WOW (Work on Wednesday ) and the past week 14th Dec 2011

Esther Aliu's mystery quilt 2010.

The above quilt is my adaptation of Esther’s beautiful mystery quilt in 2010 you can buy the design on Esther’s blog http://www.estheraliu.blogspot.com. Mine is not finished by a long way but it is still lovely enough to hang as is. I really must get the Xmas tree up in front of it before the week-end!!!!!! but it is 33C in the day time at present so it is hard to be motivated to climb in to a very hot attic for every thing connected with the Xmas tree and other decorations??????

close up of adapted foot and tags I'm sewing felt on to silk????

Click on photo’s to enlarge to see details.

I started machine appliqueing the felt leaves and curved piece this week and thank goodness it has worked after hubby helped out by removing the cross front bar on one of my machine feet so I could see what I was doing. I have a 830 trusty Bernina nearly as old as I am so I’m limited with what she will do, but by using fancy stitch 5, stitch width down to 1/4 and stitch length at 1 1/2 it is working.  Not using pins is a Hugh improvement on the fingers and the needle!!!!! Tags are working out even easier than I thought,  I remove them when I don’t need them any more, this means I wont have 200 to remove at the end????? I have hand appliqued the flowers and centre. So it is 50% hand and 50% machine appliqued

I have moved to the back veranda for the wet season as it is to hot and wet on my front veranda now.  It only takes up a small area but if I need to I have plenty of space for extra tables. Luckily I moved as I found our large ants had just moved in to one of my sewing draws and laid 100’s of eggs, these ants are very vicious when disturbed so I was able to carry the draw out side and spray them still in the draw with out loosing to much of what was in there. Some times they will make nests in your clothes draws and they can be HUGH before you discover them. Oh the joys of living in the rain forest??????

My other sewing project this week has been hemming several pairs of trousers for my self on my over-locker and turning long sleeved 100% cotton shirts in to short sleeved ones. I have found over the years it is easier to cut the sleeves off at the required length then add a new piece of fabric for the turn back as it sits much better, I have been adding a contrast colour if I turn the hem under but a plain white if I make it a cuff hem.  Makes it much more fun and not such a boring project????

Sunrise it took 30 seconds!!!!Sunrise is sooooooo fast here !!!!

30 seconds and the sun is up and every thing is light??????

Nothing much to show in the garden this week, it is to hot for any thing to flower and toooo hot to do any work out side now except water the plants. At 10pm  night we had our first tropical monsoon down pour, around 3inches it took the temperature from 32C to 26C wonderful.

Our first monsoon rain and this wee plant looks so fragile now>

Christmas wise I still have not made my tarts, and still no Christmas tree up!!!!!

But lots of lovely Xmas emails coming in, several of my friends from way back & I swap Xmas letters on what has happened over the last 12 months. I love receiving these letters, snail mail or email.I’m off to the beach and to have my hair cut really really short.

Update 11.41pm Just received this lovely reversible carry bag from my friend Pat.

Reversible bag, note large pleats this makes it look small but it can carry endless supplies.

Xmas tree found but no decorations yet????? Rocket is guarding the presents!!!!

Cheers Glenda