Thankyou for all your kind wishes for Macca, he seems to have no troubles now that the thorn is gone, and the antibiotics have cleared up the infection. Staffies must have a high pain tolerance, they certainly are a tough breed.

This is a top I finished, using some orphan blocks from the bushfire quilts.
I had five 16 patch blocks leftover, and some pastel rails, so I combined them all into this low contrast design. It looks quite randomn, but is actually twelve blocks, which made construction easy. I have to piece a back for this now and quilt it and then send it off. We've still got a few donation quilts to put in a box, but most of them have all gone.
Wow that used a lot of fabric, I was really scratching to find pastels to finish this off. My stash has been thoroughly weeded out since I started making the donation quilts, and there's not a lot of 'expendable' fabric left. Most of what is left I really love, so that was an added benefit. When I open the drawers now it inspires me because it's all beautiful stuff, and not the dribs and drabs I'd saved for years.
And it makes me want to start Cutting! Time for some new projects I think, I've been very good about finishing old stuff, so I figure I deserve a little treat now.

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We had a lovely day trip with the patchwork group on Monday, lots of laughs and a few bargains gained. I haven't taken a picture of the huge bagful I bought home, and I've got no where to actually put it once I've unpacked. I need to thin the drawers out a bit I think!

This is Tricia's, the first place we stopped, and everything was so cheap I went a bit overboard. There was another aisle like this and a room full of flannels and backings and homespun, amazing.

Who can resist fat quarters at that price, instead of $5.95? Not me. We went to another shop and then to a garden centre, and didn't get home until 7 that night. A good day out.

Macca has been having trouble lately with an infected foot. We took him to the vet a fortnight ago, and they made a cut trying to find a grass-seed or something that was causing the infection, but nothing showed up. Antibiotics helped for a week, and then it swelled up again and it was obviously still infected. He's so tough that he was still racing around on it, sometimes with blood pouring out, but nothing would slow him down. Today he went back again and they put him right out and did some more surgery, and this is what they found...



An acacia thorn nearly half an inch long that had gone in between his toes and worked itself up his foot. Poor boy! As we were leaving the vet said admiringly "That's one very nice dog you've got there", and I agree. At no time has he been grumpy or touchy or nasty with the other dogs, and he must have been in pain all the time. Good old Macca! I hope that his foot heals well and that's the end of his troubles.

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My 'antique' blocks are set together and awaiting borders, but nothing jumps out of the stash as a likely candidate, so I might have to go looking for something in the shops.

These blocks were all handpieced, and I loved choosing my best fabrics for them. The sashing is a deep crimsony-pink rather than the red in the top photo, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It just took me about six years longer than I thought it would.
Keryn and I and the patchwork group are off on our annual excusion tomorrow, so I'm hoping to come home with a few border pieces for my problem projects. We're leaving at 7.15 in the morning, so I'm off to bed soon, no sewing for us tonight.

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The border is on the double 9-patch and a very boring top it's turned out to be. I absolutely loved making these blocks from the never-ending bags of strips from the patchwork shop, but the final result is a bit dull. Nothing to shout about, but at least it can be finished now, and probably donated to the bushfire quilt cause. But I've emptied another project box, and that IS something to celebrate!
I do plan to make another quilt using this pattern, it's so simple and satisfying to do, and the nine-patches make excellent leader-enders.

Sally wanted to know the proper name of the blocks I showed in the last post, but I don't know of one. I drew this on graph paper many years ago, as a variation on something else I was making. I've only ever called them my "Antique" blocks, because I wanted them to look old. I would be just as interested to know if they have a 'proper' name.

I set them into one piece this morning, and now I have to puzzle over borders. I'll take photos today and show you the results soon.

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We had a hurried trip to Adelaide to deliver the quilt on Friday, and found ourselves with half an hour to spare before setting off home. We decided to visit a well known patchwork shop and see if we could surprise a blogging friend, but alas, no luck. We forgot it was school holidays and Tazzie wouldn't be there, but at least we know the way now.

Rob and Elisa are on holidays and came for a visit yesterday, it's so lovely to see them both again. They stayed the night and are doing the rounds of friends today while we teach another workshop at the hall. (That's three in one week, plus the show quilt, we're both exhausted)

I've been trying to fit in bits of sewing in odd moments; I have an old pile of double 9 patches finally set together and waiting for borders..



Another set of old blocks nearly set into rows...

And some bindings made and put away for whenever I can get to do some quilting for myself.


We'll have an early tea with Rob and Elisa tonight and I might be able to fit in some sewing after they leave, or I might just collapse into bed!

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We've been so busy the poor blogging has suffered and I'm totally sick of the last post being up for so long. I've been doing some Big customer quilts and trying to stay within deadlines and I'm ready for a holiday right now.I can't show you the front of this quilt because it may be in a show soon, but the quilting is more obvious on the back anyway. There were quite a few 12 hour days in this, and my feet are aching at the thought of more working at the machine. This was all done freehand, including the ditch-stitching, except for a little corner motif that Keryn put in with the Statler. I had fun with the designing of the patterns, and would have enjoyed the stitching apart fom the deadline.

Now I can breathe a huge sigh of relief, get ready for the workshop we're teaching tomorrow, and then dash down to Adelaide on Thursday to deliver the quilt. It's not dull around here at least.

I know I've been doing too much stitching when I start thinking longingly of attacking the housework- right now I'd love to have a couple of hours to wash my floors and clean the bathroom. I must have really overdone it this time!!

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