Fruit 4 leukaemia

While not up to the unbelievably high standard of needleturn applique produced by fellow bloggers Anne and Judy, I am fairly happy with this effort. (Not so happy with how the photos turned out, but hopefully that can be fixed soon - see below!)

Here are my four blocks for Clare's project (see previous post for links):

Fruit salad!

Cherries

Banana

Pear

Strawberry

Not so happy with the banana - it's out of scale with the others, but I guess it doesn't matter really!

-----------------------------------------------------

We're having a lovely long weekend - catching up with lots of friends and their kids, which is keeping Romily entertained as well as us. I had a very busy week at work, but actually got everything done that I needed to. No more, no less! But it meant that I came to the long weekend in the right frame of mind and I'm even managing to relax a little bit.

Oh and I bought myself a new camera yesterday! A Canon 400D. Can't wait till it arrives. I haven't really used my old film SLR for a long time, as it's now so damned inconvenient! We have a little Nikon point and shoot, but it's no good for inside photos or for rapid fire shots, which you kinda need with an energetic 18 month old on the loose!

Romy is asleep downstairs and I'm hoping she'll have a good sleep, as we're off to a BBQ late this afternoon and I don't want her to tire out too early. We'll employ our two-car strategy again tonight - we go in separate cars so that one of us can leave early and take Romily home if she needs to go to bed. She's not quite old enough to keep up late without paying a huge price the next day! She usually lasts till about 9pm, but that's quite late enough! And I'll probably be ready to come home by then anyway. I may even get started (finally) on baby Campbell's quilt. I have about 80 flying geese to cut and sew!!! Had better get stuck in and stop procrastinating!

No excuses now that I've finished the red and white blocks - my fingers are starting to get itchy for some more sewing!

Nothing to show for it

Howdy.

Just exhausted here. Nothing fun either. Just work, very little play and not enough sleep.

And no sewing to show you either. Although I have been doing some applique - I am making four blocks for Clare's Quilts 4 Leukaemia challenge. I slipped into her last round of contributors and was most relieved when she said there was no rush!

I'll be able to post a photo of the finished blocks over the weekend. It's a long weekend here - Friday is Australia Day. I usually really look forward to long weekends, but not at the moment - it just means I have to fit five days worth of work into four. Grrr.

So I feel like I've been doing a lot of work, but have nothing to show for it.

------------------------------------

We have had a little time for fun - Carl and I took Romily to the walk-in aviary in Canberra the weekend before last. She loved it - there was an amazing number of different parrots, finches, budgies and galahs. There were also quail, doves and lots of other birds. Romy loved it - she could run around to her heart's content and she also fed some apple to the gamer birds, some very experienced and noisy lorikeets. We had a lot of fun.

This little bird has obviously worked out what new humans into the enclosure means - fresh apple. He landed on Carl's shoulder within seconds of us walking in!

Budding artist

I give you ma petite Picasso!




Actually she prefers taking the crayons in and out of the container to actually using them to draw. Unless it's on the floor when Mummy is not looking. Then she seems to enjoy it very much! So far the walls are safe :)

------------------------

I am still sick. It's on-again, off-again and driving me a little bonkers. I went to see the doctor on Friday and he said it's either some bacteria eking out a living in my intestines after an initial bout of food poisoning (apparently the bacteria can get into your blood stream and stick around for a while), or giardia. Gross. He prescribed a 4-tablet dose of a pretty strong antibiotic, which I took last night. I was still feeling nauseated today, so I was also doped up on Stemetil. I'd better have some yoghurt tomorrow to put some of the good bacteria back in my system I suppose.

I was feeling a little down last night before I went to bed. I should have been happy. Sleepless in Seattle was on the telly and I watched the end of it. I don't much like either Meg Ryan or Tom Hanks usually, but I do like them in that movie. I should have felt uplifted at the end, but I felt strangely sad. So I thought I'd pop in and watch my sleeping angel. Unfortunately just the moment I stepped into her room she was moving around in a semi-sleep mode and she spotted me and immediately stood up and said "up"! So I had to pick her up for a cuddle. She took about 10 minutes to go back to sleep. I felt much better after that. How did she know Mummy needed a midnight cuddle?

Movie time

Not a lot exciting to report - but I have been to the movies twice in the past two weeks, which is a real luxury. With a one and nearly a half year old and no family in town you don't tend to get out very often.

