The past couple of months have been really hard for me ...In November last year, the cardiologist found that I had a severe narrowing of the artery on my heart's right side.

At last, an answer to what was causing me all sorts of drama... one of the biggest issues was walking. I could not walk more than about 10 meters before I had to stop and sit. I went into the hospital this past Friday and had a stent put in my heart ... and boy can I tell the difference...  Wednesday afternoon when hubby and I went for a walk ...he called it my daily exercise. I just laughed.. lol ... what a joke all that was turning out to be... I got to just the other side of our neighbour's yard  .. and I had to go home ... I was absolutely useless ... I could not even stand to cook dinner ... I sat on a bar stool .. .. I was getting rather anxious about it all ... Then ... Low and Behold .. they rang me last Monday and said they had a spot for me   Friday 27th,  could I do that?.... oh yes please ... what a relief ... 

We had to be at the hospital by 8. I went into the theatre at 12:10 and it took an hour before I was out .... they had problems with my veins or artery or something ... nothing ever goes smooth with me ... ahh ... I just keep them on their toes... lol ... But everything was great, and no issues getting me back up and running normally... well as normal as a Bobbie can be..lol ..I put my feet up and rested pretty much all Saturday. 

My hubby and I went for a walk Sunday night, and I managed to walk around 800 meters ... and that is a huge difference to the 15 I did a couple of days ago ... woohoo .. ... I did have to stop and have a breather though .. but I did not have to sit .. hubby said I did really good and he was really proud of me ... I am just doing what I can ... it has been a very long time since I could walk like this ... everything was just getting slowly worse as time passed ... but it took an hour of my time in theatre... and 4 hours in recovery.. just to make sure I was ok to leave the hospital ... we did have to stay in a motel on Friday night because we live 50 kilometers from the hospital and I needed to stay within 20 minutes of the ER in case something happened to me overnight .... but it was all good .. and I cannot believe the difference ... I cooked dinner without a stool... I folded a basket of laundry ... there is another sitting on the table waiting for me to fold it up and put it away ... yeah ... it can wait ... if we need anything out of it .. it can be accessed without too much drama ... haha ... 

I did some clearing of mess in the sewing room ... hubby would like for me to downsize my fabric before we do our big move in June ... but I told him I really don't want to get rid of very much because the price of the fabric like everything else has gone up in price so much ... and he understands that, so I can keep what I know I can use ... .. umm I can use all of it .. silly man... haha ...  ... 

He went out and purchased about 4 boxes of large zip lock bags to pack my fabric into so it will all go in boxes and be safe if the box gets busted or wet ... .. so wow ... He truly surprised me ... 

he did ask if I have any UFOs that I might not ever get finished .. (well, I certainly can never answer that question .. ever). lol. 

and if I possibly did, would I consider selling them ... it would be something we didn't have to find storage for I guess... there are a few quilt tops that I planned for some of the grandkids .. but I was somewhat slow in getting them done the kids had sort of outgrown the themes of them ... these were for their first big bed, so really they are nothing too flash a couple of rail fence about Throw size I guess.  I think I may have made them around the time I had the stroke .. so, I reckon they could go ... and some panels .. and I sorted all my charm packs ... and found that I have 22 of them ... I thought I had maybe 5 ... 

Because apparently, I am a hoarder ... Ummm, No I am not !!! .. I am a quilter .... thank you very much!!!! Silly man ...

there are possibly, maybe some FQs (just maybe) and a pile of magazines .. they cost too much to mail, I think, but someone might like them... I will get rid of them I hope even if I give them away .. if not, I may just have to take them with us .... at this point I am taking everything I can... I need a new machine but this one will have to last me a little longer ... not real long ... just a little bit ... and I will be taking it and my small machine... and the overlocker. 

I know I will be able to catch up on so much this month .. including my block swaps ... I can actually walk now  .. and breathe too.. and stand for a good length of time. And it's only been 4 days ... it is incredible. God truly is so good. I wonder how I will be next week .. I do hope to be walking a little further with no stops, and be able to fold a full line of laundry and maybe even do some ironing ... but what I would really love to be able to do is get the house tidied up enough in the mornings to spend the rest of the day in the sewing room ... 

My legs would not hold me up, and I had no energy ... Probably because no good blood was getting to my body ... even my mind was in a fog ... ... one of my big toes was going purple all the time ... I have diabetes type 2 ... so that was a bit on the scary side .. one thing I need is my toes .. lol ... gee I need all my bits and pieces ... I have had them all a long time now and have really gotten used to them ... 

So, I would like to keep them please ...unless of course, they are trying to kill me .... then I don't want them ...  like the bowel cancer, the hospital surgeon discovered I had... I told her, to remove whatever she needed to .. unless I really needed it to stay alive to watch all my grandchildren have some great-grandchildren for me ... ... and so she did ...  she took what was going to kill me and left me with all the things that were essential to keep on keeping on .. ... 

I had gotten used to it and was kinda fond of the bit she removed... but it's ok ... I was given a sort of exterior replacement, which does a fantastic job ... I would not be without it ... 

and a few of my Grandchildren have been sort of busy making babies .. ... 9 great-grandchildren so far .. .. from 9 years old down to 14 months ... 17 left to start reproducing. 

