Are you a night before or a morning after kind of person?

I like to pack and be ready the night before. I want to sleep as late as possible and not need to do anything on the day. Memories of rushing and the reality of running out of time, make me jittery. DH does not like to do things the night before!

So why did I decide to wash a quilt that I have been frightened of washing for 5 years, a few days before when I was running out of 'before' time? I have no idea, but I did. 5 years ago, I knocked over a cup of tea onto this quilt.



I emailed Birgit for help. Loads of advice was given, but I was petrified. Clearly there was a problem with one of the reds in the quilt. On Tuesday, I bought some Oxi-action colour catcher sheets and put 4 in the wash with the quilt. The sheets turned bright pink and the quilt was clean. BUT as the quilt started to dry, another of the reds used in the backing was bleeding through the cream fabrics on the front. Horrors!!! I shoved the quilt back in the washing machine before it had completely dried with more colour catcher doodas. Out came the red again. Then I ran a short wash cycle with the Synthrapol Birgit had sent me all those years ago. The quilt is almost dry and it appears to have worked. PHEW! I can enjoy my favourite quilt on my bed again (when we get back) Thanks Birgit (and Bonnie who blogged a similar success with cleaning an antique quilt!!)

In the mail, a surprise from Anne.



My bedroom is already a shrine to Anne's talent. I love hearts and this crazy one is no exception.

(All the quilts barring the centre one have been made by Anne. I made the middle one...)

I think I may have to hang it in another room though LOL. Thanks Anne.

Of course, we are still building here.... new stud walls...



I shall be glad to be away from it all for a while...

Down came the wall

There's been a lot of bashing in this house again!! DH is preparing the downstairs for the new kitchen. So the children and I have been camped out upstairs with the hopes that we won't fall through the floor LOL. I've been sewing, the kids have been doing puzzles and watching DVDs on my computer and DH and friends have been going "thump, thump, grind, saw, bash, thump" all day.

I have managed to sew my embroidered roses into my quilt just to see what they would look like...



And the postman managed to drive through the snow today to deliver some great post from Birgit who sent me these fantastically fabulous fabrics:

Birgit also included alphabet noodles for the kiddiwinkles...

(Is it dinnertime yet? Want those noodles cooked please, Mum!)

Whenever I go to Germany, I fill my suitcase with these noodles (and fabric from Birgit's gorgeous shop). The kids love them even if they end up all over the place (as does my fabric!!) :-)


And on Saturday, I was spoilt rotten with some gorgeous surprise fabrics that arrived from Nicolette:

(Sweets? What sweets? Oh! Those ones! Yes, they were luverly! Thank you)

Thank you both so much. They have already been cut up and some are already in 'the quilt'!:

(Can you see them? Some of them are right next to the embroidered rose.)

We had an inch or so of snow today, with more forecast for tomorrow...

I'm glad I'm still not able to drive...

(and therefore have to clear the windscreen LOL)

(Not sure if Birgit sent this snow too!!! As a thank you for the snow I sent her previously LOL)

Because building work has resumed. The little boys got in the mood...


And the big boys took down a wall

No going back now!!
"Thump, thump, bash"

A time to break down, and a time to build up

I have sewn part 1 of Bonnie's Double Delight mystery quilt, part sewn part 2 and 3 and had a sneak peak at parts 4 & 5!!

I laid them out on the floor to have a little look at how my colours would work. I pronounced "I like it"!

DH walked past. "Have a look" I said proudly...



Well, he thought there was something not quite right :-) He tried a few variations replacing the 9 patches for 4 patches etcetera etcetera etcetera... In the end, he went back to Bonnie's original design LOL, but I changed the pinky-peach for red. I guess he's just not a pinky-peach kind of guy :-)))



I did make a few teeny-tiny little fabric purchases including the brown for this quilt to make my stash work. There were only 6 FQ's of the brown 'dinky diamonds' left in the shop which was just as well as I needed a yard and a half! Unfortunately one of my sneaky purchases was the peachy-pink!!! But I shall use that on the back with the now discarded 9 patches.


Building work has resumed. Walls have come down and dust is trying to settle in every single nook and cranny in the house.



We no longer have a family bathroom downstairs.



Just as well we now have a new one upstairs.


The children did some building too...




We no longer have a gingerbread house :-)