African Blocks Revisited! (And a little Giveaway!)

Another African Block for Kate!

The pattern is:

Two Colors Star.

I didn't follow the pattern exactly

because it was easier to use

my Easy Angle Ruler,

but it's a fun pattern.

 

 Making another block 

made me wonder

just how many African blocks

I had in total?...

LOTS!!

*****

 These are my favourites

(although, one I'm going to swap out

for another block that I want to try...)

Can you guess which one?

If you guess correctly,

I will send you an envelope with

some African fabric scraps.

Interested?

Just leave a comment

with the block number you think

eg. Top row, block 2...

And a way to contact you!

Be nice now,

because some blocks I made

and some blocks Kate made.. :)

 

Some of the other African blocks

I'm going to use for the back.

- I do love a pieced backing!

 

Wouldn't it be lovely to knock

this UFO off my list too!!

 

*****

Here's the quilty cat

catching some zzz's in my studio...

 She's still missing after my SIL

came to visit today with her dogs ;o)

But she'll be home soon

when she gets hungry!

 

*****

And here's my little hat/bag-maker...

it's just a really sweet, simple old machine

with no quarter inch or zipper foot,

but it does the trick for making hats etc.

 

*****

And here's a photo for Granny...

Somebody was VERY tired

and nearly fell asleep in her pasta!

Giveaway closed.
Nik was right it's
the second row from the bottom,
the last one :)
African Fabrics on their way shortly!

All set, just one more sleep...

Passport: check
E-ticket: check
Euros: check

Camera: check
Toothbrush: check

4 patches: check

Whenever I travel, I always feel like I'm forgetting something. This time it's the boys, it's a wrench I can tell you. We're a team and I shall miss my team mates. But for the very reason I am no longer a member of a quilt group, I have to leave them behind: Kids and quilting and sewing machines and rotary cutters and pins and long days mindlessly sewing don't mix.

I am so looking forward to my trip, to meeting Bonnie and to sewing up a Cathedral Star (lap) quilt. Thank you to DH for looking after our boys. Boys thank you for being so good! :-D

ps. If you can guess how many 4 patches I have sewn, I'll bring you something back from Germany. Clue: I am not doing the quilt full-size and I made a few more than I needed so you can't technically work it out, but you can try and guess...

The winner is Andrea! She guessed 198. I needed 195, but made 205. I will shortly be popping a little parcel in the post to you Andrea!

Wins, Lilies, Gifts and Gabs

I am still stitching away! And this is my favourite Lily block so far. The colours appeal to me so much. The red fabric is from Elsie and the green fabric is from Siobahn:



Thank you Ladies!!

I guess that is what this post is about. Thanks. I am so very honoured to be part of such a generous and lovely community of bloggers, quilters and friends. At times I have wanted to give up this blog, I have never wanted to give up sewing, but blogging maybe. I am not sure why I blog. At first it was to record family life for us and the SA family alongside my sewing, but then I realised that my Mother never got a chance to read my blog and the sewing probably bores my brother stiff so he doesn't read it either. So then I thought I'd just blog about my sewing, and bore off the rest of them LOL, but I sew so much. Everyday! and it's not always that interesting especially if I have the odd craft market coming up or if I'm just sewing curtains or repairs or finishing something I started years ago...

I do like to record the momentus finishes and the little stitches though,


but I worry that I am just wasting blog space with it all. So I am going to have a little think about this blog and try and decide what direction it should take. Ultimately it is for me, but through it I have met some lovely people and I have enjoyed the company so much...

I have been spoilt rotten again lately by bloggers and friends!
Reds from Elsie:



Greens from Siobahn:


(these greens are from The Carolinas! So fitting for my Carolina Lily!)

And Fran:


(A green and roses too!)

Belated birthday presents from
Sonnja,:



Josie,:


My favourite chocolates and beautiful embroidery scissors too!

And Kandy!!:


Kandy made me a beautiful Log cabin kit with 12 gorgeous little logs, borders, batting, backing fabric, bobbins, thread, needles etc. Amazing!

Thank you Kandy, Josie, Sonnja, Fran, Siobahn, Elsie...
Thank you all very much.

I drew a winner yesterday for my giveaway. Guðrún from Iceland!
Well done Guðrún! I'll send you a parcel this week.


