Catching up

I see it will be a week tomorrow since I posted on my blog. Even my 84 year old mother commented that it is a few days since I had written anything! This photo is mum showing me her Ipad skills when I called to see them on Friday.

 So while I am having a break and a late lunch I shall give the newsfromjude for the week gone.

RENO PROGRESS

I spent most of the week working on quilts, and have walked around the mess and stuff in the kitchen. But today it is back into it, and emptying cupboards is happening. I have the saucepans and 2 drawers to empty. It is amazing just what you find at the back of cupboards. I can't reach into the back corners, so some things have been there for years! (I have used a long stick to pull things out from the back corners!) It has been a bit of a trip down memory lane as well. A long time ago, I used to decorate cakes, and I found the "stuff" I used to use, and one little dolly all decorated with an icing skirt and some waiting for their skirts!

 A Kenwood mixer was an engagement gift back in 1972, and it is still in use after all these years. But it is a long time since I have used the attachments I found in the back of the cupboard. A mincer, juicer, dough hook, and a liquidiser, all in the original boxes.

This mixer has done a LOT of work through the years, and there are probably not many that have survived 43 years of use.

And this photo shows a bottle of the sparkling wine that was served at our wedding reception in 1973, alongside a few serviettes that I also kept from that occasion. I don't think the wine would taste very nice after this long, but tell me, all you who don't keep clutter, how could you throw this out?? It has survived about 10 moves over the years, so I think it deserves a little corner somewhere!

Now I can dispose of the following item, which was a wedding gift and is very orange. I don't think it has hardly ever been used. It takes a lot of food to fill it.

You can see I have lots of sorting out to do. And I would like to know just how the things in the back of the cupboard can get so dusty and grimy?? More dish pan hands today as I wash a lot of stuff. I am not sorting everything, so that will need to happen as I put things into the new cupboards. This is how it looks today. When I have finished emptying the cupboards, I shall cover the floor with plastic sheets and then it is time to attack the tiles on the wall. By the end of the week, the room will be empty of everything, and I shall be able to paint next weekend. Progress is being made!

BIRD WATCHING

Just outside my work room there is a very large kurrajong tree. It is covered in large seed pods at the moment, which have dried out. I don't mind the tree, but dislike the mess of the pods when they fall on my driveway and after a rain they get quite sticky. I need to keep raking them off the drive, so that people don't walk on them and bring the sticky inside. This week there has been a lot of noise in the tree, and when I investigated I saw lots of birds swinging from the branches, and pecking at the pods. I tried to get closer, but they saw me through the window and flew away. I did get a couple of photos. You can see just how large this tree is, and how many pods there are in all the brown spots.

This is a close up of one the branches, and if you look closely there is a bird with speckled feathers, on the other side of the pods.  

FROM SMILES TO TEARS

This week it was time for the newly married couple to finally view the professional wedding photos. I received this photo by text message. I obviously had smiles before we arrived at the chapel, but the bottom photo shows me in tears. DD3 was all smiles though. In the top snap I was fixing the veil to her hair. It was very special that she wore my veil, which had been in a box on top of the cupboard for 42 years!  Just goes to show that sometimes it is good to keep things.

These photos, above and below are taken just over 42 years apart, both with the same veil in the photo. (These photos are both rare, because I usually keep my mouth shut in photos, and you can see that the teeth are the same too!!)

I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the photos.

BATHROOM UPDATE

The bathroom is almost finished, with only the shower screen left to be done. The guy was here on Thursday to measure up for it, and then told me it would be 4 weeks until installation! Lucky we can use the room as is though. Before and after photos follow. That brown bath is going out in the garden to plant things in.

ROAD TRIP

Friday I took the day off and went on a road trip to the city. I needed to choose the kitchen tiles, get a curtain rod, and a few other bits and pieces. I have 2 grandies with birthdays next week, so it was also a chance to visit them with early birthday gifts, as I won't be back to the city until after the kitchen is done. This is "Mr almost 6 years old", showing me his trucks and anything that has wheels, and especially a towbar. A real little boy.

On the way home, I called to see my mum and dad, and arrived home about 10pm.

