Oh Mickey!

Just one more before I go...


My 4th finish for 2010 and probably my last one for a long while now as Monday I'm off to the chopping block for my 3rd bout of corrective surgery on this gammy leg of mine.


I am so pleased to be able to give both boys a quilt before I go into hospital so this was a race to the finish. I machine quilted a grid and then big stitch handquilted around the stars...



Labels are on both this quilt and my Mother's butterfly lap quilt (shown finished in my previous post) and as my computer is now working (yes, you read that right! Not for long according to the copmputer shop LOL, but I'm not complaining!) I managed to find some photos of the Butterfly quilt, that I made for my brother and his wife, which produced the bonus triangles for Mom's quilt...

It lives in South Africa...

Along with all the wonderful swap gifts I got for Christmas, my lovely hubby bought me a 'posh' phone. As I usually get by with the cheapest phone the supermarket has to offer, I have been having a few issues with the technology LOL. He suggested that I make a case for it so I whipped up this one in the most awesome fabric aquired in South Africa from Shine Shine.


I think I love the case more than the phone LOL and I am working on a laptop cover in the same fabric, but I doubt I'll finish it before Monday. I have bought wool to knit beanies (the sum total of my knitting repertoire) and have lots of handwork lined up including a trial of a Carolina Lily block done in the English Paper piecing style. In fact, I have so much handwork, I doubt I'll get through it all, or at least I hope not!!

Butterfly Bonus

Another finish - My third for 2010! This crazy nervous energy has an amazing effect on my productivity. These are the bonus triangles from the Butterfly Blossom quilt, that I made for my brother and his wife, which was basically Bonnie Hunter's Pineapple Blossom quilt done in butterfly fabrics.

This lap quilt is for my Mom, who has had a change of heart and will indeed be coming to help me get over my op... yay!



It's backed with fleece and I hope it will keep her nice and warm...


It just needs a label.

And this is a quilt for Linus that went to Vicky last week.

(It had been finished for a while, but ahem, it got lost in my stash... )

There has been crafting...

Happy Halloween!

I managed to lightly quilt and then bind these 2 panels that Toni sent me. The long one is hanging at the front door and the smaller one over the fireplace...



Little big boys are big into crafting too especially when it's on my table in my sewing room and means that there is access to all sorts of trims etc...



But I'm very proud of the results...



I also decided to put the leftover blocks together from my 'Butterfly Blossom' quilt that I gave my brother and his wife. DH couldn't leave the layout of this lap quilt alone and so in the end we compromised and used half his idea and half mine, but here he can be seen rearranging...



I discovered a new use for selvages: row numbers for pinning!!



I also finished the borders on my Double Delight but that will go into my lottery winning wish pile for longarm quilting LOL. I am almost finished the borders on the above butterfly quilt, but this one I plan to back with fleece and quilt myself for use by my Mother when she visits as she's always complaining that it's so cold here - compared to South Africa, I guess it is :-)

My drawing is now closed and I'll announce a winner in my next post - thanks for playing!

EDIT - As I didn't give a warning, I was going to close my giveaway drawing, I'll leave it open and will draw a 'Lucky Dip' winner on the 4th of November. (Hopefully by that time my children will be well and back at school and nursery which will give me time to make up the winning parcel)

Happy New Year Island style

Life is very quiet on the island. (I feel like Robinson Crusoe). DH is working hard finishing bits and pieces around the house and I am sewing whenever I get a chance. The beach nearby is great and we take the kids and their spades and it’s just so beautiful. The weather is variable – one day very hot and sunny the next cool and grey. We have a view over the causeway bridge across the lagoon and we enjoy watching the tide come in. -If you’re wondering where we are, we’re staying on Thesens Island in Knysna on the Garden Route (can’t link you here, but I’m sure you can ‘google’ it.)

My brother and his family came for Christmas and New Year’s Eve and now my Butterfly Blossom quilt (Bonnie Hunter’s Pineapple Blossom pattern) has gone to it’s new home when they left on New Year’s day. We enjoyed having them to stay and when they left I asked them to hold the quilt up over their balcony so that I could get a good shot of it…



At the moment we have my great friend Jeannette staying (www.unite.co.za). She always comes with such energy and enthusiasm (except that she’s napping now LOL). Jeannette also came with her laptop!!! So at last, a hopefully semi-decent blog entry!! If you have commented or emailed and I’ve not replied, I do apologise, but I have such very limited internet access at the moment which allows a quick email check and that’s about it!!!

I miss reading all your blogs, but I am enjoying the days here… which start early with the children waking up to the bright sun so we all just get up and go for breakfast at one of the nicest bakeries/coffee shops in the world! Il de pain serves a killer breakfast with poached eggs, spinach, bacon…. Then DS2 sleeps so DS1 and I play or go to the nearby park or whatever, then lunch, then DS1 & 2 nap (yippee) The heat takes it out of them. Then dinner and an evening beach trip or a little row with the inflatable boat of my brother’s. I am not tanned and gorgeous (LOL) because I tend to stay out of the sun during the day – it really is quite hot here when it’s hot. We go to the weekly Friday market for dinner (DS1 likes to get his face painted there)

and on Saturdays we often go to the Farmer’s market, Sundays involves our ‘usual’ breakfast and a walk around the Thesen Island market. There is a lot of craft about.

Well, that’s about it as I’m being summoned to get in our inflatable so anchor’s away and speak soon :O)