Progress Report

Well I have been like a busy bee working on my retreat swap squares. WooHoo!

50 down, only another 82 to go! I dont think I'll make my self imposed deadline of THIS weekend, but I am going to keep on it! I have enough UFO's already, perhaps this quilt will be finished by the end of August!

I called into the quilt shop today, my "Lasagne Quilt" will be quilted by Friday, so I might get the binding on it this weekend. Of course while I was at the quilt store, I found some fabric I had been looking for and of course I had to bring it home with me. A friend has thrown out a challenge to make a vibrator quilt. Now, when I read that message I nearly had a coronary.... but please read on.. its a quilt for the vibrating pagers at the pub we go to once a month to have our stitch 'n' bitch.. not sure if I'll get it done or not, but I am always up for a challenge!

I had to do the EOM at work for the first time today, I was supervised doing this.. I have to learn how to do this cause the girlie at work is going on holidays and managed to go when the EOM is happening, so I get to do the next few supervised then I'll be on my own! ARGH!!!!! Hope FUF (F*&^ Up Fairy) doesn't visit when I am in the driving seat! My boss is pretty cool, he knows I'll ask a billion questions between now and then so I ensure I dont stuff up! I HATE STUFFING UP.. I mean, its only rolling the month over for our regions largest retail supplier of timber? no biggie eh??? LOL

I have been flat out getting ready to go out 'west'.. I have never been further than about 60kms inland from the coast here in Newcastle, I know, its disgraceful.. I'll actually be going about 400kms inland.. so it will be a bit of an adventure, Missy Moo is doing a dance competition, so wish me luck! Now dont to thinking I have never left the hamlet of Newcastle, I have travelled overseas, just never thought about going inland.. lazy??? Perhaps!! Downside of the adventure is that the temps out there have been 1C... with a top temperature of 12C.. hmm 1C??? I dont think my fridge gets that cold???? I dont own any warm clothes, so wish me luck!!!! I am just lucky I have my winter 'padding' to keep me warm!

catch you all next time!

Lissa

Wacha doin'?

Well I dragged out the Charm Squares from Bendigo retreat earlier this year.. What to do?? What to do?? I had a few ideas, then seen what others had done with theirs and thought my idea was a tad naff.. so thinking cap on, and I have done a nine patch variation. The theme was 'oriental' and the charms were 6.5" unfinished. I cut them into a 3.5" square, a 6.5x1.5" strip and an extra 1.5" square for the cobble stone block that I am alternating them with.. the block is 5" finished. They are all cut out and stacked VERY carefully and put somewhere safe from the pussy cat... I have put together about 31 pairs now so only another 100+ to go.. LOL I want to get the front of the quilt together by next weekend. Then there is a matter of the actual signatures for the back, that shouldn't pose too much of a problem! I wasn't sure about the background colour, but it is an unbleached/unseeded muslin.. perfect colour for hiding cat fur! LOL originally I wanted to use an idigo blue but thought although the cat isn't invited onto a quilts his fur seems to get EVERYWHERE! I dont have a design wall, so I had to improvise and use the carpet so the dark lines around the blocks are the mat on the carpet and the carpet! LOL

This week I was in a Christmas in July Secret Sister/Santa swap. My secret sender was Sarah from QLD and she picked out some lovely items for me... Thought I'd share a pic of what she sent me... I loved everything! I sent to Suzy in SA, I forgot to take a pic of the bag I sent her and the goodies but she did love what was sent! The chocolates disappeared within seconds.. I love lindt chocolates! The bag had a teeny weeny pair of scissors inside.. CUTE!

I am trying to get a few things done for August, I wont have much time at the sewing machine but a lot of time for hand piecing / embroidering so I am getting a few things together so there will be no excuss for not doing any sewing! I should get my quilt back from the quilters next week, so another hand sewing project there with the binding..

Missy Moo is starting a new dance for tap, a waltz, and of course... new dance = new costume and 1000+++ sequins.. so I gotta get organised, this costume is going to be mint gree ballroom dance style thing, so I am sure I'll be sewing on sequins until Christmas..

Lucky I dont mind sewing on sequins, except I haven't had a marathon session yet since we have had the cat! wish me luck, cause I am sure I am going to need it!

'til next time....

