it is done. A few puckers on the back where I didn't stretch the backing enough, but I have to remember that only *I* see the imperfections....I hope....

Secret Santa

2011-10-14T08:36:00.000+10:30

Yes I know it's a little early but my thoughts this morning have turned to Christmas already. I was thinking about the projects I have to finish by Dec 25 you see. I work in a team of 8 people, and 5 of us have school aged children. Only 2 can be on leave at the same time, so you can imagine that the school holidays are hotly contested! This year I got totally discouraged over the typical bunfight (it never seemed to be this difficult in the other team....much better communication, you knew what your team members had planned and there was always a bit of give and take) so I offered to work 3 full days (rather than 5 short days) each week, take 1 day as flex and the other as annual leave. I'll be doing this from early Dec to end Jan, although I do have the days between Xmas & New Year off as well. So I realised this morning that this means that I'll be working on Xmas Eve (which I haven't done for years and years and years) and so will be guilted into participating in the Secret Santa exchange.

So, I'm on the lookout for a simple project that I can make that won't be too geeky or home-made. I was thinking of a "Mug Rug" (mainly because I really don't see the point of them, so it will be a little geeky chic, maybe???) or maybe one of these Fabric Trays to sit on the desk and hold pencils. I don't know who the recipient will be, so it will have to be gender neutral (even though more girls than guys). So if you see a cute & easy project that you think is suitable, send it my way please. Otherwise I'll be gift wrapping a box of Ferroro Rochers on Dec 23rd.....

School Holidays

2011-10-10T16:49:00.000+10:30

Where does the time go? Into the second week of school holidays already. Mr G stayed home with Miss R last week and from what I can gather, they had a particularly lazy week. I've been home with her today and how fast did the day zip by?? A day at work never goes this quickly.

Yesterday I took Miss R and 2 girlfriends to see Monte Carlo at the movies. The blonde girl really reminded me of a young Toni Collette (and I've just realised that her father is David Cassidy...wow!). Selena Gomez....meh..... but the girls seemed to enjoy it and let's face it, I'm not the target audience. (We've also been to see Footloose and that was much, much better....)

Today we managed to get to Ikea where we had lunch but they no longer serve hollandaise sauce with the salmon so I doubt I'll ever eat there again - save my money and just get the $1 hotdogs instead. I also took Miss R to a local beautician to get her eyebrows waxed and decided to get mine done as well. First time I have ever had them done professionally, and for $5....maybe not the last. I also managed to mop the floors and have marked quilting lines on the Indigenous quilt and right now, am trying to find enough motivation to go cook dinner. Time wasting on the computer sounds like a lot more fun though.

And finally, the holiday house is going really, really well so far. We've had 3 groups stay and all have given us some really lovely comments about the house and presentation. Each has left the house in good/great condition but it's taking about 2hrs to clean & tidy ready for the next guests. (I'm possibly being too fastidious.) I think we're going to have to hire a cleaner after all - maybe just do it ourselves once a month to make sure it's up to scratch. For Oct - Jan, we're averaging about a 48% occupancy, which I know won't last over the winter months, but I can dream, can't I??

Was going to add a picture here, but for some reason I can't get it to upload....

Finally some photos

2011-10-08T20:30:00.001+10:30

Here's the quilt I made for my aunt for Xmas. The front is all 2 1/2" squares and all from scraps (apart from a small amount of cream material). Mr G was holding it up for me but his arms weren't quite wide enough....I haven't measured it properly now it's finished but it's huge - roughly 2m x 2m.

The red panels in the back and the binding is an Ikea fabric which echoes the swirly pattern. I'm really happy with how this turned out - hopefully Auntie S will be too.

And here's the Music Quilt in all its glory.....the back is just as nice as the front. I planned it so precisely that there is no wasted fabric....I used every scrap! (Well not quite that well planned, more a fluke really....) The hardest part of the quilting process is, for me, getting the back lined up with the front. This is not quite centred enough for my liking but it looks ok. I kinda made this one up as I went along and it showed - not so much in the finished product but definitely in the amount of angst in putting it all together!

2 Quilts almost finished - photos soon

2011-09-20T22:58:00.000+09:30

One I had professionally quilted and it has turned out just stunning! I'm so pleased and wish I could afford to have them ALL done professionally. I just have to add the binding and then I'll take some pics.

The Musical Quilt is also nearly done, I'm just machine stitching the binding. This one has been a bit of a handful....I'll be pleased when it's done and dusted!!

Progress on the Indigenous Quilt has stopped while I wait for a parcel from the US. It's been around a month now and I'm getting impatient. One parcel has arrived but naturally the fabric I'm waiting for is in the OTHER parcel.....

We're almost ready to go with the holiday house - this weekend coming will be our last opportunity to get it finished. Mr G spent last week down there getting all the last minute things done - including installing a dishwasher - but naturally a problem cropped up which took longer to resolve than expected (and more $$) so I'll be doing some last minute painting on Sat. Hopefully Sun will be devoted to cleaning and tidying inside and out - have to get rid of all the cobwebs as that's my pet hate at holiday rentals!! We have our first booking going in on October 1, and these school hols (as well as January) are pretty much completely booked.

Will update with photos sometime soon.....well, in the next month or so. :-)

Lots of thinking going on here!

2011-08-26T18:45:00.001+09:30

Lots to update; I've composed many a blog post in my head over the last few days but if I try and do seperate posts, I'll never get around to them. My main thoughts centered around WHY I blog......I know that very few read it and I certainly don't have any great desire to be a writer; it seems odd to send words out into the blogosphere and get nothing back. So I'm still mulling that one over.

Miss R had been getting prank calls on her mobile. She forgets to take it off silent, so wasn't picking them up but there would be 2-3 missed calls and occasionally a disjointed voicemail message that was difficult to decipher and rather silly. From the nature of the messages, we were certain it was someone from her class so I emailed the classroom teacher, not really expecting much. Well, the response was fabulous; the class got a talking to, and it turns out that Miss R wasn't the only one. There haven't been any further calls, so hopefully that is the end of the matter. But it also got me thinking.....my initial reaction to the calls was negative - these girls are picking on Miss R, it's bullying and harrassing, just when I thought things were improving for her socially, it's all been undone - when really I should be focussing on the positive - she's had 5 party invites this year (which is 4 more than last year), she was included in a weekend trip to the movies, she's been asked over to a new friend's house...... I've become so used to fixing the problems that I'm failing to see the huge amounts of progress she's made. This was reinforced by one of the support staff comments in an email I sent regarding some missing information "All good, I think R has done wonderfully well to keep up with all of the information and expectations etc. good on her!" So my new resolve is not to get so hung up on the negative and focus on the positive! (We'll see how it goes....)

We've advertised the beach house on a holiday website and have had a fantastic response. It's been online for 3 weeks now and we've had over 400 views - you could see the spike in views the day I put the link on Facebook and the day I emailed my workmates but there has been steady interest since then. We've also had 10 booking requests, 4 of whom have paid deposits so that has been very encouraging. I've stopped being so concerned about getting the bookings now, and have turned my thoughts to the more practical side of having a holiday rental - the logistics of keeping track of bookings and payments, cleaning and handing over and collecting keys. I'm still watching every dollar we spend, but hopefully will be able to relax a bit (and buy more fabric) in about 6 months time.

Progress has stopped temporarily on the Music quilt as my lovely Bernina had to go in for a service - over 2 million stitches in 5 years. Not a lot really for the age of the machine, but I'd love to know how many I've added in just 8 months! LOL I dropped it in on Friday and picked it up the following Thursday so I was impressed with the speed of the service. I asked about a new table while I was there - I bought my machine second hand off eBay and didn't know the quilting table was cracked at a corner until I went to use it. It's been superglued about 3 times and is currently held together with duct tape but I hesitated to buy a new table as I could only imagine how expensive they were! Imagine my delight to find out a new table was only around $30....needless to say, I'm now the proud owner of a quilting table that is NOT cracked.

Well there's more but I need to go eat, so will update again later.

Home Improvements

2011-08-13T20:00:00.000+09:30

Back on the June long weekend, rather than relax, we built a deck instead. As you do.

Then it turned into a porch....then grew to include a covered pergola.....and now it's finally finished. And I must say, it does look great. But I think those posts should be blue to match the window frames.

I wonder how reliable the stats are?

2011-08-12T16:13:00.001+09:30

Because it seems I have a fan in Russia. Wish I knew how to say "hello" in Russian....

And more importantly, how on earth did I fail to notice the little tab at the end called "stats"???? Has it always been there?

Basting

2011-08-11T21:05:00.000+09:30

It's the one step in quilt making that I really don't enjoy.

I've lost my blogging mojo

2011-07-30T14:00:00.000+09:30

Had to write this post today so I could have at least ONE post in July.

I've been in a bit of a funk lately....little black cloud floating over my head. I'm really over going to Victor every weekend and feel like I'm constantly playing 'catch-up' through the week, and there have been a few little things that have happened recently that have bothered me waaay more than they should have. I do recognise this though, am aware that I'm over-reacting, so have just been riding it out. Hopefully will be back to normal transmission soon.

On the quilting scene, I've finished 48 blocks for another string quilt - love using up scraps but still have so much more to use! I pulled apart the music quilt that I had sewn together.....couldn't get the top to square up and it was absolutely doing my head in! Then I read this post and decided to undo all the strips and start again, alternating which end I started stitching from and using my walking foot. I haven't quite finished putting it all back together again (I was so disheartened I made the scrappy string blocks instead) so it will be interesting to see if it makes any difference.

Next on the agenda is a baby quilt for my cousin, and then these Swoon blocks that Theresa has inspired me to try.

So I'll leave you with this shot of my favourite room in the house at Victor....can't wait to actually have the time to curl up here and read a good book....

Blog Update - Random Thoughts

2011-06-19T14:35:00.002+09:30

Since Easter, we've been spending most weekends down at Victor working on the house, and during the week, I've been busy catching up with shopping, washing, sewing and internet surfing. I've also been suffering with the most terrible congestion for the past 5-6 weeks; at first I thought it was a cold, then possibly hayfever, then sinuses maybe, but by the 4th week I had no idea and was just so tired of not being able to breathe through my nose or get a decent night's sleep. I finally managed to get an appointment with the physio and it has improved immensely since then, although not cleared up altogether. So coupled with busy weekends, I've also been going to bed at a ridiculously early hour (for me, anyway) so I'm way behind with sewing.

But this weekend Mr G is working, so I finally got around to having the glucose test I was supposed to have done 3 months ago (when am I supposed to find 2 hours when I can just sit and do nothing at the IMVS???) and today has been a completely lazy day, where neither of us have quite managed to get out of our pj's yet. Although for some reason we didn't get our paper delivery this morning so I am going to have to drag on enough decent clothing to walk down to the servo to get a paper before they sell out....which had better be soon.

Miss R had a 'playdate' (what do you call them once they hit the teen years???) with a new friend yesterday and as they offered to drop her home again afterwards, I spent most of yesterday afternoon frantically cleaning the house. I had a huge box of stuff to drop at Salvos, so popped into one nearby and found 2 pairs of shoes that I just couldn't leave behind. I'm a bit (ok, VERY) wary of buying second hand shoes but these were both virtually new (in fact, I suspect one pair had never been worn), one of my fave brands (Diana Ferrari) and one was a style that I already have 3 pairs in 3 different colours because they are so comfy. So when they tick all those boxes AND are in the right size, isn't it meant to be???

