A quick post.....

while waiting for my "taxi" to arrive for a day trip to the city. The QGSA quilt exhibition starts today, and we are heading up to check it out. 'Tis a bit exciting as a few local girls have entered quilts this year, and I know of 3 of them that have received phone calls telling them they have won a prize. So the anticipation to find out what the prizes are is high. Of course, having your quilt hanging in the state exhibition is a prize, but to receive a ribbon is the "icing on the cake".

The weather is calm here this morning, and hopefully the wild winds have gone for now. Our power blackout lasted for 9 hours on Wednesday evening. I am very thankful for my wood heater, and managed to boil some water for a nice cuppa, and kept quite warm. It is a stark reminder of just how much we rely on the power for almost everything we do. There has been lots of damage in parts of our state, and some areas are still without power. 

Thought I would post a quilt photos this morning, as it seems to be awhile between pics of quilts on the blog. 

This was made by Sherrel, using the Quick Curve Rulers of Sew Kind of Wonderful. There are so many options when using these rulers. Our local group is doing a workshop soon, and I have had the ruler for a "few" years, so I am looking forward to this. This is the first of 3 of these quilts that I have to do, so the challenge is to try and make them all look a bit different. Will post the others in due course.

Almost time for my ride to arrive, so will be back soon, with an update of our day trip to the city.

Blessings, From Jude

"Tis a blackout........

The whole state is on a weather alert today and tomorrow, for extreme weather conditions. This morning was the calm before the storm, and gradually the winds have increased and now it is raining. I  am not sure how bad it will get, and maybe the worst will be further north of here??

About an hour ago, the power went out. My desktop computer went off, Max is off, the lights are out, and even the cordless phones don't work. I do have a laptop and there is 70% battery left. My mobile phone is down to 70% also. It seems to whole state is out of power. Thankfully I don't need to go out anywhere, and I shall stay warm because I have my wood heater. I will have something to eat tonight, because there is cooked chicken in the fridge that I can make a sandwich with. But no cuppa to go with it. Wondering if I might put a saucepan of water on the wood heater to boil??

You can see in the photo that it is very dark in my room, and gloomy outside. 

 But, it does remind you of how reliant we are on the power, for almost everything we do. Business' can't operate without power, and whole country is crippled. Scary thought.

So without further ado, I am switching off, and heading to the recliner to put my feet up by the wood fire, (with a saucepan of water on top), and maybe contemplate life or something profound like that!!??

Hope everyone stays safe in this weather, especially those in the midst of it.

Blessings, From Jude

In the Pink Retreat report......

This post was supposed to happen yesterday, and I went through the photos and exported those I wanted to post, but that is as far as it went! 

The city contingent left yesterday morning after another successful weekend. The weekends are always such fun with lots of laughter, and sharing of life stories, and this was no exception. I have to say that this was one of the "noisiest", (in a good way), with the level of chatter at a high. There were so many conversations happening, that it was hard to know which one to go with!  It rained most of Saturday, but it did not matter, and if we had not been sitting by the front window with the blinds open, we would not have known. It was toasty warm in the house, with the wood fire burning.

 Some ladies have been through some hard times recently, and said that the weekend had been good therapy for them and one said how "normal" it made her feel again. A comment in the guest book, said "Thankyou, I feel pink again"! Another said "so much love and laughter, this weekend really keeps us "in the pink"!"

I would like to thank those who came, those who visited, the ones who donated to the auctions, or made pink goodies to eat, or bought raffle tickets or helped in any other way. You all helped contribute to the weekend. Life has been fairly full lately, and therefore I had not sold as many raffle tickets as usual, and the auction was smaller, but still a total of $570 was raised for BCNA. So thankyou to everyone.

I need to say a special thankyou to Helen, who made the following items for the girls attending. They received special decorated pincushions to sit beside their machines. A very creative use of old things from the "op shop"! 

And also wrist pin cushions as well, that the girls all proudly wore. One lady even had it on her wrist as she left on Monday morning in the car!

The auctions were a lot of fun, and it was great to watch the faces of the girls when they checked out what they had bidded on, because some of the items were a "mystery", or had extra little things inside.

 Pat acted as auctioneer on Saturday afternoon, just before she left to attend a wedding. Here she is displaying a scarf to be sold, and asking for a bid.

I was in the next room, and Max was quilting a quilt, when I realised that the "noise" was not there, and this is what I found. A mass exodus, and only 2 stayers, as the others had gone for nanna naps!

There was no project for the weekend, and everyone was working on their own things. One was hand quilting,

..................another was knitting,

........some sashiko,

.................some paper piecing,

......and some needleturn applique,

.................were all being done one the first table.

The other table were the "working at the machine" girls.

An "eye spy" baby quilt in progress,

some hundreds of  "left over" half square triangles being made into blocks,

some flannel baby quilts being made,

and a binding being sewn on.

Of course there was lots of pink happening, as you can see in the following photos!

We had pink mashed potato,

........and some pink drink too.

