June Wrap

 More of the mundane than sewing but it's slowly happening.  I finished of the sewing of Row 3 for my Temp Quilt and have since cut what I could of all the triangles for the year. Now I'm just waiting on a few more fabrics to arrive for the missing temps and I can get on with Row 4.

Chookshed Challenge June ~ Crochet rug is coming along nicely and this is my June progress pic ... did I mention I'm not speedy and I need to pick it up more often.

Monday I sandwiched the 12 scrappy blocks and began quilting ... quilt as you go and I'll join with a cream sashing I think. I went with a fancy zig zag type stitch in the ditch and a spiral for the snowballs.

About a week and a half ago, our son had a fall from his horse while mustering ... luckily he only has a broken collarbone which is worry enough. We have our 12yr old grandson J here for school holidays and trying to get our mustering and weaning done. (calves old enough to be weaned from mum)  Of course some days the weather has been horrible ... throw in a couple of unscheduled town trips and plans can change pretty quick. The sun is currently trying hard to come out so that will be nice if it does.

Even baking a loaf of sourdough is tricky to fit in as I need an afternoon to prepare the loaf which then rests in the fridge overnight for baking next morning. I'm really happy with how they're turning out though and fingers crossed I've got a method that works for me and gives a good result.

I'm just waiting on a call to head up to the cattle yards shortly so I'll wrap this up, maybe squeeze in a blog visit or two and await the release of the July Chookshed Challenge number.

Chookshed Challenge April Wrap

 I've been missing out on skipping around blogland to catch up with everyone ... I can only cross my fingers for May as I have a couple of quilting deadlines to try and meet. I should never say 'next week is looking quiet' because that's when something crops up!

Very happy with Challenge #4 which was my 2023 Temperature Quilt.  The flying geese were made but not joined ... then I machine appliqued the lettering on the top and bottom borders ... ta da! Top done and added to the "quilting" pile. Link to Chookshed Challenge HERE:

So loved the colours in this one, the fabrics are from the Grunge range.  I was hoping to also get #2 Sashiko panel finished for April but ... now my left hand is giving me some issues and I'm limited with what I can do. Hubby had to peg the washing out this morning ... It was a hard not to give corrective advise ... you know how it is when it's not done how you would do it? It was much appreciated.

Um ... Slow March, FNWF and April Challenge

 After riding the mojo wave in January/February, March went flat! ...

 I couldn't find the Sashiko panel that I had only just photographed for Chookshed Challenge ... got a sinus infection that hung on for over 2 weeks ... 

Bought a Sashiko Panel at the Childers Quilt Show so I eventually put needle and thread to work ...

I'll continue on this at night and will be my FNWF project this Friday.

Couple of items I did manage to finish were the Feb and Mar blocks for the Murder Mystery Quilt. Soooo many pieces of FPP in the Lama but I'm happy with how it turned out and the sun block also used FPP.

Did a catchup of some leaves on the March branch of Temperature Tree.

End of March saw a lot of visitors and trips into town for one thing and another including special "0" birthday lunches. I can't complain about all this wet weather even though it creates headaches for us here on our property ... nothing compared to the devastation unfolding out in Central and Western Queensland.

Ooops ... before heading off I just remembers it's a new month and a new Chookshed Challenge Number ... #4 is completing the top for 2023 Temperature Quilt

So I need to go make a cuppa and then hit the bookwork first, so I can spend some time today playing with my new sewing machine that I picked up last Friday for my birthday.

Days Roll On

Just popping in before 2024 makes way for 2025 ... The last couple of months have been a little 'rough' so if things got done ... they got done ... and if they didn't ... that was ok too.

My Temperature Quilt keeps calling so I'm pleased that I've kept at it ... very different to last years ... the last row is complete up to the 21st December and I've added the 'keys' down each side.

Hot temps call for the air con on in the Craftervan so I decided it was time for a tidy up. What did I find? ... Pattern and Template for this Twister design so I had a little play when the mood struck ... a little wall hanging ready for quilting. I also found the elusive 'Strips and Curves' which was supposed to be No. 4 Challenge project.

This 'Geese' bag had been waiting for handles ... ta da?

This piece of fabric had been waiting to be hemmed ... now I have a new tablecloth.

Some Christmas fabric I purchased this time last year ... so while the mood was still with me ... I had a new Christmas top to wear.

End of November our Patchwork Group had their Christmas Breakup and we had a little Gift Swap ... the theme was "A Receptacle". I found this pattern for a handy little Carry Bag with pockets both inside and out. Was a bit of a challenge but turned out ok and I made myself one at the same time.

Mum needed her timber fence painted so hubby to the rescue for this job with help from myself, mum and aunty ... of course it had to be a hot day!

