A Painting and A Piano

Two years ago on Tuesday, my husband turned 40. The big 4-0! Being the man that he is, he really couldn't care less. We had a wonderful lunch harbour side with friends as well as a small family occasion and it was such a lovely way to celebrate this milestone. I really wanted to do something special for him but being mid renovation, my head couldn't think of anything nor could I really justify any great expense.

Fast forward two years and I thought perhaps for this birthday I should make up for it a little!

Our neighbours had an incredible painting done when they first rebuilt their house and I always admired it, their home is completely different to ours, super contemporary albeit lovely, where ours is more of a French Provincial style with our own eclectic taste thrown in for good measure.

The artist, Georgina Hart, has her studio alongside our favourite cake store Kiss Me Cake and when I went to organise Zoe's First holy Communion cake back in October, it dawned on me that we could commission a painting by the wonderful Georgina.

Today the girls and I went and indulged in cake and coffee (well they had water!) in amongst all of Georgina's wonderful work and collected our painting "Wish Upon a Sunset" ready to gift on Tuesday. (That is it in the bubble wrap with the big red bow!) The girls are so excited to give this to their dad, an artwork based on them!! They are equally excited about the i-phone cover and the back scratcher, so that was good news!

One of my To Do's for 2014 was to begin the path of learning to play the piano! So Ciára and I started last week (Zoe will do flute with school). We have hired an electric piano and we are loving the lessons and the practice. I dream of a baby grand in that room, but for now, this fab piano will get us through!

Getting back on track in 2014

I fell off my own wagon over the past couple of years, and made every excuse under the sun why I shouldn't get back on. But enough is enough. It is time for me for get my act together again.

2014 is the year of me.

Recreating habits that I have dropped and getting back on track.

Setting goals and achieving them.

This page kept coming up in my FB feed so after reading the Leonie Dawson website I decided to invest in the Life Edition Workbook and Planner

Such a great way to help me get back on track.

Watching "We're the Millers" and the tennis tonight I did some colouring of a few pages I have already completed.

I love that Leonie prompts you to reflect on the year that was 2013 - differents aspects and in depth. This has helped me reach "closure" on some parts that I wasn't entirely happy with! And pat myself on the back for the things that I did achieve! I am able to move into 2014 with a fresh start and a clear and focussed mind.

Ready for 2014? Indeed I am, bring it on!

Pizza Boxes in the Mail

A year or so ago, I joined up to the Lime Tart Copic Club.

I bought the first 3 or 4 packs and didn't spend nearly as much time playing as I should have, so I decided to sit on those for awhile before I ordered the rest of the packs.

BUT then a few weeks ago I received an email from Lime Tart saying they had decided to close down. ARGH no.

I bit the bullet and ordered the remaining packs, a bit of a Christmas present to myself really.

Due to all the bargains in their online store I decided to get a few stamps, inks, paper stocks for my stash. I can justify all purchase of course, as my girls are going to start art journalling with me this year ;)

I went to the PO Box today to check the mail and was delighted to have these 2 pizza style boxes handed over the counter to me!

What crafty goodness lies within? i couldn't remember a couple of things I ordered and was so excited to open them up to check out my purchases. I also received some gifts from Lime Tart for the stash so feeling very appreciative of that!

Head over to Lime Tart to grab yourself some bargains before they close for good at the end of January.

We have been having lots of holiday fun here.

Last Friday we headed into town to visit Exxopolis - Architects of Air in the Sydney Opera House forecourt. What a fun afternoon. Something very different and cool to do!

It is really quite fabulous and on until 27th January. If you are a Sydneysider, or visiting Sydney, we all loved it and it is well worth the visit!

The Sydney Modern Quilt Guild

Today I went along to my first meeting of the Sydney Modern Quilt Guild, also the first meeting for 2014. You can read more about the group here.

I first made contact with them sometime early last year and then soon gave up when other commitments "got in the way" and I couldn't get to any of the meetings.

