We're back

And had a good time, although I probably underestimated how exhausting it would be for all of us.

Will be back later with some more photos, as well as pix of my haul from Amitie! What a wonderful shop. It's possibly a good thing I live 9 hours away!

Road trip

We're on a road trip for the next week...off to show off our little bundle of joy to our Victorian relatives.

Will be back in a week or so.

I Robot

After some postal issues, Joy finally received my parcel containing the quilt I made for her gorgeous nearly-three-year-old boy Austy, so I can now safely blog I Robot (16" x 16"). Joy said Austy loved it. Stand by for some cute pictures of Austy on Joy's blog!

I think this is my best effort yet. I designed the robot myself and foundation pieced him in three parts from a mix of Denyse Schmidt (Flea Market Fancy range) and Michael Miller fabrics. The dark solid is actually a chocolate brown, which looks fabulous with the blues.
I also embroidered a couple of details and used some odd buttons to create a googly eye effect.
I also like how the QSTs combined with the HSTs for the border, as well as the 'popping' effect the triangle quilting gives the spotty fabric.
I even got carried away and designed my own label - it matches my new 'Cascade Lily' postcards I ordered from Vistaprint.

I am thinking I might try the block and border arrangement again for a future single bed quilt for Tristan...add that to my ever-lengthening list of 'to-do' projects!

A big thanks to Helen and AJ for organising the swap...and twisting my arm to join in!

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We had a great time this afternoon at Cirque du Soleil. Romily flipped out slightly at the beginning (shrieking 'I want to go home' over and over for the first 10 minutes) because it really is an assault on your senses, but then she calmed down, and, by the end, was enthralled. Tristan almost made it to the end without squirming, but could not sleep. He was totally done in by the time we left and he is now tucked up in bed. I will have to wake him for his 10.30 feed and then wrap him up snugly for a good night's sleep. I am not far off bed myself...

Sandi's Doll Quilt revealed!

Today was the big day! We were allowed to open our quilts from the EB Doll Quilt Swap 2. I received a gorgeous caramel, pink and blue quilt from Sandi (who unfortunately does not have a blog...c'mon Sandi!).
But the quilty goodness didn't stop there! She also sent a Country Craft mag and an Australian Country Collections mag, as well as a swag of goodies for Romily. Check out Rom - she thinks Christmas has come early :) Thanks Sandi!!

Oh yeah, the exam. Bleurgh. I had to write two papers - the first I did an okay job, the second, well, let's just say it's a good thing I'm sitting on a good aggregate mark - I came down with a crushing headache, which later turned into some kind of 24-hour gastric bug. Romily had been sick the morning of the exam, so it wasn't a good sign! Not to worry, I'll probably get a credit for the unit, which is all I could realistically have expected with the amount of work I haven't put in!
Tomorrow is an exciting day - we are off to see the Cirque du Soleil show Dralion. Carl and I went last year to see Varekai and were blown away. Let's just hope Romily (pictured as the 'devil child' above - look at those teeth set in her jaw!!!) isn't too tired and enjoys the show. Tristan will hopefully be sound asleep in my sling :)

Speaking of Tristan, here are a couple of shots from today. How could you resist that sweet little face?

Luscious

As a reward for finishing my exam (although I am yet to sit it!!) and therefore the first unit of my masters of management studies, I bought some yardage and 30cm strips of the gorgeous, gorgeous fabric you see in the above photo (click for a larger image) from my LQS on Monday while Romily was at playschool. Most of this is destined for dresses for Romily - I'm just waiting for my Sandi Henderson Portabello Pixie 'Claire' pattern to arrive in the mail and we'll be making up some gorgeous dresses and tops for summer.

I am loving the combination of red, yellow, white and black. I think the left over fabric might be destined for a quilt...for me - I haven't made one for me yet. I think it's just about time!

The exam is tomorrow afternoon. Three hours. I feel like I'm an undergrad student again! Wish me luck :)

Poppy skirt

Quite timely for Remembrance Day on 11 November, but actually quite unintentional, was my strong desire to craft a skirt for Romily from this fabulous Botanical Pop fabric (and contrast fabric).
I didn't follow a pattern, but used ideas from this twirly skirt and an OliverandS skirt. I love how it turned out and so did Romily who wore it today. Finding a lady selling Remembrance Day red poppies at the local shops was the icing on the cake, with Rom wearing one in her hair all afternoon!

