Three weeks in a row!

I'm sort of remembering to take photos for sharing works-in-progress!

This week the focus was putting the dark borders together for the 365 Challenge Quilt - yay, done!  The other two borders are joined up and will go on later.  It's amazing how these blocks fit together and how they look so much better when they no longer have the raw edges!

 

 

These are some of the pieces for the fourth corner block. There are more than 170 pieces in this 12-inch square block!

 

A little wonky in the middle but I'll live with that!

Together with the other four corner blocks.

 And lastly, this is not mine, but an absolutely delightful free-form embroidery start by my sister's 7-year-old granddaughter.

Mid winter

I have had a finish, which is already in use on my sister's bed, it is Bonnie Hunter's 2021 Mystery, Rhododendron Trail.  My sister says they love it!

Earlier this year I decided that I would stitch up all the tiniest fabric pieces being stored, just randomly sewing, being guided by the pieces.  The scraps are stored by colour, so applying Angela's declared monthly colour at SoScrappy was a no-brainer.  When all the colours are tamed, then I will think about what to do with the "new fabric"... sometime next year!  I've managed to keep up each month!  I showed the reds in an earlier post, and here are the results of Dark and Bright Blues, Sage and Forest Greens, and Pinks.  There was Yellow, and Turquoise, but no pictures.  Still busy with July's Purples, which had the most scraps!

 

 

I was hoping to quilt at least one quilt a week...it's ending up more like one a month!  This was the Good Hope Quilters' Guild Mystery 2022, when on the frame.  Pattern by Diana Vandeyar, slightly adapted by myself.  It is finished, but no photo yet.

Today was the closing date for entries into the SA National Quilt Festival.   I am pleased that I managed to submit these four quilts, in the Display only section.   All need Hanging Sleeves and Labels...I have three weeks in hand.

And finally, a small update on the new house build.  One measly picture of the installation of the water connection to the main supply...done six weeks ago, but only to the boundary, and still no water meter!

Red Centre and Flowers

March is my favourite month, hmm, I wonder why that is!   These beautiful flowers were given to me of Friday, with a song from some of the children who attend my sister's school, and where I work a couple of afternoons a week.  I was a little late, and they had been waiting for me to arrive!

And a Red Centre is together!  I am linking up Rainbow Scrap Challenge - go and see how others are using Red this month. I was trying to see which is the best way to stand in relation to the sun to take photos, no flash, using Nokia N9 phone camera.  None of these show the colours as they are.

Sun on my right on the pathway between gate and front door.

Sun behind me on the grass.  This is closest to the actual colours

Facing the sun on the grass

On the design wall, window blinds open, standing lamp on

...and one more finish!

I delayed publishing a post about this quilt until (I hope by now) my sister C has been to visit Mum, and Mum has remembered to give it to her!

My Mum made the blocks, and she finished the top for C for her birthday last September.  C absolutely loves anything BLUE.  But my Mum survived a stroke before she could finish it.  I had bundled this one up, together with all the bits of fabric and it also patiently sat waiting for me to. do. something.  This HAD to be the one I finished next for her, and it WAS done ahead of C's birthday this year!

There were some extra blocks that went on the back with as much of the extra fabric that were used on the top.

...and another finish!

In the middle of packing up my mother's house earlier this year, my sister C asked if I could finish a quilt for a friend of hers.  The friend's mother had started it but had sadly died.  I said yes, took the shoe-box containing the sewn quarter and all the fabrics home, put it in my sewing room and with all the busy-ness forgot all about it.   One day a few months later I saw the shoe-box and had no recollection of it's origins!  Had to ask both of my nearby sisters to remind me!

Took all the bits away to a quilt retreat in May, and cut and stitched, and then finished the top at home.  And then took all the scraps to make fabric for the centre of the back.

Finally quilted and bound it on Sunday this week - delivered it to my sister C to give to her friend.  I do hope that she likes it, and it gives her happy memories.

House for sale...sold!

Photos borrowed from http://www.thebluffs.co.za/prop.id?5884

My parents had this house built  in 1975-76. I lived there with them, my three sisters and various dogs until I was married in 1980 right in that sitting room (middle left), under the arch in the upper centre picture.  My sister C was also married in this house and my youngest sister J had her wedding reception here (I hosted my other sister J!).  On Monday this week we reluctantly (but with necessity) handed it to an agent to sell, thinking that this process would take some time and then expecting the transfer process to take at least three months after that.  (I wrote, "no rush to sell").  Oh, oh, oh, yesterday, three days later, we accepted a fabulous offer from a young growing family and the transfer is planned for 27 March - we hope they will love it as much as we did.

All the ten grandchildren will miss it, as they all loved to visit Granny and Grandfather here, from casual drop-ins to long Christmas Day eating and games.  The house even had a name (although not really used), "Casnewydd", Welsh for Newport, where my mother was born.

Now we have a deadline to sell or store the contents.  We know that some of the bigger items will not be needed, but will keep much of the smaller things as we hope my mother will be able to have her own smaller place when her on-going recovery from the stroke allows her to move from the frail care facility.