At Grandma's house..........

It was Monday morning when I received this photo from DD3 who had just left Melbourne for the journey to Bordertown to see Grandma!! 

I had the best 4 days with these 2, and of course their Mum!! Dad stayed home to work and phone calls told us how lonely he was. Definitely was not lonely, or quiet in my house. They are 2 very busy little people, and I love having the grandies on my home turf.

The following pics give you an idea of what we did to fill in the days! Mr Jett loved his time in the garden, "picking all the fruit"..........

....and digging to plant some Broccoli.

Other activities included, playing with the teddies......

.....some quiet time with stickers......

.....and time with Miss Billie to sew.......

She sewed all the strips together and Grandma did the rest and now she has a doll's blanket to take home.

Mum took Mr Jett for a drive to the lake and wildlife park while Billie was sewing.......

....................there was time in the kitchen....... we made cup cakes..........

....and put them in the oven.............(note the door of my oven is not hot, or he would not have been sitting that close!!).................

                                                 

                            ........and iced them when they cooled, and then taste tested of course.

                                                                They played games..........

                  .........and Miss Billie had lots of conversations with the ladies who came to sew!

There was time in the playground at Keith while my car was serviced.

One warm afternoon there was time at the swimming pool...........

                    ............and of course fabric is for wrapping around Grandma while she nurses the teddy                                                                         and gets dressed in the tiara................

All too soon it was departure time and my house was very quiet. Perhaps Dad is not so lonely now?

Now it's back to action and preparing the house for guests who will be here this time next week. 2 weeks of fun and games and laughter to celebrate Cornerstone Creations turning 21!!

Blessings, From Jude

Australia Day

 It has been a special time today with a few local friends here for some stitching and chatting. 

It has been awhile since this group has gathered together and much was achieved. I dug out our lovely headpieces and the flags were flying. 

I hope your day has been good whatever you did. I am very thankful to be an Aussie.

There is lots to report about the remaining days of my week, so will be back soon for more newsfromjude.

Blessings, from Jude

Happy Birthday.........

 Today my favourite first granddaughter turned 22 years old. Hope your day was as special as you, and lovely to have a chat this morning.

Just a few snaps to capture the years. All the best for your new job and the next stage of your life.

Blessings, From Granny

Let's party!!!!

At the beginning of 2020 I had great plans for a party of some sort to celebrate the 20th year of Cornerstone Creations being in business. My original Gammill machine arrived on February 4th, 2002 and my next purchase of Max was delivered on February 16th a few years later. 

I started planning a party for February, 2020, but before we got too far into the year Covid started spreading and I felt I needed to delay plans until later into the year, perhaps April?? But somehow, the year got busy, life took over, and plans were shelved. 

It was late last year when I started to think about it again, and decided to celebrate a 21st birthday in February 2023 instead. Friends have told me that a 21st birthday is more important anyway!!

It has been an amazing journey and I feel very blessed to be able to work from home, with hours that suit me, doing a job that I love and to meet so many fantastic quilters who have trusted me with their creations. Many great friendships have been formed along the way. Much water has 'gone under the bridge' since February 2002, and what a journey it has been. (You can read about this in more detail by clicking the link above to Background Info where I have talked about the first 15 years of CCMQ.....perhaps this needs updating to be current?)

"Pink" fundraising events have previously been held in September each year to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Network Australia, and this also 'fell off the wagon' last year.

So the 21st birthday celebration will be combined with the fundraising for BCNA. And the theme will be Black and Bling, instead of the usual Pink. (This event is a registered BCNA event)

February plans include 3 retreats here at Number 8, with lots of fun with games and prizes, together with some stitching, lots of chatter and laughter and of course food and drinks.

THE FUNDRAISING

 A  black and bling quilt has been made and will be raffled at $5 per ticket, with proceeds going to BCNA.

This is the quilt, and I will take some more photos of this soon, and tell you how you can buy tickets.

It's probable that a Zoom sewing day will also be organised for others at a distance to join in with us.

An open day is also planned for day visitors to enjoy cuppa and scones with donation to BCNA.

There will be an opportunity for purchases of Fabric Packs and Ready, Set & Sew kits with 21% of all sales for February will be donated to BCNA.

For those unable to be here or visit, these items will be posted on the FOR SALE pages of my blog closer to the February dates.

**************

Preparation for February is underway, and before the fairy went home last week there was much action. The house looks as though a party is going to happen, with the black and bling theme!! 

This bin is full of wrapped gifts, it is a birthday party after all!!

More details will be added as they come. 

I would love to hear from you if you are interested in celebrating my 21st birthday and raising funds for a very worthy cause at the same time.

You can email me on simmoja@internode.on.net  

or phone 0411092402.

