Quilt retreat weekend.

Quilt weekend photos, yes, we actually did a lot of work!!! 10 ladies,( 3 stitching, 7 sewing). Sorry this has taken so long but I have had a lot of issues with this new format and cracked the sads trying to get this post to upload, fortunately going to work tonight! Heaps to report, will get this one out of the way first. Above is pretty much the view from our accommodation. Below is all the work we got done for the weekend.

Can't shift pics, so this is my boy and his dog.

Lise at work on her Leanne's house design.

Robyn has finally pieced all her horses.

I was showing the girls how to do a dis. 9 patch at the last minute...this is it in pieces.

Robyn's log cabin was finished, a shaggy ready to snip, Helen;s I think, and a bushfire block quilt ready to go to it's owner...yes, they are still being delivered, a lot of the victims are only just getting houses now.

My dis. 9 patch pink throw on the left, Jane's french (?) hand printed quilt blocks on top and Anne's baby quilt at bottom.

Close up of Jane's blocks, bought per block i think.

The top right are some more Jane got overseas, love the orange sashing, bottom house/bright was mine, a baby quilt.

My batiks on left, Anne's pinks baby throws on right.

My "Coming home" log cabin on the right, someone's stars on left. So, on my completed list....one log cabin, one little girls cot, three batik throws, one pink dis 9 patch and the boys 9 patch without  running seams up. A big weekend! Below, Robyn finished the binding on her log cabin, machine quilted in woolsthorpe. So, a busy weekend for all, i swam in the ocean...in the rain, to make it pretty much an annual event. All booked for next year.

Back again...and now off to Quilt weekend.

 Wow, a girl doesn't post for a few weeks and blogger goes and changes everything...must say it was very easy to upload photos, wonder if everything else will work as well. We have another school market over, close to $15000 profit this year, in the 6 years I have co-ordinated it has gone from $5000 to $15000! Stoked about that. This gentleman won the quilt I made and donated, he entered because his mum liked it...and I noticed it being hidden away for her for Mother's day!

Okay, not quite so happy with new blogger now, wont let me type where I want! I'll just have to give you a general run down and you can work out which photo I'm talking about. My favourite daughter had to go to a theme disco, she borrowed an op shop dress of mine, put the hair up and channeled a bit of Audrey Hepburn!

My days are currently being filled with photography jobs...(lots of woolsheds and other venues) and going around sheep, feeding pet lambs...all the usual for this time of year. I thought I'd share a few of this morning's lambing shots. My right hand is all swollen from "birthing babies". I had such a struggle with it at boxing class last night!
Above is me in my new little Gator, Archie comes with and shares the back with an assortment of lambs and ewes, much to his disgust!

Also in here somewhere is my boy and his new pup, Tillee. She is going very well, and other than a bit of chewing and pulling out my succulent garden she's not too badly behaved.

I made individul lemon meringue pies the other day....on a butternut snap biscuit base, too yum!

And finally, as the sheep call, I am off tomorrow for ANOTHER quilt weekend. (I hope you read that in a similar tone to the one my family uses!!!....ANOTHER one!!) Family is not looking forward to having to take over my sheep and lamb jobs.

Off tomorrow, so many projects packed and ready,(see below! I just can't wait. I am going with Lise, the Chocolate Cat again, and another 8 ladies, staying at port Fairy. If you are good I may post an update on everyone's progress. Have  a great day. Tracey x

Waiting, waiting, waiting....one son just home from the Geelong/North game with the neighbours...very disappointed with the result, I am as well, (I would have got 9/9 for my tipping 2 weeks in a row!) I am waiting as well, at midnight, for One direct*n to come on the Logie awards...my daughter is so patiently waiting to continue to scream with excitement....oh the joys of teenagerdom! So I'll share the buttons I got on a "buy these bags full of stuff for $2 table" at spotlight...opened my two bags and found all this stuff! Even the singer button for my singer collection!

I would love to say that there is heaps more sewing to show, but it's been a busy week of holidays...with nieces and nephews sleeping over..and great nieces visiting for plays...and two woolshed photo shoots ...and a full day of football photos.

So, I usually always manage to rein in my weight at least once a year, I think in the last 5 years, I would have lost 6 kgs every year...the same 6! Imagine if all that 30 was gone..nah, that would be too skinny...I just want the 6 gone again...so how do you fit it in? I haven't had much time so decided to combine 2 baskets of ironing(=3 hours!) with my stepper! And I would also like to add...why is ironing so painful when it isn't just pretty fabric?? Anyway, better go, hamish has just won the gold logie (YAY!) and one are on! can't you hear the screams!

