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

 

Chester County Criswell Quilt

 

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to an Antique Quilt Viewing in Melbourne.  This quilt was the feature quilt of the day.  Sharon is the owner of this quilt and it has been passed down through her family.  The quilt is a Bridal quilt, made for Mary Criswell of Chester County, Pensylvania in 1852 by her close friends and family.  Sharon is reproducing the quilt as a BOM and you can follow the progress, learn about the individual blocks and the people who made them and sign up to participate here.

 

 

 

We were able to view the quilt up close and personal and I was amazed at how precise each signature was - I don't think I would ever be able to write that small and neatly on fabric.

 

Another point I found interesting was the quilting.  Each block was quilted once each around the outside and inside of the applique with no extra quilting over the background, quite different to how things are done today.  Many thanks to Sharon for sharing her quilt with us and also a big thank you to Linda & Bev for organising such a wonderful day.

 

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I have been sewing with a lovely group of ladies on Saturdays and at the beginning of the year we all had to name a quilt that we would have finished by the end of the year. I nominated "Phebe". I was feeling very confident seeing as Irish Circles was all but done and I wasn't going to let the 140 plus stars intimidate me - once I had the applique done, it would be a piece of cake - HA! I have just begun appliqueing the last border around the centre and I haven't even started a star....

 

 

The problem is that there are too many beautiful quilt patterns out there and I want to make them ALL.  I decided that I would make a couple of blocks from Irene Blanck's Floral Beauty pattern.  The trouble is that now I have started, I don't want to stop!!!  And because Quilts in the Barn is quickly approaching, I am inspired to make all the blocks in red and white.

 

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 Finally I want to say thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post, it was a great comfort to me.

 

Sue-Anne xxx