Taking Shape

This quilt will be for my daughter when she returns from her travels.  I have a few borders to add when time permits.

Picking up the pieces

It has been a long time since I posted on my blog, and I must confess I had almost forgotten that I had a blog.
The past few months have been very hard as we have lost 3 beloved family members.  We have had some very dark times when we have felt we couldn't go on, but time is a healer and today I felt strong enough to write about the pain of our loss and the path we have been on.

In May we lost my Step Dad who passed away after a long battle with ill health, he was 84.

Then my beautiful Step Daughter, 23,  took her own life in July.  This loss has been the hardest to bear.  She had been struggling with mental health problems for a few years and had been in our care on and off over this time.  We thought she was doing well and that she was ready to start her University studies again, but she was hiding her pain.  She was an intelligent, creative young woman who gave so much of herself to helping others but she couldn't see a future where she could ever be well .

And then last week my sweet Mother In Law passed away, she was almost 90. She so wanted to be 90 and we knew it wouldn't happen, so we had an early birthday party for her only 2 weeks ago.  She had her favourite Thai curry, cake and a few sips of bubbly.  We cheated a bit , but I think that was OK, she was delighted and we feel it gave her permission to let go and take the next step on her journey.

On Monday I waved goodbye to my daughter, 19, as she left on an overseas working holiday for 12 months or so. After all that we have been through it was extra hard for us to say goodbye, but with the marvels of modern technology we have already been in contact a number of times.

And so our nest is emptier and through all this sadness and loss, my darling hubby and I have started to look forward to some together time, the first since our "Brady Bunch" family started just over 10 years ago.

My thoughts are turning to creative pursuits and I hope to get back into my sewing room soon.  I have an operation to go through on my knee(s) shortly, but that's not going to stop me!  I am going to make a quilt with those rainbow blocks I made last year and there's a thousand other things I want to make.

I am back :)

Block A Day Challenge has come to a halt

Well, I'm afraid my Block A Day Challenge came to a grinding halt with the completion of my big rainbow blocks. I was going to make some smaller blocks as part of the quilt, but I don't think it needs them.  I had been pondering on what to make to continue the challenge but have decided that given the pressures and stresses of family life at the moment I will concentrate on completing the quilt and working on some other smaller projects as I can do them when I have time. 
It's only May and so far this year has been very difficult with two members of our close family being very sick.  One being my Stepfather who sadly passed away on Saturday evening after spending nearly 3 months in  hospital after a fall at home in early February.  He fought a long hard battle trying to get home to his beloved antiques and comforts but it was not to be.   My focus now is on supporting Mum but as she is 7 hours drive away I am going to be traveling a lot.
I would like to especially thank Robyn of Daisy Quilts for hosting the Block A Day Challenge, it really got me motivated to make the blocks for my Rainbow Quilt.  It would still be in the idea stage if I hadn't joined the challenge!  I will be stopping by to visit your blogs to admire your progress in the challenge and I will of course post my progress with the Rainbow Quilt too.

Final colour of my big BaD Blocks

This is the last of the colours/shades of my daughter's leaving home quilt.  I am undecided on the smaller border blocks now as the quilt may be big enough without them.  I'm off to our local patchwork shop, where my dear friend works, to have a look at a background fabric she thinks might suit.  After I have seen that I will decide on the next step.

BaD blocks - better late than never

I'm a little late with this post, but here are my violet blocks.  I only have one more colour to go and then I am done with the big blocks for the quilt.  I have decided to make smaller ones as part of the border, so you will get to see the colours all over again! 

Oh dear I've been BaD

It's Monday, the day to post our week's worth of blocks and guess what??  They are not done. They are still in pieces on my ironing board...

It was a busy week and a busy weekend, so I just didn't get any further than cutting the blocks out.  

I had a wonderful crafty kind of day with friends on Saturday (just not a "sewing my Block of the Day" kind of day).  We went to the Wauchope Patchwork Quilters exhibition and then we spent the afternoon at a Shabbilicious Painting Technique Workshop with Kerry of  Woodberry Designs.  Kerry took us through a range of painting techniques and happily shared her extensive knowledge and experience with us. Her studio has displays of her beautiful work all around...so inspiring.

We were treated to a delightful devonshire tea and received a beautiful little box of chocolates to take home.  We had a ball!

Blue BaD blocks

I've been working on the blue tones and found it very hard going on my eyes as my cutting board is blue and the lines on my ruler are blue too!  Not very good planning on my part.
This is a short post  as I am about to start a very crazy day of work, 2 dental appointments (yes, 2 ), a quick lunch with my best friend, a webinar and then a much needed yoga class to calm the mind, body and spirit.