BOM's will be back when I am

I have sadly fallen behind on my BOM's. (My blogging too, but I have such iregular internet usage that I'm actually just pleased I can blog at all).

This is the March Carol Doak Block of the month.



I still have November through to February to do!! But on my return I hope to make them in the same colour scheme and then put them together as a table runner for our home. I just love this fabric and I found out that it's made by a lady called Glenda Kirkiridis and her company is called Amafu. Glenda tells me that she has just sent some more of her gorgeous fabric to the Hilltop Quiltshop in Swellendam! Oh no!, this means I shall be tempted to make a detour on our long drive to Cape Town!!! I shall have to see how the kids handle the trip before committing to a visit...

When we get home (less than 2 weeks now!) I will also have to catch up on my Quilterscornerclub NYB BOM's!!

For the family in the UK who suffer through the sewing bits here are some gratuitous kiddy pics on a sewing/knitting related theme...

DS1 getting in the BOM picture...


DS2 asleep while photos being taken. Blanket made by Granny. There is another blanket (one each) which looks a lot more patchworky.



And on another note: DS1 and Mummy with her new haircut.



** - newsflash - ** A new haircut and now I need new specs too!! I went to see an optometrist today. I have to ease up on the contacts. My specs are so bad he was surprised I see anything. I had to admit I don't see much, but hey, I'm shortsighted, I don't expect to see much LOL. He asked if I knew why I was shortsighted. It reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood: 'Why, what big eyes you've got' he said. Turns out because my eyes are more open than 'normal' it means I am naturally shortsighted. You learn something new everyday. I went for a very funky pair of specs. I hope not too funky for me LOL.

BQL Bag challenge(d)

Here is my March BQL Bag Challenge made from some recently purchased fabrics from the Hilltop Quiltshop in Swellendam. I was really proud of myself that I have used fabrics that I recently bought instead of just 'stashing' them away for another day. These dyed fabrics were such fun to use! I don't think they'll last long. I will have to start dyeing my own fabrics (I must I must!!)

I was a bit challenged making this bag and so a bit of reverse sewing was unfortunately required :O(

Oh, well at least it's made an I'll enjoy taking it to the supermarket with me :O)

On the road again

We spent 2 days and nights this week in Oudtshoorn which is famous for the Cango caves and Ostrich Show Farms, but somehow we didn't manage to visit any of those places LOL.

We stayed at the most amazing place called Red Stone Hills near Calitzdorp. It offered bird watching, hiking, swimming and horse riding (or my kids case 'horse-sitting')




((Calitzdorp is known for its great Ports so we stopped for a brief tasting - very good))

We wanted to take the kids to an ostrich show farm, but managed to miss it (luckily there were ostriches at the farm we stayed on) and so we ended up at the Cango Wildlife Park. On our way there we saw a tortoise trying to cross the dirt road.


DH picked it up showed it to DS1 and then popped it safely on the other side.

This sign seen on our travels should have had a tortoise on it!


Here are some pictures from our visit to te wildlife park...

This guy was nicknamed 'The Undertaker'...

And this White tiger was a beauty!

These were the biggest bats I have EVER seen!


I have another new hobby:


Appliqueing (by hand) names of my friend's children on little bags...

More travels, a quiltshop and road trip ramblings...

We have just returned from 2 days and nights at the hot springs in Montagu.



It was wonderful and because DS1 gets up pretty early I took him for a pre-breakfast swim both mornings. (DS2 came along on the second morning) We were always among the first people there besides the pool cleaners. Nothing like a warm dip before the sun comes up!





It's quite a drive to Montagu from Knysna and there are 2 routes: the R62 which is much longer, but more scenic or the N2 which is quicker and not so scenic. I convinced DH that if we went the N2 as he wished we would have loads of time to visit a quilt shop I had read about on the SA Quilter's Guild website. He obliged so off we went to the 'Hilltop Quiltshop' in Swellendam (a roundabout way to Montagu, but not too much out of our way). Sorry no photo, but this is what I bought. I did remarkably well as Carool who owns it doesn't stock a lot of fabric, but she did have these fabulous African prints...


(...and a few rose prints too)

The next day we strolled around Montagu, but a lot of the shops were shut (being Saturday afternoon.) I had read about this little fabric shop called 'Lapland'. It had this gorgeous hand made sign outside...



Inside they were stocktaking, but kindly let me have a little look. It stocks mainly dressmaking fabric, but I found this cute African fabric and a few iron on badges for DS1's clothes (Just had to get the Union Jack!)



