Once, twice, three times a compliment - day!

Thursday 27th May was certainly a day for compliments.

My first compliment of the day: I was getting ready to go to my fitness class when my neighbour knocked on my door. She had a cleaner in from Silver Chain who was in absolute raptures over the memory quilt I had made for Kevin's 80th earlier in the year. I had picture of Kevin with his siblings as a child, senior cit, his marriage day and one of the family. This gentleman from the USA was in raptures over the wall hanging and wanted one for his "Mom" back home, wants me to make one for him and said he was willing to pay, must work out costs to see if he is serious!!

Kevin's Quilt- designed in EQ6; the 4 blue squares represent where I placed the pictures.

2nd compliment of the day was about our son Zach. He had done so well in TKD class the night before that he was singled out in class for his devotion, dedication and skill with all aspects of his class participation. This from where Zachary was a year ago, fills us with such pride. The climb through all the hard stuff has started to shine through.

Number 3 - I was at the school picking up the kids, I had actually gone to the class room due to rainy weather. Sarah was getting organised, packing bags, showing my where she now sits in the class, telling me about her day when a lady I did not know stopped and asked if "This child belongs to you?". I responded with a yes and was then delightfully informed by this lady what a lovely child Sarah is. Turn out it was one of Sarah's teachers. From my experience you don't often get teachers go out of their way to say things like this.

Then today I get an email from Helen at http://www.stitchabout.com.au/ who had a cross stitch kit I have been chasing for years that is no longer in publication (I met her at the Quilt show last Sunday and I just happened to ask if she knew of the pattern). The kit "In disgrace" by Bessie Pease Gutmann goes with two other completes kits I have on my lounge room wall.

Turns out that Helen had the kit ready packed in her car to bring over to Perth for the show but due to being over weight in luggage left it at home. She had only recently gone through all her older stock sorting it out and was still debating what to do with this pattern.

Funny how things all work out sometimes.

Pictures of some of my recent work - part 2

Early morning rising and a hug, I am off to the airport to go away to Bathurst for Southern Cross Quilters Retreat 2010.
Missy, our latest addition to the family. Can not decide if she is sleeping or passed out from the smell in Zach's room!!!
1* 2*
My latest 2 quilts, (1) a disappearing 9 patch, feature square is a multi coloured butterfly print, the last that I had in my stash unfortunately, some of the other colours have small butterflies on them. The quilting pantograph is of butterflies. I have labeled the quilt "Butterfly Patch". (2) A quilt kit I brought from Collingully. The pantograph is paisley style flowers to match the print.

Baggies full of cut strips and squares for my "Colorado Wedding Quilt" by Pam Bono. I now have to sew the strips together to then sub cut the parts of the blocks.

Pictures of some of my recent work

Sarah, attempting to do some sewing, she enjoys doing bits of craft.
Santa....***** 2" squares, $#@!^&***. Fiddly but effective in the end.

A baby quilt I designed and made for a lady at work. The owl Mum made for me on her embroidery machine, I used fabric from the new Lisa Chandler range and made a bag. Mollie Jane, a "Kids Quilt" pattern. A cute little girl playing in the garden sewn with varigated pink thread. Blue, gold, and white table runner. My friend Lisa in the US gave me some fabric that was from her wedding dress. I brought it home and made it into this table runner and called it "Old, new, borrowed and blue".


The two bright quilts are for the children. I found the panels and matching border fabrics which screamed "BUY ME!!!" So I did. I am waiting to buy some more wadding, I will be piecing the backs to include the quilt labels, which are the kids art works.

Still lurking

I had forgotten this little page. Life is so good at stopping the little things occurring. We all get so busy with living working, being, trying to catch up with the should and must do's that we don't stop to do all the I wants. Mind you I was raised with " I want does not always get" motto in my family.

O went to the craft show today with my dear friend Gail. I was very good and kept the purchases to a minimum. Although in my mind I am hocked up until the kids have great grandies! I brought myself a new cutting mat, large and I got some rotary blades from The Scissor Man. I really needed a large mat for my cutting table. And blades well you can never have to many!!

I had a look at the westalee (sp?) rulers too. Very tempting. Might still get one yet. They are displaying the rulers at the craft shop across the road from work tomorrow, mm, no make that today.

I picked up two quilts from Greg at House of Quilts on Tuesday ( well Steph did) and I am in the process of doing the hand binding of an evening when I get time to sit. I have also started cutting out a wedding ring quilt by designer Pam Bono this last week. I think I have cut 15 yards of material up into strips then sub cut into rectangles and squares. I now have to sew strips to subcut strip sets so that I can then have units all ready to go together to make the blocks a piece the top when I go away to Collingully in June with the girls.

I can not upload any pics using my iPod so they will have to wait till I get to the computer next.

Guess I should attempt some shut eye.

Night all

My new old machine

This is my early Christmas present to myself. A 1930s Jones Family CS hand crank sewing machine. She is almost in perfect condition. Only a little damage to the wood casing that she is bedded in. Used her last night after I found out how to load/ unload bobbin and shuttle. I think she is beautiful and look forward to playing more with her.

Old New Baby, Introducing Mrs Jones

I got an early Christmas gift on Tuesday night. May I introduce Mrs Jones. A hand crank vintage sewing machine circa 1930 in almost perfect contition. Used her last night for the first time once I figured out how to load/unload the bobbing shuttle and set her up. Ran like a dream, the only real damage that I have noted is to be to the wood in which she is bedded, but even that is minimal.

The accessory box, made of carboard is totally intact and is stored in a recess just below the crank.

