Little WOWs

A notebook with a wombat cover - a gift from a friend - and a wombat car window hanger and sticker, gifts from another friend. I have never decided what to stick the sticker on, so it is still unstuck. The picture on the sticker is similar to highway warning signs in areas where wombats live, although the highway signs are of course much larger.
This is my Pay It Forward gift from Debbie, a very useful basket and pincushion kit which I will have fun sewing. I love the plaids, they look toasty-warm!
And this is my Maple Greetings bag, the fabric is "Greetings From Canada" released about 18 months ago by Thimbleberries, and the pattern is from Hopscotch Quilt Shop, Alberta. When the fabric was released several shops designed patterns to use the range, I bought the pattern and fabric from the Creativ Festival and finished it a few days ago. It is lined with the same blue print as the centre stripe which is printed with maple leaves and all the Canadian provincial flowers. It's a very useful souvenir of our trip to Toronto, a much nicer momento than my damaged arm and shoulder, don't you think? I also have extra of the blue flower print and also of the deep red and gold wheat print next to it, a friend in Victoria B.C. sent it to me - thank you, Lois! The red print Lois gave me has already been used to make a Bear's Paw block for my Bearly Autumn quilt of the future, and I think the flower print might make another.

It's quite silent here tonight, just the kitties and me, Kevin is spending the night in hospital following a minor surgical procedure. He's not a particularly noisy person but it is very quiet without him. The radio is playing on a classical station, and the TV is off. It will be good to have him home tomorrow.

On Friday I have to take my shoulder to the orthopedic specialist again. The x-ray and ultrasound last week showed an 8mm tear in my shoulder tendon. Now 8mm doesn't sound very big, it's quite a narrow seam allowance if one is sewing, but apparently it's considered a fairly large tendon tear. The words "surgical repair" have been heard, but not from my lips I assure you. The physio strapped it up on Friday and said to take the strapping off tonight, which I did carefully, but still took some skin with it. My skin does not like adhesive tape, not even sensitive skin bandaids. I have rubbed it liberally with vitamin E cream which is good for skin and will do so again at bed time....let's hope it feels more normal tomorrow.

Today I cut pieces to make a table runner using the pattern and pack of Thimbleberries charms that I won recently in Tammy's giveaway, and I used my leftover blue Canadian flower fabric as the feature fabric - the other fabrics in the charm pack complimented it well. Tomorrow I'm hoping to cut something else. Cutting is not my favourite part of making anything, I really like joining pieces at the machine, but if I have a few projects cut and made into kits with their instructions it will give me something to sew in odd moments when we move.

We have had a couple of 'lookers' through the house and another is coming tomorrow. But we missed a sale last week when a man who had said he would come cancelled at the last minute. Our house number is 24, and apparently "twenty four" sounds like "violent death" to Chinese people, so he decided the house wasn't for him. But it hasn't worried the other people who have come through.

Summer heat has come back to Sydney, yesterday and today have been most unpleasant. The quilt show on Saturday was an hour south of here in the Southern Highlands, it was lovely and cool - and not humid. I forgot to take my camera with me, but I don't usually take pics at a quilt show as the conditions are far from ideal to take good photos; the quilts are too close together. The challenge was to make an apron, and there were some gorgeous ones! Tomorrow is supposed to be a bit more reasonable here in Sydney, thank goodness. But although it's not the end of February I have seen some trees with leaves changing colour already, that's early! Perhaps it's just shock from the hot summer we have had this year. It was a bit hot today cutting quilt pieces so we hope tomorrow brings some coolth, I have had enough warmth. It's nearly 10pm and it is still horribly hot.

"Walking with a lady acquaintance.
A gentleman should not join a lady acquaintance on the street for the purpose of walking with her, unless he ascertains that his company would be perfectly agreeable to her. It might be otherwise, and she should frankly say so, if asked."

Have a wonderful week.

Jennifer