We’ve been sneaky!

You might have noticed that posts about my own quilty output have been a bit thin on the ground lately. Non existent, in fact, over the past month.

That’s because there’s been quite a bit of secret squirrel stitching going on here as Di B and I put the finishing touches to another collaborative quilt. It was a surprise gift for a friend’s very special birthday, so we had to keep it under wraps, not an easy job for either of us!

We started with these.

  Which became these… Then we pinned them together in pairs…

To make these – Hourglass blocks!

What came next? I’ll tell you next time.

I enjoy being sneaky :-))

School’s back

So this week saw the commencement of Paddington Patchworkers, with plenty of ‘show and tell’ after a productive and creative holiday break.

Aviva’s Dresden Plate flowers are looking spectacular and just waiting for a final applique border.

Diane’s applique baby quilt is finished at last, and I think that giraffe is just as cute as a button.

And now for something completely different, as Diane begins a gorgeous Cathedral Window quilt. This one’s all about the journey and she’s in no particular hurry to finish

 

Another sweet quilt top by Sue, almost complete. A little bird tells me this one’s a girly gift, all pretty in pink.

 

Finally, Hannah popped in to show us her finished quilt, a special birthday gift for a friend across the sea. She’s flown out by now to deliver it in person, lucky girl.

The colours – lots of lime and aqua, not best shown up by my inept photography - are so fresh and crisp, and confirm Hannah’s reputation for clever colour choices.

We’re in for an inspiring year at Paddington Patchworkers  :-))

Gratitude

I took my ‘DiPad’ to bed and followed Cyclone Yasi’s progress, like so many fellow Australians, on ABCNews 24 until  I nodded off in the early hours of the morning. I woke to the news that there had been massive destruction to North Queensland overnight.

Banana and sugar cane crops have been razed to the ground, houses have been unroofed and walls blown away, boats have been lifted out of the sea and left high and dry in the middle of the street, and trees have been shredded as if by a giant blender.

However not one life was lost in Cyclone Yasi’s fury – and one precious new life joined us in the early hours of the morning when a little baby girl was delivered safely in an evacuation centre.

Thank you, God, for this small mercy.

I’m grateful, too, for friends around the world who care, and praying especially for those living in the Midwest of the USA experiencing huge snowstorms and freezing temperatures. For days my computer’s weather widget has been telling me Linda in Des Moines, Iowa has been shivering with a maximum of minus 20 degrees and more!! Yet she has shown concern for her blog friends here in Oz. Please stay warm and safe, Linda.

It seemed so appropriate, then, that I found Pinky’s blog post this morning. She’s resolved to write about one thing for which she feels grateful each week, and I’m delighted to join her starting with today’s post.

 

Will you join her too?

Jenny of Elefantz lives in Charters Towers, close to Ayr, in the path of Yasi, and along with all her blog friends I’m anxiously waiting to hear that she is safe. The wrote eloquently of her feelings facing the unknown in this blog post yesterday.

Jenny has designed a beautiful Block of the Month project with a difference, called “Give Thanks” and I’ve put it on my definite To Do list for this year.

Finally, I’m grateful to Bec for winning my little auction (Stella the sock monkey) for the Queensland Flood Appeal. Have you seen how much the blogging crafters’ community raised altogether - $99.089!!!

Stella can’t stop telling me how much she loves life at Bec’s house.

Stella always was a bit of a chatterbox, but it looks as if little Miss A has found a way to shut her up for a while!

Thank you :-))

The long, dark night of Cyclone Yasi

Tonight will be a very long, terrifying night for the people of North Queensland as they shelter in homes or evacuation centres as best they can and wait for the might of Cyclone Yasi to hit.

When the maelstrom is at its fiercest many will huddle in complete darkness with no power and no means of communication.

[Photo from here]

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh again finds herself in the role of reassuring the people of her state with her regular appearances on TV and, all politics aside, she does it superbly. I can confidently say she won’t be getting much sleep tonight.

I was born in the town of Ayr, south of Townsville. My family left there when I was 7 years old and I still have childhood memories of palm trees bent horizontal by cyclonic winds. But those storms of my childhood, we’re being told by the authorities, are nothing compared to Category 5 Cyclone Yasi.

