Surprise surprise… I have had a bit of a break from quilting as it’s been Christmas baking … Christmas entertainment… daughter moving to her own house and then getting engaged…
Suffice it to say it’s been hectic but oh so joyful.
I’ve looked at my table and touched my machine and felt the inevitable pull but seriously have had to walk away 😃
I’ve cut and stitched four blocks and got lots more to go but as usual I don’t have a complete plan in mind … it’s definitely a quilt and will have some ragging involved too… As much as I want to work out a plan of action I always go back to making and then deciding what I want it to be.
So here goes … progress reports will definitely follow 😍
When we started this year it was filled with optimism and joy knowing the year will have lots to offer….
As a few months passed we found ourselves in the middle of a pandemic… something totally new to everyone and some took it very lightly while others more seriously…
We found borders within our country closing and distances to travel curtailed….
Everywhere we turned the country and the world in general in turmoil.
And yet through all this we as a family have remained blessed with our health and work…. two things very essential to everyday living.
Christmas is a season I love and look forward to each year. From decorating in vibrant colours to the warming smells of Christmas cake … I love each second that goes into preparing sweets and presents.
This year has been no exception… there is a limit on numbers in the home but we were still able to go to the Family Mass with my family and for the first time in 27 years I didn’t have a lunch in my home. This year it was one better …. it was in my daughters new house.
Boxing Day brought even more joy as her partner proposed to her !!! And today my husband and myself celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary.
How much more joy and gratitude can my heart hold !
As the year draws to a close I thank the Good Lord for all the Blessings we have received this year.
My daughter Amanda and future Son in Law Brandon Christmas Eve with my hubby Anniversary celebrations with the family 🥰
This is the highest praise and honour any person could receive in my book. The comment on my quilting blog below is from my teacher from Loreto House who taught me when I was in middle school.
Makes my heart sing that she wants me to now teach her 💝
The ‘Miss Bose’ she is referring to was my sewing and craft teacher at school. She had asked for me to take over her position at school after she retired. I was heading to Australia at the end of that year so couldn’t do it. If I was living in Calcutta still I would have been the sewing teacher at my Alma Mater for 28 years by now !!!
Life somehow comes full circle and for one of my teachers to ask me to teach her is amazing and humbling ❤️
It’s been a long year and a stressful year with the pandemic. Not to say that it is over yet but things are looking up where we live and we seem to have beaten the virus at the moment. It’s early days yet and best not to get too complacent till the vaccine is out.
We are now able to have a few more people visit and as I love to entertain I was able to have my family over and a couple of friends for dinner.
It was awesome to catch up and didn’t realise, as much as I love my solitude I have missed sitting and chatting and exchanging stories.
I cooked up a storm as always as it is another of my passions and everyone enjoyed the meal and the deserts. I took the opportunity to decorate the house for Christmas and for me it was pre-Christmas celebrations.
Here’s to the next month of baking Christmas cakes and listening to Christmas carols and sewing Christmas presents for everyone 🎄
One of my dear dear friends turns 60 next week and as she’s going away with her family I decided to have something at my place to make the milestone memorable.
She’s a lovely human being and even though we lived on the same street in Calcutta so many years ago we never really knew each other.
It took our youngest daughters playing district netball to bring us together and we have enjoyed years of laughter and friendship.
How could I not give her something quilted 🤩
Having friends who stand by you and understand you makes life complete. Carina is a loyal friend and a loving friend…. what more could you ask for in life.
Another month of quilting and another month of ScrapHappy 💝
Another month has passed and how quickly has that happened. This year seems to have gone in a blur.
I’ve been busy as always as my love for anything quilting has not diminished 😍
This last month has seen me doing lots of Christmassy stuff & as my sis needed a couple of table runners I scrounged around and found these two pieces of Christmas fabric.
I’ve been practicing doing Pinwheels and these came out quite well I think. My sister is very happy with them which makes me happy too 🤩
I’m posting from my phone and for whatever reason I can’t seem to add the names of my ScrapHappy friends. I am away at the moment and don’t have my laptop with me. Kate did say to draft the post and schedule it to go up today but of course in the course of all the prep to get away I forgot 🤦♀️.
