Modern Quilt Guild challenge piece - finished

Finally done and posted on both the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild Inc. Flickr page and on the Modern Quilt Guild community page a day before the deadline.  I finished hand stitching the binding down last night while re-commencing a 'Mad Men' marathon.  I do love the cosiness of having a quilt on my lap on a winter's night and rhythmically stitching - it's very Little House on the Prairie (except the Ingalls didn't have television, but let's not spoil the image.

What was concerning me was getting a decent photo to post given that the weather has been gloomy but low and behold, the sun came out this afternoon, so the dogs and I raced out to snap away - well, I took pictures and they curled up in the garden.  I convinced Penny to take part in the photo shoot, but she didn't want to sit still.

The front of the quilt is inspired by the half log cabin quilts by the Gee's Bend Quilters and the back is a few wonky stars.  They were going to be crazy, foundation- pieced stars but it was going to take too long, so I'll save that idea for another project.  After seeing the amazing creations on both sites, I'm know I'm not going to win a prize but I met the deadline and have made a quilt that will look really good on my couch.

Simple Pleasures

Looking for unconditional love and affection?  Someone who listens but doesn't answer back? Doesn't care what you look like?  Get a dog or, better still, get two.

Sure, there is a bit of work involved in feeding, walking and cleaning up after them, but the joy they bring to our house is immeasurable.  We love our girls to bits and cannot imagine life without a dog being part of it.

Moving on up

 

I haven't posted on developments at STLT HQ for a while as there really hasn't been much to report other than the garden is slowly growing and we are progressively putting up more pictures.  But this week, we've acquired two rugs which make a huge difference to the respective rooms. This is the lounge room rug in situ. I had thought about rugs periodically but decided against buying any as there are two spotty girls around here who will just lay on them. But after seeing some inexpensive rugs in a catalogue, I suggested that Stos might have a look at a specific design for the man cave. In doing so, he noticed this one and thought it would go well in the lounge room.   I'm quite impressed with his choice;  I wouldn't have bought it as it really isn't my thing. But in this room it works really well with the furniture, the floor and also picks up the neutral tone of the blinds (the background is more beige that it appears).  And I was right about the dogs; as soon as Miss K saw the new addition, she decided to make herself comfortable on it. 

KISS principles

After a heavy week at the day job, contemplating inappropriate development plans for our neighbourhood, and some other curve balls that life throws you, it has been nice to have a simple weekend doing mundane, but satisfying things:
- we've cooked up a storm.  Meals for the rest of the week are largely sorted and I've made Ants Nest Cake and Lemon Chicken from this great book lent to me by George.


- we went to see this film.  It was complex, the cast is a real Who's Who of Australia's top actors, but I think I have to overcome my fear of reading Patrick White and get into the book because I don't know if the film covered all of its nuances.  I really thought there was something missing:  while I understood the attitudes of the children towards their mother, I did not get a sense of why Elizabeth acted the way shed did towards them.  And what was the symbolism of the last scene?  Will the book provide the answers?  I'll just have to add this to the list.  And as a side comment, if anyone can guess (without looking on IMDB) who Helen Morse plays, I'll go He!
- tidied up the garden, noticed new things growing and enjoyed the spring sunshine.
- got lots of unconditional love from these gorgeous girls.

And that's what it's all about.

Day 347: Saturday Night

I looked at Kirty's post on "Snooping" and love the concept.  I think we all like to let our inner voyeur come come out to play from time to time.  It's like those articles that detail the contents of other people's handbags - utterly compelling.  In the same vein, here are the details of my Saturday night at home.  I have been sitting in my lovely new chair with matching ottoman and the following:

1/.  Armistead Maupin's latest installment in the "Tales of The City" series of novels;  "Mary Ann in Autumn".  I picked this up from the library today and am motoring through it.
2/.  A plate of buttermilk and blueberry pancakes courtesy of Stos.
3/.  A glass of Pino Grigio.
4/.  Two Dalmatians.  I am not flattering myself that they love me best because they are up in the living room with me rather than with Stos downstairs watching "Mission Impossible"; it is because their cushion and blanket haven't been moved.

It's lovely to have night in.

Day 335: Who let the dogs out?

Stos and I have both taken a week off from the Day Jobs.  Breaks have been a bit thin on the ground over the last 18 months, so we thought it was a good idea just to take some time to sit back and enjoy the house.  That was until Bob decided that this week would be a good time to do the landscaping.  So now we have jobs to do in readiness for the bobcat coming in later in the week.  This afternoon was spent pulling out weeds in the front yard and picking up building rubble, although, to be honest, I think we will be picking bits of roof tile out of the ground until we are carried out of the place.  The yard is bare but it looks a lot better than the jungle of weeds it was last week.  The back is another story but the bobcat will sort that out.  K & P were out the front with us but having had a taste of freedom a few weeks ago, K headed for the only gap in the fence and started trotting down the road to seek out treats at M's place.  She really is a female (and canine) version of Houdini.  But you wouldn't guess her evil nature from the photo here.

Day 281: Glad all over

Well, we are home. It was chaos and still is but it's great to be back. Moving in day started with the removalists turning up an hour before they were supposed to but they were fine about it and filled in their time until we arrived by having a snooze. Then it was collectively decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to use the front entrance as the wooden floors had only been finished the previous day, so everything was put into the garage, lower level and kitchen. The very large and heavy kitchen table had to be left on the drive and moved later by me, Stos, Bob and Sparkie Dave; up stairs and over balustrades, all the while trying not to hit the walls or glass roof. Also, there was no time to clean, so we are trying simultaneously to unpack, clean and put furniture in the right places. Exhausting! The best news all week has been that the house guests don't arrive until 31/12 and not today as expected so there's a bit more time to get the place into some semblance of order.

It's still a bit messy around here so I won't put any photos of the house up today but here's a very cute pic of the girls who are still getting used to the new surrounds.

Day 8

We have been waiting for the demolition machinery to be moved so that the slabs for the garage and lower level can be laid. The machines have now gone but now it does not look like any work will be done before Easter. Even if the block was clear yesterday, the heavy rain would probably have stopped progress in any case. So the only other development to report is the erection of the temporary power pole. Better than nothing! On other important matters, we visited K & P at the breeders on Sunday: they did not seem too interested in us when they were first let out, but before long K was very excited and launched herself at Stos. After a few weeks living with corgis, you forget the impact of a 20 odd kilogram Dalmatian jumping on you. K has lost some weight, which she needed following the feeding up she got as an expectant (but disappointed) mother. We don't like being separated from them, but we can't keep them at the temporary lodgings and they are safe and loved at their original home. The other bonus from the visit was the opportunity to play with 13 puppies. We knew that there was a litter of pups in residence and A invited us to down to have a look while she was feeding them. When the door opened, we were greeted by a tangle of black and brown spots who were so excited at being allowed out to play. Some tried to do a runner while others cheekily poked their noses through the fence to their mum and other relatives. They were of all shapes and sizes, but all of them gorgeous and it was so tempting to pop one in a pocket to take home. All but one handsome black and white boy were going to new homes yesterday and the new owners are soooooo lucky. The pictures above don't do justice to these adorable creatures. Thanks A, for letting us visit and also to J and S for looking after our precious girls.