I am truly so very blessed ... 

In the sewing room today ...

Today I am going to do some sewing ... I have been procrastinating far too long.

I really have to do something, and I reckon I cannot get it done from the computer which is NOT in the sewing room... 

And I guess I will just have to sew around the mess, and maybe put a few things away as I go .. who knows. I may even be able to find and dig out the spare machine and finally retire this one that honestly is on its last legs ... bits are breaking off all over ... I think I am just too rough ... It is plastic with a steel inner ... my last old machine was metal on metal .. and it was able to take a bit of rough handling and stuff that this one seems not to have been up to the task... Not the machine's fault at all .. it is mine and only mine ... for the past 7 years I have been using one right hand which works perfectly well .. and one left hand and arm that has little to no sensation in it, but the hand and arm have an incredible amount of strength .. so it is great for picking stuff up ... but unless I am looking at what I have .... the hand does tend to let go and it drops stuff  ... all a bit useless really ... so... I have to stay attentive ... and if you are a follower of any of my writings you will know I get distracted very easily and go off in a different direction at the drop of a hat ...  if I am having a conversation with my husband he often says ... "Foe-cuss ... Focus Bobbie!!" ... lol. 

See just like that ... I have always been like it but since I had the stroke in 2015 I have been getting progressively worse ... I need some structure in my life or so I am told ... stuff that will need some mental exercise... like keeping a diary .. and I reckon my blog will act as a good diary. Typing is easier, it emphasizes my spelling errors and, I am able to read this stuff ... my handwriting after about 10 lines starts to fall apart and gets really bad .. haha .. and I think that's because I try to write as fast as I think ... no chance of that ever happening .. not even when typing ... but word now has talk to text and that helps heaps .. although there are a lot of arms in it because I say umm a real lot ... did not know that till I started doing stuff this way ... and .. here I am .. way way way off topic ... I have a little notice just at eye level pinned to the wall that says ... Just try a little harder .. and I do .. try a little harder in everything ... and today ... my trying harder .. is to achieve something in my precious sewing room ... but first I have to get in there ... I will finish off this post .. along with my lovely cup of tea ... and go do what I am supposed to do today. 

today I typed this out, tomorrow I am going to use Microsoft Word and speak it .. and have it come out in text ... of course, it will need some editing ... as there will be photos being shared ... the cup of tea is empty ... and now so will this chair be ... 

have a wonderful and productive day where ever you are ... 

love and hugs ..💖

International Quilt Block Swaps

I'm back ... I am also back and sewing too ... Hubby and I are making some changes here in chilly old Tassie .. most of I guess will be revealed later down the track .. 

But now the first one ... I have started an International Quilt Block Swaps group on Facebook ... it is a private group but anyone is welcome to join ... Just send a request to join .. and answer a couple of questions re your quilting adventures to hopefully weed out any scammers and you will be accepted into the fold ... and there is no need to jump right into the swapping .. you are welcome to sit and lurk for a bit to see if its what you are looking for. 

It is your choice of a 'finished' 12-inch pieced block in your colour choices... 

The block can be the same each month or you can change it and the colours every month ... it is your choice.

You will get one partner each month, and the allocated swap partner email goes out on the 1st of every month the block must be sewn and sent to your partner in that month .. and "as life does happen" an email or Private Message is all it takes for us to work out any issue that has arisen ... 

So far we have 36 members, from 4 countries. 

We have been going for around 6 weeks and are currently organising our 2nd swap.

I am really thrilled with the response we've had, and look forward to our group growing. And in the future, we should be able to add more variety to the group, things as... applique blocks ... and 6 ½ inch & 9 inch blocks for those who would like to do them and perhaps Foundation Paper piecing too. 

Also, a Christmas block swap that could run throughout the year for those who would like to create a Christmas quilt or table topper/runners, whatever it is that suits you ... I think cushions or table runners are a great idea for an Aussie Christmas. 

What would you make your Christmas blocks into?

Anyway, I know there are many groups on Facebook that do the block swaps ... and some are very much like this one ... some are not ... and some do multiple replicated blocks, sewn at once and posted back to the organiser ... I have tried these and was totally shocked at the quality of blocks I received back. So much so that I will never attempt this style again ... I am sure there are lots out there who get some wonderful returns ... but there are also those who have no idea what the blocks will be like and really don't care ... 

I will personally guarantee if you are not satisfied with your partner's making of the block ... be it the size not being correct, or them not following your requested block or colours ... I will see to it that you get one that is right ... 

anyway ... I will leave the FaceBook link here and do hope that we see you sometime in the future .. 

International Quilt Block Swaps

They say Late is better than Never

 Hi everyone ... I am just dropping in real fast to say to Cheryll and the other ladies from last Friday night's FNWF a small but very friendly group of ladies from all around the globe ... who gather online on the 1st Friday of each month. Anyone can join in and there is also a Facebook page that gets some sharing what they are doing.

