I made a Quillo

 It was one of my grand daughters 13th Birthday so all year I have been making a quillo for her. Sent it last week and she is very happy with it. 

I think it was last year, or the year before, no just checked 2017 lol,  time disappears so much, that I started the patchwork, and now finally  finishing the Muddy Garden Quilt by Lyn Anderson.

 So many pieces to cut out first and ended up each block looks like these above. 

Then it is a case of ironing on the different fabric cutouts using vliesofix, a fusible paper for applique. The pattern also called for doing buttonhole stitch around each one, I chose a fancy zig zag on the machine, and only hand buttonhole on the pillow part on the back of the quilt.

It is hard to see the zig zag, but I made the quillo 2 blocks wide, and added the border of each colour. The back was in a burgundy fabric I had, which I washed 4 times till the dye stopped running. Hope it doesn't cause a problem in the future.

I embroidered her name on the front and mine and date on the back. with the printed label that came with the kit. 

 The biggest problem was folding it up into the pillow placed as one of the squares on the back, so pre warned dad to check out a couple of videos. When I queried him after they got it in the mail, he replied he was a quillo master by the time they had to refolded it. Sent me a few photos also with huge smiles on my grand daughters face. My family don't like the children on social media but cut this one to show the actual pillow, being cuddled by a happy grand daughter. 

Miss J and quillo.

So it is on to the next one, and the current grand daughter who comes here to help me is next, she will turn 12 in March and be starting high school next year. The dilemma is so is Miss J's ( above picture) brother, so looks like 2 to do. It will be a first to make for a grandson who is also into scouts and camping.

The sweet peas are outdoing my picking this year. I have 5 stands of them, but cut a huge bunch for the Community Garden this week and sent in some limes as well for the market table.

Our garden is coming to life and the new roses are starting to flower. They look wonderful so very  pleased with them.  

The first of the bluebells and freesias are also blooming not up to the standard of their Victorian cousins but they came from mum's place originally and remind me of home so much. 

My first injection was successful, as yet noticing no difference, another fairly chilly week early morning, but Spring is definitely in the air. Started quite a few seeds off both for the Conmmunity Garden and mine. 

The Pantry is still a work in progress while I wait on more containers, hopefully next week will finish. 

So much work to do now the days are nicer, like painting the above verandah grey, only 2 years behind in that. Oh Well. 

Till Next Time. 

 

 

Life Goes On - Garden and Pantry

 It was a really warm day yesterday, quite a shock to the system, after all our cold weather. It was like suddenly summer. I am exhausted today and in pain with RA. Two of the grand daughters helped me in the garden, Miss P's usual work day, with Miss V age 7 as a bonus. Just love their enthusiasm of doing things differently to what they do at home. So had them running up and down the back yard, filling compost bins, while we weeded the front.

Pulled down all the snow peas, as starting to go off as well as getting so high I can't reach the peas.

Snow Peas

Dug up half of the strawberries too plant down the back, which I will do today as 2 parcels arrived and it was so hot by then called it quits in the garden. 

Very overcrowded with strawberry bed.

 

Strawberries moved to here, half done

 

Miss P finished off potatoes and put them down in the council inspection area.

The two parcels are thanks to the government incentive funds, I decided to sort out the pantry with some nice containers. These have air tight locks. We unpacked them on the verandah where it was cooler. 

Supervised by Einstein.

These girls loved popping all the plastic that came with the boxes. Wish I could find some fun in such a small thing. Life seems hard at the moment. 

Miss V is 7, this is her helping me .

Miss P and I washed it all and then dried it which surprisingly took a good hour, after which I took them both home. I started to fill some of the containers to get a feel what I would do. There is some clear label tape on its way hopefully next week, and I will print in black.

Miss V stacked the lids outside to dry, they held a bit of water from washing. 

My pantry is always so hard to keep neat, but decluttering a lot of dishes from the kitchen is my next focus, and re-arranging things around with new found empty drawers. Well hopefully.

Testing the sizes.

 I still think I will keep only one container on above shelf even though two in front of the other will fit. There is plenty of room to work it out. Looks like next week's work is sorted. 

