Friday 4 January 2019

HAPPY BIRTHDAY & A CRAFTY CATCHUP.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL.

And we have another birthday!!!!!  Today it's our youngest.   Son J,  celebrates his 41st.  Happy birthday.  That's our 4 done with birthdays till December this year.  I omitted  two, as I just wasn't blogging, so we now have our older son who is 42 & my stepdaughter who is now also 46 too, 13 days older than my daughter.  All have done us proud.  Thanks a squillion kids.

CRAFTY FINISHES.
A few very old, small UFO's have been finished.
An apron I designed from curtain fabric samples I was given & a 10 degree wedge ruler.

Leftovers from a baby quilt, which I may donate as a premi baby quilt.

A table mat I designed, along with a laundry hanger.  I blew up letters from the computer, popped them onto fabric & appliqued them.  These two were lots of fun just playing around.
That is my problem at times, as I love designing & then suddenly, I think of something else & it gets put aside.  I also have another problem of getting tops quilted, if they are not being given away immediately.  I still have my "tub of shame", though it is a little lighter after quilting this lot, below.
Dilly Dally Deco.
I know I've shown this before it was quilted, whilst I was piecing it.  I designed it to use the leftovers from a jelly roll I used to make Dotty Custard. (this post).
Detail of quilting above, the pattern being Japanese Tiles by Kerryn Emmerson.
Fair Isle,
Another of my designs, now quilted & bound, which I took with me and started at a Quilt Retreat in Bordertown, which I blogged about here.
Mormors Quilt No.2
This was the second time I'd made this particular quilt from a very old book called More Lap Quilting by Georgia Bonesteel (1985).  Made around 1996/7 from a border fabric print and made with both templates and a rotary cutter.  Very different from the first one I started in 1986, before rotary cutter days and using templates, tape measure & scissors.  No. 1 was finally finished  with a meandering quilt pattern, using my first short-arm quilting machine purchased  in 1999 after I was made redundant from the bank.  No 2 has a lovely all-over pattern called Little Leaves, also by Kerryn Emmerson, even though it was suggested I do a custom job on it.  I think it works beautifully as is and the fabric is too busy to see much anyway.
Mormors Quilt No.1
I've two others I've done, but bindings aren't finished yet, so will show them soon.

I talked about our hectic 2018, but forgot all about a few odd hiccups throughout the year.
April saw our 13 year old microwave die and also on the Thursday before Christmas our 18 year old washing machine took its last wash.  I am now the owner of a (my first ever), front loading washer.  I also needed new glasses, which added to our expense list, but we did make a few purchases, that we've both been hankering after for a while.
Bandsaw for K.
And he started this.
     


A lovely neat & comfortable chair for my sewing area.
I used one of these over at Judy's, & it is much better than my larger office type chair I used.
One more photo for today, then I'll retire from the study, to a cooler part of the house.
Low loader now finished.
BTW, did I mention that it is HOT today.  Our weather station is showing  42.6deg & the wind is blowing from the north, straight from the middle of Australia, where the mercury has been in the 40s this week around Alice Springs.  A cool change is forecast for later this evening & hopefully in the low 20s tomorrow.  Can't wait for that................😌
A few last words........ Thanks to all my blogpals for taking the time to read this little blog, commenting & being my friends, although I've not met all of you.  I didn't think I'd ever be able to do this, but come the end of January, I have  blogiversary   "No. 6".   Can you believe it?
Oh, one of the highlights from last year, was that I was published in an on-line magazine.  Maybe again this year!!!!!!!!!!!!
OK, I'm off for a cool drink & to veg in front of the cricket for a while.
Take care and huggles from Susan.

14 comments:

  1. Wow 6th bloggiversary!! Congratulations ❤ that is an amazing collection of quilts. Please tell K his wooden models are beautifulx

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    1. Thanks Kate & K reaction was, aaawww,thank you!

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  2. Happy New Year and a very happy birthday to your son, all those celebrations around Christmas. The quilts are beautiful, as ever, and so is K's low loader, his models always look so tactile, beautifully finished. Hope that cool change materialises, I don't think I could stand that heat.

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    1. Thank you Jo. Much cooler this morning, thank heavens.

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  3. Your quilts are wonderful and so are the wooden models. I love your new chair too. Best wishes for 2019:)

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    1. Thanks Rosie. My chair is way more comfortable to use & I've stopped bashing my left knee on the side of the desk. Hope your 2019 goes well too.

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  4. Our cool change arrived by midday yesterday, so you should have yours by now. Great finishes, but please don't call your UFO's a tub of shame, as there is nothing shameful about your creations.

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    1. Definitely cooler this morning. It started cooling around 6pm with a gusty change from the south & steadily decreased, so by the time the BBL finished it was at least more pleasant for sleeping. Hope the fires up in the valley are soon out, though not sure what the change did to them yet. Thanks for the pep-talk!!!!

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  5. Wooden models are always fabulous to see, what a talented maker.
    Gorgeous sewing of the quilts.
    Happy new year

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    1. Thanks Julie. Glad you enjoyed. Happy New year to you too.

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  6. Happy Birthday to your Son J.
    The quilts look so lovely and what great colours.
    Keep as cool as you can - your temperatures sound very hot.

    All the best Jan

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  7. You and K have been very productive! Love them all!! xx

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