One great thing about furnishing a holiday house on a limited budget, is the euphoria you feel when snagging a bargain. So far I've managed to snaffle, not one, but TWO Stanley Rogers cutlery sets for around $40. One is a 8 person setting (including salad and cake servers) and the other is a....wait for it....12 person setting! Woohoo! So we should have plenty of spare cutlery for when pieces get lost. Harris Scarfe were having 50% off kitchenware so I stocked up on lots of bits and pieces - graters, whisks, roasting pans and I've also managed to snaffle discontinued quilt covers for a bargain price. So while my spare room is almost overflowing, I think we have just about everything we need apart from beds & mattresses, TV and washing machine/dryer. (Although we have been offered a washing machine for $25, we don't know what condition it is in, so it may only be ok for the interim.) I won't lose this anxious feeling until we actually have some bookings though, so I'm hoping to get it listed on the stayz website by the end of July, ready for bookings from October.

I've made steady progress on the music themed quilt I've been commissioned to make. I've chosen a Chinese Coin design and it is coming together very nicely. Right now I'm too lazy to take any pics but maybe next time. I've had several quotes for having the 2 1/2" square quilt professionally quilted; one was significantly cheaper than the others so I rang and discovered that she had misread my email so had quoted on a smaller quilt. But she is prepared to honour her quote, so I will drop in one day in the next few weeks to discuss quilting options. For a brief moment there, I thought it actually WAS affordable to have quilts professionally quilted!

Update to the Pile O'Crap

2011-06-03T20:21:00.000+09:30

One of the things we discovered amongst the crap was a Nintendo GameCube, controllers and games which we thought might be worth listing on eBay.

I'm pleased to report that we got $53.65 for the lot.

Score!! LOL

Pile O'Crap

2011-05-19T08:10:00.000+09:30

Since we need to furnish an entire holiday house as cheaply as possible without lowering our standards, we have, naturally, turned to eBay. So far we've managed to pick up a TV stand, chest of drawers and outdoor setting. The last 2 we bought from a storage company in Port Adelaide that were selling off a defaulter's storage cubicle to recoup their costs. We've been watching their new auctions over a few weeks and are kicking ourselves that we didn't bid on the washing machine and fridge but that's another story. Anyway, the last lot they had up for auction was assorted junk - was difficult to tell exactly what was in it but there was a sound system and some kitchen stuff that we thought would be useful so decided to bid if we could get it for a song. (There was also some gaming stuff that we thought we could re-sell.) Ended up paying $56 and Mr G went down to collect it last week on his day off.

Well. This would have to be the best $56 ever spent.

We're still sifting through the stuff and a lot we'll throw away or give to the Salvos, but so far we've salvaged:

a 4 piece dinner setting identical to one we already own, so now it's an 8 piece
a small rice cooker
an electric frypan
a small deep fryer
assorted Tupperware
Sony bedside clock
various kitchen utensils - beater/whisk/potato peeler etc
Breville toaster
stab mixer

And all in excellent condition.

Score!!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:35:00.000+09:30

Am I the only person in the universe that thinks Mother's Day is a commercialised bit of cr*p and would rather ignore it altogether? Seriously, once my own mother is gone, I'll happily wipe the day off my calendar forever.

In other news, I've been busy sewing curtains for the holiday house and have only 3 left to hem. I finished the quilt top for Auntie S's Xmas present a few weeks ago and have pulled some Ikea fabric out of my stash for the back, but haven't gotten much further. Won't be tackling 2 1/2" squares again for a while though, very time consuming! Am scouting around for my next project and am tossing up between something easy that will be straightforward and quickly finished, and something a little more challenging like paper piecing stars. Yep, I think I'll stick to option A.

Still have my "Kitchen Windows" quilt to machine quilt too; I put that aside back in February because it was too hot to be quilting, but I don't have the excuse anymore. My philosophy is to finish one quilt in its entirety before starting the next one....I tend to have an 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude which will result in many, many unfinished quilt tops otherwise.

We had a busy time over Easter, moving furniture into the holiday house and getting it sorted. Discovered that the plumbing to the laundry is definitely dodgy and the question now is how much to we spend to fix it? There is a shower in both the laundry and the bathroom but limited cupboard space - perhaps better to remove the shower in the laundry altogether (seeing as how the hot water doesn't seem to work) and use that for cupboard/storage space? Also discovered that the air conditioner in the lounge doesn't appear to work, so Mr G is heading down there tomorrow to meet with a repairman to see what needs to be done. Hopefully something simple but we're anticipating a new unit will be required....seems to be the way our luck runs lately. Although on the plus side, we've been given a second hand fridge that will do nicely in the short term.

I took Miss R and friends to see Justin Bieber in concert last week. Thankfully I was able to sit out in the foyer as she was chaperoned by 2 Year 10 girls but a kind usher did allow us to sneak inside for a quick peek. It did look amazing, and Miss R screamed herself hoarse.....came out absolutely glowing with joy. I think she's still walking around on a cloud. She has NAPLAN testing next week but I've exempted her for many reasons but mainly because she was stressing about them and we won't gain any new knowledge regarding her progress from them - just call me a conscientious objector. She's been much happier since the decision was made.

Rehearsals for the school play start next week and unfortunately they are on Wed after school. Same time as the speech therapist.....what are the odds, eh? It's taken us all year to get a time with her, and now I'll be cancelling - speech is important but so is the play. First time she has ever put herself forward for this type of thing and she's rapt to be in it.....we don't care if it is only the dance chorus!.....so speech will have to wait until term 4.

Again, no photos, sorry about that but I never remember to take the camera with me anywhere. I do have some photos on my phone but still have to find the cord to be able to download them... Next time maybe.

Sick

2011-04-15T08:32:00.000+09:30

Poor me, took Miss R to drama on Mon evening with a little tickle in my throat; by the time I went to bed that night it was like swallowing razor blades. So I toddled off to the doctor on Tues morning who diagnosed pharangytis, gave me 3 days off work and put me on antibiotics.

Yesterday I felt absolutely no better - felt worse if anything. And the sore throat had turned into blocked ears and sinuses so I made the decision that I had been dreading.

I 'm not going to go to Melbourne on Saturday for the Australasian Quilting Convention.

Waaaah! We booked the tickets back in August and I've been so looking forward to it. But I often have trouble with my ears when I fly (I once flew with an ear infection and it was EXCRUTIATING) so I wasn't going to risk spoiling my day, as well as Theresa's, Claire's and Michelle's. So Theresa's sister Margaret is going to be me for the day. I don't know if she wants to go to the AQC, but she'll happily spend the day shopping in the city instead.

And of course, once I made that decision, I woke up this morning feeling much, much better....what's the bet I wake up tomorrow feeling bright eyed and bushy tailed and raring to go???

Taking a Walk down Memory Lane

2011-04-13T11:42:00.002+09:30

My brother recently sold his house, so he & family have temporarily moved in with Mum while they find a new house. He & SIL are sleeping in the room I used to share with my sister, so Mum has cleared all the crap out of the top of the wardrobe. Now, I thought I had taken all of my stuff over the years but apparently not - all my teaching stuff has now gone into the recycling bin (I see I habitually handed in assignments late) and I'm now ploughing my way through a box of old letters.

Back in 1983, I was doing my second year of a teaching degree (Early Childhood Education) and Dad was transferred to the Perth office. So Mum and my younger brother went West with him, and I moved into The Granny Flat. The Granny Flat belonged to my aunt's SIL (so known to the family but not actually related to me) and it was probably one of the best year's of my life. I was just developing a circle of friends and a social life, had a little bit of independence but was still being supported by Dad. Most of the letters in the box date back to that time - many of them from my parents....seperate letters as Dad would send me the fortnightly rent & living expenses cheques, and Mum would give me the lowdown on what was happening over there. What a hoot some of them are to read! Dad was only there for the one year in the end; he was sent temporarily to Sydney in 1984 so Mum & bro came back home and so did I, so no more letters from Dad. He passed away very unexpectedly about 5 years ago.....I think I'll be keeping those letters.

There's also heaps of letters from various penpals I had over the years. Now I know the idea of having an overseas penpal is to learn more about their culture, but I just found it incredibly difficult to relate to them, so none lasted very long. But I can see that I wrote to a girl in Barbados for a while (must have sounded very exotic!!), a boy in Scotland, a girl in the US (booooring) and a girl from Malaysia. I've dipped into some of those but will definitely chuck most of them. But the ones I'm enoying the most are from a girl in Melbourne that I wrote to from when we were 13 until we tailed off sometime around 20......I met her in 1983 when she came and stayed with me in The Granny Flat. Re-reading some of those letters has been hilarious - I would LOVE to know what I wrote back to her b/c I lived the most boring life imaginable back then (still do, really) and she seemed so much more sophisticated. It was probably all made up though..... I definitely think I'll hang on to those letters too.

Oh, and I googled her name and the only one I could find was an architect in Sydney. Wonder if that's her? She doesn't strike me as the type to change her name if she married.

And Dad's "temporary" move to Sydney? Lasted about 20 years.

Can you believe it's April already?

2011-04-03T09:50:00.000+09:30

Seriously, there's only 2 more weeks of term - how did that happen??

Been busy here. We have agreed to buy the house at Victor which I'm still finding stressful but feeling a little more positive about. Many people have commented that they would stay there, so here's hoping they put their money where their mouth is. I've been spending lots of time online looking at prices for fridges, beds, couches etc....it has been a bit of an eye opener as I had no idea that beds were so expensive!! We want to keep everything light and airy, so most stuff will be from Ikea, although Kmart has a great range of inexpensive kitchen ware. We're heading down to the house later today to take some measurements - have to organise curtains and a shed as a priority.

Yesterday we caught up with Mr G's cousin and family for breakfast. The 2 girls go to school together, but we haven't seen Mr Cousin for ages as he spends a lot of time in the UK and the US for work (don't ask me what he does; I have no idea). So it was lovely to catch up and we could have chatted for most of the morning. But we had to head off to help my brother move - they sold their house (very quickly!) and are moving in with Mum while they search for a new abode. Didn't get home until 9pm but virtually everything heavy was moved so he was happy with that. Settlement isn't until Friday so they still have a week to tidy up the loose ends.

On the school front, Miss R is doing well. Seems to be keeping up with the homework, has a group of friends to hang out with and she got a part in the school production, so she's happy with that. Now I have to come through with my promise to let her have streaks in the hair. Her hair has gradually darkened over the last few years and she tells me repeatedly how much she hates it, but I refuse to let her start colouring her hair at 13!! (The hairdresser has told me that colouring will help with the oilyness but we both agree that she's too young.) Anyway, I told her that I'd let her get lighter streaks IF she got a part in the school play, so looks like I'll be making an appointment for the school holidays.

Work is ok for the moment. I don't hold out much hope for the job I applied for. Had to do an online test which was mainly logic problems - I don't do well in those kind of things, never have - so I don't think I would have scored high enough. Anyway, we shall see.

Not much sewing has been going on.....I'm so very sick of 2 1/2" squares......but I hope to have some photos soon. Mr G has suggested that I'll be making many quilts for the beach house, so that will be a good use of the stash.

Feeling Stressed

2011-03-19T15:18:00.000+10:30

Mr G has been harping for months about buying an investment property and I keep ignoring him. I control the finances - Mr G wouldn't have a clue what our income/outgoings were - and I keep telling him we can't afford it. Neither of us earn big wages and I have no desire to return to full time work. To humour him, I have looked at a couple of properties but he keeps coming back to one in Victor Harbor. For months he has been watching it, watching the price gradually drop to a point where even *I* have to concede it is a bargain. However, a bargain is no bargain if you can't afford it in the first place!

We went down to Goolwa last weekend (long weekend here in SA) and I agreed to go look at the property one more time. And found myself agreeing to putting in a low offer, knowing that it was likely to be rejected. And it was. But then they agreed to drop about $11k from their current asking price, which is still about $3k more than our final offer. It's more than I want to pay, but less than Mr G wanted to pay so it's a compromise. So I've agreed, although we haven't signed contracts yet and it's subject to finance (although we have agreement-in-principle for that).

