Gum Valley Patchwork

Goodbye 2008

Another year is almost over and a new one is just poking it’s nose around the corner. I have not really been a fan of staying up until midnight to see the new year in – to me it’s just another day….a bit boring I know…but I feel a lot safer at home than out on the road over the holiday period.

The old cot that I bought on Monday is now making a corner of the shop it’s new home. I lined it with some fabric and have filled it up with fabrics from the elements range by Max New.

I have shifted the ‘Summertime Gelati’ Quilt and also a new cot quilt (that I finished yesterday) into the same corner.

The cot quilt – ‘Bye Bye Baby’ has been made using the new ‘Big Top’ range (blue), along with yellow spots and the blue chenille - all from Max New. Well I couldn’t stop at just one so I have used the pinks and greens to make another one suitable for a baby girl. The kits are available (blue or pink) for $45 or the pattern only for $15.

Linda   :)

Road trip

Hannah and I embarked on a bit of a road trip yesterday. She needed to go in to Colac and check out the house that she will be sharing when she starts her new job in a fortnights time. It’s a lovely place in a quiet street and she has a large bedroom….which Hannah is very happy about. It will be a bit of a walk for her to get to work ……. but that will only be for a few weeks until she gets her licence (and a car!). We then headed to Smythesdale (near Ballarat via Cressy and Rokewood) to visit an antique shop. I have been after a few more bits and pieces for a display in the shop, and I knew that I would find something at the Smythesdale shop. (I have been there before but didn’t have the ute….but yesterday we took the ute!). I found a few things and my job this morning will be to set up the new display.

On the drive through Rokewood we came across this lovely ‘lady’ whom obviously had too much to eat for Christmas lunch and was still sleeping it off.

Isn’t she just great ……very relaxed.

With our purchases loaded and tied down we headed for home via Camperdown. Hannah filled in her time checking out the rules and pieces to a vintage board game that she had purchased for $5……only to find the board was missing! It is called Totopoly - a horse racing game (a google search when we got home revealed that it was first released in the 1940’s - think her version is from the 1950/60’s). We stopped in Camperdown to visit a friend who runs South West Surf Centre. Not a lot of time to chat as she was busy with the post Christmas buying frenzy.

Home in time to rescue Russell from the outpaddock where he had a flat tyre on the tractor and then off to milk. No sewing or gardening but we did see a lot of the countryside.

Linda    :)

PS. If anyone has the boards that belong to the Totopoly game and doesn't want them anymore please contact me with your details.

It's all over bar the left overs

It’s all over for another year. What a panic and frantic rush it was for just one day. Now if I can just keep my house tidy …..

About a week before Christmas this parcel arrived in the mail.

It was from Margaret & Wendy at Clever Ducks Quilting . I opened the card but left the present to open on Christmas Day. This beautiful piece was inside.

Thank you so much.

Here is one of the gifts that I was working on for Christmas

It is a version of ‘Send a Christmas Wish’ that I made for my sister in law Andrea - technically I guess she isn’t my sil (come on Pete 14 years is too long to wait for a wedding!) but we all love her dearly and claim her as one. She will be able to hang the quilt all year to hang all sorts of cards on.

Linda   :)

Merry Christmas

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and hope that you all have a lovely day with your family or friends tomorrow.

I will be back soon with some photos of some special presents that I have given (and received - hopefully!!)

Linda   :)

It's all go

I guess that everyone is running around madly trying to get organised for Christmas. Just when you think it is all going to plan something happens. I had it all under control……go to Colac – pay the bills; do the banking; spend my birthday money (which I did do at the jewelers!) then the fruit market, supermarket, butchers and home to continue cleaning up. Between the jewelers and the fruit market I got a SOS phone call from Russell. Could I please pick up a tube for the tractor tyre and bring it home asap so that he could go and bale our hay. Of course I can…..so it will be back to Colac tomorrow to finish off my jobs from today! Anyway at least the hay was done……but there will be more to bale tomorrow providing we don’t get any of the forecasted showers.

A friend visited the other day to give me something for my family to share this Christmas. It was a lovely lolly tree.

Her daughter made it for us, as this year will be our first Christmas without Dad. Thank you Helen and Sue you are very caring people – we made a start on it last Saturday evening when my sister Cathryn and her family were home for the weekend. It is now a bit bald in patches so I will do a rearrange and fill in some gaps ready for the second onslaught on Thursday.

Hannah asked me whether I’d be able to make a couple of table runners to give as Christmas gifts to two of her friends mums. They have been very good to Hannah during the past year, letting her stay over and driving her to a few places. It is not always easy for us to run her around as the farm can be a tie at times – particularly at milking times. I had some left over pieces of fabric from my ‘Footpaths in the Forrest' table runner, so I made these smaller versions.

I hope that they like them and that Lenora doesn’t mind!

I am also working frantically to finish off two projects for Christmas presents……but I can’t show you anything just yet as the recipients might be reading this….so sssh it’s a secret….until Thursday anyway.