I am truly sorry that I did not complete the event by doing a post on Saturday of my night's effort. I could put the photos up tonight along with a lengthy post, but really I am not sure if I can sit much longer than posting photos .. and I guess I could find the strength to post a small chat about the things that occurred .... 😊

Friday night ... I started the night with grand expectations and did get some stuff done .. not a lot but did some .. sewed some swap blocks together with some sashing and that is about it. I all went off without incident and I had a fantastic time sewing without disturbance from my Darling, who just sat and played his PlayStation and I think he was happy for the peace he had too ... maybe we should spend more nights like it .. haha 

Then came Saturday and I was keen to keep on keeping on with my sewing then My Brother (sewing machine) decided to have a heart attack. So my sewing day was spent trying to render aide to this great big useless lump of $#!+ and I am not sure if he will recover as I do not know how much the medical bill will be or even how much care will be needed in the future ... and will he recover enough to be able to put in a full hard day of never-ending sewing .. or will his days be that of treating him with care and not expecting too much out of him .... sure he was great ... in his day .. and sure he was loyal.. to a point and I guess ... and yes I could go on forever but the simple facts .. how much is this going to cost ME!! ...His days are certainly numbered now ..  ... we may have to just bring him home and just leave him out on the back porch to die from exposure .. 

and besides, I do have his little Brother here who will just have to make the effort his older Brother has put in over the last (too many) years .... He has no smaller feet than the older one so the shoes are no bigger to fill ... so thats going to make his job a lot easier ... and .. they were not close they both kept a nice distance from each other so there were no fights .. but I still think the older Brother will be missed ... well by me anyway ... but I will try not to compare them ... Yeah right!!! .. they may have the same name but you can tell just by their appearance that they are not closely related. I know this little fella won't bat an eyelid over the loss of the older Brother ... I mean they really did not know each other well ... and .. this little one does not have any eyelids .. his needle has an eye and I guess that's about as close as either of them could ever get to an eyelid.. 

anyway, photo time

These are the leader and enders small patches .. dark and light in the blue icecream tubs ... in the big box are pairs that have been sewn together .. and then in front of that are the 4 patch blocks and on the left of those, are 2 completed large 4 patch blocks sewn together but i am thinking of unpicking them and changing the design ..

 

These are 6-inch swap blocks that I put some sashing strips on the sides and stitched together ... I still have to add more to the ends ..  the rows were hung up the wrong way for the photo .. so they look a little lopsided   .. more blocks are needed on the sides and bottom .. the stips of sashings between the rows ... I will make up the shortfall of the blocks as I am no longer in the swap group. And I am kind of really looking forward to that.

And the last thing I worked on that night was these ... more swap blocks .. 8-inch "winter" blocks. They are very cute and I only have 11. I think one is either tucked up in between others or I have simply lost it ... which rather annoys me as I can't do my 3 across and 4 down ... but ... it is ok .. I will just change the plan .. maybe just put a border on it and make a tree skirt for my darling daughter ... just means I will have to open a seam and put in an invisible set zip .. should be easy ... she says .. she who hasn't put in a zip since 1991 lol  ... ... and I do believe that to be true ... Oh how I hate zips ..

Anyway for those of you in blog-land .. I do hope you have a lovely week. 

Take care and stay safe all of you ...  

Covid is still out there and it is still as active as ever ... 

as are all those crazy drivers ... 

Love and hugs .. 

Bobbie

oh  I almost forgot ...here is my sweet little dog ... who is getting old very quickly she turned 14 around the end of January this year... we love and would never, ever leave her out on the back porch .. 

My first FNWF

 Well here it is .. Friday, late afternoon ... I looked around for a sewing group to join, with the intention of hopefully getting a bit more motivated to do something in my sewing room

I found this group on my friend's blog and figured this would be a great group to join up with. The name of this group is simple .. "Friday Night With Friends" or "FNWF" for short .. they also have a Facebook page, which I have not visited yet. I will this weekend.

I should really be in my room now, but my son and his wife both have their birthday today ... and I have been on the phone for over 2 hours chatting. It was really lovely to hear their voices ... I miss them heaps, and God willing I will get to see them soon, however it certainly won't be soon enough  ...

I have been preparing some mug rugs of late to send to another DIL, (I have 3 so far) hopefully, she can sell them to help fund her social group at work ... and later I will work out a pattern to send her so she can make some herself ... So I think I will do some of them .. nice small simple little things to get me back into it .... 

I have been cleaning and sorting my sewing room this past week and it is still a bit of a wreck but ... as long as I can get to the machine, iron, and cutting mat it will be fine .. lol

  ... I have not done any patchwork or quilting for around 2½ years ... I had an incident within the family that spun me into an emotional spiral which I have found very hard to climb out of .. But we won't go there ... all I can say is, I am not in that place anymore, and I am feeling better too .. nuff said.. 

A few weeks ago I pushed myself to go into the sewing room and do something ... I told myself even if it was just to pick up a ruler and rotary cutter and slice up some charm squares .. and I have been getting that done. All 2½-inch charms. I will build these into 4 patch blocks which will eventually become a quilt .. 

 Yesterday ... I spent over 5 hours in there ... sorting stuff to be chopped up ... 

