Joy's Quilts: April 2011

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Lotsa Blocks!

I think April must be the month for blocks! We've got a lot of them made so far!

Kim was first in with these two:

Narelle just emailed me pics of these three:

Bonnie must have been stitching from dawn to dusk in her Easter break because her tally stands at 25 so far!!! Here are some of them:

I know Fiona has been busy becuase she finished her two Stitchalong blocks for the month:

AND she put this top together, which has ... um.... 42 blocks?!

I'm sure she's done more, so count up Fiona and give me a tally please!!

Ok, Alice.... she tells me she has finished 26 blocks so far!!! 25 red, white and blue ones:

and this one as well:

I went to Di's blog and found these finished blocks:

I'm sure she's done a few more still... have you Di?

I have also been busy before and after I got sick. I am starting way too many new projects, again... like this pineapple one:

And of course the melon block quilt which you saw a few photos of the other day. Here are all 16 blocks done:

There are a few more days left in April... how many more blocks can we finish gals?!!!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Feeling Poorly... on Easter Sunday...

I always liked that phrase when I read it in British Children's books... and that is how I am feeling today... Mind you, I am feeling much better than on the weekend when I was feeling worse than poorly! I won't go into details, but a tummy bug combined with fever... not fun. Didn't even feel like sewing, so you can just imagine.

This morning I woke up bright and chirpy and ready to conquer the world.... That didn't last long, lol! I am about to drag something simple out of the freezer for dinner and then head for a nice nap :)

There are no visible signs here that it is Easter. No bunnies hopping around, no chocolate eggs in the shops.... No Sunday services. Oh, and I didn't even get any decorations up like I usually do.... But thankfully the true meaning of Easter is not in these "visible" things, so I can still say - Happy Easter everyone!!!

(And now I really am off to bed...!)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Summing Up....

We are home again after a lovely week away :) I am torn between two cities in this country, both with wonderful friends. But I am thankful that we are in the same country at least... while I miss other friends half way across the world in all directions! This seems to be my life. At least with internet we can keep up with each other even if we are in different towns or countries I guess....

Anyway, just a few last photos of my trip and then on to the normality of life!!

While we were gone we had lots of Arabic food :) One day we went to lunch at a friend's house - she had been very busy and literally had this "spread" for us:

She insisted I try a little bit of everything, so I did... and most of it was yummy :)

Needless to say, I didn't need a big dinner that night! We all sat on the floor, and I have decided I need to practice that at home so that next time I don't get so stiff and sore! It was a special time though, and I am so thankful I was able to be there. I enjoy learning about other culutres and this friend has promised if I come back in the summer she will give me some cooking lessons!

On the weekend Cameron drove over to pick us up. We headed over to a larger town called Khobar to spend the night before driving 400 more km back home. We stayed in a hotel in a room with a sea view... but it was a stormy day so we couldn't see far. Here is the view from the balcony.

No idea what that building out on the little island is..... anybody else know?

Driving home was a challenge. We got stuck in a huge storm. We had two boxes of batting on the roof rack... wrapped up in plastic garbage bags!! We had to stop a few times to reposition everything, and once to buy some packing tape at a petrol station. It arrived safe and sound though:

Oh, I forgot to tell you I started something new while I was at my friend's shop :) I got two blocks done for this new quilt. I think it is called a Melon block:

I'm off to sew all day tomorrow with a group of ladies here, so I should be able to get a few more blocks done I think.... This month is going to be full of finishes.. right? Right!

So that was my week.... I'm planning another one in two or three months... but I need to first let hubby get over all that driving!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

March Winner!

And the March winner of Finishing Stitches is.....................................

..................................... Di from Quilting is Blissful!!!!!!

Congratulations Di! Alice will be sending you a charm pack one of these days :)

On to April finishes ladies...!!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Pics from the East

We started our road trip with breakfast at one of the local fast food restaurants, Kudu. They have quite a nice brecky menu:

A bit different from what we get in Australia, but yummy!

After that (and a few trips home to pick up things we forgot!), we headed out of Riyadh at around noon. The last weeks it seems like we have been living in a perpetual sandstorm. The trip to the East Coast was no different. It was a mild sandstorm all the way over, so just very hazy:

Yes, the dashboard needs dusting :) Most of the way you could see the sand blowing across the highway. This is when we are really thankful for aircon in the car!!

