At last a Flimsy!

I feel like I have a finish and it isn't quite yet.  I still need to layer and quilt it but not just yet. I need to make a quilt for a fellow who used to be a botanist and he said he would be delighted with anything green.  Well this isn't the quilt that I planned for him but I am thinking I might keep it aside just in case.  He is actually the medical officer a the navy ship that we are currently making quilts for.  He asked for a quilt for the sick bay and I decided that he should have one for the sick bay but also one for himself.   I have plans for his that include a gorgeous green leafy fabric for the backing and a different leaf fabric in the front with lots of other greens.  I might wait and see which one I like best and the nicest will be for him.  A friend is sending me some nurse and doctor material which I will use for the sick bay quilt - anything to give the patient a bit of a laugh!

Till next time...................happy stitching!

A little bit to show

Well it isn't very exciting so far but it should look ok in the end.  I have 8 more rows to sew and then I will have a green and gold southern cross quilt. I had thought I would have had this all sewn up by now but there has been one interruption after another this weekend so it wasn't to be.  Hopefully by the end of tomorrow it will be a quilt top though.

What  is unusual for me is that I do not have a name for this one yet.  I want a couple of quilts that I have made for show and tell for a few things that are coming up.  This will be one of them.  

I better get back to it or it will never be done.

Till next time..............happy stitching!

Hello! Remember me?

I am sorry, I have been gone for so long but things have just been so busy!  

I have been sewing some but mostly I have been working on Aussie Heroes.  Firstly I spent the last week of July frantically preparing to go to Canberra for Aussie Heroes.  Talk about busy.  Then when I came back there was all the stuff that required following up.  I still have one letter to draft and I am determined to get that done tomorrow morning.

I no sooner started to catch up on all of the stuff associated with the Canberra trip (which went very well by the way) and new things happened with Aussie Heroes.  Firstly last week HMAS ANZAC came on board and I had to get them sorted.  With 192 crew on board I could not risk taking unlimited requests so I implemented a quote which promised 5 quilts per month or 25 quilts. Just as well I did as they would have had 63 requests - way to much for us at one time.  As it is I think 25 quilts for 192 is pretty good and probably a similar ratio, or even better than other areas are getting.

I am still sorting the paperwork for that one but it is nearly all done and it is manageable!

Two nights later a message was put into a base circular and WHAMMO out of the blue I got 12 requests.  Luckily one of the fellows who put in a request was the base Commanding Officer and he has helped me take steps to prevent that from happening again.   Phew!  But having said that, ten of those twelve requests have been filled and are on their way already!

Now I am busy working on a special quilt for AHQ but it has to remain confidential at the request of the soldier's family and that is all I can say.  I have put a lot of planning into this one but it has been in short spurts in between everything else that has happened.  

On Thursday I finally had time to sit down and cut the whole quilt top out and put it up on the design wall and I love it- not that that helps you any coz I can't show you  - LOL.

Sadly there is going to be a lot of that in the next few months.  

The next quilt I have to make is for my girlfriend (my sisterhood friend) for Christmas and of course I can't show that.  Plus I have to make a Kris Kringle present and a Christmas decoration for my quilt group and of course I can't post that!  

 I am however also planning some quilts for Aussie Heroes that I will be able to share and I will be baking so hopefully i will be able to get back to posting a bit more regularly.

So, what do I have to share tonight?   Two great recipes that are great time savers.  First up a Bacon and Egg Slice that I made last week for the boys for dinner and then  a Banana Cake which is good for morning teas.  And they both can be mixed up, poured into their containers and can both go in the oven together- taking about the same amount of time to cook!  Love it!

 BACON AND EGG SLICE

4 rashers of bacon, diced and cooked,

½ cup grated cheese

5 eggs

¼ cup of milk

1 table spoon of plain flour

1 can corn kernels

Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into a greased dish.  Bake 40 mins 180ºC till just set in the middle.

Easy banana Bread

1 1/4 cup SR flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 cup mashed banana

2 eggs

1 teasp vanilla

Nuts and sultanas optional

Mix all ingredients together.  Spoon into a greased cake tin.  Bake at 180C for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

I promise not to wait soooo long to come back again.

Till next time................happy stitching.

Canberra Quilters Show and Tell

As you know last week I went to Canberra for four days and on one of those I was guest speaker for the Canberra Quilts.  After my little bit of the evening they had a "Show and Tell". 

 I thought I would share their lovely quilts with you but please excuse my photos.  I thought I had forgotten my camera and so used my iphone to take pics.  Guess what I found in the bottom of my bag when I got home!   Grrr

Now I am not going to try and pretend that I can remember all the names of the ladies who showed their works but this cute little quilt was made by Paulette who was one of the ladies that liaised with me.  

