It’s been a fun month.  And busy.  A week at the beach with all of the family – great weather and a week of the best weather we’ve had in over 10 years that we’ve been going to Phillip Island.  And being joined by our Hungarian exchange student and Lucy’s host brother from France made it even more fun.

But the most exciting thing happened the day we returned from holidays when Lucy came home from 12 months in France.  It’s great to have her home.

And then Eszter’s parents and sister arrived from Hungary and stayed with us for a week or so.  A very full house but so much fun.

To finish off the month our gorgeous eldest daughter Ella turned 18.  We celebrated on Australia Day with about 50 family and friends at Sewjourn.  And the celebrations continued with a party with her girlfriends on Saturday night.

But now the holidays are almost over – back to school for the younger two .  Rowing and netball have started again and with Lucy changing schools the past couple of days of holidays were filled with getting books and uniforms sorted.

But, I did manage to do a bit of my first UFO for 2017 – the Lucy Boston quilt.  I completed another one and a half blocks and have started another.  Not sure if that truly counts for substantially progress  but I figure this is a UFO that I will work on continuously between the year.  (Note I didn’t publish this post at the time as I was waiting to get photos but still don’t have photos of  them all so maybe in next month’s post!)

So which one on the list is next?  I think  No. 7 on my list – the Kaffe quilt which just needs the binding finished as it’s still a busy few weeks.  I missed the cut off for Meredithe’s link up for this month  (even when I first did this post a few weeks ago….) but you can look here if you want to see what others are up to.

So as we are heading to the beach today a portable project is the best for me to start with…..so first UFO on the on the list is my Lucy Boston POTC blocks.  Here’s what the original quilt looked like:

(Image from http://lindafranz.com/shop/lucy-boston/4)

But I’m piecing mine in Liberty fabric with a natural linen for the borders.  I started this quilt in June 2015.  So far I’ve only completed 1.5 blocks!  

Lets see if I can ‘substantially progress’ this UFO over the next 3 weeks…..

Hmm, Meredithe has listed the ‘rules’ for 17 UFOs in 2017 and she says ‘Projects can be anything you’ve already started (UFO = unfinished object), quilts, knitting, crochet, it’s up to you.’  She also notes ‘Don’t worry if you don’t have 17 projects’.  Well, on a quick count (and I’m sure there could possibly be more buried in the sewing room somewhere but can’t really search as it is being used as a bedroom for our 19 year old French guest at the moment) I am ‘lucky’ enough to have 29 UFOs to choose from!!

So……here’s my complete list with the first 17 the ones I intend to work on in 2017 but with the others listed just in case I feel inspired to swap priorities! (Hope that fits into the ‘rules!’)

1. Ella’s quilt – needs last border attached, quilting and binding
2. Medallion quilt – half pieced
3. French Market Medallion quilt – some blocks pieced
4. Sue Spargo Wool Embroidery – needs embellishing
5. Don’t Look Now cushion – needs cushion constructed
6. Lucy Boston quilt – only a few blocks pieced
7. Kaffe quilt – needs binding finished
8. Granny Square quilt – blocks to be pieced together
9. Mini Design Boards
10. Blue and brown quilt – needs quilting and binding
11. Circle quilt
12. Swap quilt – needs binding
13. Yoyo curtain – for Sewjourn – been in progress for um, many, years!
14. Green and orange Drunkards Path – needs quilting and binding
15. Charity quilt – needs binding
16. Sashiko cushions – one embroidery to complete and 3 cushions to construct
17. Hexagon quilt  – finish handpiecing hexagon strip, applique to background, quilt and binding                                                                                  _________________________________________
18. Meredithe’s quilt’ (this is one from a pattern of M’s the name of which escapes me just now) – needs piecing completed
19. Yoyo quilt
20. Handpieced diamond hexagon quilt – only one or two blocks completed
21. Crocheted cushions (for Sewjourn)
22. Triangle quilt for bunk room at Sewjourn – finish piecing, quilt and bind
23. Purple and mustard cross quilt – needs quilting and binding
24. Garden Divas Quiltmania – needs appliquing, quilting and binding
25. Purple and mustard cross quilt – needs quilting and binding
26. Amy Butler quilt – needs last border, quilting and binding
27. Prints Charming quilt a long quilt – finish piecing
28. Hamish’s quilt – needs quilting and binding
29. Amy’s quilt – needs quilting and binding

One of the best ‘rules’ of this challenge is that the aim is to substantially progress the projects not to actually finish them…..but of course any finishes are a bonus!  Anyone else keen to join in?  Pop over to Meredithe’s blog to find out the details (and see some of her amazing work at the same time).