And here's a photo of Tristan, who's worked out that if he kicks the playgym it makes music and the lights flash - he loves it!And one of Rom entertaining Tristan while licking the bowl after we made a batch of yummy banana coconut chocolate muffins!

Waiting for the big reveal!

How exciting! I finished the EB Doll Quilt Swap II quilt and sent it off in the mail today. At the same time, I collected my parcel from the post office and it's from Sandi!

We have all agreed to wait until 7 November to open them, so I have to wait a whole week until I can see what's inside.

I hope my receiver likes what I made. I had a lot of fun making it. Here's another sneaky peak - this is the backing, one of the FQs I received for my birthday. Thanks Bec!

Edited to correct the big reveal date - it's 7 November, not 4 November! D'oh! Three more days to wait!!!

Sneak peak - I had my arm twisted...

Only kidding about the arm twisting part. I realised if I changed the colours and cropped heavily I could give a tiny sneak peak of the mini quilt I'm making for the EB Doll Quilt Swap II. I'm part-way through sewing down the back of the binding. The label is on :)

2 months old

I can't believe my little man is already 2 months old! This photo was taken earlier this week - very quickly snapped, as he was not a happy camper for a couple of days - he had his 2-month jabs on Tuesday. He screamed during and after and was inconsolable later that day. Very heartbreaking and thank goodness for breastfeeding and Panadol.

And here he is with his gorgeous big sis.And one with me - taken by Romily the budding photographer!My EB Doll Quilt Swap II quilt is nearly quilted. I'll get the binding and label done over the weekend and it will be ready to post on Monday. No sneak peaks - it would be a dead giveaway!

Easy peasy onesies

A little bit of sewing is happening here. I 've started the mini quilt for the EB Doll Quilt Swap II, but need to find some more time to finish it off. Has to be posted by 31 Oct, so I have a little bit of time left.

I did finish some easy onesies for my gorgeous boy. A good friend gave us two big bags of hand-me-downs for Tristan, including some plain white onesies - just begging for some colour! (Sorry about the bad photos/colour variations. I only really get the chance to craft/photograph at night!)The only photo where Tristan's hair is not impersonating a rooster - he's just had a bath :)Sorry about the bad photos/colour variations. I only really get the chance to craft/photograph at night!

My kids

Just some photos of Romily and Tristan. They are both growing so quickly!

A finish! Marina's Midwest Modern Quilt

I finished sewing on the label of the quilt I made for Romily's old playgroup leader at 9am this morning and we presented it to Marina at 9.30am! Nothing like a deadline to get me moving. She said she was all teary when she opened it because she loved it and the gesture behind it. Isn't it wonderful to have someone who's not a quilter appreciate all the work that goes into it. She said she loved the fabrics and I made my first photo label (after loudly cursing the manufacturers of the printable fabric sheets when the backing would not peel off and I had to scrape it off under water) with a picture of Romily in the play ground at her last playgroup session. Marina was stoked. It was well worth staying up till 1am to get it finished!(For some reason Blogger is uploading this photo on its side...)

I'm quite happy with the quilt, although my machine quilting leaves a lot to be desired. I am truly hopeless at basting and it got a bit bunchy in the middle. Thankfully only fellow quilters scrutinise such things! I am going to have to get better at basting. I think more practice is in order. The finished quilt measures 41" x 44" and was made mostly from Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabrics.

Romily had a great morning at playschool - no tears, no dramas. What a relief! We thought she would be okay, but you never can be sure. Tristan and I had a nice time cruising around at the local shopping centre. I had a lovely, uninterrupted hot chocolate and an apple slice. I am enjoying having a portable, mostly undemanding baby while I can!

For my mum

This post is for my mum, who was horrified that I'd posted a photo of her sans make-up and without her hair done for all the world to see! I told her that all the world would see a happy grandma with her two gorgeous grandkids (still in the pyjamas), but she still wasn't thrilled...muahahaha!

Anyhoo, as I mentioned in said post, the only crafting going on around here over the past two weeks was Grandma's. Here's what she was working on while she was here. This is an embroidery sampler she's made, which will become a groovy cushion. I think it's fabulous. A close-up is below.Although saying Grandma was the only crafty one wasn't strictly true. Romily is still loving chopping bits of paper up and sticking them randomly in her drawing books...as you can see!
And to make amends, here are some photos of Grandma (this time with hair done and make-up on - better Mum?!!)
And with Huppa and Romily just before Grandma and Huppa made the 8-hour journey back to Melbourne.
Thanks again mum for all your help during your much-appreciated visit. It helped a lot. I was also very happy that you got some extended one-on-one time with your newest grandson.

