A Little Applique

I havent been Blogging much of late

Iam struggling to get on with my life It is very hard

When I first started Blogging I kinda used the writing to help me with my feelings , then Lyn and all the wonderful Bloggers made me the beautiful support quilts

A friend asked me at the time what I wrote on my blog to make people feel so sorry for me that they made the quilts for me

I didnt want people to feel sorry for me so I havent been writing so much about my loss

The other day while reading a friends Blog she wrote how much writing it down helped her, so I have decided I will do a bit more of that It doesnt matter if no one reads it If it helps me then I will do it

I have been doing a bit of applique

I enjoy it

Mum is 83 today

Today is my Mums 83rd birthday

I made her a couple of placemats As Mum says What do I need at 83

Just realised the photo is a little blurry

Mum and her sister are coming to spend the day with me as is my sister

Tonight we will all go out for tea

Lynda and her family will join us And Lorraines husband

During her illness Lorraine never missed one family bithday tea

We will all be missing her tonight

It has hit Mum pretty hard She was always a very active healthy lady

Now she seems like a little old lady

OP SHOP /GARAGE SALE FINDS

I finished the Charity Quilt that my friend found at the Op Shop Quite pleased with it

Bev over at Kainga Happenings is calling for posts on Op shop or Garage sale finds, so thought I would share a funny story with you

My friend Kathy is full of bright ideas and she decided we should have a stall at a local market to try and sell some of our crafts

I relunctantly went along Pictured below is one of the first things I made when I started quilting

I didnt know about reverse applique so Santa looks a bit funny

As it was my first applique I have always put him out at Christmas

I decided I would take the runner to the market along with a few other bits and peices

Sadly we never sold a thing when along comes an 80 year old I know ,Who asked how things were going

She must have felt sorry for me because next thing she hands over $10.00 and took my Santa

Some months later I was in the local Op Shop and there hanging with all the Christmas stuff was my runner

I bought him back for $1.50

RAGGEDY ANN COMES TO STAY

Recently I made a bid on Raggedy Ann over at Bluebird quilts blog, in aid of the Queensland floods

I was lucky enough to be the winning bidder

Also included was a mystery gift

Wow

Lyn sent me some lovely goodies as well as Ann in the hope I will get motivated

Included was some gorgeous fat quarters, two patterns I hope to get on to making the needle case real soon

Also there were some cute buttons as well as a note pad and pen and a brooch

Thankyou Lyn

you are very generous

Today is going to be very hot

I may just stay inside with the air conditioner on and hopefully get some sewing done

I finished the charity quilt and will post a photo sometime soon

Was up very early this morning to take my Grandson to Trade school He doesnt have a drivers license as yet and his Mum is working

After eight weeks I will be used to being an early riser

He started an aprenticship as a boiler maker just prior to christmas

He loves it

I'M FINALLY DOING SOMETHING

A few siggies are still coming

I nearly have enough to start putting them together Dont really know what I will do with them as yet

I finally got around to working on something A start to my healing I hope

One of the girls in my quilting group found this quilt top in an Op Shop and gave it to me to finish We will donate it to a charity

Danielle helped me sandwich it yesterday and tonight I started quilting it

Will keep it simple Just quilt in the ditch It isnt very big so shouldnt take me very long

It is all hand stitched

I have to wonder why it has ended up in an Op Shop All the points match beautifully and obviously has been made with care

My thanks again to all you lovely Bloggers Iam slack in answering you all individually but I do apreciate every comment

Love you all

LIFE GOES ON

Life goes on but it will never be the same again

I have lost my best friend She was worried about me when she went so I know she wouldn't want me to be unhappy ,but it is so hard

400 people attended her funeral so that shows how highly she was thought of So many of the people there were former patients that she had looked after when she was nursing So many told me she went above and beond

Iam so proud

I was very blessed to call her my daughter

Thankyou to all who have left me messages I have read each one and they have helped tremendously in my grieving process

Iam sorry I have not answered you individually but please know how much your support has meant to me

PLEASE I NEED YOUR PRAYERS

I JUST WANTED TO LET ALL MY WONDERFUL BLOGGING FRIENDS WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME IN ANY WAY DURING THIS TERRIBLE YEAR OF MY LIFE THAT MY BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER WENT TO SLEEP TODAY

I WILL MISS HER SO SO MUCH BUT CANNOT WISH HER BACK TO SUFFER ANY MORE

IT HAS BEEN A FIVE YEAR STRUGGLE AND SHE FOUGHT IT ALL THE WAY BUT WAS JUST TO TIRED TO WIN THIS LAST BATTLE

PHOTO WAS TAKEN CHRISTMAS DAY SHE STRUGGLED SO MUCH TO SPEND HER LAST CHRISTMAS WITH HER FAMILY

SHE WAS VERY LOVED AND WILL BE GREATLY MISSED BY SO MANY

SSCS

Well Christmas has come and gone for another year

Just a quick post to show you my lovely gifts I received in Chookyblues Secret Santa swap

I was very lucky and loved all my gifts

Now if I only knew who sent them to me I would Thank her but she only put her address on the parcel and I cant read the name on the customs declaration and there was no card or anything in the parcel

Anyway Secret Santa you know who you are and I thank you most sincerely

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

An old saying Make hay while the sun shines

Well thats what hes trying to do but the sun just doesnt want to shine

He got a few bales done on Friday before the storm hit and hes trying to do more today