I would have blogged the winner yesterday, but I managed to overdo it in the garden and I have been feeling a bit rubbish ever since. I am taking it easy now, but feel a little shaken. I guess I was getting used to crutching around like a maniac and forgot my limits for a minute :-(

On another note:
I like this picture. It makes me think of me....

A big fat mummy and her 2 cheeky little lambs!! :-D

African Giveaway

I have been blogging for 3 years now so it's time for a little giveaway!
Leave a comment on this post and you could win an African panel and ten 5" charms of African fabric.

The charms are one of each of these fabrics:



And the panel is to make your own tea towel, apron and potholders...

I will pick a random winner on the 1st of May.


ps (I am going to get back to my lilies again and am desperate for some dark green pieces of tone on tone fabric for my leaves. If you would like to swap some for African fabric please let me know. We can swap 5" charms or whatever suits....Thank you)


On another note:
I recently won a giveaway on Nichole's blog, it's a gorgeous strawberry stitchery:



You can see more details of it on Nichole's blog, the Happy Wren Studio! Thanks Nichole.

Parting shots: kids!


The boys love the new lambs on the farm!


And this is what happens when you buy your child new shoes!


I went in to check on him before I went to bed and there he was, fast asleep with his new shoes on. I took them off and covered him up and the next morning he asked what had happened to his shoes in the night LOL.

Flood Day

No school today because the rainwater under the bridges left the road to school impassable.

Luckily I sent out 2 swap parcels and my giveaway parcel last week!

Amy from the Calico Cat likes blue, so I sent her a blue parcel which included a blue cat bib for her little boy, a tote bag, a bag charm, fabric, ric-rac, fabric to make a dinosaur bag....



...and it has arrived safely so that's a relief.

Hoping to have the kids back at school tomorrow!! (Perhaps it's time for a canoe LOL)

Are you feeling lucky?

This is my 300th official post (that excludes the odd deleted one LOL) so if you're feeling lucky leave a comment and introduce yourself especially if you've never done so before. Who knows you may be the recipient of my 300th post giveaway. I have decided not to show what the prize will be as it will be a sort of colour co-ordinated 'lucky dip' LOL. Let me know what colours you like and why and that's what colour the prize may be... It will be a bag of some sort like a tote bag, evening bag, sling bag etc filled like a 'lucky dip' with some quilty or crafty goodness...

Lately, I have been helping a friend with her sewing which has inspired me to be more creative in my own sewing...



So I made these pencil cases/cosmetic purses using an assortment of trims that I have been collecting for some time now. Christmas is coming (Ho Ho Ho) and I'd like it to be a crafty one. I was telling another friend that I may make her something for Christmas and she replied "Yes, I like the whole Mother Earth thing". Mother Earth!! Huh! An apron for her then!!!

I have also made a little girl's birthday present:



A gift for a new baby boy in the village:



And I have also been working on my hexagons again.

I always seem to work on them after a hospital visit or whenever I get new rose fabrics in the mail. This time it was a combination of both.

On the house front, DH got the floor up, so that we could get a new floor down (long story!) Hopefully completed kitchen pictures to follow!!



And look at the leaves around here... the seasons are changing - such a metaphor for life, eh?

Giveaways

I won a giveaway! I've been so busy I forgot to blog it. Thanks Caryn - it's so cute!!




I'm inching up to 300 posts so I better get thinking what I'll be giving away in my giveaway!

Finding a needle in a hospital

Last night we had another trip to the hospital. We put the kids to bed, organised a kind babysitter and headed off for blood tests to see if there was any infection as I have been in a lot of pain the last few days. By 1am we could go home and they would let us know the results later. At 4am I got a phonecall from the hospital and was given the all clear. It wasn't a wasted trip as I had a dressing change on the wound which is now more comfortable and I was given some much stronger painkillers to cope with the pain. I am to take it easy. (no more vacumming for me - hee hee!!)

While sitting around at the hospital from 10pm until after midnight when I finally saw a doctor I thought I'd keep busy with some handwork. I had grabbed my sewing bag so quickly that I hadn't looked inside and I hadn't noticed that I'd taken my needlecase out!! I couldn't sew a stitch as I didn't have a single needle with me. I was so annoyed at wasting all that time that I could have been sewing. So instead DH and I played "I spy".... I spy a drip stand, I spy a heart rate monitor... It was actually quite fun :-)

Now I'm in bed again. getting up every now and again to keep active, but not moving the furniture around LOL.

