Checking in

Here we are and it is Friday evening, almost the end of the first week of January, 2018. I thought I better report on my week, and once again, had to look back at the photos, to refresh my memory.

There has not been a lot of quilting this week, but there has been lots of sorting, and decluttering, and organising happening here, in between other things. Not lots of photos, but a few.

My week, and the new year started on Monday with the arrival before 7am of Miss Bridie. I got to spend a few hours with her, before her mum and dad collected her to go home. She is growing up so fast, and is a real little chatterbox now. I have a lovely video of her playing the piano, and singing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, but I don't know how to get the video onto the blog. I was very impressed that she knew all the words, at 2 1/2 years old. (Notice the "hair do". She arrived straight out of her bed that morning, and the hair was everywhere!! I did try to tame it, but it is so slippery, and did not stay in very well. (And maybe I am not real good with little girl's hair also!??) I think she will look back at photos when she is older, and notice a lot of "bad hair days!"

Over time, there has been a LOT of STUFF, put into my bedroom, where it is out of sight of others, and this has weighed heavily on my mind. This week, I commenced to sort it out. There is still a long road ahead, but I did clear out a bit, and packed some away for later. There was a bag of paperwork, left over from farming days, (and that is 18 years ago now!!) I was going to throw it out, but decided that there was some history in there, that I need to look at closer. It is my intention, ONE DAY, to make a book of our farming days, and I might need some of the info in this bag. I was surprised when I tipped the contents out to be sorted, to find a few samples of wool from our sheep. Glad I looked in the bag!

The next sorting job, was in my office, and I threw a lot of papers out, and filed others. The admin jobs are the ones that get ignored, when I am busy with quilting. It might not look like it, but this is my cleared work area, with the files waiting on the front desk, to start working on the Pick a Case Mystery quilts. That is what I am aiming for sometime this month. But I had to clear everything else (physically and mentally!), before I could get started. A lot of people pick a word in the new year, to aim for, and a few years ago, I decided on Balance. I haven't succeeded in that yet, so am reluctant to pick a work this time. Although, maybe organisation would be a good one!??

And this is the same desk today, which looks anything but organised, doesn't it?? But this is another job, that has been "in the corner", and needed doing. At the end of each Mystery Quilt cutting exercise, there are always trays of leftovers. And they have been building up for a few years now. I have a special friend staying here at the moment, who is helping me do a lot of this sorting, and we have been getting some organisation into the scraps. I even dug out my Accuquilt Go cutter, which has been gathering dust under Max for a few years too. It certainly makes quick work of cutting strips, and squares. Hopefully these will be put to good use soon, when I start designing for the February retreat. 

My "assistant" hard at work, and you might notice that we have spread over 2 rooms with the sorting. She does love to watch the cricket, which is on the tele.

So you can see that there has been no holiday here, but it sure feels great to be getting some of these jobs done at last.

I showed you a photo of the birdhouse that my SIL made for me for Christmas, and it is now hanging in the garden just outside my studio door. It certainly looks pretty, even if the birds don't want to use it. She has made a lot of mosaic items over the years, and I expect to see some more creations, now that she has retired.

(Sorry it is not crooked, but the camera was !)

This is a photo of another of her works. This is a traymobile, that belonged to my grandmother, and I have lots of memories of her using this when we visited. It had been sitting in the shed until recently, when SIL salvaged it, and added the mosaic work to it. Grandma would be very pleased to see it in use now, as it has been gifted to my niece. (Although it won't be used for afternoon teas, but as a drinks trolley instead!)

I think that is enough newsfromjude for now, and I will be back soon, with a report on what else we have been doing. Quilting will start again next week.

It is time for bed, although might be hard to sleep, as there is no cool air yet, and tomorrow is forecast to be 43deg!!!!!! I hope the power stays on!

Blessings, From Jude