10 Years - In Review

 Someone once said...."Strangers are just Friends we have not met yet".

And with that line and a good hearty dose of fear 

On the 29th March 2011

I launched my Very First Blog Post.

I had no idea where that journey was to take me.  I had no idea what wonderful friends I would meet along the way.  (G'day Vireya, Flossy, Glenda, Esther, Chris 'on the Farm' and all those Lurkers who read without comment . . . ) 

* * * * *

So Grab a Cuppa and here we go - 10 Years in a single Post!

2011 - It all started with progress reports on 'Hearts Desire' - A Mystery by Melbourne Designer, Esther Aliu.  Never before had I invested so much for a unknown result.

I came to realise that I enjoyed the creative writing side of Blogging and started to share more than just quilting. 

2011 also had its fair share of Ups and downs - Our 30th Wedding Anniversary, A Broken Ankle, Steampunk 21st Birthday Celebrations for my Twin Boys and ending with sharing our Family Christmas Aussie Style.

2012 - Looking back life was far from boring at Our place.  

Renovations to DD's bedroom, DS#1 heading off to Far Flung Places, Turning the House into a Movie set, and Welcoming a new member to the Family.

Spike - Our Beautiful (Scared of everything) Siberian Forest RSPCA Rescue Cat.

2013 - My Fortune Cookie Said " You should be able to undertake and Complete Anything".

It started with TWO Engagement parties, Dad's 90th Birthday, DS#2 Uni Graduation. 

With just 2 months notice, My 1st ever plane trip and to Michigan via Alabama at that. 

60th Wedding Celebration for my Folks followed by the sadness of loosing a Great Nephew.

But there were still Wedding Cakes to make and Broken Cars to replace before ending the year as DD said "I Do".

2014 - Started where we left 2013 with another Wedding on the hottest day ever.  More Wedding Cakes to make as well as starting 2 new Quilts.

DD Built and moved out of our place into their 'Forever Home' taking new family member Artemis Belle with them.  

I finally finished Hearts Desire (The Quilt that started it all,) and Won a Ribbon at Quilt Showcase!

2015 - Was a good year for Quilting with me finishing Judy Niemeyer's Bali Wedding Star and Mariners Compass and starting 2 new applique Quilts.  

I also volunteered for White Glove Duty at the AQC.  

August saw us playing tour guide to a Visitor from the USA and rounded off the year with some Gardening and Bee Keeping at DD's.

2016 - I berated myself for Volunteering for too much this year on top of finishing DS#1s Wedding Quilt - My extended version of Tamsin Harvey's  My Istanbul.

I started a Bonny Hunter and finished a Jinny Beyer and got to see The Rajah Quilt here in Melbourne.

We also celebrated our 35th (Coral) Anniversary with a trip to Cairns and the Barrier Reef. Finishing off the Year with DD Graduating her PhD.

2017 - Days after Graduating DD was offered a 12 month posting at the University of Strasbourg - France. Starting off one of the most exciting and traumatic years of my life!

Little did I know I would embark on 2 trips to Europe in a year, seeing such wonderful things I never thought I would ever see.

While at home we helped a Neighbour deal with her divorce and the Death of my Father.  A Great Nephew born, University Graduation (DS#1) 60th Birthdays and a Quilt Show.

With DD's safe return home - I was never so happy to see a year end.

2018 Didn't start well. DD just a few days home was rocked by the Suicide of a dear Friend and Colleague. 

The Year moved on with Wedding Cakes to make and a Garden that needed attention. "My Istanbul" having won the Convenors Award at Showcase last year was chosen for 'The Best of the Best' at the AQC this year.  

Once again we played Tour Guide to Separate Visitors from the USA and finished the year on a Happier note with DS#2s Engagement.

2019 - Another busy and exciting year with DH hanging up his Tie for good.  After removing some problem trees there was a new garden or two to build.

I got a new car and an empty garage to put it in. 

DS#1 moved into his newly built home and DS#2 started Wedding Plans.

Meanwhile DH and I enjoyed The Classic Australian Train Adventure onboard The Ghan.  

This was the year I decided to make a Temperature Quilt.

2020 How can I sum this year up in One Photo and a paragraph or two? - The Year All Hell Broke Loose.  Maelstrom Bushfires and  COVID-19. Spatial distancing, working from home and Facemasks impacted us all.

Life went on in a "New Normal" kind of way and we learnt to appreciate things we took for granted.

In a brief window of respite, DS#2 purchased his first home and moved out. 

I amused myself revisiting past holidays and making Flowers for their Wedding Cake.

  

And by year's end the Virus was under control, the Wedding went ahead (albeit much smaller) and we had welcomed 2 new Grand daughters and a Daughter-in-Law.

* * *

Thank you for still being here at the end.  Revisiting the last 10 years has made me realise that Life is So precious and far from boring and I am looking forward to seeing what the next 10 years will hold.

