What we have been waiting for - the arrival of my first grandson - Jackson Tate.

In the words of his mother, Lisa:-

Our son, Jackson Tate White has been born, on Thursday April 27, at 3:15pm.

Jackson weighs seven pounds, six ounces, and is nineteen inches long.

Jackson was delivered by Caesarian Section; his umbilical cord was wrapped around his head, impeding a natural birth. And we thought he was just stubborn when he wouldn't come out. :)

Crazy quilters (and other sundry crafters) seem to love using the fabric from men's ties.

Often they can be found in op shops searching out these treasures and if they are lucky they might even find some beautiful silk ones along the way.

My friend, Julie, approached some tie manufacturers and scored a whole box of tie off cuts in an array of beautiful colours.

Knowing my love of all things autumn she shared some of her wonderful stash with me.

I made the block in the image with intention of embellishing the seams with my stash of rayon threads while on holiday with my sons in Sydney - so far the block remains naked - oh dear. Still I have a few days left, so you just never know.

Last night I actually got it out but ended up stitching on another block instead. Maybe tonight...............

A short walk up the road from Liberty Grove is a shopping mall.

Looking out from the front of the mall you can see the entrance to Bi-Centennial Park and beyond to the stadium and other facilities used for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Apartments across from where Rick and James live at Liberty Grove.

Rick, standing in front of the apartment where he and James live at Liberty Grove.

James' bedroom with double bed and dressing table from Jannali Avenue.

The mirrors conceal floor to ceiling wardrobe along the whole wall.

Looking towards the kitchen area from the living area at James and Rick's apartment.

The morning after the night before.

I arrived at James and Rick's flat on the Saturday night but they had prior commitments to go out to dinner to celebrate James' birthday so Aaron and I stayed at their place for the evening and I got to see more of James and Rick on the Sunday.

James was at the computer, of course, when I got up in the morning. And he has the cheek to tell me :-} that I spend more time on the computer than he does!

Rick emerged a bit later and I cooked scrambled eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes and pide bread toasted for breakfast. He was so overcome he had to go back to bed to sleep it off! Not sure if that was a compliment or not!

Garage sales can be a lot of fun and I was very much looking forward to going to a selection of them in inner Sydney during my few days stay there.

I was being very conservative about my purchases until I saw this whole cloth quilt, hand stitched and appliqued in a maple leaf style pattern. The maple leaves have additional embroidery on them to add highlighted relief.

Pre loved and aged, this quilt is made of lovely soft white cotton. It has no binding and has been overlocked around the edges. There's few marks that need attention and a couple of places in need of fabric repair. The batting is thin and almost non existent in some places. In spite of these drawbacks, I felt it was something worth having and certainly worth finding a spot in my suitcase for to take back home wtih me for my sister, Linda, to have and to hold.

My thanks to my friends for taking me on this adventure. Without their kindness and efforts, I would never have found this lovely treasure.

I recently stayed for a few days with my niece, Jenny.

She has just moved into a new home and it was lovely for me to able to be there as she settles in and gets herself established.

The dwelling is well elevated and looks over the rooftops of surrounding properties.

In the kitchen there is a feature window and Jenny has strategically placed there a number of cat ornaments to keep watch for her.

Last year (2005) my sister Linda made a wall hanging for brother Alan's 60th birthday.

It was made up from remnants of another quilt made with the same theme.

Being a cat lover, as we are, the quilt looks very appropriate in his home hanging above the staircase.

One of my recent favourite crazy quilt projects.