ANZACS

They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them

LEST WE FORGET

My thoughts today are with all the men and women in our Defence Force,  past and present, who have been and are currently protecting our way of life.

Sue-Anne xxx

Where Am I Up To?

Has it only been two weeks since I last blogged?

I have finished the centre for Hertfordshire and it sits flat!!!!  I am extremely happy with how good it looks and I amazed that the stripes line up on the mitred corners.

Since my last post, I've had a couple of day trips to Melbourne.  First trip was to the Crow Gathering at Quilts in the Barn.  What a fantastic day we had!  Leonie & Deidre kept us entertained all day, they are so much fun!  Linda and her helpers did an amazing job, as usual, keeping us fed and watered.  And on top of all that, I got to catch up with friends, old and new.

Here is Jan, Michelle and Helen hard at work stitching their projects.

Left to Right - Kim, Elyte, Marina, Linda and me in front.

Sorry I didn't take more photos, I was too busy talking etc but if you hit the links above you will see more from the day, especially The Crows's beautiful quilts.

After leaving Linda's, we called into Needles & Pins, a quilt shop in Warrandyte.  My Saturday sewing group has a challenge this year to make a quilt in 1930's fabrics.  I had the perfect pattern but not one scrap of 1930's anywhere.  This is what I came home with.  They look so gorgeous stacked together like that,, I may have to just start collecting them......

So as if there wasn't enough excitement in the day, look who came into the shop to see her new book for the first time, none other than Di Ford! 

AND GUESS WHO ALSO GOT TO SEE THE BOOK!  We did!!!  As Molly Meldrum would say, "Do yourselves a favour and go out and get it".  It is a beautiful book and I can't wait to get my signed copy from Threadbear in a couple of weeks.

Notice the quilt in the background.  It is called the Unknown Quilt and is a Max & Louise design.  Its gorgeous and now another one I want to make someday.

Next up is Buddy, just after arriving home from a day at the beauty parlour.  We tried out a new groomer and he will be defiinately going back there.  Don't you love the little blue bow!  If my boys saw it they would say it is far too sissy for him but I think baby blue is his colour!

The very next day we celebrated Jan's birthday.  She'll probably kill me for putting a photo up but I think its a nice one.  We all put in and bought her a beautiful leather wallet.

Floral Beauty blocks

So then my other trip to Melbourne.  My darling little brother, who will be 50 this year, crashed his bike in a motorcross race last Sunday and had to be airlifted to hospital.  He suffered a compound fracture of the Fema (I saw a photo and it is something I would not wish on anyone) and they also discovered a fracture in his spine at T1.  It now turns out that the T1 fracture is an older injury and the surgeons have decided that it is stable enough not to warrant a fusion.  He is so lucky to not have a spinal injury.  His leg is not too good and I think there is going to be a lot of work to be done to get it alright again.

Waiting to be picked up from Rose after I got home was this quilt.  It still has to have the binding on and then I will have something for Show & Tell at Castlemaine.

Lastly, I am babysitting my Grand Doggy Lucy over Easter.  We were watching the football last night together and couldn't resist taking a photo with my scarf.  Christopher is a Hawthorn supporter so I can't wait till they play each other and I can send him this photo ha ha ha.

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter - hope the Easter Bunny brings you lots of chocolate!!!!

Sue-Anne xxx

Not Another Project????

Just when I thought I was being strong and not starting any new projects, along came a sewing weekend with Susan Smith.  I did resist and not start her beautiful Sweet William quilt but instead made a start on St Neot Band Sampler.

I started with wayyyy too much fabric!

But at least now I have made a start.  This will be coming along with me tomorrow as the girls and I head down to Linda's for the Crow Gathering.

As well as the great company and divine food, there was also a fabric stall and this is what I came home with (as if I need any more!).

Hertfordshire is going well.  I have pieced the linen into the circle and now I have to piece this piece into another big circle.  Please cross your fingers everyone that it all goes well for me.

It is still hot here and I think the weather is catching up with everyone.  I am still trying to walk regularly, getting out early to beat the heat.  Max decided he might like to walk with us the other day, somehow I don't think he would go well with a lead attached....

Sue-Anne xxx

This & That

This is about the only current project I have to show at the  moment.  I bought this beautiful antique linen last year at the Sydney Quilt Show specifically for the centre of Hertfordshire by Megan Carroll. 

I have been machine piecing and  finished this quilt, got it quilted by Rose at Pandora Quilting and sent it in the mail last week to a soldier friend of Nic's who is currently serving in the northern hemisphere where it is a little bit colder than here.  