So now I'm feeling highly stressed about the whole thing. Actually, one minute I'm almost hyperventilating from anxiety and the next I'm convinced we can manage....just. Which makes me think I should go with my gut feeling and say no. Or is it that I'm just too cautious to take risks? Will Mr G just sulk if I won't let him have his heart's desire? OMG, someone just tell me what to do!!

So I have said yes with some provisos:

we put it on a permanent rental for 12 months while we assess whether we really can afford it
during that time we assess whether it's worthwhile using as a holiday rental.
if, after this time it's too stressful, we sell - hopefully making some money

The long term plan is that we knock the existing house down and build a new holiday home, eventually to retire there. We've canvassed a few opinions over the last week, and the majority agree that it is a great long term investment. Hopefully we won't get out fingers burnt.

Oh, and if it all goes ahead.....settlement before Easter. Mr G couldn't even hide his delight....we'll be sleeping on blow up mattresses and keeping food cold in an esky....just like camping but within 4 walls.....

Melbourne

2011-02-26T12:30:00.000+10:30

Miss R and I went to Melbourne early in Feb just for an overnighter. It was her birthday surprise.....we also had tickets to see Mary Poppins. I'm not a huge fan of the movie, but Miss R has seen it repeatedly, so I thought she'd be ecstatic about it, but her whole reaction was very low key. I think she was fighting the disappointment of NOT getting an iPhone. (Hint: Miss R will get an iPhone when SHE can afford to buy one.)

Anyway, we were on an early flight out on Sun am - which coincided with Chinese New Year - and a late flight back on Mon. We actually had a great time (I was a little worried that we'd be snapping at each other....she is a TEENAGER after all....and we all know how moody THEY are!) and I cannot rave enough about Mary Poppins. It was absolutely brilliant and I loved every minute of it. I'll definitely be seeing it again if it ever gets to Adelaide.

We also checked out the ACMI exhibition on Disney films and did some shopping. Miss R had plenty of birthday money to spend, and spend she did! I had to laugh though - the 80's is definitely being revisited. Everything she picked up, I thought was terrible (the first time around!!) and she turned her nose up at everything I suggested. She LOVES anything sparkly, glittery or with shoe string straps.....not always that practical for winter! (The words "pole" and "dancer" also spring to mind.) Her best - and most expensive - buy came from Sportsgirl....a pair of black pants that make me sing "can't touch this" every time she wears them....which has been a LOT. So regardless of what I may think, they've been value for money on a cost-per-wear basis.

But there was just a couple of things that really annoyed me about Melbourne though.......does nobody understand the whole 'keep to the left' rule on footpaths???? I was constantly dodging people walking straight towards me....didn't seem to matter where I was walking, they were too. And why are cyclists allowed to ride on footpaths??? Bad enough dodging the pedestrians without throwing a cyclist into the mix!

Making Soap

2011-02-25T17:37:00.000+10:30

For some strange reason, I've had it in my head that I want to try my hand at soap making. I'd looked at a few blogs that had done so, and the whole caustic soda bit put me right off. But then I read that home made soap contains less harsh chemicals, and I've noticed that my hands and legs seem to be getting drier and drier, so over the past few weeks I've been putting together my "soap making kit". And last night I gave it a go, and it was much, much easier than I imagined.

It now has to cure for another few weeks, otherwise it will be too soft and won't last very long.

I used these blogs for inspiration, but I know I did a few things wrong (not drastically wrong, but I'll know for next time).

I think I over-mixed it, as it was too thick to pour.
I should have banged the air bubbles out.
I should have had all my ingredients ready to go at the start as it was a pain to try and open containers with rubber gloves on.
I think I've cut the blocks too big.

I don't think soap making is going to become a regular event, but I'll definitely have another go. Next time I'm going to add some oatmeal (is this the same as oatbran????) for a bit of a loofah effect.

You can tell I'm back at Work

2011-02-16T18:07:00.001+10:30

7 posts in January and none in February.

2 1/2" squares

2011-01-30T12:25:00.001+10:30

For some time now, when I have a few spare moments between projects, I've been cutting my smaller scraps into 2 1/2" squares. I've had this vague notion that I'll make a scrappy 9-patch quilt at some stage.

My current project - photos soon - is at the quilting stage, but it's been too hot to quilt this weekend. So Friday night I pulled out a random selection of Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazines, opened one to a random page and thought "this is my next project". It's a triple Celtic Knot, so far more challenging than anything I've done before, and I'm sticking with the pictured colours of red, green, black & cream. (It's from Vol 19 No 3 if you're interested.) And strangely enough, it needs 2 1/2" squares....lots and lots and lots of them. If it works, I intend to gift it to my aunt for Christmas.

So with the air conditioning whirring away, I've been catching up on TV and chopping my scraps into 2 1/2" squares. I never really enjoy the cutting stage....always eager to move on to the piecing stage but it is a necessary evil. In this case, one that will be repeated over 2000 times.

The King's Speech (& other Movie Reviews)

2011-01-15T10:06:00.000+10:30

Kath asked what I thought of The King's Speech, and my response got rather wordy, so I thought I'd give it a post of its own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and thought everyone was brilliant really.....couldn't really single any one performance out. Geoffrey Rush was just fabulous, especially when playing an amateur thespian, and Helena Bonham Carter....who knew? She was perfect as the Queen Mother (as I will always think of her). I loved that Princess Margaret was fantastic little Karen in Outnumbered (and Princess Elizabeth looked vaguely familiar too). Guy Pearce...lordy, no hint of an Aussie accent there - a long, LONG way from Ramsay Street! Winston Churchill made me laugh....isn't he Peter Pettigrew from the Harry Potter movies??? Those jowls were fabulous. But Colin Firth.....how hard would that role have been? Seriously, he did a fabulous job. Made me sad to think what kind of upbringing he had.....I've never had much interest in the Royal Family but this made me want to find out more.

Other movies we've seen these holidays? Tangled was a surprise - Miss R & I went to see this on Monday and both thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a bit put off by how many under-10's were there, but it really would appeal to all age groups. There were a few very funny lines and the songs were good. It reminded me of The Little Mermaid actually, in its tone (and THAT is a movie I've seen thousands of times!!) and I reckon this is another movie I'd be happy to watch again.

We all went to see Gulliver's Travels (or Gulliver's Travellers, as Miss R kept calling it) and I was expecting cr*p, but it wasn't actually that bad. You would have to be a Jack Black fan though - I loved him in School of Rock - as he plays the same type in all his movies.

Looks like we've missed Narnia though - no longer playing at Wallis (my cinema of choice) and I refuse to see anything at Marion since they introduced seat numbers on the tickets. Sorry, but *I* like to choose where I sit, not the computer. I had no interest in seeing Burlesque except Cher was on the Graham Norton show the other day and it made me re-think my position. Miss R is off to a friend's for 2 nights next week, so Mr G and I might go see something after work.....good grief, I can't remember the last movie we saw together, just the 2 of us!!

Another Finished Creation

2011-01-14T21:52:00.001+10:30

My first commisioned piece, in fact. Made for a workmate who has a new baby grand-daughter. I used this pattern from Cluck Cluck Sew and it was a breeze to make.

Look at that gorgeous blue sky!! Ignore the pegs on the line! LOL

A couple of blocks I particularly liked...

I even cut into my precious stash of Amy Butler. Here's the Kombi van; I also used the Icecream truck print.

Can't remember the name of this print but I love the contrast between the hearts and the Kona solid. I believe the hearts was one of the first fabrics I ordered from Fabric Shack; it was never quite 'right' for other projects.

I'm also particularly happy with the free motion quilting. It was heaps of fun to do, but lordy, lordy, I hadn't realised just how much thread it uses!! The Bernina was well worth the money spent just for that (although I am still feeling some guilt over the cost of the new machine. Mum came through with a cheque for Xmas, but still, we could have bought a new couch for that money.)

I machine stitched the binding as usual, but had to go back over it in a few spots where it hadn't caught on the back. I cut this binding at 2.25" rather than 2.5" as I only j-u-s-t had enough but it meant there wasn't as much binding to 'play' with at the back. Overall though, I think it looks neater so I think I'll use the narrower binding again in the future.

Once again, the backing was from Ikea, pieced in the middle to make it wide enough.

Now I just have to work out what to charge her. I used a few scrap fabrics for the front, but with the fabric I did purchase + wadding + thread, it's around $100 already. I just don't feel I can justify charging for my time when I get so much enjoyment from the creating side. Still mulling that one over.

And now I'm starting on a project from this fantastic quilter and her book "The Practical Guide to Patchwork".

Today I'm going to tackle the study! Wish me Luck!

2011-01-11T11:19:00.001+10:30

Over the last few weeks, whenever the house has to be tidied, everything that didn't have a "home" was dumped in the study. This is the view from the doorway - I'm lucky I can even get inside!! (Look very carefully and you'll see a doggie in the window.....my entourage goes everywhere with me.)

So today I'm going to tidy this mess up. The box in the foreground holds the Janome which will be listed on eBay. There's another box back there that has some clothes Miss R has outgrown that I'll also list. Other stuff has been held on to for a garage sale but I'm debating whether it will just get carted off to Salvos instead. And I know there's a box of Tupperware in there somewhere and it might just be time to get ruthless with that too - if it doesn't fit in the kitchen, then it doesn't fit into my life! LOL

We have too much stuff - sometimes I'm appalled by how much stuff we have! I *was* intending to go to Ikea today but then I'll only be tempted to buy more.....

Good Weekend

2011-01-09T17:38:00.000+10:30

What a good weekend! Started on Friday night with friends over for a BBQ - good friends, good conversation, good wine.....should definitely do it more often!!

Yesterday afternoon we went to "High Tea" at the Lakes Hotel for a 70th birthday. Lovely little sandwiches and scones, although nothing on the menu that suited fussy Miss R; after much persuasion she reluctantly ate half of chicken sandwich. Never mind, we stuffed ourselves.

Then this afternoon (after a lovely sleep in) I went to the movies, on my own, to see "The King's Speech". Thoroughly enjoyable and lovely to have some 'me' time.

On holidays again for the next week before back to work properly. Nothing planned except Miss R wants to see "Tangled" and I hope to finish the baby quilt for my workmate. Already thinking about my next project and hope to start cutting it out tonight; I just can't decide between 2 different projects from The Practical Guide to Patchwork. Ah, decisions, decisions!

Free Motion Quilting

2011-01-02T19:20:00.000+10:30

Here's my first proper attempt at free motion quilting. I've attempted it before on my Janome but was never happy with it; just couldn't get the tension right. I bought the Bernina for the BSR in the hope that even *I* could manage free motion quilting with it, and I can!! My perfectionist streak can see major flaws with it but I'm ignoring that.....and I'm sure I'll improve with practice.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T18:45:00.001+10:30

We went into the city to see the fireworks. Went with 2 other families and had planned to see the 9.00 fireworks and be home by midnight as Mr G had to work today. Unfortunately we were so busy chatting at B's house that we completely missed catching the tram in time, decided we'd just stay there and watch the fireworks on TV but the girls were so disappointed about not going anywhere that we ended up going in for the midnight fireworks after all. Crowd wasn't as horrendous as I imagined it would be and all in all, it was a lovely evening. (Thankfully it didn't get as hot as they had anticipated!!)

Here's a glimpse of the quilt I've been working on...

And here's the one I made for my sister for Christmas.

The front....and the back. The back is Ikea fabric. I love using their fabrics on the back and must venture in to stock up and see if they have anything new.

Hope your 2011 is everything you want it to be.

Merry Christmas All!

2010-12-26T11:29:00.000+10:30

Hope you all had a lovely day yesterday, celebrating with family and friends.

