Progress report.....

I don't know where the days are going, but time just seems to be whizzing by. Here we are at the end of another week, and the weekend is here. Thought I would update you with how the renos are going. The bathroom guys left  a couple of days ago, and yesterday I cleaned up the floors etc. The dust from their work was everywhere, and all the door frames and walls and floors have now been cleaned up. I realise that when the guys are doing what they have to do, the mess has to happen. Probably no different than when we are making quilts, and cutting and sewing, except that our "mess" of fabric and threads, is not dusty and much cleaner. I am now waiting for the plumber to come and connect the taps etc, and install the new toilet. And then the shower screen needs to be measured up and that wont be done until March. It is fortunate that I have another shower and "little room" in the house. A photo will have to wait until it is finished, but it is so much lighter and seems much roomier.

I am now back to the quilting for a few days, until I start work in the kitchen. I have only 2 rooms left to paint now, the dining room and part of the kitchen, so I can see the end. Well, that is inside, as I hope to get some painting done outside after that.

A delivery of these 2 boxes arrived yesterday, so it was exciting to take the lid off the big box and look inside! But it will be a month yet, before it comes out of the box. I shall be patient.

Blessings, From Jude

This morning........

.......when I switched on my computer, and checked emails, and then opened up facebook, I found a friend request from my 84 year old (young?) mother! This is her profile photo. She has been given an Ipad and has been introduced to facebook, so that she can keep up with all the family's goings on.

She says she is still learning, but is enjoying herself. 

Just shows you that it is never too late to learn something new! Good on ya Mum! Welcome to modern technology.

Blessings, From Jude

That purple quilt is finished!

I received this photo from Sue a few days ago, of her finished Purple Renaissance quilt that I posted about recently. I asked readers for an opinion of what coloured binding Sue should use, because she did not have enough of the purple fabric.
Here you can see the finish, with gold binding. Looks good Sue, well done.

I have been meaning to post all week, but thought I would do a few smaller posts tonight. It has been a very hectic few days, and no quilting since last Thursday. It's time now for a shower, and a good nights sleep, and then back to the machine tomorrow.
There is a stong smell of paint tonight, because I have been using a timber varnish to freshen up the window frames. It has filled the whole house, which the wall paint does not seem to do.

Blessings, from Jude

More family time

Last Sunday we had an impromptu family BBQ to celebrate my brother's 60th birthday. It was also my baby sisters 45th birthday so a double reason for a gathering. My brother lives about 8 hours away from most of the family, and mum and dad had been hoping he would come for a visit. He is a busy farmer, and never knows what he is doing until the last minute, so it was Saturday before he phoned mum. I shelved my painting plans, (intentions are only intentions aren't they?) and travelled the 2 hours to join them.  I gave him a quilt for his birthday present, although I am not too sure what he will do with it!! My son said he would probably take it out into the tractor, or let the dogs sleep on it!! But it's not my worry now, as I have handed it over. 

My brother and my sister.

Miss Bridie came for the BBQ, and this is a photo of her and another great grandchild, who is one month younger. Miss Bridie would have been grabbing Charlotte, if she had not been held back!!

And of course we took the opportunity for a family photo. It is a rare occasion that all 5 siblings are in the same place at the same time!

I had driven to the city (3 hours away) on Friday for the Valuation Panel meeting, and then home again that night, after a lot of shopping in the afternoon. I had quite a few more things on my list, but ran out of time. I did come home with cupboard door handles for the new kitchen, bathroom mirror, door handles and a few other items. Still looking for a new curtain rod for the lounge, and have to make a decision on kitchen tiles yet. Perhaps another road trip coming up?? 

I think that after the last few days of driving and painting etc, it might an idea for a few days of quilting coming up. I have a month before the kitchen is to start, so plenty of time now to paint in there and pack up the cupboards. The end is in sight!!

Blessings, From Jude

Progress report

Just an update of where the renovations are up to. I have been working in 2 bedrooms since I finished the lounge, and you can see the contents in the first photo. This "game" of musical furniture just seems to keep on going!

This is one bedroom, which had lovely apricot coloured walls. This was painted early in my patchwork days, and I had floral quilts to match. It took 2 coats to cover the colour........

to this much lighter and "seems more spacious" colour.

The colour looks a bit different again in this photo, and this is tonight after I have put "stuff" back and remade the beds. I still have some colour to put in the room, mainly with quilts on the end of the beds, and a few wall hangings. Someone commented the other day, that they had painted their lounge and taken all the things off the walls, and then decided they liked it without stuff and did not put them back. While I don't mind the "uncluttered" look, I want to hang the things I have made. It is my hobby, my business, and a reflection of who I am. My sister gave me a "Creative Woman" panel once, and I made a quilt with it. I shall find the quilt and post it for you to see.

And this is the same room as in the first photo above, and you can see how much room there is now. The long lounge is still in the dining room as I need some muscle men to move that for me. And then I shall fill this space with the dining table and boxes of stuff from the kitchen as I pack it all up! I am glad it is a large room.