Whilst looking for something to blog about, I saw this quilt, Washington Sidewalks.  I made this quilt last year.  It is an old fabric club pattern from Patchwork on Stonleigh and I bought the fabrics specifically to make the quilt when the shop closed down.  We have nicknamed the quilt Downtown Abbey.

Not a lot has been happening here as the weather this summer has been HOT.  Poor Buddy had to have a rest on the way home from his walk and managed to find about the only green patch of grass around town.

This is, or was, the beautiful big tree fern outside our window, under our pergola.  Usually, it completely screens the window and the ferns underneath make a cool hiding spot for the cats.  Not so now.  This is the result of the weather we have had and is just a sample of how our entire garden is looking.

Sue-Anne xxx

* I have turned the Verification mode off so you dont have to worry about those pesky little words and numbers.  I did however, set it to only accept comments from Google Account holders as I have been having a huge problem with spam.  This has solved the issue for the moment (fingers crossed).

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY

I love a sunburnt country

A land of sweeping plains

Of ragged mountain ranges

Of droughts and flooding rains

I love her far horizons

I love her jewel sea

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me

I am so proud to be an Aussie.

Happy Australia Day

Sue-Anne xxx

What's Happening Here - Not A Lot

The title says it all. We are in the middle of a heatwave here in north east Victoria and it is really sapping our energy. We are now into our fourth day of above 40c heat with mores to come, too hot to do anything. So in light of that, I have struggled to find photos to blog about but here goes anyway.

I have done a very small amount of work on Floral Beauty. As I have said before, I love working on this quilt.

I am still "going slow" with Phebe, lots of these dogtooth pieces to join together for the next border.

This is a block I purchased from Mary Koval when I went to Quilts in the Barn. I finally framed it and love how it looks on the wall.

My thoughts are with our fellow Australians inTasmania dealing with the terrible bushfires and I hope that wherever you are in this world, the weather is being a bit kinder to you.

Sue-Anne xxx

Another Year Has Come to Pass

As I reflect on the year that was, I am amazed at how many life experiences have touched us this year.  It has been a year of extreme happiness and intense sadness with everything else in between.  I am hoping for a year of less ups and downs next year, but most of all, I want my boy to come home safe and sound.

 

I wish all of my blog friends a happy, safe and prosperous New Year.

 

Sue-Anne xxx

Christmas Greetings

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, hope the man in red delivered!

Sue-Anne xxx

Extremes.......

 

This past month has been filled with the anticipation of a trip to Sydney.  We were there to celebrate a very special achievement by Nic.   It was a wonderful day, full of ceremony and auspiciousness (not sure if that is a proper word) and I am just bursting with pride at the moment.   As part of this special weekend, we decided to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge.  What a wonderful experience!  The views were spectacular and the engineering side of it was very interesting too.  I felt totally safe up there and could have spent the entire day on top, watching the world go by underneath.  I totally recommend the climb to anyone who is interested.

 

 

Another exciting piece of the weekend was visiting Adriano Zumbo patissier at Darling Harbour.  Amy and I had a great time, trying to decide on what to purchase, what to eat there.  I came home with the V8 cake and I think nearly every flavour of macaron that was available.

 

 

I have been a littled obsessed lately with macarons (those are mine pictured above) - I have lost count of how many I have made, trying to get them perfect each time, so to visit and taste test the master's was pure joy.

 

About the only serious sewing I have been doing has been on Phebe.  I have the applique border all sewn onto the centre and am now just finishing the applique in the corners.  There is no way this quilt is going to be finished by Christmas (maybe Christmas 2013??).

 

 

One thing I have made was this big sewing bag.  The applique design came from Quiltmania's Vintage magazine.  It was a cushion so I redrew it to the size I wanted and with help from Jan, made it into the bag.

 

After the extreme high of last weekend, we had a extreme low through the week.  Our home was broken into in the middle of the night and we were robbed whilst we were asleep.  Unfortunately Buddy (the not so "wonder dog") was asleep too and didn't hear a thing.

 

Sue-Anne xxx

 

I have had to turn on the comment verification as I have been getting heaps of spam.  I am sorry for the inconvenience, fingers crossed it will all die off soon and I can turn it off again.

 

 

 

QUILTS IN THE BARN 2012

They say a picture tells a thousand words so I will post the pictures because they say it all.  What a fantastic exhibition - Linda and her helpers have once again put on a wonderful show.

 

 

 

 

Sue-Anne xxx