It has all been very therapeutic .. and tonight before it gets too much later I am going to go back in there and do something else ... 

I will be back tomorrow with some photos of tonight's achievements.

Have a great weekend

PS ... My boy and his wife sent me a photo of them just now ... It is a lovely pic ... makes me miss them just a little more yet at the same time puts a lot of joy in my heart ..

 A great big hello to anyone who still comes to read my posts .... not that I write any .. but if you are here ... thank you for popping in ... I will try to be a better blogger and do this a bit more frequently (i say that lots) and I do hope this will read ok ... some of my faculties are no longer with me due to the damage the stroke caused ... but all in all I am still me and I am great most of the time ... well I think I am ... lol ... when I am on my own it's hard to tell ... haha

But I have been playing with this blog for a couple of hours trying to get rid of the wretched spammers ... I guess it's my fault as I don't visit here often and I post here never ... now so I do not have to repeat this process I have changed the comment posting setup and now all comments will have to wait till I authorize them ... I had just under 100 spam comments .. really you would think these people would get off their butt and go get a job and stop wasting peoples valuable time ... 

Anyway ... on to other topics ... what have I been up to ... ummm ... nothing much ... I did catch a plane up to Brisbane and spent a few weeks with my sister in Leyburn, sort of south of Toowoomba in May ... I was going to stay until this week but Marcos was a bit unwell so I came home early... It was lovely to see my little sis ... it had been 2 years since I saw her last and she had some flybuy points left after booking a return trip for her and hubby to Perth so she figured she'd give me a return trip ... I did tell her I am worth it .. lol .. She is so sweet and I love her to bits .. they have a little granny unit out the back of their house and it is so very comfortable ... and it made the stay very relaxed ... they could go off to bed whenever they wanted .. they just kicked me out and told me to go home .. lol ... I am still an all-nighter girl and I still tend to sleep til noon if I am not woken up ... 

What have I been sewing .... ummm ... nothing much ... .... did I tell you I went to visit my sister ... yeah I did ... but I didn't do any sewing there either ... I do have enough fabric and patterns to last 3 people a lifetime of sewing ... and here I am with at best 20 years ... I did say at best ... I don't think I really have that long to get everything done ... I need to get busy and at least get the quilt tops done ... I have some done ... and I have some that have been quilted .. just need them to get some binding attached ... and ... I need to do these things sooner rather than later ... cos later is sort of catching up on me ... Marcos has said I need to do a bit of a cull cos we have discussed this and we both have decided we are going to move back to the mainland, and head north ... not sure how far north .. but north it will be ... 

I remember when I really loved the cold and winter was something I truly looked forward to ... but this winter ... well it has cured me of that ... I was reading a post that I wrote in 2012 here in blog land .. and I was coming on the cold miserable weather ... and the 9-degree temperature ... which felt like 5* .... well let me just say ... Oh my goodness ... what a sookie lala I was back then .... our weather here in Tassie has warmed up somewhat this week .... last week we were getting minus everything ... lol ... It was truly freezing cold ... in the middle of the day it was still zero degrees ... yea zero at 11:00am ... now for Australia folks .. that borders on being bloody cold ... we were getting -3* feels like -6 .... and yep ...that has cured me ... the fire is lovley ... but someone has to chop this wood and with Marcos latest heath thin he is not able to do it ... and he won't let me swing the axe cos he rerckons I will end up chopping either my leg or his head off .... hmmmm ... ....  i need to resist that temptation .. heeeheee

But yep we are coming back up where we will be closer to the kids for a bit of youthful support where and when support may be required .... and probably far enough north that I can start complaining about the heat ... but really ... but truly .. at this point in my life it won't matter where we live the weather will not be my friend .. ever ... it will be too hot or too cold .. but there is always aircon or heaters ... so I will be fine .. I think I would rather look out the window and see a hot/cold sunny day than a wet rainy dull summer/winter day .. .. our lease expires next April so we will be on the road at the end of April heading north .. and hopefully, there will be a lot of quilt tops in the packing boxes ... 

Well my lovelies ... that is all for now ... I do hope what I wrote makes sense ... it feels good to put my thoughts, as jumbled as they might be, into print. 

love and hugs .... 💓

Been busy doing basically nothing!!

 Well, it is March already, and it is creeping along nicely, my sewing room still has produced nothing. I have certainly been in some sort of serious slump. Not depressed or anything like that. (Well I truly don't think I have) But I have been looking at patterns and buying more than I will ever need ... Reckon I would have to quilt continuously for the next 40 years and I might get most of them done, providing I don't buy more. The problem is ... when I see something I like and think I can do it... I buy it. 

