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Evelyn ... thanks also for ... Very cute and very funny owls. Which ever grandie gets it they will love it.

I am pretty sure my sweet Bree will love it ...

Hey everyone , well where did summer go ? The month of August just flew door but I was busy traveling and seeing the sights with my oldest son and family members. I did do some crafts with my 8 year old granddaughter. I gave her some colorful fabrics and she went to work on them.. As she finished I would place them way. Now I will get them out of dresser ,and make a collage out of the creative bits and pieces. I have a feeling I will make a vogue designer dress with her art work.

Then I have this fireplace screen that belong to my paternal grandparents.I want to do some crewel work with quilting before I set it into the frame. So this week I plan on sketching my art work on linen and get started .

oh that sounds grand Dee ... please don't forget to show us some pics when you are done ... we have an album up in the gallery for just such things ..

Dee I would also like to see some pictures of your works in progress. They both sound very interesting.

I love doing crafts with my grandies too! We have not made any designer dresses, but we have made Christmas dresses - and that reminds me, they have both grown and I need to make them new ones for this Christmas. They are so funny, they love to wear their Christmas dresses throughout the year and both of them are very faded! I don't mind making clothes for them if they wear them to death. I would object if they only wore them once - or not at all!

Finished a row by row yesterday that I did with another site that is no long running... there was a theme each month and you interpreted it your way... this is going to be a floor rug like and I Spy for my house when grandies start coming.

That is a beautiful quilt Tarnyia and I am sure all of the grandies will love it to - when they come to visit! By the way, how many were you planning on having and what if it's twins? Maybe you might have to make another quilt just in case?

I am 'currently' finishing an Autumn leaf UFO (pic in gallery later) that should have been finished 6.5 years ago!!! Was hoping to have it completed by last Thursday night and delivered yesterday, but have had a couple of minor setbacks. All stipple quilted last night (thanks to a small glass of fortification ha ha) and sitting on the table ready to be trimmed, bound and labeled. Fingers crossed it will be finished and delivered tonight. And for my reward we will go out to dinner at the club. But the best bit will be another UFO done and dusted and more space in my cupboard for ................ more fabric maybe????

Finally finished this 7 year old Autumn Leaves UFO! Woo Hoo!
All stipple/meander quilted.

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at the moment I am working on a commisioned quilt all the sashings are half square triangles a bit of a doosy to keep straight the next border is flying geese which i am sewing in strips.

I am also teaching a young women how to do patchwork which is a real pleasure, she is three quarters way through her first quilt. she is making a sampler quilt for her grandmother for xmas . using all the modern fabrics it looks lovely, she's very happy with the results . I am really surprised how much information i have retained over the years ...................

Good for you Helen ... i would love to see a photo of both these quilts when they are done ....

and passing on a skill really is so rewarding ... and yeah .. the stuff we remember when we have to is totally incredible .... good on you for dragging another unsuspecting sucker encouraging the younger generation into such a money draining fantastic pastime ..................

How about this for some 'fun'................?

My aunt's DIL asked the MIL to make a 21st quilt for her daughter out of the daughter's triplet's (now aged 3) baby blankets. (hope you can follow all that? ha ha)

The grandmother helps her daughter with the 3 children on a regular basis because there is no daddy in the picture. The grandmother (who doesn't sew at all) has been secretly collecting baby blankets for some time and giving them to the MIL (great grandmother/my aunt) who also is a non-patchwork quilter. (can you see where this is going yet?? ha ha)

Last week my Aunt phoned me and said she had made a quilt top out of 9" squares cut from the great grandchildren's (triplets) baby blankets to be given to her granddaughter for her 21st and she needed help with putting it all together so it could be quilted. Can I help?

She arrived with a QUEEN sized quilt top and the baby blankets she had been given to used were well-used fleece bunny rugs. (very stretchy and not too thick by this time) She also came armed with lamingtons - I suspect the latter was a peace offering? ha ha

This was the aunt's first venture into patchwork and quilting. Her daughter in law had done the 'shopping' for her and she too is a non sewer. DIL had purchased 'enough' fabric for the backing and wadding...... NOT! There was no excess backing or wadding around the outside of the top. The backing was sewn vertically up the centre and the selvedges had been left on!!!! The backing was an unwashed dark purple ............ I am wondering what will happen when it gets washed for the first time? There was not enough to unpick the seam, and remove the selvedges and I was not willing to put the backing in the wash to test for bleeding and shrinking!

