On the road again............

 

The car is loaded ready for another journey. Pat and I are about to head north. I will be one of the shops at the Sunraysia Patchwork Friends Quilt Exhibition which is being held at the Red Cliffs Civic Centre on Saturday and Sunday, 2nd and 3rd September.

There will be fantastic display of member's quilts and a few shops to tempt you. The Red Cliffs Market is also being held on Sunday. Would love to see you there.

I will be back next week with a full report of our weekend and lots of photos for you.

Better go and get the last few items ready to put in the car.

Blessings, From Jude

Catching up once again..........

 I could start out by saying where has the time gone once again?? But I do know where it has all gone, and I will try to catch up with the newsfromjude in this post. My life has taken an interesting turn lately, after having been buried in work and quilts for almost 22 years now. While I am still quilting, I am reducing my work load as I head into semi retirement.

In amongst a little bit of time with Max, there have been many trips out and about, as well as a few meals out and about with friends. There was a trip to the beach to sit and watch the waves one day. It was so peaceful and good for the soul. We had planned on a fish and chip lunch, but unfortunately picked a day that the shop was shut.!!

I did post a screen shot of the weather in a recent post as I set out down the highway on another trip. One reader did have a guess, and thanks Susan. It was definitely into cold country, while it was not the high country, it was a tad higher than home, and I did see road signs warning of ice and snow. I journeyed into Victoria to spend 4 days at Daylesford for grandma duties. The daytime temp was showing at 8deg when I arrived!! I did pack the suitcase with my winter woolies, and thankfully the house was well heated. This was home for 3 nights.

The purpose of my trip was to look after 2 little grandies while their mum and dad stayed not too far away to help a friend celebrate her birthday. This is the first time ever that I have looked after these 2, mainly because they live on the other side of Melbourne, in a 2 story house that has steps which I don't cope with very quickly, especially if I have little people to chase! So it was really special to be able to help out DD3 and family. 

We had a great 3 days, and managed to fit in a range of activities, in amongst more TV time than they would normally have. We read books, did crafts, blew bubbles, went 'fishing', made scones and gathered bugs in the garden.

In the pic below, the ashtray is filled with snails that had been found in the garden!!

Mum and Dad checked in often with phone calls, video chats and photos.

Monday morning was pack and go time, and we stopped at Cliffy's for coffee before leaving town. This shop was amazing, and right out of the history books!! I took the photos below inside the shop, but forgot to get one of the outside, so thanks to Mr Google for this first photo.

                            The collection of old tins, packages etc inside on the shelves was fantastic.

I was surprised just how busy the place was at 10.30am on a Monday morning, as people queued for a table!!

After the family departed, I had arranged to meet with a fellow Statler owner who lives a bit further north. Alison has attended many retreats in Bordertown over the last few years, so it was good to catchup on each other's lives again. 

As I travelled through the nearby countryside, the car told me it was 7 deg outside!! I doubt it got much warmer there for the rest of the day, but the temperature did rise as I got closer to home.

I had a stop in Horsham at a clothes shop and managed to add to my wardrobe. We usually complain the the clothes in the cupboard seem to shrink, but my problem lately is they seem to have got bigger and a sort out has been necessary. (Shouldn't call it a problem though??)

I have been working on a custom quilt for awhile now, and am pleased to say I finished it this morning. Photos will come in due course.

There was another trip out of town after church one Sunday to visit a friend, and we saw many paddocks of yellow like this. It looked so pretty even if there was no blue sky. The season in this part of the world has been very good so far, with adequate rains, although I know there are other areas of the country that would love some moisture.

There was another trip to the city one Saturday to catchup with a friend I had not seen for 28 years. Christine was a member of our Senior Rd KYB group when I lived on the farm. It was so good to catch up and renew the friendship. We sat at the lunch table and chatted for 4 hours!!

On the way home there was a stop at a lookout with a great view of the city. This was the first time I had been up here. Pity the day was very cloudy with misty rain and the photo does not show how good the view really was. (perhaps they could trim those trees too?)

This was followed by calling on Mum with takeaway for tea. A great day.

