Sweet Peas, again

So good to be in the company of our Sweet Pea ladies once again.

We did a bit of homework today and made some decisions about what projects we might work on together this year so it will be fun to work towards making them happen.

It is always very stimulating when our group share their show and tell.

This hen block is Moira's own creation.  An excellent finish to an original idea.

Trish has been busy during the break creating cushion covers in her favourite colours.

Andreena loves all things Christmas and this block is a work in progress.

A McKenna Ryan creation, the many pieces of fabric that need to be cut out to complete the project will keep Andreena busy for some time.

The village looks really lovely.  We look forward to seeing the sled full of gifts, Santa and the reindeer up front.

Debbie has made this delightful quilt for her grandson.

She used a pre-loved blanket for the batting and so this should be warm and cosy for him.

What more could a young man want than a transport theme quilt to snuggle under.

Lovely to have Maxie with us today.

She was not able to attend many meetings last year so we hope this year will give her more opportunities to be with us.

Today she brought a soft doll that had been made for her by a friend.

No doubt there will be lots more show and tell to share as the year progresses.

Side tracked, just a little bit

 When I last wrote I said I was making another hexagon quilt top but in the mean time I allowed myself to be side tracked, just a little bit.

Last year, at Sweet Peas, we all made birthday blocks for each other.  We had a cluster of birthdays at the end of the year and with my birthday being last and me not having chosen a block it did not happen for me.

Over the summer break I finally decided on a block called The Road to Oklahoma.

Once again I have Deb to thank from A Simple Life Quilts for sharing from her design board.

I spotted her blue and yellow version of this quilt block and decided this was the one for me.

The block itself is one of the easiest you could make and who would guess that by joining four of them together you would come up with this lovely star design.

We have our first meeting of the year for Sweet Peas this coming week and this is the block I will be asking our group of ladies to make.

I look forward to reporting back the results when they happen.

Now, it really must be time to get back to those hexagon blocks.

Hexies, again

Having completed my Science Fair hexagon quilt it was time to return to the scrappy hexagon quilt I began in November.

Some changes happened along the way and the pink has become more prominent but I am happy with it being that way.

Today I completed the top and it will join its companions in the wardrobe to mature until it is ready to be quilted.

In the process of adding all the pink fabric I ended up with a number of left over hexagon pieces so I have now embarked on another Science Fair project.

When that is complete it will definitely be time to say goodbye to hexagons until another day.

Good things can take a while

 Yes, it was six days ago that I wrote and said I was going to do a bit of stitching and bring this quilt to completion.

I really wondered how I would go with the angles of the top and bottom hexagon shapes but the instructions included with the Science Fair pattern by Jaybird Quilts were very good.  Bias binding definitely a must for this finish.

Linda and I had discussed a number of different quilting options and I was very pleased with her end solution.  Curvy lines interspersed with circles extending up and down the length of the quilt was all that was required and it is very effective.

Our cats have a bit of reputation for 'scanning' quilts when we lay them on the floor.  No floor photos this time but Kaiser still had to be part of the picture during my photo shoot.

Science Fair is definitely one of my favourite quilts so far.  Not sure if it is the long time love affair with hexagons or the particular pattern or the colour combination but I am very pleased with the outcome.

A little bit of stitching, maybe?

Most of my blog entries over the past month have related to visitors and, in particular, my grandson, Jackson.

When he arrived to stay with us he announced that he needed a new quilt because he was now too big for the ones he already had.

I selected a few quilt tops from our stash and he made a choice - Science Fair.  Who would have guessed that my hexagon quilt would go to a 7 year old young man.

Linda has been busy quilting it and it came off the frame today.  Looks like I will be doing a little bit of stitching getting the binding on this quilt so it can be sent to Jackson in Seattle.

I love the modern quilting stitching Linda has used and look forward to sharing more images when the binding is done.

More visitors, more bubbles

Our brother, Alan, visited with us this past week.

On one of the days he was here, his son, Alistair and family, came to visit.

Young children need to be happily occupied, but in order to do so, adults had to become involved.

It was a lovely, sunny day, so out came the bubble wands and the fun began.

Jackson had a lot of fun with bubbles when he visited, it was great to see another branch of the family having fun with them too.

A little bit of lovin' goes a long way

I had been contemplating what to do on my blog to summarise what 2013 has meant to me.

Creating a collage of photos highlighting events was my first thought but when I started to look through my images I suddenly felt quite overwhelmed by all that had actually taken place.

Regular followers of my blog would know that 2013 has been very much a year of quilting, quilting and more quilting.

Our Sweet Pea group of ladies that meet at our home have been such an important component as well and we have very much appreciated their friendship and kindness toward us.

Family is always important and top priority and our year concluded on a high with family members coming home to share Christmas with us.

While they were here Jackson was busy one day writing postcards to friends and family back home in the United States.  He also decided to 'send' a postcard to his Great Aunty Linda and Nana.  This is what he wrote on our our personally delivered postcards, 'I love you and you love me but I love you more, from Jackson.

A little bit of lovin' goes a long way, Jackson, thank you for bringing yours to us in 2013.