Back tomorrow with the first of my UFOs.

Well Hello to anyone who may still be there!  And after a 5 year hiatus I suspect that isn’t many of you.  A lot has happened in 5 years…..my last post on this blog was as we were on our way to London to live for 4 months.  You can read about those adventures here.  And then when we returned to Australia we hit the ground running and sadly my blog was forgotten.  But since then:

• We have started our own business, working from home for a few years but shifting to offices about 18 months ago.
• Ella has finished secondary school and is about to head off to University
• Lucy has spent a year on Student Exchange in France and is due home next week
• Kate changed schools, is involved in many sporting activities of which the current favourite is rowing
• Our gorgeous dog Hugo joined our family about 3 years ago and changed our lives completely
• We have Eszter a Hungarian student living with us at the moment and also Lucy’s host brother from France
• 3 of Mal’s siblings got married within weeks of each other and now we have 4 new nieces and nephews (and another on the way)
• Mal still loves his Ironman competitions and competed in the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Queensland last year
• Sewjourn continues to be heavily booked and I treasure any weekends that I get to spend there as it is mostly the only times I get to sew these days.
• We’ve been really blessed to be have been able to have a few overseas trips in the past 5 years including visiting my grandfather’s grave in Papua New Guinea, spending our 20th Wedding Anniversary in Thailand, going to Morocco, a textiles tour in Vietnam and most recently to Cambodia with Ella to mark the end of school.

And over the past couple of years I’ve enjoyed Instagram but maybe it’s time to blog again?  I’ve decided to join in Meredithe’s 17 UFOs in 2017 and this is where I will document my progress (hopefully!)  Anyone else keen to join in? Regardless, wishing everyone a fantastic 2017.

Last Sunday Mal did the Melbourne Marathon again……and I did the 10km run! And anyone who knows me knows that I don’t run. In fact I hate running! But Mal ‘encouraged’ me to enter about 2 months ago and I did a little training and managed to get out there and enjoy it on the day. It was so beautiful running around our gorgeous city. Running past the shrine made me think of both my grandfathers and all they had to endure during WWII and that inspired me to keep going. (I will add a photo have a new laptop as my old one crashed….that’s ANOTHER story and I can’t seem to work out how to edit photos on my new one yet)

Anyway, last time Mal ran the marathon, or did the Marysville to Melbourne event he jumped straight on a plane to London that night…..this time at least he waited until the next day! But this time he’s working in London for about 4 months and so our exciting news is that we have decided the whole family will join him. So, the girls and I left this Sunday night. Haven’t decided yet but think we’ll do a separate blog with our travel adventures and just pop the crafty things on here. We’re in Dubai with Mal’s sister at the moment and having a ball. Today we fly on to London. The girls were fantastic on the plane, very excited and well behaved. Still it’s nice to know that two thirds of the flight is over and it’s only 7 hours on the plane today.

If anyone needs to contact me for Sewjourn you can TEXT me on my mobile or send me an email. We plan to be home for the start of the school next year. Hopefully a less crazy lifestyle over the next few months will mean more time for blogging…..and crafting!

Quite a few weeks ago one of the lovely groups that visit Sewjourn a few times a year emailed me to say they had to cancel coming along next weekend but there’s been so much happening here that I hadn’t gotten around to posting or doing anything about it.  SO, if you are keen on a weekend of relaxing, creating and enjoying  (and have the energy to get your group together in a week or so) then please email me asap. 

Dates available are: Friday 21st October until Sunday 23rd October.

A couple of  weekends ago a few of my friends went away for the weekend to Sewjourn and from all reports there were lots of laughs, lots of creating and lots of eating.  Unfortunately I couldn’t make it for the whole weekend but did manage to visit on Sunday and had a lovely day.

