Tis Christmas 2021!

Checking in to wish you all a lovely day, on this special day that we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

May you know His peace today and in the days ahead. 

Blessings, From Jude

 

Catching up ......YET AGAIN!

Time for another update of newsfromjude.  How did it get to be this far into December? I can't give the excuse that life has been busy, busy, as things have really slowed down here, which is good. Reading back through some blog posts from years ago they always seemed to say that I was trying to achieve a more balanced life. While I still have a lot of things to occupy my time, the pressure seems to have finally eased. There could be a few reasons for this...... Covid restrictions and not going so far, reaching retirement age, finished with our local exhibition..... they could all have contributed to this, but probably a big reason was the fall I had. This has certainly curtailed my activities and recovery is slow. Most of the bruising has gone, but there is still a problem around the kneecap area which will be investigated if it's not healed early in 2022. I do what I can, and have spent a lot of time with leg up and I have read more books in the last few weeks than in the last couple of years. It's a pity my supply (of reading material!!) has 'dried up', but possibly just as well as there are many other jobs for me to do. 

The lead up to Christmas Day has always been a rush as I try to finish quilt deadlines, sort cards, gifts and cooking. This year our family has already celebrated together, I have done the cards and decided not to put myself under pressure with the baking. (I certainly don't need the temptations in the house either!) There are still some quilts going through the system, I have spent early mornings in the garden, there has been a bit of socializing with coffees out with friends, and I've managed to get some stitching time as well. I could get used to this life! 

I have tried to keep up with blog reading, but must apologise for not acknowledging comments. Please be assured I appreciate your responses and will try to do better in 2022!!

FAMILY TIME

After the celebration of mum's 90th birthday, she came back with me to spend a week. We read books, chatted, entertained friends, had nana naps, and spent time in the garden....... until the arrival of DD3 and family on their way home to Melbourne.    They parked the van in the front driveway..... 

...........and Mr Jett told me this was his bed!............

                                                       It was then time for stories with Ma.....................                       

..........................and a lesson from Ma on how to play softly!!

I was finally able to give Miss Billie her quilt in person and she is pointing to the little girl with her name on it that was quilted alongside the tree.

The doll's bed came down from the top of the cupboard and we found a little quilt for dolly.

There was "tea for two"..................

................and a four generation photo, and Jett is looking up because he wouldn't sit still and his Dad told him to look up in the tree for the possum!!

Breakfast time in the pergola.....................

I had to get the machine out for Miss Billie, but think she might be still a bit young as she didn't have the strength in her foot to push down the control.

Now it's time for the Gingerbread Man story with Grandma.

Time to sit with the teddies....................

It was a lovely few days and having them here for the first time in almost 2 years!! Mum and I then returned to our quiet time reading books and we may have had nana naps too!!

GARDENING TIME

The back yard was sprayed in spring and looked great, but the rains kept coming and the weeds grew again, and when I wasn't looking (read too busy) they took over. I had a strawberry patch in the midst of the weeds, and have finally found it! Now it's a race between me and the birds to see who can get the strawberries first.!

This end has been weeded and the manure is being spread...............

...............still a way to go to clear the rest of the yard, but a little bit at a time and I'll get there.

STITCHING TIME

Not long ago I was rearranging tubs and found a lot of UFO's from long ago. I did report on my 25 year finish recently.

I also found this bundle of fabrics. I know I had good intentions to make a baby quilt for my new nephew and he is now 22 years old!! But I can't remember what my plan was for this quilt. I did have some blocks pieced and laid them out, but they were all different. I had intended to come back to it so that I could get it off my list. I found a better solution and handed the whole bundle to a friend who makes lots of quilts!! It felt good to let it go and concentrate on another project.

Here is another selection of fabrics that I obviously had plans for. There was at least a rough diagram of my intended quilt with them, but I changed my mind ..........................

.........and I decided to do a disappearing nine patch instead. The squares had all been cut at 5".

I made one block and decided that it was tooo busy with the black and white prints. (And I didn't have enough of them either).                
                                                                             

I replaced the black and white prints with a grey tone on tone.................

12 blocks later I sashed them and added 3 borders for a single bed size donation quilt. 

I have been trying to sort fabrics in readiness to make up another batch of "Ready, Set & Sew" kits and came across a drawer full of all the oddments that didn't fit any size criteria that my sorting fairy uses. Decided it was time to deal with them, so started making a few blocks................... and I sorted into colour families.....................

.......and then trimmed them to 10 1/2" square. I figured that 20 blocks would give me a good single size quilt................................

................and by the time I had made 16, I was  bit over it and decided that a large lap would also be good!! This was a very fiddly block working with odd size pieces...............

                                 Sashing fabric and border was chosen.................

................but when I added the sashing to the first row, I wasn't that thrilled and decided that it blended with the blocks too much??.........................

.......and came up with Plan B! I got this far last night before I went to bed.............