As we do every year, we spent the day at my mother's. Last year we started a new tradition, and we meet her for Church first. At 9am. It's about a 40min drive. So we don't get much of a sleep in.

It was a lovely day and naturally I took no photographs, despite actually remembering to take the camera with me. Miss R scored very well and was particularly rapt with the Justin Bieber book and the Justin Bieber cd that hasn't actually been released in Australia yet. Well done Auntie R and Auntie E!!

My sister seemed to like the quilt I made her, which was also much admired by my aunt, so I can see a new quilt recipient on my horizon.(I made the Wedding quilt for her daughter.) I asked what colours she liked and she said "maroon" - which could be a little tricky....

I was going to add a photo here, but I realise it's still in the camera, Miss R wants me to rip the cd's she got, and Mr G is champing at the bit to head off to Victor, so I'd better leave it here and get myself ready.

Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

It's here! It's here!

2010-12-22T18:07:00.000+10:30

Had to drive all the way out to Wingfield to collect it as I missed the courier yesterday. So far I've managed to wind the bobbin, do straight stitch, change feet and do the best free motion quilting I've ever managed before - worth the money just for that!! LOL

I suspect it will take me a long time to learn all the features of my "sewing computer" but will be picking the brains of the lovely Theresa. When are you doing your free lesson again????

Random Stuff

2010-12-20T14:34:00.000+10:30

I'm on holidays for the next 2 weeks. I'll go back to work after New Year's for 4 days, then off for another week. This week is busy with car service, physio, hair and dental appointments but we've nothing planned after Christmas Day. Bliss......
Yesterday I was rather naughty and bought a secondhand Bernina Aurora 440QE on eBay. I paid a little more than I wanted to, but it was still a bargain compared to new. I'm hoping there will be a cheque under the Christmas tree to help pay for it, but I will be selling off my Janome to help cover the cost.
I've been asked by a couple of workmates to make quilts so that will keep me busy for the next few weeks. One is for a baby girl - still plenty of pink in the stash! - and I'm not sure what the other will be yet. I've told them I'm happy for them to just pay for materials, but if they insist on paying me for my time, then I'll suggest they buy a gift certificate from either Pink Chalk Fabrics or Fabric Shack.
Miss R got her report today and I'm very happy with it. She's mainly C's and B's with a D for maths but she rated HIGH for effort in all but 2 subjects. That, to me, is more important than the grade.
We had friends over for a BBQ last night and because it was so windy and cold, we ended up rearranging the house to fit everyone inside instead. We like the new arrangement so much, I think we'll keep it. So the family area and the dining area will be swapping spaces - unfortunately not until we move the fridge into the kitchen area and it WILL mean a new couch but I think it will flow much better that way.
Am off for a nanna nap (ie pretending to read a book while I 'rest my eyes') and then to put the binding on the quilt for my sister for Xmas. Pics soon.

Update - Vegie Patch

2010-12-17T18:24:00.000+10:30

Hard to believe Mr G planted the vegie patch only 3 weeks earlier......

Just to refresh your memory, here's before:

School Pride....with a Touch of Envy

2010-12-09T10:21:00.002+10:30

I was raised in a small community in the Adelaide Hills, known for growing apples and pears (although known as much for growing grapes these days). My mother's family came from England and settled there around 160 years ago, and many of the 'old' names are related to me in some way. I've always felt incredible pride that my family have such a long association with the area, and have always wanted to live there, but alas, I married someone who grew up at the beach and he finds the winters in the Hills too cold (wuss!!). Couple this with the fact that there is no subdivision as it's a water catchment area, so most properties come with a hefty price tag to go with the vast tracts of land.....anyway, it never happened. My younger brother bought a house up there a few years ago; he maintained his connections with the area even when living 'down on the plains' and is a member of the local cricket club, the CFS and is President of the School Council.

My mother has been heavily involved in the community for as long as I can remember. She started working as an SSO at the local school when I was in Year 5 - she and my younger brother started school on the same day. She retired 30+ years later, but has maintained ties with the school and even managed to hand her job over to her daughter-in-law. Still goes back to relieve every now and then and I believe it is also mandatory that she hands out the prizes every Sports Day.

My family has had 4 generations attend this school - my grandparents both went there (you only married a local back in those days), my mother, my siblings and I, and my nephews. When I started in 1970, there were 2 classrooms - the Little Room was Years 1-3 and was taught by Mrs Chandler and the Big Room was Years 4-7 and was taught by Mr Chandler. That's the Little Room pictured. There was probably about 40-50 kids at the school. I have such fond memories of Primary School; there were 4 of us that went through from Yr 1 to Yr 7, but at one point we had 7 in our year level! Sure it was hard when there was only 1 other girl the same age, who was a total bitch AND was a distant relative but it also taught me the benefits of not holding a grudge, knowing when to stand up for yourself and when to let things slide and getting along with all age groups. I'm not sure if having your mother working at the school was an advantage or a disadvantage, but generally there was far more good than bad. The original school buildings were pulled down and a new school built in 1981/82.

Yesterday, the local school celebrated 100 years, and had organised a celebration involving an afternoon tea (2-5pm) followed by the traditional end of year concert (school parents only). Mum had done an enormous amount of work organising this and asked Miss R and I to come for the concert part. My nephew was graduating Year 7 and this would end our family's current association with the school (except for SIL still working there, of course). So we got there for the tail end of the public celebration which was a huge pity as I didn't get a chance to catch up with many people at all. While I had trouble recalling some names (faces were familiar), it seemed that everyone I spoke with knew exactly who I was! Seriously, have I not changed AT ALL since I left the school??? Apparently the family resemblance is strong.....

And this is where the touch of envy comes in. I always thought that MY children would go to that school. I'm a big believer in the benefits of small schools. I am happy with the school that we have chosen for Miss R; for an R-12 school, it is small and it does encourage a sense of community. But when I watched that concert last night, at how confident and articulate those kids were, at the ease that the 4 graduating Year 7's spoke about their school experiences, at how funny and theatrical my nephew was in the play celebrating 100 years of education at PPS, at the strong community spirit....I choked up and realised how much I miss being a part of that small community.

(See the tall man in the black? My grandfather. I didn't inherit his height.)

I've got ideas for blog posts running around my head

2010-12-04T12:26:00.000+10:30

and I may get around to blogging some of them, but right now, I'm too tired and it's too hot. The bugs & flies have been bad lately, so we've had the bug zapper on, but Anzac the Neurotic Dog HATES it and barks at every single zap.Yes, every.single.one. Do you have any idea how annoying that is.....especially at 2am??? So today I am tired. But the neurotic dog gets to live another day. :-)

Book Review

2010-11-24T19:54:00.000+10:30

There are heaps and heaps and HEAPS of quilting and patchwork books available out there and I try to be a bit discerning over which ones I buy. I've been on a self-imposed ban lately....I have enough fabric stashed away to make another 10 quilts and plenty of books & mags, and there are also a plethora of helpful websites for inspiration. But I've worked some overtime recently and decided to reward myself with some quilting supplies, and today this book turned up. Unfortunately it sold out really quickly at Book Depository (my preferred online book store) so I ended up buying it through Amazon instead.

Well, can I just say, it is AMAZING. I think I want to make every single pattern.

Off to read some more.

Vegie Patch

2010-11-21T16:03:00.000+10:30

Mr G planted the vegie patch last weekend.

Hopefully we haven't left it too late.
Here we have potatoes, strawberries, corn, tomatoes and lettuce.

And here we have lettuce and cucumbers....more tomatoes maybe....might be more but I can't remember them all now.

Mr G is the one with the green thumb, not I.

Finally downloaded some photos from the camera

2010-11-15T21:09:00.000+10:30

and now that I'm home from (a) taking Miss R to her drama class, (b) filling up with petrol as I had only 45kms left in the tank (assuming the display is accurate) and (c) racing off to the Scout AGM, I'll show you the finished blue log cabin quilt I started many, many months ago. I plan to give it away for Xmas, so it was pinned but not quilted until quite recently. Turned out well, if I do say so myself. :-)

Busy, busy, busy

2010-11-14T18:29:00.000+10:30

You know, for a brief moment, I thought I'd try that whole "blog every day for a month thing". And then I came to my senses.

Observations from a Dance Concert

2010-10-31T14:26:00.000+10:30

Well another dance concert over and done with! Mr G had his 30yr school reunion last night so, while I initially intended to volunteer back stage again this year, I thought Miss R should have at least one family member in the audience, even though she was only doing tap this year, so only appeared twice.

So these are my observations from last night.....

I just don't get hip-hop. A bunch of 8-9yo girls posturing like they want to have a street fight is just wrong on so many levels.
It may well be as boring as bat shit, but the girls have worked hard for this all year so do you really need to play with your iphone constantly?? And this was both parents....Dad I could perhaps understand but the mother as well? Just plain rude IMHO.
No way did it look like Miss T had had a baby just 4 weeks ago!
Dozens and dozens of raffle prizes but we didn't manage to win anything.....and yet 3-4 people won more than one prize??? How does that work?
How do they make the bras look backless? I could tell the older girls were wearing them, because I could see the clear strap over the shoulders, but nothing at the (low) back. I spent most of those dances trying to figure it out.
One little girl in the classical group was hilarious! She spent the whole dance pulling faces - but I don't think she was even aware that she was doing it. At first I thought she was yawning, then counting silently but I think that was how she was concentrating. Too funny!

So there you have it. I went thinking it was my last ever dance concert but on the way home, Miss R informed me that she wants to keep doing tap next year, and maybe pick up jazz again (if there is a Junior team; she struggled with Inters which is why she dropped it after first term). Oh joy!

Day Surgery.....and other medical updates

2010-10-23T14:43:00.002+10:30

No, no day surgery for the human occupants of this household, but the youngest doggy member spent yesterday at the vet's having his teeth polished and his nails clipped.

Fortunately it wasn't as bad as we had anticipated and he didn't need to have any teeth extracted. (His breath was so appalling we figured there had to be a rotten tooth back there somewhere!) So it only cost just over $300 instead of just over $600. Phew! I was imagining a conversation along the lines of "yes, Miss R, I know you wanted a DSi for Christmas, but look, hasn't Neo got lovely shiny teeth??? Now go play with your lump of coal."

In other medical news, the blood tests showed that Miss R has a slight iron deficiency which may well account for her constant tiredness, so she's now on iron tablets. To help with absorption, she should also eat plenty of fruit. Hah! Miss R has NEVER eaten fruit.....we heard rumours once that she had eaten watermelon but I think that story is on par with the one about the Loch Ness Monster. I believe it is a sensory issue...she doesn't like the texture so who cares about the taste. Any attempts to get her to eat fruit are met with a staunch (and unwavering) "I don't like(insert type of fruit here) ". Short of prying her lips open and forcing her to chew, I can see no way of increasing her fruit intake. Apparently taking the tablet with a glass of apple juice (the only juice she will even contemplate) is better than nothing, so that's what we'll be doing.

The GP also took a look at her acne-riddled forehead and put her on antibiotics and a cream to help clear her skin. The rash-like acne has only appeared in the last 6-8 months and - according the hairdresser - is due to her oily hair. (Which I tend to believe as the acne is also all over her back and chest.) Colouring her hair when she's older will help as that tends to dry the hair out. Miss R seems pretty oblivious to the acne, so I didn't want to make it an issue, but the GP said that it would be better to clear it up now before it gets any worse. I don't know quite how I feel about this - on the one hand, I'm happy to do anything to make Miss R's life easier, but on the other hand, I can't help thinking that it's a bit of an over-reaction, given that she's not yet 13. I've canvassed a few opinions from other parents of teenagers - some for, some against - but am still mulling it over.