Our poinciana trees are always beautiful coming up to Christmas ...

And there's always a critter or two to be found around the place ... the Plovers are busy raising their young ... as are our resident Willy Wagtail parents ...

This little family were quite brave coming up close to the house ... 2 have young in their pouches.

Nature has it's happy and sad.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to our beautiful little girl Millie in October ... our home and hearts are not the same.

14.02.14 ~ 10.10.24

Today I've been playing with some fabric in readiness for a 2025 project or 2 as I keep looking forward ... and planning for a fabric acquisition expedition ... sounds more exciting than just 'going shopping' ...

Challenges and Progress

Happy Birthday to all the Horses out there  ... August 1st in Australia is the official birth date for our horses. This young lady is officially 5 today.

Now for the Chookshed Challenge.  My project for July was to quilt and bind a wedding quilt .... welllll ... the quilt was dropped off to the quilters on Monday so I'm claiming that as a win ... (I know... it's a stretch but it's better than still sitting in my cupboard)

August #3 -  to finish off my Happy Houses Wall Hanger.  These were from a swap way back in 2011 and I know if Chooky looks closely she may just recognise a house or 2.  Now I said join and quilt so I'll see how far I can get ... 

My 2024 Temperature Quilt has another row completed, Row 5 which took me to July 20 and a couple of below 0 temps ... brrrrr!

I still have some wool left over from the Round Knitted Rug and Zig Zag Rugs so now I'm working on Granny Squares to use up the remainder ... I did purchase the white.

There is another Scrappy Quilt in progress that I work on at our Patchwork Days so that's about it for me. Keeping busy on the farm, visiting grandies and crafting whenever xx

A Finish or 2 of Sorts

 The Chookshed Challenge was just what I needed ... thank you ladies. I've kept working on a couple and have finishes to share. 

Challenge 2 - 'Crochet Rug' - Finished

Challenge 4 - "Strip Insertion Quilt" - Finished Top

I have to admit to stalling on this month's challenge but I did work out the new crochet pattern I mentioned. 

And then there's Row 2 of my 2024 Temperature Quilt 

Of course the recent school holidays meant Sleepovers with Masters 10 and 4 who love helping with the cattle work. This particular morning tea menu was pikelets and mug cakes. 

So that's a little catch up on April and I still have time to work on the current Challenge #9.

Nature, Scraps and Memories

Last Thursday, these baby Willy Wagtails left their nest. Mum and Dad had been very busy raising them and continue to feed them as I've spotted them around the house since.  This is their second brood, the first nest built just outside our back door ... parents would get quite upset when we kept walking past so ... they actually pulled their first nest apart and rebuilt on the other side of the house where it was much quieter.

My crepe myrtle seems to be late blooming this year but has certainly put on a beautiful show. 

Last seam sewn today and "Calendar Quilt" is a completed TOP. I had to scroll way back through the blog to find where I first posted.  Commenced in 2009, it involved 1" strips for each day of each month so there are 365 different fabrics in this quilt. Quilting friends donated scraps here and there and I can see many past projects in these scraps.  In my defence, I finished the months in that year and just couldn't decide what to use as the sashings. As a UFO Challenge in 2018, I decided on the 4 patch set on point and made about half ... then it was back to storage. My thoughts once quilted (don't hold your breath) I'll bind in a red.

Another on my 'to do' list is Lucy Boston and I did say this would be my Zoom project ... so I've decided it can also be my project for our local patchwork days ... saves me having to think of projects, pack the sewing machine and everything else etc.

Update on the Temperature Quilt ... I've sewn the 2nd half of the geese ranging from 21deg to 40deg at the top. Just waiting for the final instructions.

Finally, my blog book arrived ... again 2 years in one as my blogging has gone by the wayside. This mother possum and her baby hold special memories. In the middle of town, beside a busy roadway. this mother found a quite garden in hospital grounds, to make her home and raise her baby. 

Nature never ceases to amaze. 
 

FNWF

Pleased to say I was able to join in on Friday night with a little bit of cutting, pinning and sewing. Thanks to Cheryll and Friends for company, I managed half of the required flying geese for the border. These show the temperatures from 1 deg to 20 deg (top to bottom).

I'm not sure yet if there is a plain border in between but it will be the grey border top and bottom of the quilt.

Off to Patchwork tomorrow with my "Fish Pond" in hand.

Friday was Master P's birthday ... we visited today and delivered his present. He loves growing plants so now he has his very own 'garden' with new strawberry and tomato plants ... Happy Growing.

And With That

 To round off the year, here are the months of October and November for my Temperature Quilt.

December is looking very red with heatwave temps. Stay safe if impacted by storms and enjoy your New Years' Eve be it out celebrating or like me, the celebrations will be behind closed eyelids.