The bathroom and the "little room" are making good progress.  The shower screen will be nearly a month before that is put in as I have to wait for guy to come to town to measure it and he only comes once a month.

That's all for now

Blessings, From Jude

A bit of this and a bit of that.....

Kaye's quilt

I have recently finished this Hidden Star quilt, made by Kaye and custom quilted. It was on the machine for awhile, with so many interruptions in January.

The bean bag

I received a text message with this photo a few days ago, from my niece who has filled her bean bag with beans, and she is very happy with her creation. 

 Blog books

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Blog2Print offering a 30% discount for printing my blog book. I thought this was a good offer, and decided to do it. It took awhile to process and then told me that I had too many photos for one book. No worries, I thought, I would do 2 books, for 2015 and divided it into 6 monthly books. Still seemed a good price at the checkout because I knew that I had been posting a lot more in 2015. But I have to say, I forgot all about the exchange rate, and got a bit of a shock when I looked at my Visa card statement soon after that. (My excuse is that I was a bit distracted that day as I was trying to swallow that horrible medicine!!) Still, I love getting the books printed as it is really the story of my life, and maybe my grandchildren will read them one day.

 I wish I had started doing this years ago. I still hope to write the story of my life when life quietens down a bit. (?)

These are the collection of my blog books since 2011. 

Visitors

 Last week friends from Adelaide called in for lunch on their way through Bordertown, for a holiday in Queensland. It was lovely to see them. Thanks for calling in, and I hope you have a great trip.

More renovations ahead

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I was having a day off on Sunday. It was time to sort out the next stage of the house renovations. The bathroom is well underway, and the tiles are being grouted tomorrow, and then the shower screen will be ordered and hopefully by next week, that and the "little room" will be finished. Tomorrow the "little room" will be painted, and then on the weekend I hope to do 2 of the bedrooms. The lounge is still a big mess since it was painted, with the drop sheets still down and furniture not put back, but no point cleaning that up until the bathroom guys are done, as they are going in and out. When I have done the bedrooms, then it will be time to paint the dining room, in readiness to shift the freezer etc from the kitchen. Because the kitchen will be next!! This is the room I wanted to get done in the first place, and all this other has slipped in before it. I was not real sure whether the kitchen would actually happen until Sunday, so I am rather excited about this stage. It will be chance to go through all my cupboards and have a good sort out. I will have more cupboards and a better layout than I have now. I am very fortunate to have a son who is a qualified cabinet maker. He is now an almost qualified electrician so both his trades will be useful in my kitchen reno. This photo was taken after we finished working on the kitchen plans that he had drawn up. This little miss is a very happy little girl and growing up so fast.

It has been a big week, trying to get some quilting done, and checking out prices for kitchen sinks, ovens, hot plates and rangehoods etc.  Thankfully we have had some more rain, so the garden watering is on the back burner for a few days. I am trying not to worry about the mess everywhere and tell myself it won't be long now. I am just waiting for a time frame for the kitchen units to be ready, so that the demolition of this one can be planned and the plumber to do his bit. Just as well I have the electrician so don't need to call another one. The stove is to be shifted so that needs a major wiring job.

Now that I can see the end in sight, I am drawing up a schedule for retreats and classes for 2016. I shall post this on the blog in the scheduled retreats page very soon. I have some names on my list already, so look forward to hearing from you if you are interested in anything at all.

Catch ya later,

Blessings, From Jude

"Tis done!

Just a quick post this morning to update you on yesterday. I started painting the ceiling and when I was 3/4 way through, I realised that I was going to run out of paint. So a trip to the store when it opened at 9 saw the purchase of another tin. I forgot that ceiling paint was much thicker, and had also used this 4 litre tin in the bathroom. I should have purchased a 10 litre tin in the first place. I had finished the ceiling by mid morning, and then took some time out when friends called in the see the progress.
Then it was time for an early lunch before I opened the wall paint, which is called Seafog. This colour is not a lot different than what was already on the walls, so only needed one good coat to cover. By 4pm I had finished the walls. I should have counted how many times I stepped up onto the ladder.  I am thankful that my ceilings are not high in this house, as I am not that confident going up any higher than 2 steps. Then it was time to wash the roller, brush and tray, and take off my "painting" clothes and wash the paint from my face and hair. That felt much better. I will say I was in bed by 7pm last night for a good sleep.
There are no photos, as the mess is all still there, and I need to take the tape off the doors etc yet.
That will wait for another day, as today I am having a day off!!
Tomorrow will see the bathroom guys back again, and our local patchwork group commences again for the new year. And some quilting to happen this week too. There will be more renovations as a last minute decision has been made to update the "little room" too, while the guys are at it.
I still have more painting in my future, but maybe a week or two yet.

Because it seems strange to write a post without any photos, I shall include some I took in my garden recently. First is a plant that I purchased because I thought the flowers on the label looked pretty, so I was rather happy to see it when it did flower. Maybe next year I will get more flowers.

And this is one of my roses that has been very happy to to grow now that they have the fence to shelter them from the north winds.

Enjoy your Sunday, whatever you are doing. Will be back soon.

Blessings, From Jude