Well, Miss R is due to be collected from her dance rehearsal - concert is next week - so I'd better be off.

Swoon!

2010-10-05T21:56:00.000+10:30

Poor Miss R has to have a blood test so Mr G took her around the corner to Gribbles first thing this morning. The nurse had a very tricky time finding a vein (just like me!) and the poor love ended up passed out in the chair........no blood though, so she has to go back and try again tomorrow morning.

Then Mr G took her over the road to the nearby Hungry Jacks where she passed out again....not a good morning for her!!

Long Weekend

2010-10-03T16:51:00.000+10:30

And it also coincides with Hard Rubbish collection in our council area. So the footpaths are full of dross (as Mr G refers to it) and the streets are full of cars with trailers, as people cruise around dredging through the rubbish looking for......gold perhaps??? I tell you, it's like a professional racket......the car pulls up, 2 men hop out and throw anything they deem worthy onto the growing pile in the trailer on the back. A part of me is happy - one man's trash and all that - but mostly I resent that most of the stuff ends up as scrap metal. Ideally, I'd like someone in need to take those bikes, not someone who is just going to strip them down. And I'd be MUCH happier if they didn't come trawling around at 4am!!!!

Not much left in our pile but I forget to take a photo yesterday.

And the baby quilt is now complete and all boxed up ready to give to the recipient. She doesn't start her maternity leave until November but I think I'll give it to her next week regardless. I hope she likes it; personally I think it's GORGEOUS. :-)

I've cross hatched through the half square triangles and then "stippled" in the border. As the border is very geometric, I've stippled in straight lines using my walking foot, which looks very effective! The hearts fabric on the back is from Ikea and so cute. I've tried to make it gender-neutral, but unfortunately it is a little 'boyish' but I was influenced by the fact that she already has a boy. I really don't think it will matter if this one is a girl though.

Vespa Quilt finished....Baby Quilt almost done

2010-09-22T20:01:00.000+09:30

Mr G's Vespa quilt turned out really well. The back is an Alexander Henry print in black, and I've used the same print in red for the binding. The binding is machined stitched which saves so much time (I hate hand sewing with a vengeance!). I'm still having trouble pinning the layers tightly enough so they don't pucker when quilting in straight lines so to get around this, I've outlined each square on the front individually, then quilted in straight lines a 1/4" from the seams on the border. Took a while, but looks good....sorry it's a bit hard to see in the pics.

And here's the orange & blue Baby Quilt I've been working on for a workmate. I've used the Ikea hearts fabric for the back and am just finishing off the quilting.....looks fantastic, if I do say so myself. :-) Will show that one off more when it's done.

Next project is to quilt the blue log cabin quilt that I pinned months ago and finish the scrappy quilt. Haven't thought beyond that, but there is a stack of fabric just waiting to be utilised somehow. So many patterns out there that I'd love to try!

Virus

2010-09-19T13:59:00.000+09:30

Can you hear my PC sneezing???

I discovered yesterday that both the older laptop and the desk top PC's have a virus.....but they've been infected by different things. I suspect they have come from Facebook somehow as that was the only site that Miss R went onto. Anyway, poor old Lappy was so badly infected that I had to remove everything and reload the Recovery Disk. I can't get the desktop completely clean though; it keeps being re-infected by a downloader called SillyDl EWW, plus a couple of other malaware nasties that CA picks up but can't seem to get rid of completely.

I will just have to throw myself onto the mercy of my guru brother. After 5 calls to him last night, I'm at a loss as to what more I can do. Now that Lappy is looking ok, I'm going through and changing all my passwords, just in case. I'm also really annoyed with myself as I bought a portable hard drive thingy weeks ago to do a complete back up but never got around to doing it. Guess it's only fitting I get a virus with the word "silly" in it.

So when transmission is back to normal, I'll upload photos of the finally finished Vespa quilt and the little baby quilt I'm busy making for a workmate.

Uh-Oh

2010-08-29T11:53:00.001+09:30

The other morning I was talking to Miss R while she was in the shower (probably along the lines of "hurry up! you've been in there long enough!!) when I happened to look up and spied this.....

It seems we have a leaky roof.

In other "uh-oh" news, Miss R's camera refuses to turn on, despite the battery being (supposedly) fully charged. But is it the camera or the battery that's the problem???

And in even more worrying "uh-oh" news, Mr G's mother is back in hospital in Qld. Has been for the last 2wks but didn't want to worry Mr G so we only found out last night. She has a wound on her back that refuses to heal, she's in the public system which doesn't seem to cater for quadraplegics, is dehydrated but not on a drip because "when she gets thirsty enough, she'll drink" and refuses to eat the hospital food. It doesn't sound good but not sure what we can do from here. It's difficult not having the full picture.

But to end on a positive note, yesterday Miss R hiked from the Torrens outlet at West Beach to the city wearing her new hiking boots and there were no blisters. :-)

I didn't win.....

2010-08-27T21:07:00.004+09:30

and even though I didn't really expect to, I'm still feeling a little disappointed.

2010 Royal Adelaide Show – Competition Results
OPEN ART & CRAFT

ROYAL ADELAIDE SHOW QUILT COMPETITION
Class 1221 Quilt, made by one person, any size. Handquilted.
1 1306 Margaret Kretschmer
2 1315 Pamela Seppelt
3 1314 Pamela Seppelt
Class 1222 Quilt, made by one person, any size, machined quilted
1 1334 Heather Ridley
2 1331 Susan Grant
2 1333 Roma Crowhurst
4 1316 Norreen Atkinson
Class 1223 (made by more than one person) Hand or machine pieced. Hand or machine
quilted. Hand or machine appliqued.
1 1340 Fleurieu Quilters
2 1345 Robyn Inverarity
3 1343 Lyn Yarwood
4 1346 Ms Cookson Scotch Reception Class 2010
Class 1224 Quilt or Wallhanging Challenge,
1 1360 Heather Ridley
2 1352 Jill Christian
3 1358 Zara Zannettino
4 1357 Zara Zannettino
Class SP BEST NOVICE QUILT EXHIBIT
1 1328 Kate Pitt
Class SP QUILT DISPLAYING THE BEST USE OF COLOUR
1 1334 Heather Ridley

Update to My Angry Post

2010-08-21T09:55:00.002+09:30

I had a brief meeting with Teacher L (I should have packed my angry eyes!) on the Friday and then a longer one last Tuesday, which also included the classroom SSO, who has known Miss R since Reception.

I gave Teacher L several handouts on Asperger's that I've found particularly useful (and had highlighted the behaviours that applied), some reference material and discussed what I thought would be issues. It seems that neither Teacher nor SSO really saw these behaviours, which means that

they really don't know my daughter at all,
Miss R is very, very, very good at masking her difficulties (which I already knew) or
She has made so much progress over the past few years that she is now able to cope in the classroom

I suspect that it's a combination of the above. Teacher L had nothing but positive things to say about Miss R and I'm sure she was completely baffled as to why I was so upset. (I could just about hear her thinking "Sheesh, all this over one bad evaluation!!) I don't think she's ready to concede that she let Miss R down by not giving her enough support & direction, but hopefully she will be more aware of the need to give specific instructions and guidance in the future. If nothing else, hopefully I have heightened her awareness. So I'm happy again......for now.

***********************************************************

I've been busy over the past week making window coverings. We have 7 high windows down the north side of our house that are designed to catch the heat in winter and let it escape in summer. Problem being that if we don't cover them at night, then all the heat escapes and naturally it's been one of those things we hadn't gotten around to. Mr DIY knew he wanted canvas frames, he just couldn't find anything off the shelf that was the right size(or price) so was going to make frames himself .....so waiting, waiting, waiting. And this winter has been COLD. Anyway, last week we were at the Art shop at Harbourtown and discovered that you can buy wooden frames that lock together...perfect! And cheaper than buying the frame with the canvas. I'd bought curtain material from Spotlight over 12 months ago but it wasn't quite wide enough, so I've added a strip of material and voila!!

To help with insulation, it has a layer of calico - that faces outside so fading won't be obvious - then a layer of Sisalation - the foil stuff builders use in the roof - and then the lined material. They sit on the wooden window frame.

So in winter, they'll go over the window around 5pm when it starts to cool and come down in the morning to catch the heat during the day. And in summer, they'll go up during the day to keep the heat out, then removed at night to let any heat escape. So one step closer to a house that won't need heating or cooling!

Now if only I can get the pelmet boards up so I can start making the curtains......

ETA: Theresa, unfortunately we couldn't find more canvasses the same size as the ones you offered us and Mr G has a thing for symmetry, so no hurry to get the others out from behind the wardrobe. :-)
Why don't you see if the school can use them??

Don't ever stand behind me in the checkout queue

2010-08-14T19:15:00.000+09:30

Because it doesn't matter which aisle I pick, it will be MY checkout that has the 16 price checks......or the paper roll will need to be changed on the till....or the person in front will have their card declined.....or the supervisor will need to clear the notes/top up the change.....you getting the picture??

Today the woman in front of me dropped a Glade scented candle on the floor, so the checkout girl decided to close the checkout while she called someone to sweep up the small amount of glass. When she looked at me and said I would have to move to another checkout, I KNOW that I audibly sighed and rolled my eyes, looking like an absolute uber-bitch. But it was an involuntary action....because this stuff happens to me ALL THE TIME. And I had already debated about which checkout line to join because all had a just one person with a similar amount in the trolley, but naturally by the time I was asked to move, every other checkout had another 4 people lined up.

I don't know quite what it is about me and the supermarket checkout but me and the planets are never quite aligned......

So very angry

2010-08-11T20:37:00.000+09:30

This is a HUGE venting post, so please forgive me....

I am incredibly angry with Miss R's teachers. We go through this sh*t every year....year starts well as Teacher gets to know Miss R and her problems and quirks, then by Term 3 the cracks are starting to show and things very rapidly go downhill until we get to Term 4 and we're all just praying for the year to be over.

At the beginning of this year, I met with Teacher M (in the classroom Mon & Thurs) and Teacher L (in the classroom the remaining 3 days but fresh out of teacher's college) and explained that I wasn't going to be harassing Miss R about completing homework. Basically I wasn't going to be making MY life a misery (as per the years preceding), that Miss R has other commitments after school 4 days/week + dance on weekends and I felt these were incredibly important and would be maintained, so homework wasn't going to be our priority. However, if they emailed me the details of the homework that needed to be completed, I would ensure that this happened but the rest.....if it got done, then it got done. Both teachers seemed ok with this. I've been emailed ONCE by Teacher M, back in March.

Since this term started, I've been getting weekly notes from Teacher M that Miss R hasn't been completing her spelling/grammar homework. I gather she wants me to write a note each and every time. I emailed her after the first note but am yet to receive a reply.

Today I see an evaluation from Teacher L for a presentation that Miss R had to give on Ancient Greece. She had to work with another girl, the topic was Discoveries & Inventions. I gather Teacher L allocated the partners and the topics. The evaluation was appalling and the written notes at the end were scathing.....basically saying that Miss R did not do her share, the presentation was poorly prepared and presented and it was clear that the girls had not worked as a team. So I asked Miss R about it and her version of events goes something along these lines.....

the other girl decided that she was doing Inventions and Miss R had to do Discoveries
Miss R asked me for help (I had no idea of the details; I assumed it was for a project) and it was really difficult to find any Discoveries that Miss R could put into her own words. Most of them were far too complicated for her to explain.
Miss R approached Teacher L for assistance but was ignored
the other girl offered no assistance so Miss R was basically left to her own devices.

All of this I could be ok with except for one thing. Miss R has a learning disability. Miss R has a language disorder. Miss R has Asperger's Syndrome. Miss R could have achieved something if she had been given just the tiniest amount of support!!

