When will I ever settle in!

I laid in bed Saturday morning feeling a little sad and sorry for myself I guess but also trying to work out how to make my bedroom look better. So I got up and moved the tv to every corner of the room to see where the best reception was (without the stupid Freeview). Then I moved everything to suit the tv.

Of course when you move one room it feeds out to other rooms so here we are again Sunday night and I've just finished ...... moving the sewing room around yet again. Steph and I are going to sew together on Wednesday nights and a girl from work wants to have a go at patchwork....SOOOOO I decided it needed to be more spacious so two could sew comfortably in there. At last it's sorted. I'm ready to sew! I went to the Warehouse and got a half price rug for the bedroom (I'm thinking I'll pay off a 'nicer' but more expensive carpet square over the summer) and I bought a microwave too! Retail therapy ah!

And I need to finish this UFO . A few months ago at Rose City Quilters we made a challenge to finish a UFO we hadn't touched for 12 months. It had to be finished by September.... hmm as usual it's last minute for me. This was a Mystery Block of the Month on the Internet a few years ago. I'm not sure I like it anymore but once I lay these blocks out properly it may look okay. It is all scraps. I'm thinking I'll also do it row by row Quilt as you go.. so with a little black stripe in between each row ... hmmmm I also found a few other treasures???? 5" blocks from a Jinny Beyer range which were given to me by a friend.

And another quilt I made once. It's supposed to be "under the sea" but I didn't like it so I unpicked the whole thing and this is what remains... there's too many pretty fabrics to throw it out so I'm thinking I'll play with it and make it up again. The funny white cushions behind it are the 'inners' for my couch cushions. Hmmm yes another project to do. I have made progress .. I've moved the fabrics for them out to the lounge to inspire me...

And I found these gorgeous wools that my grandchildren gave me for Christmas. Lots of ideas here.. maybe a scarf or a handbag... I went to the local quilt guild yesterday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've joined and put my name down for a course called "Tumbling Blocks". It's being held on the 1st anniversary of my Dad's death... but since he was always falling over I think it's ironic and he would have a laugh about it. I took my selvege quilt along and got lots of comments. There were some amazing quilts but I've yet to work out how to get my photos off my mobile phone. Technology is the pits .. I am not clever when it comes to files and downloading!!!

Now I'm off to sort out the mountain of photocopied patterns I have accumulated and probably reduce the pile considerably. (By the way the magazines are now on the big bookshelf hidden behind my lounge door which I never close hehe).

Goodnight everyone

Rest in Peace

It's Friday night and I was thinking about Fay, wondering how she was when my mobile rang. It was her son in Brisbane. I knew what he was going to say and even though I was waiting for the news it is still CRAP! I'm just glad she didn't suffer too long, in fact she died on Tuesday night so since I spoke to her she had gone down very fast. Of course I've moved since she went into hospital so Fay didn't have my new phone number and her son has been trying to find me. This is a photo of 'Fay's quilt' that I made for her 80th birthday. Fay loved it and her son is sending it back to me as a memory of her. Fay took the photo for me in Oz as I'd run out of time. I made it in "Australian colours".

Rest in Peace dear friend

I have lost a very special friend

but I can remember what you were and always will be to me

and if I can live by your attitude, strength and determination

I will be a much better person.

You will never be gone!

I just can't help myself!

The landlord was due today to fix the floor in the garden shed. So I got up early, didn't I and started 'pottering' again. I should have started sewing but I got side tracked again.
This is my little hallway, sewing room to the left, lounge to the right. There is one of those ugly wall heaters above the front door????? why up there who would know. It doesn't go and the landlord doesn't want to take it down so........ $2 shop flowers and fake grass..... probably needs a few more flowers but it'll do for now. (I hang a curtain at the door as there is a terrible draft when it's cold! The chair is going to be redone. I'm going to recover it with...........

selvages... Watch this space haha.

And the sewing room has been transformed again.... well, the desk was a pain in front of the windows... and now that the garden shed is dry I could put a few more things in there.