In my previous post, I was giving away some 'bits and bobs'. I used a random number generator as everyone is out. Joyce (no blog) has won the bits and scrappy quilter has won a surprise! Please let me have your snail mail addresses and I'll pop your goodies off in the post.

Anything is possible...

It is possible to clean the toilet, change the bedding and vacuum with crutches, but I wouldn't recommend it! LOL

Things are almost back to normal (for me) except I can't drive, use my sewing machine or do any serious physical activity (sadly this does not include the above household chores!!)

Husband dearest is also trying to de-clutter the house again so instead of getting bed rest I am getting re-stressed. Never mind, I shall wait until he has 'man-flu' again and then I will get him LOL!!

At least I can retreat into the wonderful world of blogging where you can meet people from all over the world, share thoughts, patterns, recipes etc and find out about doing nice things for others from the comfort of your own home.

One of my wonderful blog-friends is Sonnja. Sonnja selflessly makes fabric bears for orphaned and AIDS-affected children in Africa.

Here are some Beertje Zonn bears that Sonnja has made from fabric, I have sent her, but if you look on her blog you will see that Sonnja has made thousands of bears and thousands of little children have been given a 'Beertje Zonn' of their own.



If you would like to help Sonnja and send her some fabric for Beertje Zonn, I'm sure she and the children would be very grateful. (Details can be found on her website by clicking here)


Another person who would be very grateful of a giveaway is my DH!! He is climbing the walls with all my stuff. So I have put a little parcel together of bits and pieces that I will never use, but can't bear to throw away...

(A 'Farmyard Friends' pattern, a chenille dog pattern, a barely used cone of gold metallic thread, some hexagons, some Liberty Lawn swatches, a piece of purple lining fabric, some rhinestone-type embellishments, some paper roses, a horse tree ornament, some Seasonal mini panels and labels and a bag of very tiny rose scraps left over from making my September bag)
If you would like this parcel, just leave me a comment and I'll pick a name by my next post...

In the meantime, I'm stitching away at my rose hexagons...
(here's a view from my lap)


and revelling in real roses (from little boys who have the flu...)

Pssst.... can you keep a secret?

Or that should read, can you keep a 'Secret Santa'!

Well, the answer to that is a resounding NO. Resistance was futile. I lasted one day. I have decided to blog this confession because
a) fellow bloggers made me do it LOL
b) I could smell the gum in the parcel and it was calling me...
c) I don't care that I will have nothing to open on Christmas day. (People who hate surprises don't care about such things! LOL LOL)
and
d) You are all making me feel bad with your congratulations, thinking that I am holding out!

Here it is, and it's so pretty!! Love those roses!



And it was full of loveliness...



Thanks Sharon!!! Sorry Donna (and of course the real Santa), but a girl's gotta do...


This week the whole family has been full of cold, so it was wonderful that the boys got great mail from Cheri. She sent them the most lush fleece blankets with John Deere tractors and signs. They arrived when the the boys were sick (DS1 in particular) so they went down well.



The other one has been stashed and every time I try to take it out, it gets put back in it's special place. My son is a hoarder!!! Now, where does he get that from???

Thank you so much Cheri. Cheri mentioned chocolate in the parcel, but I didn't see any. Ok, I did, but...


Moving right on... I said I'd pick another winner for my belated 200th post giveaway. Cheri won the African fabrics with the closest guess, so I got the old Random number generator out to pick a winner for a tote or evening bag. It came back with Kate, but as I have just sent Kate another tote for her 40th(!!!!) Birthday, meaning she now has 2 totes and one evening bag made by me, I thought I'd better pick someone else...sooo....random generator again....

Well done Ginger Curls (no blog)!! I'll send you a bag of your choice from a selection and thank you all for playing!

This has to be quick!

Just a quickie to say:

"We have a winner"

Congratulations Cheryl from Jovaliquilts who guessed 40. The answer was 41 and no, I wasn't hiding any in the bag!! Before they are basted, they are quite flat which made it hard to guess :-) As Cheryl was the closest she wins and has chosen a selection of African fabrics.

