DJ Blocks + Noah's Ark

G13

H4

G3

These are the latest Dear Jane blocks to be completed. I am having trouble with the disc in my back again, so I have been laid up for a few days. I have been doing a lot of blog hopping, listening to audio books and embroidering.

I had this BOM by Lynnette Anderson Designs. It is a really old BOM, which I had downloaded, and it lay about, waiting to be done for a long time. I started it in  December, just before my sister got ill. I put it aside, when things got bad, but I really wanted to complete it, so I got it out again, when I had to sit in the chair. I cannot leave designs in their original state. I have got to add something in, or take something out. I have always been like this!! The original Noah's Ark design is beautiful, but I wanted to make this a welcome wallhanging, when you come to visit, so I added a few words, making the letters random, and made one of the blocks say 'Welcome'. I also added a few fancy stitches and changed some of the colours. I hope Lynette does not mind!! I have checked on her site, but this BOM no longer seems to be there. Please excuse the pictures. I can't get the ironing board out (can't lift anything yet), so you can see the marks where the hoop was, on the block I am finishing. Noah's bald head needs to be redone in a darker colour, as it is receding (no pun intended!) I have another five or six blocks to go. There is a block with birds eating fish. I am going to change the birds to puffins, to make it relate to Orkney. When the blocks are finished, I have then to cut them out and put a thin border round each, in different colours of cotton, and these are then sewn together, to make the wallhanging. These are my favourite blocks so far -

Edit
The Noah's Ark BOM is being offered again for $5Aus, on Lynette's site above.


Thankful Thoughts

Jeni has come through her operation and is feeling very positive. Thank You.
Till next time.
tich

Look at This!!

I found this video on YouTube and then saw it on a blog, whilst I was surfing. It seems such an easy technique to make Pineapple blocks. 
Enjoy!
tich

Hello!

I don't know why, but it takes me a wee while before I get back into my routine, once the girls are back home. I dither about, and do not seem to be very productive. I am getting back to Dear jane. I think she thought I was abandoning her, but I actually have produced some blocks (will post pictures later) and I am enjoying the challenge yet again.

Before I went off island to see the family, I received some parcels, about which I omitted to blog. I just ran out of time. The above photos show the wonderful items and the beautiful cards I received, - from embroidery threads, beautiful Civil War and Australian fabrics, a batik, quilt labels and siggie blocks. Thank you Beverly and Katie, Gwen, Julie, Linden, the wonderful Rosa (yet again!!), Carol, Donna, Barbara and especially my mini quilt swap partner Doreen. I am speechless at your generosity! I am sorry I took so long to get back to you all.

A little sad news. Jenni, who wrote about me on the Austalian Yahoo group is not well and is going into hospital on the 31st of August. Please keep her in your prayers.

Thankful Thoughts

I have such a lot to thank Rosa and Jenni for. I received such a wonderful lot of goodies, but more than that, people, whom I did not know, reached out to me in my time of sadness. I have such a wonderful collection of cards and notes, wishing me well, and I don't think I will ever forget how wonderful everybody has been. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!!

tich

Hi! - photo heavy

No, I have not fallen off the planet!! My husband and I went on a whirlwind visit round the family off island. Twice to my daughter's (and the new granddaughter) near Edinburgh, twice to my father-in-law in Glasgow, who has Alzheimer's, two nights with my son in Leeds and one day just for ourselves, which we spent at the New Lanark Mill in New Lanark. I will do a post on this later on. We went back to my daughter's and picked up my two older granddaughters (five and seven) for the rest of the summer. We had a ball. There was no sewing done, but we played and worked and picnicked. I have included some pictures to show how we spent our time.

Enjoy!!

tich

Huge Apology!

I won this giveaway from I Have a Notion. Due to the upset of my sister dying, the excitement of receiving so many packages of Civil War material from around the world and my daughter's advanced pregnancy, I did not blog about it. I feel really bad about this. Kelly Jackson from

I Have a Notion is such a nice person. She is such a caring lady, looks after her customers so well and writes a great blog. If you you read a lot of Patchwork blogs, you will notice that more and more bloggers are talking about buying their notions from IHAN and saying how good the service is.

The pattern is wonderful. It is from Aardvark Quilts. The picture below shows Pam Goecke Dinndorf, the designer from Aardvark and Kelly Jackson from IHAN.

The pattern is called 'Paperweight'. and is actually autographed!! Gosh, I am so lucky!! I am going to have fun with this one! To help me out, and so that I don't have to grovel too much to Kelly, please go over to 'I Have a Notion' and have a look at what Kelly is doing. Her business is wonderful and so is Kelly!!)

Thankful Thoughts

How can you not be thankful/grateful/full of wonder, when you see new life coming into the world. Last week I became a Granny again, and I now have a new granddaughter called Annabelle Dorothy. Her Mum and Dad chose these names because -

Annabelle - popular in Scotland in the 12th century.

Anne - Hebrew for 'God has favoured me'

Belle - Beautiful

Dorothy (Doreen, Ron's Mum) Greek - 'Gift of God'. Dorothy is also the the name of both my Mum and my husband's Mum, so all the Mum's are covered.

If you look carefully at the first picture below, you will see new members of the family here. One of our hens went broody, and rather than using the incubator, we put some duck eggs under her, and, so far, we have two wee ducklings. They are shut in, so that the crows and the seagulls can't get at them. Aren't they gorgeous?

Till next time.

tich

DJ G5 + Goodies

This is the latest DJ block, G5 'Poof'. I machine pieced the base, then hand appliquéd the shape on top.
This is how it actually looks. Do you think I should cut the base material away from behind the appliqué? Need some comments.
These are the goodies, which came today. Two lots of CW material, and some cowboy material and embroidery thread. Thank you so much Rosa, Sarma and Cynthia. I have had so many nice cards and well wishes. What lovely people I am getting to know. I am so lucky. Thank you all again.

Till next time,

tich

There was panic stations on Saturday, when I discovered my digital camera was not working!! How was I going to live without it? I use my camera every day! I use it for everything! In fact, the other day, I very patiently recorded the new hens taking their first step out into the big, bad world outside the new hen house. BTW the new hen house is standing up to the weather no bother at all. You may wonder why I say that? I did not tell you that it is a Sanday hen house, that is to say it is made in the Sanday style. Here in Sanday, nothing goes to waste. Everything that can be used again, is recycled, so the hen house was built this way. Wood left over from other projects was used. Not bad, eh?

Anyway, back to the camera. I spent part of yesterday trying to sort it, but to no avail. I took out batteries, swapped cards, but it was just being difficult. We were hoping to go on a guided tour of the Sanday lighthouse today, and I wanted to take pictures. As a last resort I phoned up the Wildlife Ranger, who does a lot of photography, went round to his house, and he worked it out within minutes! So I caught up on my goodies photos, and also took a closeup of the emu feathers, especially for Rosa. I must apologise for not thanking the ladies for the goodies in the last photos - Margaret, Rhoda, Marion, Sylvia, Marg, Margaret and Jenni.

The picture at the top shows the lovely things I received from Geraldine, Patricia, Petra and Rosa (again!) The materials are beautiful, and if you look closely there is also a huswif, sewing charms and a patchwork badge. I would also like to thank Petra's husband for the Scout badge. What a nice person!

Below are the emu feathers from Marg.

Till next time.

tich