Lissa

A LITTLE RETAIL THERAPY

Well I have to admit, I didn't find A tape measure.. no problem says me! The best way to find the tape measures or anything else you have 'put somewhere safe' is to go out and buy a new one.. so that was the plan.. I went to a local store (Hi Alison) and they had a 25% off sale.. now I did restrain myself, and managed to get some fabrics to finish off a quilt top or two, the chenile top is now done and the backing is soaking as we speak.. left the store with my purchases and had a "DOH" moment.. forgot to buy a new tape measure... so no problemo..

I'll go the LONG way home and there is another quilt shop on the way (fancy that?? not as good as the first one, and staff not as friendly!!) found some crochet lace I needed and a few other things and made my way home.. and guess what? forgot to buy a new tape measure at that store! LOL.. I have been measuring using my cutting board, which is fine if its under 22".. but the top I dropped off at the quilters well I thought it was 76-80" well its not, alas, I cannot make a single quilt to save my life.. its 88" long by 67" wide.. This is for my friends birthday, I hope he likes it, as I am probably going to have to mortgage a kid or sell a kidney to get it quilted! Its a very simple quilt, made it in a day.. it will be commercially washed and dried as he is in hospital for a little while, so I didn't want to make an epic quilt.. had some drama's with the fabric I used for the backing, not bloomin' long enough.. it was EXACTLY the same size as the top, so I have had to add a few strips to the top and bottom of the backing, but hey, its a SCRAP quilt! :O) I seen this idea on another website awhile ago, and it was called a "Lasagne Quilt".. you use layers of fabric, I cut 2.5" strips width of fabric (some were FQ's) and off I went.. I used all stash fabrics, civil war repro's, except for the purple border, which I got from the first shop I went to today.. it was the first one I picked up and it looks great.. it has a teeny black pattern on it, so I am going to use black binding on it.. It should come home in about two weeks time, plenty of time for my friends birthday!

The other top I finished was the chenille quilt... I also managed to get some more from the first shopI went to today (Rags to Riches btw @ Cessnock, its a great shop, about 30mins from here).. How lucky was I?? Alison let me raid the secret stash for some more blue, it was a bit too girly pink for my liking.. but I am super happy with it.. chenille does have a little bit of stretch in it so a couple of blocks are a bit puffy.. This will be the first quilt I will bag, and then I'll tie it down with some of the 1000's of vintage buttons I have stashed around this house.. that is, if they are hiding out with my tape measures!

I just dragged out my Bendigo Retreat Signatures this morning, and I am not 100% sure on how to put them together, have seen a couple of WIP quilts from the same swap and my idea seems dumb.. the oriental fabrics are too cute too cut up too small (IMHO) and thought about using the tumbler template I bought awhile ago.. not tumbling block, but tumbler, looks like a thimble.. just had a go using a scrap, and I can get 1 1/2 tumblers out of each block, so this idea could be a go-er.. anyways, I better go and start my day.. its 11am and I am still in my flannelette lingirie..

Happy weekends to you :O)

Gotta Fess Up!

OK, last night, I was fiddling with my quilt after my post... and I realised.... the two new tape measure I bought not 3 week ago, well they have disappeared into the black hole of my house.. I swear, I must own a dozen tape measures.. mum bought me a cute cow one (I used to collect cows in a former life) and I thought I'll grab that.. of course it was in metric and I needed imperial.. so when I get time tonight, I am going to search out every blasted one of them and put them TOGETHER! Like in my SEWING DRAWERS.. argh @ me!!!

I actually managed to fit 6 hours of sewing in last night.. not too shabby when you consider I had put 6 hours of paid work in, some mother time and then the 6 hours sewing.. sometimes its pays to be an insomniac!

Well I am off to do something constructive... like my paid work!


Take care and I'll let you know how the expedition to find tape measures go.... I wont cheat either and go and buy a new one!



Lissa

HRH Cosmo Pussy Cat

Just thought I'd stick a new pic of the B@$tard cat. Now he has been behaving himself, but he has learnt to that if you cry, everyone pays you attention. He cries if I leave the room to cook tea/shower/work! He has also learnt if you cry real loud people come running, so you cry in front of the cupboard where the TREATS are kept and you might just get one! Maybe I should try that myself! although, I am not particularly fond of fish flavoured treats! :O)





Now he can't be comfortable in this pic, he often sleeps on the Taj Mahal of cat scratching posts like this and often has his tongue out.. very cute!