There has been more Zoom time with Chooky and friends. Once again great to catchup with these girls and get to know them.

In case you think I am out all the time, I did get to some domestic duties and cleaned out the freezer this week. You can see it definitely needed doing, and it was interesting to see what food was still in the bottom. I will be getting some farm beef soon to top supplies.

I think I shall finish there. There has been some quilting, which will wait for separate post. I have another allover loaded ready for MOnday morning. I am going out later, so probably better do some more domestic duties and I know last night's dishes are still sitting in the sink, and the fire needs to be lit. 

Hope all is well in your world, where ever that may be.

Blessings, From Jude

The winner

 Apologies for my absence on the blog this week. Have been busy with Max plus a day out in the middle.

Will report on all that next week.  In the meantime, a competition winner has been picked. Thankyou to those who left me comments about how they came to read the blog. It seems that Chooky's name was mentioned by many as how they came to newsfromjude. Thankyou Chooky. And thankyou to those who 'came out of the woodwork' to leave me a comment.

The winner of the competition is Maria!! Congratulations Maria. I will be in touch next week and sending you something in the mail.

I have lots of blog reading to catch up on, but that will wait until next week. I am off out the door soon and will be away for 4 days!! Val is coming to 'holiday' here while I am gone. I now need to go and repack my case and add some more winter woolies as I have just checked the forecast for my destination!!! Sorry this might be a bit blurry to read. Can you guess where I am going??

                                 

                                                           Catch you when I return.

                                                                    Blessings, From Jude

One more day.............

 Thanks to those who have left a comment telling me when and how you came to read newsfromjude. I have a lovely list of names so far, and tomorrow is the last day to leave me a comment.

The week has disappeared fast, with lots of market prep and a few social occasions. We enjoyed coffee out with Jocelyn, who we haven't seen for awhile and had a good catchup.

We travelled to nearby Keith one day and enjoyed a cuppa while my car was serviced, which was followed by an overdue dentist appointment, which was not quite so enjoyable.

Friday we were preparing for the evening's dinner, and balloons were blown up and decorations hung.

We had to bring in another table and search the shed for more chairs to make up to 13!

I do have some more photos, but they are a bit blurry. (Note to self - don't laugh when you are taking photos.)

Suffice to say that Raylene (and I) had organised a few fun 'gifts' for the birthday person. We had the best evening with much laughter and chatter and loads of Vitamin F. 

It is bitterly cold outside today. We went to church this morning and now Raylene and I are tucked up inside with the heater going and preparing a few more bundles of fabric for market. I have a few price labels to print after that. My fairy will be heading home on the train tomorrow, and I am sure she will be due for a "feet up in the chair rest" when she gets home. And I will be reacquainting myself with Max and working on that queue.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Blessings, From Jude

50 years ago......

.............on August 4th, 1973, I married the love of my life. I was 19 years old, he was 20. 

I have lots of thoughts going through my head today. As he left us for his heavenly home 19 1/2 years ago, I guess today is not really one of celebration. But I do feel the need for some sort of acknowledgement.

 Thinking back now, I wonder about the fact that we go into one of the most important events of our life, with no training and little knowledge. While schools teach us how to do 'reading, writing and arithmetic',  nothing is ever taught about the life skills needed in a marriage and to bring up children. I find it ironic that by the time you gain some knowledge and a bit of life's wisdom, that we have already made the mistakes and can't change a thing.

We promise "to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." 

How many of us actually think about what those words really mean, especially the sickness and in health bit? Mostly we go into marriage with youthful optimism and expecting life to be "happily ever after"?

Suffice to say that life was full of ups and downs, and while we didn't get it all right, we did the best that we could at the time.

We gained 4 beautiful children that are much loved, and now there are 11 grandchildren to watch growing up into beautiful people. 

Hope your day is a good one.

 Mine will include an evening with friends celebrating a special birthday with lots of Vitamin F.

Blessings, From Jude

 

July 31st.................

     One last post for the month of July.....and thought I would share this cartoon that I found online somewhere. If you are a quilter, I am sure you can identify!! And we all need a laugh.