I showed Mr G the report and he just about had steam coming out of his ears.The bit we find so very offensive is that Miss R was marked particularly poorly in 2 areas.....language and eye contact. FFS! This child has a language disorder and Asperger's. This child finds it incredibly difficult to articulate in a concise and coherent manner and the classic signs of Aspie's is that THEY CANNOT MAINTAIN EYE CONTACT. If this teacher had done even an ounce of research, she would know that.

I am very, very close to sending yet another email addressed to Teacher M & Teacher L and cc'd to the ILP Co-ordinator, the Middle School Co-ordinator and the Principal. The email will read something along the lines of "Dear Teacher M & Teacher L, Miss R will not be completing ANY homework until she is given the classroom support that she needs and that the school is funded for." Wonder what kind of response that will get?

Guess I will be scheduling a meeting with the teachers sometime soon. Might wait until I am a bit calmer though.

PS The saving grace of all this? Miss R is actually very happy and doesn't seem to be bothered by the poor grades. Each day when I collect her from school and ask how the day went, the response is always "Good". This is the first year I've been getting a consistently positive response to that question....

Thinking of Tassie

2010-07-28T12:20:00.000+09:30

I'm thinking we might plan a trip to Tasmania next year. I've never been and have always wanted to go. Only Virgin Blue fly direct from Adelaide these days, which begs the question, should we drive to Melb and get the boat over, or should we do the fly-drive thing? And which is the best time of year? I'm thinking April, but maybe September?

So many decisions....

Ow! Ow! Ow!

2010-07-26T16:13:00.000+09:30

So yesterday afternoon, instead of a peaceful few hours of reading the paper and creating more of these....

I instead had to help Mr DIY build this....

and subsequently I can barely move today AND I have a blister on the palm of my right hand.

I think it would be cheaper to supplement the income of some strapping young uni student than pay for the physio I'm going to require over the next few days but at least we are one step closer to a finished yard.

Strangely addictive

2010-07-25T10:47:00.000+09:30

While waiting for the fabric to turn up for the back of the Vespa quilt, I've started paper piecing my string quilt. How addictive is this??? Once I start, I can't stop until the whole block is done, and it's just amazing to watch this:

turn into this:

I've made about 18 blocks so far and am aiming for 48 in total (6 blocks x 8 blocks) but may just keep going....

Quilting Updates.....

2010-07-17T10:43:00.000+09:30

Have been busy churning out blocks for Mr G's vespa quilt

which have turned into this

Ordered a gorgeous quilt label for my cousin's Wedding Quilt from a delightful lady on Etsy

Quilt front and back...it's absolutely huge! Measures 81" square - the largest quilt I've tackled so far.

Stocked up on Kona solids when Pink Chalk recently had cheap international postage and am planning a scrappy string quilt, something along these lines

Fabric Shack are also having cheap international postage until July 31 so managed to snag some more Tufted Tweets.

Blue courtyard steps is basted and ready for the quilting process.

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

2010-07-11T16:28:00.000+09:30

Mr G was out the front doing some work on the storm water last weekend (yes, been here over 18mths and still haven't done the storm water properly. Poor dogs have had to learn to swim this winter!!) when I heard a car stop and voices. Peered out the window, didn't recognise the car but thought nothing of it as Mr G is the 'g'day guy' and complete strangers will often stop to talk.

When I went outside later and asked him what it was about, he told me that these 2 guys had pulled up and asked when we were demolishing our house as "it was the ugliest house in the suburb". (I think there may have been a few expletives thrown in for good measure.)

Now, not only was I gobsmacked that anyone would be so RUDE, I was also deeply offended that anyone could possibly think ours was the ugliest house.....I mean really, have they even LOOKED at all the nasty little units that have popped up in recent years??? Ugliest house....I don't think so!! Would love to know what they live in!

(Unless of course they were referring to the unfinished fences and yard - then they might have a point. It is a little Steptoe & Sons.....)

Oh the Cleverness of Me!

2010-07-04T10:58:00.000+09:30

See what I whipped up last night?

This is one of those small ironing boards from Ikea. I've had it for years - bought well before Ikea came to Adelaide - but rarely used it as the foam wasn't very thick and it felt like I may as well just use the table instead. But I've decided it would be quite handy to use when quilting (sometimes the big ironing board obscures my view of the TV) so I bought new thick foam/wadding stuff, cut it to size and then attempted to put the original cover back on.....and the drawstring cord snapped! Bugga!

Initially I just bought new cord from Spotlight, then realised it was a bit too thick to feed through the binding. Then I had a light bulb moment....I'll just make a new one!I'd bought this Amy Butler fabric online not realising that it was home decor weight rather than quilting, so it was perfect for this little job. Just had to make some new binding from Kona Ash, which matched perfectly and voila! A gorgeous little ironing board cover.

Now off to make some blocks for the Vespa quilt so I have an excuse to use it....

What I did in June.

2010-06-28T17:28:00.000+09:30

After 6 months of looking at diesel Hyundai i30's, I've bought a Honda Jazz! Snap decision but sometimes you just have to go with the flow. So far am very happy with it.

Painted the walls and then installed the old kitchen cupboards in the laundry. Laundry looks sooooo much better now although haven't found a home for everything just yet.The sink is in, and no leaks! Must take a finished photo though....

While I was painting, I figured I may as well paint the hallway too. And the feature wall in the lounge didn't take long either. :-) Just have to work out which prints are going on this wall.

Went to see Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3 - both in 3D. (I'm a bit over the whole 3D thing actually; didn't detract but neither did it really enhance either movie.) Both were good but Toy Story 3 was just lovely.....a fitting end to the franchise. And even though they have left it open for more movies, I really hope they leave it there. Loved, loved, LOVED spanish Buzz!

It went together really quickly, but actually quilting the Wedding Quilt has been a slow process. I'm machine stitching the binding....think it will turn out ok. And now my thoughts have turning towards the next project - dog coats! But not quilted ones....

And naturally there has been the usual round of drama classes, Scouts, netball, maths tutoring etc etc etc.... School holidays start next week, and Miss R will be away for 4 days in the first week on a Scout camp (cold and wet, I imagine) and Mr G will be home with her the second week. Wonder what July will bring??

The Wedding Quilt

2010-06-06T20:26:00.001+09:30

I'm making a quilt for my cousin's wedding. I always think of her as a young person - I was a teenager when she was born; that makes her around 30 now so I guess she's officially an adult! Anyway, she's getting married in July so even though we're not invited to the wedding (in Sydney), I decided to make her a quilt in a desperate attempt to reduce my stash.I ask my mother to make gentle enquiries into the bride's fave colour and the response was green. Now you may recall that I made Mum a lovely green quilt for Xmas (which I'm happy to report she does actually use now that the weather is cooler) so I assumed that my green stash was sadly depleted and subsequently bought a few more bits and pieces when in Melb for the Quilt Convention. But when I actually checked my stash, I had HEAPS of green! LOL Isn't that always the way??

In the end, I decided on a palette of green, grey and black, and once I decided on a pattern, it came together surprisingly quickly.

I only started sewing it together last weekend, and last night I basted it ready to start quilting today.

I especially like the back....I've used an Ikea fabric with houses on it; the centre panel in the white colourway and the grey colourway around the edges. I thought this was appropriate given that the happy couple have just bought their first home together. I'm even going to sew a label onto this one.....something simple like their names and wedding date.

I've been procrastinating about getting started while I think about the 'how' of the quilting but now that Miss R is in bed, I'll go stitch the first rows.Hopefully there will be 'finished' photos soon.

Yesterday was my anniversary.....

2010-05-31T07:49:00.001+09:30

12 months ago, Theresa and I visited Hettie's Patch, I bought a stack load of fabric and a new obsession was born.

Edited to add - I meant to blog this yesterday but was too busy putting together another quilt......photos soon.

News in Brief

2010-05-08T14:51:00.000+09:30

Miss R is at a Leadership Scout Camp until tomorrow afternoon. Mr G is working. Don't quite know what to do with all this blissful time to myself. :-)
We're heading off to the Gold Coast on Monday. Back on Saturday. Only doing one theme park - 2 day Dreamworld pass - and tossing up between a day in Brisbane or a trip to Mt Tamborine. Also visiting Mr G's birth mother who, it seems, lives very near Ikea, so no prizes for guessing where we'll probably end up.
Had a Learning Review this week with Miss R's teachers. They gave her a really good report which was fabulous to hear. Of course there is room for improvement - she needs to be more organised and needs to speak up more when she doesn't understand - but overall she seems to be keeping up with her peers. From comments made, it seems that they keeping her learning difficulties in mind when assessing her, which is good to know. Things seem to be going well socially as well.
Having to watch my sugar and fat intake is having an impact on the scales. Won't know for another month or so whether it's had any effect on my sugar and cholesterol levels, but clothes are feeling a teeny bit looser.
We've been endeavouring to get our 2 dogs to sleep in a crate at night, rather than in our bed. Mainly because they don't always want to go out the doggy door in the middle of the night, and I'm tired of cleaning up messes in the morning (not every morning, but enough to be a nuisance). The older dog has taken to it easily, but the younger one starts whimpering at anywhere from 1am to 5am. I never did enjoy having broken sleep.....
Watched this week's episode of Lost and bawled my eyes out. Like sobbing, not just a bit teary. (Bit embarrassing really.) Don't know now whether I can face the last few episodes, but as I've been watching since the beginning, I have to persevere. And no, I have absolutely no idea what is going on.
Have decided that the quilt I'll make for my cousin's wedding will be green with grey & black but haven't decided on a pattern yet. I was inspired by this quilt.
And now I'm off to wash the dishes and vacuum the floors, ready for the housesitter.

Quilt Fair, Melbourne, Sat 1 May 2010

2010-05-02T13:07:00.000+09:30

Theresa, Clare and I flew to Melbourne yesterday to go to the Australasian Quilt Convention.We had an early flight out and a late flight back. It was a great day! By the time we caught the SkyBus into Southern Cross Station and caught the tram out to the Royal Exhibition Building, it was right on 10am when the doors were opening. And we left about 15mins after the doors closed. I was amazed that we spent the WHOLE DAY there but there was just so much to see. We went to a couple of the seminars but the rest of the time was spent browsing the many stalls, looking at the beautiful quilts (some not so beautiful IMHO but everyone has different taste and I could still appreciate the amount of work that had gone into each one) and looking for a bargain. Clare was on the hunt for some Kaffe Fassett fabric and she did find some, but alas, a fat quarter wasn't enough.I didn't intend to buy fabric, as I have plenty in my stash, but bought some Prints Charming FQ's that are hard to find now, and some green for my next project but really didn't come home with a lot. I did buy a small cutting board and a gadget for sewing mitred corners when binding (rather than folding the corners) but I'll have to have a little play with that before I decide if it was a good buy or not.

I'm really looking forward to going again next year.

This morning I've had a lovely time checking out the websites of various exhibitors. And I really, really, really want a long arm quilting machine with stitch regulator - but that's a mere pipe dream......

Kitchen Progress

2010-04-21T20:03:00.001+09:30

Getting there.....

A couple of drawers missing because there's a slight smell of gas, so further work needs to be done there.

Rangehood to be installed tomorrow.

One more door to be purchased for the space above the microwave.

Glossy red wall panels for behind the rangehood.

Couple more door handles to install.

And then I can start filling the drawers with "stuff". :-) Oh, and better paint the walls.....

Has it really been over a month since I last posted?

2010-04-16T15:02:00.000+09:30

I dream of posting twice in the same month!!

Excuse the dot points; I have composed many a blog post in my head but never got any further. I hope to elaborate further at some future date.

The courthouse steps quilt top has been put together. I had planned to add a border using leftover strips, but as some fabrics were fat quarters, I don't actually have any leftovers. So still debating whether it needs the border or not.