MISS BRIDIE

......is 7 months old now. I love that her mum sends me photos so that I can see her progress. She is growing up so fast. The message that came with this photo said..." Brad can't get over how much Bridie looks like him"......

and then this photo also came through, and I can't get over just how much Brad looks like his dad in this photo! The face "fungus" might make the resemblance more pronounced, but the side facial view is incredible. More memories.

My late lunch break has turned into a bit of a marathon, and I better get back into the kitchen before the day finishes.
Another busy week is coming up, and I have a quilt to finish tomorrow, and then a few allovers to get done too. There is also work in progress in the garden, where a tree has been removed.
I shall be back soon with more quilt photos.

Have a good week,

Blessings, From Jude

Time for a quilt posting....

There's been enough posts about renovation progress, and I am a bit over it all, so I wonder if you might be too. So I thought it might be nice to share quilt photos tonight.

This quilt was made by Frances, and is a BOM from the former Quilt Basket shop at Victor Harbour. I have also made this quilt, and I know that it was about the year 2003 when it was for sale. I think it was called Country Gardens.There is a lot of applique in between the log cabin blocks, and it was a lot of fun trying to think up ways to quilt around the applique.

I quilted in a couple of extra birds on the head of the scarecrow.

I put some more birds at the birdbath and flying in for a drink, and some extra leaves on the branches.

I am hoping that the window looks like it has a lace curtain now, and the spider web has a spider quilted below it.

This quilt was made by Robyn, and quilted all over with a pattern called Pearl, which you can see in the second photo down, on the back of the quilt.

This was school house block quilt was made by Prue. She is making quilts for her grand daughters, and all with this block, but in different colours. This was quilted all over with Stars and Loops.

And this is the cute fabric that was used on the back of the quilt.

Hope you have enjoyed the quilt show, instead of house photos. Time to call it a day, ready to quilt in the morning. I have been working on a custom job today and made good progress.

The winner of the giveaway was drawn today, and was won by Susan Smith. So I shall get in touch with you Susan. I am thinking about what I shall giveaway and have a few thoughts and will let you know.

Be back soon,
Blessings, From Jude

Making progress

Just another progress report of what's been happening. The end is in sight. Last Sunday night I was a bit lot daunted by it all and vented on my blog. It all seemed a bit too much. By Friday evening, I had pushed a bit too hard, and "hit the wall", for want of a better expression. The first photo shows me sitting in front view of the TV with a microwaved dinner on my lap.

I decided to take it a bit easier for the weekend, and did not turn on Max, although the next quilt is loaded. I did a bit of "pottering" in the garden, trimming things, cutting stuff and watering. And sort of tidied in the pergola and cleared a lot of the tradesman rubbish etc. I had a nanna nap on Saturday afternoon, and ate lunch in the pergola while reading a few daily newspapers which I have not had time to read. I had an afternoon cuppa on the seat out the front of the house in the sunshine and absorbed some Vitamin D! I even phoned my family (well tried them all anyway,) as it had been awhile since I took the time to do this.

 In between this I sorted things to sell, and photographed them to list on the local Buy, Sell and Swap Online page. Even managed to sell a few things, which was a bonus. I have a few giveaways also, which is a good way to get rid of "stuff". The old adage that one man's junk is another man's treasure seems to work!

My son came to do some electrical work in the bathroom and the kitchen, so I got to cuddle Miss Bridie while he did that. She has not been very well, and thus not sleeping at night, and so her mum and dad have not had much sleep either. Sorry I forgot to take any photos of her while she was here. He unpacked my delivery so that I could have a sneak peek. Tis exciting, but will just have to wait.

This is the difference a week makes, with that wall cleared now. That horrid corner cupboard has been unattached from the wall, and is ready to move out too. The stuff that was in there is on a table in the dining room now.

The other side of the room, with the curtains gone, and I have started emptying "stuff" in those cupboards too.

This table in the lounge, has been sorted and cleared, ready for more "stuff" to be put there this week.

 And this is how the dining room looks now, from the posting on Thursday when the yellow walls turned white! I have been sorting things, washing them and repacking what I want to keep. I have dishpan hands from all the washing up!! The fridge has taken up temporary residence in the dining room, until it gets a nice new cupboard to reside in.

That's about all the newsfromjude for tonight. I feel a bit more rested, and ready for more action tomorrow. I think I have plenty of time now, and not much more painting inside.

