Fabulous Fibre Art Works

I have just been browsing the fibre art that goes up for auction on the 27th November, in aid of a very worthy cause. Some of Australia's most fabulous and best known fibre artists and quilters are participants.

I wish I had the funds to bid for one or three....

They are all lovely! Go check them out, and if you can, bid for one at the auction.






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My Birthday Present!

DD L arrived this morning, straight from having an ultrasound, with my birthday present. :)

JPEG images of my First Grandchild. She had to have the ultrasound this morning to determine how far along she was, as her Doctor (and she) thought she was further than her dates. And she is!!! The baby is now due on the 11th June instead of the 12th July! One less month to wait, and I can start planning baby quilts in a week! Yippee!!!

In the image above, baby is in between the 2 crosses, head on the left, bottom on the right. L said it was fabulous seeing it kick and in this image it is sucking it's thumb.

It really feels real, now! Best Birthday present I could get!

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Geta's Giveaway!

For a while, now, I have been following Geta's blog, and she has just posted that she is having another giveaway.

She does the most amazing Trapunto work! I would love to win one of her little quilts, but thought I'd share the opportunity with all of you.

Go here to enter, and tell her I sent you!

We will remember them

Lest We Forget

News Flash!

Too early to celebrate (far far too early! but I can't help myself lol) but DD has just found out she is 5 weeks pregnant! All going well, I will be a Nana in July next year!

I only wish Mum could have stayed to see the new addition, but I'm sure she's watching over the new Mum and Babe. :)

I have been trying to catch up with blogs since coming home last weekend. I'm only here for 3 weeks (and one has almost gone) then I'm back north again, to finish sorting out Mum's home, etc. I'm coping much better than I thought I would, thanks to all the lovely support I have received from friends (including my internet friends).

Thank you all so very very much. Blessings to you all. :)

Lindi Y

Sad news

Thank you everyone, for all your kind words and prayers.

Mum passed away this morning at 10 to 5. I was with her (stayed all night) which is something she and i both wanted.

We were right in that it wasn't the cancer itself doing the damage. They did an MRI during the week, and found she had a huge mass of fluid on her brain. They were trying to discover whether it was caused by chemo, or something else, before we would have to make a decision as to what we wanted done.

I will catch up when i can.

Love and Hugs
Lindi

Update

I headed north to Mum's on the 1st of September, to spend a few days there, and then bring her back here for 2 weeks. She was fine when we got there, but 2 days later, spent the night being very sick. The next week was spent up there nursing her, and she looked as tho' she would pick up enough to at least come down here for a week.
Then she took a turn for the worse the day before we planned to leave, and ended up in the Palliative care ward. We had hopes that they would get her well enough quickly, but 2 weeks later, she is actually worse.
Consequently, I have been up north for the last 3 and a half weeks, spending each day at the hospital, sitting with her.

I had to come home this weekend (with my mind torn between wanting to see DH and family, and staying with Mum) as I have run out of scripts, I have deadlines in the office, and the tax department requires a BAS statement.

I will get as much done as I have to, then head back up north.

Prayers, good wishes and healing thoughts for Mum's improvement would be greatly appreciated. Unlike Dad (who had had enough and just wanted to pass), Mum wants to get well enough to continue her life for another year or so, even if it means more chemo and doctors etc.

I will try to get time to check all of your blogs (I have missed so much! no computer or internet at Mum's) and reply to the comments, but please forgive me if I don't. I do appreciate you all still being here, and for your support and friendship.

Love and hugs,

YYYYY

Tigers and Toothpicks

I've been very Blogger-slack for the last few months, and I don't have much to show you, so I thought I'd post a poem that I wrote in May 2007.

TIGERS AND TOOTHPICKS

I searched through my stash, box after box
I'd found rabbits and hounds and even a fox!
But no sign of my tiger was there to be found
He'd slipped away quietly, perhaps gone to ground.

I searched through the reds, the browns and the green
Not a sign of the tiger could even be seen
He was with the big bear, all folded and pressed
Ah! Here he is! No, that's my unfinished vest.

I needed that tiger to make a new quilt,
to go on the bed that my husband had built.
It was made out of wood all golden and brown
We couldn't have bought one if we'd searched the town!

The bedhead was glued with polished toothpicks
to look like a fence, made out of sticks
An Indian village was painted above
But it didn't go with my quilt of the Dove!

Two meters of fabric I'd carefully pieced
A sight for the eyes, a real visual feast!
With magnificent stripes and large padded paws,
from which extended sharp shiny claws.

On his leafy green jungle he'd proudly prowl
You could look at his teeth and perhaps hear him growl.
Oh where are you tiger? I won't make you again –
But I will do a lion, with a big woolly mane!

© Lindi J May 2007

MarieMadelineStudio Giveaway

mariemadelinestudio is having a giveaway! This gorgeous quilt is the prize. Di and I would both love to win this, but we are sharing the opportunity with you! :)

Go and enter and please tell them I sent you!

Hugs,

Long Overdue Update

Hello to anyone who is still around after my very long absence! My apologies for the long delay.

Not a great deal has happened. I flew up to Mum's for a lovely 2 week stay towards the end of June. My GP put me on strong antibiotics and prednisone to get me there.
Mum is doing quite well. Still having chemo, but had scans last week and sees the Oncologist for a progress report next week.