Still Plodding On ...

My last post for Jemima's Mystery Hexi Quilt I had just realised that sewing blocks around the Quilt without referring to the instructions was not a good idea! 

The block marked with the arrow was not supposed to go on what will become the sides of the quilt.

Fortunately I was able to remove One Hexi on each of the incorrect pieces. 

Replacing them with a Dark Blue and extending the block to create a Part 10 section.

I have now remade all the replacements.  

Finished Part 10 and I am Good to Sew!

I must admit the couple of cooler Autumn evenings we have had have been perfect for stitching this project.

Back to Cake Decorating

 The lifting of COVID restrictions allowed us to return to Cake Decorating.

First Meeting of the CDAV for the year saw us watching a demonstration of  'How to make a Sugar Collar Decoration' by the Association's Vice President Jan Longley.

We also had our (belated) AGM where "Yours Truly" ended up on the Committee!

The Following Week I enjoyed a Workshop at NCDC on How to Make Flooded Cookie Decorations.

With an Easter Theme!

For a First Try - I think I did OK.

Our Demonstrator (Branch Member Michelle) had plenty of Icing left over and encouraged us to "PLEASE - Take Some Home"

So with some broken Biscuits to practice on I was able to try a couple of different patterns.

It was a good day despite the Rain and the fact we all got soaked walking back to our cars!

* * *

I am a member of  both the Cake Decorators Association of Victoria (CDAV) as well as the Northern Cake Decorators Group (Previously the Cake Decorators Society - Northern Branch).

One of THOSE days..

Well, it has been one of THOSE months!
The only thing I can say in my defence is....

By the time I have dealt with what is on the calendar, there have been several other things that weren't on the calendar that weaselled their way into my week.

All very necessary of course.

And none of them was "Do a Blog Post about Today".

When I look back for my "Year in Review" post I am going to say "Whatever happened in March?"

March has been spent making these - lots of these!

and of course sewing them all together into the required "Flowers".

12 Blue and White

6 Pink and White

And I also worked on the next section

Which were these Part 9 Fillers.

Things were going along beautifully - I even started to stitching them onto the main Quilt

Until . . . I ran out of  "Filler" blocks.

A Classic Case of "When all else fails - Read the Instructions!"

Fortunately I have only TWO of the blocks to modify and get myself back on track.

Just hope I have enough of the Blue Floral Print!

Shot of the Day.

 I must say I was pretty pleased with the Photo
Especially seeing it was taken on an iPhone 6s without my Moment Lens

(Or my Glasses!)

And considering this was within a few meters from our home
 - it might be one of "Our Girls".

Hexie Headaches

I haven't been too concerned about placement of fabric patterns when cutting the Hexagons.  Most patterns have been fairly random - until now.

With the next row of Flowers I needed a Medium Dark fabric and the one DH chose (Both in the Shop and for this section) needs to be Fussy Cut.

So the first task was to count how many circles I had.       Was there 144? 

A pin in every 10 helped me keep track!

Just to keep me on my Toes 

NOTHING aligned!

Every piece has to be individually marked, measured and cut.

With just ONE medallion to spare there is no room for error!

Yet another headache awaited...

The pattern could not be read from the back of the fabric, so placing the papers became the next challenge.

Using a lightbox didn't work.  I had to place the papers behind the fabric with my work light behind.

Then a pin into the FRONT of the work.

(A tip I picked up from Leesa Chandler who picked it up from ......)

I am now Good to Go with tacking these down.

* * *

And just a bit of Nostalgic Fun.

The things you find "In the Bottom Drawer"

I have no Idea when I bought these.

  

I suspect it was from the Local Haberdashery Shop that closed down circa 1970 and sat like a time capsule untouched for the next 20 Years, when it was bought "Lock, Stock and Barrel" by a Couple who had no idea of the Treasure Trove they had purchased!

Making Life easier?

I have been working on a Mystery Hexagon Quilt since before Christmas.
It is my first attempt at a "Real" Hexie project - So I have a LOT to learn.

I bought fabric in lengths that could be divided into 2 1/2" squares and then learnt that my Hexagons are actually cut at  2 5/8" x 2 1/4" (65mm x 56mm)

Which shouldn't be a problem only that some of my fabric wasn't cut quite ... to size.

I found I could get more use of my fabric and sometimes more Hexagons if I cut them 'Points across' rather than 'Points down'.  

I can cut 36 pieces one way and 42 the other from this piece of fabric.

So I had to find an efficient way to measure and cut my strips.

Eventually I hit on THIS idea.

By sticking an actual fabric Hexagon to the back of my ruler (With the ever trusty and removable double sided tape) I not only achieved a regular size to cut to in either direction

Trimming each piece became a lot easier

and

It also made my small ruler -

Non Slip!