 

Till Next Time

Grieving, RA and Loss

It hasn't been an easy week, I didn't grieve as much for my dad as I have for my mum, which surprises me. On top of this though my Rheumatoid has been such a pain literally, especially my left wrist that feels like it is broken, but is not,and because my right elbow is swollen, it is hard to use my right arm. Getting dressed is the first obstacle I have had to achieve every day, when pain levels and an increased sadness of losing my independence and my mother are at its highest. 

Both processes of grieving and RA, use up a lot of energy while trying to heal, and being in bed for 12 hrs a day seems to be the norm this week. We have also had an extremely cold weather shift so I suppose a few extra hours in the warmth is doing me more good than harm.
The afternoons are a lot easier and I found some painkillers mid week that my RA Dr. prescribed last year and these have helped to bring some of the inflammation down, while I wait for the new self injections to start in a fortnight.

All this difficulty has really bought home  how hard it is too deal with this house and back garden. The steps for one, cleaning another, it takes me a full day just to clean windows, and maintenance that doesn't get done. I really cannot understand why John stubbornly, doesn't want to move to a flat block and smaller more modern home, especially while we are still able to sell and pack up, and enjoy a new easier life at this stage, for his health is not much better. 

This is half of what was piled at the front door.

One nice thing that happened this week was my Daughter in Law picked up all the op shop boxes, and delivered them somewhere for me, along with a small amount she had herself. John had also picked up all of  mum's stuff so most of that went as well. Her car was packed to the roof, but I am ever so grateful for the help. Now on to another lot of decluttering, when I am able. Just sweeping the floor is hard enough for the moment. 

Miss P also came on Saturday, and she did everything on her own, once I explained, while  I sat in the sun to keep her company and pulled a few weeds. The potatoes had grown so high they desperately needed filling in, along with picking all the many, many limes off the tree.

One of many pots being filled

 

 Miss P also cut back a sprawling tomato plant, that was actually blocking a walkway, and after lunch she juiced most of the limes, filling a 4 litre container, which I then decanted by 2 cups into sandwich bags and froze. There is still about 20 of these left and they are very, very juicy. To finish the day

Miss P made a whole of lime cake and a choc chip coconut  slice. At 12 she is becoming quite a good cook.

Before Pruning

 

I asked John to prune back both trees to shoulder height and changed my mind to actually get rid of the lemon which is the tree on the right. One less thing to deal with.

He is not quite finished, and the wheely bin is full. I will probably just plant some flowers in the space may be a yellow daisy or similiar. I have also asked for my grandaughter to come back next week, as she has missed a day, with everything going on, and makes me feel so much better.

It is time to think about planting some seeds for Spring, in the starter pots, something I can actually manage, so this week will try and get my act together and do something positive.
Keep safe those in Victoria, Sydney, and my LA daughter, dealing with this virus wave.

 Till Next Time.

Huge Declutter Project - Linen Press

I have decided to go on a mission to declutter like mad. When we built this house in the 80's separate shower, separate toilet, and separate bath were the go. It looked like this. A waste of space really and I had no linen press. The bath side now has a walk in  shower, bath and vanity.

LHS was shower  Toilet middle, RHS side now walk in shower and bath.

 Not long after, the shower side, got converted to shelves, by John, and it is great. Holds literately everything from a pin to an anchor as they say.

Half of the area

So when Miss P turned up this week, we took just about everything out and all my wool stash got loaded to the top. Love it that she climbs up and down the ladder with ease. The fabric though which is what I have for making the childrens clothes had to be sorted. All of that got turned out, plus a million other things that will go to the op shop. Doona covers,  fancy pillows, mums tapestry pictures the family don't want. Dad's table top organ, I had visions of learning.
 

Boxes by the front door ready

I watched a video by a young minimalist mum who described storage space as having boundaries. Drawers being an example, if it fits in 5 items nicely, easy to shut don't crowd it with 7 and have to hold them down while you shut it. This linen press is exactly opposite, if you can't find a space for something in it goes. So much  needs deciding on, will I won't I sort of thing, and not being "stored" unnecessarily. I have reached a point in life where I just want a simple uncluttered space.

Pillows and wool blankets  vacuum packed, ready for the wardrobe in the spare room.