One of my 2014 goals was to take more time for me to indulge in the things I love, so joining up to this lovely little group was the perfect way to do it. All the dates for the year are set so they are now locked into our calendar and I am hopeful I will make the majority of the meetings.

I didn't take any pics today but Sel took some photos so hopefully she will post them and I will be able to link the pics up here once they are posted to the blog!

The shop where the meetings are held, Gretas Handcrafts at Lindfield has just downsized to a gorgeous little shop space. As there is only room for handcrafts I took along my notorious Pies and Tarts, which I am determined to get close to finishing this year. I did a Pie and a Tart as well as cutting another lot in the 3 hour meeting.

It was so nice to meet the girls and listen to their chin wagging of different fabrics and ranges and bloggers and patterns and plans. I felt so out of the loop of the quilty world, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the time.

The fun thing is that once every 2 months there will be a sew-in day at a new quilt shop at Castle Hill, which I believe to be fabulous! I am looking forward to heading out there for a nosy.

It was pretty hot in Sydney, so I spent the afternoon organising my 2014 schedule for when the girls are back at school and worked out the plan of attack for next week to finish up the holidays with lots of fun. We swam and hung out - so it was a great mix of family time and self indulgence today. A perfect mix for a lovely Saturday!

Heaven is a Place on Earth

My girls and I have just spent 5 glorious days with this view over Main Beach, on the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland.

We flew up to meet and stay with some friends who were up there. It is the 3rd time we have been up there in the past 18 months. We absolutely love it. We had a wonderful time though we missed Daddy!

Our days went something like this;

Mornings
Wake up
Breakfast
Coffee on the balcony
Put togs on and lather up on the sunscreen
Head to the beach until lunch time
Mosy back to apartment for lunch

Afternoons
Rest
Relax
Movie
I-something
Putt putt
Pool
Or whatever took our fancy

We headed down to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary for a day.

We bought seafood and hot chips from the best fish market on the coast and ate it on the beach one night. With champagne, of course.

We had dinner with friends from Adelaide who were up there as well. Southport SLSC is a great place to eat out with kids.

I took this photo on the last night, it was so pretty!

It is always tough to finish a great holiday, but we were excited to get home to see Daddy and the dog. They missed us too!

We now have 2 weeks of holidays left. And then another school year will begin! Where does the time go?

Who Am I Kidding?

I was hoping to have the whole house done before we went away later in the week.

I am kidding myself.

It is stinking hot, the kids are exhausted and my 15 month old niece was here for the day today.

An at home day was declared and whilst the girls played all together, rested and hung out I cranked up the air con and got into more of the summer cleaning jobs. Argh. Fridge and freezer is spotless and shining, Christmas decorations are all wrapped and packed up, then I moved onto the dishwasher and the bins. All look brand spanking new now. Talk about elbow grease!

And that all took the best part of the day.

It is nearly 4pm and I still want to achieve a few things this afternoon/evening - washing folded and put away, pantry tidied and sorted and our bed changed. Downstairs straightened up. And if I have any energy left the cupboards under the book shelves (where the kids toys are) sorted and straightened up. That might be me being over ambitious though. I will see how I go.

I need a cuppa though, so it is time to sit in the sun with a green tea and read my new book for 1/2 hour so I feel like I have had some "me time"...and then I will get back into it.

I can not wait for the next series of Downton Abbey to be released!

Summer Cleaning

Part of my goals for 2014 is to recreate old positive habits that have gone astray in the past 12-24 months...lemon in warm water on rising, a green smoothie a day, an hour of exercise a day, following my schedule to keep on track. These benefit me more than words can say, and in turn my family is much happier because everything is running smoothly and I feel sane!

In the past, I have always used January as a type of spring cleaning month, though it being January, it really is Summer Cleaning. Room by room,
de-cluttering, clearing out, wiping out, wiping over, straightening up - you get the drift, right...?

