Just checking in

This is just a quick post, with a little catch up and another post about the Michele retreats will come later. 

I have added a link on my sidebar for you to add your email address to, if you wish to be advised when I do a blog post. Thankyou Michele for showing me how to do this.

This is Raelene, who won my competition to guess how many quilts I had done for customers in the 15 years since Cornerstone Creations commenced. She was very happy with the quilt in the case, and I expect it will be finished soon.

I have not shown quilts for awhile, so will show you a few now.
First is one made by Marie and a Pick a case Mystery retreat, which she has called Red Squared. It is similar to one previously made by Pat, which was in grey and white. This was quilted allover with Modern Eccentric.

This quilt is called Green Smoothie, and was made by Lois in a Quick Curve Ruler workshop, and was quilted allover with a leaves and loops pattern.

Both of the following  baby quilts were made by Lyn, and custom quilted.

That's enough for tonight, it is time to put my feet up. It has been a big few days, and I shall be back to report on that soon.

Blessings, From Jude

This week's happenings.....

 One of the girls had a birthday early this week, so we had afternoon tea and a cake. Good to take time out occasionally for a cuppa and a chat.

This is the "new" chairs in their place at the back of the house.

And this is at the front door. I decided a new mat was in order, and went to the local shop and could not believe it when I found the perfect colours, just made  to match the colour of the chairs. And as the paint colour was mixed from 2 different tins, it was amazing. And when I went looking in the back yard, I found the perfect coloured pot as well. (Sorry the photo is late afternoon light).

I got the carpets cleaned,.......

and all the windows of the house were cleaned as well. My shoulder does not work real well, and time was against me, so I have paid someone else to come and do the job. They are so quick, and do a great job, and it left me to get on with some quilting, and cooking.

And before I knew it, it was Friday afternoon, and here is the early arrivals for a weekend retreat with Michele. It was a very relaxing afternoon, spent sitting and chatting and laughing in the pergola. I will be back with more photos as the weekend develops.

I hope your weekend is going well.

Blessings, From Jude

One place available

Due to "life happening" events, there is a place available if you are interested in spending a couple of days with Michele Hill at Bordertown.(Sorry for the fuzzy photo Michele). Click on her name to go to her website and read about Michele's happenings.

 This is an opportunity to work on your William Morris / Peter Rabbit / Beatrix Potter or any of Michele's patterns, and spend time with Michele and others. There is a choice of Friday afternoon (24th Feb) until Sunday afternoon, or Monday (27th) until Wednesday.
Come and join us for a fun time, in a relaxing atmosphere. Would love to hear from you.

Blessings, From Jude

Crossing things off the list....

It sure feels good to cross things off the list, even if it is the 2016 list! Yesterday I spent time doing some of the jobs that I have been wanting to get done for a long while.

This is one of the 6 chairs in my pergola. Where the arm rest curves down, the water seems to lay there, and consequently there is staining and rusting happening. And of course the black birds still perch on the seats while waiting to fly in for the remains of any cat food. (The sparrows have left the vicinity of the pergola, but I will save that story for another post).

And this outdoor setting was rather faded and sad looking. And there was another one like this around the corner.

It was time for action. I took the cushions off the chairs, and laid them out on the back lawn, and hosed the bird remains from them. Then I stacked them upright against a pole to dry. And then along came a heavy shower of rain, so they had another wash!

 It was time for a facelift for the chairs and out came the paint brush and black paint. I had intended to do this on the back lawn, but decided to lay plastic and paper on the pavers in the pergola, and was very thankful I had done this, after it rained. It was a very cloudy, gloomy day, and a top temperature of 20deg, which is very cool for summer. (Not that I am complaining though).

And here is that pesky black bird, who came and sat right beside me, with no fear at all!

I had 10 chairs, and 2 little tables to do. After the frames of the outdoor chairs were painted black, I decided a little bit of colour on the cane mesh might be nice! I had a LITTLE tin of sky blue, and used nearly all of this up on 2 chairs. Found another tin, in the shed, of forest green, and started on this. But it was too close to the black, and so I mixed it with the leftover bit of blue, and got a bluey green colour instead! I shall post photos of these back in place later, when we get a bit of sunshine.

