Going 'round the zig-zag bend!

My second block for the ATB swap - Lynn's Zig Zag blocks - boy this was a charmer! Not Lynn's fault at all, but mine for being just a lousy sewer haha!

I did my maths; I did my maths; I DID MY MATHS! I measured before I cut and sewed!

Do you think it came out right??? NOOOOO!

It needed to be a 15.5 in block - well 16.972892 inches later and I was not a happy chappy.

I had even sewn two blocks the wrong way around!!!

So, after gnashing of teeth and a choice word or two, the only option was to unpick each square, remeasure each square, trim each square (most important) and resew!!

Yippee - it worked - I really like it!

Flying over the ocean now - hope Lynn likes it too!

(see the pins? - they were almost in my eyes)

Here is it's mate - G'day Mate!!

A little look..

Some ribbon bows for pressie - made with a very easy gadget!

My Neptune quilt progress!

Wonderland and Waves

Some ziggy zaggs in a forest of Wonderland! ATB block for Lynn of Craftstew in the US - she send us all lots of Momo's Wonderland with the asking of Zig Zags!! - I couldn't cut up this wonderful piece, so I hope she will like it! Ooh those z-z points are tricky! One more to do!

This has pattern has really caught my eye! Made with Tula Pink's Neptune range - I love love the crashing, swirling, randomness of the curves; I can hear the waves now and taste the saltspray!

Pattern and quilt designed and made by Carolina Patchworks - link here!

Damm - wish I had seen that pattern before I cut and sewed my only Neptune fabric , which started as one layer cake, cut into this:

then, I thought - post and rail blocks???

Too boring!

How about this?

Yes, that'll do!

My Baby has turned 12!

Wow - I am still kindov in shock - my little ginger fuzzed baby was born 12 years ago - all skinny limbs and blue eyes and that beautiful strawberry blond hair! What on earth was I going to do with you - even though I had you in my mid-twenties (young by women today) - I still felt confident, and unsure; mature and totally helpless; ready and not ready.

You are my first-born, my starter child, the baby that made me fall-in-love with babies, my pride and joy, my daughter.

Oh they grow up so quick - I don't feel that different to 12 years ago; how come you are so different! A young girl who is quickly becoming a young woman, right before our eyes - getting independent, getting cheeky, frustrated and screeching one minute and smiling and remembering to breath the next!

I love that on one hand; she still sleeps with her favourite toy 'Pony' (Her Pride and Joy) which she kisses goodnight and always demands a kiss goodnight from us too (thank goodness!) and then on the other side of girlhood; puts on her jewellery and prances out the door with her friends and all of their matching tote bags, with barely a look back at her poor neglected mother.

She is a most natural dancer - beautiful in ballet - exciting in jazz - rhythmic, musical, flowing, beautiful arm placement and strong pointed feet - just divine to watch.

She is a smart girl - fantastic at maths - it just seems to click with her - creative, imaginative, sensitive, dramatic, shy, confident, rude, polite, loves to dress in white, loves to play with her hair and fashions, tidies her room, plays the flute, bickers with her sister; just a typical girl! And a Red-Haired one at that!!

Gaggle of Girls at a Lazer Fun House!

The Tea Cup Biscuits are always a Hit! (Thanks Darl!)

They were gone in a flash!

Lara's Shining Star

Doesn't this look like a stained glass window? I love the light shining through - idea (stolen) from Cathy's header!!

This is Lara of Thornberry's AroundTheBlock Block: whirling things and pointy thingswere asked for; made with some of the wonderful fabrics in the Katie Jump Rope line (I think) - my ultimate fave is the orange floral! So darn soft and pretty to boot!

Scouring through my pile of (getting out-of-date) craft mags for some inspiration for this block - I needed stars or windmills - struggled a bit to find anything I liked or could do!! You know how it is - when you are making something for someone, it just can't be 'ordinary'. But then, it

can't be so hard that I go cross-eyed and finger sore chewing my nails off to work out how to sew it!!

Until I came across this one in Quilter's Companion - a bit of head spinning with replacing which fabric in pattern to which fabric on table later and voila! I just had to put my favourite 'centre stage'.

I am super happy with it! I hope you are too Lara!

oops - just read the instructions again - and two are asked for - eek - back to drawing board - I think some pinwheels are next!

Red & Aqua

I have joined up yet another quilt-along!! EEk! But I just can't stop myself!!

