My backyard

I love our backyard.

I love having a reserve behind us.

I love the view of the lake.

I love not having houses behind us.

Hubby and I have been talking about

looking for another house that is on

one level and with an internal access garage and

larger living areas to accommodate our growing family.

I would love to take my view me!
Anyway, It's only a thought at this stage.

 Sea mist rolled in later this morning.

It wasn't there when we got up.

It seemed to move off just as quickly as it came.

Noah's Ark Quilt

How cute is this quilt!

I didn't make it.

It is backed with fleecy fabric and I was asked

to quilt it with a large stipple to make the quilt

stay soft and cuddly.

The smaller the pattern you do the firmer

the quilt will be.

The choice of colours is amazing, they work so

well together

The back

It will be a lucky little boy or girl who gets to

cuddle up in this quilt.



Trip to Sydney

After mentioning on my blog that I have never been to the Opera House

my daughter-in-law Gillian bought me a ticket to see Macbeth at the

Opera House for my birthday.

I was going with Gillian and her mum Wendy who's birthday is

the day before mine, and my daughter Tara.

Just before we were leaving to head down to Sydney

Gillian was notified that the show was cancelled as the cast

were sick.

We decided to go down anyway.

We had a fabulous night!

Started with a wine tasting and sculpture viewing at The Block

which had a great view of the harbour bridge and across to Luna Park

Colleen and Tara

Tara, Wendy, Gillian, Colleen

We walked to the rocks where we had a lovely dinner.

Then we walked right around to the Opera House.

The view of Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Harbour Bridge

and the Opera House at night was spectacular!

We were staying at Pyrmont for the night so went home

via The Star (previously known as Star City Casino)

The sign at the front is a popular place for photographs

for those who are young and flexible enough.

Gillian

Tara

Puttin' on the Ritz

This fabric is a Puttin' on the Ritz Jelly Roll

which is a Bunny Hill Design for Moda.

The project has to remain a secret as it is to

be a present for someone who reads my blog!

It is shades of grey and the finished item looks great.

Rag Quilt

I made this quilt for my husband.

It has three layers of flannelette and two layers of cotton.

The flannelette was dyed by a local lady and the colours

are fantastic, they are very vibrant.

To get the quilt to have the ragged look you make cuts

about 1/4 inch apart then you wash the quilt.

You put it in the dryer with some tennis balls which helps

 scruff up all the cut edges.

I love this

My daughter-in-law Gillian bought this little container

for me at Christmas. It is about the size of a small bucket

and is made from vinyl.

It is really handy and I love it!

I use it when hand sewing to put my left over threads in.

Just sit it on the chair next to me.

When cutting out fused applique I put all the waste

fabric in it.

 

It is made by now that's GORGEOUS!

and can be found at the Olive Tree Markets at Newcastle.

On The Move

My new project is a little cot quilt called

 On The Move by Jen Ramirez

from the Patchwork & Stitching magazine Vol 12.

Happy Easter

The easter bunny has been!

My favourite since childhood is the

Darrell Lea Nougat Egg.

Every year my Aunty Nancy would come to

my nans house and hide one of these eggs for us

and her three sons.

It was great fun and something we always looked forward to.

My family came for lunch on Friday (except for Tara who

was helping with our Coal Production)

My Nephew Glen, his wife Crystal and baby Anna

also came up from the Central Coast.

Anna is too little for an easter egg so

I bought her this cute bear.



Autism Awareness Month

My beautiful great niece Sophie,

 the youingest of five children to my niece Rachel,

 has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

On Sunday my daughter Tara and I went to Penrith to be with

my family to support Rachel and her family by 

participating in the Luke Priddis foundation walk for Autism

held at the Penrith Regatta Centre.

The theme for Autism is the colour blue.

It was really hot - over 30 degrees but the walk was well supported.

Shelley's Quilt

My daughter-in-law Shelley has completed her first quilt.

She is a lovely sewer with natural ability.

I quilted it for her in an all over loopy pattern with lime green

bottom line thread, which worked really well with

this quilt.



Holidays

Sorry I have neglected my blog but I have a good excuse.

We were down the south coast on holidays with no internet or mobile phone reception.

It was soooooo peaceful and really relaxing which is what my hubbie

and I really needed.

It is at a beach in a National Park where the Kangaroos roam freely and the

Birds drop in for a feed.

Heaps of Rabbits as well but they are really skittish.

We have also had Possums and Goannas visit us.

There are four big sting rays who hang around the boat ramp

to feed when the fishermen clean their catch.

Chad's Quilt ready to be delivered

In February I told you about Chad.

Just to remind you, he is a nine year old boy

who developed a rare blood disorder when he was four.( I think those facts are correct)

He has had quite a battle and my heart went out to him when I watched an article on him on Today.

Anyway, I thought what I could do for him was make him a quilt.

His aunt told me he liked the Tigers football team, so that became the theme.

IT'S FINISHED and his Aunty Trae will be taking it to him over easter.

Here are the final photos.

Stitch in the ditch around the Tiger to make it pop and

then I pebbled the block to make it really stand out.

It was quilted with a big stipple with orange bottom line thread

 I added Chad's name to personalise the quilt.

The backing is black fleecy to keep the quilt soft and cuddly. 

I hope Chad likes it and of course,

 I wish him the best of health for the future.