Not quite finished yet but it's only surface tidying now. So I can get to it and sew

the cushions

the blind for the kitchen

the table cover

and the wallhanging

and finish the ufo for September's meeting

aand

and

and......!!! Maybe not tomorrow though. A collegue and I are going to the bosses house for lunch at Paraparaumu Beach. And her partner is going to clean the insides of my car windows with his 'magic' stuff. Mine get so dirty..... and he's a fanatic at cleaning their cars. I have to get up early and go to the drive through... I've been so busy today I ran out of time and I'll have to clean the inside .... geez..

MONDAY MY NEW LIFESTYLE STARTS.... I seriously need to lose weight. The stress of the job, and other things and being overweight is starting to affect my body.. my arms, my back, my hips all ache.. bad!! So the ony thing I can change is my weight and I need to take control NOW!!!

I'm telling you all because I need your support. I will report in my blog how GOOD a day I had!!

Another give away

Hey I just found a really neat give away on Quilt n Quilt things blog. Here's the link. Slip over and say hi and you could win a heap of neat craft stuff AND a quilt too. She also has some really neat ideas on her blog.

http://quiltfever3.blogspot.com/search/label/Give%20Away

Ooooo Where Is My blog?

What a weird thing. I have downloaded NOrtons on my pc so things are a little different. My b i l has tidied it up too by deleting old files etc (it's his old pc but a good one). So my shortcut to my blog is not on the desktop and I can't remember how to put it back there.

This morning I tried to find it on the net and came up with a few other fat quarter blogs and shops etc but no me. Finally I found it so will put it into my favourites... eeek technology does my head in!!

I need to make a tablecloth to protect my table and I think I'm going to try blues and fawns to tone in with the white walls and brown chairs in my little dining nook! I found a really simple pattern last night on allpeoplequilt.com (I get their weekly newsletter and always manage to find at least one pattern I like. ) The pattern is very basic but with a few stripe fabrics and a few plain but patterned I think it'll look smart. I'll try and put a link in.... eeek..

http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/projects-ideas/table-toppers-runners/fresh-four-patch-table-topper_1.html?sssdmh=dm17.394867&esrc=nwapq08_10&email=1778032919

I found this gorgeous wallhanging in last week's newsletter. They had a pattern for a small christmas table topper! using four blocks so I'm going to have a go at making this bigger one instead using some of my batiks. It will look gorgeous hanging in the lounge so I need to find some pale grey batiks for background. So many ideas, but I need to pull finger and stop being tired and lazy after work!!!

Hmm hope that link works. My friend Chris on DCR over >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

is a whiz on blogs and photos and videos .... and her blog is so much fun!

TEN minutes later.. Don't worry I found it on help and have loaded a shortcut again to my desktop. It is confirmed. I am a computer bozo!

What a lady

I rang the Hospital again tonight and the nurse took the phone to my friend Fay. It took me by surprise.... What do you say to someone who's dying... we are never prepared but it was lovely. She sounds so weak and tired. But we had a nice chat.. she wanted to know what my house was like, if it was cold.. how was work... (that's Fay.... it's always about YOU never about her). She said she is brassed off hanging around and every day rolls into the other. I wish she could be spared this. We both shared our favourite memory and had a laugh about this trip when I took this photo. "The Bag Lady" we called it... she remembered as she would. Nothing wrong with her memory. I have been so lucky to have met Fay and the other wonderful friends in my life.

and tomorrow is a special day too. It would have been Mum and Dad's 54th wedding anniversary. Talk about the long and the short huh. It is a special day and I hope Mum will think about the good days they had together and how lucky they were to be in love for so long. I miss my Dad everyday so tomorrow won't be any different. I will send her some flowers in the morning...

There must be a lesson in everything that's happened over the last two years. I've lost so much.. my boob, my job, my Dad, my Aunt, then having to shift and now my dear friend and confidante. And my Uncle has cancer.......I have been wondering if I should go and do a course on coping with grief so I can help others or something.

I NEED TO GET SEWING! I KEEP PROCRASTINATING

someone kick me in the butt.. I need to get motivated again.

Sorry to be a doom merchant but thank you for reading this and letting me share. There's noone here to listen so you're all IT!