Also in Montagu... an art gallery with a Christmas tree


decorated with teapots and teacups



Security is an issue in South Africa, but here's how to do it 'Montagu-style'




I came home to discover the cleaning lady had thrown one of the boy's quilts in the machine. It washed remarkably well according to DS2's inspection LOL


This quilt was made by my friend Ria and the boys both love it.

Travel (b)log

We've been away for two and a half months and I've not really shown anything touristy, but today we went to Blue Hills Bird Farm between Knysna and Plett. My favourite were the Toucans (all the way from Bolivia).






I picked up lots of beautiful feathers. And we all had a great time.

'Hearts (a-finally) a-flutter'

I have finally managed to make my BQL bag for February.


I was getting worried as I have no access to a printer and still only intermittent internet access. But in the end a male friend of ours kindly printed it out and handed it over with a very bewildered look on his face LOL. It was a great pattern and I was quite pleased with how it turned out. So was mother as it has been swiftly claimed as her knitting bag!

On the home front... DS1 was sent home from school with a temperature yesterday.
He seems better now, but I'll keep him home this week as he just wants to spend time with his Grandmas anyway.

And DS2 is running me ragged!

The swing of things

I have not been posting much as you may have noticed. 'Crazy' Grandma and 'Grumps' have arrived safely from the UK so we drove down to Cape Town to meet them. Then we spent a few wonderful days in Franschhoek eating lots of yummy food at lots of different restaurants. The highlight being lunch at La Petite Ferme restaurant with stunning views over the Franschhoek valley. The lowlight being crickets jumping on the dinner table at another not to be named restaurant!

As always we visited the Aquarium while in Cape Town, the boys just love it and the sharks don't really mind that we're there!

I have been working on squaring up the monster with the fabrics that we bought at The Quilting Bug.
DH has informed me in no uncertain terms that he does NOT like this quilt. Mom if you're reading this, sorry, but there you go. I will not be discouraged and will try and finish the darn thing LOL.
This is not my colour scheme, but I find it so interesting and a challenge to get it done (Never mind all my UFO's back in England!!!)

I have also been working on my rose hexagon scrappy quilt.

A week or so back I visited a shop in George called Quilttalk (can't find a website) and bought a few small pieces of rose fabric which are already incorporated. If anybody reading this woud like to swap rose fabric for African fabric, please email me (sewkalico at yahoo dot co dot uk) or leave a comment. 4" squares or larger are what I'm looking for and I can swap Shwe-Shwe fabric or anything African...

As I am suddenly able to upload photos, here are some of the boys for my family and friends (who don't sew, but read this blog when they can bear it LOL)

This one for Aunty Jane....

Where to start? What to finish!

It's been such a long time since my last post!! I rarely get to use the internet and so reading blogs is almost impossible. Writing my own blog a rarity, but as we somehow managed to get an intermittent connection here I thought I'd seize the opportunity to show you all a few pics of WIP's or at least my MIP (monster in progress!) My mother started this quilt at least 22 years ago, probably more. It's English paper-pieced and should ultimately measure 3.3metres square!

Last year I dug it out of a cupboard and said 'let's finish it', Mother groaned a lot, but it is now ready to be squared up. As Mom doesn't want to do anymore sewing on it, I sew and she tacks/bastes the fabric to the papers. Several needed to be cut as 3 of the 8 parts were incomplete. Some of the fabrics were short so we bamboozled and pieced scraps and the 8 parts are now done. I have done some drawings and calculations (don't ask, they may be wrong) and I have a squaring up theory. I plan to use a gradation of greens to kind of pull it all together. I'm also going to use rather large setting squares to get my straight lines and to save making almost a whole new quilt with all the bits we'd otherwise need.
We found the cutest quilt shop. Jack (DS1) loves it too as it's sort of detached from the owner's house and as the owner has a young daughter there is a swing and jungle gym in the garden. I have been informed that this is a 'nice shop Mummy'. Fabric shopping at leisure with DS1 in the garden was the business at the Quilting Bug which is a relief as I may have to visit again soon. I think I a bit short on one of the greens.

I had hoped to show more pictures, but after an hour of trying, I admit defeat and this one will have to do. We had a week or so in Cape Town with 3 visits to the Aquarium in that short time. The kids love it! So if you're reading this and had hoped for kiddi pics hopefully next time :O) And if your reading this and are only interested in quilting, count your lucky stars LOL. Speaking of stars, anyone know what an 8 pointed star calls itself?

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)