This morning it is time to sort through the recipe books, and think about a menu plan for next week's 2 retreats. I will probably change my mind a few times, but have started on my shopping list.

Time now to put my "glad rags" on and head to church. I do hope to get a little bit of sewing in this afternoon on a secret project.

Have a great Sunday, whatever you have planned.

Blessings, From Jude

A winner!

Thankyou to the 20 people who entered my competition. I loved your comments, and especially those who told me how they worked out their answers!
Some commented on the blog, a lot were emailed, and a couple in facebook messages, and also by text. Some try to leave a comment on the blog, and even though they have done it before, they can't seem to work it out again. (Maybe blogger changes things??) No matter, I loved to hear from you.
Some of you have left comments on the blog, and the contact is no-reply blogger, so I cannot reply to you. I would love to get the email address of Flossy Patched Britches, so that I can send you a reply.

Entries have been received from

Sue A                675
Lois                  2892
Pat                    1477
Susan                 543
Marie                3029
Gloria                 673  (who is from Canada!)
Jean McG         1850
Helen                1732
Maxine B          1525
Jean J                 5000
Pauline                673
Raelene              2600
Sherrel                3005
Susanne                750
Joy                       1200
Flossy Patched Britches    1500
Chooky Blue        1750
Island Girl            2050
Sharon                  3600
Joc                        5079

You can see there is a big variation of numbers, from 543 right up to 5079. If I had done all edge to edge quilts in those years, I might have reached the high number. I have had time off for 3 surgeries in this time, and renovated a couple of houses, and did a little bit of travelling to and from family. Holidays have been going for a few days on a trip to a quilt show or conference.

I was a bit worried a few days after I put the competition on the blog, as I realised that the invoice number on my invoices is the number I was asking for them to guess. But those who have had quilts done recently don't seem to have worked this out, or at least one might have, but only after she had submitted her guess, and then it was too late.

Sorry to keep you in suspense, as you are waiting for the magic number, which is.......

By my calculations, that means that Raelene is the closest with 2600, and Island girl in second place, with a guess of 2050.

Raelene's entry came by text, in a poem, and I shall post what she said......

"What a quilting life you've had...
that 2,600 quilts we're glad...
They were given your magic touch...
to make them loved quite so much."

I showed a pic of the prize in the last post, and will find something to send to Island girl also.
Thanks for your fantastic response, and I might do another competition sometime this year.
Thanks for reading.

Blessings, From Jude

And the quilter will fix it!?

Have you heard the saying, "the quilter will fix it?" There is a song, written by a Canadian quilter, (Cathy Miller),which has this line in it, and I have heard this said many times, although mostly as a joke.

I have just finished a wedding ring quilt, and it looked pretty good, until I got it loaded on the machine. I am not posting this as a criticism, but as an example of how things can be "fixed", sometimes. I am not mentioning any names. Apparently one of the fabrics used, was quite "stretchy" and the owner had a lot of trouble, made worse by the fact that the pieces were cut on a curve.
Photo 1 shows the quilt, after I loaded it.

 This photo shows what I did as I advanced. I basted all the arcs, and some of the melons, to anchor them where they should be and control the excess. I did no SID on this quilt. The blocks and melons had a simple pattern, and the arcs were all Continuous Curves. (It did take me quite awhile to remove the basting stitches at the end, but I think it was worthwhile doing it.)

And this is the finished quilt, still with a few puckers, but mostly sitting nicely. The owners were very happy with the final outcome, and so was I.

A good use of scrap fabrics, for a very pretty quilt.

Wow, 2 posts in one day, wonders will never cease. Loving this much cooler weather. Have been making good progress in the garden, planting things that have been in pots for too long, and laying straw as mulch. Finished the 2 side gardens and the back, and now to work on the front.

Blessings, From Jude

One day left.....

Just a reminder that you have until 5pm tomorrow, (the 16th), to enter the competition to celebrate my 15 years of Cornerstone Creations Machine Quilting. I have said there will be a prize, but have not said what. This is what I will send to the closest guess, as noone has come up with the right number, ....yet!