The inlaws have been here for 6 weeks, some times it felt like it was flying by and other days it felt like they had been here for 6 months. Tonight they were flying out, home, back to Ireland. The whole family was here for the most of the day, emotions were running high. It is always so sad to say "see you soon" to them, especially seeing them farewell all the kids. I thought it was a good time to kick start my summer cleaning by escaping into my sewing room.

Until I started I thought it was all in fairly good order....but I decided to take it a step further - storage containers and labels. Works a treat, everything is in its very own home now, and when I slide open the wardrobe door it is all clearly there for me to see.

I do still need to sort that fabric out properly! And also go through the crafting magazines and books and be realistic/ruthless about what I really do need.

I can feel an ebay selling explosion coming on I have to say. Or is it gum tree these days?

So, other than a general straightening up now and the above couple of jobs, the sewing room summer clean is done. I can cross it off my list.

Now about the rest of the house and those other habits I need to re-ignite!!!

2014 Goals

I have seen this list floating around various social media sites in the past week or so, and when I sat down to think about my 2014 goals it kept coming back to my mind, especially the simplicity of it.

It sums up how I would like my 2014 to be!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May it be your best year yet!

A Birthday Quilt for Master S

I have known Master S since he was 6 weeks old when his mum and I met at Mothers Group. He is the son of the friend I made the quilt for in my previous post. He claimed his mum's quilt for his own room a number of times before finally asking me if I would make him a quilt for his birthday. How could I say no? His birthday was yesterday, 29th December, so I had it finished in plenty of time for catching up with him for his 9th birthday in a couple of days.

You can read a bit about Emma quilting it here
Of course, his sister Miss Z couldn't be left out so the Butterfly Quilt is going to her in early February, I still need to bind that one!

A Birthday Quilt for a Special Friend

I have a lovely friend whom I met in Mothers Group. Our families are close, the kids go to school together, we have had holidays together and we all get on very well. She is one of my best friends so I knew when her 40th birthday rolled around I had to make her quilt. So I chose fabrics that were happy and bright, just like her and I love this. Although she didn't receive it until closer to her 41st birthday she absolutely loved it!

Some Unintentional but Much Needed Quiet Time

We had alot of fun this festive season. Family have been here visiting from New York and Dublin, so there was alot of family get togethers, sight seeing and catching up. Christmas swung around before we knew it.

We have a Christmas Eve that is the same every year. I guess it has unintentionally become a tradition for us, but we love it. Always hanging out at home together, an early dinner, Mass, driving around all the fabulous local Christmas lights, home, kids to bed, red wine poured, the last of the Christmas presents out to be wrapped, the Melbourne Myer Bowl Christmas Carols on tele and then we watch Love Actually. We never tire of it. We always laugh about it. We love it though. Our in laws are here this year, so it was nice to do it with them as well.

An early start on Christmas Day - 3.45am. WHAT??!! It was back to bed for that young lady, with them both finally waking at a much more decent hour of 7.30am. Oh, the excitement of Santa's visit and receiving much anticipated and hoped for gifts. Santa didn't fail to deliver this year!

A busy morning prepping and finishing organising Christmas lunch - 13 adults and 6 kids this year. A very fun day - food, laughs, drinks, karaoke, cleaning up, more drinks, exhaustion. A very fun day spent with family.

Then Boxing Day rolls around - another unintentional tradition - any friends who are in Sydney come in to say hello, swim, eat, share a bevvie and a few laughs and it is always a fantastic day spent with great people.

Towards the end of the day though I started to feel really off. Mum had a bit of a bug on Christmas Day and spent most of the day upstairs in bed. I thought I was getting her bug. I felt dreadful and had a fairly early night. 5am the next morning it was clear that Miss Z had caught Nanny's bug, and she spent the next 24 hours vomitting. Poor little poppet. Miss C seemed fine. As for me, I couldn't drag myself out of bed. I don't think I have ever felt so unwell. So off I went to the doctor yesterday and it turns out it is a flu virus and an ear infection - who knew!? The rest of yesterday I spent snoozing on the lounge. Today I am feeling brighter but still achey and lethargic. I have manged to indulge in (much needed) quiet time and do a few things I enjoy most...