I have dragged the flower garden quilt I have been working on for more years than I care to mention (OK its more than 3 but I am sure its less than four!) thought I'd stick a pic of it on my blog so I can look back and see how much I have progressed. I have used 1930's fabrics (what a surprise eh?) and its slowly getting there! I am working on the border of it at the moment, have added some half hexagons and just deciding whether to add a float or not. the papers are getting a tad mangled so I thought it might be nice to start adding a border! I can seriously recommend anyone who is making or planning on making a hexagon quilt to buy a mercury template, they are the bestest thing since sliced bread. I cut out over 240 hexagons last night with it in less than 10mins.. neat eh?

I have also been busy working on a chenille quilt I started MONTHS ago.. I have most of it together, but realised it wasn't square (I have a thing about square quilts) so I found some chenille on ebay and a friend has some, so I should be able to finish it once the ebayer posts my parcel! The sun room looks like a snow storm hit it, chenille is horribly messy.. its EVERYWHERE.. cat keeps coming in with bits stuck to him!

Well thats enough from me.. hope you like the pics and until next time....
Lissa

I did behave myself!

g'day possums

I went to the Darling Harbour Quilt show last Friday.. I had a great time checking out the quilts (the winning one, MIND blowing 17000+ hours work in it).. but I came home with a lot of $$$'s. Dags (DH) gave me $$'s for my birthday and mothers day this year and I had that cash, and I ended up not buying a lot. Why? well I just didn't find anything that grabbed my attention! And, I have realised lately, there is only so much fabric you can fit into a house, and I have exceeded that amount about 3 years ago! LOL.. I put myself on a fabric diet earlier this year, only buying stuff I need to finish UFO's and I have been 'loosely' sticking to it. I did buy some Fat 10ths and Fat 1/4s at Darling Harbour, its very hard to get 30's fabrics here in Newcastle... I think I have some of every fabric that is available up here! LOL.. I must have over 500 different 30's fabrics now.. enough to make a quilt for the WHOLE town!




I did also buy a gorgeous book from Hatched & Patched. Now, I am not a christmas-a-holic, I do have two tree's (Dags had a cow when he seen the second one up last year, but he got over it pretty fast) but I dont go mental at christmas. But I just had to have this book, its got some cute projects inside and I might, just MIGHT make something out of it! Had a fun trip on the train on the way down to Sydney, the lady next to me was elderly and kept falling asleep and was snoring REALLY loud.. and she kept falling asleep on my SHOULDER! I bought TWO new tape measures cause I lose them constantly and I have managed to cut some with my rotary cutter, dont you hate that??? I would think there is about ten tape measures in this house! And I grabbed myself my favourite hand cream, I wanted a tube to leave at work.. and that was about it!

I have also been working on a Miniature RR this week, I put it in the post yesterday its on its way to America. I decided that my loathing of triangles was very apt after spending 4hours redoing 1" triangles.. thats one inch on the bottom.. and the quilt was just that widdle bit out, so I did the best I could (recipe said triangles for this round).. but all in all it looked good......from afar!!! I added the red triangles and red float..


Well thats it from me, have a great weekend, and I'll be sure to put some ramblings up real soon :O)


Lissa

Long Time No See!!

Well I have had a June and a half!

I have spent most of June sick with the dreaded flu, but I am on the way to recovery. How do I know this? Cause I finished some sewing! I got my quilt back from the quilters and to say I am happy with the results is an understatement! Wendy from Honey Pot Quilting did a fantastic job, here is a pic of a closeup of some of the work she did. Fab eh?


I have also started a new BOM called "Girls Day Out".. I have nearly finished block one. Here's a pic of the semi finished product...


I was planning on adding the fabric bolts out of the scraps I use for each of the upcoming blocks. There is a quilt on the hanger you can see I have embroidered.. I plan on using a cheater quilt panel, but I have to find one the right size!

Its been awful weather here in Newcastle, we have had over 490mm's of rain this month and the month isn't over yet, might crack the 500mm! Lots of flooding, power cuts and wind.. perfect quilting weather if you haven't been sick.