                                        

I have been spending some time in the garden this week after hardly setting foot out there during the cold wet winter. It was rather overwhelming seeing the weeds. When I expressed this to a friend, they said just start in one place and do a little at a time. So I stopped looking at the big picture and followed this advice. Now the chrysanthemums have been pruned back and I can see the daffodils that are shooting............

                .............and another garden bed has been weeded and I feel much better................

..now working on the side section and made a bit of progress on Sunday afternoon until it started raining again................

..and this is some of what is ahead of me. While there is still a loooong way to go, I do feel that progress is being made.

Much has been happening inside also, and more fabric packs have been assembled. Some of the shelves seem to have less on them. 

This pile of quilts that are Raylene's and my entries for our local quilt show in October have had sleeves added. (There are still some of my quilts waiting patiently for the quilter to get her act together.)

My fairy is very skilled at clothes alterations, and has worked her way through this collection of my trousers and added her magic, pinning, trimming and sewing the seams so that they now fit me much better. And we have had a sort out in the wardrobes and taken much to the Op shop. Another job that had been hanging over my head for too long. 

MORE VITAMIN F.........

This lady had been talking about visiting for awhile now, and when the sudden opportunity arose, an impromptu catchup happened. .......

.......and then Pat also came to join in for some time out too. Has been a lovely few days, after far too long..............

 

.........and some more Vitamin F when Chooky scheduled a Zoom catchup one morning. It is so good to catch up with these ladies, from Australia, Canada, USA, Germany and Norway. And more special to have met many of these ladies at Scrub Stitching in Barradine in April.

And another Vitamin F picture, that DD3 sent from Melbourne this week! These kids love their scones, and don't they look so good, the kids and the scones!!

Finally the reason for this post on July 31st. Today it is 12 years since I commenced the newsfromjude blog. How fast has this time gone? The information from my blog tells me that this post is Number 1,375 and there have been 447,200 page views!! My blog started out as a way to promote my machine quilting and the retreats held at The Sanctuary, but over the years has evolved into more of my life, by adding in family and other activities. So really is a story of my life over the last 12 years!

To celebrate this milestone it's time for another giveaway. (Not sure what the giveaway will be yet). And I am happy to post overseas, so if you live in yonder countries, would love to hear from you too). Leave me a comment on the blog, and tell me how long you have been following newsfromjude and perhaps how you found me?? All names will be entered into a draw. Entries close August 7th. Look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings, From Jude

Customer quilt update............

Max has been busy in the last couple of weeks, so time to post a few more customer quilts.

The first one here is a scrappy I spy made by Prue. Lots of great fabrics in this quilt. Prue is making a collection of quilts to be ready for future great grandchildren.

This top was quilted edge to edge with a circle pattern called Asti.

Lyn pieced this cat quilt and requested allover quilting. I pondered the pattern to use and finally decided to use Paw Meander, .................

............to make it look as though cats were walking over the quilt.

This large top was made by Sue and she also requested an allover pattern. The pattern I used was a Jungle border design which fits with the tigers in the centre panel.

This is Pat's Moda Love quilt, made with purple fabrics. This was quilted with a modern design called Over and Back Ripples. Gives is some great texture.

Sherrel has been using up a lot of her scrappy stash and made this HST on point quilt and this has been quilted with Rhapsody feather pattern.

Another quilt to use up stash and also made by Sherrel is her Disappearing 9 patch quilt. This was quilted allover with Feathered Flowers.

This Storytime quilt was made by Val and also quilted allover with Rhapsody.

I unpinned the quilt and laid it out on the bed for a photo...............

....and then noticed this area!! Whoopsie, how did I miss this? Loaded back onto Max and all was fixed in 10 minutes.

This is a Jinny Beyer quilt pattern called Northern Lights. The fabrics were very dark, so I swapped out some for the brighter yellow and green. 

Ruth pieced the quilt and sent it to me for custom quilting and I have added lots of feathers.

That's all for this post. I will be back with another post tomorrow to finish the month of July.

Blessings, From Jude