I have been quite sick with sinus infections since February. It has made me very tired most of the time, and as everything was draining backwards, I would get severe coughing attacks as soon as I exerted myself or got overheated. Antibiotics (all different kinds) have not had any real success, so I was sent off to the Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist the other week. Went into hospital on Wednesday for Endoscopic Sinus Surgery and came home yesterday. I'm not allowed to blow my nose or sneeze for the next 2 weeks. Much as I would love too! :)

I have to admit that I have also been spending quite a bit of time on Facebook conversing with Di, Lynda, Jo, Neroli, Pat, Deb and Kay (and a few others). I've been enjoying the lovely slow going Scrabble games we have been playing. Some of them have taken over a week to finish.

I will get back to blogging properly as soon as I have something worthwhile to blog about.
Hopefully the operation will be a complete success and I will be able to get back into life.

YYY

Just For Fun

Life

I received this in an email this morning and thought I'd share with you all.


Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25 No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27 Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.




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Quilt Top and a Bag

In the last few days, I have actually been doing some sewing.

This is a quilt top I made using "Sugar Snap" (by Melissa Averinos for Free Spirit Fabrics) plus a few plains, a pink stripe and a deeper green. They were all FQs that I cut into 3" strips, sewed together randomly to form great long lengths, then chopped random lengths, sewed together again, chooped again, sewed, then chopped into 72" lengths. (Get it?)

I then sewed the strips together, and this is the end result. I might call it "Sweet Chop" ;)

This is the topper draped over a chair,

and this is a closer view of it, so you can see the fabrics.

I also made a bag for Mum. I will be seeing her later this week to give it to her. It has a main section, and an outside pocket. The back is the same brown + print that the pocket is made from, and the actual front of the main compartment is pieced using Fairy Frost fabrics. The little detail on the front is my own invention. The bag needed something to draw the eye from one area to the other. Besides, I like adding my own little personal touches to a pattern. :)

I have also been finishing off a UFO quilt. Just a little more hand stitching to go!

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2 Lovely Parcels

I was sooo spoilt this week!

First, I received a lovely pressie from my friend Di. This was a thankyou present for winning the cushion for her in Kellie's giveaway.

A pattern for all 3 of Kellie's cushions, a lovely little notebook with a magnet closure, and yummy chocolates!

Thank you, Di!

***

Then, on Friday, I received my gorgeous Annie Doll and some other lovely surprises from Kerry , who was my swap partner in the Raggedy Anne Doll swap.

Annie Louise, a cute Gingerbread man brooch, a lovely little embroidered ornament, a heavenly cake of Lavender soap, and a fun cupcake pin cushion! As well, kerry had included a brochure from the Lavender farm where the soap came from, and a tourist info brochure about the lovely place she lives (Mt Perry, Qld). What a great idea!

Here's a close up of Annie Louise, the Gingerbread Man and the swing ornament. Isn't she a sweetie? I love her and I'm very happy that she's mine.

Here's a close up of the cupcake pin cushion Kerry made. So clever! I love the bright colours. I won't lose that very easily amongst the chaos on my sewing table! :)

Thanks, Kerry, for a wonderful swap!

Y

A Great Book

Although I bought this book a little while ago, I have only just gotten around to reading it.

If I had known how much I would enjoy it, it would have been devoured as soon as I got it!

Set in France during the invasion and occupation by the Germans in WWII, the novel follows the fortunes and misfortunes of various characters as they flee Paris, and then later, it follows the lives of those living in the occupied sector.

Irene Némirovsky is a master writer, up there with Dickens, Tolstoy, Checkov and all the other greats. Her imagery is a feast of visual poetry, and her understanding and descriptions of the characters are insightful and amazing.

The world lost a literary asset when she was killed in the gas chambers during WWII.

Her writing is so brilliant, I am going to try and hunt down more of her work.

Y

Lyn's Blogaversary Giveaway

Lyn, at Bluebird Quilts, is having a blogaversary giveaway! She has such wonderful giveaway packages. (Isn't that rabbit just sooo cute! and her welcome hanging is simply lovely)
Hop on over and check out her great blog, and enter her giveaway while you are there.
Tell her I sent you, if you haven't been there before.


(Closes friday 15th May)

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Annie Doll

I can now show you the Miss Annie doll I made for the swap, since she arrived at her destination in Queensland today.
Kerry emailed me to tell me she had arrived safely, and that she liked my Miss Annie Sunshine and Marmalade, the cat.

Marmalade has a brooch backing attached, so that Kerry can wear him on a coat or bag, if she so wishes.

Do you like her? She is the first cloth doll I have ever made, and I really enjoyed bringing her to life. She was very hard to part with, being my first born, but I know she will be well looked after!

Kerry hopes to finish her doll by the end of the weekend, so I look forward to receiving my new little friend sometime in early May. I'll post her photo when she gets here.


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Anzac Day

LEST WE FORGET

Wendy in New Zealand, is having a 29 day giveaway challenge, sending envelopes stuffed with goodies: bits and pieces from her craft stash. I was one of the lucky recipients of an envelope!
Look at all this lovely scrapbooking treasure:


There's stickers, rub ons, red 3D letters, pink dragonflies, pretty papers, a bookmark and lovely printed serviettes.
I am going to have so much fun with these!

Thank you Wendy!

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Sweet Baby Jane

Last year, I started these blocks usng a Sweet Baby Jane jelly roll. This is as far as I got, before I was off on something else.

Over the Easter break, as well as making my Annie Doll, I worked on these and a few other projects, which I will show later.

This has now been completed to the topper stage. I have yet to decide whether to quilt it myself, using straight grid style quilting, or get it done professionally, either edge to edge or custom.

Then I have to decide about binding.

Quilt top: 60" x 60"

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