I will pick another winner from the other comments once I've had a chance to work out how many entries each one has... BUT at the moment there are more pressing matter such as clearing ALL the kitchen cupboards for removal (eek!!), preparing the junk room, ummm I mean, spare room for my mother's imminent visit (double eek!!), clearing my sewing space and current work area (aargghh!!)!! Lots of clearing and sorting and minimising Soooooooooo....
If you quilt for charity and could use orphan blocks, ugly blocks, strings, crumbs etc please leave a comment or send me an email saying what you can use and I'll see what I can do for a few of you. I have to have a big clearout and don't want to throw anything away that can be used. Lynda, I hope to find those food fabrics for you and then send you those other belated bits... Sonnja I'm sure I can find something for Beertje Zonn...

I have not been reading blogs, but hope to catch up when calm sets upon us and there's no photo because this house is just too much of a WIP for me LOL.
Joyce, thank you for reminding me of the bigger picture. We do live in beautiful surroundings, I just need to look out the window more!

So many silly skeletons...

Okay I'm a few days late... but Happy Halloween
and

BOO!



thanks to Brenda for this wonderful Halloween postcard!

Today was the most Halloweeny we got around here. The friend who was going to have a party decided not to bother and so we didn't bother either, but today we went to one of DS1's classmates birthday parties which had a Halloween theme and entailed dressing up.



Seems most 4-5 year olds were skeletons this year. I guess next time we'll have to push the boat out a bit more LOL


And for some 2 year olds it was quite hard work being a pumpkin...




This week I have 2 hospital appointments for my leg so I have cut all my new rose fabrics out with the intention of basting them onto the hexagon papers while I wait around to be seen. Hopefully I won't be waiting long (just long enough to make a bit of progress would be nice though LOL)



I neglected to give anything away for my 200th post, but if you can guess how many hexagons are waiting to be basted to papers in the above picture. The winner can choose from a handmade gift (either an evening or a tote bag) or a selection of African fabrics. If there is a correct guess then that's great. If not, all comments will be popped in the bag and a random winner drawn. Regular commenters get an extra entry and if I've received rose fabrics from you at anytime in the past you get another entry too. I'll draw a winner November 15th. (oh, and if you commented on the 200th post before today you get another entry as well - just a bit of fun LOL)

Giving and receiving

I was deligted to recieve a squishy in the post today from Anne. Turns out Anne is my Booty swap partner and she made me this beautiful quilt.



I hung it up before I realised I needed to take a photo LOL. It's wonderful: beautifully quilted, gorgeous colours and plaids and of course hearts! Thank you Anne.

Thanks also to The Quilting Pirate, who is the host of the Miniature Booty Swap and also a wonderful bloggy friend.
Toni knew I had been yearning for the rulers Bonnie Hunter suggests for her mystery quilts and she was kind enough to buy them for me.



Yesterday they arrived with a beautiful block made by Toni in wonderful colours (and African Amafu fabric) as well as some Civil War fabrics. Toni is solely responsible for my small collection of Civil War fabrics. Thanks Toni!!


I have finished my bag for Linda's bag swap...

And the inside...

I'll mail that out asap and then I can concentrate on my slightly (er um!) late Booty quilt.

DH drew the winners for the African scraps. They are Siobahn a.k.a Yankee Quilter and Julie
Please send me your snail mail addresses and I'll pop them in the mail asap.

And the winners are...

Well me again, because I got a beautiful painting from my son today.


I put all the comments in a container and DS1 picked a winner:

KATE you won, but Kate already has those fabrics from me so I'll send her something else.

So we needed another winner for the Da Gama fabrics:

Loulee! You're it.

But DS1 was having fun so more names were pulled out:

Anne Ida & Sarah Jayne

Still the child wasn't finished.

Next came:
The Quilting Pirate, Kerry, sbonetsue and Ruth.

After that, I took the container away!!!!

You'll all get something in the mail. I'm not sure what it will be, but I'll have a dig in my stash tonight and mail it off this week. In case I don't have it, could you just send me your address to sewkalico at yahoo dot co dot uk

Here's a pic of me today taken by DS1, definitely feeling older (with Anne's heart wallhanging above our bed.)


Lucky my DMIL gave me some anti-aging creams for my birthday, I'll just go and put some on quickly LOL