In my next life, I am dreaming of a sewing room... flat screen TV, Air conditioning, a mini bar, loads of shelving, natural light, no kids, no cat, no DH! *sigh*.. Oh and a sewing machine or two of course *W*

Well I am off to Darling Harbour Quilt show on Friday, and hopefully I wont go too mad with the Credit Cards, but hey I am not promising anything! :O)

till next time... Lissa

some more pics

Thought I'd better add some more pics.. this is a class I did a the quilty retreat I went to in April, not an OLD UFO by any stretch of the imagination, but I had put it aside for a whole month, all I had to do was add a button AND do some top stitching.. Lazy eh? turned out pretty good.. Very happy with kumihimo braid that I had made. Shame I haven't seen the kumihimo disc since I got home, as Missymoo has decided she likes making kumihimo too!



As promised, I have also put up some pics of the QAYG redwork I am doing. No instructions yet on how to do the QAYG bit, but I have completed 7 out of 78 hexagon embroideries so far! I plan on adding 30's fabrics with the white on white fabrics I am using. Pretty happy with the results so far!

Anyways two posts in two days?? a miracle if you ask me!

byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

yep, Tuesday again

What have I been up to this past week? well I decided to treat myself to a POM (pattern of the month). I am doing 'Tree of Life'.. its a QAYG hexagon quilt. the pattern suggested country sort of colours, now I love 'country' look, but thought hmmm hexagons (my favourite thing), embroidery?? ok, do that in redwork cause I hate changing colours 4000times for each stitchery and I have a massive stash of 30's, I'll use those.. so its a QAYG hexagon 30's redwork thingy! I have four embroideries done already, up to no.5.. the plan is to finish one a day this week.. wish me luck!
Thought I'd post a pic (now that I can) of the gifts I made my angel and mortal for the retreat I went to in Bendigo. The bag is the easiest bag pattern in the world, the needlebook is a Mums Moment design I bought at a quilt show maybe 5 years ago now? and a teeny weeny pincushion I made, its about 2" finished. I did also make a mug bag and a address book cover for my mortal, but forgot to take pics of those.. DOH!




Hubby got smart this past mothers day, and gave me $100 to spend at Darling Harbour Quilt show next month. I got some usual treasures from the mothers day stall, and wonder every year if my kids really KNOW me.. or they just get a glazed look on their faces when they see everything they can buy me??? LOL I know the gifts are bought with love. Although Morgan gave me my $5 back and said Happy Mothers Day! LOL Lara spent every last cent.. but then again, what do you expect for $5?? apparently a frog fridge magnet, a dream catcher keyring, a miniature hair brush (shame I have a huge head of hair) and a talc!

I am having a birthday this week, so DH said you want cash again? I said OK! LOL.. so I'll be having me some fun at Darling Harbour this year!

Will put a pic up this week of the redwork stitcheries I been doing. And also the miniature block I have made for a RR I am in (a miniature one)... centre is to be no bigger than 4" and no smaller than 2".. mine worked out to be 4 1/4" finished, so I am ever hopeful that I can use that! otherwise I'll be thinking of a new plan. I made the block three times (twice on machine, last hand pieced) and it still come out 1/4" to big, so I am blaming the pattern!

till next time....
Lissa

Tuesdayitis

Also thought I'd add this pic of the b@$tard cat and bailey the wonder dog. Now we know they are pretending to hate one another, the cat was actually snuggling Bailey but when we took a pic he woke up. He is still pretty evil. They are sleeping on the remnants of the cubby house Miss Lara had built for herself a week ago. Is it just me, or does everyone own messy kids? I have threatened the kids if they dont 'do' their rooms soon, I am going to post a picture on the internet for the world to see! Might be a good idea for a competition???



I dont know what it is about Tuesdays, but I just dont like them. I have been flat out at work today (its a change I know) but thought I'd better add something to my blog. What have I been up to? well I did finish a raggy flannel quilt for my friend Scotty. Heres the pic, I hope it keeps his knees warm. He is in a wheelchair at the moment having rehab done, so hopefully he wont need it for too long. I finished it maybe last weekend of april? dont know awhile ago anyways.
Well thats it for me, might actually get back to work! :O)
take care possums!!!

I've been BAD

This quilt is the Signature squares from the Scquilters retreat in Canberra 2006. I have called it 'Not flying but Galloping Geese'. I discovered I suck big time and making points match up on triangles, but thankfully, it will probably only be seen here on the net! LOL so I think I am safe.


