Autumn sunshine

There was plenty of sunshine and sparkle around our St Mark’s Quilters workshop last Saturday.

From Helen’s new bracelet…

…to Di C’s bright,jazzy capri pants…

…to the stellar line-up of quilts made by our ladies for the people of Tasmania who lost their homes in this summer’s devastating bushfires.

Sydney in April is simply beautiful, mild and sunny with just a touch of crispness to the early mornings, but for those who lost homes in Tasmania and are still living in temporary accommodation with an uncertain future the approach of winter is a far from happy time.

We hope these quilts will warm them (and warm their hearts) and let them know that others care.

 

 

 

 

Amanda Jean Nyberg’s pattern from Sunday Morning Quilts has proved a fabulous way to create cheery, bright quilts from some of our treasured scraps that we couldn’t bear to toss out. Even tiny pieces found a place in these blocks.

I think we’ve finally used up all our yellow penguin fabric .

Those who couldn’t make an entire quilt made blocks, so everyone was able to contribute in some way to this great effort.

 

 

Cath made this smart and cosy quilt for a man.

 

 

 

Thank you, my friends. You’re all stars

 Di

March Photo a Day Digest 5

Oh dear! Looking at my photos from the last week in March - Words with Friends, crosswords, my bedside lamp, storage boxes, selfie-snapping and Chester – clearly I need to get out more . 

Day 26 – Something you did.

Took Chester for a romp in the park.

Day 27 – Pair

Two gorgeous labs, Chester with his friend Muffin.

Day 28 – In the mirror

Day 29 – Goodnight

Day 30 – Relax

I love cryptic crosswords (but can’t remember when I last finished one!)

Day 31 – Stuff

So many books boxed up and ready to donate to the university book fair.

(April) Day 1 – Play

I play this game every day with friends around the world.

 Di

Some eye candy from Paddington Patchworkers

Here’s a little glimpse of the latest beautiful work by my quilting friends …

Janet

Sue

Fiona

and Charlyn

Short, but very sweet .

 Di

March Photo a Day Digest 4

Fat Mum Slim’s daily themed prompts continue to challenge my creativity and make me more observant of the world around me.

Day 19 – A sign

On New Year’s Eve the traffic-patrol police abandoned this sign on the front lawn of our church, ready for later when they would block off the road. It made us smile because this is exactly opposite to the way we like to welcome visitors.

Day 20 – Clean

Thanks to a temporary plumbing arrangement by the builders where all my shower water spills out onto this path in my back garden, my neighbours in the high-rise next door all know that I’m clean.

Day 21 – Working

Working on getting some rest. I confess I’m burning the candle at both ends right now.

Day 22 – About you

Dust! That’s what’s all about me at the moment, from the building works. It covers every surface in the house, and you can smell it in the air.

Day 23 – What you do for fun

Spending time with my darling Princess is always fun!

Day 24 – Up

Looking up at the ceiling light in my dining room.

Day 25 – In your drawer

Several people who’ve seen this photo have complimented me on having such a neat cutlery drawer, so let me confess here and now this is not its usual state! It’s only neat because I’ve packed any utensils I won’t need for the next few months, leaving only the bare necessities.

 Di

St Mark’s Quilters in March

Our March workshop was certainly a busy one, with many of us working on bright scrappy bed-sized quilts for victims of the summer bushfires in Tasmania.

We’re using Amanda Jean Nyberg’s pattern from her book Sunday Morning Quilts (you can buy it from Amazon using my Search box on the right), and having a ball trying out different colour combinations.

Some are quite nicely colour co-ordinated, like Di C’s here.

This quilt’s blocks are being made from a jelly roll.

Another jelly roll beauty.

Others are just a gorgeous, exuberant riot of colour, using scraps from our SMQ offcuts box.

Doesn’t this finished quilt just make you smile

We’re never short of smiles at SMQ workshops. Here’s Moo binding a quilt for “The Marcia”, the kindy for autistic children that we support.

Perdita’s aqua and red kindy quilt was taking shape.

Gail helped Amanda to get started on quilting her latest little Blanket of Love.

The biggest smile of all came from Margaret, who was celebrating her 87th birthday, proving that quilting has no age barrier.

Happy birthday, beautiful lady!

To complete the smiles we even enjoyed an encouraging iphone Facetime chat, face to face, with Linda in Florida. That kind of technology makes me smile.

Such excitement! How can we top that in April?

{Maybe by being able to share some good news about Linda’s post-operative results. We’re all praying for this}

  Di