Gotta love the Ashes! Listening to the English supporters is almost worth watching it for that alone.

Some mindless colouring

And I finished a fantastic book, set in a beautiful coastal village I know so well.

Hopeful that tomorrow I will feel up to getting up and doing alot more. Everyone is getting cabin fever here in a huge way.

Wishing you a happy new year and all the very best for 2014.

WIP challenge 2014

My challenge to myself for 2014 is to get the incomplete projects done and moved on or in use in our home! I have challenged myself with this before and it really does make a difference to my "productivity".

So, what needs to leave the sewing room in 2014?

Samuels Quilt - needs binding
Zara's Quilt - needs binding
Zoe's Quilt - need to buy border and backing backing fabrics, otherwise piecing finished
Sew in ends of Zoe's granny square blanket
Sew in ends of Ciára's ripple blanket
Window seat quilt - basic charm quare quilt, part way through being pieced
Liberty quilt for our bed - fabric cut
Finish Pies and Tarts Quilt
Start Handstitched Quilt
Do 20 blocks of Dear Jane (to get it back on the radar!)


If I get these out the door, or onto beds/lounges in our house plus some art journaling and zentangling - then I will be a very happy crafter come the end of 2014!

I have a craft room...

We bought our house 7 years ago. A great location, great bones and a very blank canvas. We had a plan. Live in it for 5 years then renovate. 2 years in the nearly 100 year old roof, in original condition, couldn't take any more patching up and needed replacing. We knew the time had come, albeit earlier than anticipated, to go into design mode and get it all happening. Our plan was to extend out the back and to add a second level. My head went into over drive with all the possibilities.

One thing that was high on my wish list was my very own space, a craft room. And I scored the best room in the house for it, our old bedroom.

Now 18 months down the track, the decorating of the whole house is almost complete and with only a few more jobs to do, we are in love with our gorgeous home and the expense and, at times heartache, was totally worth it. I have a beautiful space that I can call my very own, lots of light, lots of room, a desk, shelving for some of my favourite bits and bobs, a sofa bed for "overflow guests" (we have a spare room with a queen size bed but we often need more sleeping space!) that is really comfy to lie on to read a book, the exercise bike is in here and all my weights as well, so I guess it almost doubles as a home gym ;) - and hugely important for any crafter - lots of storage space! I love it. I am hopeful that 2014 is much quieter than this year has been and that I will be able to get in here to actually enjoy the space and get some crafting/study/fun stuff happening!

Every Day I'm Rippling..

I am sure any blogger who crochets who has done a ripple has had "Every day I'm rippling" in high rotation in their head!

My youngest daughter has a mermaid themed bedroom, so a ripple seemed quit apt - you know, the waves and all....

I had a couple of abandoned attempts at a ripple with some of the girls in my quilt group when we were away, and oh the frustration when I just couldn't work out where I was going wrong. It was frogged, and crocheted, and frogged and crocheted and frogged again, I just couldn't stand it anymore. I put it to one side and forgot about it for a while.

When visiting one of my all time favourite crafty stores - Calico and Ivy, which has sadly closed down now I came across "200 ripple stitch patterns" by Jan Eaton (to knit and crochet)and grabbed it... I came across a basic pattern and knew that with my limited crocheting skill that I could actually produce a ripple for my little mermaid. So back in March, I took a visit to Spotlight and picked up some great colours that co-ordinate with her room and set to it.

Finally after many nights in front of the TV, and a few chilly days wrapped up under it, I finished it last week. Ta da! Miss Nearly 7 is delighted, and so am I. It has given me the confidence to get a little more adventurous with crochet.

It is a tad hot to sit under it to sew the ends in, so it has been put to one side again, until the weather turn cooler and I will have it ready for winter for her!