My father-in-law kindly offered to babysit one night when we were in Bendigo and Carl and I went out to the cinema to see Casino Royale - the new James Bond flick. I have to say that both Carl and I were hugely impressed - we thought the film was excellent and loved Daniel Craig. Those piercing blue eyes are mesmerising! We look forward to the next instalment.


Last week, two nights before I returned to work I took some time out or 'Lily time' and went to see The Holiday - a romantic comedy with two of my favourite actors Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. I thought it was fantastic! It was what Love Actually should have been. It was a little corny and a little contrived, to be sure, but for lovers of romance it was excellent. I would have to say it's one of the best films I've seen for ages!


I really enjoyed going to the movies by myself. I might have to do it a little more often (but remember to arrive early enough to have time to buy an ice-cream!).

Romy's quilt is finished!

I can hardly believe it, but I managed to get the binding onto Romy's quilt while we were away! I have finished my second quilt. I am very happy to have finished it - after all, I started it in May (now last year!). There are some problems with it, if you look closely, but I'm not! :)


One question for you lovely ladies though - I washed it on a cold delicates cycle in 'wool mix' and the chalk I used to mark out my quilting lines hasn't come out completely. Any tips? I guess that it will wear off eventually/come out with a couple more washes?


Anyway, it was my first major quilting project and I learnt a great deal from doing the sampler.

I am about to embark on the next one - yet another cot quilt for our friends who just had a baby boy. I am taking inspiration in terms of colours from Patti's Stars for Sophie quilt - I think purple and green is a beautiful combination - but don't worry for those of you who wondered about my 'babies love brights' comment - I have bought brilliant orange flannel for the backing! I will also bind it in something outrageous and it may yet have some bright highlights...we'll see how it turns out. I am planning on doing a tonne of flying geese and setting them in a sort of spiral. Again...we'll see how that turns out!! Now I just have to dig out my instructions for cutting and sewing the blocks :)

Happy 2007!

Happy New Year!!

We're back from our trip down south, and taking it relatively easy over the next few days before I return to work. I am trying very hard not to think about going back to work and all the headaches I'll face then. I haven't turned on my BlackBerry the whole time I've been away and I don't intend to until Thursday morning. I want to stay relaxed for as long as possible.

Two days before Christmas - and it was hot!

We had a lovely Christmas, although it was coooooold on Christmas Day - brrrr! Fortunately I'd taken some cold weather clothing for Romily and for me - poor Carl had neither a jumper nor a jacket, so he was a tad chilly, but he's usually pretty warm all the time so he didn't suffer too much.

With Carl and Granddad in Bendigo

Unfortunately I was sick on and off for most of the time and Romily came down with a cold. I lost about two days of my life after Christmas - I'm not sure whether I picked up a bug or whether I ate a dodgy oyster on Christmas Day, but whatever it was I was very ill indeed. I am on the mend now and will, no doubt, be all recovered just in time for my return to the office.

It was wonderful to catch up with our families and some of our friends - we never have enough time to catch up with all of them, which is hard, as we only see some of our friends every two years.

Romily on Christmas Day with cousins Darcy and Cody

Romily really enjoyed having other kids around - she loves playing with them and I think the stimulation of having other people her size to be with has really spurred her development. She seems to have really changed over the past week - she loves going to the playground and has mastered the slide! She loves swinging and throws her head back so she's horizontal in the swing - it scares me but she thinks it's hilarious! She can walk over the rickety bridges without holding our hands (she has to hold onto the rail though) and beetles about the place having a great time.


She has also started babbling non-stop - my mum tells me I did exactly the same at around 18 months and haven't shut up since!! Carl and I think the babble will soon become sentences. She already has about 20 words. Including "Mummy", which I adore!

She's a big girl now in many ways - she's very independent, but still loves snuggling (which I also adore), she has four molars through and one eye tooth (with the others coming down any day now), her hair is just about long enough to put in a pony tail, and she now goes up and down the stairs holding onto the railing - no more crawling for this little girl!

I'm a big girl now

We had a very quiet night last night to bring in the New Year - we watched a DVD (The Libertine starring a very untidy Johnny Depp among others - I didn't like it very much, disappointingly) - and then we stayed up to watch the Sydney Harbour fireworks show on telly. What a pair of party animals we are these days! Not!! Ah well, we had bubbly, chocolate and each other - what more could you wish for?