It’s huge. You’ll get some idea when you see this satellite image of Yasi superimposed on a map of the USA.

[Photo from here.]

At its height the Bureau of Meteorology predicts wind gusts of almost 300kph, and huge tide surges. A wave height of 9.5 metres (yikes!) has already been recorded off Townsville. Yasi is the largest and most menacing cyclone to hit Australia in living memory.

The Age newspaper has a live blog here where you can see frequent updates on the situation, along with Twitter feeds and links to webcams.

And on this page people in Cairns are sending frequent live updates from the area while they can.

Three weeks ago Australians went to bed praying for the people of Brisbane as they anticipated the rising flood waters that were to do so much damage to that city. The water had already cut a path of devastation through rural Queensland destroying lives and property, and we were fearful of what lay ahead.

Tonight it’s for North Queensland that Australians everywhere are praying. I simply can’t comprehend the horror of the roaring wind and relentlessly beating rain which have started already.

Please join me in praying for God’s protection for these folk tonight. In the midst of the terrifying storm may they hear the still, small voice of our loving God comforting them.

Thank you!

My QLD Flood Appeal Auction for little Stella the sock monkey ended at 9 o’clock last night, and I’m very happy to say the winner is …. Bec! She was very keen to own Stella, and bid an amazing $65.

Thank you, Bec – and thank you to everyone who bid for this great cause.

All the blog auctions have ended, but if you missed out – or can’t afford to bid high amounts - there are dozens of crafty raffles at $5 an entry still running until tomorrow. All you need to do is donate $5 to the official Premier’s Flood Relief Appeal to earn an entry in a raffle.

You can go here to see the Master List, and to read the guidelines.

Stella has her bags packed and is ready to go!

This morning she’s just hanging around, making the most of Sydney’s sunshine.

She’s so excited to see how much people are willing to donate to the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal to own her!

 

Toni from Make it Perfect has recommended a change in the finish time for our Queensland Flood Appeal auctions, so instead of ending at midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Daylight Time) Monday 24th January we’ll finish at 9.00pm (AESDT).

So we can all be in bed at a sensible hour (ahem… some of us, anyway!)

So if you’d like to have Stella come and live with you, please go here to see the guidelines for this auction, and leave a comment to place a bid. 

She can’t wait to go to her new home. Will it be yours?

[This link will take you to the Master List of auctions where you can see all the fabulous items crafty bloggers are offering for this great cause.]

It’s only a little thing…

But then, every little bit counts :-))

Not having any new quilts or other large crafty items at hand to auction, but feeling compelled to get on board the Make It Perfect QLD Flood Appeal Auctions, I’ve spent the last couple of days creating this little lady.

Meet Stella the sock monkey.

She hasn’t been around for long but already it’s plain to see she has star quality!


  
Stella is made from a pair of brand new socks (acrylic, nylon and elastane) and stuffed with new polyester toy stuffing.


In case she ends up travelling to somewhere where it’s a little chilly at the moment I’ve made her a little felt jacket (with a felt star on the front, so she won’t forget her name).



Her eyes are made of felt so there are no buttons to be a danger to a baby, and Stella loves an occasional beauty bath (obviously without her jacket!).



Stella’s vital statistics?  From the top of her head to the tip of her starry-covered tail she measures 15 inches, and from the top of her head to her twinkle-toes she measures 11 inches.

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Here’s how this auction works: 

1.  Bidding will start at $10 (Australian).
2.  You can place a bid by leaving a comment on this blog post with your bid amount and email address.  Please make sure that your bid is higher than the previous bidder.  
3.  Your bid must be in whole dollar increments.
4.  This auction is open to everyone, however International winners will be asked to pay half the cost of postage to their part of the world (I'll pay the other half).  Postage is FREE for Australian residents.
5.  The auction begins NOW and will END at 9.00pm (Australian Eastern Summer Time) on Monday 24th January 2011.
6.  At the close of the auction, I will contact the winner (please make sure your bid comment or your blog profile includes your email address).  The winner will pay the winning amount directly into the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal and send me proof of payment via email (they will email your receipt to you).  Once proof of payment has been received, I will post Stella to you.
7.  Thank you for participating - and happy bidding!

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