My poor little neglected blog

There has been craft, really there has. 2013 I kind of fell off the planet a bit. But I am back on again and my blog will be back in action come January 2014!! No, really, it will!

Princess J's Quilt

I have finished my niece's quilt in time for her Naming Day on Sunday. Feels good to be getting some of projects and WIP's finished and gifted. I am definitely getting these quilts finished and out the door to their new owners as I am having them actually quilted for me! And I have to say I love that - as I could never have them looking as fabulous with machine quilting as Emma does! She ALWAYS does a beautiful job, and she is a quilting machine! This quilt has been done with the open feathers that I love those much. The fluffiness the quilt gets after it has been tumbled dried is just lovely from the feathering! I do have plans to get some hand quilting done this year, but they may not end up on the 2013 Completed Quilts List!

Also an update on the Pies and Tarts quilt, the quilt that will never end is what it feels like, I am delighted to say that I have completed 50 blocks and sewn them up as well as 50 of the little tarts that will be appliqued onto it at the end. I just love this quilt!!! Right now onto the next WIP, or should I actually start Handstitched???

Princess D's quilt is ready to gift!

Last September ,we welcomed two little princesses to our family - my sister welcomed Princess J to the world, and my brother in law and his wife welcomed Princess D.

As all good quilty aunty's do, I decided to make them both a quilt. As this quilty aunty does, I am way behind schedule on them both!

Miss D was christened in Dublin in December so I wanted to have her quilt done for their return, I am only a couple of weeks late. It is a cute little pram/cot quilt and I just love the colours in this - a little different from the usual baby girl colours. Emma quilted it and I asked for an all over open pattern. The usual story, she did a fabulous job. I do love the open feathers, as once the quilt has been washed and tumbled dried it has such a lovely cuddly crinkly look and feel to it!

Now to get back to Princess J's quilt - her naming day is on the 24th March and I would like to gift it to her then!

Still Swooning...

Possibly my favourite quilt ever to come out of this sewing room! I love the swoon block, and once the fabric is cut, it comes together very easily. Amy Butler FQ's from the stash teamed with a kona solid and some fairy frost along with custom quilting from the ever amazing Emma and I am delighted with the finished result! I love it so much I will be keeping this one!

Pies and Tarts progress

Can it be finished quilts?

I wasn't sitting on my hands when I was neglecting my blog late last year. I did manage to get some crafting done. I have been plodding along with my pies and tarts, I have now done 34 of 100 of each! (will I ever get it finished??? Lots of focus on it in 2013!) As well as a couple of quilt finishes. The lovely Emma of Sampaguita Quilts quilted these for me. (I plan on sending Emma any quilt tops I get done this year, and then back to hand quilting in 2014!) The first one was for my in laws for the their 40th wedding anniversary gift. I had been working on this one for some time. It eventually made it to them in December, hand delivered by my brother in law and his wife when they went for a visit to Dublin.

The next one was for Miss 5's Mermaid bedroom. I asked Emma to custome quilt it, and what an AMAZING job she did. Little Miss Mermaid was delighted to wake up on Christmas morning and find this quilt on her bed. Have a closer look at Emma's quilting here. I love the Swoon blocks in this quilt. I have a gorgeous smaller 4 block swoon with Emma at the moment being quilted...but more on that one on it's return.

Now to finish off a friends quilt and a baby quilt that are started and get them sent off for quilting. I also enrolled in the Handstitched class over at Stitched in Colour so I can do the Modern Medallion Quilt. I am IN LOVE with the fabrics I have chosen for this, waiting on Kona solids to arrive from Fabric Shack so I can get stuck in! Have a fabulous day!

Back to Blogging

Happy New Year! Blogging fell totally off the radar in the last months of 2012.

2013 I plan to blog regularly about my crafty adventures, and book reading escapades!

On the bedside table at the moment is the first book in a trilogy by Sharon K Penman, "Here be Dragons". Give me a book set in medieval or war time, and I am happy(not to say they are the only genres I enjoy of course.)

