Progress Report for this week...

One of my really good friends had a bubba girl last August, I promised a quilt...needless to say they are still waiting for it. I was determined to give it to her for her first birthday. The party is next weekend. Tonight I have finished the top. I love the darker colours with the crisp white and found my inspiration for it here. I saw this quilt and fell in love with it, saved it as a favourite determined to do something similar at some stage...so now I have. By next Saturday I need to sandwich and hand quilt it. I have bought chocolate and a strong pink perle for the quilting and I am really looking forward to the finished result!

With Dave away on a 2 week trip at the moment and lots of sickness in this house, time to quilt and be creative has been short. Tonight I feel like I have achieved something!



Ciára is mad about monsters at the moment, so here are my girls impersonating the monsters in a book borrowed from the library this morning.

The Saddest Book I Have Ever Read...

Damaged by Cathy Glass.

Cathy Glass is a pseudonym for a foster carer in the UK, she has wrtten a couple of books about children she has worked with. I have also read another called "Hidden" some time ago.

This book is the story of Jodie. I started it yesterday morning and have been drawn back to it over the past 24 hours and each time I did I cried. I have just finished it now and it has made me so down that anyone can treat children so horrifically. The upside to this story is the amazing author, a foster carer who through kindness and patience puts a little light back into these childrens lives.

"A Deeply moving story of how one foster carer's profound patience and love unlocked a little girl's darkest and most painful secrets"

If you dare, make sure you have the tissues and a few prayers with you.

Sneaky Peeky...

I did another trial run of my block tonight. It is the 3rd choice of block and 2nd trial run of my final choice! I was very concerned as the first blocks I just couldn't get them to 12 1/2" even though I was working from a pattern. I checked everything so I really do not know where it all went wrong.

Anyhoo, finally I am happy. It takes a little bit of pull to get it to 12 1/2" but I have done a dummy run and sewn it to other pieces of fabric and it comes out at 12" when sewn all together. PHEW!! Now to unpick it all and send it back to the lovely Kirsty who has organised the RR for us EB Newbie Quilters.

I now feel confident enough to start cutting into other people fabrics! I might wait until tomorrow though when I am not feeling so tired!

So, here it is ... a sneaky peek of my block in my fabric for the round robin.

This One Gives A Whole New Meaning...

to being a "boring" housewife.

This morning I have just finished reading "The Bride Stripped Bare" by Nikki Gemmell.

The jury is still out on how I really feel about this one. I can not relate to it at all, and wonder how many women I know really would. I remember it getting alot of hype 5 or 6 years ago....borrow it, buy it, have a read and let me know when you think!!!

Books Schmooks...

If I am going to make it to 50 books in 2009, I must stop choosing 1000 page books, even if they are fabulous and I can't put them down!!

Over the past couple of weeks, I have driven my dear husband mad - everytime he looks me I have had my nose in a book BUT last night I finally finished the second one!

The 2 books, which I highly recommend as a great read are The Pillars of the Earth and World Without End, both by Ken Follett.

The blurb on World Without End reads;

"Ken Folletts' masterful epic "The Pillars of the Earth" enchanted millions of readers with it's compelling drama of war, passion and family conflict, set around the building of a cathedral. Now "World Without End" takes readers back to medieval Kingsbridge two centuries later, as the men, women and children of the city once again grapple with the devastating sweep of historical change".