SSCS 2010 What I Sent Away

This is what I sent to Floss in Canada. This little ornament was fun to make although I did find it a little challenging as I have not worked with hexagons before. I really like how it turned out.

Here is the gorgeous table runner I made for Floss, even if I do say so myself. But before you all reckon I am too clever, I did follow a pattern diligently. This pattern is from the book Skinny Quilts and Tablerunners. The pattern is By The Sea by Karen Eckmeier.

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Floss is an Australian married to a Canadian. In looking through her blog to choose a theme for her, I discovered she misses the beaches of Oz and takes every opportunity to get her feet wet when any kind of beach appears, even in winter (yikes!). So this quilt is for Floss to have a bit of the beach with her wherever she goes.

The quilt is long and narrow (i.e. skinny quilt - lol) so it was hard to photograph.

Here it is again in sections.

Note the starry fabric...

Remember those sneak peaks? Bet you never thought of a beach scene when you saw the lace and beads then the starry fabric. Lol.

Yes, really real seashells sewn in with a bit of tulle.

A little embellishment with wool to add texture and interest.

And not seen in the photo above, I added a few lace seagulls before posting it away.

Here is the quilt again in the bright sunshine.

All those shadows create an interesting effect.

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So another successful SSCS with Chookyblue.

Hope you all had a great Christmas! And here's Cheers to the New Year!

SSCS 2010 Quilt Received

This adorable little quilt was made by Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog in Chookyblue's SSCS 2010.



What a perfect little quilt for me. I keep Christ firmly at the centre of my Christmas and always have at least one Nativity scene on display. This little beauty will fill me with joy all year round... Thank you so much Laura for such a thoughtful and meaningful gift!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my blogging friends!

I hope you have a lovely, lovely time with family and friends!

Embrace what went right, laugh off what went wrong and

remember the God who loves you through it all!

Australian Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute,

Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,

It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs!
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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
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Engine's getting hot; we dodge the kangaroos,

The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.

All the family's there, sitting by the pool,

Christmas Day the Aussie way, by the barbecue.
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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.
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Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze,

The kids and Uncle Bruce, are swimming in their clothes.

The time comes 'round to go, we take the family snap,

Pack the car and all shoot through, before the washing up.

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Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day,

Hey! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

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More Aussie Christmas stuff here.

A Second Quilt

Do you remember by niece-in-law Louise? I blogged about her first quilt here, a small Double Wedding Ring. She's back with a baby quilt for a friend, and of course it's a Drunkard's Path. It's still rough around the edges as she's struggling with that quarter inch. But I so admire her willingness to just dive in. To her, one pattern is like another and you just follow the directions. There's a lesson here for all of us, I think. Especially me...

I've shown Louise some of my quilt tops and she wants to know why they aren't finished... good question. Did I have a coherent answer? Not really. No excuse. Too lazy to quilt? Scared of ruining the top by trying to quilt it? Hit a design wall regarding borders? We've all been there and done that.

2011 is a finishing year for me. I'm determined and mentally ready. There will be finished quilts flowing from my sewing room. I will work only on projects that are started already. This is my promise to myself. I am resolved.

Tiny Sneak Peek 2

Six sleeps to go...

Sneak Peek

The imp in me says I must show a tiny sneak peek of my

Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap.

Hopefully Santa won't put me on the naughty list.
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Sadly no sewing getting done.

Been shifting my elderly in-laws out of their home and in to a retirement village. Only those who have done this know what I've been through. I was in charge somehow. I'm a little traumatised, but we are still on speaking terms... and they are comfortable and happy in their new home. Just don't know what they are going to do with all the stuff they refused to let go of. Lots and lots of boxes in their garage. Lots of boxes in the spare room. Lots of stuff in the cupboards. Had a fight with Dad about throwing out aspirin that expired in 1991. You get the idea.

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I can hardly wait until I'm 82 and can drive my kids crazy.

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Edit: Sounds like I'm whinging a bit. You have to know that I was glad to be able to help these wonderful substitute parents (a.k.a. the in-laws) - even if it was overwhelming...

Christmas Card Boxes

Do you still have last year's Christmas cards tucked away? Now is the perfect time to make these little boxes which are great for small gifts or candy. I wrote a tutorial in 2008 when I first started blogging. You can find the tutorial here.

SSCS Received

I participated in Chookyblue's Secret Santa Christmas Swap and Tuesday I received my gift. We are allowed to open the ornament right away and I received two hand made ornaments! These are received from Laura of 3 Doodles and a Dog.

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The heart is made of hand-painted paper and is just wonderfully charming.

Laura did a tutorial on how to make it here.

This little angel is just too perfect. Regular readers of my blog know I just love angels on my tree and I try to get an angel ornament every year. Nothing special enough has come my way this year but now I have this most wonderful angel to add. Thank you so much Laura. It is just right.
Same angel with flash.
My present is safely tucked under my tree until Christmas.
And no peeking!

Just to Clarify...

(photo google images)

Ron was my husband's younger cousin. They were quite close. He was only 45 when he died. His kids are the same ages as ours. I wanted to make a quilt for his wife Jo-Marie.

At first I was just terrified of touching the shirts in case I somehow ruined them. Around that time Bonnie Hunter published her book 'Scraps and Shirttails' so I got a copy and read through that. My husband wanted to select the pattern though and he chose the 'Turning Twenty Again' that he had seen me use before.

I got a good start at a retreat in April '09 and more progress at the next retreat in Aug '09. I kept at it with a little prompting from my husband. I seemed to have a mental block about it. I worked through all the problems with the fabrics and finally got the top together. My husband said I could pay to have it quilted (not usually in our budget) and a friend who has a quilting business did it for me. It took a little while for me to bind it but I finally put in the last stitch. The label will go on in the next few days - we are pondering what to put on the label - the basics plus a little more info about Ron.

In finishing this quilt I feel a little weight off my shoulders. I had to really push through some creativity barriers as well as a few psychological. I recently read on Jacquie's blog (Tallgrass Prairie Studio) about a book called 'The War of Art'. It's a book about breaking through the barriers to our creativity. You can read Jacquie's blog post here. My local book store couldn't get the book for me (imagine that) but I easily sourced it online. It's been ordered and hopefully I should get it in the next week or so. I’m thinking that this book will help me to gain control of my quilting life – to help me finish those UFO’s (let’s not kid ourselves by calling them anything else) and gain control of my stash - to break the life-long habit of procrastination…

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Do you have barriers to your creativity?

Do you procrastinate?

What do you do to break through?

Ron's Quilt Finished

I first blogged about these shirts here.

The journey continued here.

And of course there was this.

And it culminates in this quilt.
I found $15 in this pocket. I returned it once the quilt was finished.

I still have the label to attach.

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In memory of Ronald William John Jamieson (1963 - 2008)

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Pattern is "Turning Twenty Again" by Tricia Cribbs.

Machine quilted by Barb John.

Christmas Tree

A lovely evening, a successful venture.

A family tradition continues.