She has a new grand daughter who will be receiving this little quilt.

Now I think that is another of Paulette's quilts - just love those colours but I just wasn't quick enough to get a  good picture.

I tried again but still not good.

This super cute quilt is now on the makers little daughter's bed.  Lucky daughter!

She is even colour coordinated with it!

She is in the middle of finishing off UFOs and this table runner is another happy finish. 

And finally this cute little quilt!

I don't remember the whole story with this quilt and sadly i wasn't quick enough to get a picture of the back of this quilt which was pieced and equally vibrant but from what I can remember this was a joint effort and was given as a gift.  Isn't it just lovely!

And finally!  Here is the quilt that the Canberra Quilters presented me for Aussie Heroes. The photo just does not do it justice.  The colours just glow in real life.

Thank you ladies - I really enjoyed visiting you for the night.  Thank you for making me feel so welcome!

Till next time..................happy stitching!

Women's Refuge Quilts Done!

The Women's refuge quilts that the Gumnuts have been working on are finally completed and on their way.  In addition to dozen we had planned on (which turned into 14) we also had these little ones.  These were little quilt tops that Jennie, the lovely warrant officer's wife from Aussie Heroes fame gave me.   They were ones from years ago and she knew we would finish them off for a good cause.  

By "we" in the case I mean Andrea who quilted and bound them all and here they are ready to be given to young mums for little babies - for nappy changes and tummy time all those things that Mums of young ones need.

Then there are the 13 Women's refuge quilts.  This one was a UFO someone donated to the group.  All that work with the hexagons and they didn't want to finish it off.

What a great use of the hydrangea fabric.

This, believe it or not was donated all ready to be bound!  So much work in it and beautifully quilted too.

These were a mystery - a bunch of large half square triangles and leftover squares but the end result is pretty.

Same with this one!

A few leftover blocks and another quilt!

This was a trial run.  I got as far as the star blocks on the blue grey background and didn't like it at the time but it looks okay now.  

This wasn't a UFO but fabric that was "just sitting there" and has now been put to good use.

More fabric that needed to be used up.  Cute huh!

Two great I Spy quilts both with 6 1/2" squares but isn't it interesting how the different sashings change the look of the quilts.  Plain yellow with red cornerstones which really stand out and 

I Spy sashing with blue cornerstones - much more subtle.

I love this one.  This is leftover bits from a quilt one of the other girls made and she gave me the scraps. I fussy cut lots of the cute pictures out and then proceeded to add random strips of various colours to the fussy cut pieces until they made up to 6 1/2".  Then one of the Gumnuts, Del, put them together.  What a lot of fun and an great use of scraps even if I do say so myself.

Now this was a fluke. The Picture of the left shows the recycled curtain backing - soft peachy colours and cute little details added to disappearing nine patch blocks and solid blocks on the front.  Really cute.

And finally - more curtain fabric that just didn't need cutting up makes a lovely little child's quilt.

Only a simple label needed with our trademark Gumnut drawn by Glenys.

Now this quilt is also completed but this one is for a raffle for next Mother's Day with a matching pillowcase and cushion.  Nothing like being well organised!

Till next time..................happy stitching!

Mad Rush Week

Last week was so busy getting ready to go to Canberra that I barely had time to scratch myself let alone blog on poor old Cherry Red.  Still it was well worth all the effort.

I did manage to get some baking done though.

Made and apple crumble last weekend and gave it away as none of my family felt like it!  Hmmm!

Great way to use up apples that are past their best.

Love my apple peeler corer!  

Makes apple recipes so much quicker and a lot kinder to my hands.

My kids used to love eating these.  

Loads of stewed apple and minimum effort.

Mmmm,  apple crumble in my Nanna's old dish.  Just says comfort to me!

Monday night was haircut time for Fly Boy and I have a haircut next week so I economized on effort and made both batches of muffins for payment at the same time.

Some raspberry and white chocolate muffins - 

love the pink hue of the batter.

Just a shame that they lose a lot of that pink as they cook.

Also made apple and custard muffins - super simple.  Would have been another good way to use up those apples.  I used a tin of pie apple.

Finally, the day before I left I also managed to make a double batch of Rich Chocolate Cookies for the lovely warrant officer's family - I delivered them in person when I went to Canberra on Thursday and by Friday night they were all gone - love it when my cooking is enjoyed!

Of course, the ones that I left at home for my boys to eat have not been touched so I will be delivering them to my girlfriend this afternoon!


Back home today and hubby leaves late this afternoon for work travel so back into it with the meals etc - you know, the routine exciting stuff.   


:-)


Lots to catch up on from being away.  


Til next time................happy stitching!