So Happy New Year to all - I hope 2007 is good to all of us!

Merry Christmas!

I know I'm a week early, but we're heading off on holiday leave on Tuesday night straight after work, so I won't be able to post again until after Christmas.

We are making our annual pilgrimage to Melbourne and Bendigo to visit our families and spend the festive season with the ones we love and who love us. All of the grandparents are very much looking forward to seeing young Romily - she has come along and grown so much since they saw her last in October.


She is becoming a very beautiful person, although she is a real handful. She is the tantrum throwing queen, but then the next minute can be just delightful. It's hard as an adult to remember to not stay mad at littlies! I have to keep reminding myself that I'm the mature one in this relationship, so I'd better start acting like it!


I'm looking forward to showing her off to our families. She won't really 'get' Christmas this year, especially as we don't have our Christmas tree up - we figured since we're going away and she'd only destroy it, there wasn't much point. I will make a big effort next year - and it gives me 12 months to make a tree skirt :)

So Merry Christmas everyone - stay safe, eat too much, drink a bit (but not if you're driving) and enjoy some time away from work and with your loved ones.

What Christmas ornament are you?

You Are an Angel

A truly giving soul, you understand the spirit of Christmas.

What Christmas Ornament Are You?

Merry Christmas!

Who do you think she looks like?

Mummy?


Or daddy?


Just kidding. I find it fascinating how so many little girls look nothing at all like their mothers, and very much like their fathers...but in a good way!

Alexandra's quilt is finished!

Well I must confess I am feeling a little proud of myself - I have finished my first quilt! Thanks to my helper Carl, here it is!


This is the one I have been making for my friend's new little daughter Alexandra. I am very happy with the way it turned out.
My in the ditch machine quilting certainly could have been better, but practise makes perfect, so I'd better practise some more! And, as Joyce pointed out, that's why I should choose meandering or wavy patterns next time LOL!

I hope Di likes it and I hope the bubba thinks it's very cuddly and snuggly - not to mention bright!

She's no angel

For those of you who think Romily is an angel, I give you this, my beautiful sleeping baby...

For those of you who have 'been there, done that', this is the real Romily!!!

Just kidding of course. She is both an angel and a little devil - all at the same time - one of the joys of parenting :) 

And introducing Bashka...

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you the newest addition to our family - Bashka.

Bashka is four weeks old and will be coming to join us in late January or thereabouts. He is a Bengal kitten and will be a most beautiful cat. I think I'm in love all over again :)

Here he is with his mum, who is a brown spotted Bengal.

Baskha is a silver rosetted boy.

And boy he's beautiful! Here he is with his dark silver sister.

Awwwww!

Animal at the zoo

I took Romily to the National Zoo and Aquarium on Sunday - we both needed to get out of the house, it was a glorious day and she's suddenly showing great interest in animals.

She was pretty good, but now that she's a big girl and walks everywhere it was a bit of an effort to convince her to stay in her pram! After a couple of tumbles on uneven ground, she was a little happier to be pushed around by mum. But only a little.

She was very excited watching the monkeys - they were pretty easy to spot as they move so much - and she also couldn't get enough of a turtle that was swimming around in a tank in the aquarium. We had a good time together over a couple of hours. I took some photos, but when I got home I realised the only animal I had photographed was Romily!!


--------------------------

Thank you everyone for your very encouraging comments on my quilting! I am very happy with how it's turned out. Unfortunately my machine quilting skills are nowhere near as good! When I am finished Alexandra's quilt I'll post some photos and then you'll be convinced I am in fact a first, no, second-timer!! Yegads. I wish I could sew in straight lines when quilting!

Phew! Romy's quilt nearly finished...

Once you see these photos you'll see why it took so long for me to finish hand quilting Romy's quilt. The 'rows' are about a 1/4" apart. I did the first one by mistake too close to the other and then decided I really liked the effect! I stipple quilted around the friendship stars and across the floral fabric and I did a wave pattern in the fat border. I love it!