Of dogs and babies..

A Happy Easter to everyone today, we spent it with the extended family and I found out I am going to be a God mother again, so probably could have saved his quilt for a fortnight's time! He may even get something else now I am on a roll. This will be my 4th Godchild, 3 boys and 1 girl...they get spoilt rotten! Godmothers can do that.

The picture is the blanket my little grand nephew received today in lieu of eggs. I wonder who can guess his name...and by the way, 6 weeks old and doubled in size...a pound a week! His Mum is shrinking as he puts it on!

My niece on the other side loved her new dog blanket.....the dog was not so sure! But as the dog's middle name is "long suffering the dog-addicted-3 year old" that level of excitement was in many ways expected.

And on the dog front, huge news for us...Archie has a buddy! He is coping very well with the new Border Collie addition who arrived yesterday.

My boy is in love!

A safe and blessed Easter to you. xx

Chook quilt all done...next??!!!!

I well and truly have my quilting mo-jo back....The chook quilt is all done-tied and bound and ready to keep me warm on the couch this winter. I am very happy with it. It turned out to be about 2.3m x 1.7 metres in size. I am in a hurry to get off the computer to get a dog quilt done by tomorrow and a baby name one done by Sunday, it's nice to be back!

Also been making Raspberry fig jam...easiest recipe in the world. Just equal parts figs (mashed) with sugar, then add in a heaped desertspoon of raspberry (or strawberry ) jelly crystals to about every 2 cups of sugar. It looks, tastes and sets great!

Lastly, proof that little boys do in fact grow up.(But don't change!) Top photo is my boy playing with the new tractor 5 years ago, and bottom is now.

Better run, have a great day! Tracey

Twice in one day!!...Washing quilts....

Two posts in a day...scary!

As it was looking like the last of the hot weather I washed all the main quilts yesterday, hot north winds, 30 degrees, did a great job. But it took me about 90 minutes and more exercise and mess than i cared for, with washing each in the bath, then carting it to laundry for a quick spin, then back to bath for all of them to rinse. How do you wash your quilts? Am I being too particular? I am afraid I just couldn't bear to see it come out of my machine after a 45 minute mystery trip and there have been some disaster.

Made a couple of 100 Anzacs today to fill the tins and finished off another clamshell project in between oven loads. I started these on the way home from Nundle in the car,have now had enough of them and the colours for a little while, so decided to make my 3 rows something. It is a little chocolate holder at this point.... I just came back from visiting the old people's home and have enjoyed sitting out in the sun with my Nundle cup and clamshells full of chocolate and thinking about all the fun we were having last Saturday! I also noticed that the happy ones at the old people's homes were the ones who were still sitting their crafting...i vote for that retirement thanks! I still vote for an international quilt bloggers retirement home. Now, that would be fun!

Clamshells finished.

Okay,here it is being held up by my little cricket buddy that I've been up watching Aust. v WI with since 5 am! When i say finished, it is finished how I wanted it. It isn't quite the round keepbox it should have theoretically been. I went for a wall hanging, and embroidered one of my favourite verses, "Look to the hills", to remind me of my road trip to Nundle. We thought they looked a bit like hills here, though when i was working on it, both kids wandered in at different times and commented on my "fish"... apparently sideways the clam shells are very scale like. It even, (don't fall over!!)..has some hand quilting on it. The things you do when the football's back on!

And here is me and the usually mystery man, with the new baby. Should probably call it the new holiday house, but when would we get a chance to go to a holiday house!!

Hope your day is great, we are officially on school holidays here, 2 weeks of no bus...yeah!

More Girls day in the Country ...

Such great car buddies, granny Loz, and Lise, the chocolate cat. See Where little me is squashed in...it got worse!

This is a bearded dragon eating some kind of sack full of bugs...we don't see that at home!

The tree full of the little bug sacks.

We did eventually get to Nundle, here is a lot of Friday afternoon's show and tell..And here is a lot of Sue daly's from the Friday night trunk show. beautiful work, and she still makes them all herself.

We went out for tea on Friday night to Mt. Mysery cafe, Dale and peg were there in spirit, (or in chook form. ) They were the only ones who could fit through the bars to see what the mine shaft was like, there was much anxiety lest they fall!

Lise on the way home...at Grong grong!

And all these last ones are the sun coming up, somewhere about an hour after Narrandera!

The last place I got the camera out was Deniliquin, they had had 185 singles there for the weekend on a meet and greet weekend, I thought that considering singles weekend, this sign was hilarious! I am afraid to show DH in case he decided that's where I actually was!