Here’s some of the sewing they achieved…… 

And Jetta made a gorgeous framed stamp picture and I am kicking myself that I didn’t get a photo of it.

I managed to get quite a bit done in the day as well.

A bit of ‘secret sewing’, followed by constructing my sewing bag and then some new cushions for the lounge room at Sewjourn.

 And as I type this out I realise that I didn’t show photos of my weekend at Sewjourn with some other lovely girls….way back in July.  (Wow, a whole term has passed since then but it’s been a busy one and LOTS of things have happened at our house…I’ll post about that in the week to come).  But this  July Sewjourn is where I started the handquilting on my little sewing bag.  It’s a Rosalie Quinlan pattern that I’ve had for years and from fabric I bought in Houston last year.  Really happy with how it looks.

And Meredithe and I both finished our Kaffe Quilt tops started at his workshop at Ballarat Patchwork way back in February.  It wasn’t at all competitive as we sat next to each other and zoomed away but there may have been smoke billowing from our machines they were working so fast.  And of course the gorgeous Miss M won the race! (And she even has hers quilted now and it looks fantastic!)

I think they both look great!  Can you believe that the blue used as the centre background is the same fabric in both of our quilts??  It’s amazing how different it looks surrounded by the different colours.

And then after this relaxing weekend I spent a couple of days in Bendigo where my mum showed me how to crotchet (again…..I DID do a whole blanket of granny squares when I was about 15…)  Learning to crochet was one of my resolutions at the start of the year.  And it’s great.  So far I’ve done a cushion in double crochet….which will also go into the lounge room at Sewjourn when it’s sewn together (hopefully in these school holidays).  Photo to come…….thought there was one on the camera but no!

And also during this last crazy term of school that seemed to fly by….. we had lots of gymnastic comps and a few cross-country runs.

And a couple of fun parties……but that’s another post.

Last week Meredithe announced the first round of the Medallion Quilt-a-long.  Triangles!!!  And I couldn’t wait to get started.  I chose to set my centre on point and square up with half square triangles.  (Meredithe actually has a great tutorial coming on how to do half square triangles as soon as SOMEONE (aka ME) gets the photos to her….)  Anyway, here’s the results.

There’s at least 10 people joining in the fun and you can see everyone’s progress photos in this flickr group.  It’s not too late to join in if you are keen – we have all of September to get the first border done and M will announce the next border at the start of October.

On Saturday I visited Quilts in the Barn which was great as always.  Linda does such and amazing job organising this great event which raises lots of money for Breast Cancer Research.  This year’s display feastured Jo Morton’s  gorgeous quilts.

And Sunday although it was Fathers’ Day I spent a HUGE proportion of the day at gymnastics comps.  The two elder girls both competed (which is why I was there for SO long) and both did a great job but the proud mother part in me can’t resist telling you how well Lucy did in her level 4 comp…..individually she won first on floor and bars and first overall and her team came third!!!  Well done Lucy, we are so proud of you and your hard work.

Anyone keen to make a Medallion Quilt???  I am and that’s why I’m joining in with Meredithe’s new project that she’s organised to celebrate her 100th post.  You can read all about it and sign up over here but basically you choose a centre piece and then some coordinating fabrics and each month she will reveal what your next round should be based on but it’s up to each person to interpret that in their own creative way.  Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I’m using my Prints Charming  Panel as the centre piece…..

And this gorgeous fat quarter pack that I bought in Houston last year…….

With some other fabrics thrown in.

I want my Medallion Quilt to be fresh and modern and will be using a lot of white with the crisp greens and blues.  Meredithe is using the same centre panel as me but has chosen different colours to coordinate with it.

So, if you feel inspired please join in the fun.

This is a blatant plug for an exhibition at my daughter’s school but WOW!  We went to the Opening Night tonight and it’s amazing.  The busts on display are incredible – there are many talented, creative girls out there.  So if you have some free time over the weekend pop in and see the exhibition, have coffee and cake in the cafe (I’ll be there helping out on Saturday afternoon) or browse the Melbourne Made Market (Sunday only).  It’s on from 11am-4pm Saturday and Sunday and all the details are here.  And if you need another reason to go proceeds go towards the school and also the Olivia Newton John Wellness Centre.