🧵Friends are like quilts … they never loose their warmth 🧵🪡🧵
October 2017 I met a lady called Kate Chiconi at the National Motorcycle Rally in Wooli … it was our first Rally we had attended and Kate & John Chiconi came from Queensland. We met … we chatted …. 2018 John & Kate hosted this years rally in Queensland… which we attended… and from chatting have now become lifelong friends… they are both amazing people and Kate has a gift … not only for making friends but also making the one thing I love …. QUILTS…. We left Mackay promising we will see each other again soon & yes we are seeing each other in February next year 😊 A few days after we got home I get a message from Kate saying she is making me a quilt !!!! You can imagine my excitement & joy …. 😍 She asked me what my favourite colours are and I told her and as she knows my ancestry lies in being Bengali she has incorporated that into the four corners of my quilt …. She has finished my quilt and has sent me pictures and has aptly named it Colours of Happiness .. ‘in celebration of friendship, motobikes, curry ( which they both love) & Colour.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart Kate for my lovely quilt which I cannot wait to get my hands on & for your friendship…. it’s beautiful like u 😊 We share a love for motorcycles & curries & quilts … with that combination how can we go wrong !
We are at the same spot as we were so many weeks ago … there was meant to be a bit of change in restrictions but alas with a new outbreak in the northern suburbs we have all been pushed back … sad as our rolling average is under 5 and all other states are living with the virus and got it under control.
Oh well not much we can do but do something that lifts our spirits and the one thing we do love doing is riding our ST1300. We are only allowed to go as far as 25kms but at least that’s better than 5kms…
It was beautiful and sunny when we left but as you would have it by the time we came to Frankston beach it started raining… not unusual as it’s Melbourne 😄
Once we got home hubster jumped onto his other ST and took it for a spin as it is going in for a Road Worthy on Friday and then we get it registered so we will be now spoiled for choice when it comes to road trips 🤩
An enjoyable and relaxed Sunday to say the least 🥰
It’s ScrapHappy Day again !!! A day for showing something made from scraps.
And another month here and we are still in lockdown !!!! We are all getting Lockdown Weary now … enough is enough I say … but it’s in the hands of the powers that be 😏
My sewing room at the moment… actually since the start of the Pandemic has been my pool table … my youngest daughter has been working from home and as she’s on the phone all day dealing with customers I can’t be anywhere near … she is using my quilting workspace upstairs…. so it’s the pool table for me now …
I’ve been sewing away very happily everyday .. a few projects in process at the moment and a fair few completed.
I made a blanket for my eldest in Grey as that’s going to be the predominant colour scheme. Left over fabric gave me enough to make a stuffed cushion 😍
Ever since I’ve started quilting I’ve made a list of birthdays and anniversaries in my calendar and marked off who will enjoy handmade gifts. My next picture shows you a Bowl Cosy and a matching Table Runner I have made for a friend. I’m planning a picnic lunch with her at the park as we still can’t visit each other at home due to lockdown… ( all made from scraps of course )
And last but not least a Scrappy Table runner for Christmas 🎄 as my sis wanted something for her house as well
It’s not what we have in our life but who we have in our life that matters…
As the years roll by and we get older we appreciate almost everything that happens in our lives. Life is full of ups and downs and that’s the way we keep our balance in this universe.
Family IS life for us and during this time of lockdown we have celebrated all our birthdays in Iso … it’s just been us and the kids and their partners … as that’s all that we are allowed.
But it couldn’t have been better … I have cooked and baked and prepared desserts same as every year but this year I’ve paid attention to the young adults in my family….
Anyone knowing me knows I love people and love entertaining… but somewhere along the line with all the people around and all the entertaining I’ve never had the time to sit with the kids and eat dinner on their birthdays as I’m setting stuff up in the kitchen and seeing to everyone else….. and as they kids are grown up they can take care of themselves…
Well this year has taught me otherwise… I have a dining table that seats 8…. and the table is complete with J, myself, our 3 kids & their partners. Each birthday this year I have prepared dinner for us same as I have done for the past 27 years but this time we have sat around the table … said Grace & eaten together… a feeling of contentment as I look around and count my blessings.
My birthday starts the celebrations in the year in June and J’s brings it to a close in October with the three kids birthdays in between… I like to read things and events in sequences and this is the circle ⭕️ of life for me.
Yesterday we celebrated my hubby’s birthday and I cooked and took pictures and we cut cake and laughed and shared stories of the kids antics as they were growing up and as I walked up the stairs to go to bed they were still sitting chatting and laughing at the dining table and standing on the stairs I listened to them interact. My three have always been close and as they have gotten older they have become friends who look out for each other without being in each other’s face … now they have partners and all three partners get along well with each other as well. My family has grown & I’m very blessed to be able to enjoy this phase of our lives …
HAPPINESS IS..... 