SOMEONE used my camera, when I was not looking! (And you may notice that I took time last week to visit the hairdresser, and there is not a grey hair in sight!!)

Sunday afternoon, we had a special devonshire afternoon tea to finish the weekend. It is a chance for my grandma's cup, saucers and plates to have an airing. I have decided that a cuppa tastes much nicer in a fine bone china cup. We should do it more often. It was also a special occasion to celebrate the birthday of one of the girls, so a cake was decorated.

The candles were lit, and Pat was told not to blow on them, she needed to fan them out! So she picked up the bread and butter plate and used that! (I don't know how we all survived with all those years of blowing out the candles, and I can't recall anyone getting sick!)

We drew the winner of the raffle quilt, and Jean (who says she never wins anything!) was a very happy lady.

One lady organised a "pass the parcel" for the weekend, and each person received a pink chocolate, until the end and this was the "prize" at the end!!????? I won't say anymore, but ?????

Raelene phoned me a few weeks ago, to see if I would quilt a quilt for her while she was here for the weekend. Well, actually she asked if Max would quilt her quilt! (And most of you know that Max is the name for my quilting machine). In the conversation I made the comment that Max was almost 10 years old. Raelene is a bit of a poet, and made up the following poem which she read out to us all. I hope you can read it, you may need to click on the photo to enlarge it. Thankyou Raelene.

 (The gift for Max was a can of WD40)!

And this is the quilt that Max finished for her.

And of course we had to have a group photo for the wall. There were quite a few taken, and this was the best of them all. It is so hard to get your "children" to behave for a photo.

The house is quiet, the beds are all remade, a cleanup has been done, and the washing is done.

So once again, thankyou to all for another great weekend.

It's time to get back to the machine (Max), and finish the quilt that is on. I did turn him on yesterday, with good intentions, but "lost" almost 2 hours sometime in the afternoon!!??

Not long now until the next retreat, in less than 2 weeks, when another group will gather for the next Pick a Case Mystery retreat. So lots to do to finish some more cases, and a few quilts to quilt.

Blessings, From Jude

Let the fun begin.......

The annual "In the Pink" retreat started this afternoon, so I look forward to another fun weekend. The little pink purses have been filled with their "money" to bid on the items for the auctions.

The pink fluffies have come out of their tin, and found hiding places all over the house. These "creatures" were given to me a couple of years ago, and after trying to work out what I was going to do with them, they have turned out to be a lot of fun.

These are the goodies that have been donated for the auctions. The money raised from this is donated to the Breast Cancer Network, and the bidding is lots of fun, when someone thinks they have won and then a sneaky bid comes in at the last moment!! 

The pink decorations have been put up, and the goody bags filled up. 

 
 It did not take long for everyone to get busy with their own projects. There are lots of hand stitchers this weekend. The house is full, and there are 3 day trippers who go home to sleep.

Now they have all retired to a comfy spot by the wood fire, with a bit of hand stitching and lots of chatter.

It won't be long before we are all tucked up in bed, and tomorrow I look forward to lots more laughter, chatter, and maybe a bit of sewing.

Hope you enjoy whatever you are doing this weekend, and will catch you again in a few days with a final report.

Blessings, From Jude

Home again

I am home again after my few days in the city. After the children were delivered to their schools on Friday, I was able to make my way home. It took me all day, as I went to the plant shop, had coffee with a friend, had lunch with another friend, visited my mum and dad, stopped for a coffee, and went to another shop, all on the way home. Then I met up with another couple of friends, who then stopped off at my house on their way home for a tea of fish and chips. So it was well and truly dark by the time I was unloading all my "stuff" from the car. As well as my clothes, I had my purchases of plants, bags of compost and fertiliser, and lots of stuff for the pink auctions for next weekends "In the Pink" retreat. 

I did take a few photos during the week, but I "borrowed" most of the following from facebook, so thanks to whoever took these. The first is DD1 and family, where I spent my week.

The children gave me a thankyou pressie and card, and here it is being read to me.

DD2 and hubby had a night out last night, and posted this photo on facebook, and I thought it was worthy of posting on the blog.

And this was also posted on facebook yesterday, of Miss Bridie and Rusty having a bit of a chat! Rusty seems a bit serious, but Miss Bridie seems to think something is rather funny. (And I know it is a bit strange that a black dog is named Rusty!!?)

Yesterday I spent a lot of time out in the garden, trying to get some plants in, and pulling some weeds. I still have a bit to do yet, but things are coming along. Winter has been so wet and cold, that not a lot of time has been spent outside.

Today I need to get the pink auction stuff organised and set it  up "somewhere". And find the little pink purses with the "money" in, and put up a few pink decorations. I have a menu planned for next weekend, so a bit of time in the kitchen will be in order as well. The beds are made, but a bit of dusting, and floor cleaning would be a good idea too.

Tomorrow, it will be back to quilting, and to tell Max his "holiday" is over.

Time for a shower, and action in the house. Bye for now.

Blessings, From Jude