Will be back with photos of more quilting soon, and the giveaway closes tonight, and will be drawn soon. Thanks to all those who entered.

Blessings, From Jude

Reno progress

This afternoon the dining room changed from this......

to this.... I can't believe just how much lighter, and spacious it seems.

 But of course, there is no furniture and "stuff" in there yet. That wall you can see is where the cabinet from Sunday's post was. It is now in the shed, and the freezer and another smaller cupboard will be moved to that wall. Then I shall bring a couple more trestle tables in from the shed, and set up a temporary kitchen for when the kitchen gets "gutted".  A lot of sorting and playing "musical stuff" is to happen yet.
I have now painted 9 rooms, and have part of the kitchen left to go. I don't have to do all the walls, as there will be cupboards covering most of them. My bedroom, the laundry and my quilting room are not being done at the moment. Just realised how many rooms I have in my house!!
In between all this I have been quilting, and have another custom quilt loaded on the machine for the next few days. I have 3 weeks from tomorrow until my new cupboards arrive. Must admit, I am getting excited, and can't wait for it all to be done.
I am planning some "me" time over Easter, when most of the work will be done, and I can take a few days to do not much with a group of friends who are coming to stay.

I have updated the scheduled retreat page of my blog this week, with future dates for events. If you are interested in any of them, please contact me. Would love to have you join us.

Thankyou to all those who have sent me comments in the giveaway to celebrate 14 years of Cornerstone Creations. I shall close this on Sunday evening, and will contact someone if your name is drawn out. It has been lovely to hear from so many, and I am blessed to work at such a great occupation. It is like going to a quilt show every day, well when I am not painting and sorting it is!!

Be back soon,

Blessings, From Jude

14 years have passed......

since Cornerstone Creations Machine Quilting commenced. I can't believe it is that long, but maybe that saying that "time flies when you are having fun", really is true!

Back on the 4th February it was 14 years since my first Gammill (which I called Gertie) arrived. Then in 2007 I decided to add another machine. The photo below is of the space where "Max" would go, after the extension to my room was finished.

This photo is of Gertie on her side of the room.

And this is Bruce, who delivered and installed Max, on February 16th, 2007.

These photos show a very "uncluttered" space, but I think if you look in the next room, you might just see where the clutter was moved to while the building and installation took place.

A year later I sold Gertie, and have been happily using Max ever since. I blogged the whole story in February 2015, so won't go into all that now, as I need to get to the machine and get busy.

To celebrate 14 years I am asking for comments to go in a draw for a giveaway. Not sure what it will be yet! Maybe I can give away some of that kitchen stuff in the last post!! (Just kidding!)

Leave me a comment, and I will accept blog comments, emails, and even text messages from you. I look forward to hearing from you all.

 Max is switched on and I have a quilt to baste, before I load another custom. And sometime this week, I need to paint the dining room, as I have emptied that cupboard that I showed you in the last post. Thanks for those who commented on that post, and for your encouraging thoughts.

We have enjoyed some nice weather in the last couple of weeks, but I see the forecast for early next week is up into the 40's again, so I better get busy before that happens.

Blessings, From Jude

Help! What have I done?.....

If you are one of those super duper, tidy, organised, "no clutter" people, then you might want to close out of my blog now! This is a post where I am not going to bare my soul, but I am going to bare my kitchen and the contents of some of the cupboards. 

It all started with this corner kitchen cupboard, which I have hated intensely disliked, forever. I can't see to the back, so it's hard to find things, and there is so much in there, I have to close the door quick before it falls out. Every so often, (well rarely) it gets cleaned out and repacked, but that only lasts until you use things and then it all happens again. So I decided I would like a new kitchen. A lovely corner pantry cupboard, and some overhead cupboards to store the "stuff" that I could not fit anywhere, like the pots on the top of the stove, because my saucepan cupboard was full. 

But, instead of the kitchen happening, the bathroom was redone, and the rest of the house was painted and sorted. And now that the kitchen is about to happen, I am a bit "over it". I have 3 weeks to sort all this stuff out, get the cupboards taken out, and paint the dining room and some of the kitchen!! I thought that would be heaps of time, but after my little efforts this afternoon, I have realised maybe not.