I watch Jenny from Missouri Star Quilt Co. and I want to make everything I see her do .. they all seem soooo easy, but still, I have done no sewing. I did patch Hubby's jeans. that took me 4 days. I hate doing them.. the first thing I have to do is go to the thrift shop and buy some jeans to cut up for the task at hand. Then I set to and open all the outside seams on the jeans to be patched. Then and only then do I put in my first order for a coffee - the patches are done in 3 stages - a patch about 15 x 6 inches goes on the knee and thigh area on the inside of the leg - another coffee + add some Bailey's please... then the main patch goes on the outside of the legs and runs from about 4 inches above the hem to just below the pockets at the top of each leg... I do use Vlisoflex and iron the patches in place before I sew anything or it would never get done. More coffee needed, please, and just a little more Bailey's thanks

I have been doing this for 40 years now... long before the iron-on was invented .. or we had overlockers that I knew about ... I truly, truly, truly hated doing them .. lol .. but haven't had to do them for some time now. These jeans are now very heavy and take up the room of 2 pairs of jeans in the washer, and I make him wash them ... I cannot hang them on the line, too heavy for me. lol. He wanted to take the bike on a very long ride. All up I think it worked out to be around 3000 kilometers round trip, plus 1000 klms for the ferry ride from Tassie to the mainland. He was to go last month but the day before he was to leave there was a Covid outbreak on the mainland and borders were closed and his trip was now off.  He will try again in August or September when it is a bit warmer but not hot. 

But in saying all that, which was probably not really necessary, and more information than you ever needed. if so I am really sorry about that

I received a letter at the beginning of the month to tell me I had a second appointment with the pre-admissions unit at the Launceston Hospital for last Thursday and while there I received the date for surgery. ... Wednesday 10th March... yes I got 6 days' notice .. oh my. 

2 of the suggestions in the paperwork they give you are... Prepare about 2 weeks of frozen meals for when you come home and ... give your house a thorough clean before your surgery...  Well, I have time for neither maybe some cleaning... but not thorough ..  

Bugger I have to leave it here for a bit ... to be continued...

Sorry about the interruption. But I am back. It is now 12:45 am Wednesday morning, I should be getting some sleep but I reckon I will get time to sleep when I get to the hospital. Mind you they tell me I am high risk so they are giving me a spinal block to do the knee replacement and that is it. Nothing more. I will be awake right through the whole procedure. So now you might understand why I am hoping to sleep at the hospital. This being awake thing does concern me. It's bad enough that they have gone into much detail about this op but now they want me to listen to the whole thing too ...lol

Stay tuned for more on this one later. There will also be photos in my next post of the delightful jeans. 

Oh! one more thing before I go. We had our 40th wedding anniversary on the 2nd of this month and I got hubby a watch and a DVD player to watch his Monty Python full TV series. ( that I also got him) and he took me out and bought me a car. Talk about upstaging me. but truly he can do this every year if he likes. 😂😂

Now, this lovely little wagon is not new but it is new for me. I have been without my own wheels for a couple of years. oh but this is the best anniversary gift ever.  My Hubby truly is an amazing man...

Have a wonderful week and hope to see you again in a week or so. As soon as I can sit in a chair comfortably 😉💖💖💖

Time has gotten away on me

 

Time has gotten away on me

OMGoodness .... has it really been 3 years since my last post ... well no, it has been over 3 years ..  

But I am guessing I am not the only person who has allowed their blog to go unattended and without update for some time.

I have been sort of unwell, I have done absolutely no sewing to speak of for over 12 months and my family is still growing and the quilts are in more demand than ever ... so ... my dear blogger friends ... this is the year I start getting things done and with some good fortune I may even get some UFO's taken care of. 

I am seeing the orthopedic surgeon at the end of this month and hopefully get a date for my knee surgery. Once that is out of the way then, that should be the end of the big things that need fixing. And I can get to go walkies with our not so young little pooch ... I do miss it.

Well, that's it from me. Short and to the point. My sister told me I talk too much about nothing, so I have been trying very hard not to bore the world with my unnecessary ramblings ... opps, and there I go again ..

Hello ...

I have been absent for a wee while ... I have been unable to gain access to my blog .. I tried every password I knew I had used over the years .. and knew I had it written down in a safe place .. you know the place ... it is so safe even you can't find it ... well that is what I thought I had done ... but no ... nothing that simple ...

Now for 12 plus month I have been trying to get into my blog ... my google password was working on my other google things so it totally bewildered me ... so i must admit I had given up ever getting back into it ... Then again tonight/ this morning I found myself here again .. trying again ... going through all the books I have used over the past 10 years with passwords and accounts in them ... and after a couple of hours .. I found a Blogger entry ... password and account/ email for the account ... and ... ok ... here I go again ... you all know I had a stroke a while back .. and I have some damage to my brain ... which in reality I have an issue remembering some things .... and I do tend to get things a bit muddled at times ... and oh yeah .. I forget things ... and apparently I also use the incorrect email address to try to gain access to my blog ... for months and months ... and months ... and I do recall now how I originally did it ..

I was helping out with a block swap group on Facebook ... and they originally started the swaps before Facebook .. so we used a blog to get the information to members .. and I was updating the blog using my Facebook account .. which uses a totally different email addie than my Facebook one ... so .. how dumb do I feel ... all this time I have been locked out because i was using a wrong email ... and I never did think it was wrong because I had bee writing a post and saved it .. switched over to the old swappers blog .. had to log into it and the computer just automatically changed the account over .. and when i tried to go back to mine it would not allow me to return to my half done post ... I was locked out .. because I was not logged on ...

