In the midst of life

With great sadness, but at the same time great thankfulness, we farewelled my dear father last Thursday.

My mother, sister, brothers and I have felt wonderfully surrounded by the love, prayers and kind thoughts of good friends and family. Thank you all so much. At the thanksgiving service my brother did a  beautiful job of summarising our father’s life in just ten minutes, and for those of you who knew Daddy, or who would like to read about the kind of man he was, I’ve posted this eulogy here on his tribute page. 

Most of all we’ve known the certainty of our loving God’s tender care for us, and I’m convinced it was no accident that Daddy breathed his last only hours before my mother was to have taken him home from respite care to resume the loving, selfless task of caring for him – a task that could well have proved too much for her.

  I’ll leave the last word to my brother…

Dad,

You were an honest man, a funny man, a clever man, a humble man, a loving generous family man... a GENTLEMAN.

We love you and we will miss you but we rest in the knowledge that we will see you again in a better place.

You have run an amazing race, and you have kept the faith. Now its time for you to know in full the rest, joy and peace of God.

Sunshine and rainbows

Our champion over-achiever, Moo, has been busy again.  This time she’s combined jazzy rainbows with Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore to make a quilt that is going to captivate a little one.

Have I told you how much I admire Moo for the sunshine she spreads wherever she goes, and for being such a wonderfully willing student quilter?  Yes, I know I have, but it needs to be said again (and again)!

I could tell you how many years ‘young’ our Moo is, but she might kill me :-))

Breast Cancer Raffle Quilt

You may recall this post from back in June, especially if you were kind enough to purchase raffle tickets from me.  I’m pleased to announce that the raffle was drawn at the Paddington Patchworkers’ Breast Cancer Morning Tea today and the winner was ….. (drumroll) ….. Aviva Fox.

Aviva is a wonderfully positive breast cancer survivor, and it’s so appropriate that she should have won this beautiful quilt.

Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising efforts.  I’m proud to say we raised the grand total of $2,540.00.

Goodbye

Yesterday I lost the best father I could ever have wished for.

We had been gradually losing him over the last few years as Alzheimers took its grim toll, but he still knew us all and took enormous pleasure in family gatherings.

It was sudden. We thought we would have him longer, but our loving God had a better plan and he didn’t have to suffer any more.

He was the gentlest of men, and a gentleman, generous and thoughtful of others - and I loved him.

Goodbye, Daddy.

Fluffing about

Temporarily confined to quarters with a dose of pneumonia, I missed the fun of the monthly St Mark’s Quilters’ workshop today, but Di B’s text messages, emails and photographs have me convinced that I missed a great time.

Look what six enthusiastic quilters, plus a pile of these … (… and a few of these for energy …) …managed to achieve in a day! Just what are Michelle and Moo up to? Clip, clip, clipping away at all those raggy seams. These two new raggy flannel quilts are ready for the wash-and-fluff process. That makes a total of three snuggly, cuddly children’s quilts (so far) from Gillian’s gifted stash of flannels, counting this one that Di B made last month.  Wow! Thank you, Gillian! Thank you, girls! Thank you, Di B for the pics! And thank you, Michaela (apprentice chocolatier extraordinaire) for the chocs! [I notice none were left for me…]

How would you finish this sentence?

My quilting friend Di B is extraverted, generous, kindhearted, tons and tons of fun - and very fond of overstatement! Most quilters would agree that quilting keeps us (relatively!) sane - surely I’m not alone in getting a little antsy if I go more than a few days without some form of stitching?

So when Di had a birthday last week I made her a mug bag that said it all … 

I’m a little late posting about the celebrations, but we did enjoy Di’s birthday lunch on a sunny spring day by the sparkling waters of Sydney Harbour.

New life

Burnished  shoots are topping our hedge,  the air is sweet with perfumed cumquat blossom, the birds nest fern uncurls its fresh new leaves and the rhododendron buds are plump with the promise of spring blooms.

In spectacular fashion the wisteria has been transformed from its winter tangle of bare twigs into a  cascade of purple. But that’s not the only new life growing here. 

Taaa daaah!  Here’s the first picture of our new grandbaby, just 14 weeks gestation and little more than 2 inches long (and already sucking a thumb). 

This little bub is the first for my elder son and his wife, but we’re going to have to wait until “Elvis” arrives next March to find out if The Princess is to have a boy or girl cousin.

I predict a flurry of quilt-making and knitting over the next few months. Heaven :-))