I trimmed the top to something that was more 'squarish'. Quartered the backing and wadding and layered the sandwich - all centred. We used more than 600 safety pins to hold it all together and the aunt stitched in the ditch with my machine because she didn't have a walking foot. She had no idea what she was in for!! ha ha

I had to add a 6" wide strip of wadding to hers also as it was short (thank goodness I had some off-cuts of the same sort!! - Thank goodness it was an expensive wadding and not an all polyester one!!! Imagine that!!!!)

The backing ended up slightly short at the top and bottom as well so those will be trimmed to fit next week when the aunt comes back to bind and finish the quilt. Oh, and the binding purchased was 4 mts long!!! 5 times the amount we will need for the finished binding!!!

At the end of the day the aunt said this would be her first and only quilt!!!! I have suggested she might like to make a smaller 'proper' quilt for herself, but plan it before she goes shopping so there is nothing left to chance, like not enough fabric for the backing etc! She is thinking about it..... ha ha

I am looking forward to seeing this quilt finished next week, well, finished for the part I am playing in it. I have suggested to the aunt that she might like to add more quilting within the squares to hold the layers together better and take up some of the excess stretch of the top blocks.

hmmm .... sounds like that was an education in all sorts of things ....... not just for the aunt but for you too .... isn't great that we can still learn stuff ....

i am still slugging away at these curtains ... would be good if i could sew at night but ... the windows in my room have no screens .. so if there is a light on it is an open invite to every bug in creation to come visit ... and .. it is a bit too hot here in the afternoon to sew ... that leaves the morning .. and i am not a great morning person so ... i am doing what i can ... haha ...


i have however made a start on my bon bon heat mat thingy ... which i think will be pretty good ...

and ... i have also started chopping up fabrics for my 365 day quilt ... lots to chop ...

No leaning here for me Bobbie........ just the aunt! ha ha I have seen it just the same all too many times before and a couple of my sewing ladies are the guilty parties. You would think they would learn after the first time though wouldn't you? ha ha

I too have been working on my christmas bon bon. It has been packed, unpacked, swapped out, repacked and unpacked again!!! I am having fun! Well, I think I am?

........ as long as you are having fun ... ..................



i am having one of these instead ......... .... now that is fun ...

I have just completed some repairs on the santa sacks I made about 4 yrs ago for 2 grandsons. Somehow, the Christmas storage boxes got wet...and colour from felt has run into the sacks..... but all is ok, I got some fabric strips and cut some stars out......and patched over the dyed bits.
I am happy....but...can't believe how ordinary those sacks are/were, lol

So long as you are happy NOW Karen?
Now I too am off to have one of these..................

sheesh ... it seems we are all having one of these in one form or another .....


and yes Karen ... our quilting efforts do improve in time .... which is always a plus hey?? ...


off to get some dinner .... Katie does all the cooking .... even when it was my turn last night ... i bought all the food ... got it all out and prepared and she swept in and took over ... i just stood back like a wort on a bum ... or is that a bump on a log ... oh who knows ... ..... need me another of this stuff ...

Well, today another quilt was born! Yes, the one I told you about the week before last that the Aunt asked me for help with! So glad is is all done and dusted and yes, she even went home with the label all signed and ready to hand stitch in place.

And yes, she was talking about making something patchwork for herself - maybe a cushion? She has two lap quilts already (crocheted) and didn't want another. I suggested she might like to make a table runner or place mats etc and she got quite excited about doing that. Will wait and see what happens in the new year now.......... but for now I am just so glad the queen size quilt for her granddaughter's 21st is all done and dusted!!!

I have been making Crystal Angle Christmas tree decorations...... 16 so far........

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ohhhhhhhhhh lovely beads - look great Evelyn

Thanks Wendy

i did spend a couple of days playing around with the left over bits from the lotto block swap fabric ...

i made a table topper and 2 placemats ... the topper is finished ... but the placemats still need binding ...


i used the good ol faithful disappearing nine patch to make these ... such a lovely forgiving block .... and it always looks so great ...

there is a pic or two in the gallery ...

there will be more pics tonight .... i am hand sewing bindings down ... sitting out on the verandah with a glass of ice and water ... keep that ice coming guys .... sitting in front of a fan that is blowing at full force and trying hard to finish 2 placemats ... a pot mit and a mugrug ... i really want all to be finished today ... then tomorrow i may do some work on my leader and ender blocks ...

Evelyn your Angels are just beautiful, and, Bobbie, I love your table topper, great colours......clever girls you are!