So right about now I am feeling dumber than a bucket of rocks and what do I do when feeling like a massive dumb bucket of rocks ... I post on my blog about it ... sharing with the world that I am a dill .. lol...

Hopefully I will get back in here soon with some updates on what I have been doing ... mainly block swaps because that is within my skill level these days ... ..

I am working on a couple of baby quilts for my great grand daughters .. very basic ones ... ... and a possible big boys quilt for our Harry ... he was 3 last week ... so if I start it now it will hopefully be ready for when he turns 18 ...

See you all soon ..

Christmas gift ... how gorgeous

OK ... I am not sure why this would be in my posts as a draft ... but it was originally written on November 10, 2015 ... all I can say is ... my mind was still not my own back then .... so i am so so sorry Jo ... I really do love this hanger ... it is so very special ... thank you from the bottom of my heart ...




CHRISTMAS 2015



I am not sure what happened to my last post .. nothing written there that I can see and not a memory of doing it ... but thank you Jo for your sweet post ..

and talking of Jo from .. HERE in blogland .. ... she is such a special lady ... apparently I made mention on one of her posts regarding a beautiful crazy patched coat hanger she had made .... I don't really remember saying anything but I do remember the crazy patch work ... because all Jo's crazy patch is just gorgeous ...

anyway ... I received a lovely parcel in the post a wee while back and in there was the bestest surprise ever ... I thought I should wait til Christmas to open it .. but that thought passed very quickly I am pleased to say ...

these are the beautiful things my sweet friend Jo sent me ..

Time out!!!

Last Wednesday late in the afternoon apparently I had a stroke .. I say apparently because I am not too aware of the events that unfolded ... I thought I was perfectly ok even though I could not get up off the floor ..I know I was really angry with my darling husband because he rang 000 and was telling them all sorts of what I determined at the time were lies about me
But since then I now realise he was not ... All I can say is having a stroke was like nothing else that has ever happened to me ... I was aware of what was going on yet not aware of what was happening to me... I could tell you word for word what was said and done around me but can't explain why this was happening because there was simply nothing wrong .. Not with me anyway ... I was just  fine .. Even though I couldn't get up off the floor I was fine ... I have since worked out  Why I could get up apart from the obvious the stroke... My left side ... Leg and arm no longer worked I could not lift myself nor could I drag myself .. I could not crawl on hands and knees and I could not even push myself along the floor I was very stuck on the floor .. But I kept saying if I could get to the bed I would be able to get on it and I would be fine ... But try as I might I could not get there ... And the positively scary part is if Marcos had gone out like  he was going to instead of waiting for me to go to the loo before leaving Heaven knows where I would be today ... I am recovering very well because I was treated  rapidly and they stopped the damage from going too far .. But I dare say it will be some time before I make a quilt but I intend to beat this ... I will return to my sewing machine and we will be friends again .. This is a promise I have made me... I have a goal ... And it is achievable... Well I believe it is ... And I am looking forward to going home

School holidays ....

We are half way through the school holidays here ... Katie is working full time now .. So is Levi .. and that leaves 3 boys who need supervision through the day while mum and dad are not there .. and as we are the only family for miles around we get the job ... I don't mind at all ... in fact I love seeing the boys and spending time with them ... they are a joy .. but I did have lots I needed to get done this past week ... and in between I had a gall attack and was in bed for 2 days and my darling husband took over my duties .. got up in the morning .. had his coffee and headed over to the kids place to watch the boys .. and he did it without complaint ... he took his kindle and off he went ...

the boys are truly great to 'babysit' ... Cameron who is 12 just sits and plays on his phone all day ... Barak .. 10 and Chance 6 play the playstation ... all day .... and I don't care ... cos they are not seen ... not heard and I have to go looking for them to come eat lunch and snacks ... they don't fight .. they don't yell and scream or have tanties .. they get all their chores done and then do what they want ... ... I can sit and sew all day if I choose ... although it is a little difficult to pack everything I need to take over in the morning and return with it at night .. so I take hand sewing or magazines .. and just vege out ...

When Poppy went to babysit .. he got offered coffee ... Cameron made it for him .. and at lunch time .. Barak made him a cheese sandwich with no butter cos it is hard to spread ... and Chance brought him a mandarin for afternoon tea ...

Now Nan .. she gets nothing ... no coffee . . no lunch ... no mandarin ... sheesh .. she don't even get the offer of these things ... so next week when I go back to babysit ... I don't want the coffee cos I don't drink it through the day ... and I need butter on my bread so they won't have to make me one of those cheese sandwiches either .. but ... I will be demanding I get a mandarin ... a nice big fat juicy one ... haha

love these kids .. they are a small part of my family .. but an extremely large part of my life ..

Family ...

Marcos was away all weekend .. had a bus charter to do .. so I thought .. hmmm .. clean and vac the house on Saturday and then Sunday is left for sewing ... all day with no one about ... YAY ...

