Lots of bits

 Since my last post I have been doing lots of bits of this and that, I started making foundation paper pieced hearts, a project I started on retreat last month, you would think stitching strips of fabric to paper would be fairly straight forward but no,  ok Blogger has decided to put the photos in reverse for me so we will have a backwards post!!

I found this fabric in my stash, I have no idea where it came from and though it was fat quarters, but it turned out to he 2 fat quarters and several fat eights. So it became a very simple quilt and will go to hubby's sister once it has it's binding.

This quilt was made by Wendy at the Guild, it has been quilted and needs binding.

I had to wait while a rain shower went over yesterday afternoon so I was watching this magpie looking for food over the fence

and this galah having a shower on the power lines

and then once the shower past I got back to sandwiching this quilt.

Earlier in the week I made another sticky fruit slice, there isn't much left today!

I had bought this panel for Jenny in NZ, she loves flamingos, so over the last week or so I have been playing with free motion quilting and it is now ready to go in the post.

We are nearly back at the start if the photos were not in reverse! I made these foundation paper pieced blocks last weekend, they were not without challenges

this piece I managed to sew folded in half, bet I couldn't do that if I wanted to

And I managed to get a few folds, I was being super careful the fabric was lying flat after making these mistakes.

Well that is my week, so far, in reverse, today is Anthology day so I had better get my skates on and go for a walk and then come back and get sewing.

Happy stitching.

Friday once again (photo heavy)

 I am not sure where this week has gone, despite being at home the days are zipping by.

We have had some beautiful weather which has been ideal for walking along the beach

down near the yacht club

I spied a container ship coming into the bay

I also found a new Little library, not far from us, they are a great resource when the library is closed.  I had a call from the library yesterday, I have 4 books waiting to be collected and they are going to be posted out. The Geelong Library service has introduced and new click and collect where you can order books and they will post out once a month. Great idea. 

I have been out on the front deck putting quilt layers together, this day was ok, but the day earlier was super cold and windy.

The orchids inside have all decided to flower again, this is the third time this year for this one.

Playing out in the garden with gum blossoms and the sky and sun.

Tuesday I decided I need to sort out the heaps of fabric bits that were on the sewing desk, so I cut into squares and then on both diagonals

And I have a collection of pieces ready for the flying geese.

The smaller bits left over were cut down for little stars epp. I have some left over bits from the stars and they will be stamped and cut for the little hand sewing project. My enthusiasm for sorting deserted me after cutting the others. 👩

In the week I made a chewy fruit slice, a favourite for us both.

Wednesday saw the making of another Anthology block, this one needed some creative trimming!!

Thursday I made some kiwifruit jam, hubby had gathered kiwifruit from where we used to live, which  surprised us as one of the vines has died and you  need a male and female plant to get fruit. The only thing we could think of was there was another plant nearby.

Such a pretty colour and pattern.

I am using the recipe from my Mums cookbook, the photos are back to front, this is the chutney recipe

this is the jam recipe, it has been a long time since kiwifruit have been called Chinese Gooseberries.

Very happy with my jars of jam and it has set!!! WooHoo!!

Now a mix of kiwifruit chutney is on the stove, I might have added too much vinegar, I guess I will now when I taste it!

I still have this many kiwifruit left over, they are very tart, but I might try having them for breakfast.

Yesterday saw the making of this weeks Sylvia's Bridal Sampler block, this block has been languishing in the tub for a very long time, I had problems fitting the inside curved seam and had to unpick many times. I was too scared to try the outer curved seam so it went into the tub. Yesterday i git brave and decided to just do it, and it has gone on ok. It looks like there is a tuck near the top, but the seam is fine, it is just the shadow on the photo.

So I did a second block again with foundation paper piecing, it felt like it took ages but came together very well in the end. Hopefully I haven't put you to sleep, I am off now to put the binding on a quilt.

Have a wonderful weekend and happy stitching.

There and here

As many of you know my Mum is in care in Tauranga, NZ, and they have been in Stage 4 lock down for 5 weeks, I wanted to share (and keep for myself) one of the three times a week updates,  the families get to let us know how things are going. No has been able to visit since the start of the lock down. Feel free to skip over.

Radius Matua Update: 21^st April 2020

Our facility took on a positive vibe today, lots of chatter and laughter. Everyone talking about the government’s decision and what it means for them and there seems to be a lot of positivity.

This was no doubt helped by the fact that the day started off with a delicious buffet breakfast. The stream of residents from rest home and hospital enjoying the breakfast was really pleasing to see. A number of the residents come to these not only for the food but also for the socialisation, a chance to chat to someone different while being able to choose what they have for breakfast and being able to partake at their own pace. Our kitchen staff did a magnificent job this morning (as they always do).

Isolation cases:

We have 4 people currently in isolation, NONE of them with Covid concerns, they are just seeing out the isolation period as new or returning admissions.

Activities:

·         Buffet breakfast

·         Physiotherapists Falls Prevention class attracted 28 residents today (it is a big hall so there was plenty of room and space between participants.

·         Ice cream was given out to all residents throughout the facility, you can’t beat a good old kiwi ice cream!!

·         Ten-pin bowling took place again this afternoon and it is fast becoming the favourite sport for our residents to test themselves in a “competitive environment”.

·         There will be another “virtual” church service tomorrow on our big screen run by the Columbus Church Minister Donald Hegan.

Matua Primary School Children:

I have mentioned before that we have a huge Bear at the top of the driveway with a sign on it saying how much we missed the Matua kids reading group coming in to read to our residents.

Well the children (who are all at home in their bubbles) on lockdown have each done a video clip of them reading a book out loud (individually) which has been edited and put together by their teacher and has been sent to us to screen. They did this because they wanted to show your loved ones how much they miss coming in to do their reading for our residents. What an awesome effort. Our residents will love this; I will let you know how it goes.

This sort of effort shows how much a part of the community Radius Matua is , as is the Matua school and all the other amazing small business we have in this area helping each other out.

I would also like to say a huge thank you to Comvita and Jackie for the amazing gift packs donated to our nurses for all their hard work during this lock down period. They were thrilled and felt really appreciated. The gift packs were delivered appropriately, wiped down and stored for 3 days before being presented to the nurses. Thanks Comvita…..awesome!!

    

Back here in beautiful St Leonards

I have finished a kit by Anni Downs of Hatched and Patched, I have had it for a long time so am very happy to have it finished.

and the back.

The rainbow lorikeets are very happy nearly all day in the fig tree

Me watching you watching me!! Such beautiful birds.

Hubby has a game set up down stairs, he has taken photos and emailed them to a friend who is not in the best of health and they are having a long distance game, the directions are being sent back and forth as the game progresses.

We are getting some autumn colour in the garden

and mushrooms?? There are lots of them, more I look the more I see.

I have four rows of this quilt top together, the pattern is a freebie from Pat Sloan, she has been having a block a day sew along for the month of April.One more row to go for me!!

Yesterday once I pulled myself away from my book and got to some baking, gluten free ginger biscuits and gluten free sticky fruit slice. Very nice. Even hubby is happy to eat them!!

I am off to sew a few more One Block Wednesday blocks together.

Happy stitching.