Wendy from Hartylittlepeaces - a Melbourne girl (just keep finding more crafty Melbournians!) is just finishing a quilt-along with some fellow quilt-a-holics and was talking about starting a Red & Aqua quilt in Feb 2010 - well, I said to myself, that is just what I want to do too!!

A quick email & I am signed up!!

Here is the start of my necessary stash buildup preparation - aqua I do have a bit of - love that colour; red, no so much!! Paula Prass Flights of Fancy.

A beautiful box/block

This is a simply delightful handmade box from Finki

I love and adore this style of very oldfashioned trade - usually found in the bottom of op-shop shelves, crushed and defeated, often made with Christmas cards and the like.

Jay from Finki has taken wonderful images from old children's books, laminated, holepunched and handsewn them together.

This is for my D2's birthday - she would dearly love to fly and I just had to get it for her.

Also had to get it for her to help store her multitude of collections!

While I was there, I had to get this as well - love love it too!

Another ATB block finished! I am liking these short and sweet projects! These two are for Louise - Loulou on Flickr - come on Louise - start up a blog so we see more of your lovely fabric and sewing!!

Aren't the fabrics pretty and delightful!! It is going to be an extremely lovely quilt!

My school recently had a Community Artists Morning - where family and friends of the school are encouraged to show their art, be it sculpture, music, paper, fabric, flower arranging and many more!! I forgot my camera - drats! - but I had a lovely morning with all the kids coming around to see my little 'stall'. Louise's block was very popular! The kids asked lots of questions about how it was sewn and was fascinated in the sewing machine and how just using rectangles, an interesting pattern can emerge!

I made lots and lots of half square triangles and they kept asking for more - "Do it again, do it again!!" Makes me laugh!!

I'm doing a little 'Summer Dance'..

Well, I have jumped on the bandwagon again, and got myself caught up in the Munki Munki swirl of fabric collection and obsession (though I think it is obsession, fuelled by collection)

I am finding lots of lovely pieces from etsy and from swapping on Flickr - this swapping caper is a wonderful way of doing business with someone - you have too much of a thing, and you want another thing, so you say Hi, will ya swap?, they say Sure, and you swap, and you get the thing you want!!!

I also NEEDED a particular pattern of HRH HR (ie Her Royal Highness Heather Ross - cos she really is royalty in the fabric world!!!) which I did not have and COULD NOT FIND anywhere - so I placed a callout on Flickr's Buggy for Heather Ross group (cos we are) - and Sheridan came to the party and just gave me some of hers -

now that's what I call sharing -

"when you give away what your heart desires most (ie her beloved HR collection) only good things will your heart receive in return" (ie. I owe her big time!)

That's my Sunday sermon for today.

Sheridan's generous Summer Dance

Lots of yummy pink - I could stare at the watermelon colour for ever!

Love me some skinny dogs!

Love me some doggy jackets!

Ahhhhh....weddings!

Ahhhhh......1/2 strength flat white, 1 sug, thanks

That reminds me; gotta get some more fruit!

Do you.....

'It only takes a minute to check for a bad seed'

What a brilliant idea by WorldwideBreastCancer.com

- great graphics, great info, terrible problem,

an essential part of life, ladies!!!

Darwin - everyone should visit!

We had such a wonderful family holiday to Darwin, NT:

stayed with my brother

swam all day

ate ice-cream and Barramundi

drank beer watching sunset

smelt frangipani

swam some more

ate jack fruit (tasted like a bubblegum lolly!) and many many mangoes and limes!

listened to rock digeridoos

held a python

swam in waterfalls and rockpools

ate some more ice-cream

swam just a bit more!

Be Warned - this time of the year IT IS HOT! Sometimes the heat was deliciously enveloping, sometimes the heat was irritating and exhausting

Here are only a few photos - I had to hold myself back from loading more!

First up - gratuitous family shots

Leanyer Recreation Park - totally free - pool, waterslides, water playground, BBQ's, fully life-guarded - best kids place in Darwin!!

Florence Falls, Litchfield National Park

Buley's Rockhole

Darwin's new Convention Centre and Wavepool!

The Lagoon Pool! We must have spent 6 hours in the water here!

A child needing an ice-filled water bottle on her tummy, on a very very hot day at Territory Wildlife Park

Some photos of the Botanic Gardens beauties:

We are Melbournians, so we had to take a photo of the wonderful display of SPRINKLERS!!

(we have water restrictions)

The Wave Pool! Lots of tubes and boogie boards to use.

This is the BEST!