Bought some fat quarters in blue tones from Spotlight to make pinwheel blocks for the back as I didn't have enough in my stash. The quality of fat quarters from Spotlight really is appalling.....
Have been having a few health issues and am now on medication for high blood pressure. The headaches seem to have eased as a result.
Am seeing a dietitian later today as my sugar & cholesterol levels are too high and I'm on the slippery slope to diabetes. No surprises there; you can't fight your family history. Will have to keep a food diary for the next 2 weeks though; what fun!
Easter seems an age ago, but finally got the pin up board and cupboard mounted in the study. Still need to find a home for a few things, but it's looking pretty good now.

Had a garage sale and cleared a heap of furniture.
Miss R is now a confident bike rider and is eager to ride around the block as often as possible. We're wedged in between 3 major roads though, so a limit to how far she can ride unsupervised.
Have bit the bullet and replaced part of the kitchen with glossy red from Ikea. Had a little drama with wall tile removal though, which ended up in gyprock removal, so it's not yet finished. Here's a teaser......the rest of the cupboards are glossy red drawers and they look fantastic!

Last day of school holidays today. Miss R is happy because Term 2 means winter uniform and for some reason, she's really looking forward to that. Yep, strange child.....

Not a fan of fussy cutting

2010-03-06T15:32:00.005+10:30

Months ago, I said I would make a quilt for Mr G and found some fantastic material to use. He had a vague design in mind, and eventually settled on one from Material Obsession, with some modifications. Each block is a modified log cabin, so I need to fussy cut the center squares. And can I just say, fussy cutting is a complete and utter pain in the butt! It has taken me ages, and I still haven't finished......and I still have to cut all the other pieces yet. Blah!

In other news, I have finally finished the fairytale quilt I was making for a 4yo birthday. Turned out very nicely, I think.

I especially like the back - I started off with the panel, which I was going to cut to use for the squares on the front, but realised there were no seam allowances, so I ended up using the panel on the back. I hope the recipient likes it.

So because I'm sick to death of fussy cutting, I'm planning another project. Funnily enough, I was looking at a whirly gig pattern in a book borrowed from the library, when what did I see on Theresa's blog??? I also want to make a log cabin quilt, so I think I'll use these blues for that one, and use purples or black/white for the whirly gigs. Also like the look of a pinwheel quilt, like the one on Old Red Barn so that will be a good use of my scraps. I've been cutting them into 4.5" squares and knew they would come in handy some day.

And finally, I've been a bit naughty about increasing my stash, and have bought quite a bit from Fabric Shack and Pink Chalk lately. I do find it ridiculous (and a bit sad) that I can buy these Prints Charming cheaper from the US than I can from here.

A long weekend here in Adelaide, Mr G is working, Miss R is exhausted from her school camp, so not much planned except for quilting! (The housework can wait, can't it???)

On the lookout for a new car

2010-02-26T11:33:00.003+10:30

And yes, I'm aware that I've only had this one a little over 12mths. Don't worry, I'll hear all about it from my mother!

I drive a 2008 Ford Focus TDCI. We wanted a diesel for fuel economy but also needed a car big enough to be a family car without going too big. The Focus has a large boot, which was a definite plus with all the stuff I have to carry home from the hardware store. I was dubious about buying a Ford, but couldn't afford the Hyundai i30, which was my preference. As this one was ex-Ford owned from new and was still well within the warranty, we figured it was ok.

Now, on the plus side, the fuel economy, while not as good as they say, is pretty good. I regularly get over 800km to a tank, and when we drove to Wollongong, easily got over 900km. The boot, as I said, is rather capacious. The 6 speed turbo diesel is lovely to drive. And it's red, so it goes faster.

On the negative side, I seem to have been at the mechanics an awful lot lately for stupid little things, fixed under warranty (except for the smashed side mirror; my fault entirely) but still, it makes me think that I DO NOT want this car once the warranty runs out sometime in 2011.

I can probably afford the i30 now but the changeover would still be the cost of a new Ikea kitchen. And I'd rather have the new Ikea kitchen. But I have a funny feeling that out of warranty, this car will end up costing me a lot, lot more than an Ikea kitchen.

I haven't forgotten you Blog.....

2010-02-10T20:36:00.004+10:30

I've just been a little busy juggling things.

Schools back, and so I'm back to my role of taxi driver. There's an extra activity on Mon (drama), Tues (maths tutor), Wed (social skills group), Thurs (Scouts), Fri (netball) and Sat (dance). And I seem to take her to all of them. Plus work is busy and I've been heading in on weekends to catch up.

So you, dear Blog, are sadly neglected.

As is my sewing machine.

Btw, I have a 12 year old.

2010-01-26T17:51:00.002+10:30

How in the heck did that happen???

You know, one of the things about being a parent is having to sit through those dreadful kids movies every school holidays. You know the ones. And when they were toddlers, you'd buy them a dvd (or video) and they would watch it over and over and over again until you wanted to throw the thing against the wall. She may be older, but she's still happy to watch episodes of Full House for the trillionth time, but happily I don't have to sit and watch them with her anymore. Thank goodness.

But today we went to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D at the cinema. And even though I've seen both movies more times than I care to count, I thoroughly enjoyed watching them again. And I got a little teary during Jessie's song, just like I always do. And the 3D was really good (although a little annoying after a while over my regular glasses). I think we might even go and see Toy Story 3 when it's released later this year.

But thankfully I can also take her to see things a little more grown up now. Within reason, of course.

Happy Birthday, Miss R.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

2010-01-16T15:09:00.003+10:30

Well where did the last 2 weeks go? Yes, Miss R came home today from AJ2010 and is currently snoring in front of the TV. She had an absolute blast!

And what did we do while she was away? Why we jumped in the car and drove 3000km to visit her, of course!

We stayed at the Medina Apartments in Wollongong, which was fantastic. The service from all the staff was exceptional, from the moment I booked until the moment we got home and I realised that I could have earned Velocity points by staying with them. A quick email, and all fixed!

We'd driven through Wollongong before (I used to work for BHP so wanted to see Port Kembla), but never really stopped to look around. We quite liked it; beautiful piece of coastline, lots of cute little shops....yes, I think I'd visit again. Loved this road:

We stayed in Mildura and then Yass on the way over, then Canberra and Mildura on the way back. The hotel in Canberra was very historic, but had been left to decline a little. It was being refurbished, but still had a way to go. We went to visit the National Museum of Australia while we were there; spent several hours wandering around before it closed and still didn't feel as if we had seen everything.

But back to Visitor's Day. We, along with around 10,000 other people, rolled up to Cataract Park on Saturday 9th to see what our beloved children were up to. It was a stinking hot day (yes, I know it wasn't as hot as Adelaide, but not far behind!) and we were exhausted by the end of it, but it was just amazing to see the scale of this....and Miss R was very pleasantly surprised to see us. She showed us all around, introduced us to her Troop and Patrol, we bought state badges and contingent badges, checked out the media centre and Market Day....it was great and I'm so pleased we made the effort.

Here's Miss R at the gateway to her campsite. They won the award for the Best Troop Name - not sure if that was for the whole Jamboree or just the SA contingent though.

Miss R is one of the lucky few that will qualify to attend 2 Jamborees, as she won't have turned 15 for 2013's in Queensland. She's come home all enthusiastic to go again, so I hope that feeling lasts. I think Scouts has been good for her and I'd really like her to continue.

AJ2010

2009-12-31T14:58:00.003+10:30

On Saturday.....in just 2 short days.....my darling Miss R will be going with over 10,000 other Scouts to AJ2010, held at Cataract Park, NSW. She'll be gone for 2 weeks. This is kind of huge for us.....12mths ago, I never would have imagined that my little Aspie girl would be able to cope with being away from home for that length of time, that she was independent enough to look after herself or that she would be able to co-operate and mix well with the rest of the troop. But we have been working all year to get her ready for this, and it seems to have paid off. After the last camp in September, I've been quietly confident that she will be able to cope ok.

So last week, she had her hair cut short to make it easy to care for. And today we have finished packing the bag. All I have to add is.....actually, I don't think there is anything we have to add - even the snacks for the bus trip have been included! I was hoping to include a disposable camera, but it's been too hot to venture out (am loving the new air con though!!!) so I might duck into Kmart on Sat morning to pick one up.

Initially she didn't want to go, then she seemed quite keen, but I think today it has finally hit her that she IS going and SOON. We've had a little chat about how it's ok to miss your family, but not ok to spend so much time thinking about how much you miss them, that you forget to have a good time. And I've assured her that we will miss her too. But what I haven't told her, is that we plan to drive over to see her on Visitor's Day. I hope it's a good idea - it could go either way.

Have a Happy New Year!

PS - a conversation with Mr G last night.....

Mr G: So what time are we going out tomorrow night?

Me: Why, where are we going???

Mr G: It's NYE....aren't we going out with the W's???

Me: OH! Is tomorrow NYE???

Good lord, how on earth do retired people keep track of what day it is?????

What I have been doing on my holidays so far.....

2009-12-29T21:41:00.003+10:30

A spot of gardening.....

Sewing badges onto Miss R's scout shirt....

Packing her bag ready for AJ2010....

Quickly running up a peg bag for her to take.....

Having an air conditioner installed......

A spot of reading while lazing on the couch (this only lasted about 10 mins though).....

Taking pictures ready for listing on eBay....

It's been pretty relaxing so far but I think I deserve a little rest; it has been a hectic year!

Tomorrow I plan to cut some of my scraps into 4.5" squares for a scrappy quilt I plan on making eventually. I also have a cream quilt I started ages ago to finish. It's almost all quilted; I just had to put it aside while I dealt with more urgent issues, but I reckon I can knock that off before I go back to work on Monday.

Hope you are enjoying your break.

And another one done!

2009-12-24T14:01:00.004+10:30

Finished Mum's quilt at 1.30pm. Thank goodness. Was too hot to stitch the binding yesterday but I had to persevere as I knew I would run out of time otherwise. Looks lovely, so hope she appreciates it (and doesn't just put it in a cupboard never to be seen again....until we're cleaning out the house when she's dead and buried).

Now I can move on to making potato salad, packing for Jamboree.....oh, and making Miss R some lunch....she's probably hungry by now.....

Jamboree Quilt is finally finished!

2009-12-23T09:05:00.003+10:30

I made this one for Miss R to take to AJ2010 - the Scout Jamboree held in Sydney next month. I've used fabrics from Robert Kaufman's Girl Scout of America range, plus some Prints Charming and 8 Happy Camper panels. The backing is from Ikea, bought when we were in Melb last month. I had a few challenges quilting this one (I've decided that I enjoy creating the tops far more than quilting the layers together) but am really thrilled with how it finished up. I've sewn Scout badges on the back, and hope to sew more on when she comes back from Jamboree. Badge swapping is apparently a big part of Jamboree and Miss R has a bag of badges to swap. (Although she very nearly didn't have any......I had put them in a 'safe place' and then couldn't find them yesterday. Tore the place upside down and finally found them on the floor where they had fallen behind the wardrobe...phew!!)

Finished quilt measures approx 71" x 47".

Meet Captain Bullseye

2009-12-19T16:06:00.003+10:30

Call him an early Xmas present.

The garden centre at Mr G's hardware store has the most fantastic garden ornaments; I really could spend a small fortune there. They have a whole range of these - bulls, cows, sheep, roosters - in different sizes. We just fell in love with this one and had to bring him home. Now all we need is a garden to put him in. :-)

Busy

2009-12-15T19:19:00.004+10:30

Yes, it's that time of the year (again!!) when we are busy, busy, busy. Here's a small rundown of what's been happening since my last post...