It is lovely being able to catch up with friends this week. We are really having a lovely time. I already went to visit my friend's quilt shop called Craft Kingdom. She is in a new building since I was last here, so it was great to be able to see her new shop and classroom. I have to take more pics, got distracted by too much talking, lol! But here is one photo of her classroom:

Last night we went to the beach in the evening. It was cool and not so busy. The boys played with a frisbee and got lots of exercise running and jumping:

Us girls walked and enjoyed the fresh air :) We also admired this new compound built right up on the beach and dreamed about what it would be like to live there!

It's just a dream because it is soooo expensive! It costs three times as much as we are paying for our huge house just to get a two bedroom apartment there!

You've all been wondering what Elizabeth and I look like when we go out... well, here is a pic of Elizabeth and her friend:

Isn't it a sweet photo? When we were here before the girls used to play Barbies together, now they are painting and talking fashion design :) I'm so pleased that they are getting this opportunity to spend time with each other again.

The kids are doing their schoolwork while I am updating my blog.... I think I need to go and help out with some grammar, so I will sign off now.... but I shall be back with more photos.

Oh yes, we haven't forgotten the draw for March Finishing Stitches. Alice's computer is broken and she hasn't been online, so I will do the draw this time and let you know.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

April Finishing Stitches

Finishing Stitches for April! Here's the drill... go to the Finishing Stitches Webpage and read what it is all about. If you want to join up, then come BACK TO THIS POST and leave a comment :) Or you can email me :)

I've already got one finish for April, and another nearly done... I'm sure lots of you have some finishes already too!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Going on a Road Trip

Today we are heading off on a 500km road trip to the east coast. We used to live there, and my most wonderful-est husband is going to drive us there this weekend, leave us there for the week and then drive ALL the way back to pick us up again the following weekend!! He's doing this just so that we can spend a week with some very dear friends whom we haven't seen for 5 years. We have been looking forward to this for a while!

The trip itself is going to be a very long drive on the highway through the desert. I'm sure there will be other travellers on the way, perhaps like these ones:

The scenery along the way will mostly be like this:

And this:

We'll see all sorts of signs on the highway, like this one:

And finally after 5 or 6 hours we will reach our destination:

Our clothes, schoolbooks, some stitching and my laptop are all packed.... so off we go :)

Hearts for Christmas

I keep forgetting to update you on this! Sorry! Too much happening at the beginning of the year...

I want to thank all of you who joined in and bought my pattern in December. With an extra little bit that I put in, we raised $70 for the children in Thailand! I gave it to Jess before I left and she said to say a big thank you to everyone as well.

I know that $70 may not seem like much, but I'd like to encourage you that with everything we give, it adds up.... Even giving $1 is worth it! So often we think, oh, I wish I could give more... but every little bit helps.

I'll be doing the same again in December.... but in the meantime if you still want to buy my pattern it is still up for sale at my online shop.

Thank you again!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Parade of Finishes!

We have all had a very, very productive March! I am so proud of you all :) Here is a small parade of some of the finishes - there are just too many for one post!!

Di joined us this month and completely finished this gorgeous ABC quilt:

She worked on it for 8 years!!! So I am sure she is so pleased to have finished it, and I think all the hard work has paid off... it is just beautiful! Di has also finished heaps of blocks this month including these pinwheels:

And these stitcheries:

For way more go visit her blog Quilting is Blissful! Di is such an inspiration!!

Joining us for the first time as well is a dear friend of my who is new to the blogging world, Robyn from L'Atelier. Roybn is one talented quilter!!! And she homeschools more children than I do, so she is my hero!!! Here are some of the finishes she had this month. A beautiful tablerunner:

Check out the quilting!!! There are close ups on her blog for you to look at too. She also made these beautiful hearts for Christchurch:

Aren't they sweet? She's also been working on lots of blocks. Please go over to her blog and welcome her to blogland!

Narelle from Nell's Notions has also joined us for the first time this month and finished these sweet stitchery blocks:

Aren't they cute? They are on my to -do list .... one day... one day!!

Kim got a few blocks done including the ones on the left of this photo:

This is what Part B is all about - getting blocks done one at a time until the whole project is finished!

Fiona got LOTS done this month! She's also been stitching along with 'Tis the Season and these are her first two blocks:

I am so loving seeing all the stitcheries in different colorways! For more of Fiona's finishes, go check out her blog, she's been a busy bee!

Others who had finishes this month are Bonnie and Alice, but I don't think I have photos... All in all a great month I think!! Now for Alice to draw a name for the charm pack.... I'll let you know when she has done that :) Thanks to everyone for joining in!