Photos of my new home

This is my sewing room, still wanting a bit more organisation today. I ended up getting carried away on other rooms and visitors of course. I even cooked a bacon and egg pie for dinner so I've impressed myself... first time I've made one for years!!!

I've got two desks in there.. thought I might put a jigsaw on this one as it's got a lamp above it. My sewing desk is in the window but I may have to change things if it's too hot in the summer.


And my little dining room nook off the kitchen. Evidently it used to be the laundry in the old days with a door from the back porch. Someone enclosed it and knocked a hole in the wall. My laundry is now in a cupboard in the kitchen. I've yet to work out how to decorate it and I want to put the yukka in the umbrella stand but in its pot so ... I need to fill up the stand to the bottom of the plant pot. The fabric on the chair is a possible roman blind for my kitchen window. Decided to make one after all.


Today my thoughts are with my wonderful friend Fay who only a month ago was diagnosed with terminal cancer (they had been treating her for a heart problem over the last 6 months!!)

She has been in hospital for 4 days and tomorrow they are transferring her to palliative care. I know she didn't want to prolong things so I hope for her that she doesn't suffer long. I told her a month ago I'd be on a plane at the end of the month .... but after recent events I have decided (selfishly) I just can't cope with anymore grief and I think I would be an emotional wreck. Not what Fay or her family need. It seems I wouldn't have seen her anyway....

Fay is an amazing 'older' person. I lived next door to her when I was in Brisbane 6 years ago, and she showed me up with her energy and determination. She worked for a friend at a Brisbane city restaurant and wouldn't be home till 2am in the mornings sometimes.

If she wanted to go to the Library she'd go for a 'stroll' ... it was 5 kms but it didn't worry Fay.

She made concrete paths so the ambulance officers could get her husband out of their house, on the stretcher easier.

She kept her mind going by doing 1500 piece jigsaws and adding up the grocery receipts in her head!

I loved the weekends. We would go places together.. the river cruises, the markets, the gardens, league clubs for dinner.

We have kept in touch ever since and have both been 'going to' visit...... And how old is Fay... 84 going on 50!

We should never put off till tomorrow.. cause tomorrow may never come.

I'm back AGAIN

Hi again, I had one night on the computer in my new home and then I couldn't connect so I have been awol. My wonderful b.i.l came out today and got it sorted for me.. and tried to tune in my tv but sadly this house doesn't have a working aerial and I'm restricted to snowy 2 and avalanche on 1 and 3. The landlord is supposed to be sending an aerial specialist around but it's a big place ... I think he's walking across the Haywards somewhere!!

I have nearly, nearly finished sorting things out and finding homes. I like my house a lot more than I did ten days ago and visitors have agreed it is really me. I get all the sun where it matters in the kitchen, lounge and sewing room (have to watch it doesn't fade my fabrics haha). Maybe tomorrow I'll sew. Quilt Diva is all cut out and I need to do the background. Still deciding whether or not to make a roman blind for my kitchen.. it's 2.05 m wide... seems a bit big???

(Mr DCR, I'm still waiting for a letter of apology from Head office or even an acknowledgment of the email Union sent to HR!! That won't surprise you though ah... I think they're probably 'passing the buck' again .. it's his job, it's her job, it's ....shame it won't cause them any stress or sleepless nights. But things go around in full circle... eventually ah!)

Will pop in with some photos tomorrow. Hopefully the sun will be out again. Night all. Karen

I'm back

Hi all,
Thanks for your emails. I have moved in as from Wednesday but had to work so today the pc is back up and running but I can't find my camera cable. I put it in a 'safe' place so I'll keep looking and then I'll post some photos of everything.

the young fella who packed my house was amazing and packed each shelf of fabric separately. So I just have to unwrap each parcel and put it back on a shelf but not just A shelf. He numbered each shelf unit and then numbered each parcel according to the unit/shelf it came from!!! I had to give him a hug! I'd imagined it all thrown into a box or two
well, maybe more than 2.
In fact 12!!!!

Hmmmmmmm yes, and now it's off to bed before my feet fall off!!
More soon.