Miss R finished school on Dec 1. Yes, ridiculously early. The school holds their End of Year Eucharistic Celebration (EYEC) and Year 12 Graduation on the first Tues of December, and then it's all over, red rover. She's been in Vac Care/at Grandma's/at friends since then....ah, how I love the school holiday shuffle.
We've run the Scout BBQ a few times to raise funds to send the kids to Jamboree next month. Only problem is that we haven't actually seen any of the money raised yet! Just can't fathom what is happening there....in the end I paid Miss R's fees in full and am hoping to get some kind of refund eventually.
We've had the Glenelg Pageant (Miss R waved the Scout flag) and the Scout Xmas break up.
We've had the dance Xmas break up.
We invited a few families over for a BBQ....nice to catch up and we must try organising them more regularly.
Miss R had her drama performance. Now, I don't get to brag about Miss R very often but I think we've finally stumbled upon the thing she is good at. She's only been doing drama since Term 2 but she ended up with the most lines - she was the Pirate Captain - and performed extremely well. Spoke clearly, projected her voice, didn't rush her lines....and no apparent sign of nerves before hand. I was very proud. She's been invited to join the Youth Drama group next year, which is for age 13 upwards (she'll turn 12 in January), so that was another proud mummy moment. Of course, she doesn't want to do it....we'll have to go to a different group for that and she absolutely hates change but I think I'm going to insist on this one.
We've got Mr G's work Xmas party on Sun which is lawn bowls and sumo wrestling.....sounds like an absolute hoot!

I'll leave you with this pic of the quilt I'm racing against the clock to get finished by Xmas. Present for my mother....I should be doing it right now!

My lastest WIP

2009-11-28T18:19:00.003+10:30

The quilt I'm currently working on is for Miss R to take with her to the Scout Jamboree in January, so I really need to have it finished by Christmas if possible. However, this one has been an absolute NIGHTMARE to quilt. I don't know if I've lost my quilting mojo or if it has something to do with the backing being a heavier weight. It's 100% cotton, but it is a furnishing fabric rather than a quilting fabric. I thought it would be perfect as it would be sturdier but I've done more unpicking on this quilt than any other!

I always have trouble getting my layers firm enough. I can't lay the quilts out on the floor to baste together as I have no floor coverings yet and the unsealed floor is just filthy. I usually use large clips to hold them on my table and this seems to work ok. For this one, I took it up to my Mum's to baste and did it the recommended way ( ie taped to the floor) but when I started quilting, the seams were puckering really obviously. I foolishly kept going thinking it wasn't too bad, but by the time I'd quilted about 3/4, it was looking really crap, so I unpicked it all, pinned it again and started quilting all over again. The vertical lines look fine, but once again, the horizontal lines are puckering as the backing fabric is too loose between the lines of stitching and the top is looking a little stretched out of square.

The backing fabric is the only real difference so I'm hoping that's the issue. I can't remember if I've actually used the new Janome to quilt yet - I thought I had but maybe not - so hopefully the machine isn't the problem......it's a model advertised for quilting and that's why I bought it! I guess the next one I attempt will give me the answer though.

Anyway, the quilt will turn out ok; I know that I'm just being overly critical.

Oh, and in my desperation, I actually attempted some free motion quilting and it was TERRIBLE. Seriously. Embarrassingly bad. Before I started, I envisaged what I wanted to do, did some practice loops on paper and in my head and then once my foot hit the pedal, my brain just disengaged and it was like I had no control over what my hands were doing. It looked like scribble. Ugh!

Heatwave + Un-Airconditioned House =

2009-11-20T08:46:00.002+10:30

very little getting done.

Far too hot to sew anything, too hot to spend much time on the computer; we've been doing a lot of lying around watching tv.

Thankfully, most nights have cooled enough to open the house up and flush the heat away, so Mr G's house design will clearly work, but until we get gardens established and verandahs and pergolas built, the house will struggle to stay cool during the day. So on Monday, Mr G will be organising air conditioning installation, hopefully before Xmas. :-)

I'm too old to put up with this heat......

A Weekend Away

2009-11-10T18:41:00.003+10:30

Mr G and I went away for the weekend while Miss R went to stay with the lovely Theresa.

We were on the 6.50am flight out of Adelaide on Sat am and the 6.20am flight out of Melbourne on Mon am, so an early start both days but everything went smoothly and we didn't miss our flights - which was my biggest fear. I'm not really a morning person.

We didn't do a lot, as dh has still not fully recovered from his broken rib & shoulder. (In fact, he only went back to work today.) So we had to head back to the hotel each afternoon for a little nap. But we did manage to check out the Sunday markets and do a little Christmas shopping.We stayed at the Stamford Plaza which was very nice and I'd happily stay there again.

But the weirdest thing?? I left Mr G to have a nap on the Sat afternoon while I ducked into the Mall to find some hair care product. There is only one store in Aust that stocks it and it happens to be in Melbourne, so off I toddled only to find that they are no longer stocking it, so all stock was 50% off. So I bought the last 3 bottles - bargain! - and was hurtling through Myer to get back to the hotel when I heard someone calling my name. I ignored it - who would *I* know in Melb??? - but turned when it became more insistent and there was an old friend that I hadn't seen in about 5 years. And yes, he lives in Adelaide and was over in Melb staying with his sister! How bizarre was that?

And as no post is complete without a photo, I'll just leave you with a shot of Mr G. :-)

Procrastination

2009-10-31T16:26:00.002+10:30

I'm supposed to be listing stuff on eBay. I just don't feel like it.....

Gotta rid this house of coffee machines though!!

Dance Extravaganza 2009

2009-10-27T19:28:00.003+10:30

Well the dance concert is over again for another year, and once again, I took no photos. None. Such a bad mother.

Miss R has been a Preps B since she started at this dance school 5 years ago. She was supposed to go up to Juniors at the beginning of the year but many of her peers left and there weren’t enough to make up a troupe, so she stayed in Preps B while her school friend, Miss M who is the same age, went up to Inters. So initially Miss R looked like a giant amongst all these little 8-9yo’s (bearing in mind that she’s as tall as me now) but a couple of new girls joined that were around her age so she didn’t stand out quite so much. Anyway, the result was that Miss R ended up in the front row for all dances, all the other girls have followed her lead and Miss R has actually practised all year. She has improved so much and is far more confident.

She assures me that she wants to continue next year but she’s also talked about going back to calisthenics, so I’ll wait and see. I don’t really want her to be a Preps B for yet another year, so I’ll keep our options open. I've never had a problem with this dance teacher (although I gather she has ruffled some feathers) but I'm getting a little miffed at how the "troupe" girls - those that are entered into local eisteddfods - tend to be favoured. I'm sorry, but those less talented (ie Miss R) still pay their way, and are really the ones that keep her dance school going.

I also volunteered to help as a dresser this year and despite how time consuming it was (hadn’t considered that I also had to attend all the practices) I actually quite enjoyed it. Might even volunteer again next year. Dh thought for a nano-second that meant he didn't have to go to the concert, but Miss R had invited a school friend, so he had to attend after all. Someone had to point her out in the crowd....

The only downer.....Miss R was convinced that she was getting her 5 year medal at the presentation at the end of the concert but she was forgotten. The teacher sent me a text afterwards, apologising for the mix-up and she will get her medal at the Xmas break-up when she gets her trophy, so Miss R is happy with that, but I know that deep, deep down she is disappointed that she didn’t get it on the night in front of an audience.

I'll leave you with this picture from the 2006 concert......and while I'd love to say that glossy curly ponytail is all my own work, in reality it's a hairpiece. And she wears it every year, so just imagine her 3 years older.....

Sorry, whiny post coming up

2009-10-19T20:14:00.003+10:30

My dh has had a slight mishap and has broken a rib and his shoulder blade.

Needless to say, he is a poor patient and I am a terrible nurse. Two weeks off work and he's going to be unbearable.....he's almost unbearable already!!

Of course, he had to do it this week - the week that I have to get the car back to the mechanics (looks like the turbo has to be replaced...under warranty thank goodness!), Miss R starts her social skills group, has 2 dress rehearsals and a dance concert in which I'm supposed to be helping backstage, a visit to the GP for her and for dh, plus drama and Scouts (I think we're giving Scouts a miss.....) And to top it off, the vet rang today to remind me that the dog is supposed to go back for review this week (he had an abscess and was on antibiotics) .....I just laughed (before I cried) and said I'd see him next week, thank you very much.

And did I mention that someone tried to use my credit card last week to buy concert tickets in Sweden?? So the cards had to be cancelled - new ones turned up on Friday, but I don't have a PIN for it yet and so can't access the ATM. Oh well, at least we know that The Falcon works.....got a phone call from NAB within minutes of the transaction going through, so they were able to reverse it but I'm still puzzling over how my details were stolen. Guess I'll never know....

Hope next week is better. :-)

Update #2

2009-10-11T11:59:00.006+10:30

has taken me a little longer!

The pirate quilt is finished and ready to hand over to the recipient - my great nephew who had his first birthday on Friday. We've only seen him once, back in January....long story....we had a falling out with SIL and while we *think* niece #2 (the baby's mother) is neutral, we've been reluctant to contact any of the 3 nieces after niece #1 sent some very nasty texts and confronted dh at his place of work. (We've since heard that she's left the state, so perhaps I don't need to constantly look over my shoulder any more in case she pops out of the bushes screaming abuse....)

Anyway, niece #2 and baby J will hopefully visit next weekend so I can pass this masterpiece over. I took it in to work with me a few weeks ago and showed it to someone with a boy about the same age and she was in raptures over it, so I'm hoping that the gift will be used and appreciated.

I think this pattern is called "box in a box" (or similar) and I've pieced the back with 2.5" squares. I particularly like how the binding turned out - not just the stripes but I made the binding quite wide and I think it looks great. Seems to sit better than the narrow binding too, so I might use that more often.

The quilt turned out to be 48" x 71". I have quilted it in straight lines (one day I'll have the confidence to try some free motion quilting), diagonally through the squares. I learnt a great deal from this quilt and am very happy with the result.

I am in love....

2009-09-30T20:22:00.003+09:30

with my new Janome DC 2101 sewing machine. It's so quiet......and the 1/4" seam is so accurate.....and I love the needle up/down feature. And it comes with a quilting extension table, the walking foot and the 1/4" foot. Will take me a little while to get familiar with all the features, but so far, am loving it!

Did you know....

2009-09-17T17:49:00.000+09:30

that Marie Osmond was a quilter? No? Neither did I.

Update #1

2009-09-12T12:07:00.004+09:30

Ok, so here's the first finished project.....pink quilt for Miss R. Very pleased with the end result and I LOVE the back.....fabric from Ikea that was dirt cheap and looks great (so thanks Theresa for putting me onto it) and then I just added pieced scraps in a strip. Binding is the Ikea fabric.

Recently Read....

2009-09-12T10:14:00.008+09:30

Yes, occasionally I do something other than quilt....when I'm waiting for Miss R to finish an activity (usually dance or drama) then I'll knit or read. Couple of books I've read recently that I thoroughly enjoyed:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer

and

The House of Special Purpose by John Boyne.

And I'd also like to recommend The Book Depository. Even though it's based in the UK, it offers free postage worldwide and they are usually cheaper then here, even after converting from pounds to australian dollars!

Nearly there

2009-09-09T20:21:00.002+09:30

No pics yet but a couple of quilts are on the verge of finished. I'm very pleased with how the pirate quilt has turned out, especially the binding, and the pink quilt for Miss R.

Miss R is away on camp this weekend, so I'm hoping to (a) finish the 3 'almost finished' projects; (b) start quilting the cream one for the leather couch and (c) go to the movies. Haven't even seen the new Harry Potter yet and now I'm afraid I might be too late to see it on the big screen!

So stay tuned....hoping to have some pictorial evidence by Sunday!