...................and after church this afternoon I added the outer borders....... and while I am pleased I am not too happy about the corners of the inner border, as they disappear! The jury is still out whether I shall change them out, or perhaps as a friend suggested, applique something in the corners? Or should I leave it? 

There is a nice tub of quilt tops now waiting for the quilter and then they will need bindings. They will all be donated to a worthy cause. Next year I have plans to get a sewing day happening for ladies to come and sew for others. (Not to be confused with our group's Angels day).

There are also plans being made for a special event in February that I will have more news about in January. It will be party time!! Watch out for my New Year newsletter, in lieu of a Christmas letter.

That's all for now. May you enjoy the lead up to Christmas as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour and know the Peace and Joy that He alone can bring.

Blessings, From Jude

 

Quilt Showcase in Melbourne

 The Vic Quilters Showcase has needed to change it's plans quite a few times in the last 2 years due to the Covid restrictions. The show for 2020 was cancelled altogether and this year the dates were changed a couple of times due to lockdowns and then a decision was made to have a virtual show. (We have been so fortunate in South Australia to have been able to have our state and local shows.)

I have 2 customers from "over the border" who regularly enter into Showcase and in 2020 I quilted 3 quilts that I knew they planned to show. Thus these were not shown on the blog. This year those same quilts were delivered to Melbourne for judging. Recently I had a message from one lady to tell me that she had won a prize and more would be revealed on December 7th! We then received email invitations to a Zoom Presentation. Certainly something different, but well done to the Victorian committee for all the different planning that was necessary for this to happen!!

To see a full list of entries and winners, click on the link vic quilters website.

I put December 7th into my diary at 11am, and duly logged on to find out the results!! But, an err derr moment from me, because I forgot about the time difference across the border and logged on half an hour too late!! I did get to hear the major prize winners though. And a couple of phone calls later I was stunned to find out that all 3 quilts won a prize!! Now I can post photos of these quilts.

This is One Block Wonder 2020, made by Lois and received 1st Prize in the Mainly Pieced Traditional, 2 person, Amateur/Professional Category. 

When I photographed it I put it longways on the bed..... 

.............but on the website I see that it goes across, so rotated the photo to get this. I admire the work that goes into these One Block Wonder quilts, and the chosen fabric looks so different  in each block. Well done Lois.

As the fabrics in this quilt were so busy, it was quilted allover with a swirly pattern. 

This quilt, Metropolis, was made using all 75 blocks of Elizabeth Hartman's Patchwork City, and Sherrel has arranged them in colour families. It was Runner Up in the Modern Quilts, 2 person category.

This was quilted allover with a pattern called Cityscapes.

And this is the back of the quilt, a stunning fabric just meant for this quilt.

This is Sherrel's other quilt, called One Day, One Block, One Year, and used the blocks from Kathryn Kerr's 365 Challenge. It was entered into the Mainly Pieced, Traditional, 2 person, Professional Category, and received Runner Up ribbon. This was custom quilted.

It is rather difficult to see the tiny piecing in these photos and is a quilt that really needs to be seen up close and personal.

I went looking to find a photo I took before it was quilted. These blocks are 3" finished, so you get the idea of the tiny pieces!! Well done Sherrel.

Congratulations to both ladies, and thankyou for the opportunity to quilt your quilts.

Blessings, From Jude

Crossing the border....... and Christmas celebrations!!

 It was very exciting last week to watch the progress and updates as DD3 and family holidayed along the Great Ocean Road of Victoria and headed towards the border of our states. We have  been waiting a long time for this. They did all the required form filling out, the needed certificates were uploaded, and the Covid testing was done as they got closer. After crossing into SA there were more tests required and they were in!!  You would think they wanted to go from overseas into another country, not just state to state in the same country!! After such a long time of one lockdown after another, they are jubilant about being able to travel, especially over the border!!

Time to reflect after climbing down all the stairs to get to the bottom of the Umpherston sink hole in Mount Gambier.

           And further into SA and here is Miss Billie at the Big Lobster at Kingston. Getting closer!

                                                     

They are settled in the Barossa for a week of catching up with family, and Saturday evening we all gathered for an early Christmas gathering. 

It was time for a new photo of my 10 grandchildren, but what an ordeal getting them all together and sitting still. Am amazed at how good this turned out, and so funny how the girls are all sitting on the left side and the boys standing on the right. Certainly it was not planned like that!!

It was a noisy affair handing out the presents, but certainly part of the tradition of our family Christmas! I do have a video of this happening, wrapping paper strewn allover and with everyone talking at once!!

We enjoyed a meal of roast meats and salads, followed by Christmas pudding and cheesecake while the cousins all played together. (Well, perhaps I should say that the little cousins played!) I drove back to Murray Bridge to spend the night at Mum's ready for her 90th celebrations on Sunday, and then home on Monday. DD3 and family will travel home end of the week and spend some time here on their way back over the border again. I don't think it is quite so difficult to get into Victoria as it is to enter South Australia!!

Blessings, From Jude