Oh dear.. I just worked out what I spent on Fabric this month AND quilting (I send my tops off for a quilty holiday)... boy, was that a scary number! I wont publish the amount here as I like living! but might have to pull the reins in this month. I have been flat out getting hexagons togethre for my granny's flower garden quilt. To say this is an epic is an understatement! I am about half way, but I have been working on it for um 3 years, so I am thinking this is along the lines of anothers scquilters quilt, the 2010 quilt! LOL I am ever hopeful that I'll have the top together by christmas, of course I dont know which Christmas, but it will get done!

Went to Sydney yesterday to visit a quilt shop that was having a sale.. shame the sale started May 1st and not April 29th! I am known for being punctual, but that was ridiculous! Found some 30's fabrics I didn't have so I was pretty happy with that. Speaking of 30's quilts. This is a quilt I made form swap blocks with scquilters (fancy that??) It is a block called 'cobblestones'.. when the blocks come home (they are all 30's fabrics) I thought I'll add another round around each block. My maths sucks, cause I forgot that you add 2" to BOTH sides, so my lap quilt is suddenly a queen size topper! oh well, you can't have too many large quilts can you??? I just 1930's fabrics, I know a lot of people hate them, but I just like the fact that they all seem to go together and therefore its a no brainer putting them together.

This little quilt was a kit I purchased at my first retreat ever, 2003 Melbourne Retreat. I made the top and then it was left in the UFO box (which really now I need a shipping container for the UFO's) for all these years. I bit the bullet and just stippled in micro stippling the black bits.. it looks great.. I also discovered that black fabric and white cats are not a great combination. The cat thinks any quilt is for him to sleep on, he slept on this and it looks like it was the lint thing out of the dryer, so will have to give it a clean up and HANG it before the cat finds it again. I liked this miniature so much, I have made another one for a gift and I have enough buttons to make a couple more for friends. Well thats it from me. 'Til next time.. ciao bella!

Boy am I stuffed!

g'day possums

to say I am pooped is an understatement! I have been flat out like a centipede skipping, going off like a frog in a sock, well you get the drift.

April seems to of been the month of finishing things. I finished three large quilts (bigger than 70" square) two lap quilts, a miniature, two bags, and I think that is it! Guess what? I finished the BOM that I had been working on since the dawn of time.

It is off to be quilted. I'll post it to the quilter this afternoon after work. I changed it a little as Ididn't like a few bits of it, but that gives it the 'lissa touch'.. which sometimes is more like the kiss of death! I am so glad I finished it. I did add a further float to it after I took this pic (please ignore the child in her glamour flannelette PJ's) just a little more of the cream that you can just see before the scrappy floral border. This quilt pattern didn't really have a name, it was by "Leanne's House" pattern, but I have called it "Lissa's Lodgings as viewed from afar" :O) I look at it now, and think yep, you can tell I pieced it in an afternoon.. now I would unpick a lot of it and redo it as a few seams dont match up, but hey.. its ALMOST DONE! Can't wait to see what it looks like after my friend WOO does her magic wand thing with it!

I am almost recovered from my trip away to Bendigo Victoria. there were 209 quilters this year, and I made a few new friends and renewed friendships with a few old and not so old friends. I am still recovering from the late nights, the drinking and the lack of sleep! Was it worth it? YES!!! there is no retreat planned for next year, but that wont stop me, I might just surprise a few people and turn up at a quilt show in some faraway land *W* so consider yourself warned!

I started a new quilt last night, it is in the latest homespun magazine, on the cover. I love blackbird designs patterns and this one is great, has enough applique to tip me over the edge, but I'll only get better with practice. I also have a few other things to finish. I am in a Queen of the UFO challenge. The point of the challenge is to NOT be crowned queen. It's amazing, the thread of a 'cyber coronation' has spurned me on to finish lots of things.. things that I wouldn't normally finish but I do NOT want to get to the top of that list! :O)

Well thats enough from me, will post some more pics when I find them on the camera! and I'll try and not leave it so long between posts on this blog, I keep forgetting I have it!

