Thirty Nine/52

A and H - sitting and having a conversation.  Ranging from imaginative to serious.  I could listen and watch this all day long.  L - you have such an adorable concentration face.  The little mouth with the wee tongue, working away to help the task at hand along.  The week comprised a lot of rugby watching, puppet-making for A at school, H attending a birthday party, and L having a massive collision with another kid at school resulting in lots of blood and a gorgeous shiner.  Another full but happy week.
L xx

Thirty Eight/52

A big week. L started school! Over here kids start school at the beginning of the school year in which they turn 5. So 8 months earlier than it would have been in NZ, our baby became a big school girl. Two utterly adorable and doting big sisters watching over her - three peas in a pod. L had a great first week and it finished off with a school trip with parents - involving a nature reserve and den building in the forest. A lovely day, though L felt terribly shortchanged that there was no "school" that day! We were all pretty shattered by the end of the week - three tired but very happy wee girls... big school girls!
L xx

Thirty Seven/52

Back to school this week for our two big girls. Great to start at the beginning of the school year and you two were rearing to go. Already both of you have signed up for "performing" club, and H is back into football. H was also recognized for good work and behaviour on multiple days, including a visit to the principal to show off her great work. It was a fantastic start back at school for you both. Mummy got to have one last week with her baby girl. On our last Friday together we went to a theme park with some of your new school friends, which was great fun. You had a ball and I had a ball watching you. On Sunday we went to visit a little local farm - kids and animals... so much joy :) A refreshing end to the week - new beginnings and endings all round.
L xx

August - Over halfway

August - what a month!  It was kicked off with a long dreamed about holiday in France.  One week in Paris and one week in the South.  To say we had the best time would be an understatement!  I will be recording our memories from those weeks in time to come.

The last weeks of August were very low key in comparison, as we settled into a quiet and slow school holiday routine.  Days were spent at home playing inside, playing outside, writing letters, crafting, making, practicing maths and lots of reading.  We were still regulars at the library with our twice-weekly visits and all three girls completed the Summer Reading Challenges.

A and H got stuck into some sewing, L learned to ride a bicycle and the whole family engaged in some Star Wars movie watching.  We also went to see Inside Out at the movies and Loved it.  So clever!

There was no sewing this month but a bit of crochet as I worked toward a milestone on the blanket project and started turning my thoughts to a new Christmas decoration.  On all other fronts, life continued pretty much as per usual.

August was a month of two halves - very different halves!
L xx

Thirty Six/52

Last week of school holidays. A lovely quiet relaxing time for all of us - more bike-riding practice, reading, hanging out. Lovely. The way you help and encourage each other always brings me such joy. We had a lovely day together on Saturday going to the open stitching session for the Embroiders Guild - just Mummy and her big girl (with a lovely friend :) ). We hung out together and you loved stitching, getting a free donut and having your hair curled at a random free demonstration at the mall in town. You were absolutely buzzing when we got home. A lovely end to the holidays.
L xx

In Flight Quilt

A wee while ago now... perhaps just over a year or so?... I happily signed up to test patterns for Juliet @ Tartankiwi's first sew-along.  If you've been here before you'll know I'm a big fan of Juliet's work and feel lucky to call her my friend.  Bonus all round!

The various ways of interpreting this collection into a quilt is huge - so many options and possibilities!  I decided on a combination of Liberty florals and different hues of blue Sketch.  And I can happily say it has turned out pretty much the way I saw it in my head.

I got stuck in and about a third of the way through ran out of fabric... so with great restraint (hahah!) I added some new Liberty to my stash... and of course Sketch.  The blue has been severely depleted and there are literally scraps left... and there are a couple of non-bird blocks that have a join or two. But we made it!

I found the backing fabric rather unexpectedly at a local fabric shop in New Lynn while doing an emergency dash for some cotton.  It was love in all it's blue flowery perfection.  If memory serves it was sent off to Leeanne for quilting in December last year.  In January we got the news and Leeanne was generously able to squeeze it in before we left!  Such a legend - thank you!!  It arrived two days before we flew out and went onto our bed when we moved in to a house here.

As with Juliet's patterns they are well written, constructed and a joy to sew.  Doing the 24" blocks for the first time was a bit of a challenge... but the results... delicious.   She really captured the movement of the birds and they truly do appear as if "In Flight".  Leeanne did a stunning job of quilting it and the swirls and clouds add to the effect of the birds moving through the sky.  There is also quilting detail of outlines and feathers within the birds too.  Really hard to photograph with all those flowers but oh so lovely.

This quilt was completed to one of the original design layouts. Since then the range of birds have expanded and so have the layout options. There are three additional birds that now form part of the collection, along with an alternative seagull pattern, and many of them come in varying sizes too. All these elements add huge scope and possibilities to the design of the quilt.

Working on a larger scale project like this was a great learning opportunity.  The size of the blocks, the scale of it overall, fabric selections, little details and the bigger picture.  I always enjoy working with Juliet and to be able to help with this project was humbling.  It has been lovely to see the patterns being released over the year and all the various interpretations thereof.  I think the sew-along is about to conclude and it will be fun to go and see other completed projects.  Head on over to have a look, and of course Juliet's own gorgeous one!

It is a lovely big quilt and has been in use since March - first without binding and for the last few months, with binding!  It reminds me of many things, times and places and helped make our room feel like home.  One of the joys of quilts.
L xx