It was so relaxing and I really got a great sense of satisfaction when I put the last stitch in. I felt like I found a rhythm and didn't miss too many stitches going all the way through to the back. I also discovered that using flannel backing 'swallows' a lot of the back of your stitches so that although the stitches are definately there it sometimes doesn't look like it. But who's going to be looking at the back anyway! You can still see some of the chalk marks - let's hope they all wash out at the end!

All that's left to do now is to trim, bind and attach the 'made by me' label to the back. I am proud of myself getting this far...just in time for summer! Of course, I say just in time for summer, but we're in the middle of a cold snap here and there was actually some snow on the ground yesterday here in Canberra! And it's only two weeks till summer starts. Crazy weather gods!!

(Please excuse the very average photos. I need some tips on how to photograph quilts obviously!)

Four-patches stitched

Slowly but surely I'm getting there. Wherever 'there' may be!

The quilt top is shaping up nicely - I have stitched all the four-patches and feature blocks together. I really like the colour combination. I have bought some yellow homespun for the border (same as the yellow squares), which I hope will help tone down the 'blueness' and bring out the yellow and green a bit more. I've also bought some hot pink homespun for the binding, which I think will bring it all together.

Must get some time this week/weekend to try to get the whole thing assembled, if not finished! Nothing like being ambitious is there? 

Cheeky monkey

Before I finished the quilting, Romily started showing a strong interest in what I was doing. I showed her some of the 'pictures' on the quilt (trees, stars, ladies) and she really wanted to get her hands on it for a proper look. I wouldn't let her, as I am not quite ready for sticky hands to be all over it, so I didn't give it to her. She didn't throw a tantrum to my surprise...then I turned away for a second and put the quilt down on my chair. I turned back to find this --->

I think she likes it!!

Crazy colours!

So here are my four-patch and feature blocks all laid out for sewing. I'm pretty happy with how the colours have worked out together. Boy it's bright though! All the books tell you that babies can only distinguish bright colours and that pastels, while pretty, don't do much for the babies.

My plan is to stich these together and then I'll add quite a wide plain yellow border. Then I'll bind it in hot pink. The backing fabric I've chosen is lime green, so it should all look good. I hope!

I'll try to get the blocks sewn tomorrow night, as we have my father-in-law and his companion arriving Friday afternoon for a four-day visit, so I won't get any quilting done this weekend.

-----------

I do have some news though - I have finished quilting Romily's quilt!!!!!!! Oh my goodness I was beginning to think I'd never finish. I'll trim it and take some photos and post them later in the week. I'm going to have to take the whole thing into the shop so they can help me choose fabric for binding. And help me work out exactly how much I need - I am so hopeless at calculating these things :)

I am really happy with how it's turned out. It's far from perfect but I am happy that a) I finished and b) that I think the way I've quilted it really adds to the texture of the quilt and helps tie all the sample blocks together as a cohesive whole. It's a bit 'bubbly' in places, but only a little so probably only I will notice it's not as smooth as it could/should be. I certainly wasn't going to unpick it! 

A little girl!

How wonderful - it's a girl! Di had a little girl - Alexandra Diane last Thursday and here's a photo of the beautiful little thing - with lots of hair! Her brother was also born with a big mop of dark hair. Hooray and congratulations to the whole family.

I've pieced all the blocks and laid them out. Once I've downloaded the photos onto our other computer and transferred them to this one I'll post some photos. At least I know now that I need some pink binding! 

Computer is broken oh no

Well the computer is stuffed - that's a technical term apparently. I can still get online, but I can't download any photos or get anything on or off the computer other than by email or CD ROM.

So, we'll have to buy a new one shortly, which is an expense we could well do without. Oh well.

On the positive side of things, I am very close to finishing the hand quilting on Romily's quilt. Just two thirds of the border to go and trim and bind and it's done. Yay!

Am desperately waiting to find out how Di and the new baby are - the baby was coming via caesarean yesterday. C'mon, c'mon, where's the email? I am terrible at waiting to hear news like this!!

Hope everyone out there in blogland is doing well and you all have a great weekend.

Offline for a while

Our computer has apparently had the carrot. It had a meltdown early this week and when we got it going again none of the USB ports would work. It's currently in with the technicians, who have no idea what the problem is, so we may end up having to buy a new computer. Bummer.

Until we're back online at home it's going to be quiet around here! I'm posting this from work and I don't think I'll be very popular if I spend all my time blogging :)