Gratitude 14

This post is more from Julian than from me, although I'm grateful too. Today we are grateful to Mixtape Magazine! Julian has been asking, for some time now, to do some sewing and I was always quick to put him off. It's not that I didn't think he should learn, but I just didn't think it was important for him to learn. I think somewhere in my subconscience I fell for that stereotype that only girls sew. Which is really not me!!! Honest :)

Anyway, I got my Mixtape Zine the other day and it had an article about a guy who loved to sew and he wanted mothers to teach their sons to sew too. When I got home from school, Julian again asked me if he could do some stitching and this time I said "Yes, absolutely you can - I'll get some stuff ready now".
He was a little shocked - his response was "really???!!!???"
He decided that it would be fun to make fruit and I decided it was probably best to use felt, embroidery floss and a nice big needle. Julian chose the fruit and the colours and did the stitching. He had so much fun and did a good job too.

His little brother, Louis, also had a bit of a go, but to be honest, I think he's a little too small for this kind of thing. So here's Julian with his bowl of fruit. Next we are making Christmas decorations and then we might just have to make a bag........well, the list is endless!

Thanks Mixtape!

cheers
l
x

gratitude 13

we live in the driest state, on the driest continent.
i've heard this so many times growing up. now that i'm grown up i realise it's true and sometimes i find it a little scary. right now it's really dry out there and it's not even summer. our lawn is crisp and you need sunglasses on to look at it. very dire. i'm hoping for a little rain - actually i'm hoping for a lot of rain and soon.

anyway, on our camping trip we saw lots and lots of dry landscapes. it was hard to imagine, when we turned off the road at a sign that said 'Mannum Falls', that we would see any water. after a hot, dry, dusty walk we found gold!

i've always loved water. i remember i was obsessed with this book once as it had kids playing in a pond in the park. i love the beach, i love running creeks in winter, i love waterfalls. and i loved finding this at the end of our trek - bliss.

i should add though - i hate cold water. i'm a sook when it comes to swimming. it has to have been over 35C for a few days before i will get in a pool or the beach. brrr!

so today my post is in gratitude of water - it's very precious here and it's very much appreciated by me!

l
x

btw

if anyone is interested in the pattern for the below quilt, it can be found here:-

strip twist quilt

i've just got me another jelly roll and am going to make this quilt double the size so it fits on my bed. yipee!

cheers
l
x

Gratitude 12

Today I am grateful for Jelly Rolls.
Click on a photo if you want to see a bigger picture!

They take the hard work out of chosing fabrics which is helpful for me as I'm not that colour confident still.

I have been working on the quilt at my quilting class. Nearly everyone in the class made one - and it was great to see how different fabrics work with the pattern.

I love this particular fabric range. I've forgotten what it's called but is so funky and fun. I don't think there's a material in it that I don't love.

It's not quite finished - I still have to do two borders, back it, quilt it and bind it. I was going to give it away..................but I've kind of fallen in love with it. I find it so hard to part with my quilts................ sigh



cheers
l
x

Gratitude 11

Today I am grateful for:-

Friends
who help
and support you;
encourage you to take risks
but keep you safe;
who make life just a little more fun
and who can make you laugh out loud;
but are also there to hold your hand
when things go wrong.

and who help you pin lots of big quilts ready for quilting
(the ones you have been avoiding for some time!)

These photos were taken at a recent quilting evening I had with the girls. It was lovely to catch up, drink a little red wine, have a little giggle and do a bit of sewing.
We should do it more often.

cheers
l
x

Gratitude 10

I'm grateful for long weekends and camping and for my sister and brother in law who lent us everything we needed for the trip. David had warned us that he needed a bit of time to put the tent up as he wasn't really sure if he remembered how to do it. We all had a moment (or several moments) when we thought we might not get it up and if we managed to get it standing that it may not stay up for long. But it worked! Amazing!!


This was our first camping trip as a family and it was great. Okay, it's true to say that we froze at night, and it was hard cooking, nothing was ever easy to do, and everyone kept tripping over the ropes, but it was a great experience and the boys loved it.


Early morning breakfast - eating cereal out of boxes - nothing better really - although there were charred pancakes later which we mighty good too!

We cheated a bit and cooked dinner in the camp kitchen - mind you it was still pretty rustic. Food tastes good when you camp - somehow your senses seem heightened - or is it all the exercise you have done which create a massive appetite!

Anyway, a wonderful time was had by all. There were a few fights between the boys and Emily didn't really enjoy the whole camping 'thing' - perhaps it would have been better if she had a friend with her? She thinks it would have been better if she had a cabin for herself!!

So we returned home feeling very tired, a little bit sore but with plans to set ourselves up so we can camp again in the near future!
l
x