And this is a view of my kitchen taken from the dining room. Sorry it is very messy, but housework has taken a back burner for awhile now! And one cupboard has already been taken from the wall on the right, so that stuff is on the benches. I am feeling a tad depressed just looking at the photo!

This morning I brought a trestle in from the shed, and put it in the lounge where the dining table has been moved too, and started to empty things ready to sort. I hope anyone doesn't want to watch TV anytime soon!

This is where I started. This kitchen cabinet was an "extravagant" purchase when we were married. We were looking at buying a kitchen table, and found one for $41. It was white, with 4 orange chairs. (In the 70"s!) We saw this cabinet, that was white, with orange drawers, and both loved it. It had a price tag of $100, so we were being very brave by deciding to buy it. It has moved to every house we have lived in during the last 42 1/2 years. (Long ago, the orange drawers were painted white!)And now I have mixed feelings, because there is no room for it in the renovations. I won't dispose of it, but it will go to the shed, where everything goes that I don't know what to do with!! 

I am not good at throwing things out, and have kept lots over the years. But how can you throw these things out. They were all wedding presents in 1973? I know a lady who could sort this out for me in a flash, and she would not think twice about letting them go. But I would have to follow her to the rubbish bin and bring it all back again!! I have used some of the sweets dishes for catering at The Sanctuary, for special desserts, but some of the glasses have never been used. There used to be a matching blue jug for the glasses, but that must have broken, and the glasses are full of dust, so have not been used recently, if at all.

These are too precious to get rid of. The cups and saucers belonged to my grandmother, and we use those for quilting weekends, when we have special 'high teas'. The green set at the back belonged to my great uncle, and he gave me the whole set after his wife died, and they had no children. I have to confess that being green, it was not a favourite and I used some it, and even used saucers as drainers under pot plants!! I am horrified now, because I realise that it is of some value. I had no appreciation of this as a young bride.

These shelves are mostly wedding presents as well. And a few dishes that belonged to my grandmother. Some of these are still in the original boxes, and do get used for special high teas too. Do you remember the Hollywood, and the Bessemer and the Corningware from the 70's? All this is covered in dust as the cupboard louvre doors let in all the grime. It is getting easier as I type this to put it in the shed!!

How many mugs should be taking up space in the cupboard? We don't use any of these, and I have a box full still in the shed of the ones we used across the road, that have not been brought into the kitchen yet. Some of these are children's mugs, so maybe I need to consult my family about whether they want them?? Otherwise I could easily let these go.

These dust covered tea pots, that were wedding presents, have never been used, so I could easily let these go too.

 And this is my recipe book collection. Time soon to go through these and keep what I want. Meanwhile, they will go into a box to be sorted later.

 I still have all the plates etc from across the road that are in the shed, so I think I could get quite ruthless with a lot of this. (Well, maybe?)

As I am typing this, I am thinking that if I can offload some of this stuff, then maybe the rest would fit into the cupboard space I have, and I won't need more cupboards!!??

This is only a small peep into my cupboards and if you have read this far, I hope you are not too dismayed. Over the last few years, life has been so busy, that things have got rather disorganised, and I will be so pleased when the renos are finished, and my house is sorted. But in saying that, I realise I have a lot of personal things in my bedroom to sort and get into order.

Anyhow, I have got that off my mind now, and shown you a glimpse into my chaos. It will be good when it is all done, and then I hope my blogs will be more about what I am sewing, which will be more interesting than in my cupboards!!

Blessings,
From Jude

Quilt update

While I am sitting here this morning updating the blog, (and procrastinating working on a custom quilt), I have looked back in the photo files and see a few more quilts that I have not shown you.

First up is a quilt made by Jenny, and quilted all over with a pattern called Tracery, which you can see in the second photo, taken of the back of the quilt.

The next quilt is also made by Jenny, and quilted all over with a pattern called Modern snails.

The next quilt was made by Merridy and she wanted it quilted with circles, and not too dense.

This quilt was made by Kerry, for a friend who has a farm. This was quilted all over with a swirly pattern, which gives the appearance of the wool on the sheep.

There are still more quilt photos in the files, but they will wait for another day. The quilt on Max is calling me to try and finish it today, so I better switch the machine on and stop procrastinating!?

Blessings, From Jude