What I've Been Up To

I thought I'd better post a pic of Bailey the WonderDog. I am the mother of two furry critters; Bailey the WonderDog and the bastard Cat Cosmo.. We bought this cat house for the cat, but the cat hates it. I am unsure if it is because 1. Cats dont like cat houses, OR 2. the dog sleeps inside??? I wonder! LOL

I think every pet should have its own quilt. My theory backfired cause now my pets think EVERY quilt in the house is their's! Bailey has an 'accidental purchase' from ebay to sleep on... When it arrived I thought 'oh my lordy what was I thinking???' the kids have trashed it to death it has a few holes but Bailey loves it and to be honest, when it 'dies' I wont be sad to see it go. Cosmo prefers chenille or flannel quilts, and can be often found snoozing on a raggy quilt I made some time ago. This quilt has been washed to death and it still looks great...

This pic is of a quilt I have been working on what seems 'forever'. It is a Leanne's House BOM that I started in 2005? I dunno. Seems longer than that to be honest! LOL I do love it, but the embroidery is a bit daunting and me, being me, cannot stand BOM's, so I put the top together in a day and have been working on it and hiding it for the past two years! LOL I will finish it. It will look great when its done, I used the 'HOLY STASH' of my Robyn Pandolphs I have been using over the years. There are 9 x 16" blocks and they are all as busy as this one! It is booked into be custom quilted in April (yes april THIS year) and I am only about 60% done.. so that means, yikes 2 weeks to finish it! LOL not going to happen but lucky the quilter is running late herself! LOL

It's 32 sleeps till I get to catch up with my online friends! We meet up once a year and to say I can't wait is an understatement! I need a quilty kick up the bum and the retreat seems to do that for me each year (that and the quilt show at Darling Harbour!)

Mushrooms in the lawn?

I finished the bag in my UFO challenge. Our bastard cat went missing, and I walked past the bag, it was hanging on one of our french doors. The bag moved and hey presto! there's the cat! I think he likes it, how he got in it, I am unsure (maybe child intervention perhaps???) but anyways I had to wrestle to get him out, but had to take a pic first!



we have been so lucky in Newcastle that we have escaped the drought that the rest of the country is in. We laid a new lawn about hmmm 4 weeks ago and when I got up this morning to check out the rain we had had, there were mushrooms everywhere in the lawn! We have watered this lawn maybe twice since it was laid, so that shows you how much rain we have had. I am not skiting, but its a shame the rain doesn't go where its needed....





I have been busy working on some gifts for quilty friends, can't show you a pic at the moment as they are a 'surprise' but I'll post a pic after they have been received!





It is now 35 sleeps till our annual quilting retreat. I have done the signature squares, and will drag out the suitcase over the weekend, so I'll start putting bits in as I remember them! This year we are off to Bendigo, I have never been to Bendigo, so it should be fun!

Well I am off to start my day! wish me luck, as today is HOUSEWORK DAY! EWWWW!!!!

Busy Busy Busy

One of the internet groups I am in (Quilting Down Under) has had a Queen of the UFO challenge. The idea of the challenge is to finish and keep finishing UFO's so your name moves down the list. Problem is, everyone is trying hard to finish UFO's!

This miniature quilt I started when I first started quilting. I bought it as a kit in 2000 or 2001.. not sure, but it sat for that long without quilting cause I didn't know how to quilt it! I bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago and stippled the centre in small stipple and the outside in larger stipple. I cringe at it a little as my patchwork skills have improved in leaps and bounds since I started this, but I left the wonky bits as a reminder on how far I have come! The cat thinks its a mat for him to sleep on, so its safely tucked away from el pussy cat!




I have been so flat out lately, flat out like a centipede skipping... I am off to the scquilters (an online internet group for quilters) in a months time, and have a million things to do before I am allowed to skip town.

I have been busy making curtains and as I am halfway through I have decided I HATE MAKING curtains. Our darn cat thinks the curtains are a play centre for him, so I also spend a great deal of time removing him from them or squirting him with water! Darn CAT!
We have been busy getting work done around the yard, have had a few hiccups.... Like the stupid builder/pavers not laying them low enough so of course when it rains, our room gets flooded. Brand new carpet has stained from the water damage, NOT HAPPY JAN!

