Quilt

I'd love to take credit for this beautiful quilt, but it was actually made by C, who put many long hours into its creation over the past months. It's a gift for C's best friend who welcomed her gorgeous baby boy into the world last week.

( Congratulations again, L and O!)

The baby's gender was unknown during the pregnancy, so C chose colours and patterns which would be appropriate for a boy or girl.

The quilt was backed with polar fleece for extra cosiness.
I love it.

***

Meanwhile, I've done nothing more creative in the past weeks/months, than sew a patch on an old pair of jeans.

My favourite jeans, you know the ones you wear in perfectly and then they begin to wear out. These are so comfortable. I usually wear them on my walks. I could probably sleep in them.
Sadly, they wore out at the knee so I've had to do a patch-up job in the hopes they'll last a bit longer.

***

More gardening was done yesterday, until this happened.

Before and after photos of the next section of the yard coming soon.

Rescued some blossom which had prematurely blown off the tree in yesterday's wind.

 Likewise, these violets which had sprung up in the lawn and were about to be mown over.

As always, my constant companion was striking an attractive pose at every opportunity.

***

Have been browsing through this lovely book lately, because everything is "all about London" at the moment.

This is my lunch of choice of recent days (when not at work). Raspberry, banana and watermelon smoothie. Delicious.

Well, that was a lot of random flitting from one subject to the next!

Nice

A weekend far removed from normalcy is just wonderful.
The simple life at home is nice too.

The Hexagon Project, which started life as a potential bedspread, then changed to a tablecloth before eventually (as my laziness increased) becoming a European pillow cover, is finally finished and has been whisked away to live in Z's room.

Home

Yesterday I made these Honey Muesli Bars out of the Australian Women's Weekly "Baking Day" cookbook. Absolutely delicious. I've been restraining myself all day from eating too many of them.

Z rarely eats anything other than muesli bars when she's at school and the homemade option seems a better choice than the bought variety.

It was obviously meant to be, as my pantry contained every single ingredient needed for this recipe - right down to the sunflower and sesame seeds. Who even knew there were Rice Bubbles hidden away in a dark corner?

Anyway, they turned out beautifully and will last for the rest of the school week (hopefully).

 

 

Today was a restful movie and sewing day. I can never have too many of this sort of day.

 

 

Hexagons

I've been making these hexagon flowers for ages so today I decided to play around with them and try to figure out what the end product will actually be. No conclusion has been reached as yet but I have a couple of ideas.
I filled in the morning with this activity and also reading fifty pages of my current book. After lunch, I should have been doing a few neglected chores, but instead I sat down in front of the computer intending to lazily pass the afternoon on the internet. I had barely begun when the power went out - for nearly two hours. I think the universe was trying to tell me something.
So much for my lazy afternoon. The neglected chores were done after all. I managed to sort and put away three loads of dry washing, unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen and one bathroom, tidied lounge, family and laundry rooms, emptied waste paper bins and recyclying bin. I had just finished all this and was wondering what else could be done without electricity, when the power came back on. Of course, by then the kids were home and dinner had to be started. Hmmm.....

Overcast

Odd day. Sunshine occasionally, but mostly cloudy. Flitted from one thing to another without achieving much.
Visited the educational bookseller today to spend a small fortune on Z's Year 11 textbooks. Even the sales person looked a little shocked when she totalled it all up.
Went to a Large Shopping Complex with Z so I could buy some new tea towels and pot holders. I know, so exciting. However, I didn't find anything I liked and Z couldn't find anything she liked (the latter never happens).
Flitted about at home again, then went for a walk in an attempt to clear my head.

 

 

 

 

  Saw 2 pure white cats while walking. I've never seen either of them before. Some sort of omen perhaps?

The first cat paused briefly to gaze at me before running across a vacant lot.

The second cat barely registered my existence.

Stopped off at the local patchwork shop.

Bought this picture....

... and these charm squares which will be made into a small tablecloth for a side table.
Had enough energy to make a pot of pumpkin soup but that's about it. I think I need a holiday. Can't wait for next week!

Reflections

I think the last couple of days of the year are a time of contemplation for most people. We think about what we have achieved in the past twelve months and what we hope to achieve in the coming year.

Thankfully, this has been a peaceful, fairly uneventful year for our family after two very difficult years.

The only excitement involved five out of six of us embarking upon overseas trips which was very, very exciting and that story deserves a blog post (or several) of its own.

So, during my peaceful year, I did a little bit of sewing. I don't claim to be great at sewing - I'm always in too much of a hurry to see a project completed to do it perfectly. However, I find it quite relaxing and always enjoy seeing the finished product. The final sewing project tally for 2011 : three tablecloths, four cushions, a couch throw and a quilt cover ( the last of these pictured in a previous post)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With the exception of the first tablecloth pictured above, all were hand-sewn. Well, the patchworking was done by hand-  all backing and seams were machine-sewn. I'm not that dedicated.

Some knitting was also undertaken.

 C and I enjoyed a winter "X-Files" rewatch. From June until September we watched most episodes of the nine seasons of  my all-time favourite science fiction show. While watching this, I knitted colourful squares. This was the only time I knitted and my plan was for the resulting blanket to be whatever size it happened to be when we finished watching the show. The completed blanket almost covers the top of my queen size bed.

All in all I'm fairly satisfied with my little achievements this year.

Sewing

Decided to make the op shop pillow case quilt cover (i.e.  five pillow cases, one tablecloth, two sheets. Total cost $8).  May not have been in the best frame of mind to do this today as I threw it together in a couple of hours in a rather haphazard way and then bemoaned the fact that none of it was joining up properly. Husband said it looked "rustic" which I guess is the whole point.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loving those garish '70s patterns and colours.

 

 

Christmas food preparation has begun. The pudding fruit is now soaking in a wonderful combination of brandy, sherry, orange, and mixed spice. The temptation to eat this with a spoon right now is very strong. May or may not have had a spoonful earlier. Possibly witnessed husband doing the same.