A little case, with the instructions for a quilt, (as you can just see in the picture), and the fabric cut ready for you to start stitching.

So send in your entry, by tomorrow at 5pm! I look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings, From Jude

Editing problem

My apologies for anyone who has been trying to read the scheduled retreat page of the blog. I mentioned in the last post that I had added and altered some information. Now that I have looked at it, I see that the lines are going in places they shouldn't. I tried to correct this, and it remains all over the place. The message is still there, so my apologies for the way it looks.
Would love to hear from you anyhow.
I have removed the lines that say if the class is full. I am happy to take expressions of interest, as sometimes life gets in the way, and for one reason or another plans change, and a place becomes available.
Remember, 2 more days for your guess in the competition, I have 19 entries so far!
Time to get to work, I have a quilt to load, and an invoice to do before that wedding ring quilt is picked up this morning. I do hope they are happy with it.
I have been in the garden again this morning, making the most of some lovely weather, and planting those seedlings that I purchased a couple of weeks ago, and tidying some messy corners.

Blessings, From Jude

Sunday evening update

Time to do a quick post to finish the week with newsfromjude, before tomorrow, when it all starts again. It only seems like yesterday that the calendar turned over to 2017, and here we are almost half way through February.

I arrived home from my grandma duties late last night, and it was close to midnight when I went to bed. It was a late start to the day this morning, which is very unusual for me. It was lovely to spend time with family, and some time was spent keeping cool in their swimming pool.

GD1 made delicious Malteser cheesecakes, with granny offering only minimal assistance.

And we were visited by Miss Bridie and her mum. It doesn't take long for young ones to learn how to "swipe" and scroll and click the modern technology. It makes me wonder what life will be like in 50 years time from now, when so much is there, at the click of a button, now.

We are all getting excited as the wedding is less than 4 weeks away now!

Apparently there was a special sort of moon out last night, and I noticed it was very bright as I was driving home. I stopped to take a photo, but it is a bit blurry. My excuse is I have a new phone, and maybe I need to learn a bit more about taking photos on it.

I have spent most of the day in the garden, catching up with watering, and weeding, and digging, and pruning, and raking, and making the most of a 22 deg day! I was almost cold, but kept busy, and I will certainly not complain of the cold. And reading of some of the northern parts of our country, I don't think I should complain of 3 days of temps over 40 either!

I have made some changes to the scheduled retreats page this weekend, and added in a date for Embellished quilts classes in April. The dates for the August mystery have changed too, and it will now commence on Saturday at lunch time, until the Monday afternoon. I still have some space in this, so would love to hear from you if you can join us. The Quilt Gallery page has also been added too, as I have located a few more photos of quilts that I have made.

Another event that is eagerly anticipated, is the 2 Michele Hill retreats, commencing on the 24th February. Thankyou Michele for agreeing to stay longer, to accommodate the ladies wanting to attend.

Tomorrow it is back to the quilting machine, and I have a wedding ring quilt on that is being custom quilted. Hopefully that will be finished tomorrow, and then a couple more customs to do by the end of the week.

Remember that there is only 4 more days to enter the competition to guess how many customer quilts I have completed in 15 years. I am loving the comments, and how you are coming to your conclusions. So far I have heard from 16 people, which is fantastic. Thankyou. And welcome to some new readers, that have introduced themselves.

Catch ya soon.

Blessings, From Jude

Before the heat.....

A few days ago I took these photos in my garden in the late afternoon. Since then, things don't look quite so pretty. We have had 3 days of over 40, so next week I might be doing some dead-heading of cooked flowers. At least I have a reminder of how it did look.

Today I am doing nanna duty, so am not close to my new air con. The humidity is very high, which makes it much more draining. It was school pickup and the car told me the outside temperature was 41deg!

I took this photo as DD2 and DSIL left for a couple of days away to celebrate a birthday. Glad it was them dressing in all that leather gear, in 41deg heat! Their vests under the jackets, had been in the fridge this morning, to keep them cool on the inside! So granny is on duty until they get home.