This book is set in medieval Wales and England.In fact I read this trilogy waaaaaay back in the early 90's and really enjoyed it, and then promptly moved on to the next read forgetting all about them - as I often did back then.

Over the years I have tried to recall the author or book title, only remembering snippets of the story. When in Queensland for Quilt Camp in November I was talking about these books and saying how much I enjoyed them but couldn't remember the author/title and the gorgeous Kylie instantly knew what I was talking about!

I was straight onto Book Depository to order them. I was delighted! As soon as the books arrived my world stopped as often as possible so that I could get stuck into them. I was a little concerned that I had all this hype in my head and that 20 years on they would be not a great as I remembered. No need for disappointment though!

The kids are about to jump in the pool so I might grab the book now, sit outside with them and head off to medieval Wales for a bit!

Wonderful weekend

I just spent a lovely weekend with 6 of my crafty friends coming to visit from all over the place - Victoria, Queensland and northern NSW along with another Sydney sider!

We had so much fun - chatting, laughing, crafting, dancing, drinking. We even left the house and went to visit Calico and Ivy, had lunch on the water at Drummoyne and stopped in at Material Obsession.

In between all the chat, I worked on my Pies and Tarts, cut the rest of the Swoon blocks and did actually finish an embroidery from the Prints Charming embroidery workshop that I did. The kit was intended as a cushion but I have decided to make it in a wall hanging for my sewing room. Love the Prints Charming panels I have to say....

Not going great guns with the 12 WIPS in 2012, but it has certainly gotten quilting back on my radar!!

Archer's Quilt

Another quilt that was a long time in the making...but here it is. Once again Emma excelled herself with the machine quilting. See some pics here.

We can learn alot from trees...

I love to travel

Tonight I have returned from Europe. Travelling with my husband, child free and it was fabulous...but it felt like it was longer than 2 weeks. I was fine for a week but then really started to miss the kids. My wonderful family (a mix of mum, sister and brother in law and step mum - but mostly my step mum) had the girls. We are forever grateful for the long stretches they have the girls once a year - not to mention the baby sitting and weekends throughout the years as well. They just move in and it is more of a disruption to their lives than it is ours and we are so appreciative for their support! Usually I am only away for 10 days, this week was 14 days and the girls and I all felt it. We told the girls I would arrive home later than I actually was going to be, so they expected to see me when they woke up in the morning. Nana let them have a treat of watching a DVD lying on our bed, so I was able to tiptoe up the stairs and suprise them. It was priceless and it was so exciting for the 3 of us (Dave not home until Tuesday night!) and there were lots of hugs and kisses!

So...I love to travel, even though Australia is so far away. Dave loves to travel. We always have something booked, even if it is a weekend away. The rest of 2012 is booked up with a week on the Gold Coast, a weekend in Melbourne, a week in Fiji and of course my quilt camp in Queensland in November. That should keep the itchy feet at bay for a while!

Back to this trip though...

3 days in London - I lived there in the late 90's and have been back 4-5 times since then. I always feel right at home. The weather was amazing - bright blue sky and 27 degrees. We caught up with friends, we shopped we drank, exercised, we ate. We enjoyed each others company uninterrupted. I adore my kids, but with all of Dave's travel we don't get a whole lot of quality one on one time in length together!

We flew to Malta for a week. 3 1/2 days at our leisure and then a 3 1/2 day event for Dave's company. An annual recognition event - it was very social and busy but lots and lots of fun. Malta has a fascinating history and we loved exploring the island and learning about it. Event dinners, clubbing, catching up by the pool - all great but has my jeans feeling a little (ok, alot) too tight!

Then onto Dublin for 3 quick days. Felt like I touched down, and took off again. Always lovely to see Dave's family and friends. The weather was abysmal given it is their summer but I wasn't there long enough for it to bother me.