So I spent the day Saturday ...  (I do apologise for all this swearing girls) .... cleaning ... vacuuming ... doing laundry ... ironing ... changing bedding and even washing the quilts ... .. busy busy day ... by 6 o'clock I had eaten and showered and was sitting down with plans of falling asleep in front of the telly ... perfect end to a busy day ...

then at about 7 the dog jumped up and was at the door very excited ..tail wagging ... not barking ... just happy like Marcos or one of the kids was at the door ...

so I dragged my very tired frame up out of my chair and opened the door ... and there was our grandson .. all 18 years of him standing there with his bags in his hands and a girl by his side ... and of course my brain started racing off in 20 different directions with all sorts of scenarios .. I said to myself ... do not jump to any conclusions .. just wait till you hear what he has to say ... so they came in .. and to make a long long long story short ... she was not staying ... phew .. although he wanted to ... he left home in a huff a few months back .. and was supposed to come here a few months back ... but his mates mum talked him into staying there ... I met her the day after he was suppose to come here and I did not like her .. I don't often not like people .. but there was just something about this woman ... something off ...

Anyway .. this boy .. all 18 years of him told me how the weekend prior which was his 18th birthday ... this woman and her boyfriend and her son .... the grandson's mate .. purchased a bottle of rum and gave it to him for his birthday .. then told him a real man could drink the lot ... so being a stupid boy .. all almost 18 years of him decided to show them he was a man .... but turns out he could not drink all that rum at all ... well not drink it and then remember what happened .... thank God kids love to video things that happen around them ... .. there are heaps of videos floating around of my grandson .. tied and faffer taped to a chair ... basically unconscious cos he was sooooo drunk .. this tying up and taping was the handy work of the woman's boyfriend and her son ... then these 2 males attempted to punch and flog him sober ... he had bruises and lumps all over him ... his ear is still split .. a couple of the kids that were there called the police and 10 officers turned up .. no one has been charged yet ... i have to take the lad to the police station thru the week and he has to give a statement to them regarding this .. however he only knows what his friends have told him and what he has seen in the videos ... he remembers nothing ... apart from my very very very harsh words about drinking so damn much and being such a fool .. supposed to be an adult now mate ... if you want me to treat you like one .. then act like one .. blah blah blah ... i then made him ring his dad and tell them that he was here with me ... daddy then came to visit and left at about 11 ... so much for my relaxing .. falling asleep in front of the telly haha .. love my darling grandies ...

and today was spent with the dad ... mum .. and siblings of the 18 year old ... well until 3 this afternoon ... anyway ... tomorrow I will spend the day at the school and the police station and then to centrelink to get his payment removed from this woman clutches ... and then Tuesday it is a doctors appointment and hearing test for me ...

Yes I could have been sewing today ... but I wasn't ... instead I was talking and playing and feeding my family .. in my nice clean and very tidy house ... Then Mr 18 year old and I cooked dinner and ate .. and hubby got KFC on the way home from his job .....

On Wednesday I think I am going to lock myself in my sewing room and hit anyone who comes near the door with the broom handle ... or maybe I will just make them use the broom for the purpose it was designed for .... that would be good too ...


Sorry ... it was a bit longer than I intended it to be ... but then I never could tell a short story ... lol

it's a bit of a worry ..

Last Wednesday afternoon .. hubby was at work .. he drives school buses .. his bus was full with kiddies all eager to get home and get their homework done .. or something like that .. and he was driving along one of the many roads in town .. he had to make a right hand turn at a T-junction.. there were I might add two sidewalks on this road .... one which had a cement walking path .. anyway ... as hubby pulled up at the junction he saw a chap walking along the 'fog' line on the side of the road .. and he proceeded to pull out onto the road ... the noise of the bus motor must have startled the guy cos he tried to run up onto the sidewalk using someones driveway .. he missed his footing (we assume) and stumbled back onto the road into the path of the bus ... luckily ... and to be honest it would appear it all could have gone much better ...... but the side mirror clipped the guy's backpack and he went flying onto the ground ... Marcos pulled the bus over as quickly as he could .. told the children to stay in their seats ... got one of the seniors to take charge and went to check on the man ... as he was getting out of the bus he was on the phone to 000 ...

The man had a very nasty gash on his head and on his leg ... from we assume where he hit the road ... Marcos did all he could do to reassure the guy that help was on the way ... emergency crews turned up very quickly ..  the man was taken to hospital and the police questioned hubby for awhile .. the boss turned up with a relief driver and the kiddies all got taken home .. some were very upset and were crying ... naturally .. but they were all fine the next day ... once they saw hubby was back on the bus and was not in jail .. they had heard on the news that the man was ok ..

We have not been able to get any information on the guy ... and I guess that is the right and proper thing with litigation and insurance and responsibilities and the world as it is ... but all we want to know is .. is he ok ... we don't want his name ..address .. contact details ... just is he ok ... but we cannot be told anything ... and we must understand that ....

Now the other side of this is .. Marcos may be charged .. not sure with what at this point cos we don't know anything about the man that was hit ... he also may lose his 'drivers authority' which he needs to drive school buses / carry paying passengers .. Until we hear otherwise he is still allowed to drive but at any time Queensland Transport can ring his boss and say ... remove him from the driving roster ... that simple ...

