Realisation

I’ve come to the conclusion that when I’m feeling discombobulated or have the druthers……..I knit socks!Pair number 2 for 2019……and it’s only March…..

What do you do?

Meredithe x

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Class show and tell

Today’s show and tell is from my students at Sewn and Quilted.

Morning

Jo has her second “Carousel” (pattern by everyday quilts) together so we cut borders for the next stageI showed Marilyn how to make a thumb pincushion and she stitched a couple more blocks for “Sweet Sunday” tooCarole has replaced almost all of her applique – good job!Sue had cut out most of the triangles for the next stage of her “Bessie Creek Road BOM” from Treehouse Textiles (we cut the last ones out in class)and we worked on the hexagon componentand Marg (who works in the shop on my day and is invaluable) had some show and tell for us all with her gorgeous hexie quilt which has been basted and Marg will now hand quilt

Afternoon

Lyn stayed all day and finished quilting both of her table runners, but left before I could get a photo.

Fernanda had some show and tell – her first sock (hope it’s not a loner!)and she’s lined the inside of this gorgeous tinand in class she made a block bookHelen’s quilt for her sister is back from quiltingand she started to sew her triangles togetherthe other Lyn sewed her sashings and cornerstones into rowsTineke had made more blocks at home, so we added the bottom corner triangles and at the same time she made baby half square triangles with the off-cutsCathie cut out the first of her templates and started cutting background piecesand I gave Jane a hand quilting lesson, which I must say she took to like a duck to water – and she’s enjoying it!Yay!  Another convert!

Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted

Class show and tell

Double class this week, so this first lot is from the quilt shop class.

Jennifer has joined the quilt shop’s 2019 BOM which is the Tula Pink 100 blocks quilt, so we worked out which fabrics belonged to which blocks and then Jennifer started to hand piece the first of her blocks (only 99 to go!)Karen had a refresher on her embroidery stitchesVal played with some decorative stitches on her machine and added some variegated thread stitchery to her dollsand Rosalie and I worked on her border placementMeredithe x

This class is held at the quilt shop

Mid-century modern flowers

As you may remember, I’m participating in the QAL held by Cecile and Bea the theme for which is “Flowers”.

I put the last of the embroidery stitches on my blocks on Sunday evening (just a little late!) and here they are: They now need a trim back and I need to start on the accompanying machine pieced blocks.  Hmmm, now when can I carve out some time for that…….?

Meredithe x

Squealers

It was Squealer time over the weekend and on a very, very hot day we gathered at Karen’s cool, air-conditioned home and had fun!

Of course there was food for afternoon tea (or lunch for those who hadn’t had any!)and even birthday cake for yours trulyDe-Licious!!Fern had a new sock knitting bookand was busy knitting, continental styleand her sock progressed wellMiss E’s son had made this key ring attachment at school using a 3D printer and designing it himselfand Miss E brought along her daughter Miss R who had a crochet lesson (from someone who wasn’t her Mum!)and Miss E herself was crocheting tooKaren has stitched the first round on her embroidered clothHelen continued with her crocheted blanketI struggled with embroidery for stems on my last flower block (this was frogged and three attempts later was happy with what I came up with!)Maree is up to the border on her “Sweet Pea” blanketand Andrea has been/is making charity quilts for her guild, to be given to children in need Meredithe x

Class show and tell

Morning

Sue E has finished the blocks for the first month of her “Bessie Creek Road” BOMand she worked on more of her “Welsh Quilt” blocks (pattern by everyday quilts)Leanne traced out 60 trianglesDenise is making progress on her “June Dyson” quiltJo has just one more row to complete the centre of her “Carousel” (pattern by everyday quilts)Carole discovered that she was using a border that had been cut to the wrong width!  Off came all the applique she’d done so she’s diligently working at putting them all back on again.  Commiserations, Carole!  And we chose some new flower fabrics tooand Marilyn whipped up these blocks in classwhich includes this embroidery that Marilyn did as a young girl

Afternoon

Lyn stayed all day and put together the two extra table runners she is making and even got to quilt one of themJane had her baby quilt top finishedso she made up a backing and together we basted it ready for Jane to learn hand quilting at her next lessonHelen brought along her finished block book that she started in class last time and she worked on another “Sweet Sunday” blockthe other Lyn stitched more of her blocks togetherFernanda had a sock knitting lessonand Cathie and I chose some fabrics for a new quilt! Meredithe x

This class is held at Sewn and Quilted

Summer Treat

All this Summer I’ve had a hankering to go to the beach and revisit a childhood memory.  Every year we would holiday at Torquay in the caravan park (now gone and replaced with a “resort”) and every year we would have one evening where Mum and Dad would buy fish and chips and we’d eat them on the cliff top of the surf beach and watch the surfers as the sun went down.