Miss P had fun vacuuming all the bed pillows and blankets into a so much smaller space. My DIL came over next day, and we sorted through the fabric she would like to keep, to sew for the girls as they got older, the rest will go to a charity, that my sister knows, that turn fabric into items to sell.

Completely emptied 6 boxes

 

Give aways and what is left to store

This hallway was full I couldn't walk down it. Tapestries to op shop

I am still in the middle of this sorting one of the hardest things is my old dance outfits. So much material and glass beading on them. Feathers though have molted all over the house. Do op shops take this sort of thing, or do I try to find my dance teacher again see if her students would like the many layers of fabric?

Fashions change with ballroom dancing.

Dolls for the bin.

Getting rid of the past is hard work. Miss P fell asleep when she got home, before dinner I was told. Hope I am not working her too hard?

First of the Sweet Peas flowering...Pink Lady

On another note, the nursing home called us in to sit with mum as her breathing is much shallower, and not eating. Jan luckily had her flu injection that morning but I have not, so they let me in with the full gear on in a private area that has entrance from the car park. It was nice to see her again even if she was asleep, it has been at least 4 months I think.

 I have said my goodbyes. Jan may call in again as she works a couple of streets away, but it could be anytime to a week or more as no-one knows about the phases of our lives, but for mum it will be peaceful, for which I am grateful. She has for a few years not known who we are, Alzheimer's being such a cruel disease.

I can tell you this makes you  quite hot.

I am now wondering why suddenly I am also getting rid of my past life in "stuff" such a coincidence.

Stay well everyone.


 Till Next Time.

The New Shed

The new shed is more or less completed now. John finished the floor in a very nice cypress tongue and groove which he polished. Very fancy, wish the house had it. It was the cheapest flooring and a good deal. 

Right Side

Left Side

The two metal sheds were put into place and a clear plastic poly carbonate roof added from bits that we had. The back wall is from the old roofing, that was replaced after the big hailstorm.

This week all the tools were added. One side for all the pots and chicken manure, seedling soil etc. Still an extra shelf to go on for bigger pots.

Left Side 

The other side is tools like the lawn mower and whipper snipper.

Right Side

The front of that shed has a cupboard

 Plus we moved the potting table down to it as well. It will be a case of  if I managed to go down to the bottom of the yard to work there. Definitely will have to bring all the seedlings and seeds back up, as it is too much to visit everyday and having them on the verandah outside the kitchen, or in the glass house, to keep them watered, more practical. At least the verandah where visitors come looks a lot neater now. John has done a very good job and worked hard on this.

Once the flower boxes on the front left hand shed are planted, it should start to look better. As yet we are undecided to leave it open or enclose the little bit at the front. I like the openness, when in there, but there is still a table that can go in, although not a lot of room to spare.  The rain usually comes from behind the shed. The other day it came the other way from the sea, so the floor would have been soaked. We shall see what happens, and maybe add an awning.
 

Shows the pots for flowers on the Left

Outside a couple of water tanks to hook up and the path to finish. 

 The Bridge has been removed also, as in the before photo. Now we will work out how to use and neaten up, the rest of the garden around it.

Before

My grand daughter came to work yesterday and we planted potatoes in pots. We found some new potatoes in one of them so cooked them up for lunch, as she loves them, and I am sure never eaten straight out of the garden. Added parsley and butter and a lesson she won't forget on growing them. Mum requested a Rosemary plant so I also taught her how to propagate some. Hopefully they will grow.

Looking down at some of the pots behind the compost bin. Out of the way here. 

After lunch, we then sorted another laundry cupboard. This time my preserving jars. Threw out a lot of used jars and sent them to the community garden for whom ever makes jam and pickles. Kept just enough for our own use and rearranged filled bottles to an easier and more visual use.

The other laundry cupboard is long and deep, and I was forgetting what was stored, so some bottles and bits and pieces have gone in there. Downstairs is a huge cupboard full of empty jars.

Narrow cupboard next to my brooms and things.

Again very tired today, but I must say best thing I did in "hiring" Miss P as it makes me think about the big jobs that need doing, and so handy for her to be climbing up and down stairs or the ladder. I also let her type all the labels out which she loves to do. So I am thinking she is enjoying it as well as helping me.

Till Next Time.