Busy busty bee

What a week! Tomorrow I will take a picture of what I was so busy with this week! The workshop was called "The Pink Piglets" but mine turned out very bright! A lot of blanket stitch applique is left to do!!

My main project for the beginning of this year is the reproduction of the Dutch Quilt. Well, I have laid out a quarter and managed to piece half of it before this new workshop. I have lots of work to do! The bad news is that my back is killing me! i don't know what went wrong but I am constantly in pain! It is very difficult to sew in so much pain.... but I am so determined!!

I am actually suppose to cycle tomorrow morning at 6 am but with my back I am not sure if it a good idea!

sleep???

I must say I was sleeping better until last night! Yesterday I started piecing the half square triangles together and enjoyed it so much! I eventually stopped because I was tired... but do you think sleep came? Eventually I started reading a novel from our church library and about 3 chapters later I fell asleep...only to wake up just past 4! I tried to stay in bed but 20 past 5 I got up and made myself a cup of coffee and finalized all the claim forms for the insurance company that I really needed to do asap.... but I rather spend my time piecing yesterday....

I am SO excited about this quilt I am making! I am actually contemplating entering it into our National Quilt Festival which takes place first week in July this year. So I am holding back pictures in case I do enter.Today I received an e-mail from Embroidery Library with $1 designs - a whole collection of Dutch Deflt Blue designs. And last night when I couldn't sleep I was wondering what designs I would be quilting on this Dutch replica quilt and today I had the answer! The most beautiful picture! Now my excitement level is even higher!!

So after sending off all the information for the insurance I went for breakfast with a few friends. Our one friend Hettie had her birthday today and we started with breakfast! Antoinette (her dearest friend) then took her out for a day of leisure and picnic!! Friends are so precious!

Here is a picture of the front of a bag I am making! My friend Zelda from Zelda's Stitches had the pattern and wanted to make the bag. A week before Christmas we both started this one (plus another! why make one if you van make 2?LOL). Well this coming Friday we will be stitching together again to try and complete the one bag. Hopefully... if we don't talk sooo much!

I am the one on the left, our friend Aiza in the middle and Zelda on the right! Off course Aiza was not impressed when she saw we were making bags without her but she caught up quickly! In fact, I asked her to finish the hand embroidery on mine since she does it beautifully!!

Good night, sleep tight..don't let the bed bugs bite...........or so I hope!

When I was a child I could never understood why my grandmother didn't sleep well - I love sleeping and never had a problem with fallen asleep with the blink of an eye........ but for some reason I just can't sleep these days. By late afternoon I am an walking zombie dragging my feet around the house...and then when I go to bed my mind starts racing about my to-do-list for 2011.




So I decided to make a list: maybe seeing it black on white will give me peace...and then hopefully sleep!


1) I made up 6 kits to sew up a reproduction of a Dutch Quilt I saw in Ann Moonen's book The History of the Dutch Quilt. One of them I am sewing up as a sample. It is very time consuming and I am very impatient. I want to get it done but I am just so busy with the kids and organising our house that I don't get enough sewing time. Today I counted my blocks and divided it in quarters - so my goal is to sew a quarter a weekend????

2) Tommorow morning 2 friends are coming over and we will be stitching our bags. I will post a picture soon. But we are making 2 bags each - fully lined and PVC coated to keep it clean.

3) After my grandmother passed away last year, I started embroidering around photos to make my mom a memory quilt. I would like to finish it in August to present to my mom - will publish a picture of my work done as well!

4) My daughter is stitching up 20 log cabin blocks for me to make up kits as well. She has completed 11 blocks and the other 9 needs to be done by Sunday as Monday school starts again. (we had our long summer holiday now1)

5) Quilt the border of my friend Lisa's quilt

6) Thde cats quilt need to be basted and quilted....and binding

7) My friend Karin made a quilt for her daughter and I need to quilt it. King size I think. It must be done by 12 March because that is the wedding gift!!

8) Need to add the border to the quilt I posted on in December, quilt and bind!!



9) Stitch binding to 5 placemats and ask my friend Zelda to do handstitching.



How about that? Think I might be busy?

This is how I feel...

Goodnight

Karin

I have been away from blogland quite a while!

Well, firstly I would like to wish everybody a blessed 2011! May you and your families have a year of love and laughter!

We spent almost every Christmas with my parents at their holiday house in Lambert's Bay - it is on the West Coast in South Africa ( the first picture!) The second picture is Christmas lunch... unfortunately one cannot see my mother: her face is behind my eldest daughter Lindie.

I took the picture.....so I am not on it either!!

Can anybody help me please? I am not that computer literate so bear with me please! How can I load an image on blogger, write a paragraph or two AND then upload another image beneath everything I have typed all ready. Every time I upload a new image it goes right to the top of my draft and I don't know how to move it! It really frustrates me! I have tried twice to write a new post but with all the struggling I gave up! I have loads of stories that I want to share and I like to add an image to make it more interesting!

Anyway, my dear husband is snoring away and I think I will drift off to dreamland soon as well!

Go over to Cornfield Quilter and see her result from Roll Roll Cotton Ball (the mystery from Bonnie Hunter....Quiltville's Quips and Snips) ... I just LOVE her end results....well she still needs to add the final border.....BUT it is stunning! Well done girl!

Good night from a sunny South Africa!