Catching up still

 

Kaffe and Friends Stars

Reverse

Oh dear! Just when I think I have Blogger mastered it goes and changes!

This is a quilt I made just after we got home from visiting Granchildren in Palo Alto in April.
I always experience a huge let down when I arrive home, this one took me 2 months to get over. It was a combination of saying goodbye, jetlag, a favourite cousin with terminal cancer, a dear friend in UK for 4 months and final realisation that I didn't have The Quilt Patch as a daily place to visit after nearly 26 years. And it was winter!

I was down to go to Poatina for the Tasmanian Quilting Guild's annual retreat, so this quilt was an ideal "vegemite" quilt to make, something easy that could be done while talking for 3 days.
Certainly fitted the bill I can tell you, bright colours in lovely Kaffe and friends fabrics, friends and sewing soon helped me clambour out of the doldrums I found myself in.

I'm not sure where this quilt will end up, maybe opn a bed at the house at Bridport, with 6 bedrooms, I have rooms to fill! Mind you, I am working on SCQuilter Sig. Square quilts for some of the rooms. Friends covering friends, lovely!

My blues have passed, bookings have been made for a December visit to USA to check on the grandchildren and their parents, lots of quilts have been finished and new ones started (I certainly have plenty of fabric to keep me going forever!) and I am doing as much as I can for my cousin which makes me feel a lot better.

NB This quilt was given to Heather Woods in early March 2013

I'm on a roll! I have just remembered one more quilt given away this year, to my wonderful neighbours at Bridport, John and Doreen.
John has mowed the lawns for us for a few years now. It's lovely to drive into the yard and have a house that looks like it's loved, thanks John.

I began making this quilt as a Bridport project, one I did when I was there. Doreen is also a quilter and knitter and crocheter etc was always interested in what I was making. She seemed to love this quilt as it grew so I then thought that I might give it to them once it was completed. From then on it was always to me "Doreen and John's Quilt" . It finally became completed about a year later and I entered it into the quilting exhibition that is held every year in June at Scottsdale. I took it over next door for "Show & Tell" as I was a bit concerned that it might be a wee bit too flowery for the man of the house. Imagine my surprise when I got an email call the next day asking if they could buy the quilt. How could I sell it to them when it was already theirs??? :-)
I am not good at selling quilts, the money is nice but putting a price on them? I know how long it takes and exactly how much it costs, you just don't get your money back for any craft. (I am a crafter, not an artist!)

I prevaricated, said I'd think about it but first it needed to go to the Scottsdale exhibition.

The day it arrived back to me at Bridport, I unpicked the calico that was covering the label and took it next door. Lots of tears from all, :-) and two very happy neighbours. I love quilting and giving them away to loved ones, what more can you ask for? I still have an obscene amount of fabric, it will never all be used in my lifetime and neither of my daughter in laws are interested in sewing. Mind you, I am showing a young cousin the ropes, there may be light at the end of the family tree tunnel yet!

Everything but the Kitchen Sink, a scrap quilt.

I was talking Blogs to someone today and she asked me if I Blogged! Oh dear, I had to admit I was a very casual one now but I enjoyed hers a lot!

If nothing else is achieved on this Blog I should at least catalogue quilts finished and given away.

  July 2012. This one was given to my cousin Brigit Thomson

and this is the back.

July 2012  Cousin, Rachelle Bardenhagen

                                         Granddaughter Maggie Williams, for her big bed.  April 2012

                                                            July 2012   Cousin, David Thomsom

 May 2012 for Archie Williams, great nephew (I feel old!) Johnathon (father of Archie) and me.

 July 2012  Jessie Thomson, cousin


I have lots of cousins! I think the 7 on the Spotswood side all have one now and I have no desire to make one for the 30 off first cousins on the Bardenhagen side! One cousin and her 4 kids are on the list and that's it.