Marcos is ok .. worried about the guy .. who was 59 .. we got that off the news ... and now worried about his job and his license  ... I do believe all will be ok as he really could not avoid the accident ... but we are just sitting now and waiting to see what the next ??? however long it takes ?? ... will bring ..

Living in limbo is not nice  .. my concerns are different from hubby's... and I don't like that I can't really share this ordeal with him ... all I can do is still here ... love him and support him the best I can ..

ahhhh bugger ...........

More dedication needed

I have really got to be committed and dedicated to this blog .... which entails actually writing stuff in here and putting up photos of the things I do and the things that are important .. to me .. 

I am going to try very hard to do the right thing by this space ... 

And I guess I could start with these ... 

the first 5 blocks in a very large collection of blocks which will one day go into the making of a quilt from this book ... The Farmer's Wife .. Sampler Quilt .. 

there are 110 blocks in total .. all 6 inch in size .. I am really loving making these and reading the letters that go along with them ... 

And here is another photo of our little Miss Carleigh ... 

Daddy calls her his princess ... 

opps .... just found this in my drafts

March 2015 ... This was the first time Nanna and Poppy met little Carleigh Jean ... Ricky and Nikeia came up for a week which was really wonderful ... we all got to have cuddles and catch up ... 

and I took photos and forgot to post them ... oh my ... well here they are .. these are the ones that really touched me ... hope you like them .. 

Nanna .. deep in thought 

Poppy's first hold

Nanna and Carleigh ... I simply love this photo .. 

Oh My Goodness

My last post was back in February ... I went to visit with my son and his family ... did a couple of posts and then seem to have lost all track of my poor blog ... 

I have been busy though .... making cushions and swap blocks .... I say this in the hope of somehow redeeming myself for my total neglect of my blog .. I really am very sorry ... I will try to do better 

Here are some of what I have been doing ... 

This cushion was made for Chance .. he turned a big 6 this year .. 

This one was for Beau .. he turned 10 

 This one for Cameron .. turning 12 and as he got a telescope for Christmas this fabric just made sense ... 

for Cory .. he turned 17 ... well skulls and cars are apparently what kids this age are into ... so this fabric was the perfect choice .. and apparently he takes it on sleepovers to his mates place on the weekend ... 

this was for Phoebe who turned 14 ... very femine and in her favourite colour ... takes after her Nanni ... 

 for my daughter Megan ... a cute little mug rug with 3 dimensional butterflies .. 

and a sweet purple cushion for her ...

I have also been making these coasters too ... they are fun and easy to do and make excellent gifts .. 

now a couple of photos of those precious great grand-babies of mine ... 

Harrison ... who is now 10 months old ... 

and little miss Carleigh who is 4 months old now ... she is so cute .. 

Initial Heart Swap Received ...

My little squishy arrived today from my partner in the Initial Heart Swap ... I was thrilled when I opened it ... a lovely little card with my second favorite flower on it ... and a beautiful mugrug / candle mat in all sorts of purple fabrics .. my all time favorite colour .... and ... a little heart filled to the brim with lavender ... again another favorite ... ... and a tiny bundle of chocolate hearts ... and yep ... you guessed it ... they are my favorite norti thing ... and all this came from Illene .. from over here ...

very pretty little parcel of goodies ... and I had already eaten a chocolate ... 

haha ... very very nice ... 

lovely little bear in a heart ... too cute ... and all those lovely purples ... 

and this just smells divine and is now hanging in my wardrobe ...

thank you so much Illene ... I love my gifts .... they are all just perfect ... 

Now to reveal all ..

OK ladies ... you have gotten your message through loud and clear .... and I am sorry for keeping you in suspense ..... I shall post a full photo of the bits that I sent my partner ... who was Lisa from Lisa's Stitching Lounge

if you pop over to her blog you will see the photo she posted, which is much better than these .... seems she loves the candle mat .... I really did enjoy making these for her ..... scrappy is something I am getting a real feel for .. 

the candle mat ... and on the little scolloped edge of the heart there are tiny beads at each point ... helped to make it look 'finished'

a simple little mug rug .. 

Everything thrown into one pic ... not too clear I'm afraid 

and here is a more recent photo of Harrison .... loves his food ... 

oh ... and I must share .. our little great granddaughter Carleigh Jean was born a on the 10th February .... she is just gorgeous ... I am still to meet her .. next weekend I think they are coming for a visit  .. such a happy Grandma ... 

introducing ... Miss Carleigh Jean .. AKA Daddy's Princess ..

life is really great ...... loving these babies ..... 

oh .. I will have her quilt finished soon too ..... 

busy  busy busy ... haha

Initial Heart Swap in the mail

I am only popping in for a quickie ... to let you know that my Initial Heart Swap gift has gone in the mail today ...

I truly loved making it ... and I do hope my partner likes it ...

Now I do apologise for the fact that this is not a total reveal ... there was something my partner asked for that just may give away the surprise if I show you the full pic ... sorry about that but we do need to keep it all a surprise .. and we only have a couple of weeks to wait ....

I am having a wonderful time with the kids ... miss hubby terribly .. but still having a wonderful time ...

hope you all are having a great week ...