USA - Departure and Hawaii day 1

19-Jun-09
Departing Perth

Collect kids from school. I am tired before I even start! Get to the airport @1430. We cannot check the bags in until 1630. No problem, we go to have coffee and drinks in the cafe (at highly inflated prices! We realize that we have left Zach head gear at home. He needs it, not spending all this money on his teeth for the fun of it. Dad to the rescue. He goes back home to collect it for us.

By the time he arrives back, after telling us he was waiting on the plumber??? To disconnect the kitchen sink so that we have everything. Trust Dad to give us a stress attack!! We also had a mild panic attack, I had not printed out the visa waivers we needed to have to get into the US. Fortunately after some checking online we were in the system and cleared to land in America. No one told me that we needed hard copies of those. I need a Valium!!

Our flight is late coming in and we are not due to depart now until 8pm. Mind you with this stormy I am not really surprised. The kids are so nervous, worried about flying. Me personally, I have had ½ a Valium for the nerves.

We say good bye to Dad and go through the gate into the departure lounge. It is about now that Sarah starts crying for Rosie. So we find Sarah a new friend, her name is Matilda. (The name tag says Howard!!) The time for boarding gets pushed back even further, I have given up watching the clock, Zach has not, and he is getting more worried.

When we eventually board the plan we receive an announcement from the pilot that our flight will be further delayed due to formation of ice on the wings of the plane due to the cold weather, An unusual occurrence indeed, especially in Perth. Should we scrape off the ice? Under advisement of our NZ technicians no we may damage the wings. Ice is melted with the use of fuel increasing the temperature to 1°C. Yep I will have the other half now.

2130, over 2 hrs after we were supposed to depart we start to taxi. I will eventually get circulation back into my fingers from Zach holding my hand. Dave is enjoying the same with Sarah. As a result of our delayed departure from Perth we land in NZ closer to 830 on the 20/6 instead of the 6 am. This works out good for us as it means less time waiting for our connecting flight onto Hawaii at 11 am. We stop and have a shower, well Sarah and I do, we then have breakfast, well the others do, I could not face food. Just give me a cup of tea.

We board @ 1030 and then we are on our way to Hawaii. 8 1/2 hrs later we land. It is @1030pm on the 19th of June and the temperature is 25°C!! The humidity hits us.

Immigration and the kids are so tired now, we are not much better. The floor keeps threatening to hit me in the face. I hate it when I am so tired that I feel dizzy. We clear immigration, collect our luggage and, YES we are officially in Hawaii and on holiday. We are greeted with a lei and a hug.

We get to the hotel about 1130 and it is so busy in the streets, people everywhere just walking about and looking at the shops, which are open!! 1 Am the kids are hungry so we head out and get an ice cream at a mini mart near our hotel.

Saturday 20th June

I woke at 730 still tired but...............open the curtains to our room, what a view, a panorama all the way to the mountains, palm trees every where and birds singing.


A beautiful small bird perches on the railing with the most vivid red crest and 2 smaller plain birds actually come into the room. I just want my family to wake up now, I want to shop and sight see!!

End up bouncing on the bed to wake up Dave and Sarah, she ended up sleeping with us, nothing unusual in that. Go down for breakfast around 930, have a coffee and a cinnamon bagel. My first attempt at US coffee does not leave me impressed. Finally get the whole family motivated, sort of. I have confirmed both of our tours for Sunday and Monday plus our transfer back to the airport on Tuesday. Pick up for the tours is at the Hyatt hotel. We go for a walk to find out the location for the pick up. Ends up being less than 5 mins. From our hotel across the road to the right past KFC and Burger King which we can see diagonally across the road from our room (3rd floor corner room)

We walk down and about and end up at the beach. The water is so blue. A larger than life statue stands on the beach arms open out and palms facing up in open offering to the Gods. Leis are placed at his feet and on his arms as offerings. The kids and I paddle and swim in the water it is so beautiful and warm.

We head back to the room, the salt water irritates Sarah’s eczema rubbing between her legs. The kids freshen up. We head back out and jump on the pink trolley line. End up at the Ala Moana Centre. A huge shopping complex with Macy’s, Sears, Tiffany & Co .... Mmmm Tiffany’s. Go into Tiffany’s, the cheapest thing a key ring at $250; I don’t think I will be getting a souvenir from there.

They have a “Bubba Gump” tourist shop and restaurant. Zach falls in love with a camo t-shirt, his first souvenir. We sit and have lunch with the distant view of the ocean. There are fish pond through the whole shopping centre, and large ones at that. The ponds are full of Koi, some easily ½ metre in length.

Lots of walking, we end up at the international market place, and get suckered into choosing an oyster. Zach first, he gets a silver grey pearl that is mounted onto a whale tail. Sarah next she gets a black pearl. Sarah being Sarah wins the heart of the sales lady and gets another go, twins, pink. By this stage the lady had already given Sarah a pink pearl that is already on a setting, so Sarah now has 4 pearls. Zach who is a little put out by the attention that Sarah is getting also gets to have another go, this time it is twin black pearls for our little man. The sales people try to keep doing their job, but we have already spent over $200...time to leave people.

We go back to the hotel to rest, David sleeps and the kids and I go up to the pool. While the kids swim I sit in the spa and end up talking to a lovely family from North Carolina, the James’. We spend ages comparing accents and the different inflictions on words and laughing at each other at how we sound saying them.

End up at Denny’s for dinner, Dave’s burger pattie is big enough to feed all of us I think. The kids and I share an Oreo Sunday, mmm chocolate fix. We walk down the main street, every thing is open, there are people every where. Head off to bed around 10pm, tomorrow is Pearl Harbour and USS Missouri.