Hectic and fun times.

Hello everyone ,hope all is well with you.
School holidays is upon us here with one more week till back to school. It has been a full on first week for me with a household of 8 people to see to. It has been hectic and fun times with the grand children. They certainly keep you hopping with each day to the playground, beach, park picnics, fishing, meals,  bath and bed  times etc,etc. It has been lovely and memorable as they don't stay little for long. I have some photos to share at the end of this post. Needless to say no sewing or posting on here for the last 2 and half weeks.
I did sneak a morning to attend quilting class and have a finished quilt  to show.

It feels lovely and soft and I used all my last scraps of left over  flannel .I finished it on the last day of winter
and as it is heating up here into our  Spring I have stored it for next winter.

Here is a photo of our lovely sewing group ladies who meet one day a week sometimes two for the last nearly 11 years. We all have a great bond of mutual affection and close comradeship over those years and have been dear true friends . They always inspire me and we laugh and have fun together.

A couple of ladies are missing from this photo on this day as we enjoyed a lunch day together at the Heritage Garden Nursery. A section of the gardens.

Another quilt project by Val, last post it was all pinned and now the baby quilt is all quilted and finished. So pretty for a dear little baby.

I value my friends at home and my blogging friends as friendship is one of the greatest gifts ever.
These are my adorable grandchildren who are so precious to me.

 My big boys .

My big girl and little one.

My little boy and the girls. Cute faces.

Little human beings with their unique characters
.As a grandparent I look out for their happiness. A major source of fulfillment is to be blessed with grandchildren .
Hopeing it is not so long next time to post on here .I have been having a peek to see what is happening with you all but still have some catching up!!
Till next time.
Happy sewing week.
Jen x

Spring is in the air.

Hello dear friends and followers,
Finally Winter 2014 is over and it is Spring. Our winter was warmer than average although there is still snow on the ground in some places down south and some days still feels wintery with temperatures between 16C -26C and lots of rainy days.. Not quite beach weather as yet.
The first day of September is declared Wattle Day and the golden wattle is Australia's National flower.Straight across from our front door in the bush the wattle is flowering.

Our beautiful gum trees are looking lovely after the rain .

These birds are in the gum trees. Pretty and colourful   Rosellas .

The  Hunter Valley where I live has the Hunter Valley Gardens looking spectacular for Spring.they are beautiful only 1 hour drive from us.

At sewing class Glenda has finished her wall hanging of flowers and sunlight.

Val has her baby quilt pinned and ready for quilting. Cute!

I am working on getting my baby blankets finished for Cheryll  from Gone Stitchin'  blog who makes and collects for the Blankets of Love a project to offer quilts to parents of babies who have passed on around the time of birth as a lasting memento of their angel babies taken to heaven. The blankets get sent to the Hospitals. You can read more about this by going to Cheryll's blog who you can find down the side of my blog and click on her there.

Also I am working on getting my flannelette quilt on the quilting frame on Wednesday. I just press the button and the frame comes down from the ceiling where it is kept out of the way in the garage above the car.( The legs of the frame above the car) .There is no other place for it as our caravan and a work bench take up any spare space next to the car in the garage.

All ready and waiting to be sandwiched and quilted.
I still have 12 more blocks to finish for my big queen quilt then sash them and the borders. I should get a few more finished tomorrow at class and maybe the sashings on the weekend.

Ha ha
Happy sewing week everyone.
Jen x

Pleasantly Productive.

Hello everyone,
Hope this post finds you happy and well.
I'm happy as long as there is a new project on the horizon. Here are some blocks for my new project.
 Glad to be at the block building stage as the cutting and measuring are not my favorite stage. I love the floral design of this fabric and I am choosing a plain design as I want to showcase the beautiful selection of fabric. The first 6 x 12" inch blocks of 56 are up on the wall.

My Intertwined batik quilt top is finished and have only to sandwich backing and the wadding that I have ready  to start the quilting.

From sewing group Vicky who is dedicated to her quilting  has a near finish for her daughter and it is ready for  binding .It is fabulous and what I like about this quilt ,It is perfect for any teenager.

Glenda has made a special mat for her bird and I really think choosing this bird fabric  is cute for under the cage. Pretty birds.

My sewing machine has just had a service and is running smooth and quiet. It is my favorite machine . My  Janome.

I have been adding to my yarn stash and still knitting away. I love the knitting  rhythm while enjoying some moments of quiet time and sunshine through the day.

I am being strong and not tempting myself looking for and buying more wool as I can also look in my cupboard and there is more !!. I will be forever using what I have stashed there.
Thanks for calling in and leaving a comment ,you are awesome. I appreciate your comments and time.
Jen x