Simple Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Simple Skirts GIVEAWAY!!!!

Head over to Grosgrain and check out these gorgeous skirts! I'd love the yellow for Kira - if for no other reason than it's not pink!

Currently reading...

The Queen's Man by Sharon Kay Penman

I'm finding this very different from Penman's usual stuff. Her books are usually historically based around English medieval kings and queens, their rises and falls. This is a murder mystery and although there are characters who did really exist and it is centred around Richard the Lionhart's disappearance on the way back from the Crusades and his brother John's lust for the crown, it is, for the most part, a work of fiction. It's taken me awhile to get into and while I prefer her other books, I am enjoying this.

Yummy fabric - and it could be yours!

The Farm Chicks are hosting a give away of Pixie Dust Decor fabrics. Your choice of 2 yards of it actually! You get to chose from any of these!

Personally I have chosen these two.

Aren't they scrumptious! There is another 15 options to choose from. Go check it out!

Hmmm, having posted this here, it won't let me post a comment there! Hopefully I will able to do so later - if not - good luck - hope you can and you win!

Giveaway yummyness!!

No, not me! Amy is celebrating her two year blogging anniversary with the traditional gift of cotton! Head over and check out the scrumptious fabrics she has on offer!

Currently reading...

Tales of Suspense by Edgar Allen Poe. I have been a fan of Poe ever since I read The Tell Tale Heart in a year nine English class. This is a collection of 19 of his short stories. Many years ago. my husband had need to be in Baltimore on business and decided he would go and take a photo of Poe's house for me. He followed the signs, but quickly found himself in an area where he was a lone white man in a very nice rental car in a very run down neighbourhood. Deciding discretion was the better part of valor, he turned around and started to make his way out again. As is likely to happen, he got lost and thankfully was found by some lovely policeemen who suggested he was where he did not want to be and would he like them to show him back to the highway! While we laugh at this tale, I find it sad that, according to friends who live in the US, this is not uncommon.

BOM 9 and 10

I've managed to catch up with my BOM's. Only two left after this!!! I'll have to start looking for a new one to do.


This is number 9. It's called Pinwheel Wonder by Deborah Schoof I've never made pinwheels before and I have decided I quite like them. The block as whole I'm not so fussed with. It just seems too busy to me. Maybe when I put it together with the rest of the blocks it will settle for me.
Number 10 is Steppen' Up by Camille Roskelley. This was, by far, the simplest design so far. It took me about a quarter of the time to put together that it's taken to put the others together. I like it.

Currently reading...

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

I actually started reading this book about 6 months ago, but had to put it down half way through as it was making me so angry. The treatment of women in the name of Islam was infuriating to me. I do not pretend to know the ins and outs of the Islamic religion but the portrayal of the religion in this book is not pretty. The fact that this woman has to live in seclusion and protection is a tragedy. And all simply because she dared to disagree.

Monthly Checkup - April

Welcome to the April Monthly Check up - a summing up of March's activities!

Completed projects in March -two! The two that should have been done for February actually did get done in March! Not only that, they have been sent and received!

Projects started -Two. G's quilt and the Eye Spy quilt.

Books read -6. Not a bad reading month!

So, current projects as listed at the side of my blog.

• Blackboard Quilts - No progress. Still.
  

• Sampler Quilt -No progress!

• Luke's Frog Quilt - Still cutting!
  

• G's quilt - top made, just need to sandwich, quilt and bind!

• I Spy quilt - again, top made, sandwiching, quilting and binding to come
  

Other things I really need to get onto this month are:

• BOM 9 and 10. Only another two after this! Getting to the pointy end!
  

I know I promised an update earlier...

...but time got away from me! Sorry! So instead of getting to hear about my new projects as I promised, you actually get to see them! I will apologise for the quality of the photos now - trying to get a decent day to photograph at the moment is nigh on impossible so I gave up and did it inside under the lounge room lights.

As some of you may remember, I participated in Kelly's International Women's Day Swap. I was partnered with Kris from Quilts in the Closet, who must think I am terrible rude(and she would have every right to!) since not only has it taken this long to acknowledge her lovely fabrics, mine were sent very late! So first off, a bit apology to Kris for my extreme tardiness on both counts. So Kris sent me these lovely fabrics.
We had to send fabrics in purple, green and/or white which are the colours for International Women's Day. I love the green and purple triangles - lush! I now need to make a bag out of these fabrics! Hope there isn't too tight a deadline on that - have huge problems with deadlines at the moment! Thanks so much Kris, they are lovely and once again sorry for my tardiness! Thanks also to Kelly for organising the swap!

Next I have finished two quilt tops! One is a project I have talked about before for a friend's daughter who can spend a lot of time in hospital. She loves pink and purple so that's the colours I used.I'm not sure how her parent's feel about her and her siblings images being on the web, so I have whited out the faces. I'm kinda proud of this quilt as I knew what I wanted it to look like and managed to work out how to do it. While I won't go so far as to say I designed it because I'm sure there are plenty out there like it, I'm chuffed I managed to work out how to do it myself. The photos are of the girl in question, her siblings, her parents and another adult who is significant in her life. The idea being she can take it into hospital and always have her family with her. My other boast for this quilt top is that apart from the fabric for the photos, it was made entirely from stash fabrics and some purple and pink strips donated by AJ. Thanks for the strips AJ, they were perfect!

The other quilt top is for Kira's daycarers. For a couple of reasons I have changed Kira's daycare, but I really wanted to acknowledge one of the carers at her old centre. Using the I spy squares I got from this swap, I made this quilt top.
I have a friend who is good with words who is going to an I Spy poem in the style from these books. I wanted to make something that could be used in the room and this is what I came up with. I like the idea so much I'm going to make one for Luke's teacher for the end of the year.

These two need to be sandwiched and quilted which I am hoping to do so in the near future. Plan for them to be in my April completed list! These are the backings I have planned for them.
The pink again from my stash for G's quilt and the very blurry fabric (sorry, photographer not fabrics fault!) I picked up this morning.

Finally I have finished my 8th BOM.
This is called Star Party and was designed by Bonnie Olaveson. Numbers 9 and 10 are sitting on my sewing table, cut out and ready to go so expect to see them in the next day or two!

So that is it for now. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things as we go. The house we are building will be finished in the next 2-3 weeks, so then I get the fun of moving! If I disappear again, just assume I've been buried under a pile of moving stuff and I'll be back as soon as I dig my way out!

Currently reading...

It's been awhile. Sorry about that - who knew building a house could be so hectic! Anyway, despite many things taking my time at the moment, I have still managed to read a few books. So this currently reading also covers a couple of already have reads.

First off book off the shelf was
Report for Murder by Val McDermid. I love the series Wire in the Blood and have read all the books from that series. Report for Murder is an earlier novel and while I found it not as smooth flowing as the Wire books, it was still an enjoyable read. I have the second Lindsay Gordon mystery on hold at the library.

Second was a book recommended by my husband.
The Fresco by Sheri S. Tepper. I use to read a lot of sci-fi/ fantasy but wound it right back after it all started to sound the same. Finding orginal, well written material in this genre is hard! However, Leigh contines to read it and occasionally suggests something he thinks I will like. This time he got it right. Tepper seems to be one of the few authors in this genre who doesn't regularly have me questioning whether I have read the book before or not.

And now to my actual current read...The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket. Yep, it's back to the children's books! Quite aptly, there are thirteen books in this series and this is number 10. I must admit I have enjoyed them less and less as I have gone, but having come this far, I'm determined to get to the end!