After a day at the beach we’d come back to the caravan park, shower and dress, and with our skin tingling from sun and sand and our bodies pleasantly tired from body surfing we’d get in the car and drive to the top of the (small) main street to the fish and chip shop.  Inevitably there was a queue but once our order was placed Dad and LittleBigBrother would wait outside the shop for our number to be called and Mum and I would go over the road to the ice-cream shop that also served drinks for the milkshakes; banana for Mum and LittleBigBrother, chocolate for Dad and blue heaven for me (I’ve always been a blue girl!).  Then it was off to the surf beach, parking the car where we all had a good view of the ocean, windows down to hear the surf and let in some breeze, then happy munching on hot fish and chips and slurping down cold flavoured milky shakes while watching those magical guys and girls on those seemingly flimsy boards navigating waves and currents and displaying extraordinary balancing skills as they rode the ocean waters.

As it was my birthday on Wednesday, I put in a request to head to Torquay to relive this memory, albeit for lunch not dinner, and assuaged the hankering.  So we picked up Mum along the way (so lovely to be able to do that) and hit the highway to the Surf Coast on the perfect Summer’s day – not too hot and just the right amount of breeze.

The fish and chip shop was empty, no queue, so it didn’t take long to order our lunch and while The Golfer waited, Mum and I headed out to see if we could find some milkshakes, or coffees for the grown-ups!  The ice-cream shop is now a dress shop, but a cafe nearby gladly made up our order and with our lunch ready we wended our way to the surf beach, parked the car in just the right spot, wound down the windows and enjoyed the views and our meal.

We wondered idly if the headland had changed much in the years since we holidayed there, whether the water and wind had eroded the rock by much.The tide was well outbut there was a bunch of school children learning to boogie-board and some surfers as well, all having a brilliant time judging by the squeals of delight we could hearAnd the fish and chips?  Must say the chips weren’t as good as those from the Sorrento fish and chip shop, but the fish, potato cakes and dim sims were very goodI even did what we did as kids, tearing off a bit of the paper and wrapping it around the fish as a “handle” so we didn’t burn our fingersand, of course, I had a blue heaven milkshake – hmmmm, heavenly!After our repast I asked if anyone was interested in a paddle or walk along the beach, or both.  The Golfer wasn’t keen, but Mum and I clambered down the stairs to the beach and after a walk along the sand decided a paddle would be just the thing.  We took off our shoes, rolled up our trouser legs and wadded in.  The water was deliciously cold and refreshing, making us both gasp as the first waves lapped our feet and legs.  The Golfer had picked up the camera and from the cliff top took the following two shots (I think he might have to be in charge of the camera now!) We forgot to count the waves and the seventh wave caught us by surprise as we were watching the surfers and we both ended up with wet trousers, which we didn’t mind a bit!Mum and I both so enjoyed our walk and paddle, breathing in deeply the sea air, feeling the sand between our toes, the cool lick of water around our legs, the obvious delight of the school children as they were tossed around by the waves on their boogie boards.  I could have stayed all day, but we did have to head home.

The Golfer decided he didn’t want to battle the traffic on the Geelong Freeway so we high tailed it to Queenscliff to catch the ferry over to Sorrento.  We made the next sailing with just a couple of minutes to spare and settled ourselves in the loungeSoon the ferry was movingwe’d left Queenscliff behindhad a view of the headsthen Sorrento was in sightcoming closer and closerThe Captain then announced that over the last couple of days there had been a pod of dolphins near Sorrento and the lounge area was deserted within seconds as everyone scrambled to get a good viewing post.  We went to the stern and leaned over the side.  It was so exciting to see the first splash of dolphin!I took a ridiculous amount of photos, just pointing the camera in the general direction and clicking the button while I looked with my eyes as I didn’t want to miss seeing them by looking at/through the camera.

They ducked under the ferry so I raced to the other side, still clicking madly, and was rewarded with these They are such graceful creatures and swim so swiftly.  It was such a joy to witness their frolicking.  They didn’t follow the ferry for long but seeing dolphins just topped off a perfect day!

This was definitely one for the memory box, and now it’s been done as a post I can revisit it here too.  Hankering assuaged…….until next Summer!

Meredithe x