So...

...I've been a bit quiet on here, I know...but I have been doing stuff, I promise! I finished the flying geese earlier in the week, and on Wednesday I finished all the large 9-patches.

I'm about to start the smaller 9-patches. And I made labels for two finished quilts; Crabapple and Wallflower. Yes, I did finish Crabapple all the way back in November, but I'm a bit slack when it comes to labels. And I haven't actually put them on yet, but I'll get there!

I've also been down the beach a couple of days, visiting my Grandma. That always keeps me on my toes. Fortunately the dogs got to come with us, so we got to take them walking on the beach. It's funny though; Jack loves swimming, and Millie can't get out of the water fast enough.

Bella is finding new and unusual places to sleep, like on the tv with her nose on the cable (Foxtel) box.... we think she likes the heat from the lamp.

And my big news? I start my new, first-ever proper job on Monday! Ok, so it's in the same lab that I did my PhD, but it's a proper, paying job, and on a completely differerent project. And the good part is I'm working 4 days a week, which leaves an extra day for quilting!

Three days to go...

Is anyone else mildly freaked out that Christmas in only three days away? At least the weather is finally looking more like summer than winter (34 here today!).

I handed in my thesis today; thats one less thing to worry about. Plus I finished quilting Wallflower...just have the binding to go.

And I had some new jelly rolls arrive in the post. The Fat Quarter Shop has been having a fantastic Christmas sale, with 50% off different selected items each day, and I managed to snag the two jellies for $15 each!

Recess:

American Primer:

And Miss Rosie's 4OT quilt pattern which I plan to make next year (among a million other things!)

Now, I recently added a visitor counter to my blog, and I know I'm getting up to 40 hits a day, but very few comments. So to all you lurkers out there, please say hello; I like to know who is visiting here so that I can in turn visit your blog. Plus I'm just greedy, I like getting lots of comments, it makes me feel loved!

Restless

Now that I've finished all my crafty Christmas projects, I can finally work on more selfish projects. While I've started putting together the sheep baby quilt for C, I've been itching to start quilting Wallflower, and I finally got there today (or tonight...).

The quilt is mostly stippled, so I don't imagine its going to take too long, however I'm a very restless person, and I can't sit still for long. I usually quilt a section, then get up and wander around, the come back and do a bit more. I do the same when I'm watching TV; as soon as there is an ad, I'm off and wandering. The only problem with doing this while I'm quilting, is that Bella very soon makes herself at home in the most inconvenient spot.

I've managed to get a decent amount done tonight, and I'm pleased with how it's looking. I'm just using a light cream coloured thread for most of it, but I might go for an olive to quilt in the leaves.

I've shown quite a few photos of Bella over the past few months, but I've never really gone into detail about her. I adopted Bella from the RSPCA almost three years ago, after my old cat died of cancer. The thing about Bella which makes her a bit special is that she is deaf, which is very common in white cats. However, the blue-eyed part is a myth; many white cats with blue eyes have perfectly good hearing, while Bella has green-yellow eyes. No one is entirely sure why being white causes deafness.

Because she is deaf, she is an indoor cat, as she can't hear things like cars or dogs. She is also an incredibly affectionate cat, and gets very upset if she is left alone. If she doesn't know where you are in the house, she howls loudly until she finds you. She can be so loud that I've had neighbours come to the door to see what the noise it. She also has different noises for different occasions; a sad howl when she can't find you, an excited meow when she is about to be fed, and a funny sound we call her "moth noise" when she spots a moth or fly in the house (which she usually catches). To get her to come to you, you wiggle your fingers, or tap on the furniture and she comes running. And if you ignore her for too long, she hops up on her back legs and taps you till you pick her up.

For some reason, she also likes to sleep in lots of funny places; shopping bags, cardboard boxes, a casserole dish I've got stashed away under my bed, and even in the lining of the couch. She also loves umbrellas!

Cotton Blossoms

I got back into the sewing over the weekend, and finished off the flimsy for "Wallflower", done with a Cotton Blossoms jelly roll as per the pattern. I'm very happy with how it looks, particularly my blanket stitch, as its the first time I've used the machine for that. Usually I do it by hand, and it doesn't look particularly good when I do...

If you are wondering where the rest of the jelly roll went, it's on the back of the quilt. I think the backing of this quilt took just as long to put together as the front!