Patchwork Action

This morning was fun -we had a playdate with an old friend and her children. Lovely. Things are about to change, as her eldest child starts school next week, and Lucas preschool the week after.

This evening I finally did some quilting. I may have mentioned before I am participating in a Roosting Robin quilting exercise. The centre squares are due to be finished by the end of January. Well, it's the end of Jan, and I'm finally done. It's not perfect, but that's no surprise. I'm not in the least compulsive about pointy points and matchy matchiness. I think this will make a great centre for Lucas' new bed quilt.

Home again...

after a week spent at the home of my parents.

We spent a lot of time making this;

a little time having fish and chips with an audience of these;

and some time on Australia Day doing this;

Shark pants!

That was today's project, new pyjama pants for Lucas. Mainly made as an effort to stop him wearing flannelette winter pyjama pants, but also to cater for his new found obsession with sharks. Fabric; quilters quality cotton from the stash (originally from Lincraft - I have a lot so it MUST have been heavily discounted!). Pattern; made using this tutorial and a current pair of jeans.



Annabelle can't decide if she wants some or not. Probably not. Her preferred attire right now is knickers. Singlet if I insist. Not surprisingly, we're not going out much right now.

Edited to add; don't forget to leave a comment to win! win! win!

One Goal DONE

Well, pretty much. My goal of participating in a quilting fabric swap has been met. Here are the FQs, ready to be posted. I *think* I'll be able to mail them on time, as I have reminder emails set up in my Google Calendar.



This evening bathtime was delayed as Dh and I watched the exciting end of a cricket Test match on TV. I was vividly reminded of Dad's story about listening to the end of the first Tied Test. The family were engrossed listening to the radio, Dad, his brother and sister, and their father (his Mum had passed away by then.) Dinner was being cooked while the game ended, and it's forever after known as the night Pa let the peas boil dry.

A slow start...

to the new year, that is.

The new hobby is going well, not that I'm knocking myself out chasing around for birds. In fact, all birdwatching has been done from the comfort of the backyard. The only problem so far has bee competing for the binoculars - the kids adore using them. I'm up to 9 species. Like I said, a slow start.

I've done a little knitting - a cabled washcloth, and started on a new pair of socks.



I'm also planning my year's creative endeavours - so far I'm participating in a FQ swap (definitely low energy!), a roosting robin (like a round robin, but it roosts here with me rather than travelling 'round), and am considering joining a quilting class.



Tomorrow I'll be visiting a quilt shop which offers interesting classes, and possibly signing up for one. The shop is quite a distance, so I'll be combining it with a birding visit, making the most of being child-free.

Most interesting of all, I've had another idea for my working life. It would involve retraining, which isn't possible till July, so I've time to consider, and think. The most rewarding part of my previous job was teaching Agriculture in high schools. As far as I can make out, it's not really a subject here in the ACT.

And a reminder to leave a comment in the post below for your chance to WIN!!!!

Happy New Year!

We celebrated the new year in a quiet manner, as most parents of small children do. An evening spent at home, with the inlaws playing cards. More of a treat, since we haven't done this for a while.

This is traditionally a time for taking stock, and looking back. Instead, I've decided to look forwards.

I am armed with a practical Resolution this year - that birdwatching be my new hobby. Minimal equipment required (we already had a bird book and binoculars) - in fact a $2 notebook seemed to be all I need. I started out slow, in the backyard.

Lucas will be starting preschool next month. A big change for us, since he has not been in any kind of outside care since birth. Annabelle is going to miss him (as, of course, will I.)

Right now, I feel these two items are enough to be going on with. As anxiety is looming, I'm going to concentrate on getting my house in order for a while. This is both a literal and metaphoric statement, so there's plenty to be done.

In other news, this is my 200th blog post, another reason for celebration. I'd like to give away a prize to a random commenter, so please leave a message. The prize will be a knitted washcloth, with a bar of handmade soap, and I am prepared to post worldwide.