We (well its the royal we, more like my hubby) also laid 100m'2 of turf.. he did this the day he had a 40th birthday party.. so to say he was pooped at his party was an understatement. Why he organised this for the same day isn't making sense with me, sometimes I am sure he was sent here to test me! LOL And I do not think I am passing this test with flying colours let me tell you!

mumblings of a cranky possum

This is a picture of the 'new addition' to the family. Cosmopolitan the Birman cat. Now he is just too gorgeous for his own good, and never owning a cat before, I did not know what I was in for. Cosmopolitan is named after a vodka/cranberry cocktail. And Bailey the wonder dog is named after Baileys Irish Cream funnily enough. Cats sleep so much.. he doesn't eat enough to keep a sparrow, but I guess when you are only awake for 3hrs a day, well how much food do you need??

I had crap day at work today... so I decided to come home and FINISH something to cheer myself up.. now for all that know me, this is a MIRACLE! Not one piece of backing fabric was right, so I had to scrap piece a backing, it looks so-so. of course I pressed this and thought ah-ha, I need wadding.. of course there wasn't a bit of wadding big enough in the house either, after muttering away, and going thru more plastic tubs than I care to count (ok its 12) I found a bit.. woohoo!

of course its EXACTLY THE SAME SIZE AS THE TOP.. so its too small.. so I have dredged up all the scrappy bits you should throw away and found enough to add a piece to the other bit.. but now its too bloomin late to be crawling around on the floor trying to baste the sucker, so I am off to find another UFO in the pile that I can't jump over. Wish me luck, cause I know I am going to make a bigger mess.

We have a HUGE mess out in the yard, we have been waiting for so long to get our backyard landscaped. I had a nasty fall on Saturday, twisted my ankle and lucky for me, Lara was carrying the cat in his 'pet taxi' We had to take Cosmo the wonder cat for a needle.. Lara was very worried, as I couldn't get up and the cat was so lucky I'd just handed him to Lara. He would of been traumatised for life, MORE traumatised cause I am sure living here is enough to send you to the nut hut!

So tomorrow the excavator arrives, the builder will be here and my retaining walls will be built. We used to have a large yard, but with the renovations we have done (we have added a family room, bedroom and a large sunroom) as well as a double garage, the yard has downsized to 10ms between us and the shed. I am convinced my DH hates mowing so he keeps building on!

Well Finally Bit the Bullet

g'day my name is Lissa, and I am a reformed fabricologist! I am very passionate about patchwork and quilting, and of course, my long suffering husband (I dont need a sewing room, I have a sewing house), my three darlings DS Darcy, DS Morgan and DD Miss Lara, and my furry daughter Bailey the wonder dog (Beagle). I am a memeber of SCQuilters and QDU both Australian Online Quilt Groups, and I enjoy the get togethers SCQuilters has each year. I am looking foreward to next years retreat which is in Bendigo Vic.

I live in Sunny Australia in a small town about 1.5hrs north of Sydney... and I have a small confession to make, I LIKE BUYING FABRIC quicker than I can use it! But lately, I have been working too much (four part time jobs) so I have less time to shop! (my husband is very happy about this)..

My favourite fabrics are reproduction fabrics such as 1930's or civil war, but to be honest I am happy to adopt any orphan fabric (quilts, tops and blocks are also gratefully accepted!).

This quilt I started a few years ago now, it is now finished, I started it to use up some leftover scraps of 30's fabrics I had, and got a little carried away. I also learnt the hard way that seam allowance even on small quilts is important. I had to stab quilt this sucker and boy did I hate doing that!

This quilt is now finished as well. My daughter asked for a quilt for her birthday with 'dollies' on it (she was 4 at the time). So again came out the 30's fabrics and I put this together. It was my first attempt at applique when I first started patchwork and I look at it now and 'cringe' at my bumpy curves I hope I have improved over the years. It is 5 years since I have become addicted to this hobby.

This is a minature 30's log cabin block. Each block is 3" finished. I again used the scraps I had in my stash. It was the first attempt at paper piecing and didn't take long to make at all. It hangs in our bedroom. My husband said that wont keep you too warm when I was done! hmmm...

I like working with 30's fabrics as they are a no-brainer, cause they all tend to go together without too much thinking! I truly believe I must be one of australia's laziest patchworker!

My current project is a Grandmothers flower garden quilt (I bet you can guess what fabrics I am using), its my 'stolen' quilt.. well I call it that, cause I am making it in 'stolen time'. While I am waiting for Miss Lara at tap, jazz or ballet, or picking up my boys from their adventures I steal time to put the hexagons together. I am making it Queen Bed size and the hexagons are 1" on the sides, it isn't an overnight project thats for sure!