Linda   :)

New camera = better photos.......I hope

It’s here again……my birthday! Doesn’t seem that long ago that I had the last one, but at least I am here to enjoy and celebrate it. On the 18^th December 1962 Elenor and Malcolm Goode had their second daughter – me – as bald as a badger….lol.

A few things have changed since then – I now have a great head of hair and I am no longer cute! Russell bought a new digital camera for me but I got it a week early as I had to take some good quality photos to send off to Homespun. I did have a sneaking suspicion that I was getting a new camera - after all of the complaining I had been doing about my other one not working properly I guess he got sick of listening to me whinge. I am still learning how to use it but hopefully you will see my photos improve over the coming weeks.

No rest for the wicked so I was back in the shop today. Trying out a new ‘auction’ setting on the camera I have taken a few snaps of the displays in the shop. There are still lots of nice ideas if you are after a last minute Christmas gift.

 

Here is one of just a selection of the fabric ranges available at the moment.

Clockwise (starting top right) ‘Butterfly Fling’ by Me & My Sister; ‘Sanctuary’ by 3 Sisters and at the back ‘Elements’ by Max New; ‘Tranquility’ by Sandy Gervais; and ‘Peace on Earth’ by 3 Sisters.

Our last official duty as parents of a secondary student happened last night. Hannah received a few awards including top student in Accounting; Math Methods and Food Technology. She also received the Caltex All-Rounder Award.

Not a good photo – but Russell took this one (and he's learning how to use it too)....lol.

Linda    :)

Christmas chaos

It has certainly been a busy week for me with more to come. Last Friday night we catered for a Christmas Break-up for a local milk company, which saw almost 400 adults and children enjoy a 2 course meal. Santa made an appearance as did the rain….we ended up getting 50mm….but it wasn’t enough to dampen the kids enthusiasm or the smiles on the farmers faces. Another 25mm fell the next day, and although the hay making has been held up, the turnip crops (grown for the cows to eat) are jumping out of the ground. We are catering again tonight (another Chrissy break-up) but this time just for 60 – and then it’s no more til February…..which I’m sure will come around quickly enough.

Hannah received her results yesterday morning……after completing 13 years of schooling (Simpson PS & Cobden Technical School) she obtained an ENTER of 72.4. We are very proud of her as she really worked hard and gave it her all. Her final school function will be tomorrow night when we attend Presentation Night. Hannah is currently working in Melbourne at the Body Shop, but will return to Colac in January to commence her cadetship as a Finance Officer at the Colac Otway Shire. She will work full time and study a commerce course part time over six years by correspondence.

I have managed, in amongst everything, to get my christmas shopping finished....yeah! I just have to finish off a couple of sewing projects, then wrap and it's done.....and hope that I haven't forgotten anyone!

Linda   :)

The last for the year

This afternoon was my last class for the year. It was the final day for the ‘Material Girls Club’, and the ladies were very keen to make their final project for the year. They were a lovely group who were a pleasure to teach. The Club will be back again next year with a whole new list of projects to make.

As mentioned in the last few posts the new Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and Charm Packs have arrived for ‘Swanky’ and ‘Tranquility’. If you would like to have a look at the fabrics in these ranges check them out on the Moda website. The 'Aviary' range isn't listed as yet, but should be by next month.

I'm off to start writing out my Christmas cards...

Linda   :)

Very Swanky

Another delivery this afternoon………any more and the neighbours will think that there is something going on!……..it was the yummy Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes and charm packs of the ‘Swanky’ range by Chez Moi – due for delivery in February 2009.

Now I can’t make up my mind which range to start with ‘Aviary’ or ‘Swanky’. I might have to resort to the tried and true method of decision making – tossing a coin. Also in the same package were the Layer Cakes to match the new ‘Tranquility’ range which arrived earlier this week.

Well I'm off to find a coin....

Linda   :)

Roses are red....

and also pale pink – Many Happy Returns (ground cover to 60cm),

and rose pink – Our Rosy Carpet (ground cover to 80cm),

and mid pink – Pink Bassino (ground cover to 50cm)

and lavender – Lavender Dream (hedge to 1.5m) and white – Heideschnee (hedge to 1.5m),

and yellow – Gold Bunny (standard),

and golden yellow – Golden Touch (ground cover to 70cm),

and copper orange – Westerland (climber to 3m).

I have spent a few hours today trying to tidy up a very messy and weedy vegetable garden at the shop. It has become a bit of an embarrassment actually. Visitors ask whether they can have a look around the garden and I would shudder at the thought of them looking at the vegie garden. So I have weeded 4 out of the 5 beds and will top them up with a load or two of new compost and then hopefully plant out some seedlings and seeds very soon. I have a busy week ahead of me next week so maybe tomorrow evening might be the go. I did uncover a pleasant surprise during my weeding frenzy – my lovely fruiting strawberries.

But unfortunately not much has survived the weeds – apart from the herbs!

And Lister (our dog) kept me company

But it is very exhausting work gardening….

Linda   :)