Here are a few gratuitous pictures of Tristan - including a bone fide smile :)
(Romily thinks he looks like a super hero with arms akimbo like in this photo!)

And, yes, the essay was done in time, although I don't think it'll be an award winner. Carl did read it and I was pleased to learn it did hang together okay!

So, now onto Marina's quilt, which I have to finish by Sunday night. On, on!

October is Pink Ribbon month

Those of you who have been reading this blog for some time know that I support breast cancer research - having a strong family history of breast cancer on both sides (both grandmothers who did not survive and an aunt on each side who both have survived), I was shocked to learn how little the government provides for research into treatment and prevention for this insidious disease.

So, every year, when Pink Ribbon Day (now part of Breast Cancer Month) rolls around, I do my little bit. We don't have a lot of spare cash these days, so my little bit is quite small. But I can raise awareness through this post and encourage you to donate or buy something from the Pink Ribbon Shop.

The picture shows what I've ordered. Too bad they don't make kids stuff. I would have probably ordered more!

All well here. Mum and Dad left yesterday and I was sad to see them go. I wish we lived closer...

My essay is due Tuesday at 9am, so I'd better get my head down and tail up and GET IT DONE! Then onto some more fun stuff :)

Grandma's visit

Grandma is visiting and she's having a great time with Romily and Tristan. She arrived last Tuesday and is here till Friday. It's been wonderful having her here - an extra set of hands to hold a bub or another captive audience member for Romily's antics. She's also vacuumed, folded clothes, ironed, done lots of dishwashing, etc. Nothing like having your mum around! I'm so pleased she could come for a good length of time to see her gorgeous Canberra grandkiddies. She has four more grandsons in Melbourne, whom she sees far more often, so we're very happy to have her here. Dad flies up from Melbourne on Thursday and will head back down the Hume Highway with Mum on Friday afternoon. A short visit for him, but blokes don't tend to find 6 week old bubs quite so swoon-worthy!Tristan is doing very well indeed. He is starting to stretch out his feeds to 3-4 hours, and is still sleeping a lot. He's growing right before our eyes. I took him to be weighed and measured yesterday (5 1/2 weeks). Here are his stats (birth stats in brackets):
Weight: 4.755kg (3.580kg)
Length: 56cm (51.5cm)
Head circumference: 38.5cm (36.5cm)
Not bad! It's gratifying to see where all that breast milk is going!!

Precious little crafting is going on here - although Grandma is doing a very cool embroidery for a cushion. I did cut out some fabric for a jacket for Rom, but that's about as far as I've got in the past week.

I did finish the top for Marina's quilt, which is now waiting to be sandwiched. I have to get an essay done first (it's due next Tuesday)...drudge, drudge!
I also have to get moving on my EB Quilter's doll quilt for the swap - it's due to be sent by the end of October, so I have a month. I've got a good idea of what I want to do, so it's a matter of working it out, getting hold of the fabric and getting it done. Sounds simple! Now I just have to find the time...

One month old!

I can't quite believe it, but Tristan is one month old today. Here he is, on the gorgeous Winter's Garden quilt my online quilting group made for me...er, him!

Time has flown by and he's growing by the day - I'm about to 'retire' his newborn size clothes (0000 or 55cm for Nicolette!) and break out the 000's (62cm).

He's such a good little fella. Eating (drinking) very well, although still chucking up far more than his mummy appreciates, and sleeping very well. He's in a great night sleeping pattern, only waking twice a night still, which I can just about handle! Romily is still delighted with him, and is the ideal big sister (so far). She's also settled into our new routine very well. Carl took her to her first 'big girl' swimming lesson yesterday - up until now she's had him in the pool with her. As of yesterday, she's in the water all by herself (and very proud of herself too!). I went shopping with Tristan - it was nice to have some one-on-one time with my little man :)

Tomorrow is her last session at playgroup - it's the end of term break-up, so a big morning tea is on the cards. We put down cupcakes for the food we'd bring. We had a lot of fun making and decorating them today!
Romily, of course, loves to lick the spoon :)

I also got the borders on Marina's quilt this afternoon - it looks great. I'll blog it in the next day or two. I haven't had a chance to photograph it yet.

I can't quite believe it's Sunday night. The days when Carl is home go all too quickly! I hope you all have a lovely week.