I have flown back and forth from Ireland, UK and Europe many many times - it is always a reminder how far we are away from that part of the world every single time. Though 22 hours of uninterrupted movie watching and book reading makes it alot more enjoyable. Champagne and a flat bed helps too!

Pics to follow once I have unpacked the camera. Fow now I am going to go to bed and hope I make it through until the morning.

A crafty post too. Another resolution has been made - more craft time for me. I am so much happier when I do!

April finishes

Yay me! I have my mojo back for consistent crafting, add that to exercise and the house being in order and I am feeling pretty darn content! The Very Hungry Caterpillar is done and dusted and about to be sent to one of my dear friends daughters, Abby. Emma quilted this for me and as usual did a sensational job. Emma always takes much better pics of her quilting than I do, so for a close up look, check it out here.

Also my Round Robin quilt has grown on me since I put the black polka dot binding on. I wasn't overly happy with the cream homespun background I chose, but at the time it is was in the stash and I thought it would be ok. I did this with a group of friends back in 2009. We all supplied fabric, and a bundle got sent off to each participant. We then made the same block for each person. The blocks are all amazing and there are some stunning quilts that have been made up. I am happy to say that I am not the last one to finish my quilt! Again, Emma quilted this for me, see here. It is currently sitting on the lounge and the girls snuggle under it when watching tv.It needs a bit of a soak as there is a mark on it (an age spot perhaps) that is being a little stubborn in coming out!

Aside from this I have been crocheting, have made a Swoon block (more about that next post!) as well as an appliqued pie and a tart. Like I said, I am feeling very content!

Archer's Quilt

The top and backing is finished ready to be sent off to Emma on Tuesday for quilting!

Another Book Finished

This morning I lay on the lounge and finished "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver.

Hard going at times, and there was more than one ocassion when I had to consult the dictionary. I can't say I enjoyed the book but it had me hooked and I often fell asleep reading it as I just could not put it down and would read late into the night (well late for me anyway!)I could not relate to the mother at all. I could not relate to the family at all. I did like the way it was written from the mothers point of view to the father in the forms of letters, this was original and gave the book a different feel than it would have if written any other way. I am not good at writing reviews at all, so I think it is best to post one from Amazon.

In this gripping novel of motherhood gone awry, Lionel Shriver approaches the tragedy of a high-school massacre from the point of view of the killer's mother.In letters written to the boy's father, mother Eva probes the upbringing of this more-than-difficult child and reveals herself to have been the reluctant mother of an unsavory son. As the schisms in her family unfold, we draw closer to an unexpected climax that holds breathtaking surprises and its own hard-won redemption. In Eva, Shriver has created a narrator who is touching, sad, funny, and reflective. A spellbinding read, We Need to Talk About Kevin is as original as it is timely.

I do recommend this book, as it is interesting and different. I would really like to see the movie now, and I think Tilda Swinton will play the part of the mother, Eva, brilliantly!

I Had An Urge

So the machine came out and I sewed...just a little...Binding onto VHC. Emma quilted it and you can read about that here. She is so talented and the turn around is so quick and so beautifully done that unless I want to hand quilt off it goes to Emma.


I also finally sent off my RR quilt to Emma for quilting, see here for a closer look at the fabulous quilting. I think we did this about 3 years ago, with some of my quilty friends, I love the blocks. Sadly I think I was having a moment when I chose my fabrics, I wish I loved it more. Next step is to bind it but what I had in mind from my stash is too red....so need to make a purchase!


I also started putting together the "Bless You" blocks. This was going to go to my sister and her new hubby but I don't think it is going to suit them, so instead it will go to my brother in law and his wife - it will go better with their things. So....need to pull out all stops to make something for my sister now! I have sewn 24 blocks of 64 for Bless You. Planning on getting as many done as possible this Easter long weekend.

And some crochet for good measure!


Please excuse terrible pics - DSLR is dead and the little point and shoot ain't so good!