I would like to wish all my blogging friends a very Merry Christmas

More Lovely Gifts from my dear Blogging Friends

I joined a Crafty Box Swap at Snickerdoodle Dreams

I was so lucky with the beautiful gifts I got from Michele

Then a while ago I swaped a siggy with Helen from Aunty Hennys blog

She sent me the beautiful coaster with the waratah

Then lastly my dear friend Lyn of Bluebird quilts sent me this gorgeous Christmas tree

I love them all

Thankyou girls

SSCS

My Secret Santa gift has arrived from Buffalo in the USA

My partner is very sneaky and I dont know who she is so have been trying to find her on the list of participants shown on ChookyBlues side bar

Still have a few more to check

Any way I just love my little ornament So cute

Beautifully stitched and I love beads, so perfect

Thankyou my Secret Santa

Can,t wait now to see what is in the blue parcel

Table Runner

This is the table runner I made Lorraine for her birthday which was in early November

She loved it Her house is decorated in

blues and yellows

Thanks for all the lovely supportive comments from my rant of yesterday

Sometimes it just gets on top of me

I feel a little better today

I love this Blog world Not only are there so many suppotive Blogger friends out there , you learn so much by reading Blogs

I have previously printed on fabric using very expensive transfer paper available commercially

This week I learned how to do it by using freezer paper It worked just as well and the paper only cost me a $1.oo and I still have heaps

Thanks Bluebell

A Wall Hanging For Danielle

I havent made much of a start on Christmas shopping or gifts as yet

I made this wall hanging for Dan She has a few badges These ones were on her Pop's hanger so she has been wanting her own

My Darling daughters health has been causing us much concern

The chemo doesn't seem to be working and her breathing is getting worse

Has been having her lung drained almost weekly and last week they made a tiny hole in the lung which has allowed air to enter and caused more breathlesness

They are now thinking of putting in a permanant drain but there are risks involved so she has to have a good think about what to do

While her hubby is at work I spend a lot of time with her

Sometimes I get really upset with the unfairness of it all I have a friend whose daughter has drunk and smoked herself into bad health

Lorraine has never smoked or drank

Just seems so unfair

Healing Heart Blocks for Miners families

Shirley in New Zealand has put the call out for heart blocks to send to the loved ones of the Miners killed in the Mining Disaster in New Zealand recently

If you can help you will find the details at Shirleys Blog

http://shirleygoodwin.blogspot.com/

WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU SCRAPS MAKE QUILTS

And thats just what I've been doing

Putting my many scraps to good use

I made this table cloth for my Mum for Christmas I like the way it turned out

Have also made a couple of scrappy table runners

Will show them at a later date

When Lorraine first got sick she used to walk with me when I walked her dogs, then as she got sicker she rode her bike

Lately, because she cant do anything without the oxygen she has been pretty much house bound unless someone took her out

Last week Jim took her to Melbourne and he bought this motorized three wheel bike,so every day since she has come with me for a walk

She was so happy to be out and about

It has a large basket on the back for her oxygen cylinder

See how happy she looks

If you didn't know how sick she really is you wouldn't believe it She looks so well

F.R.I.E.N.D.S SWAP GIFTS RECEIVED

I was a bit late joining the F.R.I.EN.D.S swap hosted by the gorgeous Khris but being the lovely lady she is she let me join any way and very kindly took me on as her second swap partner

Just look at all the beautiful gifts she sent me

The photo doesnt do them justice

F.... four fat quarters

R..... Runner for Christmas

I... Items for christmas table... four gorgeous placemats

E... Englebreit charm pack

N.... A beautifully decorated note pad and nail file

D.... duo... Pot holder and tea towel

S.... snap coin purse and shopping bag

I love each and every one of my gifts and have already used the shopping bag and coin purse, both made by Khris

Thank you Khris for a lovely swap and all your work in organizing it

A NEW CAREER

I think not!!!!

I was asked to model for the CWA fashion parade

Never done anything like that before

I actually quite enjoyed it and got lots of comliments , which was nice

I also won a gift voucher so I purchased

the black top Iam wearing below

Not something I would normally wear but was told by so many people how nice it looked so I got it

Hubby is a bit concerned about the crooked hem line though

MORE CARDS

A lovely day with friends yesterday making cards

Weather is improving so have been spending time in the garden

Not much else happening of any interest

Looking forward to getting some sewing done sometime!!!!!

LIFE IS QUIET AGAIN

The Grandchildren have been here off and on over the past two weeks School holidays

They go back to school tomorrow

It is quiet here tonight

Didnt get much of anything done while they were here

We had a lot of fun though

Lorraine is still unwell Breathing is bad

Tomorrow she has to go to Melbourne to start another round of a new chemo drug

She is slowly running out of options

Iam amazed at how well she handles her situation Always a bright cheery smile

Her Hubby is taking indefinate time off work

We all try to help where we can

Thankyou all for your thoughts and prayers

I don't always get time to answer you all but do know I apreciate each and every message

MUGMAT AND CURRENT PROJECT

I have been getting a little bit of stitching done

Made this mugmat and Iam now using up some scraps making my Mum a table topper for Christmas at her request

Mostly time is taken up with Lorraine

Got the results of the broncoscopy yesterday

Aparently the cancer on the lung is growing quickly, hence the breathing difficulties

A meeting with all the top cancer specialists will happen on Thursday and they will have to try and make some decisions as to her treatment and if they cant come up with something ,it will be a matter of months

Iam not thinking about that