April Finishes.....

Our UK daughter mentioned she had extra luggage allowance so I asked if she would like some quilts to take back.....

Well we had to give her an extra suitcase!  A couple she had chosen still had the binding to finish so I got those done...

Angel Story was sewn some years ago... an Anni Downs pattern done in Tilda fabrics...

It was a fun one to stitch and quilt...

Some coordinating Tilda fabric for the backing....

I made two very similar quilts with these fabrics, one already went to someone and this one is now a finish too....

... all over quilting.....

... and a cheerful backing....

I finished this Urban Street EPP quilt in November 2024 ...

This Wedge quilting sampler was finished in February 2024.....

This one was  finished in May 2022 (2m square)

Charming Stars was finished in January 2023 

Mama Tembo was finished in January 2022.... it's a big quilt...

It is a lovely feeling when the quilts are wanted and now I have an empty shelf!!!  I still have lots I want to make, and lots of tops to finish off...

Righto, Gotto Go...... coffee time....  have a lovely week....

End of March

Before we went off on our island trip I did finish a couple of things....

I did show my finished Field Journal hexagon quilt HERE in January....

I wasn't quite satisfied with it though.......  so I added some machine quilting .....

All of the plain creams and the flower centres got a similar little feathery flower ....

... and I ditched all the hexagon frames ...

A lot of stop and start and I was pleased with the work of my sit down Sweet Sixteen....

The back of the work shows off the feathery flowers quite well....

I also finished the crochet blanket made with a bunch of different variegated yarns..... It has come out a nice weight and has gone off to KOGO for distribution....It ended up 1.8m by 1.4m so a reasonable size.

They are in urgent need of cot blankets so that's what I'll be working on for a while.....  

Whilst we travelled I had a bit of knitting with me and finished these 3 beanies.....

... and most of this scarf was done - a moss stitch in a cotton variegated yarn....

I also had most of the bits done for this little set and finished sewing it all together the other evening ....

Knitting is a convenient thing for me that I don't need to watch all the time but it keeps my hands busy.....

These will all go off to KOGO in the next parcel..... with Winter coming up they will be useful....

Righto, Gotto Go.... I've put one of my quilts on the frame to play with.... it's a happy place to sew and listen to my book ......

... which I am thoroughly enjoying.....

Have a great rest of the week.....

Cake Day.....

As you know I put very little personal stuff on my blog... but this one is very special....

Only after we had booked our trip away our children said they would all be here for Hubz' 70th at the end of March..... 

We had a wonderful day, - golf with the boys in the morning -  Ham and Potato Bake with Sponge Cake and candles - his favourites for the evening.  We had balloons and fairy lights, laughter and stories with friends and neighbours popping in for a drink and well wishes...

Our best work

James lives in England

Debs lives in Toowoomba near us

Katherine lives in England

Michael lives in Melbourne

It's the first time in 13 years the siblings have been able to all be together.

They spoilt us thoroughly, with special treats to eat, helping around the house, fixing the plumbing, cooking meals,  mowing the lawn etc etc etc.....  All we had to do was sit back and enjoy.

The only way it could have been better was for their partners and children to have been able to make the trips...  only one (Widget) of our 8 grandchildren were there but of course we had lots of calls and video chats with them.

A fun gift he was sent by his brother in England is the legal right to bear the title of "Lord".  It comes with a certificate and coat of arms and symbolic land!!!  Not sure I can be classed as a Lady though!!

Righto, Gotto Go, no sewing was done but I did get a few stitches knitted and crocheted during our travels to the island and several airport trips! I am working on some catch up sewing for my sew-a-longs.

Have a lovely Easter weekend...... perfect time for me to slow down and digest the last five weeks....

Norfolk Island

To celebrate Hubz turning 70 we booked a trip to Norfolk Island for 9 days....

It is a couple of hours flight from Brisbane ....

It is a small island with an interesting history from being a severe penal colony, to a settlement for the Pitcairn people and now a budding tourism spot.  (I add that we were part of the younger crowd there!)

We chose to do our own thing as opposed to formal tours..... watched the sun set from a cliff edge....

view from the top of a hill gives a 360 degree outlook....

Hubz took his golf clubs so there was several walks... its a beautiful course with sea views and wind hazards!

The Norfolk Pine grows there.....

This tree is apparently over 800 years old.... growing on it's own near the sea ...

we had lots of lovely forest walks...

For a small island there are 5 churches (population 2000) and we visited one lovely old one with a pretty stained glass window...

A cargo shop had arrived while we were there and we watched some of the off loading..... they had not had a delivery for a long time and the shelves were very empty.  This was because the flat bottomed cargo ship had to go quite far to avoid the cyclone that was about...

There is a street remaining from the very brutal penal settlement, known as hell on earth (1788 - 1855) - building given out to Pitcairn families by lottery when they moved over.  The Pitcairn families are descendants of the mutineers from The Mutiny on the Bounty.  The Mutineers having gone to hide in Taihiti realised they would be discovered by the English moved with their new Tiahitian families to Pitcairn island, which became to small for them, so in 1856 Queen Victoria gave them Norfolk Island and all the old buildings to live in. 

... of course we found a brewery....

... back to another view of the golf course....

some days the sea was very choppy, other days quite calm.... 

I loved the needlepoint cushions in the church... though many of them in poor condition now....

There are no predators there and the young birds are quite happy waiting on the ground for mum and dad to bring them snacks...

Back to the golf course.. in the background is another small island where at one time rabbits and goats were left for the 'gentlemen' to go hunting...  They had basically decimated the island and after 8 years of removing them all the place is greening up again...

Another of the young birds.... we did look up their names but I forget... seabirds!

A view of the Kingston settlement and island in the background...

Apparently the worlds tallest fern trees.... they are magnificent...

Our cottage hostess left a bottle for us to celebrate with...

Lovely visit, lots of history, walks, food etc.  Prices are double the mainland due to the freight, well worth the visit which has been on our wish list for ages....

Happy Birthday Hubz....