Blessings, From Jude

2 weeks in already...............

 Here we are almost at the half way mark of January, (how does that happen?),  so it seems like a good place for a newsfromjude update!!

So what has been happening so far in 2023?? 

As usual I needed to go back to the photo files and the diary, so it is just as well I take a few pics!! 

Val came to stay for a few days after New Year and put together 3 quilt tops, using Forever Magic Unicorn fabric. They are now waiting for the quilter.......

(Ignore the roll of wadding on the table, but I was cutting for the QFO quilts).

This one was made using up all the leftover pieces from the first 2!!

***********************

I had mentioned that this pile was waiting for me and I did manage to get all but 3 of these done.....

...........and then they went to the fairy to add the binding...............

..and it is just as well that someone enjoys, and does a good job of handsewing to finish.....

Sorry I don't have a finished pic of this one, and seems like there is a few more missing pics!!

I do know there are more in the cupboard, waiting for the hand stitching of the binding. I think I might have to try to machine sew the bindings on as the QFO quilts pile accumulate.

****************************

There has been a lot of fabric sorting happening, as is usual, and a lot of computer work as I add fabric packs to my blog page. Also a lot of planning going on for an event in February that I shall do a separate post for, very soon.

We have had some rather HOT days, and this is when I decide to spend time reading and this is another book that I enjoyed. It had an ending that I had not expected!!

****************************

All too soon, it was time to head to the railway station and wait to hear the whistle just before the train came around the bend............

There was not a cloud in the sky while we waited and the train was not very late this time.

********************************

The garden has been producing well. There are some strawberries in the freezer for future catering and many friends have received some of the garden's bounty.

The pickings one morning...........

                                                         ............and then again 3 days later!

******************************

Back in April, 2022 I reported on watching by zoom, the wedding of friend's daughter in India. Finally just before Christmas, he received his visa to come to Australia. Early in January they held a reception for family and friends to help them celebrate. 

They wore their Indian outifts for this..........

Look how ornate the skirt is!! Hard to photograph how much it glittered.... and apparently it 

weighed 5 kgs!! The evening was rather warm so I felt for her.

******************************

Yesterday I went to the city for my 6 monthly check with the Haematologist, with the news that levels are unchanged, which was a relief. After that it was lovely to visit with DD1 and family, before heading home. 

*********************

It was a very warm day and the temp got up to 39deg. On the way home traffic came to a complete stop on the freeway in the hills.....and I couldn't see ahead for a reason.......

..............I could see 2 helicoptors flying around overhead..........

We were stationary for about half and hour, and I am so glad I was on the way home and not running late for an appointment...and that I had the comfort of air con in the car while I waited. The TV news stated that an electrical fault in a caravan caused a fire, which burnt the van and spread to the grassed area along the freeway.....thankfully the CFS managed to control the fire with no further damage, except the caravan.

******************************

I was keen to check out the flooding around Murray Bridge and was amazed, but not surprised, at how the water had spread. I would have loved to stop on the Swanport Bridge and take a photo, but was aware that a lot of people had been causing havoc by doing just this, so I refrained. I did drive to the lookout just past the bridge, but couldn't see the same view for a photo of the water either side of the bridge. But I did get this one coming down from the lookout. The area you see covered in water would normally be grass land and grazed by cattle. A few years ago there was a dairy here. All this water is not the actual river, which is to the right of the photo. There is a lot of grazing land now covered in water, due to the levees giving way. I'm thinking it will take a long time for the land to drain and be able to be used for agriculture??..........In another life time we lived along the river, further up from here, and milked cows in an area just like this, so I can appreciate the impact this will be on the owners.

**************************

Just a few family pics for you today.....

This is GD3, who finished Year 12 in 2022 with good results, and this week received her first preference for Uni this year. A great result after putting in the hard yards to achieve her results.

GD1 completed her nursing training and enjoyed an overseas trip at the end of 2022 and now has a 12 month contract in a hospital.

A very proud big sister and brother nursing Miss Olivia.

..........who is now a very smiley baby, and how did she get to be 2 months old already??

I received these photos of Miss Billie and Mr Jett filling the pots with soil, and planting seeds......

.......and how typical that Mr Jett has got down right into the dirt, as you can see by his knees!! 

 

DD1 and family are now the proud owners of a puppy, named Alfie, and they are all besotted.

DD2 and boys have been spending time at their holiday house by the beach.

***********************

That's about all for now, as I have successfully filled in an afternoon by the aircon. The forecast temperature for today is 42deg C, (translated to deg F is 107!!!) and I just looked online and see it is now 41.8!! Not going outside to check, and hoping I have a lot of inside jobs for the next week.

Blessings, From Jude