Another quilt finished

Zoot by Riley blake on my design floor, lol

This morning while I was sitting with my quilting group I finished sewing the binding to the quilt for my grandson Isaac.    This quilt is all cars and trucks, what is it with little boys and cars and trucks, then again what is it with big boys and their cars and trucks.     One morning last year while my son was having breakfast and reading the paper while sitting at the breakfast bar,  Isaac was sitting alongside him and looking through the car advertisments in the morning paper.    He was pointing out cars to my son who thought it amusing enough to retell the story to me.   While shopping for fabrics for the boys quilts I came across this range from Riley Blake designs called Scoot.  This was perfect especially when I saw the fabrics with the car advertisements.    If you are looking for a simple pattern, something for a large print this is it and you can find it here     As with Noah's quilt it is bright and cheerful and just perfect for little boys.     After quilting this morning a small group of us went out for lunch, it was nice to be able to sit back and chat to some of the women I don't normally sit with.    I was surprised to find four of them practically grew up together, in the same area that I lived when I was a little girl.     I'm going on a bus tour to quilting shops out of our area in a couple of weeks,  I will be on the lookout for all things space for my daughters little boy Deacon,  and then I have one more boy quilt to make before I can start on a new quilt for my room

Noahs animal quilt finished

Noahs quilt

I have just finished sewing the binding to my youngest grandson Noah's quilt, I decided to use some of the leftover fabrics and make a scrappy binding.    I love the bright and fun look of this quilt and I'm sure he will as well.     If you want the details for this quilt you can find it here I have just started to cut lengths of fabric to make binding for Isaac's quilt, I'm hoping to finish this tonight.  I am feeling unsure  as to whether  I should post these interstate, I've heard so many stories of quilts going missing in the post,  or will I wait untill I can travel there and deliver them.   I would like to see the look on their faces but I also want them to receive them soon.  This is something I will have to think on.    Over the past week I have been cleaning out cupboards,  how do we accumulate so much stuff,  I have a pile of things to sell, another pile to go to the church shop and the rest is going to the recycle centre and the bin.     I am amazed how good I feel after doing this, I always feel a sense of pride when I finish another quilt  but, I  feel a sense of accomplishment when I've had a good clean.     The weather is starting to warm and I am looking forward to going out into the garden to plant my summer vegies and clean up the mess after the strong August winds,  one of the large pots I have with a twenty year old cumquat tree was blown over, it is looking a bit sad so I think I will repot it if I can get someone to give me a hand.    The caterpillas from the cabbage moths have done a lot of damage this year to all my pelagoniums I'm going to cut them back and look forward to a new display this spring.

Quilted elephants all over

Stars and planets.....finished

I have a photo of Connor with his quilt to show you,  he loves this quilt so much,  he told me that he turns the quilt over to the back with the glow in the dark planets, so they will charge under the light, then when the light is turned out he can see them glowing.  I started this quilt last year, you can read about it here     I am currently binding two more quilts, one for Isaac and one for Noah,  I'll have photos of the finished quilts in a future post.    These quilts are to be posted interstate,  and  I'll have to wait untill my son takes photos for me to see the boys with their new quilts.      I am longing for some warmer days so I am able to go outside and do some gardening, although,  saying that,  we did have one day last week where it reached 17c and I spent the day with my daughter in her garden weeding while she mowed the grass.      The son who does everything has started a new job, so instead of me doing the school run a couple of times a week I'm now doing it  full time.   I have found it a bit tiring rising early every morning to drive to their house make sure Connor is ready and then drive him to school.      I return to the school in the afternoon to pick him up and drive him home where I stay with him and his older brother until my son arrives home.  I always take some hand sewing along with me, at the moment it  is block three of "Butterfly Garden" by Leanne Beasley.  This block is taking some time because I have also sewn three aprons over the past week for my daughters, who would have thought young girls would want aprons.

Lounging on a Sunday

Yesterday was one of those lazy Sundays where I just wanted to lounge around in a trackie all day, although I did eventually do some hand sewing.     I finished the apron for daughter number one, I'm happy with how it looks even though I had some trouble reading the confusing directions on the pattern.    I was also able to sew the label onto Connors stars and planets quilt.       I received a text about 3pm. to let me know my daughter-in-law was having birthday cake after dinner for my son.    My sons birthday is today but with work today and a meeting tonight there would be no time tonight to celebrate.    Oh, that meant  I would have to get dressed.      Last night I also gave Connor his quilt, I'm sure he loves the backing more than the front, the back has  glow in the dark planets, which is the fabric he chose.     I forgot to take a photo of him with this quilt, I'll  take one later this week and post a photo.

Celebrating my sisters birthday

I have to tell you of the fabulous day my sisters and I had last Saturday.  I have three sisters, and  it was a milestone birthday, sixty years for sister number two,  so we decided we would have to do something special. 
Something we would all remember and be able to speak about for a long time.  We decided it should be a surprise for her, so it was organised without her knowledge.   In fact it was such a surprise she became quite annoyed with the family, thinking we were going to let her birthday pass by.   We organised a taxi to deliver us to the door of the venue, as the car stopped she looked at us with a huge smile and asked "are we going to the Windsor" of course we are.  We had the most amazing high tea at one of  the most oppulent and beautiful old hotel's in Melbourne, The Windsor Hotel, which was opened in 1883 has retained the glamour of times gone by.    My sisters diet is gluten free and because we had advised them when we booked our table she was very spoilt for choice.  We all enjoyed ourselves and it was wonderful to see my sister so happy with the venue we had chosen.  We then drove to her daughters apartment where the rest of the family were gathered to finish the night with sparkling wine, birthday cake and more food.

I'm sewing aprons

I recently decided to sew new aprons for my two daughters, and who knows maybe one for me as well.       I haven't sewn an apron since I was in my early twenties, and let me tell you that was many moons ago.  Daughter number one likes bright retro fabrics and I was not surprised when she chose an egg yellow fabric with red cherries.    When she was a teenager, like most teenage girls she was in love with everything purple, mauve and black, now as a young women she loves everything fifties and retro.   I spent today sewing and was on a roll when my machine started to make clanking noises.    It needed cleaning and I was surprised to see how much lint was inside the bobbin cavity, once I cleaned it out with a brush I then went looking for the machine oil and you guessed it, I have an empty container.  Sewing finished for today,   I have packed  it away until tomorrow when I buy more machine oil, I was so close to finishing.   I'm taking daughter number two shopping for fabric for her apron on Saturday and I'm fairly certain she will choose something blue and pretty.

I'm finally attaching binding

The past couple of weeks have been very busy.   I've had quilts to sew, early morning school drop offs with my grandson Connor and my sisters birthday.     As I have said before,  this year I am finishing all UFO's, I am feeling relieved  that I am finally sewing the binding to Connors stars and planets quilt, and I have another three quilts with my quilter.     I hope these will be ready in a couple of weeks, and then once I've sewn the bindings on these my cupboard will be bare, Yah,  just in time for my quilt group bus trip in October, where we visit patchwork shops that are usually too far away  for us to visit.     Who knows, I might find another project and more fabric to fill my cupboard with again.      I am currently sewing block three of Leanne Beasleys "Butterfly garden", this is my pick up and go project, because it has a lot of applique and embroidery I'm not in a rush to finish this.    I always need some work to take with me while at a my quilting group or when I visit some one, I will continue to take my time with this one.