Holiday by the beach..

I have returned to blog land after spending a week at my parents house in New South Wales. I spent the week looking through shops and driving around. I read books and listened to music on my ipod.I found a Hobbysew shop which was predominately quilting things. I bought a couple of little things including the new Piecemakers time and seasons calender for 2010. It is just beautiful.

It is nice to be back home. A week without the internet is too painful and sad.

The pictures shown here are of Wollongong harbour on a very busy and HOT day. During my stay there the temps were in the high 20's. It was a bit of a shock for me coming from a cold and rainy winter here in Tas.

I am looking forward to posting more interesting things on my blog since it has been a bit neglected due to my MJHD (www.michaeljacksondeathhoax.com) addiction, which I am still suffering from and is in no way abating.

One month of rain!

Yes that is the news here, it will be raining for the whole month of August. Plenty of good reasons to catch up of sewing and knitting projects.

I have now returned to the land of blog after a very interesting absence. I have been struck by a very sad and odd addiction to the "michael Jackson hoax death" web site forums. Once you get hooked it is very hard to leave. I have also been working alot.

I have pictured a project which I made earlier and also a picture of the lovely birthday gift that was given to me by a dear friend (leanne)

Lizzie's page.

I have finished getting quilts ready for the LPQ exhibition which will be on the 10 - 12th September.

The first pictures (2) are of a knitting needle case that I made and the third one is of my birthday gift. Thank you very much Leanne, I love it.

Until next time, I will try to keep up with posts every now and then.

Bye Bye

I am still here!

It has been a long time since my last entry. I have very busy with work things. My sewing and things have not progressed as quickly as I would have liked.

I have been working on finishing quilts for the LPQ Exhibition in Spetember. I have also been knitting a lot. The aim is to finish the Husband Jumper first and then start a new project.

Leanne (Lizzie's Page) came over for a sewing day which was nice. We looked at each others stuff and sat and stitched.

Apart from that there has not been any new developments apart from a knitting needle holder. I have photos of that for the next entry.

Bye for now

Marina

Mid Winter Wonder

I am having a break from my work at the moment. It is very foggy outside even though it is mid afternoon or thereabouts.

I had a visit from my little friend who pops onto the window every lunch time or when I am sitting at the kitchen table. I have not named him or her yet, but he or she is very friendly.

Since my last post, I have been busy doing different things. On weekends I have started spending more time in the garden pruning and planting things. I have potted up a "Just Joey" standard rose, mini daffodills, grape hyacinths and lavender. I have also planted another interesting rose called "Red Pierre". This is a blood red version of Pierre De Ronsard. I can't wait for that one to flower.

Some new projects have commenced (I know, I have not finished old ones), these were meant to be for weekends and Thursday morning quilting. The main one is the songbird quilt by Bronwyn Hayes. I have quite a few blocks made up ready for stitching but the ones in the photo are finished.

I have also started knitting with the Italian wool that I bought for myself for mothers day. It is really interesting. The pattern is a basket weave design by Patons. This project is a night time project.

There is not a lot of knitting to show, so it is a bit difficult to see the pattern. I'll do some more for later.

Time to go and do some boring house cleaning before dinner preparation and picking up son from school.

Bye for now

Winter is on my mind, but Spring is in my heart!

Yes it is freezing here in southern Australia at the moment. Apart from work there is not much to do but quilt, knit, stitich and embroider in anticipation of Spring in September. That is what I have been doing lately and have a couple of things to show in this post.

The garden is looking very bleak as things have lost their leaves and have gone into dormancy. Although, daffoldil and hyacinth bulbs are starting to emerge. I cant wait until Spring.

I have also been naughty and have started a new project to occupy myself on Thursday mornings and Sundays. This project is Bronwyn Hayes design "Songbird". I have used duller colours in the thread and fabric. It is starting to look nice.

I have been plodding along with husbands jumper which will probably be finished next winter after having to pull half of it apart.

Feeling a bit sentimental, I have pulled out an older project and have been working on that. It is called "Grandma's Country Album". There are only 5 blocks to make and then it can be sewn together and quilted which I will do by hand. All of the blocks are hand pieced and appliqued.

Some more crocheted squares have sprouted and are on the way to becoming a crocheted quilt. Still some more to do. This is Saturdays project as long as my hands can hold out. I crochet until extreme pain sets in then continue after it has settled.

DJ blocks are also growing, but at a much slower rate. Very slow in fact. I am not making them in order of the books placing chart, but rather is groups of colour as they appear in the original quilt. Where there is pink I am making those blocks blue etc. These are some blue ones.

Winter is also a time for cooking. Tomorrows dinner plan is potato and chicken pie in a cream sauce. Very comforting (Weight Watchers recipe). I have lost just about 6.5 Kilos in 6 weeks. Another 15 Kilos to go until the new me.

Happy Stitching until next time.

Marina

Progress Report

A beautiful colourful Autumn is nearly over and Winter fast approaching.  The other day I found crochet demonstrations on You Tube.  I thought I would give it a try as I have never crocheted before.  Here are the results, some colourful granny squares.  They have been very quick and fun to make.

Our little dog Pip was desexed the other day and has returned to her normal self, although we have discovered that she is not the breeds we thought she was.  She is a Ridgeback x Rotti (we think).

This week has seen the progression of my Truly Scrumptious quilt.  Here is a sneak peak.  I still have to put on the outer borders and three more little lady heads.

Husbands jumper front had to be undone about half way because I did not shape the arm holes (What a silly dill).  It now has to be re knitted.  Never mind.....

The weekend will see Dear Jane blocks emerging one by one. I have been collecting fabric until now so I am ready to get into it.

"Blessed are the Piecemakers", From www.aprairiehomequilts.com Quotes for Quilting.

Signing off for now

Marina

Easy Breezy Weekend.

The sun is shining outside today, what a perfect day for some sewing, looking at blogs and piano playing.

I don't have any interesting news except that our son is going to camp this week for the whole week.  This is the perfect time for me to get ahead with work stuff and sewing.

I have started the Dear Jane quilt with the corner blocks and one of the border triangles.  These are shown in the photo.  I have also made two little bags.  One which I sent to my mother for mothers day and the other I kept for myself.  It is such a handy size.  I use it to carry my lunch to quilting every Thursday.

This is the one I sent to my mother for mothers day.  I used the main fabric for the body rather than the pockets.  It is still pretty.

This is the one I made for myself using the same fabric as the other one but in a different arragement.

The rosellas have started coming to the garden now and they are staying longer.  They are funny to watch and each have different personalities.

The other day I spotted Toffee and Pip sleeping in Unison in the sun, so I took a photo.  

Bye for now