Keep cool,

Blessings, From Jude

Early morning quilt show

I woke early again this morning, but this time with cramp in a leg, so the best thing to do, was to get up and walk around. Now I have been sitting here at the computer for an hour, picking out photos to post for you.

First up is a dinosaur quilt made by Vicki, and quilted with an allover pattern with dinosaurs!

This was also made by Vicki, and features penguins and polar bears. As Vicki intended to keep this quilt at her house, for grandchildren when they came, she wanted the quilting to be "more special", so it has been custom quilted.

This puzzle quilt, was made by Lyn, and is quilted allover with a meander pattern.

I know I have shown photos of Helen's quilt, in the recent post, It's all about choices , but I am going back now with some closeups, and showing what the blocks look like after the "bling" has been added.

Now the butterflies have antennas and beads on them.

And how different do these flowers look with some pearls on them.

Above photo is a bit plain, and below is now dressed up.

If you look closely at the photo above, you will see a pencil mark right in the centre, where Helen had marked the centre point of the block. In the photo below, you can't see it anymore. 

The addition of a flower in each corner of the square and a posy on the block just adds that nice touch!

In this block some pearls were stitched on the intersecting lines in the centre.

Just a few more photos to follow for you to look at.

Do you see the fun Helen had using stitches on her machine. Outside the applique is a fancy zig zag, and on the edge a hemstitch. Either side of that she has used the triple stitch which just outlines the hemstitch.

The top left hand corner of the quilt. The wide border only went on both sides and the bottom.

Lots of different stitches were used here, and various thread colours, including a variegated, and all stitched over some pintucked fabric.

Notice the little beads stitched in each flower on the umbrella.

This is the lace that Helen made, using tulle.

I think, I know, Helen spent many hours stitching all these beads on after the quilting was finished. It is certainly easier to stitch them on before, when you don't have so many layers to work with. But then it is harder for the quilter, to stitch close to them, and there is a risk of the machine hitting them.

After Helen had made this block, and when she was laying them out in their positions, it was decided that this one was too bright against the others. To remedy this and still be able to use the block, she added some lace fabric over the top, to "tone down" the pink colour, and now it blends beautifully in with the others. "Fudging" is a word we use a lot in this class!

This is the gorgeous fabric that Helen was gifted, and used as the tree fabric for her centrepiece. It already had the beads stitched on it.

Helen has put a pink binding on the quilt, made up of all the leftover pink fabrics, which just added a nice frame of pink around the plain coloured border. It has been to Adelaide to be valued, and now resides on the bed of Helen's daughter and SIL. I received this photo, after it had been delivered.

I hope you enjoyed the quilt show this morning. It has certainly helped fill in a couple of hours.

The rearranging and sorting continues, and I think I am making progress. The fabric scraps have gone from the table, and "organised" into drawers and containers. There are still lots of bags of scraps and that will take a long time to cut into useable pieces, and I think a long time might mean years! At least there is some sort of order now, that was not there before. As I had cut each Mystery quilt, the leftover bits had just been stored in all sorts of places, and now I have them all in one place. I have colour co-ordinated all the leftover jelly roll strips and they are in the drawers. I did have a thought of spending half an hour each day cutting the scraps, and maybe I will make progress, so will see how, or if, that works out??

Yesterday I spent time taking all the "stuff" off the back shelves, behind Max, and arranging the shelves, as I had purchased more from the hardware store. I just need to get 3 more brackets, and this job is finished. I am now finding "all" my UFO's and storing them in boxes so that I can find them easily, when I get around to working on them. I did load a quilt yesterday morning, but Max did not get switched on. We had a committee meeting here at lunchtime, and then I kept on with the shelves, so by the time late afternoon had arrived, I just sat and watched the news on TV and went to bed early.

As it is now 6.30am, I better go for a shower, and get started on that quilted that I loaded yesterday. The weather looks set to hit 40deg tomorrow and later in the week, so I expect to get the air con turned up, (or should I say down??)

Have a great day, and keep those guesses coming in. I am loving the messages I am getting. And welcome to Gloria from Canada, and I see someone else now following, but don't know how to contact you.

Blessings, From Jude