Progress and catching up

 I am having trouble believing it is February already - January vanished so quickly!

I have been having a few walks, I try to go out most days

Indented Heads today

St Leonard's a few weeks ago when the bush fires were happening down the Otway's and Great Ocean Road

Back at St Leonard's

The flowering gums are doing their thing at the moment, the bees are very happy and out in large numbers. Sorry about the finger in the photo 😊

The shirt quilt is finished, I used trimmed off backing to bind.

and the Peas In a Pod is also finished, I used left over fabric for the binding.

In the bag of shirt pieces I found a nearly complete shirt, it had part of the fronts cut off so I decided to try and rescue is and make it mine

I added some fabric to the back just under the collar

and two pieces either side of the fronts, they were not cut off evenly and I didn't even them up just added the fabric I wanted. I am going to add more but have not decided what else to do yet.

I finally got my act together and hot glued thread to the back of the shapes to be added to Glad Tidings Christmas wall hanging, now I need to add buttons. This is going to a new home in April so I will get moving.

I have been spending some time with this little man

he enjoyed painting (with water) the screen door one hot day, until he had had enough and threw brush and container over the edge of the deck! Game over!!

He loves the camera and spent ages taking selfies with my phone until the battery went flat! You can't get your phone out as he wants to use it straight away. We deflect with kicking the soccer ball and playing cricket. Usually indoors which is getting dangerous for the house!!

I have been stitching away on the Under the Sea quilt, I am slow and it is taking a while. This was started in a class with Kathy Doughty last year, the challenge was to go big...think I failed, but I am happy with it.

This is a cushion that goes on a couch Beth bought for the office of her new business. Adam and Beth's Dad went to get it and part way home it blew off the trailer. Luckily someone stopped by them at the traffic lights and let them know, so back they went and there it was in the middle of the lanes of traffic, luckily it had not been run over by a truck! The end was ripped and not much fabric was missing thank goodness so I was able to sew it back together. I sits towards the back of the couch so will not be too obvious. 

Life has been a bit busy of late, we have finally managed to get David in to a Parkinson's support programme at a hospital in Geelong, he has had two interviews so far, the third one is in a week and a bit. today was the "Speechie" and OT, next time is the physio and maybe another session with the OT.  We came away pleased with todays sessions, I think it will be really good for David in the future.

Ok enough from me and it is time I was cooking dinner.

What's been happening in my corner of the world

 It has been a while and here I am catching up once again, David has pretty much recovered from his surgery and now has to face some chemo, we find out about that on Thursday.  It is not what we were told by the surgeon during our first visit, we will find out more Thursday I guess.

I have been sewing up KOGO blankets, I had 3 to finish and they are all now done and in the box ready to be delivered to the drop off point.

I can see now where I have sewn in squares the wrong way around now...too late to change 😀

some interesting squares here

Maybe a Melbourne AFL supporter knitted these squares?

I have had these two nighties on the end of the bed for a year I am ashamed to say, they had long sleeves which I found too hot and itchy, it took me all of 15 mins and they are now short sleeved and fine to wear! 

One afternoon these quilt tops were sandwiched and pinned, they have now been quilted and bound and have gone to their new homes. We (The Bellarine Quilters) had a visit from the Wombat's Wish creator - and donated 32 quilts to be used on their camp in November. They provide services and camps to children who have lost a parent, they also help the remaining parent.

I went on retreat early in October, our last retreat for the year.

Carleen finished her duck panel quilt top.

I made a quick quilt top with a Thomas panel

Full moon happened one night we were there

Carleen finished off another quilt top

Abby who owns the retreat offered us a basket of shirts, she had made a memory quilt with two of her Dad's shirts plus bits of others from Op Shops. So I made this

Maria encouraged me to add a shirt label and one patch has a pocket. Needless to say not much of a dent was made in the basket!

My next hexie project, sadly I can't find a photo of Maxines work in progress, she was making blocks with batiks and a white edge, which when you put them together created a zig zag pattern. Sorry Marina!!

Judy and Christine made these blocks and Cristine made the quilt top, I keep calling them Jelly bean blocks but they are really Peas In  a Pod. 

Maria made this Peas In A  Pod top - all from material that was at the retreat but no one wanted.

I went to the Kilmore Quilt In two Saturdays ago and bought another Sashiko project ( I haven't finished the other one yet)😊, this is all Mandalas and I loved it so it had to come home with me! The speaker at the Quilt In was Jo Grant from These Clever Hands, by happy chance she spoke at Guild last Saturday too and she will be at the Guild Quilt Show this weekend. She had bright curated packs of fabric - I have quite a lot and have fussy cut large hexies to sew together, that was to do at retreat but the shirt quilt took over....nothing like yet another project to be doing!!

These Clever Hands quilts.

My weeks are filled with gardening, the weeds have grown very happily over spring, taking David to appts, doing grandma duties, an occasional walk and the occasional sit at the machine.

The back yard looks good this time of the year, the leaves are back on the trees and the grass has been mown - we have a ride on mower which some days runs well and others coughs like it is going to die any minute!!

I was very happy to find some fruit on the banana passionfruit down  the yard, I hope they can ripen and I get to try one before the possums find them!

One small grandson is growing, we took him to the soccer field to have a run and a kick of the footie, we didn't know cricket training was due to start not long after we arrived. He wanted to play with the big kids and refused to come home!! 😢 His Dad had to call by on his way home to persuade him to come home. I even sent a photo of dinner that was ready with grilled cheese on the top ( his favourite) and that didn't work.

I think that is enough from me for now, I am off to do a little sewing before it is time to get dinner. That time certainly rolls around quickly these days.

Happy stitching.