Sunday 24 January 2010

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2009 was a family Christmas, and here are some photos I would like to share that were taken by my father and myself.


We rented a house at the coast for the week before Christmas. This was at a place called, Smiths Lake, which is south of Forster in NSW. You can visit our holiday house online at www.stayz.com.au/10





We had a very laid back and relaxed time. It was also the best stress free Christmas lunch that I've ever had--all seafood and salads.











This is Sean and Dad cooking breakfast










and here are Louise and Andrew,




Serious eating!

These are before and after dinner photos!!



























This is Sean and Emmy .................................................and its all too much for poor Georgie!!




Until next time......Kim












snoozzze........


My Quilt World - "Our House" - Progress Report


This is my other current project and I have named it after another song!


When I first designed it I thought it looked like terrace houses in London,,, Row upon row of houses all the same.


I think that this song suits it perfectly. Its by the 80's English band - Madness.

Our House, in the middle of our street,
Our House, is our castle and our keep.
Madness 1983


This is the first quilt I have totally designed and made from EQ6. I haven't got the borders on yet, but if they fit like a glove I will be very excited (and singing the praises of my expensive computer program). Below is my design for "Our House".


The quilt will be 85 x 85 inches when complete. It has 81 house blocks in various shades of red and there are soooo many shades of red! (orange red, burgundy red, dark red, bright red, ect ect!)






I designed the block myself. Its a simpler version of the traditional school house block.


Currently I'm working on the borders and as you can see by the photos I have nearly completed the top and am thinking about what to use as a backing fabric (red I think, ha, ha.)

I will post updates as the quilt progresses.

Until next time..... Kim

Wednesday 20 January 2010

My Quilt World - Pinwheels - Progress Report

I Have named this quilt "A Kiss to Build a Dream On ".

I name lots of quilts after songs (and nursery rhymes and poems)

On this occasion I was looking for an old fashion, but jazzy name. I liked "As Time Goes By" but I've seen a few quilts called that....... and I do like to be original .... ha ha..

"A kiss to build a dream on" is another tune by Louis Armstrong and it featured in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle".

I also thought the pinwheels looked like little kisses!! xxxxxx ...........





The above picture is what I am planning. I designed this on my EQ6 programme. The basket in the above picture is different from the one that will appear in the finished item.

Give me a kiss to build a dream on,
and my imagination will thrive upon that kiss,
Sweetheart I ask no more than this:
A kiss to build a dream on.

Give me a kiss before you leave me,
and my imagination will feed my hungry heart.
Leave me one thing before we part,
A kiss to build a dream on.


This quilt is planned for the bed in my guest room. I have chosen periwinkle blue as the hero colour to match the painting above the bed in that room. I wanted it to be lots of blue, yellow, pearly, shimmery and sparkly fabrics. Overall I am hoping for an traditional but elegant look.

This is a between projects quilt, one that I can pick up when I'm at a loose end or bored with other things. The pinwheels are also transportable so it has been the perfect project to take to work or on holidays.

I have been working on it for over a year. Some pinwheels are pieced by hand, but most are chain pieced on the machine..

It will have 580 pinwheel blocks when completed. I have so far completed 520 of these! ( 60 to go... wHOo HoO!).

Before I give it my full attention I want to finish the top of my OTHER current project - "Our House"- , which I'll tell the story of in a future post.

This quilt is also my first major applique project, and I've had to learn how to do it as I go along (ahhh, but isn't all life like that!).......... I can really notice the improvement in my stitching as the middle panel progresses.

The applique pattern featured in Australian Patchwork & Quilting - 1999 Yearbook and is a design by Susan Matthews. I have slightly changed some of the flowers.

As its summer, it's been too hot to work on the intricate applique panel as my hands get too sweaty. I hope to return to it with gusto when the weather cools down.

Below is the pinwheels coming together---- looking good!


I hope to have the whole thing completed within the next six months.

Until next time............Kim

Sunday 17 January 2010

My new blog - In my life



Well, here I am....

I've been looking for the right outlet for a while now. I've wanted somewhere to display my photos and journal my thoughts about life...... I tried facebook, but couldn't come to terms with it!

I'm only learning this and have put this lovey photo of Georgie Girl and her cousin Millie in the wrong spot! I will tell the story of this picture at the end of this post.

Firstly, I will set out my personal rules for my new blog....

  1. It must be entertaining, sometimes funny and never boring.
  2. I will post at least twice a month.
  3. All negativity and cynical comments will be kept to a minimum. This will be difficult as I'm a natural cynic!
  4. It must not be like one of those family event letters that some choose to include in Christmas cards. I find it boring when people write 2 pages about how wonderful their kids are. I know some people like keep others updated on how wonderful their lives are and that is their choice as we are all different. So.. I wish to keep this blog honest and "warts and all".
  5. I will not feel self conscious about others reading my blog or cringe when I re read old posts.
  6. I will not be discussing my sex life! Ha ha.
  7. Its my blog, so I can change the rules if I want!!!


The photo at the top of this post is my dog Georgie Girl Earl with Sean and Emmy's dog Millie. They are both Maltaliers. ( Cavalier King Charles Spaniels X Maltese terriers)

Once upon a time, when Millie was only a puppy,
she had never seen stairs.
One day she came to visit her older cousin Georgie.
Georgie was very fast and could bound up and down the staircase.
Millie thought this was great fun and it wasn't long before she too
could climb up the stairs.
However, it was very scary going down again.
Millie got to the landing and was too frightened to go any further.
Georgie ran up and down the stairs, urging Millie to came and play.
Finally Georgie understood that Millie was frightened
and with a big sigh sat down next to her so they could be sad together.
THE END
Millie is now older and can do the stair dash as fast as Georgie!!

Until next time... Kim