For anyone who likes a good quirky read about an animal menagerie please check out this blog:

http://lifeatspringrock.blogspot.com/2008/11/getting-to-know-me.html

Enjoy reading - and chuckling !!!

This is how we propegate seedlings - not very high tech - but it works !

There is a new vehicle in the driveway now ....

Watch out everyone - here comes Grandpa !!

Mum decided to help me by cutting the shirts part, isn't she great?

Maybe the shirt quilts will be in progress earlier than I expected.

It's all good.

Last night the moon was aligned with Jupiter and Venus to make a smiley face, it looked kind of cute - unfortunately my photo has made the crescent 'mouth' into a circle.

Can you see the new quilt in these shirts?

The doorbell rang and someone who knew whar I wanted shirts for brought these over.

Then day before yesterday brought 14 of her late husband's shirts.

My mum is currently having respite in a local nursing home and she is bored so the shirts are undergoing surgery AKA being cut up - that has to be better than being bored doesn't it? ... LOL

Was fortunate to be gifted with the entire discontinued fabric samples from a curtain shop.
Trimmed and sewed the sheers to make covers for the food - we like to eat outdoors whenever we can.
So these should keep the flying bugs off our food.

Also some cord fabric samples, not as heavy as corduroy but still too bulky to make criss cross coasters - I learnt that from making this one !

The pin cushion is from cotton fabric.

lavender farm visit

A nice time out at Lyndoch Lavender farm.

artist trading cards

Recently decided to join in fun of making and swapping artist trading cards.

My first cards were for the springtime theme and the next was for oranges and lemons.
Another card depicts the theme "lipstick" on the back I wrote that girls everywhere like to wear their lippy!
Another set is for wine and roses.

Here is my version of sunset and the hearts theme required two hearts.



This is one of my Christmas trees ... can you tell that I am finding these little cards addictive?

Will try to post photos of those I have received soon - they are stunning!

craft show entry

On Friday went to the city for the annual quilt show and craft fair.
Before the doors open they have an exercise session.
Hubby is in the wheelchair with the red bag hanging on the side whilst Dad is making faces at the small child in the stroller behind us in the line.
It was a nice day, am hoping we can do it again next year.

where did October go?

Gosh, somehow I *lost* October!!

My mother has decided that she will not be sewing anymore so she gifted me with her stash of sheeting offcuts.
These were created when sheets were made into fitted sheets, the manufacturers cut the corners of the sheets and stacked them, bundles were sold to people who wanted to make patchwork.
Mum must have had thousands of these squares in various colours and designs.

I don't actually like sewing with them as they are so tough - not at all like the softness of cotton.

Anyway I picked up a handfull of them along with a piece of pink stripe - also a poly fabric, and made mum a bag.
It has a pocket on the inside and she will use it to carry her playing cards to her group on Saturdays.

old tobacco road

my four patches are finished so now it is up to step 3 for me.
Have the half square triangles sewn - used a plaid for all of them so was able to make the HST by drawing a grid on the light fabric, did them in a grid 5 x 4 so that part went quite quickly, not sure whether the plaid will work but I think it will.
Now the trimming up and making the pinwheels.
Trimming the blocks is a quiet thing to do whilst I sit alongside Trevor's bed.

World Alzheimer's Day is coming up on September 21st.

The readers who *know* us also know that my husband has had dementia for some years.

It can be quite cruel to watch those you love suffer the consequences of dementia - no matter which type it is.

Just for the record my man has vascular dementia.

I describe it as - his brain went on holiday and forgot to come back.

Somehow this post is supposed to be going to link back to Ami Simms site.

Ami is doing wonderful things to raise awareness and to help with funding for research, she has an art quilt initiative, in an older post there is a small quilt of mine called "confused in the top paddock" this will be sent to Ami for the auction.

If you are reading this and wondering whether and/or how to participate

Visit http://www.alzquilts.org/ and learn more about Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts (on-going small quilt auction). All profits go to Alzheimer's research" - IT'S AWESOME!!! AND the quilts are beautiful & creative!

This top is my version of Bonnie Hunter's nifty thrifty - I had some 2.5" strips that had no projects to go to ...
This quilt will be going to the spinal unit after it is quilted.

The balloon print is the backgrounf for my old tobacco road, the design of the print disappears when cut in small pieces so may well be what some refer to as ugly, to me it just adds some interest.
Still on clue one for the 4 patches - 120 made.

old tobacco road

Bonnie Hunter has designed another quilt for a mystery and named it "Old Tobacco Road" so have pulled these fabrics from my stash to make this quilt.

quilt finished

What a long time since I last posted - I will try to rectify that now ....

I did finish the quilt and gave it to Carers' Link to use as they thought best, they have chosen to raffle it during Carers' Week and tickets will be $2 each.

Pt Hughes retreat August 2008 100

Pt Hughes retreat August 2008 100
Originally uploaded by comforter quilts

Everyone should be able to have a weekend like this - doing what you enjoy with friends.
This quilt was made by Pauline using some I spy charms I gave her two years ago, she quilted it with a butterfly in each block, the back of the quilt is yellow and the quilted butterflies look terrific.
Pauline finished it all but sewing down the binding before we left the venue, unfortunately I did not take photos after she did it all.

Now how to give you a link to the photos - if you want to see any of the weekend ones?
If you click on the link above the photos of Jenny's wedding on the flickr box in the side bar the photostream should come up.
My name on flickr is comforter quilts and the photos from the weekend retreat are tagged as quilty retreats.

If anyone knows how to do a proper link to flickr - or know how to have the photos in albums rather than running into each other please email me.

Every now and again something wonderful comes in the mail ....

The Sister's Choice quilt is back from being beautifully quilted by Blackbird Quiltery, Roy and Lisa always do a wonderful job of quilting which really transforms my tops.

The back is green and hopefully you can see some of the detail ..
The loops are in the narrow lime green border, and can you tell they have quilted around every motif in the outer border !!!
Trevor says the quilting looks like grapes and vine leaves.


A couple of blocks to show close ups of the quilting ... can you see the feathers?

I will be binding this quilt at my retreat next weekend, it is mid winter here so it will nice to sit and sew with the quilt on my lap.

Ahhh .... the hills of home ...
heading towards our beautiful valley and the ground is green now that the heat of summer is past, it is mid winter here now though little rain, it has however been just enough to change the landscape from brown to green so took some photos as we were driving along, huge amounts of new vinyard plantings too, it is the first time I have seen these.

Needed to have a storage bag for my large square rulers as they are clear - predating the fluro type - every time I put the rulers down I "lose" them so decided to use some lefyovers from the orange crush to make a storage bag, son decided it needed a handle and suggested using a tie, so off to the thrift shop I went and then attached the tie to each side so now *Voila* the bag can hang up - and I can find the rulers!!

BTW I used a towel which had become thin for the batting.